Day 83 - Galatians 3:26 - Colossians 4:18

In today's section, we read:

• the second half of Paul's letter to the Galatians
• Paul's letter to the Ephesians - glory, grace and the armour of God
• Paul's letter to the Philippians - the joy, peace and humility of Christ
• Paul's letter to the Colossians - Christ in whom everything holds and comes together

Some thoughts that occurred to me today:

The main outline of Galatians:

• There is only one gospel and Paul is shocked that the Galatians are choosing to follow a different message that is not based on grace
• The message of grace Paul taught comes directly from Christ, who appointed him to be the apostle to the gentiles
• The law cannot save people - salvation only comes through faith. The law was a guardian for us until Christ came, and came via Moses, whereas God gave his promise directly to Abraham, whose true heirs we are
• God makes us his children through the promise by faith and according to his grace, not by anything we can do
• The illustration of Hagar and Sarah reminds us of the futility of human attempts to be made right by God by human actions, rather than faith in God's promise to us
• Christ has set us free, so let us live as free people belonging to God. Let the Holy Spirit lead us and guide us and produce a godly character in our lives, as opposed to the sinful nature that was what we were when slaves to the law and sin and death
• Keep going and don't give up. Remain true to the message of grace and trust only in the cross of Christ where our freedom was bought.

I find the picture of us being adopted children of the promise so rich and what it entails is so fantastic, and the metaphor of Hagar and Sarah is very helpful in reminding me that it all comes from God, not from anything that I can do.

5:5-6 - "But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love."

5:13 - "For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."

5:24-25 follows the contrast between the fruit of our sinful nature and the life of the Spirit - "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives."

6:6 - "Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them."

6:9-10 - "let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith."

6:14-15 - "As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation."

The main outline of Ephesians:

• God had a plan - to bring everything under Christ, to unite us with Christ and to adopt us into his family because of Jesus, and let us share in that glorious inheritance. The purpose of this plan was that we should give him praise and glory.
• Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father - the place of honour - and has authority over all things, in this world and the world to come
• God has done it all. He has raised us from being spiritually dead to being alive in Christ, through his grace. It is absolutely nothing to do with anything we have done
• We have been made to do good works that God has long had planned for us (indeed he planned our salvation long in advance), and he has made us citizens of the kingdom of heaven and we, the believers together, are a temple where God makes his dwelling place
• All this has been revealed now to the gentiles as well as the Jews, so that all can share equally in this
• Since this plan is for all alike, equally, Paul urges us to maintain that unity, and live together as children of this plan/promise. We should live in the light as children of the light, not as those who live in the darkness and whose lives are full of sinful behaviour
• The Spirit should guide all our behaviour and our relationships, which should be governed by an awareness of where we stand in relation to Christ
• Finally, we are urged to stand firm, relying on everything that God gives us (the armour of God)

Reading the beginning of Ephesians, I was struck by the fact that God has planned everything for us in advance, and everything that happens is in order to fulfil that plan, all for his praise and glory. Reading this, it is impossible to come to any other conclusion than that everything starts and comes from God. There is nothing that we can do to earn it, but we can receive this by faith and live out our lives in accordance with it - 2:8-10, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

2:14 - "Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us." 2:17-18, "He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us."

2:20-22 - "Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit."

4:4-6 - "For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all."

4:14-16 - "Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."

4:23-24 - "let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."

5:19 - "making music to your Lord in your hearts."

6:13 - "put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." 6:18 - "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."

The main outline of Philippians:

• Paul gives thanks for the Philippian believers who have been partners with him in spreading the good news and rejoices that the message is being preached
• Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ, who though God, humbled himself and died on a cross for our sakes, and who has been elevated to the place of highest honour
• We are called to shine brightly in a crooked and depraved world
• Knowing Christ is the only thing that matters. Everything else should be considered as worthless as we press on towards the goal to which God calls us, which is being united with him forever as citizens of heaven
• We are not to worry about anything since God provides and strengthens us

1:6 - "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

2:3-4 - "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too."

I found 2:13 such an encouragement - "God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." Although my sinful nature is so strong, God is working through his Spirit to change my desires.

3:7-9 - "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith."

3:13-14 - "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

4:6-7 - "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

4:8 - "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

4:12-13 - "I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength."

The main outline of Colossians:

• Christ is supreme over everything in heaven and on earth, and has called is to share in his inheritance, having bought our freedom and reconciled us to himself
• This message of reconciliation had been hidden through centuries, but has now been revealed to all people. It is a message of freedom from rules, and new life in Christ who cancelled out all our sins on the cross
• Since our new life is hidden in Christ, we should live in accordance with this new reality, choosing to be holy and letting the truth about Christ fill us in everything we do.

1:6 - "This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace."

1:15-16 - "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth."

1:19-20 - "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross."

1:26-27 - "This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory."

2:13-15 - "You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."

3:1-4 - "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory." Our life is hidden with Christ - only He can control it and take it away, nothing else can.

4:5-6 - "Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone."

One verse from today - "Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us" (Col 3:11)