Galatians 4:12-16

 

Rachel Workman: You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. ¹³ Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. ¹⁴ But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. ¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

Losing your passion for Christ is pretty easy in a world like this one. Each day bringing a new stress. The more we lean on God and understand His word the less this will happen to us.

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John Burnett:  13 but you know that it was because of a [a]bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the [b]first time; 14 and you did not despise that which was a trial to you in my [c]bodily condition, nor express contempt, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. 15 Where then is [d]that sense of blessing you had? For I testify about you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So have I become your enemy by [e]telling you the truth?  Paul is about brutal truth when it comes to the Gospel and will not compromise it one iota.  They had realized that Paul was sent by God and they received him as they would have received an angel or Jesus Christ himself but they had lost that kind of zeal for the Gospel.  Paul was concerned that they were turning on him because he was telling them the truth about their lack of faith in Christ alone and falling back to following the law as a means for justification.

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Monday’s reading for Galatians 4:17-20

⁷ Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. ¹⁸ If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

¹⁹ Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. ²⁰ I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Galatians 4:8-12

 

Rachel Workman: ⁸ Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. ⁹ So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? ¹⁰ You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. ¹¹ I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. ¹² Dear brothers and sisters,^[f] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

My question to you is what god are you a slave to? I can answer that question for myself.

I am forever grateful that we are subject to God's grace and mercy and not the law.

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John Burnett:   However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless [a]elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10 You meticulously observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [b]over you in vain.  Verse 9 is a deep verse.  Those who are born again are known by God and are given the Holy Spirit.  Their eyes have been opened to their sinful nature and how truly sinful they are and that Jesus Christ is their only hope.  The how-to sermons preached in many churches today are like the elementary worthless principles mentioned in verse 9.  Following the law is something believers do out of gratitude to Jesus because of what He did for us but the Galatians were falling back into a works-based system that does nothing but enslaves you to sin.  Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  Saving faith is a gift of God and the Galatians were struggling with that point.  

12 I beg of you, brothers and sisters, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong;

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Tomorrow’s reading for Galatians 4:13-16

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. ¹³ Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. ¹⁴ But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. ¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

Galatians 4:1-7

 

Rachel Workman:  Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. ² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. ³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles^[a] of this world.

⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.^{[b] 6} And because we^[c] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”^{[d] 7} Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.^[e] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

I love the pouring out of the Spirit of Christ into us. This is the thing that allows us to know and crave that connection with our creator.

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John Burnett:  Now I say, as long as the heir is a [a]child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is [b]owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and [c]managers until the [d]date set by the father. 3 So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the [e]elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under [f]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [g]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! [h]Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir [i]through God.  From a wretched sinner condemned by the law to an adopted son of the Kings of Kings and co-heir to the kingdom of God is why they call it amazing grace.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Galatians 4:8-12

⁸ Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. ⁹ So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? ¹⁰ You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. ¹¹ I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. ¹² Dear brothers and sisters,^[f] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

Galatians 3:23-29

 

Rachel Workman: ²³ Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

²⁴ Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. ²⁵ And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

²⁶ For you are all children^[m] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.^{[n] 28} There is no longer Jew or Gentile,^[o] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children^[p] of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

When God began working with Abram (his name was later changed to Abraham), God gave him a command and an amazing promise. The command was, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

Explaining the promise He would give Abraham in exchange for his obedience, God continued: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (verses 2-3).

It's very humbling to think about what we've done to even deserve this.

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John Burnett:  23 But before faith came, [a]we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our [b]guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [c]guardian. 26 For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [d]neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you [e]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [f]descendants, heirs according to promise.   The law provided us with a means to show us we are in need of a Savior and are justified by faith. There are no longer any racial, class, or gender lines for those of us who belong to Jesus Christ as we are adopted sons and daughters of God and are heirs to the promises made to Abraham's descendants.  God always keeps his promises.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Galatians 4:1-7

 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. ² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. ³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles^[a] of this world.

⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.^{[b] 6} And because we^[c] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”^{[d] 7} Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.^[e] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.