True Christianity 10
Galatians Chapter Three
Gal 3:1 NKJV
1 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?
Gal 3:1 AMP
1 O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom–right before your very eyes–Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified?
Gal 3:1 CEV
1 You stupid Galatians! I told you exactly how Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. Has someone now put an evil spell on you?
Word Studies
a. Foolish
Strongs Concordance
anoe?tos
an-o’-ay-tos
From G1 (as a negative particle) and a derivative of G3539; unintelligent; by implication sensual: – fool (-ish), unwise.
anoe?tos
Thayer Definition:
1) not understood, unintelligible
2) not understanding, unwise, foolish
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1 (as a negative particle) and a derivative of G3539
b. Bewitched
Strongs Concordance
baskaino?
bas-kah’ee-no
Akin to G5335; to malign, that is, (by extension) to fascinate (by false representations): – bewitch.
baskaino?
Thayer Definition:
1) to speak ill of one, to slander, traduce him
2) to bring evil on one by feigning praise or an evil eye
3) to charm, to bewitch
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: akin to G5335
c. Obey
Strongs Concordance
peitho?
pi’-tho
A primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty): – agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) content, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.
Thayer Definition:
1) persuade
1a) to persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe
1b) to make friends of, to win one’s favour, gain one’s good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one
1c) to tranquillise
1d) to persuade unto, i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something
2) be persuaded
2a) to be persuaded, to suffer one’s self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith: in a thing
2a1) to believe
2a2) to be persuaded of a thing concerning a person
2b) to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with
3) to trust, have confidence, be confident
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: a primary verb
Paul cries out to the churches of Galatian … Oh you silly, senseless, stupid, not understanding people …. Who has cast a spell upon your minds, who has fascinated your minds with false teachings, who has slandered the Gospel and persuaded your minds to such a degree that you are now senseless and powerless to think for yourselves?
There are so many teachings that have been added to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that are fascinating the people in the Church of Jesus Christ … drawing them away from the centrality of Christ … to adding all kinds of Old Covenant teachings, rites and observances, Pagan philosophies, and secular or so-called scientific systems to Jesus.
These are spell-binding activities that nullify the Word of God in the believer’s mind and allow themselves to be bound by all sorts of witchcraft and manipulation.
Who has bewitched you, that you should not be fully persuaded to follow Jesus Christ and Him alone??
You are being led to destruction by these false teachers.
Jesus Christ was plainly set forth in your sight as being crucified.
This is Paul’s counter to the Judaizer’s false teaching.
The sacrificial offering of Jesus on the cross is the antidote, the solution, the only means of dealing with sin and the sinful nature.
Paul’s Message:
1Co 1:17-18 NKJV
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:23 NKJV
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
1Co 2:1-5 NKJV
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
2Co 4:5 NKJV
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
The Gospel that Paul preached was Jesus Christ and Him crucified … our response to that Gospel is to receive and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Only Way to God … and that we must repent and believe in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial offering for us.
Gal 3:2-3 NKJV
2 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?–
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
How did you receive the Holy Spirit in the first place?
Was it because you did something that God liked … or simply by hearing the Gospel and trusting in Jesus?
Does it make any sense at all, that now that you received the greatest Gift that mankind has ever conceived of … the very Spirit of Almighty God … by believing in Jesus … you are now going to be perfected by going back to the Old covenant of observances and works?
The Church has become blasé about the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God.
He is the Comforter, Who was released into the earth once the sacrificial offering of Jesus had cleansed the earth.
The blood of Jesus destroyed the curse of sin which was brought into being by Adam’s disobedience.
The curse of the fall was removed after the flood (Gen 8:21) … God determined that, in spite of mankind’s sinful nature, He would lift the curse from the soil of the earth, so that mankind could sow and reap in joy once again. Even though mankind was intrinsically sinful now, God’s mercy would cover them until Grace could be poured out on high and full redemption would be paid for every sin ever committed and thus the curse of the broken Law would be appeased.
The story of two sons
The wicked disobedient son.
Deu 21:18-23 NKJV
18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,
19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.
20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’
21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
The first son is a disobedient, stubborn and rebellious person who totally rejects the counsel of his parents.
Even though they have taught him, chastened him and begged him, he refuses to listen to them, giving himself to drunkenness and debauchery.
Eventually the parents give him over to the elders of the city, who would have heard his case and tried him … and being found guilty would be taken outside the city and stoned to death.
His broken and bloodied body would be tied to a tree as a public notice of God’s displeasure and a warning to other sons.
The person’s body was accursed … in other words doomed to destruction by God, because of his own rebellion and disobedience.
That body on the tree was not only a message of warning to the people, but also where God’s judgement was appeased and satisfied.
A Jewish day is from nightfall to nightfall – as recorded in Genesis one.
The body of the judged and accursed one had to be taken down before night fall, because judgement had been satisfied and God’s mercy is new every day…Hallelujah.
The Second Son
Mat 3:13-17 NKJV
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Mat 17:1-7 NKJV
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
2Pe 1:16-18 NKJV
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Joh 5:17-24 NKJV
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
The Person that God has approved and endorsed as His “Beloved Son”, is rejected and blasphemed in the world.
This precious Son, Who obeyed every instruction and desire of the Father is sinless and faultless, yet humanity, using the very Law of God condemns the spotless Son of God and curses Him to a law-breaker’s death.
The One Who was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power at His baptism and framed and unlawfully condemned to death at the hands of Gentile soldiers.
The Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, beloved in every sense of the word, is worthy of all honour and glory, yet was chastised, beaten, ridiculed and humiliated publicly so satisfy the demonic desires of the Sanhedrin and leaders of the day.
Yet, it was in this savage and debased murder of the One, so Pure and Righteous, that God demonstrated His love for the very ones killing His Son.
Jesus is the Beloved Son of God, yet He loves the sinner so much that He is willing to lay down the life of His Beloved to win the love of ones He loves.
Jesus ushered in the revelations and reality of the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus’ coming was prophesied in every letter in the Old Covenant by the Holy Spirit.
• His conception was by the Holy Spirit.
• His ministry and preaching was by the Holy Spirit.
• His death in and through the crucifixion was accompanied and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom 1:4; Heb 9:14)
• He arose from the dead by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:11; 1Pe 3:18)
• He ascended to the Father and has poured out the Precious Gift of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, that any who would receive Christ as Saviour will receive His Spirit as well.
o We as children of God are now born of the Spirit (John 3, Titus 3:5)
o He dwells within us, is with us and we are the Holy of Holies, the tabernacle for the Holy Spirits presence ( Joh 14:17; 1Cor 3:6; 6:19: Eph 2:22)
o
o We reap everlasting life through the Holy Spirit ((Gal 6:8)
o We are sealed in covenant with God by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13; 4:30)
o We have access to the Father by the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18)
o He establishes the Kingdom of God with signs and wonders, with power and glory (Rom 15:13-19)
o He empowers us to be witnesses in the world (Acts 1:8)
o He fits us in the kingdom with Christ’s and the Father’s righteousness, peace and joy (Rom 14:17)
o We eagerly await for the hope of righteousness by faith … the hope of righteousness is eternity with our Father (Gal5:5).
o By and through His indwelling presence we are affirmed as sons of God, and by Him we cry out Father, Abba Father (Rom 8:15&16; Gal 4:6)
o The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5)
o We now live in the Spirit (Gal 5:25)
o We fulfil the Law by walking in the Spirit (Rom 8:1-11)
o We overcome the flesh by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 8:10-13)
o We are led by the Spirit (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18)
o We have The Spirit’s fruit (nature) within us (Gal 5:22-23)
o We are taught by the Spirit (John 14:26; 1Cor 2:12&13;
o The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth and reveals things to come to us (Joh 16:13-14)
o He Glorifies Jesus in and through us (Joh 15:26; 16:14)
o He reveals the things that God has in store for those who love Him (1Cor 2: 9& 10)
o We are comforted by the Spirit
o He gives us Life and Freedom (2Cor 3:6 &17)
o We are changed from glory to glory by the Holy Spirit (2Cor 3:17 & 18)
o We minister in and by the Spirit
o He distributes gifts among us to serve one another (1Cor 12, 13 & 14)
o We have miracles among us (Gal 3:5)
o He intercedes through us and comes alongside to help us pray when we are unable (Rom 8:26-27)
o The Holy Spirit is the Guarantee or first Payment of Heaven and Eternal glory with Father God (2Cor 1:17; 5:5)
o and will one day be transfigured from lowly bodies of flesh to immortal, glorious bodies by that same Precious, all Powerful Holy Spirit.
o It is by the sacrifice of Christ that the blessing of Abraham has come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus … and we might receive the promised HOLY SPIRIT!!! (Gal 3:14)
The first son died and was cursed because of his sinfulness and rebellion.
His body was removed from the tree at sun-down so that the land would not be defiled.
The Second Son was cursed because of our sinfulness and rebellion.
In His death, He removed the curse of the Law so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon all who would believe in Him.
It is through Christ’s death and sacrificial offering that His Precious Holy Spirit is now with us and in us … striving with our spirits to believe that we are actually sons of God … and that he is working in and through us to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think … according to His power in us … in Christ Jesus, throughout all ages … Amen.
When Paul challenged Peter’s hypocrisy, it was not just a doctrinal issue that really was of no consequence …
It was, in the Holy Spirit’s mind, a matter of eternal life and condemnation.
Now in chapter three, Paul and the Holy Spirit challenge the Church’s foolishness, the fact that they are being spell-bound and manipulated back under the Law.
You cannot receive the Holy Spirit by any works of the Law, for all who break the Law are under its curse.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Holiness … He will only come into a vessel that has been sanctified, purified and set apart by God Himself.
You, when you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, are sanctified, purified and set apart as sons of God, by God Himself through the sacrificed blood of His Precious Son.
You can only receive the Holy Spirit on God’s terms … and that is by simple child-like faith in Jesus the Christ.
How then … is it rationally possible to think that if you received God’s greatest Gift by faith in Jesus Christ, you can now grow spiritually by going back to the elementary teachings of Law and Judaism?
Gal 3:3-5 NKJV
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have you suffered so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?
5 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?
Once again if we look at the Greek word used for “fool”, we see just how serious a matter we are dealing with.
Are you so “unintelligent, not understanding, unwise, by implication, sensual or sense dominated”?
Having started your spirit life in Christ by the Holy Spirit, having participated in the miraculous, experienced His divine power in and through you, tasted of His Glorious Presence, comfort and guidance … you now imagine that you can move onto perfection by works of the flesh (which the Law demands, such as circumcision, the cutting of the Old Covenant in the Jew’s flesh).
Have you suffered so much persecution from your Gentile friends and families as well as the Jewish advocates without reason or without a cause, for nothing … Hopefully there is still some hope of rescuing you from this deception?
Come one people … does God, Who Personally and directly ministers His Spirit to you and works miracles among you do it by you keeping specific Laws within the Torah or by hearing the message of Christ, believing on Him and trusting Him.
Paul’s entire argument revolves around the sufficiency of the cross of Christ’ sacrifice.
The Judaizers’ doctrine held that Christ’s sacrifice needs something added to it in order to bring believers to perfection or a higher level of spirituality.
This is blasphemous and a demonic doctrine that brings condemnation and judgement.
Nothing can be added to the Gospel of Christ … and Paul the Apostle was given the complete revelation from the Master Himself for the Church.