Author: David Petts

Galatians   Talk 10

Galatians 6:1-18

This is the final talk in our series on Galatians. We have seen that the main theme of the letter has been to show that salvation is by faith and not by works. Faith in Christ’s substitutionary, all sufficient, atoning death is the only way to Heaven. Attempts to get there any other way will fail. The law of the Old Testament could not save us because no one, except Jesus, has ever kept it in its entirety. But Jesus’ death has set us free from the law. We must be careful to stand firm in that freedom and not to get entangled with the legal requirements of the Old Testament.

For Christians Jews – and particularly the Galatians – there was the threat of the Judaizers, those who were teaching that faith in Christ was not enough and that circumcision was necessary for salvation. And although this may not be directly applicable to most Christians today, there is always the temptation to trust in other forms of religious practice – baptism, confirmation, church attendance etc. – when none of these things can save us. With regard to baptism, for example, we should be baptised because we are already saved by faith, and because Jesus has commanded it, but not in the misguided hope that getting baptised will save us.

Salvation cannot be achieved by self-effort. It can only be received because of God’s grace by trusting Christ to save us. And when we receive that salvation we are enabled by God’s indwelling Spirit to fulfil the only law that really matters, the law of love, which, as we saw last time, finds wonderful expression in the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. But that now brings us to the final chapter in the letter, which Paul begins by giving examples of how the fruit of the Spirit will be in evidence among us.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.

These verses had a specific application to the Galatians, and scholars have speculated on what that might have been, but it’s clear that the principles Paul is teaching may be applied to all Christians, and that’s how we’ll be considering them today.

1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Who can fail to be moved by the sacrificial love shown by Christians like Mother Teresa? But although such compassion for the poor is at the heart of the Christian message (cf. Galatians 2:10), what’s even more important is, in the words of James 5:20, to turn a sinner from the error of his way and so save them from death and cover a multitude of sins. The greatest love we can show anyone, whether a Christian or not, is to warn them of the consequences of sin.

So Paul says that if we are truly spiritual (manifesting the fruit of the Spirit), and we become aware that a fellow Christian has been overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort (Amplified Bible) we are to seek to restore them gently (without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness). We need to remember that we too may be tempted.

2 Carry each other’s burdens…

Carrying each other’s burdens could well mean helping our fellow Christians with any difficulties they may be facing, but bearing in mind what he has said in verse 1, Paul may mean that we are to be patient with their failings.

2 …and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

By carrying each other’s burdens we show our love for one another. And as we saw in chapter 5, love is the fulfilment of the law. The law of Moses contained numerous rules and regulations, but the law of Christ is love. If I love my neighbour I won’t steal from him, if I love my wife I won’t commit adultery. If we truly love, we don’t need the law, not even the Ten Commandments! We will keep them because we love God and we love our neighbour.

3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Still keeping verse 1 in mind, we are to beware of pride, especially when we are aware of the failings of others. We should watch out in case we are tempted in the same way. We are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. This involves humility.

4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without

comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.

We are not accountable for the actions of others, but we are accountable for our own. Beware of the danger of comparing yourself with others. We should not think of ourselves as superior to them, even if they have sinned. And we should not think of ourselves as inferior either. We are to have a sober estimation of ourselves. We are what we are by the grace of God and we carry a responsibility to use what we are, and the gifts he has given us, for his glory and not our own. That brings us to verses 6-10 where Paul draws attention to the benefits that we reap if we sow to please the Spirit. Note the references to sowing and reaping as we read these verses.

6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The underlying principle is these verses is found in verse 7.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

A man reaps what he sows.

This is universally true, and here Paul applies it in a variety of contexts.

6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

This demonstrates the responsibility of those who are taught to support financially those who teach them. Paul develops this more fully in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14. The principle that we reap what we sow financially is also very clearly taught in 2 Corinthians 8-9 (esp. 9:6-11).

8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature (flesh), from that nature (the flesh) will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

We pointed out in talk 8 that the translation sinful nature is not helpful. The word in Greek means flesh. Paul expands on this in Romans 8:1-9 where he concludes by saying that you are not in (the realm of) the flesh but in (the realm of) the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Before we became Christians we were all in the realm of the flesh because we were spiritually dead, but when we were born again we became spiritually alive.  

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers

In our last talk, when we were talking about goodness as a fruit of the Spirit, we referred to Colossians 1:10 where Paul says:

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Now in Galatians 6 we are told that doing good works will reap its own reward. Note the following:

·       We should take every opportunity to do good to all people, especially to our fellow Christians.

·       This may cause us to become weary and there’s a danger of giving up.

·       But we reap what we sow, and if we persevere, we will be rewarded.

·       This will take place at the proper time. (This may be in this life or the next).

Now to the final eight verses:

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! 12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. 17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

Paul usually dictated his letters, so it’s unlikely that he physically wrote the whole of Galatians. However, to prove its authenticity, these last few verses were written by his own hand, just as we might sign a letter that had been typed. What he writes here is very much a summary of what he has been saying throughout the letter. Have nothing to do with the teachings of the Judaizers.

12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.

The Judaizers’ motives are entirely wrong. They want you to be circumcised because they want to make a good impression as far as their fellow Jews are concerned and to avoid being persecuted by them. They may keep the law about circumcision, but they don’t obey the whole law. Yet they want you to obey this particular part of it so that they can boast about you flesh.

14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Paul, however, would boast about nothing except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it’s the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Nothing else matters. As far as the world is concerned, Paul considers both himself and the law as dead. Compare Galatians 2:20. (Remember the teaching I gave in earlier talks in this series on our identification with Christ).

15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Paul couldn’t be clearer. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been circumcised or not. What matters is being born again.

16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

Peace and mercy only come to those who follow the teaching of justification by faith. They are the true Israel, the Israel of God. It’s perfectly clear from all that Paul has said so far that God’s Israel, those whom God considers to be Israel, is comprised of all those, and only those, who, whether Jew or Gentile, have put their trust in Christ for salvation.

17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Paul has said enough. He does not want to be troubled again by this matter. His body bears the marks of his suffering for Christ. That’s enough trouble, without the addition of all the pain the Galatians were causing him by their forsaking the gospel he had preached to them (Cf. 1:6). But despite that, he prays for those who are truly his brothers that they will experience anew the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ by which they had been saved.

So what is the overall message of Galatians?

We are saved by believing and continuing to believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is all that is necessary for salvation. Trusting in anything else in addition calls into question the genuineness of our faith in Christ. 

Are you trusting in Christ alone for salvation? There is no other way to be saved.

We have now concluded our series on Galatians. God willing, we will start a new series in September. So there will be no new podcasts during July and August, but, if you’d like to keep listening, there are over 200 to choose from, details of which can be found on my website: https://www.davidpetts.org/podcast

Galatians  Talk 9   Galatians 5:22-23 The Fruit of the Spirit

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SUBSTANCE OF THIS TALK IS TAKEN FROM MY BOOK

THE VOICE OF GOD – How he speaks to us today

In our last talk, as we were looking at Galatians 5:13-26, where Paul is contrasting the acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, we saw that we need to:

1.     Remember that even after we become Christians there’s still a tendency to sin in our flesh.

2.     Recognise that we cannot overcome this by obeying man-made rules and regulations.

3.     Reckon ourselves to be dead. Dead to the law, dead to sin. Dead to the acts of the flesh. We’re identified with Christ. We should live like Christ.

4.     Rely on the help of the Holy Spirit.

Today we’ll be considering the fruit of the Spirit in more detail. Paul lists them in Galatians 5:22-23. These are qualities that should be evident in the life of every Christian as they reflect the character of Jesus which the indwelling Spirit of Christ seeks to reproduce in us. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (You’ll find similar lists in Colossians 3:12-15 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

As we read the Gospels it is not difficult to see these qualities in the life of the Lord Jesus. And, as we see what Jesus did, God speaks to us challenging us to do the same. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). And, of course, our attitude will determine our actions. Let’s look at this wonderful ‘fruit’ in more detail asking God to speak to us through the attitude and actions of Jesus.   We’ll take them in reverse order from the list in Galatians so that we will conclude with love which is undeniably the greatest of all the fruit of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Self-control

Right at the start of his ministry, straight after he was baptised in the River Jordan, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  Then, Matthew tells us:

After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry (Matthew 4:2).

He was hungry. What an understatement! He had eaten nothing for six weeks! I feel hungry if I haven’t eaten for six hours! Then, suddenly, an opportunity comes to break his fast. Some of the stones in the desert may have looked like loaves of bread. You’re the Son of God, aren’t you? says Satan, Why not turn these stones into bread? Now Jesus knew that he was the Son of God. God has said so (just three verses earlier) at his baptism:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus knew that he had the power to do what Satan suggested, but just because you can doesn’t mean that you should. I can’t imagine how strong the temptation to eat must have been, but Jesus chose to listen to his Father rather than to Satan. He answered:

It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

What amazing self-control! Where did it come from? His relationship with God, his desire to please him and his knowledge of God’s word. Could there be any greater demonstration of self-control? Yes, and we find it in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion:

Those who passed by hurled insults at him… saying… ‘Save yourself. Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!’ (Matthew 27:39-40).

And Jesus was the Son of God, and he could have come down from the cross. But he didn’t. Despite the agony, he stayed there. Why? Because he knew that if we were to be saved he must die for our sins. He must pay the price. He must take the punishment. So he stayed there. He stayed there because he loved us.

Humility

The Greek word translated as gentleness in Galatians 5:23 carries with it the thought of humility. Paul uses it a few verses later when he says:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1).

This warning, to watch yourself because you might be tempted too, clearly implies that Paul is using the word gently to mean in a spirit of humility. This is confirmed by the paraphrase in the Amplified Bible which interprets gently as not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness. So it seems reasonable to assume that this is how he is using it when talking about the fruit of the Spirit just a few verses earlier.

The humility of Jesus is most clearly expressed in two main New Testament passages. The first is Philippians 2:5-11.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

This passage speaks for itself. It took humility for someone who was equal with God to become a man, to become a servant, to become nothing. And yet he humbled himself even further. He became obedient to death, even death on a cross. And as Christians we’re encouraged to have the same attitude.

The second passage is John 13:1-17 where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. In verse 1 we’re told that Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He knew that he was shortly to be crucified. But he also knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God (v.3).

And so he did something that would be an active demonstration of the truth later to be expressed by Paul in Philippians 2. It would demonstrate his humility and give his disciples an object lesson in how they too should behave. He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist (v.4). Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel (v.5).

This was a symbol of what he would accomplish on the cross enabling his disciples to be washed clean by the shedding of his blood. That’s why it was important that Peter, who had protested, should allow Jesus to wash his feet too (vv.6-10). And Jesus’ humility, his willingness to wash feet, to cleanse us from sin, was another expression of his love.

Finally, when Jesus had finished washing their feet he put on his clothes and returned to his place (v.12). What a wonderful symbol of Jesus returning to his place in heaven after he had finished his redemptive work on the cross! (Compare Hebrews 1:3 …After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven).

Then he said:

Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (vv.12-17).

Faithfulness

From the very beginning of his life here on earth Jesus came to do the will of God. Hebrews 10:5-7 tells us that when Christ came into the world, he said…I have come to do your will, O God. Even at the age of 12 Jesus knew that God, not Joseph, was his true Father (Luke 2:49). And throughout his life he was faithful to his Father’s will.  In John 4:34, when the disciples were trying to persuade Jesus to eat something, he said:

My food…is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

And in John 6:38 he says

I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

But his faithfulness to God and determination to do his will are no more clearly seen than in the Garden of Gethsamane on the night before Jesus was crucified. In Matthew 26 we’re told that he took with him Peter, James and John, and told them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow… Stay here and keep watch with me (v.38). Jesus then went a little farther and fell with his face to the ground and prayed:

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (v.39).

He then returns to his disciples and finds them sleeping! And this happens twice more. Jesus prays the same prayer, comes back, and finds them sleeping.

This sad story reveals in stark contrast the unfaithfulness of the disciples and faithfulness of Jesus. The disciples can’t even stay awake even at the time of Jesus’ greatest need. Jesus knows what’s going to happen. The thought of crucifixion horrifies him, and he asks his Father three times if there is any other way. But ultimately, when he knows that there is not, his faithfulness shines through.

Yet not as I will, but as you will.

But this story not only reveals Jesus’ faithfulness to God. It shows his faithfulness to his disciples. If Jesus had refused the way of the cross – and he could have – what hope would there have been for them or for us? Perhaps the sight of the disciples sleeping reminded him of the weakness of human nature and our need for him to save us. His faithfulness, motivated by love for his Father and his love for us, gave him the strength to carry on.

Goodness and kindness

The English word goodness, like the word good, can be used in many different ways. It’s very flexible. For example, we can talk of a good meal and we can refer to someone as a good person, but the meaning of good in each case is rather different. The same is true of the Greek words for good and goodness (agathos and agathōsunē). So we can’t be entirely sure of how Paul is using the word in Galatians 5:22. However, in the New Testament the word is frequently connected with doing good works and in Colossians 1:10 we read:

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

The reference to bearing fruit in this verse seems to suggest that the fruit of the Spirit which Paul calls goodness relates to:

·       Living a life worthy of the Lord

·       Pleasing him in every way

·       Doing good works

·       Growing in the knowledge of God.

And, of course, that’s exactly what Jesus did. He lived a sinless life. He pleased God in every way. As a human being he grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). And Peter, when summarising Jesus’ ministry, said of him that he went about doing good and healing… (Acts 10:38). He not only was good. He did good. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit to

preach good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19).

Similarly his kindness overflowed again and again as he met the needs of the poor and needy. Consider, for example, his kindness in turning water into wine at the wedding-feast at Cana in Galilee. We are so often preoccupied with the amazing miracle that we neglect the kindness of Jesus in performing it. And his goodness and kindness were surely motivated by his love.

Patience

The English word patience comes from the Latin verb patior meaning I suffer. That’s why people in hospital are called patients – people who are suffering. But the Greek word makrothumia, translated as patience in Galatians 5:22, has a wider meaning. It comes from two other Greek words, makros meaning far and thumos meaning wrath or anger. So to exercise makrothumia is to keep your anger far from you. It’s used elsewhere in the New Testament to mean patient enduring of evil, slowness of avenging injuries, or patient expectation.

It’s not difficult to see all these qualities in the life of the Lord Jesus. He was consistently enduring opposition from sinners (Hebrews 12:3), he prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him (Luke 23:34) and he endured the cross, scorning its shame because he patiently expected the joy that was set before him (Hebrews 12:2).

But he was patient with his disciples too.  They were so slow to learn and to believe. On the eve of his crucifixion they still had not fully understood who he was. In John 14:2-9 Jesus tells them that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house (v.2) and that they know the way (v.4). Thomas says to him:

Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Jesus answers:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (vv.6-7)

Then Philip says:

Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.

Imagine how Jesus must have felt. In a few hours he’s going to be crucified. And still they don’t understand who he is. I know personally the frustration of a teacher whose students still haven’t got what I’ve painstakingly tried to teach them! Yet I hear infinite patience in Jesus’ reply:

Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (v.9).

Peace and Joy

Peace of heart, as every Christian knows, springs from that peace with God which results from our being in right relationship with him. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). But Jesus had no need to be justified. He was the sinless one. He always lived in right relationship with Father! Yet there’s one occasion when it appears that Jesus is not at peace. As he bears our sins in his body on the cross he cries in anguish: My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?    (Matt 27:46).

It’s as if God has turned his back on his Son. Jesus has forfeited his peace. He’s bearing your sin and mine. And God is too holy to look at sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Jesus sacrifices his peace that we might have peace with God. And he does it because he loves us.

And Jesus’ relationship with God was the source of his joy too. He lived life in God’s presence, and in his presence there is fulness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Luke records that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21). What a pity that so many stained-glass windows and paintings portray him with a long and gloomy face! Jesus was a man of joy! Admittedly, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).

But that was primarily at the time of his passion, both in the Garden of Gethsemane and the events that led to his crucifixion. As with his peace, so with his joy. He sacrificed both so that we could have them.

Love

Finally, Jesus was a man of love. Love is the greatest of the fruit and it is possible to understand Paul’s teaching in Galatians as meaning that love is the fruit and that the eight other qualities are manifestations of it. That’s what I’ve been trying to demonstrate as we’ve looked at each of the fruit of the Spirit. They are all, in one way or another, a manifestation of love (Compare, for example, Colossians 3:12-14).

Jesus’ love is evident throughout the New Testament, not just in the Gospels. Paul could refer to him as the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20) and this reference to the cross reminds us that Calvary is the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen. And, what’s more, Paul says he did it for me.

But can we expect to manifest fruit like this in our own lives? Yes we can. Through the help of the Holy Spirit. This is where I find 2 Corinthians 3:18 very helpful. Paul tells us that as we contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, and this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! …Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John3:1-2).

The more we see Jesus, the more we become like him.

Galatians   Talk 8   Galatians 5:13-26

As we have seen again and again in our studies in Galatians, Paul wrote this letter to demonstrate that salvation is by faith and not by works. Last time, as we looked at 5:1-13, we saw how Paul encouraged the Galatians to stand firm in their faith in Christ and not to get entangled again with the burden of the law from which Christ had set them free.

In verse 1 he had said:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

He goes on to say that circumcision means nothing. All that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Now, in the second part of the chapter, he picks up this theme by saying in verse 13:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (the flesh); rather, serve one another in love.

Having emphasised that we’re called to freedom, Paul now makes a very important clarification. He doesn’t want to be misunderstood. Freedom does not mean freedom to indulge the flesh. (The NIV translation is unhelpful here. The word is sarx which means flesh. I’ll be saying more about this in a moment). We’re not free to indulge the flesh. We’re free to love, and love is the fulfilment of the law (14). The important thing is to be led by the Spirit. This results in two things. If we live by the Spirit:

1.     we are not under the law (18) – which he has discussed at length already

2.     we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (16).

But what does he mean by the flesh? It’s probably best understood to be the tendency to sin that we have all inherited from Adam. But to clarify this we need to consider two other NT passages, Hebrews 12:9 and Romans 7:8-11.

In Hebrews 12:9 the writer distinguishes between:

our human fathers who are the fathers of our flesh

and

God, our heavenly Father who is the Father of our spirits.

So, we do not receive our spirit from our parents. That is given to us by God. And surely God would not give us anything sinful? But our flesh, which we receive from our parents, has an inbuilt tendency to sin which is ultimately inherited from Adam.

With this in mind, we now turn to Romans 7:8-11 where Paul says that before the law came, sin was dead. He applies this to himself personally. Once he had been alive, but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and he died. Sin took the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived him, and put him to death.

Now if we apply this to ourselves, we were all born with a tendency to sin. This tendency was not in our spirit which God gave us, but in our flesh, inherited from Adam.  We were spiritually alive until the time came when we understood, through God’s commandments, the difference between right and wrong, and, because of the tendency to sin in our flesh, we have chosen to do wrong. At that moment we died spiritually, and we needed to be born again. When we were born again, we became alive spiritually, but there remains in our flesh that tendency to sin, to which Paul tells us in Romans 6:11 we must consider ourselves as dead, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now, back to Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (the flesh); rather, serve one another in love.

We’re not to use our freedom in Christ as an excuse for giving in to the temptations that come to us because of the tendency to sin that is natural to our flesh. We can overcome them because, through the Holy Spirit’s work in regenerating us, we are spiritually alive. In verses 16-17 he says that if we live by the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The desires of the Spirit and the desires of our flesh are diametrically opposed to each other. And without the help of the Spirit we cannot do the good things we would like to do (cf. Romans 7:18-8:2). But if we are led by the Spirit and follow the things we know he desires, we will fulfil the requirements of the law (to love God…) (18, cf. Romans 8:4 where he says very much the same thing).

With all this in mind we now turn to verses 19-26, where Paul contrasts the acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.

The acts of the flesh

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 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.

Paul says that the acts of the flesh are obvious. He nevertheless feels the need to cite some examples! This is clearly not an exhaustive list as he adds at the end, and the like. He assumes that his readers will be well aware that these things are wrong, as he has already warned them about them. This was presumably when he planted the churches in Galatia, as there is no specific mention of them earlier in the letter. But what does he mean in verse 21 when he says that

…those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Those who live like this, literally translated, is those doing these things. However, the verb doing is a present participle, which in Greek implies continuous action. This is presumably why NIV translates it as those who live like this.

Paul is not saying that anyone who ever does any of these things will never go to Heaven! He is reminding them that when he first preached the gospel to them he had warned them about the eternal consequences of sin, and now they are Christians they need to be aware of the dangers of reverting to their old lifestyle. Both the present and future blessings of the kingdom of God are forfeited unless they repent,

The fruit of the Spirit

In stark contrast to the acts of the flesh is the fruit of the Spirit.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The law of the Old Testament was against the things listed as the acts of the flesh, and so is the law of love that is the fulfilment of the law. If you really love God and other people, you won’t do the things listed as acts of the flesh, and you will do things that manifest the fruit of the Spirit. There is no law against love!

The fruit of the Spirit is such an important subject that we’ll devote an entire talk to it next time. So now let’s move directly to verse 25 where Paul reminds us that we live by the Spirit. We have eternal life through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit.

And just as we are saved by faith and continue to live by faith, so too at conversion we are sanctified by the work of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11) and by the same Spirit we are enabled to live holy lives. Compare Colossians 2:6 – just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.

So Paul says, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. We who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (24). This takes us back to Galatians 2:20-21 where Paul says:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

In talk 4, I explained this in some detail and in case you missed it, I encourage you to go back there and read my notes on the subject of our identification with Christ, which I concluded by saying:

Because Jesus loved us and gave himself for us, and because we have put our faith in him, we are identified with him. We are in Christ and Christ lives in us. By accepting him as our Saviour we accepted his death as our death (and that’s why our sins are all forgiven). So, if his death was our death, we’re dead! We no longer live, but Christ lives in us.

So how in practice do we keep in step with the Spirit?

We need to:

1.     Remember that even after we become Christians there’s still a tendency to sin in our flesh.

2.     Recognise that we cannot overcome this by obeying man-made rules and regulations (cf. Colossians 2:20-29 where Paul says that they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence).

3.     Reckon ourselves to be dead. Dead to the law, dead to sin. Dead to the acts of the flesh. We’re identified with Christ. We should live like Christ.

4.     Rely on the help of the Holy Spirit.

We’ll be talking about this next time as we consider the fruit of the Spirit which are a wonderful summary of the character of Jesus. These are the kind of things that will be evident in our lives if we seek to be led by the Spirit rather than trying to please God by our own good works.

Galatians   Talk 7     Galatians 5:1-13

Let’s begin with a reminder of why Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians. It was through Paul’s ministry that they had become Christians, and they had believed his message that salvation was by faith in Christ and not by trying to obey the law of the Old Testament. However, since his departure, others had taught them that faith in Christ was not enough, and that circumcision was necessary for salvation.

So Paul writes to them to correct this error, and so far he has said:

·       The message he preached he had received from God and not from man

·       The Galatians had accepted it.

·       The apostles in Jerusalem had endorsed it.

·       The Galatians knew from their experience of receiving the Spirit that the way God worked in their lives was in response to faith and not to obedience to the law.

·       The law itself teaches that justification is by faith and not by works.

·       The law had had a purpose – it was to demonstrate our need of Christ.

·       Once Christ had come, there was no further need for the law.

And as we saw last time, at the end of chapter 4 Paul uses Abraham’s two sons to illustrate the difference between the old covenant God made with Israel at Sinai (the law) and the new covenant made with all who are justified by faith in Christ.  Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, was a slave. Isaac’s mother Sarah was free. So, by analogy, Paul argues that, as the spiritual descendants of Abraham, because like Abraham we are justified by faith, we are free from the bondage of the law.

And the theme of freedom continues at the beginning of chapter 5 where he says:

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Paul reminds them of the state they were in before they became Christians. The law was their slave master. In it there was no hope of salvation because they were unable to keep it. But when they put their trust in Christ, they were set free from the bondage of the law. They were justified by faith, not by works.  Christ had set them free, and Paul pleads with them not to go back to trying to be right with God by putting themselves under the requirements of Old Testament law again. He now addresses the serious implications of letting yourself be circumcised:

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

First, note the certainty of Paul’s words. Mark my words! (Read my lips!)

Secondly, notice their seriousness – Christ will be of no value to you at all.

The next verse gives us Paul’s reason for saying this:

3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

To be circumcised implies that you’re looking to the law to save you, but, as Paul has already pointed out (3:10), the law requires obedience to it in its entirety. It’s all or nothing. If you’re looking to the law to save you, you’ve got t obey all of it! Salvation through the law, if that were possible, would require TOTAL OBEDIENCE to it. Salvation through faith in Christ requires TOTAL TRUST in him. So Christ is of no value to you at all, because your trust is not total. So in verse 4 he says:

4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Why does Paul say this? Because circumcision shows that you believe that Christ’s death was not enough. You are no longer trusting in his grace, but in your works to save you. And salvation is by faith from first to last (Romans 1:17). We must continue to trust him for our salvation.

Paul’s warning in these verses is so strong that it’s hard to believe that it is purely hypothetical. To seek to be justified by our good works means that:

Christ is of no value to you at all (2)

You are alienated from Christ (4)

You have fallen from grace (4).

Now as we turn to verse 5, please note that the first phrase should read For by faith… not But by faith… (as in NIV).

5 FOR by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

The reason that you’ve fallen from grace is that by being circumcised you’re trying to be saved by obedience to the law, but it’s by faith that we are saved. Our only hope of the righteousness that’s necessary for salvation is through the work of the Spirit. This happens in response to faith and not to works.

But why does Paul say that we’re waiting for righteousness? Haven’t we already received it? Yes, when we trust Christ to save us we are justified (counted as righteous). Our faith is accounted to us as righteousness. But salvation has implications for the future as well as the present.

·       When we first trusted Christ we were saved.

·       As we continue to trust him we are being saved.

·       And when our time on earth comes to an end we will be saved.

The righteousness we already have though faith in Christ will find its ultimate fulfilment when we finally stand before God clothed in the righteousness which by his grace we have received by faith.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Once we became Christians it no longer mattered whether we had been circumcised or not. It’s irrelevant to our salvation. Faith is all that matters, and this is expressed through love.

Love is the fulfilment of the law. As Paul says in verse 14:

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

            (Compare Romans 13 where he expands on this).

So we’re not saved by obedience to the law, but by faith. Nevertheless, genuine faith will result in good works, works of love which fulfil the essence of the law.

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

Paul often compares the Christian life to a walk or a race. The Galatians had made a good start and at first were running well but had been put off course by the Judaizers whose teaching did not come from the Lord. The one who calls you could refer to Paul himself (cf. 1:6), but since Paul had received his teaching directly from the Lord, it amounts to the same thing. The teaching of the Judaizers was out of harmony with Paul’s preaching and with the gospel the Lord himself had given him to preach. (Compare 1 Corinthians 14:37).

9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.

The danger with false doctrine is that it can spread very quickly. Paul warns them of the danger, which in the light of verses 2-4 was very real, but it’s not too late for the Galatians (who he still refers to as brothers – vv11, 13) to return to the truth, and Paul is confident in the Lord that they will do so.

However, the person who is causing the problem will pay the penalty for doing so. Paul does not specify what that penalty might be, but there are serious consequences for those who pervert the truth. There are eternal consequences for those who persist in their error.

11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

To understand this verse, we need a bit of imagination. Why does Paul say, If I am still preaching circumcision? Presumably because some of the Jews were saying that he was doing so. But why would they say that? Perhaps some of the Judaizers were telling the other Christians that Paul was preaching circumcision in order to back up their own argument.

Of course, Paul was not. So why does he say, if I am still preaching circumcision? This implies that at some time he had preached it. But when? There is no evidence that it had ever been part of his gospel. In his earliest recorded sermon (Acts 13) he clearly proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through Christ and that through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain through the law of Moses (vv 38-39).

In my view, the clearest and most likely explanation is that he is referring to his pre-conversion days when he would have fervently proclaimed the need for circumcision.

The fact that now, as a Christian, he was teaching that circumcision was no longer necessary, was probably one of the main causes of his being persecuted by the Jews. So, if it were true that he was preaching circumcision, it was natural for him to ask, Why am I still being persecuted? Compare Galatians 6:12-14 where he says:

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

To the Jews the message of the cross was an offense or stumbling-block (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23) because, among other things, it made circumcision unnecessary. And it remains a stumbling-block to all those who are trying to be justified by their own self effort.

12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves (cut themselves off)!

In verse 10 Paul talked about one person who was throwing them into confusion. Now, as previously in 4:17, he refers to them in the plural. Perhaps the individual he refers to was the ringleader. Paul wishes that they would cut themselves off. This is literally what the Greek says and in my view is best left ambiguously. Paul’s intention may well have been what the NIV translation suggests, but it could it simply mean that he wished they would cut themselves off from the fellowship of believers so that their evil yeast might not spread throughout the whole church? He could well have meant both.

So, to summarise, in today’s passage Paul has encouraged the Galatians to stand firm in their faith in Christ and not to get entangled again with the burden of the law. If you’re trying to be justified by obeying the law, you are alienated from Christ. Christ is of no benefit to you. You have fallen from grace. So avoid the teachings of the Judaizers who will pay the penalty for teaching a false way of salvation. In Christ circumcision means nothing. All that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

And that leads us to the second part of the chapter, the theme of which is summarised in verse 13:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (the flesh); rather, serve one another in love.

He then goes on to contrast the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, the first of which is love. But that’s something for next time.

Galatians   Talk 6   Galatians 4:1-31

At the beginning of this chapter Paul picks up on what he has been saying in Chapter 3:23-25 about the temporary nature of the law. He uses a mixture of metaphors to illustrate this.

In 3:23 he sees the law as a jailer keeping us in prison:

23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law (literally, we were being kept under the law), locked up until faith should be revealed.

In 3:24-25 he sees the law as a pedagogue – an entrusted slave who would lead a young child to school. Its purpose was to lead us to faith in Christ:

24 So the law was (our pedagogue) put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the (pedagogue) supervision of the law.

In 4:1-3 he sees the law as a guardian and trustee appointed by a father until the time came for a child to receive its inheritance:

 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

The point of each of these metaphors is to show that since the coming of Christ the law is no longer needed:

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Note:

            God sent his Son at just the right time

            He was born under the law so that we could be set free from the law

            We are redeemed – bought from slavery under the law  

            We have the full rights of sons

            God has given us his Spirit – if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law

(cf. 5:18)

We are heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

In the light of all this, in 4:8-11 Paul says, Why are you turning back?

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

Verses 12-20 reflect Paul’s feeling that in deserting his gospel the Galatians were deserting him (cf. 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting…).

The meaning of verse 12 is unclear, but is probably best understood as follows:

Brethren, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I also have become as you are [a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [in the days when I first came to you; do not do it now (Amplified Bible).

He reminds them of how well they had received him when he had first come to preach the gospel to them:

13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.  15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

The main point of these verses is Paul’s disappointment at the change in the Galatians’ attitude towards him. They are rejecting him in favour of those who preach a false gospel. But he warns them that these Judaizers are wrongly motivated:

17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you [from us], so that you may be zealous for them.

Paul’s motives, however, are pure:

18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

·       He is always zealous for them (18)

·       He is agonizing over them (19)

·       He longs to be with them (20).

Note incidentally, that verses 13-14 also shed light on the subject of healing:

·       Even great Christians (cf. also Epaphroditus, Timothy, Trophimus) get sick

·       They are not always immediately healed

·       God has a purpose in allowing sickness.

In the final part of the chapter (vv. 21-31) Paul uses what is technically known as a rabbinic argument. This is a way of interpreting scripture that he would have learned when he studied under rabbi Gamaliel. His reason for using it here is probably because his Judaizer opponents may well have been familiar with this form of argument and, although it is not something we easily follow today, it would undoubtedly have been understood by them.

But before we look at the argument itself, it will be helpful to remind ourselves of the truth that Paul was seeking to demonstrate by it. We have already seen that Paul’s overall purpose in Galatians was to establish that:

·       no one is saved by obeying the works of the law but by believing the promise of God

·       salvation is by faith alone, not by faith followed by circumcision.

·       the true descendants of Abraham are those who believe as Abraham believed

·       the true Israel is made up of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile

·       the law enslaves and imprisons people because of their failure to keep it.

Paul now uses an illustration from Genesis to demonstrate these principles. He uses Abraham’s two sons to illustrate the difference between the old covenant God made with Israel at Sinai (the law) and the new covenant made with all who are justified by faith in Christ. He points out that:

22. …Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.

Abraham had two sons:

Ishmael, whose mother Hagar, was a slave

Isaac, whose mother Sarah, was free.

(So, by analogy, the spiritual descendants of Abraham are free from the bondage of the law).

23. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

Ishmael was born naturally

Isaac was born supernaturally as a result of God’s promise

(So Isaac represents us Christians because we are supernaturally born again).

24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants. God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Paul uses Hagar to stand for Mount Sinai because both she, and the law given at Sinai, produced slavery in their children. And, Paul says, the present city of Jerusalem is also in slavery with her children. So he seems to be saying:

·       Hagar was in bondage (as Sarah’s maidservant)

·       The law puts us in bondage (for reasons he has already given)

·       The (then) present city of Jerusalem was still in bondage (because it had rejected the way of salvation through faith provided by Christ).

BUT

26. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27. For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labour pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”

By contrast with the earthly Jerusalem, however, is the heavenly Jerusalem (the Messianic kingdom of Christ). She is our mother, and her children are free. What’s more, the (spiritual) children descended from Sarah, the barren woman, far outnumber those who are naturally born.

28. Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” (Genesis 21:10)

We Christians are children of promise. We are not naturally born, like Ishmael, but supernaturally born, like Isaac. We are born by the power of the Spirit. Verses 29-30 are a reference back to Genesis 21:9-10. Paul sees Ishmael’s mocking Isaac as symbolising the way the Judaizers were persecuting those who believed his message. But the two cannot coexist. There is only one way of salvation. We must be careful not to compromise.

31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

So we are not like Ishmael, born into slavery. We are free from the law, and as Paul will say at the beginning of the next chapter:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again with a yoke of slavery.

Galatians   Talk 5   Galatians 3:1-29

As we saw when we were studying the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul wrote his letter to them because of the dangerous teaching that had crept into the churches there – that obedience to the law of the Old Testament was essential to salvation.

In chapter 1 he insists that:

·       the only true gospel is the one that he has preached to them (6-10)

·       he had received it by direct revelation from God and not from any human source (11-24).

In chapter 2 he tells how:

·       the message he preached had been accepted by the apostles at Jerusalem (1-10)

·       he had opposed Peter for his inconsistent behaviour by no longer eating with Gentile Christians for fear of what the circumcision group might think of him (11-21).

These verses include the substance of what he said to Peter and form the beginning of a new section of his letter where he gives theological reasons for his teaching that justification is by faith and not by works.

Now, in chapter 3, Paul begins by appealing to the Galatians’ experience of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives (1-5) and then to the experience of Abraham (6-25) to argue his case. We’ll begin by reading vv 1-5.

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul has already expressed his astonishment that the Galatians have so quickly turned to a different gospel from that which he had preached to them (1:6). Now, in verse 1, he reiterates his amazement and reminds them that they had been saved by believing his clear presentation of the message of Christ crucified. In verse 2 he appeals to their experience:

Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

But what does he mean by receiving the Spirit? To understand this correctly we need to consider what happened at Pentecost when Jesus’ first disciples received the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). This was something Jesus had promised them, and which would empower them to be his witnesses (Acts 1:4-8).

It was something promised to the converts at Pentecost if they would repent and be baptised (Acts 2:38-39).

It was so important that when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had become Christians they sent Peter and John to lay hands on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-18).

And Peter describes the experience of Cornelius and his household as having received the Holy Spirit just as we have (Acts 10:47).

Finally, when Paul finds some disciples at Ephesus, he asks them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (Acts 19:2) which, of course, implies that it’s possible to believe without at the same time receiving the Spirit.

Now all these examples taken from Acts use the terminology of receiving the Spirit to refer to the supernatural experience of the baptism in the Spirit, rather than to the Spirit’s work in regeneration, but is this the way that Paul is using it here in Galatians?

In my view the answer is definitely YES. We know from Acts 19:2 that Paul used the expression in this way. And it’s unthinkable that on such an important matter Luke, who was one of Paul’s close travelling companions, should use the expression differently from Paul. And in verse 5 the reference to God giving the Spirit and working miracles seems to confirm this.

But what about verse 3, where Paul says:

After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Doesn’t this suggest that Paul is using receiving the Spirit to refer to their becoming Christians?

The answer to this lies in remembering that, unlike today, when people receive Christ as their saviour but very often are not baptised in water until some weeks or months later – and may or may not be baptised in the Spirit later still – most people in New Testament times would have been saved, baptised in water and baptised in the Spirit all on the same day.

So for them each of these things would have been part of their overall experience of beginning the Christian life. Right from the start their supernatural experience of being baptised in the Spirit was part and parcel of what it meant to be a Christian.

Assuming this to be the case with the Galatians, we can now understand Paul as saying:

You know from your experience of how the Holy Spirit works that it is not in response to human effort, but in response to faith. This is true of how you received the baptism in the Spirit and of the miraculous ways God works in your lives. The same is true of your salvation. You are saved by faith and not by works.

Moving on now to verses 6-9, we find Paul using quotes from the Pentateuch to make several points with regard to Abraham. This would be particularly significant for the circumcision group as it was to Abraham that God first gave circumcision as a sign of the covenant he had made with him. He points out that:

·       Abraham was counted righteous (justified) because of his faith. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (6)

·       As a result, it’s those who believe who are children of Abraham (7)

·       When God promised Abraham that through him all nations will be blessed (8), it revealed God’s intention to justify the Gentiles by faith

·       So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (9).

And how are they blessed? By being declared righteous in God’s sight, just as Abraham was, by faith, and as a result be able to receive the promise of the Spirit by faith (14).

This is in direct contrast to those who rely on observing the law (10). They are cursed rather than blessed. In verse 10 he says:

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

The people who were insisting that circumcision was essential to salvation were relying on the law to save them. But the problem with this is that the law itself says that everyone who does not obey everything in it is cursed. So Paul is saying, If you think you can be saved by obeying the law, remember that you must obey everything in it! And since you can’t, you are cursed, not saved.

11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

What’s more, says Paul, the Old Testament itself teaches that you can’t be saved by obeying the law, because it says in Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous will live by faith. But the law isn’t based on faith, but on obedience to it, because it says that the man who does these things will live by them. So salvation by the law, if that were possible, would be dependent on obedience to all of it. And if we’re not, we’re under its curse. But, thank God, Christ has redeemed us from that.

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

So what is this curse of the law that Christ has redeemed us from? It’s our failure to keep it in its entirety! As we shall see later, the purpose of the law was to highlight our disobedience to God and to point to our need of a Saviour. By his substitutionary death on the cross Christ has borne the penalty that our disobedience to God deserves.

If we understand this verse correctly in its context, we see that by the curse of the law Paul is not referring to specific curses contained within the law (e.g. Deuteronomy 28), but to the fact that, unless we keep every part of it, the law places us under God’s curse.

But, thank God, he has redeemed us from the curse of the law, and his purpose in redeeming us is not just negative. In verse 14 we read that:

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Paul then proceeds to explain in greater detail what he has been saying by using the illustration of a covenant (15). He likens the promises God made to Abraham and his seed to a covenant that cannot be broken, and he clarifies that the use of the word seed in the singular implies that it refers to just one person, not many, and that person is Christ (16).

It is in Christ that all the nations of the world will be blessed (cf. 7). The law, which came 430 years after God made this promise to Abraham, does not do away with God’s covenant promise (17). And since the blessing depends on God’s gracious promise, it cannot be dependent on keeping the law (18). (Therefore, salvation is not dependent on circumcision).

So what was the point of the law? Paul gives his answer in verses 19-23. It was a temporary addition until Christ came (19). It was not opposed to God’s promises, but the problem with the law was that it couldn’t impart life (21) because the whole world is a prisoner of sin (22).

 So the only way that the promise can be received is by faith in Jesus Christ. And until he came everyone was imprisoned by the law (23). As we shall see next time, Paul will go on the clarify this in the opening verses of chapter 4, but first he seems to want to break away from his discussion of the shortcomings of the law in order to remind us of the blessings of faith in Christ.

We’re all children of God

26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

We’re identified with Christ

27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Your identity is not in your nationality, social status, or even your gender. It’s in Christ!

We belong to Christ. We’re the true children of Abraham. We have a wonderful inheritance

29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians   Talk 4   Galatians 2

So far in this series we have seen that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error. Some were teaching that faith in Christ was not sufficient for salvation and that obedience to the law of the Old Testament, especially with regard to circumcision, was required as well. The situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which the Galatians had accepted, they should be eternally condemned!

If this seems rather strong, we need to remember that our only hope of salvation is through believing that Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved when he died on the cross. This and this alone is all that is necessary for salvation. To teach that something else is necessary is to deny the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice (v21) and encourages people to put their hope in a false ‘gospel’ by trying to get right with God by our own good works.

In defence of the gospel he preached, Paul begins in chapter 1 by making it clear to his readers that:

·       He had not received it from any human source.

·       He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.

And as we saw last time, Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:

1.     He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.     His sole desire was to please God

3.     He knew God had called him.

Now, as we move into chapter 2, Paul continues to speak of his own experience (1-10).

He bases his argument against the need for circumcision on the fact that when he had gone up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, James and John:

·       They had not compelled Titus to be circumcised although he was Gentile (3)

·       They had added nothing to his message (6)

·       They had endorsed his ministry to the Gentiles (7-10).

It was important for Paul to stress these things because the Judaizers, with their insistence on obedience to the Jewish law,  probably felt a loyalty to the apostles in Jerusalem and he needed to make it clear that they had endorsed his message. These points will become clear as we now read verses 1-10, which I shall read without further comment.

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2  I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

4 [This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

6 As for those who seemed to be important – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance – those men added nothing to my message.

7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

However, although Paul was glad of the approval of these brothers, he was not afraid to point out the inconsistency of Peter on these matters. In verses 11-13 he says:

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13  The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

Peter

Peter was afraid and hypocritical. He was not infallible. He was in the wrong.

He was still capable of giving in to the fear of what others might think of him (cf. his denial of Jesus).

This was after Jesus had forgiven him and after he had been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost.

This shows that the baptism in the Spirit is not an experience of entire sanctification, as some have taught.

If our actions are not consistent with our professed beliefs, we may lead others astray.

Paul

Paul was not afraid to confront Peter publicly.

He opposed him to his face (not behind his back).

He told Peter first, before telling others about it (e.g. writing to the Galatians).

Confronting people when they are in the wrong takes courage. But if we don’t speak up, we may be guilty of condoning their attitude and actions by our silence.

The beginning of the theological argument (15-21)

Having made his case from his own personal experience, Paul now uses the substance of what he had said to Peter to begin his theological argument.

“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16  know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. 17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

I’m not intending to deal with all these verses in detail. We’ll be concentrating on verses 19-20. But first my attempt at a paraphrase of verses 15-18, the meaning of which is not immediately clear.

15-16 Paul appeals to the experience of his Jewish Christian readers. They have put their faith in Jesus Christ and they know that no one can be saved by observing the law.

17 But that doesn’t mean that, although we still sometimes sin after we are saved, the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ is promoting sin (cf. Romans 6:1).

18 If we rebuild the law after we have rejected it as a way of salvation, by our inability to keep it we will only prove that we are breakers of the law.

But now let’s turn our attention to verses 19-20.

19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

What does Paul mean by died to the law?

It’s probably best to understand this as meaning that Paul started to think of himself as dead as far as the law was concerned. Compare Romans 6:11, where he says something similar:

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

As we shall see later in the series, the law was given to make us aware of our need of Christ because of our inability to keep it in its entirety. We are to think of ourselves as dead to the law because obedience to it cannot save us.

When Paul was confronted by the risen Christ on the Damascus Road, the direction of his life was completely changed. Until then he had been preoccupied with obedience to the law and his understanding of it had led him to persecute Christ’s followers (Acts 22:3-4). But once he had met Christ he began to see himself as dead as far as the law was concerned because now he was to live in obedience to Christ. His question in Acts 22:10, Lord, what shall I do? makes this clear. And when we come to chapter 5 we’ll see how all this works out in practice.

Like Paul we are to think of ourselves as dead to the law and dead to sin. This is because of what Paul says in verse 20:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Greek verb that’s used here is sustauroo. It’s the same verb as is used in the Gospels where we’re told that there were two thieves crucified with Jesus (Matthew 27:44). The Greek word for cross is stauros and stauroo means to crucify. The prefix su- or sun- means with. So sustauroo means to crucify with… Now there are at least ten Greek verbs in the New Testament that begin with the prefix su- or sun- and which speak of different aspects of our relationship or identification with Christ.

This would be a whole series of studies in itself, but here’s a quick summary. The New Testament teaches that we:

·       Were crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6)

·       Were buried with Christ (in baptism) (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:4)

·       Have been raised with Christ (Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 2:12, 3:1)

·       Have been made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13)

·       Are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)

·       Are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12)

·       Will be glorified with Christ (Romans 8:17).

At first sight, this subject of our identification with Christ is rather difficult to understand. So let me explain it like this. When Jesus came to earth he identified himself with humanity. At his baptism, although he was sinless, he identified himself with sinners. At Calvary he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin. He was, in effect, saying to God, Let my death count as their death. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but because Jesus’ death counts as ours, the penalty has already been paid. By faith we are made righteous in God’s sight. He sees us as he sees Jesus. By his death on the cross Jesus identified himself with us. When we believe this and accept him as our Saviour, we identify ourselves with him.

With this in mind, let’s go back to Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Because Jesus loved us and gave himself for us, and because we have put our faith in him, we are identified with him. We are in Christ and Christ lives in us. By accepting him as our Saviour we accepted his death as our death (and that’s why our sins are all forgiven). So if his death was our death, we’re dead! We no longer live, but Christ lives in us.

And finally in verse 21 Paul makes the obvious point in defence of his gospel, if it were possible to be saved by obeying the law, there was no point in Christ dying for us.

But thank God, he did. And because he did, and because by accepting him we identified ourselves with him, we should think of ourselves as dead. Dead to thinking that we can save ourselves by our good works. And dead to sin, because Christ now lives within us.

How can we live our lives by faith in the Son of God?

By remembering that he loved us and gave himself for us.

That’s my motivation for living.

I hope it’s yours too.

Galatians Talk 3.

Galatians 1:10-24

In the first two talks we noted that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error that had crept into the churches since Paul had planted them. Paul had taught them that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by observing the law of the Old Testament, but some were now teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation, and Paul was amazed that they had so quickly turned away from what he had taught them.

The version of the ‘gospel’ these people were teaching was radically different from the gospel Paul preached and the situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which they had accepted, let them be eternally condemned!

And Paul had good reason to speak this strongly. The truth of the gospel was at stake – the gospel for which Christ had died, the gospel which is the only way by which we may be saved. In later chapters Paul would give good theological reasons in defence of the gospel he preached, but first he wanted to make it clear to his readers that:

·       He had not received it from any human source.

·       He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.

This is the main purpose of what he writes in today’s passage, which we’ll read first before considering each of these two points in turn.

Galatians 1:10-24

10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother.

20. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24. And they praised God because of me.

He had not received it from any human source

In verse 11 Paul says:

the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.

This is so important that he repeats it in three different ways:

I did not receive it from any man (12)

nor was I taught it (12)

I did not consult any man 16).

He wants the Galatians (and us) to know this (11), because believing the true gospel is the only way of salvation. A man-made gospel will save no one! The good news of salvation through faith has its origin in heaven and was received by revelation from heaven. It was God who had set Paul apart and called him by his grace and who had been pleased to reveal his Son in and through Paul (15-16).

So in verses 17-22 Paul emphasises that immediately after his conversion he went into Arabia before returning to Damascus. It was not until three years after that, that he went to Jerusalem where he stayed with Peter for fifteen days and also met James, the Lord’s brother. Paul’s purpose in saying this is to stress that he did not receive his gospel from anyone, not even Peter or James, as he did not meet them until at least three years after his conversion, but in case anyone is inclined to doubt him he says in verse 20:

I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation

The gospel Paul preached came directly from Jesus Christ by supernatural revelation. That’s why he was so determined to defend it. In today’s passage we see three things that emboldened that determination:

1.    He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.    His sole desire was to please God

3.    He knew God had called him

He remembered the futility of his old way of life

13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

He was in Judaism (13, 14). Note how Paul is already referring to Judaism as distinct from Christianity. Judaism had been his way of life (13). He was advancing in it (14). He was extremely zealous for its traditions (14). His sole aim was to please men (10).

But now he was in Christ. Christ was now his way of life (cf. 2:20). His sole aim now was to please him.

Once we give our lives to Jesus, there’s no turning back.

His sole desire was to please God.

10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Notice the words now and still. Before his conversion Paul’s aim was to please men, but now he is a servant of Christ. His sole motive was to please God. There was no hidden agenda. He was not politically motivated. If we’re intent on pleasing other people or worried what they will think about us if we don’t do the kind of things they do, our determination to follow Jesus will be weakened.  Our motive in all that we do must be to please God. As we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

He knew God had called him

15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…

But when God

Paul had been extremely zealous for the traditions of his ancestors (14), but when God… Because he had been such a fanatical opponent of Christianity, Paul was ever conscious that it was God who had initiated his conversion. It was God who had who set him apart from birth, and called him by his grace, and had been pleased to reveal his Son in him.

set me apart from birth

Literally, from my mother’s womb. How did Paul know this? Perhaps like Jeremiah (1:5) the Lord had told him so. The fact that God has a purpose for our lives from before we were born does not mean that we are predestined to do what he tells us. We all have a choice as to whether we will obey him when he calls us. As Paul later said to King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

called me by his grace

It is by grace that we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves – it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2). If it were not for God’s grace we could not be saved. And it’s because of the grace of God that all we have to do is have faith – and even that is given to us by God. What’s more, it is by grace that we are called to serve him. It’s a privilege to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

reveal his Son in me

We might have expected Paul to say to me rather than in me. Of course, God did reveal his Son to Paul on the Damascus Road. But He revealed Jesus to him in order that he might reveal him in him (or through him). God makes himself real to us so that through us others might know him too.

so that I might preach him among the Gentiles

This was God’s specific purpose for Paul. It was made clear to him right from the start. The book of Acts reveals how that purpose unfolded step by step in Paul’s life. After the initial call which motivated his entire Christian life, Paul received guidance from the Holy Spirit as and when he needed it.

Conclusion

Paul’s purpose in today’s passage was to make clear that the message he preached did not come from man, but by supernatural revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of that message is the wonderful truth that we are not saved by obedience to the law of the Old Testament, but by trusting Jesus as our Saviour. Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:

1.    He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.    His sole desire was to please God

3.    He knew God had called him.

And as we shall see next time, his calling to preach that message was confirmed by other apostles in Chapter 2.

JESUS CHRIST, THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

As I was thinking and praying about the message I should bring on the weekend of the coronation of King Charles III, a phrase from Revelation 1:5 came to my mind:

JESUS CHRIST, THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.

Of course, the word king is used in a variety of ways, but its general meaning is someone who rules and it’s in that sense that we’ll be looking at it today. But first, let’s read Revelation 1:4-8.

4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Notice that this passage has something to say about:

·       King Charles, who is one of the kings of the earth.

·       The Lord Jesus Christ, the king of kings, who is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

·       Us Christians who as Christ’s church are a kingdom of priests.

A.     The kings of the earth (5)

Of course, King Charles is just one example. But let’s not to concentrate on King Charles. Rather, let’s take a brief look at what the Bible says about kings and rulers in general. Much of what we say will apply to King Charles – I’ll leave it to you to decide how much – but in many mays it’s more applicable to those who hold high office in government. Please notice 4 things:

1.     Their authority to rule is God-given

Romans 13:1

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Of course, we know that historically this has been used to insist that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority. King James I of England (1603-25), for example. Fortunately, we know that  her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II understood her role as one of servanthood, and there are indications that King Charles will be adopting the same approach. Indeed, in our constitutional system, the power of the monarch is extremely limited anyway.

However, the NT clearly teaches that God himself is the source of all authority, and that all human authority is delegated from him. That’s why as Christians we should obey the laws, pay our taxes etc., unless, of course, the law of the state is contrary to God’s law. But those to whom God has given authority are ultimately accountable to God for the way in which they handle that authority and are responsible for the wellbeing of their people.

2.     Their accountability to their ruler

As we have seen, verse 5 describes the Lord Jesus as the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the king to whom all other kings are accountable. He is the King of kings. The late queen was very conscious of this, and it is said of Queen Victoria that she hoped that the Lord would return in her lifetime so that she could be the first to cast down her crown at his feet. If only world leaders were equally aware of their accountability to him.

3.     Their responsibility for the wellbeing of their people

Some of the parables Jesus told teach clearly that we are all accountable to God for our use of the things he has entrusted to us. This is particularly true of those who are in authority. The more we have been entrusted with, the more is required of us. Read Ezekiel 34 to see what God says about the shepherds (i.e. kings) of Israel, who had looked after themselves rather than caring for the people.

4.     Our responsibility to those in authority

a)     We should pray for them

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:2)

b)     We should submit to them

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right (1 Peter 2:13).

c)     We should honour them

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor (1 Peter 2:17).

B.     JESUS – The ruler of the kings of the earth (5)

WHAT HE IS:  

The ruler of the kings of the earth

The kings of the earth are temporal. They live, they die. And their authority perishes with them. But Jesus is eternal. Before Abraham was, I AM. He always has been, and he always will be, and his power and authority will never end.

1 Timothy 1:17

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:15-16

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

N.B. Here God is described as the only ruler. But in Revelation 1:5 Jesus is described as the ruler of the kings of the earth. This is just one of many evidences for the deity of Christ.

The Eternal Son of God

Grace and peace to you from

him who is, and who was, and who is to come

and from the seven spirits before his throne,

and from Jesus Christ (4-5).

Cf. verse 8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”    

The faithful witness

Jesus said that the reason he came into the world was to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). His word is reliable. You can count on it. Everything he ever said was true. And because he wouldn’t deny the truth, they crucified him. But God raised him from the dead. Jesus was vindicated! He had said that he would rise from the dead, and he did. And he has promised eternal life to those who believe him. Because he lives, we shall live also. You can rely on what he says. He’s the faithful witness.

The firstborn from the dead

Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Compare Colossians 1:18 where he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

And in verse 15 he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Everything in heaven and earth was created by him and for him (16). He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (17). In short:

He is supreme in the church. He is supreme in the earth. He is supreme in heaven. He is supreme over death itself.

And in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that his victory over death is the basis of our victory too:

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his turn, Christ the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him (1 Corinthians 15:23).

WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US:

He has freed us from our sins by his blood (5)

We have all sinned, but because Jesus died for us, when we accept him as our Saviour we are freed from the penalty of sin.

He has made us a kingdom, and priests to serve his God and Father (6)

More of this in a moment.

He has promised to come again (7)

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.

The details need not concern us. What matters is:

·       He is coming

·       Those who rejected him will know they were wrong

·       There will be ultimate justice

·       But we have nothing to fear because he has freed us from our sins…

And all this is because he loves us (v5).

C.     YOU AND I  as part of the church, a kingdom of priests

6…and has made us to be a kingdom, and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…

Revelation 5:9-10

And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Note: he has made us…  you have made them… We’re already a kingdom of priests.

But they will reign on the earth.

Exactly what this will mean in the age to come has not been revealed, but 2 Peter 3:13 tells us that

In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells.

All earthly rulers are temporary.

Only Christ the supreme ruler is the King Eternal.

We, as Christians, are already part of his kingdom – a kingdom of priests with direct access to God.

But in the age to come WE WILL REIGN WITH HIM.

Galatians   Talk 2.  Galatians 1:6-9

In our first talk we began by looking at three reasons why Galatians is important:

It has made a significant impact on the history of the church

It’s the first thing Paul wrote explaining that salvation is by faith and not by works

It’s of practical relevance to our daily lives.

We then made a start on the text by reading the first 6 verses:

1. Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead  2. and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:  3. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4. who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5. to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

We noted that Paul’s purpose in writing was to correct a serious doctrinal error that had crept into the churches since Paul had planted them. Paul had taught them that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by observing the law of the Old Testament, but some were now teaching that circumcision was now necessary for salvation, and Paul was amazed that they had so quickly turned away from what he had taught them (6). And that’s where we pick up the reading today. Let’s read verses 6-7.

6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel –

7. which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

v 6 I am astonished

After the customary greeting at the beginning of his letters, Paul usually says something to commend his readers, even if later he has to say something to correct or rebuke them, but the problem in Galatia is so serious that he moves straight into the issue he urgently needs to deal with. He is astonished, astounded, appalled at what they are doing. There are some issues in church life where we need to be direct, although the usual approach to those who need to be corrected is gentleness (6:1).

so quickly deserting

He’s astonished that they’re departing from the gospel he preached to them, but particularly that they’re doing it so quickly. It wasn’t long since they had heard and received his message of salvation by faith in Christ, but they had soon moved away from it when they heard a different ‘gospel’.

the one who called you

But they were not only rejecting the true gospel. They were rejecting the one who had called them. But what does Paul mean by the one? Does he mean himself or Christ? Of course, it is Christ who calls us to salvation and the rejection of Christ is far more serious than the rejection of his messengers. But Jesus did say to his disciples, Whoever rejects you rejects me (Luke 10:16), so is there a double – or even treble – meaning here? In rejecting Paul’s message, they were rejecting the messenger, and in rejecting the messenger they were rejecting Christ, the one who sent him.

What should we do when people reject our message? Paul was certainly exasperated by the behaviour of the Galatians, but he did not desert them. He felt responsible for them and cared enough to warn them of the serious consequences if they continued to reject his message.

by the grace of Christ

As Christ’s messenger, Paul had called them by the grace of Christ. Grace, the unmerited favour of God, was the heart of Paul’s message. On his first visit to Galatia he had preached that

Through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

And this was the message of his grace (14:3).

If the churches he is writing to in Galatians are the same as those he planted in these chapters in Acts, they had certainly already heard Paul’s message of justification by faith.

and are turning to a different gospel

But now they are turning to a different gospel. The word Paul uses for different is heteros, which means another.  In Greek there are two different words for another:

            heteros which means another of a different kind

            and

            allos which means another of the same kind.

Paul uses both these words in verses 6-7. In verse 6 he says that the Galatians are turning to another gospel. Here he uses heteros. Their so called ‘gospel’ of justification by obeying the law of Moses was a totally different kind of gospel than that which Paul preached, justification by faith. Gospel (euangelion in Greek) means good news.  And their insistence that for a man to be saved he must be circumcised as well as believe was certainly not good news!

In most countries today circumcision is probably not the issue that it was back then, but any insistence that any ritual baptism, communion for example is essential to salvation is a false gospel. We should be baptised and take communion because Jesus commanded it, but it’s only faith that saves us.

v 7 which is really no gospel at all

In fact their ‘gospel’ was really no gospel at all. Translated literally, what he says is:

which is not another.

Here Paul uses allos (another of the same kind). Their ‘gospel’ is not the same kind at all. It’s bad news, not good news.

some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ

Any teaching that detracts from the simplicity of the true gospel of salvation by grace through faith is in fact a perversion and will only lead to confusion. In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul tells us that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. It was God the Holy Spirit who brought order out of chaos (Genesis 1:1).

8. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned

9. As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

But even if we…

In effect, Paul is saying, Even if I start preaching a different gospel, don’t believe it! The message of the gospel is more important than the messenger, however impressive their credentials, their personality, or their presentation. It’s the truth of the message that validates the messenger.

or an angel from heaven

This may reflect the Jewish belief that the law had been given through angelic mediators (cf. Acts 7:38) but is more likely to be connected with the fact that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Confusion is his work and he’s still in the confusion business today. What Bible believing Christian can fail to see the hand of Satan in the upheaval of moral standards that has taken place in recent decades, as biblical revelation has been rejected, even in some churches, and replaced with the mistaken ideas of godless people?  Those who bring confusion, whether it’s into the churches or into society at large would do well to heed Paul’s urgent warning in these verses:

But why the repetition? This may be just for emphasis, but As we have already said (9) may well be a reference to his teaching when he had planted the churches. However, the two verses are not entirely identical:

Verse 8 refers to the gospel he had preached.

Verse 9 refers to the gospel they had accepted.

Paul had not only preached the true gospel, but the Galatians had accepted it.

let him be eternally condemned

The word Paul uses here is anathema. He uses it in Romans 9:3 where he says that he could wish himself accursed from Christ if only his fellow Jews might be saved. The plain sense there is that he would have been willing to sacrifice his own salvation if only it could achieve theirs. And in 1 Corinthians 16:22 he uses it to say, If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ let them be accursed. So the NIV translation, eternally condemned, here in Galatians, does not seem inappropriate.

But did Paul really want anyone to be eternally condemned? If it sounds like it here, we need to remember that Paul had dedicated his life to preaching the gospel so that others might be saved. If his words seem harsh, we should remind ourselves that God himself, who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, will not force salvation on anyone. He has provided the way of salvation through faith in the atoning death of Christ, but, if that is rejected, Jesus said those who do not believe are condemned already (John 3:18).  This is because the only way of salvation is through faith in Christ – and that’s because only Christ was capable of saving us.

So here in Galatians Paul is only affirming what God has already said. Those who were teaching, and those who were believing, a different ‘gospel’ were denying the total efficacy of Christ’s death on the cross, and to reject that is to reject the salvation that it offers. And as Paul says elsewhere, Their condemnation is just (Romans 3:8).

This matter is so important, and Paul cares so much about those he had led to Christ, that he urges them to reject the false gospel of the Judaizers and to return to the gospel by which they had been saved in the first place. Salvation is dependent on accepting the gospel. We cannot lose our salvation, but this passage shows that we can reject it by rejecting the gospel we once believed.

Paul’s teaching throughout Galatians reminds us of the urgency of both believing (and continuing to believe) and preaching the one true gospel of salvation through faith in Christ. We will return to this theme again and again, but as we do so perhaps we should ask ourselves how seriously we are taking our responsibility of sharing this truth with others.