The Icon
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:13 and Colossians 1:15–20
Series: Comments on Galatians
How was Christ Jesus able to conquer our enemies: sin and death, the devil and hell? Look no further than the incarnation. As Man, Jesus was fixed to the cross by the sins of the world and condemned as a sinner who bore that world of sin. Because he is the very image or icon (eikon) of God, he is all righteousness. It was this tension that nailed him truly to the cross. There, man and God were engaged, as Luther says, “in a death struggle.”
The sin of the world, yours and mine, assailed Christ on the cross but because he is God, he was deathless and unconquerable. But sin cares not for God and leapt upon the Man. The result was predictable, at least from the vantage of heaven. God defeated sin, and his righteousness prevailed to reign forever over sin and death.
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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