The fruit of the Spirit is...longsuffering

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. – Galatians 5.22-25

I don’t do patience very well. I don’t wait very well, I certainly don’t like the idea of longsuffering. I, like most people, want what I want and I want it now. I want to be at the front of the queue. I don’t like being put on hold.

That’s fine and we just have too get used it. What is really hard is to wait on God when He doesn’t take care of things according to my schedule. We get tired of being under pressure and it can seem like we just can’t buy a break.

That is when we get the sense of this word for patience – long suffering. It means bearing up under pressure. It is not like that waiting in a queue that I hate. It is much more than that. It is when our lives are a constant pressure that seems to squeeze the life out of and the kind of darkness that we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is especially  for our brethren in Christ who suffer real threats to their lives day another day for their faith in Christ. How many of them must cry out in the sleep ‘when will this sever end?’

That’s when our long-suffering is really tried. That’s when we must depend on the Holy Spirit to help us bear this fruit. It is also one of those times where people watch us to see how people who say they trust God do when the pressure is on.

I have to stop and check myself here. Dos this fruit of the spirit show this evidence by life? We are told that we are known by our fruit. Does my ability to ‘bear up under pressure’ reveal my faith?

Lord, help me reflect this spirit on long-suffering in my life that I might better reflect You.

The fruit of the spirit is...peace

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. – Galatians 5.22-25

People are always looking for peace. We are looking for peace in this troubled world. We all like a peaceful home. Most of all though we want peace on our hearts.

I’ve got a peace in my heart that the world never giveth and a peace it cannot take away.It’s an everlasting peace and I know it there to stay.

That’s how the song goes at least.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. Jesus said that when He left He would leave peace – not like the world’s peace.  Earthly, fleshy peace is fragile. It is easily broken.

Jesus’ peace though is totally different. The peace He left us is an inner peace that cannot be shaken by outer events. It is a deep abiding peace that God is it covered. It is a peace that is only possible through faith. It is a peace that we can’t stir up but that is given by the Spirit. We can only trust Him and appropriate His peace in our lives.

The fruit of the Spirit is...joy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. – Galatians 5.22-25

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart to stay.’

That’s a lovely kid’s song that we have sung with children for many years. It is a great goal, but how often does it ring true in our hearts?

We sing another song about how the joy of the Lord is our strength. It can really hard to find joy in this world. There is not a lot to be joyous about.

But this world is not the source of joy. Sure, the world can bring a measure of happiness. The world can bring laughter and mirth and fun. That deep settled joy that caries us though is a whole different matter. Happiness is contingent on circumstances. Joy is based on something much deeper. True joy is based on faith to get us through every circumstance.

Do people see the joy of the Lord in my life, or do that see a tragic ‘woe is me’ kind of faith. Only the joy of the Lord will draw them to Christ.

The fruit of the Spirit is...love

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. – Galatians 5.22-25

I don’t know if word order means much in Greek. Either way it is interesting that in the fruit of the Spirit love comes first. I think possibly it could be first when we read things like ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and might and love your neighbour as yourself’ and let your love be without hypocrisy’ and ‘the greatest of these is love’ and ‘do everything in love.’

The clearest  manifestation of or faith should be love. Love is what sets us apart. Love is the opposite of all the works of the flesh which are based only on self-love.

A lock of love is all around us. We live in a hard, cruel, vicious world where love is at premium. If we love we are going to make a difference in a love-less world. People are always going to notice love and love is the one thing they can never argue against.

True love is God’s love. It is the love that is going to make a difference in us and to those around us. Love is fruit that Spirit led people bear. It is the fruit that makes the difference.

Works of the flesh or fruit of the Spirit

 – Galatians 5.19-25

This passage draw the dramatic difference between a life of the works of the flesh and a life showing the fruit of the Spirit.

Even the English words sound dramatically different.  Fornication, adultery, uncleanness, lewdness, wrath, dissension, etc and etc on the one hand and love, joy, peace, gentleness, and goodness on the other. The contrast is clear, and we need to ask ourselves which list we want to describe our lives? Which list best describes my life?

The first list certainly describes the world doesn’t it? Everything is dirty and ugly and vile. That is all the flesh can produce. That’s why the world acts the way it does. It acts the flesh leads and we should be surprised when broken people live like they are in a broken world.

Then we have the fruit of the Spirit. What the Spirit produces could not be more different than what the world produces. They are things that the flesh simply can’t do. People can love and comfort and find a measure of joy and peace but nothing can do those things like the Holy Spirit. He is the personification of those traits.

The works of the flesh or the fruit of Spirit? The choice is clear.

Walk in the Spirit

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. – Galatians 5.16-17

The Bible talks a lot about our walk. We are told to walk in love, to walk as as children of light, to walk circumspectly, and many other ways. The one that really sticks out though is one that summarises them all – walk in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit means we are walking under His control and direction, submitting to Him and letting Him fill us and produce His fruit in us. It is letting Him shine though us to the world around.

The flesh and the spirit always do battle with each other. That’s the reason we often find ourselves doing the things we don’t want and not doing the things we do want. The Spirit must be our guide – not our flesh. If we truly walk in the flesh we will not seek to please the flesh.

Lord, give me that spirit walk day by day.

Biting and devouring

But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! – Galatians 5.15

This whole legalising thing had the potential to destroy the church in Galatia. Paul knew he needed to get this sorted before it ripped the church apart.

The previous passage talked about loving each other. Here is just the opposite. Paul speaks of the incredible damage of fighting amongst ourselves.

Why does it seem at times that we just can’t really get along with each other?

It’s that rottten old flesh that still draws. It is pride and arrogance and demanding our own way. It is always have in to be right.

Love is the key. It is the only way to battle the biting and devouring flesh that will see us consuming each other. We both many think we are winning – but no one wins in the sceanario. It is like the photo I saw recenlty of two snakes baiting each other’s tails.

We live in a day of ugliness. Ugly actions and ugly speech are all around us. Sadly we can let that same ugliness creep into the church. If we forget that charge to love we all lose – it’s that simple.

Using our liberty

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” –  Galatians 5.13-14

We’ve been called to liberty. We have been freed from the Law. We are no longer in bondage to it. It is not our master.

That means we are free! There is a temptation there that since I am free I can just do whatever I want! A lot of folks take that route, especially those who have been in a system or a church that focused on externals and dos and don’ts. Many feel deprived or burnt by the experience and allow their pendulum to swing to far in the other direction and they allow their liberty to become licence without regard to their impact on others.

Praise God we are free from the constraints of legalism, but let’s remember our freedom is not about us – it is our chance to serve others out from the burden of focusing on the Law.

Staying in the race

You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. – Galatians 5.7-10

The birth of the Galatian church must have been exciting. Paul tells them here that they ‘ran well’ at the start. The began their Christian race fresh and fervent and hopeful and bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

But something happened, they were turned away by grace robbers who cheapen the work of Christ. That same kind of heresy still exists today.

What can we do to avoid that false doctrine, or any other false doctrine for that matter?

We get a hint in the book of Hebrews where the author talks about running that race. He says to lay aside all the extra weighs that hold us back. Then he says to run this pace with patience – and that think that is key here. We need to realise that runnng this race step by step, patiently and diligently. It is not a 100 metre dash and that is where we get into trouble.

We continue to ‘run well’ only one way – we keep our eyes in Jesus, the Originator and the Completer of our faith. He is our goal. No matter what comes along we must stay on course and not be turned away.

Faith working through love

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. – Galatians 5.6

I love this phrase. I’ve been saved for almost 45 years and I don’t think I have ever noticed this aspect of salvation before.

In Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision or, indeed, does anything. Works just cannot do. Dos don’t matter and don’ts don’t matter.

One work matters. That work is faith working through love. It is God’s work. We can love Him because He first loved us. His love moved Him to give His only begotten Son. God is love and He acts in love.

His love is not activated by our works. His love motivates us to work, but something comes first. Salvation is faith acting through His love for us. God loves His Son and sent His Son to die for us in love. In love He predestined those who put faith in Him to be adopted as His children.

Faith working through love – what a woderful truth.

Stand fast in your liberty

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  – Galatians 5.1

Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

That’s a pretty strong statement. It means that this is something worth fighting for. It is an area where we must take a firm stand.

Why does Paul take such a firm stand? Why is this such a big deal? Is this really a major issue?

It is. Because depending on our works cheapens and demeans Jesus work on the cross. It says that Jesus did not do enough when He allowed Himself to br taken as a sheep to the slaughter. It says He didn’t do enough being beaten and spat upon and having His beard plucked out. He says He didn’t do enough as He was nailed to the cross and hung in agony and shame.

It says none of that was enough. It says we are son important that we still have to do something.

Yes, when we are saved we are ordained to good works and to walk in them. As we are conformed to Christ we will do those good works.

But it cerainly does not mean we can add to His work. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.  Don't let anyone shake our faith in that.

Abba Father

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. – Galatians 4.6-7

I recently read a book called ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.’ In that the book the author begins with an account of his early life. All the way through the book he refers to his father as ‘Abba.’ It is very clearly a term of love and endearment. It is that special relationship between a child and ther dad.

Eventually this man came to the point where he also had a new Abba.

There are a lot of names used for God – but one of the most precious is that we are able to call Him our Dad. Imagine – a child of the world suddenly can call God ‘Daddy.’

That conjures up all sorts of beautiful imagery. You picture a son going to His dad when he needs someone to talk to. We see a dad putting his arm around his son in comfort and protection. My own dad has been dead since 1996 and I still miss him today. It’s that way, or the way it should be between father and son.

That’s the kind of relationship we can have with God now. The creator of the Universe is my dad. The perfect holy, righteous, all mighty God is my dad.

What a joy to walk in that light.

The fullness of time

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. – Galatians 4.4-5

When the fullness of time had come God sent forth his Son.

I love that phrase ‘fullness of time.’ God sent His Son when the timing was perfect. The world was ready. That part of the world lived under the Pax Romana where there was relative peace. The Romans had built extensive roads with police protection and a brilliant postal service. Travel was easy. The Greek language was the lingua franca of the region so there was a common language. The Jews had prepared the world for the coming of Messiah. Things were ripe for the spread of the gospel and birth of the church.

So now, with everything is readiness, God sent forth His Son to redeem those under the law. Messiah came as a Jew, through the Jews, to redeem all bound by the Law.

We know that that redemption was not only for those under the Law, but for all who, like Abraham, would believe God and trust Him instead of their own works.

God always works in the fullness of time. Often it is not our time – but His time is always the perfect time.

You have put on Christ

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3.27-29

If you are baptised into Christ you have put on Christ.

What does that mean in our everyday life? What does it mean to have put on Christ?

I think about it this way. I think about it being as simple as what we wear when we go out. It is how we present ourselves to the world around us. What do people see when they see me in this world. Do people see me as a typical man of this world? Do they see me as someone entangles in the affairs of this world. In this social media age what do they see of me on Facebook? When people see my page do they seen a reflection of me or of Christ.

Do people see me as different from the world? I need the world to see be dressed in Jesus’ righteousness and love and compassion and caring and humility. If I truly have put on Christ it is going to be clear in my life.

Heirs of promise

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3.27-29

We are called heirs of God according to His promises. That makes sense in a way. If we are His sons then it makes sense that we are heirs because sons are normally heirs.

We read that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We read that we have an inheritance that perfect and incorruptible that will ever fade away because it is preserved in heaven for us.

I just watched an episode of Little House on the Prarie when the Ingalls family receive word that they have inherited a great fortune. Slowly but surely then begin to make purchases based on the receiving the inheritance. At the end though it turns out that the uncle had wasted his fortune and the Ingalls are left in debt. The promised wealth fell through.

God’s inheritance is also based on promise. It is not just any promise. Most promises can be broken but this promise is special. The promise of inheritance is made by God who cannot lie.

Therefore we can rest in absolute assurance that our eternal inheritance is secure. If we trust God we never have to worry about our eternity or where we will be when we die. God has promised it to us.

That knowledge ought to give us great peace and great comfort here on earth. We always have something to look forward to and that we make all we have been through worthwhile.

Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Astounding.

No Jew nor Greek

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3.27-29

Our little church is made up of all kinds of folks. We are black and brown and white. We are from Ireland, the US, England, Angola, Romania, South Africa, Poland, the Philippines, Nigeria, Moldova, and I think that is all. You would think that it would be a place of great diversity. How can people from so many backgrounds in such a small church have anything in common?

It’s because we have the one thing in common that really matters. In Chist all those barriers are broken down. Nothing divides us – not race nnor colour nor nationality nor social status nor wealth or poverty, not any other thing makes a difference in the body of Christ, We find perfect unity in our diversity.

It’s not just our church. Its every member of the body of Christ all over the world. No matter where we go we can have family fellowship when we meet other believers.

None of us are better or worse than any other because of who we are or where we came from. We are all one as the body of Christ and cannot be divided any more than our body can.

Sons of God

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3.26

For you are all sons of God.

Wait, what did that say?

For YOU are all SONS OF GOD?!?!

How can that be. Born a son of sin and a son of the devil somehow I am transformed into a son of the prefect, eternal, holy, perfect God.

I want to say more about the concept of God being my Father later. For now I think it is amazing that not only Paul but John writes about this later.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Being a son of God is proof of His love. Because we are His children the world will never really understand us. It means that one day we will be like Him. It means that we will live pure lives. It means that we reflect His image to the world.

Our teacher

But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. – Galatians 3.23-25

I like to read anything about about teachers, or as the word here reads, schoolmaster. I love teaching with an absolute passion. I love the student/teacher relationship and what it means and how it works and how it plays out and how, if properly done, it lasts forever.

While we are in school we are under the authority of our teachers in their classrooms. A proper student/teacher relationship is more than just a classroom situation. The best relationships continue long beyond leaving the classroom.

Here Paul refers to the Law as a teacher. The Law’s purpose was to prove to the world the need of a Saviour. It is to teach us that no one can keep the Law perfectly and then we are told that if anyone breaks the Law even in the slightest point they are guilty of breaking the whole Law.

So the Law is to point us to the fact that we need some way to sort out this dilemma.

The Law was our teacher to show us to Christ. There is no doubt that reading the Law proves to us that none of us can keep it. Jesus came along and He told us that He was the one to fulfil it because no one else could. Jesus provided the way to deal with the sin problem exposed by the Law and when we trust in His the Law has done its job.

So does that mean that now we can just ignore the Law? No, the Law is good. As we respect and remember the teachings of our teachers so we remember and respect that Law for bringing us to Christ. We are not bound to obey it, but now it can help us in many ways to please God.

The Law showed us our need. We are saved by faith. We are not bound to please the grace robbers who tell us we must keep the Law, but we still need to keep in mind the goodness that the Law did in showing us our need.

One seed

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. – Galatians 3.16

When God spoke to Abraham about what He would do he spoke of things like ‘in you shall all the nations of the world be blessed’ and 'your descendants will be like the sands on the sea shore and as the stars in the sky.’ As time went by Israel began to think that that promise referred to the nation of Israel alone.

The one seed though refers to all those who are Abraham’s spiritual seed. His physical seed are indeed Israel. Of that there is no doubt, but it is spiritual seed that really matters for eternity.

Abraham did not know the full extent of what he did when he believed God, but he setting that pattern of salvation for all time. God doesn’t have a whole variety of descendants. We has produced one line and it is only those who have believed God like Abraham did.

Cursed for me

Christ has 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”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. – Galatians 3.13-14

We were all under the curse of the Law. The curse of the Law was that if you break even one point you are guilty of all of the Law. There was no way around the curse – because everyone does that.

So Jesus became a curse in our place when He was on the cross. That’s really an incomprehensible thought. How could God Himself become a curse on our stead?

Jesus did that by becoming a man and taking on the form of a servant. Every time I read this passage I am blown away that Chris became a man. He clothed Hiself as a servant. He became sin in my place. He took on my curse. And He did it all because He loved me. The Bible says ‘cursed in anyone who hangs on a tree.’ Jesus was that man – the one who hung on the cross.

He became cursed for me. Why, if I could earn my own salvation?

Abraham believed God

Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. – Galatians 3.5-9

So what is our relationship to Abraham? To the Jews of course he was the founder and father of their faith. He was the first Jew and because of that the Jews are sometimes called the children of Abraham.

Abraham was justified by faith – and the scriptures say that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. So all those who have lived, are living, or will live by faith are blessed through what Abraham did.

No man could become righteous on his own. Abraham believed God and he was accounted righteous. Now, all who have believed God are accounted just as righteous as he was. His pattern of faith was the pattern that would be known to the whole world. All the blessings of eternity that we have today started with ‘Abraham believed God.’

O foolish Galatians

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? – Galatians 3.1-3

‘O foolish Galatians’ Paul said. Paul had quite a way of putting things sometimes. You can sense his frustration with them here. He could hardly believe that they could be sucked back into the Law with all its dos and don’ts. They were bewitched into thinking that though they were saved by grace they had to obey the Law.

How does that happen? Why in the world would people be drawn to a system of rules and regulations when they were living in liberty?

It is indeed foolish, but I have learned, for some reason, that a lot of people love to have it all laid out for them. ‘Just tell me what to do’ seems to be their attitude. That way it’s easy. I can tick off my ticklist and got to bed happy that I have done what I am supposed to do.

But is that really how we want to live our lives? Do we really want to live man’s a regimen designed by man to make men happy?

In Christ we are free from all of that – but God’s standard is even more live changing. Instead of trying to just meet a bunch of standards we live in a way that will honour and glorify God. If we are striving to be imitators of Christ it will do far more good than keeping that list of rules. We can’t just tick those boxes. Our goal is much higher. Is is something we must strive for every day and we can never be content that we have done enough.

Don’t be tied down by men’s rules. Let Christ work in our lives.

Then Christ died in vain

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” –   
 Galatians 2.21

Works or no works is really a big deal. Paul has spent the first two chapters in this letter by telling us that works cannot save us and works cannot keep us saved.

Why though is this so important? Why is it worth all this time and effort and ink and papyrus? Why is it such a heinous error.

Paul puts it pretty clearly. This is such a terrible error because it cheapens Jesus’ sacrifice. If we could do anything to save ourselves or to keep ourselves saved then Jesus died for nothing. His death was a waste of time. If we could save ourselves why did He die? All of the coming to earth and suffering and betrayal, but especially the brutal death on the cross was a vain action.

But we couldn’t save ourselves. We can’t keep ourselves saved because every single one of us would fall short of God’s standard of perfection. Only Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice.

May we never mock His death by thinking we could do what only He could do. He didn’t die in vain – He died to pay for our sin.

Christ in me

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” 
– Galatians 2.20-21

So I am crucifed with Christ. The hold on me is dead. If I am dead, how do I live?

Christ lives in me now. He has taken my place. I am empowered by Him to live a new life. Instead of Roger being on the throne of my heart Jesus sits on that throne and He rules. If Jesus truly lives in me then my new life reflects Him and His glory.

Christ in me is my hope of glory. Christ is me changes everything.

There is an ancient prayer usually attributed to Patrick of Ireland. I don’t where it came from or if Patrick had anything to do with it but it really summarises what ‘Christ lives in me’ means.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Does that sound anything like what role Christ plays in our lives?

The only way that the world is going to see Christ is through you and me and Christ in us.

Die to self

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” – Galatians 2.20-21

‘I am crucified with Christ.’ What a powerful statement that is. Paul knew what he was saying because he uses the same picture when we writes to the Romans. Those who have been saved have indeed been crucifed to their old lives through Christ. The old man is dead and a new man lives in us.

This reminds us that the old man has no more power over us. Now, the new man has a choice – follow the flesh or follow the Spirit.

I am crucified with Christ.  A dead man does not insist on getting things his way because he has died to what he wants. ‘Die to self is the simple command of scripture. I don’t have to get what I want. I don’t have to win every fight. I don’t have to come out on top because I have died. I can yield to others because that is what Christ did for me. Dead men don’t make demands and don’t get their way.

I am crucifed with Christ – now I must daily die to myself and live for Him.

No justification by works

knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. – Galatians 2.16

Why is it that man always thinks he can do something to placate God? It happens all the time in every culture. Man has tried everything to do it, all kinds of works. Nearly every culture ever encountered has tried to find some way to placate their god or concept of Him and it always involves some kind of works.

The concept of grace is hard for some to swallow. We figure that there must be something we can do to save ourselves. Our our human pride compels us that we have to do something about our situation  so we come up with religious practices that we think will do just that.

But every work ever devised by our best efforts always falls short because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of our works are like filthy rags. If we violate even one point of the Law the entire Law is broken.

So no man can ever be justified by being holy or religious or good or pious kind or generous or sharing or compassionate or anything because every single one of us will fall short or perfection.

Our only hope of being brought into line with God’s standard of perfection is through faith in Christ. He was perfect. He could pay the penalty. He works we do are the result of salvation, not the other way around. All the works the grace robbers were demanded could never do anything for their eternity.

Hypocrisy

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. – Galatians 2.11-13

One might think that two spiritual giants like Paul and Peter would never row. One would think that in their maturity there would not be a major issue that had to be dealt with.

Paul saw Peter and others, including Barnabas, were living one way before the Jews and one way before the Gentiles. Before the Gentiles they lived by grace and before the Jews they lived by the Law.

Hypocrisy is a big deal It was big enough that Paul had to call out Peter and others out for their behaviour. The world sees hypocrisy and it always gives the world reason to mock. They had to be reminded of the need not to be double minded or to act in a way that made them look better.

If Paul had to publicly call out Peter we need to see that hypocrisy is not something we can take lightly. Inall our dealing we must be pure and upright and not give the world a chance to poke holes in our faith.

Beware of the dangers of hypocrisy.

Remember the poor

and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. – Galatians 2.9-10

After the hypocrisy situation was resolved the men shook hands in fellowship and they went on their way. They agreed some some would go to the Jews and some to the Gentiles.

And they reminded each other to not forget the poor.

We can’t escape this responsibilty. It was part of the Law and it is part of Jesus’ teachings for us. God has clearly placed the responsibity of caring for the poor on His people. It is not the job of the government. It is not the job of various charities. It is our job.

The tragedy is that is far too many places as the years have passed we have handed that task over to others. That is now a reality and sometimes we can think that we have no poor because the government is taking care of them.

That doesn’t release us from our responsibity to care for the poor. God’s people must be willing to take on the burden of caring for the poor. Many churches now respond to a need by referring them on to a government agency.

When I see the wealth and opulence of many churches today I wonder if we have the right priorities. How can there be any poor when churches have such resources?

‘Remember the poor’ is a reminder I think we could all use.

To spy out our liberty

And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. – Galatians 2.4-5

Chuck Swindoll used the term ‘grace robbers’ when he wrote about these Galatian legalists who wanted to bring the people back under the Law. They could not stand the liberty which the Gentile believers enjoyed. Thye tried to impose on the Gentiles what they had had to do as Jews.

This problem still exists today. There still are people who want to bind us with rules and regulations and man-made standards. I spent a lot of time with Christians who decided people’s maturity or spirituality by a tick list of man-made rules and regulations. If you met their standards you were godly – it not your godliness was in doubt.

It is easy to let grace robbers steal our joy of them Lord and impose their standards instead of the word of God. I have been caught in that trap.When you are there peer pressure forces conformity. When that happens people constantly walk in fear of crossing the line and making God angry and inviting His wrath.

Grace living means that I walk in the same grace that saved me and the same grace that will carry me through to eternity. When I walk in grace I want to do what pleases God because of what He has done for me. I don’t walk to please men who impose their rules on me.

Sure, it is easy to take advantage of that kind of liberty. God though has something to say about that how we use that liberty. We don’t use it to serve our own flesh, but to love others. At the end of the day walking in grace ought to produce much more holy living than rules based man pleasing living.

Walk in God’s grace. Don’t the the grace robbers have their way with you.

What a wonderful change

But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me. – Galatians 1.23-24

Paul’s testimony is one of the most fanatasic, amazing, and obvious changes of life that has even been seen. He was on his way to Damascus to go inot the synagogue to arrest and imprison Christians and even to see them killed.

Instead, when he got to the synagogue he preached the gospel of Christ. He who persecuted the church now preaches the gospel he tried to destroy.

The lesson is clear – God can save anyone – even the least likely in our eyes. God’s saving power can reach into the most wicked heart and turn that heart to Himself.

That means we never get up on anyone we are praying for and loving and sharing the gospel with today.

It is easy to look at Paul though and get the notion that only his salvation story is dramatic. The truth is that God saving anyone is a miracle of His amazing grace. After all, God saved me. He should be glorified in me just like He was glorified in Paul.

Called by grace

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. -Galatians 1.15-17


Called by the grace of God. In this big debate about works and grace Paul kep going back to the importance of grace and its working in lives.

Grace is pervasive and prevelant in the Christian’s life. We were saved by grace, we live by grace, and one day we will die in God’s grace.

When we think about our lives and sometimes get down or discouraged about where God has put us we can forget that we are where we are by the grace of God. By the grace of God we are what we are.It many not be clear yet what God had for us, but the day will come when it all makes perfect sense.

Meanwhile, by faith we can rejoice that God’s grace has allowed us to be where we are and we can be sure that He has a plan in line with His grace.

That I might preach

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. – Galatians 1.15-17

Paul never tired of sharing what God had done for him. He never wearied of telling others how God revealed His Son to him and called him to preach to the Gentiles. Paul knew that what he was doing now was what he had been destined to do while he was still in his mother’s womb.

I know the focus here is to preach to the gospel to the Gentiles, but I think there is a clearer point to be made. Paul knew that he was called by God to be separated from the world and to preach the gospel.

God has called us out of this world. He has called us also to preach the gospel. Every single one of us – you, me, and every believer around us have been given a ministry of reconciliation. We can only do that by proclaiming the gospel. We too have been called out to this task. People are saved as we boldly proclaim His word and particularly the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s look to Paul for the kind of determination we need to preach the gospel to pur friends and neighbours.

Please God or please men

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. – Galatians 1.10

Pleasing men of pleasing God, that is the question here.

It is the question that rings through the ages. Are our lives geared to please men or are they geared to please God. Pleasing men is such a driving force because they are all around us.We see them all the time and we want to please others. We want them to like us because that is our nature. We like the approval of others.

This desire to please men can be a real danger. When we desire to please God we can be too easily sacrifice turned from what God wants us to do. When we choose to please men it proves that we are not really the bondservants of Christ. We can’t have two masters. We can’t please both God and man. We need to examine our hearts and decide in advance whether our desire is to make others happy with us or to please God.

As I go about my day today, not knowing what it might bring, may I already know that whatever comes my way I will choose to please God over men.

So quickly turned back

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. – Galatians 1.6-9

Paul was stunned that a whole group of people could be so quickly turned away by false doctrine. Saved by grace and living by grace some of these folks were being persuaded by the grace robbers to try and live by the Law.

No wonder Paul was shocked at their behaviour. Who would go back to the Law once they have tasted grace?

I think the issue here is that people find comfort in rules. We feel more secure when people tell us what to do. All we have to do is to do it and everything must be okay. It is easy to tick boxes on a tick list so people are drawn to it.

But when that happens we are ignoring God’s grace. We are trusting ourselves instead of Him because we are too proud to leave it to God.

Sadly there are folks today who still find comfort in this kind of legalism. They feel good about themselves because they can keep all the rules.

Any work we add lessens cheapens grace. The grace robbers would have us depend on us and not on God’s grace.

Don’t be dissuaded from grace and turned back to works. For by grace through faith we were saved. For by grace through faith we live. By grace through faith we will one day see Jesus.

From this evil age

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. – Galatians 1.3-5

‘That He might deliver us from this present evil age’ is part of Paul’s opened prayer for the Galatians. Paul saw his day as being an evil day. Sin was indeed rampant. In reality I think every day since then has been an evil day.

When we look at our day today it is hard to imagine it getting any worse. Sadly though it will keep getting worse and worse. Paul writes that evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse as we see the day approaching.

How are we going to survive? How are we to avoid the evil?

For one thing we must want to be kept. The question is moot if we are happy enough to just carry on in the world.

But we have the joy to know that at the end of the day we have already been delivered from this present evil age. We don’t have tobe part of the filth and mire of this evil world. We are citizens of heaven This world is not our home. We are just passing though. The affairs of this world are not our affairs. And yet, that is where we tend to spend our time and efforts and resources.

This world cannot defeat us. Our flesh cannot defeat us. Satan can not defeat. God has delivered and will deliver us.

Praise God we can live in His deliverance.

Farewell, be complete

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. – 2 Corinthians 13.11

Paul ends this intriguing letter with a few words that really summarise the whole book in a very concise way:

Be complete
Be of good comfort
Be on one mind
Live in peace
May the God of love and peace be with you

We could write those words to any church or any Christian in the world today. Notice how Paul talks over and over about edification and all of these words are intended to build up. We are to strive toward maturity and find comfort in the Holy Spirit. We are to live in one mind and we are to live in peace. We live as we rely on the God of love and the God of peace.

None of us should be happy with where we are. We are not perfect and will not be, but we must be growing on to maturity, united, living in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, in peace and love with God and each other.

For edification

For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction. – 2 Corinthians 13.9-10

Paul’s desire for the churches he worked with was that they would be mature and complete as they grew in their faith. Growing up often brings growing pains.

Paul is clear – what we need is to just grow up. Growing up is not easy. It is full of hard times and tough lessons. We often complain about the trials of growing up, but we really can’t grow strong without them.

Paul defended his sharp language in dealing with the Corinthians. God gave Paul to edify, not destroy – but unless the Christians learn to grow up they will never be what God wants them to be. He saw the sense of putting things down in a letter because he was afraid in person he would be too angry. He could choose his words carefully.

That also tell me how important it is that we carefully choose our words to edify and not destroy. Paul says that he was given to edify. The reality is that we all are given for the same reason.

Tearing down is easy and it just seems to happen naturally. Those tearing down words just slip out. Edifying words take work, but they are are worth it.

Examine yourselves

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. – 2 Corinthians 13.5

 Recently at Zeke and Chelsy’s rehearsal dinner we were talking about various things, as you do, and the topic of health issues and  and check-ups and things like that came up. A lot of times we, especially us men, don’t like the whole concept of physicals and check-ups. After all, something might be wrong and who wants to know that?

That’s stupid – no doubt about it. We foolishly put our lives at risk out of fear of what might be wrong. I once an a relatively minor health issue that could have been easliy dealt with, but I was afraid it might be cancer so wouldn’t go to the doctor. Though minor it required surgery before I dealt with it.

Paul makes a spiritual application of that same kind of need – examine yourselves to make sure you are in the faith.

Self examination, physical and spiritual, only makes sense. We should of course check ourselves out daily to see how we are doing. Our daily devotions are a chance for us to compare ourselves to what God is looking for.

But God gave us a special gift when He gave us the Lord’s Table. The Table gives is a perfect opportunity to, as an old preacher said, keep short accounts with God. When we go to the Table we are instructed to examine ourselves before we partake. That gives us a regular, in our church weekly, opportunity to carefully examine our lives.

Examining ourselves is really being like David and saying ‘search me O God, and know my heart.’ Are we willing to pray that prayer?

Crucified in weakness

For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. – 2 Corinthians 13.4

There is no more dreadful image of weakness than a man hanging on a cross. He hangs there, nailed hands and feet pierced with nails with no chance to escape. As the hours pass he weakens. He lifts himself on nail pierced feet to try and and relief for his laboured breathing. He is in constant pain and can’t get relief and there is only one result.

This is the image Paul uses to illustrate weakness. Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, hanging in pain and weakness.

But now He lives and reigns in power.

Paul says that this is what happens when we are weak in Christ. We yield our power to His power so that we have he power of God working in us.

Why must we keep on trying in our own weakness when we have all the power of God to help us in our trials? The sooner we realise that it is God’s strength, not our strength, that will get us through the sooner we can grow and the sooner we can be useful in God’s service.

Jesus was crucified in weak to live in the power of God.

As were crucified with Christ we too can live in His power. This is the power of the cross.

For your edification

Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced. 2 Corinthians 12.19-21

Ministerial jealousy has always been a problem.  When Paul came on the scene he came on like gangbusters and he shook up the religious scene. In that way he emulated his Master. They both broke the norms – and for both that caused problems. Others cast false aspersions on Him, so he needed to make something clear.

He was willing to go though all of this for the chance to edify his fellow believers. I look at all he went through in order to edify and I wonder how much I do to edify others. How often am I driven by a desire to build up my brother and sister in Christ?

I think it may be said that if we could summarise our job as to glorify God and edify each other. It is interesting that that really fits in with the whole concept that we are to love God and love others.

When I am with my fellow beleivers I must always strive to be a builder-upper and never ever a tearer-downer. Sometimes it requires loving correction, but my heart must always be to help and support.

Spend and be spent

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. – 2 Corinthians 12.15

I truly understand why people might have a problem with this if it were not in the Bible. It sounds like a recipe for weariness and exhaustion and depression and burnout. It sounds like the kind of thing that could drive a pastor to wreck his body and soul.

I do understand and I agree 100% that we need to take precautions against that kind of thing happening. We need to take our breaks and go apart for a time and exercise and eat healthy and all those things. Our bodies, after all, are the temples of the Holy Spirit.

We also need to be aware of the need for balance. It is possible to use the need for rest as an excuse for giving less than our all. We do need to be willing to give it all for God and for others. We can’t do that with recklessness over our health – but we also can’t do it with laziness and lethargy.

It’s a matter of willingness and attitude. Al I willing to give my all for Jesus even when the task gets tough.

Strength in weakness

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12.7-10

Paul’s thorn in the flesh has always been a topic for discussion. We have no idea what it was – but we do know why it was.

Paul was given this thorn in the flesh that he might know the power of Christ working in him. His thorn was to keep him humble. He thorn was to teach him reliance on God.

One of the blessings of all the trials that we have been through, and are going through, and wil go through, is that we learn through them that we just can’t do it the next time a trial comes. What that does is that it should help us when the next trial comes.

God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. It shows Him strong and teaches us that His strength is our strength so let’s be sure that we rejoice when we see God strong.

Paul defends his ministry

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. – 2 Corinthians 11.24-28

It’s a tough thing when we have to defend our ministries. The problem is that people can see it as us bragging or commending ourselves.

Paul faced the same dilemma. That much is obvious by his words to the Corinthians. Other were out there who were trying to destroy Paul’s work because they were jealous or because they really hated the fact that Gentiles were being saved, so they just condemned Paul.

Paul was compelled to defend the the ministry God had given him. He knew that the gospel had to spread to the Gentiles.

So Paul explained all that he had been through was in order to see Gentiles saved. His life and his comforts and social position and power as a Jewish leader meant nothing if he could not see the salvation of Gentiles. While others hated the fact that Gentiles got what I am sure they considered ‘cheap salvation’ Paul would do all he could to see God’s kingdom built.

All of the opposition was worth it. The arrests, the beatings, and all the perils of his life would be worth is all to see the gospel open to th he whole world.

The question I need to ask is if it is worth when I go through trials and difficulties to reach others with the gospel. His ministry was worth defending? Is mine?

Don't be deceived

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! – 2 Corinthians 11.3-4

Paul had a fear for the people in Corinth. He knew that people were liable to deception – after all, Eve, before the Fall, was deceived. People are, as the hymn puts it, ‘prone to wander.’ All of us can be like children with our eyes turned aside by the theological beads and baubles.

There is only one way to avoid being deceived. We are not going to do that through the world’s wisdom or by anything else. The only grounding that will truly ground us is the faithful study and obedience to the word of God.

When we think back to Eve we can see the tools Satan uses to try and deceive us. We corrupts the word of God. He questions God. He appeals to the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. He doesn’t try to attract us with ugly stuff. He appeared as an angel of flight just like false teachers today.

We have a simple gospel – don’t let Satan complicate it.

Self commendation

But “he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. – 2 Corinthians 10.17-18

‘Self praise is no praise,’ is an old saying that we don’t seem to think about. We live in a culture full of politicians and pop stars and even preachers who seem almost driven by praise for themselves. Paul was trying to defend his ministry without giving himself self-praise.

This had to remind the Corinthians of what Paul had written previously when he talked about how God rarely used the ones that we think he should use. He rarely uses the great or the wise or the noble or the prestigious to do His work. God uses the weak and the foolish things of this world to confound and defeat the wise so that He may be glorified.

It is too easy to ‘think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.’ Instead we ought to take heed that we not to think we stand, lest we fall.

Self-commendation is simply pride manifested. Let’s seek only God’s commendation instead of the praise of men.

Comparing ourselves

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. – 2 Corinthians 10.12

It is easy to get into the practice of comparing ourselves to others. How else are we going to know if we are being successful or not? I can well remember days when churches and their pastored competed to see who had the most baptisms or professions or people in Sunday School and the results were published in a newspaper like sports rankings.

Paul must have fought the same battle. It may have seemed that those who opposed them, and we know they were out there, were more popular or more successful than he was. He had to wonder why.

He soon came to realise that we achieve nothing by comparing ourselves with others. There is one example we must strive to emulate. The only standard we can compare ourselves to is Christ Himself.

That’s not as easy as it sounds. Comparing myself to Christ takes faith, comparing myself with other men only takes the flesh. It is easy to see their ‘success’ and wonder why my efforts seem so feeble.

When we compare ourselves to others one of two things is going to happen. Either we are not going measure up and we are going to be defeated or we are going to be content that we are not as bad as somebody else.

But we compare ourselves to Christ we have a perfect standard that we know we will never achieve but ought to strive for day after day after day.

It really is not about others and how they serve God – we need to examine ourselves and see how we match up to God’s standard for us. One day we all want to hear ‘well done thou good and faithful servant.’

Every thought captive

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; - 2 Corinthians 10.3-5

The real battle for us is based on the battle for our minds. Everything we do comes from our minds so if our minds are not right nothing else is going to be right.

They are a few key elements to winning that battle for the mind. One is the ‘think on these things’ passage from Philippians. Think about things that are pure and honourable and holy and just and lovely.

But here is a consummate phrase – bring every one of your thoughts into captivity to the mind of Christ.

I know there are times when my mind can just go crazy. Stuff seems to come from nowhere to infect my mind. Wrong, befuddled, confused, sensual, vengeful, and selfish thoughts can dominate my mind and if I am not careful I am capable of acting on them. If I do the battle is over and I have lost.

We can only win the warfare we are in with the mind of Christ. Our thoughts must be controlled by what He would do in the situation. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal – instead they are controlled by the mind of Christ.

Our warfare

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; - 2 Corinthians 10.3-5

There is not doubt at all that we are in a massive battle. Some Christians around the world have always known this battle. We in the West are just learning it. We have had culture and society ‘on our side’ for a while now.

It is easy to think that the way to win this fight is to use the same tactics that the world using. We think our battle is a carnal battle so we try to fight it with carnal weapons. We try to use the weapons and the tools of this world.

The problem is that the world is much, much better at using those tools. We can’t fight on their level.

We, though, fight the fight in the power of almighty God which can pull down the world’s strongholds by fighting the spiritual battle instead. It is a spiritual warfare which is at the root of all the carnal warfare that goes on everywhere. Man’s sin nature is not going to be checked by carnal methods. The world needs the wonderful gospel of Christ.

We have the gospel. We have the message the world needs. We have the truth that will win the victory. Our battle cry is love. We don’t fight against the men trapped in sin – we fight the one who holds them captive. Our sword is the word of God.

And the victory has been won.

His unspeakable gift

And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. – 2 Corinthians 9.14-15

Paul is about to move on from his lengthy teaching on the importance of giving. He ends the section with a very clear point to drive his point home.

Paul sets the example of God’s unspeakable gift to us. Jesus did not hold back. He did not think He needed to hold on to all the glory of heaven. Became a man and took on the form of a servant. Jesus knew that His eventual fate was death on the cross – and still He gave it all up for us.

How can any gift we give ever hope to compare to that? God gave us an unspeakable, unsearchable, incomprehensible, and incomparable gift?

We can’t – but we can examine our hearts in regard to giving. Are we willing to give up any of our creature comforts for Christ and His church? Do we really need the newest car or the fanciest house or the newest technology when God’s work goes undone?

Purposefully giving

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. – 2 Corinthians 9.6-9 

Let every man give according to his own heart
Don’t give grudgingly
Gives cheerfully
God will allow your grace to abound

There it is, all laid out in front of us. Giving is not something to be taken lightly It is something we pray about and think about and then purpose in our heart to do.

But I think the next point is the most important – we don’t give grudgingly. We don’t give because we feel compelled. We give cheerfully and delightfully. When our hearts are right and we consider all that is done for us and remember that will supply our need it turns us from begrudges to joyous givers. After all – we get to be a part of God’s great work. What cause could be more worth our giving?

Sowing and reaping

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. – 2 Corinthians 9.6-9

You reap what you sow. That’s a simple little statement that some have taken and built an entire false gospel of prosperity. Some folks take this and say that the way to get loads of money is to give. If we do that God is compelled to make us rich.

That’s not how it works. Giving is not a get rich quick scheme.

We can trust though that we can give and not fret because God will take care of us. God wants us to be a simple channel of blessing. It is exciting because we get to be a part of God doing His work. God says that if we give He will give to us that that we can give again. We get to partner with him in the marvellous grace of giving! It is the one grace that far too many of God’s people miss out on. Instead of rejoicing the grace of giving we too often think of how little we ‘have’ to give.

Paul wanted the Christians to enjoy all the blessings of the grace of giving. How many of us are revelling in that amazing grace that allows us to watch God give to us to allow us to give to others?

Zealous giving

For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. – 2 Corinthians 9.1-2

Excitement is contagious. We all know that. When we are around people who are excited about something we tend to get excited as well. Paul’s readers had been excited about their giving and Paul was able to share their zeal with others.

It is obvious that giving is not to be the drudgery that we often take it to be. If we were really dedicated to the Lord and others we would be excited to see what God can do with our giving. Those who give ought to be excited about how God blesses our giving.

If just a few people in the church could catch the joy of giving and get excited about how Gd works things out that zeal would pass on to others. As they learned how giving works others would catch on and there would never be a lack.

It is really pretty simple. Givers ought to be excited about giving and when we are others will cop on to our joy.

Are we infectious givers?

Giving and love

And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.   Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.   Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. 2 Corinthians 8:22-24

Let everything be done in love. Let the love of Christ motivate you. Love the brethren. Love God and love others.  The greatest of these is love.

How do we prove our love?

In this case we prove our love by our willingness to give. Not coincidentally, I think, there is another time when we see love and money in the same context. ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’

We can’t love God and our stuff at the same time. If we love God and others we have no problem giving to God and His work. If we love money we won’t give it away.

So we can prove our love in a real and tanglible way – we prove our love by giving of ourselves to others. In this context we prove our love by getting out our wallets and giving to God’s work.

If our giving is an indication of our love, how are we loving?

Honesty

Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. – 2 Corinthians 8.21

‘Honesty is the best policy’ we read. Honesty is so powerful because wrapped in honesty are things like truthfulness and purity and lack of deceipt and no hypocrisy and trustworthiness.

The context here is giving, but Paul makes a very clear comment here about a vital Christian trait. He says be honest in all things, not only before God, but also before men. If we are not honest in all things how are people going to trust us about anything?

We ought to be very careful when it some to money. We ought to set plenty of guards and protections against accusation when dealing with financial matters. Paul made sure that when money was an issue there was plenty of accountability. They were concerned about being open and accountable and honest and honourable

We do well today to do the same. It is important that our churches make sure that everything dealing with being is open and above board so that no one can accuse us of impropriety. People need to know that when we give our money is being used for God’s work and His glory.

Willing and doing

And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. – 2 Corinthians 8.10-12

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. That’s a key element of our Christian living. It is easy to talk about something and to be ready to do and to have all the best intentions and be well meaning. All that is well and good.

But all of that falls short without one thing. It is all meaningless unless there is a doing. The proof of the willingness is in the doing.

It is great to talk about giving. It is great to be ready to give.

When it comes right down to it though it all means nothing unless there is a doing. Wanting to give, desiring to give, and planning to give son’t do a whole lot of good unless we actually put the money in the plate. As long as our money is in our pockets it is not to going to pay the church bills or help the poor or support the pastor or missionaries or anything.

A willing mind – a ready mind – a touched heart - don’t mean anything unless there is a giving hand.

Jesus' example of giving

I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. – 2 Corinthians 8.8-9

Maybe we need an example? Maybe we need something to compare our giving to? Maybe we need a goal?

Obviously we are not to compare our giving to other’s giving.

How’s this for an example? Jesus had all the riches of heaven. He gave it all up to take on the form of man and go to the cross so that we might enjoy the riches of glory.

Jesus pattern of giving was that He gave His all. Though He was God he did not see His godhood as something to hold on, but he took on flesh and the form of a servant. He gave up all the glories of heaven to provide the riches of heaven for us.

Mary and I have always believed in giving and we have always given – but I am challanged by this example. With this pattern of giving how am I doing?

Grace to give

Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. – 2 Corinthians 8.7

The Macedonians were a special people. Their testimony was that they abounded in everything – in faith and is speaking and knowledge and in diligence and in their love for Paul.

These folks were not just doing the minimum. They were not just average. They abounded in other aspects of their lives – and they also abounded in the grace of giving.

What really sticks out to me though is that this is called the ‘grace of giving.’ Giving is a grace, not a burden. We cannot summon up giving – we can give and we ought to give by the grace of God. It all depends on Him.

God’s grace saved us. God’s grace gives us the power we need to live in this world. God’s grace allows us to endure. God’s grace allows us to share His word.

And God’s grace gives us the power to give.

They gave themselves

And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. – 2 Corinthians 8.5

What is the key to giving? What do we need to get right so that giving, in fact so that everything else falls into place?

Something must come first. It is the same thing Paul wrote in Romans 12.1-2 – ‘I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice.’

Before we can give anything, before we can do anything, it is vital that place our lives on God’s altar and in His hands. When we learn to give oursleves to the Lord everything else is possible. When we learn to trust Him enough to give Him our all He is then able to use us.

The problem is that everything about us rebels against giving ourselves without reservation to anyone. It is hard to really let go and submit ourselves to someone’s control.

As we see a couple of verse later Jesus gave His all for us. Since that is the case how can we fail to give ourselves to Him?

Poverty and giving

Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. – 2 Corinthians 8.1-4

No church was a poor as the Macedonians. They had nothing – and yet, when they heard there was a need we find out that they opened their hearts to give to meet the needs. In fact, they begged Paul and the team to take their money.

How do people give out of poverty? How do you give when you have nothing, or it seems like you have nothing?

As we saw yesterday they thrived because of joy. That joy of the Lord gave them a whole new spirit about them. That joy gave them the ability to rise up out of their poverty and give with joyous hearts. They gave beyond their own power to give and they even begged Paul to take more.

I can’t even imagine that kind of giving. Getting people to give can be like pulling eye teeth. But these folks were giving more than they could give and we more than overjoyed to do it.

I have to ask myself if that is my attitude toward giving. Do I give that way when I see a need? Do I drop money in the offering with joy and excitement? How is my attitude of giving?

Joy that works

Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. – 2 Corinthians 8.1-4

Paul now moves on to some practical lessons that the church needs to hear.

He starts with an issue that is probably not the thing a whole lot of folks like to hear about. It seems like an awful like of folks cringe at the prospect of hearing about giving.

Here Paul addresses the Macedonian beleivers. They were in deep trials and affliction. I’m not sure what the problem was, but things were tough. They though had learned Paul’s lesson of joy in trials.

Their joy was real joy because their joy worked. It wasn’t just a forced ‘well, praise the Lord anyway.’ True joy, that kind of joy that produces giving in real and from the heart. The joy of the Lord is the strength in our hearts to give to others and not think about ourselves.

How does the joy of the Lord look in our lives? Does it produce the fruit of giving because we find so much joy in obeying God?

I believe in you

Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. – 2 Corinthians 7.13-16

There are so many little things in this passage that are a blessing. Tucked away here are words of great comfort that Paul shares with the Corinthians just before he moves on to some practical instruction for the church. The lessons they have learned will lead on to something more.

Part of Paul’s encouragement are the blessed words that can mean so much to anyone. He wrote ‘I have confidence in you in all things.’ Today we might very well say the same thing with ‘I believe in you.’

Sometimes all people need to succeed or do what is needed or to get through a struggle or overcome and obstacle is just someone to believe in them. Perhaps it is a child or a student or a struggling friend in someone at church who needs just that word of encouragement.

You can do it. I’ll be praying. I believe in you.

Loving correction

For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. – 2 Corinthians 7.11-12

Paul points out all the good that was done through his correction. The correction was not done primarily for the one affected or by ones doing wrong, though that was also accomplished.

What Paul really wanted was that they would repent and that Paul’s love for them might be known. Dealing with sin can seem like an only bad thing and something to avoid at all cost. Instead of that we ought to see that as an opportunity to prove the love of God and love for each other.

Like everything else it is the love of God which is to motivate us and and manifesting His love ought to be a major part of everything we do. Paul will also write the Corinthians that they are to do everything in love.

The challenge here for us is for us to stop and consider not only what our goal is in dealing a brother’s sin but what our motivation is. If it is to make him look bad or us look good than we fail.

The only motivation should be to lovingly help him correct his sin and follow the Lord.

Let everything be done in love – even dealing with sin.

Correction and sorrow

For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. – 2 Corinthians 7.8-10

I am sure that Paul’s deeply correcting first letter to Corinth mush have causes some discomfort. Correcting and being corrected is never easy for either.  The old saying ‘this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you’ has a lot of truth.

Paul obviously felt some regret for the words he had to say. Trying to point out another’s sin is always tough, mostly because we know that we are sinners who need correction. The old ‘mote v beam’ concept comes to mind. How can I correct someone else when I see the sin in my own life?

Paul knew that there was a great goal in mind. He knew that sorrow was worth bearing if it brought about true repentance. His sorrow in correcting the Corinthians and their sorrow in being corrected would be worth it all if they would repent of their sin and move on.

That is how we must see loving and Bibilcal correction whether we are the one who must confront someone or we are the one being confronted. It might hurt our pride for the moment, but if brings about correction the joy is far greater than the sorrow.

Comfort by the coming of Titus

For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.   Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 2 Corinthians 7:5-6

Macedonia had not been once to Paul and his team.

No rest

Troubles on every side

Fightings within

Fears without

I think most of us might have felt that way at times. It seems like nothing is falling into place. We are tired, surrounded by trouble, we are at war with our flesh, and fears surround us. 

This reminds me of David in Psalm 13. I preached this recently and was moved by David’s cry of ‘how long?’ while in the midst of his fears and anxieties. David felt, like we often fail, to make sense of the trials. He was tired of his problems and surrounded by problems. 

But God delivered them by the comfort that Titus brought to them. 

There is nothing like those wonderful words of comfort from a loved brother or sister in Christ when things are tough. It doesn’t take much, especially today. It can be as simple as a Facebook post or a text or an e-card that God can use to give us that boost we need. 

To me though there is nothing quite like seeing someone you love who is willing to give us a big hug and tell us that they care and that they are here. Somehow when someone comes alongside and assures me that we can get through it everything seems better. 

We can’t always be there to give a physical hug and some folks are not hug people, but we can still make that phone call or test or tweet or post, or send that card or letter to  give the word of comfort that God might use to lift their hearts. 

Joyful in tribulation

Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.   I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.   Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. 2 Corinthians 7:2-4

One of the many things I love about the Bible is how it shows us our heroes as real fallible people who go through the same struggles as we do. After struggling with the depth of his struggles and battles he is able to say that he finds glory in how it had worked for the Corinthians. His struggles and how God brought him through them encouraged the Corinthians that God could do the same for them.

I love the consistancy of God’s word. Here Paul talks about having ‘exceeding joy in his tribulation’ and James writes ‘count it as all joy when you fall into various kinds of trials.’

At first glance this seems just plain crazy. Not only are trials to be endured, but we are supposed to find great joy in them.

There are a lot of reasons to find joy in tribulations. Experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, finding God’s comfort during trials, learning patience, seeing growth and maturity, and many other blessings are the results of trials.

Joy in trials – its all a matter of perspective.

Perfecting holiness

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

Living holy lives does not seem to be much of a big deal these days. One reason I like some of the great Puritan writers is because so many of them focused on holiness. Holiness is a concept that seems to have been lost, in many cases, in an attempt to exercise liberty or be popular or reach to reach out to and appeal to the world.

But the Bible still says ‘be ye holy as I am holy.’ God desires holiness – if it was not clear enough the writerof Hebrews writes ‘pursue peace with men, and holiness, without no one can see the Lord.’

This is a natural follow on to the previous verse on separation. They spell out what makes the difference in coming out from the world. The surest way to be different and to be separate is to be holy.

It is sad to see Christians, including myself, see what we can get away with instead of seeing holiness as our goal. Of course, we we all declared holy at salvation with all the holiness of Christ. When it comes to eternity our holiness is sealed. They day is coming when we will we will get to enjoy all the blessings of our holiness while we get to heaven.

In the meantime though is this challenge for everyday practical, or a perfecting, holiness in our lives. There is a holiness that we must be practicing. We, ourselves, are called on to live day by day by day choosing the holy instead of the unholy. Being holy means that we live lives that are separated from the ways of the world and separated unto the Lord. Those around me ought to see holiness manifested in our lives. That is what is going to make the difference. Some Christians think that we can draw people by acting like them. ‘I’m a Christian, but look, I am just like you’ is not going to help people see Jesus in us.

Holiness is not a put on, better than you, man-made piety – it is living for and living like Jesus to draw others to Him.