Written by: Kelly Martin - CPAS
Galatians 3 v 26-29
You were all baptised into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This
means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ,
there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and
female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ, so you
are Abraham's descendants. You will inherit all of God's blessings because
of the promise God made to Abraham.
Notes
Is Paul taking part in a competition to see how many times he can use the name
of Christ in a short paragraph? He certainly seems keen to make a point.
The letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia is an attempt to clear
up some misunderstandings about being a follower of Christ. There were those
who thought that it was still necessary to apply certain regulations in order
to be a "proper" child of God. Paul was not impressed by this.
In this short passage he uses lots of comparisons and repetition to make his case clear: differences of gender, race or social status don't count – belonging to Christ is the key. In Paul's time it could make a big difference which group of people you belonged to. Even Christians could fall into the trap of thinking that some people were better qualified to be children of God. When Paul says that there are no differences, he is reminding them that at the heart of the Christian faith is a free gift that is available to all – race, gender and status are neither a boost nor a barrier.
And before we get too smug and think this is just an issue for the early church, let's remember how easy it is for us to be caught out in a similar way. Sometimes it can feel as though we need to hold a certain view, belong to a particular denomination, express zeal for a cause or label ourselves in a set way. It can be hard to remember that we can't add to what Jesus has done by following the right guidelines or conforming to a stereotype. It is inner commitment to Christ that makes the difference, not the "ought" and "should" of human rules or preferences.
Prayer
Lord, thank you that there are no second-class Christians! Thank you that that
race, gender, status, qualifications (etc) make no difference to the way
you accept me. Amen
Galatians 4 v 1-7
I
want to tell you this: while those who will inherit their fathers' property
are still children, they are no different from slaves. It does not matter
that the children own everything. While they are children, they must obey
those who are chosen to care for them. But when the children reach the age
set by their fathers, they are free. It is the same for us. We were once
like children, slaves to the useless rules of this world. But when the right
time came, God sent his Son who was born of a woman and lived under the law.
God did this so he could buy freedom for those who were under the law and
so we could become his children.
Since you are God's children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
and the Spirit cries out, "Father". So now you are not a slave; you
are God's child, and God will give you the blessing he promised, because you
are his child.
Notes
In February 2004 recording artist Charlotte Church celebrated her eighteenth
birthday. And she had good reason to celebrate! Coming of age meant that
she became legally entitled to the millions of pounds previously held in
trust for her. The money earned by her success in the music business was
hers to spend for the first time in her life. Up until that point she couldn't
touch it!
Interesting, huh? Well yes, because Paul is talking about something similar in this passage of his letter to the Galatian Christians. He makes a comparison, and at first glance it doesn't seem to make much sense. He says that children are like slaves and that seems to be a bad thing. Then later he says we're like children (of God) and that seems to be a good thing!
Children are compared with slaves because in Paul's day they would have been looked after by a special guardian and have had limited freedom and rights. It was only when they came of age that they were truly free. Paul is trying to explain that it is possible to still live like that if we rely on the law in order to make us right with God. We end up being little more than slaves trying to keep lots of rules and regulations.
The alternative is to become true children of God through Christ. We are then like children who have come of age – God's children who have freedom and can have a close relationship with him. And it is a close relationship that is on offer. The word we read as "Father" might better be translated as "Daddy" – now, does that sounds like slavery to you?
Prayer
Abba Father, thank you that I can know you and be close to you. Thank you that
I am your child. Amen
Galatians 4 v 8-11
In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real.
But now you know the true God. Really, it is God who knows you. So why do
you turn back to those weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you
want to be slaves to those things again? You still follow teachings about
special days, months, seasons and years. I am afraid for you, that my work
for you has been wasted.
Notes
Once a term we used to have a non-uniform day at my school, a day of freedom
where, for a small donation, we could wear whatever we wanted. In practice,
the regulation uniform (navy skirt, white blouse and blue and gold tie) was
replaced by another sort of uniform, usually jeans and sweatshirt. Given
freedom, we all conformed to the expectations of our peer group! Some people
even wore normal school uniform and didn't bother at all. We didn't really
make the most of the freedom that was on offer.
That is the reason for Paul's exasperation and despair in this part of the letter. He sees the Galatian Christians not really grasping the freedom that comes from having faith in Jesus. He is worked up about it because he feels that his hard work to make the good news known has gone to waste.
What exactly is the problem? The Galatian Christians haven't missed the point about Jesus completely, but they have gone back to living like slaves under the Jewish law with its regulations and complicated teachings. Paul wants them to know that they don't have to worry about those things any more. It seems odd that, given the choice between freedom and slavery, anyone would choose the latter. Yet we can all get sucked into to thinking we can measure up in some way. How many times have you said or heard someone else say, "I'm not a very good Christian"? Usually what people mean is that they haven't measured up to a list of rules or criteria.
Have you got your mental list of who is and isn't a good Christian? Scrap it – they and you are free if you are in Christ, and no amount of rule-keeping is going to improve on that.
Prayer idea
In what ways do you try to measure up or compare yourself with other Christians?
Hand those things over to God and thank him for his gift of grace which means
you already are accepted by him.
Galatians 4 v 12-16
Brothers and sisters, I became like you, so I beg you to become like me. You
were very good to me before. You remember that it was because of sickness
that I came to you the first time, preaching the Good News. Though my sickness
was a trouble for you, you did not hate me or make me leave. But you welcomed
me as an angel from God, as if I were Jesus Christ himself! You were very
happy then, but where is that joy now? I am ready to testify that you would
have taken out your eyes and given them to me if that were possible. Now
am I your enemy because I tell you the truth?
Notes
When was the last time you begged someone to become like you? And how long
did it take you to recover from the insults that followed? I think you'd
expect a certain amount of flack if you suggested that other people model
themselves on you in any way. So how does Paul get away with such a bold
statement?
Paul, a Jew, had stayed in Galatia when he was not very well and consequently the Galatians got to hear the gospel message. They seemed to warm to him and his message. It was as though they recognised something of Jesus about him – that is certainly how they welcomed him.
He now feels let down by them and he is not letting them off lightly. He is upset with the Galatian Christians for thinking that their human efforts to keep the law will make any difference to their status with God – that is not what he told them! He almost accuses them of being two-faced – when they first heard the good news they we're very supportive; now they have got side-tracked and are treating Paul like the enemy.
In this passage Paul is urging them to remember him as he was when he visited so that they might realise their mistake in thinking badly of him or his message. Much as it grates a bit, I warm to Paul's confidence and his commitment to live as an example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If I had to give the same pep talk today, I'd be more likely to point to a "big name" Christian or stereotypical saint. Perhaps the challenge is to smarten up my act so that I can be confident of the example I set.
Prayer
Lord, please help me to be a good example in the way I live my life today.
Please enable me to be like you in every situation I face. Amen
Galatians 4 v 17-20
Those people are working hard to persuade you, but this is not good for you.
They want to persuade you to turn against us and follow only them. It is
good for people to show interest in you, but only if their purpose is good.
This is always true, not just when I am with you. My little children, again
I feel the pain of childbirth for you until you truly become like Christ.
I wish I could be with you now and could change the way I am talking to you,
because I do not know what to think about you.
Notes
One of the first things you're told as a child beginning school is not to talk
to strangers. The warning is given because we know how vulnerable children
can be if a stranger with ill-intent approaches them offering sweets or other
goodies. It is possible to be enticed to do something wrong or dangerous
if it looks as though something good is on offer.
The same is true for adults. It can be really flattering when people take an interest in us. We all like to feel valued and appreciated. Sometimes, though, we can be influenced in the wrong way by the appealing words of others.
Paul is saying something like this in today's passage. Some people had been bothering the Galatian Christians, and because of the interest they had shown the believers were being won over to a different way of thinking and turning away from everything Paul had told them about the good news of Jesus.
In the letter to the Ephesians there is a similar sort of issue being addressed. The believers are encouraged not to be babies: "We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to fool us. They make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path" (Ephesians 4 v 14). Part of growing up as a Christian is about holding on to the truth even when we hear the soothing words of others telling us something different.
Prayer idea
Are there people who are able to knock you off course by what they say or do?
Are there people who are an unhelpful influence in your life? Spend some
time asking God to give you wisdom in knowing how to react and asking for
strength to hold on to the truth about Jesus.
Galatians 4 v 21-25
Some of you still want to be under the law. Tell me, do you know what the law
says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one son
was a slave woman, and the mother of the other son was a free woman. Abraham's
son from the slave woman was born in the normal human way. But the son from
the free woman was born because of the promise God made to Abraham.
This story teaches something else: the two women are like the two agreements
between God and his people. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount
Sinai, and the people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother
named Hagar is like that agreement. She is like Mount Sinai in Arabia and is
a picture of the earthly Jewish city of Jerusalem. This city and its people,
the Jews, are slaves to the law.
Notes
Isn't this just one of those passages that make you go, "Huh?" I
get the impression that Paul is trying to make a very simple point and he thinks
he has found a good illustration, but it actually makes me feel rather giddy.
I'm left wondering how much of the Old Testament I need to re-read in order
to understand what he means about Abraham, his sons and their mothers.
If nothing else, it does highlight how we need to see the Bible as a big story and not as isolated chunks. It is difficult to read and understand some of this stuff without knowing something about the big picture and what has gone before. Just dipping into the New Testament and reading a few verses can be like starting to watch a play from part way through the second half – you're not entirely sure who some of the characters are or where you've got to in the action.
The characters in this case are Abraham, Hagar and Sarah. God made a promise to Abraham that he would be blessed and become the father of a great nation. There is a bit more to it that that but we'll run with the bullet points for now! When the great nation was a little slow to get started, Abraham had a child with a slave named Hagar. In time Sarah, Abraham's wife, a free woman, had a child too. In this illustration, Hagar and Sarah represent law and grace. As with most of this part of the letter Paul is looking for an accessible way to explain the difference between living under the law and living by grace through faith in Christ. Run that by me one more time, Paul!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the big story of your people throughout history. Thank
you that I can be a part of the story today. Amen
Galatians 4 v 26-31
But the heavenly Jerusalem, which is above, is like the free woman. She is
our mother. It is written in the Scriptures:
" Be happy, Jerusalem.
You are like a woman who never gave birth to children.
Start singing and shout for joy.
You never felt the pain of giving birth, but you will have more children
than the woman who has a husband."
My brothers and sisters, you are God's children because of his promise, as
Isaac was then. The son who was born in the normal way treated the other son
badly. It is the same today. But what does the Scripture say? "Throw out
the slave woman and her son. The son of the slave woman should not inherit
anything. The son of the free woman should receive it all." So, my brothers
and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Notes
This doesn't make a huge amount of sense unless you read the verses that come
earlier in Galatians 4. Even then you may still feel a little confused – my
head hurts! For the whole of this chapter of Galatians and much of the previous
one Paul is trying everything he can to help the believers understand that
it is about grace and not law! And that grace brings freedom from slavery.
Perhaps for us today real physical slavery feels like an alien concept, although we are probably aware of situations around the world where slavery - even if by another name - exists, or where freedom is restricted. True freedom is a precious thing.
Paul's writings here remind me of the words of Martin Luther King, the American civil rights campaigner. In August 1963 he made a momentous address as part of a huge march in Washington. His speech is most famous for the "I have a dream" statements in which King presented a vision of a time when there would be no more slavery or inequality. He ended by looking towards a day when everyone would be able to sing: "Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
There is that sense of joy in what Paul writes, especially when he quotes some verses from the prophet Isaiah. He is writing about a present reality as well as a future hope. He tells us that we are already free and not slaves because of grace. As God's children, we get to say the words "Free at last!" right now.
Prayer
Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! Thank
you, Lord, for the freedom you offer us by grace through faith in Christ.
Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes