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GALATIANS CHAPTER 6 KJV WEB See previous page Gal 6,1-4 (96g) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude about yourself Gal 6-1,2 (9j) Responsibility >> Strengthen one another >> Bear one another’s burdens – These verses go with verse 5 (13j) Servant >> Support the body >> Bear one another’s burdens – Has anyone tried to restore you without a "spirit of gentleness"? You would remember it. We are not restoring someone to the army; we should do it in a way that truly bears the person's burdens. It says that if we are condescending or act in any way above the person, we may be tempted to fall into the same sins. If we are in the flesh, then we are judgmental, and if we are judgmental, then we are susceptible to nearly any form of sin. See also: Judgmental; Rom 2,1-11 (130l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Accept one another >> Accept the weak Gal 6-1 (6j) Responsibility >> Being spiritual >> Ministering to each other by the strength in your Spirit (17m) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Judging the sins of others that you practice -- This verse goes with verses 12&13. Paul teaches that the only acceptable way to approach a fellow believer with their sins is through a spirit of gentleness. If we attempt to correct someone apart from gentleness, we will seem like a bull loosed in a china shop, as much in bondage as the person we are trying to help. If we approach someone with a judgmental attitude, we will expose our real motives for getting involved, that we are guilty of the same sins. Like attracts like. An immoral person sees immorality in other people and despises them for it, because he despise it in himself, but instead of correcting himself, he goes about correcting other people. That way he can correct the sin without having to repent of it. In contrast, a person who comes in a spirit of gentleness will prove he is not guilty of the same sins. Their true motive for approaching the person is love and concern by evidence that he seeks the will of God, blessing and restoration for the person caught in a trespass. (69l) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging yourself correctly -- This verse goes with verses 3&4 (77n) Thy kingdom come >> God Ministers To People Through The Humble >> Humility gives a blessing (79g) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Watch yourselves (128g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Gentleness >> Be gentle in all your ways >> Be gentle in correcting one another (131e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Brother depends on you >> To lead him to Jesus – We who have been following Jesus, who have developed a level of spiritual maturity, have an obligation to mentor those of lesser faith. If they get caught in any trespass, we who are spiritual are to restore such a one with an attitude of gentleness, watching ourselves that we too may not be tempted. We may not be tempted in the same area as the person we are helping but tempted to lord ourselves over them, and thus violate the Law of God, which is to love and care for them, and in this way avoid temptation. However, there would be no reason for the immature to listen to us if we are just as immature as they. Maturity is not defined by how much we know but how well we walk in what we know. There is no better babe in Christ than the one who seeks to emulate his mentors, and there is no better mentor than the one who seeks to emulate Christ (1Cor 11-1). The immature has an obligation to emulate those who have been following Jesus. There is no greater shame than remaining a babe in Christ, especially when revival comes and new converts mature beyond those who have been Christians for decades. They can hide among each other, but when revival comes it will expose their immaturity, and they will feel naked in front of those who are marching ahead of them. When people start growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, developing a spiritual maturity in a matter of months that took years for those who dawdled in their faith all their lives, what will they say about us in six months when their spiritual maturity surpasses ours. They will wonder what we’ve been doing with our lives, using each other as excuses for not growing in the Lord. Would they even want to go to church with us, or would they start a new church, who are being saved and seeking God with all their hearts, using each other to grow in the faith? See also: Great Endtime Revival (Spiritual ascension); Eph 1,18-23; 237h (138d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Reproof >> Reprove your brother in the right spirit (139g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> We build the temple through Christ (161a) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Temptation >> Tempted to condemn the weak – Being harsh (judgmental) with a person could mean we are guilty of the same sins. If we are harsh with people in bondage, we are not a good candidate to help them through their dilemma and are more likely to do harm than good. (163d) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bondage makes you a victim of God’s judgment (174f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Comparing yourself with sinners KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-2 (6b) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Jesus’ yoke of love -- This verse goes along with verse 5 (86k) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Do the words of Jesus – Sometimes we must bear the weaknesses of our others, not leaving them behind, but encouraging them, sometimes strapping their burden on our back and carrying it for a while. Doing this we fulfill the law of Christ, which is love. We need to be watching for opportunities to demonstrate the law of Christ and help our fellow saints in their hardship, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Having good works to show for our Christianity constitute our righteousness before men. (108d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith is the balance between freedom and law -- This verse goes with verse 5 (130e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to holding up one another -- This verse goes with verse 5 Gal 6-3,4 (19f) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Incorrect thinking (23b) Sin >> Pride can blind your eyes (69l) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging yourself correctly -- These verses go with verse 1. In 2Cor 13-5 Paul said to examine our heart, but here he said to examine our work, the product of our heart, the things we have done for the Lord. We are to examine our motives, the quality of our work, determine who has benefited from us, how and to what degree. Then he said we can boast, but only to ourselves and not to others regarding our accomplishments. On the one hand, we are not to compare ourselves with others, like Paul said in 2Cor 10-12. If we brag about our work and compare ourselves with others, what kind of measuring stick would we use? All these things are foolishness before the Lord! On the other hand, Paul spoke of having a testimony. He got excited when he heard what the churches had done, how they had stirred each other to faith and good works and caused others to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, but he doesn’t want us to brag about it. We can brag to God in prayer and say anything we want, being one reason prayer has such a healing effect; it is a place where we can be completely honest with ourselves and can tell Him anything. Prayer is the best place for God to correct us, so we don’t have to humble ourselves in front of people. God wants us to humble ourselves before Him so we don’t have to be humbled in the eyes of others. (84g) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting in men is not needed (174e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself (179k) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people through ignorance – This is a relative statement: when someone "thinks he is something when he is nothing…” The saints faithful in Christ are somebody to Him, so who are these nobodies? Perhaps Paul is referring to false prophets, people who try to lead the saints pretending to be something they're not, who have no substance to their character or message. People are very cleaver about passing themselves as someone great when in reality they have nothing to offer the body of Christ, except an avid speaking ability. We should avoid such people like the plague. (190j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision is a sign of obedience >> Symbolism over substance -- These verses go with verses 12-15. Gal 6-3 (94p) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> False perspective in (181h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Distorted perception of self – We should examine ourselves to see whether there is any substance to the things we offer your fellow believers. This takes objectivity, which is more difficult than it sounds. We should listen to our own message that we offer the body and if there is any substance to it, we have reason for boasting in regard to ourselves and not in regard to another. Gal 6-4 (26e) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is separation from Christ (77k) Thy kingdom come >> Being Humble Before God >> Having an attitude of humility (128j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Living a fruitful life >> Living a continuous life of fruitfulness KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-5 (6b) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Jesus’ yoke of love -- This verse goes with verse 2. Paul had the entire Church of God on his shoulders. He was called by God to prepare her for a long trek before Jesus would return, and Paul was burdened with other problems. He had the weight of his own sinful flesh to bear like everybody else. The fact that Paul wasn’t specific suggests that each person’s load is different, the circumstances of life, what God has commanded us all to endure. We must all bear our trials and temptations along with the responsibilities of life. (9j) Responsibility >> Strengthen one another >> Bear one another’s burdens – This verse goes with verses 1 & 2 (108d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith is the balance between freedom and law -- This verse goes with verse 2 (130e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to holding up one another -- This verse goes with verse 2. We can help others bear their own load, for example, homeless people ask others for help, and we can give them money, but they might use it to buy cigarettes, drugs and alcohol, so we can buy them a meal. Each person must find his own way in life. The Church is there to help, and the only people we can really help are those who are doing everything in their power to help themselves, but those who refuse to help themselves, nobody else can help them either. This means the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves” is actually true. However, when it comes to God forgiving our sin, we were helpless to do anything about that. God sent His Son to pay the price for our sins, and so in that sense we could not help ourselves, but issues pertaining to our natural life, if we refuse to help ourselves, not even God can help us. Gal 6-6 (73b) Authority >> Respect your leaders >> Those in charge of the word (128a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Doing good for the sake of your brother (130i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Accept one another >> Accepting the great and the small >> Great leaders accept small people (235i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Give for goodness sake – The target of our giving is him who teaches us the word of God. What exactly are we to share with him? Our mind goes immediately to money, which seems to be the answer to everything according to the world, but it isn’t. There are some things that money can’t buy, and these are the things we should share with him who teaches, more than anything else. That is, we are to share our inner self with him, and for that reason spiritual fellowship is required. We are to build friendships; share our life with him, for he is not just someone in the pulpit pontificating. We share our inner self with him, because this is the product of his labors. We share our spirit with him; and if God is working mightily in our lives, our teachers may know more about the Bible, but they don’t know Christ the way we do. Therefore, when we share ourselves with him, it enhances his understanding of God, which he will in turn share in his teaching to others. The more we abide in Christ and in each other, the closer we become, the greater bonds we form and the stronger unity builds, thus the more relevant truth results in us. The Bible teaches that we should integrate into people’s lives and create bonds between each other, as it is written, “in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2-21,22; see also: Eph 4,13-16). The goal of Christianity is unity. Jesus taught that our unity reveals to the world that the Father sent the Son, better than anything else we could do (Jn 17-23). (239f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachable students >> The teachable are a blessing to their teachers – Here is another example of Paul saying that since our pastor sows spiritual things in us, we ought to reciprocate by helping him with material things. There is a theme running throughout Scripture that we are financially obligated to help our pastor, because he has spiritually dedicated his life to us. If he wants to hold down a part-time job while holding the office of pastor, that is his choice, then whatever he lacks, those who benefit from his ministry should help supply his needs. Gal 6,7-10 (218i) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest >> Reaping the harvest of obedience >> Principle of sowing and reaping – What is the consequence of sowing to our own flesh? Does the consequence come from God? People often accuse Him of evil because they must face the consequences of their own actions, but it’s not God’s fault they did things to bring evil upon themselves. Their consequences do not come from God. Paul said they come from our own flesh, from which the transgression originated, so God has no part in it, except making a creation that is self-correcting. Our own flesh judges us for being stupid and investing in it. Anyone who sows to his own flesh is betting on a dead horse, one that is sick and lame and isn’t expected to live. Our outer form will not withstand eternity. It is destined to decay and return to the earth from which it came, so whatever stock we place in this life we will lose, which we deserve, because we rejected the wisdom of God, but that which we sow to the Spirit will remain forever. It’s our decision to invest in our flesh or in our faith. Do we really believe this world is a more sure thing than God when we know we're going to die? Then invest in it and see what good it does! Gal 6,7-9 (94a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on this life >> It is our investment in the Kingdom of God (19 7c) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling against where God wants you to go >> Refuse to walk in freedom Gal 6-7,8 (26f) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is the fruit of the world (48f) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your deeds >> In this life – If we think God would not allow us to disobey Him, think again; there are a million examples per second of disobedience in the world. God allows people to disobey Him, but they will reap corruption from their own flesh. He gives authority to the earth itself to judge man through the cause-and-effect system in place that is etched in every phase of life and non-life, corresponding with the principles of sowing and reaping, so God doesn’t have to do anything. Judgment is automatic to those who violate His laws and wisdom. (51g) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality between saved and unsaved (55l) Paradox >> Gain the world to lose your soul >> live this life to Lose eternal life (166g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Nature Of Man’s Wisdom >> Man’s wisdom contradicts itself (167e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Walking outside the realm of faith -- These verses go with verses 12&13 (181j) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Deceitfulness of sin (217l) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> You cannot control the judgment of God >> You cannot control how God responds to sin – Many of the consequences of sin are sown into the creation, so a sinner's folly automatically returns to him. There is the criminal justice system that returns consequences to those who break the law, and the earth itself passes judgment on people too lazy to work and turns their life into poverty. This is the process of judgment that God has established in this life, but there is another level of judgment that is coming after this life for those who don’t know God, and they will meet Him one day in their sins, and God will personally judge them and send them to a place assigned to them where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and there they will remain forever. These are the consequences of sinners who don't want God. People are like living statues; in whatever spiritual condition they die they will remain forever, the opportunity for repentance behind them, for God considers the time they were given to be sufficient. If people think their earthly judgment was severe, wait till they meet God at the White Throne Judgment and are thrown into the lake of fire. (218c) Reaping The Harvest (Key verse) (243b) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Mocking >> Mocking Christ KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6,8-10 (192e) Die to self >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Receiving from God by substitution >> Committed in the natural to receive in the spiritual (236f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest your strength into the kingdom >> Invest your ambitions – What are we doing with our time and money? Are we sowing them into the Kingdom of Heaven, or are we spending them on our pleasures, doing what we want, so when this life is over and we meet God and He asks us to account for the decisions we've made, and we are empty-handed and without words, what will He say to us? When we meet Jesus, we will all wish we invested more time, effort and resources into His kingdom no matter how dedicated we lived for Him. For this reason Paul says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we don’t grow weary,” and he adds that we should aim our good works at the Church before we invest our resources in unbelievers. If we consider our good works to be evangelistic, just remember that there are people in the Church who already believe. We should thus be more committed to them than to those in the world who may only take advantage of our kindness. The Bible teaches that our immediate family is first priority, then the Church, and the world last in regard to charity. Gal 6-8 (226f) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> Eternal rewards Gal 6-9,10 (95k) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having an obedient attitude >> Ready to do good – Jesus went around doing good, it says in Act 10-38. God also calls us to do good works for two reasons: to help people in their distress and to rack up heavenly rewards in eternity. Paul said to do good works especially for the household of God. We have an obligation to our fellow believers because they are our brothers and sisters in the faith, before we have an obligation to our unbelieving neighbors. In the life to come they will be our actual siblings, but for now they are strangers, acquaintances and friends who believe in Jesus with us. We help them before we help any unbelieving neighbor in distress, and it says we will reap if we do not grow weary. This refers to reaping in this life and also in the one to come. If we build a reputation of good works, people will recognize it about us; so whenever we run into trouble, people will line up to help us, being quick to return the favor. Those who never do good works but have good works lavished on them are always in distress, but we who follow Christ and live for Him and do His will avoid most distressful pitfalls, for we are under God’s blessing because we serve Him. God blesses us for believing in Him, but He blesses us all the more for serving Him. (127g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Sow the seeds of goodness >> Do not grow weary of doing good – Paul was talking to our flesh, because our spirit is from God, who never grows weary of doing good. We never have to worry about the source of goodness within us running dry. Usually growing tired is in regard to our circumstances. For example, we do good to somebody and get evil in return. That is discouraging, so we go back to the Bible and remind ourselves what it says. We pray and ask God for help; then we do good and get evil in return again. This regularly happens, and eventually we get tired of it, but the sun never gets tired of shining, and it shines on both the evil and the good, so again it is not God who gets tired of doing good; it is us. If we want to hear His voice, we must continue doing good. If we get tired, we may miss our turn because we can't hear His voice. God will ensure that we benefit from the goodness we do for others, especially to those who repay us with evil, and the first way He blesses us is with His Spirit; He comes closer, pulls us to Himself and reminds us of our hope, which is made more sure in producing the fruits of the Spirit. (227b) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> God rewards us for obeying Him >> Rewarded for doing good (234k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Be a blessing >> Be a blessing and love your brother – Doing good to fellow Christians is usually easier than doing good to people in the world. We go into the world and try to be good to them, and they often misconstrue our motives. When we mention Jesus to them and they reject our gospel, we can just about expect ill treatment in return, because they take the gospel as ill treatment to them. When we preach Jesus to people, we are trying to save them from eternal judgment and for eternal life. In other cases people in the world are so ill-treated, sometimes by their own family members, that when we treat them kindly, it is a breath of fresh air to them, appreciating our gestures of kindness more than some people in the Church, yet God has told us to persevere in doing God, especially to the household of faith. Gal 6-9 (7l) Responsibility >> Use time wisely >> Get ready >> Use this time to gather (24c) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anxiety >> Fear of losing spiritual territory – Doing good involves more than just doing good works, but also involves doing what is right, which includes overcoming sin, but that takes vision. There are some sins that we hate but do anyway and have a personal vendetta to rid ourselves of them, such as drug and alcohol addiction, sins with greater caustic repercussions, but there are other sins that we are not so willing to release that we often use to vent our frustrations, sins that don’t really affect other people as much as affect our conscience. (99k) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in doing good (206a) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to living in the spirit >> Conditions to partaking in the spirit – Those of us who are faithful in Christ are the main victims of apostasy that is in the Church today, causing a lack of unity that makes obeying Christ a very lonely venture. A lack of unity has the effect of isolating us from each other, even if we attend our local church every Sunday. Christianity was never meant to be this way; the Church was established for people to live by faith together in unity as a body of believers. This is the vision that Jesus had of his people, and it should be our vision. When this vision is fulfilled, there is hope, and where there is hope there is strength and purpose in overcoming sin, but where unity is lacking there is no hope, so we hold onto our sins as a way of venting. The Church needs a vision of unity and needs hope to achieve it, for by no other means will God's people overcome sin. This is exceedingly easier when the Church is in a state of unity, but without it, obeying Christ is virtually impossible. (214h) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s time is soon >> Relatively soon KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-10 (130k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Accept one another >> Love tears down social differences in the Church (248j) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> Top Priority Gal 6-11 (177a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Distorting Scripture from a lack of understanding – Some people use this verse to support their idea that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was some kind of eye disease. When he said, “See with what large letters I am writing to you...,” some interpret the word letters to mean letters of the alphabet and not the epistle as a whole. People who have stretched the truth to this extent to make it fit their preconceived ideas should take it as a hint that they are off-track by a mile. It may seem relatively harmless, but Satan has no incentive to hatch harmless heresies. They want to believe this for a reason, and the reason is never good for wanting to believe what is false. Gal 6,12-16 (205k) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith versus the flesh – Paul returned to the familiar subject of circumcision as a summary of his letter to the Galatians. It was quite a big issue during the time of the early Church in which Paul was trying to pull the works-oriented talons off the truth of the gospel. The reason this was such a battle was partly due to the fact that justification through law was so deeply entrenched in Judaism. This woks-oriented form of justification was even a misconception of Israel’s old covenant religion, contracting it from the religious paganism of the surrounding nations. God never intended the law to justify anyone. Rather, God’s intent was that Israel would practice the law in hope of God’s righteousness, which came through Jesus Christ. This rendition of old covenant justification correlates with the life of Abraham who journeyed to a foreign land in hope of seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise, whose faith is iconic to the new covenant. This shows the transition of God’s plan between covenants. The biggest mistake Israel made was in their interpretation of the word “Salvation,” which they interpreted as, ‘deliverance from their enemies,’ not knowing that their biggest enemy was sin. This misunderstanding was the cause of Israel not recognizing their messiah when He came. Gal 6,12-15 (190j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision is a sign of obedience >> Symbolism over substance -- These verses go with verses 3,4. Circumcision symbolizes the confusion surrounding the issues between faith and works that still persist in the Church. Some still believe that works are involved in our justification before God, which could not be further from the truth. People don’t spiritually advocate circumcision anymore. Instead, baptism, they say, is the new ceremony that justifies a person before God in New Testament times, but this is no different from cutting the foreskin from the flesh. There will never be a ceremony that will justify anyone before God. Rather, justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-12,13 (17f) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Seeking the glory of man – This is partially about a group of people (cult) who viewed others as opponents of their religion. They didn’t have faith; they only had religion and sought the approval of men rather than the approval of God. (17m) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Judging the sins of others that you practice -- These verses go with verse 1 (22c) Sin >> Greed takes without consideration for others >> Serving self – The key word to understanding this passage is "association". For thousands of years the Jews were circumcised under the law as a sign of obedience, but after Jesus came the sign of obedience was changed to baptism. Therefore, those who teach baptism as a requirement of salvation are like the Pharisees who taught circumcision as a requirement of obtaining God's favor (though if we believe in Jesus, we should be baptize). Those who were circumcised had no interest in Jesus and tried to convince those who were faithful in Christ to be circumcised with them, hoping to avoid persecution. They wanted the brethren to get circumcised to reverse the relationship in the eyes of the Church and in the world from associating with the faithful to the faithful associating with them. This way they could go to church with their arm around the brethren, and integrate into the world without any mention of Christ. There is nothing more demoralizing than being used by someone for selfish purposes. (22h) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Boasting in the flesh (55n) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose the truth to gain religion (75h) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Being manipulative >> Controlling people in the dark >> Through hidden motives (76h) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Living by a double standard (159f) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit freedom (162i) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bad company will entangle you in their bondage – Those who are convinced they know the truth but don't obey it are the same as Paul's enemies, who wanted the Galatians to be circumcised, though they themselves did not follow the law. Cult leaders were seeking the Galatians to be circumcised, to bring them into their fold so they could rule over them. They wanted the Galatians to believe in circumcision with them as a way of proving their own doctrines, for the more follows, the more confidence in their beliefs. However, popularity does not prove a belief system, but since they are making up the truth, they might as well believe this too. The more people they convince of their doctrines, the more feathers they put in their hat. These cult leaders were hypocrites in that the law is only as useful as people follow it, and those who advocated circumcision did not do what the law said. (164a) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Entertaining demons by rejecting the word of God (167e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Walking outside the realm of faith -- These verses go with verses 7&8. (169j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Fearing their religion (171f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Decorating the outside to simulate the inside >> Playing the part to be accepted by men – Paul is addressing the circular reasoning of legalists, saying that they make a good showing in the flesh in attempt to convince us to be circumcised, that they might boast in our flesh. If they do not keep the law, then what is this “show” they are playing for us? Typical of shallow people, their show is only skin-deep, seeking to flatter their audience. They don’t even keep the law themselves, which is supposed to be the heart of their religion, yet keeping the law is the very thing they are trying to avoid, since their ultimate goal is freedom to express the sinful passions and desires of their flesh. In contrast, the goal of true Christianity is freedom to do the will of God (1Tim 1-5). We certainly cannot achieve the true Christian faith while trampling underfoot God’s holy laws. (172ab) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> False brethren among the people of God >> Legalists among the liberated (173i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of following the law (legalism) (175d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Prestige gives a false sense of godliness (180b) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass the cross (185a) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Operating His grace through religion (198e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Men place themselves in positions of authority >> Men raising up men (199f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Throwing God away >> Rejecting Christ to steal His glory (200i) Denying Christ >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >> Trying to talk your way out of accountability – They avoid the doctrines of the true faith to avoid persecution, for if they do not produce the fruit of God’s kingdom, they cannot be persecuted. At the same time, though, if they don’t produce the fruit of the kingdom, they will be detected as frauds in the Church. Cloaking themselves in religiosity by means of flattery simply cannot hide from discerning believers, but when it comes to the law, there are all kinds of ways around it. People devise methods of circumventing the law while at the same time appearing to satisfy its demands, but with the gospel of Christ this is impossible. See also: Catholicism is the false church; Mat 22,1-6; 201j (201f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Jesus is an offense >> Jesus offends the world >> The cross offends the world – People who veer from faith invariably do it to avoid the offence of the cross. The cross is offensive because it transmits the message that people are sinners in need of a Savior, but the world doesn't want a Savior like Jesus, though they will accept the antichrist when he comes. The Catholic Church was formed trying to avoid persecution, and this is what happens when Christians try to avoid persecution: their gospel mutates. When we think of all the changes the Catholic Church has made to the original doctrines of the faith over the centuries, every one of them point to avoiding persecution while at the same time funneling money into their coffers. The very first step they made in this endeavor was to make Christianity an entity of the state, which diametrically opposed Jesus’ vision for the Church in His High Priestly Prayer, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn 17-14). To remain separate from the world is the Bible’s definition of “sanctification”, being set apart. A Church that is not sanctified is not Holy to the Lord, nor can it win a lost world to Christ. See also: Sanctification; Gal 6,14-17; 96h / Church is not set apart from the world; 2Cor 4,15-18; 229a (241f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Obstacles that keep you from Jesus (242h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your convictions KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-13 (178h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for disunity (183ea) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery for the spirit of error >> Selfish ambition >> Seeking to control the Church (202c) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Run from God by running to your flesh – Legalists are hypocrites, for in their boasting of the law they do not keep the law, but they seek to have us circumcised that they might boast in our flesh. Making proselytes makes them feel they are in the right, thinking that if they didn’t have the truth, they couldn’t have won us to their religion, but this is circular reasoning. The more people they can win to their belief system, the less they feel they need to abide by the teachings of the Church. Like any cult or pyramid scheme, the proselyte becomes subservient to those who won them to their religion, establishing incentive, but the true Church runs on a hierarchy of authority. Although both fit the model of a pyramid, they couldn’t be more different from each other. The Church operates through the authority of Christ, and His authority is disseminated throughout the Church by the principle that the least are greatest and the greatest are least, whereas in a cult the greatest are greatest and the least are least, according to the elementary principles of the world. If we are in a cult and on the bottom rung, we are out of luck; all we can do is win converts to get off the bottom, but if we are on the bottom rung in the Church, we are considered greatest of all, for we are those for whom sake is meant the ministry of the Church, so they get the most attention, but in a cult the person who gets all the attention is the leader, and the person on the bottom rung gets the grunt work. Gal 6,14-17 (96h) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having an attitude of humility – The world has been crucified to Paul and Paul to the world. The cross that so many people hang around their necks on a chain symbolizes death, and so the world sees us as death, and we see the world as death. At least we understand each other. To the degree that the world sees Christians as dead in some ways is the way we see the world as lost; and to the extent that the world wants nothing from us is the extent that we want nothing from the world, as Paul said in 1Cor 7,29-31, “The time has been shortened, so that... those who use the world… [should not] make full use of it.” Paul talked about dying to self and to all the evil passions and desires of the flesh, such as envy, strife and all the negative emotions, including the attitudes and values that swirl in the minds of ungodly people who are in bondage to it, believing they are free yet are most in bondage. Moreover, they see us in bondage to our religion though we are not, as though forbidden to do anything fun. It is true that we don’t have any rights, except to be children of God, while they enjoy their lives until their sins catch-up with them. The life that God has given us is like a seed, and we Christians have invested our seed in hope that it will grow to produce many souls for the Kingdom of God, whereas we see the ungodly as eating their seed. We walk by our faith that holds promise of producing the fruits of the Spirit, whereas the ungodly enjoy the passing pleasures of sin that holds promise for consequences both in this life and into eternity. Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Mat 6-10). Then He turned to His disciples and said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Lk 6-21). See also: Sanctification; Gal 6,14-16; 191j Gal 6,14-16 (191j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Sanctification >> Set apart from the world – Everything takes its turn on the cross: Jesus was first; now it is our turn to willingly go there. The world is crucified to me and I to it. The cross represents separation; it is the symbol of death. When Jesus died, He was separated from His body and from God and from this world, but His Spirit lived-on. Therefore, when we die, we will be separated from our body and from this world, but our spirit will live in paradise. When Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2-20), he was speaking of sanctification, as it says in 2Cor 6-17,18, “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 52-11,12). So among other things, the cross represents sanctification, to be set apart; Jesus was set apart as the savior of the world, and His cross has set us apart from the world as His children. When it says that the world has been crucified to me and I to the world, it means that the cross has created a division between us and the world. We are now citizens of God's kingdom that exists in another realm for another time and for another life, and we no longer belong to this world. God will resurrect our bodies, and we will live forever with our Great Shepherd, and He will establish His kingdom, and it will remain forever, and we will reign with Him. The present world will be abolished. Everything about it will end, but we will never end, and Paul said that he would never boast about anything except in the kingdom that is coming and in the ruler of that kingdom. See also: Sanctification; Gal 6-14; 64i Gal 6-14,15 (190a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Laying your body on the altar Gal 6-14 (38b) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> God judged man through the blood of His son (64i) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness makes Him small compared to men – The world sees our faith as abominable, and through our faith we see the world as abominable (Proverbs 29-27). Paul boasted in the cross and in nothing else. We might have talents and abilities that God employs in the ministry, and they are useful for promoting the Kingdom of God; however, we should keep in mind that every talent and ability was born from weakness. This means that God uses our strengths to promote His kingdom and inhabits our weakness to reveal Himself strong in us. So whether we are weak or strong God can use us. We Christians like to view the cross as the power of God, which it is (1Cor 1-17), but we should understand that it also represents profound weakness in the eyes of the world. Unbelievers think that anybody who would be overcome by His enemies must have been a failure, since everybody else who was ever captured and killed failed to meet his objective. Jesus was different; He was murdered and succeeded in His objective by his death. No one else’s death has ever accomplished anything except death itself, but Jesus’ death accomplished the will of God, and for that reason He was raised from the dead. Paul boasted in the weakness of the cross, and he boasted in his own weaknesses and refused to boast about any of his accomplishments, except what Christ has done through Him or in spite of him. God worked through the weakness of Christ to destroy death and created a door for His people to pass though it and be saved. See also: Sanctification; 154e / Earth versus the world; 2Cor 4-3,4; 79b (77j) Thy kingdom come >> Tapping into the power of God through humility >> The humble realize the source of their power (84f) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting >> It needs to be said and no one is saying it >> Boasting in Christ (115ja) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through obedience of faith >> Through determination >> Determined to be set apart from the world (154e) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world hates God – Paul said that he was dead to the world and the world was dead to him. When people looked at Paul in their unbelief, they saw a man who was lifeless in terms of the elementary principles which they followed, and Paul looked at them as devoid of God's life. According to him, nothing was alive about the world, and since our body originated from the earth, God calls us to sacrifice the sinful passions and desires that originate from the flesh. According to Paul’s perspective, nothing good or right will ever come of the world; he never accepted its unbelief, and neither should we. The world and the true Church will never see eye to eye. See also: Sanctification; Gal 6-12,13; 201f (165f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Do not love the world (194h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Victory over sin >> Hate evil by doing good KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6,15-17 (11b) Servant >> Standard for being a servant >> A Spirit-filled life Gal 6-15,16 (92f) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> You must be born again to walk on this trail – The new creation is the product of salvation, but those who require circumcision as a means of seeking favor with God are exempt from the new creation. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, and His Spirit seals us to eternal life. When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us at the moment of faith and merges with our spirit to become one with God, we are fully prepared to meet the Father in the advent of our death. Why would anyone seek God through any other means? (105g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Led by the Spirit into the will of God >> Led to the right place – Circumcision is optional, and all the rules and regulations of religion are obsolete that many people think will bring them to God, but being born-again is not an option. That is, coming to know God is mandatory for those who want to go to heaven. Faith in Jesus Christ is not obtained by the fulfillment of rules and regulations but by obeying the Holy Spirit, whose presence in us is the new creation. Gal 6-15 (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 – God will make us kings and priests of the new creation that has begun in our heart as a microcosm of what He intends to do to His entire creation. God will destroy this present universe and create another one in its place, and it will correspond with the new creation that resides in our heart. The things that God has done in us are the first fruits of the new creation, as it says in Rom 8-20,21, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God." Jesus is the pattern that God will use to create the new universe, and He will also use us as a pattern, according to the likeness of the person whom He has created in each of us. He will create worlds and solar systems and galaxies according to our specifications and then call us to rule over the people who will live there. These will be custom-designed habitations, so that the creation and those who rule over it are one. Therefore, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision are relevant in view of all that God has prepared for us in the life to come! See also: New heavens and a new earth (God does all things through His Son, who does all things through the Church); Eph 1,15-23; 80i KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-17 (6c) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Jesus’ yoke of evangelism – The Bible verses depicting Jesus’ yoke of evangelism were symbolic, until Paul pulled off his shirt. He was truly a bondservant of Christ, doing what Peter and john were doing when they said, “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” There was nothing symbolic about his scars from all the times he had been tortured by the Jews for his faith in Jesus and his relentless preaching of the gospel. He simply refused to keep silent; they would have had to kill him to silence him. The hypocrisy of the Jews wanted to simply run him through with a sword, but they had to find a way to explain their ill treatment to the Romans. They were not even able to justify themselves in the eyes of their own people, so Paul went on preaching the gospel and no one could stop him. Paul argued with his fellow Jews and proved the gospel more convincingly than they could defend their own points. Paul knew exactly what they believed, being one of them prior to his conversion. He was able to reason with them about his faith in Jesus and also about their interpretation of the Old Testament Judaism, which unfortunately over the centuries had mutated to a belief system that today doesn’t even resemble the writings of Moses or the prophets. The only thing they could do was beat him and whip him according to their law, and it was these torturous beatings that permanently etched in his flesh the brand marks of Jesus. When arguing with false prophets and false apostles who tried to introduce their destructive heresies, he would take off his shirt and show them his scars and ask them if they believed their lies enough to own a set of these and silenced them. It was Paul’s commitment to the gospel that spoke for him, his achievements, establishing many churches throughout the regions he visited, together with the sacrifices he made that proved his apostleship. (12f) Servant >> Nature of a bond servant – The Jewish zealots who persecuted the apostles also persecuted Paul throughout his ministry; they beat him relentlessly, threw him in jail and flogged him, causing Paul to say that he had received the brand-marks of Jesus on his body. They came to be his mark of an apostle. Paul spoke of the lashings he received from the Jews (39 lashes, five times) like brand marks, as though he were a mere head of cattle. Bond servants are some of the most disciplined people, even more than the military. This kind of Christianity would probably scare most of us—we would not want to live like that, nor would we want to know someone like Paul. If Paul lived today they would probably figure him a dangerous cult leader (of which he was in fact accused). Militant-style Christianity sounds like a bad combination, but it isn’t if we are disciplining ourselves for the cause of love of the brethren and dedication to the truth. God has had his bond servants in every generation, and they never hurt anyone. You will know them by their fruit; it is how God controls them. (134a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Your body is the mediator between the natural and the spiritual realms >> Manifesting the Kingdom of God through obedience – It was the ultimate insult for Paul to see the Church following after liars who preached a different gospel that was easier for their flesh to believe after Paul suffered in his own flesh to tell them the truth about God. It is ironic that the concept of following the law appeals to the flesh, though the commandments contradict the will of the flesh. The law is opposite of following the Spirit, who teaches us to sacrifice our fleshly impulses. The flesh thinks that it is better to suppress its evil nature through the law than to surrender to the Holy Spirit. People who don’t want to walk by the Spirit find some strange comfort in the law, though they don't ever keep it. Those who seek justification through the law are following a lost cause. (152a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Apostles >> Enduring hardship proves apostleship – The whippings and beatings that Paul received from the Jews so many times became his identifying mark (2Cor-11), saying that anyone who claims to be an apostle must be branded with these marks; otherwise they are false apostles. Paul raised the bar so high that anyone who would try to counterfeit the gospel could not do it. They would have to wait for Paul and the rest of the apostles to die before the liars and deceivers could take over the doctrines of the Church, which is exactly what they did. Paul was proud of his scars that he received for the cause of Christ, and he is probably still wearing them in heaven. He suffered in order to bring the gospel to people like the Galatians. It was as though Jesus Christ Himself whipped Paul and not the Jews, because they were the brand-marks of Jesus, not the brand-marks of the Jews. Jesus said of Paul in Act 9-15,16, “He is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Paul gave the Jews no credit for his brand-marks, but attributed them to the glory of God. Then he turned to the Galatian Church and said, ‘Now that I have paid the price to tell you about Jesus, I want you to listen to me.’ (213j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> As a master owns a servant – Paul bore on his body the brand-marks of Jesus, as a master owns a servant. He was mercilessly whipped and beaten innumerous times. These are all things that religious people who love to live by rules and regulations are unwilling to accept. Paul accepted it for the sake of the new creation that lived in him that he sought to convey to others. He thought it was important enough that he was willing to be beaten half to death more times than he could count. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Gal 6-18 (132a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of the Father – 'The grace of Christ be with our spirit,' not with our flesh. Our flesh is unredeemable; they will dig a hole and bury it. They do this because of disease and the stench and perversity of having a corpse anywhere near us. It just keeps getting uglier and smellier, and then worms invade the cavities and feed on the sludge that is produced from decomposition. God will give us a resurrected body, but some people have been cremated; they don’t have a body; they don’t have bones, nothing; it is all gone. God will not collect all the atoms that once composed their bodies to reconstruct it, for after He went through all that trouble, He would still have to change it into a heavenly substance not of this world that is immune to death, a transformation of its very essence on an atomic level. No, He will just create a new body (1Cor 15-38), using what remains of our old bodies, if anything. He will give us bodies that cannot die that are not subject to the curse of this present creation. Our resurrected bodies will incorporate the grace of God into its very fabric, making it natural to walk and live by His grace, but until then all we can do is simulate heaven in our flesh, though in our spirit it is real. God has commanded us to simulate the Kingdom of God in this life, to live as though we were already in heaven, no matter what happens to us. God has given us a taste of heaven in our spirit; we can sense the coming kingdom and discern that which is to come, but we cannot grasp it. We must wait for that day when He establishes His kingdom in our resurrected bodies. See also: