Galatians 3:14-4:7: The Brady Bunch

APC: 3 March, 2024

Do you remember the Brady Bunch? Where Mike Brady, with his three sons, marries Carol with her three daughters? It’s all very sweet. But it's just FICTION. Pretend! Because real life is never quite that easy, is it? I mean, they have their ups and downs in the TV show - Like Jan being jealous of Marcia. Or Marcia getting braces. Or when the GIRLS want to come along on the BOYS yearly camping trip. Apart from the odd misunderstanding, the message of the Brady Bunch is that blending a family like that is EASY. And FUN.

But real life’s not like that. The reality with blended families is FAR DIFFERENT. Trying to get two different families to work together can take YEARS. Two families hurt by divorce or death, often with all sorts of problems they bring with them. Different ways of doing things, and the different priorities. It takes TIME, and HARD WORK, and PATIENCE to build trust/ despite the misunderstandings and arguments. To build a NEW family. With NEW rules and traditions and priorities.

Now have you noticed that's the KEY ISSUE Paul's dealing with here in Galatians? Blending two very different families into ONE “Brady Bunch” FAMILY IN CHRIST. Christians from the ISRAEL family... descended from their ancestor Abraham. And Christians from the GENTILE FAMILY. Who the Jews call UNCLEAN. Because they don’t have God's Old Testament law.

But the Gentiles have heard about Jesus, and they’ve TRUSTED IN JESUS. And God’s WELCOMED THEM INTO THE FAMILY. And given them his Holy Spirit simply by believing the message about Jesus. All without any background of being Jewish. They’re now part of the family.

But we’ve seen, in Galatians, over the last couple of weeks, how there are Jews saying to them, “If you want to REALLY be part of the family, then you’ve got to do things OUR way. You’ve got to be CIRCUMCISED, and keep the FOOD laws, and the Sabbath.

But all the way through the letter Paul’s warned them, “Don’t DO it. No one is made right with God by law-keeping. Not even Abraham. All you need to do is trust God’s promise. You didn’t BEGIN with trusting law-keeping to be saved. So don’t start NOW.” And what that means is that they’re ALL ONE FAMILY. Whatever their background. Because they’ve all been MADE part of the family in THE SAME WAY. By TRUSTING JESUS... not by keeping the law.

And Paul sums it all up in verses 26 to 29. Right there in the middle of the passage.

26 You are ALL sons of God through FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, 27 for ALL of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

And here are the practical implications. V28

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor 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.

So many differences. (Different ROLES and BACKGROUNDS and LANGUAGES and WAYS OF THINKING AND ACTING). But because everyone’s joined to JESUS, then they’re all UNITED. One TEAM, because they wear one UNIFORM.

So that’s the CONCLUSION. (Where we’ll FINISH). And we’ll come back to some practical applications. But let’s begin at the START of the passage to see how he GETS there.

Seed, not seeds

We saw, LAST WEEK, in the first half of chapter 3, how, v6, Abraham believed God, and God credited it to him as righteousness. (He declared him RIGHT.) But Abraham was only THE BEGINNING. God promised, v8, that ALL NATIONS would be blessed through Abraham. All nations would be declared right with God by trusting God the same way Abraham did. And that blessing, v13, comes through JESUS. Who REDEEMED people from the curse of the law. (He paid for and rescued them). Which means, v14, that ANYONE can receive the blessing God promised Abraham. Jew or Gentile. All they need to do is TRUST Jesus. (Trust God’s PROMISE, and trust what Jesus DOES.)

But just in case Paul’s opponents argue that Jesus is just something brand new, in v15-18 he goes on to show how Jesus has ALWAYS been God’s plan. A plan that was in place WELL-BEFORE the LAW was given. He begins, v15, by giving an example from everyday life. Once people sign a contract. You can’t CHANGE it, or ADD to it LATER. The original agreement stands.

And, v16, that’s what it was like when God promised Abraham. (Paul’s thinking of Genesis 12:3, when God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. And then, Genesis 17:7, God established a covenant, or made an agreement, with Abraham and his descendants, or his SEED, to be their God.)

Genesis 12:3 Genesis 17:7

But Paul does something a bit tricky. And it’s all to do with the word SEED. Have a look,

16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.

Now, seed, in this context, means OFFSPRING, or DESCENDANTS. And the thing about the Hebrew word for SEED, zera, is that you use the same word, whether you’re talking about ONE or MANY. In fact, it’s the same in English TOO. ONE seed, Lots of seed. (Same thing with FISH. One fish, or MANY fish. Or sheep. ONE sheep. A FLOCK of sheep.)

And Paul’s point is, back in Genesis 17:7, God makes the promise to Abraham and his SEED. Not SEEDS. Offspring. Not offsprings. One. Not MANY. God COULD have said the promise was to Abraham and his FAMILY, or his CHILDREN. Perfectly good words for THOSE. But instead God uses the word SEED, which could mean either ONE, or MANY. And Paul’s point, there in v16, is that God said “SEED”, because he had ONE offspring in PARTICULAR in mind. Jesus. Way back to Abraham, God promised that JESUS would be the PARTICULAR seed of Abraham / who would bless the nations.

Genesis 17:7

Which means, v17, it was all promised BEFORE God gave the law to Moses. 430 years before! Just like a contract, v15, you can’t change it LATER. The law doesn’t change God’s promise to bless the nations. It’s ALWAYS been Jesus. And it’s ALWAYS been by FAITH.

Why the law?

Which leads to the OBVIOUS question, I guess, v19. What was the POINT of the law, then? If God had already decided how to bless the world, and PROMISED it. And made an AGREEMENT. Which couldn’t be CHANGED. Then why introduce the LAW?

It wasn’t because there was a problem with the original AGREEMENT. The problem was with PEOPLE. V19.

19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.

Transgression means to BREAK the law. Before God gave the law/ people still sinned, but they weren’t consciously breaking God’s law. But once the law came, once it was collected and written down, sin became OBVIOUS. Sin became TRANSGRESSION 0 law-BREKAING. Because it was there in black and white – what was SIN, and what was OBEDIENCE.

So why did God give the law? Firstly, THE LAW SHOWS US WHAT SIN IS. It’s God’s warning sign that tells us to STOP before we cross a line. It’s God’s gracious description of how to PLEASE him, so we’re not IGNORANT.

And notice, v19, how THE LAW IS ONLY TEMPORARY. (Only in force until Jesus would come).

added because of transgressions UNTIL THE SEED TO WHOM THE PROMISE REFERRED HAD COME.

A temporary measure. Keeping Jews in line. In check. Until something BETTER came along. In fact, until the ORIGINAL plan was put into place. The plan that UNITED people, rather than DIVIDED them. When JESUS came, who EVERYONE would trust.

And, down in v23, we see HOW the law worked as a temporary solution. And Paul uses two pictures. First, before Jesus came, the law was LIKE A PRISON GUARD for the Jews.

23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

The law teaches God’s demands, and sets out the punishments. But every Jew BROKE the law. (Failed God’s standard) And so they’re locked up, condemned, waiting for release. That’s ONE way the law worked.

The second picture Paul uses is in v24 and 25.

24 So the law was PUT IN CHARGE to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the SUPERVISION of the law.

The word for “put in charge” there in 24 is the same one as “supervision” in 25. And it referred to a babysitter, or governess. It’s where we get the word pedagogy from (to do with TEACHING). The Greek father would hand over responsibility of the children to the SUPERVISOR, often a trusted slave, who’d be responsible for disciplining and guiding. They’d look after the child until he was old enough to look after himself. And that’s what THE LAW did for the Jews. Until Jesus came. The strict disciplinarian, keeping them in line, until Jesus came. And the Jews, as well as Gentiles, could be put right with God through trusting Jesus.

Paul continues that idea into ch 4. Children are heirs - TECHNICALLY, but don’t actually INHERIT anything – until they grow up. Paul says it’s the same with the Jews. Before Jesus, they were being looked after by their school teacher – the law. But, as infants, they had no more status than SLAVES. Until (v2) the right time. When Jesus came. And they became HEIRS. V4.

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the FULL RIGHTS OF SONS. 6 Because you are 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 a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

A genuine son or daughter! A member of the family. Much better than being an INFANT. Or a SLAVE. And once Jesus came, the law’s job, as a prison guard, or a supervisor, was over. And the shocking conclusion for a Jew is there in v25.

25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Remember when Paul says WE, he means Jews. “Since faith in Jesus has arrived, WE JEWS are no longer under the supervision of the law. The prison doors have been opened. The governess has been fired. You’ve received your inheritance”.

All because of Jesus. The one seed of Abraham. One OFFSPRING. Who’s produced ONE FAMILY, v26. Not TWO.

26 You are ALL sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,.

ALL NATIONS, just like God promised. Not us and them. Not Jew and Gentile. Separated by the LAW. One FAMILY. All receiving God’s blessing by faith in THE one Seed, Jesus. All receiving the inheritance of the Holy Spirit.

Notice how Paul moves from WE – the Jews – in v23. To YOU ALL in v26. (You Galatians, you Gentiles, perhaps a few Jews too). There’s no difference in our standing before God. ALL sons of God. All ONE, because of what we all SHARE, v27.

27 for ALL of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ

Now, just stop and THINK about that verse for a moment. It should PUZZLE you. How can you be baptised INTO a person? And how can you CLOTHE YOURSELF with a person? Baptised INTO Christ means something like being CONNECTING YOURSELF TO THE ONE YOU WANT TO REPRESENT YOU.

And “being CLOTHED with Christ” is a similar idea. To PUT ON Christ means to take for yourself the benefits Christ has won. To put on his faithfulness. And his righteousness. To put on his sonship. To put on his inheritance. More than that, it’s a way of describing being JOINED TO JESUS. Union with Christ. He’s in US, and we’re IN him.

And that UNION comes through FAITH. BOTH the faithfulness of JESUS. AND our faith in him – in his faithfulness. Look back at v22, describing how Jesus frees people from the slavery of sin.

(But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin), so that WHAT WAS PROMISED, BEING GIVEN THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, MIGHT BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

God promised Abraham to bless the world through Jesus. That blessing is given through faith IN JESUS. That’s what OUR translation says. But it’s JUST as correct to translate it as “through the FAITHFULNESS OF JESUS. (Some Bibles have that translation as a footnote).

And I think that’s correct here because of how the sentence FINISHES. “So that the promise, given through the faithfulness of Jesus, MIGHT BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH (or who BELIEVE).” If they’re BOTH describing OUR faith, than it’s redundant repetition.

And I think it makes v23 much clearer, if it’s talking about JESUS’ faith.

23 Before THIS FAITH came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up UNTIL FAITH SHOULD BE REVEALED.

It, most naturally, is talking about JESUS coming and begin revealed. Rather than something WE do.

Jesus’ faith, or faithfulness, means his perfect law-keeping. His perfect obedience. Which EARNS God’s blessing. And when we TRUST that work, and trust God’s promise, then God JOINS us to Jesus. We’re UNITED to him. (We’re BAPTISED into him, and CLOTHED with him.) Which means WE perfectly keep God’s law, because we’re JOINED to him. What HE does, WE do.

Another way of saying we’re JOINED to him is in chapter 4 v6. God pours the Spirit of his Son INTO OUR HEARTS. We have the Spirit of Jesus living with us, IN us. Baptism is a symbol of God’s Spirit pouring over us, as well as of being washed from sin.

And that’s something that happened to EVERY Christian. And STILL DOES. The common visible symbol that unites this Brady Bunch of God’s new family. Paul teases out the implications. V28 of ch 3. It means

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.

We ALL wear the one uniform of Christ. Clothed with Christ. No matter where we’ve come from. And so that means we’re ONE TEAM.

Liverpool is a football team in the English Premier League. And on February 17 this year they posted on social media that the starting team who played Brentford was made up of people from eleven different countries. Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Scotland, England, Argentina, Japan, Portugal, Colombia and Uruguay. And their manager is German, and their first substitute was from Egypt! (Which makes THIRTEEN nations!) One team all wearing the one uniform. All working together for the one goal.

Just like the church. “ALL of you who were baptized into Christ have CLOTHED yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.”

Which means SOCIAL STANDING doesn’t divide us. Westy or Eastern Suburbs. Middle class or welfare class. Single or married. Children or childless. None of it matters. EDUCATION doesn’t divide us. Blue collar or white collar. Professional or trade. Renter or home owner. GENDER doesn’t divide us. Male and female. Different ways of thinking. Of relating. Different priorities and ways of solving problems. All ONE, in Christ Jesus.

All those differences aren’t BARRIERS – they’re STRENGTHS. ADVANTAGES. Ways we can DO MORE, REACH more people, in BETTER and more DIVERSE WAYS.

Experience, Biblical knowledge, spiritual gifts. Race, upbringing, worship preferences, small differences in theology, age, health, interests and pastimes. None of those things divide us. All ONE, in Christ Jesus.

Look around you. This is YOUR FAMILY. ONE family. Which means you should TREASURE it. And be LOYAL to it. And HONOUR it. And PROTECT it. And you won’t let disagreements and misunderstanding THREATEN it. ONE FAMILY. All ONE in Christ Jesus.

Which means there’s no room for PRIDE, or COMPARISON. But instead there’s HUMILITY and ACCEPTANCE and WARMTH and INTEREST and COMPASSION and PATIENCE and HONESTY. And LOVE.

How will YOU live this out/ this week?

It’s wonderful that we’re GROWING. And there are new people almost every week. But the FLIP side of that is there are probably people you don’t know. ASK people their names. Then TALK to them. Meet up during the week. Pray for one another. Be generous, and brave and kind and welcoming. Be a BRIDGE builder. Not a WALL builder. Christ has already broken down the walls. Let’s not build them up again.

Because God's plan was ALWAYS to bring together ONE FAMILY. A Brady Bunch family made up of all kinds of people. Not under law. But under Jesus. Sometimes people LIKE you. Sometimes VERY DIFFERENT. But all of us ONE... in Christ Jesus.

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