I Timothy 1 v 9c – 11 - The principles and aims of divine law

 The law is ‘for those threshing fathers, and threshing mothers, for murderers of man, 10 male prostitutes, men in bed with another man, those bringing men to his feet, liars, perjurers or false witnesses’, (I Timothy 1 v 9c – 10a). 

Some commentators propose that Paul is indeed following the Ten Commandments here in verses 9 - 11. But Paul is not quoting divine law or the Ten Commandments. What we need to note is this, the law is good and its moral principles and aims remain in place. Jesus does not introduce permissive licentiousness but a transfer of the principles and aims of divine law away from external written codes to these principles being written on the Christian’s heart, borne witness to by the Breath of God and union with the Messiah. Thus Paul does not make direct reference to the external written codes of the Ten Commandments when it comes to the righteous – Christians. Law, and divine law especially, is for those who are not righteous, for the type of individual who has deliberate irreverence, who is an ill-user of their father and mother. The Greek word means to ‘thresh’. ‘Thresh’ literally means to separate the edible grain from the straw or husks of a harvested plant, typically by beating, hence physical abuse, beating or hitting of parents. Law is for murderers, those who dominate other people and bring them under their feet, and deceitful liars.

Indeed, divine law is for ‘anyone else if opposing the healthy teaching 11 down from the good news of the honour and praiseworthiness of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted’, (I Timothy 1 v 10b – 11). There we have the general principle with regard to divine law. 

Divine law is for anyone setting him or herself in full opposition to, as irreconcilable to, or contrary to and adversarial to healthy teaching down from the gospel

I Timothy 1 v 9a - Christian legalist objections

 '....law is not lying outstretched for the equitable and righteous’, (I Timothy 1 v 9a). 

‘Aha!’ says the legalist, ‘What the Apostle means is that Christians are not under the ‘Ceremonial Law’. But Christians do remain under the ‘Moral Law’ such as the Ten Commandments’. I have argued that this division into two different aspects or facets of divine law is not entirely incorrect, but if pressed too far it negates the unity of Covenant law as a comprehensive integrated whole, a unified arrangement. But in any case, it is very clear from what follows that Paul is not talking about the Ceremonial aspects of divine law but its Moral aspects, because he goes on to talk about murderers, liars and prostitutes who clearly come under the Moral aspects or facets of divine law.

‘Ah! But,’ says the legalist, ‘It is true that Christians are indeed ultimately acquitted as judicially approved within the Messiah because of their union in him. But at the moment, even though the Breath of God is dwelling in their deepest inner core, Christians do not always walk around within the Breath, they do not always follow the leading of the Breath. They don’t always think things through to a correct conclusion and then act appropriately and consistently. Sometimes they are overtaken by fleshly impulses and that is when they need to be directed to divine law in order to drive them to the Messiah seeking forgiveness’. 

‘By no means’, says Paul. ‘For Christians, the reference point is no longer the external codes written in stone, instead their locus is the Messiah, and the principles of law are written on their hearts - the Ground of their thoughts, faculty of choice and affections. The Messiah fulfils the requirements of the law on their behalf, he has paid the price for their self-forfeiture, and as they entrust the Messiah, their self-forfeiture is removed as far as the east is from the west. As they perceive the practical, beneficial, love of the Messiah shown to them, and as they emulate it by carrying it across into their speech and behaviour, they bring forth the Fruit of the Breath. In this way the Messiah is made complete and they are being changed into his image. The dynamic is from within, it is not on the basis of the imposition of external written codes. This is the dynamic of the New Covenant of the blood of the Messiah, and the new royal priesthood into which Christians have been placed. Christians are not under the authority of external written codes of Levitical law, but under the free gift of God by means of His only begotten son.  

Law is for the unrighteous

That is the basic principle when it comes to using law legitimately. And if we are in any doubt, Paul lists the type of individual that he has in mind. Law is not for the righteous ‘but for the lawless and those not subject to rule, for those without reverence, self-forfeiting, for those without reverence or regard for what should be set apart, crossing the threshold, gaining improper entrance’, (I Timothy 1 v 9b). Law is for those without law, for the unruly and insubordinate, and divine law is for those without respect, self-forfeiting in their contempt for that which should be set apart and clean. The word usually translated into English as ‘profane’ means ‘crossing the threshold, gaining improper entrance’. In literal terms it is like a brutish individual entering a set-apart place of godly devotion without having any respect or reverence. Paul goes on to explain in a little more detail. 

The law is ‘for those threshing fathers, and threshing mothers, for murderers of man, 10 male prostitutes, men in bed with another man, those bringing men to his feet, liars, perjurers or false witnesses’, (I Timothy 1 v 9c – 10a). 

Galatians 3 v 10 – 12 – Working to observe divine law is not out of entrustment and leads to condemnation

 ‘Because as many as are existing from out of law-works are existing under denouncement, because it has been written, ‘Denounced – all who are not continuing in all the writing within the book of law, constructing them’. 11 But because no one is judicially approved or made right-wise in the presence of God within law, it is clear that the judicially approved will live from out of entrusting persuasion, 12 and law is not from out of faith, on the contrary, they will live within having constructed them’, (Galatians 3 v 10 – 12).

a

Paul continues to construct support for his general statement that Christians receive the Breath from out of hearing and entrustment. He has shown that Gentiles or non-Jews are connected to the Jewish patriarch Abraham by means of hearing and entrustment. Paul now contrasts this with seeking to maintain divine approval by putting energy and effort into observing the written codes of Covenant law. He says that everyone who is trying to earn and maintain divine approval by putting energy and effort into observing the written codes of Covenant law, exists under denouncement, under a curse. The curse is that those who are following this path have to obey every single injunction in the book of law. Those who fail to do so, even within just one instance, are not judicially approved. They incur self-forfeiture and loss.  

No one is judicially approved by putting their energy and work into obeying the written codes of Covenant law. So as a result, it is clear, it is evident, that those who are judicially approved will live from out of entrustment and persuasion – faith. It is also clear that divine law is not from out of faith. These are two completely different paths. Those putting their energy and work into obeying the written codes of Covenant law will live IF they have fully and completely constructed all the writing, all the injunctions, in the book of law. ‘Do this and you will live’, ‘they will live within having constructed them’, (verse 12), but ‘no one is judicially approved in the presence of God within law’, (verse 11). People are not able to stand acquitted before God on Judgement Day by means of observing Covenant Law. Nor are Christians able to maintain divine judicial approval day-by-day by means of seeking to keep the written codes of Covenant law such as the Ten Commandments. 

Galatians 2 v 17 – 19 - Jesus – Not a servant of self-forfeiture and loss

 ‘But if seeking judicial approval and being made rightwise within His Anointed, we ourselves have been found self-forfeiters, then is His Anointed a servant of self-forfeiture and loss? May it not come into being! 18 Because if I am once more constructing these what I have torn down and demolished, I am standing myself together with being contrary, 19 because I, [ego], by means of law, died to law, in order that I live to God’, (Galatians 2 v 17 - 19).

First, Paul anticipates a potential objection. Peter, Barnabas and other Jews in Galatia had sought judicial approval within the Messiah. But they were now in error, they were ‘not walking straight towards the truth of the gospel’, (verse 14). They were turning back to the written codes of Sinai Covenant law and insisting that male Gentile Christians also had to be circumcised in agreement with that law. The objection that Paul considers is this – If Christians are in error is the Messiah a servant of self-forfeiture? In not advocating circumcision, is the Messiah serving error? 

Paul replies, ‘May it never come to happen!’. So what is the situation with Peter, Barnabas and the Jewish Christians that have ‘shrunk back’? Paul answers by supposing a situation in which it is himself who is in error. He says ‘If I am once more constructing these that I have torn down and demolished…’. In heralding the gospel, Paul has torn down and demolished requirements that exist under the written codes of the Sinai Covenant. This is something that Christian legalists also struggle with. But it is clear that Paul is not demanding that male Gentile Christians had to be circumcised, and this is contrary to what is required under Sinai Covenant law. In the same way he was not insisting that Christians had to engage in making sacrifices, nor was he directing Christians to the Ten Commandments. So he says that if he now changes course and starts to once again insist on, and construct these practices – circumcision, sacrifices and directing to the written codes of Sinai Covenant law – things that he has previously torn down, then ‘I am standing myself together with being contrary’. In other words, ‘If I do this then I am being inconsistent and I am contradicting myself’. 

But if he insists on reinstating these practices that he has previously torn down, this is more than a simple ‘change of policy’ or a ‘U turn’. It contradicts Paul’s position as a Christian. Why? ‘Because I, [ego], by means of law, died to law, in order that I live to God’. This is consistent with what Paul says in Romans 7 v 4, where he says that the Christian’s ‘old self’ is put to death by the law that reveals his self-forfeiture and loss. Christians are placed in union with the Messiah by means of the Breath, and this means that they are crucified with him, but the law is brought to completion by means of the body of the Messiah as the Lamb of God without stain or blemish. The law, by means of the body of the Messiah, is brought to completion, penetrating into those who are placed in union with him becoming free, away from the law, to stand within divine judicial approval within the Messiah. They are roused up to Life with him by means of the Breath. Because they died within the Messiah, the written codes of Covenant law are rendered idle, and they are roused up from the dead as a ‘new self’.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [63] – The polarisation separating Christians and ‘outsiders’ [3]

 ‘On this account the flesh-mind [is] an enemy toward God for not arranging under the Law of God, for not having power [to do so], and those existing within flesh are absolutely not able to be pleasing God’, (Romans 8 v 7, 8).

On the basis of the fundamental polarising difference between Christians and unbelievers, which Paul has outlined in verses 4 – 6, the ‘flesh-mind’, the thoughts, purposes, aspirations and inclinations enslaved to and focussed on fleshly impulses and energies, is an enemy toward God. The Greek word is ‘echthra’, a noun meaning ‘a state of enmity or hostility’. Why? Because the mind that is enslaved to, focussed on and serving fleshly impulses, passions and inclinations, is absolutely not arranging itself under the authority of the Law of God. The ‘flesh-mind’ is not merely dismissive of divine law but hostile towards it, it hates divine law and is actively opposed to it. The ‘flesh-mind’ does not even have the ability, power or strength to arrange itself under divine law. On this account, those existing down from the flesh – unbelievers or ‘outsiders’ – are absolutely not able to please God. They are incurring self-forfeiture and loss leading to death, and divine law is working down settled anger and their condemnation.   

You see? Paul is still talking about divine approval and divine law. Now of course, legalists tend to agree that unbelievers are living down from the flesh, and are not able to save themselves from divine condemnation because they do not have the ability to arrange themselves under divine law. Point unbelievers to divine law and the law points out the extent of their self-forfeiture. If they then try to observe divine law, they discover their inability and helpless condition and begin to see their need of a deliverer. 

But when Paul was heralding the good news of Jesus to unbelieving non-Jews - to Gentile unbelievers, he did not refer them to Sinai Covenant law, because Gentiles were not placed under the Sinai Covenant. Covenant law would have seemed irrelevant to Gentiles. Instead he referred to the Gentiles’ current beliefs and practices, finding points of similarity or difference so as to use them as a starting point. He referred to history and God’s providence, leading up to a call to turn to God because God has appointed a day of Judgement by a man that He has appointed. The proof of this is that this man was roused up from out the dead. You can see his approach in Acts 17 v 22 – 33. It is worth careful examination. No mention of Covenant law in this message. (See also Acts 14 v 15 – 18).

But what do legalists say about Christians and walking around moment by moment within divine approval? Well, legalists do direct Christians to divine law, proposing that divine law can be used as a ‘spur’ to push Christians on to greater purity and godliness. 

Legalists divide Covenant law into two aspects - Ceremonial and Moral law. They propose that Jesus has fulfilled the Ceremonial aspects of divine law, which is, they say, an outline shadow pointing to the reality of the Messiah and his sacrifice. So they propose that now that the Messiah has come, the Ceremonial law is made complete. Sacrifices, ceremonies and rituals are no longer required because they have reached their end point in the Messiah. But then they propose that when it comes to the Moral aspects of law, like the Ten Commandments, well that is different. Clearly Jesus has not removed or abolished morality – he has not introduced permissive lawlessness. Jesus himself says that he has not come to abolish the law. So they propose that the Moral law still stands, and so they direct Christians to the Moral aspects of divine law in order to promote godliness – such as not stealing, keeping the Sabbath, avoiding adultery, tithing one’s earnings and so on. 

But this division of Covenant law into Ceremonial and Moral aspects is not what Jews themselves advocated. It may be useful for certain discussions, but it is not the perspective that Paul has in mind here. For Jews, Covenant law is indeed divided into two different aspects – 

Speech and behaviour in relation to God, and

Speech and behaviour in relation to fellow human beings – primarily to fellow Jews, and then to ‘strangers’ or ‘foreigners’

When Jesus was asked which is the greatest or largest commandment in the law, he replied, ‘You will esteem the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your breath and with all of your mind, understanding and intention’. 38 This is the foremost and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love those close by you as yourself’. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’,’, (Matthew 22 v 37 – 40). These two commandments also constitute the basic principles when it comes to serving the Lord moment-by-moment.

So then, here in Romans does Paul, like legalists, recommend and exhort Christians towards observing the written injunctions of Covenant law in order to maintain a godly life moment-by-moment? Not at all, for reasons he has been explaining and continues to explain in the next few verses. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [59] – The condemnation of self-forfeiture and completion of the law [1]

 ‘For the powerless incapable law, within which it is weak and feeble by means of the flesh, God, having sent His Son within resemblance of self-forfeiting flesh, and concerning no share and self-forfeiture, has condemned loss and self-forfeiture within the flesh, 4 in order that the judicial approval of the Law is being made full and complete within us – the not walking around down from flesh, but down from breath’, [pneuma], (Romans 8 v 3, 4). 

Paul does not direct Christians to try to observe the written codes of Sinai Covenant law such as the Ten Commandments in the way legalists would have Christians do. Instead he points Christians to God’s free gift of His only-begotten Son. The free gift of the Son is the means of judicial approval. But legalists begin to qualify what Paul is saying. ‘Aha!’ they say. ‘When Paul talks about law, and when he talks about Christians dying away from law, (Romans 7 v 4), and being set free from the written code of Covenant law, (Romans 7 v 6), he means Ceremonial Law’. This is because legalists divide Covenant law into two aspects - Ceremonial Law and Moral Law - and they then propose that Christians are delivered from Ceremonial Law, but that they are still under Moral Law. Why? Because Jesus has fulfilled the Ceremonial law, but he has not come to abolish Moral law. On this basis they turn Christians once again to the written codes of law such as the Ten Commandments, so as to encourage them to keep the Sabbath, or to tithe, or such like. 

But that is not what Paul is saying. Nowhere does Paul make that kind of distinction concerning Covenant law, and he certainly does not do so here in his letter to the Romans. Neither was it customary for Jews – to whom Sinai Covenant law was given – to understand Covenant law in this way. They saw Covenant law as a whole, as a unified entity, an integrated system. So I dismiss this legalist proposal.

Paul does not direct Christians to Covenant law but instead, as we see in verse 3, he does the opposite. He points out the weakness of Covenant law and directs Christians to the Messiah instead. Why? Because Christians retain their flesh with its inherent principle of self-forfeiture, but Jesus decisively judges down against loss and self-forfeiture within our flesh, by condemning it within the likeness of sinful flesh as God’s sacrificial Lamb without spot or blemish. Self-forfeiture and loss is effectively condemned and sent away for those entrusting the Messiah by means of the Messiah’s acceptable substitutionary atoning sacrifice as the spotless Lamb of God. Jesus paid the purchase price required to buy back those whom God has selected – that price being the spilt life-blood and physical death of the Messiah within the likeness of sinful flesh. 

Why is self-forfeiture and loss condemned and paid for by the Messiah on behalf of those brought forth by God? Paul tells us in verse 4 – ‘in order that the judicial approval of the Law is being made full and complete within us’. For Christians, the judicial approval of the law is now being made full and complete – not by Christians trying to observe external written codes, but the law is being made full and complete within them. How is this happening? What is the fundamental principle or dynamic process? He goes on to tell us. 

Self-forfeiture and loss is condemned by the Messiah in order that the judicial approval, the fundamental principle of the law – the enactment of law, the practical obedience which the law calls for, the goal of the law - is being made full and complete in us, or ‘realised in us’. He defines ‘us’ as ‘the not walking around down from the flesh, but down from breath’.  In other words, Christians who are conducting their daily lives within the movement and direction of the Breath of Life in the Messiah that is present in their deep inner core. 

The purpose of the law is being made full and complete in Christians who are walking around moment-by-moment within the unction of the set-apart Breath residing in their heart

The self-forfeiting impulses of the Christian’s flesh still remain active as the verses that follow distinctly show, but the opposing Breath within Christians has broken their tied enslavement to these impulses. In this way, Christians have been brought forth as a new orderly form, their old form or self has passed away, impaled on the execution post of the cross.

However, it does not follow that any Christians will actually completely avoid all wayward behaviour, nor that they are accepted on the basis of their own actions. This would contradict other Scripture texts (James 2 v 10; I John 1 v 8). Paul confessed that he was not already perfect or fully complete himself, (Philippians 3 v 12). But fullness and completion by means of the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah and the set-apart Breath dwelling within them, is presented as the goal and the means of those whom God has selected (Matthew 5 v 48). By actual practical, progressive growth and maturity Christians are to show that their union with the Messiah is real. The Breath within them gives a new dynamic, direction and tone to their character and their life, working in opposition to the impulses that still remain active within the fabric of their fleshly constitution.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [58] – Two fundamental principles

 ‘…Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time 2 because the fundamental principle of the Breath, [Pneuma], the Life within Jesus the Messiah, has set you free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death. For the powerless incapable law, within which it is weak and feeble by means of the flesh, God, having sent His Son within resemblance of self-forfeiting flesh, and concerning self-forfeiture and loss, has condemned self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh’, (Romans 8 v 1 - 3).

Paul mentions two opposing fundamental dynamic principles of movement within Christians – 

Life within Jesus the Messiah

And

Self-forfeiture, loss, and the death

The principle, inclination and direction of movement towards self-forfeiture, loss and death is inherent within the fabric of our fleshly constitution and works in opposition to God. As a Christian, ‘I’ closely identify with delight in the honourable, praiseworthy law of God, but this principle within my fleshly constitution leads me to self-forfeiting behaviours that ‘I’ do not intend. 

But Christians are brought forth as part of the free gift of God by means of the Messiah and they possess the set-apart Breath that is moving on the basis of the fundamental principle of Life within the Messiah. The consequence is that ‘the Breath, [Pneuma], has set them free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death’. Christians possess a direction of movement, a current, deep within their inner core that ‘outsiders’ or ‘unbelievers’ do not possess. 

How does this relate to the written codes of Covenant law? ‘For the powerless incapable law, within which it is weak and feeble by means of the flesh, God, having sent His Son within resemblance of self-forfeiting flesh, and concerning self-forfeiture and loss, has condemned self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh’, (Romans 8 v 3). Paul has been looking at the objections of those seeking divine approval by means of seeking to obey the injunctions of divine law since chapter 7 v 1. He has not forgotten that Covenant law has been an aspect of his discussion of divine approval, and he returns to divine law in verse 3, in the light of all that he has been saying, particularly since chapter 7.

 

So where does Paul direct Christians when it comes to perpetual Life with a capital ‘L’ - to sensitivity and responsiveness to God and His Messiah? Where do Christians look to obtain Life-energy that opposes the impetus of self-forfeiture, loss and death inherent in their flesh, in their day-to-day existence? ‘Aha!’ say Christian legalists. ‘We look to divine law! We look to the written codes of Mosaic Law – of Sinai Covenant Law, such as the Ten Commandments - to spur us on towards a clean, godly life.’ But that is not what Paul says here, or anywhere else. Given what he has been saying, Paul initially points Christians to the free gift of by means of Jesus the Messiah.

How is divine approval attained and maintained in daily life? How is self-forfeiture dealt with? Not by turning to try to walk in obedience to the written codes of divine law. Why don’t Christians turn to Covenant law if they agree with delight in divine law that is good, honourable and praiseworthy? Christians don’t turn to divine law because it is weak, feeble, powerless and incapable. The reason for this weakness of the law is the Christian’s earthy, sensuous, fleshly constitution with its inherent principle of self-forfeiture, loss and death that moves in opposition to God. 

Divine approval is attained like this - God loves the world in this way – He sent His only-begotten Son in the likeness of flesh, such that His Messiah condemns self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh. Paul does not direct Christians to divine law because our fleshly constitution makes the law weak and ineffective. Instead, he directs Christians to the good news of the free gift of God, Jesus the Messiah. Why? He will explain in the next verse.  

Principles of living a godly life [44] – Self-forfeiture, loss and divine law [1]

 ‘Because self-forfeiture and loss, having taken hold of a starting point by means of the injunction, thoroughly deceived me and by means of it, slew me. 12 So that therefore law is indeed set apart, and the injunction set apart, righteous and intrinsically good’ (Romans 7 v 11, 12).

If we are in any doubt as to what Paul has been saying in the previous verses, he restates what he said in verse 8 so that we are clear what happens to us as ‘unbelievers’ existing within the realm of the flesh. Paul says, ‘I encountered knowledge gained by means of divine law and I initially thought it was a means to gain and maintain divine approval – ‘Do this and I will live’. But instead, self-forfeiture and loss took hold of an initial starting point presented by means of the injunction or commandment. 

Here is the principle or the fundamental process –

Knowledge of divine law raises our self-forfeiture and loss to life, which then begins to take hold within us

By means of the knowledge that he gained from divine law, self-forfeiture and loss thoroughly deceived Paul. He initially supposed that he was going onward to life and that divine law would lead him to life, to divine approval. But self-forfeiture and loss roused up by means of knowing the law, deceived him and slew him. Knowledge of his self-forfeiture put him to dying away and death. By means of the law he found that his self-forfeiture and loss was much greater and more extensive than he initially thought when he first encountered the injunction. 

So this is Paul’s reply to the objection that he stated in verse 7 – ‘Shall we say ‘The law of self-forfeiture and loss?’ Is it divine law itself that creates self-forfeiture and loss within us? On the contrary, divine law itself is good, clean and set apart, and God judicially approves the injunction.

When Christian legalists are faced with those Christians who say that they are freed away from law through the Messiah, they sometimes make out as though such Christians are saying that divine law is ‘bad’, or that the law itself creates self-forfeiture and loss. In reply they then firmly insist that divine law is good and right, and that it promotes cleanliness and godliness, and that David loved divine law, (Psalm 119 v 97, 113, 163, 165). They imply or even say directly that if you do not love divine law and look to it as a means to promote a godly life then there is something wrong with you as a Christian. They question your loyalty to God or even whether you really do believe after all.   

Nevertheless, despite these protests by Christian (or Jewish) legalists, Paul says in verse 6, ‘But now we [Hebrew Christians] are rendered entirely idle away from the law’. He agrees with legalists that divine law is good and judicially approved. But he also says that by means of divine law, self-forfeiture and loss is roused up and is revealed to reach every part and facet of our being. Divine law is not leading to life and holiness, but to withering away and death – to divine condemnation.

I point out once again that at the moment Paul is still looking at those who know law but who are walking around day-by-day down from their flesh, down from the inclinations of their long established physical constitution. He is looking at those who are not entrusting God and His Messiah. 

However, he has one more anticipated objection in mind before he turns his attention to Christians.

Principles of living a godly life [42] – Human nature and divine law [2]

 ‘But self-forfeiture and loss, having taken hold of a starting point by means of the injunction, fully worked to fashion within me every aspect of inordinate desire’, (Romans 7 v 8a).

Paul has just said that by means of Covenant or divine law he knows what self-forfeiture and loss is. Covenant Law defines self-forfeiture and loss. Divine law sets boundaries on thoughts, emotions, intentions, speech and behaviours, revealing what God approves of and what He disapproves of. 

So what happens? Knowledge of self-forfeiture and no receipt of a portion (of the divine inheritance) is gained by means of knowing divine law. But knowledge of divine law means that self-forfeiture and loss actively takes hold of a starting point and opportunity presented by means of the injunction. Talking about himself, Paul says that the knowledge of self-forfeiture conveyed by means of divine law fully worked to completion within him. Knowledge of self-forfeiture with regard to covetousness fully worked down within him to produce and accomplish an end result. Namely, this knowledge fashioned and formed all of the individual parts and aspects of covetousness, focused passion, yearning and lusting. The knowledge that Paul attained by means of divine law - that passionate, lustful desire was prohibited - also presented within him the opportunity, the opening and starting point for self-forfeiture and loss. His awareness of what self-forfeiture and loss is with regard to covetousness sprung to life and it worked within him to form self-forfeiture and loss with regard to every aspect of passionate, lustful desire that he possessed. His awareness of self-forfeiture and loss because of his covetousness increased, he saw it as being present in so many aspects of his passionate desires. But it was not the law itself that was producing this result, but rather the ‘self-forfeiture and loss’ within him. It was everywhere within him, often in subtle and unexpected ways. 

The Greek word that Paul uses is ‘hamartia’, which is almost universally translated into English as ‘sin’. In its more strict definition it is a noun derived from ‘A’ – ‘not’ or ‘no’, and ‘méros’ – ‘a part, a share of’, and it emphasises its self-originated or self-empowered nature – in other words, this loss of a share is not originated or empowered by God. Thus, in its fullest sense it is ‘self-forfeiture leading to no-share or portion of the divine inheritance’. It was this ‘self-forfeiture and loss’ that was working within Paul and producing every kind of form of covetousness, which had been defined by divine law. Passionate desire was present in him before he encountered divine law, but knowing the law constituted the initial starting point of knowing the presence and extent of self-forfeiture and loss, which worked within him to form many instances and aspects of self-forfeiture and loss in relation to his passionate desires.

At this point in his discussion, Paul is still thinking primarily of the dynamic process that takes place within ‘unbelievers’ – who are walking around day-by-day down from their flesh, because they are enslaved to their natural, earthy, ancient humanity or physical, fleshly constitution. In other words, this is the dynamic process that takes place when unbelievers encounter divine law. Paul does not introduce the present tense until verse 14. From verse 7 to 13 he uses the past tense, which means that he is referring to himself before God brought him forth. 

Principles of living a godly life [41] – Human nature and divine law [1]

 ‘What then? Will we say ‘The Law of self-forfeiture and loss’? May it not be caused to happen! However, I would absolutely not know self-forfeiture and loss if not by means of Law, for also I would absolutely not know covetousness if the Law had not said, ‘You will not covet’,’ (Romans 7 v 7). 

In verse 5 Paul said that ‘when we existed within the flesh, the passions, the self-forfeiture, actively and effectively worked within our limbs and members through the means of the law, penetrating towards the bringing forth of fruit, the death’. Paul also says elsewhere that ‘law entered close beside in order that the falling away became greater in number’, (Galatians 5 v 20). Law increases the amount of transgressions and the wayward raw passions and energies inherent in the fabric of our fleshly constitution are working in our limbs by means of the law. In other words, divine law is not leading ‘outsiders’ or unbelievers to live a life of set apart cleanliness at all. But when Christians are brought forth by God they are rendered idle with regard to serving God within the sphere of the law.

So Paul immediately anticipates another objection from those who know the law. He frames the objection in terms of a rhetorical question. ‘What then? Will we say ‘the Law of self-forfeiture and loss’?’ Will we say that the Law is at fault? Is Law failing in the purpose of producing cleanliness? Is the Law creating self-forfeiture and loss in us? He answers immediately. ‘May it not be caused to happen!’ 

To illustrate his point he quotes the beginning of the tenth Commandment, ‘You will not covet’, (Exodus 20 v 17; Deuteronomy 5 v 21). The word ‘covet’ means ‘to have focused passion’, ‘to yearn for’, ‘to greatly desire to do or have something’, ‘to long for’, ‘to desire very much’, or ‘to lust after’. Mosaic or Sinai Covenant Law takes an enormous step forward in advance of many other ancient codes, because most of them stopped short at actual action or behaviour. Just a few went on to speech, but few if any laws addressed an individual’s thoughts or passions. But divine law says, ‘You will not covet’, you will not hold on to the thought and passionate desire for something. Coveting proceeds from our heart or deep inner core, (Proverbs 6 v 25), and when it carries across into our behaviour it brings forth self-forfeiture and loss, the thought and desire is brought to completion in the act. 

Paul says ‘in the absence of divine law I would not know that if I covet then I self-forfeit incurring loss. Covenant Law is the means by which I know that I am self-forfeiting. Until the law revealed it, I had no knowledge or consciousness of divine disapproval, self-forfeiture and loss with regard to coveting.’ Without doubt there were those who desired their ‘neighbour’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, but before the giving of Covenant Law this would not be readily perceived as a divinely disapproved-of desire for that which was forbidden. Because no written code existed to reveal that God disapproved of such passionate desire. The Apostle did not know covetousness as something that was disapproved-of by God until he was confronted with the law opposing it. The desire might have existed within him, but he would not have known that God disapproved of it to the point of his self-forfeiture and loss. The written codes of divine law place boundaries on his desires, as well as his speech and behaviour, teaching him what God judicially approves of and what He disapproves of. Divine law teaches where lawful indulgence ends, and where self-forfeiture and loss begins.

It is not Divine Law itself that is missing the mark, nor is it failing. So what is the dynamic process that happens? Paul is about to tell us.

Principles of living a godly life [40] – Christians, ‘unbelievers’ and divine law

 ‘Because when we existed within the flesh, the passions, the self-forfeiture and loss were actively and effectively working within our limbs and members through the means of the law, penetrating towards the bringing forth of fruit, the death. 6 But now we are rendered entirely idle away from the law, having died within that holding us down tight, in order that we are serving within new, fresh breath [pneuma] and absolutely not within obsolete writing’, (Romans 7 v 5, 6).

Paul is speaking to Hebrew Christians who know divine law, (verse 1), and said that the law only has authority whilst an individual is alive. When they die, the law is rendered idle. Speaking to his fellow Jewish Christians says, ‘brothers, you also were put to death, the law by means of the body of the Messiah penetrating into you becoming another, the having been aroused from out of the dead, in order that we begin and continue to bear the fruit of God’, (verse 4). I explored this in the previous two posts. 

Divine law had been given to God’s chosen ethnic group – the Jews – as part of the Sinai Covenant. They possessed it as an advantage and privilege. But now Paul is telling these Hebrew Christians that their ‘old self’ has died and that therefore divine law is rendered idle. He now begins to explain why this is the case even for Jewish Christians. In doing so, he first looks back to how these Jews existed before they became Christians.

They existed within the realm of the flesh like everyone else. They were concerned to increase their wealth, comfort and status, and they sought physical pleasures and stimulation. As Jews they were familiar with the written codes of the Sinai Covenant, but this knowledge did not increase their godliness or cleanliness. In fact, just the opposite happened. Why? What was the dynamic process that was taking place? It was this: inherent within their physical constitution, within their flesh, the energy and impetus of raw passions – deep strong emotions – penetrating towards ‘self-forfeiture and loss’, actively worked within their limbs with the result of bringing forth ‘fruit’. They carried the passions, impulses, inclinations and working energies within the fabric of their flesh across into their speech and behaviour, bringing about ‘death’ – insensitivity, unresponsiveness and the darkness of ignorance with regard to God. These disapproved-of energies and passions were defined and increased by means of divine law, resulting in divine condemnation and disapproval, and the judicial sentence of separation. That is the dynamic process that takes place when those existing within the flesh turn to the written codes and regulations of law – including divine law. Wayward passions and working energies within our physical constitution lead us to death by means of the law. ‘Law is working down settled anger’, (Romans 4 v 15a).

‘But now…’. Paul then looks at the situation of these Jews now that God has brought them forth as Christians. A radical yet subtle change has taken place as I have explained in the previous posts. This polarising change includes the death of their old human appearance, such that they ‘are rendered entirely idle away from the law’. They ‘have died within the sphere of that holding us down tight’, (verse 6a). The dynamic process that I have just described in the previous paragraph is a trap that holds its victims tight, resulting in death. But now, the ‘old self’ even of those who possess and know the written codes of Covenant law, has died. In addition, they are transferred from out of the authority of the Levitical priesthood into a new priesthood such that they are rendered entirely idle away from the written codes of Levitical law and the Sinai Covenant. 

‘Ah!’ says the Christian legalist. ‘What Paul means is that they are rendered idle from ceremonial law, but not the moral law!’ But the Apostles do not make such a distinction. When they talk of law they speak of the law as a unified whole. As Paul indicates at the end of verse 6, by ‘law’ he means ‘obsolete writing’, the written codes and injunctions set out through Moses. The Ten Commandments, written in stone. The Levitical law, the written codes of the Sinai Covenant. 

But this does not mean that Christians are therefore opposed to divine law. They are not ‘anti law’ or ‘antinomian’. It does not mean that they now have permissive licence to do what they want. Christians, including Jewish Christians, are rendered entirely idle from the law ‘in order that they are serving’. Their calling is to serve and honour God and His Messiah who has paid the price to buy them back and is now their new Lord. 

So, if Christians are called to serve and honour God day-by-day, set apart from the worldly arrangement and its values, but they are rendered idle from the obsolete written codes of divine law, then how do they do this? How do they know what to do? Paul tells us the answer in verse 6 – Christians ‘are serving within new, fresh breath’ [pneuma]. Uniquely for Christians, the Breath (Pneuma) that is different and set apart from the world (hagios) has been given to dwell within them. So Paul exhorts Christians to serve within the sphere of the fresh, new realm of the breath – to walk around within the realm of the Breath.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [31] – Divine Law and the error of legalism [1]

Some Christian leaders propose that now that Christians have attained deliverance away from divine condemnation by means of entrusting in Jesus, then in order to go on, live a godly life and attain the highest standards of godliness day-by-day, Christians should now turn to the written codes of divine Law. They should turn to the written codes of the Sinai Covenant, where we find the Ten Commandments for example, to spur them on to avoid sin and encourage holiness. 

Here is Paul’s response to such a suggestion. ‘I wonder and marvel that in this manner you are quickly changing sides and transferring away from your summons within the Messiah’s free gift, penetrating into a different kind 7 that is absolutely not another good message. If whether there are some who are disturbing you and wish to corrupt the good news of the Messiah. 8 But even if we or a messenger from out of heaven proclaim good news to you alongside that good news we announced to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so even at this moment I say, ‘If anyone is announcing good news to you beside what you received, let him be accursed!’’, (Galatians 1 v 6 – 9). Then, after defending his reputation, authority and integrity and that of the Apostles and the gospel message, he repeats the gospel which says that Christians are delivered from condemnation by faith, not by observing the written codes of the Law. Then he says, ‘O unthinking Galatians! Who has begun and continues to fascinate you not to be having confidence and trust the truth - that eyes down Jesus the Messiah announced as crucified? 2 I merely desire to learn this from you, did you receive the Breath [Pneuma] by means of working energies of Law, or by hearing confident entrustment? 3 Are you so thoughtless? Breath [Pneuma] beginning to make complete, [but] now at this present time, flesh? 4 Did you have so much heavy emotion without purpose, if indeed also without purpose? 5 Therefore, the supply of the Breath [Pneuma] to you and active power within you - from out of actions of Law or from out of hearing entrustment?’ (Galatians 3 v 1 – 6). 

Paul does not hold back. He says that a core aspect of the gospel is being undermined. Once again he contrasts the written codes of the Law on one hand, with hearing and persuasion, and with the Breath of God and God’s Son on the other hand. He places these in opposition to each other. If Christians turn to the written codes of Law in their attempt to attain godliness day-by-day, they are entrusting in their own energies and efforts to maintain judicial approval. They are entrusting their own flesh and the energies inherent within their human constitution. This means that they are taking a step backwards. The written codes of divine law are working down settled anger, not godliness.

 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [30] – Divine Law and Divine approval [2]

 Christians are rescued from God’s judicial condemnation by means of entrusting Jesus. God’s chosen deliverer, rather than by seeking to enact all of the written regulations of Sinai Covenant Law. As part of God’s free gift, Christians receive the Breath of God to indwell their deep inner core or ‘heart’ – the foundation of their thoughts, feelings and intentions. Paul places faith and Breath in contrast to working to put into practice the external written codes of the Sinai Covenant. 

So what happens then? What happens in the Christian’s day-to-day life? As a result of their enlightened perception away from the Breath of God, and their entrustment in the Messiah, Christians are exhorted to exercise illuminated self-control so as to live a godly life by walking around within the set-apart Breath of God. Nowhere do the Apostles instruct Christians to turn to and work to put into practice the external written codes of divine Law. But as we have seen, divine Law – with its emphasis on purity, cleanliness and being set apart from the worldly arrangement and its values – has not been abolished. Christians are not given a licence to engage in wayward speech and behaviour because they now trust Jesus. But the exhortation to, and purpose of, living a godly life places them in a battle, in warfare, because within their physical, fleshly constitution, raw energies and passions produce an impetus that leads to speech and behaviour that God disapproves of. No Christian is perfectly clean and pure in their speech and behaviour, despite their best intentions, or their most transcendent experiences. 

Given this purpose and summons to live a godly life and the opposition created by the energies within their physical, fleshly constitution, as well as by the values and behaviours of the world being displayed around them, where does this leave Christians? How are they to go about their daily lives successfully overcoming temptation? How are they to maintain the best standard of godliness that they possibly can? 

Different Christian leaders suggest different approaches, but the particular focus here is on divine Law. ‘Aha!’ say some Christian leaders. ‘Christians need to turn to the written codes of divine Law, like the Ten Commandments, to ‘spur’ them on or ‘goad’ them towards godly behaviour’. Are they neglecting Sunday worship? The Law says ‘Keep the Sabbath set apart’. Are they stealing? The Law says ‘You will not steal’ and so on. But I strongly disagree with this approach. I propose that this is not Apostolic teaching and that it falls into the error of ‘Christian legalism’. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [21] – Divine Law and the Christian priesthood [2]

 The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says that when a Jew becomes a Christian, transference of priesthood is taking place. But in addition, a second key concept is presented in Hebrews 7 v 12. ‘...the priesthood is being transferred, from out of necessity, from out of compelling need, and a transfer of law is coming into being’. There is also a transfer with regard to Covenant Law in that by entering into this new priesthood, the injunctions written in stone concerning the appointment of priests and the high priest are being rendered idle. He goes on to say, ‘Because indeed, there is a setting aside of the preceding command, [the injunction that to qualify for the priesthood, a Jew must be physically descended from Levi], because it is weak and has no utility or benefit 19 because the Law brings nothing to completion – bringing in alongside a more excellent confident expectation by means of which we are coming near to God’,  (Hebrews 7 v 18, 19). 

This is a moderately complex statement so lets break it down into manageable parts. 

There is a setting aside of the Covenant Law about Hebrew priests having to belong to the tribe of Levi 

This setting aside brings alongside a more superior confident expectation

By means of this more excellent expectation, Christians are coming near to God

The Covenant Law regarding the qualification that a Jew must be a Levite before he can be considered for entry into the delegated authority of being priest, is being set aside because it 

Is weak and

Has no useful, practical benefit, because

It brings nothing to completion  

This is in agreement with what Paul says in his letter to the Roman Christians. ‘But now, apart and separate from Law, God’s judicial approval is made clear and apparent, testified and borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets’, (Romans 3 v 21).

I want to note that the Covenant Law regarding the qualification of Hebrew priests is not abolished, dissolved or relaxed, (Matthew 5 v 18, 19). Rather, for Hebrew Christians it is set aside such that a more confident expectation is brought alongside – in parallel to Covenant Law.  

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [20] – Divine Law and the Christian priesthood [1]

 The author of the letter to the Hebrews makes a comparison between two priestly orders – the Levitical order of priests under the Sinai Covenant and its Laws, and the order of Melchizedek. He does this because Jesus is the high priest of those brought forth by God, a high priest corresponding to the order or arrangement of Melchizedek. 

He says,  ‘….if the people were completely fulfilled and made complete through the Levitical priesthood – on the basis that it was ordained and sanctioned by Covenant Law – why is there still need for another priest to be raised up according to the rank of Melchizedek, not being spoken of according to the rank of Aaron? [A Levite] 12 Because the priesthood is being transferred from out of necessity, from out of compelling need, and a transfer of law is coming into being. 13 Because these things [about Jesus as high priest] are being said on the basis of another tribe participating, away from which no one held towards the altar. 14 Because it is very clear that our Lord rises from out of Judah, penetrating into which tribe Moses says nothing around priests. 15 And it is even more abundantly clear if another priest is arising down from a resemblance to Melchizedek, 16 who is not caused to come into being down from a fleshly command of law, but down from power and ability of indissoluble life. 17 Because it is testified: ‘You are a priest penetrating into the age, down from the arranged order of Melchizedek’, [Psalm 110 v 4], (Hebrews 7 v 11 – 17). 

The first key thought for us here is that there is a transference of priesthood. Jews who become Christians are placed into a new and different priesthood with Jesus as the high priest. On becoming Christians they are no longer under the Levitical priesthood but have become members of a new priesthood that resembles that of Melchizedek at the time of Abraham. By comparison, Gentiles who are not Christians are not under the Levitical order of priests. But on being brought forth by God through the Messiah, they too are placed as members of this priesthood that corresponds to that of Melchizedek. 

Jesus comes from the Hebrew tribe of Judah, yet Moses, in mediating the Sinai Covenant and its Laws, says nothing about priests from Judah attending to the altar and its sacrificial duties. Jesus does not arise as high priest from out of a fleshly command of divine Law (verse 16) but from power and ability of an indissoluble life. The phrase ‘a fleshly command of Law’ may at first seem difficult to understand, but in this context it seems to mean the requirement or injunction of ‘the divine Law that states that in order to qualify be a priest a Jew had to be a physical descendant of Levi’ – a Levite.

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 [18] – Jews, Christians and Divine Law

 I have pointed out that YHVH withdrew Himself from His chosen ethnic group, the Jews, such that with the Assyrian and Babylonian Conquests, Israel’s infrastructure, its monarchy, along with its delegated rulers, priestly arrangement, temple and so on were lost. Although exiled Jews returned to their land decades later and the temple was eventually rebuilt, their full infrastructure was never fully reinstated. In due course their promised Messiah was revealed, but despite their advantages in being prepared for their Messiah, Jews rejected Jesus as a charlatan or impostor. 

Speaking to Jews about the Law, Jesus declared, ‘Don’t consider that I come down to loosen or dissolve the law or the prophets, I am not coming to loosen or dissolve, but to fully complete. 18 Because I say to you, ‘So be it up until the heaven and land come alongside. No, not one iota or accent goes away from alongside the law up until all comes into being’, (Matthew 5 v 18, 19). Jesus confirmed what he meant by ‘law’ when he then went on to talk about judicial approval and the depth and scope of behaviours such as murder, adultery and taking oaths.  

Yet in his letter to Christians in Rome, Paul says, ‘But now we are being rendered entirely idle away from the Law, dying and withering away within that holding us down, in order that we serve within new, fresh breath [pneuma] and absolutely not within obsolete writing’, (Romans 7 v 6). He says something similar in his second letter to the Corinthians. ‘Now if the ministry of death, having been engraved in letters on stones and which is rendered idle and inactive….’ (II Corinthians 3 v 7, 8a). Paul always urges Christians who have been persuaded of the Messiah to the point of obedience to live a godly life day-by-day. Yet nowhere does he say to Christians, ‘Therefore walk around within the sphere of the Law and keep its injunctions’. If learning about and trying to obey the injunctions of divine Law was the effective means to live a godly life, then surely this is exactly what the Apostle would have said – but he never does. Instead, he urges Christians to exercise enlightened self-control and walk around within the sphere of the Breath. So how do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory perspectives about the Law? Does every small detail remain, or is it fading away?

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [17] – Jews and Divine Law

 The written codes of divine Law were given to the Jews through Moses at Sinai and form an essential part of the Sinai Covenant that YHVH made with the Israelites, a Covenant that they accepted to be placed under. These written codes present an integrated set of spiritual/moral injunctions. They are not simply a set of moral codes, nor are they a set of prescribed independent religious ceremonies. The morality or ethics that these codes present arise from spiritual considerations and realities. Thus Jews quite rightly saw the collection of laws as an integrated whole. It is not possible to separate these injunctions into two distinct and separate sets of injunctions. But this is what many Christians do – they divide these injunctions into ‘ceremonial’ laws, and ‘moral’ laws. 

I propose that this is a false dichotomy. Rather, what was established was a Levitical priestly order and for Jews, divine Law defined both moral and spiritual boundaries. These injunctions prescribed what was to be done about transgressions of these boundaries. The prescriptions were sometimes like ‘civil law’, involving compensation payments or substitute payments to the offended individual, and they were related to the severity of the transgression. Transgressions were also atoned for in ceremonies performed by the priests, and these usually involved sacrifices of birds and animals. Sometimes compensation payments and sacrifices were prescribed. There were also regular sacrifices of animals and birds to which Jews contributed. These provided a more general atonement for self-forfeiture. Such sacrifices were based on the concept of life-blood and life-breath. Thus I am proposing that divine Law provided an integrated, holistic system of injunctions, prescriptions and priestly sacrifices. 

As the book of Ezekiel outlines in overview, Jews and their leaders were often wayward and negligent with regard to the Covenant and to divine Law. The priesthood and Israel’s leadership were often corrupt, and the people engaged in idolatry. Eventually YHVH stopped being patient with them and His honour and praiseworthiness departed. The infrastructure of - its monarchy, temple, priestly order and sacrifices was rendered ineffective by the Assyrian and Babylonian Conquests. YHVH withdrew Himself to leave Jews to their own mistaken, empty thinking and desires. Even after Jewish captives were allowed to return to their land decades later, the previous orderly system was never fully restored. Jews lived in ‘occupied territory’ and were governed as a province of various Gentile empires. Eventually, in 70 AD, the rebuilt temple was destroyed and Jews were thrown out of their historical homeland. God’s withdrawal away from Jews continues down to this present day, but as well as presenting God’s judgements in advance, the Hebrew Prophets also present the promise of future restoration, prosperity, security and godliness for Jews. 

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).