EPHESIANS CHAPTER 1 STUDY GUIDE

Ephesians Chapter 1, Verses 1-4

Saved By Grace Through Election?

[6-6-21]

Ephesians 1:1-4) [KJV] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

QUESTION: Whose will was it that Paul was an apostle?

ANSWER: It was God’s will.

QUESTION: Whom is Paul writing to?

ANSWER: He’s writing to Christians in Ephesus and to “the faithful in Christ Jesus.” That’s us!

2) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

QUESTION: What did Paul want his readers, including us, to walk in?

ANSWER: He wants his readers to walk in the grace of God, and, therefore, understand that they are at peace with God.

3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

(CEV) Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven!

(GNB) Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.

QUESTION: What is Paul talking about when he says, “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”?

“It probably refers here to everything that was heavenly in its nature, or that had relation to heaven, whether gifts or graces. As the apostle is speaking, however, of the mass of Christians on whom these things had been bestowed, I rather suppose that he refers to what are called Christian graces, than to the extraordinary endowments bestowed on the few” [Barnes].

“Notice, too, that these are spiritual blessings. The simplest way to explain this is to contrast them with the blessings of Israel under the law. In the OT, a faithful, obedient Jew was rewarded with long life, a large family, abundant crops, and protection from his enemies (Deut. 28:2-8). The blessings of Christianity, in contrast, are spiritual, that is, they deal with treasures that are nonmaterial, invisible, and imperishable” [BBC].

ANSWER: Barnes suggests that theses blessings are the blessings of the Christian graces that apply to every saint, not “the extraordinary endowments bestowed on the few.” I like the word “all”! I believe it refers to any blessing of God given to any child of God, as well as the blessings of God given to every child of God; i.e., Christian graces.

QUESTION: Where do we find these blessings?

ANSWER: They are found “in heavenly places in Christ.”

NOTE: I believe they are given to us in the spiritual realm and our faith, which is “the substance of things hoped for [Hebrews 11:1], brings those spiritual blessings into the physical realm.

Matthew 7:7-8) [KJV] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

QUESTION: Is it true that “every one that asketh receiveth”?

ANSWER: It certainly doesn’t seem to be true when we think of all the things we’ve asked for and never received.

QUESTIONS: How do we explain that? Is Matthew 7:8 a lie?

ANSWER: I believe the explanation is to be found in my note above. I’m convinced that everyone who asks receives, because that’s what Matthew tells us. However, I’m convinced the answer to our prayers are instantly given to us in “heavenly places,” in the spiritual realm, which is more real than the physical realm because it is eternal, but we must receive the answer by faith in order to appropriate it in the physical realm.

4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

QUESTION: When did God choose you and me?

ANSWER: He chose you, in Christ, “before the foundation of the world.”

QUESTION: What has God chosen you and me for?

ANSWER: God has chosen us to “be holy and without blame before him in love.”

QUESTION: Does the fact that God chose you and me “in him before the foundation of the world” mean that God has selected us and not selected others?

ANSWER: He definitely chose us, but did He do so simply by selecting some while rejecting others, or did foreknowledge enter in? We are going to be exploring this very question.

PLEASE NOTE:

“At the same time one would not want to use a term for ‘choose’ based upon the special worthiness of the object chosen, since this would violate the whole theological implications of God’s choice of his people. Therefore, the implication of any verb meaning ‘to choose’ must point to some purpose for the person who does the choosing and should not be dependent upon the idea of worthiness in the individual chosen” [UBS].

It “intends an eternal election of particular persons to everlasting life and salvation” [Gill].

“Before the foundations of the world were laid, God had determined that all who believed on his Son should be saved” [Zondervan].

“This does not affirm that God chose some individuals and rejected others, but that before the world was, before there was Jew or Gentile, God chose to have a people for himself, the whole church of Christ, a covenant people confined to no one earthly race” [PNT].

QUESTION: What do we notice in the above comments?

ANSWER: Commentators do not agree on what they think Paul is talking about in vs. 4.

*QUESTION: If we don’t believe in Divine Election does that mean, as USB suggests, that we therefore believe that God’s choosing has to do with the “special worthiness of the object chosen”?

*ANSWER: No! A thousand times “No”!

NOTE: All Christians have been chosen in accordance with God’s grace, without any “special worthiness” on the part of the one chosen. I am in total agreement with the Divine Election crowd on that point.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Then what kicks in the grace of God through which we have all been saved? Does Divine Election determine who receives this saving grace? Does an individual’s trust in God for his/her salvation determine who receives this saving grace?

ANSWER: The answers to the above questions will differ depending on one’s view of the eternal purposes of God concerning His redemption plan.

NOTE: Whatever conclusions we reach determine what we believe about Who God is! More about that later.

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verses 5-6

According To The Good Pleasure Of His Will!

[6-13-21] moved to [6-20-21]

Review: Saved By Grace Through Election?

Ephesians 1:4) [KJV] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

QUESTION: Does the fact that God chose you and me “in him before the foundation of the world” mean that God has selected us and not selected others?

ANSWER: He definitely chose us, but did He do so simply by selecting some while rejecting others, or did foreknowledge enter in? We are going to be exploring this very question.

PLEASE NOTE:

“At the same time one would not want to use a term for ‘choose’ based upon the special worthiness of the object chosen, since this would violate the whole theological implications of God’s choice of his people. Therefore, the implication of any verb meaning ‘to choose’ must point to some purpose for the person who does the choosing and should not be dependent upon the idea of worthiness in the individual chosen” [UBS].

“It intends an eternal election of particular persons to everlasting life and salvation” [Gill].

“Before the foundations of the world were laid, God had determined that all who believed on his Son should be saved” [Zondervan].

“This does not affirm that God chose some individuals and rejected others, but that before the world was, before there was Jew or Gentile, God chose to have a people for himself, the whole church of Christ, a covenant people confined to no one earthly race” [PNT].

**QUESTIONS: What kicks in the grace of God through which we have all been saved? Does Divine Election determine who receives this saving grace? Does an individual’s trust in God for his/her salvation determine who receives this saving grace?

ANSWER: The answers to the above questions will differ depending on one’s view of the eternal purposes of God concerning His redemption plan.

NOTE: Whatever conclusions we reach determine what we believe about Who God is.

This Week’s Lesson: According To The Good Pleasure Of His Will!

Ephesians 1:5-6) [KJV] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Concerning “predestinated,”

“G4309: From G4253 and G3724; to limit in advance, that is, (figuratively) predetermine”

“G4253: ‘fore’, that is ‘in front of, prior’”

“G3724: ‘to mark out, or bound’ that is ‘to appoint, decree, specify.’” [Strong].

QUESTION: What does “predestinated” mean to us?

ANSWER: Please note:

Romans 8:29-30) [KJV] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

QUESTION: Again, what does “predestinated” mean to us?

ANSWER: It certainly has something to do with foreknowledge.

QUESTION: What does it have to do with God’s foreknowledge?

ANSWER: Please note:

• The Divine Election crowd would tell us that it simply means that God has always known, from eternity past, whom He would save. According to their teaching those individuals He would save are the individuals He selected before time.
• We who do not believe in Divine Election believe that God knew, from eternity past, which individuals would heed the Gospel message and accept Christ as Savior, and He then predestined that group to be “conformed to the image of his Son.”

QUESTION: What does Romans 8:30 tell us that God did next?

ANSWER: God “called” the predestined individuals, then “justified” them, and ultimately “glorified” them.

QUESTION: God calls/invites people to salvation. How does this play in to our discussion?

ANSWER: Please note:

Matthew 20:16) [KJV] So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Matthew 22:14) [KJV] For many are called, but few are chosen.

QUESTION: If God only saves the Divine Elect, those He selected to salvation from eternity past, then why does He call “many” when He has only chosen a “few”?

ANSWER: If God invites someone to salvation, but then refuses to shower them with irresistible grace, the only means of salvation, then that seems to me to be a really mean spirited joke.

NOTE: I imagine that those who teach Divine Election/Selection would probably tell us that it isn’t God calling individuals in the above stories, but it’s simply referring to individuals that are in the “audience” when the Gospel is being preached. You could make that argument regarding the story of Matthew 22, but that argument wouldn’t hold water when thinking about the story of Matthew 20. It that story, the individual representing God is the one calling and selecting.

6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

(BBE) To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely gave to us in the Loved One:

(GNB) Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son!

(MSG) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

NOTE: The King James Version doesn’t seem to have the translating of the Greek right in this verse. The Greek, according to most commentators, is expressing that God has freely bestowed His grace on us. That being said, the grace He has freely bestowed on us has placed us in a right standing with God; i.e., “made us accepted in the beloved.”

QUESTION: What should our response be to the fact that God has bestowed His grace on us in bringing us to salvation?

ANSWER: We should give God abundant praise and worship for what He has done on our behalf.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING QUOTES FROM SOME VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER:

5) according to the good pleasure of his will,

6) To the praise of the glory of his grace,

7) according to the riches of his grace;

9) according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

11) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

14) unto the praise of his glory.

QUESTION: What do these quotes tell us about the doctrine of Divine Election?

ANSWER: If salvation depends solely on God’s selection, brought about by “irresistible grace” that He only bestows on those selected, then God has refused to give any chance of salvation to those He hasn’t selected; i.e., has rejected. And He has done this “according to the good pleasure of his will,” “to the praise of the glory of his grace,” “according to the riches of his grace,” “according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,” “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,” and “unto the praise of his glory.”

NOTE: If Divine Election is a true doctrine then God is pleased to allow the non-selected to go to Hell [5], it’s His good pleasure to allow it, and they are going to Hell because God has “purposed in himself” that they should [9], He works out their condemnation “after the counsel of his own will [11], and considers that their condemnation brings “praise” to “his glory” [14].

Romans 11:33) [KJV] O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

QUESTION: Do we really know “anything” about God?

ANSWER: We know basic things about Him, things revealed to us in His Word.

NOTE: I’m ending the lesson this way this morning because I want to go on record as saying I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even know all of the questions. I’m simply sharing what makes sense to me. Don’t take my word for this stuff; ask God for understanding, and study His Word.

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verse 7

Justice Demands That God Forgive The Repentant Sinner!

 [6-27-21]

Review: According To The Good Pleasure Of His Will!

Ephesians 1:5-6) [KJV] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

(BBE) To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely gave to us in the Loved One:

(GNB) Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son!

NOTE: The King James Version doesn’t seem to have the translating of the Greek right in this verse. The Greek, according to most commentators, is expressing that God has freely bestowed His grace on us. That being said, the grace He has freely bestowed on us has placed us in a right standing with God; i.e., “made us accepted in the beloved.”

QUESTION: What should our response be to the fact that God has bestowed His grace on us in bringing us to salvation?

ANSWER: We should give God abundant praise and worship for what He has done on our behalf.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING QUOTES FROM SOME VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER:

5) according to the good pleasure of his will,

6) To the praise of the glory of his grace,

7) according to the riches of his grace;

9) according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

11) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

14) unto the praise of his glory.

QUESTION: What do these quotes tell us about the doctrine of Divine Election?

ANSWER: If salvation depends solely on God’s selection, brought about by “irresistible grace” that He only bestows on those selected, then God has refused to give any chance of salvation to those He hasn’t selected; i.e., has rejected. And He has done this “according to the good pleasure of his will,” “to the praise of the glory of his grace,” “according to the riches of his grace,” “according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,” “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,” and “unto the praise of his glory.”

NOTE: If Divine Election is a true doctrine then God is pleased to allow the non-selected to go to Hell [5], it’s His good pleasure to allow it, and they are going to Hell because God has “purposed in himself” that they should [9], He works out their condemnation “after the counsel of his own will [11], and considers their condemnation brings “praise” to “his glory” [14].

This Week’s Lesson: Justice Demands That God Forgive The Repentant Sinner!

Ephesians 1:7) [KJV] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

“redemption” – “1) a releasing effected by payment of ransom; 1a) redemption, deliverance; 1b) liberation procured by the payment of a ransom” [Thayer].

QUESTION: What was the “redemption”/cost that Jesus paid to free us?

ANSWER: Christ purchased our freedom by paying the ransom fee, which was death. He redeemed us by shedding His blood for us at Calvary!

QUESTION: From whom, or what, were we delivered?

ANSWER: There is a sense in which we were delivered from Satan, who had the “rights” to our souls. However, there is another sense in which we were delivered from God, the Judge. We had been found guilty, in the courtroom of Heaven, of sinning against God, and the sentence the court imposed upon us was death.

**NOTE: God, the Father, demanded the payment of death as the consequence of our sins. Jesus paid that penalty for us. Justice has been served!

QUESTION: What was the result of Jesus paying our ransom?

ANSWER: Our sins have been forgiven!

QUESTION: What does that mean to us?

ANSWER: Let’s go on a little Scriptural treasure hunt:

 Isaiah 59:1-2) [NLT] Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call.

2) But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

QUESTION: Again, what does that mean to us?

ANSWER: Our sins had separated us from God! Jesus paid the penalty for those sins! God’s justice has been satisfied! That means that we are no longer separated from God. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, between God and me.

Hebrews 4:12-16) [KJV] For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13) Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

**15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

QUESTION: Once again, what does that mean to us?

ANSWER: There isn’t anything we do, say, or think that God doesn’t see. We are morally naked in His presence. He knows absolutely every flaw in our lives.

QUESTION: So, shouldn’t we cower in fear before Him?

ANSWER: No! We should go “boldly unto the throne of grace.”

1 John 1:9) [KJV] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

**QUESTION: How is it possible to go before a Holy God “boldly” when He knows all about us?

**ANSWER: God tells us in His Word that when we come into agreement with Him, that is, we don’t excuse our sins (because they are inexcusable), but rather, confess that we have sinned, He then forgives us and cleanses us “from all unrighteousness.”

NOTE: There is absolutely nothing between you and God! He sees every one of your flaws; He witnesses every one of your sins; yet, He receives you into His very presence as though you had never sinned in your entire life.

QUESTION: How is that possible?

Eph. 4:32) [KJV] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

ANSWER: You and I have never indebted God to us! He has never owed us anything! Yet justice demands that He forgives us when we confess our sins! Why? Jesus paid your ransom! Your sins have already been judged, and the sentence of death has already been carried out. Jesus took the blame for you sins and faced the wrath of God, His Father, on your behalf. In that sense, Jesus has indebted the Father to forgive all who come to Him through faith!! Justice now demands it!

NOTE: God, the Judge, is totally satisfied that justice has been carried out. Your sins have been paid for! You are right with God! However, God, the loving Father, is still disciplining those He loves.

Hebrews 12:6) [NIV] because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: Our legal sins have been paid for, and the court of Heaven has declared us righteous! Our acts of childish disobedience will yet face the discipline of a loving Father, but never the justice of an angry court.

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verses 8-14

Seeing Is Becoming!

 [7-4-21]

Review: Justice Demands That God Forgive The Repentant Sinner!

Ephesians 1:7) [KJV] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

In regards to “redemption,”

“1) a releasing effected by payment of ransom; 1a) redemption, deliverance; 1b) liberation procured by the payment of a ransom [Thayer].

NOTE: Christ purchased our freedom by paying the ransom fee, which was death. He redeemed us by shedding His blood for us at Calvary!

Isaiah 59:1-2) [NLT] Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call.

2) But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

QUESTION: Again, what does that mean to us?

ANSWER: Our sins had separated us from God! Jesus paid the penalty for those sins! God’s justice has been satisfied! That means that we are no longer separated from God. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, between God and me.

Hebrews 4:13, 16) [KJV] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

NOTE: There isn’t anything we do, say, or think that God doesn’t see. We are morally naked in His presence. He knows absolutely every flaw in our lives.

QUESTION: So, shouldn’t we cower in fear before Him?

ANSWER: No! We should go “boldly unto the throne of grace.”

This Week’s Lesson: Seeing Is Becoming!

Ephesians 1:8-14) [KJV] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

[NIV] that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

[NLT] He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

[NAS] 8b) which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight

9a) He made known to us the mystery of His will,

NOTE: Commentators and translators have some disagreement on what verses 7  and 8 are saying. Some suggest, like NLT that God has shed wisdom and insight on us, while the majority suggest, like KJV that God has lavished his grace upon us, and He did so with great wisdom and insight. Still others, like NAS, suggest that the last part of verse 8 belongs with the first part of verse 9.

9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

QUESTION: What has God “made known unto us”?

ANSWER: He “made known unto us they mystery of his will.”

QUESTION: What else does the above verse tell us about “the mystery of his will”?

ANSWER: This “mystery of his will” was devised “according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.”

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: It was, and is, God’s “good pleasure” to save fallen man, and He “purposed in himself” to do it.

10) That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

[NLT] And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth.

QUESTION: What is verse 10 telling us?

ANSWER: When God wraps everything up, when His plan is fully completed, there will be complete unity between all living things in Heaven and on earth. And, that unity will be realized under the headship of Christ.

11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

NOTE: We who are Christians have received an inheritance that allows us to be a part of the total harmony that verse 10 is talking about. Consider the following:

1 John 3:2) [KJV] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

John 17:24) [KJV] Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.

QUESTION: What is going to happen when God wraps up His eternal plan for you and me?

**ANSWER: We are going to see Jesus in His full glory; and then, we will become like Him.

IMPORTANT QUESTION: What has God “predestined” in regards to the availability of salvation?

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING QUOTES FROM SOME VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER:

5) according to the good pleasure of his will,

6) To the praise of the glory of his grace,

7) according to the riches of his grace;

9) according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

11) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

14) unto the praise of his glory.

QUESTION: Again, what has God “predestined” in regards to the availability of salvation?

ANSWER: Whatever God has “predestined” He has done so according to all of the above quotes. If God had determined to shower me with irresistible grace, which is the only means of salvation according to the Divine Election crowd, but withhold that same irresistible grace from my neighbor, then He has withheld the only means of salvation from my neighbor “according to the good pleasure of his will,” etc.

NOTE: I do not believe that God, Who in His very nature is Love, has withheld salvation from any individual, thereby, “according to the good pleasure of his will,” has sentenced that individual to eternal Hell.

QUESTION: What has God “predestined” regarding you and me?

ANSWER: God saw you and me placing our faith in the Lord Jesus, and He saw it in eternity past. According to that foreknowledge he predetermined to call us, justify us, and glorify us. He already sees us in Heaven.

QUESTION: How do I know this?

Romans 8:29-30) [KJV] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

QUESTION: Whom does the “we who first trusted in Christ” refer to?

ANSWER: Commentators see this “we” as the early Jewish converts to Christianity.

13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

QUESTION: Whom does the “ye also trusted” refer to?

ANSWER: It refers to the Galatian believers, along with other Gentile believers.

QUESTION: What happened when we believed?

ANSWER: The promised Holy Spirit moved in! That’s the down payment of our inheritance. There’s more to come; much more.

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verses 15-23

“Seeing Is Becoming!” Review

 [7-11-21]

Review: Seeing Is Becoming!

Ephesians 1:11-14) [KJV] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

1 John 3:2) [KJV] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

John 17:24) [KJV] Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

QUESTION: What is going to happen when God wraps up His eternal plan for you and me?

ANSWER: We are going to see Jesus in His full glory; and then, we will become like Him.

12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

QUESTION: What has God “predestinated” regarding you and me?

ANSWER: God saw you and me placing our faith in the Lord Jesus, and He saw it in eternity past. According to that foreknowledge he predetermined to call us, justify us, and glorify us. He already sees us in Heaven.

QUESTION: How do I know this?

ANSWER: Please note:

Romans 8:29-30) [KJV] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verses 15-23

The Apostle Paul Prays For Us!

[7-18-21]

This Week’s Lesson: The Apostle Paul Prays For Us!

Ephesians 1:15-23) [KJV] Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

16) Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

QUESTION: What did they have to do to make Paul’s prayer list?

ANSWER: They needed to have faith in Jesus and love Christians everywhere.

QUESTION: Why would Paul pray for those who didn’t seem to be in need?

ANSWER: He saw great potential in believers who had a good mix of faith and love. He wanted to water that potential with prayer and give that potential plenty of sunlight with his praise.

NOTE: Believing God and loving His people is the sum total of New Testament doctrine. If we get these two things right we’ll do all right in our Christian walk. Please note:

“A third lesson is found in the combination of faith and love. Some people say they have faith, but it is hard to find any love in their lives. Others profess great love but are quite indifferent to the necessity of faith in Christ. True Christianity combines sound doctrine and sound living” [BBC].

17) That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

QUESTION: What did Paul ask God, in prayer, to do for them?

ANSWER: He wanted God to give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” He wanted God to reveal Himself to these believers in an even greater way.

18) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

(CEV) My prayer is that light will flood your hearts

(GNB) I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light,

(MSG) your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see

QUESTION: How does he want God to reveal Himself to them?

ANSWER: He wants God to open the eyes of their minds so they can “see” what God is doing.

QUESTION: What does he want these believers to “see”?

ANSWER: He wants them to see what God is up to in their lives.

QUESTION: What is “the hope of his calling”?

**ANSWER: We are going to be conformed to the image of His Son [Romans 8:29].

QUESTION: What is the “glory of his inheritance in the saints”?

**ANSWER: We are going to become like Him when we see Him as He is [1 John 3:2].

19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

QUESTION: What else does Paul want his readers, which now include us, to “see”/know?

ANSWER: He wants us to know that God’s exceeding great power is at work in us.

20a) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,

QUESTION: What power of God is Paul talking about?

**ANSWER: He’s talking about the very power that God exerted when He raised the Lord Jesus from the dead.

**NOTE: There is no maximum and minimum power of God. His power is without measure; it’s limitless! God can raise His Son from the dead as easily as He can heal a headache.

QUESTION: If that’s the case, then why does Paul point to the power that God exerted in raising His Son from the dead?

*ANSWER: The mighty power of God that raised Christ from the dead is the power that is at work in us right now! It’s redemption power! The resurrection of Christ cemented the victory of the cross; and the victory of the cross was all about God’s eternal redemption plan. This particular operation of His power, the raising of His Son from the dead, is dealing with His eternal purpose for your life. This limitless power of God is at work in you to conform you to the image of His Son! This limitless power of God is at work in you to bring you into “the glory of his inheritance” that He has for you; that glorious inheritance in His bringing you into His glory by causing you to become like Him when you see Him as He is!

20b) and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

QUESTION: What else did God do with Jesus?

ANSWER: He set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places!

QUESTION: What does that have to do with you and me?

ANSWER: Please note:

Ephesians 2:5-6) [KJV] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

QUESTION: What does this have to do with you and me?

ANSWER: God raised Jesus from death; God raised us from death! God sat Jesus at His own right hand in the heavenly places; God has sat you and me together in Jesus in those same heavenly places!

QUESTION: Where are you and me sitting right now?

ANSWER: We are sitting in heavenly places far above principalities and powers!

Ephesians 6:12) [KJV] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

QUESTION: What does the above verse mean to you and me, when compared to verse 21 above?

ANSWER: We are currently sitting “far above” the very things we wrestle against!

22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23) Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

QUESTION: What is Jesus Lord over?

ANSWER: Absolutely everything! That includes the church!

QUESTION: What does verse 23 tell us about the church?

ANSWER: The collective church is the fullness of the One Who fills everything! WOW!!!

EPHESIANS Chapter 1, Verse 23

The Fullness Of Him That Fills Everything!

[7-25-21]

Review: The Apostle Paul Prays For Us!

Ephesians 1:23) [KJV] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

QUESTION: What is Jesus Lord over?

ANSWER: Absolutely everything! That includes the church!

QUESTION: What does verse 23 tell us about the church?

ANSWER: The church is the fullness of the One Who fills everything! WOW!!!

On To This Week’s Lesson: The Fullness Of Him That Fills Everything!

Ephesians 1:23) [KJV] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

QUESTION: What is the body of Christ?

ANSWER: The body of Christ is His church [vs. 22], which is comprised of all believers world wide.

QUESTION: In what way are we, His body, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all”?

ANSWER: The corporate body of Christ offers to the world all that the individual Jesus offered to the world in the area of ministry, with the exception of the work of redemption.

The Man Jesus Was An Apostle, A Prophet, An Evangelist, A Pastor, and A Teacher:

Ephesians 4:7-11) [KJV] But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9) (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

QUESTION: Was Jesus an apostle?

“apostle” – “one sent” [Word Study].

ANSWER: Absolutely! He was not simply “one sent,” but He was the One sent.

“prophet” – “Preachers and expounders under the immediate influence of the Spirit, and thus distinguished from teachers” [Vincent].

“a foreteller of future events” [Word Study].

QUESTION: Was Jesus a prophet?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He spoke the very Word of God, and He foretold future events [Matthew 24, Matthew 16:28 & Matthew 17].

“evangelists” – “Traveling missionaries” [Vincent].

“one who declares the good news” [Word Study].

QUESTION: Was Jesus an evangelist?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He traveled throughout Israel, and He declared the Good News [Matthew 11:5]. More than that, He is the Good News!

 “pastor” – “a shepherd” [Vincent].

QUESTION: Was Jesus a pastor/shepherd?

“pastor” – “a shepherd” [Vincent].

ANSWER: Absolutely! He was the Good Shepherd [John 10:11].

“teacher” – “to teach. Instructor, master, teacher” [Word Study].

QUESTION: Was Jesus a teacher?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He taught His disciples, and everyone else who would listen, for three years.

The Man Jesus Operated In All of the Motivational Gifts:

Romans 12:5-8) [KJV] So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of prophecy?

ANSWER: Absolutely! Things were black and white to Him, and He spoke in absolutes.

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of ministry/service?

ANSWER: Absolutely! Jesus came to minister/serve [Matthew 20:28].

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of teaching?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He was often called “Master,” which means “teacher.”

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of exhortation/encouragement?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He encouraged His disciples to go into the whole world and preach. He encouraged the woman who was caught in adultery to go and sin no more.

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of giving?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He came to give Himself as a ransom for us all.

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of ruling/administration?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He gave instructions to His disciples often, and He will rule the world.

QUESTION: Did Jesus have the motivational gift of mercy?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He was quick to forgive the sinners who came to Him.

The Man Jesus Operated In All of the Gifts of the Spirit:

1 Corinthians 12:8-10) [KJV] For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9) To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10) To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the word of wisdom?

ANSWER: Absolutely! His parables often expressed Spiritual wisdom [Matthew 13:44].

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the word of knowledge?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He told Peter to go fishing and that the fish he caught would have enough money in its mouth for Peter to pay his taxes [Matthew 17:25-27].

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the gift of faith?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He was the doubtless Man! Anything He said happened.

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the gift of healing?

ANSWER: Absolutely! Every sick person He ever prayed for was healed.

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the gift of miracles?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He spoke and the fig tree dried up. He spoke and the wind ceased.

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the gift of prophecy?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He prophesied about the last days [Matthew 24].

QUESTION: Did Jesus operate in the gift of the discerning of spirits?

ANSWER: Absolutely! He often discerned that someone was demon possessed.

QUESTION: Did Jesus ever speak in speak in tongues?

ANSWER: Kind of! He spoke in a language no one understood while He was being crucified [Matthew 27:46-47].

**NOTE: Technically Jesus couldn’t speak in tongues because He knows every language.

NOTE: Remember, the gift of tongues was given to the church as a beginner’s gift. Tongues and interpretation worked together to accomplish what the gift of prophecy accomplishes alone. Jesus would not have had to interpret tongues because the Spirit had not given His nine gifts to the church yet.

What Is My Point In All of This Discussion?

A CLOSING NOTE: I believe that if it were possible to get every believer on this planet in one place at one time then everything that would happen if Jesus were physically here could, and possibly would, happen in that gathering of believers. Why? Because all of Jesus, the fullness of Him that fills everything, can be found in His church!

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Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

The book of Ephesians is one of the Apostle Paul’s most theologically rich and uplifting letters. Written to believers in Ephesus and likely intended to circulate among other churches in the region, it emphasizes the believer’s identity in Christ and the unity of the Church as the body of Christ. Rather than addressing specific problems, Ephesians presents a grand vision of God’s eternal plan of salvation, the work of Christ, and the role of the Church in carrying out His purposes.

Historical Context

Ephesus was a major city in the Roman Empire, located in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). It was a center of trade, politics, and religion, most famously known for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city was deeply influenced by idolatry, magic, and pagan practices, which often created challenges for the early Christians there.

Paul spent about three years in Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Acts 19), longer than he stayed in almost any other city. During that time, many came to faith, and the gospel spread powerfully, but Paul also faced strong opposition from those who profited from idol worship.

Paul likely wrote Ephesians around A.D. 60-62 while under house arrest in Rome (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, 6:20). This makes it one of his Prison Epistles, along with Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Purpose of the Letter

Unlike some of Paul’s other letters, Ephesians does not focus on correcting specific issues within the church. Instead, it provides broad encouragement and teaching for all believers. Paul wrote Ephesians to:

• Remind Believers of Their Identity in Christ – He stresses that Christians are chosen, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3-14).

• Teach the Unity of the Church – Paul emphasizes that Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ, breaking down walls of division (Ephesians 2:11-22).

• Encourage Spiritual Growth – He calls believers to maturity in their faith, walking in love, humility, and holiness (Ephesians 4-5).

• Equip the Church for Spiritual Battle – Paul teaches about the armor of God and the reality of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Key Themes in Ephesians

• In Christ – The phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” appears repeatedly, highlighting the believer’s union with Christ as the source of all blessings.

• The Church as Christ’s Body – Paul describes the Church as the body of Christ, with Christ as the head (Ephesians 1:22-23).

• Unity in the Spirit – Believers are called to maintain unity and peace through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3-6).

• Grace and Salvation – Paul declares that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• Spiritual Warfare – The Christian life involves a battle against spiritual forces, requiring believers to stand firm in God’s strength (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Relevance for Today

Ephesians is one of the most practical and encouraging letters for modern believers. It reminds us of who we are in Christ, calls us to unity and love in the church, and equips us for daily living and spiritual battles. Its timeless message reassures us that our salvation is secure in Christ and that God has prepared us for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

Conclusion

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a powerful celebration of God’s grace and the believer’s new identity in Christ. It calls the church to live out its calling with unity, love, and strength in the Lord. Even today, its words encourage Christians to stand firm, walk in holiness, and remember that they are chosen and empowered by God.

If you’re seeking a church where you can discover your identity in Christ and grow in the truth of God’s Word, we invite you to visit Walk of Grace Chapel in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Our church family is committed to living out the message of grace and unity found in Ephesians.

Join us for Sunday worship at 10:30 AM or our Tuesday evening service at 7:00 PM, explore our Bible study resources, or plan your visit by checking out our location and directions.  We’d love to welcome you and grow together in the life-changing truth of God’s Word.

If you’re in the Council Bluffs area, we’d love to have you worship with us in person at:

Walk of Grace Chapel
803 Ave F
Council Bluffs, IA 51503
(712) 318-2214.

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Praise and Worship Song – Alive Forevermore – Chords and Lyrics

If you’d like to see a Lyric and Chord Chart for this song, click here:
Alive Forevermore – Key of C

Lyrics
======
Alive, alive, alive forevermore
My Jesus is alive, alive forevermore
Alive, alive, alive forevermore
My Jesus is alive

Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah
My Jesus is alive forevermore
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah
My Jesus is alive

The Meaning Behind Alive Forevermore

Alive Forevermore is a joyful declaration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the eternal life He brings to those who believe. Simple and powerful, this praise chorus focuses on the victory of Christ over death and the unshakable hope we have because He lives.

Singing “Alive, alive, alive forevermore,” we proclaim that Jesus is not a distant memory—He is the risen, living Savior! This song is often used in worship to stir up celebration and gratitude for the finished work of the cross and the power of the empty tomb.

Biblical Inspiration

This resurrection chorus echoes the truths found in Scripture:

• Revelation 1:18 (NKJV) – “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

• 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (NIV) – “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead… For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

• Romans 6:9 (NIV) – “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.”

These verses are a powerful reminder that Christ’s victory over death means freedom and eternal life for us!

Personal Reflection & Application

Let the words of this song stir your heart today:

• Do you live each day in the joy and confidence that Jesus is alive forevermore?

• How does the resurrection of Christ change the way you face challenges and trials?

• Who in your life needs to hear the hope of the resurrection?

Sing this chorus not just with your mouth, but with your whole heart—Christ is risen, and because of Him, we will live also.

Sing Along & Share

Praise the Lord with this joyful chorus and let it become part of your daily worship. Sing it during your devotion time, with your church family, or even just as a reminder in the car. And if you know someone who needs a spark of joy and hope, send them this song as an encouragement.

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An Overview Of The Book of Galatians

“Most Important Truths To Remember!”

 [5-30-21]

Chapter 1, Verses 6-10:

Galatians 1:6-10) [KJV] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

10) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

IMPORTANT TRUTH: There is only one Gospel! “License” is not the Gospel! “Legalism” is not the Gospel! The Gospel message is simply believe in Jesus and you are saved [John 3:16-17]! If you don’t believe in Jesus you are already condemned [John 3:18]!

Chapter 2, Verses 19-21:

Galatians 2:16-21) [KJV] 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.

17) 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.

18) For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 

“The edifice which St Paul had pulled down was not, as some suppose, the Levitical law of meats, or the Mosaic ceremonial law, in themselves considered. It was not, as a rule of life, but as a ground of justification, that he utterly repudiated and swept them away” [Cambridge].

19) For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

21) I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

IMPORTANT TRUTH: We do not become right with God by keeping the Mosaic Law, or by any other standard of conduct; we become right with God by placing our faith in Jesus!

Chapter 3, Verses 1-3:

Galatians 3:1-3) [KJV] O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

IMPORTANT TRUTH: These three verses give us great insight into understanding what it means to “walk in the flesh” and “walk in the Spirit.” Walking “in the Spirit” [vs. 3] is linked to “the hearing of faith” [vs. 2]. “By the flesh” [vs. 3] is linked to “by the works of the law” [vs. 2].  

WHAT DO WE LEARN IN THIS AMAZING PASSAGE? Walking in the flesh is gritting your teeth and trying really hard to keep all of the rules. Walking in the Spirit is believing what God says to you, in His Holy Word, about you. You are not saved because you’ve kept all of, or least most of, the commandments of God; but you are saved because you believed what God said to you, about you!! For example, God said to you, about you, that because you believed in Christ you will not perish but have everlasting life [Jn. 3:16]. He said to you, about you, that because you are now in Christ everything about your life before Christ is gone; and now absolutely everything about you is new [2 Cor. 5:17, [NIV].

Chapter 4, Verses 8-11:

Galatians 4:8-11) [KJV] Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

9) 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?

10) Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11) I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.

IMPORTANT TRUTH: Religion tells us that we must do something for God in order to be a Christian; Christianity tells us that because we are saved the Holy Spirit bears His fruit in us; and because the fruit of the Spirit is in us we do good works.

Chapter 5, Verses 1, 13-14:

Galatians 5:1, 13-14) [KJV] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

13) For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

IMPORTANT TRUTH: We must make our stand in the “liberty wherewith Christ has made us free”! But we must never look at Christian liberty as an excuse to sin! If not the Law, then what restrains us from sinning? LOVE!! When we love God and people it restrains us from sin!

Chapter 5, Verses 16-23:

Galatians 5:16-23) [KJV] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

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.

18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are:

22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

IMPORTANT TRUTH: As Christians we would to God that we would never sin again. We do still occasionally sin; but the way, as Christians, to limit sin is to “walk in the Spirit.” I explained in my “Important Truth” on Galatians 3:1-3 what walking in the Spirit is. We must discover in the beautiful TRUTHS of this New Covenant what God has said to us, about us. Then we must answer back to God, “Lord, I do believe; help thou my unbelief” [Mark 9:24]! Truth is always Truth! The flesh can only produce what the flesh produces! It doesn’t matter if you’re an unbeliever or a Christian; if you walk in the power of your own ability the flesh will produce what the flesh produces! The other Truth that is always Truth is that the Spirit will always produce what the Spirit produces. Do you want to live right? Then walk in the Spirit, which is, believe what God says to you about you!

Looking for a welcoming church family in Council Bluffs? We invite you to join us at Walk of Grace Chapel for Bible study, worship, and fellowship. Whether you’re new to the area or searching for a place to grow in faith, our doors are always open!

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Galatians Chapter 6 Study Guide

Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 1a

“If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”

[4-25-21]

Review: “Let’s Believe What God Said To Us, About Us!”

Galatians 5:19-26) [KJV] (GW) Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity,
See our Galatians Chapter 5 Study Guide

20) (GW) idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions,

21) (GW) envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

NOTE: Walking in the flesh produces 9 horrible worldly sins {adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, murders, drunkenness, revellings} and 8 church sins {hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying}.

NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 19-21 are “repugnant” to the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

22) (CEV) God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful,

23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

NOTE: Walking in the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 22-23 is “repugnant” to our unredeemed flesh. Our bodies, which are not yet saved, and therefore have sin dwelling in their members, crave to do those things mentioned in verses 19-21.

NOTE: Paul’s entire purpose for writing this epistle is to teach the Galatian believers that now that they are Christians they must choose how they will walk out their Christian experience. Will they attempt to please God by keeping the commandments of Moses, or will they continue their Christian experience by doing the very thing they did to become Christians?

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

NOTE: We became Christians by believing what God said to us about us!

NOTE: We should continue to believe what God said to us about us in His Word!

NOTE: I walk in the flesh by trying really hard to keep the rules so God will love me more.

NOTE: I walk in the Spirit by believing everything God says to me about me, in the Gospel message of the New Testament.

24) And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

(GNB) The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.

26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

NOTE: Walking in the flesh is all about our trying to outshine our fellow believers, our trying to keep the rules better than they do so we can feel superior to them. Let’s not do that! Let’s walk in the Spirit instead!

This Week’s Lesson: “If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”

Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Regarding “overtaken,”

“It is probable that the latter here is the true sense, and that it means, if a man is found to be overtaken by any sin; if his passions, or if temptation get the better of him” [Barnes].

“Not, be detected in the act by someone else before he can escape, but surprised by the fault itself; hurried into error” [Vincent].

(AMP) BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.

(NAS) Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.

QUESTION: What does “overtaken in a fault” mean?

ANSWER: The consensus seems to be that a man’s passion/weakness was tested by the devil, and the man succumbed to the temptation. There was no plan to sin, but the man’s passion got the better of him.

QUESTION: What was the end result of the man falling into sin?

ANSWER: He needed restoration.

“Greek, ‘a transgression,’ ‘a fall’; such as a falling back into legal bondage” [JFB].

“Literally, a falling aside, a slip or lapse in the papyri rather than a willful sin” [Robertson].

“papyri” – “The pith of the papyrus plant especially when made into strips and pressed into a material to write on” [Merriam-Webster Dictionary].

QUESTION: What does the JFB commentary suggest this fault might be?

ANSWER: They suggest it might be the fault of falling back into legalism; that is, the trusting of our own ability to keep all the rules satisfactory to get a faultless God to love us.

NOTE: Looking at these two possibilities, the possibility that the fault refers to a giving in to the desires of the flesh, or the possibility that the fault refers to believing bad doctrine, that doctrine being that we must keep the Law of Moses, one thing remains constant in verse 1.

QUESTION: What remains constant regardless of who is right?

ANSWER: The individual needs restoration. 

QUESTION: Having said that, which opinion, that of Vincent and Barnes, or that of the JFB commentary, should we agree with?

ANSWER: The context of this passage could support either argument. The argument that Paul is making throughout this epistle is that we must turn to grace, not the law. However, in making that argument he does tell us that when we turn to the law that we are putting our faith in our ability, not God’s, which is walking in the flesh, and that the flesh produces the works of the flesh that we discussed last week. If Paul is referring to the falling into one of those sins, which would be a normal thing when we walk in the flesh, then it would still be within the context of his argument.

QUESTION: What then is our conclusion to be?

ANSWER: Either conclusion might be correct, but the end result is the same. If I am overtaken by a temptation to commit one of the works of the flesh it’s because I’m walking in the flesh. If I’m walking in the flesh it’s because I was overtaken by the temptation to turn to the Law of Moses.

**NOTE: I make the above statement because if I am walking in the Spirit I will not fulfill the desires of my flesh [Gal. 5:16].

John 13:34-35) [NAS] “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35) By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

PLEASE NOTE: “Christians still have a law to fulfill, the law of Christ. They can fulfill it only in the power of the Spirit, as they serve one another in the fellowship of the Church” [Wycliffe].

QUESTION: How powerful is this “LAW OF CHRIST”?

ANSWER: It is so powerful that it causes you to do what you could never do by gritting your teeth and trying harder!! Please note the following passage:

Rom. 13:8-10) [KJV] Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9) For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 1b-3

“Bear With Others When They Fail!”

[5-2-21]

Review: “If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”

Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

“It is probable that the latter here is the true sense, and that it means, if a man is found to be overtaken by any sin; if his passions, or if temptation get the better of him” [Barnes].

“Greek, ‘a transgression,’ ‘a fall’; such as a falling back into legal bondage” [JFB].

QUESTION: What does “overtaken in a fault” mean?

ANSWER: The consensus seems to be that a man’s passion/weakness was tested by the devil, and the man succumbed to the temptation. There was no plan to sin, but the man’s passion got the better of him. However, others suggest it might be the fault of falling back into legalism; that is, the trusting of our own ability to keep all the rules satisfactory to get a faultless God to love us.

NOTE: The context of this passage could support either argument. The argument that Paul is making throughout this epistle is that we must turn to grace, not the law. However, in making that argument he does tell us that when we turn to the law that we are putting our faith in our ability, not God’s, which is walking in the flesh, and that the flesh produces the works of the flesh that we discussed last week. If Paul is referring to the falling into one of those sins, which would be a normal thing when we walk in the flesh, then it would still be within the context of his argument.

This Week’s Lesson: “Bear With Others When They Fail!”

Galatians 6:1b-3) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Galatians 6:1b) [KJV] ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;

QUESTION: Who are the “spiritual” that Paul refers to?

ANSWER: Possibilities:

• Pastors and elders;
• Those operating in the gifts of the Spirit;
• Those who have the motivational gift of exhortation/encouragement;
• Those who are walking in the Spirit.

QUESTION: Which possibility does the context suggest?

ANSWER: It suggests the final possibility; it suggests that those who are walking in the Spirit should restore those who are walking in the flesh, and thus have fallen into one of the works of the flesh.

QUESTION: What should those who are “spiritual” do?

ANSWER: They should consider themselves before trying to help the others.

NOTE: If I am going to try to “restore such an one” then I need to first look at myself. I need to make certain that I am not guilty of the very thing I am trying to correct in the other.

Matthew 7:1-5) [GNB] “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you,

2) for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.

3) Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?

4) How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye?

5) You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

NOTE: What? A person with a log in his eye is trying to get a speck out of another person’s eye!

**QUESTION: What sin is so big that Jesus calls it a “log” in comparison to the “speck” in the other person’s eye? In other words, what sin can be so big in my life that it is multiple times bigger than the sin in the other person’s life that I am determined to get fixed?

ANSWER: It is the sin of being judgmental!

NOTE: Paul tells us in our passage in Galatians that we must approach someone “in the spirit of meekness” if we hope to restore that individual. If we are judgmental then we are not meek.

Matthew 11:28-30) [NLT] Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

29) Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.

30) For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

QUESTION: How does Jesus approach us when we are weary from our burdens that we bear?

ANSWER: He approaches us with humility and gentleness.

QUESTION: Why should I approach the individual who is struggling with sin in “the spirit of meekness,” which is the same Greek word rendered “gentle” in the Matthew passage above? In other words, why should I approach you, when you are struggling, the same way that Jesus approached me when I was struggling?

ANSWER: How dare I, who am a sinner, approach you with an attitude of superiority when God, the Son, Who has never sinned, approaches me with “humility and gentleness?”

Galatians 6:1c) [KJV] considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

QUESTION: Why else should I approach you “in the spirit of meekness”?

ANSWER: I should because I know that I will face many more temptations throughout this life.

2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

(BBE) Take on yourselves one another’s troubles, and so keep the law of Christ.

(CEV) You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

QUESTION: What is “the law of Christ”?

John 13:34-35) [KJV] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

ANSWER: We are to love each other the very way that Christ loves us.

QUESTION: How did Jesus love us?

**ANSWER: He loved us enough to bear our heavy load when He bore our sins to Calvary.

QUESTION: What has to happen before I will be willing to help my brother carry his burden?

ANSWER: I have to consider myself the way the Scripture (vs. 1c) tells me to. I must understand that I too sometimes give in to temptation.

QUESTION: Why?

ANSWER: If I see myself as better than my brother because “I would never do what he just did!” then I can’t help him bear his burden because I’m too busy thinking he’s a loser.

3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

(AMP) For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.

NOTE: Note these warnings in the Scriptures.

John 13:34-35) [KJV] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1 Corinthians 8:1-2) [KJV] Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

2) And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

1 Corinthians 10:12) [TLB] So be careful. If you are thinking, “Oh, I would never behave like that”-let this be a warning to you. For you too may fall into sin.

(GNB) Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.

(CEV) Too much pride will destroy you.

NOTE: We had better not think that we are somehow above temptation. If we think we’re all that then that very pride will lead to our downfall.

CONCLUSION: We must always trust God to give us the necessary strength to resist any coming temptations, but we must also understand that the minute we trust ourselves, instead of God, WE WILL FAIL!

Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 3-5

“Helping Others To Help Themselves!”

[5-9-21]

Review: “Bear With Others When They Fail!”

Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,

Galatians 6:1b-3) [KJV] ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;

NOTE: This suggests that those who are walking in the Spirit should restore those who are walking in the flesh, and thus have fallen into one of the works of the flesh.

NOTE: If I am going to try to “restore such an one” then I need to first look at myself. I need to make certain that I am not guilty of the very thing I am trying to correct in the other, which in this case would be walking in the flesh.

Matthew 7:5) [GNB] You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

**NOTE: What sin is so big that Jesus calls it a “log” in comparison to the “speck” in the other person’s eye? In other words, what sin can be so big in my life that it is multiple times bigger than the sin in the other person’s life that I am determined to get fixed? It is the sin of being judgmental!

Galatians 6:1c) [KJV] considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

NOTE: I should “consider myself” because I know that I will face many more temptations throughout this life.

2) (CEV) You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

John 13:35) [KJV] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

**NOTE: JESUS loved us enough to bear our heavy load when He bore our sins to Calvary.

3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

NOTE: We had better not think that we are somehow above temptation. If we think we’re all that then that very pride will lead to our downfall.

This Week’s Lesson: “Helping Others To Help Themselves!”

Galatians 6:3-5) [KJV] For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

QUESTION: What is the source of our pride, of our thinking too highly of ourselves?

ANSWER: We think too highly of ourselves when we compare ourselves to others who we think are not as good as we are.

QUESTION: What does Paul think of that kind of pride?

ANSWER: He says we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing.

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: It means that when we are judgmental towards others, and think ourselves superior to them, then, in God’s eyes, we are nothing.

QUESTION: What causes a man to be so prideful?

ANSWER: He thinks he’s smarter than anyone else, and pride “puffeth up.”

1 Corinthians 8:1-2) [KJV] Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

2) And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 

QUESTION: What is the opposite of pride, which has a big “I” in the middle of it?

ANSWER: Love! The Greek word rendered “charity” in the above passage means “love.”

NOTE: The “know it all” doesn’t know anything “as he ought to know.” In other words, living outside of the realm of Christian love is absolute ignorance.

4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

(GNB) You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done.

NOTE: Paul is telling us that we should be so busy examining our own actions that we’re too busy to put others down.

NOTE: It took us thirty years to get to the point of our Christian walk where we are at and we expect the new believer to be there in thirty days.

NOTE: We should rejoice when we see the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. We should leave it up to the Holy Spirit to perfect our brother/sister in the Lord.

**NOTE: We should not be joyful because we think we are more spiritual than someone else; we should be full of joy because we are more spiritual than we once were.

**ANOTHER NOTE: We should give the same grace to the one struggling that we once desired that someone would give us when we were struggling.

5) For every man shall bear his own burden.

QUESTION: Why does Paul tell us that we should each bear “one another’s burden” in verse 2, then tells us that each of us must “bear his own burden” in verse 5?  Isn’t that a contradiction?

ANSWER: Please note:

“It is doubtful whether any different shade of meaning is intended. Originally βάρη emphasizes the weight of the burden, φορτίον simply notes the fact that it is something to be born (φέρειν), which may be either light or heavy” [Vincent].

QUESTION: What is Vincent getting at?

ANSWER: He is saying that the “burden” in verse 2 is a specific weight; and he’s saying in verse 5 that the “burden” in verse 2, with its specific weight, must be carried.

 QUESTION: Again, what is Vincent getting at?

ANSWER: He is saying that Paul isn’t using two different Greek words in verses 2 & 5 to tell us that there is a burden we help one another carry, and there’s another kind of burden we must carry individually.

QUESTION: Then why the seeming contradiction?

ANSWER: We can encourage those who are going through difficulties, but ultimately they have to bare that “burden.”

NOTE: If I comfort someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one it might encourage them to know that someone loves them, and understands the pain they are going through, but it doesn’t take the pain away. Unfortunately, they must bear that pain, that “burden.” I can’t bear their pain so that they don’t have to, but I can love them and pray for them.

Let’s Look At Verses 2-5 Together:

2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

3)  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

5) For every man shall bear his own burden.

NOTE: It’s a burden that requires me to:

• Be helpful in some way;
• Not think that I’m better than the one whose “burden” is being considered;
• Remember my own frailties/weaknesses/struggles;
• Be thankful that God has helped me to arrive somewhere differently in my spiritual walk than where I once was.

NOTE: It’s appears that the “burden” he is referring to in the brother we are to help is the “burden” of spiritual immaturity.

Let’s Remember Verse 1:

1) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

QUESTION: What kind of “burden” does Paul seem to have in mind?

ANSWER: The context appears to make it a “burden” caused by the individual’s “fault.”

Matthew 7:1) [GNB] “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you,

QUESTION: How must we help to bear this brother’s burden/fault?

ANSWER: We must be free of a spirit of condemnation. We must offer forgiveness through Christ and direction through His Word. Then, that brother must “bear his own burden,” in the sense of walking out what the Word teaches Him.

Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 6-10

“The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”

 [5-16-21]

Review: “Helping Others To Help Themselves!”

Galatians 6:3-5) [KJV] For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

NOTE: We think too highly of ourselves when we compare ourselves to others who we think are not as good as we are.

NOTE: Paul concludes that we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing. That means that when we are judgmental towards others, and think ourselves superior to them, then, in God’s eyes, we are nothing.

4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

NOTE: We should rejoice when we see the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. We should leave it up to the Holy Spirit to perfect our brother/sister in the Lord.

NOTE: We should not be joyful because we think we are more spiritual than someone else; we should be full of joy because we are more spiritual than we once were.

**ANOTHER NOTE: We should give the same grace to the one struggling that we once desired that someone would give us when we were struggling.

5) For every man shall bear his own burden.

NOTE: If I comfort someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one it might encourage them to know that someone loves them, and understands the pain they are going through, but it doesn’t take the pain away. Unfortunately, they must bear that pain, that “burden.” I can’t bear their pain so that they don’t have to, but I can love them and pray for them.

This Week’s Lesson: “The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”

Galatians 6:6-10) [KJV] Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

(NLT) Those who are taught the word of God should help their teachers by paying them.

COMPARISON: Our taxes pay our school teachers; our tuition pays our college professors; our church contributions pay our ministers.

1 Peter 5:3) (NIV) Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;

**NOTE: Galatians 6:6 teaches us that compensating a minister for his ministry is the responsibility of all who receive spiritual benefit from his teaching. 1 Peter 5:3 teaches us that monetary gain must never be the motivation that drives a minister of the Gospel, but rather his/her love for God, and his/her love for God’s people must be his/her motivation.

1 Timothy 3:1-3) (TLB) It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a pastor he has a good ambition.

2) For a pastor must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard working and thoughtful, orderly, and full of good deeds. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be a good Bible teacher.

3) He must not be a drinker or quarrelsome, but he must be gentle and kind and not be one who loves money.

NOTE: Paul tells Timothy that a minister must not love money. Money must not be his motivation.

Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of Verse 6:                                                                                                                         

7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?

ANSWER: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!

8) 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.

QUESTION: What message does this verse on “sowing and reaping” teach us?

ANSWER: If we want to reap a harvest of spiritual blessing then we must plant seeds that produce a spiritual harvest. If we do everything the “human” way, which Paul refers to as “he that soweth to his flesh,” we can only reap a harvest of natural blessings, which ultimately fade away, which Paul refers to as reaping “corruption.”

QUESTION: How do these harvest times of reaping natural blessings ultimately fade away?

ANSWER: We die! There are no eternal benefits to natural blessings. The things that follow you to Heaven are the spiritual blessings that you have harvested as a result of your being one of those “that sows to the Spirit.”

NOTE: Loving your children, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, etc. is sowing to the Spirit because God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16).

*ANOTHER NOTE: Loving someone in this life who doesn’t love you back (I’m not talking about romantic love) may bring pain to you in this life, but you will reap the wealth of Almighty God in the life to come.

9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

QUESTION: What promise does God give us in this passage?

ANSWER: If you’re doing God’s work keep after it! It might not seem worthwhile at the moment but at some point, even if that point is in the next life, we will reap the benefits of our planting spiritual seeds.

10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

QUESTION: As a Christian, who should I actively “do good” to?

ANSWER: I should do good to everybody.

QUESTION: What else does this verse teach us?

**ANSWER: We should do good to everybody, but we should have extra diligence to “do good” to God’s people.

Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of the Main Subject of This Epistle:                                                                                                                         

7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?

ANSWER: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!

8) 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.

QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?

ANSWER: If we want the benefits of walking in the Spirit we won’t get them by trying with our own strength!

QUESTION: What is this “sowing to the flesh” in light of our wanting to live a good Christian life?

ANSWER: Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:2-3 that “sowing to” the flesh is our trying to keep all the rules by our own human effort. It’s a “gritting our teeth and trying harder” method.

QUESTION: What is this “sowing to the Spirit” in light of our wanting to live a good Christian life?

ANSWER: Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:2-3 that “sowing to” the Spirit is our hearing, and believing, God’s promises to us.

QUESTION: Then, what is Paul teaching us in verse 8?

ANSWER: If you try to be a good Christian by your own human strength/your flesh, then your harvest will be contaminated; because the flesh can only produce what the flesh produces (Galatians 5:19-21). However, if you simply believe what God says about you in His Word you will begin to do things that are in accordance with His teachings. It’s called walking in the Spirit, and it produces wonderful things (Galatians 5:22-23).

NOTE: Just try living badly after the Holy Spirit produces His “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (GNB) in you.

9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

QUESTION: What promise does God give us in this passage?

ANSWER: If we keep doing our best to align ourselves with God’s Word we will eventually reap the results of walking in the Spirit.

Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 11-18

“Don’t Become Entrenched In The Law of Moses!”

 [5-23-21]

Review: “The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”

Galatians 6:6-10) [KJV] (NLT) Those who are taught the word of God should help their teachers by paying them.

COMPARISON: Our taxes pay our school teachers; our tuition pays our college professors; our church contributions pay our ministers.

Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of Verse 6:                                                                                                                         

7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

NOTE: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!

8) 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.

NOTE: If we want to reap a harvest of spiritual blessing then we must plant seeds that produce a spiritual harvest. If we do everything the “human” way, which Paul refers to as “he that soweth to his flesh,” we can only reap a harvest of natural blessings, which ultimately fade away, which Paul refers to as reaping “corruption.”

NOTE: Loving your children, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, etc. is sowing to the Spirit because God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16).

*ANOTHER NOTE: Loving someone in this life who doesn’t love you back (I’m not talking about romantic love) may bring pain to you in this life, but you will reap the wealth of Almighty God in the life to come.

9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

ANSWER: If you’re doing God’s work keep after it! It might not seem worthwhile at the moment but at some point, even if that point is in the next life, we will reap the benefits of our planting spiritual seeds.

10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

NOTE: We should do good to everybody; but we should have extra diligence to “do good” to God’s people.

This Week’s Lesson: “Don’t Become Entrenched In The Law of Moses!”

Galatians 6:11-18) [KJV] Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

12) As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

QUESTION: Why did some first century preachers want Christian Gentiles to be circumcised?

ANSWER: They didn’t want to be persecuted by the Jews! Many of the Jewish “converts” to Christianity help tightly to the Law of Moses, and to the rite of circumcision. They didn’t take kindly to preachers, like Paul, who taught Gentile believers to steer clear of the Law, and of circumcision.

13) For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

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.

15) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

QUESTION: According to these closing verses why did those false teachers insist that non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith get circumcised?

ANSWER: They wanted to boast about numbers.

QUESTION: Do we struggle with that these days?

ANSWER: Absolutely! We want to boast about how many people we baptized, or how many came down front to be saved, or how many were sanctified, or how many were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

QUESTION: What did the Apostle Paul boast about?

ANSWER: He took pride in the fact that he was so loved by God that Jesus died for him at Calvary. He wanted his readers to rejoice in the very same thing.

QUESTION: What resulted from God loving him enough to die for him?

ANSWER: Paul was now dead to the world, and the world was dead to him.

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: It is a statement of faith, of believing what God had said about him in His Word. In other words, it’s a reflection of Paul walking in the Spirit. Paul believed that because Christ had died for him he was now dead, in Christ, to the world. Therefore, he didn’t do the things he used to do, those things that were contrary to God’s teachings.  He was walking by faith; i.e., he was walking in the Spirit.

QUESTION: What was his final point on this subject?

ANSWER: The Jews saw circumcision as an initiation into the Jewish faith that was built upon the Law of Moses. Many Christian Jews wanted to merge faith in Christ with Moses’ Law. Therefore, they wanted non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith to yield to circumcision as a means to be initiated into the Jewish faith that they had attempted to merge with the Christian faith. Paul, a good Jew himself, concluded that being circumcised or not being circumcised was totally irrelevant to the Christian faith. The fact is that when you place your faith in the Lord Jesus you become a brand new creature/creation in Him. That’s what matters!

16) And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

QUESTION: Wasn’t it Paul’s desire that all men experience peace?

ANSWER: No! He wanted those who were teaching these bad doctrines to experience a lack of peace that would hopefully drive them to a deeper study of God’s Word, with the end result being that they would discover the true doctrines of the New Testament.

NOTE: The Old Covenant, that was built upon the Law of Moses, and the New Covenant, which is built upon Christ (His birth, perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to Heaven), cannot be merged together. They are diametrically opposed to one another. The first was given to the unregenerate; the last was given to the born again, blood washed children of God.

17) From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

QUESTION: What were these “marks of the Lord Jesus” that Paul bore in his body?

ANSWER: Paul had so many physical marks in his body that were the results of all the physical sufferings he endured for preaching Jesus.

QUESTION: What did he mean when he said “let no man trouble me” from now on?

ANSWER: I think Paul was tired of starting churches by teaching converts what Jesus accomplished for them at Calvary, and then having to reteach them all over again because false teachers had introduced bad doctrine to them.

18) Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

To the Galatians written from Rome.

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Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 1-3

“Religious? Yes! But Saved Or Lost?”

[3-14-21]

Review: “Freedom Versus Bondage!”

Galatians 4:21-31) [KJV] Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
See our Galatians Chapter 4 Study Guide

22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

NOTE: Hagar, the “bondmaid,” was an Egyptian girl who was a slave to Sarah.

23) But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

NOTE: Ishmael was born the same way every one of us was born. There was nothing miraculous about his birth; it was completely natural.

NOTE: Isaac was born to a woman who was barren and had then gone through “the change” where having a child was then doubly impossible. Isaac was born simply because God promised he would be.

24) Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25) For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

**26) But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

NOTE: He is contrasting the old and new covenants, and he is contrasting bondage and freedom.

**NOTE: Hagar represents the Law of Moses that ruled the people of Israel; Sarah represents the freedom which is found in Heaven, and which is intended for God’s people.

27) 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 than she which hath an husband.

NOTE: Sarah had been barren, but now she is the mother of all who are born by promise.

28) Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

***NOTE: Our new birth took place the same way Isaac’s birth took place; it happened simply because God promised it would. We are saved because we believed a promise!

29) But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

30) 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.

“Abraham, when it was impossible that the two families should get along in peace, cast out the bondwoman and her son. See Gen_21:10. So, too, the Jews, the children of the old covenant, had lost the divine favor, and the children of the promise, whether Jews or Gentiles, made heirs” [PNT].

31) So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

ANSWER: We are those who have been born again into freedom. The next chapter will begin with an exhortation to make our stand right in the center of that freedom.

This Week’s Lesson: “Religious? Yes! But Saved Or Lost?”

Galatians 5:1-3) [KJV] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

(NLT) So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

QUESTION: What are 4:31 and 5:1 telling us?

ANSWER: We are the children of the free woman, born into freedom. Now we are to make certain that we stay free and never again enter into bondage.

QUESTION: Why does Paul tell us to “be not entangled again” if we are the children of the free woman? If we were born free than why does Paul talk as though we were once in bondage?

ANSWER: The Jews were under the bondage of obeying slaves until the appointed time arrived and the Gentiles were in bondage to idol worship. They were all born into bondage of one kind or the other.

QUESTION: Then why does Paul tell us that we are the children of the free woman?

ANSWER: We were not born into freedom in our first birth, that is, when we were born in the flesh; but rather, we were born into freedom in our second birth, that is, when we were born again of the Spirit.

“In this passage Paul again disparages the pernicious notion that the Law is able to make men righteous before God, a notion deeply rooted in man’s reason. All mankind is so wrapped up in this idea that it is hard to drag it out of people. Paul compares those who seek to be justified by the Law to oxen that are hitched to the yoke. Like oxen that toil in the yoke all day, and in the evening are turned out to graze along the dusty road, and at last are marked for slaughter when they no longer can draw the burden, so those who seek to be justified by the Law are ‘entangled with the yoke of bondage,’ and when they have grown old and broken-down in the service of the Law they have earned for their perpetual reward God’s wrath and everlasting torment” [Luther].

NOTE: Is Luther suggesting that if we try to keep the Law of Moses then we will end up in Hell? Absolutely not! But he is bluntly stating that if you try to earn salvation by keeping the Law then you will end up in Hell because you will be guilty of looking for salvation where it isn’t to be found; which is anywhere outside of Christ! The Law has never, nor will ever, save anyone!! Salvation is found only in the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

Galatians 2:21) [KJV] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

QUESTION: What did circumcision represent to the Jews?

ANSWER: It was an initiation into the Law of Moses.

QUESTION: What does Paul mean when he says, “Christ shall profit you nothing”?

ANSWER: We will answer this question in our discussion on verse 4, next week.

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

QUESTION: What is Paul’s point here?

ANSWER: If you become circumcised because you believe it to be necessary for your salvation, you will then have to keep every commandment of the Law of Moses in order to be saved. Why? Because the false teachers are insisting that you be circumcised because now that you Gentiles are believers in the Messiah you must now keep the Law of Moses to demonstrate your allegiance to the Law of Moses.

Romans 11:17-18) [KJV] And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18) Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

QUESTION: What do some modern day false teachers teach us this passage is saying?

**ANSWER: They teach us that we Gentile believers have been grafted into the “olive tree,” which they make out to be Israel, and therefore we must keep the Law of Moses now that we have been grafted in.

QUESTION: What is ridiculous about that teaching?

**ANSWER: The entire Book of Romans, where the above passage is found, was written to tell believers they are not under the Law of Moses.

Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 4-6

“Falling From Grace? What Does Paul Mean?”

[3-21-21]

Review: “Religious? Yes! But Saved Or Lost?”

4:31) So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Galatians 5:1-3) [KJV] (NLT) So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

QUESTION: What are 4:31 and 5:1 telling us?

ANSWER: We are the children of the free woman, born into freedom. Now we are to make certain that we stay free and never again enter into bondage.

NOTE: The Jews were under the bondage of obeying the Law until the appointed time arrived and the Gentiles were in bondage to idol worship. They were all born into bondage of one kind or the other.

NOTE: We were not born into freedom in our first birth, when we were born in the flesh; but rather, we were born into freedom in our second birth, that is, when we were born again of the Spirit.

“In this passage Paul again disparages the pernicious notion that the Law is able to make men righteous before God, a notion deeply rooted in man’s reason. All mankind is so wrapped up in this idea that it is hard to drag it out of people.” [Luther].

2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

Galatians 2:21) [KJV] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

NOTE: To the Jew circumcision was an initiation into the Law of Moses.

QUESTION: What does Paul mean when he says, “Christ shall profit you nothing”?

ANSWER: We will answer this question in our discussion on verse 4, next week.

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

QUESTION: What is Paul’s point here?

ANSWER: If you become circumcised because you believe it to be necessary for your salvation, you will then have to keep every commandment of the Law of Moses in order to be saved.

This Week’s Lesson: “Falling From Grace? What Does Paul Mean?”

Galatians 5:4-6) [KJV] Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

QUESTION: Again, what does Paul mean when he says, “Christ shall profit you nothing,” in vs. 2, and now in our current verse says, “ye are fallen from grace”?

NOTE: Paul’s telling his readers that if they become circumcised in order to be initiated into the Law of Moses, and then trust that keeping that Law will justify them, i.e., make them right with God, then Christ, that is the death of Christ on the cross, is of no benefit to them and they are fallen from grace.

QUESTION: Is he telling these Gentile believers that if they follow the teachings of the false teachers, the Judaizers, that they will cease to be Christians?

ANSWER: A Christian teacher’s overview of Scripture will determine how he/she answers this question. Many would say, “Yes!” because they believe you can be genuinely saved and then lose your salvation. Many would say “No!” because they believe in the “once saved, always saved” doctrine of eternal security, or perhaps in the doctrine of Divine Election.

QUESTION: The first group needs no discussion because they simply believe that these Galatian Christians were genuinely saved and were in danger of losing their salvation. What are 2 possibilities that the second group would have to consider?

ANSWER: If you can’t lose salvation once you have it then these Galatians were either:

• Never saved in the first place;
• Or, verses 2 and 4 are not talking about salvation, but something else you can fall away from.

QUESTION: What is the truth about eternal security?

ANSWER: God is never surprised. He knows who will end up in Heaven, and has since before He created this planet. Please note:

John 10:27-30) [KJV] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30) I and my Father are one.

QUESTION: Are we ever surprised?

ANSWER: Yes we are. We don’t know who will end up in Heaven so the Scriptures tell us:

2 Peter 1:10-11) [KJV] Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

11) For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 3:13-14) [KJV] But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14) For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

NOTE: From God’s perspective eternal security is absolutely the truth; those of us He knows, He already sees in Heaven, therefore we are eternally secure in Him. From man’s perspective, we need to “hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end,” all the while we are trusting God to finish what He began:

Philippians 1:6) [KJV] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

QUESTION: Getting back to Galatians 5:2 and 4, what “something else” might the Galatian believers be in danger of falling away from?

Galatians 2:8) [KJV] (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles

1 Corinthians 15:10) [KJV] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

NOTE: Grace is not only God’s Divine, undeserved favor towards us, which He exhibits when He saves us, but it’s also God’s Divine enablement which He exhibited when He enabled Paul to do great things. That’s the grace that the Galatian believers were in danger of falling from.

NOTE: When we trust that our good works will make God love us, and accept us, then we have fallen from His enabling grace and must produce the results with our own efforts. 

5) For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21) [KJV] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

QUESTION: Why are we waiting for righteousness if we are already righteous by virtue of Christ’s death?

ANSWER: We are not waiting for a future time when we will be in a right relationship with God. We are already right with God.

Romans 8:24-25) [KJV] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25) But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

NOTE: We are already right with God, but we are waiting for a day when our bodies will be saved.

1 John 3:2) [KJV] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

NOTE: Our bodies will be saved wihen we see Jesus in His glory! Then our bodies will be saved, therefore, sin will no longer dwell in the members, so we will be like Jesus in the arena of practical righteousness. That’s what we’re waiting for (verse 5 above); that’s what we’re groaning for [Romans 8:23].

6) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

ANSWER: Neither our current status of being right with God, or our future status of being completely righteous in our conduct have anything whatsoever to do with rather or not we’re circumcised.

Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 7-12

“We Must Cling To The True Gospel!”

[3-28-21]

Review: “Falling From Grace? What Does Paul Mean?”

Galatians 5:4-6) [KJV] Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

NOTE: Paul’s telling his readers that if they become circumcised in order to be initiated into the Law of Moses, and then trust that keeping that Law will justify them, i.e., make them right with God, then Christ, that is the death of Christ on the cross, is of no benefit to them and they are fallen from grace.

NOTE: If you can’t lose salvation once you have it then these Galatians were either:

• Never saved in the first place;
• Or, verses 2 and 4 are not talking about salvation, but something else you can fall away from.

NOTE: God is never surprised. He knows who will end up in Heaven, and has since before He created this planet. Please note:

Hebrews 3:14) [KJV] For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

NOTE: From God’s perspective eternal security is absolutely the truth; those of us He knows, He already sees in Heaven, therefore we are eternally secure in Him. From man’s perspective, we need to “hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end,” all the while we are trusting God to finish what He began:

Philippians 1:6) [KJV] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

1 Corinthians 15:10) [KJV] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

NOTE: Grace is not only God’s Divine, undeserved favor towards us, which He exhibits when He saves us, but it’s also God’s Divine enablement which He exhibited when He enabled Paul to do great things. That’s the grace that the Galatian believers were in danger of falling from.

NOTE: When we trust that our good works will make God love us, and accept us, then we have fallen from His enabling grace and must produce the results with our own efforts. 

5) For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21) [KJV] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

6) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

ANSWER: Neither our current status of being right with God, or our future status of being completely righteous in our conduct have anything whatsoever to do with rather or not we’re circumcised.

This Week’s Lesson: “We Must Cling To The True Gospel!”

Galatians 5:7-12) [KJV] Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8) This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9) A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

QUESTION: Who hindered the Galatian believers?

ANSWER: This was a rhetorical question with an understood answer. The Judaizers were to blame.

QUESTION: What does verse 8 tell us?

ANSWER: God called them, and God disagrees with the doctrine of the Judaizers.

QUESTION: What does Paul intend in verse 9?

ANSWER: Believing a little bit of a bad doctrine can eventually mess up your entire understanding of New Testament doctrine.

NOTE: This is especially true when the doctrine concerns one of the main tenets of the Christian faith. We are saved by faith, through God’s grace, period. We add nothing to that truth!!

10) I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

QUESTION: What is Paul pointing out in verse 10?

ANSWER: God had given him confidence that the Galatian believers would resist this false doctrine and hold to the truths that Paul had taught them when he was there.

Galatians 1:6-9) [KJV] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

QUESTION: What does the above passage from the first chapter of this epistle tell us about those who were troubling the Galatian believers?

ANSWER: The false doctrine they were teaching the Galatian believers was a direct attach against one of the pillars of the Christian doctrine; that being that We are saved by faith, through God’s grace, period. We add nothing to that truth!!

QUESTION: What does Paul say in that same passage concerning the false teachers’ “gospel”?

ANSWER: What the false teachers taught concerning the Gospel was not, in any way, related to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel = Good News! There was no good news in what the false teachers taught concerning the Gospel!

QUESTION: What does Paul tell us about the fate of these false teachers in verse 10?

ANSWER: The false teachers will be judged by God!

1 Cor. 3:16-17) [KJV] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

QUESTION: What does Paul tell us in the above passage regarding God’s judgment on those who “defile” the temple of God?

ANSWER: God will ultimately destroy all of those who defile His Holy Temple; which Temple is built up of God’s people.

Galatians 3:1) [NLT] Oh, foolish Galatians! What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross.

NOTE: The above passage shows us why Paul was so frustrated by the believers in Galatia even entertaining the false teaching of the Judaizers.

11) And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

QUESTION: What is Paul pointing out in this verse?

ANSWER: He wouldn’t be subjected to so much persecution if he was preaching this watered down version of the gospel that the false teachers were teaching.

NOTE: Most of Paul’s persecution came from the Jews who were offended at his preaching that the death of Christ on our behalf ended our obligation to the Law of Moses.

12) I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

QUESTION: What does Paul wish would happen?

ANSWER: He wishes these false teachers would be cut away from the church.

QUESTION: Why is Paul so harsh towards false teachers in the church?

ANSWER: Church doctrine that would govern the Church until Jesus returns was being set in place at that time. It was important that the correct doctrine was the doctrine that would be in place for future generations.

Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 13-15

“The New Restraint!”

[4-4-21]

{Easter Sunday}

Review: “Falling From Grace? What Does Paul Mean?”

Galatians 5:7-12) [KJV] Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8) This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9) A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

NOTE: God called them, and He disagrees with the doctrine of the Judaizers. Paul wants them to understand that believing a little bit of a bad doctrine can eventually mess up your entire understanding of New Testament doctrine.

NOTE: This is especially true when the doctrine concerns one of the main tenets of the Christian faith. We are saved by faith, through God’s grace, period. We add nothing to that truth!!

10) I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

Galatians 1:6-9) [KJV] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

NOTE: The false doctrine they were teaching the Galatian believers was a direct attach against one of the pillars of the Christian doctrine; that being that We are saved by faith, through God’s grace, period. We add nothing to that truth!!

NOTE: Gospel = Good News! There was no good news in what the false teachers taught concerning the Gospel!

11) And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

NOTE: Most of Paul’s persecution came from the Jews who were offended at his preaching that the death of Christ on our behalf ended our obligation to the Law of Moses.

12) I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

ANSWER: Church doctrine that would govern the Church until Jesus returns was being set in place at that time. It was important that the correct doctrine was the doctrine that would be in place for future generations.

This Week’s Lesson: “The New Restraint!”

Galatians 5:13-15) [KJV] For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Galatians 5:1) [CEV] Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.

14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

QUESTION: What does Paul reaffirm at this point of his letter?

ANSWER: These Galatian believers had been “called unto liberty,” not to live under the Law.

QUESTION: What doesn’t Paul want to happen?

**ANSWER: He wants them to reject the Law of Moses, but he doesn’t want them to embrace license. He doesn’t want them to live ungodly lives and think it is O.K. because they are under grace.

Titus 2:11-12) [KJV] For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

QUESTION: What does the doctrine of grace actually teach us?

ANSWER: It teaches us to:

• Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts;
• Live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

QUESTION: What does Paul teach us is the new restraint that keeps us from living badly, or to put it another way, keeps us from using our Christian liberty “for an occasion to the flesh”?

ANSWER: He teaches us that when we love our Christian family, and we have a heart to serve them, that love will restrain us from sin.

QUESTION: Does loving our neighbor as we love ourselves really fulfill the entire Law of Moses?

ANSWER: No! When we walk in the principle of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves we fulfill commandments 5-10. When we love God with all our hearts we fulfill commandments 1-4.

NOTE: Paul was writing to Christians so he assumed their love for God, consequently, he emphasized their love for one another.

Romans 13:8-10) [KJV] Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9) For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

QUESTION: Why does Paul tell us that love fulfills the Law?

ANSWER: If I love you then I won’t cheat with their wife, I won’t kill you, I won’t take what is yours, I won’t lie about you, and I won’t covet what you have. In other words, I will treat you right.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) [CEV] Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or

5) rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do.

6)  Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.

7) Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.

8a) Love never fails!

QUESTION: What is Paul doing in the above passage?

ANSWER: He’s explaining what he means when he’s talking about love.

1 John 3:16) [CEV] We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other.

QUESTION: How can we get an better understanding of what this love really is?

ANSWER: We need to understand what God means when He talks about this love by viewing it through the prism of His love for us, which led Him to sending His Son to die for us.

1 John 2:6) [GNB] if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did.

QUESTION: What is John telling us in the above passage?

ANSWER: True Christians want to walk the walk that Jesus walked.

15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

QUESTION: What is the alternative to walking in love?

ANSWER: We can go on destroying one another.

A CLOSING NOTE: I criticize you and cause others in the church to doubt you. You criticize me and cause others in the church to doubt me. After awhile nobody trusts anybody. The church has been effectively consumed.

CLOSING THOUGHT: This Easter Sunday remember this: Jesus died for our sins, that is, for all of the times we transgressed against the moral Law of God. That closed the chapter on our trying to keep the moral Law of God; we now walk under the Royal Law of God [James 2:8-12]; we now conduct our lives by walking out the commandment of Jesus Christ to love one another the very same way He loves us [Jn. 13:34-35]. After 3 days Jesus arose from the dead so that we could live a new, different kind of life by the strength of the Spirit [Rom. 6:4, CEV translation].

Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 16-18

“Want To Overcome? Then Walk In The Spirit!”

[4-11-21]

Review: “The New Restraint!”

Galatians 5:13-15) [KJV] (CEV) Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.

14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

**NOTE: Paul wants them to reject the Law of Moses, but he doesn’t want them to embrace license. He doesn’t want them to live ungodly lives and think it is O.K. because they are under grace.

Titus 2:11-12) [KJV] For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

NOTE: Paul teaches us that when we love our Christian family, and we have a heart to serve them, that love will restrain us from sin.

QUESTION: Does loving our neighbor as we love ourselves really fulfill the entire Law of Moses?

ANSWER: No! When we walk in the principle of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves we fulfill commandments 5-10. When we love God with all our hearts we fulfill commandments 1-4.

NOTE: Paul was writing to Christians so he assumed their love for God, consequently, he emphasized their love for one another.

Romans 13:10) [KJV] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

NOTE: If I love you then I won’t cheat with your wife, I won’t kill you, I won’t take what is yours, I won’t lie about you, and I won’t covet what you have. In other words, I will treat you right.

1 John 3:16) [CEV] We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other.

NOTE: True Christians want to walk the walk that Jesus walked.

15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

This Week’s Lesson: “Want To Overcome? Then Walk In The Spirit!”

Galatians 5:16-18) [KJV] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

NOTE: We became Christians “by the hearing of faith,”  meaning we heard the Gospel message that Christ died for us and wanted to save us. We believed that message; we were born again.

QUESTION: When we believe the promises of God what are we doing according to verse 3 above?

ANSWER: We are walking in the Spirit.

QUESTION: With that in mind, what is Paul telling us in verse 16 above?

ANSWER: He’s telling us that when we believe God’s promises to us we won’t “fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

QUESTION: If that is the case, and it is, then what does that mean when I am sinning; that is, fulfilling the lust of my flesh?

ANSWER: If I’m struggling with sin then there is a promise of God that I do not believe!

QUESTION: Why don’t I believe a certain promise of God?

ANSWER: Possibilities:

• That promise might sound too good to be true;
• I might be listening more to my flesh that yells at me you’re still the same man you always were;
• Sin dwells in our flesh; consequently, we might want to pacify our lust more than we want to please God;
• I might not have discovered that promise yet.

John 8:31-32) [KJV] And Jesus said to those Jews who believed on him: If ye continue in my word, ye will be truly my disciples.

32) And ye will know the truth; and the truth will make you free.

QUESTION: How do we discover the promises of God that make us free?

**ANSWER: We have to relentlessly continue in His word.

17) (GNB) For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.

QUESTION: What can keep us, as Christians, from doing those things that are right in God’s eyes?

Romans 7:14-17) [KJV] For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

15) For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

16) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

17) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching in verses 14-17 above?

• There is nothing wrong with the Law (vs. 14).
• The problem is I don’t keep it (vs. 15).
• I fail to do the things I want to do and instead, I do the very things I hate to do (vs. 15).
• I do those things I hate to do because sin has made its home in me (vs. 17).

Romans 7:18-20) [KJV] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching in verses 18-20 above?

• Nothing good can be found in my fallen nature (vs. 18).
• Because of that, I can want to do the right thing but fail to find the ability to do the right thing (vs. 18).
• Once again, I do those things I hate to do because sin has made its home in me (vs. 20).

Romans 7: 21) [KJV] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

NOTE: “When I would do good,” I struggle because I’m trusting my strength to do what’s right rather than trusting God’s strength that’s at work in my life.

NOTE: Keeping the Law requires great will power. Consequently, no one, outside of Christ Jesus, has ever kept the Law. There’s a better way! Every one of us walks out what we truly believe. If I truly believe I am a new creation in Christ Jesus my conduct will reflect that. THE PROBLEM IS I DON’T TRULY BELIEVE THAT I AM A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST JESUS! Lord, I do believe! Help me let go of unbelief!

Mark 9:23-24) [KJV] Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24) And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

QUESTION: What does being “led of the Spirit” mean?

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

ANSWER: When Paul tells us to walk in, be led by, or to be in the Spirit he is talking about our believing what God has told us.

Galatians 5:16) [KJV] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

1 John 5:4) [KJV] For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Galatians 5:13-14) [KJV] For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

A CLOSING NOTE: The only 2 ways we can live right/overcome the world are:

• We must believe what God has told us; i.e., walk by faith.
• We must love one another.

Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 19-26

“Let’s Believe What God Said To Us, About Us!”

[4-18-21]

Review: “Want To Overcome? Then Walk In The Spirit!”

Galatians 5:16-18) [KJV] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

NOTE: We became Christians “by the hearing of faith,” meaning we heard the Gospel message that Christ died for us and wanted to save us. We believed that message; we were born again. Now, we are walking in the Spirit.

NOTE: When we believe God’s promises to us, about us, we won’t “fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

NOTE: If I’m struggling with sin then there is a promise of God that I do not believe!

John 8:31-32) [KJV] And Jesus said to those Jews who believed on him: If ye continue in my word, ye will be truly my disciples.

32) And ye will know the truth; and the truth will make you free.

**NOTE: To know the truth We have to relentlessly continue in His word.

17) (GNB) For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.

QUESTION: What can keep us, as Christians, from doing those things that are right in God’s eyes?

Romans 7:15) [KJV] For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

Romans 7:19) [KJV] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

NOTE: “When I would do good,” I struggle because I’m trusting my strength to do what’s right rather than trusting God’s strength that’s at work in my life.

NOTE: Keeping the Law requires great will power. Consequently, no one, outside of Christ Jesus, has ever kept the Law. There’s a better way! Every one of us walks out what we truly believe. If I truly believe I am a new creation in Christ Jesus my conduct will reflect that. THE PROBLEM IS I DON’T TRULY BELIEVE THAT I AM A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST JESUS! Lord, I do believe! Help me let go of unbelief!

18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Galatians 3:3) [KJV] Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

NOTE: When Paul tells us to walk in, be led by, or to be in the Spirit he is talking about our believing what God has said to us about us!

This Week’s Lesson: “Let’s Believe What God Said To Us, About Us!”

Galatians 5:19-26) [KJV] (GW) Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity,

QUESTION: What does the flesh produce in this verse?

ANSWER: Sexual sins! All sex that isn’t between a man and his wife, such as all other heterosexual sex, homosexual sex, pedophilia, bestiality, etc. are acts of fornication. Therefore, adultery is fornication.

20) (GW) idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions,

QUESTION: What does the flesh produce in verse 20?

ANSWER: It produces idolatry and witchcraft, which includes the improper use of drugs! It also produces what I call church sins.

21) (GW) envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

QUESTION: What does the flesh produce in this verse 21?

ANSWER: It produces another church sin and it produces drunkenness and wild parties.

NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 19-21 are “repugnant” to the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

22) (CEV) God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful,

23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

QUESTION: What is the produce of the Holy Spirit?

ANSWER: When we walk in the Spirit then the fruit of that Spirit is hanging on the branches of our lives. That fruit consists of: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 22-23 is “repugnant” to our unredeemed flesh. Our bodies, which are not yet saved, and therefore have sin dwelling in their members, crave to do those things mentioned in verses 19-21.

QUESTION: Why is Paul talking drawing a comparison between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in the above verses?

ANSWER: His entire purpose for writing this epistle is to teach the Galatian believers that now that they are Christians they must choose how they will walk out their Christian experience. Will they attempt to please God by keeping the commandments of Moses, or will they continue their Christian experience by doing the very thing they did to become Christians?

QUESTION: What did they do to become Christians?

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

ANSWER: They became Christians by believing what God said to them about them!

QUESTION: Then, how should they walk out their Christian experience?

ANSWER: They should continue to believe what God said to them about them; or, to put it another way, they should believe the things that the Gospel tells them.

QUESTION: What were they doing when they believed God’s promises?

ANSWER: They were walking in faith, meaning they were walking in the Spirit.

QUESTION: What were they doing when they were trying really hard to keep the law of Moses?

ANSWER: They were walking in their own strength, or, they were walking in the flesh.

NOTE: I walk in the flesh by trying really hard to keep the rules so God will love me more.

QUESTION: Then, how do I walk in the Spirit?

ANSWER: I walk in the Spirit by believing everything God says to me about me, in the Gospel message of the New Testament.

24) And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

(BBE) And those who are Christ’s have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires.

QUESTION: What promises should we believe?

ANSWER: We should believe the Word of God when it tells us that we “have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires.”

2 Corinthians 5:17) [KJV] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

QUESTION: What promises should we believe?

ANSWER: We should believe the Word of God when it tells us that, since we are “in Christ,” we are, right now, “new creatures,” and that everything old creature about us has “passed away,” and that everything about us is already, in the here and now, brand new “in Christ.”

25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

(GNB) The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.

QUESTION: What is the apostle saying in this verse?

ANSWER: We were saved by the Holy Spirit when we believe the Gospel story. Since the Spirit has given us life we should walk out that life by believing what the Spirit says to us, about us, through the Gospel story.

26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

QUESTION: What is this verse doing here?

ANSWER: Walking in the flesh is all about our trying to outshine our fellow believers, our trying to keep the rules better than they do so we can feel superior to them. Let’s not do that! Let’s walk in the Spirit instead!

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Galatians Chapter 4 Study

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 1-7

“Born A Full Grown Adult!”

[1-17-21]

Review: “You Are All the Children of God!” 

Galatians 3:24-29) [KJV] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
See our Galatians Chapter 3 Study Guide

(NIV) So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

“schoolmaster” – “a servant whose office it was to take the children to school” [Strong].

“Christ is our Schoolmaster and the law as paedagogue kept watch over us till we came to Christ” [Robertson].

25) But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

NOTE: Paul’s talking to those of whom he said, “I’m amazed at how quickly you abandoned the genuine Gospel for a fake Gospel” [Gal. 1:6-9]. He’s talking to those of whom he said, “Someone bewitched you and caused you to abandon the genuine teaching of the Gospel” [Gal. 3:1].

NOTE: These “children of God by faith in Christ” were tested by false doctrines; but they were still “all the children of God.”

27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

NOTE: When faith came, when we placed our faith in Jesus, we were baptized into Jesus. We no longer need to be led to Christ, but we are now living “in Him.”

NOTE: We are not only living in the sphere of being “in Christ,” but we are now the very “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” WE ARE NOT JUST SAVED FROM OUR SINS; WE ARE NOW GOD’S CHILDREN!

28) 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.

NOTE: The Jews who had the Law of Moses and the non-Jews who had the law of conscience were all found to be sinners in need of a Savior. Faith brought the believing Jew to Christ for that salvation, and it brought the believing Gentile to the same Savior for salvation. Consequently, in the area of faith there is “neither Jew nor Greek,” “bond nor free,” or “male nor female,” but we are all “one in Christ Jesus.”

29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

NOTE: He takes us back to his original point in this particular argument; the point being that the genuine descendents of Abraham are those who have saving faith in Christ. Therefore, we are, through Christ, heirs of the promise.

This Week’s Lesson: “Born A Full Grown Adult!” 

Galatians 4:1-7) [KJV] Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2) But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

(GNB) While he is young, there are men who take care of him and manage his affairs until the time set by his father.

QUESTION: Can Paul possibly be right here; can the child of a wealthy man really be compared to the servants of that rich man?

ANSWER: You certainly can’t make that comparison across the board! Dad loves his child; he owns his servants. The servants can never grow out of servitude; the child can.

QUESTION: In what way can you make that comparison?

ANSWER: Until that day when dad’s will gives all that he has into the hands of his son, which is that day when the son reaches the age set by his father in his will, that son will remain under the supervision of the servants set in charge of him.

NOTE: In that sense, until the designated day arrives the son is not only living like a servant, but is subject to some of his father’s servants. GET THIS: until the designated day arrives that father who loves his son gives his trusted servants power over his son! He does this for his son’s welfare.

3) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

**NOTE: He telling us that just as the child who will one day inherit the wealth of his father must be subject to the law of the father’s servants, the law that those servants received from the father, all of us were subject to the “first principles” of the moral law of God; the Jews being subject to Moses’ Law and the Gentiles to the law of conscience, the law Moses received from God on the mountain and the law that our conscience received from God at our conception.

4) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

QUESTION: What comparison is the apostle drawing here?

ANSWER: He telling us that just as the child will one day receive his inheritance and be free of the rule of his father’s servants, one day we received our inheritance and were freed from the rule of our Father’s servants, which were the Law of Moses and the law of conscience.

*QUESTION: What day was that?

ANSWER: Positionally, Resurrection Sunday! Practically, the day we were saved!

QUESTION: What happened that day?

ANSWER: We received our inheritance; we became God’s adult children.

QUESTION: What is different about the child in this comparison and you and me?

ANSWER: The child in this comparison was born into his father’s family as a child and had to grow into adulthood, the time appointed by his father, in order to receive his inheritance. We, on the other hand, were under the control of our Father’s servants, the Law (rather the Law of Moses or the law of conscience) before we were born into His family. When we were born into God’s family we were born into His family as adults, in respect to the inheritance.

NOTE: There are areas of Scripture where Paul, and the author of Hebrews, compare some of God’s children to spiritual babies (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-14). But, in respect to Paul’s subject matter in Galatians, chapter 4, that subject matter being that we are no longer under the control of our Father’s servants, which are Moses’ Law and the law of conscience, we are born again into the family of God as adult children.

6) And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

QUESTION: What is Paul telling us here?

**ANSWER: As a result of our being born again into the family of God we have received, from God, the Spirit of His Son; i.e., the Holy Spirit sent to live in our hearts. As a result of this we now address God as “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:14-16) [KJV] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

QUESTION: What is Paul telling us in this “sister” passage?

ANSWER: Now that we are God’s children we have received a new “spirit.” We are no longer living under the “spirit of bondage” that causes us to live in the fear of failure because we can’t keep the Law consistently enough to gain God’s approval; but we are now living under the “Spirit of adoption” that causes us to live in the liberty of knowing that we already have God’s approval.

7) Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

QUESTION: What is Paul telling us here?

ANSWER: We are, right now, heirs of God, and have been since that day we were born into His family.

Romans 8:17) [KJV] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

QUESTION: What is Paul telling us in this “sister” passage?

ANSWER: We are currently walking in the inheritance that frees us from the bondage of living under the control of our Father’s servants. However, verse 17 above shows us that there is much, much more of the inheritance that is yet to come.

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 8-9

“Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!”

[1-24-21]

Review: “Born A Full Grown Adult!” 

Galatians 4:1-7) [KJV] Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2) (GNB) While he is young, there are men who take care of him and manage his affairs until the time set by his father.

GET THIS: until the designated day arrives that father who loves his son gives his trusted servants power over his son! He does this for his son’s welfare.

3) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

**NOTE: He is telling us that just as the child who will one day inherit the wealth of his father must be subject to the law of the father’s servants, the law that those servants received from the father, all of us were subject to the “first principles” of the moral law of God; the Jews being subject to Moses’ Law and the Gentiles to the law of conscience, the law Moses received from God on the mountain and the law that our conscience received from God at our conception.

4) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

*NOTE: What day was that? Positionally, Resurrection Sunday! Practically, the day we were saved!

NOTE: When we were born into God’s family we were born into His family as adults, in respect to the inheritance.

6) And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

NOTE: Now that we are God’s children we have received a new “spirit.” We are no longer living under the “spirit of bondage” that causes us to live in the fear of failure because we can’t keep the Law consistently enough to gain God’s approval; but we are now living under the “Spirit of adoption” that causes us to live in the liberty of knowing that we already have God’s approval.

7) Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

NOTE: We are, right now, heirs of God, and have been since that day we were born into His family.

This Week’s Lesson: “Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!” 

Galatians 4:8-9) [KJV] Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

*NOTE: He’s talking to the Gentile believers who were formerly idol worshippers.

9) 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?

NOTE: Paul’s comparing their desire to turn to the Law of Moses to a turning back “to the weak and beggarly elements.” So, he’s comparing the attempt to keep the Law of Moses to idol worship.

QUESTION: GOD WROTE THE LAW! So it can’t be compared to idol worship? Can it?

ANSWER: The ONLY WAY the two are comparable is that they are both “weak and beggarly elements” when it comes to making someone righteous.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Keeping the Law of Moses has never, isn’t currently, nor will ever make a single person righteous. It didn’t make Christ Jesus righteous; it simply declared the Righteous One to be righteous.

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 10-11

“Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!” Part 2

[1-31-21]

Review: “Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!” Part 1

Galatians 4:8-9) [KJV] Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

*NOTE: He’s talking to the Gentile believers who were formerly idol worshippers.

9) 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?

NOTE: Paul’s comparing their desire to turn to the Law of Moses to a turning back “to the weak and beggarly elements.” So, he’s comparing the attempt to keep the Law of Moses to idol worship.

QUESTION: GOD WROTE THE LAW! So it can’t be compared to idol worship? Can it?

ANSWER: The ONLY WAY the two are comparable is that they are both “weak and beggarly elements” when it comes to making someone righteous.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Keeping the Law of Moses has never, isn’t currently, nor will ever make a single person righteous. It didn’t make Christ Jesus righteous; it simply declared the Righteous One to be righteous.

This Week’s Lesson: “Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!” Part 2

Galatians 4:10-11) [KJV] Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11) I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

 NOTE: The many holy days observed in the Law of Moses actually provided some spiritual benefit for the children of Israel; the “holy days” that are observed in the various forms of false religions provide no truly spiritual benefit for their followers.

QUESTION: Should we still observe the holy days prescribed by the Law of Moses?

ANSWER: No! They were all a shadow of things to come; Jesus is the substance of those shadows.

QUESTION: Is there any exception to the point I just made?

ANSWER: An argument is made by some that we should keep the Sabbath.

Romans 14:1-5) [KJV] Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

It’s speaking of “those speculations or reasonings in one’s mind which take the form of scruples” [Vincent].

(NIV) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

(GNB) Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions.

(TLB) Give a warm welcome to any brother who wants to join you, even though his faith is weak. Don’t criticize him for having different ideas from yours about what is right and wrong.

2) For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

3) Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

4) Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

5) One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 

QUESTION: What does this passage in Romans teach us about observing the Sabbath?

ANSWER: It teaches us to do what we believe the Scripture is teaching us to do regarding the observance of a special day. I personally esteem “every day alike,” but encourage you to make up your own mind based on your understanding of the Word.

Hebrews 10:1) [KJV] For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Colossians 2:16-17) [KJV] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

QUESTION: What is Paul telling us in the above 2 passages?

ANSWER: When we try to get to know God through the Law, whether that law is the Law of Moses or the law of our conscience, it’s like trying to get to know someone by talking to their shadow.

QUESTION: What does that have to do with our Galatian study?

ANSWER: He’s telling his readers that when they try to know God better by observing “days, and months, and times, and years,” they are really try to understand God by studying His shadow.

QUESTION: What’s a better way to get to know God?

ANSWER: Please note:

Hebrews 1:2-3) [KJV] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

John 14:9) [KJV] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

QUESTION: Again, what’s a better way to get to know God?

ANSWER: We get to know God by studying Jesus, not the Law.

2 Corinthians 3:18) [KJV] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1 John 3:2) [KJV] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

QUESTION: How do we grow in Christ and get to know Him better?

ANSWER: We get to know Him better by “beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.” When we “behold”/study Him in the mirror of the Gospel we come to understand His victorious glory and are “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

NOTE: We grow in exact proportion to our understanding of “the glory of the Lord.” So, when we “see him as he is” we will “be like him.”

NOTE: The only means God has given us to becoming like Christ, that is, growing spiritually, is to behold Christ and see His glory. The mirror we look into to behold His glory is the mirror of the Gospel, i.e., His Word. When we look at Christ through the Law we are trying to get to know Him by looking at His shadow; when we look at Christ through the Gospel we are beholding His glory and transformation will occur.

EXPLANATION TO THE ABOVE NOTE: When we see the “glory of the Lord” we understand that He can’t lie; and, consequently, we believe His promises to us. We were born again when we believed His promises and we will grow spiritually when we believe His promises. Please note:

Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

NOTE: We were saved when we heard by faith the Gospel message; we will grow spiritually when we hear by faith the Gospel message regarding what we have become as a result of our being born again.

NOTE: Paul was fearful he bestowed his labor upon them in vain (vs. 11).

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 12-16

“Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!”

[2-14-21]

Review: “Don’t Turn Christianity Into Just Another Religion!” Part 2

Galatians 4:10-11) [KJV] Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11) I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Romans 14:5) [KJV] One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 

NOTE: The above passage from Romans teaches us to do what we believe the Scripture is teaching us to do regarding the observance of a special day. I personally esteem “every day alike,” but encourage you to make up your own mind based on your understanding of the Word.

Colossians 2:16-17) [KJV] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

NOTE: When we try to get to know God through the Law, whether that law is the Law of Moses or the law of our conscience, it’s like trying to get to know someone by talking to their shadow.

Hebrews 1:2-3) [KJV] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

John 14:9) [KJV] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

NOTE: We get to know God by studying Jesus, not the Law.

2 Corinthians 3:18) [KJV] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1 John 3:2) [KJV] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

NOTE: The only means God has given us to becoming like Christ, that is, growing spiritually, is to behold Christ and see His glory. The mirror we look into to behold His glory is the mirror of the Gospel, i.e., His Word. When we look at Christ through the Law we are trying to get to know Him by looking at His shadow; when we look at Christ through the Gospel we are beholding His glory and transformation will occur.

This Week’s Lesson: “Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!”

Galatians 4:12-16) [KJV] Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

13) Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14) And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15) 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.

QUESTION: What was the “infirmity of the flesh” that Paul speaks about in verse 13?

ANSWER: Many commentators believe it to refer to some disease [Vincent, Robertson, Wuest, ect.], while others are convinced it refers to the accumulative affects of the bodily persecution he endured [Luther].

NOTE: Some commentators teach that the physical disease they claim Paul is referring to is an eye disease they believe caused him to have to write with big letters [ch. 6, vs. 11] as he wrote the ending of the epistle with his own hand. ************************************************

QUESTION: If Paul isn’t referring to an eye disease then why would he say “ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me”?

ANSWER: Many believe that the above phrase was “a proverbial expression denoting very strong devotion” [PNT]. Barnes, Clarke, Gill, JFB, and Luther all seem to agree with PNT notes.

“When Paul speaks of the infirmity of his flesh he does not mean some physical defect or carnal lust, but the sufferings and afflictions which he endured in his body. What these infirmities were he himself explains in 2 Cor 12:9,10: ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ And in the eleventh chapter of the same Epistle the Apostle writes: ‘In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck,’ etc. (2 Cor 11:23-25.) By the infirmity of his flesh Paul meant these afflictions and not some chronic disease” [Luther].

“I lean towards the opinion that the “infirmity” that caused Paul to stop in the province of Galatia was the physical toll that his persecutions [II Cor 11:23-27] had on his body.  He probably had to stop to rest and heal from the many abuses afflicted on him, which made him weak, or infirm.  The Greek word for “infirmity” in this passage is the same one that he used when writing to the believers in Corinth to describe the weakness in his body that he felt as a result of those physical persecutions he endured [I Cor 11:30; 12:5, 9, 10]” [Hannah].

16) Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

QUESTION: Do people sometimes get angry if you attempt to correct bad doctrine?

ANSWER: Absolutely! People often find their self worth attacked if you disagree with what they say the Bible is teaching.

2 Timothy 2:7) [KJV] Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Acts 17:10-11) [KJV] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

QUESTION: What should we do if someone of substance challenges a doctrine of ours?

1. We should consider what was said;
2. We should be ready to receive what was taught if it is found to be true;
3. We should search the Scriptures to determine the accuracy of what was taught;
4. We should trust the Lord to give us understanding.

CONSIDER THIS:

2 Timothy 2:8-10) [TLB] Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

**9) It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am.

10) I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

QUESTION: What do we learn from vs. 8-10 above?

ANSWER: When we consider rather or not a doctrine is true as we search the Scriptures, that doctrine better line up with what Paul is saying in the above verses! These things are non-negotiable truths!

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 12-16

“Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!” Part 2

[2-28-21]

This Week’s Lesson: “Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!” Part 1

Galatians 4:12-16) [KJV] Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

13) Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14) And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15) 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.

QUESTION: What was the “infirmity of the flesh” that Paul speaks about in verse 13?

ANSWER: Many commentators believe it to refer to some disease [Vincent, Robertson, Wuest, ect.], while others are convinced it refers to the accumulative affects of the bodily persecution he endured [Luther].

NOTE: Some commentators teach that the physical disease they claim Paul is referring to is an eye disease they believe caused him to have to write with big letters [ch. 6, vs. 11] as he wrote the ending of the epistle with his own hand.

QUESTION: If Paul isn’t referring to an eye disease then why would he say “ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me”?

ANSWER: Many believe that the above phrase was “a proverbial expression denoting very strong devotion” [PNT]. Barnes, Clarke, Gill, JFB, and Luther all seem to agree with PNT notes.

“When Paul speaks of the infirmity of his flesh he does not mean some physical defect or carnal lust, but the sufferings and afflictions which he endured in his body. What these infirmities were he himself explains in 2 Cor 12:9,10: ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ And in the eleventh chapter of the same Epistle the Apostle writes: ‘In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck,’ etc. (2 Cor 11:23-25.) By the infirmity of his flesh Paul meant these afflictions and not some chronic disease” [Luther].

“I lean towards the opinion that the “infirmity” that caused Paul to stop in the province of Galatia was the physical toll that his persecutions [II Cor 11:23-27] had on his body.  He probably had to stop to rest and heal from the many abuses afflicted on him, which made him weak, or infirm.  The Greek word for “infirmity” in this passage is the same one that he used when writing to the believers in Corinth to describe the weakness in his body that he felt as a result of those physical persecutions he endured [I Cor 11:30; 12:5, 9, 10]” [Hannah].

This Week’s Lesson: “Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!” Part 2

Galatians 4:16) [KJV] Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

QUESTION: Do people sometimes get angry if you attempt to correct bad doctrine?

ANSWER: Absolutely! People often find their self worth attacked if you disagree with what they say the Bible is teaching.

2 Timothy 2:7) [KJV] Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Acts 17:10-11) [KJV] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

QUESTION: What should we do if someone of substance challenges a doctrine of ours?

• We should consider what was said;
• We should be ready to receive what was taught if it is found to be true;
• We should search the Scriptures to determine the accuracy of what was taught;
• We should trust the Lord to give us understanding.

CONSIDER THIS:

2 Timothy 2:8-10) [TLB] Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

**9) It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am.

10) I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

QUESTION: What do we learn from vs. 8-10 above?

ANSWER: When we consider rather or not a doctrine is true as we search the Scriptures, that doctrine better line up with what Paul is saying in the above verses! These things are non-negotiable truths!

QUESTION: What things is Paul saying to Timothy that are non-negotiable truths?

1. Jesus Christ was, in every way, a man; He was human!
2. He was a direct descendent of King David!
3. Just as He was, in every way, a man; He was also, in every way, God!
4. His resurrection from the dead was evidence of that!

Rom. 1:1-4) [KJV] Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2) (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

3) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; [This agrees with points 1 and 2 above].

4) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: [This agrees with points 3 and 4 above].

NOTE: You have the four non-negotiable truths in the passage above from Second Timothy; you have those same truths confirmed in the above passage from Romans.

A CLOSING NOTE: There are a lot of non-negotiable truths about Jesus, and His Gospel, taught throughout the New Testament. These are just four of them that we tied into this morning’s lesson!!

Galatians Chapter 4, Verses 12-16

“Freedom Versus Bondage!”

[3-7-21]

Review: “Considering The Truth Of The Gospel!” Part 2

Galatians 4:16) [KJV] Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

QUESTION: Do people sometimes get angry if you attempt to correct bad doctrine?

ANSWER: Absolutely! People often find their self worth attacked if you disagree with what they say the Bible is teaching.

2 Timothy 2:7) [KJV] Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Acts 17:10-11) [KJV] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

QUESTION: What should we do if someone of substance challenges a doctrine of ours?

• We should consider what was said;
• We should be ready to receive what was taught if it is found to be true;
• We should search the Scriptures to determine the accuracy of what was taught;
• We should trust the Lord to give us understanding.

CONSIDER THIS:

2 Timothy 2:8-10) [TLB] Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

**9) It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am.

10) I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

QUESTION: What things is Paul saying to Timothy that are non-negotiable truths?

1. Jesus Christ was, in every way, a man; He was human!
2. He was a direct descendent of King David!
3. Just as He was, in every way, a man; He was also, in every way, God!
4. His resurrection from the dead was evidence of that!

NOTE: You have the four non-negotiable truths in the passage above from Second Timothy; you have confirmation from the passage from Romans 1,1-4.

A CLOSING NOTE: There are a lot of non-negotiable truths about Jesus, and His Gospel, taught throughout the New Testament. These are just four of them that we tied into this morning’s lesson!!

This Week’s Lesson: “Freedom Versus Bondage!”

Galatians 4:17-31) [KJV] They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

18) But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

17) [GW] These people who distort the Good News are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They don’t want you to associate with me so that you will be devoted only to them.

18) (Devotion to a good cause is always good, even when I’m not with you.)

“affect you — that is, court you” [JFB].

QUESTION: What were these false teachers doing?

ANSWER: They were courting the favor of the Galatian Christians, hoping to win them over to their way of thinking and away from Paul’s way of thinking.

“They would exclude you. From Christ as he will show (Gal_5:4)” [Robertson].

**NOTE: They wanted to convince the Galatian believers that they were excluded from the covenant and needed to be circumcised/initiated into Moses’ Law in order to be included. Their argument seems to be that though the Galatian believers had come to Christ by faith they now needed to become proselytes to the Jewish religion in order to become true children of the covenant.

19) My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

“This figure is the embryo developing into the child” [Robertson].

“Paul means that he is for the second time laboring and distressed for the Galatian converts, with the same anguish which attended his first efforts for their conversion” [Vincent].

QUESTION: What is the contrast Paul is presenting to his readers?

ANSWER: The false teachers wanted to convince them that they weren’t truly “in Christ” until they embraced the Law; Paul wanted to convince them that they were already God’s children, albeit in embryo form, who still needed to fully develop into a child at delivery.

NOTE: Paul is showing them that he is so affectionate towards them that he’s enduring labor pains for their delivering a second time.

20) I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

21) Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

QUESTION: What is Paul telling them in verse 20?

ANSWER: He is very worried about them. He wishes he were right there with them so he could personally convince them of the error they were flirting with.

QUESTION: What is he doing in verse 21?

ANSWER: He’s setting up an illustration from the Old Testament, often referred to as the “law.” He hopes this illustration will convince them that his Gospel is the truth and the false teachers’ doctrine is heresy.

22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

Regarding “handmaid,”

“bondmaid” – “1) maid, maid-servant, slavegirl; 1a) maid, maid-servant (as belonging to a mistress)” [BDB].

NOTE: Hagar, the “bondmaid,” was an Egyptian girl who was a slave to Sarah.

23) But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

NOTE: Ishmael was born the same way every one of us was born. There was nothing miraculous about his birth; it was completely natural.

NOTE: Isaac was born to a woman who was barren and had then gone through “the change” where having a child was then doubly impossible. Isaac was born simply because God promised he would be.

24) Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25) For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

**26) But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

NOTE: He is contrasting the old and new covenants, and he is contrasting bondage and freedom.

**NOTE: Hagar represents the Law of Moses that ruled the people of Israel; Sarah represents the freedom which is found in Heaven, and which is intended for God’s people.

27) 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 than she which hath an husband.

NOTE: Sarah had been barren, but now she is the mother of all who are born by promise.

28) Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

***NOTE: Our new birth took place the same way Isaac’s birth took place; it happened simply because God promised it would. We are saved because we believed a promise!

29) But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

30) 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.

“Abraham, when it was impossible that the two families should get along in peace, cast out the bondwoman and her son. See Gen_21:10. So, too, the Jews, the children of the old covenant, had lost the divine favor, and the children of the promise, whether Jews or Gentiles, made heirs” [PNT].

31) So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

ANSWER: We are those who have been born again into freedom. The next chapter will begin with an exhortation to make our stand right in the center of that freedom.

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Galatians Chapter 3 Study Guide

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 1-3

“How Stupid Can We Sometimes Be?”

[10-25-20]

Review: “If The Law Could Save Us Then Jesus Died For Nothing!”

Galatians 2:17-21) [KJV] (NLT) But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not!
Check out our Galatians Chapter 2 Study Guide here

18) (TLB) Rather, we are sinners if we start rebuilding the old systems I have been destroying of trying to be saved by keeping Jewish laws,

NOTE: Peter, and the others who followed his example, sought justification with God through coming to Christ. The very fact that they understood their need for salvation was a confession that they were sinners, just like the Gentile sinners.

NOTE: As Jews they understood, through the Law, that they were sinners; so they left the Law, as a means to save them, and came to Jesus to be justified. Now if they’re still sinners does that make the Christ Who justified them a party of their sin? Of course not! That could never be!

NOTE: If we, as Jews, [or, you and I as Gentiles] leave grace and turn again to Law, then the very Law we turn to will once again show us that we are Lawbreakers. There is no justification in any system that teaches if we keep the rules then we are right with God; because we humans are incapable of keeping the rules all of the time.

19) (GNB) So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead — killed by the Law itself — in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,

QUESTION: What is Paul talking about in verse 19?

Romans 7:3-4) [KJV] So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

NOTE: In Paul’s analogy there is a sense in which we were married to the Law, being therefore bound to keep all of its commandments. Unable to do so, we died in our sins, killed by the very Law we were married to. Our death separated us from the demands of the Law; so we were free to marry another; that other is the risen Son of God!

NOTE: When you put your faith in Christ the Holy Spirit baptized you, that is totally immersed you into the body of Christ [1 Cor. 12:13]; and that union with Christ was retro-active. That means that when Christ died on the cross we died with Him, or in Him! We died to the Law when He died for the sins we committed that broke that Law. Since we died to the Law we became free from the demands of the Law; and we were free to marry, that is, become one with Jesus!

20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

NOTE: We haven’t just, in our identification of being “in Christ,” died with Him; we have also resurrected with Him! So, even as this is true of Jesus, He died, yet He lives: so it is true of us, in Christ we died, yet in Christ we live!

NOTE: We now live our lives by putting our faith in Christ, and then walking out that faith! Abraham was justified by faith, by believing what God told him; we, too, are justified by faith, by believing what He tells us!

21) I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

(NLT) I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.

QUESTION: There was approximately 1473 years between Moses giving the Jews the Law and the resurrection of Christ. How many people got saved in those 1473 years?

ANSWER: Absolutely no one! The Law doesn’t justify anyone; it accuses us all of sin!

NOTE: If the Law had been able to save anyone then Jesus would not have had to die!

This Week’s Lesson: “How Stupid Can We Sometimes Be?”

Galatians 3:1-3) [KJV] O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

(CEV) You stupid Galatians! ——– Has someone now put an evil spell on you?

(MSG) You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened,

QUESTION: What’s Paul saying here, in simple English?

(NLT) For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross.

ANSWER: Paul is reminding them of how clearly he had presented to them, when he was with them in the province of Galatia, the teaching about what the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ meant to them in a practical way.

QUESTION: What happened?

ANSWER: Their understanding of this doctrine had been perverted by other teachers.

2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

QUESTION: What’s Paul’s point in vs. 2-3?

ANSWER: You don’t get saved one way and then grow spiritually another!

LET’S COMPARE VS. 2 &3 OF THE ABOVE PASSAGE:

by the works of the law = by the flesh

by the hearing of faith = in the Spirit

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching you and me here?

ANSWER: We became Christians by hearing the Gospel message and believing it!

NOTE: That’s the same way we are to walk out our Christian faith, by believing what God says about us! Abraham was justified by faith [Rom.4:3, 9]; and the just live by faith [Rom. 1:16-17].

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 4-9

“Are You A Child of Abraham?”

[11-1-20]

Review: “How Stupid Can We Sometimes Be?”

Galatians 3:1-9) [KJV] O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

(CEV) You stupid Galatians! ——– Has someone now put an evil spell on you?

(MSG) You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened,

QUESTION: What’s Paul saying here, in simple English?

(NLT) For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross.

ANSWER: Paul is reminding them of how clearly he had presented to them, when he was with them in the province of Galatia, the teaching about what the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ meant to them in a practical way.

QUESTION: What happened?

ANSWER: Their understanding of this doctrine had been perverted by other teachers.

2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

QUESTION: What’s Paul’s point in vs. 2-3?

ANSWER: You don’t get saved one way and then grow spiritually another!

LET’S COMPARE VS. 2 &3 OF THE ABOVE PASSAGE:

by the works of the law = by the flesh

by the hearing of faith = in the Spirit

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching you and me here?

ANSWER: We became Christians by hearing the Gospel message and believing it!

NOTE: That’s the same way we are to walk out our Christian faith, by believing what God says about us! Abraham was justified by faith [Rom.4:3, 9]; and the just live by faith [Rom. 1:16-17].

This Week’s Lesson: “Are You A Child of Abraham?” 

Galatians 3:4-9) [KJV] Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

“When the Galatians first trusted in Christ, they exposed themselves to bitter persecution, perhaps partly at the hands of Jewish zealots who hated the gospel of grace. Was all that suffering in vain? In going back to the law were they not saying that the persecutors were right after all? If indeed it was in vain. Paul expresses continued hope that they will return to the gospel for which they once suffered” [BBC].

QUESTION: What’s the Apostle doing here?

ANSWER: He’s reminding his readers that they had, in no doubt, experienced persecution for their acceptance of the Gospel. Why would they be willing to suffer for the Gospel if they weren’t willing to tenaciously hold on to the truth of the Gospel?

5) 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?

 (NLT) I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

(ERV) Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the law? Does God work miracles among you because you follow the law? No, God gives you his Spirit and works miracles among you because you heard the message about Jesus and believed it.

QUESTION: Who is the “he” that Paul is referring to here?

ANSWER: Commentators aren’t certain if Paul is referring to himself, when he shared the Gospel with them, or if he’s referring to someone who is currently working among them; but some believe Paul is referring to God in this verse.

QUESTION: Is it important that we know who the “he” refers to?

ANSWER: No! Paul’s point here is that everything God does for us, rather it’s saving us or working miracles among us, He does in response to our faith in Him, not in response to our trying to keep the Law of Moses!

6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching us here?

ANSWER: Paul also pointed out Abraham’s faith to the believers in Rome [Rom. 4:1-14]; he wants us to understand that God, like the good parent He is, wants His children to trust Him! God looks for faith in His children!

7) Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

QUESTION: What’s this verse telling us?

ANSWER: Paul is teaching us here that we non-Jews are just as much the children of Abraham as the Jews are; they’re his children by physical birth; we’re Abraham’s children because we walk in the faith of Abraham.

8) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

QUESTION: What’s the amazing truth of this verse?

ANSWER: When God told Abraham that “all nations” would be blessed through him [Gen. 18:18] He was foretelling the Gospel dispensation!

**NOTE: I want you to soak that in! When God said that to Abraham somewhere around 3800 years ago HE HAD YOU IN MIND!! That shouldn’t surprise you though; because “there has never been a moment when you haven’t crossed His mind” [words from a Southern Gospel Song]!!

Rom. 4:20-24) [KJV] He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22) And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

NOTE: God inspires Moses to write the Book of Genesis; and He reveals to the Law Giver that He counted Abraham’s faith as righteousness!! And Moses might not have known this, but when God did that he had you and me in mind, literally!!

9) So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

(GNB) Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.

QUESTION: What is Paul teaching us here?

ANSWER: We walk in God’s blessings by doing what Abraham did; we need to walk out our lives by faith; we need to, just like Abraham did, believe what God says about us in His Word!

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 10-14

“Do You Really Want To Live Under A Curse?”

[11-8-20]

Review: Are You A Child of Abraham?” 

Galatians 3:4-9) [KJV] Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

NOTE: Paul is reminding his readers that they had, in no doubt, experienced persecution for their acceptance of the Gospel. Why would they be willing to suffer for the Gospel if they weren’t willing to tenaciously hold on to the truth of the Gospel?

5) (ERV) Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the law? Does God work miracles among you because you follow the law? No, God gives you his Spirit and works miracles among you because you heard the message about Jesus and believed it.

NOTE: Paul’s point here is that everything God does for us, rather it’s saving us or working miracles among us, He does in response to our faith in Him, not in response to our trying to keep the Law of Moses!

6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

NOTE: Paul also pointed out Abraham’s faith to the believers in Rome [Rom. 4:1-14]; he wants us to understand that God, like the good parent He is, wants His children to trust Him! God looks for faith in His children!

7) Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

NOTE: Paul is teaching us here that we non-Jews are just as much the children of Abraham as the Jews are; they’re his children by physical birth; we’re Abraham’s children because we walk in the faith of Abraham.

8) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

**NOTE: I want you to soak that in! When God said that to Abraham somewhere around 3800 years ago HE HAD YOU IN MIND!! That shouldn’t surprise you though; because “there has never been a moment when you haven’t crossed His mind” [words from a Southern Gospel Song]!!

Rom. 4:23-24) [KJV] Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

9) (GNB) Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.

NOTE: We walk in God’s blessings by doing what Abraham did; we need to walk out our lives by faith; we need to, just like Abraham did, believe what God says about us in His Word!

This Week’s Lesson: “Do You Really Want To Live Under A Curse?”  

Galatians 3:10-14) [KJV] 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.

(TLB) Yes, and those who depend on the Jewish laws to save them are under God’s curse, for the Scriptures point out very clearly, “Cursed is everyone who at any time breaks a single one of these laws that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”

QUESTION: True? If we’re trying to please God by keeping the Law then we’re under a curse?

ANSWER: True! The Law demands that we always keep all of its commandments; but we can’t; so that places us under the curse the Law pronounces on those who disobey it!

11) But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

(ERV) So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “The one who is right with God by faith will live forever.”

QUESTION: If I keep enough of God’s rules most of the time will I become right with God?

ANSWER: Absolutely not! To be saved by the Law would require you to perfectly keep it!!

12) And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

(TLB) How different from this way of faith is the way of law, which says that a man is saved by obeying every law of God, without one slip.

QUESTION: Do you really want to take the matter of salvation into your own hands?

ANSWER: If you live under the Law of Moses you are not allowed to slip up one single time; and still be “saved”!

QUESTION: What does “the law is not of faith” mean?

ANSWER: You can’t be saved by faith, and at the same time live under the Law of Moses! Living under the Law means that you cease to be in a right relationship with God the very first time you sin; living by faith means you believe that the death of Christ at Calvary, on your behalf, forever pays your bill before God! You will never again be in debt to God! Jesus paid your debt in full!

NOTE: You put your faith in God; He forever extends His grace to you! Faith and the Law are diametrically opposed to one another.

YOU KNOW: “Love and marriage; you can’t have one without the other!” Faith and Law; you can’t have one WITH the other! You either trust God’s grace to save you or you try to earn God’s favor for the rest of your life! That attempt at salvation is under a curse from God [vs. 10]!!

13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 

(ERV) The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.”

QUESTION: When was Jesus ever “hung on a tree”?

ANSWER: Paul states the obvious: wooden crosses are made from trees!

Deut. 21:22-23) [KJV] And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:

23) His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

“But a careful consideration of the passage in Deuteronomy will show that the curse there spoken of applied not to the mere impalement of the malefactor, but to the violation of the Law, for which he had previously been put to death” [Cambridge].

QUESTION: What are we learning here?

ANSWER: In certain cases someone who broke the Law would be put to death; then his dead body would be hung on a tree for all to see! The idea is that what he did put him under a curse of God; and his lifted up dead body spoke to others not to do the same thing.

NOTE: It seems to be simply that if some Israelite committed a sin that had a death penalty as its punishment, in some cases those who killed him would hang him up on a pole for others to see. It would then be a testimony to others that God cursed that conduct!

PAUL’S POINT: Those living under the Law will live under that curse of the Law that requires the sinner to die! Jesus assumed our guilt, faced the wrath of God involved with that curse, and paid our penalty in full! His dying on a wooden cross testifies to what Paul is teaching here!

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.

QUESTION: What’s the purpose of all of this?

ANSWER: We are being steered away from the Law, with its curse, so that we can enjoy the “blessing of Abraham” when we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior!!

QUESTION: What’s the bottom line here?

ANSWER: We can relate to God through the curse of the Law; or we can relate to God through the faith of Abraham! It’s only through living by faith that results in the Holy Spirit living inside of us!!

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 15-20

“A Blessed Contract!”

[11-15-20]

Review: Do You Really Want To Live Under A Curse?”  

Galatians 3:10-14) [KJV] (TLB) Yes, and those who depend on the Jewish laws to save them are under God’s curse, for the Scriptures point out very clearly, “Cursed is everyone who at any time breaks a single one of these laws that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”

NOTE: The Law demands that we always keep all of its commandments; but we can’t; so that places us under the curse the Law pronounces on those who disobey it!

11) (ERV) So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “The one who is right with God by faith will live forever.”

QUESTION: If I keep enough of God’s rules most of the time will I become right with God?

ANSWER: Absolutely not! To be saved by the Law would require you to perfectly keeping it!!

12) (TLB) How different from this way of faith is the way of law, which says that a man is saved by obeying every law of God, without one slip.

NOTE: You can’t be saved by faith, and at the same time live under the Law of Moses! Living under the Law means that you cease to be in a right relationship with God the very first time you sin; living by faith means you believe that the death of Christ at Calvary, on your behalf, forever pays your bill before God! You will never again be in debt to God! Jesus paid your debt in full! Faith and the Law are diametrically opposed to one another.

YOU KNOW: “Love and marriage; you can’t have one without the other!” Faith and Law; you can’t have one WITH the other! You either trust God’s grace to save you or you try to earn God’s favor for the rest of your life! That attempt at salvation is under a curse from God [vs. 10]!!

13) (ERV) The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse” [Deut. 21:22-23]!!

“But a careful consideration of the passage in Deuteronomy will show that the curse there spoken of applied not to the mere impalement of the malefactor, but to the violation of the Law, for which he had previously been put to death” [Cambridge].

PAUL’S POINT: Those living under the Law will live under that curse of the Law that requires the sinner to die! Jesus assumed our guilt, faced the wrath of God involved with that curse, and paid our penalty in full! His dying on a wooden cross testifies to what Paul is teaching here!

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.

This Week’s Lesson: “A Blessed Contract!”  

Galatians 3:15-20) [KJV] Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

(TLB) Dear brothers, even in everyday life a promise made by one man to another, if it is written down and signed, cannot be changed. He cannot decide afterward to do something else instead.

QUESTION: What are we learning here?

**ANSWER: Every one of us who have ever entered into a contractual agreement understands this basic principle: once the agreement is reached and signed then neither party can legally change what was agreed to! In other words, we can’t change the agreement into something we like better; because we have already agreed to those things that were written down.

16) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

17) And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

QUESTION: If you sign a contract to buy a house, a car, or a TV, are the terms of that contract binding?

ANSWER: Yes! Neither party can decide independently that they want to change the agreement. The agreement can only be changed if both parties agree; then that new agreement becomes an amendment to the original contract.

QUESTION: What does this have to do with Law and Grace?

ANSWER: God entered into covenant/contract with Abraham. That covenant was based on: 1) Abraham leaving his father’s house; 2) and God doing the rest! Abraham did what the covenant of promise required of him; it’s now up to God to do the rest. GOD HAS NO INTEREST IN AMENDING THIS COVENANT/CONTRACT!

18) For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

QUESTION: What is this verse intended to teach us?

ANSWER: If our getting saved, which begins our journey of receiving everything God has promised us, depended on our keeping the Law flawlessly, then it no longer has anything to do with God fulfilling His promise!!

**NOTE: In that case we have God depending on our faithfulness instead of you and me depending on God’s faithfulness!! I like the way of faith better!! Our faithfulness is often found to be lacking; Whereas, God’s faithfulness always makes that thing that is promised a certainty!!

19) Wherefore then serveth the law? 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.

(ERV) So what was the law for? The law was given to show the wrong things people do. The law would continue until the special Descendant of Abraham came. This is the Descendant mentioned in the promise, which came directly from God. But the law was given through angels, and the angels used Moses as a mediator to give the law to the people.

QUESTION: What’s the Apostle doing here?

ANSWER: He’s showing us that the Law of Moses was given for a specific time period; that period of time was from Moses until the death of Christ!

20) Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

QUESTION: Was the Law intended to replace the covenant/contract?

ANSWER: No! The Law was intended to show us all that we are lost, and that we must depend on God’s promise to save us.

QUESTION: What is Paul showing us here?

ANSWER: He’s showing us that the Law is inferior to the Promise.

QUESTION: How is the Law inferior?

ANSWER: It was a covenant between God and man that required the faithfulness of both sides. It failed, in the area of bringing man into a right relationship with God, because man never kept its side of the covenant.

QUESTION: How else is the Law shown to be inferior?

ANSWER: The covenant of Law had a mediator between God and man, — Moses. There was no need for a mediator concerning the covenant of Promise because God is the only One required to be faithful.

QUESTION: Was the Law intended to replace the covenant/contract?

ANSWER: No! The Law was intended to show us all that we are lost, and that we must depend on God’s promise to save us.

**NOTE: In order for God to ensure Heaven to His followers He had to make an agreement with us that solely depended on His faithfulness!! That takes the outcome out of our hands and put in into His hands, His faithful hands!

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 21-24

“The Law Escorts Us To Christ!”

[11-22-20]

Review: “A Blessed Contract!”  

Galatians 3:15-20) [KJV] (TLB) Dear brothers, even in everyday life a promise made by one man to another, if it is written down and signed, cannot be changed. He cannot decide afterward to do something else instead.

16) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

17) And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

NOTE: God entered into covenant/contract with Abraham. That covenant was based on: 1) Abraham leaving his father’s house; 2) and God doing the rest! Abraham did what the covenant of promise required of him; it’s now up to God to do the rest. GOD HAS NO INTEREST IN AMENDING THIS COVENANT/CONTRACT!

18) For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

NOTE: If our getting saved, which begins our journey of receiving everything God has promised us, depended on our keeping the Law flawlessly, then it no longer has anything to do with God fulfilling His promise!!

**NOTE: In that case we have God depending on our faithfulness instead of you and me depending on God’s faithfulness!! God’s faithfulness always makes that thing that is promised a certainty!!

19) Wherefore then serveth the law? 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.

NOTE: Paul is showing us that the Law of Moses was given for a specific time period; that period of time was from Moses until the death of Christ!

20) Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

NOTE: The Law was a covenant between God and man that required the faithfulness of both sides.

NOTE: The covenant of Law had a mediator between God and man, Moses. There was no need for a mediator concerning the covenant of Promise because God is the only One required to be faithful.

This Week’s Lesson: “The Law Escorts Us To Christ!”  

Galatians 3:21-24) [KJV] Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

“Life had been forfeited by sin; life must be recovered by righteousness. The promise assured life to the believer through righteousness imputed; the law offered life as the reward of a perfect obedience. Had the conditions of the law been less strict, or had man been able to fulfill them, then righteousness (and life) had come to men from the law. Hence there is no antagonism between the two covenants. ‘To give life’ was the end of both. The law failed to do this; the promise succeeded. Man could not obey perfectly: he could believe, and so obtain life” [Cambridge].

(ERV) Does this mean that the law works against God’s promises? Of course not. The law was never God’s way of giving new life to people. If it were, then we could be made right with God by following the law.

(GNB) Does this mean that the Law is against God’s promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it.

(TLB) Well then, are God’s laws and God’s promises against each other? Of course not! If we could be saved by his laws, then God would not have had to given us a different way to get out of the grip of sin.

QUESTION: The Promise first, then the Law; does that mean that the Promise somehow failed?

ANSWER: NO! The problem was never the Promise. Anything that depends on God’s faithfulness alone must always succeed.

**NOTE: Way before the Law came faith caused Abraham to be declared “righteous” before God!

22) But the scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

(CEV) But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God’s promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ.

(GW) But Scripture states that the whole world is controlled by the power of sin. Therefore, a promise based on faith in Jesus Christ could be given to those who believe.

QUESTION: What’s Paul showing the purpose of the Law to be?

ANSWER: The purpose of the Law was to clearly define what sin was so that all could be convinced that they were sinners. Once convinced, they would come to know that their only hope of salvation is to receive the free gift of God’s grace.

23) But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

23) (NLT) Until faith in Christ was shown to us as the way of becoming right with God, we were guarded by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we could put our faith in the coming Savior.

24) (AMP) So that the Law served [to us Jews] as our trainer [our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us] until Christ [came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith.

QUESTION: Besides Jesus, no man has ever kept the Law. What was the penalty of Law for sin?

ANSWER: Death!

QUESTION: Then how did the Law “protect” Jewish people?

ANSWER: The Jews were constantly breaking the commands of God, but when they were faithfully, to the best of their abilities, following God, the priests ministered the sacrifices that God commanded, and their sins were “covered.” They still weren’t fit for Heaven because the penalty for their sins hadn’t been paid in full, but God provided them with a temporary haven until Christ paid fully for their sins.

***NOTE: The sacrificial system of the Law pointed to the coming Lamb of God Who would truly pay for their sins.

CLOSING THOUGHTS ON THIS AREA OF SCRIPTURE FROM MARTIN LUTHER:

“God never said to Abraham: ‘In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast kept the Law.’ When Abraham was still uncircumcised and without the Law or any law, indeed, when he was still an idol worshiper, God said to him: ‘Get thee out of thy country, etc.; I am thy shield, etc.; In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ These are unconditional promises which God freely made to Abraham without respect to works.

This is aimed especially at the Jews who think that the promises of God are impeded by their sins. Paul says: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning His promises because of our sins, or hastens His promises because of any merit on our part.’ God’s promises are not influenced by our attitudes. They rest in His goodness and mercy.

Just because the Law increases sin, it does not therefore obstruct the promises of God. The Law confirms the promises, in that it prepares a person to look for the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ.

The proverb has it that Hunger is the best cook. The Law makes afflicted consciences hungry for Christ. Christ tastes good to them. Hungry hearts appreciate Christ. Thirsty souls are what Christ wants. He invites them: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Christ’s benefits are so precious that He will dispense them only to those who need them and really desire them” [Luther].

Galatians Chapter 3, Verses 25-29

“You Are All the Children of God!”

[1-3-21]

Review: “The Law Escorts Us To Christ!”  

Galatians 3:21-24) [KJV] Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

THIS IS SO GOOD: “Life had been forfeited by sin; life must be recovered by righteousness. The promise assured life to the believer through righteousness imputed; the law offered life as the reward of a perfect obedience. Had the conditions of the law been less strict, or had man been able to fulfill them, then righteousness (and life) had come to men from the law. Hence there is no antagonism between the two covenants. ‘To give life’ was the end of both. The law failed to do this; the promise succeeded. Man could not obey perfectly: he could believe, and so obtain life” [Cambridge].

***NOTE: The problem was never the Promise. Anything that depends on God’s faithfulness alone must always succeed.

**NOTE: Way before the Law came faith caused Abraham to be declared “righteous” before God!

22) (GW) But Scripture states that the whole world is controlled by the power of sin. Therefore, a promise based on faith in Jesus Christ could be given to those who believe.

NOTE: The purpose of the Law was to clearly define what sin was so that all could be convinced that they were sinners. Once convinced, they would come to know that their only hope of salvation is to receive the free gift of God’s grace.

23) But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24) (NIV) So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

NOTE: Besides Jesus, no man has ever kept the Law. What was the penalty of Law for sin? Death!

NOTE: The Jews were constantly breaking the commands of God, but when they were faithfully, to the best of their abilities, following God, the priests ministered the sacrifices that God commanded, and their sins were “covered.” They still weren’t fit for Heaven because the penalty for their sins hadn’t been paid in full, but God provided them with a temporary haven until Christ paid fully for their sins.

***NOTE: The sacrificial system of the Law pointed to the coming Lamb of God Who would truly pay for their sins.

[Martin Luther]: “God never said to Abraham: ‘In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast kept the Law.’ When Abraham was still uncircumcised and without the Law or any law, indeed, when he was still an idol worshiper, God said to him: ‘Get thee out of thy country, etc.; I am thy shield, etc.; In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ These are unconditional promises which God freely made to Abraham without respect to works.

This is aimed especially at the Jews who think that the promises of God are impeded by their sins. Paul says: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning His promises because of our sins, or hastens His promises because of any merit on our part.’ God’s promises are not influenced by our attitudes. They rest in His goodness and mercy.

Just because the Law increases sin, it does not therefore obstruct the promises of God. The Law confirms the promises, in that it prepares a person to look for the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ.

The proverb has it that Hunger is the best cook. The Law makes afflicted consciences hungry for Christ. Christ tastes good to them. Hungry hearts appreciate Christ. Thirsty souls are what Christ wants. He invites them: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Christ’s benefits are so precious that He will dispense them only to those who need them and really desire them” [Luther].

This Week’s Lesson: “You Are All the Children of God!” 

24) (NIV) So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

Galatians 3:25-29) [KJV] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

(ERV) Now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law to be our guardian.

(GNB) Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.

“The law was our pedagogue unto Christ. The pedagogue is not the schoolmaster, but the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had the care of them out of school hours. Thus the law did not teach us the living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, and especially by its sacrifices, it directed us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith [Clarke].

QUESTION: What’s the lesson being taught here?

ANSWER: The Law is not the instructor who teaches us how to be justified before God; it’s the servant of our Heavenly Father who guides us to the True Teacher, Jesus Christ, so that we can learn the lesson of grace that brings us into a right relationship with a Holy God!!

QUESTION: How does the Law accomplish that task?

ANSWER: The Law teaches the soul that longs for a relationship with God that we can’t become right with God through the Law, because we are always breaking the commandments of the Law. So that Law brings us to the reality of the fact that we are hopelessly lost, and in need of a Savior.

NOTE: Once we become aware of how lost we are, being that we are dead in our trespasses and sin, we long to come to Jesus, Who alone can save us and make us right with God!!

“If anybody objects to the Gospel and the sacraments on the ground that Christ has taken away our sins once and for always, you will know what to answer. You will answer: Indeed, Christ has taken away my sins. But my flesh, the world, and the devil interfere with my faith. The little light of faith in my heart does not shine all over me at once. It is a gradual diffusion. In the meanwhile I console myself with the thought that eventually my flesh will be made perfect in the resurrection” [Luther].

26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 

QUESTION: Who is Paul talking to here?

ANSWER: He’s talking to those of whom he said, “I’m amazed at how quickly you abandoned the genuine Gospel for a fake Gospel” [Gal. 1:6-9]. He’s talking to those of whom he said, “Someone bewitched you and caused you to abandon the genuine teaching of the Gospel” [Gal. 3:1].

NOTE: These “children of God by faith in Christ” were tested by false doctrines; but they were still “all the children of God.”

27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13) [KJV] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

QUESTION: What are the above two verses telling us?

ANSWER: When we place our faith in Christ Jesus the Holy Spirit immerses us into the body of Christ. Let’s call this the “baptism of salvation.”

NOTE: When God saves you; or when He begins His “good work” in you; He will finish that good work He started [Phil. 1:6; Heb. 12:2]. In other words, these believers who were being tempted by bad doctrine were still God’s children!

28) 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.

(ERV) Now, in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.

QUESTION: What’s the Apostle doing here?

ANSWER: He’s reminding his readers that Christians are Christians! Their station in life has nothing to do with their standing with God!!

NOTE: Your station in life might not be one desired by others; but you are as important to God as Paul was, as Peter was, as Billy Graham was, as Martin Luther King, Jr. was.

29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

(NLT) And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.

NOTE: When we put our faith in Christ we became the spiritual descendents of Abraham; we are now heirs with him of the promises of God!!

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Galatians Chapter 2 Study

Galatians Chapter 2, Verses 1-10

“Paul Shares His Gospel With the Jerusalem Apostles!”

[10-4-20]

Review: “Paul Argues For the Truth of His Gospel!”

Galatians 1:10-24) [KJV] For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Check out our Galatians Chapter 1 Study Guide here.

Paul’s 6 Arguments In Defense of His Message and Ministry:

{thanks to the Believer’s Bible Commentary}:

FIRST ARGUMENT [vs. 11-12]: His Gospel did not originate with man, but rather, was a revelation from God.

SECOND ARGUMENT [vs. 13-14]: His failure to include the Law in his Gospel was not a result of ignorance concerning the Law.  

THIRD ARGUMENT [vs. 15-17]: Paul tells his readers that he was sharing this Gospel for three years [next verse] before he conferred with any other Gospel preachers. His point being, he didn’t receive his Gospel from other preachers.

FOURTH ARGUMENT [vs. 18-20]: His first trip to Jerusalem lasted only fifteen days, and he only met with Peter and James, the Lord’s brother.

NOTE: Paul spent his time in the regions of Syria and Cilicia after leaving Jerusalem. The Jewish Christian churches had never met him at that time. However, they had heard that the one who used to persecute them was now preaching the very faith he once tried to destroy. They glorified God for him.

FIFTH ARGUMENT [vs. 21-24; 2:1-2]: During this visit to Jerusalem, either fourteen years after his conversion, or fourteen years after his first trip to Jerusalem, which would have made this trip seventeen years after his conversion, the Jerusalem apostles recognized that Paul’s Gospel was the authentic Word of God.

SIXTH ARGUMENT [2:11]: His sixth argument for the authenticity of his Gospel is the fact that he rebuked Peter “to the face” when “he was to be blamed.”

This Week’s Lesson: “Paul Shares His Gospel With the Jerusalem Apostles!”

Galatians 2:1-10) [KJV] Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

NOTE: Commentators disagree rather this fourteen years was fourteen years after his conversion, or fourteen years after his first trip to Jerusalem as a believer, which would mean that it occurred seventeen years after his conversion.

2) And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

“It is commonly supposed that Paul here refers to the visit which he made as recorded in Acts 15. The circumstances mentioned are substantially the same; and the object which he had at that time in going up was one whose mention was entirely pertinent to the argument here. He went up with Barnabas to submit a question to the assembled apostles and elders at Jerusalem, in regard to the necessity of the observance of the laws of Moses. Some persons who had come among the Gentile converts from Judea had insisted on the necessity of being circumcised in order to be saved” [Barnes].

QUESTION: What did Paul mean when he wrote, “lest by any means I should run, or had run in vain”?

**“Probably it was the fear that an unnecessary conflict with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem leaders might damage his reputation and ministry in some way” [Guzik].

ANSWER: Paul knew that God had given him this revelation of the Gospel; he dreaded the thought that perhaps the Jerusalem Apostles would disagree with him.

3) But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

QUESTION: This is an important fact; why?

ANSWER: The Judaizers were insisting that every male Gentile who comes to Jesus absolutely had to be circumcised in order for them to get to Heaven. After the Jerusalem Apostles listened privately to Pau as he shared with them his Gospel that he preached, they agreed that Paul’s Gospel was indeed the true Gospel! Consequently, those Jerusalem Apostles didn’t believe it to be necessary for the Gentile Christian, Titus, to be circumcised.

NOTE: If the Jerusalem Apostles had agreed with the Judaizers then all Christian males around the world would have to submit to circumcision. Paul stood fast for the Truth he knew God had given him. The Jerusalem Apostles stood with Paul! God stood with them.

4) And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

([TLB) Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called “Christians” there-false ones, really-who came to spy on us and see what freedom we enjoyed in Christ Jesus, as to whether we obeyed the Jewish laws or not. They tried to get us all tied up in their rules, like slaves in chains.

([NLT) Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called Christians there — false ones, really — who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations.

QUESTION: What did Paul call these Judaizers?

ANSWER: He called them “false brethren” [KJV], “so called Christians” [TLB, NLT].

QUESTION: What were these Judaizers trying to do?

ANSWER: They were trying to do what all legalists try to do; they were trying to get us to marry Law to Grace. Paul insists it has to be either one or the other [Rom. 11:6].

5) To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

QUESTION: Why did Paul travel to Jerusalem to share the Gospel he preached with the Jerusalem Apostles?

ANSWER: If he were to succeed at keeping the Gospel God delivered to him pure, then he needed the Jerusalem Apostles on board with him.

QUESTION: What was the Good News Paul discovered on that trip?

ANSWER: He didn’t have to convince the Apostles in Jerusalem; they listened, they readily agreed! It certainly helped that God had shared this Truth with Peter also [Acts 10:9-20].

6) But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

([NIV) As for those who seemed to be important-whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance-those men added nothing to my message.

“But from those who seemed to be something: Paul knew that in his day, there were leaders of high reputation – “famous” Christians, if you will. But they did not overly impress or intimidate Paul; whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man” [Guzik].   

7) But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

8) (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

QUESTION: What is the point here?

ANSWER: These discerning Apostles in Jerusalem recognized that God was at work in Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles to the same measure that He was at work in Peter’s ministry to the Jews.

9) And when James, 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 unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

10) Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

QUESTION: They wanted Paul to remember those suffering in poverty?

“Paul certainly did remember the poor in Jerusalem; he put a lot of effort towards gathering a contribution among the Gentile churches for the sake of the saints in Jerusalem” [Guzik].

Galatians Chapter 2, Verses 11-16

“If You Believe It, Then Walk It!”

[10-11-20]

Review: “Paul Shares His Gospel With the Jerusalem Apostles!”

Galatians 2:1-10) [KJV] Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

2) And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

NOTE: Paul knew that God had given him this revelation of the Gospel; he dreaded the thought that perhaps the Jerusalem Apostles would disagree with him.

3) But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

NOTE: The Judaizers were insisting that every male Gentile who comes to Jesus absolutely had to be circumcised in order for them to get to Heaven. After the Jerusalem Apostles listened privately to Pau as he shared with them his Gospel that he preached, they agreed that Paul’s Gospel was indeed the true Gospel! Consequently, those Jerusalem Apostles didn’t believe it to be necessary for the Gentile Christian, Titus, to be circumcised.

4) ([NLT) Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called Christians there — false ones, really — who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations.

NOTE: Paul called these Judaizers “false brethren” [KJV], “so called Christians” [TLB, NLT]. They were trying to do what all legalists try to do; they were trying to get us to marry Law to Grace. Paul insists it has to be either one or the other [Rom. 11:6].

5) To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

6) ([NIV) As for those who seemed to be important-whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance-those men added nothing to my message.

7) But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

8) (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

NOTE: These discerning Apostles in Jerusalem recognized that God was at work in Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles to the same measure that He was at work in Peter’s ministry to the Jews.

9) And when James, 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 unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

10) Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

NOTE: They wanted Paul to remember those suffering in poverty.

“Paul certainly did remember the poor in Jerusalem; he put a lot of effort towards gathering a contribution among the Gentile churches for the sake of the saints in Jerusalem” [Guzik].

This Week’s Lesson: “If You Believe It, Then Walk It!”

Galatians 2:11-16) [KJV] But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

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.

QUESTION: What is the reason that Paul rebukes Peter to his face?

ANSWER: Peter was the first disciple to preach to the Gentiles. In Acts, chapter 10, Peter falls into a trance and God shows him a vision. He sees what looks like a giant sheet being lowered by its four corners, and that sheet is full of unclean, according to Jewish Law, animals. God told Peter to rise up to kill and eat those animals. Peter, being the good Jew he was, replied, “Never, God, I have never eaten unclean animals. God responded to him, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean” [GNB]. Then God used that vision to prepare Peter to go to preach to Cornelius and his household. They were Gentiles. They became the first Gentile Christians.

QUESTION: Why am I sharing this story from Acts?

ANSWER: Peter knew better than to react the way that he reacted when he heard that some men sent by James down to Antioch to see how he was doing were in town.

QUESTION: What did he do?

ANSWER: He hurried and separated himself from those Gentiles who he had been eating with because Jews were not supposed to eat with non-Jews.

NOTE: For some reason Peter feared what these men would report to James.

13) And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

QUESTION: What does this show us?

ANSWER: When we react badly we can affect other Christians to follow in our stupidity.

14) [TLB] When I saw what was happening and that they weren’t being honest about what they really believed and weren’t following the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Though you are a Jew by birth, you have long since discarded the Jewish laws; so why, all of a sudden, are you trying to make these Gentiles obey them?”

QUESTION: What hypocrisy does Peter show in this passage?

ANSWER: When he joins Paul in Antioch, like Paul, he eats with the believing Gentiles, excepting them as fellow children of God. But when men sent by James, the head of the Jerusalem church, come down to join them Peter separates himself from the Gentile believers.

15) We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16) 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.

QUESTION: Why did Paul mention to Peter, and to his readers, that Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and the other Jews who followed Peter’s example, were born Jews, not Gentiles?

ANSWER: Jews felt that they were special because they had the Law. Paul taught in the first 3 chapters of Romans:

1. That the Jews were right about the Gentiles; they were sinners.
2. That having the Law didn’t make anyone righteous; obeying it did.
3. That the Jews didn’t obey the Law, and were, therefore convicted by the Law to be sinners.
4. That, consequently, all were sinners, Jew and Gentile alike.

NOTE: The Law didn’t make them right with God, or they would have never turned to Christ for their justification. And, if the Law couldn’t justify them, then why would they want the non-Jews to seek justification from the Law?

NOTE: Peter had forgotten the very things he said in Jerusalem when Paul’s doctrine was being examined:

Acts 15:7-11) [KJV] And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men [and] brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

8) And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as [he did] unto us;

9) And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

10) Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

11) But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Galatians Chapter 2, Verses 17-21

“If The Law Could Save Us Then Jesus Died For Nothing!”

[10-18-20]

Review: “If You Believe It, Then Walk It!”

Galatians 2:11-16) [KJV] But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

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.

NOTE: Peter was the first disciple to preach to the Gentiles. In Acts, chapter 10, Peter falls into a trance and God shows him a vision. He sees what looks like a giant sheet being lowered by its four corners, and that sheet is full of unclean, according to Jewish Law, animals. God told Peter to rise up to kill and eat those animals. Peter, being the good Jew he was, replied, “Never, God, I have never eaten unclean animals. God responded to him, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean” [GNB]. Then God used that vision to prepare Peter to go to preach to Cornelius and his household. They were Gentiles. They became the first Gentile Christians.

NOTE: Now, in Antioch Peter hurried and separated himself from those Gentiles who he had been eating with because Jews were not supposed to eat with non-Jews.

NOTE: For some reason Peter feared what these men would report to James.

13) And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

NOTE: When we react badly we can affect other Christians to follow in our stupidity.

14) [TLB] When I saw what was happening and that they weren’t being honest about what they really believed and weren’t following the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Though you are a Jew by birth, you have long since discarded the Jewish laws; so why, all of a sudden, are you trying to make these Gentiles obey them?”

15) We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16) 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.

NOTE: When Peter joins Paul in Antioch, like Paul, he eats with the believing Gentiles, excepting them as fellow children of God. But when men sent by James, the head of the Jerusalem church, come down to join them Peter separates himself from the Gentile believers.

NOTE: The Law didn’t make the Jews right with God because they couldn’t keep it perfectly. If it had then they would have never turned to Christ for their justification. And, if the Law couldn’t justify them, then why would they want the non-Jews to seek justification from the Law?

NOTE: Peter had forgotten the very things he said in Jerusalem when Paul’s doctrine was being examined [Acts 15:7-11].

This Week’s Lesson: “If The Law Could Save Us Then Jesus Died For Nothing!”

Galatians 2:17-21) [KJV] 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.

(NLT) But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not!

18) For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

(TLB) Rather, we are sinners if we start rebuilding the old systems I have been destroying of trying to be saved by keeping Jewish laws,

QUESTION: What is Paul talking about in verse 17?

ANSWER: Peter, and the others who followed his example, sought justification with God through coming to Christ. The very fact that they understood their need for salvation was a confession that they were sinners, just like the Gentile sinners.

NOTE: As Jews they understood, through the Law, that they were sinners; so they left the Law, as a means to save them, and came to Jesus to be justified. Now if they’re still sinners does that make the Christ Who justified them a party of their sin? Of course not! That could never be!

QUESTION: What is Paul talking about in verse 18?

ANSWER: If we, as Jews, [or, you and I as Gentiles] leave grace and turn again to Law, then the very Law we turn to will once again show us that we are Lawbreakers. There is no justification in any system that teaches if we keep the rules then we are right with God; because we humans are incapable of keeping the rules all of the time.

19) For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

(GNB) So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead — killed by the Law itself — in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,

QUESTION: What is Paul talking about in verse 19?

Romans 7:1-4) [KJV] Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

2) For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

3) So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

ANSWER: In Paul’s analogy there is a sense in which we were married to the Law, being therefore bound to keep all of its commandments. Unable to do so, we died in our sins, killed by the very Law we were married to. Our death separated us from the demands of the Law; so we were free to marry another; that other is the risen Son of God!

QUESTION: What else is He saying?

ANSWER: When you put your faith in Christ the Holy Spirit baptized you, that is totally immersed you into the body of Christ [1 Cor. 12:13]; and that union with Christ was retro-active. That means that when Christ died on the cross we died with Him, or in Him! We died to the Law when He died for the sins we committed that broke that Law. Since we died to the Law we became free from the demands of the Law; and we were free to marry, that is, become one with Jesus!

20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

QUESTION: How is it possible that I died with Christ and yet “I live”?

Romans 6:3-5) [KJV] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

ANSWER: We haven’t just, in our identification of being “in Christ,” died with Him; we have also resurrected with Him! So, even as this is true of Jesus, He died, yet He lives: so it is true of us, in Christ we died, yet in Christ we live!

QUESTION: How do we live in our resurrected state?

ANSWER: We now live our lives by putting our faith in Christ, and then walking out that faith! Abraham was justified by faith, by believing what God told him; we, too, are justified by faith, by believing what He tells us!

21) I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

(NLT) I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.

QUESTION: There was approximately 1473 years between Moses giving the Jews the Law and the resurrection of Christ. How many people got saved in those 1473 years?

ANSWER: Absolutely no one! The Law doesn’t justify anyone; it accuses us all of sin!

QUESTION: What is Paul’s final point in this morning’s lesson?

ANSWER: If the Law had been able to save anyone then Jesus would not have had to die!

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Galatians Chapter 1 Study

Galatians, Chapter 1, Verses 1-9

“There Is No Other Gospel!”

[9-20-20]

This Week’s Lesson: “There Is No Other Gospel!”

Galatians 1:1-9) [KJV] Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

QUESTION: Who called Paul to be an apostle?

ANSWER: God! God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, called Paul to be an apostle.

2) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

QUESTION: Why does Paul mention “all the brethren which are with me”?

ANSWER: Paul mentions “Sosthenes [our] brother”in his greetings to the Corinthian church [1 Cor. 1:1], Timothy in his greetings to the Phillipian church [Phil. 1:1] and the church at Colosse [Col. 1:1], and Silas and Timothy in his greetings to the church at Thessalonica [1 Thess. 1:1].

QUESTION: Why?

ANSWER: Please note:

“Though Paul claimed to be inspired, yet it would do much to conciliate favor for what he advanced, if others also concurred with what he said, and especially if they were known to the churches to which the epistles were written” [Barnes].

NOTE: “Sosthenes is mentioned in Acts_18:17, as ‘the chief ruler of the synagogue’ at Corinth. He is there said to have been beaten by the Greeks before the judgment-seat of Gallio because he was a Jew, and because he had joined with the other Jews in arraigning Paul, and had thus produced disturbance in the city’ [Barnes]. He had either been converted to Christianity since then or this is a different Sosthenes.

3) Grace [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and [from] our Lord Jesus Christ,

4) Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

5) To whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.

QUESTION: What is Paul doing here?

ANSWER: He’s doing what he always does in his letters, he’s offering them grace and peace from “God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.”

QUESTION: Then what?

ANSWER: He’s reminding them that this grace is only possible because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. His victory at Calvary delivered us from evil, and it was God’s will that it do so.

QUESTION: Then what?

ANSWER: He reminds his readers, which now include us, that Jesus deserves our worship forever.

6) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

NOTE: Paul now ends the pleasantries and gets on with the purpose of his writing this letter.

QUESTION: What absolutely amazes this apostle?

ANSWER: He is in the state of absolute amazement that the Christians in the province of Galatia have “so soon” left the solid teaching that he shared with them and had engaged in the false teaching of the Judaizers/legalists.

In regards to “another,”

“állos (G243), Another, numerically but of the same kind in contrast to héteros (G2087), another qualitatively, other, different one” [Word Study].

NOTE: Paul uses héteros (G2087) in verse 6, but uses állos (G243) in verse 7.

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: In verse 6 Paul is telling his readers that they have been removed to “another gospel,” meaning a different kind of gospel altogether. In verse 7 he tells them that it isn’t “another” at all, meaning it’s not another of the same kind.

John 14:16) [KJV] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

NOTE: In the above verse “another” is “allos,” meaning another of the same kind.

*ANOTHER NOTE: Paul is telling his readers that this so called gospel being preached to them is not another form of the same gospel, but rather it is something altogether different.

8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

“The word does not denote punishment intended as discipline but being given over or devoted to divine condemnation” [Word Study].

QUESTION: Is Paul suggesting that anyone who preaches legalism should go to Hell, without any chance of redemption?

ANSWER: He can’t be suggesting that because he once preached legalism. However, he didn’t suggest that his pre-conversion message of legalism was the gospel message, like these false teachers seem to be suggesting. Still, if a false teacher repents before he/she dies they can surely be saved because the Bible says, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

QUESTION: What is he saying then?

ANSWER: He’s telling his readers that any so called “gospel” message that teaches them, in any way, to put their trust in their own effort, rather then in the finished work of Christ, is a damnable doctrine. Some preachers who teach such doctrines will be lost; some won’t!

9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

NOTE: In verse 8 he states that if he, himself, or any of his co-workers, change their presentation of the gospel to some distorted message of self-reliance they should be cursed. Then, for extra weight, he says that if an angel would step out of glory and preach such a false gospel then that angel should be cursed. However, in verse 9 he’s getting to the real point of this holy tirade. He is now pointing his finger right at the false teachers themselves.

QUESTION: What is he, in essence, saying?

ANSWER: He is telling his readers that if he, or his co-workers, or an angel would deserve to be cursed for preaching a false gospel, then those false teachers that were among them deserve that same “anáthema.”

QUESTION: If Paul is this hard on those false purveyors of the gospel then shouldn’t we be as hard on legalistic teachers of the gospel in our city?

ANSWER: No!

QUESTION: Why not?

ANSWER: Please note the following passage:

1Corinthians 3:10-17) [KJV] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11) For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13) Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

14) If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15) If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

16) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

QUESTION: Why shouldn’t we suggest that legalistic teachers of the “gospel” should be cursed?

ANSWER: The above passage talks about two kinds of teachers who teach error. The first kind are honest men/women who simply have a certain doctrine wrong. These men are saved, but they will not receive any reward for those particular messages they deliver that are wrong. That will include all of us preachers. However, there is another group. These teachers are heretics. They are deliberately teaching false doctrines because of an agenda. These men, unless they repent, will be eternally lost because they are not saved.

Galatians, Chapter 1, Verses 10-24

“Paul Argues For the Truth of His Gospel!”

[9-27-20]

Review: “There Is No Other Gospel!”

Galatians 1:6-9) [KJV] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

NOTE: Paul is in the state of absolute amazement that the Christians in the province of Galatia have “so soon” left the solid teaching that he shared with them and had engaged in the false teaching of the Judaizers/legalists.

NOTE: In verse 6 Paul is telling his readers that they have been removed to “another gospel,” meaning a different kind of gospel altogether. In verse 7 he tells them that it isn’t “another” at all, meaning it’s not another of the same kind.

*ANOTHER NOTE: Paul is telling his readers that this so called gospel being preached to them is not another form of the same gospel, but rather it is something altogether different.

8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

NOTE: Paul’s telling his readers that any so called “gospel” message that teaches them, in any way, to put their trust in their own effort, rather then in the finished work of Christ, is a damnable doctrine. Some preachers who teach such doctrines will be lost; some won’t!

9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

NOTE: In verse 8 he states that if he, himself, or any of his co-workers, change their presentation of the gospel to some distorted message of self-reliance they should be cursed. Then, for extra weight, he says that if an angel would step out of glory and preach such a false gospel then that angel should be cursed. However, in verse 9 he’s getting to the real point of this holy tirade. He is now pointing his finger right at the false teachers themselves.

This Week’s Lesson: “Paul Argues For the Truth of His Gospel!”

Galatians 1:10-24) [KJV] For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

QUESTION: What tiny tidbit of information to we get from this verse?

ANSWER: Paul, in essence, admits that when he was a Pharisee he was seeking “to please men.”

QUESTION: What else do we learn from this verse?

ANSWER: We can’t truly serve Christ if we are doing what we are doing to seek the approval of men.

Paul’s 6 Arguments In Defense of His Message and Ministry:

{thanks to the Believer’s Bible Commentary}:

11) But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

12) For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

FIRST ARGUMENT: His Gospel did not originate with man, but rather, was a revelation from God.

“Paul’s gospel makes everything of God and nothing of man. This is not the kind of salvation that men would devise” [BBC].

13) For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

14) And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

SECOND ARGUMENT: His failure to include the Law in his Gospel was not a result of ignorance concerning the Law.  

“By birth and training, he was steeped in the law. By personal choice, he became a notorious persecutor of the church. In passionate zeal for the traditions of his fathers, he surpassed many other Jews of his own age” [BBC]. 

15) But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called [me] by his grace,

16) To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

17) Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

THIRD ARGUMENT: Paul tells his readers that he was sharing this Gospel for three years [next verse] before he conferred with any other Gospel preachers. His point being, he didn’t receive his Gospel from other preachers.

“His determination to avoid Jerusalem was not out of disrespect for his fellow-apostles; it was rather because he had been commissioned by the risen Lord Himself and given a unique ministry to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:8)” [BBC].

18) Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

19) But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

20) Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

FOURTH ARGUMENT: His first trip to Jerusalem lasted only fifteen days, and he only met with Peter and James, the Lord’s brother.

“His stay with Peter lasted only fifteen days—scarcely long enough for a training course” [BBC].

21) Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

22) And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

23) But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

24) And they glorified God in me.

NOTE: Paul spent his time in the regions of Syria and Cilicia after leaving Jerusalem. The Jewish Christian churches had never met him at that time. However, they had heard that the one who used to persecute them was now preaching the very faith he once tried to destroy. They glorified God for him.

Galatians 2:1-2, 11) [KJV] Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with [me] also.

2) And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

FIFTH ARGUMENT: During this visit to Jerusalem, either fourteen years after his conversion, or fourteen years after his first trip to Jerusalem, which would have made this trip seventeen years after his conversion, the Jerusalem apostles recognized that Paul’s Gospel was the authentic Word of God.

“It was a matter of common courtesy to speak to the leaders first. It was also desirable that the leaders should be thoroughly convinced as to the genuineness of Paul’s gospel. If they had any questions or difficulties, Paul wanted to answer them at the outset. Then he could go before the church with the full support of the other apostles” [BBC].

11) But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

SIXTH ARGUMENT: His sixth argument for the authenticity of his Gospel is the fact that he rebuked Peter “to the face” when “he was to be blamed.”

Peter was “considered by many Jewish Christians as the chief of the apostles. (This passage effectively refutes the notion that Peter was the infallible leader of the church.) [BBC].

A Summary of Paul’s 6 Arguments In Defense of His Message and Ministry:

1. He received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ.
2. He was an expert in the Law, yet preaches a Gospel that trumps the Law.
3. He preached the Gospel for three years before he ever met a single apostle.
4. His visit with Peter, when he also met James, lasted only fifteen days.
5. Years later he returned to Jerusalem and met with all the apostles, and they accepted his Gospel as genuine.
6. He once, for the sake of the integrity of his Gospel, had to rebuke Peter to his face.

A CLOSING NOTE: Paul wants his readers to understand that he was commissioned by God, Himself, to preach the Gospel that he had received from the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why he dared to say that any man, or any angel, who would dare to change the Gospel message could very well face the judgment of God Almighty.

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