Faith Expressing Itself Through Love

Galatians 5:5-6 - But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 - We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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!"

Galatians 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Conclusions:

• The righteousness for which we hope is a reference to God's final verdict of not guilty, assured presently to the believer by faith and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
• The righteousness for which we hope is one of the few eschatological statements in Galatians
• Faith is not mere intellectual assent, but a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love
• The triad of faith, hope and love is found often in the New Testament
• Faith produces action
• Hope is not unfounded wishful thinking, but firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return
• To mingle legalism with grace distorts grace and makes a mockery of the cross
• In Christ man undergoes a transformation that results in an entirely new being
• Creation again takes place

Application:

• Do you have a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love?
• Do you have firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return?
• Do you mingle legalism with grace?
• Are you an entirely new being in Christ?

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

Dogs

Philippians 3:2-6 - Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

Galatians 5:15 - If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Romans 2:29 - No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

Galatians 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Conclusions:

• Seeking to attain status with God and man by mere observance law breeds a self-righteous, critical spirit
• Circumcision’s true inner meaning is realized only in believers, who worship God with genuine spiritual worship and who glory in Christ as their Savior rather than trusting in their own human effort
• Everyone is a boaster, either in Christ or in himself
• Flesh is weak human nature
• Although the term flesh in Paul’s letters often refers to sinful human nature, it speaks here of the frailty of human nature: It is not worthy of our confidence; it cannot save
• The true sign of belonging to God is not an outward mark on the physical body, but the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit within—what Paul meant by circumcision of the heart
• In Christ man undergoes a transformation that results in an entirely new being
• Creation again takes place
• Put a new spirit in you means transform your mind and heart
• In Ezekiel 36:26 God declared that He would bring about the change
• What He requires of His people He always provides
• Flesh in the Old Testament is often a symbol for weakness and frailty; in the New Testament it often stands for the sinful nature as a God opposing force
• In Ezekiel 36:26, flesh stands for a pliable, teachable heart.

Application:

• Do you seek to attain status with God and man by mere observance of law?
• Do you trust in your own human effort or do you glory in Christ?
• Is the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit within you?
• Have you been transformed into a new being?
• Has God Transformed your mind and heart?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible