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GALATIANS CHAPTER 1 KJV WEB Gal 1-1 (39a) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of Jesus Christ (68g) Authority >> We have been given authority to be the children of God (71k) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We have His seal -- This verse goes with verses 11&12 (72h) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have -- This verse goes with verses 11,12 (106h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >> Through His Son (219b) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> Man is a spectator of his own salvation >> Man is not in control of God’s calling – In the book of Galatians Paul emphasized the manner in which he was called through his experience on the road to Damascus, where Christ delivered him from the person who once persecuted the Church and set him on a new road of genuine faith toward God and gave him a ministry of evangelism. Paul wanted us to understand that he was not sent from men nor through the agency of man but through Jesus Christ. It was important to him that we know he was not preaching a mere religion, but a message that God Himself confirmed in him, the gospel in its purity. It was important that the gospel he preached be without flaw in its conception, knowing that it will succumb to these things after he was gone. For this reason it needed a clean start, and what better way to describe the purity of the gospel than to show the sovereignty of Paul’s calling. We can relate to Paul’s experiences, who are born of God and have the same divine Spirit dwelling in us. (227i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Dependence on Jesus >> Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us >> He gives us what we give to the world -- This verse goes with verses 11&12 Gal 1-2 -- No Entries Gal 1-3 (144b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It bears witness of the cross Gal 1-4 (28c) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> God protects the Church from the world – We cannot control our sinful flesh by the flesh, but we can through the Holy Spirit. We can subject its evil passions and desires to the will of God instead of allowing selfishness to reign unchecked, turning greed into war and killing our fellow man over the smallest things. Not a single war has been necessary, and Christ will prove it over a period of a thousand years of uninterrupted peace among a people of sinful flesh. So yes, we do have a need to be rescued from this present evil age, because there are people who would rather kill than seek peace. (37j) Judgment >> Jesus emptied Himself of all His blood (165c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world is wicked – Paul testifies against the world that it is evil, as the reason for his ministry. People need rescuing from this present evil age, and for this reason God called Paul to preach the gospel to save as many as will to come to Him. So when Paul called the world evil, after taking into account its history of bloodshed throughout the ages in the name of religion, the level of evil in the world incalculable. Even Paul played a role in shedding the blood of the innocent in the name of religion before Christ appeared to him and asked why he was murdering His saints. The paradox is that not a single war has ever been waged based on true faith in Jesus Christ, only on man’s religious imagination that poorly represents the true faith. Based on the truth descending through the generations from the letters that Paul has written, including this one, people don't appear interested in the truth. ‘So be it,’ says God, ‘then face the consequences,’ which will fall upon a single generation in the last days, when God judges the world for its unbelief and for the sins committed since the shedding of Christ's blood. Man is unwilling to listen to God or work with Him, except a few, His elect, whom Christ loves with all His heart. (209k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Father sent His son to the cross – There are many so-called Christians who don’t believe they need rescuing from this "present evil age". They might believe they will need rescuing once their life in the flesh has ended, when they die and want the angels to come rescue them from the eternal realm of darkness and escort them to heaven, but they don’t feel the need to be rescued from the darkness of this life. They like the principles of this world such as: ‘me first’, ‘the greatest are greatest’, ‘the least are least’ and ‘good things come to those who fight for them’. That is how the world sees things, but Jesus taught that the greatest are least, the first are last and the last are first. Many so-called Christians don’t believe in these principles; they don’t see their application in this world; they are more convinced by what they see and hear than by what Scripture says. (233b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the goal of freedom – There are many things that pertain to being delivered from this present darkness. God sees no point in giving us eternal life if we are not going to value it enough to live for Him. If we don’t seek freedom from sin, He will perceive that we are more interested in this life than we are in the life to come. If we don't seek His freedom, He may think we believe more in the elementary principle of Satan than we do in the principles of heaven. (248b) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> God exercises His will – Jesus said, ‘He who believes in Me has eternal life’ (Jn 3-36), referring to the life to come, but Paul is talking about God saving us from this life too. One of the proofs of possessing eternal life is sanctification. If we work with God to deliver us from this evil age, we will also have eternal life; but if we reject the process of sanctification, neither do we have eternal life. We either have both or we have neither. God wants to deliver us from the principles of evil, from its mindset and from Satan’s power. It is not the will of God that we live according to this world while believing in Jesus for eternal life; He wants to prepare us for the life to come. When we die and enter eternal life, we will be introduced to a kingdom that is in many ways opposite this world, and God wants us to begin living according to the principles of heaven now. Jesus came and showed us how to live in order that we might follow His example. Gal 1-5 (244c) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to his increase >> Jesus shall be glorified forever (252i) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship God >> Worship God for who He is >> Glorifying God -- This verse goes with verses 23&24 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1,6-10 (76g) Thy kingdom come >> Wicked motives >> Satan’s motives are inherent within him – This was the confidence of Paul and all the apostles, and this was the confidence they wanted the Church to have, not in themselves but in the truth, that if anyone contradicts the Scriptures, we can assume they are heretics and are self-condemned. The only way we can have this level of confidence in the Scriptures is for Paul and the other writers of the New Testament to be confident in what they wrote. If anyone disagrees with Scripture, it is equivalent to error. People who would challenge God’s word are not just wrong; they have wrong motives. A person wrong in his teaching we can usually reach, but the one with wrong motives for teaching error is typically unreachable. This is why Paul instructs us to simply avoid such men as these (2Tim 3-5). False teachers, reprobates and spiritual liars hope we will believe their lies so they can place us in their bondage for the purpose of exploiting us, forfeiting their own souls for the unrighteous mammon at our expense. (107k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> hearing from God >> The Bible will lead you to truth >> The Scriptures are factual (158g) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Special interest groups – It is better to refine our knowledge of the truth than to simply go with the flow, choosing true safety over a mere feeling of security. The group mentality seems to always forget that the group itself attracts predators, and so the group does not guarantee safety. The only benefit of the group is comradery, yet it is better to know the truth alone than to believe a lie among friends. There are those who know and love the truth; the problem is finding them; it is not easy, because they are far and few in number. In this age of apostasy it will probably not change anytime soon, but when it does change, it will give way to a Great Endtime Revival. Then those who have believed the truth will become useful, but until then our struggle continues. The truth always prepares a person for the future, but those who have sacrificed the truth for a false sense of security have also sacrificed their future, and when the last days’ tribulation befalls them, they will not know what is happening. (159m) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit truth (169k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to the bottom >> Ignoring Jesus to satisfy your flesh (177b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Distorting Scripture to avoid the truth – Paul criticized the Galatian Church, complaining how quickly they were deserting the grace of God for a different gospel. There is only one gospel; there is only one grace and there is only one truth. God’s sanctioned manner of relating to Him is through His Spirit and through His word. Consequently, all the other religions of the world have one thing in common; none of them have any association with the Holy Spirit. Some of them may speak of the Holy Spirit on a theological or doctrinal level, but none of them personally know Him, otherwise He would establish them in the truth. For this reason we who are of the truth can discriminate the true Christian from the spirit of error. Satan’s purpose of various religions is to replace the Holy Spirit; consequently, abandoning His grace and truth is the first step in putting people under bondage. (180b) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass the cross – Paul was perplexed with the Galatians and said that anyone who would attempt to introduce false doctrine into the Church and replace the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for a different gospel is accused, saying it twice for emphasis. There is only one curse that leads to damnation; that is the curse of the reprobate mind, the curse of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The person who has a reprobate mind cannot be saved. Therefore, if a person seeks to replace the grace of God with a different gospel has forfeited his salvation. This is why it is important to know what we believe, because once we have committed ourselves to a certain faith, it is very difficult to recant your old beliefs and believe new ones. Believing false doctrine brings a curse; how much more is it a curse to teach false doctrine? (182g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >> Because they want to be approved by men – Paul asked a rhetorical question, ‘If we usurp the gospel, are we serving God or man?’ We serve God according to the grace that was delivered to us, and we access that grace through the Holy Spirit, and if anyone tampers with these doctrines, they are no longer serving God but man. (240j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Suppressing the truth -- These verses go with verses 22-24 Gal 1-6 (32b) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Grace >> Word of His grace (91f) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> Walking along the narrow way >> Walking in God’s calling is to fulfill His purpose (116k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> His Grace in us is in vain without Him (203i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from the truth – The issue that Paul addressed in the book of Galatians was legalism. It was the great confrontation of his day that he had especially with the believing Jews, who wanted to carry over some of the misinterpretations of the Old Testament. Paul said it was impossible to work our way to heaven or do anything that would earn God’s favor. We must first gain His favor by believing in Him, and then we can work to please Him, but we cannot do anything to merit eternal life, except to believe in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Some people like to add this statement: ‘live as good and clean as possible,’ which corresponds with the notion of godliness, a term that generalizes good works. It refers to living the way Jesus did, not hating or hurting anybody or taking advantage of anybody, and not being self-absorbed. It sounds a little like the Law: you shall not do this, and you shall not do that. We know that none of us can perfectly fulfill the Law, for if we sin in one area, we have violated the Law as a whole, and are therefore undeserving of eternal life. This is why we must believe in Jesus' blood sacrifice to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, because we cannot obey the law well enough to receive God's favor, taking us back to a faith-based salvation in Jesus’ cross, trusting in His righteousness instead of our own. Where then does godliness fit into the gospel? "Belief" and obedience mean the same thing, for belief requires the evidence of obedience to validate it, and obedience is born from our beliefs, but faith is different. Faith comes from God, which transcends any human ability to believe. God lives in our heart as a Spirit of faith, who empowers us to believe in Jesus, bringing also a higher form of obedience. As we appeal to God for His faith through godliness, He imparts His faith that reveals His specific will, His calling, and as we fulfill His calling, it produces an anointing that is tantamount to faith, and as our faith increases, in increases our God-given ability to believe in Jesus, establishing an upward spiral of belief, obedience, faith and knowledge, with the result of fulfilling His plan and purpose for our lives. However, Paul says that if we seek God’s favor by doing good works that we deem necessary for salvation, it puts a halt to this process. See also: See also: The gospel; Gal 1-11,12; 229g / Faith versus works; Gal 2,11-14; 190j KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1-8,9 (15f) Servant >> Angels are messengers from God >> They are sent to change our perspective (26m) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >> False doctrine – These are strong words. The fact that Paul said it twice emphasized his point, saying that there is only one truth, as the apostle John also commented in the last words of the Bible to anyone who had a mind to corrupt the word of God, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” (Rev 22-18,19). There are many false teachings out there today, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us discriminate between the truth and error, for we cannot just compare words; we must also compare spirits (1Jn 4-1). (44a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> It is finished >> Fulfill God’s will (51e) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Warning against hypocrisy (106f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> When He speaks and what He says – This is probably the most straightforward verse in the Bible depicting the attitude we should have toward those who would attempt to defraud us of our hope in Christ. The fact that Paul mentioned angels is very telling about some of the tactics people use to dissuade us from the truth. We think it is such a rare occasion to actually see angels, but it is surprising how common it is for an angel to be present during the transmission of spiritual knowledge, such as the case with Joseph Smith, who claimed that an angel delivered to him a message from God. Apparently, he was not familiar with Galatians chapter one. A man of his religious background must have read this passage more than once, but apparently he didn’t cherish the Scriptures, which allowed him to adopt an alternate view contrary to the Bible's teachings. Therefore, it is safe to say that he believed in his own ideas more than he did the Scriptures. We know that an angel from heaven would not try to dissuade us from the truth of God, so what kind of an angel spoke to Joseph Smith? It is impossible for man or angel to deliver a message that contradicts Scripture and be right! Someone who is accursed means he has no hope of salvation. We could preach to someone like Joseph Smith, but it would be like preaching to the devil, who also is unsalvageable. See also: Cults (New Age); Having faith in your faith; Mk 11,20-24; 147h (122a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence >> Confidence in God >> Confidence in the word of God – Paul met Jesus along the road to Damascus, but the Lord didn’t tell Paul everything he wrote in the New Testament right then and there; rather, all the epistles came to him over a course of many years. Paul was formally introduced to the Holy Spirit in conjunction with a vision of Christ, imprinted on his soul, so that he would be able to discriminate from that time forward the Spirit of God from any other spirit. For this reason Paul was absolutely confident that what he taught and wrote came from heaven so that even an angel from God would be wrong if he contradicted Paul. This is how confident Paul was in his familiarity with the Holy Spirit, and this is the confidence we should have with the Holy Spirit, who teaches us the truth. (239l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Teachers incur a stricter judgment – The problem we face today is not the words of Scripture, since they pretty much have remained the same since Paul and the original apostles wrote them, thank God for that. Rather, our problem lies in the interpretation of Scripture. For example, dozens of cults have formed around a blatant disregard of Scripture, while hundreds of “Christian” denominations have formed around various interpretations of Scripture. Cults we can usually discern as false at a glance, but the error of Christian denominations are a little trickier to discern. It essentially takes the Holy Spirit to do this. Are any denominations correct? Technically no, since no one’s denomination will be in heaven, but some represent the truth in their doctrines and lifestyles better than others. (250hh) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> Believe the first message; all subsequent messages are meant to dissuade you Gal 1-8 (63e) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcasm >> Exaggerate the truth to make a point Gal 1-10 (12h) Servant >> Bond servant >> Their indifference to the world (195b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only serve one at a time KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1-11,12 (68f) Authority >> Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us >> He guides you into all truth (71k) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We have His seal -- These verses go with verse 1 (72h) Authority >> Hierarc hy of authority >> More Authority the More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have -- These verses go with verses 15&16 (106h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >> Through His Son (108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His identity -- These verses go with verses 15&16 (109h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit teaches us about the word of God >> Spirit teaches us about Jesus – Paul increases our confidence in the gospel, saying that he did not sit at the feet of a man to learn it, but received it directly from God by revelation. Anyone else who would make this claim would be considered a nutcase, a whack-job; he would be ostracized and condemned. The Church claims that such things do not happen anymore, but the fact is, though we are taught by men, read the Bible for ourselves and pray, we still need to receive the Scriptures by a revelation of the Holy Spirit. We can accumulate all the facts of the Bible and recite them verbatim and still not know the truth. The Holy Spirit must reveal the Bible to us. When God reveals the facts of Scripture, it becomes truth, and as we read Paul’s writings, we must let God reveal them to us as the only means we can truly understand what God is saying, otherwise His word remains inkblots on a page. (110j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of revelation >> Revelation of the truth >> Revelation of the true doctrines (227i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Dependence on Jesus >> Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us >> He gives us what we give to the world -- These verses go with verses 15&16 (229g) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Kingdom assumes the mind of Christ >> Kingdom grows through knowledge -- These verses go with verses 15&16. Paul was an apostle and a writer of the New Testament; God still speaks to His people about divine truth, but no writings have been canonized other than those of the original apostles. Paul's writing doesn't read like the other writers of the New Testament. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles got together and came to an understanding of their experiences and to the meaning of the gospel that they should preach, and their conclusions are what we read in the New Testament. They could not have done this without the Holy Spirit, and if they needed the Holy Spirit on their end to understand the gospel and write the New Testament, then we need the Holy Spirit on our end when we read the New Testament to understand what it says. Paul's gospel sounds different from the other writers of the New Testament, yet the same Holy Spirit revealed to him what to write. When we read the Bible, we too must come to our own conclusions about what it says, and if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will accurately understand it in our own way, and others will do the same who will come to their own conclusions, so that when we come together and share our perspectives, we complete the gospel. Each person comes to Christ from a different perspective and arrives at the truth from a slightly different angle like light passing through a prism that separates the various wavelengths into their respective colors in a spectrum of truth. Some complain that their color is the only one that is right and that all other colors are wrong, and so they start their own denomination of Christianity, but if we understood rightly, we would realize we can accept other people’s divergent perspectives and consider them just as legitimate as our own. When we add all the colors together, we get the full truth, just as Paul added to our understanding, as did Peter and James and John. All wrote differently about the truth, yet no one was wrong; we too should take what we have read and put it together to arrive at a single truth. Paul did this by himself; he went to Arabia and spent fourteen years there seeking God and came to an understanding of the truth according to the teachings that we read in his epistles. He is the reason we understand that we are saved by grace through faith. Imagine where we would be without Paul’s perspective on the gospel. Peter and the others used the word “faith”, but they didn’t hammer it home like Paul did. When we dovetail the epistles with the gospels, we find a common thread that runs throughout Scripture that we call truth. Paul understood the truth as God revealed it to him; he then went to the apostles and told them what he understood, and they accepted him, which was very big of them, expanding each other’s knowledge of the truth. We should go and do the same. See also: The gospel; 247h. (247h) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in the gospel -- These verses go with verses 15&16. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was clearly a miracle. Jesus performed thousands of miracles before this, but this miracle outshined the others, partly because of the terrible death that He suffered, partly because of the disciple's understanding of the finality of death, partly because they had given up hope, but mostly because it was an act of the Father. Everything Jesus did was an act of the Father; in fact, Jesus coming into the world was an act of the Father, but the disciples kept erroneously attributing the miracles to Jesus, yet Jesus kept telling them that the Father was working through Him. When He rose from the dead, the disciples began piecing things together, remembering the problems Jesus solved and the things He said, that nothing was impossible with God. They began to realize something about Jesus, that whatever He was doing was unstoppable, not only because God was behind it, but also because He was in front of it, actually doing it. The gospel has been assaulted hundreds of times throughout the age of grace, yet it has survived every attempt on its life, because God is still behind and in front and beside it. He surrounds His truth like the Ark of the Covenant when they moved it from the Philistines back to its place in the temple of Jerusalem, Uzzah touched the ark to steady it, and God struck Him dead (2Samuel 6,1-7). The gospel is the modern day version of the Ark of the Covenant; nobody attempts to redirect its doctrines by the will of the flesh without dire consequences (Rev 22-18,19). He protects those who have committed their lives to the cause of the gospel, and intends to reward them for their labors, and when God gives rewards, He blesses people in ways that no man could imagine. See also: The gospel; Gal 1-6; 203i Gal 1-12 (108g) Revelations Of God (Key verse) KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1,13-24 (193e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance >> Testimony of Paul’s life (200l) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive the Church is against Christ (238e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> New creation >> The new creation is our spiritual identity – Flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit well enough, but when the flesh of man is willing to agree with spiritual forces of darkness, the boundaries of flesh and spirit become gray, so we no longer know what is flesh and what is spirit. After all, what is the difference between us and the devil if we obey him? We don’t want to identify with evil, for to do so is to become evil. We could say the same about those who obey Jesus Christ. If we follow in His ways, listen to the Holy Spirit and do what He says, we become His representatives on earth; i.e., what is the difference between Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit? This is why God accepts repentance as restitution. To associate with something is to identify with it, and that which we agree is what we become. In the same way, the Church on earth and Jesus Christ in heaven are the same; that is why Paul calls us the body of Christ. Collectively, when we all obey Christ, we become His body. Lk 10-16 says, “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” We represent Jesus Christ in the world, for we are members of His body. In Jn 8-12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” and He also said in Mat 5-14, “You are the light of the world.” We represent Him in the world; spiritually we are Him in the world. See also: Body, soul and spirit; 2The 3-14,15; 20k Gal 1,13-16 (120f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God passes over our sins Gal 1-13,14 (162k) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> In bondage to the burdens of men >> In bondage to religion – Most of Israel's manmade rules and regulations they appended to God’s Law surrounded the Sabbath. Their spiritual leaders must have seen the Israelites happy with their Sabbath as a break from their work and vowed to place them in bondage to their manmade traditions, so they worked harder on the Sabbath than all the other days of the week. They invented some of the most ridiculous rules about what constitutes work on the Sabbath, driving the people crazy, and Saul was an advocate of all these rules. In his mind, the one who practiced them was the most obedient to God and found His favor, but the leaders of Israel who upheld these artificial statutes were rebelling against God by ignoring the Law of Moses and oppressing the people with bylaws that worked against the purpose of the Sabbath. Nobody likes to be oppressed, yet they made laws that were oppressive and enforced them. See also: Saul before Paul; 173i (173i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of following the law (Legalism) – Judaism represents all the extraneous laws and rules and regulations that the Jews appended to the original Old Testament laws that they received from God through Moses. When we look at Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the list of sundry laws was chapters long that God required from the Israelites, from temple worship and moral laws to regulations about the Sabbath, yet it wasn’t enough, so they invented more rules and regulations. Jesus addressed this in Mk 7,6-8, taken from Isaiah 29-13, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Jesus also complained about the Pharisees, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Mat 23-4), Paul being one of these prior to his conversion. See also: Saul before Paul; 176a (176a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Misguided – Saul was actually putting Christians in prison and even having them executed for not obeying the ancestral traditions. Instead, the Christians believed in a man named Jesus, whom they asserted to have risen from the dead. It wasn’t the laws of Moses Saul enforced, but extraneous precepts that grew in quantity and tyranny over the centuries. The Romans who held Israel under their military and political power found it very difficult to govern the Jews because of their religion, being crazy about all their rules, regulations and traditions. Pilate was an example of a prefect who had a hard time keeping the peace in Jerusalem. The Romans neither understood nor respected their Jewish laws, but they couldn’t make them stop following them, so they had to allow them certain freedoms. Had the Jews just stuck with the original laws given them by Moses, they would have been much further ahead. See also: Saul before Paul; 176e (176e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Devotion without direction – Paul begins talking about his former manner of life in Judaism, being far more zealous about his ancestral traditions than his fellow countrymen, denoting the character of Paul. God chose him for his obsessive zeal. He persecuted the Church with a clear conscience, believing he was doing the right thing in contrast to some of the other Pharisees who had ulterior motives for persecuting the saints, whose religion was making them wealthy. Saul may have had good motives for persecuting the Church, but he was still wrong, being misdirected by centuries of Israel's disobedience. We should take Israel's example to heart and know for certain that if we are not serving the Lord, then we are deceived. See also: Saul before Paul; 202f (179k) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people through ignorance (202f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the truth – In the book of Acts the scribes and Pharisees and chief priests tried to subdue the apostles and got nowhere, because God kept breaking them from prison, and the apostles were performing miracles by the hand of God and all the people were watching and marveling, making it impossible for the Jewish leaders to control them. They wanted to kill the apostles, but they couldn’t touch them because they had the favor of the surrounding people. Finally, after the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees gave up trying to contain them, Saul entered stage left. He enforced his religion with a clear conscience, which separated him from many of his colleagues, whose motives were to enslave the people with the hope of gaining fame and fortune. Saul got the same treatment from God; Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and asked him why he was persecuting Him with the result of Paul becoming a convert. He thought he was doing the right thing, saying in Act 23-1, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” We too think we are pleasing God by all our religious traditions when all we are pleasing is people. Paul was very zealous, and God wanted to harness his zeal and use it for His own purposes. If he could win Saul’s heart, Paul would work for Him with an even greater zeal, being on the side of Truth. Part of Paul's zeal was motivated by guilt; after imprisoning many Christians for execution, he felt he had to make up for the harm he did to the Church. See also: Saul before Paul; 162k (243f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecuting the Church of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1,15-24 (88d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith produces works >> The function of works in faith >> Faith doesn’t move God until it is manifested in the natural realm – God was pleased to reveal His Son in Paul after what he did to the name of Christ as a blasphemer and persecutor of the Church. How much more pleased is God to reveal His Son to us who are not great sinners like Paul prior to His conversion? However, that doesn’t mean because we are less sinners we can be less committed to the cause of the gospel. Paul was committed to fulfilling God’s purpose, not because he was a horrible sinner and needed to do something to compensate for it, but because it was an aspect of his personality; he was just that kind of person. Whatever amount of grace God has given us is our limit of doing His will, but there are many people who have received much grace and are sitting on it, waiting for God while He is waiting for them. We don’t know how much grace God has given us until we get up and do something with it. (137j) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >> Maturity is working with God – Paul did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did he go to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before him, but went to Arabia and returned once more to Damascus and stayed three years before he visited Peter. Afterward he spent an interval of fifteen years seeking God on his own before he returned to Jerusalem. Paul wanted to be free from man’s rendition of truth; he didn't consult with flesh and blood right away to give God first dibs on his mind and allowed the Holy Spirit to be his teacher prior to conferring with the apostles. This was a tremendous advantage to be literally taught by God. He hung out with Peter for two weeks, who was an extremely zealous and dogmatic person, who was ready to reject anyone who did not agree with him or conform to the major doctrines of the Church that were already cemented into position, yet he received Paul, though his rendition of the Gospel was largely different from Peter's, showing Peter's maturity level, especially compared to his younger years when he walked with Jesus. (148k) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Obligation to preach the gospel >> Consumed by the desire to do it (210k) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> Fellow heirs with Israel (Spiritual Jew) >> Ministry to the Gentiles – Paul understood something more than the other apostles because of the ministry he was to receive, that the gentiles were also welcome to the grace of God that was in Jesus Christ. Peter learned this earlier and was ready to receive Paul’s great revelation, which became the focus of his ministry. When we think of the level of openness the apostles needed to receive Paul and accept his unusual rendering of the gospel, that we are saved by grace through faith, such openness is virtually non-existent in the Church today that requires a total rewiring of the mind. When we compare Paul's epistles with the others, it is clear that Paul was operating on a different wavelength than the other apostles, yet they understood him to be following the same Spirit. It seems unimaginable for contemporary Christians to accept this much change to their belief system, especially not by a person who once persecuted the Church, and now wants to call all the shots just because he had a change of heart and claimed to have had a revelation. This is just the sort of thing today’s Church completely loathes, yet the early Church gave Paul the right hand of fellowship and received his message and his ministry and eventually gave him a seat as chief apostle, simply because the leaders of the Church at that time were intimately acquainted with the Holy Spirit and had a very deep knowledge and understanding of God and His Truth. There was one advantage of walking with Christ in the flesh – they understood the value of open-mindedness, since faithfully walking with God inherently has many twists and turns in it, though Jesus called it a straight and narrow way, suggesting that the kinks are in our thinking that He must straighten. The disciples were forced many times to correct their thinking about God and His plan for them; the Church today is not open-minded enough to accept change like this, but change is coming of a magnitude greater than this. Christians will have to quickly change their theology regarding endtime prophecy when things don't happen the way they expect. See also: Close minded; Mat 13,53-58; 70g (214b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time does not make sense to the natural mind Gal 1,15-18 (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1-15,16 (11a) Servant >> Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle – Most people don’t have the slightest clue what is their ministry, many don’t think they have a ministry or a purpose or a calling from God, but everybody does who belongs to Him. It is not the pastor’s job to tell each person what God wants him to do, but it is the individual’s job to discover this on her own and to fulfill His calling. We must stop making excuses for our laziness and lack of faith and unwillingness to serve the Lord. Each person has been called to a certain ministry; Paul did not consult the Church how to discover his ministry; he found it on his own. He discovered the will of God and then consulted the Church for their acceptance, the point being that finding His will and purpose is intuitive if we determine that nothing less than His will is acceptable. (30i) Gift of God >> Favor by His grace >> He does not take your sins into account (32a) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Grace >> God’s grace seeks man (72h) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have -- These verses go with verse 1 (91k) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> Titles of His calling >> His calling makes you a distinct member of the body – Paul wrestled with God, and so did Jacob all night. The angel said, ‘Let me go,’ and Jacob said, ‘Not until you bless me.’ Jacob wrestled with God until he received the blessing, and the angel reached down and touched His thigh so that he had a limp for the rest of his life (Genesis 32,24-32). From that time forward, everywhere Jacob went reminded him of that night, and walking was the most common mode of transportation back then. It was like giving someone a flat tire without a spare. What are we willing to endure, what are we willing to sacrifice in order to achieve the will of God? That night God changed his name to Israel, which means, ‘one who wrestles with God,’ which is Israel to this day. It is the nation that struggles with God. This is what we must do in order to find His will; we must strive with Him, like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis; it must struggle, and in that struggle develop the strength to fly. See also: Israel wrestles with God; 1Tim 4,1-3; 201j (108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His identity -- These verses go with verses 11&12. Saul before his conversion was utterly deceived along with the rest of Israel and many Jews, but when he came to his senses after God visited him on the road to Damascus, his world turned upside-down, and he viewed Christ in a whole new light. This is not something Paul could have done on his own, as though seated at someone’s feet listening to a validation of Christianity. He needed a revelation of Jesus Christ, and so do we; otherwise, we are no better than Paul prior to his conversion. Christianity has very little to do with believing a set of facts about the Bible, but has everything to do with receiving a revelation of Jesus Christ through the Spirit. (111aa) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit sets you apart by t he word >> Set apart by His grace – Paul had to assure his audience that he was not lying because it seemed so unbelievable that he was under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit after persecuting the Church. Paul's gospel was different from the apostles; he taught that walking with Jesus in the flesh was unnecessary, that God in the Spirit is just as effective if not more so than knowing Christ in the flesh. Paul was still an unknown to the Church in Judea even years after his conversion. He stayed aloof, and when he finally got together with the leaders of the Church, they compared notes and discovered that much of what Paul taught dovetailed with their teachings, though he was coming from a different vantage point, from that of an X-Pharisee, which explains why he strongly emphasized that salvation is not by works but by grace through faith. (115d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through your ministry >> Through your calling >> In preaching the gospel – Paul worked with the grace of God through His ministry to the gentiles, set apart by God from his mother’s womb. He did not live as he saw fit but as God determined for him as a bondservant. Paul preached the gospel to the known world, so God calls us to a specific purpose and ministry, as Paul commanded Timothy to fulfill his ministry (2Tim 4-5). In disregard of these facts, there is far too much teaching in the Church today that says all the responsibility belongs to God, as though we had none, otherwise "grace is no longer grace." Paul in Rom 11-6 was talking about grace to save us apart from any works that we would perform in order to receive His favor. In fact, there is nothing we can do to earn God's admiration, for He already loves us; nevertheless, after He has saved us He said in Eph 2-10, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them." Had Paul never gotten off his easy chair and shared the gospel with the world, we may not be Christians today. (132c) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit gives access to the Father through Christ (135j) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Abortion >> God loves the fetus >> The fetus is a living person (191h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through His calling (218k) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> Man is a spectator of his own salvation >> We are chosen before the foundation of the world (219j) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> Predestination >> God’s calling is our destiny (227i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Dependence on Jesus >> Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us >> He gives us what we give to the world -- These verses go with verse 1 (229g) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Kingdom assumes the mind of Christ >> Kingdom grows through knowledge -- These verses go with verses 11&12 (247h) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in the gospel -- These verses go with verses 11&12 (254j) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Salvation of Jesus’ Spirit KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 1-20 (78b) Thy kingdom come >> Sincerity of heart >> Being honest >> Telling the truth Gal 1,22-24 (240j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Suppressing the truth -- These verses go with verses 6-10 Gal 1-23,24 (252i) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship God >> Worship God for who He is >> Glorifying God -- These verses go with verse 5 See next page