Detailed Notes from Galatians WEEK #4

Began with a wrap up of Galatians 3 (IDENTITY: Righteous v. Cursed)

Christ Fulfills both the Promise and the Lawà Read 3:15-29

·      KEY VERSES (18, 21-22 and 28-29)

·      The law cannot change the promise.

o   God made the covenant with Abraham, not the other way around.

o   A law given 100’s of years later cannot change the covenant made by other parties.

·      The law is not greater than the promise.

o   Galatians 2:21 à I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

o   The covenant was not conditional nor temporary. Whereas, the law surely was.

o   The covenant was personal. The law required mediators.

·      The law is not contrary to the promise.

o   Rather the law cooperates with the promise to fulfill the purposes of God.

o   The use of the law is to reveal sin and cause men to see their need of a Savior.

o   The misuse of the law is to try to achieve salvation by keeping it.

·      The law cannot do what the promise can do.

o   Although there was glory to the law, there was a greater glory in the gracious salvation of God found in Jesus.

o   If we are “in Christ” by faith, then we too are “Abraham’s seed.”

o   Your Christian life ought to take on new wonder and meaning as you realize all that you have in Jesus.

·      (The Message) Hebrews 6:13-18 à When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

·      18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Parallel Passages: Romans 4

Galatians 4

THE PROMISE: Kids v. Orphans

(Be Free) “One of the tragedies of legalism is that it gives the appearance of spiritual maturity when, in reality, it leads the believer back into a “second childhood” of Christian experience. The Galatian Christians, like most believers, wanted to grow and go forward in Christ, but they were going about it in the wrong way. Their experience is not too different from that of Christians today who get involved in various legalistic movements, hoping to become better Christians. Their motives may be right, but their methods are wrong. This is the truth Paul was trying to get across to his beloved converts in Galatia. The Judaizers had bewitched them into thinking that the law would make them better Christians. Their old nature felt an attraction for the law because the law enabled them to do things and measure external results. As they measured themselves and their achievements, they felt a sense of accomplishment and no doubt, a little bit of pride. They thought they were going forward, when actually they were regressing.”

Sonship

·      Galatians 3:29

·      Read 4:1-7

·      (KEY) 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

·      John 1 “11 He came to His own, and his own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

·      Romans 8 “14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

·      Sons and slaves

o   The son has the same nature as the father, but the servant does not.

o   The son has a father, while the servant has a master.

o   The son obeys out of love, while the servant obeys out of fear.

o   The son is rich, while the servant is poor.

o   The son has a future, while the servant does not.

Paul’s Concern

·      Read 4:8-20

·      Remember Paul is building his argument against law-righteousness and anguishinging that they are not freely receiving God’s gracious gifts.

·      Ephesians 3 “4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

Children of Promise

·      Read 4:21-31

·      Story of Sara and Hagar

OLD COVENANT	NEW COVENANT
Law	Grace
Hagar the slave	Sarah the free-woman
Flesh	Spirit
Ishmael, conceived after the flesh	Isaac, conceived miraculously
Earthly Jerusalem in bondage	Heavenly Jerusalem in freedom

·      KEY VERSES

o   4:23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

o   4:28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

·      Isaac parallels the believer

o   He was born by God’s power.

o   He brought joy.

o   He grew and was weaned.

o   He was persecuted (by Ishmael).

·      Hagar parallels the law

o   She was Abraham’s second wife.

o   She was a slave.

o   She was not meant to bear a child.

o   She gave birth to a slave.

o   She was cast out.

o   She was not married again (God never gave the law again).

·      Removing the “orphan spirit.”

·      (Mirror) 4:31 “Realize whose children we are my brothers: we are not sons of the slave-mother, the law, but sons of the free-mother; we are sons of grace!”

ORPHAN		SONS
See God as Master	IMAGE OF GOD	See God as a loving Father
Independent / Self-reliant	DEPENDENCY	Interdependent / Acknowledges Need
Live by the Love of Law	THEOLOGY	Live by the Law of Love
Insecure / Lack peace	SECURITY	Rest and Peace
Strive for the praise, approval, and acceptance of man	NEED FOR APPROVAL	Totally accepted in God’s love and justified by grace
A need for personal achievement as you seek to impress God and others, or no motivation to serve at all	MOTIVE FOR SERVICE	Service that is motivated by a deep gratitude for being unconditionally loved and accepted by God
Duty and earning God’s favor or no motivation at all	MOTIVE BEHIND CHRISTIAN DISCIPLINES	Pleasure and delight
“Must” be holy to have God’s favor, thus increasing a sense of shame and guilt	MOTIVE FOR PURITY	“Want to” be holy; do not want anything to hinder intimate relationship with God
Self-rejection from comparing yourself to others	SELF-IMAGE	Positive and affirmed because you know you have such value to God
Seek comfort in counterfeit affections: addictions, compulsions, escapism, busyness, hyper-religious activity	SOURCE OF COMFORT	Seek times of quietness and solitude to rest in the Father’s presence and love
Competition, rivalry, and jealousy toward others’ success and position	PEER RELATIONSHIPS	Humility and unity as you value others and are able to rejoice in their blessings and success
Accusation and exposure in order to make yourself look good by making others look bad	HANDLING OTHERS’ FAULTS	Love covers as you seek to restore others in a spirit of love and gentleness
See authority as a source of pain; distrustful toward them and lack a heart attitude of submission	VIEW OF AUTHORITY	Respectful, honoring; you see them as ministers of God for good in your life
Difficulty receiving admonition; you must be right so you easily get your feelings hurt and close your spirit to discipline	VIEW OF ADMONITION	See the receiving of admonition as a blessing and need in your life so that your faults and weaknesses are exposed and put to death
Guarded and conditional; based upon others’ performance as you seek to get your own needs met	EXPRESSION OF LOVE	Open, patient, and affectionate as you lay your life and agendas down in order to meet the needs of others
Conditional & Distant	SENSE OF GOD’S PRESENSE	Close & Intimate
Bondage	CONDITION	Liberty
Feel like a Servant/Slave	POSITION	Feel like a Son/Daughter
Spiritual ambition; the earnest desire for some spiritual achievement and distinction and the willingness to strive for it; a desire to be seen and counted among the mature.	VISION	To daily experience the Father’s unconditional love and acceptance and then be sent as a representative of His love to family and others.
Fight for what you can get!	FUTURE	Sonship releases your inheritance!

Jack and Trisha Frost - Shiloh Place Ministries - www.shilohplace.org