Galatians Bible study

Galatians 3:1-5 a pure gospel Prayer. Review. Our text. In verses 2 & 3 we have the Galatian zeitgeist. This is the prompting of the book. The tempo of the letter is set here in verse 1. “…that you should not obey the truth…” This means it was no light issue. There are light and there are heavy issues in the Christian religion. Justification was dealt with in its time in history.

Seven Major Ecumenical Councils A.D. Focus 1 Nicaea 325 Fought Arianism. That Jesus is “homoousios” with the Father. 2 Constantinople 381 Nailed the coffin in Arianism. The Deity of Jesus. Taught the Deity of the Holy Spirit. 3 Ephesus 431 Theotokos. How Jesus is the eternal Word and yet also a man. 4 Chalcedon 451 Two natures in Christ. Human and Deity. 5 Constantinople 2 553 The person of Christ. Various other heresies. Sought to finalize things from Chalcedon. 6 Constantinople 3 680-681 Two wills in Jesus. Divine and human. 7 Nicaea 2 787 Iconoclastic controversy. Types of worship. Later Issues The Protestant Reformation 1517 A gracious salvation. Justification. Together For The Gospel 1996 Unity on essential elements of the faith.

The faith is not yours. The effect is to Look outside you.

Vs. 1. “Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.” The New Testament gives power to the Christian, right? Power to fulfill the law, power to worship, power over death, power over satan, etc… OK, why? Question: Do you think your faith would be stronger if Jesus was visibly present with you today? What does the death of God mean to salvation? John 16:7, 12-13: “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” Something big was about to happen. Jesus was crucified.

Hebrews 9:11-12, 15- But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16-17- For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. (It is to your advantage that I go away…) For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 24-28, Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often…but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. The point is that He shares what He has earned with us.

VV 2-3. Question: Have you received the Spirit? In vs. 2 When Paul asks them about how they, “Receive(d) the Spirit…” Do you think they wondered what he meant? Have you received the Spirit? How can we know?

Would your friends say of you that Jesus is most precious to you? Walk like you talk Orthodoxy Who is God? How are you saved? Orthopraxy Love your spouse? Would your friends say of you that Jesus is most precious to you? 1 John 4:12-13, 17- “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

Vs. 3 If you began by faith do you honestly think you will finish by works? Notice the juxtaposition in Paul’s writing between flesh and Spirit. Flesh = works; Spirit = Gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation…in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17.

Vs. 4 Suffering here likely means the persecution. Jesus promises trials, tribulations and persecutions on account of faith. “If indeed it was in vain.” Jesus knew the heart, but even the Apostles can only see the fruit. The proof of one’s salvation is endurance. If they had departed from the faith into legalism and works then they would show they were not of the faith. Scripture as a whole then would show that they were never of the faith. 1 John 2:19- “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” Matthew 7:21-23- “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

Happy Bible students Vs. 5 The hearing of faith is enough in any church. The hearing of faith is not in-active! Again the contrast is here between works & faith. This should teach us all the divide between our works and our faith as well. If we do we’ll be Happy Bible students