My Dear Children

Galatians 4:17-20 - Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Romans 8:29 - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Ephesians 4:11-13,15 - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Philippians 4:1 - Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Conclusions:

• "Those people" are Judaizers
• Paul has an affectionate relationship toward his converts
• "My dear children" only occurs in Galatians 4:19 in Paul's writings, but is common in John's
• The goal of Paul's ministry is to have Christ formed in his converts
• Some hold that God not only knew us before we had any knowledge of Him but that He also knew us, in the sense of choosing us by His grace, before the foundation of the world
• Others believe that Paul, in Romans 8:29, refers to the fact that in eternity past God knew those who by faith would become His people
• The reason God foreknew, predestined and conformed believers to Christ's likeness is that the Son might hold the position of highest honor in the great family of God
• Unity is not just a matter of a loving attitude or religious feeling, but of truth and a common understanding about God's Son
• In the face of libertine practices, we should follow Paul's example, having our minds set on heavenly things
• We should stand firm in the midst of present struggles for the sake of the gospel
• We all are to become mature

Application:

• Were you foreknown, predestined and now conformed to Christ's likeness?
• Do you have a conviction about Christ and the doctrines concerning Him?
• Do you stand firm in the midst of present struggles for the sake of the gospel?
• Are you becoming mature?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Illness

Galatians 4:11-16 - I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

1 Thessalonians 3:5 - For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

Conclusions:

• Paul fears he has wasted his efforts on the Galatians due to their return to the old covenant law
• Paul uses the Greek emphatic pronoun, I, to bring out his deep conviction
• Satan is spoken of in every major division of the New Testament
• Satan is supreme among evil spirits
• Satan's activities can affect the physical and the spiritual
• Satan tempted Jesus, and he continues to tempt Jesus servants
• Satan hinders missionary work
• But Satan has already been defeated and Christians need not be overwhelmed by him
• Satan's final overthrow is certain
• Some suggest Paul's illness was eye trouble
• Others have suggested Paul's illness was malaria or epilepsy
• Paul first preached to the Galatians on his first missionary journey
• Because of the restraints of legalistic Judaism, the Galatians had lost their blessing and joy
• "Torn out your eyes" is a hyperbole indicating the Galatians willingness, for Paul's benefit, to part with that which was most precious to them
• The same verb for "torn out" is used of digging through a roof in Mark
• Paul implies that under the influence of Judaizers, the Galatians have changed their attitude toward him
• Telling the truth sometimes results in loss of friends

Application:

• Are you overwhelmed by Satan?
• Have you lost your blessing and joy?
• Have you lost friends because of the truth?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV



Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Special Days

Galatians 4:9-10 - But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

Leviticus 16:29-30,34 - "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you-because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins…"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites." And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Conclusions:

• Legalistic trust in rituals, in moral achievement, in law, in good works, or even in cold, dead orthodoxy may indicate a relapse into second childhood on the part of those who should be knowing and enjoying the freedom of full-grown sons
• Special days are days such as the Sabbath and the Day of Atonement, which had never been, and can never be, in themselves means of salvation or sanctification
• Months and seasons are New Moons, Passover and Firstfruits
• Years are sabbath years
• The Pharisees meticulously observed special days, months, seasons and years to gain merit before God
• On the Day of Atonement the repentant Israelite was assured of sins forgiven
• Christ's sacrifice was once for all, not once a year.

Application:

• Do you legalistically trust in rituals?
• Are you assued of sins forgiven?
• Christ's sacrifice was once for you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Spirit Of His Son

Galatians 4:6-8 - Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Romans 5:5 - And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 8:2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 - It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid…immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

2 Thessalonians 1:8 - He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Jeremiah 2:11 - Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.

Conclusions:

• Spirit of His Son is a new guardian identified as the Spirit of God
• The Greek for "calls out" is a vivid verb expressing deep emotion, often used of an inarticulate cry
• The Greek for "calls out" is used of Jesus final cry
• Abba, Father is expressive of an especially close relationship to God
• The believer's hope is not to be equated with unfounded optimism
• On the contrary, the believer's hope is the blessed assurance of our future destiny and is based on God's love which is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit and objectively demonstrated to us in the death of Christ
• Paul has moved from faith to hope to love
• The verb for "has poured out" indicates a present status resulting from a past action
• When we first believed in Christ, the Holy Spirit poured out His love in our hearts and His love for us continues to dwell in us

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

God Sent His Son

Galatians 4:4-5 - But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Ephesians 1:9-10 - And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 3:22-24 - This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

John 1:12-13 - Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Romans 8:14 - For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Conclusions:

• "Time had fully come" is the time set by God for His children to become adult sons and heirs
• "Born of a woman" shows that Christ was truly human
• "Born under law" means subject to the Jewish law
• Paul uses a significant term in Ephesians 1:10 that not only has the idea of leadership but also was often used of adding up a column of figures
• A contemporary way of putting it might be to say that in a world of confusion, where things do not add up or make sense, we look forward to the time when everything will be brought into meaningful relationship under the headship of Christ
• God so loved the world is the great truth that motivated God's plan of salvation
• The world is all people on earth--or perhaps all creation
• Although believers are also called sons of God, Jesus is God's Son in a unique sense

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Baptized Into Christ

Galatians 3:26-27 - You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Romans 8:13-14 - For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Matthew 28:19-20 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Romans 13:14 - Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Romans 6:11 - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 12:13 - For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Conclusions:

• God is the Father of all in the sense that He created all and His love and providential care is extended to all
• But not all are His children
• Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day, you belong to your father, the devil
• People become children of God through faith in God's unique Son, and being led by God's Spirit is the hallmark of this relationship
• Baptism is a sign of union with and commitment of Christ
• Paul exhorts believers to display outwardly what has already taken place inwardly--including practicing all the virtues associated with Christ
• I need to count myself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
• I have been baptized by the same Spirit as everyone else in the church

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Christ

Galatians 3:22-25 - But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Romans 10:4 - Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Galatians 2:15-16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Romans 8:13-14 - For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Conclusions:

• This faith is in Christ
• To be a prisoner of sin and a prisoner of law amounts to much the same, because law reveals and stimulates sin
• Was put in charge translates the Greek paidagogos
• Paidagogos refers to the personal-slave attendant who accompanied a freeborn boy wherever he went and exercised a certain amount of discipline over him
• The slave-attendant's function was more like that of a baby-sitter than a teacher
• Although the Greek word for "end" can mean either (1) termination, cessation, or (2) goal, culmination, fulfillment, it seems best in Romans 10:4 to understand it in the latter sense
• I am justified by faith in Christ
• Do we live according to the sinful nature or the Spirit? Are we sons of God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Mediator

Galatians 3:20-21 - A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

Hebrews 9:15 - For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 12:22-24 - But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Galatians 2:21 - I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Conclusions:

• The Mosaic covenant was a formal arrangement of mutual commitments between God and Israel with Moses as the mediator
• But, since the promise God covenanted with Abraham involved commitment only from God's side, no mediator was involved.
• Christ is my mediator

Application:

• Are you called?
• Have you come to God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Was Added

Galatians 3:17-19 - What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.

Exodus 20:18-19 - When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

Genesis 17:7 - I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Jeremiah 31:31,33-34 - "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Conclusions:

• The period in Egypt is designated in round numbers as 400 years
• From the time of Abraham, the promise covenanted to him had stood at the center of God's relationship with His people
• After the exodus the law contained in the Sinaitic covenant became an additional element in that relationship--what Jeremiah by implication called the old covenant, when he brought God's promise of a new covenant
• The Seed is Christ
• Israel (in Exodus 20:19) requests a mediator to stand between them and God, a role fulfilled by Moses and subsequently by priests, prophets and kings--and ultimately by Jesus Christ

Application:

• Do you seek a mediator between you and God?
• Is God your God?
• Are you in a covenant relationship with your heavenly Father?
• Has God forgotten your sins?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Human Covenant

Galatians 3:15-16 - Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:14 - But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

Micah 7:20 - You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.

Genesis 17:7 - I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Conclusions:

• The Greek word for human covenant normally indicates a last will or testament, which is probably the legal instrument Paul is referring to in Galatians 3:15
• In the Septuagint human covenant had been widely use of God's covenant with His people, so Paul's choice of analogy was apt for his purpose

Application:

• Has your mind been made dull?
• Is God your God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Everything

Galatians 3:10 - All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

Galatians 2:15-16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Deuteronomy 27:26 - "Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

Jeremiah 11:3-4 - Tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant--the terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.' I said, 'Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God.

James 2:10 - For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Conclusions:

• Rely on observing the law is a reference to legalists--those who refuse God's offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works
• Because no one under the law ever perfectly kept the law, they are under a curse
• God's blessing has never been earned, but has always been freely given
• Paul is not depreciating the law itself, for he clearly maintained that God's law is holy, righteous and good
• Paul is arguing against an illegitimate use of the Old Testament law that made the observance of that law the grounds of acceptance with God
• Justified by faith is the essence of the gospel message
• Faith is the means by which justification is received, not its basis
• Mankind is under a curse because no one follows the law of God fully
• It is not enough to assert allegiance to the law, one must live according to its stipulations
• Blessings resulted from obedience to the covenant; curses resulted from disobedience
• The law is the expression of the character and will of God; therefore to violate one part of the law is to violate God's will and thus His whole law

Application:

• Do you refuse God's offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works?
• Are you using the observance of the law as grounds for God accepting you?
• Do you live according to the stipulations of the law?
• Are you obedient or disobedient to God's covenant?
• Are you violating God's will?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Scripture Foresaw

Galatians 3:8-9 - The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

1 Timothy 5:18 - For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."

Romans 4:18 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Hebrews 11:19 - Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Conclusions:

• Scripture foresaw is a personification of Scripture that calls attention to its divine origin
• The use of Scripture for both an Old Testament and a New Testament passage shows that by the time of 1 Timothy portions of the New Testament were considered to be equal in authority to the Old Testament Scriptures
• Paul develops Abraham as a man of faith at length
• When all hope, as a human possibility, failed, Abraham placed his hope in God
• So strong was Abraham's faith that he actually believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead if necessary, an event that did occur figuratively when the substitute ram was provided

Application:

• Do you see Scripture as divinely inspired?
• Do you place your hope in God?
• Is your faith strong enough to believe that God can do anything?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Children Of God

Galatians 3:6-7 - Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

Genesis 15:6 - Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:3,12 - What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."… And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

John 8:31 - To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Conclusions:

• Abram is the father of all who believe, and Genesis 15:6 is the first specific reference to faith in God's promises
• It also teaches that God graciously responds to a man's faith by crediting righteousness to him
• Romans 4:3 references Genesis 15:6, where nothing is mentioned about works
• Abraham had kept no law, rendered no service and performed no ritual that earned credit to his account before God
• Abraham's belief in God, who had made promises to him, was credited to him as righteousness
• Abraham was the physical and spiritual father of the Jewish race
• In Galatians 3:7, all believers are called Abraham's spiritual children
• All believers are also referred to as the seed or descendants of Abraham
• Believed in John 8:31 seems to mean made a formal profession of faith
• The Jew's words in John 8 show that they are not true believers
• Abraham is also the father of believing Jews
• Thus Abraham's story shows that for Jew and Gentile alike there is only one way of justification--the way of faith

Application:

• Has righteousness been credited to you?
• Do you think keeping laws, rendering service and performing rituals credits righteousness to you?
• Are you a true believer?
• Do you believe you are justified by faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Miracles

Galatians 3:3-5,10 - Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?... All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 - To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Galatians 2:15-16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• Both salvation and sanctification are the work of the Holy Spirit
• Human effort is the flesh, a reference to human nature in its unregenerate weakness
• Trying to achieve righteousness by works, including circumcision, was a part of life in the flesh
• Paul hopes that those who have been misled will return to the true gospel
• In Scripture a miracle is an action that cannot be explained by natural means
• A miracle is an act of God intended as evidence of His power and purpose
• Prophecy is a communication of the mind of God imparted to a believer by the Holy Spirit
• Prophecy may be a prediction or an indication of the will of God in a given situation
• Since there can also be false prophecies that come from evil spirits, distinguishing between spirits is necessary in order to distinguish the true from the false
• Since the Greek word for tongues means languages or dialects, some understand different kinds of tongues to refer to the ability to speak in unlearned human languages, as the apostles did on the day of Pentecost
• Others believe that the term tongues refers to both earthly and heavenly languages, including ecstatic languages of praise and prayer
• Interpretation of tongues is the communication of the message spoken in a tongue so that hearers can understand and be edified

Application:

• Has the Holy Spirit communicated the mind of God to you?
• Do you refuse God's offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works?
• Have you put your faith in Christ Jesus?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Spirit

Galatians 3:1-2,10 - 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 observing the law, or by believing what you heard?... All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

John 20:22 - And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 2:16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• The Galatians were not mentally deficient but simply failed to use their powers of perception
• Legalistic Judaizers had bewitched the Galatians
• Portrayed as crucified means to publicly portray or placard as crucified like the bronze snake that Moses displayed on a pole
• From Galatians 3:2 on Paul refers to the Holy Spirit 16 times
• Receive the Holy Spirit anticipates what happens 50 days later on the day of Pentecost
• The disciples needed God’s help to carry out the commission they had just been given
• Rely on observing the law is a reference to legalists—those who refuse God’s offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works
• No one under the law ever perfectly kept the law because they are under a curse
• God’s blessing has never been earned, but has always been freely given
• Galatians 2:16 is a key verse
• Three times Galatians 2:16 tells us that no one is justified by observing the law, and three times it underscores the indispensable requirement of placing one’s faith in Christ
• Paul is not depreciating the law itself, for he clearly maintained that God’s law is holy, righteous and good
• Paul is arguing against an illegitimate use of the Old Testament law that made the observance of that law the grounds of acceptance with God
• Justified by faith is the essence of the gospel message
• Faith is the means by which justification is received, not its basis

Application:

• Has God helped you to carry out the commission you have been given?
• Are you relying on observing the law?
• Have you put your faith in Christ Jesus?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Antioch

Galatians 2:7-12 - On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

Acts 4:36-37 - Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 13:2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Romans 4:12 - And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Conclusions:

• Paul’s ministry was not exclusively to the Gentiles
• Paul regularly went first to the synagogue when arriving in a new location
• Paul did consider himself to be foremost an apostle to the Gentiles
• Pillars is a common metaphor for those who represent and strongly support an institution
• Right hand of fellowship is a common practice among both Hebrews and Greeks, indicating a pledge of friendship
• Barnabas was used in Acts 4:36 as a good example of giving
• In this way Luke introduces the one who will become an important companion of Paul
• Barnabas was a great hearted leader who contributed significantly to the life and ministry of the early church
• From Antioch Paul had been sent out on his missionary journeys
• Peter was in the wrong for yielding to the pressure of the circumcision party, those going against what he knew to be right
• Paul’s first missionary journey did not result from a planning session but from the Spirit’s initiative as the leaders worshiped
• The communication from the Holy Spirit may have come through the prophets
• The circumcision group were Judaizers, who believed that circumcision was necessary for salvation
• Abraham is also the father of believing Jews
• Abraham’s story shows that for Jew and Gentile alike there is only one way of justification—the way of faith

Application:

• Do you contribute to the life and ministry of the church?
• Do your journeys result from the Holy Spirit's initiative?
• Have you been justified faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Freedom

Galatians 2:4 - This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

Acts 1:16 - In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."

Galatians 5:13 - You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Romans 6:18,22 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Conclusions:

• False brothers were Judaizers who held that Gentile converts should be circumcised and obey the law of Moses
• Free and freedom are key words in Galatians, occurring 11 times
• Both before and after Christ came, numerous psalms were viewed as Messianic
• What happened in the psalmist’s experience was typical of the experiences of the Messiah
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love
• A Christian has changed masters
• Whereas a Christian was formerly a slave to sin, he becomes a willing servant to righteousness
• Slavery to God produces holiness, and the end of the process is eternal life
• There is no eternal life without holiness
• Anyone who has been justified will surely give evidence of that fact by the presence of holiness in his life
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans—to mean a controlling power; God’s law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• The law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• Unity in Christ transcends ethnic, social and male/female distinctions

Application:

• Do you see the psalms as Messianic?
• Do you see liberty as freedom to serve God and others in love?
• Are you a willing servant to righteousness?
• Is there evidence of the presence of holiness in your life?
• Have you been set free from the controlling power of sin?
• Are you ethnically and socially unified in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Had Run My Race In Vain

Galatians 2:2-3 - I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 9:21 - To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.

Conclusions:

• Paul recognized the authority of those who seemed to be leaders, and is probably referring to James, Peter and John
• The Spirit searches all things, not in order to know them, for He knows all things
• The Spirit comprehends the depth of God’s nature and His plans of grace; so He is fully competent to make the revelation claimed in 1 Corinthians 2:10
• Because of Christ’s resurrection and ours, we know that serving Him is not empty, useless activity
• Our effort is invested in the Lord’s winning cause
• The Lord will also reward us at His second coming
• Those not having the law are those who have not been raised under the Old Testament law
• Paul accommodated himself to Gentile culture when it did not violate his allegiance to Christ, though he still reckoned that he was under God’s law and Christ’s teachings

Application:

• Has God revealed Himself to me by His Spirit?
• Is my effort invested in the Lord's winning cause?
• Do I accommodate myself to the culture if it does not violate my allegiance to Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible