Covenant People [part 2]

In the 1990 movie Home Alone Macaulay Culkin plays 8-year-old Kevin McCallister who is accidentally left home by himself while the rest of his family goes on vacation to Europe. In the movie, young Kevin is left to fend for himself. On top of all that, Kevin defends his house and outwits a couple of bungling robbers who keep trying to break into the McCallister home. The movie is a fun holiday classic to watch at Christmas time. But of course, the thing that makes it a comedy is that the premise of the film is based on something completely ridiculous, that a 8-year-old child can manage independent living while successfully thwarting burglars. That’s not the normal world of a kid, and it is not the normal expectations of a kid. Normally, a person needs to grow up before facing the challenges of independent living and avoiding worldly threats and complications. Normally, we live in a society which shields and protects children from facing those kinds of decisions and choices until they are old enough and ready.

This is not just true for our time and our culture. Apparently, it was true in the time when the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia. See how he uses this as an example in this next section of Galatians.

Galatians 3:23–4:7 NIV

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Since we are now getting into chapter 4 of Galatians, it might be helpful to have a quick reminder about the big picture message of Paul in this letter. We have been going through this book of the Bible section-by-section every week, but we should remember that it was meant to be read as a single letter all in one sitting. So, let’s not lose sight of the bigger theme and message of Galatians.

Paul writes the letter of Galatians to a group of churches outside of Israel. Many of the people coming to faith in Jesus in these churches are Greeks who have very little understanding of Jewish customs and culture. As time goes on and Jewish Christians from Jerusalem come visit these churches, the Jewish Christians start telling the Greek Christians that they must also follow the customs and values of the Jewish culture in order to be a Christian and remain part of the church. These customs and cultural values are spelled out and defined for Jewish people in the Old Testament law of Moses.

This is where Paul steps in and puts the message of the gospel straight again. Faith in Jesus for justification from sin is the only requirement for coming into the community of God’s covenant family. The righteousness of Jesus given to the church by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus is the only basis for connecting people with the family of God. Paul says this message over and over again in his New Testament letters, that we are saved by grace through faith.

Today, as we turn the corner from chapter 3 into chapter 4, we see some helpful detail about the way this saving faith in Jesus works its way into our lives, takes root in our identity as followers of Jesus, and produces a result in the kind of people we become. If you are following along with an outline today, you will notice that the entire page is flipped sideways so that we can trace this passage using three columns. I am going to spend some time working back through these verses so we can see how Paul aligns his comments in a progression that moves from timing to purpose to result. Those are the three categories you have in your outline.

Timing Purpose Result

I will not spend much time detailing the passage; I just want you to be able to see the progression and flow in the way Paul structures his theme in this section. We will move through it rather quickly. It might be helpful for you to see the passage in front of you if you have a Bible open. Otherwise, the verses are printed in today’s bulletin as well.

At several points in this passage, there is a reference to timing. In particular, there is reference to something that happened in the past a certain way for a certain reason. From the timing of these events, the explanation moves towards purpose—the reason why these events happened the way they did. And then there is a concluding result—this is what we see now because of what has happened.

23-24a = timing | 24b = purpose | 25 = result

Verses 23-24a are timing. Under the law of Moses in the Old Testament, people were locked up under control of the law. The law was the guardian—the controller which possessed authority. Verse 24b is the purpose. So that we might be justified by faith when Christ came. We have seen Paul say this before in Galatians. The law was never meant to be a path to righteousness. The purpose, then, is that the law points us to faith Jesus—the one who perfectly fulfills the law and has become our path to righteousness before God. And verse 25 lays out the result. Since we have faith in Jesus, we are no longer under the guardianship of the law. The rules and regulations of the Old Testament no longer hold control or authority to keep us separated from the covenant promise of God. Do you see how that works? Timing, purpose, result.

26-27a = timing | 27b = purpose | 28 = result

key word in this section is all

We see it again in the next section. Verses 26-27a are timing. You were all made children God when you were baptized into Christ. Verse 27b is purpose. You have been baptized into Christ so that you may be clothed with Christ. Now of course, you do not literally wear Jesus like he is some kind of a shirt. No. this is Paul’s way of telling us that we are covered—clothed—in the righteousness of Christ. The purpose for our being drawn into the covenant promise of Jesus symbolized by baptism is so that we may now be covered and wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus. There is one more very important detail to note in these verses. The key word in verses 26-28 is all. Paul is reminding the Greek Christians and the Jewish Christians in Galatia, we have ALL been made children of God; we are ALL baptized into Jesus; we are ALL one in Christ. This is evident in the result noted in verse 28. There is neither Jew nor Gentile—no distinction based on culture or habits or values. There is neither slave nor free—no distinction based socioeconomic categories or status or position. There is neither male nor female—no distinction based on gender or sexual orientation. Paul restates the result in verse 29. If, by faith, you belong to Christ, then you are in the covenant family of the church.

3-4 = timing | 5a = purpose | 5b = result

We see the pattern again. Chapter 4:3-4 are timing. When we were slaves under the control of spiritual forces of this world, God the Father sent his Son Jesus into the world. Verse 5a is purpose. So that those held as slaves under the law may be redeemed. Verse 5b is result. that we now receive adoption as heirs in the family of God. Verse 6 gives it family language. We now refer to God the Father as our heavenly Father. And verse 7 closes the section by making it personal. All the references in this passage up to this point have been plural. In Texas this would be translated as all y’all. On the South side of Chicago it would be translated as yous guys. The emphasis is on ALL. But in verse 7 the you pronouns shift from plural to singular. This means you—specifically you—are part of God’s promise because you are counted as one of his children.

Covenant People

Let’s talk application. What are the real life practical implications of what it means to understand that we are all God’s covenant children? What difference should that make in how we live?

my identity as a child of God is based entirely upon faith in Jesus

There are a few implications that flow quite naturally right from the words of this passage. First of all, it is a reminder that your identity as a child of God is based entirely upon faith in Jesus. Your value and your worth before God has nothing at all to do with the kind of person you are. Rather, it has everything to do with the kind of person Jesus was. This is the point Paul is making over and over in the timing-purpose-result progressions of this passage. Your place in the covenant family of God depends entirely and only upon Jesus. It is the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus which places you as a child of God.

This means you have nothing to prove. You do not have to convince God or anyone else here how good you are or how worthy you are to be a part of God’s church. There is not a single reason that anyone here should ever think that we do not belong. There is never a reason to hold back from being a part of God’s church because we feel like we have nothing valuable to offer. Because your place as a child of God in the covenant people of God has nothing at all to do with what it is you offer. Rather, it has everything to do with what Jesus has already offered for you and for me. Own that identity you have been given by grace through faith. You are a child of God. No one can ever change that or take that away. You are here today because you belong to Jesus.

Because I am a child of God…

So then, act like it. Live like a child of Jesus called by God saved by grace through faith. Set this as your first and primary identity. The early church after the time of the apostles developed a habit of changing a person’s birthday to the date of their baptism. It set a mark in place on the life of that person which pointed to a new and different identity. Think of it this way; here is something you can do this week. How many opportunities can you find this week to begin a thought or a sentence with the phrase Because I am a child of God… If you are the kind of person who keeps a journal or diary or writes poetry, start some entries with that line. Because I am a child of God I am grateful for food and clothes and a home which show expressions of his care for me. Because I am a child of God I am eager for God to use the resources and abilities he has given to me so that his world may flourish.

Do you see what this does? It moves us away from thoughts or expressions which push away or ignore our identity in Christ as the people of God. It creates a buffer so that we may resist ever thinking that our successes and our belongings and our status ever has anything to do something apart from God. If we begin our thoughts with Because I am a child of God, then we will more-and-more avoid beginning thoughts with phrases like, Because I am so smart, or Because my business is so successful, or because I know all the right people. Your value and worth as a human being does not depend on how smart you are or how successful you are or how popular you are. Your value and worth as a human being depends on being a child of God. So, live each day like that.

since we are all one in Christ through faith, there are no more arbitrary divisions between Christians based upon standards apart from faith

There is a second application we can take away from this passage today. I admit that this one is a bit more challenging because it means that many of us need to begin with a confession of sin before God and a repentance of wrongdoing. We read in the Bible today that since we are all one in Christ through faith, there are no more arbitrary divisions between Christians based upon standards apart from faith. No more arbitrary divisions between Christians. Ouch. That cuts pretty deep. Perhaps the most defining feature of our world right now is that we are separated by arbitrary divisions.

The passage in Galatians gives three examples: Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female. These are only examples meant to show us the deeper principle, it is not meant to be a comprehensive list. Paul is highlighting for the churches in Galatia the hot-button issues of division which happened to be prevalent in the place and time to which he was writing. But the hard work of interpreting and applying the truth of scripture for us is to bring the principle of that teaching forward into our time and apply that message to examples that carry meaning for us today. You see it might be easy to walk away from this passage and say, yep I hold no differences or divisions between Jews and Gentiles for those in Christ. Well, of course, because the tension of divisions between Jewish and Greek culture means nothing to us.

We are two weeks away from a very divisive election in this country. I am very saddened that a colleague of mine who pastors a Christian Reformed Church south of Holland here in West Michigan resigned recently and walked away from his church because the people of that church were so destructively divided against one another because of differences in politics. If the apostle Paul were still here today, it seems to me he would pen a letter to the people of that church with all the zealous language he brings to the Galatians; not to condemn them, but to bring them back to the truth of the gospel.

it is NEVER acceptable to reject the faith of another person simply because that person’s culture or values or experiences or political ideologies happen to be different from your own

I think Paul’s modern-day letter to the modern-day Galatians would remind them that because we are all one in Christ, there is neither republican nor democrat, there is neither conservative nor liberal, there is neither gay nor straight, there is neither capitalist nor socialist, there is neither white nor black nor immigrant. The modern-day letter to the modern-day Galatians would remind us that it is NEVER acceptable to reject the faith of another person simply because that person’s culture or values or experiences or political ideologies happen to be different from your own.

Here is what I know for a fact. There are people here in this church who are republicans, and there are people here in this church who are democrats. But we are ALL children of God because we ALL profess faith in Jesus. I know for a fact that there are people in this church who are part of the LGBT community, and there are people here in this church who are straight. But we are ALL children of God because we ALL profess faith in Jesus. Maybe that makes you uncomfortable; maybe that makes you tense; maybe you struggle with holding onto those differences which show up between us and can so easily cause divisions between us.

So maybe that is where we need to begin. Maybe that is the application point for you from this passage today. Maybe today it is enough to confess before God that, yes, we are in fact struggling with these differences. And yes, we are in fact finding divisions between fellow Christians based on cultures and values and experiences apart from faith in Jesus. Maybe today it is enough for us to simply acknowledge that we are not that different than the churches in Galatia 2000 years ago who struggled with remaining one in faith in a time when divisions apart from faith were relentlessly pulling at them. We confess today that the struggles and divisions which confront the people of God in the church today are nothing new. There have always been struggles and divisions confronting the people of God in the church.

But here is what else I know. By the grace of God the Holy Spirit has held the bride of Christ—the church—together for thousands of years. The Holy Spirit of God has been given to the church so that the power of God may help hold the church together as the covenant people of God. The sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus is always the basis for the faith which binds you to Christ and includes you as one of his covenant people. Nothing else in this world has ever been able to tear that apart, even through 2000 years of divisive struggles. Nothing breaks the covenant people of God apart from his eternal grasp.

Now is the time for us to take the long view. now is the time for us in the church to remember that God has been faithful to his covenant people for so many generations. It does not mean that we have to all agree on every issue of culture or politics or experience; there is beauty in the diversity of those expressions within the church. But with the whole world watching, now is the time for us in the church to show the world that the love of God expressed to his covenant people radiates and flows through his people here for all to see. You are not trapped in the bitter ways of this world. You are not a slave to the hatred of this world that tears people apart. As Paul reminds us in the closing verse of today’s passage:

Galatians 4:7 NIV

7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.