Ian’s lets listen to Jesus

As I listen to the song “100 Billion times” God speaks to me. “In the vapour of my breath a hundred billion galaxies are born – think of that power, huge stars, many times the size of the sun, galaxies of them – awesome unimaginable furnaces – that reflect and show My power – the vapour of My breath can produce anything – that power is at work in the world today and the full aim and purpose of that power is focused on preparing a people for Myself – a Bride – a Bride to bring Me glory – a Bride which will give Me joy and each person is important in that Bride, each of you who will be there will know the joy I am experiencing at the culmination of My plan – look around you – the whole earth is is under My power, yes it is not always so evident because of sin and the ‘curse’ – but that power is at work all the time – in the Covid epidemic, in the looting masses – that power is at work to achieve My purpose – it is at work in you in every part of your being, so go into the week with the words ringing in your ears – “if God is for you who can be against you?” And rejoice in them.”

Thankyou for your accurate and intimate comments on Galatians 2:20,21 . Let us look at this passage together again because it is so important not only to know and understand it but to actually live through it by grace. It is surely the beginning of center point of this letter, which actually carries on and includes Ch 3:1-5. So in vs 19 Paul says “through the law I died to the law that I may live (for God).” In vs 20 he uses the “death” terminology again. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me”. So what is he saying? What about him has died and how does that affect his life and ours? Remember death denotes a total separation. He says he has died to the law. What does he mean and what is the deeper meaning which is the beginning of the secret of this passage?

The law represented God’s standard which, according to Deuteronomy if obeyed completely it would be the source of life.

Dt 30:15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
Dt 30:16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live.

But our lack of ability to keep this law perfectly represents the deep problem we each of us has. It is the problem of placing ourselves first in our thoughts and lives. Truly the word sin has i in the middle. Because we are each born with the default desire to love ourselves and to live for ourselves it is impossible to obey God’s law completely from our hearts starting with the basic one “I command you to love the Lord”. Later in the letter Paul will expand on this concept that the law, paradoxically leads him to realize his need for salvation, his need to break the bonds of the law, as it were.

For this to happen he needs to be crucified. What is to be killed? Well this very “self” which is the center point of sin. It is only as that part of ourselves is put to death that we can come alive to accept the power of God to lead us in the Spirit-filled life. The new life is a life of faith, he says. A life of living by trusting Jesus, through His Spirit to lead us and empower us to live it.

This verb crucified is in the aorist tense, an action done once for always. So he is saying he has been crucified once and for all so that his whole life is new. From now on Jesus will be at the center if his life and all his life will be focused on following and pleasing Jesus. His life has taken on a new direction. Interestingly Jesus builds on that concept in Mark 8:34 ff. “If anyone would come after me , he must deny himself (Daily and continually) and take up his cross and follow me”. So while we have been totally set free once and for all, we need to learn to apply that freedom to our daily lives continually.

Then Paul comes to the application of this theological discussion which is summarized in 2:21 – 3:6, which is the very purpose of his writing this letter. So lets look at that next time, to see how these vv fit together and most of all whether we are really applying them to our lives.

So the challenge to me is to keep remembering that I have been crucified with Christ. He is the One who has set me free so I need to embrace that in my mind and actions every day as I live it by His grace.

Today I decided to just sit and enjoy the presence of the Lord – without my usual introductory chatter. As I sit, I sense one word pervading the room – “Peace”……. “My peace – I have invited you to lay down your burdens at My feet and promised you Peace – that is what the whole concept of the Sabbath was intended to picture and represent – the world is fretting because of its disturbed relationship with me – so through My Covenant, I come bringing peace – peace with Me – so that you can have a relationship with Me – peace in your heart because you can entrust yourself completely to Me. And peace with everyone around you and your environment. That is what true Christianity looks like – ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me, the life that I live in the body , I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me!.’

“This is the secret that Galatians explains – the secret of the new life in the Spirit – yet so many people find it so hard to give up the idea that they control their lives and their destinies – true peace lies in understanding this life in the Spirit and living it. Know therefore that this is what the Sabbath was looking forward to – you are now in the eternal Sabbath”.

So before we look at the rest of ch 2 in Galatians, let us look at the 3 topics I suggested you should meditate on last time. Remember we are examining these in the context of this letter.

1. Why did Paul give so much space to his testimony about the authority he had? Firstly we must remember that Paul was not part of the original ‘band’ of disciples who became apostles, as he explains in this letter. So he was being regarded with some suspicion by the other apostles, and we see some of that interaction in Acts 15. This letter was probably written early in his ministry after his first missionary journey. Secondly he had some very serious words to say to the Galatians who had been influenced by other teachers, called Judaizers, who were trying to bring the law back into the gospel. Paul therefore had to show clearly where his authority came from so they would listen and accept what he was saying. The important application for us is that this passage lays down the authority which the whole of the scripture has for us, as coming from God through His inspiration. It says Yes you may believe, yes you must believe, yes it is imperative that you believe and trust the Word.

Remember the question Satan asked in Genesis which led to Adam’s downfall? “Did God really say?” So today we are experiencing an unprecedented attack on Christianity from within as well as without and much of that is aimed at twisting and casting doubt on the truth and purity of God’s Word and the gospel as the center point of it. We need to go back and look at how serious Paul was about proving that the gospel he was preaching was the true gospel from God. And that is why I am so serious that each one of us that reads this blog believes and lives the true gospel.

2. Why is it so attractive to people to believe they can benefit by adding to the gospel? Well I think this is a very important issue because it goes to the very basis of our sinful DNA. It is hard for us, and let me say the more successful you have been in life the harder it is to accept that one can do nothing to add to Jesus’ work of salvation and that we must just accept it and receive it and give Him the glory. We want some of the glory. We like to flatter ourselves that we have a useful contribution to give. We are uncomfortable to receive unconditionally and therefore our default thinking is that what I do shows me to be a better Christian, more acceptable to God and who knows, maybe get ahead of some others in the queue. Last year Emily had a wound on her ankle that would not heal. I was referred to a nurse who specializes in wound care and after an initial consultation, which she charged me only for the materials she used, she then went ahead and treated Emily for three or four months completely free. I really needed this but it was hard for me to accept this absolute generosity, I so badly wanted to do something in return, but I realized it was from God, so was able to ultimately worship and thank Him for what this angel He had sent was doing and give Him the glory, while being extremely grateful to her as well.

3. Why the fuss? It is worth the fuss because every teaching which pollutes the gospel is an insult to God, who gave His only Son to die on the cross so that no one may perish but everyone who believes may have eternal life. He went to the most extreme lengths to win our salvation, if we dilute that in any way we are actually saying “what you did was not good enough, I want to add to that”. Western middle-class Christianity is pervaded with this attitude and it has taken a huge amount of power out of the ordinary person’s life as they struggle to live their Christian lives in the flesh, rather than the Spirit.

Now back to Galatians ch 2. This discussion on the relationship of the law to the gospel provides the background to Paul’s setting out of the true gospel which he summarized in vv 17-21. These few verses, true to Paul uses a bit of convoluted language, but the message is actually quite simple. As a clue the first part resonates Romans 6:1 ff. So why don’t you read these verses carefully and see if you can pick up the main points Paul is making. Lets try and stick to this passage and while we may go elsewhere to help us understand, let us try and simply explain what he is saying here.

For me today, God seemed to be saying, ‘do you truly understand vs 20 and are you consciously living it out in your life today?’

“Fill my eyes oh my God with a vision of the cross, fill my heart with love for Jesus the Nazarene”.

What does it mean to fill my eyes with that vision Lord? Why is it so important?

When Adam and eve were in the “Garden” the serpent asked them the question “did God really say…?” After the initial interaction with the serpent, he says your eyes will be opened when you eat from the tree”. The woman looked and saw the fruit and she found it desirable. By looking and seeing, the wrong desire was provoked. So our motivation and purpose to act is often provoked by our vision. What is the counter to that? To fill our eyes with a vision of the Cross and Jesus the Nazarene. Yet we cannot actually “see” Jesus in reality – nevertheless one can “see” Him in multiple ways in your mind’s eye and that vision of Him will determine your love and desire for Him with your actions flowing from that. Now that vision doesn’t just come from our pure imagination – it comes initially through God’s word. His word paints pictures constantly adding to the original in depth, quality, colour and variety – but the Word is the true source of the vision – yet we can build on that vision all the time by worship, prayer, daily interaction with God by faith and through His word, often even subconsciously to our original vision from His word.

Now the danger is that false pictures can intrude, held up by false prophets and teachers and wrong, negative interaction with other people and even our own sinful desires. So at the beginning of the day we can sing “Be thou my vision, oh Great King of heaven, be thou my all….”

Now we are back in Galatians. From 1:11 to 2:10 Paul goes into great detail to establish his status of apostleship and grasp of the gospel and how he received it directly from Jesus. In such a short letter why would he take up almost a whole chapter on this subject? Well why don’t you think through that and then what the important relevance that has for us today.

In 2:11-2:14 Paul comes to the reason or motivation which has set him off to write this indignant letter. It is clear that Peter has reneged on his original belief that the Gentile believers, who had accepted the Lord by faith were fully equal to the Jewish believers under the new order and now, (notice the remark in vs 12b that he did this out of fear), was aligning himself with the Jewish believers who believed that to be a complete Christian you still need to fulfil the requirements of the law, and in this case especially circumcision. Now today many would say why the fuss, surely this is a point of doctrine and many people have different views of certain doctrines? So yes, why the fuss?

This is such an important issue that I am going to stop there for today and am going to leave you with a few questions to ponder and I will deal with them next time before getting into the rest of ch 2 which is quite complex.

So here are the questions, if you wish to you can place one or more answers on the blog comments so that others can interact.

1. Why would Paul take up a whole chapter in such a short letter to establish his authority as an apostle and his grasp of the gospel and why is that very relevant for us today?
2. Why is it so attractive to people, both saved and unsaved to believe that obeying the law can contribute to their salvation?
3. Why the fuss about this whole issue, surely it is a minor point of doctrine?

Consider also, as part of our discussion for next time “what is the role of the law in salvation”?

So I thought I would like to hear what your takes are on these questions are and at the same time getting our half-frozen brains ticking again.

And what is Jesus saying to me today? “What is your understanding of the role of the law in salvation under the New Covenant? Think it through carefully.”

As I come to my time with the Lord today my thoughts are filled with wonder at how vast, how holy, how almighty my God, Yahweh is – and the thought – how can this God, this mighty God be close to me, such a small, finite, created being? I had an earthly father like that – I hugely respected him, but never felt intimately close.

“So God says – listen – listen carefully – do you hear My heart beat? You can only hear the heartbeat of someone who is very close to you – yes I am huge and awesome and holy – but the wonder of the work of My Son Jesus is that He has bridged that gap and you can have that intimate closeness you are longing for – remember “in all things”, at all times I am working for your good, your sanctification, your ultimate glorification. Nothing can separate you from My love, I am always for you in the most complete way – and if I gave my Son Jesus on the cross for you, how much more will I give you all things you need for life and godliness. Come here my son – I want to give you a big hug”.

Today I am taking a break from reading in Acts, so that I can do some in depth reading of Galatians, which I am planning to preach from in August. So today I started with and overview and the first 10 vv. I like the little summary of the main themes in the SU commentary: “The sufficiency of Christ and His atoning work; and the dynamic of the Spirit – these are the leading themes of the epistle and give it timeless relevance as much needed in the twentieth century as in first-century Galatia.”

This is the only letter from Paul where he starts straight in, shooting from the hip as it were, because of his anger at their pollution of the gospel. Despite the huge problems in the Corinthian church, for instance, his tone at the opening of his letters to them is much kinder. So why don’t you read the first 10 vv of ch 1 and ask yourself what you can hear Paul saying about the gospel and those who are preaching another gospel, as he calls it, another gospel that is no gospel at all.

To me what stands out from the beginning is that the gospel is completely at God’s initiative, from the fact that Paul sees himself as called specifically to preach it, by God, (v 1) to the purpose and the completion of the gospel as being according to God’s will. (V 5). Its a beautiful concise summary from grace to glory through the rescuing work of Jesus from the present evil age, which I take to mean the old order of the Jews. But the next paragraph is what really jumps at you, the anger, the frustration at changing something so pure and beautiful into something which is useless. I can almost have a vision of someone going into the Louvre and taking a paint brush full of paint and swatting patches across the Mona Lisa, in so doing spoiling it to to the point of making it useless. The underlying painting is still there but the way it is now being presented changes it into a monstrosity, no longer artistic masterpiece. That sort of pollution would be obvious though, whereas the changes that are made to the gospel are usually much more subtle.

The Greek word which Paul uses to describe his anger is “anathema”. You will all know the English expression of something being an anathema. It means totally condemned, cursed and uselessly unacceptable. strong words to use against fellow Christians.

Lord what are you saying to me today? “As much as Paul was specifically commissioned, I have also given you a specific task, ie to teach and preach My gospel. Take the fire and determination of Paul to keep the gospel pure and share it’s precious message as well as you can”.

Does it ever concern you when you hear an adulterated version of the gospel? Can you actually pick up when a wrong gospel is being preached or even told to you. Maybe as we work through Galatians you could become more sensitive to the many ways it can be twisted.

I have overslept and feel rushed and disoriented – my mind threshing around as I try to become quiet – there is a scene floating before my eyes – a scene where the waves of the ocean are breaking on the rocks – tumultuous waves shooting spray high into the sky- the water churning, green-opaque – foaming and swirling – that is how my mind is feeling – all sorts of conversations and thoughts clamouring to be heard. “Help me Lord, to become quiet”. As I ask this I see a sunrise above the churning ocean – a beautiful sunrise with multiple colours and slowly it is dominating the scene and the Lord is showing me that in the presence and beauty of His holiness, the sea is no longer a factor. His presence and His love will settle it like a calm mist descending over it.

“Reflect on the beauty of My holiness – My otherness – in a positive way”. The words of the song fill my mind, “I pause at His gates once more and my heart and my spirit soar and I wish I could love you more”.

“You have My love and you have My holiness – your place is to reflect My holiness to those around you – My holiness is in My Spirit who indwells you. Allow My Spirit to demonstrate His fruit in your life – and My holiness will become like a blazing light – just remember this is not about trying to do this – it is about trusting Me to do this in and through you – when you slip – don’t try harder, just stop, confess and trust Me to change you and restore your reflection of Me. Remember too that one of the fruit of My Spirit is peace, which you were longing for earlier”.

In my reading in Acts I have reached Acts 17:16-34, the description of Paul’s interactions with the pagan Greeks in Athens. Having visited the agora or marketplace myself in Athens, I visualize Paul meeting with various groups, who are discussing the philosophies of the time and earnestly presenting the case for Christ. Why don’t you read through vv 22 – 31 and see if you can pick up the flow of Paul’s presentation, remembering he is now speaking to people who have no previous knowledge of the Jewish faith and see how he links into their discussions. This is a very concise summary by Luke so virtually every word and every concept counts.

Once again I am struck by the absolute certainty of the statement by Paul that, having created every person on earth, God “determines the times set for us and the exact places where we should live”. v 26. But I notice something important just after that. God did this for a purpose, see it? God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him. Hmmmm. How does that fit into my and many other people’s thinking about God’s providence? I am again encouraged by the outright statement and reminder of my security in vs 28 “In him we live and move and have our being”. and following that the encouraging reminder of our status as His “offspring”.

The last thing that I see, which surprises me, is the fact that Jesus is presented as “Judge” not as Saviour, which is confirmed by His resurrection. vv 30-31. Why would that be? I wonder.

I am reminded of a sunny day on a farm East of Pretoria, where I had gone to meet with “Woodie”, my devastated best friend from varsity. He had walked out of his family and was lodging on a colleague’s farm. It was an amazing experience because he was a complete pagan. He had absolutely no knowledge of the bible and the biblical story. Jesus was just a vague name to him. For two hours I started at he beginning and fed his hungry heart with the good news of the gospel. What a privilege. Twenty five years later he passed away with the name of Jesus on his lips, a firm believer and lover of Jesus his personal Saviour, having returned many years earlier and become reconciled to his family.

What was Jesus saying to me this morning? Two grandchildren families are gearing up to leave SA and this was a real encouragement as I realized that no matter what their plans may be there is a loving hand which will be setting times and place, hard as it is to say goodbye.

Again the wonder of God’s providence. What a comfort in these troubled times, when that frees us to focus on Him and His holiness and reflecting that to the world rather, than pessimism and gloom.