GALATIANS CHAPTER 5
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Gal 5,1-15
(180b) Works of the devil
>>
Practicing witchcraft >>
Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass
the cross –
Centuries after Moses, the
religious leaders of Israel erroneously associated circumcision with the law,
but as Paul pointed out in Rom 4,9-16, God gave his blessing to Abraham before
he was circumcised, making circumcision a symbol of faith, not of the law. In fact, the law was given 430 years later, making
any connections with the law irrational. Israel had gotten the proverbial cart before the horse when they made circumcision a requirement of
obtaining favor with God. Paul’s complaint was that the
connection of circumcision with the law had become the most entrenched false
doctrine in Israel. God didn't give Israel the law as a means of justification,
anymore than Abraham was justified through circumcision. Rather, God justified Abraham
when he heard and obeyed the voice of God. Put concisely, circumcision became a
representation of faith toward God, but the Bible teaches from Genesis from
Revelation that whatever represents our faith is an idol. That is, there is no
legitimate representation of faith toward God, for He demands that we worship
Him directly, not through anything. We don't believe in Him through circumcision
or Baptism or ceremonials, traditions, observances, statues, customs or rituals,
all of which fly in the face of the cross of Christ with whom we
find favor with God as a matter of faith in His perfect sacrifice.
Gal 5,1-13
(176d) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Conviction
without commandment –
Claiming that circumcision played some kind of role in salvation was a type of
witchcraft, defined as: anything we do that we say
effects the spiritual realm. The “we say” phrase in that
definition is what makes it witchcraft. Paul addressed this in Gal 3-1 saying,
“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you…?” He was referring to the
people who were trying to talk them into circumcision in order to be saved.
What is the difference between that and (infant) baptism to be saved, or
communion to be saved, or to say that the bread and wine are transformed
into the body and blood of Christ at the blessing of the priest? All these are
forms of modern-day witchcraft, known also as idolatry. God promised that
there is nothing we can do in the natural realm that will affect the spiritual
realm, except to obey the Holy Spirit, and to do that we must know His will.
(177e) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >>
Doctrine that tickles your ears
(184h) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace
of God >> Spending His grace on your pleasures >>
Abusing the anointing
Gal 5,1-12
(7i)
Responsibility >> Defend God’s cause
>>
Protecting your freedom – Paul
continues working toward his
main point in his argument about justification, making the
distinction between the law working through man’s sinful flesh and the cross
working through God’s righteousness, giving access to Him by
faith. Although it is the law of God, it is no less inferior to the ministry of the
Spirit and is therefore not the will of God that we should use the law to
follow Christ. Jesus went to the cross because man has no power
in himself to keep the law. For this reason we have no righteousness in
ourselves apart from Christ. Paul emphasizes the difference
between those who would justify themselves through their own righteousness and
those who seek justification by faith in Christ: they are waiting for the hope of
righteousness, that is, waiting for heaven.
Gal 5,1-6
(1k)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending
God >> Carrying a false burden >> Weighs you down as you walk according to
the law
(108d) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith is the balance between
freedom and law –
We consider one neighbor a Christian because he shows evidence through
the fruit of his life, but we wonder about our other neighbor because we don’t
see any fruit; that is a reasonable assessment. We are encouraged to inspect
one another’s fruit (Mat 7,16-20). However, we are not encouraged to take
our fruit before God and say, ‘I am your child
because of this.’ He knows those who are His, regardless of what we do,
yet “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from
wickedness” (2Tim 2-19). We don’t need to prove anything to God. Works prove to our fellow man and faith proves to God that
we belong to Him.
(159f) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit freedom
(198h) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained
by man >> Having evil motives for seeking
leadership positions >> Seeking to gratify
their flesh through the ministry
(205ka) Salvation >>
Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith
versus works >> The faith of God versus the
faith of men >> Faith versus the law >> The work of faith versus the
works of the law –
People have bickered about the relationship between faith and works for
centuries, though Paul covered this in detail with the Galatians, making his doctrinal
thesis in the book of Romans, and nailed it to the door of our heart in
Eph 2-8,9 saying, 'we are saved by grace through faith, not
of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.'
Then we have James preaching an almost opposite gospel and are left
scratching our heads. He who balances these two seemingly opposing
arguments is the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is the one who makes sense
of it all, in that He avails the unction and produces the faith in our
lives. We can understand what Paul was saying, that it is by faith, and we
can also understand what James was saying, who complained that if we don’t have works,
then our
faith isn’t real. The Holy Spirit supplies the faith that we use to produce the
fruit, which leaves one remaining question: what is our part in all this? We make a simple
contribution of our will; we say
yes to Him, and we say no to the world, the flesh and the devil, but as Paul
also said, 'Having done everything to stand firm, stand firm
therefore' (Eph 6-13,14). There is a point when we must dig-in and push real
hard. Our job is to keep the light burning in our heart and oil in our lamp.
(223h) Kingdom of God
>>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >>
Missing the mark >> Miss the will of God for
your life – We
do not trust in the law for our salvation, because we too often fail, and when we
do, God will forgive us through the blood of His Son, but those
who get circumcised as a requirement of salvation
are required to keep the law without ever breaking it, which is impossible.
The new covenant
equivalent of circumcision is baptism; therefore, those who are baptized as a requirement
of salvation
are now trusting in a ceremony instead of the grace of God. Either we trust in
the grace of God without adding anything to it, or we add to the cross and
nullify His grace.
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Gal 5,1-4
(55n) Paradox
>>
Lose by gaining >> Lose the truth to gain
religion –
There is a difference between knowing something and believing it.
What the world means by the word “believe” is, ‘This is my theory,’
whereas genuine
faith does not treat God as a theory. Rather, we are more convinced of the
Lord
than we are of this world. The world sees this physical realm
as absolute proof of its reality, while we use our faith as absolute proof of
God’s reality. The eternal realm of the spirit is all around us, unseen, but it is
just as real and even more-so than the physical world, which is
destined to perish.
(97a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Having a negative attitude about yourself >> A
self-righteous attitude -- These verses go with verse This verse goes
with verses 12
(162ka) 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 the Law
(174e) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself – Paul warns the Galatians that if anyone
assumes justification by law, then Christ
will be of no benefit to him, and there is no forgiveness of sin written
in the law, unless he wants to drop his self-righteousness and return to Christ. Paul says, “You have been severed from Christ, you
who seek to be justified by law.” Those who seek the sign of circumcision
have severed themselves from Christ and have fallen from grace. Seeking
justification through the grace of God and through the law of God are
opposites. Those who seek justification by law are actually seeking to be
justified through their own righteousness, that is, through their fleshly inability
to fulfill the law. This is the entanglement of the law and the height of
blasphemy against the blood of Christ, and Paul was desperately trying to shut it
down. The law is powerless to justify anyone, because we all lack the
ability to comply with its demands.
(199e) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Rejecting Christ >> Throwing God away >>
Renouncing your faith –
Faith is nebulous, which is why people try to skirt around it; they prefer to
work with tangible things, but any natural form that we present to Him is
idolatry. The only thing that
finds favor with God is our faith, and whatever we use to replace it
renounces our faith. Faith is a spiritual substance; it is more concrete to God
than anything in this natural realm. He requires faith from us, because it is
how He perceives reality. Faith comes from God as the
indwelling Holy Spirit; therefore, to replace our faith is to replace the Holy
Spirit.
(203i) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >>
Withdrawing from the truth
Gal 5-1
(11c) Servant
>>
Standard for a servant >> Freedom –
We fight for freedom as God’s number
one goal, because freedom is one of His most important attributes. God values
His freedom more than He values His power by evidence of Jesus coming to us in
the flesh, disrobing Himself of all His glory and power and living among us to
show what it means to be free... from sin. We don't value His freedom like we
should. For
a meaningful definition of freedom see 2Cor
10,3-6; 8m.
(98e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Rooted deeply >>
To keep from falling away
(119f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Being a slave to freedom – Freedom is not a tool that we use as a
means to an end; rather, freedom is a goal. When we think of the many goals of
Scripture, such as faith, hope and love (1Cor 13-13), these are the main
attributes of God and act as one goal, even as God is one. For example, we
cannot walk in love if we are in bondage to sin, nor can we practice love
apart from faith, and we cannot believe without hope. These things work
together to accomplish a common purpose, where the goal is love, and freedom
is the state in which love is realized. Putting it that way makes freedom
sound like a tool, and it is, and so are all the other attributes of God. We
use faith to engender hope, and we use hope to engender love, and love is the
ultimate goal, which thrives in a state of freedom. God did not set us free for some
other purpose; freedom is the purpose. This is how important freedom is to
God. He wants His children free, because God is free. We will never achieve
perfect freedom
until we receive our resurrected bodies, which cannot be
tempted. Our present bodies are seeking freedom to do evil, and
so long as there is temptation, we well never be totally free, for the highest
level of freedom we can expect to achieve in this life is that of a slave to
righteousness.
(194i) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Yielding >>
Yield to God’s right to direct your way
(199a) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >>
Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating
Jesus >> Frustrating His ministry --
This verse goes with verse 13
(233a) Seeking The Goals Of The Kingdom
(Key verse)
(233b) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the
goal of freedom – Paul
in this same chapter wrote about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit is ultimately responsible for the fruit we bear through faith in Jesus
Christ who dwells in us. It is a beautiful gospel that Paul has described; what
is more, he received acceptance by the other apostles, even James, the brother
of Jesus, who made comments in his epistle that seemed contrary
to Paul. No other New Testament writer taught the way Paul did, strictly by
faith, making the assumption that our faith will produce works. The minute we try to produce works or
attempt to bear fruit in the flesh,
our faith becomes pungent and unpalatable; what we need is divine works produced
through a Spirit of faith; this is Paul’s gospel.
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Gal 5,2-9
(195c) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >>
Serving two masters >> You can only believe in
one at a time -- These verses go with verse 11. Paul
was saying that if we receive circumcision as a requirement of salvation, then
Christ is no benefit to us, for we would no longer be relying on Him. Paul is saying that we are saved
by grace through faith; that is, we use our faith to trust in God.
We know we are the children of God because we believe in Him, not because we
were circumcised or baptized or participated in any ceremony. If we put our confidence in
traditions, rituals and religious rites, we compromise our faith, making God's
grace no longer grace (Rom 11-6). Paul goes a
step further and says, “You have been severed from Christ,” which is a
description of the foreskin being cast into a dumpster, only his analogy is
pointing at the Galatians as the foreskin being dumped. They have severed
themselves from Christ.
Gal 5,2-6
(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 11&12. Paul goes back to an old subject that he has been
trying to clarify throughout many of his letters of the New Testament.
Apparently there was confusion about circumcision in the early church, being an observance of the old covenant. God commanded Abraham to be circumcised
as a sign that he believed when God spoke to him and he journeyed to a foreign
land that neither he nor his fathers knew, and settled there with his wife,
Sarah. So circumcision acted as a sign of obedience, but obedience to what?
Baptism has replaced circumcision in the new covenant, and so in the strictest sense,
baptism is a sign of obeying the Holy
Spirit, even as Abraham obeyed the voice of God. If circumcision was a sign of the Holy Spirit, how much more is
baptism a sign of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Gal 5,2-4
(76h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Motives >> Living by a double standard
(173i) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >>
Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of following the law (Legalism) –
Paul rightly associated circumcision with keeping the law, and ironically this
meaning of circumcision has been misconstrued since the onset of the old
covenant. Clearly, Moses never associated circumcision with the law, and God never mandated salvation through the law, so anybody who
would get circumcised as a requirement of salvation has misunderstood
circumcision in the old covenant, much more in the new. The old covenant was just as much based on faith as
the new covenant, as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness (Gen 15-6). Abraham picked up his belongings and followed the
Holy Spirit into the land of Canaan, so not only did he believe God, he also obeyed
Him. The difference between Abraham’s obedience and obeying the law is that
one is loyal to a written code while the other is loyal to the
very person of God. Obviously, these two are infinitely distant from
each other, as faith is from observing rituals and ceremonies.
Gal 5,3-5
(64b) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Limits of God >>
God cannot tolerate sin >> Impossible to please
God without faith –
Paul is using circumcision to symbolize anything we would use to replace faith in
Christ. Most commonly, people who falter from God’s grace replace
faith with works. They do good works as though they acted as a mediator
between them and God. In contrast, the true children of
God do good works, not to be saved but because they are saved by grace
through faith in the cross of Christ. Jesus is our mediator before the Father,
and faith is the mediator between us and Christ. This suggests that works are
a product of our faith, whereas those who rely on their works have bypassed faith. We receive the grace of God on the basis of faith,
not on the basis of our works, nor can we use works to represent our faith,
for anything that we put in place of faith to foster confidence in God is
idolatry, meaning the only thing we can use to promote confidence in God is the
blood of
Jesus.
Gal 5-3,4
(53l) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> Law was made for sinners >>
Sinners follow after the law
(182g) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >>
Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >>
Because they want to be approved by men –
There is an ongoing debate about the relationship between faith and works.
James says that if our faith doesn’t have works, then it isn’t real;
we’re just deceiving ourselves; we don’t actually believe, so works provide evidence
for our faith. The issue reduces to a matter
of how a person uses his works. Does he use them to justify himself before
God, or does he use them to justify his faith? Scripture totally supports
providing evidence for our faith, but if a person is using his works to justify himself before God, that person has
ulterior
motives, which was Paul’s point to
the Galatians. He taught that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2-8,9).
Our justification is a gift from God, but some of
the Galatians were persuaded by legalistic Jews who would not let go of their
previous ideas about justification by law, which was a false teaching even by
the old covenant standards. Where is there place for faith when seeking
justification by
works?
See also:
Faith versus works;
Eph 2-8,9;
41f
Gal 5-3
(52e)
Judgment >> Judging Church with world
>>
Law judges sin >> God judges the lost through
the law -- This verse goes with verse 10. God
gave the law to Moses because of the flood. People in Noah’s day didn’t
have the law. They deciphered right from wrong through their conscience, but
eventually they voided their conscience by continually trampling on it in the
process of reveling in their
flesh and living however they felt. This is what walking in the flesh does: it makes people forget
God. Therefore, He gave the law to Moses, so if
anyone got the idea to trod upon their conscience, the law was there as a
written reminder in stone regarding sin. The law is better than lawlessness,
though God never intended man to seek salvation through it, as Jesus said, “Everyone who
has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me” (Jn 6-45).
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Gal 5,4-6
(31f) Gift of God
>>
Grace >> Salvation >>
God is willing to respond to man’s need
(94p) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perspective >> False perspective in the Church –
Paul had an interesting writing style; he made his point in ways that were not
exactly straightforward. For example, in verse five he says, “For we through
the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness,” and then
in verse six he says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” In verse 5
he talks about passively waiting, and the very next verse he uses the word
“working.” We wait and work at the same time; these two seemingly opposite
ideas actually complement each other. Circumcision, which is a type of work, whether we receive it or not, means
nothing spiritually, but faith is the essence of all things spiritual, which in this context means waiting for the
hope of righteousness.
Abraham proved his love for God, for love requires an
expression to be valid, and Abraham expressed his love for God by
fulfilling his calling. We too have a special calling from God that ultimately
has an expression of love toward the brethren. Some people pick up just
anything and do whatever they think is best at the time and call it the will of God, but
we would be much further ahead to wait for God to
reveal His will to us and make that our life’s work, which would bring more personal fulfillment and yield more fruit than
doing whatever is handy.
(116k) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Working the grace of God >> His Grace in us is
in vain without Him –
The subject of using the law to seek justification before God was a
misconception from the start. Moses drove the law into the hearts of the
Israelites, still they misinterpreted its significance.
Justification by faith is no different from our example of Abraham, who
walked in the Spirit, but the Israelites sought God’s favor
through the works of the law, which was never meant to justify anyone. The law was given to regulate man’s behavior, not as an avenue of
justification. The Bible does not say that if we live by the law,
we will please God; rather, what pleases God is faith.
Gal 5-4,5
(60h) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Severed from grace—Severed from undeserved
favor / Severed from undeserved power –
Two things comprise the grace of God: His favor and His power. God's favor refers to justification by faith,
and His Spirit is given as a pledge of our inheritance, and the anointing is
an
extension of His favor. Anyone who believes in works as
justification before God has exempted himself from God's favor, for Paul
taught that by faith alone we are saved. The fruits of the Spirit constitute evidence of our
faith, but they by no means do anything to save us.
Heb 11-1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.” Faith is a spiritual substance, intangible to the flesh but the very substance of
God, just as real to Him as the things we
know on earth. Our faith in Jesus is between He and us and no one
else, but James said that if our faith doesn't materialize, there is room to question
it.
(192g) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by
losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >>
Being patient to receive something better –
When we first believe, God will immediately send his Holy Spirit to dwell in us
without needing to ask Him for this. The comforter comes and lives in us to be our
great counselor forever. However, we must first show
Him faith without the Holy Spirit, who comes to us because we
believe in Him, but how can we first believe without Him? It denotes a catch-22:
we can’t believe without the Spirit, and without faith the
Spirit cannot dwell in us. This is why we say salvation is the work of God's grace.
Gal 5-4
(207b) Salvation
>>
God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal
security? >> Perish By Losing Your Faith >>
Perish in deception –
Paul is talking about born-again Galatians who were close to being severed
from Christ, meaning it is possible to lose our salvation. Eternal
Security is an ongoing debate in Christendom; its adherents have a motto,
“Once saved, always saved,” but Scripture in no way supports this. In
fact, these verses speak just the opposite, clearly stating that we can lose
our salvation if we trust in something other than Jesus' finished work on the
cross. Being born-again is an act of God; we
should not allow our faith to erode to the point of extinguishing our flame,
for we cannot relight it. It is up to us to keep our heart burning for
Jesus, who said in Mat 24-13, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved.”
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Gal 5-5,6
(41fc) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Righteousness of faith >> Faith apart from the law –
Paul was
talking about acquiring God’s faith that we receive from heaven. Most people in the
Church believe in the Bible, but few have received faith from God, and it is
this faith that denotes the righteousness of
God. God counts us righteous not just for believing in Him, but also
for keeping the faith that He has given us.
(113l) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His
will -- These verses go with verses 16-18. Being
born-again refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit; His purpose is to convince us
that we are the children of God by the witness that He lives in our heart, and
He comforts us in our circumstances, and He helps us to know His will and do
it. There are entire denominations that reject the anointing, but that
doesn’t limit God from using them if they are ready to do His will and
discover His calling that He has prepared for them. If we will walk in His works, God will endow us with
an anointing regardless of what we believe. We can flatly deny the teachings
and doctrines of the anointing, yet possess an anointing because we
obey the Holy Spirit.
(126ka) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
Have patience for the return of Christ >> The spiritual return of Christ
(230i) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery
of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >>
Anointing is the mystery of godliness –
The mystery of salvation is that God has chosen us to be His children. There are some people who truly want to
believe,
but they can’t; salvation is easy for some and impossible for others. Their heart is
divided; on one side they want to believe, and on the other side they want the world and all it offers. God will receive whomever will
believe in Him, but at the same time faith is a gift. Salvation is so simple a
little child can understand it, but it is too complicated for some adults. One
might say they
don’t have faith, but they believe something. They have faith, but they
don’t have God’s faith. Would they want it if they had
it? Sadly, the answer for many is no, and for this reason they can’t
believe. It is not salvation that is complicated but the
heart of man that is hopelessly incomprehensible. Jeremiah 17-9 says, “The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know
it?” See
also: Heart (Bitterness); 1Cor 10,5-11;
154g
Gal 5-5
(36g) Gift
>>
God opens His home to us >> Inheritance >>
We heirs through faith
(98l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >>
Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >> It appeals to the glory of God
–
This verse speaks opposite the law in that those who walk by faith are waiting for the hope
of righteousness. They don’t try to attain it through various good works.
Waiting in some respects is even more difficult than working to
justify ourselves, for it requires endurance. For example, it is easier to wait for the bus than to walk ten miles to work, but not
during the first half-hour. While we are waiting for the bus, we are going
nowhere, but the person who decided to walk at least feels he is making
progress. However, once the bus comes and we climb aboard, we soon pass the
person hoofing it, and he gets to work late and ends up getting fired. In the
same way, we may feel that we are making progress attempting to justify
ourselves under the law, yet the Bible teaches that sin nullifies our
righteousness. Therefore, if we refuse to accept the righteousness of God in
Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross, then He will not accept our righteousness
either. Without accepting the finished work of the cross, all our good works are just as sinful as our sin.
Psalm 109-7 says, "When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin."
The moment we believe
in Jesus, God begins to ignore our sin and
count our righteousness we did in His name with the intent of rewarding us in heaven. After accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross, we
practice our good works for His glory (Jn 3-21).
(110m) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance and
truth >> Spiritual substance follows obedience
(205b) Salvation
>>
Salvation is based on God’s promises >>
According to promise >> Promise of His rest
Gal 5-6
(119e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Freedom in Christ --
This verse goes with verse 16
(125b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >>
Faith and love
>> Faith toward God and love toward man
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Gal 5,7-12
(161k) Works of the devil
>> Satan
determines the world's direction >> Carried Away >>
Carried away by religion
–
People were trying to tell the Galatians a different way of salvation through
the Law, that they had to be circumcised to be saved, and Paul was saying that
there was nothing anyone could do to save themselves. That is, Jesus died to save us
from our sins, because we could not help ourselves. Case in point, when Adam and Eve fell
into sin, they did it through the act of eating fruit from the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil, and afterward there was no act they could do
to counteract the curse. In the same way, there is nothing we can do to be
saved, except believe in Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross.
Remember what the jailer said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
and what was Paul’s response? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved” (Act 16-30,31). Believing is a verb; it’s an action, but it is an
internal action, and in this way God was able to circumvent the curse by
giving His grace through faith as an act of contrition for sinners.
(162i) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Bondage >> Being slaves of men >>
Bad company >> Bad company will entangle you in
their bondage
(172h) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the
wheat >> False doctrine among the truth –
If we become convinced about false doctrine, it wouldn’t just affect us in that
one area but would affect our entire belief system, debilitating our faith in the truth. The troublemakers whom Paul addressed were
legalists who wanted the Galatians to go back to the old way of
trusting circumcision for their salvation, instead of trusting
Christ. If the Galatians fell prey to this, it would have nullified the grace of Jesus’ cross in their lives.
The way to God does not involve a ceremony, such
as baptism or circumcision or anything else that we could name; trusting in
the blood of Christ is the only means that God has established for us to
appeal to Him. Anything else we would trust
for our salvation voids His sacrifice, causing Jesus to die in vain for us.
(240i) Kingdom of God
>>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of
knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the
kingdom
Gal 5,7-11
(44a) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Complete >>
It is finished >> Fulfill God’s will
Gal 5,7-10
(75h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Controlling people in the dark >> Through
hidden motives -- These verses go with verse 13. Certain
persons "sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ"
(Gal 2-4), trying to put them in bondage to the law.
Once tethered to their teaching, they would have introduced other heresies
to exploit the Galatians, always for money, except that Paul put a stop to their shenanigans.
He used the analogy of leaven in a lump of dough to signify sin to say that it doesn’t take a lot of
heresy to spoil the whole batch.
(86h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Obedience >> Be doers of the word >>
Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Obey
the truth –
We are to clothe ourselves with the word of God by obeying the truth. We
could pick out a verse in the Bible and try to live by it, which
would resemble obeying the truth, but it is better defined as doing His will
that He reveals to us. Whatever God wants us to do will best help build the body of Christ and
establish His kingdom in the world. The only way to achieve this is through
the Scriptures that have been written, but it is the spiritual enlightenment
of God’s word that we obey. It doesn’t do much good to obey
the written word if we don’t have a revelation of what it means.
Gal 5,7-9
(197c) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual
laziness >> Rebelling against where God wants
you to go >> Refuse to walk in freedom --
These verses go with verses 13-17
Gal 5-7,8
(91f) Thy kingdom come
>>
The called >> Walking along the narrow way >>
Walking in God’s calling is to fulfill His purpose -- These verses go
with verse 13.
Consider road construction and the bridges we build over streams and rivers.
The roads represent the doctrines we believe, while the streams and rivers represent
the faith that God has given us. The streams and rivers refer to God's
calling in our lives, but we use roads (our beliefs) to get where we are going. Note that roads cross streams instead of running parallel. The
roads go in one direction for purposes of this world, while the
streams and rivers go in another direction for the purposes of God, flowing to
larger streams and rivers, eventually into main arteries that lead to
the ocean, the water picked-up again by
evaporation and carried over land, where it rains to refill the streams in a timeless loop, symbolizing eternity. We build bridges because there is nothing
we can do to keep the water from doing what
it wants, and we cross these streams
and rivers every day, reminding us where our faith
is taking us. See also: Belief versus faith; Gal 5-7; 86a
/ Analogies (Blind spot in our vision); 2Cor 4,3-6; 169a
Gal 5-7
(86a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >>
Believe the word by obeying it –
Repentance is required of us, which is an action, but it is not the active
ingredient of our salvation; rather, faith is the active ingredient. The
writer of Hebrews says, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11-1). The substance of faith is love, and
love is what we hope, but believing is not the same as faith. Our beliefs are
based on trust in the Bible, whereas faith is based on knowledge that we received
directly from God. Everybody
believes something, and invariably we build our lives around our beliefs,
making cities and roads, and they affect every aspect of our lives,
yet our beliefs remain as mere thoughts that we consider reality. Our beliefs
are human in origin, whereas faith is divine. We can believe anything we
want; we can even believe there is no God, but faith is given to us by God
and is based on His Truth. Faith and love are two sides of the same coin, so
if faith believes something other than the truth, then it is
not real faith, because faith only believes the truth (1Cor 13,4-6). See
also: Belief versus faith; 194d
(194d) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >>
Run to God from your enemies –
Paul was saying to the Galatians, ‘You were resisting your enemies well;
what made you return to them?’ Why didn’t the Galatians know
by now that the enemies of the truth only want to mislead them? The lies they
tell they believe themselves, which are the most insidious lies of all,
meaning that they were not trying to deceive the Galatians; rather, they
deceived themselves and wanted to win the Galatians to rationalize their
beliefs. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn 14-6).
We must obey the Truth who is Jesus in order to relate to God. There are many gods, but
there is only one True God. If we want to relate to a foreign god, we can
believe any of a million things about him, but if we want to know the one
True God, then we must love and obey the truth. We believe in certain teachings
about the Bible, and all beliefs must accompany obedience; otherwise, we prove
we don’t really believe. If we believe what is untrue, it will not lead us to God, but if we believe
Scripture by obeying it, God will sear those beliefs into our heart so
that we believe them by the Spirit, which transforms our beliefs into faith,
which is able to comprehend the mind of Christ. See
also: Belief versus faith; Gal 5-7,8; 91f
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5-9
(191d) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Extract the
leaven of false doctrine
Gal 5-10
(51a) Judgment
>>
World & church >> Warning of wrath >>
Consequences of sin
(52e)
Judgment >> Judging Church with world
>>
Law judges sin >> God judges the lost through the
law
(122c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God to
keep the Church –
Paul had confidence in the Lord that He could keep the Church in the faith and
judge those who were disturbing the saints from believing the truth. How much
of God’s judgment do we see in the world or in the Church? Things go
unpunished; wicked people are free to spread their carnage, inflicting pain
and sorrow and loss of life and property without consequence, but Paul was
confident that He would punish those who afflicted the Church; and when we
look at those who were afflicting the saints at the time, they were
pharisaical Jews. They said it was fine to believe in Jesus, but the believers
also had to perform the works of the Law. The apostles of the first century
vigorously fought against such theology, because they didn’t want the Church
to fall into legalism. They were relatively successful, yet there are still
some legalistic Christians today, an oxymoron.
Gal 5-11,12
(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 2-6. The reason people
trusted circumcision for salvation (and baptism, which is the new covenant
replacement of circumcision) was to avoid
the cross of Christ. Circumcision has been erroneously associated with the
law, but it started as a sign of Abraham’s faith that his works
demonstrated by obeying God, traveling to a foreign land by the leading of the Holy
Spirit. Circumcision
was a Jewish rite of the old covenant commanded by Moses, just as baptism is
the sign of faith in the new covenant, but circumcision never saved anyone, anymore than baptism saved
anyone, for both are mere symbols of faith. The fact that God chose circumcision, suggests that
salvation is a personal thing; we cover our private parts, and so the symbol
of salvation is concealed, so too the proof of baptism evaporates the moment we exit the
water and our clothes dry. Our relationship with Christ is akin to marriage,
and so baptism is a public display of our faith with witnesses present as at a
wedding.
Gal 5-11
(195c) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >>
Serving two masters >> You can only believe in
one at a time -- This verse goes with verses 2-9
(201f) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Jesus is an offense >> Jesus offends the world >>
The cross offends the world
–
In modern times what are people trying to avoid
by embracing the law or trusting in baptism? Currently, there is little persecution in
America against those who openly believe in Jesus, so it’s not persecution
they are avoiding, but the Holy Spirit. This reveals a direct link
between the cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent in His place.
People who preach the heresy of trusting something other than Christ as a means of justification
before God are trying to avoid a life of faith and are willing to give up the
truth so they can free themselves from the confines of obeying the Holy
Spirit. These heretics do not
value the truth, and for this reason they don’t know it.
Gal 5-12
(69e) Authority >>
Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Righteous anger >>
Church is angry at sin
–
The path of heretics leads
downhill,
along the way picking up momentum furthering their false doctrine, until the gospel is completely
corrupted and no truth is left. For this reason Paul wishes that the knife
would slip and those who were troubling the Galatians would accidentally amputate
their snausage in the procedure of circumcision. Paul is
very angry with them; he despises them; he wishes evil upon them, because they have marked themselves by trading the truth of God for a lie and imposing their soiled
doctrines on others for personal gain. It’s one thing to believe in
lies, but it’s another thing to impose their lies on other people. This will multiply their judgment both in this life and in the life to
come.
(97a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Having a negative attitude about yourself >> A
self-righteous attitude -- These verses go with verse This verse goes
with verses 1-4
(190d) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Masochism
(Self-made martyr) >>
Self-afflictions that are against the will of God
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5,13-17
(197c) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual
laziness >> Rebelling against where God wants
you to go >> Refuse to walk in freedom --
These verses go with verse 26
Gal 5,13-15
(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 -- This verse goes with verse 26
Gal 5-13,14
(14c) Servant
>>
Slave is free/free is slave – These verses go with verses 17&25. This verse is
connected to many other topics and verses in
different ways, ebbing on blasphemy. It paints a
picture of someone winning spiritual victories almost with the premeditated
intension of trading them for a few moments of fleshly indulgence. Imagine
a person who is well established in the Church, gaining everyone’s
confidence, though he is not growing in the Lord as we would suspect but is
scheming against someone or perhaps against the entire church. This is an
example of how we must be responsible with the freedom that we acquire in
Christ. If we use it as intended, we will enjoy
ever-greater levels of freedom.
(235f) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >>
Giving (your inner self) >> Giving preference to
one another –
Love is the fulfillment of the Law; for example, if we love our neighbor, we
will not have sex with his wife. If we love our neighbor, we won’t lie to
him or steal from him or do anything that violates the Law. We don’t live by
a list of commandments but are led by the Spirit. We hear about the rule of
law, and we hear about lawlessness in the world, and we know that nations
without law are self-destructive. They soon breakdown internally and dissolve,
so people erect laws to govern themselves, necessitating a list of
commandments, but disciples of Jesus don’t live by them; instead, we walk in
love, which automatically fulfills the Law without even trying. Perhaps our
neighbor has a new grill and we get the idea to go over there in the middle of
the night and take it and put it in our yard and cook our steaks and
hamburgers on it, but the Holy Spirit intervenes and asks our conscience,
‘Would you like your neighbor to do that to you?’ and we must answer
‘No’, so the Lord instructs us not to do it to him. We live by the Spirit
through love, and it says that by this we become free, and Paul says now that
we are free, we are not to use it against our neighbor, instead we are to
serve our freedom. To use freedom is to treat it like a tool to achieve a
goal, whereas the Bible teaches that freedom is the goal, and we use other
tools to achieve freedom, such as the word of God and prayer, and Holy Spirit
strengthens and encourages us to dedicate ourselves to the goal of freedom, so
we never trade it for anything. It takes courage to stand-up to our flesh, for
it is easy to sacrifice our freedom for a temporal reward, but God would
rather we lived as He did.
Gal 5-13
(12i) Servant
>>
Attitude of a bond servant – This verse is similar to 1Cor 9,11-23,
particularly verse 18, where it says, "What then is my reward? That,
when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not
to make full use of my right in the gospel." Paul was much like a
stockbroker, who would reinvest his profits as he seamlessly pulled out of one share
and into another without enjoying any of the proceeds. He was not a man to
eat his seed, but planted it to grow more seeds. So it is with freedom, yet all
too often people struggle feverishly to free themselves only to use their freedom to commit
more sin and return to bondage. We should use your freedom for its intended purpose to help others and
bless God with the result that we increase our freedom.
See also: 1Pet 2-16.
(60h) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Opportunity—To sin /
To abuse the anointing
(75h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Controlling people in the dark >> Through
hidden motives -- This verse goes with verses 7-10
(76b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Motives >> Seeking authority for security >>
Motives based on desire for power
(91f) Thy kingdom come
>>
The called >> Walking along the narrow way >>
Walking in God’s calling is to fulfill His purpose -- This verse
goes with verses 7,8
(118k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Law of the spirit >> Law of liberty --
This verse goes with verses 22&23.
Freedom can be seen as a tool that we use to reach the goal of love, yet Paul speaks
of freedom as also a goal. Freedom and love are like members of the trinity,
where freedom affirms faith, faith affirms love
and love reinforces our freedom in a spiritual lifecycle that spirals upward
in ever-greater services toward God and one another, but the moment we
sacrifice our freedom for the flesh, it stops the
cycle.
(162d) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Bondage >> A slave to unbelief >>
Bondage to an unwillingness to believe (deception)
(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 -- This verse goes with verse 26
(187e) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>> Separation from the old man >>
Die to the flesh >> Dying to receive the glory
of God >> Die to self to be set free
(187j) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>> Separation from the old man >>
Die to the flesh >> Spirit versus the flesh >>
Trying to work the Spirit by the flesh -- This verse goes with verses
16&17. Freedom is a tool to perfect love,
yet we should view freedom as a goal. When we use freedom to acquire our fleshly desires, we weaken
it, and it eventually collapses into bondage. Freedom is one
of our most valued possessions, but if we turn freedom into an opportunity
to revel in the flesh, we develop a lifestyle that works against itself. We are not free to sin, but are free from sin for
purposes of righteousness.
(199a) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >>
Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating
Jesus >> Frustrating Jesus’ ministry --
This verse goes with verse 1
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5-14
(90h)
Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >>
Righteousness of the law >> We must keep the law
because it is righteous
– The law was written
on a hierarchical basis; we must fulfill the first commandment before we can fulfill the second and so on. In other words,
we love God so we can love our
neighbor and we love your neighbor so we can fulfill the other commandments; but
if we don't love God, then we can't love our neighbor. Human relationships are
reflected in the law, so if we live by the commandments, we would stop hurting
each other. When He said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” it
implies that God was speaking to healthy-minded people, not to those who would
harm themselves and treat others the same way. The first commandment says,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind soul and
strength,” suggesting that it is mentally healthy to love God, who commanded people
in the Old
Testament to love Him first, so they could be in a proper frame of mind
to love their neighbor as themselves. The problem with the old covenant was that
it didn't furnish a way to do that. The only way to fulfill the
first commandment was to fulfill the other nine; we love God by loving others,
but in the new covenant God has given a way to love Him, so now we love others
through our love for Him.
Gal 5-15
(21f) Sin
>>
Disobedience opposes unity in the Church
(84h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Words of your mouth >> Gossip >>
Attacking a person’s character
(130j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Accept one another >> Accepting the great and
the small >> Small people cannot accept great
leaders -- This verse goes with verse 26
(158e) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >>
Strife >> Bitterness –
Strife, debating, discord, having a competitive and contentious spirit, never
willing to accept another persons viewpoint but always looking for the wrong
in everything, Paul said if we behave like this, be careful that we are not
consumed by one another. We think we can act this way, as though it were just
a silly game or a means of getting through the day, arguing for the sake of
argument, but Paul says that this is an indication that we are operating by a
spirit that opposes Christ. When we bite and devour one
another and consume each other's faith, with what then do we believe in God? Some
people spend their faith like eating their seed; once it is consumed, their
faith is gone, and now they can’t believe in God, and they stray from Him
not knowing what else to do. They’ve given their faith to disobedience,
which leads to unbelief, which leads to further disobedience and unbelief. Paul warned the
Galatians that this is a dangerous game they are playing and that they should instead
seek
the will of God for the purpose of doing it.
(167b)
Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism
(mindset of the world)
>> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Carnal mind cares only
for itself
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5,16-26
(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 –
There is a whole chapter in this website devoted to the subject of dying to the
flesh with its passions and desires. It is a process of substitution, meaning
that dying to self is not the end; rather, it is a means to an end, for if we die to self, God
will give us
something of Himself in return. Dying to self creates a vacuum, and vacuums are unnatural.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb using a filament that would burn very
brightly when electricity was passed through it, but would last only for a
moment, because oxygen would cause it to combust in a flash, so he thought to
place the process in a vacuum, and when he did, it continued to burn. Eph 5-13
says, "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light."
When we
die to self, it creates a vacuum and God fills the vacuum with Himself. When
we give ourselves to Him, He gives Himself to us in return, but
since He is bigger, what He gives expands our lives and makes us grow.
Gal 5,16-25
(124d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >>
Acts of love >> Love is one of the fruits of the
Spirit –
Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit
fulfills the law. Israel tried to fulfill the law and failed
miserably; instead, Paul commanded us to walk by the Spirit and so produce the fruit of the Spirit,
which fulfills the law. This is Christianity: we are not under
law but under grace (Rom 6-14). The first
step in walking in the Spirit is developing the hearing ear. Being led by the Spirit
is long-term; He doesn’t micromanage us; He gives us a life-goal and gives us
freedom to accomplish it in ways that we decide. He regularly comes alongside
and nudges us along the way and helps us fulfill His
calling, but He doesn’t tell us everything we must do, so long as we accomplish His purpose through the Spirit.
(187h)
Die to self (Process of substitution) >>
Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >>
Spirit versus the flesh >> Deny the flesh to walk
in the Spirit >> More the flesh dies,
more the spirit lives –
Obviously, the concept of being crucified with Christ also has something to do
with dying to self, but what? It seems that the more spiritual fruit we bear,
the more dead (or numb) we become to the sinful passions and desires of the flesh. So,
we kill the flesh by bearing the fruit of the Spirit;
our association with Him shapes us into His image; and the more our mind remains in a spiritual state, the less we sense our flesh craving
evil things. By definition, then, a person who is born again by
faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in his heart; so if we live by the Spirit,
let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5,16-23
(205g)
Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s
promises >> New covenant >>
The new one is a better one – Eliminate these verses from the
Bible
and we wouldn’t know what Jesus meant what He said or did what He did, nor would we understand Paul’s
other epistles. For example, these verses tell why Paul
wrote his letter to the Romans and why the new covenant is better than the old.
The law does not command us to bear the fruit of the Spirit, since it didn’t
furnish us with the power to do so, but the new covenant gives us that power
after Jesus has created an avenue to channel the Holy
Spirit into our lives
through the cross. The old covenant law gave us a list of things we should not do
to our fellow man, but it did not provide us
with a list of things that we should do, such as what is detailed in the fruits of the Spirit.
Gal 5,16-21
(92e) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Trail of good works >>
You cannot walk two trails -- These verses go with verse 25. Paul said, “…You may not do the things that
you please.” That doesn’t sound exactly free, which is how Paul started this chapter, saying, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free….”
We are half-free; that is, our spirit is free, but our flesh is in bondage to
serve Christ. The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit
against the flesh, so that if we satisfy one, we sabotage the other. If we seek
the fruits of the Spirit, it will contrast with the
desires of the flesh, but if we give into the flesh, it will war against our
Love, Joy, peace, patience.... Therefore, anyone who is committed to
walking in the Spirit must abstain from sin, because these two cannot
coexist.
(162g) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Bondage >> Addicted to sin >>
Being a slave to the sinful nature
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5,16-18
(105g) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Led by the Spirit into the will of God >>
Led to the right place -- These verses go with verse 25
(113l) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His
will -- These verses go with verses 22-25
(118m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Law of the spirit >> Newness of the spirit
transcends oldness of the letter
– Prior to Jesus sending the Holy Spirit, there was
nothing we could do to directly fulfill the first commandment to love God, but
now that we have the Holy Spirit, we can develop a relationship with Him
through the word of God and prayer. Prior to the new covenant we loved
God by not
killing our fellow man; we loved God by not coveting our neighbor’s
possessions; that is, it was all about "not" doing
something to our neighbor in order to love God, but what can we do to directly
love God? The law could not answer that question! The new covenant does away
with the indirectness of the law and enables us to love God directly, and
equips us to love our neighbor with fruits that we directly receive from the
Holy Spirit. How much better is the new covenant than the old? There is no
comparison!
(137e) Temple
>>
Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the
foundation >> Bearing fruit is the foundation of being in the
Spirit -- These verses go with verses
22-25. God has given us a list of attributes that we
should apply to our character in the fruit of the Spirit. If we walk by the
Spirit, God will lead us to bear His fruit, and by that
we will not do the things that the law condemns.
For example, when we bear the fruit of the Spirit we will not kill
our neighbor. We have new interests now; protecting our joy is more important than
having sex with our neighbor’s wife or coveting any of his possessions. The attributes
of these fruits create a spiritual environment in our heart, so that we can
live and walk in an attitude of love and peace. He desires these
things to inhabit us, that we should inhabit them. Joy is not an action, nor is peace. Rather, the fruits of the Spirit are a
spiritual state
of mind, whereas the law refers to behaviors that God commands us to avoid.
Within this environment we are shielded from temptation. See also: Fruits are not actions; Gal 5,19-21;
221j
Gal 5-16,17
(6e)
Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >>
Rest in Jesus’ yoke
(22g)
Sin
>>
Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly mind
(187j) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >>
Spirit versus the flesh >> Trying to work the
Spirit by the flesh -- These verses go with verse 13
Gal 5-16
(119e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Freedom in Christ --
This verse goes with verse 18
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5-17
(14c) Servant
>>
Slave is free/free is slave – This verse goes with verse 25
Gal 5-18
(119e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Freedom in Christ --
This verse goes with verses 22&23
Gal 5,19-23
(139i)
Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Tear down the old to
rebuild the new
(129a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >>
Evidence of your fruit >> The type of fruit
indicates who you are serving
Gal 5,19-21
(51c)
Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world
>> Warning of Wrath >>
God warns the Church
(64d) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Limits of God >>
God cannot help but judge sin
(156K) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being
hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >>
Practicing sin
(167j) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to
the world >> The world of sin
(183a) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >>
Witchcraft >> Sin is the incubator of witchcraft >>
Through rebellion
(221j) Kingdom of God
>>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden
behind the veil from the world >> God hides from
sin >> He hides behind disobedience – Fear was not covered by the law or in
the fruits of the Spirit, and it wasn’t even mentioned in regard to the deeds
of the flesh. Paul was completely silent about fear, how it
operates in the background of all forms of evil. Fear is the
opposite (enemy) of the fruits of the Spirit. This means the deeds of the flesh, though they may oppose the fruits of the Spirit, are not exact
opposites in that they refer to actions, whereas the fruits of the
Spirit are not actions but refer to spiritual states. These are two different things, like
comparing apples to oranges, but fear is a spiritual state, and is therefore the
opposite of the fruits of the Spirit. That is, fear is not an action, just like
love, joy, peace, patients, etc. are not actions. All sin and disobedience
operate through an environment of fear, meaning the deeds of the flesh that are regulated by law act as evidence of fear, allowing it to manifest and
become visible, whereas doing good works manifest the fruits of the Spirit,
produced by faith. See also: Fruits are not actions; Gal 5,16-18; 137e
(250h)
Lists (Key verse)
(250i) Priorities
>>
God’s prerequisites >> Lists >>
List of traits that can be found in man >> List of
deeds of the body
Gal 5-20,21
(24h) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Being envious of your brother
Gal 5-21
(36i) Gift of God
>>
Inheritance >> Our inheritance can be withheld
(238h) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge
of the kingdom >> Teachers >>
Teachers "remind" their students >>
Strong reminders
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5,22-26
(42g) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Transformation >>
Conform to the Love of Christ
Gal 5,22-25
(113l) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing establishes us in His
will -- These verses go with verses 5&6
(137e) Temple
>>
Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the
foundation >>
Bearing fruit is the foundation of being in the
Spirit -- These verses go with verses 16-18
Gal 5-22,23
(118k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Law of the spirit >> Law of liberty --
These verses go with verse 13
(119e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Freedom in Christ --
These verses go with verse 6
(128c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >>
Doing good transcends the law –
“Nice” is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. The world expects everyone
to be nice, but they mock “goody-two-shoes”. Goodness is one of the fruits of the
Spirit, contrasting those who are "nice" from those who are good.
“Goodness” is all about being nice to people who are not nice to us.
People don’t like it when we refuse to defend ourselves, and they hate it
when we are peacemakers in the name of the Lord, because it works as an
invitation to the Kingdom of God, and if they reject the invitation, it acts
as a witness against them. When someone is not nice to them, they
throw all the social rules out the window. Therefore, "nice" is for show,
but being good comes from the heart. Being "nice" is a way of getting
ahead in
life, whereas goodness is evidence that we are the children of God. Being nice is good for
business, but being good is holy to the Lord. Being good is akin to kindness,
but being nice is one step from rage. A "nice" person will not
endure persecution, but goodness has already endured the insult of
the wicked for Jesus sake.
(250k) Priorities
>>
God’s prerequisites >> Lists >>
Terms of graduating to the next level >> List of
spiritual traits in descending order
–
Although joy comes before peace, it doesn’t make it more important,
suggesting that all nine fruits of the Spirit are equally important. The list of prerequisites
signifies how we experience God as we seek Him: first we discover His love,
then we meet His joy, then we enjoy His peace, etc., as a sequence of
spiritual blessings that cascade throughout the lifelong process spiritual
maturity.
Gal 5-22
(126a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Peace >>
God is at peace >> The peace from God
(127a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Kindness >>
Be kind like God >> Practice the kindness of God
Gal 5-24
(114e) Thy kingdom
come
>> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy
Spirit >> Obeying the revelation from heaven >>
Obeying the revelation by putting away the flesh –
Dying to self is a process of working with the grace of God to perform a
simple operation on our flesh to remove the foreskin of our sinful passions and desires
(symbolized by circumcision) that hold us from the will of God. At the same
time, He instills His grace in us to do the work that He has
prepared for us. The wicked men that nailed Jesus to
a cross represented us; we are the ones who killed Him; therefore, the
criminal crucified next to Him is our place; we nail our sinful passions and
desires of the flesh to the cross until dead, willingly laying down our lives
for the cause of Christ. We know there will be a resurrection, but Christ
promises that He will raise in this life through the power of the
Spirit (Romans chapter six).
(213i) Sovereignty
>>
God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >>
His will becomes our will >> We are God’s
property
Gal 5-25,26
(95h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Attitude >> Having an obedient attitude >>
Ready to do God’s will –
Paul elucidated a very important point here: as we live by the spirit who
dwells in us and enjoy His presence in our heart, so we should walk in that
same Spirit and avoid contradicting His divinity that He planted in us and
treat our fellow
man with dignity. As the indwelling Holy
Spirit seeks to manifest, so we should let
that inner person emerge on our outer form and behave in the same manner that we
experience God in our heart. We should embody Jesus' parable of the kingdom of
God regarding leaven that a woman “took and hid in three pecks of flour until
it was all leavened” (Mat 13-33). This is how God wants to work in our
lives: from the inside-out. He wants to convince us of His love, grace and
mercy, so we will display His grace in our actions and words. Instead of being
competitive from envy and strife, we should challenge each other to love and
good deeds (Heb 10-24).
KJV
WEB
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Gal 5-25
(14c) Servant
>>
Slave is free/free is slave -- This verse goes with verses 13 & 14
(92e) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Trail of good works >>
You cannot walk two trails -- This verse goes with verses
16-21
(105g) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Led by the Spirit into the will of God >>
Led to the right place -- This verse goes with verses 16-18. Walking
by the Spirit is probably the most important thing we do in this life, and what
we often fail to remember is what Paul said before this: crucify the flesh with
its passions and desires. We must learn to live by the Spirit before we can walk by
the Spirit. We possess His Spirit, but we cannot understand what we possess
beyond our practice of walking in Him. That is, if we are unconscious of our
salvation, it is useless. The
whole idea is to be aware of His presence in us, and the way we become aware of Him is
to continually abide in the word of God and prayer. The Spirit and the word operate together. We live by the Spirit and we walk by the word, and
when the two of these come together, they produce the power of God, who is able
to reveal Himself in us that we might know His purpose and calling. To fulfill
His calling is to work His grace
into our lives. The part of God’s will that we do not walk, neither do we understand. This is why the world does not understand God, because
it does not obey Him.
(144f) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church Bears Witness of Jesus >> Of the Holy
Spirit
(155g) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Witness of the
believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the
believer
(206b) Salvation
>>
God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to
promises >> Conditions to living in the spirit >>
Conditions to participating in the spirit --
If we
"walk by the Spirit,” it proves that we also "live by the
Spirit." His
promise is very encouraging and full of good hope, but walking in the Spirit
incites our enemies to hate us. If we abide in Jesus, we can expect persecution and
rejection even from some of our own brothers and sisters who don't share
the same intimacy with God. It asks whether we are content with persecution and hardship for the sake of interacting with God, or whether we will abandon His
purpose because of the fear of man. Too often when the heat is on, we settle for walking in the flesh so we don't
offend anyone, but this offends God.
(230b) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >>
Partaking >> What we must do to partake of the
kingdom >> Partaking which requires our
participation
Gal 5-26
(11i) Servant
>>
We are not a standard for each other
(22m) Sin
>>
Pride glorifies self >> Comparing yourself
with others
(23c) Sin
>>
Pride is defensive
(130j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Accept one another >> Accepting the great and
the small >> Small people cannot accept great
leaders -- This verse goes with verse 15
(158f) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Divide and
conquer >> Division (Cliques) >>
Jealously seeking prominence in the body
(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 -- This verse goes with verses 13-15.
Pseudo-spiritual
Christians are boastful, competitive and envious.
The person who thinks he is spiritual the Bible says should become
everyone’s servant. The true sign of spirituality is the willingness to
serve and become least of all. This undercuts any desire to challenge or
envy others, and it eliminates boasting. Being a servant solves
man’s every problem. In the corporate world they have it backwards, where
the greatest are the greatest and the least are the least, reflected also in
their paychecks; whereas in the Kingdom of God the greatest are least and servant of all; and the person who is least in the Kingdom of
Heaven has the greatest authority. That is, in heaven everyone is striving to be a
servant in order to be great in the eyes of god who is servant of all. This
completely dispels the whole problem of a boastful, arrogant attitude,
instead of seeking to know God that we might bless others and possess all
that God has for us.
(197c) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >>
Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling against where
God wants you to go >> Refuse to walk in
freedom -- This verse goes with verses 7-9
See
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