Corpus-Paul

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Title: RE: [Corpus-Paul] Did Paul break the Law?

Dear Dieter,

> Many take
> the preposition UNTIL (eis) in Gal 3:24 as temporal, assuming the
> idea of a nomos-period that comes to an end with Christ. Since
> Paul is referring to those who were held prisoners under the
> nomos before pistis came, and uses the
> pronoun "we", I suppose we should assume that he has
> those in mind that were under the law during the timespan from Sinai
> to Golgatha, i.e. Jews.
>  
> The temporal
> view of "until" was introduced in reaction to the Lutheran
> position that the law was and always is a promoter of Christ
> (pedagogos hemon eis Christon, "unser Zuchtmeister auf
> Christum"), in terms of showing the failure of worksrighteousness
> and encouraging "pure" trust in the grace of
> God.
>  
> I would like
> to hear your comments on the following. Accepting the subjective
> genitive for pistis Christou, one could argue that the faithfulness of
> Christ in his submission to the will of God even unto death on a
> cross,

HH: You must be talking about a subjective genitive in Gal 3:22. That seems doubtful since "the ones who believe" are shown to believe in Christ by the earlier phrase: "in order that the promise by belief in Jesus Christ may be given to those who believe." And PISTIN in 3:23 shows that PISTEWS in 3:22 speaks of the faith of the believers.

>  in
> Paul's view, was the ultimate realisation of the purpose of the
> nomos. If the nomos taught submission to the will of God, Christ both
> taught and lived it. Now if the nomos and the Christ in fact have
> the same purpose, the nomos may be superceded by the Christ but not in
> contrary but in complementary fashion. The purpose of both the nomos
> and of Christ is to teach submission to the will of the God with whom
> "we" have entered into a covenantal relationship, some
> earlier, some later. The Messianic age of course brings with it new
> blessings, e.g. Jer 31:33), but again the difference is not law
> contra grace or works contra faith, but the nomos and Christ
> accomplishing the same purpose (with Christ being superior to the
> nomos, in Paul's view). Once  this reading of the schema of Gal 3
> is entertained, doesn't that make the discussion of whether
> "until" is temporary or timeless almost
> superfluous?

HH: It is not superfluous but a doctrinal issue important to the way people live their lives.  Believers are not under the law, as Galatians itself says:

Gal. 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

Gal. 3:10 ¶ All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written:  "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

Gal. 4:21 ¶ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
Gal. 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
Gal. 4:23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
Gal. 4:24 ¶ These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.
Gal. 4:25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
Gal. 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

Gal. 4:27 For it is written:  "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband."
Gal. 4:28 ¶ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

Gal. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

1Tim. 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1Tim. 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

                                        Yours,

                                        Harold Holmyard