There was a problem with the recording. There was a conversation that should not have been held in that context. Though I was finally able to pause the recording, the recorder was also muted. There is a gap between 9:24 and 23:56. My apologies.
Opening Prayer
Last Week
What was valuable, or what stuck with you from last week?
A Question About Faith In/Of Christ
As we were talking about faith last week, the question was
raised about a reading from Galatians 2:16 about faith. “… and yet because we
know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith
in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This
was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of
the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.” It
was noted that some translations had it as faith of Jesus Christ,
which has a different sense to it. So which is it?
First – Major English translations use each of the possible
translation, but the solid majority translate it faith in Jesus Christ.
Notably, the KJV translates this text faith
of Jesus Christ, so that older books would likely default to this
reading of the text.
Second – The text could be translated either way on the
surface. The question is whether the form of Jesus Christ makes it the
subject or the object of the statement.
If it is
the subject, then the phrase would be faith of Christ Jesus,
meaning
Jesus Christ’s
faith (in God) – possessive
Jesus Christ’s
faithfulness
Or God’s
faithfulness revealed in Jesus Christ
If it is the object, then it is
translated faith in Christ Jesus, which needs no further
explanation.
Third – I am inclined to favor the faith in Jesus
Christ translation for the following reasons:
If we read
a little further into Galatians 2:16, the verse continues with the statement,
“and we believed in
Christ Jesus, so that we were declared
righteous by faith in Christ and not by works of Law….”
There
is a consistency with we believing (same root word as faith) in …
An insight
from Bultmann, “Paul never defines faith. The nature of faith is given in the
object to which
that faith is directed …. Faith
always means faith in … of faith that…”[1]
This
indicates that faith is always personal (it belongs to a person), and that
personal faith unites
us
in Christ with all fellow members of the Church. We are “in Christ.”
The way the
Bible talks about faith/believing
Exodus
14:31 – Israel believed in the LORD
Numbers
14:11 – God asks, “And how long with they not believe in me…?”
Psalm
78:22 – States that Israel did not believe in God and did not trust his saving
power.
Matthew
27:42 – The Sadducees say that if Jesus came down from the cross they would
believe
in Him.
John regularly
speaks of believing in Jesus – 2:23, 3:15-18, 3:36, 4:39, 6:29-40, 7:5, 7:31, 8:30,
9:35, 10:42, 11:25-23,
11:45-48, 12:11, etc.
Romans 10:1-10:15
10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and
prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation. 2 I
can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge. 3 Since they are ignorant of the
righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness,
they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. 4 For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who
believes, 5 since Moses writes about the
righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will
live by them. 6 But the righteousness that
comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who
will go up to heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down 7 or, “Who
will go down into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the
dead. 8 On the contrary, what does it say? The
message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the
message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess
with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One
believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the
mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture
says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same
Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Israel’s Rejection of the Message
14 How, then, can they call on him
they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about
him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And
how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
10:6-8
Deuteronomy 30:11-15 – “This command that I give you today
is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. 12 It
is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for
us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 13 And
it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get
it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14 But
the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may
follow it. 15 See, today I have set before you life
and prosperity, death and adversity.
The message of faith is all about God coming to us.
[1]
Bultmann cited by F.F. Bruce in The Epistle to the Galatians: A
Commentary on the Greek Text, Eerdmans, 1982, 138-140
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