already Abraham’s sons

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
photo of man in raising baby under blue sky

Photo by Studio 7042 on Pexels.com

Galatians 3:7-9 (JDV)

Galatians 3:7 You have discovered, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons.

Galatians 3:8 Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.

Galatians 3:9 Consequently those who have faith are endorsed with Abraham, who had faith.

already Abraham’s sons

Long before Moses initiated his Mosaic Law, the gospel was proclaimed. It is this gospel which is the key to being blessed by God with his unmerited favor. This gospel says that God has chosen to save those who will put their faith in him, like Abraham did. The many sons God promised Abraham will include these believers, no matter what their physical lineage is.

The Gentile Galatians knew about this from the gospel preaching of Paul’s missionary team. But the heretical group came along and convinced them that God would only bless those who followed a strict obedience to the Mosaic Law – as they interpret it. These Gentile Christians who were already endorsed because of their faith were now in danger of apostasy. They were already Abraham’s sons.

Lord, keep us from the false gospel that we have to replace our faith in order to please you.

Posted in faith, gospel, heresies, rebellion | Tagged | Leave a comment

a brainless proposal

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
person performing cpr on dummy

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Galatians 3:1-6 (JDV)

Galatians 3:1 You brainless1 Galatians! Who has hexed you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was placarded as crucified?

Galatians 3:2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Breath by the achievements of the law or by believing what you heard?

Galatians 3:3 Are you so brainless? After beginning by the Breath, are you now finishing by the flesh?

Galatians 3:4 Did you experience so much for nothing– if in fact it was for nothing?

Galatians 3:5 So then, does God give you the Breath and achieve miracles among you by your doing the achievements of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard –

Galatians 3:6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?

a brainless proposal

My translation gets a bit experimental sometimes, and today’s text is a good example. The second person of the Trinity is usually designated the Holy Spirit. Our English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, with a core meaning of breath. That is the same denotation of the Greek πνεῦμα in verses 2 and 5. Often the term is just part of a title, so its translation is not so important. But there are a number of key texts where biblical authors draw attention to the Breath as a key element in a physical or spiritual resurrection.

Today’s text is one of those key texts. The Sacred Breath is the new life breathed into the dead flesh, reviving it and making conversion possible. To introduce the law into the equation is to try to do what the dead flesh couldn’t do in the first place. That was what the different gospel proposed, and it was a brainless proposal indeed.

Lord, thank you for the new life we have through your Sacred Breath!

1ἀνόητος

Posted in Holy Spirit, resurrection, sanctification | Tagged | Leave a comment

his faithfulness is enough

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
white dog with stick

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Galatians 2:15-21 (JDV)

Galatians 2:15 We are Jews by nature and not “Gentile sinners,”

Galatians 2:16 and yet because we know that a human is not justified by the achievements1 of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by achievements of a law, because all flesh will not be justified by achievements of a law.

Galatians 2:17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Not going to happen!

Galatians 2:18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.

Galatians 2:19 You see, because of a law I died to a law, so that I might live to God.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life that I currently live in the flesh, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself in behalf of me.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the favor of God, because if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

his faithfulness is enough

Not everybody gets the message of Galatians today because – frankly, there are not too many of us who are tempted to get circumcised and obey the Jewish Law as a means of salvation. Properly applying this text in our context means looking for any act of the flesh that a person might do in order to get on God’s good side. Any of those apparent good things could become a new law for us if we are not careful. Any new law would oppose the gospel of deliverance by the favor of God.

To prevent that from happening to him, Paul considered his flesh dead on a cross and resurrected. Every aspect of his life was now being lived out by Christ himself. Any act of faithfulness Paul performed was just part of Christ’s faithfulness. Christ’s faithfulness is enough.

Lord, we surrender our lives to you, because you are the source of our potential permanent lives. Thank you for being enough.

1ἔργον

Posted in faithfulness, gospel, the cross | Tagged | Leave a comment

his faithfulness is enough

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
white dog with stick

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Galatians 2:15-21 (JDV)

Galatians 2:15 We are Jews by nature and not “Gentile sinners,”

Galatians 2:16 and yet because we know that a human is not justified by the achievements1 of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by achievements of a law, because all flesh will not be justified by achievements of a law.

Galatians 2:17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Not going to happen!

Galatians 2:18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.

Galatians 2:19 You see, because of a law I died to a law, so that I might live to God.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life that I currently live in the flesh, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself in behalf of me.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the favor of God, because if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

his faithfulness is enough

Not everybody gets the message of Galatians today because – frankly, there are not too many of us who are tempted to get circumcised and obey the Jewish Law as a means of salvation. Properly applying this text in our context means looking for any act of the flesh that a person might do in order to get on God’s good side. Any of those apparent good things could become a new law for us if we are not careful. Any new law would oppose the gospel of deliverance by the favor of God.

To prevent that from happening to him, Paul considered his flesh dead on a cross and resurrected. Every aspect of his life was now being lived out by Christ himself. Any act of faithfulness Paul performed was just part of Christ’s faithfulness. Christ’s faithfulness is enough.

Lord, we surrender our lives to you, because you are the source of our potential permanent lives. Thank you for being enough.

1ἔργον

Posted in faithfulness, gospel, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

unity, or meddling

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
four person holding app banners

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Galatians 2:11-14 (JDV)

Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came into Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he was the culprit.

Galatians 2:12 since he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. Yet, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he was afraid of those from the circumcision party.

Galatians 2:13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force Gentiles to live like Jews?”

unity, or meddling

Peter was the one who saw the vision of the impure animals (Acts 10:9-16). He – of all people – should have known not to give in to peer pressure. It took Paul, the outsider, to confront the Jerusalem hero in Antioch. Paul also recognized the heart of the matter. It was not about preserving truth as much as trying to establish a superficial norm. When we have to establish a tradition to establish unity, there is something wrong with our unity.

There were some common Gentile behaviors that Paul objected to, because they were sinful. But he reminded Peter that there are some Gentile things that are not sinful, and the church has no business meddling in those things.

Lord, give us discernment – the ability to distinguish between different behaviors and wrong behaviors.

1 All instances of the second person (you) are plural except for 2:14; 3:8, 16; 5:14 and 6:1.

Posted in legalism, Uncategorized, unity | Leave a comment

same gospel, different missions

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
eight person huddling

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Galatians 2:6-10 (JDV)

Galatians 2:6 Now from those who seemed to be something (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not take the face of a human) – they added nothing to me.

Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised,

Galatians 2:8 since the one achieving1 things in Peter as a missionary to the circumcised was also achieving things in me for the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:9 When James, Cephas, and John– those who had come to be known2 as pillars – acknowledged the favor that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of partnership to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Galatians 2:10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

same gospel, different missions

The gospel of God’s favor to all is appropriate for all, but it will take people with different commitments and different gifts to reach each people group with the message. The Jerusalem pillars recognized this fact, and agreed to partner with Paul and his team. The Judaizers were trying to undo the differences, which is not at all what God wants.

The change that God wants to make inside you is not to make you a cookie-cutter version of other Christians. He wants you to different, because those very differences can be the key to reaching others with the one gospel.

Lord, open our eyes to the differences we can make as we partner with others to share the same gospel.

1ἐνεργέω

2γινώσκω

Posted in gospel, missions | Tagged | Leave a comment

we did not give up

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
people walking on shore

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Galatians 2:1-5(JDV)

Galatians 2:1 Next, after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, also taking Titus along with us.

Galatians 2:2 I went up as a result of a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.

Galatians 2:3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced1 to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

Galatians 2:4 This matter arose because some false brothers had slipped in so as to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.

Galatians 2:5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would stay with you.

we did not give up

Paul is again speaking with his missionary “we.” He’s saying that when his team went to Jerusalem, they encountered some of those false brothers whose only goal was enslaving Gentile Christians with outdated Jewish traditions. They did not give in to peer pressure. They did not give up the gospel in order to fit in. They were interested in seeing what was happening in Jerusalem, to see if perhaps they had been off the mark a bit. But they found nothing in the new legalism that made it any more palatable than the old legalism. They realized there was more at stake than simply following a new trend. They recognized the effect that their change might have on the Galatians, and other Gentile converts. Fitting in was not worth it.

Lord, thank you for a truth that does not go out of style.

1ἀναγκάζω

Posted in change, gospel, legalism | Tagged | Leave a comment

he who formerly

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
group of people raising right hand

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Galatians 1:21-24 (JDV)

Galatians 1:21 Next, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia.

Galatians 1:22 My face remained unknown to the Judean congregations that are in Christ.

Galatians 1:23 They only kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted us now announces the gospel of the faith he once tried to annihilate.”

Galatians 1:24 And they glorified God because of me.

he who formerly

Paul talks about the power of his transformed life. Those who witnessed his transformation glorified God because no other cause for such a change made sense of the evidence.

Paul and his team had dedicated their lives to announcing the gospel of the faith that he had once tried to annihilate. For them, it meant going to places where they would not be welcome, and suffering many troubles and dangers. They did not always have success. But their commitment was always a testimony to the reality that they proclaimed.

When people look back on our life’s work, may they be left with no other answer to the question of why we did what we did.

Posted in commitment, gospel | Tagged | Leave a comment

magna carta

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
bible blur book catholic

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Galatians 1:18-20 (JDV)

Galatians 1:18 Next, after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.

Galatians 1:19 But I didn’t see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 1:20 Notice under the scrutiny of1 God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

magna carta

Perhaps the Judaizers in Galatia had designated one or two of the other missionaries as their opponents and had suggested that Paul colluded with them. But Paul points out here that the only Jerusalem Christians that he has seen for three years were Peter and James – people whose reputations the Judaizers were not about to sully. One of the positive things about being innocent is the evidence usually speaks in your defense.

In the process of simply answering the charges against him, Paul is doing more than defending himself. His defense of his missionary message will serve as a theological magna carta for the congregations. We owe much to those who fought about their faith in the first century.

Lord, thank you for your truth, and the amazing way you revealed it.

1ἐνώπιον

Posted in Bible, revelation, truth | Leave a comment

stand-alone gospel

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
person standing near lake

Photo by Lukas Rychvalsky on Pexels.com

Galatians 1:13-17 (JDV)

Galatians 1:13 You see – you have heard about how I once behaved as a representative of Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s congregation and tried to annihilate1 it.

Galatians 1:14 I progressed in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my race, because I was much more a fanatic in behalf of the paternal traditions.

Galatians 1:15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his favor, resolved

Galatians 1:16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could announce his gospel among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh2 and blood.

Galatians 1:17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become missionaries before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

stand-alone gospel

Paul had gone from radical traditionalist to a devoted follower of the new way. The difference was not a doctrine, nor was it a new experience. It was Jesus Christ himself. So, when Paul decided to preach Christ, he did not immediately seek out the other believers to find out the accepted protocols and parameters. What began in God was good enough for Paul. The Christ revealed on the Damascus Road was the true Christ. The message about him was a stand-alone gospel.

Paul had taught that Christ to the Galatians, and they believed him. But later, a group of teachers came along and told them that their understanding of Christ needed to be perfected. They told them that they needed to become good Torah-toting Jews in order to be on God’s good side. This was the human influence that Paul argues against in his letter.

Lord, thank you for your stand-alone gospel.

1πορθέω

2 σάρξ

Posted in gospel, relationship with God, traditions | Tagged | Leave a comment