2 Corinthians 3:7-9
7 But if the ministration of death, written
and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not
stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which
glory was to be done away:
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit
be rather glorious?
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be
glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
I have
quoted the scripture from Corinthians but though this subject is important for
our understanding of all Pauls epistles and Hebrews the book I have in mind as
this is written is galatians.
The church
at Galatia was under attack. While Paul was busy elsewhere wolves had snuck in
order to use the brethren for their own desire of recognition, honor, and a
following.
These false
teachers were claiming that they were showing the Galatians how to have a
proper relationship with God. They taught that the gentiles were not in true covenant
with God until they were circumcised.
Coming from
Jerusalem; they claimed that they spoke with the authority of the original
apostles and James the Lords brother and head pastor of the Jerusalem church.
If these men
knew that James had addressed this issue is not known but we do know that the
authority they claimed for their teaching was a lie.
James and
Paul do not oppose each other in the least; despite the misunderstanding of
some which has persisted for two thousand years. Paul has no desire to discard
the teachings of Moses. In truth his teachings to the gentile church could be
considered as commentary on Moses writings. James does not wish to add any
source to salvation other than faith in Messiah alone.
The
scripture makes witness to the fact that Jesus came to Israel to establish Gods
new covenant; as prophesied by Jeremiah and others. This covenant is made with
Israel but others are not excluded in old or new.
Under the
old a man was required to have his foreskin circumcised if he desired to be
included in the covenant. Under the new covenant the token of circumcision
given to Abraham is fulfilled in the true circumcision of the heart.
The new and
old are in reality the same. To explain what I mean by this I offer the
following example.
My wife and
I were married almost twenty four years ago. We received a marriage license,
went to a court official, said our vows and ta da we were married.
I promised
my wife that we would have a better ceremony later. Now as my twenty fifth
anniversary is approaching I intend to keep my promise.
Laying aside
my slackness in keeping my promise a great many things will be different this
time.
The ceremony
will be performed by a minister instead of a governor.
My childish
understanding of what marriage means to my everyday life has matured into an
understanding that my wife and I are sharing one life.
Our vows are
not an oath to live up to but are a witness of what is living in our hearts.
In the old
our actions and thoughts where on what and how to be married in the new we
focus on why we are married.
The marriage
relationship itself has not changed. There still must be faithfulness,
compassion, a trust and submission to one another, and a desire to walk out our
time on earth together if our marriage is to be more than in name only.
This is a
very accurate picture of the two covenants. The way of life described and
thought of as a standard in the old has not changed but instead become the
natural result of the life in us. Righteousness is still righteousness but it
has gone from being an imitation of Gods life to an emanation of Gods life in
us.
