It has to be said, that despite the importance of Galatians in totally revolutionising our understanding and appreciation of how we as believers relate to God, that is, by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, Galatians isn't the easiest book to follow. And while there are a number of spiritual nuggets embedded within chapters 4-6 upon which slow and prayerful mediation will yield much blessing, it is difficult (at least, I find it difficult!) to follow Paul's train of thought as he moves from paragraph to paragraph. But let's have a try…
In Galatians 1-3,
Paul's main concern is to help the believers grasp the primary Gospel truth of
'justification by faith alone in Christ alone':
that is, God counts and treats the Christian believer as wholly righteous
(right with God) and acceptable to Him, because firstly, they are trusting in
Jesus' death as the full and perfect sacrifice for their sin so that their
spiritual debt is paid in full, and Christ has taken and absorbed the full
judgement of God against sin in Himself; and secondly, God 'imputes' (counts or
reckons) Christ's perfect record of righteousness to us - clothed in Christ's
righteousness, God does not 'see' or treat us as our sins deserve, but looking
at us He sees the beautiful perfection of His own Son Jesus.
And while
justification may well be the primary blessing of the Gospel, since it meets
our primary spiritual need of merciful forgiveness; it is not the highest
blessing of the Gospel: that, is adoption
(Gal 3:26 - 4:7), for we are brought into an eternally, loving relationship by
the Father who chose us and, by His own Son's death, made us His sons, whom He
loves just as He loves His Son Jesus. We
were once slaves, enslaved to sin; and God might have simply forgiven us and
made us His slaves, and that would have been alright. But no, in love that we don't deserve, He
adopted us as His 'sons'. This is not an crassly insensitive, gender-loaded,
female-denying word; but somewhat technical word to underline that we - both
male and female - now have the full inheritance rights from God as adult
children would have from their parents.
God the Father loves you and will bless you from out of that love in the
same way and to the same degree as he loves Jesus. God is not withholding the
full measure of His blessings to us in some spiritual probationary period, just
to see how well we do as novice Christians before giving us the rest. No, right from the start, because we are
adopted as His 'sons', we get everything the Father has planned and prepared
for us.
So, the Galatian
Christians are God's "sons"; but because they are submitting once
more to a commitment to obey and fulfilling the law (such as undergoing
circumcision), says Paul, they are living like slaves (4:8-11). So he asks: What has happened to all your joy?
(v15). This is what legalism does: it
sucks the lifeblood of joy, faith and love (5:6) from us as it imposes the
burden of "must-do this to stay right with God" upon us. Is there anything you do, a pattern of
behaviour, believing its practice will somehow endear you to God all the
more? Do you read your Bibles and say
your prayers to get closer to God, or as a means of securing God's favour and
to get Him off your back? What has happened to all your joy?
Galatians 5:1 is one
of the key verses in the book. It teaches that - despite our new relationship
with God as sons - it's hard to stop being a slave to the old ways of
self-righteousness as a means of staying right with God. But believing the Gospel frees us from the
obligation of 'having to obey to please God', so that we are free to live to
please and honour God with joy, thanksgiving, love and worship (5:2-15). In fact, the Gospel goes deeper: it changes
the desires of our hearts. Simply
striving to obey the law's demands upon us doesn't take away the inner
temptation (and longing) to immorality, idolatry, anger, envy, hatred…(v19-21).
But by continually 'walking by the Spirit' - following His lead, listening to
His Word, battling to believe in the promises He gives (v16-18, 22-26) - then
His fruit of true love, lasting joy, enduring patience, selfless kindness,
extravagant goodness, unshakable self-control, and the rest… will begin to
appear in our lives and in how we relate to others in the church community,
especially those caught in the trap of sin (6:1-10).
And so, as sons of
God, we do not boast in our spiritual achievements, but in humility we boast in
the Cross (that's an amazing paradox! v14); we treasure Jesus, not the highly
prized 'things' and attitudes of the world (v14); we value inner spiritual transformation,
not external religious ritual (v15); we live and walk in truth and not error
(v16); and we live to please Christ not man (v17-18; see 1:1,10). It's the way of Jesus; it's the way of the
Cross; it's the only way.
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