We Truly Are A Blessed People

Sermon Notes

Galatians 3:1–9 (NLT)

1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.

2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.

3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”

9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

Galatians 3:1–9 NKJV

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

“While the records of these books are inspired, they reveal God’s dealings in a period before inspiration. Anything known of God and His ways, any revelation in this period is evidence of a great work of God to make His truth known. The knowledge of Job and his companions about God and His ways is proof that prior to written Scripture God had revealed Himself in definite form.” John Walvoord - 2. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament | Bible.org

“Throughout this period, also, God saw fit to reveal Himself directly to His prophets and speak through them. Only a fragment of their spoken message has been preserved. The methods of revelation indicated in Genesis as God spoke to men from Adam down are not essentially changed throughout the Old Testament. While the written Word had its primary purpose in preserving revelation in infallible accuracy for future generations, direct revelation had to do largely with contemporary problems and need for truth and guidance which would later be afforded by the completed written Word.” John Walvoord - 2. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament | Bible.org

What is Paul teaching in this passage? What are some observations?

Paul asks a series of questions.

Who bewitched you?

Bewitched = decieved by crafty means.

to not obey the truth.

2. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

The answer to this is the latter.

They recieved the Holy Spirit not by obeying the law of Moses.

They recieved the Holy Spirit by their faith in Paul’s message of grace.

3. Have you been made perfect by the flesh?

There is no benefit for a Christian to subject themselves to rules at the expense of God’s grace.

Could there ever be an alternate way to experience the move of the Holy Spirit in a Christians life out side of God’s grace? Absolutely Not!!

4. Have you suffered so many things in vain?

Examples of persecution for the church is found in Acts 14:2, 5; Acts 14:19, 22

Acts 14:22 NLT

22 where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

b. Paul understood suffering more than most.

5. Did the Father give you His Spirit by the law or by His Spirit?

By grace through faith we have our inheritence.

Those of the faith are children of God.

Sermon Outline

The most effective Christians are usually the ones who live in their faith not live out.

If you had to ask the person who lives in their faith, who their best friend in the world is? They would without hesitation say Jesus.

Why? Because they spend regular time talking with Him and loving Him.

If you asked the person who lives out their faith, they would say Jesus is a friend but he would be low on the priority list.

To live in your faith is to live in the boundries of the relationship that one has with Jesus.

To live out your faith is to live out of those boundries of intimacy but live within the walls of projection. How can we best project ourselves even though we have no intimate relationship with Jesus.

When Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians, He preached to them the grace of God opposed to the Judiazers that pushed the Law of Moses.

So it became a concern to him when he heard that they had left the grace of God to pursue the law.

what does one get when they pursue the law? Judgment!

What does one get when they recieve Christ by faith? Forgiveness! Redemption! Salvation! Adoption. and the list goes on.

All Paul was asking of the believers in Galatia, was to go back to what made them blessed. The Grace of God!

He gives three reasons why we would best live under God’s grace:

Under grace you have been perfected in Christ. (1-3)

Under grace you have been empowered for every good work. (5)

Under grace you have been made righteous. (6)

Under grace you have been God’s blessed children. (8-9)