Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: Ephesians 3:12 “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence .” (NIV)

What is the difference between “in Him” and “through faith in Him”? “In Him” means there is a highway to God — whether we accept its reality or not makes no difference: there is access to God. “Through faith in Him” means that God can be approached by one means only — the access route is that highway. You’ve got to get on the road, and you’ve got to trust that it leads to God.

And there is something else of great importance about “in Him.” God’s justice demands that sin by penalized by eternal death. But now there’s a window of opportunity for anyone who receives the penalty by proxy. Jesus has died in place of all who will allow His blood to atone for their sins. Jesus has provided satisfaction for the justice of God the Father. God can now be approached because the penalty for sin has already been paid. Those who believe in Christ need die only once. Unless Jesus returns soon, you and I will die physically. But we won’t die spiritually — we have already died spiritually in Christ, so there is no penalty to suffer. God won’t penalize us twice. We are free, and we are confident. We have been redeemed and made alive. Once we were enemies with God. Now we are children of God — all because of faith in Jesus.

Key Verse: Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Redemption means not only that we have been bought back, set free, and made new — it also means that we belong to the Redeemer. He paid the price, so we’re His. We are the product of God’s plan, His workmanship. And the means of “working” us into shape was the atonement provided by Christ on Calvary. We’re new creations with a new purpose: “good works.” What’s more, the process — redemption by Christ, new creation in Christ, new purpose in Christ — is something an omniscient (all-knowing) God included in His sovereign plan (“God prepared beforehand”). God’s initiative and grace flood the closed system we call “the universe” — all we have to do is trust and obey. And it’s wise to do it now. There is coming a day when everyone, sang and sinner alike, will be called to account.

When the account is settled, there will be no one in Heaven boasting about his own or someone else’s good works. Rather, all the redeemed host will have one common response: they will prostrate themselves before the throne of God and say something like, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being” (Rev. 4:11).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians.2:8, 9). We put our trust in our Redeemer, not in ourselves. We walk in the sunshine of His love — not because we have earned it, but merely because we have accepted it. It is a gift from God.

Key Verse: Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sing, according to the riches of His grace…”

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines the word “redeem” this way: 1. Buy back, recover by expenditure or effort or by stipulated payment 2. Perform (promise) 3. Purchase the freedom of (another, oneself), save (one’s life) by ransom 4. Save, rescue, reclaim (of God or Christ), deliver from sin and damnation. 5. Make amends for, compensate, counterbalance, save from a defect (“the eyes redeem the face from ugliness”).

Key words in this definition are, “buy back,” “purchase the freedom of,” and “save.” These words imply that someone or something has been sold, enslaved, and earmarked for destruction. And a further implication is that the selling, enslaving, and destroying has occurred in a closed system where that someone or something has fallen short of some declared purpose or standard. Who has fallen short here? And whose standard has been transgressed?

Paul says the fallen ones are the Ephesian believers (and all believers of all time), including himself and his co-workers. And the standard marker is none other than God Himself. From God’s point of view, righteous and holy as He is, man is totally filthy in his sin and fit only for destruction. His justice demands a penalty for man’s sin — and that penalty is death. But, in His grace, “He has blessed us…in Christ” (v.3). Christ’s blood has been shed to atone for our sin; He has forgiven us and has indwell us with His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our heavenly inheritance (v.14). We have been bought back, set free, and made new. We have been redeemed.

Key Verse: Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”.

Freedom and unfreedom ultimately betray themselves by their fruit. If, in the name of freedom, we “indulge the sinful nature” (5:13), the product will eventually manifest itself: “sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealously, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissections, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (5:19-21). On the other hand, if we “love our neighbours as ourselves” (5:14), we’ll see, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (5:22,23).

The “law” will condemn us for “indulging the sinful nature”, but there is no law that can condemn us as we “love our neighbour”. Freedom means no laws. The only context where no laws apply is that in which we seek the highest good for God, neighbour, and self — this is love.

Loving is hard work. It has very little to do with how we feel. It has everything to do with what we choose. Love, on the bottom line, is a decision. That’s why Jesus said we’re to “love our enemies”. This is not an impossible demand. It would be impossible if He said we’re to “like” our enemies. “Like is a feeling; love is a choice.

So choosing to do what’s right and good, day in and day out, can be exhausting. Or we see so few results from our good choices that we “lose heart”.

Paul says, “Be patient. Don’t lose heart.” There’s coming a day when “we shall reap”. If not here, in space and time, we’ll reap there — in the kingdom of Heaven. God is no man’s debtor.

Keep at it!

Key Verse: Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”

Free means free — without qualifications. That’s why Paul says, in this discussion of freedom (vv.1-18), that “indulging the sinful nature” (v.13) is an option available to the truly liberated. But there is a strong caution here. And it relates to the “libertines” (Gnostics) I mentioned in the introduction.

The Gnostics separated the world of matter from the world of spirit. They believed that all things material (including flesh and blood) were evil. This is why they had an erroneous view of Jesus — “how can Jesus, the Son of God (perfect in everything) take on flesh which is imperfect and unholy?” they asked, in effect. Therefore, Jesus must have been an illusion in terms of His humanity: “He could not have been born of a woman”. So they spiritualized Jesus and “dehumanized” Him. He became a kind of “super-angel” but not “God in flesh”.

This had a profound impact on their morality. Because their bodies (and all matter) were evil, all that could be expected of their flesh was evil. Thus, they  indulged their fleshly appetites with impurity while, at the same time, “soaring to the heavenliness” in their spirituality. Inwardly they were “angels”, outwardly they were “devils”; all because they saw themselves as “free” in Christ Jesus.

So here you had the antithesis of legalism. Paul took issue with it as much as he did with his Judaizing “brethren”. The issue of freedom, as Paul presents it, is not how much we get out of it, but how much we give because of it. We’re not only to “serve on another in love” (v.13) because of it, but we’re also to understand that “the only thing that counts in faith expressing itself through love” (v.6).

Key Verse: Galatians 4:9 “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?”

Paul’s discussion about the role of law and faith, as they relate to righteousness, continues. He reminds his readers that the promise God made to Abraham preceded the law given to Moses by 430 years (v.17). God, “in His grace”, gave a promise to Abraham (v.18), and it takes priority over any subsequent introduction or qualification of law. The law was introduced purely because those who were inheritors of the promise were so sinful (v.19). it established the standard — a standard which was unreachable, even if it did (in human terms) reflect the awesome status and expected behaviour of those who were heirs of the covenant.

However, the law also introduced despair — for none could measure up. It showed us our moral bankruptcy and eroded hope.  But therein lay its genius. In exposing our spiritual poverty, there law “led us to Christ that we might be justified by  faith” (v.24). In Christ, we who believe are seen as sons of God rather than slaves of law. There is no discriminatory factors — Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female are all meaningless distinctions; we have become “heirs” of God.

Jesus the Son, “born of a woman, born under law” (v.4), came to “redeem those under law”, in order that all who believe in Him might “receive the full rights of sons” (v.5). We are now sons and heirs and out relationship with God the Father is so personal and intimate that we can call Him “Abba” (Hebrew for “Daddy”).

So it’s not a case of performance of law determining our relationship with and knowledge of God. Rather, it’s a case of God’s grace, God’s initiative and God’s knowledge of us. There is liberation in the knowledge that we are “”known by God”.

Key Verse: Galatians 3:6 “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'” (NIV)

The key verse occurs in a context that stretches from chapter three, verse one to chapter four, verse seven. The discussion is about the role of law and faith as they relate to righteousness. And remember, Paul’s readers are Gentiles.

As I said in the introduction, there were two competing faction in the Galatian churches, both undermining Paul’s work: the legalists (Judaizers) and the libertines (Gnostics). Most of Paul’s counterattack, however, is against the legalists.

He comes on strong, wondering how the Galatian Christians could have been “bewitched” (v.1) by the legalists. They were actually beginning to believe they had to be circumcised and obey they ceremonial law in order to be accepted by God. Paul asks them a fundamental question: “Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? . . . After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (v.2,3). He then goes back beyond the lawgiver (Moses) to Abraham,  “the man of faith”. The point he makes is clear and powerful, “those who believe are children of Abraham” (v.7); and this does include the Gentiles because God’s promise to Abraham was, “All nations will be blessed through you” (v.8).

He calls the law “a curse”. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s good — so good, in fact, that no one can measure up, and all are thereby “cursed”, not blessed, by its uprightness.

The only way to righteousness is if someone takes the curse of the law upon Himself in our place. That has happened, in Christ (v.13,14). So we put our faith in Him, and the cure becomes a blessing. More than blessed, we are redeemed by belief in Christ. We believe, and the righteousness demanded by the law ours — all because of faith in Jesus.

Key Verse: Galatians 2:10 “They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.”

The first ten verses of this chapter ideal with Paul’s acceptance as an apostle by the leadership in Jerusalem. The discussion actually begins in chapter one, verse 11. In verses 15 and 16, he speaks of his conversion and then, three years later, going upon to Jerusalem “to get acquainted with Peter” (b.18). The “fourteen years later” of 2:1 probably refers to fourteen years after that visit to Peter. He went up to Jerusalem again to “set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles” (v.2)

Paul’s ministry was under scrutiny for a few reasons. One was that the idea of preaching the gospel of the Jewish Messiah to Gentiles seemed irrelevant and out of context. Another reason was related to become a Christian he first of all had to become a Jew (and be circumcised).  These “Judaizers” were also adamant about kosher law and other rituals and ceremonial concerns which Paul appeared to be flouting. The Jerusalem leadership therefore wanted to carefully check Paul’s credentials. And he passed the test.

The three key leaders, “James, Peter, and John”, gave Paul and Barnabas “the right hand of fellowship” and “agreed that [they] should go to the Gentiles” (v.9). But they had one key concern. It was not a doctrinal concern but social: “they asked that we should continue to remember the poor.” When you get right down to it, concern for the needs of the poor is the foundational material of a balanced ministry. Ivory towers, philosophizing, and preaching to the converted all are neutralized by a prior concern for the poor. Preach to the poor, love the poor, meet their needs. Do this, and the Gospel will come alive and achieve balance.

Key Verse: Galatians 1:11 “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.”

The new Archbishop of Canterbury is a remarkably refreshing man who believes in “the physical resurrection of Christ” and calls the 1990’s the “decade of evangelism”. I called his office just after his election to see if I could arrange an interview and was told, “The Bishop has decided he will give no interviews to the media until after he actually becomes Archbishop. People were treating him as if he were already in office, and that would have been discomforting to the present Archbishop.” It seemed this new man was highly regarded.

If the Apostle Paul were alive today, he’d probably wrestle a bit with envy. Rather than bask in high regard, he was constantly under attack from would-be apostles and false teachers. His credibility was forever being questioned and he was forced to defend himself and his ministry again and again.

So, as he begins the letter to the Galatians, he’s at it again: “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead),…” He’s stressing the exclusive nature of his calling as contrasted to other teachers who were “perverting the gospel of Christ” (v.8). These men were obviously making headway with the Galatians (v.6, 7a), so much so that Paul its prepared to consign them to eternal damnation (v.9).

He sees in these false teachers a false gospel that is merely a man-made fabrication. And he’s angry that they are having such success with his congregations. So Paul speaks out forcefully. He reminds them that the gospel he preached to them was not the product of fabrication but of revelation. It is superior to anything else, and its source is none other than Jesus Christ Himself (v.12). The revealed Word of God must always take priority over the constructed word of man.