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Bible Study, sovereignty of God

The love that created Christmas

Romans 8:3 “God has  done, what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do; by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the reighteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.”

Christ came to fulfill the requirement of the law of God for us. The bad news: We all stand before the Court of Heaven condemned. Guilty of all charges.

But the law was given from God to display his nature and to communicate with us the matters of his character that are critically important to him. To obey the law (in the terms that they were given) would be to act, in those areas, like God would act. The law was representative of his moral character. The law may appear to us today as arbitrary or capricious, but in fact, the law of God is very purposeful and it accomplished its reason for being given in two ways.

First, the law indicted all of humanity as law breakers. All of were indeed, breakers of the law by our very nature. As sinners from conception, we bore in ourselves a nature that was opposed to God and that stood in opposition to him. But God was pleased to expose in us the ways in which we come into conflict with the moral nature of God. The law declares of us as guilty sinners, justly deserving of the wrath of God. Second, it offers a measure of moral purity that is acceptable to God and is pleasing to him. This use of the law is the measure that was met by Jesus Christ in his perfect obedience to the Father. In every way he obeyed the law, the same law that condemns us all, is the law that Christ Jesus obeyed completely and absolutely. So Christ fulfilled the law and completed all of its demands. He was the only human being to do so.

See 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV); and, Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (ESV)

So Christ did not come merely to assume human flesh and blood, to be close to us, or to tell us what God was like. He came much more purposefully. He came to redeem those he would save by living a perfect life according to the standards of the law of God, and dying a sacrificial and substitutionary death for them so that his righteousness could be imputed, given, to those who trust in Christ for their salvation, and they did not trust in their own goodness.

Familiar with our sins.

Christ is familiar with every sin we have committed. He died for each of them. He suffered for them extensively (for all our sins) and intensively (for each sin individually). He died for us personally (“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15 ESV)

When you ran to Jesus for mercy, did you think that you would never wrestle with sins again? Or that you should merely push them aside without reckoning them to the Savior that he might die for them?

Do not underestimate your sin’s impact on Jesus Christ. They killed him. Do not try to save yourself by bring ashamed or guilty combined with a wrenching remorse. Being sorry doesn’t grant you pardon. Only grace does.  Christ took away all you sins. What the law could not do for you, the Son of God did.  See Colossians 2:13-15b, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross ….” (ESV)

Why did God do this for you?

It was not because you were worth saving. You were not better than others. You did not qualify for salvation. You were saved because God chose to save you. He made a decision to be merciful to you and to forgive your sins and to adopt you as a son or daughter of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

There was no comparison of us against the rest of humanity. We were not chose because we passed some test. There was no comparison with other persons. The only comparison was between you and God. How would you fare in that comparison? That is the standard. The problem of saving you is that God not only wants to save you, but he wants to love and know and live with you forever. You must be brought up to the moral standards of divine perfection if this is to occur. But you are not perfect. This is way Christ came. Not that you become like God in his divinity, but that you are given the moral perfection of Jesus Christ, his righteousness, is given to you.  “But put on (be clothed with) the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14 ESV)

The standard that we must meet is the standard of perfection. The only way to achieve this, is to have the righteousness of Christ imputed, given to our account before God, where his righteousness is applied to our lives, and God now sees us as though we were as morally perfect as the Son of God. We still sin, of course. But sin should not master us. We should experience growth in grace and know through our personal sanctification the process of becoming more holy as time passes. These gifts come to us through the love of God.

Not like Santa.

The modern view of Santa is that he finds “good boys and girls and gives them gifts.” Boys and girls are challenged to be “good” so Santa can give them presents. But this is not the Christian ideal of God in any way. God doesn’t give gifts to good boys and girls, but to sinners who would most certainly have perished in Hell had God not acted in such a powerful way through Christ’s death and resurrection. “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’” (Mark 10:18 ESV)

Romans 8:3, the law cannot make sinful people holy. It can only condemn sinful people for their failure. But Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law – he never sinned, not in word, nor actions, not in thought nor in disposition or attitude.  He was without sin, but strong – powerful – wise – he was goodness in human flesh. He mind did not war within him so as to defeat him and capture him in sin. No. He sought always, always, to do the Father’s will. That was he chief and highest, his thoroughgoing commitment of every decision he made. He came to do the Father’s will. And he did it.

And what Christ accomplished we could not do. His “alien righteousness” was perfect. Unlike any good deed we might do which is still stained with sin and inferior motives. Not Christ. His righteousness was alien to all of our goodness utterly and completely different from what we had. He was and is perfectly obedient to the Father, and therefore he never sinned.

When we come to God we must repudiate our righteousness. We must lay aside any idea of entitlement or desert in our claim on God’s love and mercy. We simply do not and cannot deserve his love and mercy. They come from God. And they come only from God.

But the Christian life is not merely running to God for mercy. People run to God hoping that they might not experience Hell. But they scarcely know or love God at all. The test of a true and saving faith is simple. Do you love God?

A bold claim of his love for you is not enough. This can be little more than using God to get what you want from him. You know the calculus of Heaven versus Hell. You choose Heaven. But this isn’t the bargain. It is to know and love God, or not. That is the choice.

Loving God is very different from claiming a gift you didn’t deserve. Loving him is about affection, values, building precious ties to God, and growing at the deepest place in your heart and mind to create decisions the are in accord with the love that God has for you and that you have for God.

So say the truth.

We resist confessing our sins. It is embarrassing. But we must understand that every sin is tied to a lie. If you persist in the lie, you will not be free from the sin. Confession is facing sin, speaking to God honestly about it, and saying the truth.

If you are forgiven of a sin you committed long ago and you continue in the lie that moved you to sin, you will miss the freedom God gives to the children of God. You cannot hold on to the lie and be free of the sin. Jesus died for each sin specifically. He is familiar with the sin. He knows them all by name. He could describe the time at which you committed them. Because he died for them all. He knows them. So when you come to confess, it is time to tell the truth, and then to claim the complete pardon he gives to those who trust him and his work.

Do not be so shamed that you do not come to freedom and cleansing, and pardon and joy. Speak the truth that Christ died for your sins and he has taken them all away. And do not let a sin that Christ has died for separate you from the God who loved you so much that he would send his Son to die for them all.

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Bible Study

Study in John 4:1-45

Summary of Context: John 3:22-36

3:22–23 John baptizing at Aenon.

3:24 John not yet imprisoned.

3:25 Dispute over “purification” – one of the implications of John’s baptism, and understood as purification by John’s critics.

3:27 Nothing received except as given from Heaven.

3:28 “I am not the Christ.” “I have been sent before him.”

3:29  The friend of the bridegroom is not the one getting married.  He rejoices with his friend.

3:31–36 Appears to be John the Evangelist’s (the writer of the Gospel) commentary on these events.

He who comes from above is over all. No one receives his testimony. He whom God has sent utters the words of God. For he gives the Spirit without measure.

General outline of Chapter 4 (from D.A. Carson John)

Narrative verses 1–26

Exposition verses 31–38

Demonstration 28:30, 39–42

John 4 has “great cohesion.” What was the source of this account? What is most interesting is that the disciples, the eyewitnesses, were not present. This account could have come to the disciples through the report of Jesus himself, or it could have come from the woman, or those with whom she spoke when she told them about the things Jesus had said to her.

Notice the appearance of water in the account. See John 2:6; 3:5; 4:10.

Jesus reveals that he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises regarding the Messiah.

John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples both practiced water baptism. The overlap of the two groups may explain why it was that Jesus departed Judea and returned to Galilee. He left the work of preparation with John, and he began the work of fulfillment.

John was at great danger in the southern region. He would soon be arrested and executed.

John’s doubts. The strong testimony of John the Baptist in the end of Chapter 3 must be compared with the Synoptic report of John’s doubts and request for assurance that Jesus was the Coming One. See Luke 7:18–36. He sends his disciples to Jesus to confirm his identity. Jesus tells them to report to John what he has seen Jesus do.

John 4:4 the Trip to Samaria. Many contemporary  sermons have emphasized that Jesus would not have gone through Samaria because it was the land of the sect of Judaism that was rejected by the Jews, spoken against in the Mishnah, and vilified by most of the Temple-attending Jews of the day. But the fact is that a journey from Judea to Galilee would have almost always taken the Samaritan route. It was the shortest route and many ancient authorities have made note of the common and accepted practice of traveling to the north and to Galilee through the land of the Samaritans.

Often it is cited that Jesus needed to go this way because of his encounter with the woman at the well. But taking an established and common route is not exclusive of also wanting to proclaim the message of redemption and “living water” to the Samaritans. It is to be noted that this mission to the Samaritans was soon closed off (see Matthew 10:6), and that the disciples wanted to call down fire on Samaria (Luke 9:52ff). It must be added that Samaria was the focus of Philip’s evangelism after Pentecost. He traveled there (Acts 8:4-8) and experienced a great reception of the Gospel message. In the encounter in John 4, Jesus was asked to stay for a few days and many were said to have believed in him as a result. The testimony of the Woman at the Well was confirmed by Jesus’ own words. The cities of Samaria, at this time were receptive and directly impacted by the ministry and miracles of Jesus. Then Jesus turned to the Jews again, then after the Cross/Resurrection, he turned again to these people in evangelism. The promises to Jacob (Israel) may have been fulfilled (to some great extent) in his mission to Samaria. Jacob’s well located about 1/4 mile South of the town, and Joseph’s tomb (just a few hundred yards north of the well), remind us of the promises of God to these patriarchs.

Promise to Jacob (and his offspring):

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

(Genesis 26:3-5 ESV)

Walkthrough of John 4

Verse 5 Sychar is the modern ‘Askar near Mounts Ebal and Gerizim near the Jordan River, on the eastern part of Samaria, at about the mid-point of the region. Sychar stands just between the two mountains.

Verse 6. Jacob’s Well is clearly known and one of the few places in ancient Israel that there is no confusion or lack of clarity about its identity and location. The Greek text uses two words, (pege) Spring – see verse 6, and (phrear) Cistern/ well– see verses 11 and 12. This was a well with a stream and with a dug-out cistern to contain the water. Jacob’s well has these features today.

Verses 7-8  The woman came alone. This is another case where sermons may contribute to misunderstanding. One sermon being preached and published and it repeated in a thousand ways. The commonly repeated assumption is that that Woman at the Well is a repeatedly immoral woman. The notion is commonly repeated that she was immoral, having had five “husbands” perhaps none of them legitimate, and that she continued that practice up to the point of her conversation with Jesus.

The text reports that she had five husbands. It is conceivable that she was married five times and that each of her husbands died. The Jewish Mishnah, forbade a widow to marry more than three times (perhaps to give other widows an opportunity for numbers two or three). She could have been divorced five times, or some combination of divorce or widowhood. We do not know.

It is often assumed that her coming alone to the well was because of her shame or the mistreatment she was receiving from the other women who would come to the well with her. Her coming alone was seen to be a protection from the gossip or a relief from reminders of past failures. But none of it can be proven.

Her testimony to the town seemed to be spontaneous. She appears to have wanted her friends and relatives to come and see the Messiah. They were not resistant in any way. They even praised her to her face for her testimony (apparently in the presence of Jesus, see 4:32). She did not seem to be a pariah to her people, indeed, far from it.

It is good not to repeat the inventiveness of others. Some of the details of the accounts are sparse and it is well not to go beyond what is written.

It is clear that her current arrangement with her lover was not permitted. She was living with someone who was married to another. “The one you have now, is not your husband” (4:18) may be implying that he was someone else’s husband. Certainly, she was not married to the man she was living with. That was the chief objection of Jesus, not her five previous marriages. He was telling her, that he was aware of her life and that he knew it in detail. There was no need to lie about it (see Exodus 20:16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”)

Verse 10 – “for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” The suggestion of D.A. Carson is “For Jews do not use dishes the Samaritans have used.” (See NIV footnote). Samaritans were so despised by the religious leaders in Judea that the Mishnah forbade any contact with thee Samaritans (see Mishnah, Niddah, 4:1). This explains a bit more of the surprise of the Woman at Jesus’ request for water. He would have to share a driving vessel with her.

Living water. See Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV):

“for my people have committed two evils:

they have forsaken me,

the fountain of living waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Verses 11–12 “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well?”

From the Samaritan Pentateuch: The Messiah (whom they called Taheb), “water shall flow from his buckets,” which is an adaptation of Numbers 24:7. See F.F. Bruce (John, 105).

Carson (John,  221) Jesus spoke to her “deepest needs, greatest sin, hopelessness, guilt, despair, need.”

The Old Testament background for the water and the well.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants. (Isaiah 44:3 ESV)

… they shall not hunger or thirst,

neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,

for he who has pity on them will lead them,

and by springs of water will guide them. (Isaiah 49:10 ESV)

“Come, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

come, buy and eat! (Isaiah 55:1 ESV)

Verse 15. The Woman in thinking purely of natural, material water, not spiritual water, living water. But though she didn’t understand, she was willing to play along with what may have seemed to her as a bit of a “game.” “Sure, I’ll bite,” we’d say.

Verse 16. The Woman does not yet grasp who Jesus is. He asks her a question.

Verse 17. She is evasive — “I have no husband.” Jesus is not very polite when he confronts her. He does speak the truth. He plays no games with people.

She replies with objection about the place of worship. F.F. Bruce comments, “There are some people who cannot engage in a religious conversation with a person of a different persuasion without bringing up the points on which they differ” (Bruce, 108, cited in Carson, 222).

Verse 21. Jesus replies in three points.

  1. The coming destruction of worship in both Jerusalem and Mt. Gerazin, is upon them.
  2. Salvation comes from the Jews, not from the Samaritans.
  3. The nature of true and acceptable worship is by means of the Spirit and truth.

Verse 21, “Believe me …” is not an invitation to faith, but a declaration of the truthfulness of Jesus’ statement.

Verse 26, “I who speak to you am he.” Jesus removes any question about his claim to be the Messiah of God.

Verse 27. The return of the disciples concludes the interview. She leaves her water-pot and goes and immediately tells the people of her town about Jesus.

Verses 39 and 41 The faith of the Samaritans came in two stages. First they believed because of the testimony of the Woman at the Well. But then, subsequently, they believed because of their interaction with Jesus. They believed in him.

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Colossians 3:1-10 Setting our minds on Christ in Heaven.

Colossians 3:1-10 Heaven as destination and as fulfillment.

It is one thing to say that you must live for Jesus. It is a very different concern to say that everything you do must reflect your love for him. To live for Jesus can be as simple as saying a prayer in the morning or being kind through the day. Having Christ affect the attitudes, the savor, the direction, the implications, and the tenor of all you do, is very different.

Lightfoot (on Colossians 3:1) says, “All your aims must centre in heaven, where the Christ reigns who has thus exalted you, enthroned on God’s right hand. All your thoughts must abide in heaven, not on the earth. For, I say it once again, you have nothing to do with the mundane things: you died, died once for all the world: you are living another life” (Colossians, 208).

The hidden life.

There is now no outward splendor of the Christian’s life. Your life is hidden, for now. It is hidden with Christ in God. This means we are now to center all our aims in Christ. Our focus is on the Person of Christ. He rules over the entire Universe at the Right Hand of God – the place of supreme authority and power.

You now make decisions, choices, create attitudes, build faith; walk faithfully, because your life, your truest life is now hidden with Christ. Christ is now residing physically in Heaven, and you must keep your attention focused on him there.

Your life is lived out here in this place, reflecting our incorporation into Christ and directly impacting your soon-to-be-revealed eternity with God where you will live and reign with him forever. Your hidden life with Christ is lived today by focusing your attention on the One who redeemed you, who indwells your lives by the Spirit of Christ, and in whom you draw your confidence, are assured of his good pleasure and grace toward you, and by living with him daily, you begin a relationship that will continue forever and ever — the relationship of the one who lives by faith and who is every moment, “in Christ.”

The conflict.

We are still on the Earth. But we are positioned, our standing is in Heaven. We must live on this planet, breathing, eating, working, loving. But our true life isn’t here at all. What is worse is that our nature (our members) is infected with sin so thoroughly that we cannot escape the impact of sin. Even in our most devoted moment, we are assaulted and insulted by our sinful selves. We live on the Earth and we can be quite Earthy. But that is not our truest selves. That is not our redeemed life. That is not what we could be by faith and faithfulness. The NIV translates Colossians 3:1 “set your hearts on things above.” We must turn our Earth-bound, Earthy hearts toward our Savior who lives in Heaven.

The false and the true.

The Earthly system is filled with lies and with unkept promises. Ever sin promises us a kind of joy or freedom that we longed for, but then it disappoints and then it kills us. The claims of the world are impressive to us. We love the new cars, the smell of perfume, the taste of the expensive steak. But they are all fleeting.

Our lives are lived on Earth, but they are redeemed to live for God. Our values are not the utilitarian doctrines of the person who just desires more fun and stuff. Our values have been captured by the God who, in a short time, will reveal himself with great splendor and shouts, with trumpets and overwhelming power, to be only God and Savior of those who trust in him.

The world would entertain us to death, lest we think for a second about what happens when we die. Rather that living for God now, the Earth would have us live solely and supremely for ourselves. The short-sightedness of the world’s view of things is astonishing. It is as though the Earth is a city at the base of a giant mountain, a mountain with millions of giant boulders about to cascade down on the village, but the people refuse to see the danger, or flee to safety. The picture of Pompeii before and during the eruption of Vesuvius is a telling parable about the nature of humans to refuse to think in terms of eternity or, most surely, the God who made all things and who will judge or redeem all people.

Calvin writes that he sees the conflict between “those fruitless exercises which the false apostles urge” versus “true exercises in which it become Christians to employ themselves.” (Commentary on Colossians, ad loc. Colossians 3:1). The challenge is to see the false system, the system of lies and then to view, to cast the gaze much higher to see the true and the eternal, where “Christ is.”

Some key versus on the world.

(Jesus) John 15:19 – you do not belong to the world …

John 16:33 – in this world you will have tribulation …

John 18:36 – my kingdom is not of this world …

(Paul) 1 Corinthians 3:19 – the wisdom of this world is foolishness …

(John) 1 John 2:15 – do not love the world or anything in it …

How do we seek the things above?

Calvin, “When in our minds we are truly sojourners in this world, and are not bound to it.” “Let your whole meditation be as to this: to this apply your intellect – that is your mind.” It is thinking of Christ (who is above) “that we may adore him, and that our minds may dwell with him.”

All the Earthly things have nothing for the believer in Christ. All will perish. All will be taken away, even gold. Isaiah 55:2, “why do you spend your money for what is not bread?” The institutions of worldly glory seem hollow and they taste like death. They do not deliver on their promises. They focus on people, fame, success, money, beauty, and the opinion and praise of others. Human science fails even to see the existence of God and rejects all who would begin with God as the source of all knowledge and insight. They would choose randomness and the wisdom of people over the Christ of history and his redemption — the grandest act of all time and in the whole of eternity. God came to Earth! To live among us! To die for the sins of his people. And to crush death and sin and Hell forever. It hardly makes the news in this day of great human wisdom and with more communication that can be imagined. Yet the world fails to communicate God. He has already spoken.

The point of division. Do we live as citizens of Heaven or of the Earth?

The danger. There is the implication that it would be a tremendous tragedy and an offense to God not to bear up while we are in the world, to abide in Christ, to refuse to die to sin, or to break with the world. On that glorious Day when Christ is revealed from Heaven as Victor, our true union with him will be made manifest; what was hidden about our lives in Christ will be made known for all to see. So those who served Christ well and who died to self, will be honored. Those who did not will not be rewarded, though they may welcomed into the presence of Christ. But those who have a false faith, who impersonated Christian faith but never saw Christ seated and never knew true salvation and did not have a living relationship with Christ, they will be separated from the true Christians in judgment and by eternal separation from God. So they, too, will be revealed to their sorrow and final judgment.

Put to death your “earthly members.”

Colossians 3:5 – what is tied to the Earth, to sin, to our members (various parts, tied into a mass of sin and corruption) must be put off and put to death. Including: Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness. Lightfoot notes that passion is passive (easy to remember), but that evil desire is active and results in specific sins we commit actively. We are warned against passive and active sins. Both should be put to death.

Every true Christian will know the mortification, the putting to death, of sins. It is absolutely impossible for a true believer, a person who is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, whose life is hidden with Christ in God, to continue to sin and to sin and to sin. There must come a break with sin and putting to death of many sins that had entrapped us when we came to Christ.

Every true believer becomes more and more like Christ. They come to resemble Christ in their character and in the motives behind their moral choices. They do not merely belong to Christ or are forgiven by the work of the Cross (as wonderful and important as they are), but they come to love Christ and he becomes the center of every choice and action. How could he not be that important to the one who loves him more than anything on this Earth?

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Christian unity and the “mind of Christ”

Philippians 2:1-2

With Paul, you have to pay attention to how his argument is built. One good way is to keep tract of the verbs. See how they interact one with another and you will have a good sense of how he is building his thoughts. His writings require quiet and concentration. You will not succeed in understanding much if the TV or music is playing. Paul gives a list, as he often does, of qualities that are important in the life of a Christian. He is focusing especially on concepts that reside in our thinking, since this is obviously the theme of this part of Chapter 2.

Complete my joy … have the same mind … have the same love … being in full accord and of one mind … count others more significant than yourselves … look not on your own interests … look on the interests of others … have the mind of Christ. Thinking the same way is important. Having the mind of Christ is the goal.

The workmanship of God

The work of God in those filled with grace makes them unafraid in opposition, content in the leadership and presence of God to “comfort and to guide,” and assured of good fruit and usefulness in their labors for God, “for God is at work in you … ” They learn, therefore, to rejoice over every complete proclamation of the Gospel regardless of the motives of the preachers. Let God sort them out. If the Gospel is being proclaimed it is a good thing that the message about the love and death of Jesus Christ and his victory and salvation is told to more and more people. Motives are sticky. Truthfully, are your motives really all that pure?

Proof of his workmanship — graces in the lives of those who believe.

These are operations that are present in every believer’s life and they are there because God is doing these things in us. He presents a set of graces that come into our lives, grow within us, and these are the source of much that happens in us, as we live in the Body of Christ. These traits and actions are the benefits that we receive from the Body of Christ and they are the ministry that we offer to other Christians with whom we are connected in the Biblical Local Church.

“If there be any …”

It is a bit ambiguous in English to say “if there is any” because it could mean “if there were any, but we are not sure about that … ” In this use of the phrase, the meaning is that we have a degree of uncertainly or there is a low probability these qualities may or may not be present in the local body of Christians. In this first understanding of the phrase there would not be certainty that they thing that is referred to actually exists at all. You might say, “If there were any winning lottery tickets in my pocket, we could retire.” But the chances of that are slim.

But there could be another way to take the phrase, “if there be,” to be a first class condition. It is like this: “if or since this is true, then we should take the following actions.” Example: “If we have a flat tire, we need to change it as quickly as possible.” This is not puzzling about whether or not we have a flat tire, it is charting a course for what to do since we are experiencing the tiring going flat.” This makes sense of the phrase we are studying.

Paul is not wondering whether these things are true or not (“do we have comfort?” “do we have fellowship?”, etc.) , he is giving instructions about the how these principles work because they are present in us. This little phrase means here: “Since it is certainly true that these are gifts and graces are most important in our lives, let us pay attention to them and take these actions because these qualities matter and we have them.” This is the way this “first class condition” was intended. This is a strong way of charting a course of action based on real gifts and graces that we have received from God in the Church of Jesus Christ.

If there be any encouragement. Philippians 2:1. Encouragement means to have someone come alongside of you in a time of testing, trial, or grief. It was the common practice to have an attorney or friend, some family dignitary or influential person to come and “stand alongside” of an accused and to speak on their behalf. This is one use of the term. It can also describe someone who can assist you, help you understand something important, or stand with you in your legal defense in a trial or legal proceedings.

We understand the work of encouragement most clearly because this is the chief work and it is the Name give to the Holy Spirit by Jesus in John 15. The work of encouragement is a primary work of the Holy Spirit of God and he is called the “Comforter” which is the same word used here. The ESV: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26 ESV).

We see that the ESV, uses the title “the Helper.” But is that the best translation? Here is the phrase in Greek: “ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος …” In English: “But when the Helper comes …” (ESV). The word we are looking at is παράκλητος, paraklêtos [sounds like the bird, parakete, but with an “l” and ending in “os”; no relation in meaning, just something that will stick in your brain forever]. But the “Paraclete” is much more than a “Helper.” There is skill or relationship implied in this help, an expertise or commitment necessary for help and comfort to come. He stands in defense. He comes alongside to help. He is an advocate (an attorney at law) for the defendant. He is one who comforts in distress and meets our needs in crisis. He brings our case before the Father. He reveals Jesus Christ within our lives. Much more than a helper to applaud or merely assists us when we are tired. Much more than a helper. A Comforter, An Advocate, An Intercessor, The Protector, The One who Prays on our Behalf, and The Counselor (as in lawyer and as in one who gives us counsel). Helper is not rich enough and the linguistic reach of the word is not broad enough. But we see that the work of encouragment is the work of the Spirit, but he involves us in this important work as well.

If there is any comfort (Philippians 2:1). Comfort refers to aid or assistance from another person when you are in distress. This is a word for what a person needs when there is great confusion, emotional pain, or a shock or loss has occurred. The comfort is what is needed after you have experienced a death or loss in the family, or gone through a long and difficult trial or a terrible accident and you need encouragement, strength, wisdom, and help to recover. You have experienced something that has come into your life with such force that it has turned everything in your life upside down. At that moment you need others to come and comfort you so you can be restored. Comfort of this sort is not superficial nor if it for trivial events or small matters.

If there is any fellowship (participation or sharing). This is the key word in the New Testament that describes the internal relationships and connection within the church. There is a sharing of life and a connection that comes when we experience and have in common the same commitments and loves. What is more, we also participate in one another’s faith so that my faith is helped by your faith. You are helped by others also, and when the time is right, your faith is also encouraging and supportive of them. We not only share, we participate in and have fellowship, team spirit, and we share an esprit de coups within the body of Christ that is strengthening (see Acts 2:42, where this work, κοινωνίᾳ appears) and that permits the Body to work with great effectiveness and power. This participation or sharing is crucial to everything that happens in the local church. If sharing and fellowship is poor, the church will not be impactful. However, when one Christian is successful or blessed within the church, all in the church share in that blessing. When one is hurting or grieving, all in the church participate in that loss or trauma. We share our lives with God and then we share them with one another.

If there is any affection. This is an important word for the local church. It is about the love and strong emotions that we have in defense and protection of one another. This would be like the reflex of a father or mother when their child has been hurt or treated unfairly. The response is viseral and deep. This is the deep-felt love and concern that Christians share with one another because of our connection by faith to the same Lord and Savior. We share our lives and we care about what happens to each other. This is an intense and liberating relationship to have. It is also a wonderful experience to experience with people who care deeply for you and who can shout about it and celebrate their affection for you with joy in the presence of God.

The last in the list is sympathy. If there is any sympathy. This word also appears in Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 1:3; here in Philippians 2:1; Colossians 3:12; Hebrews 10:28; and Hebrews 10:28. For a similar term see Luke 6:36, and James 5:11. This is the merciful and compassionate concern for others, emphasizing the care that we provide for them, the contact that we maintain with them in their lives. This care often flows out of the ministry of God’s Spirit through us. The Spirit gives us the experience of his comfort, that we, then, pass on to others (see 2 Corinthians 1).

Paul has already prays with thanks over these Christians who were living in Philippi, both for their partnership with him in the Gospel (1:4f), and for their love (see 1:9f). Now in 2:1ff., he wants his joy to be complete (J.B. Lightfoot, ad loc. Philippians). Faith, Love, Joy.

“Have the same mind.” This could be seen an an invitation to cultish obeisance and rendering our personal thoughts and understanding as unimportant or unvalued. Having the same mind can mean something very unhealthy when it is about making people have exactly the same opinions about everything, and/ or having an uncritical acceptance of the leader’s thoughts and directives without review or right of refusal.

But the Christian seeks the same mind, by pursuing Christ together. We have a similar mind-set because we experience the same Lord Jesus Christ. We love what he loves, more and more and his desires and will become first and foremost in our lives. So we are finding new ways to serve and glorify his name that come because this essential unity that Christ has created within us, not that was imposed upon us. Our faith and obedience unite us in common values, common goals, and common motives. In such a community there is great creativity and freedom. There is love that rules over matters of taste and style and method and unity over essentials of faith and life.

[A short footnote. This is the same set of principles that were popularized by the Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter, but they are to be accredited to Marco Antionio de Dominis (1560-1624), the Latin of this aspiration is: In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas. Translated into English: “In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Freedom; in all things, Charity.” A good and balanced statement of unity within the Body of Christ. This statement also happens to be the motto on the seal of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which adds to their seal the phrase, “Truth in Love.”]

Having the same mind means that our thoughts are captured by the greatness and by the lordship of Jesus Christ working in us. This is not a call to uniformity. We do not walk together just to be alike. But we walk together because we really love each other. Our call to unity in Christ, focused on his glory, give our lives for his service and it directs us to go wherever he wants us to go. Paul is insistent that this unity be present and he repeats the call several times in this section (see 2:1, 5). This is laying the foundation for the humility of service and to have the mind of Christ. These go hand-in-hand. The love you have for other believers in Christ is dependent on the content of your thinking about Christ and the decree to which your mind is becoming more and more aligned with the mind of Christ with others who are experiencing the same wonderful, matchless gifts from God. “Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus” is the goal.

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Bible Study

Grace from one to another

Both Ephesians and Philippians were written about 60 AD when Paul was imprisoned. He was in Rome. He loved the people in Philippi. They loved him and they were praying for his release from prison.

Paul was not so much concerned about his freedom as he was about his boldness.The entire first chapter comes to a focus when he says that his concern was “that I will not be ashamed” “whether I live or die” (see 1:20). His chief concern was not to be ashamed “in the day of Jesus Christ” and to finish well.

Handing off the people in Philippi to other leaders and giving them the duty, the responsibility of living lives that bring honor to God, Paul encourages them by the principle that they are not doing the work of spiritual growth; they are not doing the things that effect change and character in them. It is God who is working in them (1:5).

The principle that God is working in them does not mean that their lives will be easy or pain-free. He begins here with the story of his opportunity with the Praetorian Guard in Rome and that, apparently, ALL of them came to Christ. What an amazing thought! That the entire guard heard the Gospel and came to faith through the imprisonment of Paul. Paul shared with the Philippian church that the Gospel has been advanced in Rome, and that he has been defending it against those who were opponents of it. The promise that God is working in you both to do and to will his good pleasure, is tied to the sobering fact that we are called to do difficult things and to submit to circumstances over which we have no control, but God will use us and empower his Word and spread his Gospel through our faithfulness to him who is working in us. This theme goes through 1:20 where Paul flatly states that believing and suffering go hand in hand.

So Paul calls the people for great boldness in their lives (1:14). In 1:13-18 Paul uses a series of comparitives, The Whole, The Rest, Some, Later, Former, Everyway, Pretense, and then Truth. This is a clear way of showing that not everything goes the way we want them to go. But that God is working everywhere and we should be on the lookout for the things that God is doing, and not be surprised if there is opposition or failure, flattery or poor motivations, all the while lining up against faithful, God-filled, obedience, and fruitful people who are God’s workmanship. But in this world there are always, the rest, some, rivalry, and pretense. Be on guard.

Verse 1:17, Paul shares his chief motivation: That Christ is Proclaimed. What a wonderful statement of purpose! Paul rejoices in the proclamation of the Gospel and in it he rejoices.

The prayers of God’s people work together with the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit of God. “Through your prayers and the help of the Spirit” this “will turn out for my deliverance.” The phrase “for my deliverance” is “ἐν τῷ σώματί μου, “for my salvation.” So the deliverance could be his release from prison, that is a kind of salvation. Or it could be his death and faithful testimony about Christ, and that is also a kind of salvation, the Heavenly kind. He wants to be unafraid and full of courage (1:20) for his day of trial.

Paul’s confession

“To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul understands that the Gospel of God is a life and death, Heaven or Hell proposition. There is nothing more important. Nothing is more urgent. Nothing is more wonderful or hopeful than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He can say, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Christ is his life. If he dies he only gains glorious access to his Savior without the impediments of sin.

Are you torn between wanting to die to be with Jesus and wanting to live so you can work harder and harder doing more and more difficult tasks for God? Paul was (1:23).

Practical exhortation.

“Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27). Paul prays that they would not be frightened by anything or anyone. Paul was certainly not afraid. It is fair to say that if you are afraid of anything, there is a deficiency in your faith.

Your have been graced. It has been given to you by Jesus Christ (ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ). The word “given” is the verbal form of the word “grace” that is so important for the Christian faith. Paul is saying that “It has been graced to you.” “It is by the working of his grace in you… that you should not only believe in him but to suffer for his sake.” (1:29). Grace becomes the power, the reason, the controlling direction within us that allows us to engage in great faith and to endure terrible suffering.

Grace that comes to you works in you. That grace leads you, protects you and delivers you. But it doesn’t keep you safe from conflict, opponents, or suffering. To think otherwise is to have never have read the New Testament. People who believe pay a dear price to be faithful. And they consider the Gospel to be worth their sacrifice and their lives, if need be.

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Bible Study

Redeeming our warfare

A study of Ephesians 6:10-23.

Introduction from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ sermons on Ephesians 6 (The Christian Warfare). “Finally” engages the attention of the reader, calling for a review of all that has been said before in the book of Ephesians. The statement in 6:10 is the summary of the entire argument.

The last section is divided into two parts, 11-12 and then verse 13 to the end, the specifics.

Chapters 1-3 lay out the fundamental themes of the Christian faith. Those chapters describe Who a Christian is, What a Christian is, and How they have become who they are.

In the second half of Chapter 3, it is, quoting Lloyd-Jones, “The glory and the exalted character of the Christian life,” (12). That you might be filled with the fulness [the British spelling] of God and experience the privileges that belong to such a life (12).

What follows is the appeal to live in a manner worthy of your calling. Continuing in Chapter 4, “walk worthy of the calling by which you have been called.”

Chapter 4:1-16 is the Church. Then practical instructions through 6:9.

The final section is broken simply down into two sections: 6:10-13 a General Exhortation. 6:14 to the end, the Particulars of how to go about doing what is set forth in 10-13.

Chapter 6:10-13. The battle is not about teaching people to live moral lives. The battle is not about raising children who are successful and responsible. The church is not to be engaged in matters touching simply on race relations or poverty or women’s rights or social justice. Rightly understood, all these matters are impacted by the Christian faith. But apart from the fulness of Christ, there is no point to engage in any programs of societal betterment, or social improvement. Families or businesses cannot be helped by moral instruction apart from the life-giving Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. To propound that the church is just an agency of societal management or a force to restrain human evil is to do great harm to the glorious vision of the Church of the Living God. We are much more than a society for the improvement of civilization. But where the Gospel is proclaimed and believed more nations have been rescued from the effects and consequences of sin than any other influence in human history.

Notice that the instructions given in Ephesians are not a curricula but a series of commands.

Chapter 6:10 — the life of the Chirstians must be lived in the strength that God provides. Our frailty is profound. We sin and slip, then we soar and reign. The heart of Ephesians (to choose one verse) is 3:18, “that we may be filled with the fulness of God.” His power is working in us (3:7). We are “alive together with Christ,” 2:5. The “power that raised Christ from the dead” is at work in us who believe. Therefore, we are to “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Our strength is not sufficient to stand. Our power is not able to engage the enemies of God. Our abilities are not able to withstand an assault on those who would scheme to destroy our assurance, fill us with fear, throw us into confusion, deny the power of God, or disconnect us from the presence and power of God.

The command to be strong in the Lord contains a calculation regarding the strength that the Lord has and a comparison of his strength with our own. We would not, in our moment of trial, want to depend on another human being who was as weak as we are. We would want someone who was capable, able, sufficient for the moment of trial to deliver and to give us aid and assistance. We do not trust God like we would trust in or admire another human being. The strength of the Lord is without limits. It is holy and wise, pure, kind, full of grace, redeeming, and great (and much, much more).

The reason we need the strength of the Lord is that our adversary, the Devil, is working schemes that are designed to hurt and to maim us, our faith, and our standing before God. The Devil works by schemes, he orchestrates events, he stacks the blows to your heart so that there is no light impact on you, rather it is that the blows become all you can do to endure them and to survive their assault.

It is when we are being attack by the schemes of the evil one that we need God’s power, if we are to survive. The easy-to-face-and-conquer temptations need no additional strength. You manage them well. But those are not in view. It is the powerful succession of events, one after another, that requires the power and presence of God in your life to live through them to the glory of God.

Not all sorrows are schemes. Not all problems come from the Devil. Not all sin is originated from the Evil One. Some of our sin comes from within us. Some of our problems come just by the nature of our fallen world and the mistakes of people, governments, politics, or leaders. People are fallible and they sometimes fail and fall and it can fall on us.

The schemes of the evil one last for enough time to accomplish their work. They are not easily dismissed. They are not settled in a day. You are tempted to give in, to give up, and to stop trying. Your obedience is severely challenged. Your heart is at risk of losing hope. There is a challenge that comes against the promises of God, the goodness of God, and the love of God. There is offered to you something you desire, something you long for, hope for, something precious in your heart, that is put at risk, but if you will deny, pull away from, or reject the promises of God, they will be yours.

The temptation is tremendous at this point, you cannot stand in your own power and strength. You are not able to reason or to have wisdom needed to see through the schemes. The schemes always contradict, contravene, or conflict with the will of God for your life. And the confrontation is deeply felt and terribly divisive within your heart and soul.

Schemes can be in the form of relationships that discourage you and that wound your heart. Such relationships may be held apart from your heart for a while, be over time the incessant power of the discouragement, the negative frame of mind, the insipient evil behind the words and promises of the relationship, bring hurt and sorrow that is deeply felt and that is difficult to overcome. It is a scheme.

Schemes work against the way your think about your life and about you see God and his place in you. Ephesians 2:2 reminds you that you know what it was like to “walk in darkness.” You know full well what it was like to live apart from God, to disobey his will, to be separated and alienated from God. But no longer. Now you are brought close, you are filled with the fulness of God. You know the power of the resurrection, and much more.

The Devil seeks to blind your eyes (2 Corinthians 4:4). Blinding the eyes means that we cannot see nor can we trust in, the truth of God, his presence, his power and redeeming love. People who are blind (who live in darkness) live their lives apart from God. They deny the God who made them and they live as though there were no God (a-theists, “no-god”).

Schemes can appeal to our pride as in 1 Chronicles 21:11, where David was stirred by Satan to “count the number of his people” when God specifically instructed him not to. David wanted to measure the strength of his army and the size of his nation. But God wanted David to trust in the God. The simple admonishion to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” is contrary to any trust in the size of an army or in the strength of the nation. But David ordered the nation to be counted and God was very displeased with him.

Lloyd-Jones summaries the schemes of the evil one in these areas: Assurance of faith (doubting one’s faith is true, or holding a false faith while thinking you are a Christian); Cults (false teaching); Self (the seat of human sin); Quenching the Spirit (wilful disobedience that offends the Spirit of God within) ; Temptation and Sin; Discouragement; Worry and Anxiety (fear is a great power in the evil one’s hand); Truth versus False Zeal (doing wrong things for the right reasons, or doing good things without the proper motive-set); and Worldiness. These topics are broad and very diverse, and you can see how varied the schemes may be. They can fall in many areas of the heart, the mind, the spirit. They can come from a misunderstanding of the Gospel (zeal). They can be fed by worry and fear. They can entice us to embrace the things of this world instead of pleasing God in how we live our lives. Be on guard!

In chapter 6:13ff Paul gives us the specifics on how we are to be strong in the Lord. The list includes these matters:

Truth, Righteousness, Gospel, Faith, Salvation, the Word of God, and Perseverance. These are matters that do not require great learning to understand. They rest at the center of the Christian faith and they can be understood as to the meaning of each term, by a young child.

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Bible Study, The Word of God in the life of the believer.

Grace and faith leading to the Spirit of God within

The Spirit and faith.

1. Galatians 1-2 outline Paul’s defense of the supremacy of the grace of God over Law as a means of salvation and the principles by which we live for God.

a. Faith and grace are given to us as the central elements of the Christian faith. One could well think that after 2 chapters that established the principles of grace and faith that he would apply those principles in practical teaching about living by faith and appropriating more grace into the life. Instead, Paul moves to display the source of grace and faith. He opens up a detailed and encouraging exposition about the nature of the Holy Spirit and his many actions and gifts to the one who has faith in Jesus. This is the subject of Galatians 3-5: The Holy Spirit that brings grace and faith.

1.) The work of the Spirit is the antithesis of the works of the flesh, “the desires of the flesh are against the desires of the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:17)

2.) The work of the Spirit brings a manifestation and evidence of true and saving faith in the “fruit” of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

3.) The principle of the Spirit then impacts all of the Christian life. The worship of God, the simplest service, prayer, obedience, self-giving, humility, love, are all directed and defined by the work of the Spirit of God who brings us to faith in Jesus Christ and who forms our lives and character into his likeness. “If we live by the Spirit let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

b. There is an unbreakable link between the faith one has in Christ and the work of the Spirit of God within our lives.

1.) The Christian life must be lived by the power of the Spirit or it is sure to fail. Paul made it clear that we begin the Christian life by the work and power of the Spirit, and we must continue living our lives with Christ in dependence and through the provision of the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts.

c. The gift of the Spirit of God is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. It is the summation of the prophetic word that “the just shall live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)

1.) The promises to those who believed in God through the Old Testament are fulfilled in the giving of the Holy Spirit (with all his gifts) to those who believe and in the application of every grace to the lives of those who trust in Jesus Christ. The Christian is living the fulfillment of every promise of God given before Christ came. We are the children of promise. We are those who receive in completion what what only dreamed about and hoped for in the Old Testament era.

d. The gift of the Spirit is the evidence from God, the gift of God, the proof of grace, the victory over the flesh, and he is the supply of God’s power to work the miracles and to give them the faith that makes the people who have faith. (See Galatians 3:1-9)

e. The adoption as sons and daughters is worked by the Spirit of God. God has sent “the Spirit of his Son in your hearts, crying “Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6)

The result is that you are no longer a slave (to sin) but you are the sons and daughters of God, and if “a son, then an heir through God.”

2. Overview of the work of the Spirit in Galatians.

a. 3:2 – Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing of faith?” (See also Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.”)

b. 3:3 – “Having begun by the Spirit are you now perfected by the flesh?”

c. 3:5 – “does he who supplies the Spirit to you – work miracles among you, do so by the law or by hearing of faith?”

d. 3:14 – “We might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

e. 4:6 – “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’”

f. 4:29 – “Children of promise …. born of the Spirit so also it is now.” The promise of faith is fulfilled by us who are born of the Spirit of God.

g. 5:5 – “through the Spirit, by faith we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”

h. 5:16 – “walk by the Spirit.”

i. 5:17 – “desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, desires of he Spirit are against the flesh.”

j. 5:18 – “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”

k. 5:22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

l . 6:8 – But the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

3. Statements of the work of the Spirit in the believer.

a. The Spirit comes to dwell in the life (“heart”) of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

b. The Spirit was responsible for beginning the work of redemption in the lives of everyone who believes.

c. Believers in Jesus Christ actually receive the Spirit of God who indwells their physical bodies.

d. God has sent the Spirit of adoption to make it possible for us to become the sons and daughters of God.

e. We who have received the Spirit of God eagerly await a glorious future and the gifts that God has prepared for us there and then.

f. Those who are redeemed can live (walk) by the Spirit of God. Such words as “dwell” “begun” “supplied” “received” “born” “sent” are used actively as the experience of true and saving faith with reference to the work and Person of the Spirit of God.

g. The Spirit of God produces a fruit consisting of many components and aspects (5:22ff).

h. We are instructed to use care to sow to the Spirit of God and not to sow to the sinful nature (the flesh). Such sowing to the Spirit promises great blessing to those who do this.

The work of the Spirit in the Person of Jesus Christ The work of the Spirit in the one who has faith in Jesus Christ
Jesus was baptized at the beginning of his earthly ministry by John the Baptist (John 1:32)The descent of the Spirit upon Jesus signaled the beginning of his ministry, the display of his glory in miracles, and the declaration of his identity as the Son of God / Son of Man. The Spirit of God descended upon him in visible form. We are baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)The baptism of Jesus was both like and unlike our baptism. We are baptized as a sign of repentance, and an incorporation into the Body of Christ. We are baptized as an identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. We are baptized as a physical representation of the dying to self and living unto God. Jesus was baptized as an identification with sinners and to “fulfill all righteousness.”The Christian life begins with the gift of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:2), and with the faith and grace that are communicated through the work of the Spirit in those who believe. Christians are indwelt by the same Spirit of God who descended upon Jesus (2 Corinthians 6:16)The continuity of our baptism with Jesus’ is in the same Spirit of God who came upon him in power, comes into our lives and dwells within us physically, and he will be with us forever.The Spirit of God was first given to those in the Old Testament (like Samson or David), but he would be given for specific purposes and for limited time, then he came to indwell the lives of those who believe (Acts 2:1-4), permanently and forever.
Christ is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit of God (Luke 4:1)The leading of the Holy Spirit is central to the mission of Christ. We are led by the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:18)The leading of the Holy Spirit was the experience of the early church (see Acts 16:6, and all references to the Holy Spirit in Acts). The sovereignty of the Holy Spirit to lead us or to drive us where he wants us is established.
Healing miracles and casting out demons are accomplished by the power of the Spirit of God (Matthew 12:28)The healing miracles are ascribed to the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ had the power and he could do any miracle he wished – he was the Creator of every molecule and the Lord of all creation. But he appears to have deferred to the power of the Holy Spirit in specific instances of healing. It seems that he loved to accomplish the miracle by the power of the Holy Spirit working through him. Christians perform miracles by the Spirit of God (Galatians 3:5).We are not told the kind or scope of miracles that the Galatian Christians experienced, but the Holy Spirit was the means by which they were accomplished. The miracles must have been to effect some change in outcome, some healing of illness, some provision or providential event that could not be explained as chance or fortune. There were miracles that the Holy Spirit did in the early church; such miracles did not seem to be dependent upon apostolic gifting nor where they done as the agents of the apostles. There is nothing to suggest that. The miracles came because they were experiencing the power and might of the Holy Spirit within their church and in their lives individually.
The Spirit of God is sent by Jesus Christ to those who have faith in him (John 14:17, 26; 16:13) Those promised the Spirit actually receive the Spirit from the Father and from the Son (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13; Galatians 3:2; 4:6)Christians actually received the Spirit of God (first temporarily and after the ascension of Jesus, permanently (John 20:22)
The fullness of the Spirit; Jesus was physically conceived by the work of the Spirit of God in the womb of the virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:20)The Spirit of God is named as a participant in the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Romans 1:4)From the beginning of his life until his resurrection from the dead, the Holy Spirit of God was working in and through Jesus Christ. His very incarnation was a work of the Spirit of God. His ministry was empowered by the Spirit. His miracles were accomplished through the Spirit. His resurrection was associated with the outpouring of the Spirit’s power. In every way the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted, the Holy Spirit is working to extend his glory and to magnify it. Believers are made alive by the indwelling work of the Spirit, making alive, redeeming, and applying resurrection power in the lives of those who believe (Ephesians 1:18ff)Christians experience the very power that raised Christ from the dead working in them. The power that brought Christ from the dead is the same power that works in the believer to take him from spiritual death to becoming alive to God, a new creature, to be born again.
“Justification applied” is a work of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:11)Justification, proper, is the work of the Son of God on the Cross. The application of Christ’s finished work is the joyful work of the Spirit. The Spirit of God not only assisted Christ in his earthly ministry and miracles, (and there may be much more that we do not know about where the Spirit of God was involved in the redemption that Christ accomplished, but it is in application of that redemption in the justification of sinners, the application of the righteousness of Christ to the account of believers, and to cancel he debt and to accomplish the adoption of sons and daughters of God by faith in Jesus Christ – all are done through the work and power of the Spirit of God.
We gain the knowledge of God by the Spirit who was given to us by God (Ephesians 1:17)The Spirit of God mediates to us the knowledge of God. He explains, interprets, helps us to understand and explains to us the meaning of the Word of God written. He inspired the writers of Scripture so that they wrote with their own vocabulary, and illustrated the message from their own frame of experiences, but that those words became the very Word of God by the work of the Spirit of God who worked to reveal God’s nature in the Word of God.(2 Peter 1:21; cf. 2 Timothy 3:15)
Jesus is described as being “filled with the Spirit” (see Luke 4:1; cf. 4:14) Christians also are filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)We share the inner working and ministry of the Spirit in us, just as Christ knew what it was to be filled with the Spirit of God (but his experience was not hindered by sin as ours is). He and we are filled with the same Spirit of God. Our filling if for different goals and purposes. But the Person who indwells us, God the Holy Spirit, is the same who descended up and indwelt the Son of God during his earthly walk and ministry.

4. Application to Palm Sunday and the Triumphal Entry.

a. The coming of Christ to Jerusalem to die for the sins of his people was the fulfillment of the Father’s will to save, it would be accomplished by the Son’s love for his own and his desire to be with them forever, and that work of redemption was given the power of the Spirit, the conquering victory over evil was begun, and then the justification of God is applied to every believer by his power to save, to resurrect, to make new, and to incorporate into the Body of Jesus Christ all who have faith in him.

b. The Spirit of God is known by us more powerfully, more permanently, that the disciples experienced when they were with Christ during his early ministry. After the day of Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit and his indwelling power became more influential in his people and that indwelling presence became permanent in the physical body of believers (while we live) and in us forever even in Heaven, when our new bodies are created, we will dwell with God forever by the Spirit. We will see Jesus Christ, risen and glorious, physically, and we will see the glory of the Father brilliantly. We will know God as he is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

c. The power of faith in the believer is given to us by the work of the Holy Spirit. When Paul laid out the distinction between the Law and Grace, and between Works and Faith, in the explanation of Faith he immediately turned to the make faith clear by a long and very specific set of works that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in the life of the believer. The way faith works is the way the Spirit of God works in the believer. If you believe, it is a gift of God, given to your by the inner working of the Spirit of God, that you might trust and service, love and worship Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

d. The Holy Spirit is a gift who brings fruit into your life. He inspires and he teaches the Word of God. He creates a desire for us to express the obedience that is caused by true faith. He is a comforter and helper for everyone who believes in Christ. He applies the adoption of the sons and daughters of God to our relationship with God. We are not only believers, we are now sons and daughters — adopted children of God, by the work of the Spirit within us.

e. The summary verse in Galatians is: “If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25).

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Promises of God

Remember. Don’t forget.

Remember your mortality. Don’t forget your glorious future.

Psalm 90:5-6

“They are swept away as sleep in the morning; as the grass, they pass away.
In the morning they bloom, and by evening they wither and dry out.”

1 John 2:17
“And the world is passing away and the wicked-cravings of it.
But those who do the will of God remain forever.”

Resource:

From Licht auf dem Weg, Ed. H. Bitzer, (Oekumenischer Verlag Edel, 1969). Hebrew and Greek verses as a daily devotional.

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The Word of God in the life of the believer.

In step with the truth of the Gospel

Galatians 2:14a, “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel …” (ESV)

“Conduct … in step” here in the Greek text “orthopodousin” meaning “be consistent with” or “make progress toward.” (We get orthopedic from this, but there is no connection in meaning).

Here is a paraphrase,

“But when I saw that they were not living consistent with the grace of God, nor were they making progress in applying the principles of grace in all their human relationships, it became obvious to me that they were not in step with the truth of the gospel.”

Paul’s controversy with people who were rejecting the grace of God by making rules and Law to include some (Jewish believers) and excude others (Gentile believers), came to a crisis-point. But the crisis came not out of debate with them about doctrine (though that did have an impact on the resolution), but because he observed in their lives that they weren’t living by the grace of God and the truth of the Gospel.

There is a lot here, but let’s draw one principle:

Those who live by grace can tell by the way you are living if you have the truth of the gospel at the center of your life or not. The way you treat others gives you away.

What you believe about the gospel, and whether what you believe is true or false, is displayed for all to see in how you live and in who you love.

Resource:

From James Montgomery Boice, on Galatians 2:14 (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank Gaebelein, 1976, 447).

“It is not enough merely to understand and accept the gospel, as Peter did, nor even to defend it, as he did at Jerusalem. A Christian must also practice the gospel consistently, allowing it to regulate all areas of his conduct.”

Toad flax in marsh intwined with grasses

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