Some parts of this passage are well known to most of us but in its entirety it is mind blowing.
Galatians 5:13–26
Life by the Spirit
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
I keep hearing Pelosi saying.. No One is Above the Law.
I keep hearing Trump say.. Law and Order.
not that this is relevant to your post.. I just keep hearing it.
There was a lot of bad things going on in that there temple in Jerusalem.
They not only twisted the law, they had no, none, 0 faith in it.
They didn't even recognize the rightful owner of that temple while he was preaching in it.
They had God on the mercy seat in their face and they couldn't hear him.
Not only could they not hear him, they KILLED Him.
Some had faith, like Zechariah who prayed for a son, and the angel Gabriel came and told him that God had heard his petition.
He was a righteous man living IN all the commandments and ordinances.. blameless before the Lord.
So it wasn't the law that killed Zecharias between the temple and the mercy seat. It was the lawless ones.
He was neither above the law or under the law, but walked IN the sprirt of the law.
It was necessary for Jesus to come to draw all men to himself. Because the law that was being taught they had mangled it and rewritten it to fit their own human natural brute beast nature.
Jesus came to bring the Truth. And Mercy which he taught from in the temple every sabbath.
He came to heal because the ones running the temple were more concerned about the money for sins and how rich they got off other
peoples sicknesses. Telling them that the reason they was sick is because they were sinners.
So they never healed anyone, they left them sick to get rich... sound familiar?
All throughout the OT God is pleading.. keep my commandments, keep my ordinances, my statutes, my judgements.
But they had other ideas. Let's do it our way. They murdered, they bare false witness, they had sexual orgies in the temple,
you name it they did it. And all for the love of money.
God wasn't in the Temple anymore. He had gone a long time ago. He couldn't live with them not listening to Him and doing what he said how they should do things.
But the people were suffering. They were pleading for help. They were waiting for the Messiah to come and save them.
And God heard them. He chose out a worthy vessel in which to bear His son. Her name was Mary. Because she heard, she listened, she submitted and had faith.
I don't believe Paul is saying that those who KNOW God are no longer to keep the law.
God's law, is the same as Christs's law.. it was always intended to be heard and kept as a guide for the eyes and on the hands for the works of God, which they never performed. They did their own works, saw things their own way, walked in their own paths.
But the law which these people were in bondage to, the ones this foul evil satanic temple that it had become..
No, they were free. Free from the law of sin and death. Death because God wasn't in their law.
They didn't know God. How could they teach what they did not know?
Just thinking..
HUGS