POSTED 07 JULY, 2009

The Faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

New things are being proposed in today’s contemporary Bible scholarship, and they are opening some unique doors to the developing theology and spirituality of our maturing Messianic movement. One such phenomenon is the proposal that when “works of law” (Grk. ergōn nomou, ergwn nomou) is referred to in the Pauline Epistles (Galatians 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10; Romans 3:20, 28), it is not speaking about “observing the law” (NIV) as such, but more specifically about the halachah of an ancient sect of Judaism (cf. 4QMMT). This has enabled us to see that the issue Paul confronts in Galatians, to be specific, is not necessarily about the Galatians being forced to follow the Mosaic Torah for salvation, but rather the Galatians being made subject to halachic rulings that would require them to become formal proselytes to Judaism in order to be fully accepted among God’s people.[1]

Paul spoke against “works of law” in order for people to be reckoned as a part of God’s community in Messiah Yeshua. This is because identity is to be found elsewhere. But if our principal identity as God’s people is not to be found in manmade “works of law,” then where is it to be found? Paul gives Peter the answer in Galatians 2:16:

“[N]evertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Messiah Yeshua, even we have believed in Messiah Yeshua, so that we may be justified by faith in Messiah and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (NASU).

The Apostle Paul says that we are not to be justified, or reckoned as a part of God’s people, via “works of law.” Instead, as it has been commonly quoted to us, we are brought into covenant with God “through faith in Christ Jesus.” We have to place our trust in what Yeshua did for us on the cross at Golgotha (Calvary), performing what Romans 10:9 tells us to do: “if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It seems pretty straightforward, right?

None of us should ever deny how important it is to place faith and trust in Yeshua for redemption. Ephesians 2:8 so astutely summarizes it: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” But what if I were to tell you, that just as there have been background and translation issues present with properly understanding what “works of law” meant to Paul and Peter, so might there be something more to investigate with what “works of law” are contrasted to?

Faith in or Faithfulness of?

We cannot deny how in informing Peter that justification—in Galatians 2:16 regarding how one is reckoned to be a member of God’s people[2]—does not come by “works of law,” Paul is speaking of human action. But what are these “works of law” contrasted to? Most, reading the English text, would conclude “faith in Messiah Yeshua.” Not an incorrect answer when the wider Biblical narrative is taken into account. Faith or trust placed in Yeshua is important. Paul’s later quotations of Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith” (cf. Galatians 3:11; Romans 1:17), make it clear that he believed that righteous people eternally live by the faith or trust they place in God, and by extension, Messiah Yeshua. The faith that a person is to place in God is originally contrasted to one entreating an idol of his own making (Habakkuk 2:18-20). But what if in passages like Galatians 2:16, faith that people place in Yeshua may not be the specific issue?

The KJV actually rendered Galatians 2:16 with, “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.” The “faith of Yeshua the Messiah” is a bit different than “faith in Yeshua the Messiah.” Could we simply view this as the faith that we should place in Yeshua the Messiah, one that is “of” Him because it is involved with Him or related in a person’s relationship to Him? Or, is this faith something that Yeshua has somehow performed or accomplished Himself, His faithfulness unto death that has secured our redemption?

Discussing the various issues present with the “faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah” is not just an academic exercise designed to split grammatical hairs on some random Greek clauses, taking up time and paper. Considering the “faithfulness of Yeshua” is, rather, an important spiritual exercise where we engage with the Scriptures, the thoughts of various specialists, and we reflect on the original question posed in Galatians 2:16.

Literally speaking, the genitive clause (genitive is the Greek case indicating possession)[3] dia pisteōs Iēsou Christou (dia pistewß Ihsou Cristou) should be rendered as “through faith of Jesus Christ” (YLT). Some modern study Bibles are having to place footnotes for verses like Galatians 2:16, indicating the alternative rendering, “Or by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”[4] Daniel B. Wallace summarizes what has emerged in recent decades, in his textbook Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics:

“Older commentaries...see Cristou as an objective gen[itive], thus, ‘faith in Christ.’ However, more and more scholars are embracing these texts as involving a subjective gen[itive] (thus, either ‘Christ’s faith’ or ‘Christ’s faithfulness’).”[5]

It should be immediately noted that the Hebrew emunah (hnWma) in the Tanach Scriptures can be legitimately rendered as either “faith” or “faithfulness,”[6] and the same goes for pistis (pistiß) in Greek.[7] Context determines which is correct. Richard N. Longenecker indicates, “when pistiß is understood in terms of the Hebrew term hnwma, ĕmûnâ, which means both ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness,’ then it is not too difficult to view Paul”[8] as using it the same way. The clause pisteōs Iēsou Christou can be legitimately rendered as the “faithfulness of Jesus Christ,” no different than how similar clauses like tēn pistin tou Theou (thn pistin tou qeou) or pisteōs Abraam (pistewß Abraam), are rendered as “the faithfulness of God” (Romans 3:3) and “the faith of Abraham” (Romans 4:14), respectively.

“Works of law,” human activity, can definitely be contrasted to “the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah.” This latter concept composes Divine activity that secures a person's redemption, and thus also membership among God’s people. Our identity as brothers and sisters is not to be focused around what we do, or how we try to establish markers of who we are as a part of this sect or that clique—“works of law.” Rather, who we are is to find its center in the faithfulness that Yeshua demonstrated. He came to Earth on our behalf, as the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sins. His faithfulness was demonstrated “in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8).

One would think that this interpretation of the genitive clause pisteōs Iēsou Christou would actually be met with great enthusiasm by many of today’s Believers. Do we not all love the Lord and how He has saved us from our sins?! Even if one views “works of law” according to the traditional meaning of “observing the law,” the “faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah” is still Divine action performed on sinful humanity’s behalf. God is the One who does the saving!

Many New Testament theologians have embraced the point that “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” is the correct reading of Galatians 2:16, and also Galatians 3:22; Romans 3:22; Philippians 3:9; and possibly Ephesians 3:12 (placed here in their likely order of composition). Not all are convinced, though,[9] believing that “faith in Jesus Christ” is more appropriate. And perhaps ironically enough, those who seem to be the most pessimistic to the understanding of “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” to be the contrast to “works of law,” are frequently from the Reformed/Calvinist tradition.[10] If there is any theological strata we would think that should immediately embrace the “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in saving people, especially with all of its emphasis upon God’s sovereignty, it would be Calvinism.

Somehow, those who often oppose “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” as being entirely legitimate, feel that the proposal of identity among God’s people, “justification” (in passages like Galatians 2:16), may undermine the doctrine of justification by faith—that remittance of sin comes by the trust people place in Yeshua. This is not the case at all. This is, rather, an overreaction, as the “justification” of being a member of God’s people—and not necessarily being redeemed from sin—really only concerns a few passages seen with the ancient issues originally addressed in Galatians and Romans. Is it possible that some people have simply quoted verses like Galatians 2:16 so many times, that they have difficulty seeing it from any other vantage point?

If “the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah” is the correct rendering seen in certain Pauline passages, then how might our approach to these verses be altered? While there is certainly debate present among Christian scholars about this, how should it inform our developing Messianic approach to Paul’s letters, and what he might write to us were he living today? Let us examine the relevant verses where “faithfulness of...,” and not necessarily “faith in...,” can teach us some important lessons about who we are to be as followers of Yeshua.

End of sample excerpt.

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J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.

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