Down an Unfamiliar Road

I read this article by the Vice President for Student Affairs at God’s Bible School in Cincinnati Ohio, where she is responding to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “In the past, you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So, live like children who belong to the light. This light produces every kind of goodness, right living, and truth.” (Eph. 5:8-9) I want to share it with you and hope you will enjoy its message.

She asks, “Are you good?” If you are anything like me, she says, this question may give you pause – especially when you remember that Jesus told the right young ruler, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). And still, in both Galatians and Ephesians, Paul tells his readers that life in the Spirit brings forth goodness. Before Jesus came into our lives, we all lived in darkness. Sin reigned in us. However, as believers, we “are the Light in the Lord,” and goodness should characterize our lives. Just like a good fruit that is genuine, authentic, and has integrity any way you slice it, the child of God must also be genuine, authentic, and show integrity from the inside out.

We live in a world where image is everything, marketing is king, and perception equals reality. It shouldn’t surprise us that so many fail to live up to the hype. Underneath the shiny exterior is a rotten core. But the Christ-follower is different. Jesus didn’t focus on “selling” His message with a slick façade. He was simply Himself, operating in the fulness of the Spirit; and because of His goodness, the world will never be the same.

What about you? Are you good? Is the Spirit bearing His fruit of goodness in your life? Are you walking today as a child of Light? If not, the way is open. The Spirit is waiting. He longs to cleanse, to fill, to make you right, to make you good from the inside out. – Sonja Vernon.

In thinking over what Sonja said in her piece, I’m reminded that we don’t have to be good on the outside if we are good on the inside. There are some people who pretend to be good while they squirm in misery at having to put on such a show. They know that at some point in time they will be exposed as being anything but good, and hate the thought of losing their goodie-goodie reputation. But there is no reason to fake it when there is plenty of spiritual power to make it real. Being good doesn’t start on the outside and work inward, it begins on the inside and works outward. So, think about where you stand when it comes to being good. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

THE LORD IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE

We can see in archaeological and written evidence of the past, and present conditions in many countries today, the deity’s presence is and was made visible by an image or icon in their temple. Often, those who made such idols claimed that the god whose image was being displayed, approved of the process, even inspiring it. In these temples, rituals were performed as a way of bringing this god’s being from the spiritual world into the physical world of the worshiper so they could feel the presence of the deity. As chants were being made, the deity’s spirit would enter the image in the temple so as to function as a medium through which the worshipers’ wishes could be granted and also to receive the offerings, praise, prayers, and worship offered them.

Once this happened, it was the worshipers’ belief that the spirit of the deity would remain there in the temple so whenever they came, the deity would be there to hear and bless them. When Jesus met the woman by the well in Samaria, she mentioned to Him that they had their images up in the mountains through which to contact God, while the Jews had theirs in the Temple in Jerusalem. So, which one is right? she asked. Jesus basically told her that God was making a new covenant with His worshipers so that in the future there would be no need for temples or images, but that to worship Him the right way it must be done in spirit since He is a Spirit.

Therefore, instead of chants and rituals being performed to bring God down to their level so they could feel His presence, He would lift them up to His level so they could bask in His presence. No wonder after a wonderful service where the presence of God was so real and palpable, people are often heard to say, “It feels like heaven in here!” So, the question is, are we to feel the presence of the Lord in our midst after we see a miracle or a sinner giving their life to Him, or after a great song is sung? Or is the fact that we feel God’s presence that lets us know He is there? It can be both ways. But here’s the secret, unless the Spirit of the Lord dwells within our heart and soul, it will only look and sound like a great thing to see or hear. As Paul told the Corinthians, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”[1] to worship in spirit and in truth. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

[1] 2 Corinthians 3:17

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XV)

Kenneth Wuest has an excellent study on both the Greek and lexiconic treatment of the Greek noun dikaiosune, translated as “righteousness,” and the adjective dikaios, translated as “righteous,” both having the same root. That’s why it is vital that every Christian, especially preachers and teachers, understand the Biblical definition of both “righteousness” [noun] and “righteous.” [adjective] The first has to do with status (the Anointed one is our righteousness),[1] and the last with service.[2] Otherwise, your message on the theology of salvation will be mixed and possibly confusing.

In the Biblico-Theological Lexicon,[3] it has the following to say on these important words: Dikaios is: “what is right, conformable to what is right, answers the claims of being right.” The fundamental idea is that of a state or condition conformable to things orderly, apart from the consideration whether usage or custom or other factors determine the order of direction. Thus, dikaios is synonymous with agathos (“good”) only that dikaios is a conception of a relationship and presupposes a standard, whereas the subject of agathos is its own rule. It is important to know the difference between its use in the moral sense and spiritual sense. Obviously, there is a decisive difference between what is not good or right.

Righteousness in the biblical sense is a condition of rightness the standard of which is God’s own divine standard which shows itself in behavior conformable to God and has to do above all thing with its relationship to God, and with our walk before His eyes. It is, and it is called dikaiosune theou (righteousness of God),[4] righteousness, as it belongs to God, is of value only to Him. In other words, Godlike righteousness.[5] With this righteousness thus defined, the Gospel comes into the world of nations whose morality was measured by a different standard. Righteousness in the Scripture sense is a thoroughly religious conception, designating the normal relation of mankind and their acts and behavior before God.

In its scriptural sense, in both the First Covenant and Final Covenant being, righteous is the state commanded by God and passing the test of His judgment,[6] the character and acts of a person approved by Him, by virtue of which that person corresponds with Him and His will as their own ideal and standard; or more generally it denotes the sum-total of all that God commands, of all that He appoints, should be done. As God Himself is righteous, therefore, it is the standard of this righteousness. It is dikaiosune theou (righteousness as it belongs to God), which is well-pleasing to Him – Godlike righteousness. Just such a righteousness that ought to be the goal of every human effort and desire, Paul insists upon as, strictly speaking, the Scripture conception of dikaiosune (righteousness), and as the result of the Final Covenant salvation is realized in mankind.

This righteousness is a state of the subject who stands justified by God’s judgment, who has fulfilled all obligations, has no guilt to hide. The righteousness of God is a state called forth by God’s act of justification, namely, by judicial disconnection or release from all that stands in the way of being righteous, a liberation of which a person becomes a partaker by means of faith. We see, therefore, that the Pauline conception of righteousness – which as always expresses a relationship to the judgment of God – includes this special feature, namely, it denotes the state of the believing man or woman called to serve God by way of a divine acquittal. So, the question is, does one become righteous because of their righteousness, or does their righteousness prove that they are righteous? Obviously, it is the latter.

We can understand this better when we realize that justification is the act of God removing the sinner’s guilt and the penalty incurred by that guilt for them to be righteous, and bestowing positive righteousness upon them. The Anointed One Jesus Himself in whom the believer stands, was not only innocent and uncondemned but actually righteous in point of law for time and for eternity. This is what God did for Abraham when he believed Him. This is what the Judaizers were attempting to merit for themselves by their own good works. Now we can see more clearly why Paul was so upset. It’s like asking if a person is saved because they believed, or that because they believed they are saved.

So, the first reason why the Galatians were so foolish is that they allowed themselves to be made fools who took the truth and twisted it into disobeying what God told them through Paul. How odd is that? Being taught not to obey the truth? Paul told them that, like being in a Marathon, they were running the race so well by following the true path to remain right with God, but they allowed themselves to be led off course by false promises. It turned out that the shortcut to a righteous standing with God was a long and arduous way and instead of directing them to the proper finish line, they were being led further and further away.

The next reason why they were being so foolish is that they were being told that Jesus dying for their sins was not needed for the righteousness, they would be able to attain that through the Law. Paul made it so clear to them about the meaning and purpose of Messiah’s death, that with even the smallest amount of imagination they were able to see the whole scene on Calvary played out before their very eyes. And just as in the sacrifices practiced in the Temple, it was the blood that made the difference. So how could they be so foolish as to let the precious blood of the Lamb of God be poured out as worthless? Were they really willing to accept the blood of animals instead of the blood of God’s Son?

And the final reason why Paul rightly called them as being foolish is that they were blinded by these false teachers from seeing that Jesus just didn’t die, He was crucified on a cross. This kind of execution was reserved for the worst of criminals. So, our Lord was not put to death in some humane way for the sake of the morally righteous, but for the vilest of sinners. That’s why the Messiah did not merely shed His blood, but he willingly gave it as a sacrifice on our behalf. The glory of the cross is that while it points to mankind’s worse shame it also points to God’s greatest love.

There is nothing, says Kelly, the world counts more foolish than the cross. Philosophers scorned the notion that a divine person should die this way: it makes the Son of God’s death seemed so weak and pointless. These Judaizers did not understand the horribleness of sin, of mankind’s open hostility to the God of love, and how through the cross He offered a sure way to escape eternal judgment. The cross was the means of making all this possible. But more than that; the cross not only shows mankind’s weakness but God’s power. It also proves the hopelessness of looking to the Law to bring in the blessing of forgiveness and salvation. There is such a thing as the power of the Law to kill, but it cannot make alive. The Anointed One alone has the power to do this.[7]

After reading Genesis 15:6, most people do not continue on reading about Abraham’s life. In that context, there are two compelling statements we must look at. After Sarah laughed at the divine messengers and their prophecy that she would bear a son, we are told that Adonai spoke reflectively by asking Himself if He should keep it a secret from Abraham on what He was about to do. Especially since Abraham would become the father of a great and strong nation through whom all the other nations of the earth would be blessed. After all, Adonai got acquainted with Abraham so that he could pass on what he being taught to his children and their children. And that was, “To keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just, so that Adonai may bring about for Abraham what He promised him.”[8]

And then again, later on after Abraham died a famine engulfed the land. So, Isaac went over to see Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar.[9] And that’s where Adonai appeared to him and told him, don’t go down into Egypt, but live where I tell you. Stay here in Gerar, and I will be with you and bless you so that I can fulfill the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. That is: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by your descendants, all the nations of the earth will bless themselves. All this is because Abraham heeded what I said and did what he was told to do – he did what I taught him to do by following my Word and my teachings, said Adonai.[10]

Now, the faith of Abraham was not just a case of belief, but acting on that belief. Therefore, the spiritual children of Abraham will exhibit two characteristics. First, they will trust in Yahweh by trusting in Yeshua[11]. And secondly, they will remain faithful in performing His commandments, statutes, and laws. Yeshua confirms this when speaking to religious leaders who questioned His claims of being the Son of His Father in heaven, but to those who did believe in Him, He told them, “If you keep and obey My Word, then you are My followers for sure. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”[12]

But those who doubted Jesus said, “We are children of Abraham. We never were servants to anyone. What do you mean when You say, ‘You will be free’?” Jesus answered them, “For sure, I tell you, everyone who sins is the servant of sin because sin has a hold on him. And the servant does not belong in the house. The son belongs in the house. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free for sure. I know that you are the children of Abraham. But you want to kill Me because My Word is not in your hearts. I speak of what I saw when I was with My Father. You do what you saw your father do.” They said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do what he did.”[13] [14]

Archibald Robertson (1863-1934) is sure that Paul’s words about the Gentile believers in Galatia now being sons of Abraham. This is Paul’s astounding doctrine to Jews that the real sons of Abraham are those who believe in Jesus the Anointed One as he did,[15] Such spiritual sonship springs out of faith, not out of a genealogical bloodline. John the Baptist denounced the Pharisees and Sadducees as vipers though descendants of Abraham[16] Furthermore, Jesus termed the Pharisees children of the devil and not spiritual children of Abraham.[17] Of course we know that they did not become the children of God and spiritual children of Abraham just by repeating it. They could only make that claim once they were born again of the Spirit and by becoming new creations in Jesus the Anointed One.[18]

[1] See Romans 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21

[2] Cf. Matthew 3:18; Luke 1:6; Romans 3:10; 5:7, 19; 1 John 2:1, 29; 3:7

[3] Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek: by Hermann Cremer, Trans. By William Urwick, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1881, pp. 183-184

[4] Romans 1:17; 3:21

[5] See Ephesians 4:24

[6] Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:9

[7] William Kelly: On Galatians, op. cit., pp.55-57

[8] Ibid. 18:17-19

[9] Gerar is known today as Wadi el-Jerdr in south central Israel

[10] Genesis 26:1-5

[11] Ibid. 26:5

[12] John 8:32

[13] Ibid. 8:33-39

[14] Avi ben Mordechai: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 30-31

[15] Romans 3:26; 4:16; 14:23

[16] Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7

[17] John 8:37-44

[18] Archibald Robertson’s Word Pictures of the New Testament, op. cit., p. 1453

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XIV)

My, oh my, how that differs from the accepted idea of so many on what it means to be righteous! To the Galatians and Judaizers, it meant being circumcised, wearing certain clothes, eating certain foods, following particular rituals, ceremonies, and customs in order to become one of God’s favored believers. The genes of those Judaizers must be quite robust because they’re still producing followers to this day. God have mercy on us if we attempt to help believers grow on the basis of how many verses of Scripture they read each week; whether they pray standing up, kneeling, or sitting down; pray in unison or are led in prayer; whether they participate in foot washing, or how they conduct themselves in church rather than how they act on the outside in order to win points with God. Do God’s commandments and laws promote righteous living? Yes! Should they be followed? Yes, but not when we use them just to impress others; without knowing what God really said and His reasons for asking us to do them.

Early Church writer Tertullian (155-240 AD) responds to some heretical teaching in his day on what Paul says here in verse seven about those who are the true spiritual children of Abraham. It appears that some of the eminent early Church fathers who objected to using the celibate Jesus, to support the church’s stand for unmarried priests. What about Peter? So, Paul’s statement here that all believers are the spiritual children of Abraham, it must be remembered that the promise was given to Abram before he fathered any children. The only reason that Abram became a father was because of Sarah’s urging that he cohabitates with her maid, Hagar. But this was also done before he was circumcised. So, to be a spiritual child of Abram it must be tied to him before he even engendered Isaac.[1]

Early church writer Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage (200-258 AD), was writing on the subject of why the Jews see to be unable to understand anything in the Scriptures. After all, Isaiah made that prediction a long time ago: “Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established.”[2] I like the way the NIV renders it: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Perhaps our Lord was thinking of this when He told His Jewish listeners: I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, if you don’t believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.[3] These truths are well-grounded in what the prophet Habakkuk said, “The just will live by faith.”[4]

This, said Bishop Cyprian, was proven by Abraham who by faith believed what God said and it was credited to him as being right with God. Paul agrees by quoting what the Torah said.[5] [6] That makes it clear that if we who are born again are the spiritual children of Abraham, we also must take what God says and not only accept it by faith but act on in faith. In that way, Paul is telling the Galatians that God removed the wall the Jews erected to keep Gentiles out of the family of God. So why now do the Galatians want to return to a system that doesn’t work?[7]

Needless to say, being spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham does not affect our spiritual status with God. It was Abram’s faith and trust in God’s promise that his son with Sarah would be next in line to continue this physical and spiritual relationship with their descendants. Early Church writer Thascius, Bishop of Cypria (200-258 AD) – a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia today, became convinced that what Paul said about the Jews in his Apostle’s day concerning Abraham, that he was justified, not by works but by faith, remained largely unchanged over time.[8] Thascius was convinced that the Jews would not understand the Holy Scriptures even in his day, but that they would be understandable to them in the last days after that the Anointed One returns. In fact, writing to his son Quirinus, he explained to him that the prophet Isaiah told the people living in Ari’el that the whole prophetic vision became like a message in a sealed-up scroll. When one gives it to someone who can read and says, “Please read this,” they’ll answer, “I can’t because it’s sealed.” if the scroll is given to someone who can’t read with the request, “Please read this,” they’ll say, “I can’t read.”[9]

No doubt the Bishop was describing the Jews in Cypria and their not being able to understand the Gospel. But Isaiah wasn’t the only one with such news for the Jews. The prophet Jeremiah told the people of Judah and Israel that the Lord will not turn back until He did what He planned in His heart to do. In days to come, you will understand this.[10] Furthermore, God told Daniel that as for him, he must take the words God gave him and locked up the book until the end of time. Many will travel here and there and knowledge will be more and more.[11]

The Bishop of Cypria then tells his son that even the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians and told them, brothers, I don’t want you to miss the significance of what happened to our forefathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea.[12] And the next time he wrote them he let them know that after all God did in leading them out of Egypt and through the Sinai Desert, that up until then they didn’t comprehend what Moses said, let alone the Gospel. He told them that the Jews’ minds were not able to understand. Even to this day when the Law is read, there is a covering over their minds. They do not see that the Anointed One is the only One who can take the covering away.[13]

However, it was not all bad news because after He rose from the grave Jesus told His followers that all the things written about Him in the Law of Moses and in the Books of the early prophets and in the Psalms must happen as they said they would. Then He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.[14] Then He informed them that it was prophesied that the Messiah would suffer death and be raised from the dead after three days.[15] [16] Now we look around us today and find that a large majority of the Jewish population not only remain unresponsive to the Gospel, especially the more orthodox Jews who still hold tight onto what Moses said and continue to be impenetrable to the light of truth in their own Scriptures about the Messiah.

Martin Luther adds a life-experience to what Paul is saying here about Abraham. Luther tells us to learn to understand the constitution of our Christian righteousness. Faith is weak, but it means enough to God that He will not issue the charge of sin against us. He will not punish nor condemn us for it. He will forgive our sins as though they amount to nothing at all. He will do it not because we are worthy of such mercy. He will do it for Jesus’ sake in whom we believe. Paradoxically, sometimes a Christian can be both right and wrong, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a child of God. These contradictions no person can harmonize who does not understand the true way of salvation. According to the Vatican, says Luther, we were supposed to toil until the feeling of guilt left us. But the authors of this deranged idea were frequently driven to despair in the hour of death. And it would have happened to me, admits Luther, if the Anointed One did not mercifully deliver me from this error.”[17]

Martin Luther goes on to make a valuable point here. Let’s begin, he notes, Paul is saying to the Galatians, look at Abraham and learn how this friend of God was justified and saved. Not because he left his country, his relatives, his father’s house; not because he was circumcised; not because he stood ready to sacrifice his own son Isaac in whom the promise of posterity was embodied. Abraham was justified because he believed. Paul’s argument goes like this: “Since this is the unmistakable testimony of Holy Scripture, why do you take your stand upon circumcision and the Law? Was not Abraham, your father, of whom you make so much, justified and saved without circumcision and the Law by faith alone?” Paul, therefore, concludes: “They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”[18]

John Edmunds (1800-1874) sees the proven theory of “cause and effect” being used here by Paul in response to the “effect and cause” taught by the Judaizers. Let’s explain: by using a match to cause the wood to burn in a stove, the effect will be heating the cold water in a pan on the stove. So, what would you say if someone told you that the effect of putting hot water on the stove would cause the wood to catch fire? The same goes for the Judaizers and their doctrine of receiving the Holy Spirit. They were telling the Galatians that by being faithful and obedient to the Law, they would receive the Spirit. But Paul is reminding them that it was by their rejection of the Law as a source and putting their faith and trust in Jesus Messiah, the Spirit was given to them. So, Paul is, more or less, daring them to prove him wrong.

So, in verse three Paul asks them if they are so foolish to think that after starting their new lives in the Spirit, they were now trying to become perfect by their own human effort? Later in verse five, Paul will ask them if they believe God gave them the Spirit to work miracles because they followed the law?[19] No, they are about to do these things because they first heard the Good News and believed it and received the Spirit as a gift to dwell in them. Edmunds goes on to comment on what he thought were the things that they were able to do as a result of receiving the Spirit. In addition to miracles and healing Edmunds includes “speaking with tongues.”[20] The important thing was for the Galatians to keep in mind that it was God through His Spirit that brought such power into their spiritual lives, so if they now turn to the Law, the Spirit will not use such gifts to promote the Law. They are only meant to promote God and Jesus the Messiah.[21]

Plymouth Brethren leader, William Kelly (1821-1906) finds several reasons in these first six verses why the Galatians were rightfully called, “foolish.” Paul cannot refrain from rebuking the Galatians because despite all he pointed out to them in chapter two, they just don’t seem to understand how grievous it was to him, to the Holy Spirit, to Messiah, and to God the Father. Their actions in going back to the old way of working for justification and believing that they were right with God by all the works they might do, was what frustrated the Apostle and made him shake his head in disbelief.

[1] Tertullian: op. cit., Part 4, On Monogamy, Ch. 6, pp. 126-127

[2] Isaiah 7:9 – Complete Jewish Bible

[3] John 8:24

[4] Habakkuk 2:4

[5] Genesis 15:6

[6] Galatians 3:6

[7] The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, The Treatises of Cyprian, On the Exhortation to Martyrdom, Treatise 12, First Book. 1, Testimonies, pp. 1042-1043

[8] Galatians 3:6

[9] Isiah 19:11-12

[10] Jeremiah 30:24

[11] Daniel 12:4

[12] 1 Corinthians 10:1

[13] 2 Corinthians3:14

[14] Luke 24:44

[15] Ibid. 24:46

[16] Treatises of Cypria, Treatise 12, Bk. 1, para. 4, p. 1042

[17] Martin Luther: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 64

[18] Ibid. p. 65

[19] See 1 Corinthians 12:6; Philippians 2:13

[20] 1 Corinthians 12:28

[21] John Edmunds: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 41

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XIII)

Now, asks Paul, is what God did for Abraham just for the Jews, or are the Gentiles, like those of you in Galatia, included? There is no doubt that Abraham was credited with a right standing before God, but under what circumstances and conditions did Abraham receive such credit. Was it before he was circumcised, or after he was circumcised? Guess what? It happened before he was circumcised! So then, Abraham is the spiritual father of all believing Gentiles. Circumcision was given as a sign to show that, in fact, he was credited with a right standing with God on the basis of the trust he exhibited while he was still an uncircumcised Chaldean. This happened so that he could be the father of every uncircumcised person who trusts and thereby is given a right standing with God. But at the same time, he became the spiritual father, in addition to the forefathers, of every believing Jew who follows in his footsteps in trusting God, not trying to convince God to give them a right standing with Him through good works.

For that reason we must conclude that the promise of a right standing with God is based on trust so that it may come as God’s free gift, a promise that can be relied on by all believers, not only those who live within the framework of the Torah but also those with the kind of trust Abraham exhibited. This harmonizes with what God told Abraham because of such trust, “I have appointed you to be a father of many peoples.”[1] His trust did not waver when he and Sarah were well passed the time of producing children by the normal process. As far as Abraham was concerned, his 100-year-old body long ago passed that stage. On the contrary, by the trust he put in God’s promise, he was made potent so that he could impregnate Sarah, for which he gave all glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised he could also accomplish with God’s help. This is why he was credited with a right standing with God because of his trust and obedience.[2] [3]

No doubt the Judaizers and misled Galatian believers were hoping Paul would run out of subjects. But just when they thought he was through, here he comes with the most revered and honored ancestor in Jewish history, Abraham. He was every Jews’ ancestral father. How dare Paul bring this Patriarch into the discussion?  If anything, Abraham represented what Judaism became, God’s chosen people to whom He gave the Torah. They were sure that Abraham was on their side and would bless them for being so devoted to the religious rituals and regulations given to them by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

However, Paul reminds them that Abraham did not possess the Law, later given to Moses; not even the Ten Commandments; nor was circumcision required before God credited him with righteousness. Saul of Tarsus – who was to become known to the world as Paul, the leading spiritual ideologist of early Christianity – made considerable use of Abraham as a model to support his own belief that the observance of laws is not advantageous to receive spiritual salvation.

However, one modern Jewish writer questions Paul’s argument that Abraham lived before the Torah was given?  If he did, then he could not observe its laws. Even so, God still deemed him right to stand forgiven before Him. In what is called a typical, “Midrashic” (the way Jewish scholars comment on Hebrew Scriptures for exposition), Paul notes that the verse in question took place before the account of Abraham’s circumcision. The Jewish writer, however, believes that Paul did so in order to emphasize that circumcision (which Paul represents as the core of all ritual observances) is not a requirement for righteousness or salvation to be earned through belief and trust in God. The writer goes on to say, that in view of such claims made by early Church Fathers about Abraham, it is perfectly understandable that the Rabbis would feel it essential to assert that Abraham was truly a Jewish figure who found a way to observe the precepts of the Torah even before they were made mandatory by its revelation on Mount Horeb in Sinai.

Now, since there’s no record of Abraham being a devotee of certain rituals and customs meant to please God, except animal sacrifice,[4] then what made Abraham follow the voice of God and do what God asked him to do? Paul hammers home the deciding factor, it was faith in the God of Noah. Abraham acted by faith; his faith in who God was and faithful to what He said.

We know from Acts 8:1 that Paul witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen by stoning, therefore it must also be accepted that he heard Stephen’s final message to his persecutors as found in Acts of the Apostles 7:51-53. “You stubborn people who shut tight your hearts and ears just like your forefathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And even though you received Mosaic Law through the compassion of angels, you disobeyed it by betraying and murdering Him.”

Can it possibility be that this stirring message from Stephen was on Paul’s mind as he struggled with the Judaizers to recognize that they were just as stubborn as those who stoned Stephen, and their ears and hearts were boarded shut against who Jesus really was – the Righteous One; the One who came to pay the price for sin, thereby satisfying God the Father who in turn approved the payment for everyone?

In describing Abraham’s act of faith, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6. He points out that God credited Abraham’s faith and obedience to him as “righteousness.” The word in the Greek verb logizomai, translated as “accounted” (KJV) “credited” (NIV)” refers to something real; not just hoped for or a supposition. It’s more than God just saying: You know what Abraham because you’re such a nice guy, let me think about it. I’m going to lay down some laws in about 430 years on how to do things right and see if you qualify under those. No! No! Abraham did it right, and got it right, for all the right reasons; therefore, God said, “Abraham, everything you did is right with Me, I gave you My guaranteed approval.”

Righteousness is also a word often used by ministers and teachers of the Bible, but few people in the pew know its full meaning. Some think that a righteous person is someone who’s perfect in their Christian walk, and that gives them the right to judge others. Some even equate righteousness as being on a higher level in one’s relationship with God because they always outdo everyone else in pleasing God and getting His applause. In its broadest sense, righteousness means knowing the difference between right and wrong and always choosing what is right in order for God to be pleased with them.

In Genesis,[5] the Hebrew verb chashab involved what we call ethics. You see this illustrated in Isaiah where the women of Jerusalem are told because of their disrespect for God, everything they own will be ruined, they will wrap themselves with rags, the land will be overgrown with thorns and thistles. That is until God’s Spirit is poured out on them. Then their desert will become fertile fields, and the crops in their fields will be chashab, treated, or counted, like a forest.[6]  In other words, although the crops could measure up to be considered a forest, God would give them the honor of being “a called one.” So even though none of us might feel that we deserve being called one of God’s chosen children because we don’t possess the talent and abilities of others, when God sees that we are giving Him all that we possess with all our heart, we may find our name on that list anyhow.

Here in Galatians, the Greek verb logizomai is given as the equivalent to the Hebrew verb chashab. The Greek, logizomai, means, “to take into account.” That means it is given the same quality as something it is replacing. For instance, today, there are many universities that recognize a student’s life experiences in some art or science as being the same as though they earned that credit by completing courses in the same art or science at the university. Both chashab and logizomai involve ethics and express some of the same qualities: integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting, especially when passing judgment on others. The German word for this is Gerechtigkeit. That places the emphasis is on being “just and fair.”  Simply put, it means doing the right thing for the right reasons at the right time. So, in other words, it’s a believer’s intent and purpose, not how they do it as much as why they do it that receives God’s approval.

This involves doing what God wants us to do to reflect our attitude and actions that satisfy Him. A quick look at what God expects of His children tells us that He desires all of us to be truthful, live by the highest moral standards, always doing the right thing, not being biased or discriminatory in our feelings and actions toward others. We are to be just and fair in our thinking, respect others for who they are, not what they are. The reason Abraham qualified as righteous before the Messiah came, was that he had faith in God’s promise that he would father a son who then would become the one through whom the Messiah was to be born. So, when the Messiah did come, Abraham was included in those who trust Him as their Lord and Savior.

We clearly see that faith by itself is not righteousness, nor does righteousness bring salvation; but acting on one’s faith brought by salvation in obedience to God’s Word, is righteousness. If you attempt to do those things out of obligation or a feeling of duty in order to obtain God’s favor, it will be a waste of your time and God’s time. So, it is obvious that we are not righteous simply because we say the sinner’s prayer or join a church, but when we by faith accept what the Messiah did on our behalf and become obedient to God’s Word and His instructions, then our righteousness will show in our behavior. In other words, doing what God tells us to do so we are in His will, fulfilling His purpose for our lives in a way that’s in line with His Word – that’s living righteously.

Therefore, we see that Paul connects two things: faith and righteousness. Paul repeats this concept in his letter to the Roman believers.[7] So now Paul reminds the Galatians, I came to you teaching and preaching about the righteousness of Jesus the Anointed One, doing what His Father asked Him to do in order to completely fulfill the requirements for salvation. Therefore, if Abraham was considered righteous in that same way; and if you claim to be Abraham’s children then you must follow his example. Accept God’s Word by faith and become obedient to that Word.

And I’m telling you, Paul says to the Galatians, that the Word of God I brought to you is this: God sent His Son into the world so that through His obedience and doing His Father’s will, anyone who believes in Him and becomes His disciple will also be counted as righteous and pleasing to God. So why in the world are you throwing this away and trying to please God some other way?  “Many of you,” says Paul, “claim to be descendants of Abraham, but I’m telling you that’s only in the flesh.  If, however, you want to be the spiritual descendants of Abraham then accept Jesus the Anointed One as the basis for your faith.”

[1] Genesis 17:5

[2] Ibid. 15:6

[3] Romans 4:1-22

[4] Genesis 15:9ff

[5] Genesis 15:6

[6] Isaiah 32:15

[7] Cf. Romans 4:18-25

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XII)

When speaking of God doing miracles in one’s life, Paul collected plenty of facts to prove his point. All he needed to do was point to his ministry with Barnabas in Iconium, and then over in Lystra.[1] And how about what happened in Ephesus?[2] In fact, Paul convinced the Romans of this same miracle power in his travels from Jerusalem to the province of Illyricum.[3] [4] But why should Paul expect any better treatment than Jesus, the One who called and sent him, received among the Jews when He was still here on earth? In spite of all the miracles and wonders He performed, they still ended up killing Him just because He claimed to be sent by God. The same thing was happening to Paul. This should be a lesson to us all. It is not miracles and wonders that will win the sinner to the Anointed One, but only the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Just in case the Galatians and the Judaizers were still unable to focus, Paul throws them another question that proved too hot to handle. While perhaps shaking his head, Paul says: Listen, does God the Father work miracles in your midst by healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind; making the lame to walk; and saving many from their wretched lives in sin all because you Jews are still abiding by your laws and rituals, or you Gentiles still worshiping your Greek and Roman gods?”  “Tell me,” says Paul, “If God used to do it for those reasons, then why, after you heard the Gospel of Jesus the Anointed One, did you fall on your knees in repentance and give your heart to God; be filled with the Spirit and started living for Him and sharing His Word?  Think about it!

Paul was certainly dealing with mixed emotions. He and Barnabas, along with other ministers, traveled throughout Galatia bringing the Gospel to the people there.  And God honored their labor with miracles and powerful works to wake up that part of the world to the reality of the Gospel and saving work of Jesus the Anointed One.  But now it looked like they were turning inward and concentrating on following the rituals and practical teachings of the past.

There are even Christian churches today that take it upon themselves to celebrate the Jewish Feasts because they think it will please God and make their Christianity more authentic. When I taught Jewish Feasts in seminary, I was able to show my students how Jesus fulfilled the intent and purpose of all the feasts. So, when we celebrate Jesus, we celebrate the real Passover Lamb; the real Yeast-free Bread; the real First Fruit of the Resurrection; the real Day of Pentecost; and await the real sound of the Trumpets; the real Day of Atonement; and the real Harvest.

Scottish theologian John Eadie (1810-1876 AD) discusses where Paul reminds the Galatians that it was God who gave them the Holy Spirit and did powerful works among them. He already asked this question back in verse two, now he’s asking it again. And all Paul wants to know is did God give them the Holy Spirit because they were dutifully doing what the Law said they should do or was it because they heard, believed, and started following the truth of the Gospel? Eadie says that the mighty works God did should not be restricted to miracles, but may encompass other works of divine energy. Certainly, the Galatian believers were conscious of the indwelling Spirit’s presence working within them; they felt the surge of the new life and could speak with tongues, and they were, and, therefore, were prepared to answer the question Paul put to them. Certainly, the Apostle Paul was not attempting to characterize himself as though he’s taking God’s place in seeing that they received the Holy Spirit. But he certainly could say that he furnished the Holy Spirit as an instrument of communication, or that he assisted in these miracles among, and in, them when the Spirit used his hands simply to conveyed the divine energy?[5]

George W. Clark (1831-1911) takes what Paul says here about the Spirit working miracles among the Galatians, and explains that the word rendered “miracles” may refer to miraculous works or miraculous powers. The Greek verb energeō Paul uses here is the root word from which we get our English word “energy.” When used in the intransitive tense it means “be operative, be working.”[6] But when used in the transitive tense it means to “put into operation, to make work.”[7] And then when used in the present tense it means to display one’s “operation or workmanship.”[8] Thayer in his Greek Lexicon says that it is used here in verse five in the transitive tense.[9]

So, this will help us understand whether to see this as “works of the Spirit” or “power of the Spirit.” If we decide on “works” then the verse should read “among you,” but if we see it as “power,” then the rendering should be “within you.” The Greek preposition en that the KJV translates as “among,” can mean “in”, “by”, or “with.” Later on, here in chapter three, Paul uses the same Greek preposition en by speaking of that which is written IN the Book of the Law. So, I agree with Rendall that the Spirit worked “within” the believers in Galatia because of the miracles that resulted from their ministry.[10] But when we apply this same preposition to the “works of the Law,” then it would be used in the present tense.

Wesleyan scholar and college professor G. G. Findlay (1849-1919) summarizes that when the Apostle Paul dealt with what we find in verses one to five, and that was the Galatians’ folly in forgetting the Gospel; the Galatians’ folly in forgetting the Cross; and the folly in forgetting the Spirit. It was all about “knowing.” Says, Findlay, these are the first three steps in backsliding. Without the light of the Messiah shining like a lighthouse, we are sinners lost on a never-ending dark night on the sea of sin. When people forget to look at the Gospel for guidance, and at the Cross as the magnetic north for their spiritual compass, and at the Holy Spirit as their pilot, then being lost is not only a possibility but a probability.[11]

Ernest DeWitt Burton (1856-1925) offers his commentary on Paul’s question in verse two about whether or not the Galatians received the Holy Spirit through the Law or the hearing of God’s Word. In verse five Paul talks about how the Holy Spirit subsequently did mighty deeds among the believers. These “deed” could easily be understood as the Gifts of the Spirit at work, not some healing or deliverance ministry. Burton calls them “charismatic manifestations of the Spirit,” such as speaking in tongues and prophesying. He also points out that it is the same Spirit that produces the inward Fruit of the Spirit, which are inward, as well as the Gifts of the Spirit, which are outward.[12]

Kenneth Wuest (1893-1961) notes that the word “suffer,” therefore, continues the thought of verses two and three which is further emphasized. In verse two, Paul is speaking of the initial entrance of the Spirit into the hearts of the Galatians at the moment they placed their faith in the Lord Jesus. In verse three, he refers to the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the believer’s life. In this verse, the subject of the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit is introduced, namely, the anointing of the Holy Spirit in endowing certain members of the Galatian churches with special gifts of the Spirit. All these Paul brings to bear upon his contention that the grace-way of salvation must be God’s-way since it is accompanied by the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit.[13]

Richard Longenecker agrees with Burton that when Paul spoke of the Holy Spirit working miracles among the Galatians, he was thinking, and expanding on the allusion, he gave in verse four, and the ongoing spiritual experiences beyond the time of their conversion. It refers to outward manifestations of the Spirit’s presence such as enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11 and 2 Corinthians 12:12. It identifies the Galatians themselves as the recipients of the Spirit’s charismatic activities. It is true, of course, that 2 Corinthians 12:12 speaks of miracles as one of the signs of an Apostle.[14] Since these were outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit working among the Galatians long after they were converted, it seems logical to take that as a reference to the outward Gifts of the Spirit with inward results, not Fruit of the Spirit which was inward manifestations with outward results.

3:6-7 That’s how it worked for Abraham. The scriptures say, “He believed God, and because of his faith God credited him with doing things right.” So, remember then, the real children of Abraham are those who put their faith in God.

Paul expounds on this same issue with the Romans of whether Abraham was credited to his right standing with God as the result of works or faith. For if Abraham came to be considered right with God because of legalistic observances, that’s something to boast about. But this is not how things are done by God! Opening the Torah, Paul read: “Abraham put his trust in God, and it was credited to him as doing the right thing.”[15] We all know, Paul says, that someone who is working is paid on the basis of their work, it is not a gift to them, they earned it. However, in the case of someone who does their work voluntarily as a favor, if they receive compensation it is a gift, not a salary. Abraham did do what he did not to be rewarded, but because he trusted in God to do what He promised only on the basis of hope and faithfulness.

Even though the Galatians didn’t seem to get the point, Paul says that King David did. Listen to what David said. “How happy and blessed it is when a person’s wrong-doing is forgiven, and whose sin is covered!” The Hebrew verb kacah is translated as “covered” (KJV & NIV). This verb may be used to describe something that is covered, concealed, clothed, draped over, covered with a spread, or overwhelmed. Thayer in his Hebrew Lexicon says that the verb kacah is used here to denote something that is “hidden” or “concealed,” not just covered. We see this expressed more fully in Hebrews concerning how the blood of the Anointed One does such covering and concealing.[16] Just remember, any sins you committed before being born again are gone from the record and you are justified to stand before God as being right with Him, they cannot be returned to God’s inbox. But any sin you’ve committed since then must be dealt with according to sanctification where you are made clean and holy again in God’s eyes. After all, you are His vessel, the Temple of His Holy Spirit. You never become unborn again, it’s not possible. Disobedient and prodigal children of God are still His children. Like my mother used to tell us, wash your hands before you come to the table or you won’t be allowed to eat.

[1] Acts of the Apostles 14:3, 10

[2] Ibid. 19:11-12

[3] Illyricum lies just north of Macedonia along the Adriatic Sea

[4] Romans 15:19

[5] John Eadie: On Galatians, op. cit., pp. 225-226

[6] See Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:14; Ephesians 2:2

[7] See 1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 1:11, 19

[8] Romans 7:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:7

[9] George W. Clark: On Galatians, op. cit., p. 81

[10] 1 Corinthians 12:11; Philippians 2:13

[11] Expositor’s Bible: On Galatians, G. G. Findlay, op. cit., p. 165ff

[12] Ernest DeWitt Burton: On Galatians. op. cit., pp. 147, 151; See also Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17; 10:44-47; 11:16, 17; 19:1-6; 1 Corinthians 12:4-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12

[13] Kenneth Wuest: Word Studies in the New Testament, op. cit., loc. cit.

[14] Longenecker, Richard N. On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Locations 8609-8617

[15] Genesis 15:6

[16] Hebrews 9:22, 14; I John 1:7

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XI)

The Apostle Paul was not the only one with this stern warning. The Apostle Peter wrote his followers to remind them that anyone pulled out of the polluted cesspool of worldly desires through the knowledge of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and yet through carelessness become reentangled in the trap of sinful desires, are worse off than they were before. They would be better off never knowing the Way of Righteous Living than to know it and then wittingly or unwittingly abandon the truth of the Gospel given to them. Peter then borrows from the Book of Proverbs and compares them to a dog who threw-up and then goes back to eat its own vomit.[1] Peter no doubt learned this proverb while ministering among the Gentiles who said, “The pig who was washed, went back and wallowed again in the mud.”[2] Peter couldn’t have said it much better.

Thomas Aquinas makes a good point here in verse four, that Paul was trying to get the Galatians to see that while they did not get right with God through the Law and good works, it was their good works after they were converted to give thanks, glory, and honor to God and the Anointed One, with none thrown away as though they were meaningless, that pleased God. This same thought would haunt the Apostle Paul and lead him to say in the fourth chapter that he bemoans the possibility that all the work he did among them may all be in vain. It also appears that what Paul taught them about how hardships develop patience and patience withstands trials, giving rise to a hope which will never make us feel ashamed we chose faith over works.[3] [4]

Baptist theologian and teacher Alvah Hovey (1820-1903 AD), Professor and President of Newton Theological Institution (later the Andover Newton Theological School) for fifty-four years, asked: Just what sufferings for the Anointed One’s sake did these Galatians endure? Perhaps we may never know. But the relevance and force of the Apostle Paul’s question depend upon the severity of those sufferings. If they were light afflictions, it would not require such an appeal.[5] So it seems that their liberty in the Anointed One was endured at no small cost of hardships.

Since the Judaizing contingent came specifically to persuade the Jewish converts to revert back to ensuring their salvation the legal way by rites, rituals, and regulations under the Law, it was well-known in those days that anyone forsaking the Law of Moses and Jewish Temple worship was an infidel and were to be shunned by all other Jews. No doubt that’s why the Apostle Paul calls on them to consider the question of whether they are ready to look back and remember how they underwent all the wrongs done to them in the past to see if it still counted for something? Hovey asks, could it also be that they were following a “will-o’ the-wisp”[6] in wading through the marsh mud of persecution and maltreatment by former friends and family all for the sake of the Anointed One and the Gospel was now considered done for no reason?

Hovey tells us that many scholars find the Greek verb paschō translated as “have suffered” (KJV), to mean “have experienced,” and the Greek adjective tosoutos translated as “many things” to signify blessings. This interpretation seems to suit the context perfectly, and paschō certainly contains this meaning even in classical Greek literature. But it is also important to note that except for this passage, it does not display that meaning anywhere in the Final Covenant, and that’s enough reason not to accept that interpretation here. If, says Paul to the Galatians, you now consider all of this suffering and hardship in following the Anointed One to have been in vain – which their return to Judaism now seems affirmed, still there is also suggested by this clause a half-hidden hope that the fruit of their sufferings will not be lost by their actual adoption of the Judaic error. Paul leaves the path open to a return to the way of life which they formerly entered with joy in the Lord.[7]

I like the way George B. Stevens (1854-1906) paraphrases these first four verses into a compact message that Paul wanted to get across to the Galatians. I want to use it here as a summation of these opening verses of chapter three.

Cyril W. Emmet tells us that German Protestant theologian Hans Lietzmann (1875-1942) also translates the Greek verb paschō (“suffer” – KJV) as “experience,” referring to the spiritual experiences listed in verse two. But, as we have seen pointed out by other scholars, the word has never been used that way in the Final Covenant to imply “good experiences.” As others have explained, when used alone it always means “suffer.” No doubt Paul was referring to their persecutions both by the extreme Jewish faction of the Jews who became converts, and the pagan Gentiles who were jealous of their many gods and could not understand why their fellow Gentiles switched to one God.[8]

There are many believers who are being treated today with such disdain and harshness in many Muslim countries around the world when they switch from Islam to Christianity, and in other places when they leave the church they were raised in and become part of another church that may have some opposing views on doctrine or practices. But what would you think of a person sitting on a sinking boat who refuses a lifejacket because they prefer remaining on the sinking vessel, just because that’s the one they trusted to take them to their destination? Perhaps some who are on the sinking ship might think they had lost their faith in the boat to still make it all the way. But since it is “your” life that’s at stake, you must decide between those who don’t approve and the One who is offering you the life vest.

3:5 Let me ask another question, does God work miracles in your midst through the power of the Holy Spirit or does He do it through religious rituals, rites, and regulations, or, does He do it because you trust in what you heard from me and are faithful to what you heard?

Kenneth Wuest gives us an idea for another translation: “Therefore, the One who is constantly supplying the Spirit to you in bountiful measure, and constantly working miracles among you, is He doing these things by means of Law’s work, or by means of the message which proclaims faith [in the Anointed One’s work]?”

Paul sheds some light on another side of the Galatians’ experience. Apparently, when he arrived there as a teacher of the Gospel bringing many Jews and Gentiles into the fold, those who responded were harassed both by their own cultures and opposing cultures. If you read the fourteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles you get a glimpse of what occurred. Not only did Paul and his fellow ministers face persecution, but also those who joined them. Now Paul wants to know if they realize what they are doing. They were not mistreated before while following the Jewish Law; they were not made fun of because of the way they washed their hands. Instead, they suffered because of their faith in Jesus the Anointed One as the Messiah, their Lord, and Savior.

So, are they now giving up all they gained through their suffering because they’ve been convinced it offers no such benefit? How ridiculous is that! Were all the gifts given to them by the Spirit and all their victories over sin and evil of no value? So rather than letting these things promote their growth in the Spirit and solidify their faith in the Anointed One, are they now opting to replace these things God did for them, for something they themselves will try to do? Paul says that’s hard for him to believe!

Didn’t they know along with being given new hope for eternal salvation they were also made competent to be His workers under a Final Covenant? What changed? The essence of the old way of service was based on physically following a written text, but the new way of service is based on spiritually following the leading of the Holy Spirit. The old way of service got you nowhere, the new way of service gets you to heaven; the old way was repetitious with little emotion, the new way is lively and full of joy.

So, in Paul’s mind, it made no sense to go back to the old way of serving God. Now if the old way of living came from observing a written text engraved on stone tablets, and it was delivered with such glory that the people of Israel could not stand to look at Moses’ face because of its brightness, even though that brightness was already beginning to fade away, would not this new way of life through the Holy Spirit come with much more shining-greatness?[9] The shine on Moses’ face not only faded but turned into a frown and disbelief and anger. However, the glow on the face of the Messiah on the mountain[10] is now brighter than ever.[11]

[1] Proverbs 26:11

[2] 2 Peter 2:20-22

[3] Romans 5:3-5

[4] Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[5] 2 Corinthians 4:17

[6] The will-o’-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas.  The light was first known, and still also is, as ignis fatuus, which in Latin means “foolish fire.” Eventually, the name will-o’-the-wisp was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.

[7] Hovey, Alvah: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 38

[8] Cyril W. Emmet: On Galatians, op. cit., p. 29

[9] 2 Corinthians 3:6-8

[10] Matthew 17:7

[11] Revelation 1:13-15

 CHRISTIANITY GROWING IN CHINA

 Although China is under the rule of the atheistic Chinese Communist Party, and there is increasing persecution of Christians, there has been a rapid growth (10% annually) of its Christian population. If that rate continues, China will have more Christians than the United States by 2030. Government raids on churches and imprisonment of some of their members have not caused the churches to disappear. One arrested pastor made this comment: “Rulers have chosen an enemy that can never be imprisoned – the soul of man. Therefore, they are doomed to lose this war.”

THE VATICAN AND GENDER THEORY IDEOLOGY

The Vatican released a publication entitled “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education.” The document rejects gender ideology that denies biological differences between men and women or treats gender as something people choose for themselves. This may have surprised those who thought the Catholic Church would begin to liberalize policy on sexuality. According to Pose Francis, Gender Theory “denies the differences and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisions a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis for the family.”

SING HALLELUJAH

A Christian worship song has become the unofficial anthem of the “Hong Kong” protestors who have been demonstrating their opposition to a Beijing-backed extradition bill. It is thought to have begun on June 11 when a prayer meeting outside the government complex ended with the singing of “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” (© 1974. Linda Stassen-Benjamin). Since that time, it has been sung by millions who continue the protest, and leaders in this democracy movement, including Christian pastors, trying to buffer protestors and the police and use the song to keep both sides calm.

INCREASED ROLE FOR RELIGION IN SOCIETY

 According to Pew Research, around half of Americans favor religion playing a greater role in U. S. society while 18% oppose that idea. The study involved 27 countries with representative samples of at least 1,000 people per country. Among those countries, France (20%), and Japan (20%) had the lowest percentage of those favoring strengthening religion’s role in society while Indonesia (85%), Kenya (74%), and Tunisia (69%) had the highest percentage. The study did not make a distinction between different religions, but Indonesia is 87% Muslim and Tunisia is 99% Muslim. However, both Indonesia and Tunisia are not considered radical Islamist States.

You won’t find this in the New York Times or USA Today, but it is headline news in heaven. Remember, we only see the visible world around us while the Holy Spirit is working in the invisible world. I never thought I’d see the fall of the Communist Soviet Union in my lifetime but I did. It may take longer for China, but after all, Jesus is Lord over heaven and earth. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

ACTIVATE! DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!

In his controversy with Aristotle over the principles involved in the creation, Moses Maimonides made an insightful statement.  He said Aristotle assumed that “…a transition from potentiality to actuality would take place in Deity itself if He produced anything at a certain fixed time” (Part II, Prop. xxvi, Chap. xviii).  It is a very complicated argument and involves the basic concept of creation out of nothing.  But it also sparks a very interesting idea.  How long does “potential” exist, and will it stop being a potential if not put into actuality at the appropriate time?  We know that Scripture teaches us that “When the fullness of time came, God sent His Son” (Gal. 4:4). In other words, the potential was always there, but only for the moment when His Son was sent to earth, to be born of a woman, according to the plan already laid out.  So had the Son of God not acted at the appropriate time, then Christmas would have never happened.

We see this repeated several times throughout Scripture. Noah building the Ark just at the right time. Abraham responding to the call of God at the right time. Moses agrees to go back to Egypt at the right opportunity.  The disciples fishing on the right day. The Samaritan woman going to the well on the right day at the right time. Jesus arriving in Jerusalem at the right Festival as the Lamb of God.  And now we await the exact time for the potential of Christ’s return, that the Father already scheduled.

So often we think that these potentials within us have no expiration date; that we can carry them around as long as we want, and they will always be there when we finally decide to activate them. But that goes against the argument, that for each potential there is a moment of actuality, and unless the two are combined at the right time then that potentiality is lost. If it was possible to interview Bible characters of the past, I’m sure that Esau, Jonah, Saul, Esther, the rich young ruler, the rich man and Lazarus, Joshua giving the children of Israel the right moment to choose whom they would serve, among others, could tell you how it feels to trigger or lose one’s spot in God’s timeline because they failed to activate their potentiality at the appropriate time.

I knew for a long time that I would be called to preach. But the door never opened, and so I chose my own career path. That was, until one night in 1962, while kneeling in prayer in a former Nazi SS barracks in Dachau, Germany, the door opened. Had I not, with the Holy Spirit’s urging, activated my potentiality, I would not be sharing this Serendipity with you. So, the next time the Spirit tells you to do something, do it! So, the question, when your inactivated potentialities die, do your opportunities die with it? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

 CHAPTER THREE (Lesson X)

Dutch Bible scholar Alfred E. Bouter (born 1943) raises an interesting question about when do we receive the Holy Spirit. How do we rectify what Jesus said and did to His disciples when He “breathed on them and said, ‘receive the Holy Spirit‘,”[1] and what did He mean when He said to them, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high?”[2] So the question is, “Did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit twice?”

In John’s Gospel, the Lord spoke about the coming of the Spirit.[3] To the Romans, Paul said that the love of God is spread abroad in our hearts through the Spirit whom He gave to us.[4] The point is the reception of the Spirit. Now here in verse two, Paul asked the Galatians were they given the Holy Spirit because of the good works the Law demanded? Obviously not. It was because of the hearing the Gospel by faith as Paul explained in Romans. For example, faith comes by hearing of the Word of God, a result of preaching.[5]

And so, we see here that what Paul preached made a real impact, it was not just superficial, but those believers received the Holy Spirit. When you are born again you receive the Spirit at the same time, says Bouter, but Scripture makes a distinction because the First Covenant believers who were born again did not receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, although they were born again. So, the moment one is born again they also received the Holy Spirit to regenerate and sanctify them and produce the Fruit of the Spirit. But when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost it was another distinct experience. It was then that they received the Holy Spirit empowering them to preach the Gospel to the whole world along with the Gifts of the Spirit. And besides that, the Holy Spirit the seal on our hearts which shows us to be God’s property. [6] [7] So, to put make it easier to understand, we can look at it this way: When a person is born again, God’s indwelling Spirit is given to them for Salvation; when they are baptized with the Spirit, the Spirit comes upon them as an anointing oil for Service.

Philip Ryken makes a good point when the Galatians were forced to admit that they received the Holy Spirit by faith alone. This truth, that the Holy Spirit comes by faith alone has a profound implication for the Christian life. It means that the Christian life begins with the Spirit and continues on in the Spirit. No wonder Paul thought they were being fools. How could they believe the Judaizes who were telling them that faith was fine as far as it went, but justification might be started by faith but it is completed through works of the Law. It’s almost as though the Anointed One did not finish the work for justification on the cross, so it is up to the new believer to finish the work for Him through works of the Law.[8]

3:3 How irrational you’ve become; after being saved through the Spirit’s help you are now trying to stay saved by way of your own efforts?

Kenneth Wuest translates this verse as: “Are you so unreflecting? Having begun by means of the Spirit, now are you being brought to maturity by the flesh?” He points out that the words “made perfect” is from the Greek verb epiteleō which means “to bring something to the place where it is complete.”[9]

We all should ask ourselves, which was it for me? Did I receive salvation after hearing a message on the Anointed One’s love, suffering, crucifixion, death, resurrection and salvation; then confessing my sins and receiving Him as my Lord and Savior; or did I get saved through christening in infant baptism, going through catechism, confirmation, and following all the practical teachings of my church? Whichever way you answer will indicate which one you are depending on to assure your eternal salvation?

The writer of Hebrews, who many Bible scholars believe to be the Apostle Paul, makes it clear, that the Messiah did not come as a Rabbi from the family of Levi as the Law said it must be. He became a Rabbi by virtue of having the power of an indestructible life. This is what the Psalmist David exclaimed about the Messiah centuries ago, “You are a Priest forever like Melchizedek.”[10] God set aside the Law of Moses. It was weak and ineffective when it came to salvation. The Law of Moses could not make people right with God. Now there is a better hope through which we come near to God.[11] So Paul preached Jesus Messiah as God’s powerful answer to a feeble and impotent Law. How could they even imagine to turn back to such a pitiful thing as the Law to save them?

In presenting the life of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (modern-day Turkey), Philip Schaff tells us that the ministry of Gregory extended far beyond what his brother Basil enjoyed. He stepped into the place vacated by the death of Basil in 372 AD and takes the foremost rank among the defenders of the Faith of Nicaea. He was not, however, without trouble from the heretical groups that plagued the Galatian churches since the days of the Apostle Paul. Certain Galatians were busy in sowing the seeds of their own heresy among their own people. So, it appears, that despite Paul’s efforts with this letter to curb and even eradicate the false doctrine of the Judaizers, it was still going on after 300 years.[12]

Jonathan Edwards says that pride, above all things, promotes this degeneracy because it grieves and quenches the Spirit of the Lamb of God; and so, it kills the spiritual part, cherishes the sinful part, inflames the carnal affections, and fires up the imagination. The unhappy subject of such degeneracy, for the most part, is not aware of their pending calamity, but because they find themselves still strongly moved, showing greater flames of zeal, and more passionate motions of their animal spirits, think of themselves as being fuller of the Spirit of God than ever. But indeed, as the Apostle says here in verse three, they started out in the Spirit to serve God but now have replaced the Spirit with good works.

Here Paul is speaking of a spiritually mature Christian, one who is living a well-rounded, well-balanced, mature life. By the word “flesh,” he refers to all that a person is as the product of natural generation apart from the morally transforming power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The word speaks of the unsaved person’s body, soul, mind, and spirit, controlled by his or her totally depraved nature, along with all their human accomplishments, positions, capabilities, and philosophies.[13] [14]

3:4:  And let me ask you something else, has everything you’ve suffered because of the Gospel up until now been meaningless? Did you go through all of this for nothing? Are you now going to throw it away as worthless?

We must remember, Paul did not carry a copy of the Final Covenant around with him to preach from. The only thing in his hand was the Torah scrolls, scrolls of the Prophets, and scrolls of Wisdom literature such as the Psalms which he studied from his youth on up to become a Pharisee. So, I’m sure he was acquainted with what the prophet Ezekiel said about a person trying to save themselves. When a right living and good person turns away from doing what is right and good and starts sinning by doing all the bad things that a sinful person does, will they live to enjoy eternal life? No! None of the right and good things they did before will be remembered because they were not faithful to what they know and heard from God’s Word and went back into sin. No, they will not live spiritually, they will die.[15]

No doubt this is what inspired the writer of Hebrews to point out that there are those who knew the truth; they received the gift of a new life from heaven. So, the Holy Spirit now dwells within them. They know how good the Word of God is. They know of the promises of the world to come but nevertheless feel rejected. Just being sorry for their sins and deciding to quit is not enough to restore them to right standing with God. Don’t they know that by living in sin they were nailing the Son of God to a cross again? Don’t they realize they are shaming Him in front of everyone?[16] That’s why, when a well-known Christian leader falls into sin, it is not so much that they are embarrassing themselves, but even more pitiful, they are humiliating the Anointed One before the world.

No doubt Paul was hoping they would think back to the days after they first became aware of who Jesus of Nazareth really is. Would they recall how they were publicly disgraced and persecuted, while at other times they stood loyally in support of fellow believers who were treated the same way?  Perhaps they could recollect how they felt such compassion for those in prison. Not only that but when the officials came and seized all their possessions, they accepted it gladly for Jesus’ sake. That’s because they knew far greater and more enduring possessions waiting for them in heaven.

What was the Apostle Paul trying to get them to do? He was pleading with them not to abandon their confidence in the Anointed One to save them which will lead to inheriting rich rewards. He calls on them to endure to the end, for when they do all that God expects of them, they will receive the promise of eternal life. Paul implores them to listen to what the prophet Habakkuk says: “In a little while, only a little longer, the One coming will come without delay. But the person living right must live right by faith. For if they give up, the One who is coming will not be pleased with them.”[17] So, says Paul, don’t be the kind that gives up hope. There’s no future in giving up. We are the kind of believers who live by faith in the One who redeemed us to save us.[18] Giving up is for spiritual weaklings; for those who failed in trying to live their lives for God’s approval instead of letting the Anointed One within them live His life through them; for those who were more interested in the world below than the world above. They gave up living their spiritual life by faith and started living it by works. This principle was not only prevalent in Paul’s day among the congregation of believers, but it is alive today in many churches.

[1] John 20:22

[2] Luke 24:49

[3] John 16:7-11

[4] Romans 5:5

[5] Ibid. 9:30-32

[6] 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13

[7] Alfred E. Bouter: Outline to Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[8] Ryken, Philip Graham: On Galatians, op. cit., (Kindle Location 1599)

[9] Kenneth Wuest: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[10] Psalm 110:4

[11] Hebrews 7:16-19

[12] The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series, Vol. 5 By Philip Schaff, Editor, Ch. 1, p. 25

[13] See these scriptures that illustrate this use: John 3:6; Philippians 3:3, 4; Romans 6:19, 7:5, 18, 25, 8:3; 2 Corinthians 1:17

[14] Jonathan Edwards: Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, op. cit., Letter II, Part IV, Sect III, (Kindle Location 22393)

[15] Ezekiel 18:24

[16] Hebrews 6:4-6

[17] Habakkuk 2:3-4

[18] Hebrews 10:32-39