Behold, how good and how pleasant it is! For brothers to live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (v. 2)

All who want to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And all who will follow this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (vv. 12-16)

In my opinion, the letter to the Galatians has the most logical flow among all Paul’s letters. Or it may be that the Galatians still have much relevance to today’s issues in churches. Paul admitted using human terms/arguments to explain the mysteries of God to persuade people in other letters. But I see little of that used in this letter. It is compact, clear, and straightforward. It is easy to see what was in Paul’s minds. There is no trace of the Covenant Theology or the Active Obedience of Christ.

As always, the conclusion or the summary is the most important. In this chapter, Paul talks about love among the saints. Love is the foundation of the kingdom of God. Paul seems to refer this love as the law of Christ to distinguish it from the Mosaic Law that condemns. Paul repeatedly connected this love with Christ’s death on the cross.

Paul never says that Adam could have saved all mankind if he had kept God’s command in the garden of Eden. Instead, he talks about new creation through Christ. The new creation could never be achieved through Adam.

For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (v.15)

He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18)

Those who support the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC) say that the idea can be found in Luther and Calvin. Both were educated under the Roman Catholic system. There may be a trace of the heretical teaching by the Roman Catholic scholars in their writings. But I am confident that both have not written anything that would weaken Christ’s work on the cross. Christians have been criticized for being antinomians by the legalists. Although the saints uphold the Law, we sometimes overly emphasize the Law to avoid such criticism. There are always people who misinterpret the freedom and indulge in sins within churches. The letters in the NT rebuke and admonish people in churches who are prone to fall into temptations. This does not mean our salvation depends on our works.

Those who follow the Covenant Theology (CT) believes that Christ came to fulfill a condition. And by His works, that condition was met. They conclude that Adam also had to meet a condition in the garden of Eden. They say that Adam had to work to earn eternal life. This theory lacks the understanding of the relationship between the Father and the Son.  It is true that the Son came for a purpose. For that purpose, the Son did everything commanded by the Father. But it is important to know that the Father provided everything for the Son to achieve the goal of making the kingdom. It is because the Father has the unconditional love for His Son. The Father’s glory is the Son’s glory and vice versa. The Son is one with the Father. If God puts a condition to reach a goal and meets the condition by HIMSELF, it is more appropriate to say that God has planned and fulfilled it. The word “condition” is used unnecessarily to distort the true nature of the Covenant of Grace. It is not the works that fulfill but the one who does the works. The nature of the covenant (or promise) between the Father and the Son is unconditional love. Adam was a shadow of Christ, but he was not like Christ. God tested him and he failed because of the nature of the relationship between the Father and Adam was not like that between the Father and the Son. Therefore, Adam needed Christ in the garden of Eden. By his works, he could achieve nothing. But Adam thought he was like God as we read Ezekiel 26-28.

The Father and the Son are united in love. God invites us to that relationship by being united with the Son. The conditional covenants exist for us to seek Christ. This is where the Federalism fails. There is no love in their theories. There are only the Law, sin, and punishment. When they use the word, love (or grace), it feels out of place. Their god tests, punishes, and saves to show his love and grace when he could have helped Adam and saved all mankind according to their theory. Their god deliberately promoted Adam’s disobedience. And their god delights in punishing and watching people suffering. They keep saying God inevitably punishes because He is just. They long for the garden of Eden without suffering. Then why did God give Adam a test that he could not overcome? The churches have become a place where people are beaten by the Law, feel guilt, fear, and work for salvation.

I have had a few opportunities to talk about the Covenant Theology with a few ministers. One graduated from the Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. I was shocked when he said the saints do not become better than angels at the end. I challenged him with 1 Peter 1:12. Then he changed his words and said that we become a little better than the angels. I could see that he learnt theology by books not through the words of God. If God does not give us more than Adam received in the garden of Eden, we can only conclude that Adam’s failure happened accidentally without a purpose. Adam’s failure teaches us how stupid we are without being united with God through the Spirit. But the Son of God is also the Son of Man with the Spirit, different from Adam. Only through Christ, the saints can become adopted children of God and live forever. We will never fall again. God gave Adam the test that he could not overcome so that we would wait for Christ. Adam’s failure leads us to seek adoption through Christ.

The Covenant Theologians have confused people and led them to salvation by works. They say that God was angry because Adam failed to keep His command. They emphasize on the Adam’s failure and beautify Adam and his life in the garden of Eden. With their theory, there is little understanding concerning why God made the world in the first place and why the saints become adopted children of God through Christ. In their theory, the depth of God’s love is shallow. The kingdom is rarely mentioned because they love to return to the garden of Eden. Their god appears to intervene only when men accidentally fail out of his control because he did not prevent Adam from failing. In addition, they made Adam equal to Christ and made him the only head of all covenants in the Bible. They say there are two covenant heads – Adam and Christ. But they see Adam has determined the fate of Christ, thus superior to Christ. They see Christ as a mere problem solver.

The AOC supports the CT because the theory sees that all God care is obedience to His commands, the Law. It sees that the demise of mankind is because of Adam’s disobedience. The CT and the AOC shift the focus from love shown on the cross to the Law. With the CT and the AOC, it is difficult to explain why God saves only some out of all mankind. They assume that there was a possibility of Adam to succeed and gain eternal life by his own obedience, which means all mankind could have been saved because of his obedience. However, God, who does not change, saves only a certain number of people. This indicates that Adam never had the ability or possibility to save all mankind by his obedience. Besides, the Bible never mentions of the probation period that the Covenant Theologians believe.

The AOC and the CT see that the cross is only for forgiveness of sins. The Covenant Theologians have failed to connect Christ’s resurrection with the saints’ eternal life. Paul and other apostles have repeatedly emphasized the importance of the cross.

My conclusion is that those theories were made in attempt to weaken Christ’s work on the cross. And those who nullify the power of the cross need to read the Bible again.