The Fullness Of Time

Chapter Five
Union With Christ And The
Theology of Galatians

It is not possible to understand Paul's theology and preaching rightly apart from a clear comprehension of the doctrine of the believer's union with Christ which pervades all Pauline literature. Indeed, John Murray was right when he wrote, "Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation" (Murray 1961,170). Herman Ridderbos has referred to this teaching as "one of the most typical motifs of Paul's preaching" (Ridderbos 1987,58). This being true, we cannot possibly hope to gain a proper understanding of the theology of Galatians apart from a consideration of this theme.

Although the Epistle to the Galatians is not as replete with typical Pauline references to the believer's union with Christ ("in Christ," "with Christ," etc.) as other of his epistles, e.g., Ephesians, this motif clearly permeates its theology. There are at least five phrases in the Galatian Epistle by which this truth is expressed. They are "in Christ" (2:4,17; 3:14,26,28; 5:6) "with Christ" (2:20 ET), "baptized into Christ" (3:27), "clothed in Christ" (3:27) and "of Christ," i.e., belong to Christ (3:29; 5:24).

"In Christ"

The phrase that Paul uses most often in the Galatian Epistle to express this truth is "in Christ." In reality, the other expressions are all related to this one. They either result from the "in Christ" union, e.g., Paul has died "with Christ" (2:20) because he was "in Christ" when He died (cf.2 Cor 5:14), explain how this union has been existentially established ("baptized into Christ," "have clothed yourselves with Christ"), or describe the relationship between Christ and those who are "in Him" (they belong to Christ).

Dead to the Law.

In Gal 2:17 Paul uses "in Christ" (A.V. through Christ) in reference to his right standing before God. Both he and Peter have sought to obtain justification before God, not by their own works of obedience to the law, as Paul confesses he had done formerly (Phil 3:4-9), but by virtue of their union with Christ who has faithfully fulfilled every demand of the law. Two verses later, in explaining an assertion that he made in the preceding verse, he refers to his death to the law by virtue of his union with Christ. He writes, "For I myself through the law died to the law, in order that I might live unto God. I am crucified together with Christ" (Gal 2:19). How is it that Paul has died to the law? Some, e.g., J.B. Lightfoot, Wm. Hendriksen, have understood this verse to teach that the law was the instrument that had led Paul to give up all hope of ever being justified through his own obedience. Thus, he through the law's function of showing sin for what it is had given up all hope (died to the possibility) of ever being put right with God through the law. Commenting on this verse, Lightfoot wrote,

The law then exercises a double power over those subject to it; it makes them sinners, and it punishes them for being so. What can they do to escape? They have no choice but to throw off the bondage of the law, for the law itself has driven them to this (Lightfoot 1981,118).

Similarly, William Hendriksen writes,

It [the law] had not given Paul the peace with God which he so ardently desired. It has scourged him until, by the marvelous grace of God, he had found Christ (because Christ had first sought and found him!) and peace in him. Thus, through the law he had died to the law (Hendriksen 1971,101-2).

There is no question but that these words may be used to describe the effect of the law on one who has seen the awful reality of his sinfulness and his inability to please God through his own obedience, thus killing all his hopes of being put right with God on the basis of his own merit. The problem with this interpretation, however, is not that it does not set forth an important truth, but that it seems to miss another important truth by ignoring the connection between this verse and Paul's assertion that he is crucified together with Christ (v.20 ET). It is better to understand 2:19 as it has been explained by Ellicott (and others) who wrote,

`I died not only as concerns the law but as the law required.' The whole clause then may be thus paraphrased: `I, through the law, owing to sin, was brought under its curse; but having undergone this, with, and in the person of Christ (ch iii. 13 compare 2 Cor. v. 14), I died to the law in the fullest and deepest sense,--being both free from its claims, and having satisfied its curse' (Ellicott 1890,61-2).

In other words, the answer is to be found in the principle of representation. The law has exacted its every demand from him and executed its full penalty on him in Christ his head and representative. It is, therefore, through the law that he has died to the law. But how has this come about? Paul answers, "I am crucified together with Christ." Christ, having been born under the old covenant, has fulfilled its every demand. The law cannot possibly demand more from Him or from those who are united to Him than He has done already. John Brown, commenting on this text, has written,

`By the law having had its full course so as to be glorified in the obedience to death of Him in whom I am, I am completely delivered from the law. The law has no more to do with me, and I have no more to do with it in the matter of justification. And this freedom from the law is at once necessary and effectual to my living a truly holy life--a life devoted to God,' What follows is explanatory of this thought, which was ever present to the mind of the apostle--`I consider myself as identified with the Lord Jesus Christ.' "I am crucified with Christ." I view myself as so connected with Christ, as that when he was crucified I was, as it were, crucified; and I am as much interested in the effects of that crucifixion as if I had undergone it myself. He, in being crucified, endured the curse, and I in Him endured it; so that I am redeemed from the law and its curse, He having become a curse for me (Brown reprint n.d., 37-8).

Christ--the "Seed" of Abraham.

Donaldson argues that the primary point of Paul's argument in Gal 3:6-9 is not the "paradigmatic structure of his [Abraham's] faith, but the fact that it is `in him' (v.8; cf. LXX Gen 12:3; 18.18) or `in his seed' (v.16 cf. LXX Gen 22.18) that the Gentiles are blessed" (Donaldson 1986, 101).

This conclusion seems to be warranted when we consider the way in which Paul defines Abraham's seed in the remainder of Galatians three. In verse eight he quotes the promise that "all the nations will be blessed in you [Abraham]." In citing this Old Testament reference, Paul intends not only to show that God intended to extend His mercy to Gentile believers, i.e., ". . .that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. . . .", but also that this blessing would be extended in connection with Abraham, "in you all the nations shall be blessed." Later he writes, "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed" (3:16). This raises the question, "Who is Abraham's seed?" In Gal 3:16, Paul argues that the "seed" with reference to whom the promise was made is not Abraham's physical posterity, but Christ, and by extension, all who are "in Him." There is no eternal, redemptive, blessing for anyone apart from union with Christ. Circumcision is meaningless (Gal 5:6). Physical descent from Abraham is of no value. Paul boldly asserts in Gal 3:29 that Abraham's seed consists of those who belong to Christ. He writes, "Now if indeed you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise." They constitute Abraham's seed by virtue of their spiritual union with Him who is Abraham's seed. They are heirs according to promise because they are "in Him" concerning whom the promise was spoken. God's promise of spiritual and eternal blessing on Abraham's seed was never intended for those who, although able to claim physical descent from Abraham (Matt 3:9; John 8:33-40), are ignorant of the one in whom alone sinners can know God's smile. The promise is for believers alone, not because their faith merits God's smile (it is through the means of faith, not on account of or because of faith), but because, through faith, they are brought into the experience of union with Christ.

Abraham's Blessing on the Gentiles.

Although the issue of Gentile blessing as it relates to Israel's exclusive relationship to the law will be considered in greater detail in chapter 8, the basis on which God grants blessings to the Gentiles, needs to be considered here.

In Galatians 3:14, Paul directly relates the coming of the blessing of Abraham, i.e., the blessing promised to Abraham, on the Gentiles to the "in Christ" relationship which they enjoy through faith. He writes, ". . . in order that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles in Christ Jesus (A.V. through Christ Jesus), in order that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." He is their point of contact with the Mosaic law. Even though they were never under that covenant, they are in Him who was "made under the law" (4:4). His obedience to the strict demands of that covenant (His righteousness) is put to their account because they are in Him. His death under the penalty and curse of that covenant is credited to them, not because they were under that curse, but because they are in Him.

Existential Union with Christ

There are three senses in which believers are said to be "in Christ." In the plan and purpose of God, they are in Him from eternity past. Gaffin calls this the "predestinarian" aspect of this relationship (Gaffin 1987,57). Secondly, they are in Him in respect to redemptive history, e.g., when Christ died, He died for them and they died with Him. Finally, they are in Him experientially or existentially. It is this third sense that Paul has in mind when he writes, "For as many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (3:27).

Baptized into Christ.

Since it cannot be said that "as many as" have been baptized in water have actually clothed themselves with Christ, it should be obvious that when Paul refers to the believer's "baptism into Christ" he is not referring to water baptism as such but to that of which water baptism is the sign or symbol, namely, the believer's entrance into union with Christ. In Calvin's words, ". . . he calls our attention to the actual fact represented by the outward ceremony . . . ." (Calvin 1948, 111). It is because of the believer's union with Christ, a relationship that he has now entered experientially, that Paul asserts that he and others who have had the same experience are all the adopted sons of God through faith.¹⁸ He writes, "For in Christ Jesus you are all the sons of God through faith: for. . . ." (3:26-7). They are adopted sons of God because they have entered (existentially) into union with Him who, as the eternal Son of God incarnate, has been installed (historically) as powerful Son of God, in a position of sovereignty over the new creation (see Chapter Eight). Richard Gaffin, commenting on the existential aspect of the believer's union with Christ, writes,

Baptism signifies and seals a transition in the experience of the recipient, a transition from being (existentially) apart from Christ to being (existentially) joined to him (Ibid.,50).

Clothed with Christ.

All who have entered (existentially) into this relationship of union with Christ are said to have "clothed themselves with Christ" (3:27,NIV). Thus, believers appear before God, not in their own dress, but robed in Christ. Calvin's comment on these words is terse and to the point. He wrote,

. . .he [Paul] says that the Galatians have put on Christ; but he means that they are so closely united to him, in the presence of God, they bear the name and character of Christ, and are viewed in him rather than in themselves (Calvin 1948,110-11).

"The Faith[fulness] of Christ"

The phrase "the faith of Christ" (pistis Christou or its equivalent) occurs seven times in Paul's epistles (Rom 3:22, 26[?]; twice in Gal 2:16; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9.) Grammatically, this phrase may be taken as either an objective genitive (faith of which Christ is the object), i.e., faith in Christ, or as a subjective genitive, i.e., Christ's faith. Most modern interpreters as well as nearly all modern translations of the Bible understand it as an objective genitive, and render it "faith in Christ." Apart from the occurrences of pistis Christou mentioned above, pistis followed by a genitive of a person or a personal pronoun is found 24 times in Paul's epistles. Twenty times it refers to the faith of Christians, once to the faith[fulness] of God (Rom 3:3), twice to the faith of Abraham (Rom 4:12,16), and once to the man (whomever he may be) to whose account righteousness is imputed (Rom 4:5). In none of these cases does the phrase refer to faith in the person in question. Without exception it refers to the faith of the individual (Howard 1967,459).

If nothing else, this should cause the exegete to think twice before being overly dogmatic about interpreting pistis Christou as an objective genitive.

On the grounds that Paul's use of pistis was influenced by the Hebrew emunah, A.G. Hebert has argued that just as emunah meant both "faithfulness" and "faith," so Paul used "the one word pistis for the two things, Divine faithfulness and human faith"(Hebert 1955,386).

Howard has argued to the same effect, using Rom 3:3 as a model, that just as "the faith of God" in that verse has reference to God's faithfulness, so the phrase, "the faith of Christ" has reference to Christ's faithfulness to His covenant obligations (Howard 1967,463).

If these conclusions are correct, they shed important and helpful light on the texts in which this phrase is found. In the first place, interpreting the phrase as a subjective genitive will avoid the tautology that is created when it is understood as an objective genitive. Let it suffice for our purposes to consider only those instances of its use in Galatians. It occurs twice in Gal 2:16 and once in Gal 3:22. In 2:16, Paul writes,

. . . knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law except (or "but only") by faith in Jesus Christ (O.G.), and we have believed in (eis) Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith in (ek) Christ (O.G.) and not by the works of the law. . . .

The redundancy that is created by the use of the objective genitive "we have believed in Christ that we might be justified by faith in Christ," can be avoided by translating the phrase in question as a subjective genitive. The verse would then read,

. . . knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but only through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ (S.G.), and we have believed in Christ, in order that we might be justified by the faithfulness of Christ (S.G.) and not by the works of the law . . . .

In Gal 3:22, the same tautology exists when the phrase is interpreted as an objective genitive. The verse, in that case, would read, ". . . in order that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ (O.G.) might be given to the ones who believe." Taken as a subjective genitive, it would read this way, ". . . ,in order that the promise by the faithfulness of Christ (S.G.) might be given to those who believe."

Interpreting ek pisteos Christou as a subjective genitive would also alleviate the problem that is created by the use of the preposition ek in relation to the basis of justification. J.B. Lightfoot has commented on this issue as follows, "Faith is strictly speaking only the means, not the source of justification. The one preposition () excludes this latter notion, while the other () might imply it" (Lightfoot 1981,115). Although faith in Christ is never the source of justification in God's presence, the faithfulness of Christ, as the representative of His people, is the source and basis of all God's promised blessings.

Coupled with a proper understanding of the believer's union with Christ, this concept of Christ's faithfulness in fulfilling the demands of that covenant under which He was born is an important key to the interpretation of the theology of Galatians, indeed, of the whole NT body of truth. Richard Longenecker, based on the conviction that the subjective genitive view is correct, writes,

It is the faithfulness and obedience of Christ to the contractual obligation of the Law in His life and in His death, as well as His sacrifice in the incarnation and Calvary experience, that is proclaimed as perfectly executed in the triumphant cry "It is finished." It is through both the sacrifice and the obedience of Christ that reconciliation has been made possible; through both His death and His life. To Him (and to His) have all the promises been made, by Him have all the conditions been met, and in Him lies the fulfillment of the hopes and strivings of Israel--and of all men. . . That which the contractual obligation of the Law demanded, Christ has provided. He stood for mankind in offering the perfect righteousness, so that all who stand in Him stand before the Father not in their own righteousness but as robed in His righteousness. . . And it is because in His sacrifice He redeemed from the curse of the Law and in His perfect obedience He fulfilled the obligations of the law that Paul can say, "Christ is the end of the Law in its connection with righteousness." The sacrifice and the obedience of Christ are corollaries which can never truly be separated (Longenecker 1964,151-2).

18 In verse 26, Paul makes an important ecclesiological statement. Addressing local Churches Galatia he writes, "For you are all sons of God through faith." Paul knew nothing of a "covenant community" composed of "believers and their [unconverted, unbelieving] children." All of those whom he addressed as members of these local Churches were at least professed believers in Christ.