Heirs
Galatians 3:19-4:7
February 26, 2017
Our scripture lesson today is a little bit of review and a little bit of new. I am covering some things from last week as we move forward into chapter 4.
Read Galatians 3:19-4:7
I begin today by reminding you of the context of our Scripture verses today. Galatians was a letter Paul wrote to churches he had begun in Asia Minor – or what we know today as Turkey. The occasion for his letter was a report he had received that those congregations were experiencing division and trouble because some had been persuaded that Gentiles needed to take on all of Judaism in order to be really good Christians. As a result, some of the Gentiles had submitted to being circumcised and were taking up the observance of Jewish holy days. Paul was rebuking them for “so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ.”
Paul emphatically rejected the idea that Gentile believers needed to do anything beyond proclaiming Jesus Christ Savior and Lord to be Christian. There were not separate “levels” of Christianity; like, beginner for Gentile, advanced for Jew. Remember Paul’s opening theme statement: “Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen.”
Today’s verses continue the argument Paul was making last week. When we spoke last week, Paul was describing how God’s work in Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of a promise that pre-dated and held priority over the law given to Moses. The promises made to Abraham were given 430 years prior to Moses receiving the law on the top of Mount Sinai. The covenant was irrevocable and was not subject to modification, amendment, or deletion. The law Moses received later could not change, add, or take anything away from the promises God had given to Abraham; specifically, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through and offspring of Abraham.
Paul declared that Jesus was the heir through whom God’s blessing was realized; Jesus was the offspring God intended in his promises to Abraham.
That being the case, Paul anticipated the question that would follow, “Well, if that is true, what was the point of the law?” The point of the law was to set before Israel and the world standards of righteousness. The result of establishing those standards would reveal what were transgressions of God’s holiness. The law did not make anyone righteous; in fact, it served only to point out how all those touched with sin – the original sin inherited from Adam and Eve, and their own sin – were incapable of being righteous on their own merit. The law pointed to the need for a savior. The law pointed to the need for a redeemer. “The scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” The law is not a source for pride; it is a condemnation of sin that humbles us and sends us on our knees to God for mercy. You might remember the story of the Pharisee and tax collector Jesus told in Luke 18. The Pharisee prayed in pride, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” He then went on to list before God his accomplishments of righteousness according to the law, “I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” The tax collector’s prayer was very different, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This leads us to some of the most wonderful and yet most-often misapplied verses in Scripture. The end of chapter 3 has been wildly misconstrued in modern conversation. Paul was describing the reality of sinners redeemed by Jesus being the body of Christ together without different “levels” or divisions among them. Paul was not saying that differences do not exist, he was saying that the differences are not competitive within the body of Christ. No one in Christ is more essential or better than another. You do not get to the “there is no longer…” without first understanding, “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”
The point is that status divisions among believers do not exist within the body of Christ. We cannot create a hierarchy of believers based on anything human or worldly. We all stand equally at the foot of the cross. I am sure you have all heard it expressed that way; the truth also is this: we all stand equally as co-heirs of the promises God made to Abraham. In Jesus’ death on the cross – with all it meant – the provisions of the covenant promises to Abraham were triggered.
Many of you know I used to be an attorney. When I practiced law, there were two areas of law I specifically avoided: estate law and tax law. I shivered just thinking about them. I tell people, “Property law – estate law – was created 700 years ago. It did not make sense when they wrote it and it has not changed. There are magic words and phrases that if you do not put in the correct sequence will yield results very different than you anticipate or intend.” If you have ever gone through the process of buying a car or a home, you will know the mountain of paperwork involved. Legalzoom not withstanding, estate planning and wills and trusts are incredibly complex.
That said, there is one certain thing that is simple to understand: death triggers a change.
Prior to Jesus’ death, the law held sinners captive. This was true for Jew and Gentile alike; although Israel had a special function: to serve as a priestly kingdom and holy nation. They were set aside from all the families of the earth to receive the law and were the ones through whom God’s promises would be fulfilled.
Prior to Jesus’ death, the law held the heirs of the promise captive. Paul explained it this way: “heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.” I want to stop here for a moment. Do you realize what Paul was saying? Paul was saying that believers are owners of all the property. We own the kingdom of heaven that God has prepared for us. In other words: take heart. What we see here and now is not all there is. What we see here and now is not how the kingdom of heaven always will be; what is now broken will then be mended, what is now incomplete will then be complete, what now is failing will then succeed, what now is being imprisoned will be released, what now is scarce will be abundant, what now is perishable will then be eternal. It is ours. And, perhaps as important, the extent of our inheritance will not diminish anyone else’s inheritance; in fact, together our inheritance will be more abundant – abundant to overflowing.
As I was thinking about this, I began to wonder about Jesus’ telling of the parable of the Good Father – also known as The Prodigal Son. It seems to start simply. A man had two sons. Do you remember how the two sons treated the father? The younger came to him and said, “Give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” The younger son was demanding his inheritance before his parents have died. As Ken Bailey notes, what the younger son says was the equivalent of, “Dad, why don’t you drop dead.”
Then, there was the older son. Jesus was telling that story to the scribes and Pharisees – the people who had, who were, and who would reject him. There is no question the older son represented the scribes and Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus’ consorting with the sinners of the world. The older son refused to go in and celebrate – like the scribes and Pharisees to whom Jesus was telling the story; and, like the people from Jerusalem who were confusing the Galatians.
Look at the criticism of the older son, “‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.” That is about as succinct a description of the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees as you could make. The attitude was one of resentment; though it was more than that. The older brother wanted his inheritance free and clear of both the prodigal son and, more sadly, the good father.
The father’s response to both reveals what the kingdom of heaven is really like. About the first repentant son, “the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.” To the second son, “the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”
Here’s my point: consider the kingdom of heaven that we own as co-heirs. For both the older and younger son, the chief blessing neither realized was to be in the presence of the father. “This son of mine was dead and is alive again.” “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” What an incredible treasure we already have.
Peter would write,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
I want to challenge you today to spend some time thinking and dwelling on the inheritance that is yours in Christ Jesus. When I think about it, some of my frustrations, anguish, and struggles dissipate as I realize just how petty I can be. When I think about my inheritance, I find a deep well-spring of gratitude for the depth and wonder of God’s love for me.
To return to Paul’s thought: prior to Jesus’ death, the law was the guardian of the heirs of the promise. The law served as its trustee. Prior to Jesus’ death, the law pointed to those things that were promises yet to be fulfilled.
In Jesus’ death everything changed. It is why Paul would write to the Corinthians, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
In Jesus’ death, the covenant with Abraham was triggered. God’s promises to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s offspring took effect. The change in time meant the dawning of the new covenant; the one that took effect upon the perfection – completion – of the old covenant. Jesus accomplished the perfection of the old covenant and through him, its blessings were secured for the heirs.
In verses 4 and 5, Paul provides a very basic framework – probably from an early confession of the church – of how God accomplished the change from life under the law to life as children of the king.
First, when the fullness of time had come, God sent. God sent his Son. But note that God is the actor. God is the one who is making things happen in the course of history. God is the one who moves and all of creation responds. In a time and in a world where there is so much anxiety and stress about “what is going to happen?” and “why are these things happening?” we can take comfort in knowing the one who is ultimately in control and is the prime mover throughout history. When the fullness of time had come, God sent.
Second, God sent his Son, born of a woman. Jesus was fully human. Jesus was flesh and blood like us. He was not a hologram or just pretending to be human. He was not a spirit wearing a costume. Jesus was fully human as we are; and because he was fully human, he was able to be our priest and stand in our place before God’s throne.
Third, not only was Jesus born of a woman, he was born under the law. He was a Jew, part of the priestly kingdom and holy nation. This was important both as a fulfillment of prophecy – what God promised, how God promised – and as a fulfillment of the covenant God had made with Abraham.
Fourth, God’s purpose was clear: to redeem those who were under the law. All were under the law, not just the Jews. All were “enslaved to the elemental spirits” as Paul wrote. “The scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” It almost seems cliché, but remember what Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life.”
Finally, Jesus was born, lived under the law, and redeemed all who were under the law in order that “we might receive adoption as children.” Adoption in the Roman Empire had a well-known and specific process which is important as we try to understand what Paul was arguing.
There were two steps. The first was known as mancipatio (think: emancipation), and was carried out by a symbolic sale, in which copper and scales were symbolically used. Three times the symbolism of sale was carried out. Twice the father symbolically sold his son, and twice he bought him back; but the third time he did not buy him back and thus the patria potestas was held to be broken. There followed a ceremony called vindicatio (think: vindication). The adopting father went to the praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, and presented a legal case for the transference of the person to be adopted into his patria potestas. When all this was completed, the adoption was complete. Clearly this was a serious and impressive step.