Gal. 4:6 says, And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Rom. 8:15 says, For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
In the OT the relationship of God to His
people had limits. When Israel first
gathered at Mt. Sinai after the exodus from Egypt, Moses gave explicit
instructions that no one was to touch, much less go up on the mountain, lest
they die. The people were excluded from
serving in the temple; only the Levites and priests could do this ministry. The veil between the Holy Place and the Holy
of Holies was, of course, a constant reminder of this separation.
We also know, in the time of the prophets
(esp. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) God revealed the promise of a New
Covenant. In today’s passages you read
Jeremiah’s description of that covenant.
The law would no longer be an external reality but would be written on
the minds and hearts of the people. And
truly, Israel and God would have a deeply personal relationship, so deep and
personal that they would not need to be taught to know God: they would simply
know Him! All these promises were
founded on the reality of the forgiveness of sin. This covenant would come once the perfect once-for-all
sacrifice for sin was complete.
How would God do this? The answer would involve the work of His Spirit
and the indwelling of His Spirit in those who received the covenant
blessings. The Ezekiel passage answers
that question. It will involve cleansing
(36:25). It will involve a new creation,
a new heart and spirit within the covenant participants (36:26). Then He says, I will put My Spirit within
you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do
them. What was an occasional case in
OT times, that the Spirit of God would come upon someone for a season, would
become the norm, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in every individual that was
under the new covenant.
We ask again, how did God establish this deep
intimacy between Himself as God and the individuals? The two verses in the opening paragraph today
speak of this relationship as an “Abba, Father” relationship. I have heard with my own ears the cry of a
child for his father in Israel: Abba! Abba!
What Paul is talking about is the intimate relationship God promised through
the New Covenant. The promise, made to
Israel, was intended to be available to the Nations as well, through
Israel. The fulfillment and application
of this covenant is what is at stake in Galatians.
As the father welcomed the son from life under
the tutor to full sonship, so God promises: And I will not hide My face from
them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’
says the Lord GOD (Ezek. 39:29).
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