A TREASURE-TROVE IN GALATIONS.
The Epistle, besides being a red flag against legalism, is a treasure trove of up-building truths. Let’s discover some of them.
Paul’s Theme in this EPISTLE was, The True Liberty of the Gospel.
The Liberty of a “Love Service” in place of,
“Law Bondage”
The Liberty of “The Spirit” in place of, Bondage to,
Hi”The Flesh.”
Then Paul at a later stage speaks about, Liberty of,
“The Spirit.”
He used agricultural terms fitting to the culture of the Galations. Such as “bearing”
FRUIT BEARING!
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, etc. (Galatians 5:22, 23).
BURDEN BEARING!
“Bear you one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
SEED BEARING!
“Whatsoever a man sows,” etc. verse 6:7. “Let us not be weary in well doing, for we will “reap” if we don’t faint.
BRAND – BEARING:
The marks “I bear in my body are the Brands ( marks) of the Lord Jesus .
This is an effective way to reach souls for Christ. We should stand on their own ground with them, as far as possible, talking to them in terms which are familiar and appropriate to them.
Jesus was a master of this, as He shared the Word of God in terms that were relevant to the culture of His day.
The lesson for us to take to heart is that we ourselves are to be fruit-bearers, burden-bearers, seed-bearers and brand bearers for our dear Lord Jesus’ sake.
- The first three are LOVE, JOY, and PEACE. These are those that you experience in your own heart. These portray your inner being to the World.
- The next three are LONG- SUFFERING ( patient) GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, which are the dispositions you should reveal to others. For example, how you treat “your neighbour.”
- The third three- FAITH, MEEKNESS (humility) and SELF-CONTROL are attitudes that I must obtain to remain Godly, in this sin-sick world. These three have special reference to God.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT!
Paul spoke about the graces the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a consecrated believer. He called them the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit. Paul lays them out beautifully. Nine fruits are mentioned. They fall neatly into groups of three each.
So these three trios respectively express the Christian life that concerns yourself, your neighbour, and your Maker.
The first three look, inward,
The next three look, outward.
And the third three look upward.
These trios cover all relationships of life. They tell us that a life under the control of the Holy Spirit is one of fully absorbed beauty. True beauty springs from the heart rather than in outward doings done for appearances sake.
What you are determines the value of what you do! Only the Holy Spirit can produce these qualities in your heart and life. You will never produce them by “play acting” or through “Self Effort.” God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, and so can spirit-filled Christians tell if you are genuine or not. You will not have many meaningful relationships if you keep faking it …
BE REAL, BE HUMBLE, BE TEACHABLE and allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify and change you from within. Don’t justify yourself by blaming others.
Of course you will make mistakes and fail, admit your weakness and remember it takes time, it’s a growing thing not self effort.
Hand everything over to the Lord, nothing holding back and allow Him to stamp His image upon your ❤️ heart.
But there’s more!! These nine Graces (virtues) are arranged beautifully.
- Love, joy, peace. Love comes first, then joy, then peace. The first mention of the three virtues is the foundation of the other two. So love is expressed by joy (love exhausting), and then comes peace, which is love resting (bringing tranquillity and relaxation).
2. The second trio is long-suffering, gentleness and goodness. “Long-suffering” is the foundation and its outworking is “gentleness”, which expresses the passiveness of patience. Then comes “goodness”, which is the active expression of long-suffering.
3. Take the third trio: faith, meekness, self-control. Here again, the first mentioned is the foundation of the other two. So first comes “faith,” then “meekness,” which expresses faith in God. And then comes “self-control,” which is faith expressed in everyday living.
How beautiful these Graces of the Holy Spirit are. You already have all these virtues dwelling inside of you.
But! YOU MUST EXERCISE THEM TO THE POINT THEY BECOME A NATURAL OCCURRENCE.
Blessings upon you as you draw near to the heart of God.
He that has begun good work in you…
“WILL PERFORM IT.”
Amen.
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SMS Heather Dalzell 0417 545 814.
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Light in the Darkness! 