Calvary Chapel Wenatchee
Sunday Service - Galatians 3 pt.1
  • Meet With Me
  • I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord
  • I'll Fly Away
  • God With Us
  • Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
  • Hallelujah Jesus
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Because He Lives
  • Last week:
    Paul gave us two stories, the first where what he was preaching was approved by the big guys in Jerusalem
    The second story was how Paul had to correct Peter and the Jewish believers for their treatment of the Gentiles
    Paul makes clear that the gospel is lived by faith, not by the Law
    Today:
    Paul begins by re-establishing grace, and makes a contrast between the Law and faith.
    Illustration:
    For 24 hours Tom Garrett of Los Angeles and his family were held prisoners in their apartment by two escapees from the San Luis Obispo County Jail. A few days later when Garrett, who is an unemployed aircraft worker, went to the State Employment Service Office to pick up his weekly $40 unemployment insurance check, he was told that he was held prisoner—he couldn’t have accepted a job if one had been available. And the law specifies that an unemployed worker must be available for work “every day of a normal work week.” When Governor Goodwin Knight heard the story, he sent Garrett his personal check for $40, commenting: “The law is very strict on that point.”
    Isn’t that the Law… no give, all take. But this is the same thing that Paul is getting at with the Galatians, that the Law cannot bring satisfaction that we so desperatley need… only faith in Christ
    Foolish Galatians (V.1-4)
    V.1
    O: You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
    I: The Galatians have become foolish, they have been disturbed from the essence of the gospel, the finished work of Jesus Christ
    A: The Galatians got distracted, they turned from the truth for something that isn’t even the gospel. It is a stark reminder for us… don’t get disturbed by following the Law.
    V.2
    O: This is the only thing I want to find out from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
    I: Paul presents the one question that should tear down the attempts of the Galatians being distrubed… How did you receive the Spirit?
    A: Paul changes the focus here… from justification by faith, to now, receiving the Holy Spirit
    How have you received the Holy Spirit??
    Is it because you did things so well, that you now are worthy of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you?
    Here is what Paul says in Ephesians 1:13-14
    Ephesians 1:13–14 NASB95
    13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
    When did you receive the Holy Spirit?? Answer: when you believed
    Why did you receive the Holy Spirit?? Answer: because you believed
    What does this mean for us?
    Not only are you justified, or declared righteous, because you believe, but you have also received the Holy Spirit because you believe.
    This means that all the benefits of the Holy Spirit are yours in abundance, not because you have performed any work of the Law, but because you have believed.
    V.3
    O: Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
    I: This is a great question: Are you completing things in your own work that the Spirit Himself had originally started?
    A: This question is very provocative!! It is very offensive to the core of who we are, even to us Christians now.
    What was started by God, is it our responsibility to see that work through??
    Think of what Paul says in Philippians 1:6
    Philippians 1:6 NASB95
    6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
    Who is perfecting? Who is completing? You or the Lord?
    We want to think that what the Lord has begun, I got it from here. I now have to do all these things so that the Spirit of God will work through me.
    But this is a distortion of the gospel.
    V.4
    O: Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?
    I: Was what you have been through all for nothing?
    A: What does Paul mean here?
    How do we suffer, or experience things in vain?
    I always think of Romans 8:28
    Romans 8:28 NASB95
    28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
    What does it mean by “all things?”
    It means everything: the good, the bad, the ugly, the victories, the defeats, the things in light, the things in darkness, the things that build up and equip, the things that tear down and destroy… it means all things.
    That we would know that through all of this, all we experience, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. He hasn’t started this work in our lives just to be stopped by something that either happened to us, or something that we ourselves did to our shame. Everything we suffer, whether of our own short comings or not, are not in vain, but used for our good according to His purpose.
    Spirit of Faith (V.5-9)
    V.5
    O: So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
    I: Are the miracles that God does based on our performance, or by hearing with faith?
    A: I like how David Guzik says this:
    Galatians 4. Paul Asks Them to Examine the Source of the Spirit’s Work (5)

    Miracles are wrought by faith. Yet the Galatians were deceived into thinking that real spiritual riches lay in pursuing God through a works relationship

    This is it… how are miracles done?? Is it by channeling something within ourselves to conjure up some powerful work?
    Or is it that we simply believe in the One who has all power and authority? We take Him at His word
    How do you receive spiritual gifts? By dancing in the aisles or repeating a bunch of nonsense? Maybe its by just trying to believe harder?
    NO, it’s by believing in the One.
    V.6
    O: Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
    I: Abraham believed God and was found righteous because of it
    A: Just like Abraham, we need to find our righteousness in simply believing
    V.7
    O: Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham
    I: make sure that the sons of Abraham are by faith, not by works of the Law
    A: (Put your application here)
    V.8
    O: The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All nations will be blessed in you.”
    I: The gospel was declared in the promise to Abraham, and the Gentiles will be brought in by their faith!!
    A: What a wonderful reality that we live in… that we have been brought in because of faith.
    Paul is quoting from Genesis 12:1-3
    Genesis 12:1–3 NASB95
    1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
    V.9
    O: So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
    I: When we believe in Christ, we are blessed as Abraham was
    A: How do we enter into this blessing… by believing!!
    This is the gospel, that was preached through Abraham, that we would believe upon the name of Jesus Christ. And by this, have life eternal!!
    And not only that, but the promise of the Holy Spirit
    Futility of the Law (V.10-14)
    V.10
    O: For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.
    I: Scripture testifies that those who are under the Law live under a curse, that they must live by all things written in the Law
    A: Thats the curse of living by works, that they can never satisfy. It must always be continued, good isn’t good enough, only perfection.
    V.11
    O: Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
    I: One thing is clear, no one will be justified by the works of the Law, only faith brings righteousness
    A: Perfectly described in Hebrews 11:6
    Hebrews 11:6 NASB95
    6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
    V.12
    O: However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”
    I: The Law does not equal faith, those who work at the Law shall always live by that, the requirements that come by it.
    A: When we put ourselves under the Law, under rules and regulations, we must always follow it.
    V.13
    O: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”-
    I: It was this curse that Jesus took upon Himself on the cross, so we could be redeemed from the Law and its works.
    A: (Put your application here)
    V.14
    O: in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith
    I: That Jesus became a curse for the blessing to come to the Gentiles, and that we too would receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
    A: Jesus became the curse so we could be blessed!!!
    That is love, that is grace
    John 3:16 NASB95
    16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
    The promise of the Holy Spirit:
    Joel 2:28–29 NASB95
    28 “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
    Isaiah 44:3 NASB95
    3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;
    Ezekiel 11:19–20 NASB95
    19 “And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.
    Ezekiel 36:26–27 NASB95
    26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
    Ezekiel 37:14 NASB95
    14 “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’ ”
    John 14:16–17 NASB95
    16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
    Romans 8:9–11 NASB95
    9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
    1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB95
    16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
    1 John 3:24 NASB95
    24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
    1 John 4:13 NASB95
    13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
    Conclusion:
    You haven’t received the Spirit because you did something so great, but because you believe. And you are no longer under the curse, but of a blessing that is in Christ Jesus.
    Don’t become foolish, don’t try to establish a life of works, don’t live as unto the Law. The blessing is in faith, in trust, in belief in the One who is able to save, Who has already done all the work so you will be blessed and justified by faith in Him.

      • Ephesians 1:13–14NASB95

      • Philippians 1:6NASB95

      • Romans 8:28NASB95

      • Genesis 12:1–3NASB95

      • Hebrews 11:6NASB95

      • John 3:16NASB95

      • Joel 2:28–29NASB95

      • Isaiah 44:3NASB95

      • Ezekiel 11:19–20NASB95

      • Ezekiel 36:26–27NASB95

      • Ezekiel 37:14NASB95

      • John 14:16–17NASB95

      • Romans 8:9–11NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 3:16NASB95

      • 1 John 3:24NASB95

      • 1 John 4:13NASB95

Calvary Chapel Wenatchee
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