“Life, Love & Liberty” Studies in the Epistle to the 

GALATIANS

“DEAR GALATIANS…”

Galatians 1:1-5

Paul was angry! Error was in the air, and poisoning the churches he had laboured so long to establish in the Roman province of Galatia. Recognizing the danger of this doctrine, Paul wrote this stern, impassioned letter. It is a manifesto of faith: faith for salvation, and faith for sanctification.

Paul’s preaching had always emphasized that faith in Christ alone was all that was needed for salvation. It was a radical message, different from anything that had been preached before. It was a message that held all the answers to man’s problems and had spread across the known world.

Now all that was being reversed. False teachers were teaching that faith in Christ alone was not enough. The Law, they said, with all its ceremonies and rituals, also had a part to play. Salvation required faith in Christ plus keeping the Law.

Such legalism struck at the heart of Christianity, and threatened to turn it into merely another Messianic sect of Judaism which would peter out altogether.

THE BACKGROUND

a) The Author
Paul is stated in 1:1 to be the author. His name is mentioned again in 5:2, and the personal details of chapters 1 and 2 make is beyond doubt. There is also the remark about his eyes in 6:11.

b) The Address
“Unto the churches of Galatia” (1:2). Galatia was an area which forms part of modern Turkey. In the 3rd century BC a large number of Celts migrated from ancient Gaul to this area which was named Galatia. Galatia, Celt, and Gaul are all related words. Others of these same Celts later settled in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. So this is the only epistle written to the Irish!

Acts 13 and 14 tell of Paul’s ministry in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, all towns of that province.

c) The Argument
During his early missionary journeys, Paul visited Asia Minor, and saw many Gentiles saved and churches formed. Several of these were in Galatia.

After Paul left the area false teachers arrived claiming to be sent by James and the apostolic band at Jerusalem. They taught that faith in Christ was not enough. They insisted that salvation was by faith in Christ plus keeping the Law. Many Galatians were influenced by these evil suggestions.

These teachers were not only enemies of the Gospel, they were also enemies of Paul. They attacked both the man and his message.

(i) The Man. To undermine Paul was to undermine his teaching. They thus challenged his authority, saying he was a self-appointed apostle. Paul answers these challenges in chapters 1 and 2.

(ii) His Message. Paul claimed that faith in Christ was all that was required. This was adequate for:

* Salvation. Who was Paul to set aside the Law and claim that man could be saved without it? Even Christ had honoured it. Salvation was impossible without it. Paul deals with these objections in chapters 3 and 4.

* Sanctification. They claimed that the Law was given to help all live a good life. Life without the Law could only lead to lawlessness. Paul answers these arguments in chapters 5 and 6 as he sets before them the Spirit-filled life.

Paul was deeply grieved when he heard this. The teaching destroyed the foundations of the gospel.

d) The Application.
Can we update these errors? Sadly, they are still around today, and distort our thinking in three ways:

(i) Our Salvation. As Paul said to the Ephesians, salvation is “not of works.”

(ii) Our Security. We feel we might lose our salvation unless we keep at it. It thus becomes dependant on me.

(iii) Our Spirituality. To be “spiritual” we feel we must earn God’s approval by doing things – attending church, giving money, even Bible reading and witnessing. These things should be done because we love Him, not because we want to gain His attention.

Legalism gets our eyes off the Lord and onto ourselves and others. That is what the devil wants; to make us look either at our own self-righteousness or at our own shortcomings and failures.

e) The Analysis
The structure of the letter is simple:

(i) A Personal Section – Chapters 1 and 2. Paul defends his personal position as an apostle.

(ii) A Doctrinal Section – Chapters 3 and 4. These are the heart of the letter as Paul opens up the great truth that salvation is by grace alone.

(iii) A Practical Section – Chapters 5 and 6. A Christian need not be a constant failure, dominated by the flesh, but can “walk in the spirit.”

* * * * * *

Paul’s greeting is the polite minimum. There is no word of commendation. Instead he immediately launches into the subject of the letter.

1. HIS COMMISSION (1:1)
“Paul an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”

a) The Fact of his Apostleship
“Paul an apostle.” Paul preferred to introduce himself a “the bond-servant of Jesus Christ.” On this occasion he had to emphasize his apostleship. Great truths were at stake and the Galatians needed to know that he was a true apostle; a God-appointed messenger with a God-given message.

Note some facts about the apostles:

(i) It was the highest office in the Church. “God hath set some in the church, first apostles…” (1 Cor 12:28). First apostles. Thus this office was the primary one in the church.

(ii) It is the highest office in the Church. “God hath

b) The Foundation of his Apostleship
(i) Not man-appointed. “Not of men, neither by man.” Paul’s apostleship was not conferred by a theological college, or bishop, of even an oversight of elders.

(ii) But God-appointed. Paul’s authority came directly from heaven – “Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” Paul was like the O.T. prophets who had their commission and authority directly from God. Like John, they were men sent from God.

Note his emphasis on the resurrection – God’s proof that the work of salvation was totally complete. Ironically, the Galatians were trying to improve on it by law-keeping!

2. HIS COMPANIONS (1:2)
“And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia.”

Paul did not operate alone; he was part of a team. God does not work with “stars.” Even the great Paul worked as a team. The rest of the team was made up of men life Titus, Silas, Luke, Timothy, and Tychicus, even though at the time of writing they were not actually present.

3. HIS COMPLIMENTS (1:3-5)
What a wonderful way of presenting his compliments to the Galatian believers! Paul’s greeting includes:

a) God’s Grace (1:3)
“Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Grace” was the Greek greeting; “Peace” was the Hebrew greeting. Paul glories in the fact that the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile has been broken down in the new creation, and so brings these two greetings together. They are the two great words of the gospel.

* “Grace” is God’s great undeserved kindness toward ungodly sinners.
* “Peace” is the result of grace. This comes when sin has been dealt with and the sinner has peace with God.

b) God’s Gospel (1:4)

(i) The Cost of Salvation. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins.” “for” means “in exchange for.” Paul reminds the Galatians of the tremendous cost of redemption. Christ gave us His righteousness, riches, redemption, and in exchange took our sin, poverty, and judgement. That is what happened at the cross.

In turning from grace to the law, the Galatians had ignored the significance of Christ’s death. The heart of the gospel is Christ’s willing sacrifice of “Himself for our sins.”

(ii) The Purpose of Salvation. “That he might deliver us from this present evil age.” The death of Jesus was a rescue operation. There was no other way to deliver fallen man. But this deliverance will never be forced on anyone. It must be accepted individually.

“this present evil age.” The “age” is more than a scale of time, it is a system of evil. It is an “evil” Satanic world system with its principles and practices which has dominated the world since the Fall, and will continue to dominate until the Lord’s return. At that time “this present evil age” will be replaced by “the world to come.”

(iii) The Source of Salvation. “according to the will of God and our Father.” The source of the gospel is the loving compassionate, gracious will of God.

It is God’s will that everybody be saved. God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pe 3:9). No one in hell can blame God for his condemnation. If the person refuses to accept what was done for him in Christ, he is refusing God’s will.

c) God’s Glory
“To whom be glory for even and ever. Amen” (1:5). Paul now bursts into praise, lost in wonder, magnifying his God who has done such a wonderful work.

“Amen.” We like our Amens at the end; Paul put his at the beginning! Why?

In three verses Paul has given the entire plan of salvation. He could actually have ended the whole epistle right there. He has said nothing about the Jewish law, or sacrifices, or circumcision. Instead, he summarized the whole plan of salvation in one concept: Jesus Christ went to the cross for our sins, that we might be delivered from this present evil age. And it was all towards God’s glory. Amen!

Paul has already said it all. The fuller discussion of all the problems amongst the Galatians will take five more chapters, but the solutions are all given in the first five verses.

“PAUL’S CREDENTIALS”

Galatians 1:6-24

After his brief greeting Paul immediately states his reason for writing. His anxiety levels are high. He knew that Satan’ primary target is the doctrine of salvation. If people do not understand this way of salvation, they will have no way of coming to God.

Satan, of course, is a great liar. He teaches lies about the Church, about Christian living, about the Lord’s return, and many other things. But his first concern is to confuse people about the heart of the gospel, which is salvation by grace through the death of Christ.

1. PAUL’S CONCERN (1:6-9)
Paul wastes no time in nailing down the problem, and levels a scathing accusation against the Galatians for being so foolish as to fall for “another gospel.”

a) His Wonder (1:6)

(i) What they removed from. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.” They had not simply deserted a doctrine, but a personal, loving God who manifested that love in “the grace of Christ.”

What is grace? The grace of Christ is God’s free unmerited favour in granting salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus, apart from anything that man can do. It comes to those who have only merited the opposite. The Galatians had earlier understood this. Now, taken up with all kinds of rituals and ceremonies, they had lost the joy of God’s grace and replaced it with the burden of self-effort.

Such is natural for our hearts. It is easier to have rules and regulations to obey. No faith is required.

(ii) What they removed to. “ye are so soon removed…unto another gospel.” “a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all” (NIV). Paul accuses them of changing gospels! In verses 6 and 7 there are two instructive Greek words describing Paul’s two references to the gospel. One is heteros, meaning “another of a different kind.” The other is allos meaning “another of the same kind.” The Galatians had forsaken the true gospel of God’s grace for a “heteros,” totally different gospel based on keeping the law. It was not even an “allos,” or similar gospel.

We do well to remember there are not different gospels in the Bible. There is only one gospel. It was preached in:

* Adam’s day in the Garden of Eden when the message went forth that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head.
* Abraham’s day when God said, “In thy Seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Because he believed what God had said concerning His coming Son, it was counted unto him for righteousness. He was justified by faith.
* David’s day who cried to God for cleansing, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps 51:17). It is only in the precious blood of Christ that we can find cleansing.
* Isaiah’s day, “He was wounded for our transgressions.”
* Jeremiah’s day, “This is His name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our righteousness.”
* John the Baptist’s day, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”
* Christ’s day. It is the gospel which He Himself preached in John 3:16.
* Paul’s day, “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38,39).
* In eternity this is the gospel that will be celebrated, “Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev 1:5).

People talk about “different” gospels. There is the “gospel of the Kingdom,” and “the gospel of the grace of God.” But there is only one gospel. True, at different times it may take on different aspects, but it is always the same gospel. e.g.

* In O.T. times they looked forward to the coming of the Saviour, but they proclaimed salvation through his atoning death.
* In N.T. the gospel is to “whosoever believeth on Him.”
* In the Tribulation the everlasting gospel will be proclaimed, telling men that the once-rejected Christ will come again to set up His kingdom. But even those who will be saved will be those who have “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14).

b) His Warning (1:7)
Because there is only one gospel, anything else is a “heterodox” gospel. This led Paul to warn about both the teachers and their teaching.

(i) The False Teaching. “There be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” Note the double effects of a false gospel:

* It “troubles.” The word really means “shake.” They may not have realized it, but the Galatians were being shaken to their very foundations by this false teaching. It was striking at the very heart of the great N.T. doctrine of assurance of salvation, and affected their joy, their security, and hope.

* It “perverts.” Perverting the gospel refers to mixing something in with it. The Bible pronounces a curse on anyone who dares to add to or take away from the gospel.

Note that troubling the church, and perverting the gospel go together. What a warning!

(ii) The False Teachers. “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be Anathema (let him be devoted to judgement).”

Strong words! Twice Paul pronounces a curse on those who preach any other gospel. Why does Paul use such strong language? Why cannot he be more tolerant? Paul realized that the gospel is God’s only message to lost man. Anything else will misdirect seeking souls.

A man’s message, no matter how well qualified or how godly he might be, must always fall in line with the Bible. Otherwise it must be rejected.

“…or an angel from heaven.” The disciples of Joseph Smith say that an angel came to him and gave him the Book of Mormon. The Bible was not enough, for an angel revealed something different. Such a “gospel” can only be rejected.

2. PAUL’S CREDENTIALS (1:10-24)
The false teachers wanted primarily to discredit Paul. That would neutralize his teaching. They thus spread the idea that Paul was a self-appointed apostle with no real authority.

No one doubted the authority of “the Twelve.” They “were witnesses with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-26). After Pentecost believers “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42), because they recognized that those men were divinely appointed to preach and minister in Christ’s stead. Their apostolic authority was confirmed by “many wonders and signs that were taking place though the apostles” (Acts 2:43).

Paul, however, was not even a believer, let alone an apostle at that time. So where did he get his authority? Good question!

1. Paul’s Confidence in His Message (1:10-12)

a) Its Sincerity
“Am I now seeking the favour of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men?” (1:10). Paul was accused insincerity, like some kind of theological politician who adjusted his message according to whether he was speaking to Jew or Gentile.

But Paul was not playing politics. In earlier days his life was spent “trying to please men,” but conversion had changed all that. He was now a single-minded “bond-servant of Christ.” The change had cost him dearly.

b) Its Source
“The gospel which was preached of me is not after man” (1:11). Had Paul invented the gospel, it would have been the same as every other man-made system of religion. They all insist on working our way to heaven. Man is somehow offended by the idea that only God’s mercy can save him. He insists on having a part in his own salvation.

c) Its Certainty
“…but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:12). Paul’s gospel was a divine revelation, literally “an unveiling” of Christ to the soul. He had known about Christ before his conversion, but only on the Damascus road did he come to know Him personally. It is this that makes Christianity so different from all other religions. It is not so much a religion, it is more a revelation of God’s truth.

2. Paul’s Confidence in His Ministry (1:13-24)

Just as Paul’s message was given by divine revelation, so his ministry as an apostle came by divine commission. Man had nothing to do with it. Paul thus appeals to his own experience, which none can deny.

a) Before He Was Saved (1:13-14)
Paul well remembered the “times past in the Jews’ religion.” Nothing in his former life provided the source of the truth he was now proclaiming. He remembered:

(i) His hate of Christianity. “beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it” (1:13). Paul knew that this radical message completely undercut Judaism, and he sought to destroy it by persecuting all who taught it. This became his overriding passion.

(ii) His love of Judaism. “I profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals…being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers” (1:14). Paul loved his religion. He loved it for its “traditions.” That is a good definition of religion. He knew that religion with its traditions is probably the worst thing that has ever happened since the fall of man. People become so proud of their traditions, rituals, and good works, that they become blind to the gospel. It is hard for them to RECEIVE when they are convinced they must ACHIEVE!

b) When He Was Saved (1:15-16a)
Paul had been like a runaway train heading for destruction and crushing everything in its path. Then God had stepped in and confronted him with the risen and glorified Christ. No human testimony or persuasion were involved. He tells us what made this change and what brought it about.

God called him to first to salvation and then to service.

(i) God’s Call to Salvation
* He Separated him. He was “separated from my mother’s womb.” He was chosen by God long before he could have demonstrated the least potential for anything. Like Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and John, his call was entirely God’s doing. This is true of every believer in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3,4).

* He Called him – “called me by his grace.” This refers to his conversion on the Damascus Road as God’s purpose became historical fact. It was all of “his grace.” It had nothing to do with his own merit.

* He Revealed Christ in him. God was pleased “to reveal his Son in me.” The phrase “in me” may be translated “to me.” Both are true. He reveals His Son to us in order that he might be revealed in us, and that we might represent Him to a watching world.

(ii) God’s Call to Service. Paul was saved to serve – “that I might preach him amongst the heathen.” We see here:

* The Subject of His Preaching. “that I might preach Him.” Christ was always at the heart of Paul’s preaching.

* The Secret of His Preaching. “To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him…” None can preach who has not first received revelation from God.

c) After he was Saved (1:17-24)
“Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem” (1:16,17). Having established that his conversion and commission to preach were wholly of God, Paul emphasizes that his dealings were with God alone. He did not consult any person, or even go to Jerusalem to visit the apostles. Instead he went firstly to Arabia, secondly to Jerusalem, and thirdly to Syria and Cilicia.

(i) His visit to Arabia. “I went into Arabia,” a region that stretched east from Damascus down to the Sinai peninsula. Paul needed time to think things out, and to allow God to speak to him. There, alone with God he was prepared for the years of public service he would later render.

Paul enrolled in God’s Wilderness University. Moses had spent 40 years there. David also spent time there alone with God while tending his sheep on the Judean hillsides. Elijah had also been there, in the hill country of Gilead before his appearing to Ahab. So was John the Baptist who was in the deserts till the days of his showing unto Israel. God deals differently with all His servants, but the principle stands: every servant to the Lord needs a time of seclusion and meditation.

(ii) His Visit to Jerusalem (1:18). After three years, Paul went up to Jerusalem on a private visit to “see” Peter. “See” is the word from which we get our word “history,” the telling of a story. So Paul went up to Jerusalem to tell Peter his story. What a wonderful two weeks of fellowship that must have been as Paul told his story and Peter told his.

Amazingly Paul states “other of the apostles saw I none,” even though he was in Jerusalem and living with Peter. James, who was not one of the Twelve, was the only other one he saw.

(iii) His Visit to Syria and Cilicia (1:21). After his visit to Jerusalem Paul went to “the regions of Syria and Cilicia,” so much so that the “churches of Judea” did not know him personally. They only knew that “he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed and they glorified God in me.”

“They glorified God in me” (1:24). What a change the gospel makes. The fearsome Paul who once terrorized the Christian community is now the object of God’s grace and glory! Only the Gospel of God’s grace can work such a mighty miracle.

* * * * * *

Paul’s point in all this detailed autobiography was that the charges of the Judaizers was absurd. The church in Jerusalem, and James, Peter and John had long since recognized his apostolic office and authority, and glorified God because of him. They had given him the right hand of fellowship (2:9).

“FEAR, FREEDOM, AND FELLOWSHIP”

Galatians 2:1-10

In chapter 1 Paul defended himself against the attack by the false teachers on his apostolic authority and his apostolic message. He showed that both were received from God and quite independently of the other apostles.

Paul in 2:1-10 continues to defend himself against their accusation that he was a self-appointed apostle proclaiming a self-made message. He reports on an historic visit to Jerusalem, likely the same as that recorded in Acts 15. Even though he had not been tutored by the other apostles, and had not even met most of them before, both the man and his message were accepted. His gospel was identical to their’s, although independent in terms of revelation, and they gladly gave him the right hand of fellowship. This should have silenced the false teachers, and shown the Galatians the falseness of their claims.

Paul’s fear that all his work might be “in vain” (2:2) is palpable. He would not stand by idly and watch his work destroyed. This concern gave him conviction which led to the strong stand taken in the chapter.

The two major themes of Galatians are brought out in this chapter:

a) Salvation by Grace (2:1-10)
This is at the heart of the Jerusalem incident. Paul and all the other apostles agreed that there was only one way olf slavation and one gospel for all. Paul was concerned for “the truth of the gospel” (2:5). It was by grace through faith in Christ.

b) Sanctification by Grace (2:11-21)
In the remaining half of the chapter Paul explains the mystery of being crucified with Christ and the thrill of Christ living in him.

1. PAUL’S COMING (2:1-2)
Fourteen years had passed since the events of chapter 1, and Paul and Barnabas had completed their first missionary journey as recorded in Acts 13 & 14. During these years he had preached without any human instruction. His message had come from God alone.

Acts 14 closes with Paul reporting to the believers at Antioch how God “had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). It must have been a wonderful missionary report!

Trouble, however, lay ahead. Acts 15:1 opens by saying, “certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” A Gentile had to become a Jew before becoming a Christian. Fierce argument followed, and it was eventually decided to refer the whole debate to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

a) Paul’s Friends
“I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also” (2:1). Paul did not go to Jerusalem alone, but took two people with him.

(i) Barnabas. Paul’s association with Barnabas was long standing. It was Barnabas who had come from Jerusalem to find him in Tarsus, to persuade him to go to Antioch and assist in the ministry there. In those days it was Barnabas the leader, and Paul the follower, but as time went on, Barnabas took the lower place, and Paul came to the front.

(ii) Titus. Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile and a product of the very ministry the Judaizers were attacking. He was more than a mere travelling companion. Paul purposely took him as a test-case and the key person in the story. His presence was the real crux of his visit to the Jerusalem church.

b) Paul’s Feelings
“And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles” (2:2).

In feeling he had to go to Jerusalem, Paul was guided by two things:

(i) The Divine Side. Paul “went up by revelation.” He does not say what kind of revelation he received, but it was clear that God had spoken to him. He was guided by God’s Word.

(ii) The Human Side. Acts 15:2 says that the delegates were sent by the church in Antioch. Human circumstances and Paul’s own grasp of the situation told him the matter needed to be taken to Jerusalem, so that it could be sorted out finally.

c) Paul’s Focus

When he arrived, he “communicated” i.e. declared before them, “that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles.” It was for them to accept or reject it. There was no other alternative.
The decision of the Jerusalem council was clear. Circumcision or other rituals were unnecessary. Speaking for them all Peter said, “Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples?…we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:10-11).

Paul first related “privately to those who were of reputation,” and not with the body of the church. Why did Paul speak privately? Perhaps is was common courtesy. He wanted to go to the church with the full support of the other apostles. Had he acted otherwise, a serious division might have arisen, which could have divided the church into Jewish and Gentile wings.

d) Paul’s Fear
“Lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain” (2:2). Paul feared that he might find he “had run in vain.” He frequently spoke of believing or running in vain (Phil 2:16; 1 Thes 3:5). What did he mean?

(i) Referring to Himself. 1 Cor 9:26,27 tells of his fear that “when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” He was concerned that he might lose his reward, like a disqualified runner. His salvation was not in question, but his service was.

(ii) Referring to Others. Paul was concerned that his hearers may not have heard the gospel correctly, and it would thus be ineffective (e.g. 1 Cor 15:2).

2. PAUL’S COMPANION (2:3-5)
Paul’s meeting with the leaders was a success. They refused to have Titus and other Gentile believers circumcised, determining “that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God” (Acts 15:19). Titus was thus living proof that circumcision and the law were not necessary for salvation.

Paul’s victory was not to be won easily. The Judaizers did their best to reverse the decision. Paul calls them “false brethren” and says that they were brought in “unawares.” i.e. secretly, undercover. They taught that circumcision was essential for salvation.

a) Titus and Circumcision
The real issues at stake were those of “liberty” and “bondage.” It was not so much Jew and Gentile, or circumcision and uncircumcision, but freedom in Christ, and bondage to the law (2:4). Titus illustrated the problem perfectly. He was converted, but was that enough? Should he also become a Jew to be saved? Paul calls that “bondage,” or slavery. That is the way legalism works. In Christ believers have liberty from the law as to the way of salvation, and liberty from its external ceremonies as the way of living.

b) Timothy and Circumcision
Years later Paul circumcised Timothy, “because of the Jews,” (Acts 16:3), but Timothy’s case was different. No important principle was involved. Being a half-Jew, the Jews would look on Timothy as a Gentile being uncircumcised, while the Gentiles would look on him as a Jew because of his upbringing. Paul circumcised him because he felt the Jews would then listen to him. It meant nothing more than that.

With Titus is was very different. Titus was a full Gentile, and to have him circumcised would have undercut the gospel of God’s grace. It would have been a victory for the Judaizers.

3. PAUL’S COMMISSION (2:6-9)
In referring to the other apostles as “those who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me)” (2:6) Paul was not deprecating them. He acknowledged:

a) Their Status
He knew that they had been with Jesus during his ministry and had been witnesses of His resurrection. They had been directly commissioned by Him and were recognized headquarters leaders. Paul was none of these.

b) Their Standing
“God accepteth no man’s person” (2:6). Their unique position and privileges did not make their apostleship more legitimate or authoritative than Paul’s. He is not being disrespectful or discrediting them. He knew himself to be the foremost of sinners and “the least of all the apostles, who was not fit to be called an apostle.” Under God’s grace he was equal to other believers, and in his calling he was equal to all the other apostles.

c) Their Statement
“When they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter” (2:7). A united statement was issued, confirming that Paul and the other apostles shared:

(i) The Gospel’s Standard. Paul is not saying there are two gospels. There is only one gospel for everyone. The Jerusalem apostles “added nothing” to what Paul preached.

(ii) The Gospel’s Sphere. Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, while Peter was recognized as the primary apostle to the Jews.

(iii) The Gospel’s Strength. “For he who effectually wrought in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles” (2:8). The same Holy Spirit who energized Peter energized Paul.

4. PAUL’S COMMENDATION (2:9-10)
“And when James, and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship: that we should go to the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”

a) Their Response
“they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship” (2:9). It was an historic agreement. These five men stood and shook hands, thus signifying their agreement that both Paul and his message were totally accepted. This fellowship was:

(i) Doctrinal. There is only one gospel, and those four men (who wrote 21 of the 27 NT books) demonstrate that fact.

(ii) Personal. Paul was a partner to them in the gospel and in Christ’s service. They had different fields of service, but they proclaimed the same gospel and served the Lord with the same Holy Spirit.

b) Their Request

“Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do” (2:10). Doctrine and practice go together. The believers in Judea were very poor. Even before the widespread famine of Acts 11:28 for which Paul was called to bring relief, the Jerusalem church faced a serious problem of feeding and caring for its members. Paul’s support of them would be a blessing in times of great need. It would also confirm his love for them and show any who had doubts that there was not division between the believers at Jerusalem and those elsewhere.

To take care of the poor is not only a practical but a spiritual responsibility (1 Jn 3:17). This is also the teaching of James.

“DEAD TO THE LAW…ALIVE UNTO GOD”

Galatians 2:11-21

The scene now changes from Jerusalem to Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas served. It all seemed settled. Paul’s apostleship and teaching had both been accepted at Jerusalem where he had been given the right hand of fellowship.

Then Peter decided to go to Antioch and visit the Gentile Christians. Whilst there a startling confrontation took place between Paul and Peter, resulting in Peter, the most prominent of the apostles, being publicly rebuked by Paul. Paul would not yield in his insistence that salvation was by faith in Christ apart from the keeping of the law. The practical outworking of this fundamental doctrinal has challenged believers ever since.

1. PETER’S COMPROMISE (2:11-13)
What a pleasure it must have been for Paul, to have Peter’s fellowship and ministry. Both men had been mightily used by God. The establishment of the early church centred around their ministry, The book of Acts can be divided between the early church ministry that centred on Peter (1-12) and that which centred on Paul (13-28).

Peter’s visit to Antioch commenced well, but after some time things went very wrong.

a) The Cause (2:12).
“For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.”

Peter’s visit was characterized by two things:

(i) Fellowship. Peter at first appeared free and unprejudiced, eating and fellowshipping with the Gentile Christians. This was the kind of fellowship for which Paul had striven. Then certain men arrived from Jerusalem, claiming to be from James. These men were Judaizers who taught a false gospel “of the circumcision.”

On their arrival they immediately put pressure on Peter who reacted by folding at the knees and withdrawing from the Gentiles. The word “withdrew” is a metaphor for lowering a sail, so he was trimming his sails according to the wind. In doing so he was denying a fundamental fact of Christianity – all are one in Jesus Christ.

(ii) Fear. It was pure fear of man that caused Peter to withdraw from the Gentiles and take others with him. Afraid of what? Lack of financial support? Loss of position as the preeminent apostle? Whatever it was, the fear of man certainly brought a snare.

b) The Clash (2:11).
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.”

Paul immediately saw the danger of Peter’s compromise and “withstood him” before serious damage could be done. That he did so, of course, was convincing proof of apostolic authority.

“because he was to be blamed.” This is the Peter upon whom some claim that he is the rock upon which the church is built. What a wobbly rock! If Peter was the first Pope, he was certainly in trouble. But Peter never claimed any such authority. He merely describes himself as a fellow-elder, not one is authority.

c) The Consequence (2:13).
“And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” The apparently minor incident was soon shown to have major consequences.

(i) Dissimulation. The word “dissimulation” means “hypocrisy.” Peter and the other Jewish believers who withdrew with him went against their convictions and consciences, pretending to be what they were not. In seeking to please those hypocrites they became hypocrites themselves.

(ii) Division. Had this problem ended with Peter, it might not have been so bad. But Peter was a natural leader and his compromise caused division, destroyed fellowship, and led others astray. Even godly Barnabas was “carried away.”

(iii) Doctrine. The incident teaches several important lessons:
* People. The best of men are only men at the best. There is a danger of following men rather than the message.

* Peace. Christian fellowship and unity are built on truth, never falsehood. Compromise only weakens. “The bond of peace” is not peace at any price, but peace based on God’s Word and established by God’s Spirit.

* Permanence. God’s Word is permanent, and does not alter with given situations. It knows nothing of situation ethics. The Scriptures, not a given situation, determine what is right and wrong.

2. PAUL’S CONVICTION (2:14-21)
Having rebuked Peter in verse 15, Paul addresses the whole company. His basic teaching is summarized in verse 19 – “dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” In fact, this summarises the whole epistle.

a) Paul’s Reaction (2:14)
“But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews.”

Paul’s rebuke of Peter was:

(i) Public. His earlier talks with Peter and James at Jerusalem had been private, but this was “before them all,” i.e. before the whole church. All knew that Peter had lived at Antioch like a non-Jew. As his lapse was public, so was his rebuke.

(ii) Pointed. Paul put his finger on the main issue, – “the truth of the gospel.” The issues were deeper than culture or custom. Peter had contradicted the revelation given to him in Acts 10, and forced the Gentiles to become Jews. The basic plan of salvation was at stake.

(iii) Personal. Paul accused Peter of not walking “uprightly.” The word means “to walk in a straight path.” Peter’s path was not straight, but crooked. Paul loved Peter and the other believers enough to stand up against them.

b) His Reasoning (2:15-16)
“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Paul uses this incident as an object lesson to underscore his point of justification by grace and not by the keeping of the law.

Paul makes several statements about justification:

(i) National. “We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles…even we have believed in Jesus Christ.”
Paul identifies two national groups. The nationality may be different, but the needs are identical.

* “sinners of the Gentiles.” This summed up the Jewish view of Gentiles. To the Jew there were only two kinds of people in the world: Jews and sinners. All were agreed that the Gentiles needed salvation.

* “we who are Jews” had been born into a greatly privileged nation compared with the Gentiles in their gross sins and godless living. Yet “even we” were saved and justified by believing in Jesus, not by the law which could never give them a standing before God. Paul sees both on the same platform.

(ii) Universal. “but by faith in Jesus Christ.” Martin Luther said that if the article of justification by faith is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost. The basic term was originally used of a judge’s declaring an accused person not guilty. It was the opposite of being declared guilty and condemned. Only “faith in Jesus Christ” can bring forgiveness and salvation. This is not intellectual assent to historical facts, but personal trust in His death to remove and forgive one’s sins.
(iii) Individual. “even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.” For Paul, salvation was an intensely personal matter. On a grander scale the Jews and Gentiles as ethnic groups might have their national needs. But he knew that individuals are saved, not nations. An individual response is required.

c) His Realization (2:17-18)
Paul realizes that going back under the law carries two major implications:

(i) It makes “Christ the minister of sin,” and reflects on His person and work. “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid” (2:17). Paul, Peter, and others had, as sinners, sought justification in Christ alone. Peter’s actions, however, indicated that he was not completely justified, but had to go back under the law to complete his salvation. If this is so, then Christ is not a perfect and sufficient Saviour.

(ii) “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor” (2:18). It makes each of us “a transgressor.” The Judaizers were painfully rebuilding the very structure of human “merit” that for Paul had come crashing down in ruins and lay “destroyed” on the Damascus road. All I can do through the law is to show that I am a “law-breaker” and “a transgressor.” Trying to keep it merely shows how badly I fail – not how well I succeed.

d) His Renewal (2:19-20)
“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”

As Paul nears the end of his argument, two great issues emerge. The believer is:

(i) Dead to the Law.
In saying he was “crucified with Christ” and “dead to the law,” Paul was stating that he was free forever from any claim of the law on him. The law has no further claim on an executed man. His life has been terminated by an act of judgement. Even if he were to rise from the dead, he would still be guiltless before the law, which would have no claim, on his new life. So it is with the believer who dies in Christ to rise in new life. He is free forever from any claim of the law on him. The law’s demands were fully paid when he died in Christ.

* Note when it happened. He says “I have been crucified with Christ”? It happened when he trusted Christ. At that time he was identified with the Christ’s death on the cross, as His death became Paul’s.

* Note also who was crucified. Romans 6:6 says “Our old man is crucified with Him.” The “old man,” the old self, is the person we were before conversion. It means the end of me as a sinner in God’s sight, and as a person seeking to earn my salvation by law-keeping.

(ii) Alive unto God.
Paul’s three mentions of the word “me” in verse 20 indicate how new life in Christ revolved around three main issues:

* Christ loved me. “The Son of God, who loved me…” Not just the world, but me! The supreme motive for all devotion is gratitude to the sovereign gracious Lord “who loved me.” Only those who know Him can speak like that. If He has done all this for me, how can I do less for Him?

* Christ gave himself for me. “…and gave Himself for me.” This was the ultimate sacrifice, and the ultimate reason why Paul would utterly refuse anything that downgraded the wonder of the work of Christ’s death.

* Christ lives in me. “Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” Although crucified with Christ, the believer still lives. But it is no longer the old “I” who lives, but Christ who lives in him. As he was identified with Him on the cross, so now he is linked with Him in resurrection life. The life received by faith, is now lived by faith. What is faith? It is believing that He is able to guide, keep, lead, succour, and be totally sufficient for every situation. It means being dependent on Him for every situation, and allowing Him to live His life in him.

e) His Recapitulation (2:21)
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

Paul recapitulates his argument and summarizes it all by presenting again the twin pillars of the gospel.

(i) The grace of God. “I do not frustrate the grace of God.” God’s matchless grace is seen in His love and unconditional gift of salvation. When a man tries to earn it, he merely makes it void. It is no longer by grace if man deserves it or earns it.

(ii) The death of Christ. “if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” “Doing my best” in order to enter heaven by my own righteousness merely makes Christ’s death ineffectual. Paul knew that it was totally necessary because we were totally unable to help ourselves.

“REDEEMED FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW”

Galatians 3v1-14

Galatians was written to correct a serious error. Paul had introduced the Galatians to the gospel of grace. Now, following the visit of a group of right-wing Judaizers from Jerusalem, they had changed the direction of their beliefs. Paul accuses them of being “bewitched” into accepting an inferior message based on law-keeping. They had not lost their salvation, but the self-imposed legalism had robbed them of their joy, freedom, and assurance.

In countering this drift, Paul first reminds the Galatians of their own experience, and how they received the Holy Spirit by faith. He then turns to the example of Abraham and shows how even he was justified by faith. Finally, he shows that the Law, for all its majesty and authority, could only place all under God’s curse. For blessing to flow that curse had to be removed. This was gloriously done by Christ who “redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”

1. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE GALATIANS (3:1-5)
In assessing the change that had come over his dear friends, Paul refers to two things:

a) The Spell (3:1)
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth among you?” (3:1).

Paul describes the Galatians as:

(i) “foolish” – “O foolish Galatians…” Anger, love, and surprise melt together in Paul’s opening remark. They had foolishly fallen into error by drifting away from the basic truths of the gospel. Their problem was not mental but spiritual. Clever arguments had been easier to follow rather than to “obey the truth” of God’s Word.

The Lord Jesus also used this word to the two disciples on the Emmaus road, “O fools, and slow of heart…” (Lk 24:25). They had not adequately studied the Scriptures and had not thus understood that Jesus, as Messiah, must die. Failure to understand led to failure of faith.

(ii) “bewitched” – “who hath bewitched you?” The word really means “hypnotized.”

* What they were seeing. At Antioch the legalistic Judaizers had mesmerized the gullible Galatians by dangling the law in front of them. Many false teachings are hypnotically attractive. Some offer wonderful experiences; others satisfy emotional or intellectual needs. But all need to be judged by the Word of God.

* What they should have seen. “before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you.” “set forth” carries the idea of a public notice. They couldn’t miss it. Paul had placed the crucified Christ in full focus before them. As they became spellbound by the brilliance of the Judaizers, so Christ faded and they ended up substituting the law of sin and death for the gospel of grace and life.

We also are all too easily mesmerized. Materialism, coldness of heart, love of the world, all blur the beauty of the Saviour and set us alongside the Galatians.

b) The Spirit (3:2-5)
Paul has two things to say about the Holy Spirit:

(i) The Gift of the Spirit. “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith” (3:2). Paul brings them back to the beginning. When they were saved and justified, how did they receive the Spirit? By the “hearing of faith.” It had nothing to do with “the works of the law.”

God’s gift of the Spirit is His greatest proof of salvation and His guarantee of future glory. “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom 8:16). Every believer has the Holy Spirit. Conversely, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (3:3). Paul asks, If you were saved by grace, are you now being sanctified by works? Don’t you realize that you remain spiritual the same way you became spiritual – by faith in Jesus Christ.

(ii) The Works of the Spirit. “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (3:5). The ministry of the Spirit is linked with the wonder-working power of God. Paul’s ministry was in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and not by the works of the law.

The “hearing of faith” still produces “miracles,” new lives in Christ. The word miracles translates dunamis, meaning”power.” It is this power that makes the gospel to be the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

2. THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM (3:6-9)
Paul now turns to the example of Abraham to show that even he was justified by faith and not by works. Doubtless the Judaizers were quoting all kinds of Old Testament passages to support their arguments. Hence Paul does the same to show clearly just how Abraham was justified.

a) Abraham’s Faith
“And the Scripture…preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed” (3:8).

(i) Who Abraham was. When he first believed, Abraham was just a heathen Gentile like the Galatians. Circumcision or the law had not even been given, so they could not help him. He was saved by faith. His belief in God’s Word changed him from a heathen into a believer.

(ii) What Abraham was. God had promised Abraham a son. However, much time had lapsed, and Abraham was now 100 years old. Sarah was 90. His body was “dead.” So was Sarah’s. His condition was hopeless and helpless.

(iii) What Abraham believed – “the gospel.” The gospel preached to Abraham here was God’s good news concerning the promised son (Gen 15:5).

In Genesis 15 Abraham had just returned from a great victory, and had refused to take any of the spoil offered to him. God then comes to him and says, “Fear not, Abram,; I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen 15:1). To this promise of God, Abram tells God he is not so sure that he can believe Him, since another promise God had made previously to him had not yet been fulfilled. God had promised a son, but after 30 years that promise had not been realized.

God then brought him out to look to the heaven “and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them And he said unto him, so shall thy seed be. And he believed God, and he counted it unto him for righteousness” (Gen 15:5).

This is what Paul quotes in verse 6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” What did Abraham believe? Just what God said about the promised son.

What was true of Abraham is true today. The gospel is still God’s good news concerning His Son. Salvation still comes through believing it. If we have believed what God says about His Son, we are also linked with Abraham. We are his children.

b) Abraham’s Family
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (3:7).

Abraham is seen as the father of all those who have faith. His “sons” take character from him. His true descendants are not those who carry the mark of circumcision on their bodies, but those who are marked by faith.

The Jews prided themselves on being the “seed of Abraham.” But Jesus told them that God could raise up that kind of physical seed from the stones. Abraham’s true seed is spiritual. Becoming a child of Abraham does not depend on a person’s nationality or race, but on his faith.

On what am I resting? Grace, or works? We cannot combine the two. It is only “they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

3. EXPLANATION OF THE CROSS (3:10-13)

a) The Need for Faith (3:10-12)
In these verses Paul ranges through the O.T. quoting from Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Habakkuk to emphasize two fundamental facts.

(i) The Law brings a curse. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (3:10).

When God gave the law he pronounced a blessing on all tho kept it, and declared they would receive life thereby. That was good news. The not-so-good news was that all who failed to keep the law in its entirety came under a curse. Paul proves this by quoting Deut 27:26, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

What is this “curse” of the law? Is it a curse to have good laws? It was surely a blessing for Israel to have such a high moral code! It kept them from many of the sins of the nations round about them. The curse of the law was its total condemnation on all who failed to keep it. Sadly, this involved:

* Everyone – “cursed is everyone that continueth not…”
* Everything – “…continueth not in all things.” The whole law must be kept. Failure to do so brings a curse.

(ii) Faith brings life. “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” Equally, the way to life is by faith(3:11).

“The just shall live by faith.” This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4. The Christian life is one of faith from start to finish. We are saved by faith, but then go on to live by faith. How did we become just? By faith. How do we live now that we are justified? By faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted three times in the N.T., each quotation emphasizing a different aspect of the verse.

* “The just…” – Romans 1:17 which deals with how a man may be just before God.
* “…shall live…” – Galatians 3:11 which deals with the life of faith, tells how one is maintained before God in that position.
* “…by faith” – Hebrews 10:38, where the principle of faith is emphasized.

b) The Nature of the Cross
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.”

Few verses in Scripture give such a succinct summary of the meaning of the Cross. Note what this verse teaches about our redemption and Christ’s death for us:

(i) Who did it. “Christ.” If anyone was to redeem us from the curse of the law, it must be someone who was not Himself under its curse. Only one Person qualified. This is why the Word of God is so careful to show us that he never once violated the law. He never came under its curse.

(ii) What He did. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse…” This is aorist text – once and for all. “Redeemed” means “purchased,” and refers to a slave being purchased with a view to his freedom. The “curse of the law” is its penalty – death. When Christ died and was “made a curse for us,” He took our place and bore the curse of a broken law. The result is life and freedom. The price has been paid in terms of precious blood.

(iii) How He did it – “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Paul quotes Deut 21:23 referring to the law of ancient Judaism whereby an executed criminal was tied to a post, a type of tree, and his body allowed to hang until sunset. It was a visible representation of rejection by God. The cross is vividly and unmistakably represented in this O.T. picture.

A reflection on Genesis 3 reminds us that in a most remarkable way Christ did become a curse for us. Man’s first sin brought God’s curse, and this was reflected in what God said to Adam. Sorrow, pain, death, separation from God are all mentioned in that chapter. Even sweat and thorns are mentioned. All these are recorded as part of the Gospel record of the Cross. It is an amazing parallel.

4. THE EXCHANGE OF THE CURSE (3:14)
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (3:14).

Twin blessings are now shown to be the result of the death of Christ.

a) The blessing of Abraham
The blessing of Abraham is the blessing that Abraham received – justification by faith. He received it because he believed God.

b) The promise of the Spirit
It is through Jesus, not through the law, that we receive the promise of the Spirit. True, we are born of the Spirit, but the work of the Spirit is much more than that. He gives us power and makes real to us the things of Christ. Through Him the Christian live becomes alive.

“COMPARING THE COVENANTS”

Galatians 3:15-29

In the first part of the chapter Paul has shown that believers are all justified by faith in Christ, as was Abraham. He now anticipates an objection from his opponents. They would argue that of course it was true the promise was given to Abraham and he was reckoned righteous because he believed it. Everybody knew that. However, when the Law came it introduced a new means of salvation and everything changed. Why else would God have given the Law?

Paul answers this basic question by explaining first of all just why the Covenant of Promise to Abraham was so superior to the Covenant of Law through Moses 430 years later (3:15-22). He then turns to a personal application, contrasting the bondage brought by the Law with the freedom found in Christ (3:23-29).

The Covenant of Promise
God’s grace
Unconditional
Based on God’s faithfulness
“I will…”
Religion dependent on God
Requires only faith

The Covenant of Law
Man’s works
Conditional
Based on man’s faithfulness
“Thou shalt…”
Religion dependent on man
Requires perfect obedience

1. THE FEATURES OF THE TWO COVENANTS (3:15-22)
Paul draws several vivid contrasts between the Covenants of Promise and Law.

a) The Superiority of the Covenant of Promise (3:15-18)
Paul first proves just how superior to the Law was God’s Covenant with Abraham.

(i) It was Confirmed by God. “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuleth, or addeth thereto” (3:15). Paul takes a human example from the world of business. Once a covenant or contract has been signed, it cannot be altered or added thereto. If this is so among men, how much more so in relation to God. Did the coming of the Law invalidate God’s Covenant with Abraham? No. Otherwise we must say that God was guilty of a breach of contract.

Note how this Covenant of Promise was made. Usually covenants are made between two parties, but in Genesis 15 when God “cut the covenant” with Abraham, Abraham was put in a deep sleep, and the Lord then symbolically passed between the animals in the form of a “smoking oven and a flaming torch.” Note that only the Lord passed between the animals. Abraham did not. This indicated that this was a Covenant made by God with himself.

(ii) It was Christ-centred. It was “to Abraham and his seed were the promises made…which is Christ” (3:16). This “seed” is shown to be Christ who was there representing us. It was in Christ that all these promises found their fulfilment. Our names are thus included in the phrase “and his seed.”

(iii) It was Given by Grace. “God gave it to Abraham by promise” (3:18). The word “gave it” is lit. “given by an act of grace.” The principles behind the two types of covenant are incompatible. One is by God’s Law and man’s works, the other is by God’s grace and man’s faith. For God to have given it on the principle of Law-keeping would have meant that its fulfilment depended on man’s performance. But it didn’t. It depended only on God’s grace.

Thus the giving of the Covenant was accomplished for us by God in grace. The confirming of the Covenant was accomplished for us by God. The fulfilment of the Covenant was accomplished for us by Christ. The keeping of the Covenant is all up to our heavenly Father. What is our part? To reap the benefits of it. How? Through faith.

b) The Inferiority of the Covenant of the Law (3:19-22)
The obvious question now is, “Wherefore then serveth the Law?” Why was it give at all? If it could not justify, sanctify or satisfy, what good was it? If it was unable to bestow the Holy Spirit (3:1-5) and to justify a person before God (3:6-9), if it could only bring a curse and not blessing (3:10-14), and had no relation to the promise of God (3:15-18), what then was its propose? And if the Law has no place, can everyone do as they wish? Surely that is a dangerous doctrine!

Later, in chapters 5 and 6, Paul will explain why believers are not free to live as they wish. Meanwhile he is at pains to put the Law in perspective, and clarify just why it was given.

(i) Its Purpose. “It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (3:19a). Three things are here stated about the Law:

* It had a beginning – “It was added…” to something which must have already existed. It was not added to the Abrahamic Covenant. It was a tool used by God in addition to the Covenant. It was not in itself part of that Covenant, nor was it ever meant to alter the original agreement between God and man.

* It had a purpose – “because of transgression.” “Transgression” comes from two words, “trans” and “gresso,” meaning to go beyond. The Law with its “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not,” let man know exactly where he stood. Those who broke it were without any excuse. Before the Law there was already sin, (as with Adam, Cain, etc), but there was not fine legal point on it.

* It had an ending – it was “till the seed should come to whom the promises were made.” This “seed” was Christ who would fulfill the Law in every detail. It would then have served its purpose and be superseded because it had been fulfilled. On the cross Christ said “It is finished.” He was referring to the Law. In Col 2:14 Paul tells us: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us…he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” He fulfilled the Law by being nailed to the cross.

(ii) Its Mediators. “It was ordained by angels in the hands of a mediator. Now an mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one” (3:19b-20). The Law was given by two sets of mediators – angels and Moses. Both Moses and the angels (we do not know just how they were involved) were great, but they were only mediators. In contrast, God’s revelation to Abraham was direct and intimate.

Moses was a mediator because he stood between God and man. “But God is one” – i.e. there was no mediator when He gave his promise to Abraham. He was the sole contracting party. Everything depended on Him – not on man. With the Law there were two contracting parties – man and God. This meant that man had to keep his part and be obedient, without the power to be so.

(iii) Its Action. “Is the law then against the promises of God?” (3:21-22). Does all Paul has said mean that the Law was in opposition to the promises? “God forbid,” says Paul, God is not at war with Himself. Both came from God and are complementary. The purpose of the Abrahamic Covenant was to bring righteousness by faith to sinners who needed it. The Law was added to point people to the Covenant.

“…for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (3:21). The Law could not provide righteousness, it could only point people to it. Otherwise there would have been no need of a Saviour and God’s grace.

“But the Scripture hath concluded all under (a prisoner of) sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (3:22). Contrary to what was stated in verse 21, the Law was never intended to impart life. Man is shut up men like a prisoner “under sin,” unable to escape from its control and consequences. That is the point of this declaration; to drive men to faith in Christ, so that the promised righteousness might be given to them.

2. THE FRUITS OF THE TWO COVENANTS (3:23-29)
Paul next compares the outworking of the two Covenants. He shows how the Covenant of Law merely brought bondage, while the Covenant of Promise brings glorious freedom in Christ.

a) The Law Brings Bondage (3:23-24)
Paul paints two pictures of the Law:

(i) The Law as a Prison. “Before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (3:24). Prior to God’s revealing salvation in Christ, i.e. “before faith came,” men were in a spiritual prison, “kept under the law” of God and the burden of sin. The Law arrested, convicted, and sentenced them. The purpose of the law was to reveal to man that he is a sinner. Forgiveness means nothing to a person who is unaware that he has done anything wrong.

John Bunyan wrote in the opening chapter about Pilgrim, “I looked and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled; and, not being able to longer contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, What shall I do?” Pilgrim had a burden on his back, his sin, and a book in his hand, the Law. Eventually he met Evangelist who pointed him to the hill Calvary. It was reading God’s Word that troubled him so much.

Not only so, but he is “shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” Even under the Covenant of Law, God’s way of faith was always open. Under Moses a Jew could be saved by faith and counted righteous by God. Before the cross men put faith in the Christ of prophecy, whereas we put faith in the Christ of history.

(ii) The Law as a Guardian. “Whereas the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (3:24). The word “schoolmaster” (AV) is not a good translation. It comes from the Greek word paidagogos or “pedagogue.” In Greek culture the “pedagogue’s” role was that of tutor-servant, and he was responsible for the moral and physical well-being of the child until he became of age. He was then relieved of his duties, and the son took responsibility for his own actions.

The sole purpose of the Law, God’s pedagogue, was “to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.” With the coming of Christ, the need for ceremonies and rituals to act as spiritual guides and guardians fell away. Instead new inner principles operate through the indwelling Christ.

Why do people drift back to the Law? Laziness is one reason. It is easier to follow a set of regulations that to think for ourselves. Another reason is fear. Some believers are so insecure that they are afraid of the responsibility that comes with freedom. They are like former East German and Russian territories who drift back to communism. Most people like the security of being an employee rather than the freedom that goes with being their own master.

b) Christ Brings Freedom (3:25-29)
Our new relationship brings wonderful freedom “by (through) faith in Christ Jesus” (3:26). Because of this relationship we are:

(i) Sons of God. “But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children (sons) of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (3:26). Although God is the Father of all men as Creator, He is not the Father of all Redeemer. God’s only true spiritual children are those who, “through faith in Christ Jesus” have become His sons.

Paul tells us that believers are the mature sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. When did this happen? “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (3:27). It happened when we:

* “…baptized into Christ.” Paul here refers to spiritual “baptism” and identification with Christ. When a person believes, he is identified with and “baptized” into Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It is this union which water baptism symbolises. This is a great mystery. In some way, when a person believes, he is identified with Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The result is that when a person believes, God sees His sinless Son instead of the sinner.

* “…put on Christ” means that we are “clothed” with Christ, as with a garment. God no longer sees us; He sees His Son. The expression equates with “faith in Christ” (3:26) and “baptised into Christ” (3:27). All three expressions relate to our standing in Christ.

(ii) One with other Christians. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28). The social divisions of Paul’s day implied that some people, i.e. Jews, free men, and males, were more significant than others. Paul focused on the existing social divisions of his day.

In Christ all are accepted on the same ground. “All one in Christ Jesus.” There are no racial, social or gender distinctions in Him. This means we are one with Christ, and one with each other, fused together.

This does not mean that physical and even social distinctions ceased to exist amongst Christians. Slaves were still slaves and masters still masters. Paul was speaking of our relationships in Christ, not our relationships in the world.

(iii) Heirs of the Promise. “And if ye be Christ’s, then ye are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (3:29). Paul’s conclusion is that if they belong to Christ by faith, then they are spiritually the seed of Abraham and “heirs according to that promise.” This can only be because they are co-heirs with Christ in whom all the promises are fulfilled.

In contrast, the Judaizers were demanding that the Gentiles be circumcised and keep the Law in order to become Abraham’s seed. Paul has proved that all that was promised to Abraham has been fulfilled in Christ. For us to be united with Him, the true Seed, is to be united with Abraham, and thus be heirs in association with Christ.

“We cannot come to Christ to be justified unless we have first been to Moses to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin and guilt, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ” – John Stott.

“FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP IN GOD’S FAMILY”

Galatians 4:1-20

In chapter 3 Paul examined the two covenants and contrasted the passing nature of Law with the permanent nature of the Promise. Now in chapter 4 he looks at the position of the believer in relation to them.

Under Law he has no assurance, no freedom, and no intimacy with God. Under grace and in Christ he enters into an intimate and privileged family relationship with God, and enjoys the “liberty wherewith Christ has made us free” (5:1).

1. A PRIVILEGED POSITION (4:1-11)
Paul insists that when a person comes to Christ, he immediately enjoys all the privileges and intimacy of being a member of God’s family. He illustrates this by developing further the analogy of a child becoming an adult son.

It is a contrast between the state of the saved and unsaved man. Whether Jew or Gentile, if he is unsaved he is under God’s law. Once saved he is in Christ with all the freedom, family privileges and security that such a position offers.

a) Preparation for Sonship (4:1-3)
In Paul’s day a child’s transition to adulthood was marked by a special coming-of-age ceremony. Prior to this trusted slaves were appointed to act as guardians and direct the child’s education until he was grown. His position in the family was little better than that of a servant.

(i) The Metaphor. “Now I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all. But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father” (4:1-2).

Paul uses the metaphor of the coming-of-age ceremony to illustrate his point that the Law represented a by-gone day. At the coming-of-age ceremony the child’s status changed and he became a responsible adult. For the Romans this was the toga virilis. During the ceremony a boy would take his toys and offer them in a sacrifice to the gods as a symbol of putting childhood behind him. It was to this custom that Paul alludes in his comment, “When I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11).

The Jewish ceremony, the bar mitzvah, took place on the first Sabbath after the boy’s twelfth birthday. The boy’s father would pray, “Blessed be thou O God who hath taken from me the responsibility of this boy.” The boy would then pray, “O my God, on this solemn and sacred day which marks my passage from boyhood to manhood, I humbly declare that henceforth I will keep Thy commandments and undertake to bear the responsibility of my actions toward Thee.”

(ii) The Meaning. “…when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world” (4:3).

Paul does not say what these “elements of the world” are. In Col 2:8 he warns his readers not to be deceived “after the rudiments of the world,” human tradition and philosophy. The Jewish religion was a system of traditions that stifled the truth of God’s Word. Gentile religions combined all kinds of pagan philosophies and worship of various gods. Both Jewish and pagan religions centred in man-made systems of works. These are the “elements” of all human religion. All attempt to achieve acceptance by self-effort.

b) Privileges of Sonship (4:4-7)
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (4:4-5). These magnificent verses bring before us a treasure-chest of truths about Christ and our relationship to Him.

(i) “But…God.” It was God who took the initiative and intervened in history to redeem and bring the blessing of being a son of God.

(ii) “The fullness of time.” When Jesus was born, everything was right for the coming of the Messiah. Many prophetic Scripture such as Daniel’s 70 weeks were about to be fulfilled. The Jewish nation had the completed O.T. and should have been ready to receive their Messiah. Politically the pax Romana provided economic peace and stability. The Roman roads and the universal Greek language would take the Gospel across the world.

(iii) “God sent forth his Son.” This is a clear statement of His deity. He was no less God when he lay in the manger than He was in heaven. It was this that the Jews could not accept, and was the reason for which they rejected Him.

(iv) “made of a woman.” This states His humanity. Although God, He was born of a woman, otherwise He could not be the Saviour of the world. He had to be fully God for His sacrifice to atone for the sin of mankind. He must also be fully human in order to represent man and bear the penalty of his sin.

(v) “Made under the law” – Christ was born, lived, died and rose all “under the Law.” All His life He was subject to Jewish law. He was the only One who ever kept it fully. Because He did so He was able to redeem all others who were under the law but not obedient to it, provided they has saving faith in Him.

(vi) “To redeem them that were under the law.” The benefits of His coming are now stated. The first is redemption, accomplished by Christ giving Himself for us (1:4), and by becoming curse for us (3:13).

(vii) “that we might receive the adoption of sons.” The second benefit is adoption. No O.T. Jew ever looked on himself as a son of God. Our position as sons emphasises the dignity and status of our position. We are no longer children in the servant’s place, but heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Remember the prodigal son who said “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” But the Father said, “This my son was dead and is alive again.”

How does “adoption” tie in with “new birth”? The Greek word means “son-placing,” and was used to refer to the coming-of-age ceremony. Believers are born again into God’s family. We are not just adopted into it. The word implies the imparting of the full rights of Sonship upon a minor child who was already a family member. Others say it refers to a man’s giving the status of Sonship to someone who is not his natural child. Because men are not naturally the children of God, they can become His “sons” only by divine “adoption.”

(viii) “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father.” The third benefit is the presence within of the Holy Spirit. This is proof positive of our new relationship with God. Natural parents can adopt a child, but cannot give him their spirit. Not so God, who has given us His Spirit.

Because we have the Spirit, we now look up into the face of God and cry, “Abba, Father.” He develops our relationship with Him, giving us desires to know and obey Him better.

– “Abba” is the word of infants. It is the diminutive of the Aramaic word for father. It suggests intimacy, endearment and complete trust. The Holy Spirit brings us into close personal relationship with our heavenly father.
– “Father…” is the word of maturity, the intelligent realisation of a relationship, indicating intelligent dependence, love and devotion. This is the title a son would use for his father.

(ix) “…an heir of God through Christ.” This is the fourth benefit. O, the wonder of all that God has done, is doing, and eventually will do for us in Christ!

c) The Progress of Sonship (4:8-11)
Having shown that the Godhead had freed them, granting to them the status of sons and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul alerts them to the danger of back-tracking and entering into fresh bondage. God’s gift of sonship is free, but it carries serious obligations.

(i) Past Ignorance. “Howbeit then when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods” (4:8). In former days they “knew not God” and bowed down to idols of wood and stone.

Note the connection between ignorance and idolatry. In Romans 1:21-25 Paul says that when man chooses to ignore God, God “gives him up” and allows him to slip into idolatry, and “worship and serve the creature more than the Creator” (Rom 1:25).

(ii) Present Indifference. “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage” (4:9).

Mark the difference between “ye have known God” and “are known of God.” The two sides of salvation. Man’s will and God’s sovereignty.

These “weak and beggarly” elements of law-keeping were the Jewish rituals and teachings. They were essentially the same as the heathen religions from which they had been delivered. They were “weak” because they were powerless to redeem; they were “beggarly,” because they were poverty-stricken. It amazed Paul that those who had become so rich in Christ should turn again to that which had nothing! We do the same when we backslide, and look back to the world. We forget that the best it has is weak and beggarly. Strange and sad that it should attract us so.

“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years” (4:10). These referred to special religious days and festivals which pointed forward to Christ. They had all been fulfilled in Him. Paul was alarmed at their desires to concentrate on useless, lifeless ritualism.

“I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (4:11). Paul had given himself to bring them the gospel. Now he wonders if their conversion had been genuine. He is afraid that it may have been “in vain,” to no purpose.

2. A PERSONAL PLEA (4:12-20)
Paul’s tone now changes. Up to now we have seen Paul the confrontational debater, the teacher and theologian. Now Paul the shepherd addresses them with some of the softest words found in any of his letters, “I beseech you” (4:12), and “my little children” (4:19). How easy it is to accept teaching from one whom we know loves us. There are lessons here for all who have correct God’s people.

a) His Appeal to them (4:12)
“Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are.” Paul’s appeal has two edges:

(i) “Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am.” Paul only wanted the Galatians to “be as I am,” not under law, but under grace. He has already written, “I died to the law that I might live unto God” (2:19). He wanted the Galatians to do the same.

(ii) “I am as ye are.” Paul had sought salvation only in Christ, as if he were a Gentile. He had been freed from the bondage of former years, and revelled in the freedom found in Christ. What folly for the Galatians to put themselves under it again.

b) His Remembrance of them (4:13-16)
Paul remembers the blessing and joy of the former days when he first brought the gospel to them.

(i) His Weakness. “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first” (4:13). Paul sought to touch their hearts by reminding them of how he came to Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, and preached among them. He did not come with pomp and ceremony, candles and images. He came as a lowly and ill man preaching Christ and Him crucified. Many were won for Christ, and they had responded by lovingly receiving him “as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus” (4:14).

Paul now asks, “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me” (4:15). What had happened to the joy and “the blessedness” of former years? What had gone wrong? It had been such that no sacrifice was too great to make for him. How could such a friend have become their enemy?

(ii) Their Fickleness. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (4:16). Paul is saddened by their fickleness. Just because he was faithfully telling them the truth, he was treated like an enemy. Nothing tears the heart of a faithful servant of God like seeing someone he has led to the Lord turning away from the faith.

c) His Warning to them (4:17-18)
“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them” (4:17). The Judaizers were not genuine in their motives. The word “seek” carries the idea of a man courting a woman. The Judaizers spoke as though they really cared for them, but they had only their own advantage at heart.

Most cults show keen interest towards prospective members, and promise great personal fulfilment, but the true agenda is hidden.

d) His Desire for them (4:19-20)
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (4:19). Paul speaks like a mother, and addresses them as “my little children.”

He had brought them to Christ. He had given birth to them. His expression goes beyond “brethren”, they were his children, and he saw them in real danger. He say he is having birth pains again. The first time it was to bring them to Christ; now it was that Christ should be formed in them. The first was to free them from idolatry; the second to free them from law-keeping. The first was the agony of the evangelist, the second the agony of the pastor-teacher. He would not leave them till Christ was formed in them.

“I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you” (4:20). Being absent, Paul was perplexed about them. He wanted to deal face to face and adjust his speech to their state. He could be stern or tender as was required. If only he were with them, he could help them in their spiritual crisis.

“BORN TO BE FREE”

Galatians 4:21-31

Paul continues to insist that, far from leading to salvation, keeping the law merely leads to a kind of spiritual bondage. To prove his point he goes back to the Old Testament story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, and uses it to demonstrate the constant conflict between the Gospel and the Law.

This story in the life of Abraham teaches a profound truth. God had promised to Abraham a seed, but as time went on he gave up all hope that Sarah would have a child. He thus sought to “help” God fulfill His promise by obtaining a child via Hagar the slave woman. It was the natural thing to do and needed no faith. Later Isaac was born just as God had promised. Abraham’s act illustrates man’s attempt to accomplish God’s plan by his own works.

Paul uses the starkly contrasting circumstances surrounding the births of the two boys to illustrate the essential differences between man-made and God-given religion.

Paul first deals with the historical background (4:21-23) reminding his readers that Abraham had two sons, born of different mothers and in different ways. He then deals with the spiritual teaching (4:24-27), and speaks of two covenants, two Jerusalems, and of slavery and freedom. Finally he turns to the personal application of the teaching (4:28-31) and reveals what has been in his mind all along, that they should “cast out” the false teachers and their teaching.

1. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (5:21-23)
In introducing his allegory, Paul challenges the Judaizers, “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear what the law says?” Have they really understand just what the law taught? It pointed them in the opposite direction to that which they wanted to go! It led to condemnation, not justification.

Paul knew there was a vast difference between knowing about the law and fully understanding it. The Scribes and Pharisees knew the law perfectly, but missed the whole point of it. The Lord told them, “You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life: but they are they which testify of me” (Jn 5:39).

To explain the law and its purpose, Paul goes all the way back to Abraham and uses his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, as examples of law and grace. He has two points to make about them:

a) They had different mothers
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman” (4:22).

The two sons were distinct in many ways, but Paul’s point here is that they had different mothers. One son, Ishmael, was the son of Hagar the slave woman. The other, Isaac, was the son of Sarah, the free woman. The child of the slave woman was born to bondage; the child of the free woman was born to freedom. The children would take character from the mother – to be slave or free.

b) They had different births.
“But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise” (4:23).

(i) Ishmael was Born Naturally. When Abraham was 86 and Sarah 76, fearing he would have no heir, he took Hagar. It was a scheme that was fulfilled entirely by natural processes, “after the flesh”. It needed no promise from God, and no faith on the part of Abraham. This was man’s way.

Ishmael thus symbolizes those who have known only natural birth and know nothing of faith in God’s promise.

(ii) Isaac was Born Supernaturally. In contrast, Isaac, the son of the free woman, was supernaturally born at a time when Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah 90. Child bearing was a physical impossibility. Everything depended on God and His promise. All that was demanded of the parents was faith. This represents God’s way.

Isaac thus symbolizes those who have had a spiritual birth as a result of faith in what God said about His promised Son. Note also that 4:29 states he was also “born after the Spirit”, as are all God’s children.

2. THE SPIRITUAL TEACHING (5:24-27)

Paul now explains that the historical narrative was “an allegory” presented to teach deep spiritual lessons. Abraham in his relationship with Sarah and Hagar exemplified the only two possible attitudes towards God: faith and unbelief. This is the main point of the allegory. There are many there are many pairs of opposites used in the passage – natural and spiritual, earthly and heavenly, below and above – but all have the one root: faith and unbelief.

Paul sees these contrasting sets of principles illustrated in the two covenants – the Covenant of Law and the Covenant of Grace. He expands his illustration to include the two boys and their two mothers, also two mountains and two cities.

a) The Covenant of Law
This is illustrated by Hagar and Ishmael, Mount Sinai, and “Jerusalem which now is”, i.e. the historical city of Jerusalem. These are all pictures of the law.

(i) A Mother – Hagar. Hagar was a slave and her children shared the same status as their mother. She symbolized the Law and her spiritual “children” included all who relied on a religion of works for salvation. They were all destined to spiritual bondage. Paul wanted the Galatians to be free. To willingly put oneself under Law as the Galatians were doing, just didn’t make sense.

(ii) A Mountain – Sinai. Paul says the covenant of the law is “…from mount Sinai, and bears children who are to be slaves.” The old covenant of the law was given through Moses at Mount Sinai. Sadly, because its terms were impossible to keep, it could not set anyone free, but brought only bondage. Paul has already shown in chapter 3 just how binding the law was. It could only condemn, and at best was a sign post to the Saviour.

In a strikingly parallel passage Hebrews 12:18-22 expands this theme and contrasts vividly the giving of the law at Mount Sinai with the blessings and freedom associated with Mount Zion. “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire (i.e. Mt Sinai)…but ye are come unto mount Zion, and to the city of the living God”.

(iii) A Metropolis – Jerusalem. The third picture of the Old Covenant and its principles was “Jerusalem which now is” (4:25). Once the proud capital of Palestine, Jerusalem had been the seat of David and the envy of the world. By Paul’s time she was stripped of her freedom, and in bondage to a pagan power. The city was a picture of Israel. In rejecting God’s grace and trying to be kept by the law, the nation was spiritually and historically “in bondage with her children” (4:25).

Paul thus uses the historical city of Jerusalem as a picture of spiritual bondage. It was the centre and home of Judaism, and it was from there that those had come who were by their teaching of law-keeping enslaving the Galatians.

b) The Covenant of Grace
This is illustrated by Sarah, Isaac, and “Jerusalem which is above”.

(i) A Mother – Sarah. “For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children that she which hath an husband.” (4:27)

Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1, words originally written to cheer the Jewish exiles in Babylon, but here applied to Sarah, whose barrenness seemed to bar the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham. He has two things to say about Sarah’s children:

* Their Nature. The chapter that precedes Isaiah 54 is Isaiah 53, the Old Testament’s most complete prophecy of the coming Saviour. The chapter closes with, “He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” The very nest word in chapter 54 is “Sing!” Paul has translated that word as “Rejoice.” As the hymn says, we sing because we are happy, we sing because we are free. Because free grace can now flow to poor sinners. In the past grace had been like a woman who was forsaken and alone, and longed to be the mother of children, but wept and mourned alone. But now the gospel goes forth and grace, like once-barren Sarah, can break forth into joyful song.

* Their Number. The children of the heavenly Jerusalem will far outnumber those of the earthly Jerusalem. The vast multitude saved through grace will far exceed those under the Law. The Christian Church would one day outnumber unbelieving Jewry. It would one day become a countless multitude. Grace has now untold millions of children, and there will be millions more in the glorious age to come.

(ii) A Metropolis – The New Jerusalem. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (4:25). This Jerusalem is heaven. “The mother” is a reference to the new birth. “Us all” refers to all who have been born from above. Our citizenship is there. Our names are written there. Our lives are governed by heaven’s standards. Our prayers ascend there, our hope is centred there. One day we will be there.

3. THE PERSONAL APPLICATION (4:28-31)

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (4:28). In applying the teaching Paul now warns that because they are true children, inevitable results must follow.
Paul mentions three results of being a spiritual Isaac, a redeemed child of promise through Sarah.

a) Hostility
“But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now” (4:29).

Just as Ishmael persecuted Isaac in Genesis 21, so there has always been deep hostility shown by those born of the flesh towards those born of the Spirit. He says, “even so it is now.” It was especially true in those days, since Christians were persecuted severely, not just by Romans, but also by legalistic Jews.

b) Eviction
“Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (4:30).

The stormy scene in Abraham’s household resulted in Abraham, at the request of Sarah (actually supported by a divine command), casting out Hagar and Ishmael. The Genesis story gives telling insights into Abraham’s character. His action was:

(i) Required. Just as Abraham could resolve the tension in his home only by expelling Hagar and Ishmael, so Paul presses the Galatians to “cast out” and be finished with the false teachers and their teaching. Decisive, urgent action was called for.

The reason why all “natural” religions are bound to conflict with Christianity, the “supernatural” system, is because they cannot co-exist as parallel paths to the same goal. That is why the “persecution” mentioned above is inevitable. Christianity is incurably “narrow-minded”. Today many want to link up with other faiths, rather than preaching the gospel. But Ishmael and Isaac cannot live together.

(ii) Reluctant. Abraham felt for Hagar and was reluctant to let her go. His feelings reflect our own. Often we are hesitant to put away the seed of our carnal nature in order to give total place to the seed of our spiritual nature. We want to hang on to our fleshly nature because it too seems to be a vital part of us.

Note that Abraham was ordered not only to get rid of Ishmael, but also of Hagar. Often we try to rid ourselves of the product of our flesh, but still cherish and excuse the flesh itself. In Galatians 5;25 we will see where Paul says that those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof. So it is not just the flesh we must subdue, but also its affections and desires. The old fleshly nature is Hagar, the deeds are Ishmael. We are to put the old nature back to the level of a slave, exercising authority over it, not allowing it to dictate to us or lord it over us. This is the teaching of Romans 6.

c) Obligation
“So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (4:31).

Paul concludes the doctrinal section of the book by insisting that only true believers are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. Just as was the case with him, believers are saved and sanctified by faith. The allegory crowns the teaching that Law-keeping enslaves. In total contrast, faith in God’s promises brings freedom. Such are the only “free” people in the world.

Chapters 5 and 6 will show that liberty does not mean licence. Believers are under obligation to live faithfully for their Lord. Christ has made us free and we are now free indeed – to please God.

“LIBERTY, LICENSE & LOVE”

Galatians 5:1-15

This passage begins the practical third section of the letter. In chapters 1 & 2 Paul has highlighted the authenticity of the gospel assuring the Galatians that both he and his message were fully authenticated. In chapters 3 & 4 he dealt with the superiority of the gospel to the law. Now in chapters 5 & 6 he emphasizes the liberty of the gospel.

In these final chapters Paul will show that life lived under the power of the Spirit of God results in freedom and fruitfulness. Note “walk in the Spirit” (5:16), “led of the Spirit” (5:18), “live in the spirit” (5:25), “sows to the Spirit” (6:8).

He will also insist that liberty does not mean licence. True, living in the Spirit means we are free to do what we want, but our “wants” are changed. The hallmark of a true believer is that he wants to serve God.

1. THE FREEDOM OF FAITH (5:1)
This verse is really the climactic conclusion of the doctrinal section of chapters 3 and 4. It is a stirring exhortation to enjoy the “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” Two things are sharply contrasted:

a) The Blessing of Liberty
“Stand fast, therefore,” Wherefore? Because of the finished work of Christ. This is the liberty into which Christ has brought us. In 4:26 consideration of Christ’s finished work brought joy and rejoicing. Here is brings liberty. In these verses Paul will explain that:

(i) Liberty is not free. Political freedom is often bought by a bloody struggle. So it is with spiritual freedom. Our liberty was purchased by the precious blood of Christ.

(ii) Liberty is not license. Paul was accused of acting as though his liberty in Christ made him unaccountable. Not so, says Paul.

(iii) Liberty is not sterile. Paul will show that true liberty generates loving service to others.

b) The Bondage of Legalism
Paul warns them not to be “entangled again with the yoke of bondage” i.e. the works of the law, especially circumcision of which he speaks in the following verses. The law has a dual effect:

(i) It entangles us. It restricts us so we cannot move. Like a tangled cord, the more try to sort it out, the more there is of it and the tighter the knots become.

(ii) It burdens us with a “yoke of bondage.” Believers who live by the law take their burdens with them. Paul wanted the Galatians to change that burden and bondage of legalism for the blessing of Christ’s liberty.

2. THE DANGERS OF FALSE DOCTRINE (5:2-6)
The major issue in Galatia was circumcision. The Judaizers taught that faith in Jesus Christ, although important, was not sufficient for full salvation. What Moses began in the Old Covenant and Christ added to in the New Covenant had to be finished and perfected by one’s own efforts – the centrepiece of which was circumcision.

But Paul knew it was not the law and grace, it was the law or grace. To look to a rite like circumcision for justification was to miss the whole point of God’s grace.

As he opposes the wrong teaching, Paul points out four negative consequences of living by the law.

a) Christ is of no benefit (5:2)
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”

If a person could achieve salvation by being circumcised or by other self-effort, Christ’s death was unnecessary. The Judaizers said, “Except ye be circumcised…ye cannot be saved.” It was faith in his own shed blood – which would keep him from faith in the blood of Christ.

Circumcision represented a whole system of salvation by good works apart from divine grace. To trust in Christ for salvation is to acknowledge that one cannot save himself. To trust in circumcision for salvation is to supplement Christ’s work. A supplemented Christ is a supplanted Christ.

b) Their lives have no freedom (5:4)

“For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”

If circumcision is valid, so is every other claim of the law. This makes a person debtor to the whole law. It is an all-or-nothing system. Living by part of it as a means of attaining righteousness demanded living by all of it. It is this that so entangled them with the yoke of bondage.

c) They know nothing of God’s grace (5:4)
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

The word “fallen” means literally “to have been driven off course.” Like sailors at sea, the Galatians had been driven off course and were missing the grace of God. The phrase has a double edge:

(i) Salvation. A person seeking to be “justified by the law”, i.e. by his own works, is “off course.” This is Paul’s primary point. Instead nearing his goal, he is moving further away from it, every step taking further from Christ.

(ii) Sanctification. In a secondary sense there is teaching here for the believer. Although the question of eternal security is not involved here, there is a sense in which a believer can “fall from grace.” He may be “off course”:

* Doctrinally. Like the Galatians, he may become mixed up in his doctrine, and cease to hold certain truths in relation to his freedom in Christ.
* Morally. The principle of grace in the life of the believer is that which makes him delight in holiness and in obedience to God. Yet he may move away from the safety and nearness of Christ’s presence, and thus “fall from grace”.

d) They have no hope of righteousness (5:5-6)
“For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

In contrast to those in 5:4 who have taken a wrong road, Paul here states the true position. “We” here means “we Christians”, and stands in contrast to those who have “fallen from grace”.

Paul mentions four positive characteristics of the godly life:

(i) It is a Spirit-filled life, lived “through the Spirit”. He is indwelt and led by Him. He walks in the Spirit and sows to the Spirit. As the believer yields to Him, so he becomes conformed to the character of Christ.

(ii) It is faith-filled life, lived “by faith”, the basic principle of both salvation and sanctification. Too often we trust Christ for salvation, and then proceed to work our way through life to the best of our ability. That is not what God had in mind. The just are not only saved by faith; they are to live by faith.

(iii) It is hope-filled life lived waiting for “the hope of righteousness.” This hope looks forward to Christ’s Second Coming when all God’s promises will be fulfilled, and we will be completely conformed to the image of His Son. Sin then will have no more dominion over us. Believers already possess the imputed righteousness of justification; they are the righteousness of God in Christ. Yet every day they have to confess their sin. The yet-incomplete righteousness of total likeness to Christ is a future “hope” which still awaits them.

(iv) It is a love-filled life. Paul says it is a “faith which worketh by love.” Love and law operate on totally different levels. Law seeks merely to obey, and fulfill its obligations. Love seeks the welfare of others. A man who loves his master will promote his interests and go beyond the demands of the law.

No wonder, then, that to be circumcised, as Paul was, before conversion, or to be uncircumcised, as were the Galatians, made no difference. All that matters is to be “in Jesus Christ.”

3. THE CHARACTER OF THE FALSE TEACHERS (5:7-12)
Having exposed the dangers of the false teaching, Paul exposes the character of the false teachers. He is deeply moved as he speaks of those “who did hinder you” (5:7), and “he that troubleth you” (5:10). Like leaven, he knows that if not rejected, their teaching will spread to infect the whole church.

Paul presents six characteristics of the Judaizers that fit all such false teachers, ancient or modern.

a) They are Unhelpful (5:7)
“Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” In likening the faith-life to a race, Paul mentions three things about the Galatians:

(i) They “did run well.” Paul remembered the good years when they had made an excellent start, enjoying to the full their liberty in Christ.

(ii) They had been “obeying the truth.” “The truth” refers to the doctrine; “obeying” to the manner of life. So the truth of the doctrine had been lived out in their lives.

(iii) They had been “hindered.” “hinder” is a word used to refer to the action of one runner who cuts across the path of another knocking him off his stride, perhaps causing him to fall. This was the effect of the Judaizers who had come in behind Paul teaching their doctrine of law-keeping, that although they were justified by faith, they could be sanctified only by keeping the law.

b) They are Unholy (5:8)
“This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.”

“Persuasion” refers to the false teaching that circumcision and law-keeping were necessary for salvation. Some people are as easily persuaded to change their religious views as they are their political views. Paul makes it clear that such teaching does not come “of him that calleth you.” It is not from God and is thus unholy.

c) They are Unclean (5:9)
“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”

Leaven always is generally a picture of sin. Here is the danger of doctrinal error infecting the whole assembly. The Children of Israel were to put leaven out of their homes to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Lord spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Herodians. It refers to moral evil in 1 Cor 5:6. Sin always spreads, and a small amount of error can infect the whole assembly.

d) They are Under God’s Judgement (5:10)
“I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgement, whosoever he be.”

(i) Paul’s Confidence. “I have confidence in you…” Paul has warned them, but does not give up on them. He has confidence that they will eventually realize that the message he brought was the real gospel, and what the Judaizers were teaching was not of God.

(ii) Paul’s Condemnation. “He that troubleth you shall bear his judgement.” God’s judgement would fall on those who troubled the assembly. It is a serious thing to mislead God’s people.

e) They are Unyielding (5:11)
“And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.”

Paul contrasts circumcision and the cross. To preach circumcision and tell sinners they could save themselves was popular. To preach the cross and declare their inability to save themselves was to invite persecution.

The preaching of the cross stumbled the Jews as it set aside both circumcision and law-keeping. The cross took away their monopoly in the spiritual realm. It accepted Christ as Messiah and the fulfilment of all the types and shadows of the O.T. This was deeply offensive to them, and was expressed in their persecution of Paul.

Two things about the cross troubled the Jews:

(i) It was so Simple. The message of peace with God through Christ left no room for great involved debate. Nothing could be more simple. This was in total contrast to the Jews’ desire to keep the whole complicated system of the law.

(ii) It was so Scandalous. “The offence of the cross” is literally “the scandal of the cross.” It was a scandalous end to a human life to have to die on the cross. Cicero said, “The cross is so shameful it never ought to be mentioned in polite society.”

3. THE CALL TO FREEDOM (5:13-15)
“Called to liberty”! Personal rights and liberties today are paramount, and in their name all authority and restrictions are resisted. As in the day of the Judges, everyone does that which is right in his own eyes.

Paradoxically, this liberty has led to bondage on a massive scale as multitudes become unwitting slaves to lust, violence, alcohol, drugs. Many cannot escape and lose control over their lives, just as Jesus said, “He who commits sin is the slave of sin” (Jn 8:34).

By contrast, Paul now shows that the liberty to which we are called is balanced by a beautiful control that affects our relationships to ourselves, our God, and our neighbours and leads us to “by love serve one another”.

Verses 13-15 present four purposes of God’s call to freedom.

a) To oppose the flesh (5:13)
“…use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh.”

Liberty was not to lead to license. The gospel is not a means of satisfying the desires of the flesh but for opposing them. Christ does not give freedom to believers so they can do as they want, but to do as God wants.

In the next section he will show how this freedom is expressed in a life under the control of the Holy Spirit. Here he emphasizes the danger of allowing “Christian liberty” as a base of operations for self-indulgence. How often it has been used as an excuse to attend parties, indulge in sports, in drinking, read questionable literature. Freedom from sin is not freedom to sin!

b) To serve others (5:13)
“By love serve one another”.

Christ frees His followers to serve one another through love. He Himself is the supreme example of this. “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:24-27). Our human nature is never able to do this – it is too self-centred. It needs the Spirit working within to change that. This law of love becomes the central issue and the culmination of Paul’s message from here on to the end of the book.

c) To fulfill God’s moral law (5:14)
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself.”

Paul ends his remarks by concentrating on love because love is the fulfilment of the law. Jesus echoed the greatest O.T. principle when He declared that the great commandment of the law was, “You shall love the Lord your God…..mind.” The second is like it, “Thou shalt love your neighbour as yourself.” When a Christian genuinely loves others he fulfils all the moral elements of the Mosaic law. The picture of the Hebrew slave in Ex 21 is a beautiful picture of this.

Paul has dealt with Christian freedom in regard to self, others, and God. True liberty produces self-control, service to others, and obedience to God. Every relationship is harmonized in Christian freedom.

d) To avoid harming others (5:15)
“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another”.

Note that verse 15 speaks of biting and devouring one another, just as verse 13-14 spoke of loving and serving one another. How horrible when believers quarrel. What does a person bite with? The mouth. Paul is speaking here of sins of the tongue – gossiping, maligning. This is biting! Bite an apple enough times and it will be gone! Godly people do not speak evil of others – even if it is true.

“THE WORKS OF THE FLESH & THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT”

Galatians 5:16-26

Paul now shows that Christian liberty is expressed in a life under the control of the Holy Spirit. The focus is on fruitfulness. In these verses the Holy Spirit is mentioned seven times.

This profoundly practical section highlights the two natures of the believer. The old corrupt nature is governed by “the flesh”, and results in “the works of the flesh.” The new nature is received at conversion and, being governed by the Holy Spirit, results in “the fruit of the Spirit.”

These two natures constantly collide with each other, and remain side by side until the redemption of the body at Christ’s coming. The common ground of this conflict is the will, which in turn activates the body, resulting in either works of the flesh or fruit of the Spirit.

1. THE COMMAND (5:16)
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

The reception of the Holy Spirit at conversion is guarantee of salvation, but not of sanctification. The desires and cravings of the flesh remain with us and mastering them can be a frustrating experience. This occurs as we “walk in the Spirit” and allow Him to have control in our lives. It is not so much a crisis as a continuum of on-going experience involving obedience to God’s Word and God Spirit day by day.

This walk has two aspects:

a) Active Determination
The N.T. is full of militant terms and commands indicating the need for effort and commitment. There is a fight to be fought and the believer cannot sit as a passive spectator on the side lines.

b) Passive Submission
Determination and decision by themselves are not enough. Winding up our wills to win the fight will only lead to frustration and failure. The secret of success in this conflict is to “walk in the Spirit.”

This exhortation is in the present tense (indicating a habitual action) and the imperative mood. It involves staying close to God, doing His will, studying His Word. As we do so, we become “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph 3:16).

2. THE CONFLICT (5:17-18)
The Spirit-led life is a life of constant conflict between the old nature of the flesh and the new nature of the Spirit.

a) The Antagonism (5:17)
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

This verse teaches three things about this conflict:

(i) It leads to frustration. Even Paul exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” He had learned to admit, “For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.”

(ii) Defeat is not inevitable. Because of this conflict we find we “may not do the things that ye would.” It is not that we “cannot” do them, but that we “may not” do them. The Spirit enables us to do them, but the flesh desires and demands the opposite.

(iii) The unsaved person has no conflict. He has no spiritual warfare as he has no spiritual nature. He may regret his actions because of guilt or the consequences. Thus the fact of a conflict is evidence in itself of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

b) The Answer (5:18)
“ But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Although the Christian life is warfare, victory is always possible as the believer and is “led by the Spirit.” This expression is often used in relation to worship, prayer, or ministry, but primarily it refers to the experience of His control in every sphere of life.

3. THE CONTRAST (5:19-23)

Paul now contrasts the “works” produced by the flesh with the “fruit” produced by the Spirit. The vices of the first are called “works of the flesh”, and are ugly results of our carnal nature. The virtues of the second are entitled “fruit of the Spirit”, and are the beautiful results of a life lived under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“Works” are accomplished by effort and toil, and result in weariness and frustration. Bearing “fruit” involves no work. It results from just yielding and receiving, God’s resources.

a) The Works of the Flesh (5:19-21)
“The works of the flesh” reflect the sinful desires of man’s unregenerate nature. Jesus clearly stated that man’s basic problem is not what is outside of him but what is inside, and then quoted a list of things which proceed from the heart of man (Mk 7;20-23). Jesus’ list is much like Paul’s. Both passages teach that evils originate from within man himself. They cannot be blamed on Satan or on the world outside.

Paul details 17 activities of the flesh. They broadly have to do with the realms of sex, religion, and human relationships.

Most translations omit “adultery” and “murder”.

(i) The area of Sex – leading to self-defilement.
* Adultery. Illicit sexual liaisons in marriage.
* Fornication/immorality. This is from porneia from which we get pornography. The broadly includes all illicit sexual activity.
* Uncleanness/impurity. This means “unclean” and was used medically to refer to an infected oozing wound. It is that which is impure and unclean. It refers more to thoughts rather than the acts. Sometimes these thoughts even come when we are praying. We cannot help them coming into our mind, but can help indulging in them.
* Lasciviousness/debauchery. Any area where there is lack of restraint, but especially to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame or concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected). When unclean thoughts control us, it is called “lasciviousness.” This type of self-indulgence leads to slavery.

(ii) The Area of Religion – leading to defilement in relationship to God.
* Idolatry is anything that takes the place of God, and includes sport, money and entertainment. None of these things is evil in itself, it can take priority in a persons life and become an idol.

* Sorcery/witchcraft is dealing with the dead. The word translates pharmakeia, from which we get pharmacy. It was originally used of medicines in general, but came to be used for mood and mind-altering drugs similar to those that create so much havoc in our own day. Many ancient religious ceremonies involved occultic practices in which drugs were used to induce supposed communication with deities, and pharmakeia came to be closely associated with witchcraft and magic. Witchcraft has nothing to do with old women on broom sticks. It is a multi-million dollar business, involving the occult a thriving drug culture.

(iii) The Area of human relationships – leading to defiled relationships with others.
* Hatred is personal hostility to another. Hate may even be a way of life, e.g. racial hatred. It may lie hidden, but eventually surfaces, warping and damaging the person harbouring it.
* Variance/discord. This is quarrelsomeness. The word means “disagreement”. Christians are not required to agree on everything, but differences should not lead to conflict. * Emulations/jealousy is resentment caused by jealousy. It is the desire to have the admiration of others by excelling them.
* Wrath/fits of rage is the sin of the unbridled temper. Like a flash flood this swells up and then subsides. This is not “holy anger”, which is anger with sin. It is often the outward manifestation of inward hatred.
* Strife/selfish ambition. Strife has the idea of wanting office, rather than a desire to serve. It manifests itself in complaining and trouble making. Strife and seditions are musical terms. Like musicians, believers should blend together in harmony. Strife and sedition cause discord.
* Seditions/dissensions. This is standing apart and taking sides resulting in division instead of unity. Dissensions often occur over small issues of doctrine, and blow up to threaten the unity of the group.
* Heresies/factions. The word is from “to choose”, and is the holding of an opinion so strongly that it leads to group separation. Such begins as “seditions,” firmly held ideas over small points of order or law, but matures into “heresy” resulting in separation, as on group splits away to follow its own interpretation.
* Envying is grudging what another possesses. It murdered Abel, sold Joseph, persecuted David, and crucified Christ.
* Murders. Murder can also be a mental sin, as the Lord taught.
* Drunkenness is slavery to alcohol. This may develop into a disease, but it is also a sin.

* Revellings/orgies refers to the orgies and debauchery associated with pagan worship. It includes any unrestrained rowdy behaviour.
* “and such like”. Paul’s list is incomplete. What a terrible world man after the flesh has made.

“They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul is referring to those who live like this, and thus prove that they are not believers. Real Christians may at times fall into such sins, but they do not live in them. They confess and forsake them.

b) The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)
Paul now turns from the works of the flesh to deal with the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is the hallmark of reality. The Lord clearly stated that fruit in the life of the believer is the major indication of salvation. “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Mat 7:16). No fruit indicates no root. More than that, He desires “more fruit” and “much fruit” (Jn 15:8).

Nine representative fruits are listed. In every case the Holy Spirit is the source and the Lord Jesus is the supreme example. They are:

(i) Fruit Results from Inward Power. “Works” results from man’s own energy and activity. “Fruit” suggests the product of the Holy Spirit’s activity.

(ii) Fruit is Common to all Christians. The Spirit always produces some fruit in life of every believer. It may be difficult to see, but it is there. A child of God may do some of the “works of the flesh”, but cannot be habitually active in all of them.

(iii) Fruit Fulfils the Law. These nine qualities divide into three groups and reflect our relationship toward God, toward others, and toward ourselves. They cover the whole ground of the law.

* Love (agape). “The fruit of the Spirit is love.” This is the primary fruit of the Spirit, from which all the others are derived. In 1 Cor 13, the great “love chapter”, all the other 8 manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit can be found. This agape love seeks the highest good of others. It is produced and shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

* Joy (chara) is a deep-seated sense of well-being based on our relationship with God and independent of circumstances. It is this joy of the Lord which is our strength in every situation. It is not something we “work up”, it is something in which we rest. Jesus is the supreme example. Despite misunderstanding and rejection, He never lost His joy in relationship with His Father (Heb 12:2).
* Peace. This is not peace with God, but the peace of God in our hearts. It is tranquillity of heart enjoyed by those who live in harmony with God’s will. It is the deep-seated assurance that allows us to sing at midnight or to sleep in a den of lions. The verb form has to do with binding together and everything in its proper place. This is why Jesus could say, “Let not your heart be troubled” (Jn 14:1). Jesus was the Prince of Peace. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world give I unto you” (Jn 14:27). No wonder that this peace can garrison our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7).
* Longsuffering/patience is self-restraint when others annoy, oppose, and try us. God is “slow to anger” and expects us to be the same.
* Gentleness/kindness is tender concern for others. It is used of God in Titus 3:4 and of the yoke of Christ in Matt 11:30 where it describes a yoke which does not chafe. So Paul was “gentle” among the Thessalonians as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.
* Goodness refers to attitudes of actions that are beneficial to others, but may involve rebuke and correction. Joseph was such a “good” man in the way he dealt with Mary. The Lord’s “goodness and mercy shall follow me…”
* Faith/faithfulness means dependability. Of all the traits listed here, this one is likely the most sought by God, and the one He rewards the most. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Again, it is a reflection of the character of God. “Great is Thy faithfulness.”
* Meekness/gentleness is the opposite of arrogance. Meekness is not weakness. It does not mean being a doormat. It means being teachable and subject to the will of God. This results in inward power. Moses was meek, but lived with an inward strength under control. The Bible tells us to “receive with meekness the engrafted word” (James 1:21). The Psalmist said, “The meek will he guide in judgement: and the meek will he teach his way” (Ps 25:9).
* Temperance/self-control means mastery over one’s desires, impulses, and longings. It enables a person to live in control of himself.

“Against such there is no law.” These virtues fulfill the law. One does not need a law to control a man walking in the Spirit. They are found in perfect balance in the life of Christ and should be manifest in the life of every Christian.

4. CONQUEST (5:24-25)
Two strategic summary statements conclude the section.

a) The Christian’s Position (5:24)
“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

This includes every believer and refers to conversion as the aorist tense indicates. This is not the slow painful process of self-denial and mortification, but faith’s acceptance of what God has accomplished by Christ’s death as emphasized in Romans 6. It is a reminder that the ultimate victory has been won.

b) The Christian’s Power (5:25)
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”.

The word “walk” here is different from the word “walk” in verse 16, and means “to walk in line” or “to keep rank”. We can only do so by submission to the Holy Spirit. That means bringing the outer walk into conformity with the reborn inner natures. That is living in the Spirit, the secret of Christian success.

“RESTORATION AND REAPING”

Galatians 6:1-10

In chapter 5 Paul presented the high ideals of the Christian life. With such privileges and possibilities surely nothing could go wrong! However, practical Paul was a realist who knew that even the best believers stumble and need help to get up again. In verses 1-6 he outlines the attitudes and actions that lead to restoration.

Paul has already spoken about walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit. Now in verses 7-10 he challenges the Galatians to sow to the Spirit and so reap a harvest of eternal life.

1. STUMBLING AND RESTORING (6:1-6)
Sin is a reality in the life of every Christian. “…for in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). If Christians were not subject to sin, they would not need to heed James’ warning about being tempted and carried away by their own lusts, or Paul’s exhortation to put on the Christian’s armour.

Chapter 5:19-21 has solemnly shown us that when a believer sins the effects ripple out to effect not only himself, but also other believers, and even God. That is why sin is serious.

a) It Affects Himself resulting in:
– loss of confidence and inner peace and joy and all the other fruits of the Spirit
– loss of anticipation of Christ’s second coming. The more he sins, the less anxious he will be to meet the Lord. (1 Jn 2:28).
– loss of usefulness. Like unclean vessels we will not be used.
– loss of power in prayer, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps 66:18)

b) It Affects Others
Believers and unbelievers are affected. They are one with him in Christ’s body (1 Cor 12:13). As sin spreads, the unity of Christ’s body is disrupted, and blessing is hindered.

c) It Affects God

Believers grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) when they sin. The Bible is full of examples of how God was affected when His people sin – sorrow, anger, love, judgement. Just because He sometimes remains silent, we should not be deceived into thinking He doesn’t notice.

In verse 1 Paul refers to a brother who has been “overtaken in a fault.” Here is one who has failed to “walk by the Spirit”. Note the features of his failure:

* He is “overtaken,” implying that the brother was surprised and caught off guard by the trespass. Like Peter, he was overwhelmed. Perhaps the power of appetite, the quick temper, or the unjudged pride.

* He has committed a “fault.” This is not so much premeditated sin, as an unintentional blunder. Sin is not limited to deliberate acts of rebellion.

– To the Galatians Paul was saying that they unintentionally stumbled into error. They had been “bewitched” or “hypnotized” by the shrewd Judaizers. Most were not even aware that by walking into the trap of legalism they had so sinned. Their action was sin in that they had offended God, yet it was not premeditated rebellion against Him.

– To ourselves Paul warns us to be constantly on guard. Sin is not limited to deliberate acts of rebellion. It may be flirting with temptation we think we can withstand, or the sudden combination of desire and opportunity that suddenly threatens to overwhelm us.

Those with a heart to help the fallen believer are here challenged to three aspects of restoration.

a) Pick Him Up (6:1)
A brother who stumbles needs help to get up. An integral part of church discipline is thus helping a fallen brother get back on his feet spiritually and morally.

The easiest way to handle the brother is to come down in judgement on him. The better way is to “restore” him. Not everyone is qualified for the difficult and dangerous work of restoration. This work is reserved for the one who is:

(i) A Brother. “Brethren…” The one who has stumbled is not a distant stranger, but a close brother in the same family with the same Father. His failure does not alter these relationships.

(ii) A Spiritual Brother – “ye who are spiritual”, i.e. those whose lives are governed by the Spirit as described in chapter 5. The Holy Spirit will makes us sensitive to sin, and sympathetic to the sinner. The basic work of the Spirit is to make us like Christ, so we will act towards the brother as Christ would have acted. Only “spiritual” believers have the wisdom or right to discipline fellow believers.

(iii) A Concerned Spiritual Brother. “restore such an one…” The word literally means to mend or repair and was used of resetting a dislocated limb. A dislocated limb has to be handled with great care and skill. It is handled in such a way as to minimize the pain and restore the usefulness of the limb in the shortest possible time.

Vine says that the word does not suggest punishment even remotely. There is emphasis on restoration – always the ultimate objective of all church discipline. Assemblies do not have a Dept of Correctional Services. They have those who weep with sensitivity and sympathy as they deal with those who have fallen.

(iv) A Gentle, Concerned Spiritual Brother. “…in the spirit of meekness.” Meekness is not weakness but gentleness (NIV). It is one of the fruits of the Spirit and indicates a deep dependence on God. Such gentleness surrounds the repentant believer with love. He is forgiven and comforted (2 Cor 2:7), and not regarded as an enemy, but admonished as a brother (2 Thes 3:15).

(v) A Humble, Gentle, Concerned, Spiritual Brother. “considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Even spiritual believers can stumble. They are made of the same stuff as those that have fallen. Paul uses a strong word in the present tense, which emphasized a continual, diligent attentiveness to their own purity. Only pure pride says, “It could never happen to me!” When we think that way we have already fallen.

b) Hold Him Up (6:2-5)
Having picked him up, the concerned brother makes sure he can stand. He does this by sharing the stumbled brother’s load. This is done:

(i) Willingly. “Bear ye one another’s burdens” (6:2). We all have burdens to bear. Of course, we are invited to “cast our burden upon the Lord” (Ps 55:22). Nevertheless God has ordered it that we should help each other. As we do so fellowship is strengthened and the burden lightened. Also, we must be humble enough to accept the help of others with our own burdens.

(ii) Lovingly. “…and so fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2). Paul is contrasting the law of Christ and the law of Moses. The law of Moses imposed burdens whey were not able to bear (Acts 15:10). “The law of Christ,” His new commandment (John 13:34), taught them to share burdens out of love one for another. As we do so we will learn to value and care for each other.

(iii) Humbly. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (6:3). This is the person who refuses to help his fallen brother and is too proud to allow others to help him. Only pride says we do not need each other. Note the vivid contrast between “something” and “nothing.” He is big in his own eyes, and would never humble himself to help the fallen or admit that he himself may have a problem. Note Paul does not say we ARE nothing. We are so important that He sacrificed His Son. Nor does it help to cover ourselves with false humility. We are simply not to be self-righteous, and therefore proud. Nowhere is humility more needed than in the realm of restoring the fallen to fellowship with God.

(iv) Openly. “Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (6:4). “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else” (NIV). In contrast to the self-deceived man of verse 3 who thinks himself to be something, we are to test our own work and make sure it is genuine. There are two ways of doing this:

* The Natural way – by comparing oneself with others.
* The Spiritual way – by examining ourselves in the light of God’s Word. This leads to rejoicing in what God has accomplished in us. Paul says, “Let a man examine himself…” and “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.”

(v) Responsibly. “Every man shall bear his own burden” (6:5). In 6:2 “burden” is a crushing weight, too heavy to be carried. In 6:5 we have another word for “burden.” Here it is something light enough to be carried by oneself and refers to our own responsibility towards God now to carry out our own individually assigned task. We thus help others (6:2) to come to the place of strength to carry their own individual responsibilities again (6:5). One case involves a joint effort, the other an individual effort.

c) Build Him Up (6:6)
“Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto (share with) him that teacheth in all good things.”

Paul seems to be saying that the congregations should pay their preachers fairly. But he has just been speaking about restoring sinning brothers, and in verse 7-8 he talks about sowing and reaping in the flesh or by the spirit. No mention is made of financial or material support. “Good things” could include material goods, but that does not seem to be the sense here.

The word for “good things” is used in the N.T. primarily of spiritual entities. Paul uses it in describing the gospel itself, the “glad tidings of good things” (Rom 10:15). As they share and fellowship together in the “good things” of God and the Word, so the brother regains his strength. He is built up.

2. SOWING AND REAPING (6:7-10)
Paul’s natural example of sowing and reaping provides a fitting climax to the epistle.

a) An Absolute Standard
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (6:7).

The Bible teaches that the universe is structured on inexorable laws. It not a result of change or chance, but the design of a sovereign God.

Philosophers sometimes argue that there are no moral absolutes. No laws of cause and effect, no standards. Hemmingway was one such writer who snubbed his nose at morality and at God. He considered the ideas of the Bible to be antiquated and outdated, a hindrance to man’s pleasure and fulfilment. But he proved the folly of mocking God. His debauched life led him into such complete despair that he killed himself with a bullet in his brain.

Other famous authors such as Oscar Wilde, who openly attacked the divine moral standard and mocked God’s Word, were subject to that law. Wilde ended his life an imprisoned homosexual, in shame and disgrace. Near the end of his life he wrote, “I forgot somewhere along the line that what you are in secret you will some day cry aloud from the housetop.”

In every dimension, including the moral and spiritual, God’s laws are absolute. Here in these verse Paul states the agricultural principle that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (6:7). If we sow cabbages, we shall reap cabbages. If we sow sparingly, we shall reap sparingly. If we sow generously we will reap “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together” (Lk 6:38). It is as clear as the law of gravity.

But the principle is just as clear in the moral and spiritual realms. “They that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same” (Job 4:8). A person’s character is the product of seeds planted in his early life. A child brought up to have his own way, will always want his own way.

Neither is the believer exempt from this law. He too will reap the consequences of his sowing. He will never reap the ultimate consequences of sin, i.e. death and judgement, because the Lord has already reaped those consequences for him. But he continues to reap earthly heartaches, wounds, shame, and pain of his sin and foolishness.

b) An Inevitable Result
“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (6:8).

Paul presents a startling contrast between “sow… flesh…corruption,” and “sow…Spirit…life everlasting.” The Christian has only two seeds to sow; “his flesh” and “the Spirit.” Character is always the outcome of choice, and we are ultimately what we determine to be.

(i) Sowing to the flesh
* What we sow. We “sow to the flesh” whenever we surrender to the evil desires of the old nature. This may be something major, like the gross sins of 5:19-21, or the seemingly minor sins of holding a grudge, nourishing a spite, or desiring revenge. Whenever we spend time in the wrong company, read the wrong books, listen to the wrong music, of just live for ourselves, we sow to the flesh. John Stott: “Every time we take a risk that strains our self-control we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh.”

* What we reap. The resultant harvest is one of “corruption.” This is the deterioration of a previously better condition. It was sometimes used of decaying food, which turns from what is beneficial to what is harmful. The deeds of the flesh always do this. Although his trust in Christ saves him from spiritual death, a sinning believer can reap many consequences of his sin.

(ii) Sowing to the Spirit
* What we sow. Paul has earlier spoken of being “led by the Spirit,” of “living in the Spirit,” and “walking in the Spirit.” Here is “sowing to the Spirit.” We “sow to the Spirit” by setting our minds on things above, by witnessing, prayer, reading God’s Word, and attending the gatherings of the assembly.

* What we reap – “eternal life”. This refers more to quality than duration. The believer begins participating in eternal life the moment he trusts Christ. Sowing to the spirit thus produces a harvest of “eternal life” here and now as he enjoys now what God has in store for him throughout eternity.

c) A Delayed Harvest
“And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (6:9).

(i) Discouragement. We must not be discouraged and “weary” just because the problems increase and there is no visible fruit. How easy it is to “be weary” and “faint” and just give up! The writer to the Hebrews warned, “lest you be wearied and faint in your minds” (12:3). That’s where we give up – in our minds! We are never beaten until we decide we are beaten.
(ii) Determination. God’s promise is that “in due season we shall reap.” Paul is not speaking here about salvation, but about blessing. The reaping is both in this life and that which is to come. He is also saying that it is possible to serve God for a long time, and then to give up and lose the blessing here and the reward in glory.

d) A Passing Opportunity
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
(6:10).

(i) A Chance. “Opportunity” refers to a fixed space of time. The phrase” “while we have” does not refer to occasional opportunities that may arise in a believer’s life. Instead his whole life is his unique but limited “opportunity” to serve others in the Lord’s name.

(ii) A Challenge. “…let us do good.” “Good” has a definite article in front of it in the Greek. It is “the good” which is a fruit of the Spirit. It is not just limited to physical and temporal things. It is the internal goodness produced by the Spirit in the hearts of obedience believers, which then finds expression in external goodness spoken by his mouth and performed by his hands.

(iii) A Concern. Although directed to “all men,” the special sphere which concerns us is “the household of faith.” This includes all believers. We are to love the world, even our enemy, but not like we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. When believers become legalistic, they become judges of one another, instead of those who love and care. Now that the Galatians have heard Paul’s message, they need to treat each other as the Lord treats them. God loves the sinner, but not like He loves His own children.

“FORBID IT, LORD, THAT I SHOULD BOAST…”

Galatians 6:11-18

Paul’s concluding remarks put the whole epistle into perspective. He has carefully divided between true and false doctrine, and shown the practical fruit of both. Now in these final verses he shows that the dividing line between the two is cross of Christ.

The false teachers stuck to their doctrine in order to avoid “persecution for the cross of Christ” (6:12). For Paul, on the other hand, there could be no more glorious theme. Like him, we owe everything to “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14). Our only appropriate response is captured in Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn,

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the cross of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

1. GLORYING IN THE FLESH (6:11-13)

a) The Apostle’s True Motives (6:11)
“Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.”

This verse is a window into the heart of Paul. In those days a scribe, or an amanuensis, was employed to actually write the letter. The author would merely add a few personal comments at the end and sign it.

Paul, however, wrote his own letter to the Galatians, and did so “in large letters…with mine own hand.” He used large letters or characters, likely on account of some eye problem. He has already hinted at this, “For I bear you record , that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me” (4:15). The Galatian matter was so urgent, that it could not wait till a scribe was available. Small neat writing by someone with good eyesight was the least of his problems!

b) The Teachers’ False Motives (6:12-13)

Most of the letter is spent condemning the false teachings of the Judaizers. He now makes it clear that the false teaching is based on false motives:

(i) Pride. “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised” (6:12).

They desired “to make a fair show in the flesh.” Unconcerned about impressing God with inward holiness, they only worried about impressing men by an outward show.

We are perhaps unlikely to be tempted in exactly the same direction as the Galatians, to rely on liturgies, rituals, etc. But it is good for our egos to have the attention of others, just like these Judaizers.

In us all the desire to “make a good impression” (NIV) is very strong. When we submit to it we stand with the Pharisees of old who loved to practise their righteousness before men. They gave, they prayed, they fasted, and were thoroughly proud of their upright lives. Of them all he said, “They have their reward.”

(ii) Cowardice. They were concerned “lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ” (6:12). They hoped to blunt criticism by accommodating all the “popular” doctrines of circumcision, law keeping, etc. The message of the cross cut across all these, and was rejected by both Jews, to whom it was a stumbling block, and Greeks, to whom it was mere foolishness. Safety, not salvation, was uppermost in their minds.

(iii) Hypocrisy. “For neither they who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh” (6:13). The Judaizers did not even try to keep the Mosaic law, much less live by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were not even honest Jews, let alone honest Christians! This was pure hypocrisy. They wanted only to “glory” in the large numbers of conversions and thus appear more zealous for God. It took away attention from their own failings and called attention to those of others.

Sadly, it is still possible to be active in the church, yet morally and spiritually corrupt. Nowhere is hypocrisy easier and more effective than in the Lord’s work. Paul warned in 2 Tim 3:1-5 that in the last days there shall appear those who have a form of godliness, although they have denied the power.

2. GLORYING IN THE CROSS (6:14-18)
In contrast to the false teachers, Paul in verses 14-17 gives four reasons for glorying in the cross of Christ. In it he found:

a) New Liberty (6:14)
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

The Judaizers may glory in their circumcised converts; Paul can only glory in the cross. What is “the cross”? It is not some wooden relic. Nor is it an ornament on a church steeple or on a chain around the neck. Neither is some unpleasant burden we have to bear. “The cross” here includes all that is involved in the crucifixion of the Lord. It is the measure of man’s hatred and God’s love. It is the entire work of redemption which was rooted in Calvary. “The cross” was not just central to Paul’s doctrine; it was central to his life. Nothing else mattered.

On the South Coast of China, on a hill overlooking the harbour of Macao, Portuguese settles built a massive cathedral. It was later wrecked by a typhoon, and all that remained was the high front wall topped by a great bronze cross. In 1825 Sin John Bowring was shipwrecked near that place. Clinging to the wreckage of his ship, he at last caught sight of the great cross which showed him the place of safety. This dramatic rescue moved him to write the words:

In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gather round its head sublime

This verse has three crucifixions:

(i) The Crucifixion of Christ. Note the full expression, “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The cross” speaks of atonement, His work. “The Lord Jesus Christ” brings out the fullness of His person and worth.

– He is “Lord” of all.
– As “Jesus” He is Saviour.
– As “Christ” He is God’s anointed.
– “Our” indicates our relationship with Him.

(ii) The Crucifixion of the World. “By whom the world has been crucified unto me.” Paul exults in the power of the cross to free him from bondage to “the world” system of evil. (Remember John’s definition of “the world” in 1 John 2:16).

The “world” translates kosmos. In the NT, this refers to the order of the world system, including its religions, ruled by Satan and his agents. Our word “cosmetic” is derived from kosmos, having the idea of covering up disorder with something that brings order. One way or another, every unbeliever is in bondage to the futilities and frustrations of “the world.”

This does not mean that the world has no more influence over the believer. It does, as we know only too well. But its dominion is broken and he is no longer in total bondage to it, even though it can still touch him with its corruption.

F.F. Bruce says the cross formed a “permanent barrier” between the world and Paul. There is a play on the two senses of the Greek word stauroo here. It can mean “to crucify,” but can also mean “to erect a fence.” There is no doubt that the cross creates a dividing line between the believer and the world.

The thrust of this is that Christ’s cross means absolute separation from the world that rejected Him. It is to us what the Red Sea was to the Israelites. It separated them for ever from Egypt. Egypt was “crucified” to them, and had no further power over them. This is also the meaning and declaration of Christian baptism.

(iii) The Crucifixion of Self. “…and I unto the world.” The Christian has no more compelling interest in the things of the world, even though he still falls prey to its influence. Just as they have become dead to him, so he becomes dead to them. It makes no sense to associate with a corpse. There was nothing in it that attracted him. It produced nothing in which he could boast. Only Christ satisfied his heart and held his love.

A famous Christian Judge, Richard Hill, was once asked the following questions:

* “Is Christ and His cross between you and the coming judgement of God?” “Yes,” he replied, “for I have passed from death unto life.”
* “Is Christ and His cross between you and your sins?” “Yes, for Christ died for my sins.”

* “Is Christ and His cross between you and the world?” The judge hesitated and replied, “I hope so, for He died to deliver us from this present evil world.
* Final question. “Is Christ and His cross between you and Richard Hill?” “I fear I cannot go that far. I shall have to think about that and answer it to God.”

b) New Life (6:15)
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

This is an important summary statement. Circumcision marked the Jew; uncircumcision marked the Gentile. Together they represented the world systems of religion with legalistic Judaism on one hand, and all the countless forms of cults and paganism on the other. All these systems rely on the flesh. None is of any value for salvation.

What was necessary was to become a “new creature” in Christ. A mark from without meant nothing. But a work of God within meant everything. That is why a highly moral and religious man like Nicodemus was told to be born again.

c) New Law (6:16)
“And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”

For those who “walk according to this rule” i.e. those who become “a new creature” in Christ, there is salvation. When we live by this law of the new life in Christ we have:

(i) “Peace” which flows from our new relationship with God and from fellowship with Christ.

(ii) “Mercy” which tells of God’s attitude towards us and of the ministry of our Great High Priest.

“The Israel of God.” Paul has earlier shown that the blessing of Abraham rested on all who “are of faith” (3:9), and that all who belong to Christ are the true “seed of Abraham” (3:29). In the light of this the better translation is as in NIV, “even to the Israel of God.” The true Israel is composed of those who are new creatures in Christ.

d) New Loyalty (6:17)
“From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul compares the doctrine of those who mark other people’s bodies at no cost to themselves with the true marks on his own body, sustained out of loyalty to Christ. These “marks of the Lord Jesus” are all the sufferings he bore and endured as he preached the Gospel. Paul had been well marked; beaten, stoned, persecuted. At Lystra he was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. Perhaps some of the Galatian believers had looked on as he received some of those “brand-marks” on his body.

Like the servant of Exodus 20 whose ear was permanently marked on account of love and loyalty to his master, Paul willingly bore these brand-marks in his body for the sake of Christ.

When we get to heaven God is not going to look us over for medals men have given us, but for “marks.” Many dear believers bear marks for the sake of Christ. These may not necessarily be physical. They may be marks of loneliness, sorrow, or sacrifice, which lie hidden in the heart, visible only to our Great High Priest.

Have you no scar? –
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear you sung as mighty in the land:
I hear men hail your bright ascendant star:
Have you no scar?

No wound, no scar! –
Yet, as the Master, shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me,
But yours are whole, Can he have followed far
Who has no wound or scar?

Note what Paul says about the meaning of these marks. Paul did not consider them marks of personal persecution. They were “the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Every blow Paul received was a blow against Him. Whenever a Christian is persecuted, it is really the Lord Jesus who is being persecuted through him. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Because Satan and his world system can no longer afflict Christ directly, they do so through the church, His body.

CONCLUSION
“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen”

Just as Paul opened his epistle with “grace” (1:3), so now he now closes with the same theme. The Gospel of the grace of God has been his major theme, and it is fitting that the whole epistle is bracketed with this beautiful Christian word “grace.”

“THE WORKS OF THE FLESH & THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT”

Galatians 5:16-26

Paul now shows that Christian liberty is expressed in a life under the control of the Holy Spirit. The focus is on fruitfulness. In these verses the Holy Spirit is mentioned seven times.

This profoundly practical section highlights the two natures of the believer. The old corrupt nature is governed by “the flesh”, and results in “the works of the flesh.” The new nature is received at conversion and, being governed by the Holy Spirit, results in “the fruit of the Spirit.”

These two natures constantly collide with each other, and remain side by side until the redemption of the body at Christ’s coming. The common ground of this conflict is the will, which in turn activates the body, resulting in either works of the flesh or fruit of the Spirit.

1. THE COMMAND (5:16)
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

The reception of the Holy Spirit at conversion is guarantee of salvation, but not of sanctification. The desires and cravings of the flesh remain with us and mastering them can be a frustrating experience. This occurs as we “walk in the Spirit” and allow Him to have control in our lives. It is not so much a crisis as a continuum of on-going experience involving obedience to God’s Word and God Spirit day by day.

This walk has two aspects:

a) Active Determination
The N.T. is full of militant terms and commands indicating the need for effort and commitment. There is a fight to be fought and the believer cannot sit as a passive spectator on the side lines.

b) Passive Submission
Determination and decision by themselves are not enough. Winding up our wills to win the fight will only lead to frustration and failure. The secret of success in this conflict is to “walk in the Spirit.”

This exhortation is in the present tense (indicating a habitual action) and the imperative mood. It involves staying close to God, doing His will, studying His Word. As we do so, we become “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph 3:16).

2. THE CONFLICT (5:17-18)
The Spirit-led life is a life of constant conflict between the old nature of the flesh and the new nature of the Spirit.

a) The Antagonism (5:17)
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

This verse teaches three things about this conflict:

(i) It leads to frustration. Even Paul exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” He had learned to admit, “For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.”

(ii) Defeat is not inevitable. Because of this conflict we find we “may not do the things that ye would.” It is not that we “cannot” do them, but that we “may not” do them. The Spirit enables us to do them, but the flesh desires and demands the opposite.

(iii) The unsaved person has no conflict. He has no spiritual warfare as he has no spiritual nature. He may regret his actions because of guilt or the consequences. Thus the fact of a conflict is evidence in itself of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

b) The Answer (5:18)
“ But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Although the Christian life is warfare, victory is always possible as the believer and is “led by the Spirit.” This expression is often used in relation to worship, prayer, or ministry, but primarily it refers to the experience of His control in every sphere of life.

3. THE CONTRAST (5:19-23)

Paul now contrasts the “works” produced by the flesh with the “fruit” produced by the Spirit. The vices of the first are called “works of the flesh”, and are ugly results of our carnal nature. The virtues of the second are entitled “fruit of the Spirit”, and are the beautiful results of a life lived under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“Works” are accomplished by effort and toil, and result in weariness and frustration. Bearing “fruit” involves no work. It results from just yielding and receiving, God’s resources.

a) The Works of the Flesh (5:19-21)
“The works of the flesh” reflect the sinful desires of man’s unregenerate nature. Jesus clearly stated that man’s basic problem is not what is outside of him but what is inside, and then quoted a list of things which proceed from the heart of man (Mk 7;20-23). Jesus’ list is much like Paul’s. Both passages teach that evils originate from within man himself. They cannot be blamed on Satan or on the world outside.

Paul details 17 activities of the flesh. They broadly have to do with the realms of sex, religion, and human relationships.

Most translations omit “adultery” and “murder”.

(i) The area of Sex – leading to self-defilement.
* Adultery. Illicit sexual liaisons in marriage.
* Fornication/immorality. This is from porneia from which we get pornography. The broadly includes all illicit sexual activity.
* Uncleanness/impurity. This means “unclean” and was used medically to refer to an infected oozing wound. It is that which is impure and unclean. It refers more to thoughts rather than the acts. Sometimes these thoughts even come when we are praying. We cannot help them coming into our mind, but can help indulging in them.
* Lasciviousness/debauchery. Any area where there is lack of restraint, but especially to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame or concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected). When unclean thoughts control us, it is called “lasciviousness.” This type of self-indulgence leads to slavery.

(ii) The Area of Religion – leading to defilement in relationship to God.
* Idolatry is anything that takes the place of God, and includes sport, money and entertainment. None of these things is evil in itself, it can take priority in a persons life and become an idol.

* Sorcery/witchcraft is dealing with the dead. The word translates pharmakeia, from which we get pharmacy. It was originally used of medicines in general, but came to be used for mood and mind-altering drugs similar to those that create so much havoc in our own day. Many ancient religious ceremonies involved occultic practices in which drugs were used to induce supposed communication with deities, and pharmakeia came to be closely associated with witchcraft and magic. Witchcraft has nothing to do with old women on broom sticks. It is a multi-million dollar business, involving the occult a thriving drug culture.

(iii) The Area of human relationships – leading to defiled relationships with others.
* Hatred is personal hostility to another. Hate may even be a way of life, e.g. racial hatred. It may lie hidden, but eventually surfaces, warping and damaging the person harbouring it.
* Variance/discord. This is quarrelsomeness. The word means “disagreement”. Christians are not required to agree on everything, but differences should not lead to conflict. * Emulations/jealousy is resentment caused by jealousy. It is the desire to have the admiration of others by excelling them.
* Wrath/fits of rage is the sin of the unbridled temper. Like a flash flood this swells up and then subsides. This is not “holy anger”, which is anger with sin. It is often the outward manifestation of inward hatred.
* Strife/selfish ambition. Strife has the idea of wanting office, rather than a desire to serve. It manifests itself in complaining and trouble making. Strife and seditions are musical terms. Like musicians, believers should blend together in harmony. Strife and sedition cause discord.
* Seditions/dissensions. This is standing apart and taking sides resulting in division instead of unity. Dissensions often occur over small issues of doctrine, and blow up to threaten the unity of the group.
* Heresies/factions. The word is from “to choose”, and is the holding of an opinion so strongly that it leads to group separation. Such begins as “seditions,” firmly held ideas over small points of order or law, but matures into “heresy” resulting in separation, as on group splits away to follow its own interpretation.
* Envying is grudging what another possesses. It murdered Abel, sold Joseph, persecuted David, and crucified Christ.
* Murders. Murder can also be a mental sin, as the Lord taught.
* Drunkenness is slavery to alcohol. This may develop into a disease, but it is also a sin.

* Revellings/orgies refers to the orgies and debauchery associated with pagan worship. It includes any unrestrained rowdy behaviour.
* “and such like”. Paul’s list is incomplete. What a terrible world man after the flesh has made.

“They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul is referring to those who live like this, and thus prove that they are not believers. Real Christians may at times fall into such sins, but they do not live in them. They confess and forsake them.

b) The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)
Paul now turns from the works of the flesh to deal with the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is the hallmark of reality. The Lord clearly stated that fruit in the life of the believer is the major indication of salvation. “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Mat 7:16). No fruit indicates no root. More than that, He desires “more fruit” and “much fruit” (Jn 15:8).

Nine representative fruits are listed. In every case the Holy Spirit is the source and the Lord Jesus is the supreme example. They are:

(i) Fruit Results from Inward Power. “Works” results from man’s own energy and activity. “Fruit” suggests the product of the Holy Spirit’s activity.

(ii) Fruit is Common to all Christians. The Spirit always produces some fruit in life of every believer. It may be difficult to see, but it is there. A child of God may do some of the “works of the flesh”, but cannot be habitually active in all of them.

(iii) Fruit Fulfils the Law. These nine qualities divide into three groups and reflect our relationship toward God, toward others, and toward ourselves. They cover the whole ground of the law.

* Love (agape). “The fruit of the Spirit is love.” This is the primary fruit of the Spirit, from which all the others are derived. In 1 Cor 13, the great “love chapter”, all the other 8 manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit can be found. This agape love seeks the highest good of others. It is produced and shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

* Joy (chara) is a deep-seated sense of well-being based on our relationship with God and independent of circumstances. It is this joy of the Lord which is our strength in every situation. It is not something we “work up”, it is something in which we rest. Jesus is the supreme example. Despite misunderstanding and rejection, He never lost His joy in relationship with His Father (Heb 12:2).
* Peace. This is not peace with God, but the peace of God in our hearts. It is tranquillity of heart enjoyed by those who live in harmony with God’s will. It is the deep-seated assurance that allows us to sing at midnight or to sleep in a den of lions. The verb form has to do with binding together and everything in its proper place. This is why Jesus could say, “Let not your heart be troubled” (Jn 14:1). Jesus was the Prince of Peace. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world give I unto you” (Jn 14:27). No wonder that this peace can garrison our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7).
* Longsuffering/patience is self-restraint when others annoy, oppose, and try us. God is “slow to anger” and expects us to be the same.
* Gentleness/kindness is tender concern for others. It is used of God in Titus 3:4 and of the yoke of Christ in Matt 11:30 where it describes a yoke which does not chafe. So Paul was “gentle” among the Thessalonians as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.
* Goodness refers to attitudes of actions that are beneficial to others, but may involve rebuke and correction. Joseph was such a “good” man in the way he dealt with Mary. The Lord’s “goodness and mercy shall follow me…”
* Faith/faithfulness means dependability. Of all the traits listed here, this one is likely the most sought by God, and the one He rewards the most. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Again, it is a reflection of the character of God. “Great is Thy faithfulness.”
* Meekness/gentleness is the opposite of arrogance. Meekness is not weakness. It does not mean being a doormat. It means being teachable and subject to the will of God. This results in inward power. Moses was meek, but lived with an inward strength under control. The Bible tells us to “receive with meekness the engrafted word” (James 1:21). The Psalmist said, “The meek will he guide in judgement: and the meek will he teach his way” (Ps 25:9).
* Temperance/self-control means mastery over one’s desires, impulses, and longings. It enables a person to live in control of himself.

“Against such there is no law.” These virtues fulfill the law. One does not need a law to control a man walking in the Spirit. They are found in perfect balance in the life of Christ and should be manifest in the life of every Christian.

4. CONQUEST (5:24-25)
Two strategic summary statements conclude the section.

a) The Christian’s Position (5:24)
“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

This includes every believer and refers to conversion as the aorist tense indicates. This is not the slow painful process of self-denial and mortification, but faith’s acceptance of what God has accomplished by Christ’s death as emphasized in Romans 6. It is a reminder that the ultimate victory has been won.

b) The Christian’s Power (5:25)
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”.

The word “walk” here is different from the word “walk” in verse 16, and means “to walk in line” or “to keep rank”. We can only do so by submission to the Holy Spirit. That means bringing the outer walk into conformity with the reborn inner natures. That is living in the Spirit, the secret of Christian success.

“RESTORATION AND REAPING”

Galatians 6:1-10

In chapter 5 Paul presented the high ideals of the Christian life. With such privileges and possibilities surely nothing could go wrong! However, practical Paul was a realist who knew that even the best believers stumble and need help to get up again. In verses 1-6 he outlines the attitudes and actions that lead to restoration.

Paul has already spoken about walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit. Now in verses 7-10 he challenges the Galatians to sow to the Spirit and so reap a harvest of eternal life.

1. STUMBLING AND RESTORING (6:1-6)
Sin is a reality in the life of every Christian. “…for in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). If Christians were not subject to sin, they would not need to heed James’ warning about being tempted and carried away by their own lusts, or Paul’s exhortation to put on the Christian’s armour.

Chapter 5:19-21 has solemnly shown us that when a believer sins the effects ripple out to effect not only himself, but also other believers, and even God. That is why sin is serious.

a) It Affects Himself resulting in:
– loss of confidence and inner peace and joy and all the other fruits of the Spirit
– loss of anticipation of Christ’s second coming. The more he sins, the less anxious he will be to meet the Lord. (1 Jn 2:28).
– loss of usefulness. Like unclean vessels we will not be used.
– loss of power in prayer, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps 66:18)

b) It Affects Others
Believers and unbelievers are affected. They are one with him in Christ’s body (1 Cor 12:13). As sin spreads, the unity of Christ’s body is disrupted, and blessing is hindered.

c) It Affects God

Believers grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) when they sin. The Bible is full of examples of how God was affected when His people sin – sorrow, anger, love, judgement. Just because He sometimes remains silent, we should not be deceived into thinking He doesn’t notice.

In verse 1 Paul refers to a brother who has been “overtaken in a fault.” Here is one who has failed to “walk by the Spirit”. Note the features of his failure:

* He is “overtaken,” implying that the brother was surprised and caught off guard by the trespass. Like Peter, he was overwhelmed. Perhaps the power of appetite, the quick temper, or the unjudged pride.

* He has committed a “fault.” This is not so much premeditated sin, as an unintentional blunder. Sin is not limited to deliberate acts of rebellion.

– To the Galatians Paul was saying that they unintentionally stumbled into error. They had been “bewitched” or “hypnotized” by the shrewd Judaizers. Most were not even aware that by walking into the trap of legalism they had so sinned. Their action was sin in that they had offended God, yet it was not premeditated rebellion against Him.

– To ourselves Paul warns us to be constantly on guard. Sin is not limited to deliberate acts of rebellion. It may be flirting with temptation we think we can withstand, or the sudden combination of desire and opportunity that suddenly threatens to overwhelm us.

Those with a heart to help the fallen believer are here challenged to three aspects of restoration.

a) Pick Him Up (6:1)
A brother who stumbles needs help to get up. An integral part of church discipline is thus helping a fallen brother get back on his feet spiritually and morally.

The easiest way to handle the brother is to come down in judgement on him. The better way is to “restore” him. Not everyone is qualified for the difficult and dangerous work of restoration. This work is reserved for the one who is:

(i) A Brother. “Brethren…” The one who has stumbled is not a distant stranger, but a close brother in the same family with the same Father. His failure does not alter these relationships.

(ii) A Spiritual Brother – “ye who are spiritual”, i.e. those whose lives are governed by the Spirit as described in chapter 5. The Holy Spirit will makes us sensitive to sin, and sympathetic to the sinner. The basic work of the Spirit is to make us like Christ, so we will act towards the brother as Christ would have acted. Only “spiritual” believers have the wisdom or right to discipline fellow believers.

(iii) A Concerned Spiritual Brother. “restore such an one…” The word literally means to mend or repair and was used of resetting a dislocated limb. A dislocated limb has to be handled with great care and skill. It is handled in such a way as to minimize the pain and restore the usefulness of the limb in the shortest possible time.

Vine says that the word does not suggest punishment even remotely. There is emphasis on restoration – always the ultimate objective of all church discipline. Assemblies do not have a Dept of Correctional Services. They have those who weep with sensitivity and sympathy as they deal with those who have fallen.

(iv) A Gentle, Concerned Spiritual Brother. “…in the spirit of meekness.” Meekness is not weakness but gentleness (NIV). It is one of the fruits of the Spirit and indicates a deep dependence on God. Such gentleness surrounds the repentant believer with love. He is forgiven and comforted (2 Cor 2:7), and not regarded as an enemy, but admonished as a brother (2 Thes 3:15).

(v) A Humble, Gentle, Concerned, Spiritual Brother. “considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Even spiritual believers can stumble. They are made of the same stuff as those that have fallen. Paul uses a strong word in the present tense, which emphasized a continual, diligent attentiveness to their own purity. Only pure pride says, “It could never happen to me!” When we think that way we have already fallen.

b) Hold Him Up (6:2-5)
Having picked him up, the concerned brother makes sure he can stand. He does this by sharing the stumbled brother’s load. This is done:

(i) Willingly. “Bear ye one another’s burdens” (6:2). We all have burdens to bear. Of course, we are invited to “cast our burden upon the Lord” (Ps 55:22). Nevertheless God has ordered it that we should help each other. As we do so fellowship is strengthened and the burden lightened. Also, we must be humble enough to accept the help of others with our own burdens.

(ii) Lovingly. “…and so fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2). Paul is contrasting the law of Christ and the law of Moses. The law of Moses imposed burdens whey were not able to bear (Acts 15:10). “The law of Christ,” His new commandment (John 13:34), taught them to share burdens out of love one for another. As we do so we will learn to value and care for each other.

(iii) Humbly. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (6:3). This is the person who refuses to help his fallen brother and is too proud to allow others to help him. Only pride says we do not need each other. Note the vivid contrast between “something” and “nothing.” He is big in his own eyes, and would never humble himself to help the fallen or admit that he himself may have a problem. Note Paul does not say we ARE nothing. We are so important that He sacrificed His Son. Nor does it help to cover ourselves with false humility. We are simply not to be self-righteous, and therefore proud. Nowhere is humility more needed than in the realm of restoring the fallen to fellowship with God.

(iv) Openly. “Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (6:4). “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else” (NIV). In contrast to the self-deceived man of verse 3 who thinks himself to be something, we are to test our own work and make sure it is genuine. There are two ways of doing this:

* The Natural way – by comparing oneself with others.
* The Spiritual way – by examining ourselves in the light of God’s Word. This leads to rejoicing in what God has accomplished in us. Paul says, “Let a man examine himself…” and “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.”

(v) Responsibly. “Every man shall bear his own burden” (6:5). In 6:2 “burden” is a crushing weight, too heavy to be carried. In 6:5 we have another word for “burden.” Here it is something light enough to be carried by oneself and refers to our own responsibility towards God now to carry out our own individually assigned task. We thus help others (6:2) to come to the place of strength to carry their own individual responsibilities again (6:5). One case involves a joint effort, the other an individual effort.

c) Build Him Up (6:6)
“Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto (share with) him that teacheth in all good things.”

Paul seems to be saying that the congregations should pay their preachers fairly. But he has just been speaking about restoring sinning brothers, and in verse 7-8 he talks about sowing and reaping in the flesh or by the spirit. No mention is made of financial or material support. “Good things” could include material goods, but that does not seem to be the sense here.

The word for “good things” is used in the N.T. primarily of spiritual entities. Paul uses it in describing the gospel itself, the “glad tidings of good things” (Rom 10:15). As they share and fellowship together in the “good things” of God and the Word, so the brother regains his strength. He is built up.

2. SOWING AND REAPING (6:7-10)
Paul’s natural example of sowing and reaping provides a fitting climax to the epistle.

a) An Absolute Standard
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (6:7).

The Bible teaches that the universe is structured on inexorable laws. It not a result of change or chance, but the design of a sovereign God.

Philosophers sometimes argue that there are no moral absolutes. No laws of cause and effect, no standards. Hemmingway was one such writer who snubbed his nose at morality and at God. He considered the ideas of the Bible to be antiquated and outdated, a hindrance to man’s pleasure and fulfilment. But he proved the folly of mocking God. His debauched life led him into such complete despair that he killed himself with a bullet in his brain.

Other famous authors such as Oscar Wilde, who openly attacked the divine moral standard and mocked God’s Word, were subject to that law. Wilde ended his life an imprisoned homosexual, in shame and disgrace. Near the end of his life he wrote, “I forgot somewhere along the line that what you are in secret you will some day cry aloud from the housetop.”

In every dimension, including the moral and spiritual, God’s laws are absolute. Here in these verse Paul states the agricultural principle that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (6:7). If we sow cabbages, we shall reap cabbages. If we sow sparingly, we shall reap sparingly. If we sow generously we will reap “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together” (Lk 6:38). It is as clear as the law of gravity.

But the principle is just as clear in the moral and spiritual realms. “They that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same” (Job 4:8). A person’s character is the product of seeds planted in his early life. A child brought up to have his own way, will always want his own way.

Neither is the believer exempt from this law. He too will reap the consequences of his sowing. He will never reap the ultimate consequences of sin, i.e. death and judgement, because the Lord has already reaped those consequences for him. But he continues to reap earthly heartaches, wounds, shame, and pain of his sin and foolishness.

b) An Inevitable Result
“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (6:8).

Paul presents a startling contrast between “sow… flesh…corruption,” and “sow…Spirit…life everlasting.” The Christian has only two seeds to sow; “his flesh” and “the Spirit.” Character is always the outcome of choice, and we are ultimately what we determine to be.

(i) Sowing to the flesh
* What we sow. We “sow to the flesh” whenever we surrender to the evil desires of the old nature. This may be something major, like the gross sins of 5:19-21, or the seemingly minor sins of holding a grudge, nourishing a spite, or desiring revenge. Whenever we spend time in the wrong company, read the wrong books, listen to the wrong music, of just live for ourselves, we sow to the flesh. John Stott: “Every time we take a risk that strains our self-control we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh.”

* What we reap. The resultant harvest is one of “corruption.” This is the deterioration of a previously better condition. It was sometimes used of decaying food, which turns from what is beneficial to what is harmful. The deeds of the flesh always do this. Although his trust in Christ saves him from spiritual death, a sinning believer can reap many consequences of his sin.

(ii) Sowing to the Spirit
* What we sow. Paul has earlier spoken of being “led by the Spirit,” of “living in the Spirit,” and “walking in the Spirit.” Here is “sowing to the Spirit.” We “sow to the Spirit” by setting our minds on things above, by witnessing, prayer, reading God’s Word, and attending the gatherings of the assembly.

* What we reap – “eternal life”. This refers more to quality than duration. The believer begins participating in eternal life the moment he trusts Christ. Sowing to the spirit thus produces a harvest of “eternal life” here and now as he enjoys now what God has in store for him throughout eternity.

c) A Delayed Harvest
“And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (6:9).

(i) Discouragement. We must not be discouraged and “weary” just because the problems increase and there is no visible fruit. How easy it is to “be weary” and “faint” and just give up! The writer to the Hebrews warned, “lest you be wearied and faint in your minds” (12:3). That’s where we give up – in our minds! We are never beaten until we decide we are beaten.
(ii) Determination. God’s promise is that “in due season we shall reap.” Paul is not speaking here about salvation, but about blessing. The reaping is both in this life and that which is to come. He is also saying that it is possible to serve God for a long time, and then to give up and lose the blessing here and the reward in glory.

d) A Passing Opportunity
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
(6:10).

(i) A Chance. “Opportunity” refers to a fixed space of time. The phrase” “while we have” does not refer to occasional opportunities that may arise in a believer’s life. Instead his whole life is his unique but limited “opportunity” to serve others in the Lord’s name.

(ii) A Challenge. “…let us do good.” “Good” has a definite article in front of it in the Greek. It is “the good” which is a fruit of the Spirit. It is not just limited to physical and temporal things. It is the internal goodness produced by the Spirit in the hearts of obedience believers, which then finds expression in external goodness spoken by his mouth and performed by his hands.

(iii) A Concern. Although directed to “all men,” the special sphere which concerns us is “the household of faith.” This includes all believers. We are to love the world, even our enemy, but not like we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. When believers become legalistic, they become judges of one another, instead of those who love and care. Now that the Galatians have heard Paul’s message, they need to treat each other as the Lord treats them. God loves the sinner, but not like He loves His own children.

“FORBID IT, LORD, THAT I SHOULD BOAST…”

Galatians 6:11-18

Paul’s concluding remarks put the whole epistle into perspective. He has carefully divided between true and false doctrine, and shown the practical fruit of both. Now in these final verses he shows that the dividing line between the two is cross of Christ.

The false teachers stuck to their doctrine in order to avoid “persecution for the cross of Christ” (6:12). For Paul, on the other hand, there could be no more glorious theme. Like him, we owe everything to “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14). Our only appropriate response is captured in Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn,

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the cross of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

1. GLORYING IN THE FLESH (6:11-13)

a) The Apostle’s True Motives (6:11)
“Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.”

This verse is a window into the heart of Paul. In those days a scribe, or an amanuensis, was employed to actually write the letter. The author would merely add a few personal comments at the end and sign it.

Paul, however, wrote his own letter to the Galatians, and did so “in large letters…with mine own hand.” He used large letters or characters, likely on account of some eye problem. He has already hinted at this, “For I bear you record , that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me” (4:15). The Galatian matter was so urgent, that it could not wait till a scribe was available. Small neat writing by someone with good eyesight was the least of his problems!

b) The Teachers’ False Motives (6:12-13)

Most of the letter is spent condemning the false teachings of the Judaizers. He now makes it clear that the false teaching is based on false motives:

(i) Pride. “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised” (6:12).

They desired “to make a fair show in the flesh.” Unconcerned about impressing God with inward holiness, they only worried about impressing men by an outward show.

We are perhaps unlikely to be tempted in exactly the same direction as the Galatians, to rely on liturgies, rituals, etc. But it is good for our egos to have the attention of others, just like these Judaizers.

In us all the desire to “make a good impression” (NIV) is very strong. When we submit to it we stand with the Pharisees of old who loved to practise their righteousness before men. They gave, they prayed, they fasted, and were thoroughly proud of their upright lives. Of them all he said, “They have their reward.”

(ii) Cowardice. They were concerned “lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ” (6:12). They hoped to blunt criticism by accommodating all the “popular” doctrines of circumcision, law keeping, etc. The message of the cross cut across all these, and was rejected by both Jews, to whom it was a stumbling block, and Greeks, to whom it was mere foolishness. Safety, not salvation, was uppermost in their minds.

(iii) Hypocrisy. “For neither they who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh” (6:13). The Judaizers did not even try to keep the Mosaic law, much less live by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were not even honest Jews, let alone honest Christians! This was pure hypocrisy. They wanted only to “glory” in the large numbers of conversions and thus appear more zealous for God. It took away attention from their own failings and called attention to those of others.

Sadly, it is still possible to be active in the church, yet morally and spiritually corrupt. Nowhere is hypocrisy easier and more effective than in the Lord’s work. Paul warned in 2 Tim 3:1-5 that in the last days there shall appear those who have a form of godliness, although they have denied the power.

2. GLORYING IN THE CROSS (6:14-18)
In contrast to the false teachers, Paul in verses 14-17 gives four reasons for glorying in the cross of Christ. In it he found:

a) New Liberty (6:14)
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

The Judaizers may glory in their circumcised converts; Paul can only glory in the cross. What is “the cross”? It is not some wooden relic. Nor is it an ornament on a church steeple or on a chain around the neck. Neither is some unpleasant burden we have to bear. “The cross” here includes all that is involved in the crucifixion of the Lord. It is the measure of man’s hatred and God’s love. It is the entire work of redemption which was rooted in Calvary. “The cross” was not just central to Paul’s doctrine; it was central to his life. Nothing else mattered.

On the South Coast of China, on a hill overlooking the harbour of Macao, Portuguese settles built a massive cathedral. It was later wrecked by a typhoon, and all that remained was the high front wall topped by a great bronze cross. In 1825 Sin John Bowring was shipwrecked near that place. Clinging to the wreckage of his ship, he at last caught sight of the great cross which showed him the place of safety. This dramatic rescue moved him to write the words:

In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gather round its head sublime

This verse has three crucifixions:

(i) The Crucifixion of Christ. Note the full expression, “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The cross” speaks of atonement, His work. “The Lord Jesus Christ” brings out the fullness of His person and worth.

– He is “Lord” of all.
– As “Jesus” He is Saviour.
– As “Christ” He is God’s anointed.
– “Our” indicates our relationship with Him.

(ii) The Crucifixion of the World. “By whom the world has been crucified unto me.” Paul exults in the power of the cross to free him from bondage to “the world” system of evil. (Remember John’s definition of “the world” in 1 John 2:16).

The “world” translates kosmos. In the NT, this refers to the order of the world system, including its religions, ruled by Satan and his agents. Our word “cosmetic” is derived from kosmos, having the idea of covering up disorder with something that brings order. One way or another, every unbeliever is in bondage to the futilities and frustrations of “the world.”

This does not mean that the world has no more influence over the believer. It does, as we know only too well. But its dominion is broken and he is no longer in total bondage to it, even though it can still touch him with its corruption.

F.F. Bruce says the cross formed a “permanent barrier” between the world and Paul. There is a play on the two senses of the Greek word stauroo here. It can mean “to crucify,” but can also mean “to erect a fence.” There is no doubt that the cross creates a dividing line between the believer and the world.

The thrust of this is that Christ’s cross means absolute separation from the world that rejected Him. It is to us what the Red Sea was to the Israelites. It separated them for ever from Egypt. Egypt was “crucified” to them, and had no further power over them. This is also the meaning and declaration of Christian baptism.

(iii) The Crucifixion of Self. “…and I unto the world.” The Christian has no more compelling interest in the things of the world, even though he still falls prey to its influence. Just as they have become dead to him, so he becomes dead to them. It makes no sense to associate with a corpse. There was nothing in it that attracted him. It produced nothing in which he could boast. Only Christ satisfied his heart and held his love.

A famous Christian Judge, Richard Hill, was once asked the following questions:

* “Is Christ and His cross between you and the coming judgement of God?” “Yes,” he replied, “for I have passed from death unto life.”
* “Is Christ and His cross between you and your sins?” “Yes, for Christ died for my sins.”

* “Is Christ and His cross between you and the world?” The judge hesitated and replied, “I hope so, for He died to deliver us from this present evil world.
* Final question. “Is Christ and His cross between you and Richard Hill?” “I fear I cannot go that far. I shall have to think about that and answer it to God.”

b) New Life (6:15)
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

This is an important summary statement. Circumcision marked the Jew; uncircumcision marked the Gentile. Together they represented the world systems of religion with legalistic Judaism on one hand, and all the countless forms of cults and paganism on the other. All these systems rely on the flesh. None is of any value for salvation.

What was necessary was to become a “new creature” in Christ. A mark from without meant nothing. But a work of God within meant everything. That is why a highly moral and religious man like Nicodemus was told to be born again.

c) New Law (6:16)
“And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”

For those who “walk according to this rule” i.e. those who become “a new creature” in Christ, there is salvation. When we live by this law of the new life in Christ we have:

(i) “Peace” which flows from our new relationship with God and from fellowship with Christ.

(ii) “Mercy” which tells of God’s attitude towards us and of the ministry of our Great High Priest.

“The Israel of God.” Paul has earlier shown that the blessing of Abraham rested on all who “are of faith” (3:9), and that all who belong to Christ are the true “seed of Abraham” (3:29). In the light of this the better translation is as in NIV, “even to the Israel of God.” The true Israel is composed of those who are new creatures in Christ.

d) New Loyalty (6:17)
“From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul compares the doctrine of those who mark other people’s bodies at no cost to themselves with the true marks on his own body, sustained out of loyalty to Christ. These “marks of the Lord Jesus” are all the sufferings he bore and endured as he preached the Gospel. Paul had been well marked; beaten, stoned, persecuted. At Lystra he was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. Perhaps some of the Galatian believers had looked on as he received some of those “brand-marks” on his body.

Like the servant of Exodus 20 whose ear was permanently marked on account of love and loyalty to his master, Paul willingly bore these brand-marks in his body for the sake of Christ.

When we get to heaven God is not going to look us over for medals men have given us, but for “marks.” Many dear believers bear marks for the sake of Christ. These may not necessarily be physical. They may be marks of loneliness, sorrow, or sacrifice, which lie hidden in the heart, visible only to our Great High Priest.

Have you no scar? –
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear you sung as mighty in the land:
I hear men hail your bright ascendant star:
Have you no scar?

No wound, no scar! –
Yet, as the Master, shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me,
But yours are whole, Can he have followed far
Who has no wound or scar?

Note what Paul says about the meaning of these marks. Paul did not consider them marks of personal persecution. They were “the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Every blow Paul received was a blow against Him. Whenever a Christian is persecuted, it is really the Lord Jesus who is being persecuted through him. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Because Satan and his world system can no longer afflict Christ directly, they do so through the church, His body.

CONCLUSION
“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen”

Just as Paul opened his epistle with “grace” (1:3), so now he now closes with the same theme. The Gospel of the grace of God has been his major theme, and it is fitting that the whole epistle is bracketed with this beautiful Christian word “grace.”