August 18
Bible Reading: Galatians 3
Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Remember the Flintstones cartoon? Remember those cars? Having huge granite wheels, and frames made of tree trunks, they were somehow propelled by mere foot power? We know better now! By way of contrast, I recently purchased a Yamaha 1300 motorcycle. With some gasoline in the tank that thing can fly–I know, I know, be safe! I’m wondering if we are too often like the Flintstones when it comes to living out our Christian lives, peddling hard and going nowhere fast. Trying to live for Jesus in our own strength is not just difficult, but impossible. On the other hand, the Spirit who indwells us is limitless in His power and ability to impart wisdom to lead us!
Paul’s rebuke, “are you so foolish?” speaks to the naivety of the Galatians in their response to false teachers. Paul had proclaimed the gospel to them. They had trusted in Christ for salvation. They had suffered for Christ and had followed the Spirit, but now they’re attempting to live out their Christian lives in their own wisdom and strength. Paul was astonished and disheartened!
The Spirit is, of course, the person of the Holy Spirit. He whom Jesus promised to send — “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The word “Helper” translates the Greek “parakletos” which literally means “called to one’s side” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). Jesus comforted His troubled disciples with news of the Spirit’s coming — “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). His is a Christ-revealing and Christ-glorifying ministry (John 16:12-14).
The believers in Galatia had received the Spirit (Galatians 3:2). They had received Him “by hearing with faith” and not “by the works of the law” (Galatians 3:2). As a result of faith in Christ, a person receives the Spirit. Every born-again believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). The Helper is always at work in the believer, lovingly and patiently working to instruct, empower, and transform.
The believers in Galatia had “begun by the Spirit” (Galatians 3:3) but had digressed. The Christian life is a walk by the Spirit. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18). Though there are commands to be obeyed, the Christian life is not a religious construct of dos and don’ts. No one can be “perfected by the flesh,” because the flesh is incapable of such a thing (Colossians 2:23; John 6:63). It can only do the “works of the flesh” and none of them have anything to do with perfection (Galatians 5:19-21). By the Spirit alone can the “deeds of the body” be “put to death” (Romans 8:13). By the Spirit alone can transformation into Christlikeness take place (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The believers in Galatia had received the Spirit “by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5). God had “graced them” with the Spirit and had worked miracles amongst them. Those things happened not as a result of their own religious doings. How foolish it is to suppose that we can, in our own self efforts, do what the divine Spirit alone can do. By the Spirit alone, the miracle of regeneration takes place. By the Spirit alone, we can have assurance (Romans 8:16). By the Spirit alone, we are sanctified (2 Corinthians 3:18). By the Spirit alone, we can understand truth and be assisted in our prayers (1 Corinthians 2:12; Romans 8:26). By the Spirit alone, Christ-like fruit is borne in us (Galatians 5:22-23). By the Spirit alone we can worship God in an acceptable manner (John 4:24; Philippians 3:3). How incredibly blessed we are to have such a Helper! We did not receive Him by merit or self-effort, He was given to us as a gift. To be filled with Him (Ephesians 5:18-20) and to walk by Him (Galatians 5:16-17) is a matter of great privilege and the only means by which we can walk in a manner worthy of the calling which we have received. To walk apart from the leading and empowerment of the Spirit would be like trying to drive your car without an engine and a steering wheel!
We cannot walk as God would have us to, apart from the leading and empowerment of the Spirit. In fact, the entirety of the life and ministry of the believer in Christ lies in the realm of the miraculous. It is impossible for us to do that which God calls upon us to do in the power of the flesh. It is foolhardy enterprise to suppose that we can do anything of spiritual value through human wisdom or self-effort. But by the Spirit, people are miraculously born again and made to be new creatures in Christ. By the Spirit, these new creatures in Christ are miraculously transformed into Christlikeness. And by the working of His miraculous power their lowly bodies will one day be transformed to be like his glorious body. These are miracles. And God is doing such things every day. By His grace. By the Spirit. To His honor and glory (John 6:63. Philippians 3:3, 3:21)!
“There is no step that can be taken without (the Spirit), there is nothing which can be accomplished aright without him.” – Charles Spurgeon
O Holy Spirit
As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
and heaven full of glory,
So may my heart be full of Thee!
Vain are all divine purposes of love
and the redemption brought by Jesus;
Except Thou work within,
Regenerating by Thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me Thyself without measure,
As an unimpaired fountain,
As inexhaustible riches.
LookingtoJesus 