Letters to the Church

Returning to the custodianship of the Law would mean rebuilding the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles . Paul compares the Mosaic Law to a “ pedagogue ” in its supervision of Israel “ until  the seed came ” in his Letter to the Galatians . That “ seed ,” singular, was Jesus of Nazareth. In Greco-Roman society, the “ pedagogue ” was a slave with custodial and disciplinary authority over an underage child until he reached maturity. The minority status of the child and the authority of the custodian were both temporary .

Paul argued that adopting the rite of circumcision would constitute regression to something rudimentary, and an earlier stage in the redemptive history of God’s people. If Gentile believers did so, they would be obligated to keep the whole Law, and they could easily find themselves “ severed from Christ ” - (Galatians 5:1-4).

Insisting on a Torah-observant lifestyle results in the restoration of the old social divisions between Jews and Gentiles . The third chapter of Galatians  is pivotal to Paul’s argument in which he stresses the oneness of God’s people. The old social divisions existing under the Mosaic Legislation are inappropriate in God’s one covenant community since the promised “ Seed of Abraham ”  has arrived, Jesus of Nazareth. In his Body, “ there can be neither Jew nor Greek . ”

In the assemblies of Galatia, “ false brethren ” preached “ another gospel ,” one that pressured Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and conform to other regulations of the Mosaic Law. Paul repudiated the very idea and sent a series of arguments demonstrating why Gentiles need not be circumcised. This included the fact that believers in Galatia had received the Spirit while still uncircumcised.

Paul chided the Galatians over their desire “ to return to bondage under the weak and beggarly rudiments ” of the world, including calendrical observations and circumcision. Since they were no longer “minors” but full heirs who lived in the age of fulfillment and had the Gift of the Spirit, resorting to outmoded rituals was tantamount to returning to a state of slavery.

In  Galatians , the Apostle Paul compares the Mosaic Law to a “ pedagogue ” in its supervision of Israel “ until the seed came .” That “ Seed ” was Jesus. In Greco-Roman society, the “pedagogue” was usually a slave with custodial and disciplinary authority over an underage child until he reached maturity. The minority status of the child and the authority of the custodian over him were both temporary.

The Apostle Paul referred to the “ Promise of the Spirit ” which he equated with the “ Blessing of Abraham .” Jesus subjected himself to the “ curse ” of the Law to redeem believers so that the “ Blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through faith .” He wrote elsewhere that believers were “ sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession .”