Digging Deeper: Galatians 3:1-14
Day 1: The Holy Spirit is our power!
The Holy Spirit is indispensable in the life of a believer. This is a powerful truth that every Christ Follower needs to be taught and reminded of. When we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, we receive the promised Holy Spirit. Many people refer to this as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit because of the language in 1 Corinthians 12:13.
1 Corinthians 12:13- For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the one true mark of someone being saved by Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, and is the power of God that resides in us. The Holy Spirit is actively involved, empowering, convicting, teaching, and guiding us as Christ Followers in our daily walk with Christ. While we receive the Holy Spirit at Salvation, we are called to be filled (continually) and walk in the Spirit.
Consider the Following Verses:
Romans 8:9- You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Ephesians 1:13- In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 2:18- For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Reflection:
Ask God to make you more aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. Pray for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, for sensitivity to His guidance, and for the strength to respond in obedience.
What is one specific way you can acknowledge and rely on the Holy Spirit's guidance in your decisions today?
Day 2: Long Jumping Over The Grand Canyon
We no longer live under the law, we are redeemed in Christ Jesus.
In the Old Testament, God entered in a Covenant with the nation of Israel. As part of that Covenantal relationship, God called His people to live set apart, for His glory. In Exodus 20, God gave the 10 Commandments to the nation of Israel through Moses.
God who is good, gave His people good laws to live by. The reason we cannot keep the laws, is because we are people who are in need of a Savior. That was actually one of the reasons God gave His people the law, to reveal the true conditions of our hearts, and to help us see our need for a Savior.
Because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, faith is not about adhering strictly to laws but about embracing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The questions is how are we made right with God? The only answer is in Christ Alone, by grace, through faith.
Trying to prove our righteousness to God is like attempting to jump across the Grand Canyon. No one is making it all the way across. So even the longest jumper, is falling to their demise. This is why Paul says living under the law is a curse, because no one can achieve salvation through personal efforts under the law.
Galatians 3:10-12 (ESV) For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”
Reflection:
Reflect on an area of your life where you might be relying more on religious rules than on your relationship with God. How can you shift your focus to faith in Christ in this area?
How does knowing you are fully loved by God in Christ, motivate you to live for God’s glory today?
Day 3: We live by faith.
One of the big questions Paul asks in Galatians 3, is “how do we receive the blessings of Abraham?”. Remember, the blessing promised is more than just the Promised Land. It is the reversal of the sin and brokenness that enters the world in Genesis 3.
The blessing of Abraham is the promise that a Savior is coming who will make all things new, restore what was broken, and make a way for us to live a life marked by the Shalom peace of God forever. The blessing of Abraham is found and received by faith in Christ alone.
At Redemption, we like to say faith is confidence that Jesus is who He said He is and will keep every promise that He has made to us in scripture.
As Christ followers, we are called the live by faith. We do this by living in agreement with Jesus. By walking in joyful obedience to His word, and believing that He is who He says is, and everything He has said and promised is true. This effects everything we do!
Galatians 3:7-9 - Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Reflection:
Read Genesis 12:1-9 and Genesis 15:1-21. How did Abraham have faith in God?
Paul says that “those of faith are sons of Abraham”. How can you walk by faith today? Are there any area of your life that are currently out of alignment with God’s words or promises?
Day 4: I am Redeemed!
Galatians 3:13-14- Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The word Redeemed is a gritty word. It comes from a time when a person could enter the marketplace and purchase a person who was enslaved or had so much unpaid debt that they entered into indentured servitude. “Redeemed” does not just mean to purchase, it means to purchase and set free.
This is what Paul is saying in Galatians 3:13-14. Christ has redeemed us. He entered the marketplace and saved people like you and me, slaves to Satan, Sin, and Death and he purchases us out of slavery, so that we could have freedom and life. He purchased us, so that we could received the blessing of Abraham and be filled with the Holy Spirit!
The price Jesus paid, was his life. When Paul says Jesus became a curse for us, he is referring to Deuteronomy 21:23, and Jesus dying in our place for our sin on the cross. He was cursed, so that we could be set free! Praise God for his love and saving grace.
Because of Jesus you are fully loved, fully accepted, fully forgiven, and a fully adopted son or daughter filled with the Holy Spirit. You can never be more loved by God than you already are in Christ Jesus.
Reflection:
What do you think the relationship is between being redeemed and receiving the promised Holy Spirit?
In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul uses the language of Redemption when he says, “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” How does knowing that Jesus purchased us out of eternal slavery, motivate you to worship Jesus and walk in obedience to Jesus?
Day 5: The Power To Endure Suffering
In Galatians 3:4, Paul reminds the church of Galatia of their former suffering for the Gospel of Jesus. He asks then, “Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?”.
It seems as though Paul is reminding them of the truth they used to believe, and the way the suffered for the good news of the Gospel. I find this question interesting, because it as though Paul is saying that God uses moments or seasons of suffering to produce something good in us.
Suffering and trials, while challenging, are not calls to self-reliance but to a deeper dependence on Christ's sufficiency. These difficult moments are opportunities to strengthen our faith and deepen our reliance on the Holy Spirit's power within us. Have you ever considered that through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in you, you have the power to endure suffering?
Here is what is so interesting, our trials are used by God to deepen our faith. Because of Jesus, we as believers can face challenges not with despair but with the assurance of God's purpose and provision in our lives. This perspective helps maintain a focus on depending on the Holy Spirit, and walking by faith, rather than relying on our personal strength.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (ESV)
"For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."
Reflection:
How has God used your suffering in the past to grow your faith and deepen your dependance on the Holy Spirit?
How can your current struggles be viewed as opportunities to deepen your reliance on God rather than on your own strength?
Bring your current trials and sufferings before God, and ask for the faith to see them as opportunities to depend more fully on Him. Pray people you know who are suffering, that they may not lose heart but would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Ask God to use their trials for growth in faith and character, and for His glory.