Read: Galatians 3:6-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (v. 13)
Yesterday we saw how Jesus, the new Adam, rewrites our story. In today’s Bible reading, Paul goes further: Jesus also takes our place. He willingly becomes our substitute as we stand under “the curse” of sin and death.
The key Greek word Paul uses here is hyper—translated in English as “for.” Earlier in Galatians, Paul wrote about “the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for [hyper] our sins” (1:3-4). Then again in 2:20: “The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for [hyper] me.” And once more in today’s key verse, “Christ redeemed us . . . by becoming a curse for [hyper] us” (3:13).
Paul is so clear here and elsewhere: God’s primary disposition toward us (and all of creation) is that he is for us! The cross doesn’t change God’s attitude toward us; it reveals it. It’s because God is for us that he’s against sin, death, and the powers of evil. So the cross isn’t the Father acting against the Son; it’s all three persons of the Trinity acting together for our salvation.
I love these words from the second-century Epistle to Diognetus: “Oh sweetest exchange! . . . The sinfulness of many is hidden with the Righteous One, while the righteousness of the One justifies the many that are sinners . . . The Son of God has given himself to be where we were so that we might be where he is, participants in the life of God.”
As you pray, praise the triune God for exchanging the curse of your sin for forgiveness and new life in Jesus.
Brian Keepers has been an ordained pastor in the Reformed Church in America for more than 20 years. He is currently serving as the lead pastor of Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. Brian is married to Tammy, and they have two daughters and a granddaughter.
