Christ was not Exempt

Galatians 4:1-5

1Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

2but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

3So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.

4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

5so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

I think Paul makes a very good point here that needs not to be skipped over. This is why I stopped here in the middle of his thought process. Christ too was born under the Law, not outside of it. He had the experience of it. He didn’t just come in from outside the Jewish community and say that what they are doing is wrong or foolish, rather He lived it out.

Imagine someone offers you advice or help in something, would it not be more influential if that person went through the same things you are, in order to better relate and help? Christ did the same by living under the Law. It is how He was able to fulfill the Law like no other.

Not to neglect the beginning of this passage: Paul is talking still discussing the purpose of the Law. Until Christ was crucified, the Law acted as a “manager”, in other words, it gave us the requirements for righteousness. Once Christ was hung on the cross, a New Covenant was created (reference the splitting of the veil, the Mosaic Law dictated by the commandments as the original or “old” covenant). Now, the requirement for righteousness is simply accepting Christ’s gift of fulfillment and forgiveness. He fulfilled the Law in our stead, since we cannot AND He acted as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins (note: under the Law, sacrifices had to be made for atonement).

What would you rather do, live under a Law that you cannot fulfill or accept the gift of someone fulfilling it for you?

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