Week 36

 Monday, September 1

Galatians 4

 

Commentary

          At the end of the last chapter, Paul declares that those in Christ are the heirs of Abraham. In this chapter, Paul explains that the heirs of Abraham were kept under the guardianship of the law, not yet possessing the inheritance, until Christ came. The Law exposes our sin, teaches God’s holiness, and emphasizes the necessity of a perfect and final atonement for sin. The law, however, does not provide salvation. The saints of old were not saved by keeping the Law, but rather, like Abraham, by putting faith in the One who gave the law and promised a Savior to come. Following the atoning death of Christ, we must put our faith in him. Paul already thoroughly taught this to the Galatians, yet they continue in the old things of the Law, like observing the festivals, as if salvation comes from perfectly keeping the Law.

          Paul’s discussion of Isaac and Ishmael contributes to his argument, though exactly how is hard to see at first. Remember that Abraham impregnated Hagar against God’s commands; he was to have a child through Sarah. Continuing in the law as if one is under the old covenant goes against God’s commands; it is slavery to old, dead things. Following Christ in the new covenant is what God commands and leads to the promised blessing. Christ frees us from the burden of vainly trying to save ourselves and freely gives us life and salvation, purchased by his blood.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Paul mentions he preached to the Galatians because of an illness. Although he does not elaborate, it is possible that he originally came to or stayed in Galatia because of an unexpected health challenge. God used even sickness to bring about gospel opportunities. Remember that God is always working for his glory, even through evil!

2. How is sin enslaving? How is Christ liberating?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for the divine wisdom of his Word.

Confession: Ask for God’s help to trust in the completed work of Christ rather than your own attempts at righteousness.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for the freedom and sonship he offers through the work of Christ.

Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and enlightenment for a lost person you know well and for opportunities to witness to him or her.

Tuesday, September 2

Galatians 5

 

Commentary 

In today’s reading, Paul tells us that Christ offers freedom, and therefore, those in Christ should not return to the slavery of legalism. Paul condemns circumcision, not because circumcision is bad by itself, but because the Galatians were continuing circumcision as if it were required. Thus, they effectively declare the work of Christ was inadequate for salvation or that they would not trust Christ alone to save them. Just letting this legalistic influence in the door is enough to be a problem – salvation by faith in Jesus plus anything else is a different and false gospel. Martin Luther advises, “Therefore, let us learn with all diligence to separate Christ far from all works, as well good as evil; from all laws both of God and man, and from all troubled consciences: for Christ has nothing to do with all these. He has to do, I grant, with afflicted consciences: how to not afflict them more, but to raise them up, and comfort them in their affliction. Therefore, if Christ seems like an angry judge or lawgiver who requires a strict account of our lives, let us assure ourselves that it is not Christ, but a raging fiend. For the Scripture paints Christ as our reconciler, our advocate, and our comforter.^”[1]

Paul clarifies that he is not a proponent of legalist circumcision because if he were, he and other Christians would not be persecuted by Judaizers. The apostle then calls the Galatians to use their freedom in Christ to serve each other. The whole law, he says, is fulfilled in the command to love others as yourself. Loving others rightly is only possible by loving God rightly, so when Paul summarizes the law as loving others, the necessity of first loving God rightly is implied. Believers should love each other, not lash out against each other. Paul then urges the believers to walk and keep in step with the Spirit. The flesh, a shorthand way to refer to our fallen desires, and the Spirit oppose each other. The works of the flesh are varied but many. The fruit, singular, of the Spirit is varied but one. Our sinful hearts lead us in every wrong direction. The Spirit leads us in the one right direction. Those in Christ have already put the flesh and its desires to death and are thus free to follow the Spirit’s leading.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Look at the list of fruit of the Spirit – what do you see in your life?

2. Look at the list of sins – what do you see in your life?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for his sovereign power over the bondage of sin.

Confession: Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in renouncing sin and cultivating godliness.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for salvation through Christ and sanctification through the Spirit.

Supplication: Pray for your church members to intentionally cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.

Wednesday, September 3

Galatians 6

 

Commentary

Paul closes his letter with a series of concluding exhortations. He urges that the spiritual, as in spiritually mature, believers should kindly correct the wayward and that believers should bear each other’s burdens. At the same time, all of us should keep a careful watch on their own sin-prone hearts. Those who are taught should be generous towards those who teach them – probably primarily referring to congregations’ benevolence towards their pastors. Whatever we sow is what we will reap, so we should invest ourselves in matters of spiritual worth. We should lovingly pull our brothers back from sin, we should bear each other’s burdens, we should compensate our pastors, and more, because we know such work has eternal dividends.

Paul mentions he is writing with his own hand, emphasizing the deeply personal nature of the letter. He then explains that, as Moisés Silva wrote, “The real reason [the Judaizers] are intent on circumcising the Galatians is that, afraid of being persecuted, they want to make a good impression outwardly. The word outwardly is a translation of the literal phrase, ‘in the flesh’. Through a powerful play on words, Paul calls attention to the fact that the rite of circumcision is performed on the (physical) flesh, and that is a clear indication that the Judaizers live in the realm of the flesh… their obedience to the law is at best selective—their true purpose is to boast in the fact that they have placed a mark on the flesh of the Galatian Christians.”^[2] In contrast, Paul only desires to boast in Christ, for through Christ, he has crucified his old self and been made into his new self. Paul’s boasting in Christ is still glorifying God and encouraging his people today; the circumcision of the Judaizers has long rotted with their bodies.

 

Application/Discussion

1. How can you rely on God to keep your own sin in check while graciously addressing the sin of others?

2. What is some good you can do for a member of your church or a dear Christian friend? If you are not sure of a physical need you could meet or some help you could give, ask one of your pastors or deacons for suggestions.

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for glorifying himself through such fallible creatures as us.

Confession: Ask God’s forgiveness for any recent neglect of helping others.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for the gift of the community of the church.

Supplication: Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help for your church members to be godly, mature, and willing to both give and receive redirection to Christ.

Thursday, September 4

Ephesians 1

 

Commentary

We now begin Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This is one of the four “prison epistles,” letters Paul wrote from prison. He gives a standard greeting of grace and peace and praises God for his grand plan of salvation. God chose those he would save even before the world was formed; election is God’s intentional plan to save the lost because they cannot save themselves. God is glorified in the elect, to whom he shows his mercy, and the reprobate, to whom he shows his justice. God saves the elect so that they will praise and glorify him. Paul say those in Christ have an inheritance and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee or down payment of that inheritance. Believers do not see the new creation yet, but the Holy Spirit working inside our hearts reminds us that God will certainly fulfill his promises.

This chapter helps us see that God lovingly provides us what we need most, things we could never have on our own. We are helpless to save ourselves and completely unworthy of salvation, but he mercifully saves us so we can serve and glorify him. We need to grow and serve God together, so God gathers us as his Church. We often forget or doubt God’s promises, so God gives us his Spirit to reassure us. We wander and rebel, so God establishes Christ as our head and leader. We are even more sinful and God is more glorious and more compassionate than our finite minds can comprehend. Live for God and his glory; how else could we respond to such goodness and love? What else could possibly be worth our time?

 

Application/Discussion

1. How does considering God’s salvific plans from the dawn of time seem encouraging? How does it seem humbling?

2. How can verses 15–23 help us see how to pray? Why does God give us so many prayers and templates for prayers in the Bible?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for saving his helpless, damned enemies.

Confession: Ask for God to help you to praise and glorify him in all things.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for the salvation he has given us through Christ.

Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and enlightenment of the people in a country that is hostile to the gospel. Visit https://www.persecution.com/globalprayerguide to learn more.

Friday, September 5

Ephesians 2

 

Commentary

In today’s reading, Paul moves from a universe-encompassing overview of God’s redemptive plans to just the human level. He very bluntly tells the Ephesians believers, and any believers who read this, “You were dead in your trespasses” and explains the helpless sinful state of the lost. Without salvation, every man and woman has no option but to walk like a living corpse, dead, rotten, and doomed to fall apart, walking in the ways of this world. The great preacher Jonathan Edwards explained our sinfulness before God like this: “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire… You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince, and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else that you did not got to hell the last night; that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up.”[3]

Yes, we are truly this far from God without his forgiveness. Astonishingly, humanity is this sinful, yet God loves his wayward creatures enough to forgive them anyway, at the cost of the life of his Son. God also loves without partiality – both Jews, who received the old covenant and all its promises, and Gentiles, those outside this covenant community, are freely forgiven if they come to God in repentance. We are all hopelessly lost on our own, yet we can all be saved through Christ. Now, we do not need the temple, nor for its division between the main area and the Gentile area. God’s Church, his saved, gathered, unified people, is built on the foundations of the prophets, the writers of the Old Testament promises, and the apostles, the writers of the New Testament exposition on the work of Christ. Christ is the cornerstone, the one who supports the whole structure as each believer is sanctified to be more and more like him.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Why should we emphasize that we are not saved by our heritage or our good works?

2. What should it look like to build your life upon Christ and his Word?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for showing his goodness and kindness in his forgiveness.

Confession: Ask God’s help in loving, reading, and obeying his Word.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for saving you, or ask him to help you accept his salvation.

Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in unifying your church so you can serve and glorify God together in all things.

Saturday, September 6

Ephesians 3

 

Commentary

          In this chapter, Paul continues to appeal to the Ephesian believers to grow into spiritual maturity and glorify God together. He starts to give this plea in verse 1 and finishes it in verse 17 – quite a rabbit trail! In between these verses, Paul justifies his apostolic authority and recounts some highlights his testimony to them. Patrick Schreiner explained this interruption: “Paul wishes to transition to his prayer for Ephesus in light of the church’s role in God’s plan, but he must stop and explain why he is in prison. The victory of Christ and his suffering seem at odds. However, Paul’s suffering manifests the plan. His life is an example to follow. Suffering is how Paul expresses God’s victory. Paul explains his relationship to the mystery (3:2–7) and the mystery’s relationship to the cosmic [universe-encompassing] plan (3:8–13)… The content of the mystery is that Gentiles are coheirs, partakers in the promises with Jews… Paul’s role is to shine light on this revealed secret, and that is why he is in prison.”[4] In the Bible, “mystery” refers not to something that is obscured or waiting to be unraveled, but something that was once hidden and is now revealed by God. The mystery Paul explains is that God now unites all who believe into one family, with no distinction or separation between Jew and Gentile.

          Paul was writing this as a prisoner of the Roman Emperor Nero, known for his great persecution of Christians. Paul presents himself, however, as a prisoner of Christ. He is in prison not to be punished by Nero, but to serve Jesus. Paul does not use his time to feel sorry for himself or be angry at God, nor does he write to the Ephesians so they can make his imprisonment easier. He serves God by encouraging and praying for churches, even while in chains. Remember that Jesus suffered and calls us to follow in his footsteps (Matthew 16:24). Also remember that this world is not the end of our story – we may suffer for Christ in this life, but God will use that suffering for his ultimate glory and bring us home to perfect, eternal rest.

 

Application/Discussion

1. God had a plan for Paul in this season of life, and he has a plan for all of us, whatever we face. What opportunities do you have to glorify God in your current life circumstances?

2. How can we grow in our understanding of God’s love?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: Praise God for revealing his truth in his Word.

Confession: Ask for God’s help in being constantly prayerful.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for uniting his people into one family.

Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for your church to grow in its love of God and his Word.

Sunday, September 7

Ephesians 4

 

Commentary

In the first three chapters, Paul lays out the gospel, explaining that believers are saved by God’s grace through faith, that both Jews and Gentiles are equally in need of Christ as Savior, and that Christ as Savior has united these two groups into one people. After explaining the calling and identity of Christians, he uses the last three chapters of this letter to instruct the Ephesians in Christian living. He begins with the exhortation for the Ephesians to walk in a manner worthy of their calling, to live in a way that reflects their salvation. The Greek word translated as “worthy” refers to the balancing of a scale. You know the two sided-scales with a basket on each side. On one side of the scale should be our salvation and on the other side should be our actions. Our actions, our words, and our lives should live up to the weight of that salvation.

He then proclaims that there is only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. Unity is an important theme in Ephesians, and the whole Bible, but we must be united in truth, not simply united in anything. God gives the church its leaders so that we can be taught and led in that truth. Paul introduces this with a slightly altered quotation from Psalm 68. As the victorious, resurrected king, Christ has the right to take spoils from his enemies and the right to bestow riches to who he pleases, yet he blesses his enemies and rewards them through his forgiveness. One of the blessings Christ gives his people is leaders, now primarily through the leadership of pastors or, literally, “shepherd-teachers.” They equip God’s people to serve him. All Christians have a responsibility to share the Gospel with others, teach the truth, and strengthen the church in any way they can. In salvation, God makes us into new, redeemed creatures and in light of this, we should live in love, humility, and patience towards each other.

         

Application/Discussion

1. Your pastors are not supposed to do ministry alone; they are supposed to equip you to do ministry as well. Are you being equipped? Are you joining them in service?

2. How should God’s forgiveness motivate our own forgiveness?

 

Points of Prayer

Adoration: How can you praise God based on what you just read?

Confession: Is there unconfessed sin in your heart today?

Thanksgiving: How can you thank God based on what you just read?

Supplication: What can you ask for God’s help with based on what you just read?

---

[1] Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, on Galatians 5:2, language lightly simplified.

^[2] Moisés Silva, “Galatians,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1220.

[3] Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God,” under Application.

[4] Patrick Schreiner, The Visual Word: Illustrated Outlines of the New Testament Books, ed. Connor Sterchi (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2021), 82.