April 8, 2018 NOTES NOT EDITED
Spirit Walkers: Pt10—Three Steps Along the Way
Spirit Walkers: Pt10—Three Steps Along the Way
Galatians 4:1-7
Sermon-in-a-Sentence: Spirit Walkers are on a journey to the
Father’s eternal home and the journey involves three distinct steps.
Every person has a sense that life should be “going somewhere,” or have some meaning or purpose. Some people may successfully repress that innate drive, or rebel against it, but it is there. Augustine, an early Christian scholar once remarked, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
What exactly did God “make us” and why does that give us such a longing to be in His Presence? This week I read about a European study that I found fascinating. a baby’s cry matches its mother’s language? A newborn child, just two or three days old, cries in a distinctive way, mimicking the sound of the child’s mother. Researchers recently studied sixty healthy newborn children from both French and German families. What they found was fascinating: each newborn baby has its own “cry melody,” a specific pattern of sounds that is unique to his or her cry. But more than that, they found that babies will match their cry to the sounds and intonations of their mother’s voice (BBC News, November 6, 2009, Preaching the Word: Galatians).
Most mothers are so in tune with their
children that they can almost hear them breathing in another room (without a
baby monitor). Many fathers are the same
way. There is an intimate connection
between a parent and a child, a mother and a daughter, a father or a son. This is what Paul communicates in Galatians
4:6:Every person has a sense that life should be “going somewhere,” or have some meaning or purpose. Some people may successfully repress that innate drive, or rebel against it, but it is there. Augustine, an early Christian scholar once remarked, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
What exactly did God “make us” and why does that give us such a longing to be in His Presence? This week I read about a European study that I found fascinating. a baby’s cry matches its mother’s language? A newborn child, just two or three days old, cries in a distinctive way, mimicking the sound of the child’s mother. Researchers recently studied sixty healthy newborn children from both French and German families. What they found was fascinating: each newborn baby has its own “cry melody,” a specific pattern of sounds that is unique to his or her cry. But more than that, they found that babies will match their cry to the sounds and intonations of their mother’s voice (BBC News, November 6, 2009, Preaching the Word: Galatians).
4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “Abba! Father!”
But, how do we become “God’s sons and daughters?” What are the steps in this journey toward heaven? When does it start? Where does it end? What comes along the way? This is what Paul discusses in Chapter 4 of Galatians. In his continuing discussion of Spirit Walkers, Paul outlines three steps along the way: election, justification, and glorification. This is the full bloom of the flower of God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Let’s read about these Three Steps Along the Way. Gal. 4:1-7.
1. First, Paul shows us the doctrine of ELECTION (1-3).
1 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father.
NOTICE: we “owned” our salvation before we “possessed” it!
We have already been introduced to the stages in the life of ancient children: the guardian stage and the full heir stage (3:22-26). A young child was little more than a family slave. Paul adds something in chapter 4 to show a very significant difference between a young child under a guardian’s care, and a regular family slave. Notice the description of the son’s hidden status in the words, “a slave, though he is the owner of everything.” These words point to a very important, though highly debated and often misunderstood and misapplied, doctrine of election. Nothing demonstrates the awesomeness of God’s sovereign grace and infinite love than the doctrine of election.
In verses 1-3 of chapter 4, Paul returns again to the idea of “guardianship,” but it is much different in chapter 4 than chapter 3. There is a greater emphasis on the “relationship of the child to the father of the household.” In fact, the words used in the original makes this very clear.
Unfortunately, many versions translate two different words, verses 3:24 and 4:2, as “guardian.” They are different words in the Greek. Other versions, like the NIV, avoid this problem by translating a noun as an action, not a particularly helpful work around. The KJV gives a better translation of these two verses:
3:24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster (CSB, guardian) to bring us unto Christ. Then, in chapter 4, verse 2, Paul says,
4:2: But is under tutors (CSB, guardians) and governors until the time appointed of the father
The analogy is the same, but in chapter 4 Paul emphasizes the “sonship and inheritance of the child,” or the fact that even when we were “under the Law,” we were still the “elect.” Even before we were saved (of legal age) we still, “owned or possessed our salvation,” (4:1), though not operative or in force before we repent and are justified.
Election is “beginning before the beginning of our salvation.” Our salvation began in the heart of God “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Election proves more than any other
doctrine that our salvation is “absolutely
and completely an act of God and not man, as our salvation is secured before we are even born.” This should shatter any presumptive idea
that a human being can “do anything to
bring about one’s salvation.” It is
by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
The doctrine of
election is so far above and beyond my mental abilities that I am crushed to
humility just thinking of how God is so wonderful, majestic, powerful, and
loving. I can do nothing but stand in
awe of Who God is, and the fact He knows who I am.
The doctrine of election cause two reactions in those of us who are saved. First, it should eliminate any sense of pride in thinking we have done, or even could do anything that would cause God to love us more than He already does. Second, it should give us great confidence in permanence and security of our salvation. If we can do nothing to “gain” such a great salvation, nothing can happen to cause us to lose it. Peter makes this very clear in 1Pet. 1:3
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 5 You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Our salvation began before it started. It is born in the heart of God and secured in the “vault of His power.”
Do not try to read more into election than God has revealed, or that perhaps is even possible for a human to comprehend. It is a great paradox. First, the Bible teaches that anyone who is of the elect was always going to be saved. Also, the Bible teaches that anybody who, through their own act of free will, rejects the gift of God’s grace CANNOT and WILL NOT be saved. It is impossible in this life to know who truly is elect or who is not with any degree of certitude—APART FROM FAITH (See 2Pet. 1:10). Election and Free Will are a paradox that cannot be fully reconciled this side of heaven. In heaven, it won’t matter. So, accept what the Bible teaches and be eternally grateful for His love and mercy that brought you grace.
One lady had just sat patiently listening to her pastor preach on the doctrine of election. After the service, many were discussing and debating how God’s sovereignty and man’s free will could be reconciled. How could God possibly elect to save me before I was born, and at the same time my salvation be based upon my free will to accept or reject him. Could election possibly be true. The lady remarked to a group of her friends, “I’m sure that if God had not chosen me BEFORE my birth, I certain that He would have not seen anything in me to persuade Him to choose me after my birth.”
The doctrine of election cause two reactions in those of us who are saved. First, it should eliminate any sense of pride in thinking we have done, or even could do anything that would cause God to love us more than He already does. Second, it should give us great confidence in permanence and security of our salvation. If we can do nothing to “gain” such a great salvation, nothing can happen to cause us to lose it. Peter makes this very clear in 1Pet. 1:3
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 5 You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Our salvation began before it started. It is born in the heart of God and secured in the “vault of His power.”
Do not try to read more into election than God has revealed, or that perhaps is even possible for a human to comprehend. It is a great paradox. First, the Bible teaches that anyone who is of the elect was always going to be saved. Also, the Bible teaches that anybody who, through their own act of free will, rejects the gift of God’s grace CANNOT and WILL NOT be saved. It is impossible in this life to know who truly is elect or who is not with any degree of certitude—APART FROM FAITH (See 2Pet. 1:10). Election and Free Will are a paradox that cannot be fully reconciled this side of heaven. In heaven, it won’t matter. So, accept what the Bible teaches and be eternally grateful for His love and mercy that brought you grace.
One lady had just sat patiently listening to her pastor preach on the doctrine of election. After the service, many were discussing and debating how God’s sovereignty and man’s free will could be reconciled. How could God possibly elect to save me before I was born, and at the same time my salvation be based upon my free will to accept or reject him. Could election possibly be true. The lady remarked to a group of her friends, “I’m sure that if God had not chosen me BEFORE my birth, I certain that He would have not seen anything in me to persuade Him to choose me after my birth.”
As I consider the full
bloom of the flower of God’s redemptive plan for my life—a journey beginning in
the heart of God before the foundation of the world—I feel a bit of a sting in
my heart. As much as God has loved me,
demonstrated by sending His very own Son, God in the Flesh, to pay the horrible
penalty for my sin on the cross, I must ask myself:
“Does such a great love and sacrifice on God’s
behalf, really impact how I live for Jesus day by day?” I must ask myself, “Am I moving step by step
toward a more holy life day by day, or am simply sitting on a religious rocking
chair on the front porch of my self-centeredness waiting to be snatched up in
the rapture, or escorted to heaven upon my death?
God’s gift of salvation is too glorious and gracious not to impact how I live from day to day. Paul, moves from the first step in our faith journey, which is election, to the next step which is
2. JUSTIFICATION (4-6)
God’s gift of salvation is too glorious and gracious not to impact how I live from day to day. Paul, moves from the first step in our faith journey, which is election, to the next step which is
2. JUSTIFICATION (4-6)
4 When
the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the
law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as
sons. 6 And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
Take
careful note of the words, “when the time came
to completion.” God has a
plan. That plan will be
accomplished. This again, points to the
sovereignty of God in salvation. He is
in complete control (see Job 42:2). God
not only “elects” us to salvation, but He “justifies” us.
(1) Justification is a “two-sided” coin. One side is “JUDICIAL.” We call this redemption, or regeneration. The penalty of sin is “justified” before God in the Court of Heaven. Let’s examine the “judicial” side of justification.
Remember the theme of Galatians. We are “justified by faith apart from the Law” (Gal. 2:16). This does not mean that God suspended or set aside His righteous requirements set forth in the Law. God “fulfilled” all the righteous requirements of the Law through Jesus Christ (see Mt. 5:17-20). Paul crafts his argument for justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone very carefully. Note the words in verse 4, “born of a woman, born under the Law.”
In order to pay for the sins of mankind and fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law, two conditions had to be met. One, Jesus had to be 100% man and 100% God. The deity of Jesus is established without any doubt in both the Old and New Testaments. As we learn in the resurrection account of the encounter between Jesus and Thomas, Thomas declared upon seeing Jesus, “My Lord, and my God” (Jn. 20:25). The debt of man’s sin was “eternal” and it could only be satisfied in one of two ways: a man must die eternally, or an eternal Man must die once for all (see Heb. 10, esp. v10).
But, since the debt of sin was man’s, not God’s, then the sacrifice had to also be 100% man. Jesus was not only fully God, but fully man. This is what Paul meant with the words, “born of a woman.”
There is a second condition that must be met for us to be “justified” in a judicial sense, in God’s sight. The righteous requirements of the Law MUST be completely fulfilled. This is why Paul emphasizes that Jesus was also, “born under the Law.”
Perhaps you have heard the clever definition of justification as being, “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned.” I suggest that you eliminate this phrase from your vocabulary. It suggests that God “winked” at our sin. It indicates God “suspended” or “ignored” His own righteous decrees and requirements. This phrase belittles the doctrine of justification. God did not “wink” at our sin and “ignore” His own righteous Laws and decrees. No, God completely fulfilled them in Christ. We stood guilty in before the Court of Heaven. God pronounced the penalty—eternal death. Then, Jesus paid that penalty for us. That’s the judicial aspect of justification—the penalty paid.
I said that justification was a two-sided coin. The first side is a judicial aspect as we have seen. (2) The second side is an EXPERIENTIAL aspect. Take note of verse 6:
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
At the core of salvation by grace is that it establishes a “New Relationship.” We are no longer like slaves under “guardians and tutors” (v2), but justification brings us into a full and fulfilling relationship as “children of the Heavenly Father.”
The word, “Abba,” is an Aramaic (related to Hebrew) word that is similar to our English words, “Daddy, or Papa.” It is a term of endearment that suggests a deep tenderness and special relationship.
(1) Justification is a “two-sided” coin. One side is “JUDICIAL.” We call this redemption, or regeneration. The penalty of sin is “justified” before God in the Court of Heaven. Let’s examine the “judicial” side of justification.
Remember the theme of Galatians. We are “justified by faith apart from the Law” (Gal. 2:16). This does not mean that God suspended or set aside His righteous requirements set forth in the Law. God “fulfilled” all the righteous requirements of the Law through Jesus Christ (see Mt. 5:17-20). Paul crafts his argument for justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone very carefully. Note the words in verse 4, “born of a woman, born under the Law.”
In order to pay for the sins of mankind and fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law, two conditions had to be met. One, Jesus had to be 100% man and 100% God. The deity of Jesus is established without any doubt in both the Old and New Testaments. As we learn in the resurrection account of the encounter between Jesus and Thomas, Thomas declared upon seeing Jesus, “My Lord, and my God” (Jn. 20:25). The debt of man’s sin was “eternal” and it could only be satisfied in one of two ways: a man must die eternally, or an eternal Man must die once for all (see Heb. 10, esp. v10).
But, since the debt of sin was man’s, not God’s, then the sacrifice had to also be 100% man. Jesus was not only fully God, but fully man. This is what Paul meant with the words, “born of a woman.”
There is a second condition that must be met for us to be “justified” in a judicial sense, in God’s sight. The righteous requirements of the Law MUST be completely fulfilled. This is why Paul emphasizes that Jesus was also, “born under the Law.”
Perhaps you have heard the clever definition of justification as being, “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned.” I suggest that you eliminate this phrase from your vocabulary. It suggests that God “winked” at our sin. It indicates God “suspended” or “ignored” His own righteous decrees and requirements. This phrase belittles the doctrine of justification. God did not “wink” at our sin and “ignore” His own righteous Laws and decrees. No, God completely fulfilled them in Christ. We stood guilty in before the Court of Heaven. God pronounced the penalty—eternal death. Then, Jesus paid that penalty for us. That’s the judicial aspect of justification—the penalty paid.
I said that justification was a two-sided coin. The first side is a judicial aspect as we have seen. (2) The second side is an EXPERIENTIAL aspect. Take note of verse 6:
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
At the core of salvation by grace is that it establishes a “New Relationship.” We are no longer like slaves under “guardians and tutors” (v2), but justification brings us into a full and fulfilling relationship as “children of the Heavenly Father.”
The word, “Abba,” is an Aramaic (related to Hebrew) word that is similar to our English words, “Daddy, or Papa.” It is a term of endearment that suggests a deep tenderness and special relationship.
This “transformation” from “slaves
under guardians and tutors” to full-fledged legally adopted sons and daughters
of God is accomplished by a “spiritual infusion.” Notice the
words in verse 6:
“sent the Spirit . . . into our hearts.” God’s Spirit unites with our spirit in a supernatural way that creates a new metaphysical reality. It is similar to a blood transfusion in which the blood of one person is “infused” into the body of another and becomes indistinguishable from one another. In Ephesian Paul expands on this “experiential” aspect of justification (Eph. 1:13-14):
13When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14He is the down payment of our inheritance.
“sent the Spirit . . . into our hearts.” God’s Spirit unites with our spirit in a supernatural way that creates a new metaphysical reality. It is similar to a blood transfusion in which the blood of one person is “infused” into the body of another and becomes indistinguishable from one another. In Ephesian Paul expands on this “experiential” aspect of justification (Eph. 1:13-14):
13When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14He is the down payment of our inheritance.
Until this “spiritual infusion”
takes place, a person is NOT saved. A person can come
forward and shake the hand of a thousand preachers and still “split hell wide
open.” Joining a church may
make you religious, but only “being filled with
the Spirit makes you righteous.”
It is this “experiential” aspect of justification that permits a person to live a sanctified (holy) life. The righteousness that comes through justification is “true” righteousness, not just a thin religious veneer. It is called, “imputed righteousness.” Imputing is similar to installing a new motherboard and operating system on a computer. The word, impute, means to “infuse into.” Paul describes this transforming transaction in 2Cor. 5:21.
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The first two steps in a Spirit Walker’s journey are election and justification. The final step is
3. GLORIFICATION (V7)
It is this “experiential” aspect of justification that permits a person to live a sanctified (holy) life. The righteousness that comes through justification is “true” righteousness, not just a thin religious veneer. It is called, “imputed righteousness.” Imputing is similar to installing a new motherboard and operating system on a computer. The word, impute, means to “infuse into.” Paul describes this transforming transaction in 2Cor. 5:21.
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The first two steps in a Spirit Walker’s journey are election and justification. The final step is
3. GLORIFICATION (V7)
7So you are no longer a
slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir
through God.
Several times already in Galatians,
Paul has made reference to God’s promises for His children. This is an extremely significant concept
throughout the Bible. In chapter 4, Paul
refers to the one’s receiving these promises as “heirs,” or ones
receiving an inheritance.
The idea of an inheritance is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. From the very beginning God has been promising a future inheritance to the patriarchs and saints in the Bible. The idea of inheritance occurs over 200 times in the O.T. alone. It refers to a future, “irrevocable” gift. It is always permanent and imperishable. Peter picks up on the idea of our “spiritual inheritance”: “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1Pet. 1:4). I think that the modern drive toward a materialistic society, now firmly established after many generations of relative prosperity in the U.S., has led to a corrupted view of the incorruptible inheritance we have in Christ. The church in America focuses more on “making people happy than making people holy.” Church has become more about what “we can get out of this world, instead of how we can get out of our bondage to sin.”
The inheritance that Bible speaks about is not a “material” inheritance where we collect worldly trinkets to stash away in our earthly hope chests. No, the inheritance the Bible speaks about is the one Peter says is
“an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1Pet. 1:4).
A true, blood-bought, Spirit-filled believer longs for home. A true believer’s heart aches to be with the one we call, “Abba, Father.” So many “church-goers” are “anchored” to this world in such a way that if the Rapture were to take place today they would be yanked back to earth with one sudden, soul-shaking jerk.
The real Spirit Walkers are looking to take that one final step of GLORIFICATION as we cross the threshold into Heaven—either by death or rapture. That’s what drives a Spirit Walker—one day standing in the very glory of Almighty God.
O, that will be, glory for me. Glory for me. Glory for me.
The idea of an inheritance is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. From the very beginning God has been promising a future inheritance to the patriarchs and saints in the Bible. The idea of inheritance occurs over 200 times in the O.T. alone. It refers to a future, “irrevocable” gift. It is always permanent and imperishable. Peter picks up on the idea of our “spiritual inheritance”: “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1Pet. 1:4). I think that the modern drive toward a materialistic society, now firmly established after many generations of relative prosperity in the U.S., has led to a corrupted view of the incorruptible inheritance we have in Christ. The church in America focuses more on “making people happy than making people holy.” Church has become more about what “we can get out of this world, instead of how we can get out of our bondage to sin.”
The inheritance that Bible speaks about is not a “material” inheritance where we collect worldly trinkets to stash away in our earthly hope chests. No, the inheritance the Bible speaks about is the one Peter says is
“an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1Pet. 1:4).
A true, blood-bought, Spirit-filled believer longs for home. A true believer’s heart aches to be with the one we call, “Abba, Father.” So many “church-goers” are “anchored” to this world in such a way that if the Rapture were to take place today they would be yanked back to earth with one sudden, soul-shaking jerk.
The real Spirit Walkers are looking to take that one final step of GLORIFICATION as we cross the threshold into Heaven—either by death or rapture. That’s what drives a Spirit Walker—one day standing in the very glory of Almighty God.
O, that will be, glory for me. Glory for me. Glory for me.
When by His grace I shall look on
His face--
That will be glory . . . be glory
for me.
I fear that most people sitting in church sanctuaries throughout our nation, do not have a longing for heaven in their hearts because they do not have the Spirit of God in their hearts. Most people are cemented to this world in shoes of materialism and self-centeredness.
As I write these words about that final step of glorification, I have tears in my eyes. Not tears of hope, but tears of shame. Shame that comes from a realization that so often God is just an idea and church is just a job. Tears of shame when I realize that I give so little to the Lord and His work and keep so much for myself. I have tears of shame that God has done so much for me, and I do so little for Him—He loved me even before the foundations of the world; He justified me by paying the awful penalty for my sin; He sets before me the very Glory of His Presence. Yet, I love Him so little.
I want to be a Spirit Walker. I want you to join me as a Spirit Walker. Our journey began in the heart of God and finishes in the Home of God. Won’t you come along and walk with me?
I fear that most people sitting in church sanctuaries throughout our nation, do not have a longing for heaven in their hearts because they do not have the Spirit of God in their hearts. Most people are cemented to this world in shoes of materialism and self-centeredness.
As I write these words about that final step of glorification, I have tears in my eyes. Not tears of hope, but tears of shame. Shame that comes from a realization that so often God is just an idea and church is just a job. Tears of shame when I realize that I give so little to the Lord and His work and keep so much for myself. I have tears of shame that God has done so much for me, and I do so little for Him—He loved me even before the foundations of the world; He justified me by paying the awful penalty for my sin; He sets before me the very Glory of His Presence. Yet, I love Him so little.
I want to be a Spirit Walker. I want you to join me as a Spirit Walker. Our journey began in the heart of God and finishes in the Home of God. Won’t you come along and walk with me?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.