Albert Schweitzer on the “Children of God” from The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle
by admin ~ October 8th, 2009
Today we have a quote from Albert Schweitzer, the eminent Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1952. This quote is from page 210 of his book The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, and describes how it is that Christians are indeed the people of God. Enjoy!
Quick note: The last 5 paragraphs of the quote as shown below includes my editing; specifically I have divided them into these 5 separate paragraphs from but 1 paragraph in the original document, simply to make it easier for the reader.
Albert Schweitzer on the “Children of God”
The promises relating to the Messianic period have, according to Paul, nothing to do with the Law, because they were in principle given to Abraham when he was not yet circumcised and there was as yet no Law.
With these exegetical arguments Paul comes at length by roundabout ways to the fundamental fact that the Messianic hope is not connected with the Law, because the earlier Prophets, from whom it took its rise, as yet knew nothing of the Law.
It was thus to an Abraham who showed his obedience through faith, not through the Law, that the promises were given. When he is well on in years and has no son, and God promises him that his seed shall be as numerous as the stars of heaven, he believes Him, and God reckons it to him as righteousness (Gen. xv. 3-6).
It is only later (Gen. xvii. 1-14) that God concludes a covenant with him and enjoins upon him and his bodily posterity the rite of circumcision. Thus the righteousness for which the promises are to be fulfilled has nothing to do with the Law, and the Seed of Abraham for whom they are destined is not the bodily seed, the posterity which serves the Law.
For whom then are they destined? The use of “seed” in the singular in the phrase “thy seed” shows, according to Paul, that they do not refer directly to a plurality of persons, but in the first place to a single person. Since they refer to the Times of the End, the single person can be no other than Christ (Gal. iii. 16).
The ‘great nation’ must therefore be thought of as included in Christ. It consists, in fact, of those who are in Christ.
In order to carry through the conception required by his Scriptural argument Paul has recourse of the mystical doctrine of the being-in-Christ. As those who are “in Christ,” believers are the true seed of Abraham (Gal. iii. 29), the Israel of God (Gal. vi. 16), and so the children of God (Gal. iii.26).
We discuss such teachings regularly in our writings and other Ministry services, especially in our Daily Scripture Reading Service, where each day we go in depth as we wrap the Daily Scripture Reading with an informative and heartfelt Inductive Bible Study. The amazing love of God is always at the core of each ten minute daily podcast, and the doctrine is always in support of the culmination of God’s love—the Gospel of Salvation, as portrayed in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. You can learn more at: http://www.cjrpress.com.
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