Thursday, July 3rd
Galatians 3:26-29
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Spend a few minutes discussing questions you have about the passage. Here are a few to get you started:
What makes us sons of God?
What does it mean to clothe yourself in Christ?
How are we all one in Christ
Now here’s one of my favorite passages, a classic. Some top notch truth from Paul the Apostle, a true slave of Christ.
The truth is this: YOU’VE GOT IT, you’ve got the award freely given to all men. It don’t matter who you are, where you come from, what school you went to, or who your daddy is— it’s all for you. As long as you believe with faith, you’ve got those nice white robes they talk about in Revelation, you’re on the Highway of Holiness that Isaiah talks about, and you have received all those spiritual blessings you hear about in Ephesians. Yep, it’s all yours through faith in Christ, baby. In other words, you believe in the Son of God, and you become a son of God. It’s that simple. Ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, know what I’m sayin’? It’s no longer like it was
A long time ago, God caught up with this guy Abraham and told him about all the promises He’s making for the Jews. And now, through Christ, a Jew, all can become heirs according to those same promises. Isn’t that something? Talk about grace, jeepers. But don’t get cocky. Only by Christ is this possible, and God can take us out of the tree as quick as he grafted us in— keep Christ and keep salvation… but that’s another passage..
Now, let’s talk about this oneness that the apostle tells us about. It’s quite a beautiful thing. Did you know that you’re one in spirit with the Living God? Again, you obtain this by faith in the Son, Jesus. It’s part of the package deal. It’s as though we were once split apart from God, and Christ is the stitches that reconnect us with God. It’s a bit hard to explain, but I’ll make it easy for you: through Christ you are RIGHTEOUS children of God, and brothers and sisters with one another. You’ve got a whole new family— it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, or where you come from— you’ve got brothers and sisters right now. God has put you in a brand new family.
He has made everything new. God was sad when Adam and Eve broke His command, because it meant separation. We don’t have a God of separation, but a God of reconciliation—so He sent His Son to make us one with Him. That’s how much He loves us. And through that blood that was shed we have oneness, get it? Good—because that’s the truth, Ruth.
Process:
– Do you have faith in the Son of God? No, really. Look into yourself, don’t just say it because you’re suppose to, be honest with yourself and with God, don’t be afraid to look deep within yourself. Ask yourself “Do I really believe?” Meditate on that for a while and come up with the right answer, for your own sake. What have YOU learned from this passage? It’s one thing to read a bunch of mumbling from some guy you don’t know, another thing to hear your own take on something, meditate and express. What does Holy Spirit bring to YOUR beautiful God-created mind? And finally, how are you going to apply this Scripture?