Galatians 4: 1-4
Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,
The Hebrew people descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were God's royal family. But they rarely realized even a little part of what that means.
If they had, maybe they wouldn't have strayed so often.
So God gave them the Law to teach them how to live righteous lives, as His children.
but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
The guardians and managers were the Law and the leaders He provided them.
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the World.
And we, also, were tied up by the World until He found us.
But when the fullness of the time came,
God's timing is always perfect.
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
He had to have a genuine human body to die a human death, the death we all deserve.
born under the Law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law,
Jesus fulfilled all of the Law, so that those who were under the Law could be freed from it.
that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And we will receive the "adoption" when Jesus returns and we "grow up" and our mortal bodies will put on immortality, and these flesh bodies will become spirit bodies. Then we will be given the authority by our Father to help Him run His family business, the Kingdom of God.
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Because we are His children, we can call Him "Daddy!" and curl up in His lap!
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Even though we're still children in His family, we are still His sons and daughters, and as such, His heirs, to inherit with Jesus all the Promises God gave to Abraham, and all the other Promises as well.
O my Father, help me to learn how to live my life as a royal princess in Your family. Teach me how to think Your thoughts, have Your attitudes and views of things, and how to live my life showing forth the Light of Christ upon all those who are in my little world.
Father, help me to continually grow in the character of my Lord Jesus, so I can be a useful member of Your family.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, the sovereign King of the Universe, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Monday, December 9, 2019
Sunday, December 8, 2019
The Promise To Abraham
Galatians 3: 23-29
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
It was like we were children in boarding school, locked into trying to follow myriad rules and precepts, until Christ came to set us free, through faith in Him.
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ,
So the Law was our schoolmaster, to show us our need for Christ.
so that we may be justified by faith.
So that our faith in Christ paying our death debt for us, would allow His Blood to wash us clean, so we could be justified, by trusting Him.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Now that we can put our trust in Jesus having fulfilled all the Law, we don't have to bring animals to an altar any more--He is our sacrificial Lamb of God, who died once for all.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
So we are born spiritually when God puts His Spirit into our spirit, making it alive, with God's life, as His own children. God couldn't live in us until we were cleansed thoroughly.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
We who were immersed into Christ have put on Christ as clothing, to cover us and to identify us as His.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
God does not distinguish these kinds of differences; He loves us no matter what our state or station in this life is. It only matters while we're here, and won't make any difference in Eternity. We are all one in Christ, and He is one with the Father (see John 17: 11, 21).
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.
As Jesus Christ is the Seed of Abraham upon which the Covenant of Promise fell on, and we are in Christ; then we are also of the spiritual lineage of Abraham who believed.
And we also are heirs to inherit all the Promises God gave to Abraham; for we are the uncountable descendants (Revelation 7: 9-10), and we will reign and rule in the Promised Land (Revelation 5: 10; 20: 6).
Both Jews and Gentiles, both slaves and free men, both rich and poor, both male and female, will all be one in Christ as He is one with the Father. These differences will not make any difference any more.
We will reign with Christ as kings and queens, and priests to God in Him.
O my Father, You have done it all. You thought it out, planned it out, created it, and worked out Your Plan just as You wanted. And You made Mankind to be Your children, to live Your life in Your Son, to rule and reign with Him in the Kingdom of God which will never stop growing and increasing throughout all eternity.
Thank You so much, Father, for Your unimaginable Love for us, and Your unstoppable Plan of the Ages, in which You are bringing Your blessings to Your children.
O Father, please send out Your children as Your workers to sow the precious seed of the Gospel, and to reap Your fields already ripe for harvest.
My Father, send me to find and rescue Your lost lambs, caught in the thickets of the World, and trapped in ravines of deception. Let me carry them, by the hand or kicking and screaming, home into the safety and peace of Your Fold.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
It was like we were children in boarding school, locked into trying to follow myriad rules and precepts, until Christ came to set us free, through faith in Him.
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ,
So the Law was our schoolmaster, to show us our need for Christ.
so that we may be justified by faith.
So that our faith in Christ paying our death debt for us, would allow His Blood to wash us clean, so we could be justified, by trusting Him.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Now that we can put our trust in Jesus having fulfilled all the Law, we don't have to bring animals to an altar any more--He is our sacrificial Lamb of God, who died once for all.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
So we are born spiritually when God puts His Spirit into our spirit, making it alive, with God's life, as His own children. God couldn't live in us until we were cleansed thoroughly.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
We who were immersed into Christ have put on Christ as clothing, to cover us and to identify us as His.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
God does not distinguish these kinds of differences; He loves us no matter what our state or station in this life is. It only matters while we're here, and won't make any difference in Eternity. We are all one in Christ, and He is one with the Father (see John 17: 11, 21).
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.
As Jesus Christ is the Seed of Abraham upon which the Covenant of Promise fell on, and we are in Christ; then we are also of the spiritual lineage of Abraham who believed.
And we also are heirs to inherit all the Promises God gave to Abraham; for we are the uncountable descendants (Revelation 7: 9-10), and we will reign and rule in the Promised Land (Revelation 5: 10; 20: 6).
Both Jews and Gentiles, both slaves and free men, both rich and poor, both male and female, will all be one in Christ as He is one with the Father. These differences will not make any difference any more.
We will reign with Christ as kings and queens, and priests to God in Him.
O my Father, You have done it all. You thought it out, planned it out, created it, and worked out Your Plan just as You wanted. And You made Mankind to be Your children, to live Your life in Your Son, to rule and reign with Him in the Kingdom of God which will never stop growing and increasing throughout all eternity.
Thank You so much, Father, for Your unimaginable Love for us, and Your unstoppable Plan of the Ages, in which You are bringing Your blessings to Your children.
O Father, please send out Your children as Your workers to sow the precious seed of the Gospel, and to reap Your fields already ripe for harvest.
My Father, send me to find and rescue Your lost lambs, caught in the thickets of the World, and trapped in ravines of deception. Let me carry them, by the hand or kicking and screaming, home into the safety and peace of Your Fold.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Promise Versus Law
Galatians 3: 15-22
Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations:
Speaking only about relations between humans.
even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.
When people make a contract, once it has been signed and notarized, the terms it sets out cannot be changed.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds." as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. (See Genesis 15: 18.)
God made this contract, this covenant, with Abraham, as the Lord passed between the animals, ratifying the official, legal Promise, in Genesis 15: 9-21.
This was the way a contract was ratified, that the responsible parties would walk between the animals "signing" the covenant. Only the Lord did this, having put on Abram a "deep sleep," as a "horror of great darkness" fell on him (v. 12). So the Lord alone would be responsible for fulfilling the terms of this covenant.
And Jesus Christ was the "Seed" upon whom the terms of that Contract fell.
What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
When God gave the Law to Moses, that didn't change the previously ratified Contract God had made with Abraham. These are two different "legal documents."
For if the inheritance is based on law, is it no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a Promise.
Once the legal document has been ratified, it cannot be changed.
Why the Law then?
So then why did God give the Law?
It was added because of transgressions,
Because when the Messiah came, He would do in His body all the requirements of the Law, so we would recognize Him. And so that we would realize our culpability before the Law, that we deserve the Crucifixion Jesus would suffer in our place, individually.
having been ordained through Angels by the agency of a Mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the Promise had been made.
The Law was given to Moses by the Lord God Himself, who is always surrounded by Angels. But this Law would only be in effect until the One who would fulfill them would come.
Now a Mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only One.
There must be at least two for a mediator to mediate between. But only the Lord God passed between those animals to ratify the Covenant with Abraham.
Is the Law then contrary to the Promises of God? May it never be! For if a Law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law.
But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
If someone could be righteous by obeying rules and regulations, then there would be no need for a Messiah at all. But the Law shows that we are all sinners, no one has ever perfectly lived their life having never made a mistake or wrong choice about anything. No one is perfect, we are human, with damaged DNA called a sin-nature.
But the Promise still stands. It is offered to everyone who has come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Just believe what He says, like Abraham did.
O my Father, You have thought of everything! Your timing is perfect. Your Love for what You have made is astounding! Everything You planned out, You are doing. You are still at work, rolling out Your purposes day by day until everything will be finished.
Father, use me in Your plan, let me be Your hands and feet to carry out Your will for me toward others. Let me reach out into the farthest reaches where Your lost sheep still are trapped. Let me find them, to extricate them from their bonds and carry them home into the safety of the Fold.
O Father, sent out all Your workers into Your fields, to sow Your Gospel and reap Your great harvest, to fill Your house with Your family.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations:
Speaking only about relations between humans.
even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.
When people make a contract, once it has been signed and notarized, the terms it sets out cannot be changed.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds." as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. (See Genesis 15: 18.)
God made this contract, this covenant, with Abraham, as the Lord passed between the animals, ratifying the official, legal Promise, in Genesis 15: 9-21.
This was the way a contract was ratified, that the responsible parties would walk between the animals "signing" the covenant. Only the Lord did this, having put on Abram a "deep sleep," as a "horror of great darkness" fell on him (v. 12). So the Lord alone would be responsible for fulfilling the terms of this covenant.
And Jesus Christ was the "Seed" upon whom the terms of that Contract fell.
What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
When God gave the Law to Moses, that didn't change the previously ratified Contract God had made with Abraham. These are two different "legal documents."
For if the inheritance is based on law, is it no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a Promise.
Once the legal document has been ratified, it cannot be changed.
Why the Law then?
So then why did God give the Law?
It was added because of transgressions,
Because when the Messiah came, He would do in His body all the requirements of the Law, so we would recognize Him. And so that we would realize our culpability before the Law, that we deserve the Crucifixion Jesus would suffer in our place, individually.
having been ordained through Angels by the agency of a Mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the Promise had been made.
The Law was given to Moses by the Lord God Himself, who is always surrounded by Angels. But this Law would only be in effect until the One who would fulfill them would come.
Now a Mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only One.
There must be at least two for a mediator to mediate between. But only the Lord God passed between those animals to ratify the Covenant with Abraham.
Is the Law then contrary to the Promises of God? May it never be! For if a Law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law.
But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
If someone could be righteous by obeying rules and regulations, then there would be no need for a Messiah at all. But the Law shows that we are all sinners, no one has ever perfectly lived their life having never made a mistake or wrong choice about anything. No one is perfect, we are human, with damaged DNA called a sin-nature.
But the Promise still stands. It is offered to everyone who has come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Just believe what He says, like Abraham did.
O my Father, You have thought of everything! Your timing is perfect. Your Love for what You have made is astounding! Everything You planned out, You are doing. You are still at work, rolling out Your purposes day by day until everything will be finished.
Father, use me in Your plan, let me be Your hands and feet to carry out Your will for me toward others. Let me reach out into the farthest reaches where Your lost sheep still are trapped. Let me find them, to extricate them from their bonds and carry them home into the safety of the Fold.
O Father, sent out all Your workers into Your fields, to sow Your Gospel and reap Your great harvest, to fill Your house with Your family.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Friday, December 6, 2019
Blessed With Abraham
Galatians 3: 6-14
Even so, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15: 6).
It was not because of anything Abraham had done, but because he just took God at His Word, and believed Him.
Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
That's why it is those who have the same faith to believe God who are spiritual sons of Abraham.
The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the Nations will be blessed in you" (Genesis 12: 3).
God's plan always was to save us by grace through our believing Him. And Abraham did. So all those who follow in his faith, of just taking God at His Word without doubting Him, will also be saved.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Before Abraham did anything, or even saw any miraculous thing from God, he believed Him. And we who have the same faith to believe God are blessed, also, along with Abraham.
For as many are as of the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, to perform them" (Deuteronomy 27: 26).
It's been said that the Law was like a chain, to break one link breaks the whole chain. So to fail in one micron of the Law is to be a lawbreaker.
Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2: 4).
It's obvious that no one can live his whole life without ever making even one tiny mistake. So it's impossible to work our way into Heaven. We must believe That Jesus took our death for us, individually. He did all the work for us. There's nothing left for us to do, even if we could do anything. Everything we do, even our best most altruistic things, are still polluted by our sin-nature and cannot be accepted by God. That's why we need Jesus!
However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them" (Leviticus 18: 5).
Law and faith are opposites. Either we try to follow every detail of the Law perfectly, or we believe that Jesus has already fulfilled all those laws, so we are free from them. We don't bring animals to sacrifice on an altar any more.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Deuteronomy 21:23)
Christ was not cursed--He took our curse upon Himself on the Cross. We are the ones who deserve execution, and He took our curse of death on Himself for us, in our place.
--in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Now, through Christ, we are blessed with Abraham, we have the receiving of the promise He made to Abraham, in receiving His own Spirit in our spirit.
Just because we believe Him. This is the only way. He is the only way. He is the fulfillment of the Promise, and He has fulfilled all the work needed to be done to make us fit to be God's children. By His Grace, through our faith to believe Him, which is also a gift from God.
O my Father, You are the One! You have planned it all, and You have fulfilled all of Your plan for us. Now that we are in Your family, we are responsible to continue to look to You for our daily sustenance, and follow the faith to be saved with the faith to live the Royal life, as Your princes and princesses learning how to be Royal.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Even so, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15: 6).
It was not because of anything Abraham had done, but because he just took God at His Word, and believed Him.
Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
That's why it is those who have the same faith to believe God who are spiritual sons of Abraham.
The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the Nations will be blessed in you" (Genesis 12: 3).
God's plan always was to save us by grace through our believing Him. And Abraham did. So all those who follow in his faith, of just taking God at His Word without doubting Him, will also be saved.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Before Abraham did anything, or even saw any miraculous thing from God, he believed Him. And we who have the same faith to believe God are blessed, also, along with Abraham.
For as many are as of the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, to perform them" (Deuteronomy 27: 26).
It's been said that the Law was like a chain, to break one link breaks the whole chain. So to fail in one micron of the Law is to be a lawbreaker.
Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2: 4).
It's obvious that no one can live his whole life without ever making even one tiny mistake. So it's impossible to work our way into Heaven. We must believe That Jesus took our death for us, individually. He did all the work for us. There's nothing left for us to do, even if we could do anything. Everything we do, even our best most altruistic things, are still polluted by our sin-nature and cannot be accepted by God. That's why we need Jesus!
However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them" (Leviticus 18: 5).
Law and faith are opposites. Either we try to follow every detail of the Law perfectly, or we believe that Jesus has already fulfilled all those laws, so we are free from them. We don't bring animals to sacrifice on an altar any more.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Deuteronomy 21:23)
Christ was not cursed--He took our curse upon Himself on the Cross. We are the ones who deserve execution, and He took our curse of death on Himself for us, in our place.
--in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Now, through Christ, we are blessed with Abraham, we have the receiving of the promise He made to Abraham, in receiving His own Spirit in our spirit.
Just because we believe Him. This is the only way. He is the only way. He is the fulfillment of the Promise, and He has fulfilled all the work needed to be done to make us fit to be God's children. By His Grace, through our faith to believe Him, which is also a gift from God.
O my Father, You are the One! You have planned it all, and You have fulfilled all of Your plan for us. Now that we are in Your family, we are responsible to continue to look to You for our daily sustenance, and follow the faith to be saved with the faith to live the Royal life, as Your princes and princesses learning how to be Royal.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Let's Reason It Out
Galatians 3: 1-5
You foolish Galatians,
Paul uses the word anoetos, which refers to one who is not using his intelligence, in contrast to the word moros, one who is mentally deficient.
He's saying to use their powers of thinking to not be so irrational.
who has bewitched you,
It's as though someone has magically cast a spell on them.
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
Jesus submitted to execution by crucifixion because there was no other way He could save us. Otherwise, He wouldn't have had to even come.
This is the only thing I want to find out from you:
This is the basic question, that everything else flows from.
did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Were they saved by works or by grace? There's no combination here, it's either one or the other.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Let's think this out here, if we come into God's family by the Spirit, then does it make sense to try to live as God's child by the flesh? By trying to obey the Mosaic Law?
Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?
Did you painfully experience so much stuff on your way to faith in Christ for nothing? Wasn't it all worth it?
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
So is God working miracles through the power of His Spirit in you because you believe He will, or because you've obeyed some rule?
These Galatians were influenced by the Judaizers who came from Jerusalem, to try to make these new Christians into practicing Jews, bound to obey all of the Mosaic Law. But Grace and works are opposites.
We are saved by grace through faith, not because of anything we can do, but just trusting that Jesus already did all the work of Salvation for us. Now that we are born spiritually into God's family, we must live our lives by faith, listening to His quiet voice deep in our spirit, trusting that He has only the best planned for us.
All the Law and rules and precepts and ordinances are now only guidelines as to how we are to love God and love one another as He has Loved us. Loving one another will have us obeying all the laws, because we won't want to do anything harmful or hurtful to one another.
But we are no longer bound to have to obey proscribed rules. We are not slaves to rules, but servants of God.
O my Father, You planned all along, from before the beginning, how You would lead Mankind down the path of History. How You would show us that there is nothing we can do to become perfect enough for Your Presence to dwell in us, and for us to be in Your Presence without being destroyed by it.
You showed us everything our Savior would do, would accomplish for us, and how He would fulfill and finish all You said He would do, so we would recognize Him. So we could be cleansed and renewed and reborn spiritually into Your family.
Father, You planned from the beginning that the human race would be Your children. So now You are teaching us how to be Your Royal princes and princesses, so we will be skilled and equipped to govern all the Universes You plan to make, as Your family business, Your Kingdom.
Help us, Father, to grow up as Your children. Strengthen us against all the forces of evil that are arrayed against us. And send us out boldly carrying Your precious Seed of the Gospel to sow in all the fields prepared for the planting; and to reap all the fields ripe to harvest, gathering all the souls into Your barn.
And may Your house be full, every place at Your banquet table filled, to feast with you neverendingly.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
You foolish Galatians,
Paul uses the word anoetos, which refers to one who is not using his intelligence, in contrast to the word moros, one who is mentally deficient.
He's saying to use their powers of thinking to not be so irrational.
who has bewitched you,
It's as though someone has magically cast a spell on them.
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
Jesus submitted to execution by crucifixion because there was no other way He could save us. Otherwise, He wouldn't have had to even come.
This is the only thing I want to find out from you:
This is the basic question, that everything else flows from.
did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Were they saved by works or by grace? There's no combination here, it's either one or the other.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Let's think this out here, if we come into God's family by the Spirit, then does it make sense to try to live as God's child by the flesh? By trying to obey the Mosaic Law?
Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?
Did you painfully experience so much stuff on your way to faith in Christ for nothing? Wasn't it all worth it?
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
So is God working miracles through the power of His Spirit in you because you believe He will, or because you've obeyed some rule?
These Galatians were influenced by the Judaizers who came from Jerusalem, to try to make these new Christians into practicing Jews, bound to obey all of the Mosaic Law. But Grace and works are opposites.
We are saved by grace through faith, not because of anything we can do, but just trusting that Jesus already did all the work of Salvation for us. Now that we are born spiritually into God's family, we must live our lives by faith, listening to His quiet voice deep in our spirit, trusting that He has only the best planned for us.
All the Law and rules and precepts and ordinances are now only guidelines as to how we are to love God and love one another as He has Loved us. Loving one another will have us obeying all the laws, because we won't want to do anything harmful or hurtful to one another.
But we are no longer bound to have to obey proscribed rules. We are not slaves to rules, but servants of God.
O my Father, You planned all along, from before the beginning, how You would lead Mankind down the path of History. How You would show us that there is nothing we can do to become perfect enough for Your Presence to dwell in us, and for us to be in Your Presence without being destroyed by it.
You showed us everything our Savior would do, would accomplish for us, and how He would fulfill and finish all You said He would do, so we would recognize Him. So we could be cleansed and renewed and reborn spiritually into Your family.
Father, You planned from the beginning that the human race would be Your children. So now You are teaching us how to be Your Royal princes and princesses, so we will be skilled and equipped to govern all the Universes You plan to make, as Your family business, Your Kingdom.
Help us, Father, to grow up as Your children. Strengthen us against all the forces of evil that are arrayed against us. And send us out boldly carrying Your precious Seed of the Gospel to sow in all the fields prepared for the planting; and to reap all the fields ripe to harvest, gathering all the souls into Your barn.
And may Your house be full, every place at Your banquet table filled, to feast with you neverendingly.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Law Versus Grace
Galatians 2: 15-21
We are Jews by Nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;
The "we" here refer to Paul and Peter, who as Jews possessed the advantages of a privileged birth and a revealed religion; and in Jewish speech, the term "Gentile sinners" was used seriously as an opposite concept to all that being Jewish implied.
nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus,
Even with all these advantages, they still needed to trust in Christ's work on their behalf, not any following of Law, to be justified.
even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ Jesus and not by the works of the Law;
Here is the kernel of the Faith: to believe in Christ Jesus, to trust Him, not any adherence to rules, that His payment of our debt would be complete, so God can declare us justified, a legal term that means "to declare righteous or innocent."
since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Because no one can perfectly follow every law all the time.
But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
Paul's accusers have said that to put aside all rules and standards for just trusting Christ to have already done it all, would promote a godless lifestyle without boundaries. This is antinomianism, the heresy that God's grace frees us from the moral laws.
For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
If I have to restore what I destroyed, then I admit I was wrong to destroy it in the first place.
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ;
Paul identified with Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law in His life and death, as though he died with Christ on the Cross.
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
Since I died, it's not me who is living, but the life of Christ living in me.
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
The life that is living in my body is my depending on the Son of God, that His Spirit is in my spirit.
who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
He loved me, and gave His body in death in substitution for mine.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.
If it were possible for us to be saved by following the Law, then Jesus didn't need to die at all. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden, that if it were possible for us to be saved any other way than through His death, then to not make Him have to go through with it (Matthew 26: 39-44; Mark 14: 35-40; Luke 22: 41-44). But there was no other way, and He knew it. So He submitted to the Father's will and allowed them to nail His body to the Cross in our place.
Jesus had to be God to be the eternal Person who could pay our eternal debt in time; and He had to be genuinely human to qualify to take our place in dying a human death for each of us. He is the sacrificial Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice, to fulfill the sacrificial Law for us.
This is the only way He could wash us clean with His Blood, sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross. The blood of bulls and goats could never wash away sins, only cover them. The sacrificial laws were given to show what our Messiah would accomplish for us when He came, so we would recognize Him.
Our sins had to be completely washed away without a trace in order to fit us to be able for God to live in us by His Spirit. And His Spirit in us gives us His authority over the power of sin. So we now can live lives of love and compassion and kindness, as His own sons and daughters.
O my Father, I praise Your greatness, Your goodness, Your wisdom, Your compassion, Your wonderful Plan of the Ages! You have created everything that exists, and You have made it all for Your pleasure. You have designed everything to work together, for the good of Your own family, and You made the human race to be Your children. Let every living person hear and understand how much You Love them, to make an informed decision to seek You or reject You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
We are Jews by Nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;
The "we" here refer to Paul and Peter, who as Jews possessed the advantages of a privileged birth and a revealed religion; and in Jewish speech, the term "Gentile sinners" was used seriously as an opposite concept to all that being Jewish implied.
nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus,
Even with all these advantages, they still needed to trust in Christ's work on their behalf, not any following of Law, to be justified.
even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ Jesus and not by the works of the Law;
Here is the kernel of the Faith: to believe in Christ Jesus, to trust Him, not any adherence to rules, that His payment of our debt would be complete, so God can declare us justified, a legal term that means "to declare righteous or innocent."
since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Because no one can perfectly follow every law all the time.
But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
Paul's accusers have said that to put aside all rules and standards for just trusting Christ to have already done it all, would promote a godless lifestyle without boundaries. This is antinomianism, the heresy that God's grace frees us from the moral laws.
For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
If I have to restore what I destroyed, then I admit I was wrong to destroy it in the first place.
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ;
Paul identified with Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law in His life and death, as though he died with Christ on the Cross.
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
Since I died, it's not me who is living, but the life of Christ living in me.
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
The life that is living in my body is my depending on the Son of God, that His Spirit is in my spirit.
who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
He loved me, and gave His body in death in substitution for mine.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.
If it were possible for us to be saved by following the Law, then Jesus didn't need to die at all. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden, that if it were possible for us to be saved any other way than through His death, then to not make Him have to go through with it (Matthew 26: 39-44; Mark 14: 35-40; Luke 22: 41-44). But there was no other way, and He knew it. So He submitted to the Father's will and allowed them to nail His body to the Cross in our place.
Jesus had to be God to be the eternal Person who could pay our eternal debt in time; and He had to be genuinely human to qualify to take our place in dying a human death for each of us. He is the sacrificial Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice, to fulfill the sacrificial Law for us.
This is the only way He could wash us clean with His Blood, sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross. The blood of bulls and goats could never wash away sins, only cover them. The sacrificial laws were given to show what our Messiah would accomplish for us when He came, so we would recognize Him.
Our sins had to be completely washed away without a trace in order to fit us to be able for God to live in us by His Spirit. And His Spirit in us gives us His authority over the power of sin. So we now can live lives of love and compassion and kindness, as His own sons and daughters.
O my Father, I praise Your greatness, Your goodness, Your wisdom, Your compassion, Your wonderful Plan of the Ages! You have created everything that exists, and You have made it all for Your pleasure. You have designed everything to work together, for the good of Your own family, and You made the human race to be Your children. Let every living person hear and understand how much You Love them, to make an informed decision to seek You or reject You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
How Vulnerable Even The Best Of Us Are!
Galatians 2: 11-14
But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Now after the Jerusalem counsel concluded, Peter came to Antioch, where Paul had had such a fruitful ministry with the Gentiles. Now Peter knew the Truth, that we are not saved by any following of Law, but by the Grace of God, giving freedom from the Law. Even knowing this, Peter still was to blame for what happened there.
For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles;
Evidently the church in Antioch had both Jewish and Gentile believers, who all lived as brothers and sisters in Christ, even having their meals together.
but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
But when these "false brethren" came to Antioch from Jerusalem, supposedly sent by James, they put pressure on the Jewish believers, and even Peter was caught up with not wanting to offend them, considering their opinions over what he knew God had done for them.
The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Peter was a very influential leader in the church, and the rest of the Jewish believers followed his example, even Barnabas was carried away by this "saying one thing and doing another" hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the Truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) in the presence of all,
Paul here asserted his authority as a true Apostle in calling even Peter to account in this. It is not a trivial thing to cast aside the Truth of the Gospel in order to not be criticized by some group of people! And since Peter had openly done this, then Paul called him out publicly.
"If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Peter had been enjoying the fellowship of both the Jewish and Gentile believers, free from having to follow the Mosaic Law. Then when the Judaizers came, and he withdrew from eating with Gentiles, he was teaching the Gentiles by his actions that the Mosaic Law was still to be followed.
This is very serious. Peter had understood and accepted the Gospel, even receiving the vision of the sheet being lowered three times showing him that God had cleansed the Gentiles and their food (in Acts: 10). And Peter had defended Paul at the Jerusalem Council (in Acts: 15).
But understanding and defending isn't enough--a Christian must also practice the Gospel Truth in his everyday life and attitudes, consistently following God's Truth rather than falling back into old patterns, to not be criticized by the World.
This is why Paul confronted Peter. He realized the importance of maintaining the purity of God's Good News, and because he did, we now have the unadulterated message to carry on even today.
Church history records that other dilutions and additions have mangled this simple Truth so often, as false brethren worm their way into the church to spoil it and draw people away from knowing the beauty of the simplicity of the freedom we have in the Gospel. Satan hates that we could even be saved, so he has been working constantly to change and twist God's Truth all through the time since it's founding.
We all need to be aware of the tactics of our enemy, for even the best of us have been known to be drawn away. If Satan and this World can't keep us from being saved, then he will work to destroy our testimony, as he tried to do with Peter. If even Peter was so vulnerable, how much more are we, am I, who is just one of the Father's many Blood-bought children.
We must all be aware of the ones we listen to, the ones we allow to teach us, that what they're teaching is free from additions or watering down of the pure Truth of the Good News that Jesus fulfilled all the written laws, freeing us from bondage, and washed us pristine clean in His Blood sprinkled on His altar the Cross.
We each need to learn to hear the Holy Spirit's whispers in our spirit, to "walk here, this is the path." And to do our own research to make sure that what we're being taught is True.
If ever you find disagreement with anything I have written anywhere in this whole Blog, please let me know. I think and certainly hope that what I write is True, but I am still human and vulnerable to error and mistakes. I will do further research on your points, and ask my Father for clarity, as I do over every entry.
O my Father, You have been so clear and distinct, more so than human intelligence is sometimes willing to accept. Please keep our thinking processes aligned with Your thoughts, Your purposes, and not clutter it up with complications or requirements.
Help us, Father, to believe You, trust You, and depend on You for our everything, for You are our Source.
Father, strengthen us and send us out into every fertile field to scatter Your precious Seed of the Gospel, and to reap those fields ready for harvest, to grow Your family, Father, to populate Your Kingdom, and to mature us all to lead Your lambs as under-shepherds with our Good Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Now after the Jerusalem counsel concluded, Peter came to Antioch, where Paul had had such a fruitful ministry with the Gentiles. Now Peter knew the Truth, that we are not saved by any following of Law, but by the Grace of God, giving freedom from the Law. Even knowing this, Peter still was to blame for what happened there.
For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles;
Evidently the church in Antioch had both Jewish and Gentile believers, who all lived as brothers and sisters in Christ, even having their meals together.
but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
But when these "false brethren" came to Antioch from Jerusalem, supposedly sent by James, they put pressure on the Jewish believers, and even Peter was caught up with not wanting to offend them, considering their opinions over what he knew God had done for them.
The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Peter was a very influential leader in the church, and the rest of the Jewish believers followed his example, even Barnabas was carried away by this "saying one thing and doing another" hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the Truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) in the presence of all,
Paul here asserted his authority as a true Apostle in calling even Peter to account in this. It is not a trivial thing to cast aside the Truth of the Gospel in order to not be criticized by some group of people! And since Peter had openly done this, then Paul called him out publicly.
"If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Peter had been enjoying the fellowship of both the Jewish and Gentile believers, free from having to follow the Mosaic Law. Then when the Judaizers came, and he withdrew from eating with Gentiles, he was teaching the Gentiles by his actions that the Mosaic Law was still to be followed.
This is very serious. Peter had understood and accepted the Gospel, even receiving the vision of the sheet being lowered three times showing him that God had cleansed the Gentiles and their food (in Acts: 10). And Peter had defended Paul at the Jerusalem Council (in Acts: 15).
But understanding and defending isn't enough--a Christian must also practice the Gospel Truth in his everyday life and attitudes, consistently following God's Truth rather than falling back into old patterns, to not be criticized by the World.
This is why Paul confronted Peter. He realized the importance of maintaining the purity of God's Good News, and because he did, we now have the unadulterated message to carry on even today.
Church history records that other dilutions and additions have mangled this simple Truth so often, as false brethren worm their way into the church to spoil it and draw people away from knowing the beauty of the simplicity of the freedom we have in the Gospel. Satan hates that we could even be saved, so he has been working constantly to change and twist God's Truth all through the time since it's founding.
We all need to be aware of the tactics of our enemy, for even the best of us have been known to be drawn away. If Satan and this World can't keep us from being saved, then he will work to destroy our testimony, as he tried to do with Peter. If even Peter was so vulnerable, how much more are we, am I, who is just one of the Father's many Blood-bought children.
We must all be aware of the ones we listen to, the ones we allow to teach us, that what they're teaching is free from additions or watering down of the pure Truth of the Good News that Jesus fulfilled all the written laws, freeing us from bondage, and washed us pristine clean in His Blood sprinkled on His altar the Cross.
We each need to learn to hear the Holy Spirit's whispers in our spirit, to "walk here, this is the path." And to do our own research to make sure that what we're being taught is True.
If ever you find disagreement with anything I have written anywhere in this whole Blog, please let me know. I think and certainly hope that what I write is True, but I am still human and vulnerable to error and mistakes. I will do further research on your points, and ask my Father for clarity, as I do over every entry.
O my Father, You have been so clear and distinct, more so than human intelligence is sometimes willing to accept. Please keep our thinking processes aligned with Your thoughts, Your purposes, and not clutter it up with complications or requirements.
Help us, Father, to believe You, trust You, and depend on You for our everything, for You are our Source.
Father, strengthen us and send us out into every fertile field to scatter Your precious Seed of the Gospel, and to reap those fields ready for harvest, to grow Your family, Father, to populate Your Kingdom, and to mature us all to lead Your lambs as under-shepherds with our Good Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
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