You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.I would like to learn just one thing from you: did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?Are you so foolish?After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?Have you experienced so much in vain- if it really was in vain?Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by your observing the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
What questions do you have about this passage?Here are a few, and then write your own:
Paul is painting a contrast between two things:what are they, and how are they different from each other? The passage says: “After beginning with the Spirit…” What did the Galatians begin? How would they have experienced anything ‘in vain’?
Paul makes it perfectly clear that it is not what we do that will get us into Heaven.It is what we believe in.I will not get into Heaven by helping old ladies cross the street, or by pulling my neighbor’s cat out of their tree, but rather my belief that He died for my sins upon the Cross will demonstrate itself by my abounding love for others.
Paul is not saying to stop doing your good deeds.As Christians we are also called to do good and to show Christ through our love.James 2:17 says this: “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
Moral of the story?Believing the message that we have heard about Christ needs to be number one. Número uno. Numéro un. Nr. Eine. Número um. Одно. Aantal. Αριθμόςένας. Numrera en. رقمواحدة.Get the point?
Then, AFTER we have the whole belief thing down pat, we can worry about being a good person.However, Paul once again rebukes us here, because a lot of the time we try to be good by ourselves.Here is where I paraphrase Paul again: “FOOLS!”Why would we try to be better people by ourselves when we already believe the message of Christ?Here is what Paul says: “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to be perfect by your own effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?”
It is the Spirit that allows us to connect to the source of grace and peace, Christ.When we are connected to Him, we do not need to try using our own power, but rather let the Spirit transform us into Christ’s image in order to represent him and his goodness to the world.
Process:
– How many times have you neglected the message of Christ by thinking that you can get into Heaven by your own works?Have you ever tried to become a better person on your own strength?Are you willing to give up full control of your life to Christ, who will ultimately make you the new and better person?
