In order to more fully assess the extent of Paul’s understanding and usage of ton nomon tou Cristou as it appears in the context of Galatians 6:2, similar constructions need to be examined in Paul’s writings. There is one other place in the NT that has the phrase “law of Christ,” and it is found in 1 Corinthians 9:21 in the form ennomoV Cristou, ‘subject to the law of Christ’. The use of nomoV in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians has the same sense as it did in Galatians;[1] it refers to Mosaic Law, which, as Paul employs the term, is contrasted with the law of Christ in 9:21. Paul argues for his own apostolic bona fides in Galatians, and does so again in 1 Corinthians 9. It is in this context that his reference to being ennomoV Cristou appears. Paul states that toiV anomoiV wV anomoV, ‘to those outside the law, I became as one outside the law’ (RSV), which refers to Gentiles who are outside the revealed law of the OT and Judaism.[2] However, he qualifies what is meant by wV anomoV in anticipation of being misunderstood by his audience.
Paul affirms that he is not anomoV qeou, ‘without the law of God’, but rather he is still ennomoV Cristou, ‘subject to the law of Christ’. Thiselton suggests that the notion that not to be under the law is to be godless or ungovernable presupposes an unwarranted identity of the Torah as ultimate law of God.[3] The convergence of Torah with the law of Christ in 1 Corinthians 9 allows Paul to develop his theology while explicating his apostolic role as the harbinger of the gospel to those outside the law of God. Dodd aptly says that the ultimate law of God can be discerned in the Torah when Christ alone interprets it.[4] Paul is able to claim freedom from Torah without being lawless by remaining bound to ton nomon tou Cristou, and it is in that argument that 1 Cor. 9:21 and Gal. 6:2 are brought together. To be “subject to the law of Christ” necessarily entails bearing one another’s burdens, though the context of each passage is distinct. However, there are commonalities to both, such as Christian freedom, although that freedom involves restoring brothers who are overtaken by sin (Gal. 6:1) and becoming weak to win the weak (1 Cor. 9:22). The paradox of the Christian faith resides in such freedoms, Paul being the epitome of the law of Christ, as it is understood in those terms.
Naturally, with any discussion on law the question arises regarding what, if anything, from the OT is obligatory for new covenant believers. The classic division of law is three-fold: civil, moral, and religious (ceremonial and sacrificial).[5] Civil law includes dealing with the legal system of the people of God considered as a state, with courts and penalties. This form of the law was only applicable when Israel operated as a theocracy. One could argue that when the southern and northern kingdoms of Israel were captured, God’s civil law ceased to be effectual for his people, for they were no longer functioning as a state. And through the work of Jesus Christ, religious law has been fulfilled (Jer. 33:18; 1 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 7:27). He was the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of those called by God to salvation.
Moral law is that which continues to be obligatory upon all new covenant believers. Because moral law is a reflection of God’s character, it remains unchanging and eternal as he is. Without God having ever revealed law to Moses, moral law would still be incumbent on all of creation. Motyer has suggested that even in the Garden of Eden mankind was under the law through obedience; in God’s forbidding of one tree there is the principle of law.[6] Moral law, which is the pulse of the law of Christ, continues to guide the hearts and minds of God’s people, as it did in the life of Paul and all of those who have been obedient to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The extent to which moral law binds humanity to its precepts is best understood in light of the image of God on all of mankind.[7] It is beyond the scope of the present study to explore the many facets of moral law, suffice it to say that the law of Christ as prescriptive principles has a foundation built on the moral laws of God.
[1] Cf. 1 Cor. 6:1, 6-7, 12; 9:8-9, 20-21; 10:23; 14:21, 34; 15:56
[2] Anthony C. Thiselton, NIGTC: The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 703. Thiselton continues his exegesis of the phrase toiV anomoiV, stating that in other contexts “to those outside the law” could mean to the unjust, unrighteous, or godless (cf. Acts 2:23; 1 Macc. 6:9; Ezek. 18:24 LXX; Lk. 22:37) or to the lawless or outlaw (2 Thess. 2:8), but clearly in this context denotes Gentiles who are outside of the law, as noted above.
[3] Thiselton, Corinthians, 704. Thiselton quotes Dodd in part of his argument, which is further supported by Heinrici, Das erste Sendschreiben, 285 and Schrage, Der erste Brief, 2:345, n. 367.
[5] J. A. Motyer, “Biblical Concept of Law,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (ed. Walter A. Elwell; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 675.
