I Timothy 1 v 8, 9a - Law is good, but not set out for the righteous

 ‘Now we appreciate that the law is good, provided someone is making use of it lawfully’, (I Timothy 1 v 8). Paul makes a similar statement to the one recorded in chapter seven of his letter to the Romans. He counters any idea that he is suggesting that divine law is bad in and of itself. Not at all, the law is good. But he adds a qualification. Divine law is good ‘provided someone is making use of it lawfully’. He says that the problem is that good divine law can be made use of unlawfully, it can be used in a way that is not according to the rules. It can be used in inappropriate circumstances, and he goes on to explain what he means.

‘Appreciating this, that law is not lying outstretched for the equitable and righteous’, (I Timothy 1 v 9a). He states an important principle that Christians have to appreciate with regard law in general. Law is not set out for the righteous, for the morally upright. Now we have understand what Paul is saying here. Paul is making one of his general statements, stating a general principle. Law – any law, civil law, religious law and so on – is not laid out for the righteous – for the innocent, morally upright or judicially approved. The context in which Paul makes this statement is that of Sinai Covenant law and Christians. Christians are righteous, not because of their own speech and labours towards godly behaviour, but because they are placed in union with the Messiah who fulfils all the requirements of Covenant law on their behalf. Christians are not placed under the written codes of Covenant law but under God’s free gift, they are not placed under the Levitical system but into a royal priesthood. 

Galatians 4 v 27 - The cry of the deserted woman and her children

 ‘For it has been written: ‘Be well understanding, the barren, the not bringing forth, break forth and shout, the one not labouring in birth pangs; because many the children of the desolate woman, more than of her possessing the husband’, (Galatians 4 v 27).

The quotation Paul refers to is from Isaiah. ‘‘Cry out, you sterile, not bringing forth; burst forth a ringing cry and cry shrilly you not writhing in birth pains, because many more the sons of the desolated woman than sons from the married woman’, says Yahweh’, (Isaiah 54 v 1). 

‘Jerusalem above’ - the delegated leadership and leadership infrastructure within the heavenly realm - is free and unbound, (verse 26). This statement is placed in contrast to ‘Jerusalem below at this present time’ - the enslaved delegated leadership and infrastructure of Israel. Given this context, the ‘the barren and not bringing forth’ refers to ‘Jerusalem at this present time’. The delegated rulers, authorities and judges of Israel – metaphorically referred to as ‘Jerusalem’ – are barren and not bringing forth, and are enslaved to law and flesh. Thus the delegated rulers, judges and authorities in Israel - ‘Jerusalem’ - are exhorted to be ‘well understanding’ (verse 27), to perceive their position and to ‘cry out with a ringing, shrill cry’, (Isaiah 54 v 1). The phrase ‘well understanding’ is from the Greek word ‘euphrainó’, usually translated into English as ‘Rejoice’, ‘Sing’, or ‘Be glad’, but it is actually an imperative to have a ‘good mind’. It can indeed refer to rejoicing and being glad, but this is not necessarily the case, and such a meaning is not intended here. In Isaiah the Hebrew word is ‘ranan’, meaning is ‘to cry out’, ‘to shout’. This is not a call to rejoice or be glad – just the opposite. Isaiah 54 ultimately leads to a prophecy concerning the Millennium Reign and the restoration of Israel. In verse 1 Israel is in a barren state and the call is to cry out. In verse 2 expansion is exhorted, because in verse 3 and the verse following, their restoration is prophesied. 

In Galatians it is the enslaved delegated leadership and leadership infrastructure of Israel, and given the quote from Isaiah, Israel itself, that is to cry out and shout with a shrill voice. Why? ‘Because many the children of the desolated woman, more than of her possessing the husband’ and ‘because many more the sons of the desolated woman than sons from the married woman’. 

By way of explanation Paul continues to refer to Hagar and Sarah. Hagar, points to the Sinai Covenant and its written codes, she is the ‘desolated woman’. The Greek word is ‘erémos’ meaning ‘deserted, abandoned’. Following the birth of Sarah’s son, Isaac, immediate animosity arose between Ishmael and Isaac, and between Sarah and Hagar, such that Sarah insisted to Abraham that Hagar and Ishmael be removed. Accordingly they were given some provisions and sent away into the desert – they were ‘deserted’. However, earlier, an angel/messenger had delivered a promise to Hagar, as recorded in Genesis 16 v 10, ‘I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count’. Hagar fled toward Egypt, and when in despair at the want of water, an angel/messenger again appeared to her, pointed out a supply of water close by, and renewed the former promises to her, (Genesis 21 v 9 - 21). Ishmael afterwards established himself in the wilderness of Paran, where he married an Egyptian, (Genesis 21 v 20, 21). Paul will refer to some of these events in verse 30. 

In the allegory here in Galatians, Hagar and her descendants point to Israel’s delegated rulers, and Israel’s leadership infrastructure at present, together with Jews themselves, as being enslaved under the Sinai Covenant with its written codes of law, from whom God's honour and praiseworthiness has departed. They are compared to Hebrew Christians who are described as ‘sons of the married woman’ – Sarah, who is free and unbound. 

Why is Israel to be ‘well understanding, and break forth and shout’? Because many are those who are under the Sinai Covenant, whereas few are brought forth by means of the announced promise. Jesus put what is being referred to here in another way - ‘Wide the gate and broad the way leading towards ruin and loss, and many are those going through it. Because small the gate and pressed in the way leading towards Life, and few are those finding it’, (Matthew 7 v 13, 14). There are many more descendants of Abraham who are seeking divine approval by means of Covenant law, leading to their ruin, loss and withering away, than there are descendants of Abraham who are children of God’s announced promise leading towards Life. 

Galatians 4 v 24b – 26 - Jerusalem and Jerusalem above

 ‘For these are two set arrangements, one indeed away from Mount Sinai, penetrating towards bringing forth enslavement – which is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai within Arabia, and she ranks together with Jerusalem at this present time, because she is a slave in company with her children. 26 But Jerusalem above, who is our mother, is free and unbound’, (Galatians 4 v 24b - 26).

The later imposition of chapter and verse numbers onto the original text, whilst very useful for reference purposes, does not always fit well with the logical reasoning of the Apostle. Such is the case here, where I have to divide verses in half in order to bring out the structure of Paul’s logical argument.

These two events, 

Ishmael brought forth down from flesh

by means of Hagar, the slave-woman and thus

born a slave

Isaac brought forth by means of an announced promise

by means of Sarah, wife and free-woman, and thus

born free and unbound

speak allegorically to Jews by pointing to two Covenants or set arrangements. 

Hagar points to the Covenant away from Mount Sinai, with its attendant written codes of law given to Jews, that penetrates towards bringing forth enslavement as we have seen in the previous verses. That is the first part of Paul’s argument here. Hagar points to the set arrangement under which many Jews labour and work to attain divine approval by means of their own ability and strength as they seek to observe the written codes of Sinai Covenant law. But this leads to their enslavement to the impulses of their own fleshly constitution and to being tied to self-forfeiture and loss. 

That is what Paul explains in verse 25. ‘Now Hagar is Mount Sinai within Arabia, and she ranks together with Jerusalem at this present time’.  The first clause has been the subject of much conflicting opinion. The reading of the Greek text is itself much debated, and in the original manuscripts it appears in a great variety of forms. But detailed discussion of this latter point would be out of place here. 

So let’s break down what Paul is saying into manageable pieces. ‘Now Hagar is Mount Sinai’ means that Hagar allegorically points to Mount Sinai. ‘Mount Sinai’ refers to the whole Covenant infrastructure for Jews that was brought forth from there at the time of Moses. So the Levitical priests, injunctions of law and so on were brought forth from Sinai as part of the Sinai Covenant. 

Then Paul introduces a new element of this allegory. Hagar is ‘in alignment together with’ or ‘marches in order together with’ ‘Jerusalem at this present time’. Hagar resembles Jerusalem at the time of the Apostle. In metaphorical terms, ‘Jerusalem’ points to the delegated leadership infrastructure of Jews – of the temple, the high priest, priests, sacrifices, Covenant laws and so on. Why does Hagar allegorically point to Mount Sinai and Jerusalem at the time of the Apostle? ‘Because she is a slave in company with her children’. The delegated leadership of Jews, together with their infrastructure, meant that Jews and their leaders were existing within enslavement. ‘With her Children’ means ‘all who are dependent upon her’ - the Jewish system and all who belong to it. Israel’s delegated leadership and leadership infrastructure is portrayed as a mother bringing forth her children. But the delegated leadership authority of Jews, along with those dependent upon it, were in subjection to and enslaved to many legal observances, and under a sentence of divine condemnation if they committed the least wilful offence. In literal terms they were also in bondage to the Romans to whom they were now tributaries as an occupying force. 

Paul then contrasts ‘Jerusalem at this present time’ with ‘Jerusalem above’. This maintains the interpretation of ‘Jerusalem’ in allegorical terms as the ‘delegated leadership infrastructure’ of God’s chosen people. But the reference here is not to delegated leaders such as the high priest, or the Sanhedrin, or Levitical priests and scribes, but to God and His delegated rulers and authorities in the unseen heavenly realm. ‘Jerusalem above, who is our mother, is free’. Christians, including Hebrew Christians, are those chosen by God and brought forth down from the government and delegated leadership above, in the unseen heavenly realm. It is God, and His anointed deliverer and the set-apart clean Breath that bring forth Christians, as a free gift, free from slavery to the written codes of divine law and condemnation.  

Thus we have – 

Hagar 

Represents the Sinai Covenant and its written codes of law

Stands in line with present day Jerusalem

‘Jerusalem’ is a metaphor for Israel’s leadership and infrastructure

‘Jerusalem’ is enslaved in company with her children

But,

Jerusalem above 

Is the leadership and infrastructure within the heavenly realm

Constitutes the Christian’s ‘mother’

Is free and unbound

Galatians 4 v 9 – 11 - Legalism - Christians turning to Covenant law is a backward step

 ‘But at this present time, having known God, or rather, having been known under God, how are you turning back once more on the basis of weak and destitute basic principles which you are desiring to be enslaved to afresh once more? 10 You are scrupulously observing days, months, seasons and years. 11 I am fearful for you in case I have perhaps laboured towards you penetrating into no purpose’, (Galatians 4 v 9 – 11).

Paul applies what he has just been saying to those Hebrew Christians who were turning back to the written codes of Covenant law. He says, ‘At this present time, you know God – or to put it in a better way, you have been known under God – so why are you turning back? Why are you going backwards, turning back once more on the basis of weak, destitute, rudimentary principles? (Galatians 3 v 23, 24; 4 v 1 – 3). Why do you desire to be enslaved to the Sinai Covenant, it’s written codes of law, and human nature once again?’ 

What is it that these Hebrew Christians were doing? They were ‘scrupulously observing days, months, seasons and years’. They were being very careful in observing Jewish Sabbaths and other fasting-days or festivals right down to observing specific single days. Jews had also added many other days, such as commemorating the destruction and rebuilding of the temple, and other important events in their history. Then there was the observance of the first day of the month, the new moon, and they were also paying close attention to seasons, such as the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. They were observing years, such as the sabbatical year, which was about the time of the writing this Epistle, and the year of jubilee. 

Paul sums this situation up by saying ‘I am fearful for you in case I have perhaps laboured towards you penetrating into no purpose’. These Hebrew Christians had gone so far backwards down this route of observing the law that they had reached a point where Paul wondered whether they were Christians after all. He begins to speculate whether his endeavours have been without purpose, without a viable result.

Galatians 4 v 4 – 8 - Christians – adopted sons and heirs

 ‘But when the completion of the season had come, God sent away His son, having  come into being from out of a woman, having come into being under law, 5 in order that he buy back those under law, in order that we receive placing as a son. 6 And because you are sons, God sends forth the Breath of His Son penetrating into our hearts, our deep inner core, crying aloud and shrieking ‘Abba, Father!’. 7 So therefore, you are no longer existing a slave, but if a son by means of God, also an heir, allotted a share. 8 But indeed, at that time, absolutely not knowing God, you were the enslaved by nature, lest being gods’, (Galatians 4 v 4 - 8). 

Paul has just said that Jews existed like under-age heirs, enslaved under the orderly system of rudimentary elements and first principles of the Sinai Covenant with its written codes of law, until the time appointed by the Father. That season of under-age enslavement of Jews was completed when ‘God sent away His son’. The only-begotten Son pre-existed his ‘coming into being from out of a woman’. Indeed, the Son of God is ‘the image of the invisible God, firstborn of the whole in terms of the individual parts of what is originally formed’, (Colossians 1 v 15). ‘By means of him all came into being, and apart from him, not even one was caused to be that has come into being’, (John 1 v 3). Thus ‘God sent away His son’ from out of the heavenly realm to ‘come into being from out of a woman, having come into being under law’. God’s purpose was ‘that [His son] buy back those under law, in order that we receive placing as a son'. The details of this forms the details of the gospel or ‘good news’ of course. But Paul is not interested here in explaining the gospel in detail. He is interested to present the concept of ‘sonship’, because ‘if children, also heirs, indeed, God’s heirs, and fellow-heirs with the Messiah’, (Romans 8 v 17). 

But there is more, ‘because you are sons, God sends forth the Breath of His Son penetrating into our hearts, our deep inner core’. Over the course of his writings, Paul places two pairs of principles that are in opposition to one another - 

     Covenant Law vs God’s Promise (Galatians)

    Fleshly impulses towards death vs Breath penetrating into Life (Romans 7, 8)

The Breath of the Messiah penetrating within the Christian’s heart, including the heart or deep inner core of Hebrew Christians, is ‘crying aloud and shrieking ‘Abba, Father!’. 

Paul then reaches his conclusion in verses 7 and 8. ‘So therefore, you are no longer existing a slave, but if a son by means of God, also an heir, allotted a share. 8 But indeed, at that time, absolutely not knowing God, you were the enslaved by nature, lest being gods’ 

Paul’s conclusion is that Jews who are entrusting the Messiah are adopted sons and fellow heirs with the Messiah as a result of God fulfilling His promises through giving His only-begotten son and His Breath. Hebrew Christians are no longer enslaved to Covenant law, and no longer ‘the enslaved by nature’, by the impulses of their flesh. Why? Because of the opposing impetus and movement of the Breath of God within them in their deepest inner core. But previously, before entrusting the Messiah, Jews were enslaved, by their own human nature. Paul then adds sarcastically, ‘lest being gods’ – unless you Jews were gods with superhuman ability and strength. 

Galatians 4 v 1 – 3 - Divine law – A rudimentary system for infants

 ‘Now on this basis I am saying however long the time that the heir, existing owner of all, is an infant, he is carried across nothing different than a slave, 2 existing rather under tutors and house managers up until the time appointed beforehand by the father. 3 In this manner we also, were enslaved at the time we existed infants, under the row of rudiments of the ordered system’, (Galatians 4 v 1 - 3).   

Paul has just said that Hebrew Christians, like Gentile Christians, exist as Abraham’s seed (plural), heirs down from God’s announced promise. Having introduced the concept of heirs of the divine inheritance, he now begins to expand on this theme. 

He presents the illustration of a single heir who is still not yet of sufficient age to take full control of what he possesses. Such a young infant heir may own everything, but he is carried across just like a slave. Because he is still a child, he does not make decisions about buying and selling his possessions or about investments. Such decisions are made on his behalf and he has no say in the matter. He is under the authority of trustees – of house managers and governors. He does as he is told until he reaches the age, determined by his father, that he is able to take full control and possession of his inheritance. 

Paul then applies this to Jews, ‘In this manner we also’. Although they were God’s chosen ethnic group, Jews nevertheless existed as infants before the Messiah came. They were like children enslaved to the rudimentary, first principles of the ordered system.  The ‘ordered system’ is that of the Sinai Covenant with its written codes of law, as he says later, ‘scrupulously observing days, months, seasons and years’. 

Many translations read, ‘enslaved under the basic principles of the world’, but the word ‘world’ is not present in the Greek. The word ‘stoicheion’ means ‘rudimentary elements’, ‘orderly arrangement’, or ‘first principles’, and though often associated with the world so as to mean ‘the orderly arrangement of the world’ it does not necessarily refer to ‘the world’. Paul is talking here to Jews. The context of these verses is that Paul is talking to Jewish Christians about the law. So I suggest that the Sinai Covenant and its written codes of laws is the orderly system of rudimentary elements and first principles that Jews were enslaved under, existing like under-age heirs until the time appointed by the Father – the coming of the promised Messiah. This interpretation seems to be confirmed by what Paul says next. 

Galatians 3 v 21 – 22 - The written codes of law are not how God’s promises are fulfilled

 ‘Therefore, is the law down from the announced promises of God? May it not be caused to happen! Because if law had been given having ability to give Life, indeed, the judicial approval and right wise-ness would exist from out of law. 22 But the Scripture shut up and enclosed all things underneath self-forfeiture and loss in order that the announced promise be given from out of entrustment and persuasion, to those who are persuaded and entrusting Jesus, His Anointed’, (Galatians 3 v 21 – 22).

In verses 19 and 20, Paul said that the God of the Sinai Covenant and its written codes of laws is one and the same as the God Who announced promises to Abraham. There is divine unity in spite of the various different aspects in which God reveals Himself to successive generations and different groups of humanity. Paul defines the implications of this in the following verses, and he considers another potential objection, which he once again expresses in the form of a rhetorical question - ‘Therefore is the law down from the announced promises of God?’ He immediately answers his own question, ‘May it not be caused to happen!’. 

This question proposes that God is fulfilling His promises to Abraham and his seed by giving Covenant law. In other words, it is proposed that Covenant law is the means by which God’s promises will be attained. ‘Not at all’ says Paul. ‘If it was possible that divine judicial approval could exist from out of individuals keeping the written codes of Covenant law, if Covenant law had the ability to give Life, then that would indeed be the arrangement that God would put in place’. But this is not possible, and Paul explains why.

‘Scripture shut up and enclosed all things underneath self-forfeiture and loss’. Self-forfeiture and loss encloses everyone. Everyone is trapped and imprisoned by self-forfeiture and loss, and there are no exceptions. There is an impulse and impetus inherent within our human nature, within the fabric of our flesh, inclining us towards self-forfeiture and loss. It is present within everyone, including those placed under Covenant law. Both Jews and Gentiles are trapped by it.

Why is this? Why does Scripture enclose everyone underneath self-forfeiture and loss? It is ‘in order that the announced promise be given from out of entrustment and persuasion, to those who are persuaded and entrusting Jesus, His Anointed’, (verse 22b). The announced promise given to Abraham – ‘in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed’, (Genesis 22 v 18a), is not and cannot be attained by any individual expending their energy and labour to keep the written codes of Covenant law. This is because everyone is trapped and imprisoned within self-forfeiture and loss. This means that as with Abraham, the announced promise is received by means of persuasion and entrustment, and the ‘object’ of this persuasion and entrustment is Jesus, His Anointed, the seed of Abraham. Because of the all-pervading principle of self-forfeiture and loss, knowledge of which only increases by knowing divine law, it means that hearing, persuasion and entrustment is the means by which the announced promise is attained – in other words, the promise is attained by means of faith. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [29] – Divine Law and Divine approval [1]

 Many of the Apostolic references to divine Law refer to divine approval, to being declared righteous or placed in a position of no condemnation from God. Many Protestant Christian commentators (though not all), agree that no one is declared righteous by means of them trying to obey or keep the written codes of divine Law. Paul states the position of Christians succinctly in his letter to the Christians in Galatia. ‘Therefore, as many as exist from out of works and actions of Law exist under a curse. Because it is written, ‘Cursed, everyone who is not remaining within everything written in the book of the Law, constructing them. 11 Because now it is clearly evident that no one is judicially approved in the presence of God within the sphere of divine Law, because ‘The judicially approved will live from out of faithful confident persuasion’. 12 But the Law is not from out of confident persuasion, on the contrary, the one constructing these things will live by them. 13 The Messiah buys us up completely from out of the curse of the Law, having become a curse on behalf of us, because it is written, ‘Everyone hanging on a tree is accursed’, 14 in order that Abraham’s blessing comes to the Gentiles within Jesus the Messiah, so that we receive the promise - the Breath [pneuma] - through entrusting to the point of obedience’, (Galatians 3 v 10 – 14a).

Covenant Law says, ‘Do this and you will live’. That is the arrangement for those under the Sinai Covenant - ‘we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those within the Law’, (Romans 3 v 19), to Jews. ‘The hearers of the Law are not judicially approved alongside God, but the doers of Law will be declared judicially approved’, (Romans 2 v 13). But no one successfully obeys or keeps all of the Law. Rather, ‘The judicially approved will live from out of faithful confident persuasion’,  (verse 11 above). 

Paul contrasts doing the written codes of the Law with ‘faith’ and the Breath. These are two different means of obtaining divine approval. But he says that no one successfully enacts the written codes of divine law, so that instead, divine approval comes from faith, from entrustment to the point of obedience. In these last days, the Messiah and his atoning death at Calvary has been revealed and it is Jesus who is the focus of this faith or persuasion. The fruit and evidence of this entrustment is that it is carried across from within – from ‘inside the cup’ into godly speech and behaviour as Christians co-work with the Breath of God. 

This is the situation according to Paul - ‘Therefore, in front of Him all flesh will absolutely not be judicially approved from out of energy and work of Law, because by means of Law is full knowledge of self forfeiture and no share or portion. 21 But now apart and separate from Law, God’s judicial approval is being made clear and apparent, testified and borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets - 22 judicial approval by means of entrustment, penetrating toward all those entrusting Jesus the Messiah’, (Romans 3 v 20 – 22b). Paul states a conclusion on this matter a little later. ‘Because if those from out of Law are allotted heirs, [then] persuasion to the point of obedience is made void, is nullified, and the announced promise rendered entirely idle. 15 Because Law is working down settled anger’, (Romans 4 v 14, 15a). These two means of judicial approval are in many ways mutually exclusive. When it comes to divine law, the written codes are bringing down settled anger, whereas the arrangement of judicial approval by means of faith exists beside Covenant Law, in the sense that it does not abolish or dissolve divine Law, but brings it to completion and with it, divine judicial approval.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [28] – Divine Law, Priesthood and the Millennium Reign [4]

 There is only one formal order of priests on earth and they are selected from the tribe of Levi within God’s chosen ethnic group – the house of Israel. This is quite consistent with what Ezekiel describes in the last chapters of his book. His description of the use of daily sacrifices demonstrates that Jews will not, as a nation, suddenly convert to Christianity in the sense of dismissing ceremonies and sacrifices. Rather, they will remain under a form of a neo-Levitical priestly order under the New Covenant that God will make with the house of Israel. Within the heavenly realm, the priesthood is being transferred from out of necessity, from out of compelling need, and a transfer of law is coming into being, (Hebrews 7 v 12). As a result, under the New Covenant, the house of Israel will be softened and made responsive to God’s Law, which He will write on their deep inner core. They will become a set-apart godly nation. They will begin to turn back to God and His Messiah, as King of kings, will overthrow of the tyranny of the ‘man of lawlessness’ and his regime with the furious outpouring of passionate anger. This will occur in the last generation of this present gospel age.   

By this time, all those brought forth by God will be roused up again to enter into the heavenly realm. What will be established will be the ‘New Jerusalem’ – the new infrastructure of delegated governance, of delegated rulers, judges and authorities, made up in part of a Kingdom of priests resembling the order of Melchizedek, serving in the heavenly temple. In addition, heaven and earth will draw closer together, with human delegated rulers and judges in Israel, its priests of a neo-Levitical order. This whole new order, including God as the Ultimate Authority and Jesus as King of kings seems to be what is referred to as ‘Zion’, with completed Christians constituting part of the ‘New Jerusalem’. Thus we read, ‘I clearly discerned the city set apart, the fresh, new, unused Jerusalem, coming down from out of heaven away from God, made ready in the manner of a bride very appealingly ordered and adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from out of the throne saying, “Look! The dwelling place of God in company with men - He will be encamping in company with them and they will be His peoples. God Himself, their God, will be in company with them’, (Revelation 21 v 2, 3).

The important thing for us to note in all of this, before we get too distracted by other themes and details, is that all of this is established in company with, in parallel with divine Law. As Jesus said in the gospels, he had not come to abolish divine Law but to complete it. Divine law is not going to be abolished or dissolved, but it is going to be transferred. It constitutes the foundation of God’s justice and righteousness and at no point will God introduce an arrangement of lawlessness, anarchy or permissiveness. 

I have taken a little time to establish this context so that we can better understand what the Apostle Paul has to say about the day-by-day life of Christians and the written codes of Sinai Covenant Law. It also helps us to avoid falling into the trap of excessive freedom or permissiveness. I am certainly not taking an ‘antinomian’ stance – a perspective that stands opposed to, or against, divine law. But neither am I supporting Christian legalism.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [26] – Divine Law, Priesthood, Citizenship and the Millennium Reign [2]

God has declared that in the future He will fully complete His promises and purposes for the household of Israel. But this will not be based on the old Sinai Covenant and its written Laws because the household of Israel and its delegated leaders and priests of the Levitical priesthood proved to be persistently wayward and rebellious with regard to this Covenant. So God is going to accomplish this ‘with a fresh new Covenant on the basis of household of Judah’, (Hebrews 8 v 9). 

The effective and successful work of Jesus - God’s anointed deliverer - means that Jesus, from the house of Judah, is now high priest, of the order of Melchizedek, in the heavenly realm. When Jesus comes to take up the mantle of King of kings at the advent of the Millennium Reign, this will be a royal priesthood and the time when God introduces this new Covenant with the household of Israel. 

The author of the letter to the Hebrews gives us a brief description of this new Covenant. ‘Because this is the Covenant that I will appoint with the household of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. Putting My laws within their mind and understanding on the basis that I will write them on their hearts, towards the purpose that I will be their God and they will be a people towards me. 11 They will absolutely not each continue teaching their fellow citizens and brothers saying, “Know the Lord”, because all will see and know Me, away from the least of them to the greatest. 12 Because I will be propitious and merciful, I will not recall their unrighteousness, injustice and no-share any more’. 13 In saying ‘new’ He makes the first old, and that becoming old and becoming aged, near disappearance’, (Hebrews 8 v 10 – 13). There it is – the promise of future restoration and reconciliation and God’s faithfulness in bringing to completion His purposes with regard to His chosen ethnic group. 

What is relevant to our present theme concerning divine law are verses 10 and 13. In verse 13 we are told that with the establishment of this new Covenant, the old Sinai Covenant with its written codes is made old, such that it almost completely disappears. But divine Law is not dissolved or abolished. The household of Israel will not enter into lawlessness or anarchy in the Millennium Reign. Rather, the principles of God’s laws will be transferred into the hearts and minds of those of the household of Israel and they will perceive, understand and comprehend them. God will write these laws ‘on their hearts’ – in their deepest inner core at the foundation and emergence of their thoughts, emotions and desires. Once again, this new Covenant exists alongside God’s Law. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [25] – Divine Law, Priesthood, Citizenship and the Millennium Reign [1]

 In the previous posts we have seen that when God brings Christians forth they are placed as adopted sons within God’s household and within the royal priesthood that corresponds to that of Melchizedek, with Jesus as their high priest. Gentiles are brought in from existing in relative ignorance under a Covenant of Behaviour, and Jews are transferred from being under the Levitical order and the Sinai Covenant. This royal priesthood exists alongside Sinai Covenant Law but it does not abolish or dissolve Covenant Law. So where do Christians stand in relation to Covenant Law?

The coming Millennium Reign offers further insights on this theme. The questions are these - What will happen to God’s chosen ethnic group, Jews, in the Millennium Reign? What about the promises made to the descendants of Abraham with regard to possessing an area of Promised Land and so on? What about the ‘silver linings’ found throughout the Hebrew prophets concerning the restoration and reconciliation of Jews? What priesthood will Jews be placed under then?

Returning to the letter to the Hebrews, the author looks forward to the restoration of Israel and says, ‘Look! The days are coming, says the Lord. I will fully accomplish and complete on the basis of the household of Israel, on the basis of the household of Judah. 9 A fresh, new Covenant, not down from the Covenant that I made with their ancestors within the day I took hold of them by the hand to lead them from out of the land of Egypt, because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant and I am disregarding them, declares the Lord’, (Hebrews 8 v 8, 9).

At the end of verse 9 the current position of Jews – the household of Israel – is stated clearly. God says, ‘because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant I am disregarding them’. God still continues to withdraw Himself away from Jews at this present time. Does this mean that God has abandoned His promises to, and agreement with, the household of Israel via the patriarchs such as Abraham and Moses? Have these promises failed? Not at all. In the future God ‘will fully accomplish and complete a fresh new Covenant on the basis of the household of Israel, on the basis of the household of Judah’. God has made an agreement and promises with His chosen ethnic group, the household of Israel. On the basis that they are His chosen ethnic group out of all the nations, God will bring matters to a full and complete conclusion. But this will not happen on the basis of the Sinai Covenant and its written codes that was established after God led them out of slavery in Egypt. Why? ‘Because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant’. Because the leadership was corrupt and rebellious, and they and the people were wayward, playing the harlot with other, Gentile gods and idols. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [24] – Divine Law, Priesthood and Citizenship

 When God brings Christians forth through the Messiah and the work of the set-apart Breath, they are placed as adopted sons within God’s household. They are also placed as members the priesthood that corresponds to that of Melchizedek, with Jesus as their high priest. Hebrew Christians are transferred from being under the Levitical priesthood, and divine Law is also transferred, whilst Gentiles are brought in from existing in relative ignorance to also be transferred to the heavenly priesthood.

Thus we read, ‘Because our citizenship is existing within the heavens, from out of which we also eagerly expect a Saviour, Lord Jesus, Messiah’, (Philippians 3 v 20). The word translated into English as ‘citizenship’ is ‘politeuma’, meaning ‘life as a citizen’. This word only occurs here in Philippians. In the Greco-Roman world citizenship was valued as being high-status, conferring rights, privileges and responsibilities within a city-state. Citizens were expected to participate in civic duties and uphold the laws and values of their community. It provided a powerful metaphor for Christian identity and allegiance within God’s household.

The concept is not unique to the Letter to the Philippians however. In his letter to the Ephesians, who were Gentile Christians, Paul says, ‘Therefore then you are no longer lodgers, namely dwelling beside, but exist fellow citizens, the set apart and of the household of God’, (Ephesians 2 v 19). The Greek word here is ‘sumpolités’, meaning ‘fellow citizen’ and again it has just one occurrence in the New Testament. It refers to someone who shares citizenship with others, indicating a sense of belonging and community within a political or social entity. 

The idea of citizenship within the household of God is implied when Jesus said, ‘Within the household of my Father many residences exist, but if not, would I have told you that I am going to make you ready a place? 3 And if I go and prepare you a place, I am coming again and will receive you alongside toward myself, in order that where I am, you are also’, (John 14 v 2, 3). 

The idea is also referred to when the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews talks about notable people who lived by faith during Old Testament times. He says, ‘All these died down from faith, not receiving the promises but seeing them from afar and embracing, acknowledging and agreeing that they are lodgers and temporary residents on the land. 14 Because those saying such as this are making clear that they are seeking after that fatherland. 15 Indeed, if they called to mind that one there, from where they came out, they had occasion to turn back. 16 But at this present time they are stretching forth to better and superior, this existing [within] heaven. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called God by them, because He has prepared them a city’, (Hebrews 11 v 13 – 16). The Greek word is ‘polis’, meaning ‘city’ and is used 165 times in the New Testament. It refers to a city or town, often highlighting its significance as a hub of population, culture, and governance. In the Greco-Roman world, a ‘polis’ was more than just a physical location; it was a centre of political, economic, and social life. Cities were often fortified, served as administrative centres and were places where people gathered for trade, worship, and community activities. The concept of the ‘polis’ was integral to Greek identity and civic life, influencing the development of democracy and public discourse. 

Concerning those of faith in the Old Testament period, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews concludes, ‘and all these, testifying by means of faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God providing something better around us, in order that they are not brought to completion separately from us’, (Hebrews 11 v 39, 40). Those in the Old Testament period who exercised obedient entrustment in God are also included as fellow citizens – which they saw from afar off – and they will be brought to completion alongside Christians.   

The concept is that Christians are fellow citizens of a heavenly city and therefore only temporary lodgers here on earth. We see it again here – ‘Because we do not possess an enduring city here, but we are seeking after what is about to be’, (Hebrews 13 v 14). But once again we need to ask how Christians being placed into this priestly order and heavenly citizenship affects the relationship of Christians to Sinai Covenant divine Law. On becoming Christians are Gentiles placed under the Sinai Covenant and its laws? Do Jews continue under the Sinai Covenant and its laws? I suggest definitely not. That is what Judaizers thought and this was one reason why they wanted male Gentile Christians to be circumcised according to the written codes of divine Covenant Law. But we have seen that Christians are transferred into this royal priesthood like the order of Melchizedek that exists alongside the Sinai Covenant. We have seen that divine Law is also being transferred, but not abolished or dissolved. So we need some more information.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [23] – Divine Law and the two orders of priests

 The author of the Letter to the Hebrews is writing about the Christian’s high priest, Jesus, in chapter 8. He says that Christians ‘are holding and possessing a high priest who is seated down within the right hand of the throne of the Majesty within the heavens, 2 a servant in the set apart places, the True and Real Tabernacle or Tent of meeting, which the Lord, not a mere human being, has pitched and made fast’, (Hebrews 8 v 1, 2).

Then he says, ‘It is certain then that if [Jesus] was existing on earth he would certainly not be a priest 5 because there exist those offering gifts according to Law, which is a copy, example and shadow outline serving the heavens, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the Tabernacle….. 6 But now, [Jesus] has obtained a more excellent service, as much as he is the mediator and go-between of a much better Covenant that has been enacted on the basis of stronger, more excellent promises and announcements. 7 Because indeed, if that one there that went before had been faultless, then a place for a second would certainly not have been sought after and desired’, (Hebrews 8 v 4 – 7). 

He reaches a conclusion: ‘If Jesus was existing on earth he would certainly not be a priest’, (verse 4). Why? Because Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and on earth, under Sinai Covenant Law, priests are only selected from the Levitical tribe. They were ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices in the tabernacle/temple according to Covenant Law, all of this being a shadow outline of realities within the unseen heavenly realm. But this shadow infrastructure was brought to ruin and loss with the Babylonian Conquest and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple and it has never been fully reinstated even though another temple was built decades later, only to be destroyed again in 70 AD. 

By contrast, Jesus is indeed a priest, but not of the Levitical order and not on earth, but rather, within the heavenly realm at the right hand of the throne of God. He is high priest serving in the set apart places, in the True and Real Tabernacle/Temple in the heavenly realm. The Lord God, as opposed to a mere human being, has made this firm and secure. 

Thus we have the two priestly orders. First, the Levitical order of priests, established for God’s chosen ethnic group, the Jews, according to the Sinai Covenant with divine Law as an essential component of this Covenant. This exists as a shadow outline of heavenly realities. But it is an order that has fallen into a degree of ruin and loss as a result of the repeated wayward corruption and disobedience of Jews and their delegated leaders in the past. This loss occurred when God withdrew Himself and His honour and praiseworthiness from Israel at the time of the Babylonian Conquest. This still remains the position of Jews with regard to God down to this present time. 

Other ethnic groups, races and nations – Gentiles – continue to exist outside of the Sinai Covenant and its infrastructure, in relative ignorance with regard to God and heavenly realities. Gentiles are not under a priestly order, but rather, they exist under a Covenant of Behaviour in which their conscience – faulty as it may be, as we will see later – either excuses or convicts them before God.

Second, we have the superior priestly order that corresponds to Melchizedek, which is situated firm and secure within the heavenly realm, and based on a promise made on oath by God. It is into this order of priests that Jewish Christians are transferred and Gentile Christians are placed. Jesus is the high priest of this order, serving in the True Tabernacle/Temple that the Lord has pitched in the heavenly realm. Jesus serves as the mediator of a much better Covenant that has been enacted on the basis of stronger, more excellent promises and announcements than the Sinai Covenant.

He concludes by saying, ‘if that one there that went before [the Levitical order of priests] had been faultless, then a place for a second [order of priests corresponding to Melchizedek] would certainly not have been sought after and desired’ (verse 7). But what does this mean for Christians and their relationship with divine Law under the Sinai Covenant?

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [19] – Christians and Divine Law

 Two of the major groups of people that Scripture looks at are Jews and Gentiles. Jews are God’s chosen ethnic group, and they were placed under the Sinai Covenant with its divine Laws. But because of their constant disobedience, God withdrew Himself and His honour away from them and left them to their own desires and reasoning. Even so, in the gospels they are urged to think again with the coming of their Messiah. Then we have the rest of humanity, referred to in Scripture as ‘Gentiles’ or ‘Greeks’, the various tribes, races and nations of the world. They were not placed under the Sinai Covenant and its Laws, but were left to go their own way in ignorance. Since the coming of the Messiah, they too are now urged to think again.

Given what I have said so far, what is the situation regarding Christians and the divine Law of the Sinai Covenant? Most Christians today are Gentiles. Many of them typically turn to Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, to see what he has to say on this matter. But I consider that we get a foundation and context for Paul’s teaching in another New Testament document, namely the Letter to the Hebrews. We don’t know the name of the author of this letter, but he is writing to Jews who have become Christians, and in part of his letter he writes about this very theme. So it is worth spending time to look at what he has to say. 

The author explains that Jesus has been made high priest, but that he is not like the high priests of old. ‘Although being a Son he learned obedience away from what he endured, 9 and being made complete he became the author of perpetual rescue to all hearing under him, 10 named under God high priest corresponding to the arrangement of Melchizedek’, (Hebrews 5 v 8 – 10). See also Hebrews 6 v 20. 

This means that there are two orders of priests – The Levitical order and the order of Melchizedek. He describes Melchizedek in this way – ‘This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever’, (Hebrews 7 v 1 – 3 NIV). 

Shortly afterwards, the author of the letter to the Hebrews begins to make a comparison between these two priestly orders and how they relate to each other, particularly for those Christians who were previously devout Jews under the Sinai Covenant with its divine Laws.   

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [16] – Divine Law defined

 What is divine Law? In Scripture the word ‘Law’ has a number of meanings, the particular meaning intended often being determined by the context in which the word ‘law’ is found. ‘Law’ can refer to the first five books of the Old Testament – the Pentateuch. Or it may refer to the larger body of the Hebrew Scriptures that includes the writings of the Prophets. It may refer to the written codes given to the Israelites through Moses as part of the Sinai Covenant after YHVH had released the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Or it may refer to a fundamental principle that leads to specific patterns or types of speech and behaviour. It is the last two meanings that we will be concerned with more often than not. 

YHVH made a Covenant with Abraham and his male descendants, declaring that they were to be His chosen people and that He would be their God. Abraham and his male descendants were to be circumcised as a sign of this Covenant. Failure to be circumcised meant that such an individual would be cut off from his people, (Genesis 17 v 10 – 14). Prior to the exodus of Abraham’s descendants from Egypt under Moses, there were no sets of written codes away from God. 

On delivering Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, YHVH set out how things were going to be for as His chosen ethnic group. They agreed to be placed under what is sometimes called the Sinai Covenant, as part of which various written divine Laws were established, including the Ten Commandments. The Israelites were expected to live their lives in obedience to these Laws, which were intended to act like a ‘schoolmaster’ to keep them in God’s favour until the appearance of their promised anointed deliverer, the Messiah. These written Laws were seen as fixed and immovable – some of them literally being written in stone. The earlier instruction to be circumcised was re-stated in the written codes in the book of Leviticus, (Leviticus 12 v 3).     

Thus it was to Jews, not to Gentiles - other ethnic groups - that the written codes of divine Law were given. Other ethnic groups were left to their own ways of thinking, reasoning and behaving. And of course many such groups became worshippers of idols and so on. After the coming of the Messiah, Paul declared, ‘ …we are men of like affections to you, announcing the gospel to you, to turn away from these worthless vanities towards the living God who constructed the sky, the land, the sea and all within them, Who in ages gone permitted all the tribes and races to travel their own ways’, (Acts 14 v 15, 16). And again, ‘…we ought not to hold to the principle of God being like gold, silver or a skilful stone sculpture and the deliberation of a human being. Indeed therefore, God overlooking times of ignorance now commands all human beings everywhere to think and perceive afterwards’, (Acts 17 v 29, 30).