Galatians 3:26-29
Intro: The
Christians in the region of Galatia had been duped into believing that they
needed to add the law to their faith in Christ
A)Here in Ch.3 – Paul Challenges them on this Pt. – Having begun in the Spirit are you now going to be made
complete thru the flesh?
B) It was a good
question – and Paul spends the rest of the Ch. Showing why it is impossible to be made complete thru the law
C)Now At the end of our last study – we answered the
Question asked in v.19 – What then is the
purpose of the law – noted 3 things
1)V. 22 – The law was a
Policemen – arrest us – left us confined or imprisoned by sin
D) V.23 The law
Guarded us – Protective custody – Guarded us from our selves – total
Debauchery
1) V. 24 The
Law was a Tutor to tell us what to do
& what not to do
25 But after faith has come, we
are no longer under a tutor.
E)When we came to faith in Christ – thing Changed
for us – that is what Paul goes into now – Beginning in v.26 of Ch.3 –
1)
Today
we want to look at the Blessings of being in Christ [RD v.26-29]
1st
– In Christ we are Sons of God v.26
A)God is no longer our Judge who thru the law has
condemned us and imprisoned us – we no longer fear Him & dread the
punishment we deserve
B) God is now our FATHER whom we love because He has
– has Redeemed us / forgiven us/
AND accepted us /
1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1)
The
manner of Love – that God has bestowed on us :
D) Note this: John could have said – Behold what
manner of Love the King has bestowed on His Subjects / Master …..Servants / Judge ….forgiven
1)Teacher his students - all of those would have been appropriate – but that is not what
he says – He says – Father …. Children: Father kind of Love
Now there are many traits
that we could key in our about a
Fathers love – I want to briefly mention 5 #1 Love that speaks of Protection :
A)Amanda 7
bad dream ends up in our bed next to me / amazed at how
quickly she falls asleep ( I don’t ) rest , sense of
protection fathers arms
B) That
is how it is with the Lord – there is a rest in the mist of the storm whenever
we come to Him – We find safety & security in his arms !!!
Ps 18:2 The LORD is my
rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my
strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and
the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
#2 Love that takes pleasure in it’s Children: School play who are your eyes on? Who is your focus ( Did you see my son/
daughter )
A)Max
Lucado God is
a proud papa Frig picture: wallet - photo
B)#3 Love that speaks of acceptance :
1)Think about when a baby is
born - honest - most are kind of ugly - but to that parent gorgeous
1.) “He
is so beautiful” - no he
isn’t - maternal love
- that’s my girl
C) Never seen parents hold a conference: should
we keep it !
Nor do they lay out a
Criteria :
1) When my daughter Amanda was
born I didn’t sit down & say now if
you are going to be a Salvato certain rules of house need to abide by
D)When She was born & she was in ! Born again? Your in !
A)In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Derek Redmond of
the US was favored win 400 meter race!
B) But Halfway through semifinal heat, fiery pain
seared through right let - crumpled to track with torn hamstring
1) As medical attendants approaching - Redmond fought
to his feet Pushing away coaches - medical people - determined to finish race!
C) When he reached the home stretch, a big man
wearing a t-shirt read "Have you
hugged your child today?"& a
hat that challenged Just do it 1)Fought through crowd
and security on to track the man was
Derek's Dad
C)"You don't have to do this?" - he told his weeping
son! "Yes, I do" Derek
said I have to finish the race .
1) Well
then, Dad said - We are going to finish together
D)And w/ his arm around his
son the two finished the race together in what was one of the most touching
moments in Olympic History !
In one sense that is like what the heavenly Father did for
us - saw us crumpled on the track
A.) Unsuccessful
- in trying to keep law / to do right / fallen short/ down
Not a
prayer in the world of finishing the race - let alone winning!
B.)He, in His love; compassion sent His son/ to win
it for us / to pick us up & to even carry us at times toward the finish
line !
1)And as we continue to run the race of life - given
H.S. come along side!
C) So its a love that peaks of Protection/ Takes Pleasure in /
….of
acceptance / Says I’ll be there/ #5 A love that never gives up!
1)
Story
of the Prodigal Saw him a long way off
“
That dad Didn’t give up on his son coming home !!!!
D) Some here today: Don’t give up continue to Pray
…..
So in Christ we have an incredible standing w/ God – Sons &
daughters
A)The standing is impressive. It is a place of closeness, a place of
affection, a place of special care and attention
B)But wait someone might ask isn’t every human being
a Child of God?
Answer is No
1) See God is the Creator of every Human being – but
He is only the Father of those who have placed their faith in Christ – Adopted into His Family
C) So unless a person comes to faith in Christ – God
will forever remain that persons – Creator & also
His Judge /
1)
It
is only when we come to faith in Christ – God’s plan of salvation that we moved
from Created & condemned to Sons & daughters
D) Now lets consider the 2nd Blessing we
see here in our text for being in Christ !!!!
2nd
Blessing of being in Christ is that we are Covered by Christ
27 For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
A)Now notice that Paul doesn’t say you were baptized into water, but baptized
into Christ.
B) A lot of people don’t realize that the Bible speaks of several types of Baptisms :
1) Water baptism:
Something a person does after they have put their faith in Christ: water
Baptism is an outward sign of inward commitment to Christ
C.) Acts 2 Baptism with the Holy Spirit : Holy Spirit comes upon us in order to empowers us
to serve & be witnesses for Christ
1) Baptism with fire - 1 Peter 1:7,8 - Purifying of faith when
tested goes through fire/ become more like Christ
D) Baptism of
suffering Mt 20:22-23 - Identify with Christ in fellowship of His sufferings - draws us closer to Him
Baptism into body of Christ - 1 Cor 12:13 - When saved - emersed into family of God
A)That is what Paul is speaking of here when he says that we have been Baptized into Christ - being Baptized or brought into the body of Christ
B)Just as in water baptism a person is immersed in
water, so when we place our faith in Christ
Jesus, we are immersed in Jesus.
C) It should be noted
that this is the baptism that really
saves us: our immersion into Jesus.
1)
If a person isn’t baptized into Christ, they could be dunked a
thousand times into water, and it would make no eternal difference.
D) But when a person comes to Faith in Christ they are
immersed into Jesus Completely covered by Jesus
The stress
here is on our identity in Jesus
through faith.
A)We aren’t simply
associated with Jesus; we are identified in Him. If He is a Son of God, so are we.
B) If He stands
righteous before God the Father, so do we.
If He has free access to the throne of God, so do we.
1)
If He has victory over
spiritual powers of darkness, so do we.
We aren’t associated with Jesus; we are in Jesus.
C) How many Christians
seem content with just “dipping a bit” into Jesus! 1) God wants us to be fully immersed in Jesus; not sprinkled, not just
a part of us dipped.
D)When a person is
immersed in water, you don’t even see the person much anymore – you mostly see
the water.
1)When we LIVE like we
have been baptized
into Christ, you don’t see so much of “me” anymore; you mostly see
Jesus. – The Goal
E)Another
way of expressing our immersion in Jesus is to say that we
have put on Christ.
1) In the original
language, the phrase has the idea of putting
on a suit of clothes. So we “clothe
ourselves” with Jesus as our identity.
The 3rd Blessing that is ours for being in Christ – Is that
in Christ we are all one IN CHRIST 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
A)In Christ we
belong not only to God as His Sons & Daughters – but we belong to each
other as brothers & Sisters
B) And we belong to each other in such a way as to
render of no account things which normally distinguish us namely race, rank
& gender
C) The Pharisee would
pray each morning, "I thank YOU , God, that I am a Jew, not a Gentile; a
man, not a woman; and a freeman, and not a slave."
1) Yet all of these distinctions are removed "in
Christ"
D)Paul makes reference
to 3 areas of distinction that were prevalent in their culture
#1 there is no Distinction of
Race : There is neither Jew nor Greek
A)God Chose to live in a
special relationship w/ Abe and his descendants
B)But when Christ came –
God’s promise was fulfilled that in Abraham’s seed ALL THE FAMILIES of the earth would be blessed
1)
That includes every
race / color / language – We are all EQUAL
C)Equal in our need of Salvation / Equal in our
inability to earn or deserve it and Equal in the fact that God offers it to us
freely in Christ
1) Once we have received it our equality is transformed
into Fellowship – the Brotherhood which only Christ can create
D) SO #1 There is no
distinction of Race -
#2 There is no distinction of rank: There is neither slave / nor free
A) Nearly every society in the history of the world has
developed its class system.
1)
Circumstances of birth
& wealth, privilege & education have always divided people
B) But in Christ those
Divisions don’t Exist:
1) There is not a upper
class / Middle class or lower class in Christ- We are all on an equal plane
!!!!
C) SINNERS
SAVED BY GRACE !!!!!
#3 There is no distinction of Gender – there is neither male nor female
A)In the
ancient world & even in some places today – women are considered to be second class citizens
B)In recognizing
believing women as the full spiritual equals of believing men, Christianity
elevated women to a status they had never known before
C) Jesus himself elevated woman – One Great illustration of this is in Jn 4 – Jesus
has a special meeting with a woman at a well in Samaria
1) 1st
She was a Samaritan ………./ 2nd a woman – talked to her / first
revealed that he was the messiah
D) SO Christianity
elevated the role of women – But important to understand – there is an order to
God’s equality
1)
In matters of rule in
the home and in the church God has established the headship of men.
E) But in the dimension of spiritual possessions and
privilege there is absolutely no difference.
So the 3rd blessing is that there are no Distinctions in the body of
Christ
4th
Blessing that we receive for being in Christ is that we are Heirs of the
Promised Inheritance v.29
And
if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.
A)If we are in
Christ – we are linked to Abe – his seed – sons & daughters of faith – and
Heirs according to the Promise
B) Paul in Rom 8:15-17 15 For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out,"Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children,
then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
C) God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ the "heir
of all things" (Heb 1:2), and because we are fellow heirs with Him,
1) we are destined to
receive all that He receives!
AMAZING
Now
Here on earth when a Father dies & leaves an inheritance to his Children
most of the time each heir receives an
equal share of an inheritance, each gets only a certain fraction of the whole
amount.
A)But heaven is not
under such limits, God's resources are limitless
so our spiritual inheritance is limitless
B) And as Joint Heirs
with Christ - we
share in everything that the true Son of God, inherits.
1) Everything that
Christ receives by divine right, we will receive by divine grace.
C)
Eph. 1:3 Paul exulted, Eph. 1:3 "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,...
D) Notice the Has
Blessed us – Present tense meaning – we start sharing in the blessing of these
things right now !!!! [Fullness in Heaven]
Guys
it is Clear to see that IN CHRIST – we are incredibly blessed – why then would
anyone want to put themselves back under the law
A)And in doing so FORFEIT the wonderful blessings that are available to us IN CHRIST
B) The question that each one of us need to answer today is this: Are we in Christ
1)
The issue is not “Are
you under the law?” The issue is not
“Are you a Jew or a Gentile?” The issue
is not “Are you slave or free?”
C) The issue is not “Are
you a man or a woman?” The only issue
is are you
In Christ- Has your life been IMMERSED into HIM?
See It
is belonging to Jesus that sets us free from each place Paul said the law put
us.
A) “We are neither
prisoners, awaiting the final execution of our sentence, nor children, under
the restraint of a tutor,
B)But sons of God and
heirs of His glorious kingdom,
C) Listen: If we are Christ’s, then . . .
· We find our place in eternity, because we are sons and
daughters of God.
·
We find our place
in society, because we are
brothers and sisters in the
family of God.
·
We find our place in history, because we are part of God’s plan
of the
ages, related spiritually to Abraham by
our faith in Jesus.
D) It enables me
to answer the most basic of all human questions,
‘Who am I?’
ANS ‘In Christ I am a son of God.
1)
In Christ I am united
to all the redeemed people of God, past, present, and future. In Christ I
discover my identity.
E)Answers the Question
Where Am I going ? What is awaiting me – Heaven & an inheritance in Glory
!!!
1)Are you
IN CHRIST TODAY? REJOICE / if not – why? How about now