(Read Galatians 3:1-6)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia is full of sound teaching concerning Grace vs. the Law. It is because this church was full of Christians who were raised Jewish. While they had accepted Jesus the Christ as Lord, and they had been Born-Again and filled with God’s Holy Spirit, many of them were still attempting to live under the old ways of the Law of Moses. Not only that, but to make it worse, many Jewish converts to Christianity wanted non-Jewish Gentile converts to abide by some of sacred Jewish Laws, like circumcision. Paul was vehemently against any practice that added Law to Grace, and we will see this clearly as we walk through this letter.
In chapter 3 the Apostle writes, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?” In this letter Paul puts great emphasis on the Holy Spirit and the fact that we are Born-Again by God’s Spirit when we believe on Jesus and receive Him as Lord. This is something the Law could never provide. No one received the Spirit of God by observing rules. It is by faith that we are Born-Again and that faith gives us access God’s Grace for eternal life.
Paul continues, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” I will break this down in the points I provide.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s seek to glean a few golden nuggets:
1. No one received the Spirit of God by observing rules. It is by faith that we are Born-Again and that faith gives us access God’s Grace for eternal life.
2. After being Born-Again by God’s Spirit, an act that we receive by faith, it would be foolish to turn around and attempt to live our lives by the flesh (human effort alone).
3. Those who lived under the Law were never used of God to perform miracles. The Supernatural was not a common occurrence for those who lived under a set of rules. Rules don’t give you access to the Supernatural. All rules do is show you how wrong you are. The Law was designed to get man to the end-of-himself, not to provide man access to the Supernatural.
4. Jesus came to deliver us from the curse of the Law, He gave us access to God’s Holy Spirit, and now the Supernatural can become natural to us. The Supernatural is available to us, not by works, but by faith. By faith we access God’s Grace to do what humanly we could never do without Him!
5. Like Abraham, all the Lord is looking for us to do is believe Him. We don’t have to work to earn His assignment for our lives, nor can we earn access to the Supernatural. All the Lord wants us to do is believe. When you believe God you are able to access His Grace to do the humanly impossible and naturally inconceivable. We serve a limitless God and when you believe Him, He can Grace you live a supernaturally limitless life!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Word and for blessing me to learn more about faith and Grace. By faith I accepted Your Son Jesus the Christ as my Lord and Savior. By faith I was Born-Again and filled with your precious Holy Spirit. I could never earn or work for what Jesus did for me. I could never be good enough to earn the right to house the Holy Spirit. I simply exercised faith and You blessed me to receive Your Holy Spirit, Your purpose for my life, and everything that goes with it, by Grace. I now have access to the supernatural. As I access Your Grace, by faith, I am able to tap into Your ability to do what I could never do on my own. Your Grace gives me access to Your power. By faith I declare that I have access the Supernatural daily and I am now able to do, by Your Spirit and Your Grace, what I could never do on my own. On my own I am limited. But You are the God of NO LIMITS and You live in me. Therefore, I declare, that my faith gives me access to Your Grace for NO-LIMIT-LIVING. When You lead me to do something, I do it by faith, even when it is clear that I could never do it on my own. I don’t live my life based on human ability alone anymore. I live my life based on Your ability, which You freely give me by Your Grace, and which I access by my faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
