I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. – John
15:5
Pray
for God to speak to you through the reading of His word.
Read
Galatians 4:21-5:1
Slavery vs.
Freedom
-
The
first comparison Paul offers us in this passage is between slavery and
freedom.
-
The
way of trying to achieve salvation by human effort is akin to being enslaved,
while relying on God’s promise is freedom.
-
Ironically,
there is freedom in finding ourselves helpless before God.
Flesh vs. Promise
-
Abraham
and Sarah tried to speed up God’s timing by having a child via Hagar.
-
What
we learn is that our attempts to speed up God’s timing, or bring about the
fulfillment of his Promise, lead only to grief and difficulties.
-
Passages
to Consider: Genesis 18:13-14
Present
Jerusalem vs. Jerusalem Above
-
In
Paul’s day, many Jews seemed focused on the Law, and the religious rituals that
took place in Jerusalem.
-
Paul
would argue that the heart of the Jewish faith is God’s Promise to Abraham, and
that Promise is found in the Jerusalem above, not the Jerusalem below.
-
We
long for the Jerusalem Above, because the heavenly Jerusalem is where Jesus is
found.
-
Passages
to Consider: Isaiah 54:1; Colossians 3:1-2
Flesh vs. Spirit
-
The
way of the flesh will always mock, or persecute the way of the Spirit.
-
The
flesh and the Spirit cannot coexist, we must cast out the way of the flesh, and
embrace the way of the Spirit!
-
Passage
to Consider: Genesis 21:8-10
Pray that we will
embrace the work of God’s Spirit as opposed to the effort of the flesh.
Pray that we will
find freedom in our helplessness before God, rather than enslaving ourselves to
our own attempts at justification.
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