Holy Spirit - Who am I Gal. 3.26-4.7

Who am I? The Holy Spirit’s Assurance       Galatians 3:26-4:7            February 15, 2009

How fast can you say the Lord’s Prayer? I can’t help laughing in some churches overseas where it is part of the liturgy and people actually race to get through it – who can finish first? But the first words – “Our Father” – are enough to stop us in our tracks: God, Holy and Almighty, Judge and Ruler of the Universe, my Father? Really?

Imagine you were like one of those kids in war torn countries who have been separated from their fathers as infants and grew up in refugee camps. And now you’re a teen and your mother is introducing this stranger to you as your father. How long would it take before you could call him Dad? How long would it take for you to feel like he was your dad?

I’d like to look at this text and see how God convinces us that we are His children and He our Father.

I.                    For background I’d like to do a lightening quick look at this complex passage.

       A.            These gentile believers in Galatia were being bothered by “Judaizers.” People were telling these Gentiles that they had to become Jews and follow the Law of Moses to experience the benefits of Christ Jesus’ promises. (1:6-9 etc.)

           1.            Paul says, no, don’t fall for that because being made right before God – justified – is by faith in Christ’s work and not by keeping the law (3:21)

           2.            The Law could point out our sinfulness (3:19 mg.), diagnose that we have a spiritual problem but not cure it (3:21). It was like a thermometer which can tell you that you have a fever – but can’t cure it.

           3.            So the Law made us hungry for a cure (3:24). But sacrificing bulls and goats never changed hearts; and priests sprinkling holy water didn’t wash away guilt, but they pointed to the real sacrifice who did take away our sins, to Jesus Christ.

        B.            Why would anyone fall for this? It’s because we tend to think this way.

           1.            Ok, I’m a Christian, what are the rules? You won’t be sorry you let me join your church; I’ll keep the rules and make Christ and all of you really proud of me!

           2.            So 4:3 –refers to the Galatians as well as the Jews (see 4:8,9). The elements– could be spiritual beings, principles, or pagan gods and the rules and tradition connected with them which they obeyed hoping for a reward. (Col. 2:20-23).  

           3.            Instead of a relationship with God Himself, they only knew the things He had made – and they worshipped, feared, prayed to these things.

II.                 “But now” (3:25) everything has changed.

       A.            3:24 -26 – A legal change has occurred: slaves have been adopted as sons.

           1.            Everyone who came to faith has been clothed themselves with Christ” (27) – that’s all that matters now - no past sin which stained or tore our clothes, no racial heritage, no age or sex differences matter. We all are dressed the same, all belong to Christ Jesus.

           2.            3:28 So without distinction all taste the blessings of Christ. Some refused to eat with Gentiles – it would make them dirty, unholy; even today some don’t get this and look down on races and castes; some look down on the young, some on women, others on men.

           3.            In the ancient world, the Pharisees who prayed, “I thank God I am not a Gentile or a woman,” now have egg on their faces, because all are admitted to the family of God on the same basis – by faith in Christ.

        B.            4:4, 5. And this took place at a particular point in history.

           1.            This is not just an idea someone had, “Hey, Let’s start thinking of God as our Father!” But “In the fullness of time,” when God was ready, Christ was born.

           2.            (4:5) And He put Himself “under the Law” like us. And He was appointed the perfect sacrifice which paid the penalty demanded by the Law for us all.

           3.            3:28, 29 Now we are Abraham’s children. Jew or Gentile, all have been “adopted” into the family of God! Like parents adopting children, God has legally taken us to into His family and pledged Himself to us to love and care for us and be our Father forever.

III.               But is that the end of the story?

       A.            The Legal adoption is just one part of the story.

           1.            My nephew calls me from time to time for help with his chemistry. Every time I hear his voice I think back to when he was a baby.

           2.            My sister and her husband had completed all the rigmarole to get qualified to adopt. And they traveled to India to the orphanage to complete the process. They wanted to one child, but they saw these two boys, twins, lying in the crib staring up at them with their big eyes.

           3.            They fell in love, I guess, and decided to make them a part of their family. There was a lot more paperwork, visas and other documents to complete. But at the end, they legally adopted them into their family. They were their sons! It was done.

           4.            But life had not changed for the boys one bit! They were adopted, but they were in the same cribs, their little heads bald on the back because they were never moved and the pillows worn the hair off the back of their scalps! They dealt with the same workers, ate the same food, slept in the same bed, stared at the same ceiling.

           5.            The legal transaction made no difference till they felt the arms of their new parents picking them up; till they were brought to their new home, into a whole new world. Now they knew they were sons!

        B.            And that brings us to 4:6 –“Because you are sons…” God sends His Spirit.

           1.            Yes, when you came to faith in Christ you became children of God (3:26). But the way we experience this is through the Holy Spirit. We can know “fatherhood” as a truth, but to know God as my Father requires God the Spirit whispering the news directly to your heart. Do you hear His voice?

           2.            So the Holy Spirit whispers in us and through us, “Abba, Father.” Abba is Aramaic for father, dad or daddy – an intimate term that Jesus used (“My Father”) taught His disciples to use. Go ahead, call Him “Our Father.”

       C.            And the Holy Spirit echoes this in our hearts. Here’s some of the blessings of the Spirit’s work in our heart:

           1.            The legal, objective truth of who we are in Christ is brought to our experience through the Holy Spirit.

a.       Martin Lloyd Jones paints a picture: imagine a man walking with his little girl, holding hands. She knows he is her father and that he loves her and she’s lost in her thoughts. All of a sudden, the dad swoops up the girl, hugs her tight to himself, kisses her face. She’s all smiles – not because she is more of a daughter now, not because her status has changed. But now she has an enjoyment and delight in being her father’s daughter.

b.       So the Holy Spirit brings the delight and joy of being a child of the King into our hearts as a present reality.

           2.            The Spirit reminds us we are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters (4:1-3).

a.       4:1-3 says as long as we just followed rules we were like servants or slaves – just do your job and expect a reward for it! And some still live like that!

b.       And so we compete. One Christian looks at another, “Why is God blessing her? I’m a much better slave than she is!” So envy, jealousy and competition infect our relationships. Life is a zero sum game: If God blesses him, then He’s got less for me!

c.       But the Holy Spirit reminds us, “Hey, you’re a daughter! You’re a son – everything is yours – all blessings in heaven (Eph. 1), every good thing! He’s your father and He loves you.”

           3.            The Spirit reminds us we’re sons and not just sinners.

a.       The trouble with being a rule keeper is that you’ll always fail at some point. So you try to outdo others to get that “A” or just give up. But you won’t experience God’s Father love. Rules only bring condemnation. But the Spirit says, “He’s not an examiner! This isn’t a test. It’s your father - Abba!”

b.       We’re like the Prodigal son, thinking of all our sins and failures we say “I don’t deserve to be a son, just make me a servant.” But – remember? - the father hugged him and kissed his neck and welcomed him as his son!  It must have been an amazing, heart melting experience.

c.       And that’s what the Spirit does in our hearts. Someone has called the Spirit the “Father’s Kiss.” When we feel far as failures and sinners, the Spirit hugs us and says, “It’s your father! Call me Abba, Papa, Dad.” http://www.kaleochurch.com/sermon/galatians-326-47

       D.            It is so easy to recite the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father…” But the prayer is transformed when the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts.

           1.            The Holy Spirit adds, wonder, joy and gratitude to those words– like an adopted boy who has never been able to call anyone dad and now, finally at his new home, feeling a lump in his throat he calls him “dad”. And then it feels so grand that he uses it over and over.

           2.            Have you experienced that? (4:6) “Because you ARE sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into YOUR heart crying “Abba, Father!” May the Father’s embrace – His kiss –  fill us with joy and delight. Amen.