Thursday, October 26, 2017
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
CLOTHED IN CHRIST
In American culture, it seems that social standards are always changing. We see it a lot in the clothing that people wear. It wasn't that long ago that blue jeans were not allowed to be worn at most schools. The unspoken dress code of many modern churches is not what it once was. However, one locale where almost everyone still dresses up in their best and most elegant attire is weddings. Go to almost any American wedding and you'll find men, women, and children wearing ties and dresses.
In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast. In it he describes those people who would reject God's Gospel calling to come to the wedding feast (the Kingdom of Heaven). And he describes those chosen to receive the Gospel invitation and be gathered at the wedding feast. There was only one requirement to stay at the wedding, you must wear the wedding garment provided for you.
When we peer into the perfect mirror of God's holy law, we see ourselves for what we really are: dirty, destitute sinners. Isaiah 64:6: "And all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags." We're wearing the wrong garment. In our sin, the clothing that we're wearing is filthy and unacceptable. We need to change.
What does Paul say in our verse from Galatians? As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Through your baptism, the Holy Spirit has worked saving faith in your heart! You have personally received that call to God’s eternal wedding feast. You were chosen before you were born. You were chosen from eternity to be God's beloved child. Not because of anything you have done or will do, but because Christ, through his sinless life and guiltless death, won you a wedding garment. You put on that gleaming white robe when you were baptized and it receives a fresh wash every time you hear about the sacrifice of Christ for all your sins. Isaiah 1:18: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." You are eternally clothed in Christ! Thanks be to God!
Luther: "In Baptism, then, Christ becomes our garment. . . . He is the divine and inestimable gift that the Father has given to us to be our Justifier, Lifegiver, and Redeemer. . . . Paul teaches that Baptism is not a sign but the garment of Christ, in fact, that Christ Himself is the garment. Hence Baptism is a very powerful and effective thing."
