Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing! And again I testify to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is under obligation to keep the whole law. You are estranged from Christ, you who are attempting to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace. For through the Spirit by faith we eagerly await the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:2-6)

In chapter five Paul really explains why he doesn’t understand what happened. Why they chose to accept a lie of bondage instead of continuing in freedom. They were saved based on trust in Jesus by GRACE. If they chose to lay their trust for salvation on their works, grace wouldn’t be in operation anymore. They would have returned to bondage. Not bondage to the world, but bondage to legalism. But ANY bondage is NOT freedom. They would be exchanging the truth of GRACE with the lie of the LAW. Not that the Law was a lie, but that the Law could provide salvation. No. The Law pointed to the NEED for a saviour and pointed to Jesus AS that saviour. If we walk according to our DEEDS, we will be walking by the FLESH. The flesh cannot save. We need to walk according to the LOVE that Jesus has for us, according to His GRACE. THAT is what enables us to consistently choose to obey and trust Jesus instead of choosing to rebel and not trust.

Chapter six brings Paul’s closing remarks. His encouragement to help each other and to bear each other’s burdens. To walk TOGETHER in truth, holding each other up in Jesus (Ecclesiastes 4:12). What we sow, we will reap. That is the system God set up from the beginning (Genesis 8:22). It works in the material world and it works in the spiritual world. It is a law of existence. Paul wrote a LONG letter to the Galatians by hand (instead of through scribes) because this was a very personal letter. His heart for these people HURT. He closes by encouraging them to boast ONLY in Jesus, to TRUST only in Jesus, and to proclaim only His GRACE.

“Because of this I also, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” (Ephesians 1:15-23

Ephesians was written in Rome around 60-62 AD. It was delivered by Tychiucus and it is one of the most spiritual letters in the New Covenant. It points to our place in Jesus. It points to the nature and need for unity in believers in Jesus (Jew and Gentile). It points to the spiritual warfare of our minds and our need to rely on the equipment Jesus made available to us when fighting it. It encourages maturity in Jesus and the best practise of defending our trust in Jesus by the works of Jesus. The first three chapters are instruction about who God is and how we relate to Him. The rest of the letter is full of practical ways to live according to God’s moral character. One of the focuses this reveals is that we are ALL fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God – Jew and Gentile – regardless of our physical location on Earth.

Chapter one emphasizes our place in Jesus. Because we are IN HIM, we already have all the spiritual blessings that Jesus enjoys. We were chosen by Him, baptized in His love, and seated WITH HIM in heaven. He is the head and we are the body, therefore we are always with Him spiritually. This is the SAME mystery that Jesus expounded to Nicodemus when He pointed out that He was on Earth at the same time that He was in heaven (John 3:13). It is IN Jesus and THROUGH Jesus that we have our inheritance from the Father. This is Paul’s prayer for them (and us). That we will listen to Holy Spirit and get the revelation of who we are in Jesus and what is available to us in and through Him.

Chapter two examines and explains two principles. First, we are DEAD in Jesus. That means that our ‘old man’ isn’t making us do ANYTHING. If we learn that we are ALIVE in Jesus as NEW creations, we will understand that we are DEAD in Jesus as OLD creations. Broken thinking can be renewed (Romans 12:2). We can let go off all the stuff we were once subject to when we realise that the person they were attached to is DEAD. Everything is cut off in death. The second principle is where that dying leaves us. We are ALIVE IN JESUS – that means we are one and the same as Jesus (Galatians 2:20). That is true for EVERYONE who believes in Jesus. So we are the SAME as the Jew. We are the SAME as all the other believers. We don’t have to strife with each other, using denominations to beat each other up. We are ONE IN JESUS. He is our peace. We are fellow-citizens. Our foundations are the same. Our promises are the same. If we are dead to who we were, we are TOGETHER alive in Jesus.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, Paul

Key Verse(s): Galatians 5:16-18; 6:7-10; Ephesians 1:15-22; 2:11-22