Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Jill Morikone, John Dinzey, Pr. C.A. Murray, Pr. Tom Ferguson
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000033A
|
00:01 The Bible tells us...
00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, The Gospel of Galatians. 00:32 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 We are so excited that you are joining us 00:39 for this beautiful quarterly. 00:41 We're studying, The Gospel in Galatians. 00:45 And we hope you have your Bible, we hope you have a pen, 00:48 and will join in with our panel. 00:50 Because we are going to get into some good Bible study today. 00:54 Now if you don't already have a quarterly, 00:59 you can go online to ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:12 That's for, Adult Bible Study Guide. 01:15 And you can download the official Seventh-day Adventist 01:20 Sabbath school quarterly and study along with us. 01:24 Or you can also, we want to encourage you to go to a 01:27 Seventh-day Adventist church and they will 01:30 give you a copy as well. 01:32 Now what we'd like to do is introduce the panel. 01:36 I've already told them I'm operating on two hours sleep 01:39 so I may be just a little... 01:41 But let me introduce this wonderful panel that is with us. 01:45 We have Pastor C.A. Murray to my immediate left. 01:49 Pastor Tom Ferguson. 01:52 And we're so glad that you're joining us today, Tom. 01:55 Jill Morikone, and Pastor Johnny Dinzey. 02:01 You can tell my brain is not quite going. 02:05 Hopefully I'll kick into gear here. 02:07 Before we begin we would like to... 02:09 We always pray before we start recording any program. 02:13 But we would like to have a prayer that you can join in. 02:16 Tom, would you like to lead us in prayer? 02:18 Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege 02:21 of coming together and studying Your Word. 02:22 And as we think about the message to the church 02:25 in Galatia, we think about Your Holy Spirit and the need 02:28 for Your Spirit to direct Your church. 02:31 So inspire our thoughts, our conversation, 02:34 and may we hear from You. 02:36 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 02:39 Well when we look at Sabbath, we are on lesson number eight, 02:42 and this is, From Slaves to Heirs. 02:45 And let me just kind of back up and talk about 02:49 how this epistle, how the church even began. 02:52 Paul was traveling through Galatia and he became ill. 02:55 And then he enjoyed the hospitality of the Galatians. 03:00 They took him in and nursed him through his illness. 03:02 So while he was there, he preached this strong message 03:06 of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. 03:11 And these people, you know it's interesting, 03:15 this was a pagan group. 03:17 They were all Gentiles. 03:19 They received this message and they really were leading 03:25 godly lives. 03:26 So the occasion for his letter to the Galatians, however, 03:31 is that some Judaizers came down from Jerusalem. 03:34 Judaizers were people who professed to be Christians. 03:38 They were Jews who had converted to Christianity. 03:40 But they thought it had to be grace plus works. 03:45 So they kind of questioned the adequacy of 03:48 what Jesus had done for us. 03:50 And they were there in Galatia saying, 03:52 "You've got to be circumcised." 03:55 So Paul is quite upset with them, because when they came 04:01 they perverted this gospel from works... 04:05 I mean, they were substituting works for faith, 04:07 they were substituting circumcision for the cross, 04:10 bondage for liberty, and self for Christ. 04:13 So when the false brethren came in, they influenced 04:19 Peter and Barnabas who were, Peter was visiting. 04:23 And Paul accuses them of being hypocrites, 04:26 because Peter and Barnabas, when the brethren came in, 04:30 the Jewish brethren came in, the Judaizers, they said, 04:34 "Why are you eating with these uncircumcised Gentiles?" 04:37 So they pulled back and they separated themselves. 04:42 And boy, Paul, without mincing words, he got right 04:46 in Peter's face and said, "You're a hypocrite. 04:49 You don't live like this. 04:50 You're doing this to please the brethren." 04:52 But now he's writing this letter, and it's pretty strong 04:55 that he's writing to the Galatians saying, 04:57 "You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?" 05:00 He is accusing these Gentile Christians of apostasy. 05:04 Because suddenly now they are being gullible enough 05:08 to accept this message and replace the true gospel. 05:14 So the point that Paul is making is, anytime we try to add works 05:20 to grace, we no longer have any grace. 05:23 So let's look at our memory text. 05:25 He says in Galatians 4:7, the memory text says, 05:30 "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; 05:35 and if a son, then an heir through Christ." 05:39 Through God. 05:41 The, "so," is actually the word, "therefore." 05:44 So on the basis of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, 05:48 he is saying, "You're no longer a slave to sin. 05:52 Salvation is emancipation from sin." 05:56 And he's telling them, when we think about what Christ 06:00 has done for us, He's adopted us, God has adopted us 06:04 through Jesus as His children. 06:06 And now Paul is saying, "You've got to live according 06:10 to your spiritual heritage. 06:11 Don't back up." 06:13 You know, this is the same message... 06:15 Martin Luther was a very sincere monk 06:19 who was trying to find a way to be pleasing to God. 06:22 And he would fast and have vigils, 06:24 and he scourged himself. 06:26 And he just had no peace in his soul 06:31 until he read the message to Galatia. 06:33 So let's look at Sunday's lesson. 06:36 In Sunday it is, Our Condition in Christ. 06:40 And we're going to read Galatians 3:25-26. 06:44 And Paul writes, "After faith has come," 06:47 that's faith in Christ, "we are no longer under a tutor." 06:51 We looked last time, this was the pedagogue 06:54 who was employed for the minors. 06:56 And when you think about it, it was more than 06:58 just the Ten Commandments that were the tutor. 07:00 The Ten Commandments revealed their sinfulness, 07:05 it revealed God's character, 07:07 it revealed their need for a Savior. 07:11 But the whole ceremonial system was a tutor 07:14 to teach them about Jesus Christ. 07:17 So he says, if you are... 07:21 Let's see, "...you're no longer under a tutor. 07:25 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." 07:30 In verse 7 he told them they were sons of Abraham, 07:32 but now he's saying, "Hey, you're sons of God." 07:35 And this includes daughters, because he goes on in verse 28 07:38 to say there's neither Jew nor Greek, 07:40 slave nor free, male nor female. 07:43 But basically what Paul is saying is that at the 07:48 foot of the cross, sex and race doesn't matter. 07:51 We are sons, it uses that word, "sons," 07:55 "huios," instead of, "children," because that means 07:58 you're a mature person who has come into his own 08:02 and can inherit. 08:04 You've got a liberated legal status that you can inherit 08:10 from God. 08:11 Now we know that the, "sons of God," was a special designation 08:18 to Israel. 08:20 I mean, that was something that they considered 08:21 themselves as sons of God. 08:23 And God called them that in Deuteronomy and Hosea. 08:26 But the term, "son of," was an idiom. 08:30 It just meant that you bore a resemblance to the character 08:34 of someone or something. 08:36 So the lesson asks, what is it about baptism 08:40 that makes it such a significant event? 08:44 Jill, would you read Galatians 3:27-28, please? 08:49 "For as many of you as were baptized into 08:51 Christ have put on Christ. 08:53 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, 08:57 there is neither male nor female; 08:59 for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 09:02 You know something, it's interesting here. 09:03 In the Greek the word, "baptized," as in baptized 09:08 into Christ, this is the passive voice, which means 09:11 this is something that has been done for them, 09:15 not by them. 09:17 It's spiritual baptism. 09:18 The baptism of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. 09:24 This is how we put on Christ and we bear Christ's image, 09:28 a resemblance to Him. 09:30 In the Roman-Greco world, or the Greco-Roman world 09:33 I think is usually the way it's said, 09:35 but when a boy came of age, he would change his garment 09:40 to signify that adulthood had been reached 09:43 and that he was a full citizen. 09:46 In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul explains it this way. 09:52 1 Corinthians 12:13 09:55 "By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; 10:01 whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, 10:04 and we've all been made to drink into one Spirit." 10:09 So we are baptized into Christ, as the Bible, Paul, tells them 10:15 in chapter 10 and verse 2 of 1 Corinthians, 10:19 that they were baptized into Moses. 10:22 Now we are baptized into Christ. 10:25 But I would like to read, before I just kind of sum this up, 10:30 let's read the most important passage on baptism 10:36 that there is in my mind. 10:38 And that's Romans chapter 6. 10:40 Romans 6:1-11 10:46 Tom, you want to read that for us? 10:50 Romans 6:1-11 10:52 "What shall we say then? 10:53 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 10:56 Certainly not! 10:58 How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 11:01 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized 11:03 into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 11:07 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, 11:10 that just as Christ was raised from the dead 11:13 by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 11:15 walk in newness of life. 11:17 For if we have been united together in the likeness 11:20 of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness 11:23 of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man 11:26 was crucified with Him, that the body of sin 11:29 might be done away with, that we should no longer 11:32 be slaves of sin. 11:34 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 11:40 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall 11:43 also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised 11:47 from the dead, dies no more. 11:49 Death no longer has dominion over Him. 11:51 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; 11:56 but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11:59 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead 12:02 indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 12:07 So basically what he's saying here to me... 12:09 You all can chime in, if you want. 12:11 ...is, vicariously we share the crucifixion, the death, 12:16 the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 12:19 And the meaning of baptism is, it is symbolic 12:24 of a heart transformation that has already happened. 12:27 We've been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit, 12:29 born again. 12:31 But then baptism is such an important... 12:34 It's a seal, if you will, of the new covenant. 12:39 So when we go down into the water... 12:42 I always say baptism should be your first act of obedience 12:45 when you understand justification by grace. 12:49 When you understand what's going on. 12:51 When we go down into the water, it is symbolic that we have been 12:55 buried with Christ, we raise up to newness of life. 13:00 And this ordinance of baptism that Christ did instill, 13:07 this is something that is a public confession 13:12 of our belief in Christ. 13:15 And it is a way that we join the church, 13:17 it's also the way that we then can participate in communion. 13:21 But it's basically, you are burying your past 13:27 when you are baptized. 13:29 - Amen. - Amen. 13:30 So it's evidence of our faith. 13:33 That's why baptism is so critical, 13:36 is that it is evidence of our faith. 13:39 And it is a sign of the new covenant, 13:41 just like circumcision was to the old. 13:43 Now I just want to read one more very quickly. 13:45 1 Peter 3:21 13:49 1 Peter 3:21 13:52 In verse 20, it's talking about how eight souls were saved 13:57 through water, in the ark. 13:59 And Peter is writing here, and he says, 14:02 "There is also an antitype which now saves us: baptism." 14:07 But now he's qualifying. 14:10 It's not the act of water baptism that saves us. 14:14 Because he qualifies, saying, "Not the removal of the filth 14:18 of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God." 14:22 So there's an antitype which now saves us: 14:25 "baptism...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 14:30 So here's the way I see it. 14:32 If an unregenerate sinner goes down in the water, 14:35 when he comes up out of the baptismal waters 14:38 what is he then? 14:39 An unregenerate sinner. 14:41 A very wet sinner, amen. 14:43 Baptism doesn't wash our sins away. 14:46 Only the blood of Jesus can do that. 14:49 But as the ark delivered Noah and his family, 14:54 it does have something to do with our 14:57 full deliverance, I think. 14:59 It's an act of obedience. 15:01 And it is a very important ordinance. 15:05 C.A., you want to take Tuesday? Monday. 15:08 You know, as I look at what Paul is attempting to do here 15:12 at Galatia, it is somewhat reminiscent to me of Daniel 15:18 in the repeat and enlarge. 15:20 He exercises his burden from many different aspects. 15:27 You know, he comes at it from this aspect, 15:29 and he comes at it from the father aspect, 15:30 and later he'll come at it from the mother aspect. 15:32 He comes at it from the land owner aspect, 15:35 he comes at it from a slave aspect. 15:37 Obviously he has a great burden to see 15:41 this particular church, this particular faith community, 15:45 succeed for a number of reasons. 15:48 Including the one that you mentioned, Shelley, 15:49 that it was his baby, you know. 15:51 You don't want to see your child falter. 15:55 Most pagan religions emphasize working to please gods. 16:01 So I have no doubt that when he found them, 16:03 they were trapped in that. 16:06 He then sets them on the right path, and then sees them 16:12 stumbling back into this works oriented way of approaching God. 16:18 That must have been, pastor, incredibly distressing for him 16:24 to see this group of babes falling back into 16:32 a bondage situation that he knows is going to be 16:35 detrimental to their spiritual growth. 16:38 So like a parent would do with a child that he really loves 16:43 and that the child is really getting to... 16:45 You know, if your child is running out in the street, 16:47 you don't say, "Excuse me, but I think a car is coming, 16:50 and I think you're just about to get smashed." 16:53 You kind of yell and you kind of scream, 16:56 and then you make your apologies later, you know, 16:58 but, "I need to get you out of that street 17:01 and the path of the oncoming car." 17:03 So this is what Paul is doing. 17:05 There is passion here, to be sure. 17:06 There is much passion, there is strong language, 17:10 but it is language born of love and of a desire 17:14 to see an erring church get put back on the right path. 17:18 And of course, we have the pattern from Ezekiel. 17:21 If you see someone going astray and you don't 17:23 correct them, and they're lot in their sins, 17:25 "their blood will I require at thy hands." 17:26 But more than that, Paul just has a burden to see his babies 17:30 grow up in the right way. 17:32 So in Monday we're dealing with, 17:38 Enslaved to Elementary Principles. 17:40 And of course, Paul is using another metaphor 17:46 to try to get an understanding of his burden. 17:50 And I'm going to read a verse very quickly, 17:52 the first three verses of Galatians 4:1-3. 17:55 "Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, 18:00 does not differ at all from a slave, though he is 18:04 master of all, but is under guardians and stewards 18:08 until the time appointed by the father. 18:11 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage 18:15 under the elements of the world." 18:17 Now stop there. 18:18 Alright, I want to go back and pick up Galatians 4 18:21 beginning at verse 1. 18:23 Because the super structure there is built on 18:27 Galatians 3:24-25. 18:29 So let's pick up Galatians 4:1. 18:31 "Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, 18:34 does not differ at all from a slave, though he is 18:37 master of all, but is under guardians and stewards 18:43 until the time appointed by the father." 18:46 All of this super structure, all of this building, 18:51 rests on the foundation that is established 18:54 in chapter 3 verses 24-25. 18:58 That is to say that we are under the need of a tutor, 19:05 an instructor, until we come to faith with Jesus. 19:10 And then that is not necessary anymore. 19:14 He picks up the idea of sons and heirs through 26, 27, 28, 29, 19:20 and then he re-affirms this using another angle there in 19:25 chapter 4 beginning at verse 1. 19:27 You've got an heir who has an inheritance 19:31 but is either not aware of it or certainly not able 19:34 to deal with it. 19:36 So then, once we come to Jesus it's as though 19:40 you get your pin number, you get your bank account. 19:44 You now have access to what Christ is doing for you. 19:51 The law has brought you to that point. 19:53 So now you can access what Christ has for you directly 19:57 because you have a new understanding, a new walk, 20:00 with Jesus Christ. 20:01 So it's part of his understanding that 20:06 you don't want to go back to those days 20:09 when you're trying to work yourself into a pleasing 20:12 relationship with Christ. 20:13 You don't want to return to the time when you are working 20:17 to please Christ doing acts of the law. 20:21 Now you are accessing what Christ has done for you. 20:26 You've got credit and you've got an account with Him, 20:29 and you have an unlimited supply of faith and grace 20:35 that you are old enough now, mature enough now, to walk in. 20:41 Don't go back to that old way of trying to work your way into. 20:46 Accept what has already been done for you 20:48 and walk into that. 20:49 And I can see Paul's burden here. 20:51 Because if you have a child who has been freed, 20:56 if you have, how can I say it, you have a standing, 21:03 why would you want to go back to a slave status? 21:08 You're an heir now. You're an adult. 21:10 You can do things in Christ Jesus 21:15 that you could not do before Christ. 21:18 He has given you an account. 21:20 As Elder Bradford use to say, "You can write checks now." 21:23 Amen. 21:24 You've got an account, write some checks. 21:26 And they will not bounce and they will not be overdrawn. 21:29 So trying to go back to digging gold out of the ground 21:34 is something that you don't want to do. 21:37 And Paul doesn't want to see them do that. 21:38 What he wants you to do is access that account 21:41 that Christ has given you because you are a full son, 21:44 a full heir, a full... 21:47 As we said yesterday, what's the term? 21:49 Mishpocha, you are part of the family now. 21:52 And as part of the family, there are privileges and rights 21:54 that accrue to being part of that family. 21:56 So now exercise those privileges and rights 22:00 and stop acting like a beggar. 22:01 Stop acting like someone who's trying to get in. 22:04 You're in. 22:06 And you've got the rights that are apportioned to those 22:09 who are in. 22:11 Amen. Wonderful. 22:14 Tom, would you like to tell us about how God 22:18 sent forth His Son and His perfect timing? 22:21 You know, I love this verse. 22:23 I invite everyone to come together as we read 22:26 Galatians 4, we're going to read verse 4. 22:29 And it says, "But when the fullness of time had come, 22:33 God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law." 22:37 First I want to talk about, "the fullness of time." 22:41 You know, nothing in this world gets ahead of God. 22:46 He foreknows exactly what His plan is. 22:49 He reveals that plan. 22:50 As a matter of fact, "the fullness of time," 22:52 according to Daniel 9:24-27. 22:58 And you know, it's interesting because here we are 23:02 in enemy territory, and God has proclaimed what He is 23:07 going to do. 23:08 And the enemy, in all of his energy, all of his force, 23:12 all of the fallen angels, working against 23:15 what God's plan was. 23:18 In spite of that, exactly when Jesus was supposed to come, 23:23 He came. 23:25 So it shows that even though we're living in a world 23:27 where there is a power struggle that is going on, 23:31 even pre-Christ days when the enemy had dominion 23:36 in this world, took that away from the first Adam, 23:39 the second Adam was going to come and retrieve 23:42 the keys to this world again. 23:44 - The second Adam is who? - It's Jesus Christ. 23:47 And that was going to happen, not too early, not too late, 23:51 but in the fullness of time. 23:53 And that happens in our life too, because often times 23:58 we're wondering, "Why, Lord? 24:00 Why are You taking so long?" 24:01 But in the fullness of time, He works out His good pleasure. 24:04 And the enemy is working all the time to discourage us, 24:07 to make us look in other places. 24:09 Well, we know from Israel's history that the enemy 24:13 did have a lot of success. 24:15 But in the fullness of time Christ came anyway. 24:19 Now part of that our lesson brings out is the very fact 24:23 that the Roman Empire was in charge of the world. 24:25 It was a world power at the time. 24:27 So there was a relative peace, there was a language commonality 24:32 throughout society so that messages could be spread 24:36 around the world. 24:38 It's interesting because that Roman Empire is exactly 24:41 one of the enemy's tools to thwart God's 24:44 influence in this world. 24:46 And God used that very environment to reach the world. 24:52 So in the fullness of time Jesus came. 24:54 And He came in the condition that is under the law. 24:59 It's interesting, as I was studying this, 25:02 there are two applications to, "under the law," 25:05 that I was discovering. 25:06 And one of them is found in Galatians 3:13. 25:14 Galatians 3:13 25:16 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 25:19 having become a curse for us, (for it is written, 'Cursed is 25:22 everyone who hangs on a tree.')..." 25:24 So He came under the curse of the law. 25:28 When I think of this, it always amazes me 25:32 to think that God has condescended to the level 25:36 that He had from where He had been. 25:38 And our Creator, in becoming our Redeemer 25:41 in the fullness of time, knowing that the enemy had done 25:44 so much to thwart His efforts, 25:47 He came under the curse of the law. 25:51 So He was subject to the same temptations. 25:54 He was subject to the frailty that happens after sin 26:01 had entered the world. 26:04 He was subject to all of the satanic attacks 26:07 that you and I are subject to. 26:10 And when I think of Him doing that, I am amazed 26:14 when I think of the plan of salvation and the fact that 26:16 He was willing to do that for me. 26:18 And the other application to being under the law, 26:24 He actually came and was following the old covenant, 26:30 traditions, the laws that were designed 26:35 as a tutor, as we've read. 26:37 As a matter of fact, let's go back to Galatians 3 26:40 and look at verses 23 and 24. 26:43 Now it's interesting that in an earlier lesson 26:47 it was pointed out that Jesus actually, He came to 26:52 the Sanctuary at the age of twelve 26:55 and watched the services at that time. 26:58 And for the first time in His life He realized 27:02 that was pointing to Him. 27:06 So whenever, from that time on, whenever He studied 27:09 that topic, He understood His role. 27:14 And now you think about it, all of those seven annual 27:18 services, feast days, all of that was 27:21 pointing to Jesus; and He saw that. 27:25 So with the context, the perspective He had 27:28 was not the perspective of this rabbi or that rabbi. 27:31 It was the perspective of God the Father. 27:35 The Holy Spirit was giving Him enlightenment 27:37 to understand that all of these things were a tutor 27:42 to lead them to Himself. 27:45 Now we know that the church, 27:47 some of the church figured that out. 27:49 As a matter of fact, Paul is writing about it right here. 27:52 So you know that as a messenger to the church in Galatia, 27:54 he did figure this out. 27:56 This is verse 23 of Galatians 3. 27:59 "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, 28:04 kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 28:08 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ..." 28:12 And I think, Shelley, you had mentioned earlier 28:15 sometimes there are those that think we're trying to 28:18 keep the law by keeping the Sabbath. 28:20 Because they say, well the law there, if you look at the 28:22 original language, this isn't just the seven annual sabbaths. 28:26 This is dealing with even the Ten Commandment law 28:29 as a tutor to bring us... 28:32 And they're right. 28:34 Because that's exactly the case. 28:36 But what is the end? 28:38 The "tutor brings us to Christ. 28:41 that we might be justified by faith. 28:43 And after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." 28:47 You know, that as a Christian, as a Seventh-day Adventist 28:50 Christian, I can have assurance of salvation by being 28:54 saved by grace through faith alone. 28:55 It's empowering grace. 28:58 That the law of God is being kept in me... 29:00 - Liberating. - Yes it is. 29:02 His Word is my guide, and if I allow Him to be Lord 29:06 of my life each and every day, I am free in Christ. 29:10 And that it, you know, it's interesting because 29:13 we do what God wants us to do as an act of faith. 29:16 It's sort of like, when Noah built the ark, 29:18 it was an act of faith. 29:20 James tells us, "Faith without works is dead." 29:23 So it's an evidence that Christ is in us 29:26 and we are listening to His voice exclusively 29:28 and not another. 29:29 Because when I first come to Christ, 29:32 I'm limited to my own perspective. 29:34 And my own perspective limits my witness. 29:38 And God wants me to learn more and more of His perspective. 29:42 You know, it's interesting too, the lesson brings up, 29:43 "Why did Christ have to take on our humanity 29:46 in order to redeem us?" 29:48 And I realize my times is short. 29:51 You know, God cannot die. 29:54 And if He didn't take on humanity, He couldn't have 29:57 been our substitute. 29:59 So He had to become like us. 30:01 After 4000 years of sin He came in our likeness. 30:07 And He also came... 30:10 You know, I ask Christians a lot, I say, 30:12 "Well, what was the reason Jesus came? 30:14 Why did He come? Why did He come?" 30:15 And I hear, "To die on the cross." 30:17 "To be our Savior." 30:19 To reveal the Father. 30:21 To reveal who God really is. 30:23 And in so doing, He died on the cross. 30:25 We see the character of the Father when we look at Christ. 30:28 Now God's commission to us is for people to see the character 30:31 of God in us. 30:33 And until we are no longer under the tutor, 30:36 trying to work our way to heaven, 30:37 that's impossible. 30:38 We must be in Christ and receiving His grace. 30:43 He came to redeem us or to adopt us. 30:45 That's Galatians 4:4-5. 30:49 Romans 8:3 says He came to condemn sin in the flesh. 30:55 He had to come in our likeness and have victory over sin, 31:02 and lead the way and show us the way to the Father, 31:05 show us the way to have victory. 31:08 Romans 8:4 31:11 Let's go to Romans 8:4. We have a short time here. 31:17 I always wonder if I'm going to have enough to fill the time, 31:20 and then when I get going it's too much. 31:25 Okay, Romans 8:4. 31:28 "...that the righteous requirement of the law 31:30 might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according 31:33 to the flesh but according to the Spirit." 31:37 You know, the law is teaching us moral 31:41 and spiritual standards of God. 31:43 It's an inscription of His own character 31:45 when we think of the Ten Commandment law. 31:47 It is a righteous requirement. 31:49 It's impossible for us to do in our own strength. 31:52 But it is a righteous requirement. 31:55 So that's another reason He came, 31:56 so that this is possible for us. 31:58 And in closing, let's go to Colossians chapter 1. 32:08 Verses 15 through 18. 32:13 "He is the image of the invisible God, 32:15 the firstborn over all creation." 32:18 By the way, that is His position, not His rank. 32:24 "For by Him all things were created that are in 32:26 heaven and are on earth, visible and invisible, 32:28 whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 32:31 All things were created through Him and for Him. 32:33 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." 32:38 Have their being because of Christ. 32:40 "And He is the head of the body, the church, 32:42 who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 32:45 that in all things He may have the preeminence." 32:48 That's another reason He came. 32:50 - Well said. - Amen. 32:52 On Wednesday we look at, The Privileges of Adoption. 32:56 Let's turn back to Galatians 4 and we're going to read 32:59 the verse that you just read, Pastor Tom, 33:02 and look at it from a little different angle. 33:05 Instead of the fullness of time and God coming 33:08 as our substitute and sacrifice, we're going to look at 33:11 Him redeeming us and then us becoming 33:13 sons and daughters of God. 33:15 So Galatians 4, let's look at verses 4 and 5. 33:20 "When the fullness of the time had come, 33:21 God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 33:26 to redeem those who were under the law, 33:30 that we might receive the adoption as sons." 33:33 I want to look at this from two perspectives to begin with. 33:36 First, why did Jesus come? 33:39 Why was He born? 33:40 First, to redeem us. 33:42 And second, that we would be able to have the privilege of 33:46 being adopted as His sons and daughters. 33:49 If we look at, to redeem, in Webster it literally means, 33:52 to buy back. 33:54 Refers to the price of freedom for a hostage or a slave, 33:58 to buy them back. 33:59 In the Greek the word means, to buy up, to ransom or redeem. 34:05 It's used, that word, "redeem," four times in the New Testament. 34:08 And interestingly enough, all times are in Paul's writings. 34:12 It's used in Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians. 34:15 But what are we redeemed from? 34:18 You know, to be redeemed, it almost indicates 34:21 coming from a negative background. 34:23 Otherwise, why would you even need to be redeemed? 34:26 You come from something bad in the past 34:28 in order to be redeemed from that. 34:30 And the lesson brought out, I want to look at four things 34:33 that we're redeemed from. 34:34 First, the condemnation of the law. 34:38 We see that, and you referred to this, I think, Pastor Tom, 34:42 on Galatians 3, if we turn back just one chapter, 34:45 Galatians 3:13. 34:47 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 34:51 having become a curse for us." 34:53 Redeemed us from the curse of the law. 34:55 And Romans 3 talks about this as well. 34:59 Let's turn back to Romans 3:23-24. 35:06 Romans 3:23-24 35:09 Verse 23, "All have sinned and fallen short 35:13 of the glory of God..." 35:15 We're all under that condemnation. 35:17 "...being justified freely by His grace through the 35:22 redemption that is in Christ Jesus..." 35:25 Because the Lord Jesus justifies you and I, 35:28 because He says, "I can bring you back into right standing." 35:31 Through the redemption that took place when He died on the cross, 35:35 we are freed from the condemnation of the law. 35:40 Second, we're freed from the power of sin 35:43 that enslaves us. 35:45 In Romans, we're in Romans, let's just turn over a chapter 35:47 to Romans 6. 35:49 You want to read that, brother Johnny, Romans 6:22. 35:54 Verse 22, "But now being made free from sin, 35:59 and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, 36:04 and the end everlasting life." 36:06 We are freed from being a slave or a servant of sin 36:11 and brought into the kingdom of light. 36:14 Mollie Steenson always says, 36:15 "Transformed out of the kingdom of darkness 36:18 and brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son, 36:20 into the kingdom of light." 36:21 Freed from the power of sin that enslaves us. 36:24 Think of Matthew 1:21. What does it say? 36:27 "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, 36:29 for He shall save His people from their sins." 36:34 First, we're redeemed from condemnation of the law. 36:36 We're redeemed from the power of sin. 36:38 Third, we're redeemed from the power of Satan. 36:41 Let's look at Hebrews 2:14-15. 36:50 And Shelley, do you have that? You want to read that? 36:52 Hebrews 2:14-15 36:54 Hebrews, if I can find chapter 2, verses 14 and 15. 36:59 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh 37:02 and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, 37:07 so that," that's a purpose statement, "through death 37:11 He might destroy him who had the power of death, 37:14 that is, the devil..." 37:16 And let's read verse 15 too. 37:18 "...and release those who through fear of death 37:22 were all their lifetime subject to bondage." 37:26 So we're not only released from the condemnation of the law 37:28 and from being a slave to sin, but we're freed 37:31 from the power of Satan. 37:35 And freed from the power of death. 37:37 It mentions that too in that verse. 37:39 And that's number four. 37:40 Freed from the power of death. 37:41 You see it there and you also see it in 37:43 1 Corinthians 15:56-57. 37:46 "The sting of death is sin, 37:49 and the strength of sin is the law. 37:52 But thanks be to God..." 37:53 I think this is one of my favorite scriptures. 37:55 "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory 37:59 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 38:01 We're given... Victory is a gift. 38:03 Victory is not something that we strive for, we struggle, 38:08 we grit our teeth and try harder. 38:10 Victory is a gift. 38:13 In Jesus, that's right. 38:15 And here it's tied in that victory with being 38:18 freed from death, being freed from the sting of sin 38:21 and the sting of death. 38:22 So we're not only, when we're redeemed, 38:25 we're not only freed from all these things, 38:27 we're also adopted. 38:29 So let's look at that. 38:31 We're adopted as His sons and daughters. 38:32 Let's go back to Galatians 4:5. 38:37 "...to redeem those who were under the law, 38:39 that we might receive the adoption as sons." 38:44 That word, "adoption," I can't pronounce it in the Greek, 38:48 but it actually comes from two different Greek words. 38:51 It comes from, "hyiós," meaning, "son," 38:54 as well as, "títhemi," meaning, "to place." 38:57 So literally, the placing of a son, or adopting. 39:03 It indicates the nature and condition of the true disciples 39:06 of Christ who have the privilege of becoming 39:09 the sons of God. 39:11 Now in the Greco-Roman world, they had, the lesson brought 39:15 this out, six privileges of adoption. 39:19 The adopted son becomes the true son of his adopter. 39:23 Which makes sense. 39:24 We would do that here in the United States. 39:26 The adopter agrees to bring up the child 39:29 and to provide for him or her. 39:32 The adopter cannot repudiate his adopted son. 39:37 The child cannot be reduced to slavery. 39:40 The child's natural parents cannot reclaim him. 39:44 And adoption establishes the right to inherit. 39:47 Now I think as we look at the comparison between that 39:50 and our privilege as the adopted children of God, 39:54 I think that breaks down just a little bit. 39:57 Number five says, the child's natural parents 39:59 cannot reclaim him. 40:00 And to be honest, we can choose to let go of God. 40:04 Now He adopts us and He wants to keep us, 40:07 but we can choose. 40:08 2 Peter 2 talks about those who have tasted Christ 40:11 and then have turned away. 40:14 So we can make a choice to say, "I want to be..." 40:17 What do you say? Unadopted. Is that a word? 40:19 "I want to choose to turn away." 40:21 But the privilege, the rights, of being a child of God, 40:27 we receive the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance. 40:33 Ephesians 1:13-14, "...in whom also, having believed, 40:38 you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 40:42 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption 40:46 of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." 40:50 Like the Holy Spirit is the down payment, you could say. 40:53 The guarantee of our possessions. 40:56 We receive when we are adopted as His sons and daughters 41:00 the family rights and privileges of being a 41:04 son and daughter of God. 41:05 Let's turn to 1 John 3. 41:08 1 John 3:1 41:13 And do you have that, Pastor Tom? 41:14 - Sure. - 1 John 3:1 41:17 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, 41:21 that we should be called children of God! 41:23 Therefore the world does not know us, 41:25 because it did not know Him." 41:27 Yes, what a privilege! 41:30 If you go down in chapter 3 verse 10, 41:33 it says, "In this the children of God and 41:35 the children of the devil are manifest." 41:37 So that tells me we have a choice. 41:40 We can be a child of God with the privileges 41:43 and rights of being an inheritor of Him, 41:47 or I can make a choice and I can choose to be 41:51 a child of the enemy. 41:53 And we're all born under sin, but Jesus says, 41:55 "I want to redeem you and I want to adopt you as My child." 42:00 And it takes a choice. 42:01 And not only do we have the privilege of the inheritance 42:04 with Him and such peace and joy and the rights 42:08 and privilege of being His son or daughter, 42:10 we get an intimate Father/child relationship with Him. 42:14 We see that in Galatians 4. Let's turn back there. 42:18 Galatians 4:6-7 42:22 "Because you are sons, God has sent forth 42:26 the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, 42:28 crying out, "Abba, Father!" 42:31 In the Greek it literally means, "Daddy," "Papa." 42:36 It's an intimate dependent relationship term between 42:40 us and our heavenly Father. 42:41 "Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son; 42:45 and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." 42:48 So what a privilege is ours to be God's sons and daughters. 42:52 And I think, if I really walked in that, 42:56 if we walked in the knowledge of who we are, 42:59 the knowledge and assurance of being God's sons and daughters, 43:02 what a difference that would make in the world. 43:07 Well, we now come to Thursday in the lesson. 43:11 And that is entitled, Why Turn Back to Slavery? 43:16 This part of the lesson takes us into Galatians 4:8-20. 43:23 And so because there are many verses here, 43:27 we're not going to be able to talk about all of the verses 43:30 and all of the wonderful things that are there. 43:33 But let's begin there in verse 8, Galatians 4:8. 43:37 "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, 43:42 ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 43:46 But now, after that ye have known God, 43:50 or rather are known of God, how turn ye again 43:54 to the weak and beggarly elements, 43:57 whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" 44:00 So we'll stop there for a moment. 44:02 Because Paul is continuing his discussion about the Galatians. 44:09 In chapter 1 he says, "I marvel," 44:12 and, "You foolish Galatians." 44:16 And now here, he's going back, "How turn ye back?" 44:20 Now this is interesting, because the people that 44:22 came in that bewitched them were bringing them, 44:28 trying to bring them away from Christ. 44:31 And so as you read Galatians 4:8-20, 44:36 you have to ask yourself, "What did they go back to?" 44:39 And reading several things you see, what were the Galatians 44:46 before Paul came along? 44:48 - They were what? - Gentiles. 44:49 Gentiles, heathens, pagans. 44:54 So they used to actually do sacrifices to idols. 44:59 So what did they go back to? 45:03 Now that's the question that comes up 45:05 as you read these verses. 45:07 Now the lesson brings out that Paul does not make it clear 45:12 exactly what they were doing. 45:14 But you see some elements here and there 45:16 because he mentions some. 45:17 Let's continue reading. 45:19 So now we are in verse 10. 45:26 "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years." 45:30 So you see, this is one of the clues as to 45:34 what they were doing. 45:35 So we ask ourselves, did they go back to 45:39 the Jewish practices of sacrifices? 45:42 Or was there a mixture of what they use to do before 45:46 with what the Judaizers, the people that bewitched them? 45:51 There was probably a mixture of the two 45:54 in their practices which embraced some of the 45:57 Jewish traditions and some of the Jewish ceremonies 46:00 and perhaps some of the things they use to do. 46:03 Whatever it was, it was wrong because they left the gospel, 46:08 the true gospel. 46:10 And so I remember Pastor Ricardo that was here for many years, 46:14 he used to say, "The devil doesn't care what side of 46:16 the boat you fall off as long as you fall off the boat." 46:20 And so we have here that Paul is seeking to rescue them 46:25 from this state, this bondage that they went back into. 46:30 The words here are very strong. 46:34 Notice again in verse 9, let me start at verse 9 again. 46:39 "But now, after that ye have known God, 46:41 or rather are known of God, how turn ye again..." 46:43 These words, "turn ye again," are very strong 46:46 and even seem to imply, "You went back to the beginning 46:51 as to the condition you were in before." 46:53 What condition were they in before? 46:54 They were in a lost condition. 46:56 So now Paul is trying to rescue them from this 47:00 condition that they are in. 47:01 And so he says, "Ye observe days, 47:03 and months, and times, and years." 47:04 Now some people have taken Galatians 4:10 to say, 47:08 "Oh they're talking there about those people 47:10 that keep the Sabbath still." 47:12 And so this is an incorrect analysis of this. 47:16 It's, I would say, a weak interpretation 47:19 of these scriptures. 47:21 Because Paul is talking about ceremonial things 47:24 they use to do. 47:26 And I ask you the question, when did God establish 47:29 the Sabbath day? 47:31 - Before sin at creation. - Before sin entered. 47:33 Before a ceremonial system was established. 47:36 So therefore, you cannot put the Sabbath in this package. 47:40 Because if sin had not entered, the children of the Lord 47:45 would have been keeping the Sabbath, you see. 47:48 So you cannot put this in this package and say 47:50 it brings you into bondage. 47:53 So this is not what Paul is referring to. 47:57 So let's continue reading there. Now we go to verse 11. 48:00 "I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed 48:02 upon you labour in vain." 48:05 Paul is concerned that the efforts he put in 48:09 have come to be nothing. 48:12 Now he says, "Brethren, I beseech you..." 48:14 This is strong again, saying, "I am really concerned." 48:17 "I am begging you," some people can even say. 48:22 "I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as you are: 48:26 you have not injured me at all. 48:28 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached 48:32 the gospel unto you at the first. 48:34 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, 48:37 nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, 48:41 even as Christ Jesus." 48:43 So here, Paul is reminding them of how they embraced him 48:47 and accepted the wonderful things that he was 48:50 sharing with them about Jesus, the gospel of Jesus Christ. 48:53 That salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 49:00 And so, here Paul is appealing to them 49:02 and how they received him. 49:05 Now we continue. 49:08 "Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? 49:11 I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, 49:14 ye would have plucked out your own eyes, 49:16 and have given them unto me." 49:18 So Paul is saying, "You were so sincere, 49:21 so embraced the gospel, that you were willing to 49:24 go the extra mile, you know." 49:26 Some people say that the Jews were compelled to walk a mile 49:31 when the Roman citizen came to them and said, 49:34 "Hey, carry my luggage." 49:37 The Jew was compelled to walk with them one mile. 49:40 That was what the law required. 49:41 After he walked a mile, or however they measured 49:46 the distance in those days, the Jew no longer was 49:50 bound by the law to do that. 49:51 He could cast it on the ground and spit on the ground 49:54 and say, you know, "Be gone with you." 49:57 But here we have an interesting thing where the Galatians 50:02 were willing to go the extra mile. 50:04 "You were willing to pluck out your own eye," 50:06 to embrace him and minister to him. 50:09 Now here is what we have. 50:13 "Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? 50:15 For I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, 50:17 ye would have plucked out your own eyes, 50:19 and have given them to me. 50:21 Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" 50:25 You see, Paul is sharing with them the truth. 50:27 Bringing them back to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 50:31 And so, I bring you the words of Paul. 50:36 He says, "Have I become your enemy 50:38 because I tell you the truth?" 50:39 He is helping them, he is trying to lead them 50:43 to understand that in Jesus, walking with Jesus, 50:47 is where true salvation is found. 50:49 So in verse 17, talking about the people that bewitched them, 50:54 "They zealously affect you, but not well; 50:57 they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. 51:01 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, 51:06 not only when I am present with you. 51:08 My little children..." 51:09 Notice the words he uses. 51:10 "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again 51:14 until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present 51:18 with you now, and to change my voice; 51:20 for I stand in doubt of you." 51:22 So he is concerned, he is making these things known unto them. 51:28 And he is leading them to the truth. 51:32 And you see in Galatians a development of the gospel again 51:37 as Paul shares with them. 51:39 I love the scriptures that have been shared, 51:42 "When the fullness of time had come, 51:45 God sent forth His Son to deliver those that 51:49 were under the law." 51:51 So that's what Christ came to do. 51:52 And this is what Paul is trying to help them again. 51:54 "You went back to bondage. 51:57 How can you do that when you had liberty 52:00 and freedom in Jesus Christ?" 52:02 And Paul is as a father speaking to them 52:06 with fatherly care, "My little children..." 52:09 And so I see in the language of Paul the language of God. 52:16 How He also speaks to us. 52:19 And you see the same thing developed in John. 52:22 You read 1 John 3:1, "Behold, what manner of love 52:27 God has bestowed upon us, the we should be called 52:30 the children of God." 52:31 And if you read 1 John 2:1, John uses the same language. 52:37 "My little children, these things I write unto you, 52:39 that ye sin not." 52:41 So we see the children of God, as they present 52:45 the gospel to others, they understand that 52:49 those that accept the gospel, they feel like they are 52:53 under their care, they strive to help them understand. 52:56 They don't want to see them go astray. 52:57 They want to see them continue in the way of the Lord. 53:00 - Amen. - Amen. 53:02 You know, when I think of, "the fullness of time," 53:04 I think of Sir Isaac Newton. 53:06 Because the scriptures, in Daniel, actually prophesied 53:11 the time of the coming of the Messiah. 53:14 And here, Sir Isaac Newton, the mathematician... 53:16 15th century was he or? Anyway, 14th or 15th. 53:20 Yeah, sounds good to me. 53:22 But here he is this brilliant mathematician 53:26 who, it was those scriptures, it was the prophecies 53:30 of Daniel that convinced him that the Bible was the 53:34 inerrant word of God. 53:37 So I just think of, "the fullness of time;" 53:40 exactly when Jesus was suppose to enter in, He did. 53:44 And what a blessing this lesson is, that we would know 53:49 that we have been adopted as children. 53:52 That's all what it's about. 53:54 And Jill, you've got something you wanted to say? 53:56 I do, and I was supposed to read this Bible during my time. 53:59 If I can just read one verse. 54:01 This is from a precious 3ABN viewer who 54:04 sent several of us Bibles. 54:06 And I love this Bible, it is personalized. 54:08 And I just wanted to read that one verse about us 54:11 being adopted, because it puts your own name into it. 54:15 And to me it makes such a difference when you think about 54:17 being adopted as God's son or daughter. 54:20 It says, we're in Galatians 4:7, "Jill is no longer a 54:27 bondservant, but a daughter; and if a daughter, 54:30 then an heir of God through Christ." 54:33 And so, the whole Bible puts your name in it. 54:37 And I think that's so incredible when we read the Word of God 54:40 to personalize it. 54:42 And it's not applying to Pastor Tom, which it does apply to you, 54:45 or to Pastor C.A., or Shelley, but it applies to us 54:49 individually, personally. 54:51 So when we have, as we can, come to that scripture 54:56 and realize that God has given me His Spirit, 55:00 I am an adopted child, I am an heir of God, 55:05 a co-heir with Christ Jesus. 55:08 And Paul is saying, "Hey, that whole old system 55:12 that these Judaizers are trying to introduce you to, 55:15 this idea of salvation by faith plus works, 55:21 that was all done away with. 55:23 It was not suppose to be like that." 55:25 We're actually going to look at that in an upcoming 55:27 lesson, that the Mosaic covenant was supposed to 55:31 have been an extension, a progression 55:34 of the Abrahamic covenant. 55:36 But my point is this, God is so good to each and every one of us 55:42 as His adopted children. 55:44 We may call on Him. 55:46 "Abba," in the Aramaic, as Jill has said, 55:50 in Aramaic, "Abba," is, "Papa," "Daddy." 55:54 And when you go to the Lord, you can cry out to Him 55:59 on that intimate level. 56:01 And know, somebody brought this up earlier, 56:05 we don't want to fall off the ditch into the area of legalism, 56:12 we don't want to fall off the ditch into the area of license. 56:16 Because being a child of God 56:21 doesn't give us a license to sin. 56:23 But what happens is, when we were talking earlier, 56:26 when you were talking, Tom, that the liberty 56:29 of knowing who you are in Christ, knowing your identity 56:33 in Christ, this is what makes you want to obey. 56:38 When you understand God's love, you're ready to express 56:44 your appreciation for salvation and your love for Him 56:49 through obedience. 56:50 So we'll get to all of those in future lessons. 56:53 Right now, just on behalf of our panel, once again 56:56 we thank you for being here with us, Johnny, and Jill, 57:00 Tom, and C.A. 57:02 Always has something wonderful to say. 57:05 On behalf of the panel and on behalf of 3ABN, 57:08 we're just so thankful that you've joined us today 57:11 and hope that you'll tune in again. 57:13 Next week we're going to be talking on lesson nine 57:15 about, Paul's Pastoral Appeal. 57:19 But our prayer for you is that the grace of our Lord and Savior 57:23 Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship 57:26 of the Holy Spirit will be with you always, 57:30 with you and yours. 57:32 God bless you. |
Revised 2024-06-17