Paul the apostle has made
appeal after appeal for the church members in Galatia to remember the
source of their salvation. It was not by works that they were saved
but rather by faith that they received the grace of God. In Galatians
chapter three and verse five Paul the apostle continues his effort to
convince them by using miracles and their source as an example of the
way God has demonstrated His grace. He wrote:
He therefore that
ministers to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, [does he
it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Paul
begins his question with, “He therefore that ministers to you
the Spirit, and works miracles among you ...”. The word
“ministers” means supplies, presents or furnishes, and has the
idea of appealing to their memory to those who supply the Spirit to
them in the first place. These ministers were miracle workers not
just around them, but also within them. Their lives were changed from
their pagan practices, and though they were once far away from a
relationship with God, because of these suppliers, they now enjoyed
fellowship with Him. Miracles are super-natural works, and there were
those among them who did these works in their presence. The source of
miracles is a power that is beyond human ability, and when miracles
were done, the Galatians knew that something was happening that far
exceeded what they naturally knew.
Paul
continues, “ [does he it] by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith?” Paul desires to know their answer to the
source of the Spirit and miracles. Did they think that miracles
occurred by works of the law? Because someone keeps the laws of God,
does that mean that they will be able to do miracles? No, of course
not. Miracle workers are just as flawed as the rest of us. It is by
the grace of God that any miracle takes place and not the superior
ability of any person. It is by God's grace that the Spirit is
supplied, and it is by God's grace that miracles occur. These who
supplied the Spirit and did miracles among the Galatians did so by
the hearing of faith. They believed God's word by faith, and they
believed God's work by faith, and miracles occurred because of it.
Too
often today the ministry of the Spirit and miracles are attributed to
the worthiness of the minister. Some people believe that a particular
person is more holy than another, and therefore miracles flow through
his or her life. God is the source and inspiration for the supplying
of His gospel, and He is the presiding sovereign over whether
miracles occur or not. It is by God's grace that the gospel is given,
and it is by God's grace that super-natural acts materialize. Paul
makes the appeal to the Galatians to think about the source of their
beliefs, and as he does, perhaps we shall think about ours as well.
Next time we will
see Paul illustrate his point by using Abraham as an example, 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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