Dr. Timothy Tennent: The “ABCs” of Christian Identity
A Reflection on Galatians 3:23-29
Today our culture is conflicted by various identities which are set at war with other identities. Whether it be Republicans and Democrats, the poor and the rich, those who watch FOX news and those who watch CNN, black people and white people, rural and urban, red states and blue states, gay and straight, immigrants and the native born, and the list goes on and on. Galatians 3:23-29 is a wonderful text for such times as these. Paul begins by describing how the Law served as a tutor (literally, child-minder) until the time when Christ came. But, now that we have been justified by faith, we have entered this new sacred sphere known as Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to live in this new sphere called Jesus Christ? Paul describes this in verses 27-28 with three markers which radically re-frame who we are and transform how we understand our identity. The three transformative markers Paul gives to us begin with the letters, A, B and C, respectively. The three markers are Adopted, Baptized and Clothed. This is why I am calling these three markers the “ABCs” of Christian identity.
First, we have been Adopted. Paul says, “you are all sons of God through faith.” Paul inserts a radical “all” in the text by moving the word for all (pantes) to the front of the sentence for emphasis. We should read it as all of you are now declared to be “sons of God.” Some modern translations have chosen to insert the word children here rather than the word sons. However, Paul intentionally does not use the word for children (teknon, a word he uses quite a bit in his writings, including this very letter to the Galatians). Modern ears, of course, hear the word son as an exclusionary word which somehow only applies to males. However, Paul intentionally uses the word for son (huios) here because he is talking about adoption and inheritance. In the ancient world, only first-born sons received inheritances. Daughters did not. So, by calling all of us “sons of God” he is actually inserting a radical egalitarianism. He is saying, in effect, men and women are both equally heirs of the promise. If you are a man in Christ, you are a “soned son,” i.e. someone who has been declared a son; if you are woman in Christ, you are a “daughtered son” since you also share the full rights and inheritance of firstborn sons.
Second, we have been Baptized. Paul says that you were “baptized into Christ…” (vs. 27). In Pauline theology, your baptism is not merely a demarcation line separating your previous life as unjustified sinners from your life now as sinners, but justified. It is, more profoundly, a divine work which transfers you and me from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of his beloved Son. When you were baptized, you didn’t just cross a line; you entered a kingdom! When you were baptized, you didn’t just receive forgiveness, you received an inheritance! When you were baptized, you didn’t just leave the past, you entered the future! You didn’t simply have something forensically declared of you, but something eschatological happened to you! You are now dwelling in this sacred space called Jesus Christ. This is why Paul’s favorite expression for describing Christians is as those who are “in Christ” (75 times in the New Testament). This is that new sacred space I mentioned earlier.
Third, we have been Clothed. Paul says that those who have been baptized have “clothed yourselves with Christ” (vs. 27). The verb is enduo, meaning “to clothe.” What is the difference or added significance of clothing which is not already present with words like adopted and baptized? Clothing has the added emphasis in the New Testament that we are being empowered by God to appropriate this new identity in our lives. It is the power of the Spirit which applies Christ’s work to our lives, makes us holy and empowers us for effective witness in the world. Remember the words of Christ just before his ascension when he told the disciples to wait until they had been “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). It is the Holy Spirit who can turn us from our self-focus to a new Kingdom focus. One of the earliest definitions of sin in the early church was called the “incurvatus en se” i.e. the “heart turned inward upon itself.” Only the gospel can move us from a posture of anger, divisiveness, bitterness, and offense, bringing us to this new sphere of love, joy, and reconciliation.
So, now that we have been adopted (justified), baptized (brought into a new kingdom) and clothed (empowered by the Holy Spirit), we have an identity which transcends all other identities. This is why Paul goes on to say, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Notice that these three couplets (Jew/Greek – Slave/Free – Male/Female) are the three categories which frame our identities: racial identity (Jew/Greek), social status (slave/free) and gender (male/female). Isn’t it amazing that our identity with Christ is so powerful that it is able to bring people together into one glorious communion which is even more powerful than the bonds of race, social status or gender? This is not a reality which we have to wait for in the sweet “by and by”, but one which is already breaking into our midst through God’s work in his body, the church.
We live in a culture which, however unwittingly, is finding new ways to pit everyone at war with everyone else in a kind of social “M.A.D”ness (Mutually Assured Destruction). This has been building for decades, but has reached a fevered pitch in recent years. The church must rise up in this generation and demonstrate before the eyes of a watching world a “more excellent way.”
Thank you. This is a wonderful article. I really like the way you use the original language to give us a better, more accurate, understanding of the scripture.
How redemptive your word, Dr. Tennent! Timely, profound, and transformative!
I work in the gym of a large community center. Two large TV’s hang on the wall above some of the exercise equipment. One is always on ESPN. The other is on one of the cable news networks–which one depends on who grabbed the remote last. Obviously, certain cable networks help define the identity of many. It would be great if there were a Paul Network that could define our identity through these ABC’s. Thanks for the excellent summary.
Amen. The same chapter says that we “take off” those other identities and the old person. Many identities compete with my Christ identity but none of them are primary. In Christ, there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and by extension, one church, one head, and one name that is above all other names. In this age of identity politics, what does it mean for Christians to take off the old and put on the new?
Thank you for your word. This is just about the only Good News left. I have turned away from most news in that it is almost always divisive, negative, and sad. If there ever were a time for the outpouring of God’s grace, this is it. We have a lot of work to do. Let us begin with prayer. Blessings
There are implications and applications across the entire spectrum of human life together and individually.
Thank you.