As we saw in the previous Jacob account, angels stood between God and Man in the Old Creation. Paul tells us that the Law was handed down by angels as well, and thus our no longer being under the law corresponds with our no longer being under angels.
Paul also mentions that we establish law and have the authority to judge the angels. Because of this we are not to go to pagan courts, but rather the Church serves as the court. Thus the new creation people of God are those who can hand down judgment. They are the new angels handing down the new law.
All of this movement seems to be important for a proper eschatology, not to mention a proper understanding of the law’s role in that eschatology, and I am continually disappointed in how little work is done in the area of angels when commentators discuss the place of the law in the New Testament. Other constructs are hauled in to help us understand the law, but almost always these constructs merely help us get away from the text. Merit Pactums, suzerains, dialectics, and existential crises are all stimulating philosophical exercises, but they are just not what the text gives us.
The text gives us Jews, Gentiles, circumcisions, sabbaths, idols, meats, meals, and angels.
I haven’t unlocked all the secrets of the New Testament (yet 
), but one thing is abundantly clear. We are going to have to start dealing with the weirdness that the text sets before us.
