Galatians 3:29 says, “…if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” The promise referred to here is generally believed to be the Covenant God made with Abraham. In Genesis 17:6-7, God says to Abraham “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” In Genesis 17: 10, God says to Abraham “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” This is all one needed to do in order to receive God’s blessings! No Laws, no Commandments, just this condition.
But later on, God establishes a new Covenant, with Moses and the Hebrews He rescued from Egypt, and at that point He adds the conditions of the Laws and the Commandments. Moses says in Deuteronomy 28:1-6,” And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out…” This is what God essentially says in Leviticus 26.
The question is, which Covenant does Jesus want us to go by? Consider that he said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and he did not come to change anything that is in the Law. If he was talking to the Jews, where does that leave everyone else, to whom Jesus wants his disciples to spread the Word? Did Jesus tell his disciples, ‘Don’t discuss the Law with those whom you want to convey the Word to, just tell them to love God and love eachother.’? That is possible, since Jesus said the Law and the prophets can be summed up in the two commandments of loving God and eachother.
Yet Galatians 3:29, which comes along after Jesus and the Gospels, refers back to the Covenant God made with Abraham, in which all the people had to do to honor that Covenant is to circumcise all the males. It’s a variation of earmarking, except that it’s done in a different place on the body!
But Christ didn’t say he came to uphold the Covenant God made with Abraham, he was focused on the one that God made with Moses and the Hebrews. So why doesn’t Galatians 3:29 say something like ‘…if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise God made to Moses.’? Keep in mind that the Covenant with Moses et. al. is not have limited to just the people that God rescued from Egypt, since Moses says in Deuteronomy 29:14-15, “It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant but with whoever is standing here with us today” Since God mandated that the Law be kept by future generations, it is those that Moses refers to.
Does it matter which Covenant applies? It does, since even the condensed version of the Law and the Prophets that Jesus speaks of, demands more from us than just male circumcision referred to in God’s Covenant with Abraham.
It seems that there are many who profess to be religious, believing in God through Jesus, but, even among the clergy it seems, it is believed that just God’s Covenant with Abraham applies, with one variation perhaps, being that circumcision is not mandatory. Or, some of them may believe we’re under the Covenant God made with Moses, but they ignore the parts of the Law that require we love eachother and help the poor and needy, while upholding the Commandments as they apply to abortion, and the Law as it applies to homosexuality. But doesn’t it say in James 2:8-10 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”?
There is yet another Covenant mentioned in the Bible, which comes from Jeremiah 31:34 which says that God will put the Law will be in our hearts.
So, which Covenant applies? And does Jesus refer to Jeremiah 31:34 in any of his teachings?
But later on, God establishes a new Covenant, with Moses and the Hebrews He rescued from Egypt, and at that point He adds the conditions of the Laws and the Commandments. Moses says in Deuteronomy 28:1-6,” And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out…” This is what God essentially says in Leviticus 26.
The question is, which Covenant does Jesus want us to go by? Consider that he said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and he did not come to change anything that is in the Law. If he was talking to the Jews, where does that leave everyone else, to whom Jesus wants his disciples to spread the Word? Did Jesus tell his disciples, ‘Don’t discuss the Law with those whom you want to convey the Word to, just tell them to love God and love eachother.’? That is possible, since Jesus said the Law and the prophets can be summed up in the two commandments of loving God and eachother.
Yet Galatians 3:29, which comes along after Jesus and the Gospels, refers back to the Covenant God made with Abraham, in which all the people had to do to honor that Covenant is to circumcise all the males. It’s a variation of earmarking, except that it’s done in a different place on the body!
But Christ didn’t say he came to uphold the Covenant God made with Abraham, he was focused on the one that God made with Moses and the Hebrews. So why doesn’t Galatians 3:29 say something like ‘…if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise God made to Moses.’? Keep in mind that the Covenant with Moses et. al. is not have limited to just the people that God rescued from Egypt, since Moses says in Deuteronomy 29:14-15, “It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant but with whoever is standing here with us today” Since God mandated that the Law be kept by future generations, it is those that Moses refers to.
Does it matter which Covenant applies? It does, since even the condensed version of the Law and the Prophets that Jesus speaks of, demands more from us than just male circumcision referred to in God’s Covenant with Abraham.
It seems that there are many who profess to be religious, believing in God through Jesus, but, even among the clergy it seems, it is believed that just God’s Covenant with Abraham applies, with one variation perhaps, being that circumcision is not mandatory. Or, some of them may believe we’re under the Covenant God made with Moses, but they ignore the parts of the Law that require we love eachother and help the poor and needy, while upholding the Commandments as they apply to abortion, and the Law as it applies to homosexuality. But doesn’t it say in James 2:8-10 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”?
There is yet another Covenant mentioned in the Bible, which comes from Jeremiah 31:34 which says that God will put the Law will be in our hearts.
So, which Covenant applies? And does Jesus refer to Jeremiah 31:34 in any of his teachings?
