Galatians 3 - Christ being made a curse

[JonC]

@Martin Marprelate brought up this passage on another thread explaining how Christ took on our curse

i want to take the "limiting" factor @Anthony Pritchard suggested - that the biblical text is limiting - and examine the biblical text itself.

Here is the passage:

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:8–14)

 

[JonC]

Who is the "us" who were "under the curse of the Law"?

Why did Jesus become a curse for those who were under the curse of the Law?

 

[JonC]

My answer:

Christ redeemed the Jews who were under the Law from the curse of the Lawin order that in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.

 

[DaveXR650]

Who is the "us" who were "under the curse of the Law"?

Galatians 3:10 using the NIV says "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse". To me that means Jews and also gentiles who are being told by Judaizers that they must still keep the law as Christ followers. That would be the groups in Galatians 3 being addressed in context. Other gentiles may have become Christians without knowing much of Judaism or the Jewish system, as those in Ephesians 2. They are told that they once walked according to the course of this world, and under the influence of the powers of the air and did quite well at being by nature children of wrath without the law. But they are in the same boat. Technically you might say they were not "under the curse of the Law" because they didn't have anything to do with the Law. Ephesians 2:12 says these folks were "separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Christ redeemed the Jews who were under the Law from the curse of the Lawin order that in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.

Maybe it's just because of all the previous posts I have seen from you but I always sense that you are somehow desperately trying to somehow get out from under the fact that for all of us, Jew or gentile proselyte or gentile pagan, Christ's cross and his blood shedding death is the only source of our redemption, period, and whether it's described as removing a handwriting of ordinances against us, becoming a curse for us, nailing sin to the cross, bearing sin in his own body on the tree, sin being removed, or washed away, or whatever; it always comes back to a direct substitution of Christ for us, Jew or Gentile, who as it says in Ephesians, were children of wrath with no hope, with the only difference with the Jews being that they were officially breakers of the Law - with no hope.

 

[JonC]

Galatians 3:10 using the NIV says "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse". To me that means Jews and also gentiles who are being told by Judaizers that they must still keep the law as Christ followers. That would be the groups in Galatians 3 being addressed in context. Other gentiles may have become Christians without knowing much of Judaism or the Jewish system, as those in Ephesians 2. They are told that they once walked according to the course of this world, and under the influence of the powers of the air and did quite well at being by nature children of wrath without the law. But they are in the same boat. Technically you might say they were not "under the curse of the Law" because they didn't have anything to do with the Law. Ephesians 2:12 says these folks were "separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Maybe it's just because of all the previous posts I have seen from you but I always sense that you are somehow desperately trying to somehow get out from under the fact that for all of us, Jew or gentile proselyte or gentile pagan, Christ's cross and his blood shedding death is the only source of our redemption, period, and whether it's described as removing a handwriting of ordinances against us, becoming a curse for us, nailing sin to the cross, bearing sin in his own body on the tree, sin being removed, or washed away, or whatever; it always comes back to a direct substitution of Christ for us, Jew or Gentile, who as it says in Ephesians, were children of wrath with no hope, with the only difference with the Jews being that they were officially breakers of the Law - with no hope.

Yes, you are reading into my posts.

I am talking about the "us" that were under the curse of the Law in Galatians 3:8–14 and what Christ being made a curse under that Law accomplished.

The only "Law breakers" were those under the Law, but even though that is true all have sinned and death spread to all humanity. Sin exists apart from the Law. But the Old Covenant that applied only to those under that Covenant has ended and the New Covenant which includes Gentiles has come.

I do not understand where you get "removing" or "washing away" from Galatians 3:8–14. This is what I mean by lifting verses from their context and mixing verses to make an idea, philosophy or theory appear "biblical".

The passage is about the Old and New Covenants, about Jesus redeeming those who were under the curse of the Law by Himself becoming a curse under the Law in order that in Christ the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.


Jesus redeemed mankind, purchased "the human family" from the bondage of sin and death, from oppression. BUT this passage is speaking of Jesus redeeming those who were under the curse of the Law by Himself becoming a curse under the Law in order that in Christ the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.

The Law was a bondage for those under the Law, but sin existed even among those who were apart from the Law. Abraham was not under the Law yet he sinned and he died.

 

[JonC]

@DaveXR650

I agree that we cannot say Gentiles were ever under the Law. Here is the passage you offered:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.


We were separated from Christ, foreign to the covenants of the Promise.

You are right (even though you kinda sound like NT Wright here) that we were excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the Promise.

It is good that the Old Covenant ended with the New Covenant. We can rightly say we were never under the Law. But we csn learn from the Law because God does not change. The righteousness manifested through the Law is the same righteousness manifested in Christ, in the New Covenant. It just has a deeper meaning (the Law was but a shadow).

 

[DaveXR650]

do not understand where you get "removing" or "washing away" from Galatians 3:8–14. This is what I mean by lifting verses from their context and mixing verses to make an idea, philosophy or theory appear "biblical".

I don't - from there. What I am saying is that the concepts of Christ doing something for all of us that we were unable to do for ourselves, directly, is being explained in one way in that passage, and the same thing in Ephesians 2 is being explained by just saying by the blood. What is being described is deliverance from a lost condition with no possibility of fixing this on our own. Blotting our a handwriting of ordinances, being brought near through the blood, becoming a curse for us, bearing our sin in his own body on the tree. You have been making a horrible mistake all along when you try to use a passage describing something against another passage describing the same thing in a different way. What you do is to constantly "read into my posts" when you assume that using more than one way to describe something or for that matter, to use New Testament interpretation of Old Testament passages, is lifting verses to make a philosophy appear biblical.

 

[JonC]

I don't - from there. What I am saying is that the concepts of Christ doing something for all of us that we were unable to do for ourselves,

Ah... I think I get what you are saying (the "washing" part threw me off).

What I understsnd from the passage is that Jesus fulfilled the Law (His obefience) but also became a curse under the Law (hung on the cross). This was to redeem those who were under the curse of the Law (Israel) by Himself becoming a curse under the Law wirh the purpose that in Christ the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.

Absolutely we benefit from the Law being Jesus abolishing the Law. I was discusding the passage from the standpoint of those redeemed from the Law but you are right that the purpose was the inclusion of Gentiles in the Promise.

Too often "He became a curse for us" has been misused. This is what I was trying to tell @Anthony Pritchard . We have to read a passage within the context of that passage rather than select verses to use however we feel suits the plain meaning of the isolated verse.