Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised — when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.

This means that one of the great short-term tragedies in the church is how little inclination we have to pray. The greatest invitation in the world is extended to us, and incomprehensibly we regularly turn away to other things. It’s as though God sent us an invitation to the greatest banquet that ever was and we sent word back, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it,” or, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them,” or, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14:18–20).

He Invites Us to Pray

Three times he invites us to pray — or, you could say, if you will hear it lovingly, three times he commands us to pray — to ask him for what we need. It’s the number of times that he invites us that gets our attention. Verses 7–8:

The repetition is meant to say, “I mean this.” I want you to do this. Ask your Father for what you need. Seek your Father for the help you need. Knock on the door of your Father’s house so he will open and give you what you need. Ask, seek, knock. I invite you three times because I really want you to enjoy your Father’s help.

Even better and more amazing than the three invitations are the seven promises. Verses 7–8: “Ask, and [1] it will be given to you; seek, and [2] you will find; knock, and [3] it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks [4] receives, and the one who seeks [5] finds, and to the one who knocks [6] it will be opened.” Then at the end of verse 11b (7): “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

God Makes Himself Available at Different Levels

Jesus encourages us not only by the number of invitations and promises, but by the threefold variety of invitations. In other words, God stands ready to respond positively when you find him at different levels of accessibility.

Everyone Who Asks Receives

Jesus encourages us to pray by making it explicit that everyone who asks receives, not just some. Verse 8: “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” When he adds the word everyone in verse 8, he wants to overcome our timidity and hesitancy that somehow it will work for others but not for us. Of course, he is talking about the children of God here, not all human beings. If we will not have Jesus as our Savior and God as our Father, then these promises don’t apply to us.

We Are Coming to Our Father

We have implied it, now let’s say it explicitly with its own force: when we come to God through Jesus, we are coming to our Father. Verse 11: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Father was not a throw away label for Jesus. It is one of the greatest of all truths. God is our Father. The implications is that he will never, never give us what is bad for us. Never. He is our Father.

Our Heavenly Father Is Better than Our Earthly Father

Then the Jesus encourages us to pray by showing us that our heavenly Father is better than our earthly father and will far more certainly give good things to us than they did. There is no evil in our heavenly Father like there is in our earthly father.

We Can Trust God’s Goodness Because He Has Already Made Us His Children

Here is another implicit encouragement to pray: God will give us good things as his children because he has already given us the gift to become his children.

This insight came from St. Augustine: “For what would he not now give to sons when they ask, when he has already granted this very thing, namely, that they might be sons?” We have already seen that being a son of God is a gift we receive when we come to Jesus (John 1:12). 

The Cross Is the Foundation of Prayer

Finally, implicit in these words is the cross of Christ as the foundation for all the answers to our prayer. The reason I say this is because he calls us evil and yet he says we are children of God. How can it be that evil people are adopted by an all holy God? How can we presume to be children, let alone ask and expect to receive, and seek and expect to find, and knock and expect to have the door opened?

Jesus gave the answer several times. In Matthew 20:28, he said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He gave his life to ransom us from the wrath of God and put us in the position of children who only receive good things.

Take Jesus at His Word

But if we take Jesus at his word, oh how much blessing we forfeit because we do not ask and seek and knock — blessings for ourselves, our families, our church, our nation, our world.

https://www.parsonsporch.com/sermons/2017/9/6/the-sin-of-prayerlessness-1-samuel-1219-25

P.T. Forsythe once said, “The worst sin is prayerlessness.  Overt sin or crime or the glaring inconsistencies which often surprise us in Christian people are the affect of prayerlessness or its punishment.  We are left by God for lack of seeking Him.”

Samuel identified prayerlessness as sin!  It is sin because it is a violation of God’s command.  Jesus said: we “…ought always to pray and not lose heart.”  The word, “ought” implies moral obligation, a sacred duty.  It is then, a responsibility placed upon every Christian by the Lord himself.

Prayerlessness is sin because it denies pleasure to God.  The wise man of the Old Testament wrote:  “The prayer of the upright is His delight.” (Proverbs 15:8)  Imagine that!  God enjoys my praying!  Besides all the benefits I derive form praying, God also finds joy! There is another reason why prayerlessness is a sin:  it defeats the power of God.  Because he was a man of prayer, the Apostle Paul could write:  “I am ready for anything through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

https://www.harvestprayer.com/resources/personal-2/sin-of-prayerlessness/

Without a doubt we are commanded to pray. Jesus told His disciples to pray and not give up (Luke 18:1-8). Paul commanded us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Peter wrote that we are to be self-controlled so that we can pray (1 Peter 4:7). James commanded us to pray for each other (James 5:16). If failing to do something we are commanded to do is sin, then prayerlessness is surely a major sin for believers.

There are some very specific ways to help us move away from this sin and into greater praying. Perhaps the most foundational issue here is that prayerlessness is a declaration that we do not need God. Ronnie Floyd, in his great book, How to Pray, said there are two critical statements about prayer that we must understand: “Prayer occurs when you depend on God” and “Prayerlessness occurs when you depend on yourself.”

Failing to pray is also an indicator of a lack of love for the Lord. Prayer, at its heart, is communicating with God. What does it say to Him when we fail to find time to talk with Him? Do we say by our lack of prayer that we are not at all interested in spending time with the Lord or hearing anything from Him? When we do not pray, we move away from any possibility of intimacy with Christ.

When prayerlessness is prevalent in our lives, we are also guilty of failure to love one another. There is scarcely any greater way to demonstrate love than to pray for someone. In godly intercession, we lift the needs of another to God and watch as He moves to meet needs and provide for the one we are praying for. Through prayer, bodies are healed, families are knit together, individuals are saved, and churches are revived. When we withhold prayer on behalf of others, we demonstrate hardened hearts and a failure to love them enough to bring their needs before a loving Father.

Two Reasons How God Gives His Best When We Pray

http://www.word-smith.info/textual/best

#1: God gives us his best when we pursue it actively (Matt 7:7-8)

• All we can do is establish the conditions under which it is natural for God to give us his best. Does one receive without asking; find without seeking; have a door opened without knocking? No! God blesses the pursuit (Heb. 11:6). Therefore, we conclude that God blesses our initiative and effort.

#2: God gives us his best because it is his nature to do so (Matt 7:9-11)

God has a beautiful plan for our lives. His willingness to give us his best is evident: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). He intends for us to ask, seek, and knock with the intent of discovering and submitting to his plan. Prayer is a powerful tool when it is leveraged against outcomes that are pleasing to God.

https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-81-what-might-have-been

In Psalm 81, God laments over what might have been. As He ponders the history of Israel, His chosen people, God mourns over what He could have done for them and through them, if only they had obeyed Him. It’s an inscrutable mystery that while God is all-powerful and nothing can thwart His sovereign purpose, at the same time He limits His power and blessing to the obedience of His people. As we join the Lord in observing the wreckage of these wasted lives, the message to us is:

The way to avoid a wasted life is to walk in obedience to the Lord.

Chapter 18 Questions

1. Read Matt. 7:7-11. Discuss scripture , share insights from book and notes.
2. Pg 135: Discuss Luis Palau’s statement : “ I realized I’d always seen God as One whose expectations I could never meet rather than One who truly desired to bless me. I could think of many reasons why He should never bestow His gifts on me. However ,I began to see that I needed to simply humble myself before the Lord and receive from His kind hand the gracious gift that Christ has earned for me. “. How do you perceive God?
3. Pg 135-136: Read the five scriptures and discuss the 5 “True Prayer “ statements?
4. Pg 137: Read Psalm 81 : 12-16 and discuss.
5. As a group , share recent answers to prayer….how God has blessed you !! We are in the family of God and it is encouraging to hear other answers to prayer!

In Gal 4:21-31, Paul refers to a well-known Old Testament story about Hagar and Sarah. He then draws theological implications from the story, and finally applies it to us today. He says that in a manner of speaking,  all of mankind can be classified as spiritual descendants of one of two mothers – Hagar and Sarah. He then goes on to talk about the implications of this in Gal 5:1-12. We who believe the gospel are the ones who are Sarah’s spiritual descendants, and it means we are completely free in Christ. However, if we try to earn favor with God, we automatically forfeit all the benefits of the gospel. The gospel is exclusive. We need to either accept it as a free gift from God in Christ Jesus, or we would be “fallen from grace” and “severed from Christ”. The implications are very serious. This is the main reason Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians.

The Example of Sarah and Hagar (Gal 4:21-31)

He starts off by facing the false teachers directly. “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you listen to the law”? (Gal 4:21). We can ask: who are those “who desire to be under the law”? Certainly it applies to Jews, and to the Judaizers who had infiltrated the church. But it also applies to every person alive today who thinks we need to do something to earn favor with God – basically every one of us, before we knew Christ. So let us see what Paul has to say!

To make his point, Paul first looks at the historical situation, then makes a theological argument, and finally applies it to us today.

The History (Gal 4:22-23)

Paul is drawing extensively on Old Testament History here. This was well known to the Jewish readers in Galatia. However, for those who are not familiar with the Bible, this can be very confusing. So let us walk through the Old Testament story of Abraham that is being referenced here. We will look at the incidents of Abraham’s life according to his age at the time they occurred.

Abraham at 75: God calls Abraham to go to Canaan, and promises him many children – too many to even count. At this time, Sarah is barren (Gen 12:1-9). In obedience, Abraham packs his bags and leaves, trusting God in faith (see Heb 11:8).

Abraham at 85: 10 years later, the promised son still hasn’t arrived. Sarah becomes impatient, and tells Abraham to have a child through her Egyptian slave maid Hagar. Abraham agrees and thus they both take matters into their own hands because they do not trust that God will fulfill His promise without some help (Gen 16:1-3)!

Abraham at 86: Hagar gets pregnant, and Sarah becomes jealous. We may think we can do things better than God, but the outcome may not turn out the way we planned, and it can be painful. It gets so hard for Hagar that she runs away. God intervenes and sends Hagar back, promising to take care of her. Then she bears a son, who Abraham names Ishmael (Gen 16:4-16).

Abraham at 99: 13 years later, God appears to Abraham and promises him a son through Sarah and tells him to name that son Isaac  (Gen 17:15-19)! Sarah is past the age of child-bearing at this point. Later God makes the same promise to Sarah (Gen 18:9-11). She laughs at the thought, but lies about it when confronted by God (Gen 18:12-15). Sarah laughed, because she knew that it would need a miracle for this child of promise to be born. Things got even more complicated at this time when Abraham again acts in fear and lies to King Abimelek that Sarah was his sister. Abimelek takes Sarah to his harem, but God graciously intervenes and prevents the king from touching Sarah, and warns the king to return Sarah to Abraham immediately (Gen 20:1-18). Do not miss that fact that God waited 24 years after he made his promise to Abraham. In fact, God waited until Abraham and Sarah were “as good as dead” (Rom 4:19). 

Abraham at 100: Exactly as promised, Sarah bears a son, who they call Isaac (Gen 21:1-3). He was the son of promise, and God accomplished this promise through humanly impossible odds.

Abraham at 103: There is a celebration after Isaac is weaned at age 3. At this time Ishmael who is now 17, mocks Isaac. Sarah sees only one solution to this problem but this is a costly one. Both the slave Hagar and her son Ishmael should be cast out of the family. This breaks Abraham’s heart, but God confirms that Abraham should do this and both Hagar and Ishmael are “cast out” (Gen 21:8-14).

Reading this, it just appears to be the story of a family problem. However, beneath the surface are meanings of tremendous spiritual implications. Abraham, the two mothers Hagar and Sarah, and the two sons Ishmael and Isaac, represent two different spiritual realities, as Paul will go on to explain.

One of the things that caused Jews most pride was that Abraham was the father of their race. God had made a divine covenant with Abraham and his descendants, so Jews thought they were eternally and irrevocably safe. This is why John the baptist warned them: “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise children to Abraham” (Luke 3:8). Similarly, when Jesus taught the Jews: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), they responded: “Abraham is our father, and we have never been enslaved to anyone” (John 8:33,39). Jesus then said that their actions proved that spiritually they were not children of Abraham, but children of the Devil (see John 8:39, 44).

Paul elaborates on what John the Baptist and Jesus had taught. He said that true descendants of Abraham could be either a Jew or a Gentile. “If you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:14).

So there is a double-descent from Abraham. The false and the true. Paul sees this illustrated in Abraham’s two sons Ishmael and Isaac. Both had Abraham as their father. But there are two important differences between them.

• One was the son of a slave, the other of a free woman. Ishmael and Isaac took after their mothers. So one was a slave, the other was free.
• In a sense Ishmael was born “of the flesh”. His birth was done completely apart from God in a totally natural way. On the other hand, Isaac was born because of God’s promise. His father was 100 years old, and his mother who was barren, was 90 and past the age of child-bearing. Ishmael was born according to nature. Isaac was born against nature, supernaturally, because of an exceptional promise of God.

Allegorical interpretation (Gal 4:24-27)

Although this was a human story, there is a deep spiritual meaning to it. The two women Hagar and Sarah, stand for two covenants – the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

It is hard to understand the bIble without an understanding of the two covenants. After all, the bible is divided into two parts – the Old and the New Testaments, meaning the Old and the New Covenants. A covenant is a solemn agreement between God and men. God established the Old Covenant through Moses, and the New Covenant through Jesus. Remember how Jesus said during the last supper: “This is my blood of the New Covenant …” (1 Cor 11:25). The people under the Old Covenant were Jews, but the people under the New Covenant are Christians. The law was given at Mount Sinai in Arabia representing the present Jerusalem (Gal 4:25), but Christians worship in the “Jerusalem from above” (Gal 4:26), or the New Jerusalem that the book of Revelations talks about (Rev 21:2).

Let us see what the apostle writes about the two women Hagar and Sarah.

Hagar is the mother who bore her son in slavery, and this stands for those under the Old Covenant of the Mosaic law. She also represents the present Jerusalem, for “she is in slavery with her children” (Gal 4:25). 

Sarah is different. She is our spiritual mother, representing those from the “Jerusalem above” (Gal 4:16). As Christians we are under the New Covenant. Our citizenship in this New Jerusalem is not bondage but freedom.

Paul then goes on to quote from Isaiah: “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband” (Isa 54:1). This prophecy was made to the Israelites who had been driven away from their land in exile. The prophet likens them to a barren woman whose husband has turned away. He says that the future state will be a restoration to a fruitful mother with more children than ever. In other words, God promises that his people will be more numerous after their return than they were before. This did not happen when the Jews returned from exile. Paul is saying that the real fulfillment was spiritual. He is saying that the growth of the Christian church is the true fulfillment of the promise, and that Christians are the true spiritual descendants of Abraham.

I would like to make a small, but important digression here, so that we can spend some time digesting the significance of this quote from the Old Testament. God is promising to add children into His family from the far reaches of the world. This means that there is something far more significant than bearing physical children. If we are believers, then sharing the gospel and adding new “children” into God’s family is better than having physical children. Paul, for example, called the Galatians “my little children” (Gal 4:19), and the apostle John says: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth” (3 John 1:3). This is good news for married couples who have not been able to have children and also for single men and women, including those who are divorced or widowed. They also can play a significant role in God’s Kingdom by adding spiritual children or by discipling them. This is why Isaiah says: “Rejoice, O barren one” (Isa 54:1). Everything radically changed after Jesus came. Remember that when his family came to take him home thinking he was mad, he looked around at his disciples and said, “here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God is my mother and brother and sister” (Mark 3:34-35). In a sense our “real” family is no longer our physical families, but our eternal, spiritual one. As adopted children of God, we have a much larger group of brothers and sisters – and they constitute our “real” family. If you struggle because you have not been able to have children, or if God has called you to be single for whatever reason, or if you are still waiting for God to show you the right person to marry, take heart. Invest your lives in fulfilling the Great Commission, and your lives will be truly significant and fulfilling. Jesus was single and was the most complete human being who ever lived. We don’t know if the apostle Paul was ever married, but we do know that he was single when God called him, and that he remained single for the rest of his life. Yet God used him in such a powerful way spread the gospel in the first generation, and 2000 years later we are also the fruit of his labor.

Anyway, let us get back to Paul’s argument. Paul has used the story of Sarah and Hagar to illustrate freedom in Christ and bondage apart from Christ. Both Isaac and Ishmael were sons of Abraham, however they were very different. Similarly, Paul is saying that the real question spiritually is: who is our mother. Is it Hagar or is it Sarah?

Practical Implications (Gal 4:28-31)

Having drawn the parallel between the historical story of Hagar and Sarah with Jews and Christians, Paul goes on to elaborate on the consequences by way of application.

Namely, if we are Isaac’s descendants, we can expect to be treated the way Isaac was treated. The treatment that Isaac got from his half-brother Ishmael is the treatment Isaac’s descendants can expect from Ishmael’s descendants. And the treatment that Isaac got from his father Abraham is the treatment that Isaac’s descendants can expect from God (Gal 4:28).

We must expect Persecution (Gal 4:29): Isaac was weaned and was a boy of 3 years old. Ishmael was 17. We do not know the details of exactly how Ishmael persecuted Isaac, because we only read that he “laughed” or “mocked” Isaac (Gen 21:9). Yet it is clear that Isaac was the subject of Ishmael’s scorn and derision.

We must expect the same. The persecution of the true spiritual descendants of Abraham is not always from the world, who are strangers and unrelated to us. It can come from our half-brothers – religious people, those who are just nominally in the church. Jesus was bitterly opposed and ultimately killed, by His own people the Jews. The fiercest opponents of the Apostle Paul also came from the Jews. The greatest enemies of Christians today are not unbelievers. Many of them embrace the gospel when they hear it. The greatest enemies often come from within the church itself. So let us not be surprised when we experience such things, but rather as Jesus said, let us “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:12).

We will receive an inheritance (Gal 4:30-31). There was a time Abraham wanted Ishmael to have his inheritance, but God said it would be Isaac (Gen 17:8-21). Paul quotes the verse: “Cast out the slave woman and her son” (Gal 4:30, quoting Gen 21:10). Jews had traditionally interpreted this as God’s rejection of the Gentiles. However, Paul boldly asserts that in reality it is “the law rejecting the law”. i.e., the exclusion of unbelieving Jews from the inheritance.

This then is the double-lot of the Isaacs. The pain of persecution on the one hand, and the privilege of an inheritance on the other. This is the paradox of the Christian experience, that Paul describes elsewhere that our lives are “through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:8-10).

For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free (Gal 5:1-12)

Paul summarizes the entire section of chapters 3 and 4 of Galatians with this comment: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1). If you think about Paul’s teaching so far, it echoes the words of Jesus: “The slave [i.e., those apart from Christ] does not remain in the house forever; the son [i.e., those in Christ] remains forever. So if the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:35-36). As often happens, you see a seed in the teaching of Jesus, and it is expanded and explained when we read the rest of the New Testament! After making this statement, Paul reminds his hearers that this freedom is exclusive. We cannot have one leg on both sides. He gives his warning in three ways

Slave: Don’t Lose Your Freedom (Gal 5:1)

The freedom Paul is describing is not so much to set us free from the bondage of sin (at least, not yet), but to set our conscience free from the guilt of sin. It is not freedom from sin, but freedom from legalism. It is freedom from the dreadful struggle of trying to be good enough to be accepted by God. So he is encouraging his Galatian readers as he is encouraging us today – don’t lose your freedom and become enslaved again.

Debtor: Don’t Lose Your Spiritual Wealth (Gal 5:2-4)

As we have seen, the false teachers were insisting that Christian converts needed to be circumcised. Why is Paul making such a big deal about it? Circumcision is a pretty superficial, minor surgery. However, it has deep theological significance. The issue represented a particular type of religion, namely – salvation by good works. Thus they were declaring Jesus to be insufficient for salvation. So Paul says that if they did this, then “Christ will be of no advantage to you” (Gal 5:2). He goes on to say that to rely on good works brings them back to square one. They would need to keep the entire law perfectly (see also James 2:10). They will be “severed from Christ” and “fallen away from grace” (Gal 5:4).

You cannot have it both ways. It is impossible to receive Christ and thereby acknowledge that you cannot save yourself, and then go back to circumcision, thereby claiming that you can. You have to choose between a religion of law and a religion of grace.

So what is the true gospel? Paul summarizes it in Gal 5:5-6.  It involves faith given to us by the Holy Spirit, that enables us to trust God’s promises that the death of Jesus is sufficient payment for all of our sin, and for our acceptance before God. That is our hope. It is a “hope of righteousness” (Gal 5:5) – a hope that even as today we have a right standing before God, one day we will be completely cleansed and holy and stand in God’s presence forever. Therefore Paul says that this salvation has nothing to do with whether we are circumcised or not, but involves faith that works through love (Gal 5:6).

Paul makes it clear that the freedom in Christ does not give us a license to live any way we please. Our lives are lived “through the Holy Spirit” (Gal 5:5), and it is “working through love” (Gal 5:6). What he is saying is that our righteousness is not obtained by external controls and rules, but by something God does inside us.

Runner: Don’t Lose Your Direction (Gal 5:5-12)

He starts this section by saying “You were running well. Who hindered you … “ (Gal 5:7)? The picture is that of a great race. They started well, but someone had cut into their lane, and they started running in a different direction.

Here are 3 things Paul says about the false teaching:

• • Its origin was “not from Him who calls you” (Gal 5:8)
  • Its effect was that they were being hindered in their race (Gal 5:8). Also, Paul describes it as the false teachers were “troubling” them (Gal 5:9), and that they were being “unsettled” (Gal 5:12). Paul also said that this false teaching was contagious. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal 5:9).
  • Its end: There would be punishment. The false teachers would “bear the penalty, whoever he is” (Gal 5:10).

Paul then turned to them. It appears that the false teachers had dared to even say that Paul was supporting them in what they taught. Paul denies it. “If I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted” (Gal 5:11)? He has already pointed out that the true children of promise would be persecuted. If Paul was preaching circumcision, he would be saying that people could save themselves by their own good works. If that were so, why was the cross even necessary? “In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed” (Gal 5:11). If there was nothing offensive, he would not be persecuted, so clearly the false teachers were misrepresenting Paul. So he finally says”I wish those who unsettle you will emasculate themselves” (Gal 5:12).

Persecution or opposition is the mark of every true Christian preacher. As we saw in chapter 4, the “Isaacs” of this world are always persecuted by the “Ishmaels”. The Old Testament prophets experienced it, and so did the apostles. To this day, Christian preachers who refuse to dilute the gospel have had to suffer for their faithfulness.

Application

The good news of the “cross of Christ” is still a scandal. It is a deep assault against the self-sufficiency of man. It tells people that they are sinners and rebels, under the wrath and condemnation of God, and that they can do nothing to secure their salvation. However, Jesus came to die and to take that condemnation on Himself, and only through Christ crucified can they be saved. The only way to be popular and avoid offending people would be if we preach “circumcision”, i.e., if we teach morality rather than the gospel. This is often tempting, because morality is never offensive and has universal appeal. On the other hand, if we preach the gospel, we will arouse ridicule and opposition.

Today we are living in an age of tolerance. We love to have the best of both worlds. However, the gospel forces us to choose. We have to be decisive. Is it the free salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ or is it us trying to add our own good works and merit to gain acceptance before God? The one represents human achievement, while the gospel speaks of divine achievement. The one means bondage, while the gospel means grace, faith and freedom. Each of us must choose. It is impossible to try to do both. By attempting to add good works, we are forfeiting all that we could have gained through Jesus Christ.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Jesus + Anything = Nothing

Behind all of this is our attitudes and motives. Under the law we flatter and praise ourselves for our goodness. Under Christ we humble ourselves in our helplessness.

The History

Paul takes us back to Abraham, who lived 2000 years before Jesus. If you recall, God called him out of the land of Ur of the Chaldees to make an almost 1600km journey to Canaan. He gave him an unconditional promise in the 12th chapter of Genesis: “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:2-4). God confirmed it through an unconditional covenant in the 15th, 17th and once again in the 22nd chapter of Genesis: “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen 22:17-18). 

Abraham had a son as promised by God, named Isaac. God confirmed his promise to Isaac: “I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 26:3-4).

Isaac had a son Jacob, to whom also God confirmed his covenant with Abraham. “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 28:13-14).

Notice the repeated phrase in God’s promise: “in your offspring shall all the nations/families of the earth be blessed”. Paul uses this phrase in his argument.

As we trace Jacob’s life, we find that Jacob died in Egypt and not in the promised land. He and his descendants continued to live in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41).  The Israelites grew into a great nation but they were enslaved in Egypt until the time of Moses, where God miraculously delivered them out of Egypt. He led them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai where He gave them the law through Moses. They eventually possessed the promised land.

The Theology

The key point to note is that God’s dealings with Abraham and with Moses were based on completely different principles. To Abraham it was a promise, and to Moses it was the law.

Paul is going to convincingly demonstrate  that Christianity is based on the way God dealt with Abraham (promise), not the way God dealt with the Israelites through Moses (law).

God’s Covenant with Abraham was By a Promise (Gal 3:15-18)

Paul makes a volley of points here.

1. In verses 15-18, Paul uses the example of a “Last Will and Testament” that a person makes (the word “covenant” in some translations could be better rendered “will” in this context). Such a will can never be modified once it has been established. In fact in ancient Greek Law, it could not be modified even when the person making the will was still alive. So if this is true for a human will, how much more immutable would be a promise made by God. It can never be rescinded. When God gives the law through Moses 430 years later, Paul’s point is that this can never annul the promise God made earlier to Abraham and make it void (Gal 3:17). The covenant with Moses would imply that the inheritance comes by the law. But if so, it no longer comes by a promise, but God gave it to Abraham through a promise (Gal 3:18).
2. Paul makes a note that the promise of the blessing of the nations would be through Abraham’s offspring (singular) and not “offsprings” – plural (Gal 3:16). This points to a single future Savior, who Paul identifies as Jesus Christ.
3. The promise was made directly by God, but the law came “third-hand” to the Israelites. It was delivered through God’s angelic agents to Moses the mediator and then to the people (see Acts 7:53 and Heb 2:2). I.e., God -> the angels -> Moses the mediator -> the People (Gal 3:19-20). How could something which was delivered “third-hand” to the people be more important than something that was given directly and was also given hundreds of years earlier?

Paul Answers Objections (Gal 3:19-22)

You can almost imagine the Judaizers bristling with indignation with Paul’s passionate arguments here. This was the cause for Paul’s arrest that was instigated by the Jews in Jerusalem: “This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place” (Acts 21:28). They would blurt out in indignation: “Paul, you have made a direct leap from Abraham all the way to Jesus and have completely skipped over Moses and the law. According to you, what is the purpose of the law”?

So Paul answers these objections

1. Why then the law? (Gal 3:19). Paul’s answer is: “It was added because of transgressions”. This is hard to understand as it stands, but most likely it means that the law was necessary to define sin. It is explained in more detail in Paul’s letter to the Romans: “through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). He also says: “Where there is no law there is no transgression” (Rom 4:15). And he then gives himself as an example to say: “If it were not for the law, I should not have known sin” (Rom 7:7)
2. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? (Gal 3:21). This is Paul taking on the offensive, and asking this question of his detractors. He then goes on to say that they were being very theoretical. They were saying “keep the law and you will gain life”. So Paul shoots back: “if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law” (Gal 3:21). However, in practice no one can keep the law. So rather than giving life, “Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise of faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Gal 3:22).

Under the Law and In Christ (Gal 3:23-29)

Paul has now given us a survey of 2000 years of history. Having answered anyone among the Judaizers who might have objected, he now completes his thought by contrasting two groups of people. Those who are “in Christ”, and those who are “under the law”.

The reason Paul says that the law held us captive and imprisoned us (Gal 3:23) is that those under the law have no way of escape. Since we cannot keep the law, we are sinners, and can never please God. This is our prison. We are under condemnation  apart from Christ. This is why John says: “Whoever believes the Son is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already” (John 3:18). Many of us are familiar with John 3:16, which speaks of God’s love for the world which was so great that He sent His only Son. However, John goes on to say that those who do not believe in this Son, Jesus are “condemned already”. Everyone is already in a state of condemnation apart from Jesus. This is the prison every human being is in, and their only hope is Jesus.

Paul also says the law was our guardian (Gal 3:24-25). It provided some level of protection against anarchy until the time of Christ, when the promise was fulfilled. There were also punishments when the law was not kept. Transgression needs punishment. But once Jesus came, this guardian is no longer necessary.

Paul goes on to say, “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith” (Gal 3:26). Please note that Paul says “sons” and not “children” because in that culture sons received the father’s inheritance. This is not a sexist comment. Legally we are like “sons” before God. The word applies to both men and women in that all those who believe in Jesus are heirs of God as His sons. Paul makes this crystal clear a few verses later, in Gal 3:28.

God is no longer the judge who through the law has imprisoned us and condemned us.  God is no longer our guardian, who through the law restrains and chastises us. God is now our Father who has accepted us and forgiven us in Christ. We no longer fear Him, dreading the punishment we deserve, but love Him with deep devotion. We are neither prisoners awaiting our final judgment, nor are we minors constrained by a guardian, but we are now adult sons of God and heirs of His glorious inheritance.

Here is another opportunity we have to address some wrong thinking in our culture and also among Christians. God is not a universal Father. That concept is foreign to the Bible. He is the universal Creator who brought all things to existence, and He is also the universal King who rules the entire universe that He created. But He is only the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and of those who are adopted into His family through faith in Jesus Christ. He is Father to the believer, and Judge to the unbeliever. He accepts the believer with great love as our Father, and condemns unbelievers to hell as the absolutely righteous Judge. Let us not squander any of the precious promises of God that are only for His children, to those who do not believe in Him. Those promises do not apply to them. J I Packer says that being a child of God is one of the distinctive characteristics of being a Christian, and our greatest privilege. More on this in our next study.

Paul then says we have “put on” Christ in baptism (Gal 3:27). He is saying that when the believers identified with Christ in baptism, they had in a sense “put on” Christ.

Paul then goes on to draw the logical conclusion if we are all sons of God:

1. We are one (Gal 3:28)
2. We are heirs, and Abraham’s true offspring  (Gal 3:29)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

• There is no distinction of race
• There is no distinction of rank
• There is no distinction of social class
• There is no distinction of sex

In Jesus Christ we are all brothers and sisters, and this supersedes every conceivable human boundary possible.

And Paul concludes this thought with a flourish. Those who are in Christ are Abraham’s true offspring, and also heirs of God according to promise (Gal 3:29).

Application

Paul has made a grand sweep of human history in today’s text. It is a powerful antidote to the “philosophy of meaningless” in today’s culture. Today it is fashionable to say (or believe) life has no meaning or purpose. If this were true, what is there to live for? An increasing number of people identify themselves with the “no religious affiliation” category. Such people have no goal in life and are headed nowhere. In biblical terminology, such people are “lost”. They do not realize that this life is not all there is. They will one day have to face their Creator as their Judge, and will be condemned to spend an eternity in Hell, away from fellowship with God forever.

However, in Christ we find ourselves. We have a significant place in eternity. This gives us infinite three-dimensional significance:

• Height – we are children of God and heirs with Christ of the promise
• Breadth – the gospel breaks every possible barrier between human beings.
• Length – we join the vast line of believers through the entire history of the human race in this relationship with God.

So let me ask each of you here. Are you “in Christ”? As you can see, the chasm between those in Christ and those who are not, is very, very wide.

I would like us to look at these truths through two lenses. One which looks at the grand purposes of God, and the other that looks at why we are here.

The grand purposes of God: Some people seem to think the Bible is a vast trackless jungle, very confusing and full of contradictions. However, the glory of the Bible is that it is extremely coherent. The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation tells the story of God’s sovereign purpose of grace. It reveals His master-plan of salvation through Christ. This is why God created the world. He wanted to display his glory to the fullest extent possible to a group of people who were made in His image. This is our inheritance – to know the infinite God of the universe as our Father and enjoy Him and His creation, completely free of any limitations for all of eternity.

What we studied today, sweeps through the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament. He brings together Abraham, Moses and Jesus and spans a period of about 2000 years. This is a satellite survey of the entire Old Testament landscape. There are some mountain peaks like Abraham and Moses. Then there is mount Everest – who is Jesus Christ, who towers over all of Scripture. God’s promise to Abraham was confirmed by Moses, and fulfilled by Jesus Christ. It shows us the unity of the entire Bible.

There is a great need today, for us to have a biblical view of ourselves and of history. We get so distracted with our current problems in the 21st century that we do not care much about the past or the future. We need to take a step back and view the whole counsel of God. His everlasting purpose was to redeem a people for Himself through Jesus Christ. We need to look back. Even before Abraham was Adam through whom sin and judgment entered the world. We also need to look forward to the final consummation when Jesus returns with power and great glory to reign forever. Our God is systematically working out His plan. And through the Bible, he allows us to have a glimpse of it, and invites us to become a part of it.

Why do we exist? After God gave the promise through Abraham, He gave the law through Moses. Why? Because He needed to allow things to get worse before they could get better. The law exposed sin, provoked sin and condemned sin. The purpose of the law was to unmask our veneer of respectability and expose what we are really like underneath – sinful, rebellious, guilty, under the judgment of God and completely helpless to save ourselves.

The law must be allowed to complete its God-given duty. One of the faults of the contemporary church is to soft-pedal sin and judgment. This does people a great disservice. It is only when we know we are sick that we recognize our need for healing and seek it. It is only when we know that we stand guilty and condemned before God that we know that we are hopeless apart from our Savior. We must never bypass the law and come straight to the gospel. To do so goes against God’s own plan of biblical history.

This is why the gospel is so unappreciated today. Some ignore it, and others ridicule it. It is only in the inky blackness of the night sky that stars appear. No one has appreciated the beauty of the gospel until the law has exposed his own sin. It is only in the background of sin and judgment that the glory of the gospel shines forth.

We see this truth in the parable of the Prodigal Son. There were two sons. Both were lost in different ways. The first by open rebellion against the father, and the second who expected to earn his father’s approval by being good. The story ends with the father embracing the prodigal son (Luke 15:22-24), while the older son is angry and resentful (Luke 15:25-32). He never experienced the depth of his father’s mercy and love, because he thought he was self-sufficient. This truth is also illustrated by Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).. The Pharisee prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get” (Luke 18:11-12). But the tax collector “stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’: (Luke 18:13). Jesus ends by saying: “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. (Luke 18:14). Remember, we saw that the word “justified” means that God’s verdict on this man was “righteous, not guilty”. The tax collector understood his sin and his desperate need of God, and therefore God was delighted to declare him righteous and to save him. That is the power of the gospel!

“Not until the law has bruised and smitten us will we admit our need of the gospel to bind up our wounds. Not until the law has arrested and imprisoned us will we pine for Christ to set us free. Not until the law has condemned and killed us will we call upon Christ for justification and life. Not until the law has driven us to despair of ourselves will we ever believe in Jesus. Not until the law has humbled us even to hell, will we turn to the gospel to raise us to heaven” (John Stott).

Note: I was very blessed, and have liberally used content from John Stott’s commentary on Galatians, “Essential Freedom” (IVP, 1988)