***ROUGHLY EDITED TRANSCRIPT***
CONCORIDA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION NETWORK
GALATIANS AND ROMANS
DR. ARTHUR A. JUST, JR.
LESSONS 31 THROUGH 40
No. 31.
> Is there a central passage for the letter to the Galatians, a passage that seems to capture the theme of the letter?
>DR. ARTHUR A. JUST, JR.: There is a theme here, Josh. And it's centered here in this part of the epistle. Verses 1 to 7 of the fourth chapter I think are the climax. And I think ticking Verses 3 to 6. And I think that you're going to see as we go through this, we've talked about how we are sons and heirs of God in Christ Jesus, and therefore, children of Abraham. Paul now goes onto explain what it means to be an heir.
And in Verse 1 and 2 he uses a human example and then applies it to the church. It's really quite clever in the way in which he does this. So I want to look carefully at the Greek. And I think that you'll see that adoption into sonship is where he's moving for us in this. And it's a beautiful movement. It's one of the most extraordinary passages in all of Scripture.
Interestingly, this is a text that is used during Christmastime. And I think you'll see why when we get to Verse 4. But let's begin with Verse 1.
Paul says: And I say to you -- and here again he's using a human example -- that the heir as long as he is a child -- and that means really an infant, a small child -- and this is interesting. Remember, he's an heir and he's a child.
As long as he's a child, he is no different -- he differs in no way literally -- than a slave, even though he is Lord of all. Now this is what a pedagogus is in a sense. Pedagogus is this one who gets this heir as a child and treats him like a slave. So that language of imprisoning jailer is now being he can owed here in a little different way.
And then in Verse 2, but he is under guardians and managers. And that's under the power of. There's that word again. He is under the power of these guardians and managers. Until the time that is set by the Father. And that of course in the human example would be the human Father, who says: Okay, now it's time for him to have the inheritance. Whatever year of age that might be, 18, 21, 25, whatever.
But of course in terms of salvation history, it's the time appointed by the Heavenly Father for in a sense the salvation of the world. Now, what we have here is a very clear parallel to this era of faith, this time of faith.
And in Verse 3 you can see that he makes the application. So, also, we. That a when we were infants, little children, we were under the power of the elemental spirits of the cosmos enslaved. I'll put that at the end because that's the end of the Greek. Literally we would say we were enslaved under the elemental powers of the universe.
Now, again, these are powers. Cosmic powers. And here I think we have to think of Luther. Luther when he talked about these powers -- and Luther saw them as real powers. And I think we need to see them that way, too.
He talked of sin, death and the devil. Sin is a power. Death is a power. The devil is a power. And I think Paul would add the law is a power. The flesh is a power. Because sometimes Luther uses the language of flesh.
These are the elemental powers of the universe. And we are enslaved to them.
Now, think back to the end of Chapter 3 when we were held in slavery with this imprisoning jailer until the time of faith came. Until Christ came.
Now, Paul is going to do the same thing here. And let me just tell you that Verses 4 and 5 is some of the most sublime theology in all of the Pauline epistles. But look at what he says here. And if you have your grammatical translation I gave you, I think you'll see how beautifully this language parallels each other.
But when the fullness of time had come -- now that's the time appointed by the Father. When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, begotten out of a woman, begotten under the law -- the power of the law -- in order that he might -- again here is that word snatch, grab us, rescue us -- those of us who are under the power of the law. There's that same word again. In order that we might receive adoption as sons.
Now, that is sublime. Because this is a reference to the fact that when the incarnation happened, when Christ Apocalyptically invaded our world -- and see that sense of God sent his Son. It's like an alien from afar. It's almost like a movie, an invasion of an alien. Jesus comes from a different planet, a different place, from heaven.
He does break in. And when he breaks in, everything changes. The whole cosmos changes. The world itself is different. There were now miracles there that were never there before. The dead are raised, the lepers walk. The deaf hear. People who are sick are healed. Sins are forgiven. There are earthquakes at the crucifixion. It gets dark. The whole cosmos is in a sense fundamentally changed by the incarnation.
That's because Jesus the Creator had come to his creation to bring in a new creation. That's why everything is different.
And look how Paul talks about it. God sends his Son. He shows the humility of it. Born just like we were. Nine months in the womb. Born out of a woman. Born under the power of the law. Jesus doesn't come immune from the law. He comes under its power. A power we know kills him because it collides with him at the cross.
And he does it so he might redeem those of us who still live under the power of the law. In order that we might now be adopted as his sons.
Now, there is that adoption language. And to be adopted is not in this ancient world to receive the inheritance of a true son but boy, with Jesus everything is reversed. Everything is different. Those who are adopted as sons receive the full inheritance as if we were born out of the loins of our parents. And as if we were the first born.
Now, that is incredible. I mean, that is a concept that would have been very foreign to this culture. Because adoption, even though it was a step above slavery was still at a lower level. But here he is saying we are adopted. We are adopted as sons.
Now, this is a remarkable thing. And what we have here is the incarnation. We have the death of Christ. The atonement. Incarnation atonement. And we have our incorporation into Christ as adopted sons.
I also want to point out something. This is something you sometimes miss. Look at how Paul is going to go back and forth between whom he is addressing.
In Chapter 4 Verse 5, he really refers to they, those that he snatches out. They who he snatches out from under the power of the law.
Then he goes: We have received adoption of sons. And then he says in Verse 6: You are sons. And then he says God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And then he says in Verse 7: You. So that you are no longer a slave but a son.
So see how he goes back and forth. They, we, you, we, you. Now that grammatically is clumsy. But boy, it makes its point. Because he talks about things in general. Then he talks about us, Jew and Gentile. Then he talks about you which is very direct, very pastoral. You are forgiven. You receive adoption of sons.
It's really a marvelous kind of way of speaking. And I think we have to observe that.
Finally, and this is exactly paralleled to Verse 4. And this is -- I'm in Verse 6 now. Because you are sons. Not adopted sons. But sons. God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying Abba Father.
Now, look at what he says in 4. God sent his Son. Here he says God sent the Spirit of his Son. Now, this is sublime Trinitarian theology.
One of the things we forget about the Spirit and this is why people get into trouble when they talk about the Spirit, we sometimes separate the Spirit from the Son. Paul doesn't do that. Jesus doesn't do that. The New Testament doesn't do that.
Wherever the Spirit is, there is Jesus. Wherever Jesus is, there is the Spirit. When the Spirit comes upon the apostles at Pentecost, that's Jesus coming upon them. That's the Spirit of Jesus.
It is very important for us to recognize that the Spirit is always the Spirit of the Son. The Spirit testifies to Christ. And where Christ is, there his Spirit gives its gifts.
And then notice: God the Father sent the Spirit of his Son. His Son. Father, Son and Spirit. This is also the Father sending the Spirit of the Son. This is not eastern theology. This is western theology and I think you can see a great support for that.
And notice it's into our hearts. Now we sometimes think of hearts as the place of feeling and emotion. In the ancient church, in the ancient world, in the biblical narrative, the heart is the seed of the essence of the human being. The heart and mind are inseparable. The heart and the soul are inseparable. The heart is the person.
So God sent the Spirit of his Son into you. You know, like because you're in Christ Jesus.
And I love this crying. Now, here you have to picture this. In the ancient world -- and I think this it may have been true at the time of Paul, when you were baptized you went down some stairs into a pool. And then you -- the idea there is you being buried with Christ. You going down into the water as you're dieing with him in the pool. Immersed three times: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You know, one, two, three. But also for the three days in the tomb. You're buried with Christ. And when you come up out of the water. And this is true of the early church liturgies, you would walk up the steps like the resurrection. And what's the first thing you say when you come out of the baptismal pool? You say Abba, Father. Because now you know who your true Father is. You can now pray the Lord's Prayer.
Did you know they didn't give the Lord's Prayer to those preparing for baptism until the very end? And they would say it because only the baptized can pray the Our Father. So when you come up out of the pool because you have now been made a Son of God in Christ Jesus by Spirit and water and Word, you now know your true Father is your Heavenly Father so you speak to him Abba Father. Our Father. You now know who your Father is.
Now, what we have here is two Apocalyptic invasions. The Apocalyptic invasion of the son sent by the Father into the world born of a woman. Born under the law in order to redeem those who are under the law. In order that we might have adoption as sons. There it is. The incarnation. The atonement. That objective reality of God's sending his Son, invading his cosmos, his creation to redeem it.
But then there's a mini Apocalyptic invasion. And that's God the Father sending the Spirit of his Son into us in baptism. So that we can now acknowledge him as Father.
So what happened in the incarnation of Christ is what happens to us in baptism. Although it's individualized. It's for us. For the forgiveness of our sins. For our own rescue.
Verse 7 is simply a summary of this whole section. And he says very clearly: So that if you are -- if you are no longer a slave but a son -- and I probably stated that too much as a question. It's more like: You are no longer a slave but a son. And if you are a son, then you are an heir through God.
So you're not a slave. You're a son. If you're a son, you're an heir. As clear as can be.
And that brings this section to a close. I think what you've seen here is a magnificent place where Paul speaks deeply to the significance of the theme of baptism, incarnation and atonement. And shows the relationship to them.
He also shows us magnificent Trinitarian theology. And he shows us that it's all in the context of family. That we are sons of God in Christ Jesus. And that God, the Father, is our true Heavenly Father.
No. 32.
> You said that Chapter 4 Verses 3 through 7 form the central focal point of the letter. Immediately following this moment in the epistle, Paul seems to be in deep distress again about the Galatians.
What is the source of his concern this time?
>DR. ARTHUR A. JUST, JR.: This is such an astute question because there is a shift here. And it always surprises me I guess every time I read this letter or teach it that Paul is making this shift. And you know, the more I've studied it, though, the more I realize that this is the human Paul. This is the Paul who really -- you know he's just given the sublime theology, he's talked about who they are, their birth identity in Christ. And then all of a sudden reality comes back to him. That he's writing these people who have lost this sense of it.
And he says -- and it's almost like: I can't believe this is happening. How could you be doing this?
I think you've had a similar experience like this. You know, maybe think back on when you had a good friend or maybe an old girlfriend where you were just thinking about why you liked her or why you had this friendship. And then something happened to sour it. And you know you're thinking good thoughts at one point. And the beauty of what it is that God had given you in this friendship. And then all of a sudden how it had turned so terribly bad and why that had happened.
Well, that's what Paul is doing here. And this is a section in which we see his deep distress. And I want to analyze it with you because I think you should follow along with me so you can see how this works.
First of all, he's been talking about birth identity. And now he's going to talk about the disastrous developments in Galatia because of his opponents. And he is going to talk about this with a note of anxiety that is just dripping with pastoral concern.
Verses 8 and 9 he describes the distress. You know, and it's very, very graphic language we're going to see. It's very -- very real.
Then Verse 10 is the cause of the distress. Something that surprises us a little bit. But I think you'll see it. And then he goes back to saying in Verse 11, his distress.
He starts with distress, cause of distress. And then he talks about the distress again.
Then he has a request for them. This was very typical of a letter. Where they would have a request. In Verse 12. And again it's an interesting request. It's one you don't expect.
Then in Verses 13 to 15, it's so hard for me to say what my favorite part is my favorite part is of this epistle. But this one is filled with such ***pathos. It's so personal. It's so tender. It is a remarkable moment for Paul.
And I think you'll see, he recollects here how they received the Gospel in Galatia. The personal experience he had with them. And he appeals to it. It's a remarkable moment.
And then Verses 16 and following he goes back to his distress now. Not over what has happened. But what might happen in the future.
So this is Verses 8 to 20 a section in which Paul speaks about his distress. Now, let's look at the first three verses. And then we'll pick up on some other points here about the occasion for Paul coming to Galatians. But let's look at the distress first.
He begins in Verse 8. And it's a then and now kind of situation. And here he's appealing to their life before as pagans.
He says: But formerly not knowing God, you were enslaved to those things which by nature are not gods. Now, here he's saying. You know, before I came to Galatia, you were a bunch of pagan sinners. And you know what you did? You worshiped idols. You worshiped inanimate objects.
Now, in light of the Gospel that I've preached to you, how dumb was that? And I mean I think they all would have stood around and said: That was pretty dumb. We were really dumb pagans back then.
And it is an enslavement. I mean, imagine -- I'll tell you, I had the most extraordinary experience. I'm going to tell you it right here because I never had an experience like this before.
Last December I was in India. And we were with the seminary there. And the head of the seminary is an expert on Hinduism. And he took us into a Hindu temple.
We didn't get there until it was dark. It was about 6:00 o'clock. And it was dark out. And it was very warm and humid. Very hot. And we had to take our shoes off about a block before the temple.