GALATIANS 5:1 STAND FASTENED
God pleads with us to take His strength TO BE FASTENED and walk in that freedom, and to not be entangled BUT KEEP FEEDING AND DRAWING FROM CHRIST
When we struggle IN OUR OWN DEVICES AND ADD ON'S to free ourselves, we just become more entangled
The liberty CHRIST GIVES is our freedom from the tyranny of a REAL power TO DESTROY OUR WALK. The power of a flesh gospel. The flesh of having to earn our own way to God. The freedom from sin and guilt and condemnation OF FLESH COMES by a philosophy not the Jesus freedom from the penalty and the power and eventually freedom from the presence AND INFLUENCE of sin. SIN, THIS DRAW TO KNOW THE WORLD AND THE STUFF OF THE WORLD MORE THAN TO KNOW CHRIST. (Phil 3:10)
V1 THE OLD BOSS. People fall into bondage because their “old master” has deceived them. The old boss is a driver. But Jesus is the good shepherd, the creation designer and the one who leads us into green pastures and not drives us and our flesh. We get day-by-day Fresh spirit food.
The old life is a driver. What a miracle when Christ affects the heart to want to search for Him, our Lord, master, source of strength when we are weak. He often says to me: "Dare to be honest with God.
V1 The Yoke of bondage: This phrase reminds us of what Peter said in Acts 15:10. He says why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
The Jews themselves were not able to justify themselves before God by the law, so they shouldn’t put that heavy, burdensome yoke on the Gentiles.
Certain Jewish teachers of that day spoke of the Law of Moses as a yoke, but they used the term in a favorable light. But Jesus went one better using the same word in Matthew 11:29 saying "learn". Like a good schoolmaster would say.
V 28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Jesus says take my yoke upon you and learn of me because I am meek and lowly. My yoke is just the opposite of your yoke. Instead of bowing you down in heaviness, MY BURDEN IS LIGHT AND you are drawing more energy and understanding of God's nature FROM ME.)
SLAVERY? Paul saw a legal relationship as a yoke, but as a yoke of bondage. It is related to slavery, not liberty.
( Remember the image of Chain collars around the necks of naked barefoot captives.) Isaiah 40
How about this yoke of learning? It energizes us. Jesus invites us, leads us to learn of Him in Matt 11:29. Draw from Him. The image of manna daily.
TEND CULTIVATE YOUR LIBRARY
How important is this library? The library of mental images we get in our Bible Study teaching?
It may seem he is beating this point to death, but it's the core of NT.
CIRCUMCISION AND CHRIST CANNOT MIX. WHY? THERE'S NOTHING THERE.
V3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
For the Galatians in this context, to receive circumcision – the ritual that testified that a Gentile was coming under the identity of Jewish law –
It meant that he no longer trusted in Jesus as His righteousness, but trusted in himself instead.
Jesus, dying on the cross, pouring out His blood, His life, His soul, His agony, His love for us – and it will profit nothing to go backwards!
Two men died with Jesus; for the one who put his trust in Jesus, it was eternal life. For the one who trusted in himself, it profited him nothing.
(Luther said) “Tongue cannot express, nor heart conceive what a terrible thing it is to make Christ worthless.”
EXAMPLE If you are pulled over for speeding, it will do no good to protest that you are a faithful husband, a good taxpayer, and have obeyed the speed limit many times. All of that is irrelevant. You have still broken the speeding law and are guilty under it.
So you see how this MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW VS. THE GOSPEL.
It actually pushed them into a culture of hypocrisy (acting as an actor) because if all the lawkeeping could save, it leaves a person is in the impossible place of having to keep the whole of the law.
You can't do it. So Jesus called them whited tombs, walking around in long robes, just faking it, like actors... (again, the heart tells humans the truth)
V6 AVAILETH NOTHING We will later see that Paul didn’t care one way or another about circumcision saying it "avails nothing" But he gives us the picture (the image) of circumcision without hands. And in another place, the cutting and changing of the person's INNERMOST heart.
And once cut inwardly by God our identity is changed. We are a new creation. Creature. 2 Cor 5:17
THE EPI GNOSIS. So interesting that now we are looking at the conversion, or the born again event in a different perspective. Amazing how many images and word pictures Paul gives us to describe the epignosis, the awakening, the born again experience.
V 4, You have fallen from grace. This phrase is often misunderstood. Most people think of “falling away” in terms of immoral conduct, but we are not saved by our conduct. However, we are saved by our continuing reliance by faith in the grace of God. Someone may fall from grace and be damned without ever falling into grossly immoral conduct. To fall from grace, as seen by this context, is to fall into legalism or the rejection of Christ's blood.
V5 FOR WE, or Those walking in the Spirit wait for righteousness by faith and are not trying to earn it by performing good works. No one is a legalist through the Spirit.
V6 IN CHRIST Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything – neither one matters at all. You are not better if you are circumcised or uncircumcised. You aren’t worse off if you are circumcised or uncircumcised. The only harm is trusting in something in place of Jesus that is completely irrelevant.
V6 BUT FAITH WORKETH THROUGH LOVE. Real faith, saving faith, will work through love. Action events.
Mark 5:22: Jarius was a ruler of the synagogue, and he loved his little daughter. He sought out Jesus. He fell at His feet and worshiped Christ out in public, not caring if his fellow Pharisees saw him. The same with the woman with an issue of blood as this account is told also.
(Gal 5:7-12) A final confrontation.
You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? They ran, but it isn’t enough just to start well. DECIDE NOW TO GET ON GOD'S SIDE. THEN PRAY.
V7 Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Paul knew that the false teaching came from a person (who hindered you); but it didn’t come from Jesus (This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you).
But again one who blocks and marrs Jesus and the Gospel of grace, and tries to give you...circumcision of all things!
At the root of it all, the Galatians were leaving Jesus to pursue the false and empty teachings of man, in this case legalism.
Back to V 3:1 Who has bewitched you? Many drifted through influence and "add-ons".
V9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump: leaven almost always stood for evil influence. Matt 16: Beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees who sought after a sign.
(CAN I GET MORE SAVED, MORE CREDIT IF I SAY THE ROSARY AND LIGHT FIVE MORE CANDLES?) WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? JESUS IS NOT ENOUGH.)
V10 Ends on a positive note. Paul expressed his confidence in the Galatians (which was really a confidence in the Lord who is able to keep them).
KEEP ME LORD My prayer is remembered when the Lord came to me on May 8, 1971.
V10 Paul was equally confident that judgment awaits those who block people FROM CHRIST AND lead them astray and away from Jesus (Referring to the phrase: "he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is").
Remember Jesus’ solemn warning against those who would lead one of these little ones astray (Matthew 18:6-7). The judgment is sure.
V11 SOME MUDDY THE WATERS. Someone might accuse Paul of preaching circumcision because he asked Timothy to be circumcised (Acts 16:1-3). But Paul didn’t have Timothy circumcised so Timothy could be saved or “more saved.” He did it so Timothy could more freely evangelize among unsaved Jewish people.
V12 Is this a play on words? He says: I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! Speaking of a total amputation of the member.
Interesting to note: The Pagan priests of the cults in this region of Galatia (Northern Turkey today) actually did this. The practice of complete castration.
Today related to the deadly sin of pride and exhibition comes body mutilation which was so prevalent in the Phrygian worship of Cybele that the Galatians were familiar with it. Glad we don't live in ancient Greece. Body modification and piercing, even tattooing eyeballs today. Emplants of horns to mock God's creation
V13 YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED. NOT SOMEONE ELSE. Paul has made one thing clear: Legalism is no little thing. It takes away our liberty and puts us into bondage. It makes Jesus and His work of no profit to us.
ONLY USE NOT LIBERTY. (Gal 5:13-15) Using liberty not to sin but to love one another. The great fear of the legalist is that liberty will be used as an opportunity for the flesh. That people will just go out and sin as they please, then say to a spineless God, “I’m sorry, please forgive me,” and then go on living like the devil, doing whatever they want. Paul recognized the danger of this heresy, so he warned against it.
V13 Clearly, we can choose to use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. That option – that danger – is open to us. But we remember that the heart is what God looks upon to see what we are made of.
This is exactly the pattern set by Jesus. He had more liberty than anyone who ever walked this earth, yet He only used His liberty to bring divine agape love as God coming to earth to LIVE BESIDE us.
Like the Father who created all things, HE USED HIS CALL in serving one another above yourself. The empire had never seen such a people as this, and was a testimony that SAID THESE PEOPLE THIS THING IS REAL.
V14 For all the law is fulfilled: This attitude of service towards one another fulfills the great commandment (You shall love your neighbor as yourself), and it keeps us from destroying ourselves through strife that pops up even with brothers that fight.
V15 He says (beware lest you be consumed by one another!). It’s as if Paul comes back and addresses the legalists again, saying: “You guys want to keep the law? Here you go...: Love your neighbor as yourself and you have fulfilled the law in one word.”
V16 This I say then, walk in the Spirit and you won't fulfill the lusts of this earth, this flesh, these plots, these evil deeds....and plans. TEACHER SAYS "PENCILS DOWN" What you did so far becomes the permenant record of your life.
V19 WORKS OF FLESH, FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. The Tree won't lie.
Read V19 to V26