Rescued from this Evil Age

Paul declared that the God who called him to be the Apostle to the Gentiles was the same God who raised Jesus from the dead and thereby “delivered us from this evil age.” His statement anticipated his response to certain Jewish believers operating in the Galatian congregations as if the old era was still in effect. This same Jesus visited and commissioned Saul of Tarsus to proclaim the “Good News” to the Gentile nations.

The resurrection of Jesus was more than the miraculous restoration of life to one man. That event inaugurated the Messianic age, the time of fulfillment for all that God had promised in the Hebrew Bible. Through the Death and Resurrection of the Nazarene, the “powers and principalities” that enslaved humanity were defeated decisively. Nothing could ever be the same again - (1 Corinthians 2:5-8, Ephesians 1:17-23, Colossians 2:15, 1 Peter 3:22).

[Photo by Michael Krahn on Unsplash]

We have been rescued “out of the authority of the darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son.” No longer are we under the dominion of the “powers and principalities,” especially Satan, Sin, and Death. The Son of God came in the “fullness of time” to redeem his people. Upon us have arrived “the ends of the ages” - (1 Corinthians 10:11, Colossians 1:13).

We have received the “ransomed release, the discharge” of the judicial sentence for our transgressions that previously condemned us. That is why Paul can now declare that we have been “rescued from this evil age” even though we still live in the existing fallen world. The jurisdiction of the old order reached its termination point since Jesus is the “end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes” - (Galatians 1:3, 4:3-11, Romans 10:1-4, Colossians 1:12-20).

Jesus “gave himself for our sins.” His death became necessary “on account of” our sins that alienated us from God. He acted for our sake when he surrendered his life on the Cross. This idea is implicit in two declarations by Paul in Galatians:

• “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself ON ACCOUNT OF (huper) me” - - (Galatians 2:20).

• “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse ON ACCOUNT OF (huper) us” - (Galatians 3:13).

History is divided into two ages; firstly, the present evil age, and secondly, the age to come. In the Nazarene’s Death and Resurrection, the “age to come” dawned in the middle of the present evil age. Though we continue to live in a fallen world, we belong to the coming age that, even now, is invading the present wherever the Gospel is proclaimed.

The death of Jesus inaugurated the time of fulfillment. All the promises of God are coming to fruition through him, and the old order is in the process of passing away, present tense - (Romans 12:2, Colossians 1:12-13, 2:19, 4:3-9, 5:5, 1 Corinthians 7:31).

By emphasizing his Death and Resurrection as the basis of all that God has done for us, the Apostle Paul highlights the all-sufficiency of his sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins and our deliverance from Satan, sin, decay, and death.

Thus, seeking salvation and deliverance elsewhere is in vain, including in the rite of circumcision or the other requirements of the Levitical code some Jews insisted upon in Galatia. Only by exercising faith in Jesus and what God achieved through his Death and Resurrection do we receive the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.

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RELATED POSTS:

• Salvation for the Nations - (The Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)

• God Raised Him! - (Paul anchors all that God has done in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which also inaugurated the messianic age - Galatians 1:1-5)

• The Foundation - (Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the resurrection of believers)