The Promise of the Spirit Through Faith
Galatians 3:14
He redeemed us so that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, and that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is part of his ongoing attempt to explain to Jews how Gentiles as well as Jews could become God’s people without becoming ethnically Jewish. In fact, he sounds more than a little upset when he says in Chapter 1, verse 6 of this book “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.”
Most scholars believe those who opposed Paul’s message of salvation for all took a legalistic approach: follow the laws, which included circumcision and food laws, or else. There was no compromise. Paul’s message had been that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ fulfilled the covenant: through the Spirit, believers would keep the spirit of the law, the law of love to which the Law of Moses had always pointed. Paul’s message opened the door for Gentiles to become God’s people.
For thousands of years the Jews had believed that they were God’s people, His only people, and as such they had experienced more than their share of hardship. Their leaders taught the law and lived the law, and if the Jewish people followed the laws, for the most part, then they were fulfilling their obligations. But now Paul is telling them that other people can be God’s people, too, whether they follow all those laws or not. That’s a big change in protocol! No wonder they were hesitant to abandon the practices of their ancestors and live as Christ had told them in Matthew Chapter 22: 37 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[22:37-40&version=NIV#fen-NIV-23910a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[22:37-40&version=NIV#fen-NIV-23912b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The real question is who will accept the blessing of Abraham, accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and accept their responsibility to love God and others. It seems so simple yet we often make it so complicated. When you think about it, many Christians today still insist that following certain laws is a requirement to be a Christian. Never mind that my laws are different from your laws: must I be baptized by immersion, must women be quiet in worship and never speak up or preach, must I repeat a certain number of Hail Mary’s, must I…(any rule or restriction you can think of)? These “musts” separate followers of Christ from one another, and judgment based on whether or not you do these things is NOT “loving your neighbor as yourself.”
Let us accept Paul’s admonition to “receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” and follow the commandment of love. In the end, that is all that matters.
Please pray with me.
Holy Father, you know us – our innermost thoughts and feelings. Sometimes those thoughts and feelings are very confused. Whom should we believe? What should we do? Help us remember Paul’s message of simplicity: accept the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may carry out of the commandment to love God and others. Amen.
This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
