Central Gathering -- June 7, WELCOME TO

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1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

6 …just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Gen 15:6) 7 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.” (Gen 12:3) 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. G ALATIANS 3:6-9 (ESV)

10 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.” (Deut 27:26) 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Hab 2:4) 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” (Lev 18:5) 13 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”— (Deut 21:23) 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. G ALATIANS 3:10-14 (ESV)

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Rom 12:2a Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…

It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Joel 2:28-29, 32a “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the L ORD shall be saved… (See Acts 2:17-21)

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) More on the New Covenant—Jeremiah 31:31-34 (See Heb 10:15-16); Ezekial 36:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

3 Are you so foolish? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Eph 1:13, 14 NLT 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Acts 1:8a But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Heb 12:2a …looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Heb 12:2a …looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) More on the Indwelling Holy Spirit—1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16 (See also Lev 26:12); 2 Tim 1:14; Acts 6:5a; Eph 5:18; Rom 8:9-11

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Gal 5:14, For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (See also Rom 13:8-10) Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal 5:14, For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (See also Rom 13:8-10) Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) 2 Cor 5: For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) 1 Cor 9: For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV) Acts 15: For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

Eph 3: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. W HAT P AUL PRAYS FOR BELIEVERS

4 Did you suffer (experience) so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer (experience) so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— G ALATIANS 3:1-5 (ESV)

6 …just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Gen 15:6) 7 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.” (Gen 12:3) 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. G ALATIANS 3:6-9 (ESV)

6 …just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Gen 15:6) 7 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.” (Gen 12:3) 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. G ALATIANS 3:6-9 (ESV) “If they appeal to centuries of tradition and the proud history of the law and covenant of Moses, he will appeal to the tradition of the even grander ‘covenant with Abraham’, older by centuries still.” –R. Alan Cole, Galatians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) “If they appeal to centuries of tradition and the proud history of the law and covenant of Moses, he will appeal to the tradition of the even grander ‘covenant with Abraham’, older by centuries still.” –R. Alan Cole, Galatians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries)

10 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.” (Deut 27:26) 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Hab 2:4) 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” (Lev 18:5) 13 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”— (Deut 21:23) 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. G ALATIANS 3:10-14 (ESV)

…by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” Gal 3:13b

1. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law… 2. so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles… 3. so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith Gal 3:13, 14

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God… Gal 2:20b

Don’t be a fool! Live the Supernatural Life.

He helps you to relate personally to God (Rom 8:15, 16). He makes the Bible come alive (1 Cor 2:12; 1 Jn 2:27). He sensitizes your conscience (Eph 4:30, 31). He gives you a special bond with other Christians (Phil 2:1). He gives you the desire to defend Jesus and share your faith (Acts 1:8). He delivers you from destructive habits (Gal 5:16). He prompts you to love people in specific ways (Acts 8:26-38). He gives you peace and hope in spite of difficult circumstances (Rom 15:13). T HE S PIRIT IS OUR H ELPER.