TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 2:20-21
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TODAY IN THE WORD
A strip of zinc and a strip of copper are suspended in a salt solution. Although the zinc and copper atoms are losing and gaining electrons, both strips maintain an equilibrium. Then the two are connected with an electrical conductor. Electrons are forced through it from the zinc strip to the copper strip. As long as the conductor is present, a chemical reaction keeps the electrons flowing.

Sound impressive? That describes one of the most common power sources in the world--an ordinary battery.

Paul might have asked in today's reading: What are the ""batteries"" for Christian living? Is there power in keeping a set of rules? Or does it flow from our being crucified with Christ?

Verse 20 makes it abundantly clear that Christianity is not a matter of legalism--of carefully checking off a list of dos and don'ts. Neither is it a human effort to bring off a superior kind of morality, but divine life surging through the individual.

This reliance on God as our ""power source"" follows from verse 19. Paul died to the law because he had been crucified with Christ; he lived to God because Christ lived in him.

""I live."" But in a sense it is not ""I"" who live, not ""I"" in my own strength who achieves. Instead, ""Christ lives in me."" Incredible! What a powerful cure for discouragement, frustration and weakness! And what a warning against returning to law (Gal. 4:9).

Instead, says Paul, I live the Christian life by faith. At the end of the verse comes a final reminder that the sacrifice of Christ is ultimately responsible for all that Christians are and all the blessings we enjoy.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As you may have already discovered, we at Today in the Word recommend Scripture memorization as an excellent spiritual discipline (Psalm 119:11). If you haven't already memorized Galatians 2:20, these classic words would make an outstanding recharge for your ""spiritual batteries.""

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:1-5
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TODAY IN THE WORD
American statesman Frederick Douglass was originally born into Southern slavery. The story of his early life is found in his first autobiography, published in 1845.

There he writes of his escape to freedom: ""I felt as one may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he is rescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pirate...I felt like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions.""

In Douglass' later career, he became a famous orator, civil official, and African-American leader. Would he have surrendered his freedom and returned to slavery? What an absurd question! Of course not. Yet from Paul's perspective, the Galatians were giving up their newfound freedom in Christ and willingly entering into the bondage of the law.

Having defended his apostleship and the authority of his message, Paul now vindicates the truth of his message. In today's reading, he tells the Galatians that their reason and experience should have convinced them of the all-sufficiency of faith. ""You foolish Galatians!"" (v. 1) means not that the Galatians were stupid or senseless but that they have been foolish in allowing themselves to deny the sufficiency of Christ.

Paul declares irrational the mixture of law-keeping with faith in Christ and implies that they should have been able to reach this conclusion themselves.

As Paul begins, he is willing to rest his case on one issue: ""Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?"" (v. 2). The question the apostle raises is rhetorical. The Galatians knew very well that their salvation and accompanying spiritual power (v. 5) had come by faith alone.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul reminds the Galatians of their conversion and original faith in order to address the error of legalism and bring them back to the truth.

Have you also been reflecting on your testimony, the ""personal history"" of your faith? We're checking back with you on the suggested application for April 3rd. Do you feel confident in sharing your testimony? Does it include basic gospel truths so that another person could trust Christ by hearing it?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:6-9
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The Book of Virtues, William Bennett's best-seller, kicked off a national trend linking stories and values--or rather, a recognition of the already-existing link between what we value and the stories we tell. The idea is that the best stories show characters and actions that we will want to imitate or ideas that we will want to incorporate in our lives. A story, then--from history, literature or other sources--can act as a moral teacher.

Mark Twain's story of Huckleberry Finn, for example, forces us to evaluate the morality of Huck's actions as he befriends an escaped slave and helps him--an action his society condemns but which readers have many reasons to find admirable. In the novel, we witness Huck's inner moral wrestlings and choices. The way we understand and respond to Huck's struggles tells a lot about our own moral character and choices.

In his attempt to prove the doctrine of justification by faith, Paul appealed to the story of Abraham. Jews or Judaizers would have had high regard for Abraham. In fact, the Judaizers were urging the Galatians to be circumcised as Abraham had been. Paul appealed to them on the basis of the fact that the children of Abraham were not under law but under promise.

Abraham's faith (v. 6) was anchored in the person of God and His promises. Abraham committed himself totally and unreservedly to his God. Righteousness was not inherently his but was given to him by God on the basis of faith; works were not involved in obtaining justification. This lesson would not have been lost on the Galatian Judaizers.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Since Paul uses Abraham to illustrate his points both here and later in Galatians 3, this might be a good time for you to refresh yourself or your family on the history of Abraham and Sarah.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:10-14
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Ukrainian Christian Yan Romanovitch grew up in an atmosphere of poverty and abuse.

When Yan's father crippled his Christian mother in a drunken rage, he was sent to a special school for children--a virtual orphanage. Later, when he married a government official's daughter and gained money and power, he thought his life would change.

But inner pain and emptiness remained. Yan took to drinking and fighting and left his wife and job. One day he cried out, ""If you are real, God...change me.""

One week later, while shopping in the marketplace, he met four Christian workers. They witnessed to him and led Yan to a saving faith in Jesus Christ!

As Paul describes the goodness of God in saving us, he shows the impossibility of justification by the law and deliverance from the works of the law through Christ.

If we are condemned by the law (v. 10), it is evident that no one can be justified by law-keeping (v. 11). ""The righteous will live by faith,"" the apostle says, quoting Habakkuk 2:4. In doing so, he shows that even under law the way of faith was superior to the legal way. Underscoring this point, he declares that in the law works were the fundamental but hopeless principle (Gal. 3:12).

Paul now gladly turns to the positive side of his argument: ""Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law"" (v. 13). To ""redeem"" is to pay the purchase price. It is as if Christ entered the slave market and paid the required number of sesterces (Roman coins) for those in bondage. The curse of death for sin came upon Him, and His substitutionary death on our behalf released us from the curse (2 Cor. 5:21; Is. 53:6).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If we all ""got what we deserve,"" we'd be in big trouble! Sin deserves death, and we've all sinned. But Christ paid the price (v. 13), and by His grace we can now live as children of God.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:15-18
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TODAY IN THE WORD
One stormy and extremely cold Sunday morning, a minister was on his way to church. On the road he met one of his neighbors, who, shivering miserably, said to him, ""It's very chilly, sir.""

""Oh,"" replied the minister. ""God is as good as His word.""

The other, not comprehending, asked what he meant. The minister answered: ""God promised about three thousand years ago, and He still makes it good today, that 'as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat...will never cease.'""

The minister's reply was meant as a joke, but his point is true: God always keeps His covenants and promises.

In today's reading Paul observes that when a human covenant is ratified, no one sets it aside or amends it, neither the author nor a second party (v. 15). Of course the implication is that if that is true with people, it is even more true with God. A second covenant, the law, could not set aside the promise made to Abraham (v. 17).

The Abrahamic covenant could only be fulfilled by Christ (v. 16). Only in the infinite Son of God could all the families of the earth be blessed. But Christ is viewed in this chapter as also being the head of a new family; all who receive Him by faith become sons of Abraham in a spiritual sense (Gal. 3:28-29).

A most startling and amazing truth becomes clear. The age of law was merely a parenthesis between the age of promise and the age of grace (v. 18). All of the legalistic teaching the church has endured for nearly two thousand years is entirely incompatible with the teachings of grace and the spirit of promise.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Two days ago, we suggested that you review the biblical narrative of Abraham and Sarah. If you did so, you probably found yourself held spellbound by a story filled with impossible promises, difficult journeys, angelic visitors, and obedient faith.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:19-22
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In 1838 the British government sent word to Jamaica that slavery was at an end and that therefore those who were slaves were now free. On that night of emancipation, a mahogany coffin was made. Former slaves filled the coffin with whips, branding irons, coarse clothing, handcuffs, and other tools and symbols used during their years of bondage.

The coffin lid was bolted shut and at midnight the coffin was lowered into a grave, dug especially for the occasion. Then the thousands gathered celebrated their new freedom by singing the doxology!

Once released, people who have known slavery would never willingly surrender their freedom. Instead, they move forward joyfully to a new way of life. This is the very point Paul is trying to make to the Galatians. ""You have been set free from the law's condemnation,"" he tells them, ""so start acting like it!""

If the law is not in force for the believer now that Christ has come, what good was it? What function did it serve? The answer is that the law was given until the Seed should come and that it was therefore only preparatory, ending with the coming of Christ (v. 19).

If law is inferior to promise, is there opposition between these two divine arrangements? Paul says, ""Perish the thought."" The law is all right as far as it goes, but it really could not compete with the promise because it could not give life.

The function of the law was to convict transgressors. The picture in verse 22 is variously painted by translators as ""shut up like a fish enclosed in a net,"" ""enclosed entirely by barriers,"" and ""shut up on every side as in a prison."" Everything pertaining to men--thoughts, words, and deeds--is all locked up and thus doomed under sin.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We've nearly reached the halfway point of our study of Galatians. We hope you are enjoying and learning from this meaty book!

We suggest today that you sit back and reorient yourself to the ""big picture"" of Paul's epistle. (If you're working today on the tax forms that are due tomorrow, you could do one of these activities as a break!)

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:23-25
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TODAY IN THE WORD
A good teacher is like a guide, not only knowing but also showing the way. A teacher's life-experience can be a valuable part of a student's learning experience.

With these axioms in mind, in 1986 evangelist Leighton Ford began a ministry to find and develop young evangelical leaders. In 1992, he started the Arrow Leadership Program, a focused, group-oriented, two-year training program emphasizing evangelism and leadership skills.

Ford told Christianity Today: ""I sensed a desire among the younger generation of emerging leaders for a highly personalized leadership development program. They hungered for mentoring relationships with older leaders and affirmation between peers--and above all, a program that stressed character development alongside skills for growing ministries.""

As Paul explains in today's reading, the law was God's ""development program"" for the Jews, teaching and guiding them. First, yesterday's main idea continues: that the law led to the fulfillment of the promise. The verb in verse 23 often has the connotation of protecting rather than imprisonment for punishment, and probably should be so understood here. God protected His children from the excesses of the heathen nations through the controls of the law. The purpose of this protective function of the law was to urge or push people to faith.

In verse 24 the law as a teacher leads men to faith. In Greek the law is called ""paidagogos,"" not a ""didaskalos."" In other words, the law was an inferior slave or servant (""paidagogos"") committed with the task of bringing the master's son to school or to the schoolmaster (""didaskalos""). The ""pedagogue"" was charged with disciplining the child and giving him moral training, by protecting him and regulating his outward habits. That was all the law could do; but when it led the son to Christ, its work was finished. Christ was the schoolmaster (""didaskalos""), a point of Paul's illustration which would have been clear to the Romans of that day.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Salvation is one of the most precious gifts God has given us. As we've been studying Galatians, our hope is that you are gaining a greater appreciation for God's grace and our redemption in Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 3:26-29
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Oliver Otis Howard, a New England abolitionist, served as a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. He never drank, smoked or swore, and his soldiers called him ""Old Prayer Book.""

After the war, Howard led the Freedmen's Bureau, a government effort to assist former slaves. He helped to found a university for African-Americans in 1867--Howard University, today one of the leading black universities in America. He also stirred controversy when he tried to integrate a church.

Howard understood the truth of today's verse: racial and ethnic barriers have no place in the body of Christ.

Despite Jew-Gentile frictions, Paul could give his Gentile converts in Galatia the assurance: ""You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus"" (v. 26). ""Through faith"" should be underscored because again and again in this epistle the apostle means to emphasize faith as opposed to works.

Those who have received Christ by faith have been baptized into Him (v. 27). They have been linked to Him in a living union and made positionally to participate in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4).

In the process they have also ""put on Christ"" or ""clothed"" themselves with Christ. This is a reference to a significant ceremony for a young Roman male. When he came of age he was invested with the toga virilis, signifying that he was now a grown-up son, with the accompanying rights and responsibilities.

The image helps to explain how we mature as God's children. We are joined to Christ by the Holy Spirit and clothed with Christ's robe of righteousness, by which means we can stand before God without fear of condemnation.

In this divine family all are one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). None of us are entitled to superior Christian privileges, no matter what our spiritual or cultural background. A beautiful example of this is seen in the slave Onesimus, who in Christ became a ""dear brother"" to his master Philemon (Philemon 16).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Galatians 3:28 captures the tremendous reality of believers' unity in Christ.

What distinctions or barriers separate Christians in our culture or community? Barriers of race? Social class? Economic status? Education? Career choice? It's time to break down those walls!

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:1-7
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The story is told of an English nobleman who worked for many years as a railway porter, unaware of his true identity. One day a gentleman entered the railway station, made some inquiries, and asked the porter his name. Upon hearing it, the visitor said, ""I have come to tell you that you are an Earl and entitled to a large estate.""

Do you think that man continued to behave as a railway porter? Certainly not. He rushed from the station to take possession of his inheritance! We as Christians should do the same. From Paul's perspective, however, the Galatians were acting like children, failing to claim their inheritance.

In today's reading humanity is presented as a child until Christ's coming, when the guardian (law) was done away. In Paul's day, as long as he was a child, an heir was no better off than a slave, though he be lord of the whole estate by title and birthright.

In verse 3, the apostle applies this legal rule of society to our Christian lives. Once we were spiritually like children. But the gospel wrought a remarkable change, by which we were transformed from a position of spiritual childhood to adult sonship.

What is the gospel? God sent His Son (v. 4). Taking on human form so He could identify with fallen humanity, the Son was born of a woman. Born under the law, He perfectly kept that law, fulfilled it, and ultimately paid its curse for all mankind.

The result of redemption (v. 5) is adoption to divine sonship. The voice of the Holy Spirit within believers confirms their sonship and cries out to the Father in love (v. 6).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Salvation by faith is one of the great truths that fueled the Reformation. But this is just the beginning of what God intends for His heirs.

Martin Luther, for instance, found that saving faith undergirds Christian love: ""Lo, thus from faith flow forth love and joy in the Lord, and from love a joyful, willing and free mind that serves one's neighbor willingly and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, of praise or blame, of gain or loss.""

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:8-11
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Earlier this month, we told you about Frederick Douglass and noted that the idea that he would have given up his freedom to return to slavery was ridiculous. Who would ever want to make such a trade?

Strangely enough, the Bible records that the Israelites wanted to do exactly that! During their exodus from Egypt to Canaan, they grumbled against Moses and the Lord. Tired of manna, they spoke fondly of the food they had enjoyed in Egypt (Num. 11:5-6)--apparently ""forgetting"" their slavery there. Later, discouraged by the spies' report on the Canaanites, the Israelites wondered aloud if Egyptian slavery wouldn't be better than what God had in store for them (Num. 14:2-3).

According to the apostle Paul, the Galatians were being equally foolish. Now that he has in this epistle shown them their exalted position as sons and heirs of God, therefore free to enjoy spiritual adulthood, he appeals to them not to return to bondage.

The Galatians had come to know God (Gal. 4:9). But so that they didn't try to take any credit for this, Paul reminded them that, ""rather,"" they had come to be known by God. He had chosen them and predestined them to the adoption of sons (Eph. 1:4-5) and attracted them by His Spirit to come to know Him personally.

In light of this, how could they turn again to bondage? As Gentiles they had suffered under the bondage of heathenism. Now as converted Gentiles, why did they want the bondage of Jewish legalism? The Galatians meticulously observed special days (Gal. 4:10) with the belief that this would gain them merit, but this is entirely out of keeping with the spirit of Christian liberty. Every day is to be lived for the glory of God!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Based on salvation through God's grace, Paul urges the Galatians not to return to legalism and bondage. If they would apply the truths they already knew, they would change their ways.

What about us? Are we living ""out of sync"" with the basis for our salvation? Here's a question to ponder: Given what God says about salvation, grace and faith, what would my life look like if I lived it 100% in line with these truths?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:12-16
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Advertisers understand the power of imitation. If a famous basketball player puts his name on a pair of shoes, young athletes and fans rush out to buy them. If a beautiful actress uses a certain brand of shampoo, women who want their hair to look and feel better may purchase it. If a hard-working Baby Boomer finds cold relief in a favorite medicine, those who empathize will remember that ad the next time they go shopping.

""You can become like this person"" is the message of such ads. ""You'll play better basketball."" ""You can be as beautiful as she is."" ""You deserve to feel as good as that person.""

Advertisers take a powerful human drive, the urge to imitate, and use it to turn a profit. Paul, however, uses it to teach. In today's passage, he appeals to the Galatians to imitate his example.

""Become like me, for I became like you"" (v. 12). As a Jew, Paul was very faithful in keeping the law, but after his conversion he became like the Gentiles--no longer living under the law.

Then a curious thing happened. The Galatians, who as Gentiles were not under the law, after their conversion put themselves under the law. So Paul pleads: Live like me, enjoy your Christian liberty.

The first time Paul came among the Galatians, he did not plan to stay for any length of time. However, when he contracted a serious illness (probably malaria), he had no choice but to stay for a while (v. 13). During his recuperation he preached the gospel and many believed.

The Galatians did not succumb to the temptation to despise either Paul or his message because of his illness and his weakened condition (v. 14). Instead they received him as an angel, a heaven-sent messenger, a representative of Christ Jesus. The apostle freely bears witness to the Galatians of their love. If possible they would have dug out their eyes and given them to him.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul is a good model for us to imitate in our relationships and ministries. Even as he steers his way through complex theological issues, his pastor's heart shines through. In this chapter, he calls the Galatians his ""dear children,"" longs to be with them, is ""perplexed"" about them, and spiritually feels ""the pains of childbirth"" on their behalf. His spiritual passion puts our own to shame.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:17-20
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TODAY IN THE WORD
American Gwen Torrence ran hard, but she ran outside the lines. At the 1995 World Championships, she was disqualified in the 200-meter race when she broke the rules by running out of her lane. Coming around a curve, Torrence stepped on or over the inside line of her lane at least five times, shortening the distance she sprinted compared to that of the other athletes. Her gold medal was awarded to another runner.

Running outside the lines, no matter how fast, is useless in a race. Similarly in the race of the Christian life, zeal in the wrong direction is useless and possibly harmful. And for Paul, legalism was definitely the wrong direction!

Continuing his argument against legalism, Paul warns the Galatians against following poor-quality, insincere leaders (v. 17). Despite their zeal, the Judaizers were not pursuing the best interests of the Galatian converts. In their efforts to separate themselves from Paul's influence and teaching, they were depriving the Galatians of the true gospel and the true church.

So that the Galatians wouldn't conclude that he wanted to monopolize their affections, Paul says, ""It is fine to be zealous""--the issue is whether for a good cause or a bad cause (v. 18). He would not be hurt if they followed the teachings of others, as long as their course of action was honorable. As in Philippians 1:15-18, his only concern is that the gospel be preached and God be glorified.

But the Galatians had been zealous in error. The Judaizers had turned them away from the gospel of grace. When Paul was with them the first time, he had suffered birth pangs, as it were, until they were born into newness of spiritual life. Now he was suffering birth pangs a second time until they could be released from the bondage of Jewish legalism (Gal. 4:19).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
This is a powerful promise: Christ is being formed in us (v. 19). This is also clearly stated in 2 Corinthians 3:18: ""And we...are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.""

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:21-27
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TODAY IN THE WORD
When Sarah heard the Lord promise Abraham a son, she laughed to herself and thought, ""After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"" (Gen. 18:12). The Lord heard her, of course, and repeated His promise.

Sure enough, God kept His word in the birth of Isaac, and Sarah's doubt turned to joy. Remembering her laughter, she exclaimed, ""God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me"" (Gen. 21:6). They named their son ""Isaac,"" meaning ""he laughs.""

This background is key to today's reading. In this passage, Paul turns to a biblical illustration in an effort to separate the Galatians from legalism. He explains that those who boast of their submission to the law and claim to be sons of Abraham forget that Abraham had two sons. The first, Ishmael, was born of a bondwoman (Hagar), the secon d, Isaac, of a freewoman (Sarah).

Hagar's son was born in the ordinary way. Circumstances surrounding his birth were not ordained of God and were therefore natural. By contrast, Isaac was born of Sarah ""as the result of a promise"" (Gal. 4:23). His birth was miraculous because Abraham and Sarah were both beyond childbearing age. God's extraordinary promise was fulfilled!

Paul explains that the historical event has another meaning. The women represent two covenants--the Abrahamic and the Mosaic. The Abrahamic covenant (represented by Sarah) brought freedom, while the Mosaic (represented by Hagar) brought slavery (vv. 24-25, see v. 31). The apostle is again emphasizing the inferiority of Mosaic legalism.

Verse 26 launches into a statement about the Jerusalem above. For centuries Jerusalem had been glorified in Hebrew history and song as the capital of the Jewish nation and a place where God chose especially to dwell. Now Paul speaks of a ""Jerusalem that is above,"" one that is ""free.""
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
First with Abraham and now with Hagar and Sarah, Paul used the past to teach lessons to the present (the Galatians) and the future (us). That's a pattern we can follow in our own spiritual lives.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 4:28-31
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TODAY IN THE WORD
For nearly a century, a pair of bib overalls was handed down from child to child in the Mehder family, according to an Associated Press wire report.

As a tailor for the Oshkosh Clothing Manufacturing Co., now Oshkosh B'Gosh, Louis Mehder designed the overalls in 1901. Since then, that pair of overalls has been worn by eight children spanning five states and several generations. Amazingly, the garment has survived without a patch, buckle replacement or sewing job!

Family inheritances can range from the amusing to the life-changing. They extend beyond tangible things such as overalls, since families help determine our characters and identities. This truth is also found in the spiritual realm, as seen in today's reading.

All the children of Sarah are members of one family (v. 28). We are children of promise, living in freedom and faith. The implication is that we are children of promise and ought to continue as such, rather than trying to live as children of bondage.

Those in the line of Isaac need not be surprised when persecuted by the children of Hagar (v. 29). The one specific biblical indication of this animosity appears in Genesis 21:9. On the occasion of Isaac's being weaned, Abraham put on a banquet. Ishmael mocked Isaac, probably ridiculing his position as a child of promise and no doubt fearing lest the youngster preempt the inheritance that the older brother felt was rightfully his.

Just as in the past the child of the bondwoman persecuted the child of the freewoman, so now children of bondage (Judaizers) persecute children of promise (true Christian believers). As an encouragement to those who suffer such opposition, and as a warning, Paul deduces a lesson from Scripture--expulsion from the family, just as Abraham was commanded to send away Hagar and Ishmael.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
For four chapters, Paul has been moving through some heady theology concerning legalism, grace, faith, freedom, salvation and sonship. In chapter 5, he will turn to questions of application or lifestyle. That is, knowing these realities, how should we as Christians live?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 5:1-6
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Scholar W.E. Vine points out a special cultural background for the phrase ""for freedom"" in today's verse.

When a Greek wanted to free a slave, he would take the slave to the temple of a god. In order to be freed, the slave actually had to be ""purchased"" by the god. The master would pay the money into the temple treasury and draw up a certificate containing the words ""for freedom."" Technically, the slave became the property of the god, a fact which guaranteed his freedom.

Paul used this culturally familiar image as a metaphor for the believer's status: we belong to God!

Verse 1 is a ringing exhortation to maintain Christian freedom, which would be impossible without the work of Christ. He freed us from bondage to a life of Christian liberty. While we cannot set ourselves free, there is a sense in which we must cooperate with divine power in living the Christian life. Our wills must determine to keep standing firm in the hard-won liberty which Christ has made available.

The apostle now turns to a major example of entanglement in the bondage of the law: circumcision. For Gentiles like the Galatians, to submit to this rite could only signify a legalistic attempt to seek righteousness by works (v. 3). Depending upon works to achieve righteousness alienates us from Christ. It is as though His provision of salvation is not really sufficient (vv. 2, 4).

In grand contrast, Paul describes the experience of the true believer (vv. 5-6). We ""eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope."" Paul elsewhere described it this way: ""Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God"" (Rom. 8:21).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Galatians teaches some complex truths, many of which cannot be explored completely in these daily devotionals. This book is worthy of additional Bible study, concentrated time that will allow you to dig deeper into God's Word.