Saturday study 4/26/25 Paul and the Law of Moses

Scriptures: 

1. Gen 17; 1Cor 7:17-24; Gal 5:1-12 Circumcision is nothing; 
2. 1Cor 9:1-23 Christian freedom, you are not under the Law;
3. Rom 14; 1Cor 8; Rom 15:1-6 Addendum, on food laws; 
4. Acts 15; 21, Summary.

MOTIVE: Circumcision party alive and going strong!

https://jesuskingdomgospel.com/the-one-god-unitarian-view-is-not-the-gospel/

1. Circumcision is nothing!

READ Gen 17:1-14.

• The reason Paul focused so many of his letters on circumcision is because he knew you cannot do the Law of Moses without getting circumcised. 
• It's a package deal. 
• Similarly, the Law of Moses was a set Menu and not to be treated like a buffet line, as so many Sabbattarians tend to do.   
• In other words, for Paul circumcision was the gateway to Torah observance. 
• That's why some from the party of the Pharisees, who came to accept Jesus as their Messiah, demanded that us Gentiles be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses (as we will read in Acts 15).
• It was clear to them, as it should be to us, that Torah observance had at its center the Jewish covenant responsibility and commandment of circumcision, the sign of God's original covenant with Abraham. And the hallmark for the Abrahamic faith itself, according to Gen 17.

READ 1Cor 7:17-24

Paul further undermines Torah observance. 

• v.18 Paul here clearly says that a man should not be circumcised! 
• v.19 because Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts;
• For Paul circumcision is no longer part of the commandments of God, as we read later in 1Cor 9:21 Paul equates the Law of God = the Law of Messiah; which is notthe Law of Moses!

READ Gal 5:1-12

Paul reiterates the point, this time with a staunch warning! 

• Paul here reverses the circumcision commandment given to Abram, READ Gen 17:1-14;
• God had commanded all males wanting to partake of His land promise to be circumcised. 
• And if they did not they would be cut off from his people because, God says, he has broken my covenant.
• Yet, Paul in Gal 5:4 now says if you get circumcised you will sever or cut yourself off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 
• Also NOTE circumcision was a salvation issue and not just something to be vaguely observed or honored because you love God! Vs for obedience not salvation. 

 

1. Christian Freedom: not under the Law

READ 1Cor 9:1-23 

• vv. 9:20-21 Paul clearly contrasts two laws: the Law of Moses Vs the Law of Messiah.
• OT prophecies like Jeremiah 31.31-32 foretold of this difference when describing the NC. 
• That's why Paul sometimes qualifies the phrase under the law with a negative adverb (e.g., not or never) in order to warn Christians not to observe the Law of Moses.

Rom 6.14: You are not under law but under grace.

Gal 5.18: If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

1Cor 9.20: I myself am not under the law.

• Paul also frequently includes himself by saying “We are not under the Law but under grace.” Rom 6.15; cp. Gal 3.23; 4.5. 
• The point here is that Paul was not some dispensationalist, writing letters applicable only to one set of Christians, i.e., Jews.

BUT WHAT ABOUT?

Paul was born under the Law.

We also know that Paul, like Jesus himself, was born under the Law of Moses but that did not mean Paul had to continue to live and die observing the Torah. That would be like saying that I had to keep observing the laws of my birth country of Nicaragua here in the USA.  

1. Food laws: nothing is unclean.

Rom 14:14-15:6

• v. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in

itself. Again in v. 20b “Everything is indeed clean”

• The annulment of this law was part of the new order brought by Jesus
• Goes back to some of the things said by Jesus pointing to the abolition of the Jewish distinction between things clean and unclean: 

Mk. 7:19c

Jesus declared all foods clean.

Rom 14:14a

"I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself."

• AB Mar 7:19

Paul used the word katharos, “clean,” which is the precise opposite of those foods listed in Lev. 11 as akathartos, “unclean,” forbidden foods under the Torah of Moses. Paul spoke as a Jew and a Christian. 

• In Juaism, koinos often means ritually defiled or impure, equivalent to "unclean" in the sense of violating purity laws (e.g., eating forbidden foods). 
• It contrasts with katharos (clean/pure) in Hellenistic Jewish texts (e.g., Maccabees, Philo).
• Usage elsewhere: Koinos used in Acts 10:14, Peter’s vision of unclean animals.

WARNINGS: 1Cor 8

• Paul also warns this type of new "knowledge" (gnosis) comes with a greater level of responsibility, as Paul repeatedly warns throughout his letters. 

1Cor 8.1 

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

1Cor 8:7

However, not all have this knowledge for some, being accustomed [throughout their lives thinking of idols as real and living], still eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and because their conscience is weak, it is defiled (i.e., they feel guilty, ashamed).

1Cor 8:9 

Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

1Cor 8:10 

For example, suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you, who have this knowledge, eating in a pagan temple.

READ Rom 15:1-6

• NOTE Church tolerance and love should not do away with these NC commandments and always seek to make the weak Christian strong in Messiah.  
• Therefore, if you're a strong Christian you should put up with the weak Christian so as not to please yourself. Rom 15.1
• But always with the goal that eventually all Christians must come to be like-minded in Christ Jesus.
• So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our lord  Jesus Christ. 

Rom 15.5-6

For the church is one body in the one Spirit, just as we all have been called to the 

one glorious hope for the future. 

MORE WARNINGS: Col 2.16a

"So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink." 

Hebrews 13.9

“Don’t be swept off your course by all sorts of outlandish teachings. 

It is good that we should gain inner strength from the grace of God and not from rules about food, which have never benefited those who observed them.”

SUMMARY: Apostolic Church Council

• 8 God, who knows everyone’s thoughts, gave His approval to them by giving them the holy spirit just as He did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, by purifying their hearts by faith. 10 So now why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?
• The NC law re: food was recognized by the Jerusalem council church when it concluded that we Gentiles should not be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses, Acts 15:19

"Therefore [says James speaking for the whole church] I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God."

• And almost 10 years later James ratified this same conclusion.
• I like this paraphrase from God's Word Translation at Acts 21:25a 

"[To clarify this matter,] we have written non-Jewish believers a letter with our decision.

 

• Paul was right to say imitate me as I imitate Messiah (1Cor 11.1) because Jesus himself practiced what he preached, his own NC law and not the OC Law of Moses!
• Hence, Jesus is called the mediator of a new covenant in Heb. 9.15; 12.24. And likewise his followers ministers of that same new covenant! 2Cor 3:6f.

Did Moses Meet Christ? Hebrews 11:26

The following quotes reflect Reformation and modern-day Trinitarian focus on faith as an active, future-oriented trust in God, often at the expense of temporal comfort—themes central to Hebrews 11:26. Not one of these seminal scholars understood the verse as teaching the literal preexistence doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday study notes 4/9/25

 In praise of "sons of men," humanity!  

• Psalms as "sons of men" or "children of men" in various translations.

• Themes are about humanity's place in creation, relationship with God because we share many things that reflect the one God.

NOTE they don’t eulogize humans in the sense of praising them independently but rather in relation to God’s grace, creation, and care.

The focus is often on humanity’s dependence on God or their honored yet humble status in the divine order.

• READ some examples from Psalms 8; 33; 107; 144

In the OT: ben adam

• Appears 107 times in the Hebrew Bible, the majority (93 times) in the Book of Ezekiel.

• Elsewhere used for humanity in general. Numbers 23.19 (NAU)

"God is not a man, that He should lie; nor a son of man, that He should repent.”

• The title never refers to an angel, let alone God Himself. If anything, the opposite is shown.

Psalm 8:3-5 (NIV):

- "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor."

• Context: This psalm reflects on the dignity and worth of humanity, marveling at how God has elevated the "sons of men" despite their smallness compared to the vastness of creation.

• Themes: praises God’s majesty (v. 1) while marveling at humanity’s exalted status as "crowned with glory and honor" (v. 5), directly linking the two.

In the NT: huios tou anthropos

• Jesus’ favorite self-designation, “82 times in the Gospels; see also Acts 7.56; Rev 1.13; 14.14”, (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p 1383). Or around 80 times in only 120 or so Gospel pages (using the NASB)!  

• From the most cited OT verse by NT, Daniel 7:13. For example, John 5:27a reads: “And he [God] gave him [son of man] authority…” And Dan 7:14a: “And authority was given to him [son of man]…” Then John 5:27b tells us why: “Because he is son of man [i.e., a human being].” And Dan 7:13 has already identified the subject as the same exalted, glorified human being.

• In fact, the humanity of Jesus is so important that later Paul warns “if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed” (2Cor 11:4) or “a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you” (Gal 1:8), they run the risk of putting themselves under a curse!

• Read: Hebrews 2:5-14 Humanity text applied to a single human person, the ultimate fulfillment of humanity’s intended glory. While humanity fell short due to sin, Jesus, as the perfect human, embodies the "son of man" who is crowned with glory and honor through His resurrection and ascension.

Other echoes: Ephesians 1:22 "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church";

Matt 28:18: After His resurrection, Jesus declares, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Read: 1Cor 15:20-28 Paul alludes to Psalm 8:6, stating, “For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’” And echoes the idea of dominion from Psalm 8, applying it to Christ’s authority.

Psalm 33:13-15 (NIV):

"From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do."

• Context: This passage highlights God’s omniscience and care over humanity, portraying the "sons of men" as subjects of divine observation and creation.

• NOTE Creation by the word of God, cp. John 1:1-3.

Psalm 107:8-9 (NIV):

- "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

- *Context*: This psalm praises God’s goodness toward humanity, celebrating His provision for the "sons of men."

Psalm 144:3-4 (NIV):

- "Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow."

- *Context*: Here, the psalmist ponders the fleeting nature of human life, yet acknowledges God’s attention to the "sons of men," emphasizing both humility and divine regard.

ADDENDUM: Davidic king as:

• The unique procreated human son of God, Ps 2.7; cp. LXX 109:3;

• Called god, Ps 45.6;

• Called savior, 1Sam 9:16;

• Called the shepherd of Israel, Ps 78:70-72; like God Himself, 23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd";

• Elsewhere worshiped along with God because he is allowed to sit on His throne, 1Chron 29:20-23; cp. redeemed Israel worshiped and prayed to by the nations, Isa 45:14.

• The anointed, consecrated holy one of God, 1Sam 26.9;

• Like the angel of the LORD when it comes to judging and all-knowing, 2Sam 14.17-20

Saturday study notes 4/5/25 Biblical agency exemplifies the NC lawmaker

 Readings: Matt 5:17-20, NC lawmaker; John 5:1-23; Matt 12:1-8; Mark 7.1-23; Agency exemplified by Sabbath, food laws non-keeping!

Intro: Biblical Agency explained

• Malachi 3-4 and others show that application of OT texts about God applied to others does not they are God.

• Sarah's saying: shared titles, names, attributes does not mean the same ID.

https://thehumanjesus.org/2023/02/14/biblical-agency/

https://thehumanjesus.org/2024/12/05/speaking-for-and-as-god/

Malachi 3: Messengers of the NC

• John and Jesus both fulfill and as a result replace the OC Law system.

• Luke 16.16 and Matthew 11.13 the Law and the prophets in effect or in force until John (as some translations say). NOTE this does not mean until Jesus finished his work, i.e., died on the cross!

• John’s NC baptism-ministry marked the beginning of the end (as it were) of the Jewish Temple system as a whole. Think of him as the opening act, not the headliner.

• And the headliner Jesus is the new covenant lawmaker READ: Matt 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

• Jesus did not say: I did not come to abolish Torah but to KEEP the Torah! The word “fulfill" needs to be understood in its proper CONTEXT: Jesus came to give Torah its full and complete meaning/understanding, not simply to REPEAT it.

• The New Living Translation paraphrase nicely captures the sense:

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

• Mat 5.19, the least of these commandments maybe reference back to the beatitudes and what will later follow.

• Jesus as supreme agent, God’s Son embodies and completes the law’s purpose by his NC preaching and practice (Mat 5 beginning of Law of Messiah).

• And Jesus practiced what he preached. To not do so would mean he was a hipocrite, like the Jews he constantly criticized.

• You cannot accuse Jesus of being a sinner, i.e., lawbreaker when he was not subject to that Law of Moses.

• The Gospels present him as Moses redevivus, the NC lawmaker! NOTE the blood/cross itself is not the NC!

The Sabbath: Agency exemplified

https://jesuskingdomgospel.com/did-jesus-break-the-sabbath-or-human-traditions/

Read: John 5:1-23

• Most believe Jesus remained Torah-observant and never broke OC laws like the Sabbath but only “human traditions” or later additions by Jewish scribes and Pharisees.

• But if we look back to the OC Sabbath Law and what God had originally required from the Jews, we see no such "humanitarian exemptions."

• Ex 16:22-30, before Sinai and the 10 commandments: "Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today."

• Ex 20:8-10, at Sinai, the giving of the 10 commandments: "You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates." Cp. Lev. 23:3; Deut 5.12-15 where the 10 are repeated.

• Later prophets like Jeremiah 17:22, 24 and Nehemiah 13.19 add: "You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work."

• The Rabbis confirmed this understanding by saying that carrying anything from one place to another is the last of 39 works forbidden (Mishnaic tractate Sabbath 7:2; carrying empty beds is implicitly forbidden in 10:5).

• First, note that throughout the Gospel of John Jesus repeatedly claims to be the Messiah, i.e., the prophet God had told Moses about back in Deut 18.18-19. NOTE: he was to be a prophet like Moses and not a repeat Moses.

• The prophecy explains why Jesus, in John 5:17, doubles down on the Jewish charge of breaking the Sabbath by saying:

“To this very day [i.e., the Sabbath day in question] My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”

• Again, Jesus stood there on the Sabbath day and declared that he was “working” on that Saturday!

• John rightly concludes:

"For this reason they [the Jews] tried all the more to kill" Jesus because he was "breaking the Sabbath"!

• As a result, Jesus was "making himself equal with God," i.e., Jesus was putting himself on par with God when it came to the Sabbath law.

The NET Bible on v 18 notes that:

In claiming the right to work even as his Father worked, Jesus was claiming a divine prerogative (I.e., authority) as 5:18 goes on to state explicitly for the benefit of the reader who might not have made the connection.”

• So "making himself equal with God" has nothing to do with some metaphysical statement regarding the nature or being of Jesus or God.

• John's simple, yet profound point, has to do with Jesus “working on the Sabbath” (as Jesus himself admits) and as a result “breaking the Sabbath” (as John himself was witness to).

• As unique agent, NC lawmaker Jesus makes "humanitary exceptions" the rule: READ: Matt 12:1-8.

Food laws: Agency exemplified

• Jesus uses his criticism of the tradition of the Jewish elders (about "common hands" and things, 7.2,5) to make a further comment regarding food laws, Mark 7:14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 

Mark 7:15 "Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile make them unclean, koinos."

Mark 7:19b, most translations: “In saying this Jesus declared all foods clean [katharizon].” Cp. parallel account in Luke 11.41 GNT “But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be ritually clean [kathara] for you.”

NOTE unclean animals came to be called "common" during the Maccabean period, BC times.

• Hence, in the NT Greek koinos common is synonymous with akarthatos unclean used in LXX of Leviticus:

Jew-Gentile Table-fellowship

• Jesus practiced what he preached, he ate with “sinners," i.e., Jews or Gentiles who did not meet the demands of the purity regulations of the Torah: Matt 9:10-17; Mark 2:15-22; Luke 5:29-39.

• Jewish ID markers removed by Jesus meaning non-Torah keeper and Gentile inclusion in the Messianic banquet: Luke 13:

28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 

• Verified by Historian Dr. Luke: Acts 10.14b NASB 1995 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy [koinos] and unclean [akathartos].”

• Acts 11.8b NIV “Nothing impure [koinos] or unclean [akathartos] has ever entered my mouth.”

• And the Apostle Paul: Romans 14.14 “I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean [koinos] in itself.” Romans 14.20b “All food is clean [katharos]."

Verified by Apostolic church, Jerusalem Council.

• Gentiles should not be circumcicsed, i.e., not keep the Law of Moses! Acts 15.19

“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

• Almost 10 years later in Acts 21:25a

“With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision and concluded that they observe no such thing.”

Summary

• Only Jesus could declare, time and again, that human needs are now of greater value than Sabbath-keeping.

• Only Jesus, as God’s only-procreated Son, could free both Jews and Gentiles from the unqualified, strict obligations of that Old Covenant Sabbath law.

• And only Jesus could say that his followers “break the Sabbath and yet are innocent”! Mat 12.5.

• Theological Dictionary of the NT: In Mark 2.27 man and his needs are said to be of greater value than the commandment. The absolute obligation of the commandment is thus challenged…. The second saying in v. 28 goes much further: “The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” The Christian community is confessing Jesus, the Son of Man, who as [lord Messiah] decides concerning the applying or transcending of the Sabbath. In His lordship Sabbath casuistry comes to an end.