The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 6

Paul Reaffirms true Righteousness to the Galatians; “Faith in Christ”

Galatians 3:1-5 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? KJV

Immediately Paul follows up his declaration of the new life he and every true believer lives and enjoys is union or connection to Jesus Christ by way of believing the true Gospel and receiving Christ as ones Lord and Savior (Galatians 2:20), with calling out those in Galatia who had begun to allow themselves to be led down the path of a “works” gospel “foolish” or the Greek word anoetos which means unintelligent, unwise, without comprehension, or unable to perceive, think, or understand correctly, also by implication it means sensual. Paul no doubt was concerned that they had received the Holy Spirit, but by their allowing themselves to be “led away” or “bewitched” the Greek word baskaino which means to become fascinated with something by way of false representation or to speak, then to bring evil on one by feigned praise or the evil eye (hoodoo), to lead astray by evil arts, that they had allowed someone to lead them away from the truth and thus they had quenched all the blessings, graces, and gifts of the Holy Spirit and therefore suffered themselves to tremendous spiritual loss by now trying to perfect themselves in the flesh or in other words the legal righteousness of the Jew.

Paul wanted to have the assurance that they had received the Word of God he preached to them as he testified in this manner to the believers in Thessalonica, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13), however, because many appeared to be abandoning the Gospel of Grace for this “works” gospel, Paul was unable at this point in his letter to have such assurance about many of them, as he would say very bluntly and plainly with these words to the Galatians just in the next Chapter, “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.” (Galatians 4:9-11). It is as if these Galatians had turned on to the road of “works righteousness” with no detour or exits ramps in their sights.

Paul wanted to see them come all the way back to the sweet simplicity that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord as he declared to the Corinthian believers in this manner, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Paul spelled out the many blessings every regenerated born again believer has through “faith in Christ” to the Ephesians clearly and without any vagueness and Paul even prayed that their understanding to all that spiritual truth would be theirs by virtue of God the Holy Spirit opening their spiritual eyes to see and receive all that was theirs through faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-23). Did the “good work” or moral excellence and moral virtue that was wrought in you, that is in your inner man (the real you) was it done or performed by the works of observing the law or by believing the Gospel that I (Paul) preached to you of Christ Crucified and faith in Him? Paul wanted the answer to come from them examining their own lives of transformation or the lack of transformation to determine whether they had actually believed in vain or not.

Paul again uses the word “foolish” or the Greek word anoetos to inquire if they actually imagine or intend to gain completeness, fullness, or spiritual maturity apart from the work of God the Holy Spirit “in them”, but instead by them trying to keep the moral law of God (without the Holy Spirits energy and power) or by observing the Jewish ceremonial laws that are null and void “in Christ” (Philippians 3:2-3). Paul wants them to see the utter absurdity of where they are now being led, by reminding them that it is the sanctifying power of God the Holy Spirit that was at work “in them” when they first believed the Gospel that caused them to live the new lives that many of them lived. Paul was witness himself to God the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in their lives and now he is stunned that they have so soon turned from Him back to the very things that brought them bondage, but never liberty, victory, or deliverance. Acts 14 details some forms of persecution that the ministers of the Gospel and those in the southern region of Galatia (who believed the Gospel) endured and Paul wanted them to examine themselves to consider whether their outward sufferings of persecution for becoming believers through “faith in Jesus Christ” was for nothing, seeing that they are now being led to turn away from Him (Christ). Paul wanted to assure them that their present sufferings (Romans 8:18) were not coming to them so that they would shrink back or draw back as with fear or pain from the truth of the Gospel, but it was to make them stand even firmer with determination and resolution being unshakable as he declared it in this manner to the Corinthian believers, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

My own Personal Note: Paul was never one to mince or soften his words when he felt that some harshness was necessary. Therefore, we find him here using the words “foolish” and “bewitched” speaking of these Galatians in order that he might jolt them out of their fog of false belief that they could go higher in Jesus Christ through the observance of the Jewish ceremonial laws and trying to keep God’s Moral Law “in the flesh”, but here Paul debunks their fallacy, false belief, or misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning. Let us remember these words written by Paul to the Roman believers (which are very much applicable to these Galatians and to us today, just substitute the word Christian for Jew) when he said, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29).

“Are ye so thoughtless - As not to consider what you have yourselves experienced? Having begun in the Spirit - Having set out under the light and power of the Spirit by faith, do ye now, when ye ought to be more spiritual, and more acquainted with the power of faith, expect to be made perfect by the flesh? Do you think to complete either your justification or sanctification, by giving up that faith, and depending on the law, which is a gross and carnal thing when opposed to the gospel?” John Wesley

“Faith consists not in working, but in receiving (Romans 10:16-17). Having begun your Christianity in the Spirit, that is, in the divine life that proceeds from faith, are ye seeking after something higher still (the perfecting of your Christianity) in the sensuous and the earthly, which cannot possibly elevate the inner life of the Spirit, namely, outward ceremonies? [Neander]. No doubt the Galatians thought that they were going more deeply into the Spirit; for the flesh may be easily mistaken for the Spirit, even by those who have made progress, unless they continue to maintain a pure faith [Bengel].” JFB Commentary

“But I turn from Paul’s conception of the office to his statement of his theme. ‘Jesus was displayed amongst you.’ If I might vary the metaphor a little, the placard that Paul fastened up was like those that modern advertising ingenuity displays upon all our walls. It was a picture-placard, and on it was portrayed one sole figure—Jesus, the Person. Christianity is Christ, and Christ is Christianity; and wherever there is a pulpit or a book which deals rather with doctrines than with Him who is the Fountain and Quarry of all doctrine, there is divergence from the primitive form of the Gospel. I know, of course, that doctrines—which are only formal and orderly statements of principles involved in the facts—must flow from the proclamation of the person, Christ. I am not such a fool as to run amuck against theology, as some people in this day do. But what I wish to insist upon is that the first form of Christianity is not a theory, but a history, and that the revelation of God is the biography of a man. We must begin with the person, Christ, and preach Him.” Alexander MacLaren

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 5

Paul opposes Peter’s Hypocrisy/Testifies of Justification in Christ Only

Galatians 2:11-21

Now after they all (Jewish and Gentile converts to Christ) at the counsel coexisted in harmony and enjoyed fellowship with one another, they went down to Antioch. There Peter reverted backed to the very same weakness he showed when he denied our Lord Jesus Christ after Christ was arrested. Peter once again here denies our Lord Jesus by withdrawing himself from the Gentile converts when some Jews from Jerusalem came down to Antioch. Paul writes that Peter’s withdrawal was for fear of what the Jewish converts would think of him eating with Gentiles without requiring the Gentile converts to submit to the Jewish customs and ceremonial laws. Many of the Jewish converts (especially those from Jerusalem) were still not convinced that they should treat the Gentile converts to Christ as equals to them because they thought of themselves as God’s chosen people. Paul knew this to be the motivation, but he was not going to allow anyone (even the venerated Apostle Peter) to belittle the truth of the Gospel of Christ, even if it appeared to be subtle or insignificant what Peter did out of fear.

Paul made himself adamant to Peter, Barnabas, and all the other Jews who followed their lead in their hypocrisy because of the seriousness of making the truth of the Gospel clear cut to all the Gentiles that received the “faith of Jesus Christ” that their justification from sin is finished, final, and forever binding in Jesus Christ alone, apart from any of the moral law (the ten commandments) and the Jewish ceremonial law as well. Paul did not stand for anyone, even Peter bringing doubt or confusion to Gentile believers by what was taught through words or actions. Paul called what they did “dissimulation” or the Greek word hupokrisis which means to be not genuine or to pretend or showing lip service to the truth of the Gospel by expressing their agreement with it, but not supporting it by real conviction. Peter knew the truth by virtue of our Lord giving him a revelation in a trance in Acts 10 and allowing Peter to witness an entire Gentile family trust our Lord Jesus Christ and be born again of the Holy Spirit and even Peter witnessed the entire Gentile family speak in tongues just as he and the others in the upper room had done so through the power of God the Holy Spirit, yet despite this truth Peter allowed his weakness (fearing his Jewish brethren) to cloud the truth for a moment in his heart. Paul knew that this was weakness creeping up its ugly head in the heart of the Apostle Peter, but Paul still “withstood” him or the Greek word anthistemi which means he stood against what Peter did or opposed his actions to the point of resistance, so that their hypocrisy would be made clear and the truth of the Gospel would be evident to everyone Jew and Gentile. 

Paul does not mean with these words “sinners of the Gentiles” that he, Peter, Barnabas, and the others born Jews were not sinners (when they were apart from Christ), but that the Jewish people always considered themselves as the people of God, receiving the oracles of God for hundreds of years and all the Gentile nations were categorized by Jews as dogs, heathen, and sinners apart from the oracles of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ referred to the Syrophoenician woman as such when he spoke to her in this manner, “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.’ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, ‘Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ And He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ But she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed at once.” (Matthew 15:22-28).

Paul wants the Gentile believers everywhere (especially all those in the Churches of Galatia) to understand what they have by their justification in our Lord Jesus Christ that could never and can never be obtained through the observance of any law and that is the fact of becoming a new man or new woman or more clearly a “new creation” through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The law pronounces us guilty with no solution given, but Christ pronounces us not guilty and makes us an entire new race of humanity (Romans 6:6). This is why Paul is so opposed to anyone that would lead the Gentile converts (who have no knowledge of the Jewish religion) astray and away from simple union and abiding connection to our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul declared the freedom of the Gospel and faith in Christ on his first missionary journey in this same place Antioch in this manner, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him (Jesus Christ) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39).

Paul declares to all listening to the sound of his voice there in Antioch on this occasion that if anyone brings back those things that were fulfilled “in Christ” then that person or persons immediately become transgressors or violators or breakers of the very laws they are trying to exalt, lift up, and add to the Gospel message. It is clear from the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself that “in Him” everyone is complete and has the law’s requirements satisfied as He said in this manner, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17). Paul declares that if Christ has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, why Peter, Barnabas, and the others are you still wanting to fulfill the law’s requirements apart from Him? Paul declares that when our Lord Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit convinced him and convicted him of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8), then all of his hopes of being pleasing to God by being a good and dutiful Jewish Pharisee were crushed and all of his hopes “in the Law” were grounded into powder and then and only then did he truly see the magnitude of his sinfulness, helplessness, and hopelessness apart from “faith in Jesus Christ” for salvation, freedom, and deliverance.

This is why Paul declares himself to be dead to the law because he found out that the law only showed him his problem, but never no never gave him a solution as he wrote in this manner to the Roman believers, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:4-7). Finally, Paul wanted to remind Peter of this and these Galatian believers that the entirety of his new life is based on this one true principle and that is “Christ in him” and not him trying to work his way to God or work his way into God’s approval of him, but it is God in Paul energizing or the Greek word energeo how he lives his “inner life” and his “outer life” (Philippians 2:13). Paul even said it in this manner to the Roman believers, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4).

My own Personal Note: Paul opposing Peter shows us one “holy truth” and that is there is no one above the truth of the Gospel or the Word of God and the smallest part/person of Christ Body has every right to stand against anyone (who appears outwardly to be of great renown) if they declare anything to be the truth that the Word of God denounces or does not declare to be true. 

“By no means. For if I build again - By my sinful practice. The things which I destroyed - By my preaching, I only make myself - Or show myself, not Christ, to be a transgressor; the whole blame lies on me, not Him or His Gospel. As if he had said, The objection were just, if the gospel promised justification to men continuing in sin. But it does not. Therefore if any who profess the gospel do not live according to it, they are sinners, it is certain, but not justified, and so the gospel is clear. For I through the law - Applied by the Spirit to my heart, and deeply convincing me of my utter sinfulness and helplessness. Am dead to the law - To all hope of justification from it. That I may live to God - Not continue in sin. For this very end am I, in this sense, freed from the law, that I may be freed from sin.” John Wesley

 “The death of Christ on the cross has showed me that there is no hope of salvation by the law; I am therefore as truly dead to all expectation of justification by the law, as Christ was dead when He gave up the ghost upon the cross. Through Him alone I live - enjoy a present life, and have a prospect of future glory.” Adam Clarke

“At this moment he is conscious of a union with the crucified and living Saviour, which lifts him above the curse of the law, above the power of sin. To revert to the Judaistic state, to dream, any more of earning righteousness by legal conformity, is a thing for him inconceivable. It would be to make void the cross of Christ!” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 4

Paul testifies about the Counsel at Jerusalem

Galatians 2:1-10

Paul now turns from his documentation of his defense of his ministry and the true Gospel to a counsel that was convened by the Apostles in Jerusalem that Paul received Divine revelation from our Lord Jesus that his presence was needed. Paul was not summoned to this gathering or meeting by the Apostle Peter, James, or John, but it was Christ who summoned or called him officially to attend these meetings. This took place some 14 years after Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem when he first met Peter, James, and John (Galatians 1:18). Paul received Divine revelation from our Lord Jesus Christ to take this trip to Jerusalem. The desire of our Lord Jesus was that Paul would testify to the first Apostles (Peter, James, and John) that he preached the same Gospel of Grace as they did. Our Lord wanted Paul to stand firm in the liberty of the Gospel and to repudiate, renounce, and refuse to recognize the Jews who taught that the Jewish ceremonial law (and circumcision) was mandatory or required for salvation.

This is no doubt why Paul brought Titus (an uncircumcised Gentile convert to Christ) that they might witness Christ speaking in and through Titus just as He did through Paul. It was not our Lord’s desire to have Paul confirmed by the Apostles there, for He had already confirmed, commissioned, and counselled Paul on all the truth of Himself in an even much deeper manner as He did with the men walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), read also Dr. Luke’s account of the counsel in Jerusalem in Acts 15:1-35. It was Christ desire to have all of His true Apostles together to agree on the truth of the Gospel and to squash the Judaizing men who were sent in to “spy out” or the Greek word kataskopeo which means someone sent in to be a watcher or to inspect insidiously with harmful intentions as their end goal. These Jews were sent no doubt by the present unredeemed, unregenerate, and unsaved leadership of the Jewish Religious Sanhedrin with the motive of corrupting the followers or Body of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul had unfortunately been made aware of some of their successes in the Churches of Galatia and this is the reason for his letter to all of them. Therefore, it stands to reason that he would include (in this letter) an over view of what transpired with him and the other Apostles at that or those meetings. Paul wanted the Galatian Churches to know that anyone declaring that anything else needed to be added to “faith in Jesus Christ” will bring the recipients of that message and “way of life” into bondage or enslavement to those methods, rituals, or rules and no closer to Christ. This is the way Paul wrote of these same Judaizing men who were corrupting the Corinthian believers, “For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face.” (2 Corinthians 11:19-20).

Paul’s view of these Judaizing men was that they were “fools” or the Greek word aphron which means to be stupid or ignorant, unwise or morally unbelieving. All the Jews that were “blinded” in spiritual darkness wanted to reject or cast off the idea that Jesus Christ was God’s Messiah as Paul wrote in this manner to the Roman believers, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’” (Romans 9:30-33). The majority Jewish population was in then and still in now spiritual darkness thinking that “works” is what gets them close to God and they have rejected the “Chief Cornerstone” Christ Jesus our Lord and so it was then their relentless purpose and plan to introduce “works” into those who are calling on the Name of Jesus for salvation.

Why? Because they cannot see their need for Christ yet, because God has blinded their spiritual eyes until the fullness of the Gentile elect be brought into faith in Christ and again as Paul wrote exactly in this manner to the Roman believers, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25). Therefore, Paul fully understood the Jews motivation for their actions in trying to corrupt the followers of Christ and bring them into bondage and Paul will use this word bondage some six (6) times throughout the entirety of this epistle to the Galatians, but his aim and goal was to open the Galatian Churches spiritual eyes to this deception and prevent them from the corruption. Paul declares that their teaching deception was not given any credence, acceptance, or believability, not even for an hour he writes.

Paul declares that the very purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ was accomplished at the counsel because Peter, James, John, and the other first Apostles of our Lord Jesus saw that he was given the same and only Gospel message that they too had received from our Lord Jesus and in so doing gave to Paul and Barnabas the “right hands of fellowship”, meaning their full acceptance of these men as truly commissioned and sent by our Lord Jesus Christ to the unbelieving Gentile world. They only petitioned Paul to not forget about the poor saints in Jerusalem who had lost so much under the Roman persecution they were under there, and thus we then see the reason for Paul’s words to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9, for Paul had witnessed firsthand with his own eyes the suffering the Jewish converts were under, not only by virtue of the Romans, but also from the majority of the spiritually blinded Jews in Jerusalem as well.

My own Personal Note: It was Christ who called to order this counsel in Jerusalem, bringing all of His 12 Apostles (Paul being one of the 12) together along with as many other true believers that could attend, so they would all be of “one mind” and on “one accord” that they would stand firm in their liberty in Him and they would expose the false teaching “works system” that He destroyed and did away with by His death on the cross as Paul declared in Colossians 1:13-29.

“The great controversy in Paul’s career was over the initial rite of Judaism. It would have been comparatively calm, if he had been willing to admit that Christianity was a sect of Judaism, and that men must become Jews before becoming Christians. His contention was that the ceremonial aspect of the Law did not apply to converts from heathendom. Gentile sinners had the right to go directly to Jesus Christ for salvation, without traveling around the circuitous route of Judaism. When men insisted on the outward rite, he resisted it with all the fiery vehemence of his nature, Galatians 2:3; Galatians 2:12. But when his opponents were willing to admit that circumcision was not essential, he administered it to one of Jewish blood, as a concession to the weak and uninstructed, Acts 16:3. What blessed intercourse the four men here named must have enjoyed together! James would tell of the earlier biography of Jesus, in the home of Nazareth; Peter would dwell upon his own fellowship with Christ throughout our Lord’s active ministry; John would unfold Jesus’ inner life, as he afterwards did in his Gospel; Paul would tell of that revelation of the risen Christ on the Damascus road. Note that God must work in and for us, if we are to succeed in the gospel ministry. See Galatians 2:8.” F.B. Meyer

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 3

Paul defends his Ministry and the Gospel

Galatians 1:11-24

Despite Paul’s immediate rush to dive into the very meat of his message and his grief over the Churches in Galatia, notice the very first words from his lips here in this section “brethren”, why? Because Paul, knew from his witnessing the true gospel to these people and seeing their conversion out of darkness into the light of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were his brothers despite their gullibility or to be specific their tendency to believe too readily and therefore to be easily deceived. A sincere earthly Father or Mother does not abandoned or disown their son or daughter as theirs because they are persuaded or swayed by some of their friends or associates to cut school, or steal from the store, or fight in school or any number of things that are clearly wrong and not the Father and Mothers wish or desire for their child. Likewise, Paul despite his harsh language at the beginning of his letter still recognizes them as his brothers. What Paul does is again reaffirm to them the origin or the source of the Gospel message that he preached to them when he first came to them. Paul wants to remove every ounce of doubt that has been cultivated in their hearts and minds by the false teaching Judaizing men, so he reiterates once again what he said at the very top of his letter (Galatians 1:1) speaking there of himself and now he speaks the same of the source of his Gospel message.

Paul wants them to know that his Gospel is Holy Divine unlike the message being taught them by the Judaizing men. It is Paul’s sincere desire that he did not preach to them “in vain” (Galatians 4:11). This is why Paul wants them to be able to distinguish the false gospel of these men from the true Gospel of Christ that he received directly from our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Paul defends his own ministry by declaring his history to them before his encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote of his unworthiness and his being unsuitable without merit and value to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ and how he was a top flight Pharisee in the Jewish religion, but how our Lord Jesus Christ showed him unfathomable or impossible to come to understand or beyond human measure divine grace and mercy that proceeded from our Lord Jesus’ love for this persecutor of Him. Paul wrote of his wonder and gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ in this manner to Timothy when he said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

Our Lord Jesus Christ not only saved the persecuting Pharisee (Saul) and made him a Christian through the new birth, but Christ also changed his name to Paul and made him the 12^th Apostle. Paul will be one of the Apostles our Lord Jesus referred to when He said, “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30). Paul’s entire aim was to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to every man’s conscience that men would be brought into the obedience of God and not of men and their man made religion or traditions. Paul’s defense of his ministry and the purity of the Gospel message he preaches is based on the fact that he was not looking for Christ, but instead Christ sought him out. It was God the Father who made Christ known to Paul on the Damascus Road and God the Holy Spirit “revealed” Christ and the power of His resurrection in Paul or the Greek word apokalupto which means to take off the cover or to disclose. The cover of spiritual darkness and blindness was removed from Paul’s heart as he declared to the Corinthian Church in this manner, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

The moment Christ was manifested or evident “in him” Paul needed not to get confirmation or authority to preach Christ from any human being (even the first Apostles, Peter, James, or John) in Jerusalem, but instead Paul was directed by God the Holy Spirit to go into Arabia for three years. Whether Paul was during this three year period receiving the revelations from Christ that would make up the rest of his writings and teachings or he was there only preaching the Gospel of Christ is not clear, but what Paul does make clear is that he was commissioned by the resurrected Christ and given the Gospel he declared to them. Paul was fully at peace that his calling was directly from God and that he did not need to take counsel from any of the prominent Apostles. Paul declares that he never even met the Apostle Peter until after he had spent his three years in Arabia.

Paul wants them to know that everything he has written to them thus far is the truth he declares before God and not just to them, for God knows it is the truth and that gives Paul comfort and assurance. Note: “Syria, in the narrower sense, of the district of which Antioch was the capital: not the whole Roman province of Syria, including Galilee and Judaea. This district was the scene of Paul’s first apostolic work among the Gentiles. Cilicia was the southeasterly province of Asia Minor, directly adjoining Syria, from which it was separated by Mt. Pierius and the range of Amanus. It was bordered by the Mediterranean on the south. It was Paul’s native province, and its capital was Tarsus, Paul’s birthplace.” (According to Vincent’s Word Studies). When Paul went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia he was unknown there by the believers “in Christ” but they had gotten wind of or gotten word of how this formerly vicious, malicious, and savage Jewish Pharisee was now converted to Christ and the faith he once was determined to destroy, he was now declaring as the truth to all. Therefore, in so doing they rendered all honor, majesty, and glory to God for Saul, now Paul’s miraculous transformation.

My own Personal Note: The fact that Paul needed to be blunt with his language in this epistle never dampened his great affection for these Churches despite his grief and even anger that they allowed false teachers to steer or direct them away from the path of simplicity “in Christ” as he declared also to the Corinthian Church with these words, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3). For Paul it was all and only about devotion or feelings of strong and intense love for our Lord Jesus Christ and he so wanted the Galatians to be reawakened to this fact and reality.

“If he be a dangerous man in the Church who introduces Jewish or human ceremonies which God has not appointed, how much more is he to be dreaded who introduces any false doctrine, or who labors to undermine or lessen the influence of that which is true? And even he who does not faithfully and earnestly preach and inculcate the true doctrine is not a true pastor. It is not sufficient that a man preach no error; he must preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Adam Clarke

“God often, if not always, has purposes in regard to people from their very birth. He designs them for some important field of labor, and endows them at their creation with talents adapted to that. It does not follow that because a young man has gone far astray; and has become even a blasphemer and a persecutor, that God has not destined him to some important and holy work in His service. How many people have been called, like Paul, and Newton, and Bunyan, and Augustine, from a life of sin to the service of God? God is often training up people in a remarkable manner for future usefulness. His eye is upon them, and He watches over them, until the time comes for their conversion.” Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 2

Paul warns the Galatians of believing a Perverted Gospel

Galatians 1:6-10 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. KJV

Paul does not spend any time commending these Galatians or thanking God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for them at the beginning of his letter as he did with the Philippians and the Colossians (Philippians 1:1-11 & Colossians 1:1-12), but instead he rushes into the very heart of this entire epistle and that is the denunciation of anyone that would pervert or change the meaning of the Gospel of Christ in order to deceive and mislead others. Paul is very grieved over the Galatians giving credence to these Judaizing men by believing what they are teaching, but he is also angry with them because he cannot believe that they allowed this to happen so quickly upon hearing the Judaizing men teach. Paul is in wonder, amazement, and even shock that the Galatians were regarding the many spurious (that is plausible but false) teachings on what the Gospel of Christ truly was as handed down from the first Apostles who were eyewitnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ’ character and His Gospel He entrusted to them. This is no doubt why God the Holy Spirit anointed Dr. Luke to write his account at the opportune time he was inspired, in order that the apocryphal books of the New Testament be disputed as false accounts with a false gospel message.

Paul is here declaring the Galatians to be defectors from the true faith in Christ and it is his sincere desire with the entirety of this letter to “bring them back” from their defection. Paul saw them as being in the process of giving themselves over to complete apostasy. This is why he uses the English word “removed” translated from the Greek word metatithemi which means to pervert; to transfer or transport; to exchange or for one to change sides. Paul seeks not the good will or favor of men when it comes to his declaration by speaking or writing the truth of the Gospel and the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Paul bore (within his heart and soul) great grief to those in the Galatian Churches who were being led away from the truth and at the very same time (as if with the very same breath of soul) he pours out vehement/violent indignation that was marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions against the instruments (Judaizing teachers) that were perverting the Gospel of Christ troubling these new believers “in Christ” and even in the process of leading them into their error as Korah’s rebellion caused the death of many (Numbers 16).

Korah and Dathan’s rebellion not only cost them their lives but that of their wives and children also. Likewise the sin of Achan cost the death of all his children (Joshua 7:16-26) and with the historical facts of both these judgments of God, Paul writes with deep conviction of mind very concerned that many in the Galatian Churches will fall prey to those in their congregations that give themselves over to this perverted teaching of salvation and be proven to be apostates. Paul wants them to understand the extreme severity of believing a false gospel. Therefore, he paints a picture that is impossible for them to misinterpret. Paul declares emphatically that there is “no other Gospel” but the one he preached to them from the beginning as he declared with these words to the Corinthians Church, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Paul wants them to know soundly that anyone preaching anything that deviates or that is different in any way from what he preached to them, then that person (even an angel from heaven) is too accounted by God as accursed or clearly to mean, they are to be eternally damned to hell. This is why Paul was so quick to rush into the meat of his letter right off the top because of the severity of the consequences of any soul listening to and then (God Forbid) believing a perverted Gospel message. The true Gospel means “good news” while (as we see here with Paul’s declaration) a false gospel means “eternally bad news” for every one of its recipients. Paul even repeats this declaration of the damnation of those preaching a false gospel message, so that there will be no misunderstanding among the Galatians of his meaning. Paul’s complete and supreme confidence in making such a brash and bold statement comes from the fact that his life’s goal is to “please God” and not men. Paul uses here the English word “persuade” that comes from the Greek word peitho a primary verb which means as he uses it here in this discourse to pacify or conciliate by causing men to think good or well of him or to gain favor with men. Paul’s immediate response to his own question is of course not, he desires solely and only to please God. This English word “please” is translated from the Greek word aresko which means to be agreeable with. Paul’s only goal is to be “agreeable” with and to God the Father and not any man who perverts what God the Father declares to be truth. This is what made the Apostle Paul a true “bond-servant” or the Greek word doulas meaning voluntary slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

My own Personal Note: The Apostle Paul would not mince words or hold back the rumbling in his own soul, when he perceived those that he had been God’s instrument in bringing them the True Gospel of Christ and of Grace being led away or astray into apostasy because the consequences are dangerous, serious, and ultimately eternally life-threatening as declared by another Apostle with these words, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties” (Jude 1:4-8).

“These words were well calculated to startle the Galatians out of their levity. They are like a lightning-flash which shows one to be standing on the edge of a precipice. We see at once the infinite seriousness of the Judaic controversy, the profound gulf that lies between Paul and his opposers. He is for open war. He is in haste to fling his gage of defiance against these enemies of the cross. With all his tact and management, his readiness to consult the susceptibilities and accommodate the scruples of sincere consciences, the Apostle can find no room for conciliation here. He knows the sort of men he has to deal with. He perceives that the whole truth of the Gospel is at stake. Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“No heavier loss than this could be conceived for any human being. Nearest to our passage is the imprecation at the end of 1 Corinthians: ‘If any man love not the Lord, let him be anathema,’-a judgment proclaimed against cold and false hearts, knowing His love, bearing His name, but with no true love to Him.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 1

Paul’s Introduction

Galatians 1:1-5 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. KJV

Paul uncharacteristically does not begin his letter to these Churches with tender affection as he has so commonly done in his other letters, but instead here he begins immediately with a defense of his Apostleship. Somewhat similar is Paul’s emotional writing that began his first and second letters to the Corinthian believers. It’s almost as if you can hear with your physical ears (being transported back in the very moment Paul sat down to begin the construction of this letter) the loud tone exuding from his heart or inner man almost to the point of frustration with these Churches having to defend his authenticity to them and the true Gospel. Paul declares himself an Apostle not through or from any man’s authority, but directly from our Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. Paul is saying here that no human counsel of the first Apostles came together to vote him in as they did with Matthias (Acts 1:26).

Paul was appointed to his position by virtue of his personal encounter with the Resurrected Christ on the Damascus Road as Dr. Luke declared with these words documented from our Lord Jesus spoken of Paul, “And the Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your Name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My Name’s sake’” (Acts 9:11-16).

Our Lord Jesus commissioned Paul to go both to the Jews and the Gentiles to turn them from the power of Satan to the Power of God, from darkness to Light as our Lord Jesus spoke in this manner of Himself when he said, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” (John 8:12). Paul wanted these Churches in Galatia to know who his authority came from, unlike these Judiazers who were troubling the Galatian believers (Galatians 1:7 & Galatians 5:12) with the false doctrine that Paul is going to dispel, disperse, and dissipate in this letter. Some Biblical Scholars believe that this epistle was written around the autumn of A.D. 57 or perhaps A. D. 58 which is also understood by many when he penned the letter to the Romans. We find that the theology expressed in this letter to the Galatians with such strong emotion is also found in the letter to the Romans in a larger manner but also with more calm, for example Paul uses the distinction of the children of Abraham in the flesh to the spiritual children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ in both letters.

Despite the major concern and worry Paul had with these Churches concerning their being turned away from the true Gospel, Paul still bids them grace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and the subsequent peace that always comes from  the reception of God’s grace. Some historical facts concerning the people of this region or part of the world according to the Expositor’s Bible Commentary are as follows, “Galatian is equivalent to Gaul, or Kelt. This people was a detached fragment of the great Western-European race, which forms the basis of our own Irish and West-British populations, as well as of the French nationality. They had conquered for themselves a home in the north of Asia Minor during the Gaulish invasion that poured over Southeastern Europe and into the Asiatic peninsula some three and a half centuries before. Here the Gallic intruders stubbornly held their ground; and only succumbed to the irresistible power of Rome. Defeated by the Consul Manlius in 189 B.C., the Galatians retained their autonomy, under the rule of native princes, until in the year 25 B.C., on the death of Amyntas, the country was made a province of the Empire. The people maintained their distinctive character and speech despite these changes. At the same time they readily acquired Greek culture, and were by no means barbarians; indeed they were noted for their intelligence. In religion they seem to have largely imbibed the Phrygian idolatry of the earlier inhabitants.”

Paul concludes his introduction with what will be the entire theme of this epistle and that is that our salvation is completely and only because of what Jesus Christ (God in Human Flesh) did on the Cross of Calvary by dying for man’s sin. Paul’s entire epistle is drawn from the fact of these two verses Galatians 1:4-5 as we will see him unfold this truth disputing and then destroying every argument of adding anything to it. Paul declares that it is Christ sacrifice that delivers every born again believer from the guilt, penalty, and the power of sin right now in this present world, age, or the Greek word aion which means system or course of the world that is opposed to the glory of God because it is under the control of the Evil One. It is also the period of time that all human beings alive now reside in and then at the death of every true believer we will be delivered from the presence of all sin and evil all and only through receiving grace and faith from Christ Jesus our Lord as Paul will describe it in the next Chapter with these words, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Galatians 2:20-21). Therefore, all the Glory for man’s salvation and redemption belongs to God alone, as Paul wrote in this manner to the Colossians, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

My own Personal Note: Paul begins this epistle differently because it was of utmost importance to him (for the true spiritual well-being of these Galatians) that he refute with extreme prejiduce the notion that was being taught by these Judiazers that led the Galatians to endeavor to go away from “walking in the Spirit” to operating “in the flesh” and performing rituals of the flesh (i.e. circumcision) to make themselves pleasing to God.

“We have received the Spirit of God, that we may know the things freely given us of God: sentences like these show us very clearly how the Apostle’s doctrine formed itself in his mind. His apprehension of Christ, above all of the cross, was the focus, the creative and governing centre, of all his thoughts concerning God and man, time and eternity.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“Extreme diseases call for extreme remedies. The case with which our good Physician had to deal was a desperate one. The world was sick at heart; its moral nature rotten to the core. Human life was shattered to its foundation. If it was to be saved, if the race was to escape perdition, the fabric must be reconstructed upon another basis, on the ground of a new righteousness, outside ourselves and yet akin to us, near enough to take hold of us and grow into us, which should draw to itself the broken elements of human life, and as a vital organic force refashion them, ‘creating men anew in Christ Jesus’-a righteousness availing before God, and in its depth and width sufficient to bear a world’s weight.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“In pity and in sorrow was that gift bestowed; in deep humility and sorrow must it be accepted. It is a very humbling thing to ‘receive the atonement,’ to be made righteous on such terms as these. A man who has done well can with satisfaction accept the help given him to do better. But to know that one has done very ill, to stand in the sight of God and truth condemned, marked with the disgrace that the crucifixion of the Son of God has branded on our human nature, with every stain of sin in ourselves revealed in the light of His sacrifice, is a sore abasement. When one has been compelled to cry out, ‘Lord, save; or I perish!’ he has not much left to plume himself upon. There was Saul himself, a perfect moralist, ‘blameless in the righteousness of the law.’ Yet he must confess, ‘How to perform that which is good I find not. In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Wretch that I am, who shall deliver me?’ Was not this mortifying to the proud young Pharisee, the man of strict conscience and high-souled moral endeavour? It was like death. And whoever has with sincerity made the same attempt to attain in the strength of his will to a true virtue, has tasted of this bitterness.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“This, however, is what many cannot understand. The proud heart says, ‘No; I will not stoop to that. I have my faults, my defects and errors, not a few. But as for what you call sin, as for guilt and inborn depravity, I am not going to tax myself with anything of the kind. Leave me a little self-respect.’ So with the whole herd of the self-complacent, half-religious Laodiceans. Once a week they confess themselves ‘miserable sinners,’ but their sins against God never yet cost them one half hour of misery. And Paul’s ‘gospel is hid to them.’ If they read this Epistle, they cannot tell what it is all about; why Paul makes so much ado, why these, thunderings of judgment, these cries of indignation, these beseechings and protestings and redoubled arguments, -all because a parcel of foolish Galatians wanted to play at being Jews! They are inclined to think with Festus, that this good Paul was a little beside himself. Alas! to such men, content with the world’s good opinion and their own, the death of Christ is made of none effect. Its moral grandeur, its infinite pathos, is lost upon them. They pay it a conventional respect, but as for believing in it, as for making it their own, and dying with Christ to live in Him-they have no idea what it means. That, they will tell you, is ‘mysticism,’ and they are practical men of the world. They have never gone out of themselves, never discovered their moral insufficiency. These are they of whom Jesus said, ‘The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.’ It is our human independence, our moral self-conceit, that robs us of the Divine bounty. How should God give His righteousness to men so well furnished with their own? ‘Blessed’ then ‘are the poor in spirit’; blessed are the broken in heart-poor enough, broken enough, bankrupt enough to stoop to a Saviour ‘who gave Himself for our sins.’” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

The Truth comes to Corinth Part 2 Volume 47

Paul prays for them and closes his Letter

2 Corinthians 13:7-14 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. KJV

Paul declares that it is the truth of the gospel manifested in their lives which he desires to be a witness to and not to use his apostolic authority to punish transgressors. Paul has always been more concerned with the spiritual maturity and authenticity of those whom he brought the gospel to as he testified with these words to them in Chapter 11 when he wrote, “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).

Paul listed some of the most horrific things that could happen to any human being (speaking of himself), but in verse 28 he says that those “external things” that happened to his physical body were not more troublesome (to him) than the pressure he felt “internally” for the spiritual condition of every Church he planted. Paul’s prayer for those believers in Corinth (and all of us today wherever we are) is that they would not live their lives in the continuous practice of evil, knowing that if they or we do so, then that would testify of their inauthenticity, which is exactly why he just told them to “examine themselves” in verse 5. Paul knows that it is not the desire of any truly regenerated, redeemed, and resurrected child by the Blood of Christ to want to continue in evil doing. The Apostle John wrote practically the same thing in his first epistle using these words, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:7-10).

This very same doctrine and truth is what Paul was now praying for them to come to realize as he declared to them that “Jesus Christ is in you” and just as the Apostle John writes in 1 John 3:7-10, so has Paul told these Corinthian believers that “Jesus Christ in you” will not allow you to “practice sin” as your way of life or lifestyle, it is impossible. To practice sin or evil means to make it your customary way of operation or behavior and as the Apostle John declared above only the devil’s children do that. It is their spiritual authenticity that Paul is praying for and he cares not whether others see him as disapproved or not, for he has the witness of the Spirit in his own heart (Romans 8:9-16) and he wants them to be conscious of that same witness which their deliberate unrepentant sin will block. Paul knows that all who walk or live according to the truth of the gospel preached to them by him can only serve as a witness before God of their sincerity.

Paul wanted to be among them in weakness because their conduct was becoming of the Gospel of Christ and if that meant that he was considered unapproved by God because their good conduct and behavior only made him manifest weakness, then so be it, for this was his prayer to God the Father for them. It was Paul’s prayer and desire that they would be mighty or strong in faith and the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, then his appearing weak and disapproved among them was tolerable. Now when Paul says that he desires their “perfection”, he does not mean or is he speaking here of “sinless perfection” while they are still down here on the earth, for as we have documented earlier Paul sees continually the sin in his own heart (Romans 7:18), but the English word he uses is from the the Greek words katartisis and katartizo which means thorough equipment or to complete thoroughly or to repair; literally or figuratively to adjust; to fit, mend, frame, restore, and to make perfectly joined together.

Paul is saying he wants to see them be sincere in their faith joined with one another in the truth of the Gospel and not in disunity, disagreement, and disharmony. Paul declares that their fellowship was like a man walking around with a dislocated shoulder saying to himself everything is alright, when his arm is dangling free from the joint with no strength or power at all in it, so was the case with the Corinthian Church out of order, wayward in morals, and with no power or influence in their city for Christ. Therefore, their “perfection” would be like the man with the dislocated shoulder going to a physician and getting it put back in place, so is his prayer for them to go to the “Great Physician, Jesus Christ” in repentance that He would put their fellowship back in place for His Glory and their good. Paul then bids them farewell until he sees their faces again and reiterates all the things he is praying to God the Father for them, which will open up God the Father through God the Holy Spirit to work in each of them peace, comfort, and love when they are all of the same mind “in truth” and free from all the filth he listed earlier in 2 Corinthians 12:20-21.

My own Personal Note: Paul was ever praying for and desiring to see the people he preached the Gospel of Grace to, to walk or live in the truth of it and that their consciences would be ever sensitive to the admonitions and warnings that God the Holy Spirit spoke through him for their spiritual edification, enlightenment, and education, with the only goal in mind as he wrote in this manner to the Ephesians, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:17-22).

“As we are the apostles of God, we cannot bring to you any false doctrine; and, as we profess to be under the influence of God’s Spirit, we cannot do anything that is opposed to that truth, or which might be prejudicial to it. On the contrary, what we say and do is for that truth, to propagate and establish it. The Gospel of Jesus is truth; and my testimony concerning it is truth also. In my coming, and in my rod, you have nothing to fear, if you retain and abide in this truth.” Adam Clarke

“This was the great end of his writing this epistle, and that freedom he used with them by writing these things (those friendly admonitions and warnings), being absent, that so, being present, he should not use sharpness (2 Corinthians 13:10), that is, not proceed to the utmost extremity in the exercise of the power which the Lord had given him as an apostle, to revenge all disobedience, (2 Corinthians 10:6). Matthew Henry

“Be perfect - Aspire to the highest degree of holiness. Be of good comfort - Filled with divine consolation. Be of one mind - Desire, labour, pray for it, to the utmost degree that is possible.” John Wesley

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…