Friday, February 27 - Galatians 3
What verse spoke to you today? Here is what caught my attention:
:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free; male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
When I read this, I immediately thought of our Ash Wednesday service. Armando invited those coming to the Spanish service to attend the Ash Wednesday service. He set up a translation system so they could understand the service. A number of the people came. It was great that we could worship as one body in Christ! Our language may be different, the color of our skin may be different, but in Christ Jesus we are all part of God's family.
Lord, help me to see people as you do. Amen
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In verse 17 when Paul says "What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise;"
ReplyDeleteI think that all these years later, "we people" are still adding "laws" to God's love-gift of Jesus. We add our own expectations. We are guilty today, just as the "foolish Galatians" were of make judgements of different people who may not "doing" what WE think they should be to be called a Child of God.
God help me to love your children as you call me to love.
I am always so happy to recognize a hymn when I read scripture. My knowledge of scripture, the ability to pull scripture out of my memory when needed, is so lacking, but I do know a lot of hymns! Verse 28 is from one of those hymns, “One Bread, One Body”. In stressful situations or times I am afraid, I usually sing hymns to myself, silently (those around me are grateful for that). The more I read scripture, the more I see the words of the many hymns I have sung since a child, it makes me feel better to know that maybe I know more scripture than I thought.
ReplyDeleteHeavenly father, help me to become more comfortable reading your word and applying it to my life.
The third and fourth chapters of Galatians basically are concerned with the doctrinal relationship between law and grace. In Chapter 3 Paul presents three arguments to prove that salvation is by grace and not through the law. He presents three more arguments in chapter 4. First Paul argues from his personal experience. His second argument is from scripture in which he quotes from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Habakkuk. His third argument is based on logic.
ReplyDeleteA good place for a Lenten reflection is in this “logical” argument which is found in verses 15-29. Paul’s basic predicate is that God made a contract with mankind, i.e. the covenant with Abraham, which the law of Moses, which came 430 years later, could not cancel or supercede. Abraham’s faith was accounted unto him, and his offspring, as righteousness—and that includes us Gentiles who also are his offspring. In support of this basic predicate he sets forth three premises.
Paul’s first premise in his logical argument was the temporary aspect of the law. Verse 19 states: “ Why, then, was the Law given? It was added to show sins in their true light, until the Offspring should come concerning whom the promise was made. It was ordained through angels by means of a mediator.” [Berkeley Version]. One could argue that the law was given only to the Jew and never intended to be applied to Gentiles since the moral law already was written on their hearts.
His second premise is that although the law can convict of sin it cannot save from sin. It simply reveals sin and forces one to accept God’s grace if one is to escape the consequences of sin. The third premise rationally follows that the law prepared the way for faith by keeping mankind in line until the full revelation of God’s plan was made manifest in Christ.
Galatians, chapter 3, can be considered as additional material, adding to the arguments from chapter 2, which refuted those who would undercut the gospel by making Jewish standards a prerequisite for salvation. The Jewish Christian legalists presented the Gentiles with the law as a gate for salvation. Paul was adamant in his rejection of this position teaching clearly that to be acceptable to God, one must be justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
In reflecting on the cross at this Lenten season one must accept Christ’s redemptive work in one’s life and cease to have concern about one’s legal standing before God.
Burton Patterson
Inspiration for some of the foregoing thoughts was found in:
Warren Wiersbe, Expository Outlines on the New Testament—Galatians, Victor, 1978.
Grant Osborne, Ed., The Life Application Bible Commentary—Galatians, Tyndal, 1994.