As Paul the apostle
continues his appeal to the church members in Galatia, he begins to
call upon their reasonable thoughts as to the source of their
relationship with God. He has labeled them as foolish and wonders who
has charmed them into thinking anything other than the truth of the
gospel which is only received by faith in Jesus Christ's finished
work on the cross. He adds these words in chapter three and verse two
by asking a question:
This only would I learn
of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith?
Paul
said, “This only would I learn of you,...” which means
Paul would like to be informed, apprised and increased in knowledge
about a standpoint which seems unreasonable. It appears that the
question that follows these words are rhetorical in nature, however
Paul precedes them with the idea that they will inform him by their
answer.
He asks,
“Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith?” Paul appeals to their memory first. Where
did they get the Spirit of God from in the first place is his
question. In other words, think back, review the past, recall when
the Spirit of God entered into their lives. What was the source of
that experience? Was it because they had kept the law or was it
because they heard that Jesus kept the law, died for their sins, and
rose from the grave victorious over death? It took the hearing of
faith to receive the Spirit of God, and a relationship with God is
only obtained in this manner because no one can keep the law other
than Jesus. Paul had shared the gospel of God with the Galatians in
the past, and they received the Spirit of God simply because they
believed.
There
are many who would add to the gospel of grace even today. They make
strong arguments about this rule or that which must be kept in order
to receive the Spirit of God. They impose forceful ideas about feats
that must be obtained before one can earn the favor of the Almighty,
but according to Paul, those are works of the law and are incomplete
for establishing a relationship with God. Only by faith in Jesus'
finished work will we ever know true fellowship with God. We do not
deserve it, cannot earn it, and no amount of human goodness will ever
be enough to position ourselves in the favor of God. Only Jesus' work
is enough, and when we believe that Jesus did everything that is
necessary for us to receive the Spirit of God, we will have done all
that is required to have fellowship with the Almighty.
Next time we will
look at what Paul says about being perfect, so read ahead, and let us
join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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