Galatians Part 8
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Next Steps 103
Recap
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Chapter one of Galatians we see Paul prove his authority, position, mission and message
In chapter 2 Paul began to deal a lot with justification
When we understand that justification is the gracious act of God by which God declares sinners righteous solely through faith in Jesus Christ
Week 4 we began in chapter 3. We talked about there being 3 big mountains to climb
Paul began that journey by talking about the covenant that God made with Abraham
It was a covenant of blessings by God because of Abraham’s faith seen through radical obedience
And then we looked at the Mosaic covenant
We saw the differences between it and the Abrahamic covenant but also discussed how they were not meant to contradict one another but to complement one another
And ultimately this covenant of the law was meant to show us that we can not do it on our own
And so we need someone to rescue us
And then we saw that someone is Jesus
That Christ comes not to do away with the old covenants but to fulfill them.
we talked about how He does that and why He does that.
And one of those primary reasons that Christ comes and sheds His blood for the sins of the world is so that we may be adopted into His family.
And so last week we talked about the doctrine of adoption.
That we may be called a child of God
That God may hold the title in our lives as Father.
We spent most of our time discussing the difference between justification and adoption
And also, how Christ fulfills all necessary requirements
His timing is perfect
His qualifications are more than enough
And His determination and passion is right
So, because all of these are true we are now adopted into God’s family
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free, male or female.
When we put our faith in Christ, we are all one
This morning I want to talk about the privileges of adoption
And so we are going to continue in the same section we were in last week.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Pray
The doctrine of adoption
Now, we talked about this last week right?
But there’s two sides to this coin
The one doing the adopting and the one being adopted
So last week we saw how Christ does it
How He fulfills all proper requirement
So now the other side.
What about those that are adopted by Christ?
maybe a big question is why would he do it?
What is its purpose?
What are its privileges?
The reality is just like justification is not the end of the gospel
Being adopted into the family of God is just the beginning of life for us
In the same way you wouldn’t go through a long difficult adoption process until the moment that child is officially yours and then go “ok we did it. That’s the end.”
Now the rest of that child’s life can begin
Now they must learn what it means to be your son or daughter
They must learn your routines
They must learn your tendencies
They must experience the security they now have in you
They must experience life with you as their parent
In the same way, Christ has adopted us, and that is really good news but now we have to learn what that means for us
We must learn how to find our new life as a child of God
We must learn how to experience all that Christ intends for us
The reality of a life with Christ is that it is just that
It’s a lifetime of pursuing, finding, learning, loving Christ
Christianity is not: “say a prayer one time and now you won’t go to hell.”
If the only goal of Christianity is for us to be free from hell then the moment we receive Christ we would vanish and end up in heaven
But the reality of our religion is that God doesn’t just have something we are working toward, He has things He wants for us here and now
Here in this very moment, in 2022, God has called you to experience Him
We don’t have to wait to get to heaven
Yes we will experience Him in a greater glory there but we can begin to scratch the surface here and now
Our status is found in our adoption, our life is found in our Father.
The more we pursue Him, the more we know Him, the more we die to self and live for Him the more we find life
So what does this look like?
First Gal 3:27 says that we are baptized into Christ
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
#1 As a child of God we obtain a new identity
We have water baptisms here at Cornerstone
And if you’ve given your life to Christ but have never been baptized we would love to walk you through that
It’s a beautiful picture
But water baptism is symbolic of this
When I was baptized, I was declaring to God and before the church that I am dying to self and I am being raised in Christ as a new creation, as a child of God
It is no longer Jeret who lives, but Christ in me
It is my obedient step in declaring that I have been transformed by God
Does it mean I am perfect now, no. It simply means that my identity is not found in this world, it is found in Christ and Christ alone
When we are adopted, we are given a new identity, we are called into something different, to be someone different.
#2 As a child of God we are covered with Christ
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Once we have been baptized, then we are clothed
There’s some imagery being used here
It’s putting on Christ like a garment
In the OT culture when you passed out of childhood into manhood and received your full rights as a Son you would literally put on different clothes
In the same sense, when we are adopted by God, we take off the old self, and we put on the new.
Which is found only in Christ
He comes and He covers us
And He comes and unites us
Because He is covering us, we all look the same.
We all are the same
There’s nothing to divide us anymore
Paul essentially says, “there’s no more racial barriers, no more social barriers, and no more gender barriers.”
We have been found in Christ and united in Christ.
#3 YOU BELONG
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So we saw that because we are adopted we enjoy a new identity with Christ but there’s something else that Paul is getting at here
You aren’t just some rag-doll kid that gets thrown in for the ride?
You don’t pray a prayer and hope that it works
You aren’t just on the outside looking in
You belong because of Christ
And so with this belonging comes an opportunity
Not only do we get to enjoy a new identity with Christ but also get to enjoy intimacy with Christ
6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
We get to call God, “Abba, Father.”
This was a phrase that indicated intimacy
It was a phrase that most of the religious elitest didn’t like much because there view of God was more that He was way up there and untouchable and unreachable.
To call Him Abba Father would be to use an every day phrase to denote intimacy with Him
Paul was showing the Galatians this truth
If we remember in chapter 3 paul says
23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Apart from Christ we are held prisoners by the law.
Locked up
Held captive
But as Sons and daughters something changes
Instead of being held captive by the law we are captivated by His love
We are granted permission to greet Him as “Abba Father.”
And this title is often misunderstood and over-sentimentalized
You may hear people use the term, when referring to God the Father as “daddy.”
And I’m not trying to pick on anyone or cause hurt feeling or anything
But that’s not the way Scripture uses this term
“abba Father” signifies a yearning for
We Jesus use the phrase in the garden before he takes on the cross in Mark 14:36
It’s a coming to an end of yourself and realizing that everything you need is found in your heavenly Father.
It’s my children when they awake from a nightmare and come running into my room
It’s when we are given dreadful news
It’s when we have nowhere else to turn
This is the picture given
It’s not flippantly used or even used in a relaxed setting
It’s an intense groaning for God the Father
But it’s a privilege.
When we look back to the OT it was something that only the likes of someone like Moses could do
Now we are granted permission always
It shows us an intimacy that we have with Him, because of Christ, through the power of the Spirit
You and I are now given access to God, not just as judge but as Father
And so are souls should cry out, “abba, Father”
And so here is how I want to wrap this section up
I want to do it by asking you a question.
You ready?
Are you a Son or Daughter of God?
And I don’t mean: do you go to church
Or do you read the Bible
Or even do you know about God
But are you a child of God?
Do you have intimacy with your heavenly Father?
Because that’s what it means to be a son
And when we truly begin to live as a child of God, the last step in this is:
#4 YOU are guaranteed an inheritance
Paul’s progression here is so beautiful and picturesque of what the gospel is all about
7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
You are no longer a slave - you have been justified
And because you have been justified you have been adopted
You are now God’s child
And because you are now God’s child you are also made an heir
You get the inheritance, you get the blessings.
What are they? Well there are a lot but I want us to hone in on 3 big ones
#1 You now have an eternal good Father
The reality for many of us in this room is, to use the term Father for God, brings with it, in your mind a negative connotation
your relationship with your Father was not something positive in your life
And so to dismember the negative thoughts of your Father and take on the positive attributes as God the Father is a difficult task
Which is one reason why it’s important as father’s in this room to exemplify to our children what a good father looks like
because you are shaping their view of God
But that’s another topic for another day
But for some of us in the room, we had good fathers.
But regardless of how good your father was or is he is not good all of the time
He has faults and failures
And there will be a day where you have to say goodbye to him because he does not obtain an eternal body
But when it comes to our heavenly Father, we inherit a Father that is perfect all of the time
He cannot let you down
He cannot be late
He cannot decide to something is more important
His affections for you run deeper than you could ever imagine
He is near and He is a good good father
But not only is He a good Father, He is a good eternal Father
So not only can He not let you down, not show up, not be near here and now but He will never
There’s isn’t a worry that He may be good today but bad tomorrow
He is a good Father into all of eternity
#2 We also have an eternal family
And so we’ve talked about the union we have with one another
And so that is good
We get to be the church
But Scripture also talks about being coheirs with Christ. Romans 8:17 and Heb 2:11
This does not effect His divinity, we are not equal with Him but we are coheirs with Him
So everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to us as coheirs
Now, that’s good in a lot of ways but also means there will be suffering with Him
But the reality is, we get to enjoy all that Christ has for all of eternity
We get to have God as Father, us as brothers and sisters, and Christ as coheirs.
It’s the greatest family you could ever be adopted into
#3 lastly, we inherit an eternal home
When we are adopted by God it is not temporary, it is eternal
When we trust in Christ for salvation God takes us into His home as children and heirs and there is nothing nor no one who can take us away
It is for all of eternity
The here and now is only but a glimpse into the glorious home we will spend eternity in
In this home we are safe and we are secure
We no longer live in fear
We no longer hide from suffering
My daughters are all a little different. Wren is a little more quiet and reserved but she loves to go and do. Wherever the fun is happening that’s where she wants to be. Sometimes we have a difficult time getting her to leave places. Essie on the other hand, likes to go and do but she always hits a place where she’s just ready to be home. Like we can be at the greatest place on earth but if we are there too long Essie is going to get ready to go home and when she gets that way we have no issues in getting her to leave. One of the reasons I think she’s like this is, there’s safety and security at home. It’s comfortable. She doesn’t have to worry about anything. There’s no stress involved. She sleeps better, and just does better at home. She just get’s to be Essie in her most natural state
Our home in Christ gives us this same security
We are safe and sound
We learn to rest better
We learn to be who God has intended us to be in the most pure way
And so Paul is showing us this beautiful biblical progression through Gal chapter 3 and into chapter 4
We have been justified and that is really good news
We have been made legally right before God
but we have also been adopted
Called sons and daughters
and in being adopted we have also become heirs and coheirs with Christ
Given an eternal good Father
an eternal family
and an eternal home
And so I will ask you again and leave it with you this time
Are you a son or daughter of God?
Speak and pray with elders
NS 103
NOW
AIM