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July 28
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Galatians 6:11-18
This is the
closing of the letter. It is a
letter focused on one issue. Paul
does not distract from the issue he has been dealing with the whole letter
even in his closing. In fact, he
appears to grab the writing utensil out of the scribes hand to finish it
himself and review the whole case.
6:11, “See what
large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand.”
Paul takes
the pen to authenticate the letter as his
a.
1 Corinthians 16:21,
“I, Paul, write this greeting in my
own hand. If anyone does not love
the Lord – a curse be on him. Come,
O Lord.”
b.
Colossians 4:18, “I, Paul, write
this greeting in my own hand.
Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”
c.
Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius,
who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.”
d.
2 Thessalonians 3:17, “I, Paul, write this greeting in my
own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
i.
2 Th. 2:2, “We ask you brothers, not to become
easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to
have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you.”
“large letters” “phlikoiV
grammasin” “palikois grammasin”
The reason
for Paul calling attention to the size of the letters is to draw attention
to the fact that the lettering style had changed. Up to this point in the letter a trained,
professional scribe was doing the writing.
The letters would have been small, neat, and almost appeared to be
typed. When Paul started writing
this professional style changed to his individual handwriting. This does not mean his handwriting was
sloppy, but that it was not of the quality of the professional scribe.
Other
reasons used for explaining the large letters:
a)
Some say it should be
translated, “See what a large letter I have written. . .”
b)
Paul was a laborer at
the time of this writing and the years of hand labor had affected his
writing.
c)
Paul was making an
emphasis in his closing comments and was using large letters like WE WOULD
USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!!!
d)
Paul had poor eyesight
which resulted in larger letters.
The eye problem relates back to the illness he had when he first
preached in Galatia
(Gal. 4:13) and it had to do with his eyes (Gal. 4:15). Some think this was his thorn in the
flesh (2 Cor. 12:7)
6:12, “Those who
want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be
circumcised.”
The legalizers were motivated by one thing: Outward appearance and what impressed
others.
So, the legalizers could only focus on one thing: Outward appearances. Here, circumcision.
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“to make a good impression” is the translation of the Greek
word, “euproswphsai” “euprosopesai” means “to play a
good role, to please, to make a fair appearance.” This Greek word also has
with it the attitude of playing the role and making a fair appearance in
insincerity.
They
appeared to have your best interest at heart, and their teaching seemed to
be holy and focused on the Bible, but that was all an appearance for
another underlying motive.
“outwardly” is the Greek word “sarki” “sarx”
and is most often translated “flesh”.
The good
impression they were trying to make was “en sarki”
or “in the flesh.”
This is in
contrast to “in the heart” where the new nature is and the Spirit of God
abides.
An
impression in the flesh has done nothing but change the flesh.
An inward
change will do the same thing.
The outward
change only in the flesh is a camouflage of the true nature inside.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are
like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the
outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and
everything unclean. In the same way,
on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are
full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
(Matthew 23:27,28)
People who
settle for a mere outward appearance of religion or holiness are destined
to end up in wickedness and sin because you need an inward power of God’s
righteousness to produce lasting change.
John
addresses this issue when he mentions some of the students that had gone out
from his school and his training of young men to carry on the apostolic
tradition when he says:
“They went out from us, but they did
not really belong to us. For if they
had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going
showed that none of them belonged to us.
1
John 2:19
It is not a
matter of losing salvation, but a matter of individuals trying to imitate
it and being unable to maintain it with out the presence of the new nature
and the Holy Spirit.
6:12, 13 gives us two reasons why they
insisted on:
1) a legalistic standard for spirituality
and
2) a legalistic sign for spirituality
Reason
Number One:
“Avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
Reason
Number Two:
“That they may boast.”
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6:12, “The only
reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
By keeping
the religious experience in the natural realm they can avoid a
confrontation with “the cross of Christ.”
The “cross
of Christ” is a reality because of these truths:
1)
Man has a sin nature and
is a sinner
2)
Man is outside of God’s
favor and stands rejected, condemned and cursed by God.
3)
Man is helpless before
God outside of Christ work on the cross where he bore our sins and placed
man in a position of favor with His work on the cross.
The “cross
of Christ” makes circumcision, along with every other work of man,
pointless, useless and insignificant.
Anytime the
“cross of Christ” is embraced the importance of man and his achievements
takes second place.
The
promotion and the acceptance of the “cross of Christ” will always bring
persecution from the creature it steals the “glory” from. The creatures that lose their glory is men.
Men decide
to live under the rule of circumcision or the rule of the cross.
6:13, “Not even
those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised
that they may boast about your flesh.”
The point
continues, even those who reject the cross and embrace legalism are
knowingly failing.
Here we
bring up the good, but insincere, impression of 6:11.
Why would
men who realize their method is not working continue to spread their legalism.
Or, to say
it another way, why would they continue to take foreskins? The answer: They want to boast about the numbers of
converts.
They know it
isn’t working but they must get their numbers.
Reminiscent
of David verse the Philistines isn’t it:
“Then Saul ordered his attendants: ‘Speak to David privately
and say, “Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like
you; now become his son-in-law.” ’ But David said, ‘Do you think it
is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little
known.’ When Saul’s servants told
him what David had said, Saul replied, ‘Say to David, “The king wants no
other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins.
. .’ When the attendants told David
these things he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed,
David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented
the full number to the king so that he might become the king’s son-in-law.”
The legalist want to win Galatia for Judiasm
for the sake and glory of the Judizers.
Paul wants
to win Galatia
for Jesus Christ for the sake of the Galatians and for the glory of God.
Today it is
sometimes easy to see the same “conquering” of people for the glory of the
ministry.
People get
into legalistic tendencies like raising hands, coming forward, getting
baptized, joining the membership, building bigger barns (buildings), giving
more money, etc. All these are
modern manifestations of the outward forms of legalism.
It can be the same in modern
Christianity:
1)
Insincere
2)
Merely outward
3)
Avoid the preaching of
the cross of Christ
4)
Avoid persecution from
men
5)
Boast of the numbers,
size and amount
But what
change has occurred? Is it only an
outward change that will soon be engulfed by the wickedness left undealt with on the inside? Or, are the numbers, size and amount a
manifestation of the work of the Spirit on the inside of people.
If it is an inward change then we
will see:
1)
Continued growth in the
word and in holiness
2)
Fruit of the Spirit
3)
No need for manipulation
of unspiritual believers by unspiritual leaders
4)
A continuation in the:
a.
Apostles doctrine
b.
Apostles way of life
5)
The effect of the true
church (salt and light) in the society
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6:14, “May I never
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul will
not let himself get into legalistic boasting.
His boast is
in the sufficiency of the cross, not in the sufficiency of man.
Note
concerning “cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”:
1)
The “cross” speaks of
the salvation required to deliver man from sin
2)
“Lord Jesus Christ”
speaks of the God who became a man to save us from sin and
lead us into an everlasting kingdom.
3)
The use of the word
“our” makes it personal and indicates the necessity of us individually
embracing the truth of the cross and the person of Jesus for our own
deliverance.
Paul boasted
in this truth which left no need to boast in legalistic practices or
ministry successes.
Look at
Paul’s portfolio of boasting in Philippians 3:3-6 before he embraced the
cross:
6:14, “. . .through which the world has been crucified to me, and I
to the world.”
Paul’s
relationship to the world and the world’s relationship to Paul has been severed.
It goes both
ways. The feelings are mutual.
1)
There is nothing in the
world that Paul wants to boast about.
2)
But also realize, there is nothing in Paul that the world will consider
worthy of boasting.
They have
rejected each other. There is
nothing to attract Paul to the world and nothing in Paul to attract the
world. The relationship is dead,
crucified.
6:15, “Neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything;
what counts is a new creation.”
The question
is not which form of legalism should we follow?
Or, what
religious practice is right?
Nothing in
the world counts.
The only
thing that matters is that you have been born again and have a new nature
and a favorable standing with God.
6:16, “Peace and
mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.”
“Peace and mercy” are two nice church sounding words
but they do have there opposites or antonyms.
The opposite
of peace is war, hostility and conflict.
The opposite
of mercy is vengeance, judgment, punishment.
Paul is
saying, then, that
those who do not follow this rule will receive hostility and judgment from
God.
“rule” is the Greek word “kanon” or “kanon”
and it means “rod, measuring rule, standard.” This “rule” or “standard” that has been
set and must be followed is found in the verse right before it. The “standard” that must be met to
receive “Peace and mercy” is the “new creation.” The new creation is the only “standard”
that will allow you to escape a conflict with God that will result in your
eternal punishment.
“Israel of
God” is a reference
to “believers” of all time. Paul is
using the term “Israel of God” to disassociate the legalistic Judiazers from God’s chosen people. God’s people are those who accept the
Messiah. This includes both Jews and
Gentiles. This does not include
non-believing Jews nor non-believing
Gentiles. Paul is not identifying
with this statement two groups of Christians: Jewish and Gentile.
6:17, “Finally, let
no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”
“Finally” means “in respect to the remaining
time”
“Trouble” refers to the fact that Paul has
labored and toiled to get them this far.
Now it is time for the Galatians to resist the world, the devil, the
legalist on their own. Paul has
already fought his share of the battle.
6:5 “each one should carry his own load.”
“marks” is the Greek word “stigma” “stigma”
and means”mark, brnad. It was the custom to mark slaves by
scars. Religious tattooing also
played a great role in antiquity.” (Lingustic Key, Rogers & Rogers)
See the
source of Paul’s scars in 2 Corinthians 6:4-6; 11:23-30.
These were
the genuine marks in a believers body, not self inflicted circumcision.
6:18, “The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers Amen.
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July 21
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Spiritual Giving
Galatians 6:6-10
6:6, “Anyone
who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his
instructor.”
koinwneitw de o
kathcoumenos ton logon
“let him
share
the one
being instructed in
the word
tw kathcounti en pasin agaqoiV
with the
one instructing in all good things”
koinwneitw “let him
share” “to share with someone,
to exercise fellowship. The
apostle is thinking here especially of material things.” (Linguistic Key,
Rogers and Rogers)
kathcoumenoV “being instructed in” present passive and
kathcounti “instructing" present active
This root word’s etymology
means “to fill with sound” and so it means to put
a thing into another person’s
mind with constant repetition”
(Pulpit Commentary)
It is translated “inform,
instruct, teach”
Strong’s Expanded says, “This word indicates verbal
instruction which is ‘sounded down into the student’s ears,’ and then
repeated by the student to assure learning has taken place. It also denotes ‘to teach orally,
inform instruct,’
and is rendered “to teach”
in 1 Corinthians 14:19
and twice in Gal. 6:6.
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logon “word” This word means the rational
expression of a thought.
According to Strong’s Expanded
it refers here to the saying or statement about God’s
revelation of the gospel and the sum of the
utterances of God.
agaqoiV
“good things” It describes
things that are good in character
and so bring beneficial
results. Money is in the context here.
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This begins Paul’s sixth example
of a spiritual man.
Number 1 was 6:1 – The
spiritual man restores the one taken in sin.
Number 2 was 6:2 – The
spiritual man helps carry others overbearing burdens if they are in the
spiritual, physical or emotional arena.
Number 3 was 6:3, 5
- The spiritual man knows his spiritual gift and
responsibility
and operates without comparing himself to “lesser” servants nor to
“greater” servants.
Number 4 was 6:4 – The spiritual man can judge his own
heart (motives, attitude) from the position of the renewed mind. He can be ruthlessly honest
with himself about himself and find the strength to make corrections.
Number 5 was 6:5 – The spiritual man carries his own
spiritual “backpack” of responsibilities
that come with his unique calling and that
for which he has been given unique “measure of faith”
that separates
him from anyone else’s responsibility.
Number 6 is here in 6:6 – The spiritual man supports
the stream of teaching
that makes numbers 1-5 possible in his life. The carnal man is
going to spend his financial resources on carnal
things. The spiritual
man is naturally going to spend his finances on
spiritual things.
POINT:
Note
the spiritual man needs to receive this information through teaching of the
logos just like all points of doctrine.
But, the spiritual man does not need to be manipulated into giving
to his instructor. If the
instructor finds himself convincing the believer to give money then neither
the instructor nor the student is adequately spiritual to be receiving or
giving money.
Paul did not collect money from
immature, young Christians
1
Corinthians 9:1-18
Paul did not receive money at the
beginning of a ministry in a city.
Instead he supported himself:
1 Thes. 3:6-10,
How could
Paul use himself as an example if all he did was collect money from people.
Today, some
people think the reason for starting a ministry is to organize people to
collect money from them.
Paul did receive money to be
distributed to others in need:
1 Cor. 16:1-8
Paul did receive money for his own
ministry support and for traveling expenses:
Romans 15:23-29
2 Cor.
8:1
2 Cor.
9:6
Philippians 4:10-13
Paul tells Timothy that he could
receive money from believers for his personal needs:
1 Timothy 5:17-18
Tithing is a
principle but it is not a New Testament church law or standard.
The church
standard is stated in several places:
1 Corinthians 16:2 –
2 Corinthians 8:14 –
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Spiritual giving is detailed in 2
Corinthians 8:1:
8:5 - people gave themselves first to
the Lord, then gave money to men. This means they
grew spiritually with the Spirit of God
first, but not legalistically or hypocritically. The
Spirit then would have led them into giving and supporting spiritual things
and people
in need. The giving would have only come
after they had grown in fellowship with the
Lord.
8:8 - Paul did not command giving (tithe was an
OT command) but rather
dokimazo (tested) them. Paul gave them the
opportunity to give as a test of their
spiritually and growth. It was a chance for
the Spirit to lead them into this spiritual
work.
8:10 – The people should first
experience a desire to give. It is a
fruit of the Spirit
The people should
not be giving for external reasons first.
Keep your money
if you are not spiritually motivated in your heart to support the
work of God.
If you give before you are ready your
giving is carnal and legalistic.
8:12 – Willingness makes the
gift acceptable. If it is
manipulated or commanded
it
is not an acceptable gift for God nor an acceptable gift to be received.
Do the
rest of the verses 6:7-10 continue on the theme of money?
Yes.
- Verse 6:10 returns to the
theme of money and so verses 7-9 are sandwiched between two verses
obviously about money.
- 6:7 is a saying that Paul
used to encourage generous giving in 2 Cor.
9:6. (Deuteronomy 15:4-11)
- This letter is to the
Galatians who had recently heard the decision of the Jerusalem council and the resulting
letter from Acts 15. Galatians
2:10 says that Paul was accepted by the Jerusalem council but was only asked
to remember the poor. This
refers to collecting money for the poor believers.
- This may be Paul’s way of
reminding them to be setting aside money for the poor in Jerusalem like
he does in 2 Corinthians 16:1 which reads: “Now about the collection
for God’s people: Do what I
told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each
one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.
. . “
These verse teach three things about
money:
a)
Support the teacher
b)
Use money to build up
your spiritual life and the spiritual life of others
c)
Spend your money to help
others in need, namely, believers.
6:7, “Do
not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows.”
Verses 6:7,8
sound like 2 Corinthians 9:6
This is a
principle that is true in every area of life.
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6:8, “The one
who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap
destruction;
If a man
spends his money on fleshly things, then those things will produce more
fleshly desires and worldly attitudes and natural stuff.
All of
these things will be destroyed when the natural world passes away. He will reap from the fruit of his
labors the destruction of that fruit because it is not eternal.
This is
what Jesus said about storing up treasure in heaven or on earth. Earthly treasure will be consumed by
rust, moth or thieves. Eventually
you will be separated from them at your death.
6:8, “the one
who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
In
context, the group of people who will support a good teacher of the logos
will reap eternal benefits from their giving as that instructor leads
them into greater spiritual production.
6:9,
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Two
phrases in the imperative:
1) Do not become weary 2) Do not give up.
Paul may
be including himself in this since he switches to the first person
plural.
Paul has
been laboring with the Galatians and has seen little fruit. But, this spiritual principle is true
for Paul’s labors also.
He can not
get discouraged and give up. The
Galatians will produce fruit in their lives
6:10 "Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those
who belong to the family of believers."
Here the
theme of giving extends "to all people".
Emphasis
is placed on giving to believers.
This
follows the principle Paul followed as seen in 1 Corinthians 16:1,
"Now about the collection for
God's people: Do what I told the Galatian
churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you
should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, . . ."
This practice followed the directions Paul received at the
Jerusalem Council in 48 AD from James:
"All they asked was that we
should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to
do." Galatians
2:16
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July 14
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Galatians 6:2-6
6:2
“Carry each other’s burdens and in
this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
This is the
second practical example of the spiritual person.
The word
“carry” (“bastazo”)
is used four times in the Greek in Galatians:
a)
5:10 – the Judaizers are to bear Paul’s judgment of the situation
b)
6:5 – each believer is
to bear his own load
c)
6:17 – Paul bears in his
body the marks of Jesus Christ in his body
d)
Here in 6:2 – is
believers are to help others carry their load
The word
“carry” means “to bear, to carry away, to endure)7
This could refer
to:
1)
When temptation oppress
someone
2)
When life circumstances
depress them.
The concept
is that love fulfills the law. When
someone else needs something, the spiritual man is going to help.
6:3
“If anyone thinks he is something
when he is nothing he deceives himself.”
There are
two problems that will keep you from fulfilling these two practical
examples properly:
1)
6:3 – You think you are
something you are not. . .
a)
Pride
b)
The over estimating of
your own self
2)
6:4 – You think you are
nothing when compared to the “great” believers. . .
or, You think you are
doing great when compared to the “lesser” believers
a)
Low self esteem, Lack of
confidence in God’s calling on your life
b)
The under estimation of
God’s place for you in his plan
The first
here in 6:3 is when a believer neglects meeting someone else’s need it is
because they are focused on themselves:
a)
they do not see the need
to being consumed with themselves
b)
they do not think they
should have to stoop to help
c)
they believe that they
themselves do not have that problem because they are doing things right
Paul’s
statement in the Greek builds heavily on the contrast of these words:
1)
“thinks” with “is”
2)
“something” with
“nothing”
a.
the believer only
“thinks” he’s “something”. . .imaginary superstar
b.
in reality the believer
“is” “nothing”. . . reality a zero
Romans 12:3
6:4
“Each one should test his own actions.”
“test” is dokimazetw which means to examine, to approve
after testing or examination. It
refers to testing the quality of metal.
Remember James 1:2-12
With a renewed mind, a correct understanding of God, his
purpose, his overall general plan and how we are generally supposed to fit
into it and behave, then examine your application of these truths. How are you doing??
This is the cure. You test yourself. . .
a) What has God called you to do? Are you doing it?
b) What has God placed in front of you? Have you turned away from it?
c) What do you know to be right? Are you obeying it?
d) Are there any areas in your life where
you are:
-disobedient
and so unable to fulfill God’s purpose
-legalistic
(pride, self-service) and so distracted from spiritual purposes
Luke 17:1-10
“Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself
to somebody else. . .”
6:5
“For each one should carry his own load.”
The duty of the Christian is to carry his own load.
The duty of the Christian is to run his own race, fulfill the
purpose that God has assigned to him.
There is no contradiction between 6:2 and 6:5.
A) 6:2 is “Carry each other’s burdens
(“bare”)
i. the word “bare” (Barh) means burden, that which is heavy
B)
6:5 is “each one should
carry his own load (“phortion”)
i. the word “phortion”
(fortion) means a burden, a load which one is expected to
bear. It refers to a back pack. It is a term from the military that
referred to a
soldier’s kit.
The fortion was something that is expected to be
carried by a healthy soldier or in this case any healthy believer. It is no one’s responsibility but your
own.
In 6:2 the burden is not the normal weight of a back
pack. It was something no man would
be expected to carry alone.
The spiritual man knows when the weight is a fortion or a Barh
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July 7
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Galatians 5:24
“Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature”
The verb is
in the active voice. Meaning you did
it.
Other places
in reference to you being crucified is in the passive voice (Gal. 2:20)
Galatians 5:25
“Since we live by
the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
“keep in step” is “stoichomen” and comes from “stoichos” which means “a row” and so translates
as to walk in a line or to keep in step as you march in the battle ranks.
Used in
Romans 4:12 of falling in line with the faith of Abraham.
Note: In Gal.5:16 the word for “walk” was “peripeteite”
and means a habitual conduct or lifestyle.
It is a different word with different meaning and communicates
a different concept of the Christian life.
Galatians 5:26
“Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
“conceited”
is “kenodoxoi”
·
notice the second word “doxoi” or “glory”
·
the first word “keno”
means “empty”
o
it implies hollowness
and the lack of contents
o
it does mean the absence
of good but also includes then the presence of evil since man’s moral
nature does not remain a vacuum
·
together they mean “emptyglory” or our word “vainglory”
·
It is man who is
pursuing the glory of God for himself
The person
who has created a vacuum in his soul by pursuing the glory of God for
himself will manifest the evil he has sucked into himself in two ways:
1)
Provoking others
a.
“provoking” is “prokaloumenoi” and means “to call forth to a
challenge”
b.
This manifest
itself by stirring up strife between others and yourself or stirring up
strife between others.
2)
Envying others
Paul’s
teaching is once again brought to the point of being applicable. He has described the mystical union and
power of the Spirit. But, what are
we to do with it?? He now tells us
how we will be able to use this abstract concept to manifest God in our
daily lives.
The first
situation Paul uses is when you find yourself in the presence of another
believer who has suddenly slipped into a sin. Do you:
a)
Pretend you did not
notice the sin, because it is an awkward position
b)
Deal with the situation
in such a way that does not bring attention to the sin because we all know
we will want someone to overlook our sin some day, maybe even today.
c)
We respond in “love”, by
“forgiving” the sin, smiling like nothing happened because “love” would
never make someone feel uncomfortable.
d)
Quickly point out the
sin and rebuke it so as to cut it off at its roots and so fulfill our role
as the local “sin-dicator”. This way we maintain our “purity” and “holiness”.
e)
As soon as possible
“warn” the other believers of this “stain” that is among us. While doing this it is only logical that
you draw attention to the fact that you were the one that recognized this
“evil” and that it never even occurred to your “righteous” self that such a
thing could be done by a believer.
Galatians 6:1
“If someone is
caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.”
“Caught” is
the word “prolamphtha”
(prolhfqh)
- Notice the prefix “pro”
which means “in front of, before, prior to”
- This word means to be taken
by surprise
by a sin or to be overpowered before he can escape. It means he was “hurried into
error” and surprised himself by his sin.
“Spiritual”
refers to those who meet the criteria of being in fellowship or “in step”
with the Spirit of God. These verses
might help remind us what Paul has in mind for the Spiritual person in the
book of Galatians:
3:2
3:3
3:5
3:14
4:6
5:5
5:16
5:18
5:25
“Restore” is
“katartizete”
means “to restore, to correct.”
- It is a medical term used
as a surgical term for setting bones or joints.
- Also in some contexts of
strengthening and sustaining people who have become weary. (Rev.3) (Ep. 4:12)
- Mixing medicine
- A sailor preparing his boat
for a journey (similar to Rom. 9:22; Heb10:5 and 11:3)
- A fisherman fixing his net
(Mk. 1:19)
- A politician compromising
to bring to separate parties into unity
The Correct Answer:
You would
deal with it like a doctor deals with a broken arm. The pain and inability to function is the
result of a problem on the inside.
It is something that can be fixed.
The mature
(spiritual) believer will be able to make the correct diagnosis and fix the
problem.
The immature
(fleshly) believer will do a variety of things that never address the
problem:
- Tell the person to stop
having a broken arm.
- Give the person a list of
“legalistic” exercises to do to strengthen the broken bone and prove
that it is “saved”
- Remove that person since
they are useless with a broken arm.
6:1 “But watch
yourselves, or you may also be tempted.”
“Watch yourselves” is singular and is addressing each of us as
individuals to watch our own self.
“Watch” is “skopon” (skopwn) and means to watch
attentively.
- Vincent quotes Schmidt as
saying: “To direct one’s attention upon a thing, either in order to
obtain it, or because one has a peculiar interest in it, or a duty to fufill toward it.”
- The verb form is present
tense which indicates a continuous action of being very diligent to
pay sharp attention to yourself.
“tempted” is “peirasthas” (peirasqhV) and means to try, to attempt.
- “peirasthas” can refer to a trial from God or a
temptation from the sin nature (James 1)
Galatians
6:2
“Carry each
other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians
6:3
“If anyone
thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Galatians
6:4
“Each one
should test his own actions. Then he
can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.”
Galatians
6:5
“For each
one should carry his own load.”
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June 30
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The Fruit of the
Spirit
Galatians 5: 22-26
5:22
“Fruit of the Spirit”
1)
“Fruit” is contrast with “works” in these
ways:
a.
“Fruit” is
singular. The fruit comes form one tree, one source, the Spirit. It is not the fruits of
the Spirit like it is the “gifts” of the Spirit. You may have one or two of the gifts of
the Spirit and be a healthy Christian.
But, if you have just one or two of the fruit this is not
normal. A believer following the
Spirit will see growth in all these areas.
Not necessarily true with the gifts.
b.
“Works of the flesh” is
plural.
c.
Fruit is the natural
result of life and growth. Work is a
labor and a discipline
d.
The fruit will be
manifest in works of righteousness, but they begin long before the work is
seen. Fruit goes deep into the plant
and is an extension of the nature of the plant.
2)
John 15: 1-8
3)
The fruit is eternal and
results in:
a.
Achieving God’s will on
earth
b.
Rewards for the believer
in eternity
“You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much
fruit – fruit that will last.” John 15:16
4)
Another concept about
fruit is that it is the harvest.
5)
The Greek word for
“fruit” is “karpos” and is used most often of
fruit from trees or vines.
6)
Jesus said you would
know the tree by its “karpos” in Matt. 7:16
Love
(agape)
1)
focus is on the
object of the love.
2)
Refers to love for God
and love for people
3)
Love will seek what is
best for the object it loves
4)
To be agape there must
be concrete evidence. It is a word
that is way past an emotion or a feeling.
It is seen in the treatment of and action toward the object. In fact, an attempt to describe the
feeling or the emotion may indicate it is not genuine.
a.
“You say you have love. . .? Then
stop talking about it and do it.”
b.
James 2:14 – 20, Some say they
have faith. James is saying he
doesn’t talk about it, he is doing faith.
5)
This love is the
character of God and it is:
a.
Unearned (Rom. 5:8)
b.
Unchangeable (Rom 8:35)
c.
Great (Ep. 2:4)
d. Action (Jn. 3:16)
Joy (chara)
1)
In the Greek society Joy
was a synonym for happiness, which was founded on some event or
circumstances. This “happiness” of
the Spirit is founded on an eternal principle that will never change. In otherwords,
this “joy” is consistent and is unaffected by circumstances.
2)
We will have earthly
emotions (sadness, grief, disappointments, etc.) because we are human and
directly tied into the circumstances of the world, but this is a deeper,
richer experience that may coexist with worldly sorrow:
a.
“Brothers, we do not
want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the
rest of men, who have no hope.” 1 Thes. 4:13
Peace (eirene)
1)
This word carries the
thought of the Hebrew word shalom.
2)
It would give the
meaning of wholeness of soul which manifest in a tranquil attitude and
disposition regardless of circumstances.
3)
This became a standard
Christian greeting for obvious reasons (Gal.1:3)
4)
Manifest as
a.
peace with God in Rom
5:1
b.
peace of mind in Phil
4:6,7
c.
Peace in the home in 1 Cor. 7:12
d.
Peace in the church in Ep 4:3
e.
Peace in relationships
in Heb. 12:14
Patience (makrothumia)
1)
“longsuffering,
patient endurance under injuries inflicted by others. It describes the response of Christian’s
towards circumstances and events, as well as God’s patience endurance of
the rebellion and sin of mankind.”
Linguistic Key by Rogers and Rogers.
2)
This is the character
that allows for the spread of God’s grace in time:
a.
“Return to the Lord your God, for he is
gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and he
relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:13
3)
This is the character
that allows us to walk above the ways of the world and do our jobs as
ambassadors:
a.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to
himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors.” 2 Cor. 5:18-20
Kindness (chrestotes)
1)
Showing concern for
others.
2)
It is the act of
kindness to benefit and help others
3)
It is the character
trait of God referred to in the statement, “God is good.”
4)
There is a common slave
name of “Chrestos” which is thought to have its
origin in this word “chrestotes” and so this word
indicates the slave mentality.
a.
This was the
mentality of the messiah/servant of Isaiah and the one that Jesus
manifested in his life. (Christ is the word “Christos”)
Goodness (agathosune)
1)
This is the energy and generousity that comes from the servant mentality of
kindness.
2)
It the character that
will strive to obtain the thing that is useful and beneficial for another
person.
Faithfulness (pistis)
1)
It is the same word that
is translated “faith” but in this context it becomes a character trait.
2)
The word “pistis” also means “faithfulness, reliability, loyalty”
3)
Luke 16:10-12 and Mt.
25:23 describes the faithful servant.
a.
Without the Spirit we
will not be able to achieve the status or the commendation of
Gentleness (prautes)
1)
Controlled strength,
meekness, submissive, ability to bear reproaches without bitterness and
resentment.
2)
“The ability to provide
a soothing influence on someone who is in the state of anger, bitterness
and resentment” (Linguistic Key by
Rogers and Rogers)
3)
Aristotle wrote that
this is the person who is always angry at the right time and never angry at
the wrong time.
4)
This is the attitude required
for learning in James 1:21
5)
The attitude for making
correction in Gal. 6:1
6)
The attitude for meeting
opposition in 2 Tm. 2:25
7)
The attitude in
explaining the faith in 1 Peter 3:15,16
Self-Control (enkrateia)
1)
The containment of
passion and appetite. It is the
ability to control the driving forces of human nature.
2)
This is what gives the
victory over fleshly desires.
Against these there
is no law:
1)
To try to control them
2)
To try to produce them
These “fruit of the
Spirit” are out of reach to the:
1)
Natural man
2)
Religious System
3)
Hypocrite
The person who lives
this way can not be judged by any law.
You are fulfilling every law of man and God when you produce the
fruit of the Spirit.
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June 23
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Galatians 5:19-21
This is not
a list to put on your mirror or refrigerator and try in the flesh to avoid.
This is a
checklist to evaluate your behavior and your reaction to see if you are
living by the Spirit.
If you find
yourself failing the test and are not producing the fruit of the Spirit
then one of the following may be true in your life:
a)
You are not following the Spirit leading you through
your new nature due to lack of focus (either: selfish legalism or selfish
indulgence)
b)
The Spirit is not
leading you because you are out of fellowship
c)
Your flesh is in
control. Your soul is receiving
“seeds” (temptation) from your sin nature and you are naturally producing
the work of the flesh.
Remember, we
all have a sin nature. This means we
will always have the following temptations or thoughts arising out of that
sin nature. To walk in the Spirit,
and not in the flesh, means you will be looking for and experiencing a
greater type “fruit” or production from your new nature. The Spirit will lead you into the
production of this new way of behaving and show you the new way of
reacting. We will review the fruit
of the Spirit next week. Tonight we
review and identify the works of the flesh (sin nature).
5:19 “obvious” (“manifest” in KJ) is “phaneros” and means “to shine, to make shine, to cause to appear.” It is used in 1 Tm. 4:125 and 1 Jn. 3:10
This list of fleshly fruit
includes sins that appear in the:
a)
mind (soul, heart)
b)
mouth
c)
body
“sexual immorality” “porneia” is sex outsid
marriage, illicit sexual intercourse, any immoral sexual act. Mt. 5:19, 1 Co.
5:1.
“impurity” “akatharsia” is wrong acts. Originated from meaning being dirty and developed
a moral reference. It means moral or
ceremonial unclean.
Mt. 23:27 – filth inside tombs
Ep.
4:18,19 – result of rejecting the gospel and being ignorant
1 Th. 2:3 – produces error and
false teaching.
“debauchery” “aselgeia” is excess, absence of restraint, not
restrained by law
Mt. 7:27 – it is found in a
man’s heart
Jude 4 – Men turn the doctrine
of grace into this
Notice 2 Cor. 12:20-21.
In verse 12:21 these three are mentioned together.
Verse 19 listed sexual or fleshy sins
Verse 20 will list two religious
sins.
5:20
“idolatry”
“eidololatria” from
eidolon = temple and
latreia = service
An idol is something that man uses
to:
a)
explain his origins
b)
define his morals
c)
control his environment
When something is excepted as having
the answers to these three questions that man has he will then worship and
follow this “idol”.
Rm. 1:22 - man’s weakness
1 Co.
10:19 – door to demons
Gal 4:3,8,9 – man’s attempt to
control his environment
“witchcraft”
“pharmakeia” This
word means: “the use of medicine or drugs, the use of drugs for magical purposes, magic, sorcery”
(from Linguistic Key by Rogers and Rogers)
Those involved with pagan worship would use drugs as a way of
controlling themselves and enhancing communication with demons (gods)
Ex. 7:11, 22 – Pharaoh’s wisemen,
sorcerers, magicians
Is. 47:9
Rev.9:21
“Hatred”
“echthrai” hostility
”discord” “eris” strife
“jealousy”
“zelos”
different than envy. This zelos desires to have the same thing for self. Envy desires to deprive others of it.
Rm. 13:13 – a deed of darkness
1 Cor.
3:3 – if you still have it you are still worldly.
“fits of
rage” “thumos” this is not anger but the outburst of
anger.
Notice Ephesians 4:26, “In your
anger do not sin.”
a)
anger?
Anger itself is not a sin. If
a believer can live in this fallen world and never be angry by the way
people are treated or abused, for example, then I
doubt they have any love in their hearts.
Anger is a godly reaction to many things that are wrong. But, using anger as the basis of
operation can quickly become sin.
The sin nature will respond in anger and fits of rage to wrong
things, at wrong times, and in wrong ways.
Here “fits of rage” is an extreme, unbridled outburst of anger.
b)
Devil a foothold? (lit. “a place”)
a.
Our sins come from our
evil nature James 1:13
b.
Satan will use our
weakness like a crack
c)
Sundown?
a.
If you have righteous
anger you need to deal with the situation and resolve it. Your anger against a wrong is not a
sin. Again, a healthy Christian
should get angry about certain things.
The issue here concerning “sundown” is that your anger is calling you
to respond in a corrective measure to the wrong. To neglect responding, or making plans on
how to correct it, would be the sin.
b.
Ignoring a wrong is sin
itself. An example is found in Lev.
19:17
“Selfish Ambition”
“eritheiai” rivalries
Notice that many of these sins
are sins that Paul dealt with in most of the churches he
wrote to. Corinth,
Philippi, Colossians, Galatia are just some of the
churches where Paul had to
deal with groups of people operating out of the sin nature in the church. They were divisive, filled with selfish
ambition, jealous and envious of each other all with in the
church. In fact, these sins are very
frequent among and between believers in church
situations.
2 Cor:12:20 eris = strife zealos = jealous thumoi =
anger eritheiai =
rivalries
“dissensions” the flesh longs to divide
“factions”
selfish ambition to gain followers and not always with false
doctrine
“envy” desire to deprive others of what they have.
Displeasure when others prosper
“Drunkenness”
alcohol
“Orgies”
“komoi”
is carousing or a drinking party
“the like”
there are more.
5:21
“live” is “to do, or to
practice” in the present tense indicating a “life style” not a “lapse”
Meaning, if a person can go through their life living like
this they give a strong indication
they do not have the Spirit and so they are not born again and never were.
See 2 Peter
2:7 and Lot’s tormented soul
Warned “as I
did before” Paul
had obviously evangelized the Galatians and led them to the Lord. Here he said he had also given them this
list, or checklist of sins.
If Paul had
simply led them to the Lord and given them a list of ethics to obey, he
would simply have done what many do today:
a)
Take a pagan who is in
some worldly system of religion
b)
Lead that person to a
saving faith in Jesus Christ
c)
Give that believer a
list of legalistic rules which puts them right back into a worldly system of religion.
This is what the entire book of
Galatians is against.
Paul would
never have led them to the Lord and then given them a list.
What Paul
did is clear as we look at the examples of his ministry in Acts and in the
epistles. Between leading people to
the Lord and identifying a checklist of Christian ethics Paul would teach
them in order to give them a full understanding of the truth.
This
teaching gave them a body of truth to believe.
It gave them
information to change their world view and renew their mind.
It gave them
spiritual motivation to live holy.
It shined a
light into the darkness of their souls where they could find this new
presence of the Holy Spirit and
a new power for living.
Teaching
made their new life in Christ real and something they could experience
beyond a few days of emotional
momentum.
In
Thessalonica it is clear that Paul taught them eschatology in depth during
their first 21 days as believers.
Why? The entire
eschatological system is reviewed in the closing verses of Second Peter in
his final chapter days before his execution. Here Peter tells us that this information
will make us “holy and blameless.”
Even in
Paul’s epistles the first chapters are teaching and the closing chapters
are identifying the correct Christian lifestyle and production.
In Galatians
we have seen chapters 3 and 4 are an appeal to Old Testament scriptures and
committed to establishing theology.
Now, in chapters 5 and 6 Paul is calling them to Christian ethics,
or the production of spiritual fruit.
But he is only doing this on the foundation of the truth he has
taught them.
To skip
systematic teaching of the full revelation of God’s Word between the points
of salvation and expecting Christian behavior is to give a believer nothing
but legalism.
The system
of legalism will never lead a Christian to fulfill their purpose in
life.
It will
never lead them to the fruit of the spirit.
It will
cause frustration and discouragement in this life.
It will
result in the lack of rewards in eternity.
Legalism
will cause the believer to loss what they have worked for.
This is the
correct way of Christian growth:
a)
Evangelism
b)
Teaching
c)
Ethics
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June 16
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Galatians 5:13-18
Freedom has
two directions:
a) indulge in self service (legalism
as in Colossians 2:23 or indulgence in sin as Gal.5:13.)
b)
serve one another in
love
Fulfilling
the law is what legalizers tried to do.
Now, only in
freedom can it be done.
“Freedom” mentioned in 2:4; 4:26; 4:31; 5:1
Chapter 5
and 6 is the life in the Spirit.
Or, life
free from the bondage of religious law.
A Jew
without the Mosaic Law could not imagine how morality would be maintained.
A Pagan
without some religious system of works would be completely unmotivated and uncontrollable. (Including
Christians living in a legalistic system that believes they must
maintain their salvation, appease God for blessings, or fear some sort of
cursing to be motivated to live holy.)
Now, a
Christian has the Holy Spirit providing both the motivation and the
power. But, even more, the believer now has a new nature. They are learning to walk in their
new nature. Or, walk
in the Spirit
13- Paul
had said earlier that he believed "they would have no other view"
and he picks up on that here by speaking to them about how to live the
moral and ethical Christian life with out a law.
The warning
before was concerning receiving salvation and then returning to
legalism
Now the
warning concerns salvation and a return to sin.
The options
for the believer are:
Self-service Service
to other:
1) InLegalism 1)
InLove
2) InImmorality
“indulge” is “aphorme” KJ:
“occasion” meaning the
“place from which an attack is made, a base of operation.” Syn: “opportunity, occasion, advantage.”
Used in 2 Cor
11:12 twice “cut the ground.
. .who want an opportunity.”
14-
“summed up” is “peplerotai”
1-
means the law can be
summarized
i. Lev. 19:18
ii.
Mt. 22:39
iii.
Lk 10:25-28
KEY VERSE: Rm 5:5 “God has poured out his love in our
hearts." This is reference to the character of God, or the image
of Christ being poured into our nature. Although, God pour out his
love for us, or toward us in giving us salvation,
this verse is not talking about this truth. This verse is saying God
has poured his nature into us so we can now "be holy as he is
holy."
2-
means fulfilled as the Judiaizers are trying to do
The law is still “holy” but it is just not
attainable by the flesh.
15 -
There are no details given but the legalistic teaching has
resulted in self service by the mass of Galatian
believers (not to mention they have loss of any opportunity to
move together in love as a church body as in Ep.
4.
Result:
a) Biting
b) Devouring means attempt to eat up
c) Destroying means consume and pictures
wild animals in a deadly struggle.
16 – If you live by Spirit you will not
indulge sin nature
17 – The Spirit of God will lead you and
produce in you things contrary to the sin nature
Downside: You won’t be doing
what you (sin nature) wants
Upside: You will be
fulfilling the purpose of the law so you don’t need to be under the law to
lead you step by step. The Spirit
will be leading you step by step.
18 -
Led by Spirit or allow yourself to be led by
Spirit
This is called:
A) Walk in 16
B)
Led in 18
C) Live in 25
It is not said to be governed or placed
into bondage by Spirit.
It is more
like the Spirit will “teach you to walk in this new nature”
You have
been formed like Christ. Now learn
to live like Christ and be conformed to Christ.
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June 9
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Galatians 5:7-12
Verses 2-6 were comparing the people who had listened to the teaching
of circumcision with people who did not accept the legalistic
teaching. The pronouns were “you”
and “we.”
Verses 7-15 address not those who listened but
compares the false teachers with true teachers. The pronoun “I” (Paul) contrasted with
“the one who is throwing you into confusion.”
Verse 7 The athletic analogy often used by Paul:
1 Cor.9:24-27
Gal 2:2
Phil 3:13,14
2 Tim. 4:7
The Galatians were running a good race.
A good race involves two dimensions:
1) A sincere heart that has been changed to
God (notice word “obey”)
2) An intelligent mind concerning the
truth (notice word “truth”)
“Cut in” is the word “evekophen” and means
“to cut in, to hinder.” It is the
image of the runner who has been blocked, or has ran
off the track. It was a military
term used to describe the blocking of a road or the destruction of the
road. It involves the idea of
cheating someone in a race by taking a position that is not right.
The false teachers had done this very thing.
1) They had
blocked the Galatians progress
2) They had
presented the Galatians with a new running lane which was not part of the
race.
3) They had
destroyed the road of truth
4) They had
cheated the Galatians out of their rightful place in grace in order to manipulate the
Galatians for the advantage of the false, cheating teachers.
Verse 8 This false teaching does not come
from God.
It originates in the
sinful nature of man.
It originates from
demons. (1 Tim. 4:1-3)
But, it is used by God
to test people’s hearts (Deut. 13:3)
Verse 9 False teaching spreads. It becomes the source of “light” used to
interpret the next doctrinal issue or the next moral choice. In the “light” of a lie nothing can be
evaluated correctly.
Jesus warned the disciples of the yeast of the Pharisees in Mt. 16:5
Paul also in 1 Cor. 5:6 in reference to
immorality
Verse 10 “Confident. .
.you will take no other view.” Paul
knows their heart. The good heart
will eventually reject the false teaching.
It may take time. They may
get caught up in a moment of bad doctrine, but the true believers will grow
and eventually come around.
“throwing you into confusion” is from the word
“ tarasson” which means to shake back and forth,
to disturb, to trouble.
“No other view” refers to what?
a) the true
gospel
b) Paul’s
original teaching
c) The statement
Paul just made
d) That the
legalist are dangerous
Judgment of false teachers:
Jude 4-23
2 Peter 2:1-22
Verse 11
“If I am still preaching circumcision. . . ?”
a) may refer to his
days in Judaism
b) may refer to a
brief period of confusion in his own doctrine (Paul had Timothy circumcised in Acts
16:3
c) It may just be
an accusation and a lie made about Paul
“offense of the cross” refers to the
hideousness of sin in man before God.
The terrible death, humiliation of the cross shows us what we truly
are. How can circumcision of any act
be more affective than the actual payment for sin.
Point: If circumcision is the
answer then there is no need for the cross.
The reason man is not offended by sin is he is lacking in his knowledge
of God’s character. Meaning man will
always compare himself with what he can see such as other men’s actions or
the way other men appreciate him. It
requires doctrine, faith and the revelation of who God is to realize how
bad off we are.
Verse 12
“emasculate” is castration. It is another attempt by Paul to show how
ridiculous legalism is. If a little
bit is good, lets make it really good. If a little bit of legalism is good then lets go as far as we can with legalistic rules.
Pagan priest in the area of the
Galatians would practice castration.
Paul once again puts the practice of Judiasm
during the church age one the same level as pagan rituals.
“agitators” is from a word that means to upset
or disturb someone’s mind.
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