“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” (Einstein)
If eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil produced the curse of sin and death, then a message that still functions within that same framework of good and evil cannot liberate us from that curse. A gospel that revolves around forgiveness within that system essentially continues to operate within the same structure and therefore cannot bring true liberation.
“You are separated from (katargeo) Christ, if you expect righteousness through the law; you stand outside of grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
Paul literally says here that Christ becomes inactive (Greek: katargeo) when we continue to seek our righteousness through the law. The consequence of this is that we come to stand outside the grace of Christ. That raises the question of what Paul means by righteousness through the law, and what, then, the grace of Christ is.
Two systems of consciousness: law and grace
In conventional Christian interpretation, law and grace are often viewed as two routes to the same destination: (legal) justification before God. Either fulfilling the law through one’s own effort, or by believing that Jesus has done this for us.
Behind this lies the idea that, through the Fall, man is naturally separated from God, stands guilty, and lives under God’s judgment. Salvation would then consist of forgiveness of guilt based on the sacrifice of Jesus, after which forgiveness can be received again and again.
However, this system, often called “penal substitution”, raises the question of whether Paul was truly speaking within that framework.
The law as a cyclical system of protection
Paul himself places the law in a different perspective. He writes:
“Yet before this faith (the faith of Christ) came, we were kept under the law in secure custody with a view to the faith (the faith of Christ) that was to be revealed.” (Galatians 3:23)
Thus, the law becomes not merely a collection of commandments, but a fully functioning system in which transgression leads to guilt, guilt demands a sacrifice, the sacrifice brings forgiveness, and forgiveness prolongs life.
Law → transgression → guilt → (sin)sacrifice → forgiveness → prolongation of life
This is what Paul calls the righteousness of the law, a system that Moses confirms with the words:
“You shall observe my statutes and my ordinances; the man who does them shall live by them: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 18:5; Romans 10:5).
Within that system, therefore, there was indeed a form of grace, but a cyclical and limited grace: transgressing again and again, offering again and again, forgiving again and again. It brought protection by keeping life going, but brought no inner transformation.
The limitation of the law: no renewal of consciousness
Although this system of the law provided a certain order and protection and possessed a certain degree of glory (2 Corinthians 3:7-9), Paul writes:
It “was a symbol for the present time. In accordance with this, gifts and sacrifices were offered that were unable to bring the consciousness of the one performing the service to perfection.” (Hebrews 9:9)
The problem, therefore, is not that there was no forgiveness, but that consciousness was not renewed. Man remained trapped in the same pattern of thinking in terms of good and evil, guilt and restoration.
Within this cyclical structure, the inner frame of reference remained intact; consequently, the repetition of guilt and restoration persisted.
The grace of Christ: beyond the system
The grace of Christ is not about a better version of the same system, but about breaking through the legalistic system itself. Even when we say that Jesus “fulfilled the law for us”, we remain within the same frame of mind: law → transgression → (sin)sacrifice of Jesus → forgiveness.
Only the animal sacrifice has been replaced by the person of Jesus, but the system of the law remains intact.
“Another gospel that is no gospel“
“It amazes me that you are so easily led astray to another gospel, and that is no gospel.” (Galatians 1:6-7)
Paul does not mince words:
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he lives under a curse! As we said before, I say again now: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he lives under a curse!” (Galatians 1:8-9)
As long as we continue to expect our righteousness based on the system of the law, we render Christ inactive and continue to function within the cycle of sin and death. We then still stand outside the grace of Christ.
Paul is not warning against a nuance here, but against a fundamentally different starting point: a gospel that still rests on law and sacrifice is not a gospel.
The Law as a Temporary Ministry
Paul even calls the law “the ministry of death” (2 Corinthians 3:6), not because it was bad, but because it was unable to truly transform consciousness.
As long as righteousness is sought within this system, consciousness remains connected to guilt, judgment, and repetition.
Christ as the End of the Law
“Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4)
This does not mean a new legal system — in which Jesus has become the sin offering — but the end of the entire framework of law and guilt.
The Scope of Grace: Law versus Christ
The scope of the grace (righteousness) of the law extends less far than the grace (righteousness) of Christ. We can view the grace that the law brought as a foreshadowing of the grace of Christ. The grace of Christ reaches much further, namely to complete redemption from the curse of sin and death, through the actual transition in our consciousness from darkness to Light.
Christ in us: the real shift
The core shift is this: God does not function within the model of good and evil as we know it. God does not reckon with the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Therefore, the idea that God is first wrathful and must then be reconciled through a sacrifice is a projection of human consciousness onto God — not the other way around.
We are created in God’s image. Christ in us has always been the true identity of every human being. The problem is therefore not an objective separation between God and man, but a state of consciousness in which the unity is not recognized and the “curse of sin and death” remains active.
As soon as this consciousness is cleansed, the entire system of law, guilt, and forgiveness falls away — not because God changes, but because we begin to see what has always been true.
From law to living revelation
Through the mystery ‘Christ in us’, God wanted to put an end to the system of the law.
The Spirit of life will only come to resurrection in us through faith in the radical grace of Christ, outside the system of law and sacrifice.
Through this conversion, consciousness is cleansed and Christ comes to resurrection in us, whereby we become aware of our true identity as sons and daughters of God.
The Gospel of the Kingdom as revelation
The question that now arises is: what then is the good news of the gospel, if the message of forgiveness of sins is not the gospel that was proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth and later also by Paul?
The answer is simple. The gospel of the Kingdom is the only true gospel. It is the young wine that Jesus poured. As long as we mix this gospel with the message of forgiveness of sins, by pouring it into old wineskins, the gospel loses its power. For then we return to the system of the law, to the flesh.
The gospel of the Kingdom is therefore not an addition to the system of law and forgiveness, but the revelation that the Kingdom has always been present. Christ in us is the hope of glory. Not as a future outcome of a legal process, but as a current reality that becomes visible in a renewed consciousness.
“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the preaching of faith? Are you so foolish? You began with the Spirit, do you now end with the flesh? … He who gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, does He do this by works of the law, or by the preaching of faith?” (Galatians 3:2-5)
The good news of the Kingdom is that the Kingdom has always been present in us. Christ in us is our hope of glory. All humanity forms the body of Christ. We receive God’s righteousness, the liberation from the curse of sin and death, by believing in it, and not by sacrificing an animal, and certainly not by a human sacrifice!
“You took no pleasure in burnt offerings and sin offerings.” (Hebrews 10:6)
Conclusion
The gospel of the Kingdom is a gospel that has been completely purified from the leaven of the law.
“I am not ashamed of this gospel; for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in it.” (Romans 1:16)
Reflection Questions
- To what extent do you recognize that your thinking is still based on the knowledge of good and evil?
- Do you still expect your ‘righteousness’ based on a system of law, guilt, and forgiveness?
- Can you discern whether your faith is focused on external forgiveness, or on the inner transformation of your consciousness?
- What does it mean concretely for your daily life if you were to live from ‘Christ in you’ instead of from guilt and forgiveness?
- To what extent do you truly believe that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ?
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