Devotions

Become Imitators of God

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God has given us the gift of life, redemption through Jesus Christ and by this has called us to be His sons and daughters. Jesus gave us the example of how we are to live in the world and Paul says in Ephesians 4:1b-3 (LEB) “live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. And we need to put up with one another because we are not yet perfect, but the Holy Spirit is now our teacher and we are to in Ephesians 4:23–24 (LEB) “be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth”. We do this by laying aside the old natural way of living and in Ephesians 5:1–2 (LEB) “Therefore become imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, just as also Christ loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrant smell”.

Worthy of the Calling

Ephesians 4:1–6

We who have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ have not only entered into a new life, eternal life with God but into a calling for this natural life while we remain on the earth. Most Christians understand their individual place in Christ but here, Paul describes something that is challenging for us as he says in

Ephesians 4:2–3 (LEB) “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”

The life God has for us is not a solitary one, but one where we are united in spirit with Him as Lord, united in faith with one purpose, and united effort with one baptism where we have put our body under in

Ephesians 4:4–6 (LEB) “one body and one Spirit (just as also you were called with one hope of your calling), 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all”

The Fullness of Christ

Ephesians 4:7–16

Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind

Ephesians 4:17–24

There is a natural, worldly way of living that is described as “in the futility of their mind” in Ephesians 4:17. In this natural way of living, there is no knowledge of God, not because hasn’t presented himself, but because “the hardness of their heart” prevents them from accepting who God is in

Ephesians 4:18 (LEB) “being darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart”

For those of us that have believed the gospel, we heard, and have been taught in

Ephesians 4:21 (LEB) “if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him (just as truth is in Jesus)”

and we know there is a new way of living where we are led by the Spirit of God and have a new way of thinking in

Ephesians 4:23–24 (LEB) “be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth”.

Speak Truth Each One of You

Ephesians 4:25–32

Become Imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1–6

In the natural way of living there were things that satisfy or amuse or entertain the senses, the things Paul names here in

Ephesians 5:3–4 (LEB) “But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or greediness, must not even be named among you (as is fitting for saints), 4 and obscenity, and foolish talk, or coarse jesting (which are not proper), but rather thanksgiving”

We though, who have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ are not to be shaped by our response to our senses and instead are to in

Ephesians 5:1–2 (LEB) “Therefore become imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, just as also Christ loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrant smell”

As Jesus taught in

Matthew 7:20–21 (LEB) “As a result, you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

So, also Paul here says those that “live in love” in Ephesians 5:2 will behave differently so pay attention to actions and not empty words, because in

Ephesians 5:6 (LEB) “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.”

Learn What is Well-Pleasing to the Lord

Ephesians 5:7–16

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Ephesians 4:1-32
  • Ephesians 5:1-16
Hebrews 1:1–3
Although God spoke long ago in many parts and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world, 3 who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, sustaining all things by the word of power. When he had made purification for sins through him, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Devotions

The Hope of His Calling

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In Christ, we are no longer separated from God. We that have believed in Christ are adopted because that is what God wanted for us in Ephesians 1:5 (LEB) “having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will” but God didn’t stop there, he also sent His Holy Spirit to keep us until the end in Ephesians 1:13–14 (LEB) “in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory. It is this same Holy Spirit that is at work in us to strengthen us so that we can grasp full dimensions of God’s love for us that goes beyond the limits of our natural minds in Ephesians 3:18–19 (LEB) “in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”.

Adoption Through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:1–14

Paul completely overturns the common thinking that God is off somewhere far away and unreachable. It is God that created heaven and earth and even though we have been separated from Him by sin, he chose us from the very beginning in

Ephesians 1:4 (LEB) “just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love”

And it is God himself who took action through Jesus Christ by taking on flesh and walking among us to demonstrate his goodwill toward us in

John 1:14 (LEB) “And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is through Jesus Christ that God prepared the way to remove the separation through adoption and provide our “redemption through his blood, the and forgiveness of sins” in

Ephesians 1:5–8 (LEB) “having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, 7 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, 8 that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight”

It is through Jesus Christ that God has made the way for us so that we are no longer far away, “having no hope, and without God” in

Ephesians 2:12–13 (LEB) “that you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, not having hope, and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones who once were far away, have become near by the blood of Christ.

It is through Jesus Christ that God has now made the way known in

Ephesians 1:9 (LEB) “making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him,

And, it is when we heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ that our inheritance was sealed by the Holy Spirit until the final “redemption” so that God is no longer far off, but with us and in us in

Ephesians 1:13–14 (LEB) “in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

The Hope of His Calling

Ephesians 1:15–23

Paul now says “because of this” in Ephesians 1:15, because we now know that God is not far off, because we have an adoption, because we have redemption, because the Holy Spirit has come to reside in our hearts, because of this we can come into a full understanding of who God is in

Ephesians 1:17 (LEB) “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”

but even more than this amazing “revelation in the knowledge of him” and that He is near, he is mindful of us in

Psalm 8:4 (LEB) “what is a human being that you think of him? and a child of humankind that you care for him?”

In this plan of God, this plan “which he worked in Christ”, where all things are “under his feet” in

Ephesians 1:19–22 (LEB) “and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength 20 which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, 22 and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church”

We, the church, the sons and daughters of God, are the bride of Christ and right there with him in

Revelation 19:7–8 (LEB) “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).

Alive Together with Christ

Ephesians 2:1–10

He Broke Down the Dividing Wall

Ephesians 2:11–22

In Other Generations Was Not Made Known

Ephesians 3:1–13

Strengthened With Power Through His Spirit

Ephesians 3:1–13

Though we have this promise of the future return of Christ and the redemption of all things, yet in this age, we are in the world. Paul’s prayer, and our ongoing prayer, is that we “be strengthened” in

Ephesians 3:16–17 (LEB) “that he may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love)”

This is a work that happens in our “inner person” and this is for an important reason because there is a spiritual dimension to the love of God that goes beyond our natural ability to understand. There is a revelation of God’s love that we need but we are not “strong enough to grasp” in

Ephesians 3:18–19 (LEB) “in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”.

or that we “May be able to comprehend” God’s love as it is translated in

Ephesians 3:18–19 (KJV 1900) “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”.

It is this power of the Holy Spirit working in us and reminding us of the love of God for us that is our strength as we face the challenges in this world.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Ephesians 1:1-23
  • Ephesians 2:1-22
  • Ephesians 3:1-21
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Devotions

You Who Are Spiritual Restore

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God has freed us to live in the blessings He intended and that begins with the gift of life through Jesus Christ. Through Christ we are reconciled to God and in Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us approach with confidence to the throne of grace, in order that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. Even more than that, we are sealed us with the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13–14 (LEB) “in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory”. There is though, something more for us than just our personal relationship with God and our own spiritual development and that is for us to “love your neighbor as yourself” in Galatians 5:14. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1 (LEB) “Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility, looking out for yourself, lest you also be tempted”.

For Freedom, Christ Has Made Us Free

Galatians 5:1–6

Who Hindered You?

Galatians 5:7–15

There are many voices in the world and they are often spoken with great conviction. The most dangerous are those that are the traditions of men that replace the true words of God. This is not a new problem and Jesus quoted Isaiah 29:13 when he said in

Mark 7:6–8 (LEB) ‘So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me. 7 And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.” ‘

Paul now cautions the Galatians that in

Galatians 5:8 (LEB) “This persuasion is not from the one who calls you!”

and that there are those among them that are like leaven which changes the whole loaf when introduced in

Galatians 5:9 (LEB) “A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough”.

These people were causing division and setting people against each other over circumcision which was a question that had already been settled in Acts 11:17-18. Paul reminds them that they are not to get caught up in these doctrinal, religious disputes but to love each other in

Galatians 5:14–15 (LEB) “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another”

Live By The Spirit

Galatians 5:16–21

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22–26

You Who Are Spiritual, Restore

Galatians 6:1–5

Paul has just said “love your neighbor as yourself” in Galatians 5:14 and cautioned then not to “bite and devour one another” in Galatians 5:15. He has told them to “live by the Spirit” in Galatians 5:25 and the message is clear that we each individually have a relationship with the Lord and it is for us to bear the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-24. This personal accountability is something we understand in our culture where we are very independent and we may even be very self-satisfied in our relationship with the Lord.

Now though, Paul interjects a thought that goes beyond our personal responsibility for ourselves. He says, OK, you who are so spiritual, you have a responsibility to those around you to help them, not by catching them in doing wrong, but in helping to restore those that have stumbled or fallen in

Galatians 6:1–2 (LEB) “Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility, looking out for yourself, lest you also be tempted. 2 Carry the burdens of one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ”.

Let Us Not Grow Weary in Doing Good

Galatians 6:6–10

There is a way of living in Christ that is good for us and will yield good results in our lives. It begins with the gift of God, through Jesus Christ that gives us access to God in Hebrews 4:16 and seals us with the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13-14 so that we are no longer slaves to sin in Romans 6:22, driven only by the nature of our flesh.

In this new life in Christ, there are guiding principles, can I say “laws of God’s kingdom” without setting off religious alarm bells? Let me say it this way, what God has said will stand. Paul says it this way, in

Galatians 6:7–8 (LEB) “Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked, for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit”

There is a good reward for those that sow to the Spirit in

Revelation 14:12–13 (LEB) “Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”

In God’s kingdom, there is always faith and then fulfillment, there is always seed planting followed by time for the fruit to develop and then there is a harvest as Paul says in

Galatians 6:9 (LEB) “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give up”.

A New Creation

Galatians 6:11–18

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Galatians 5:1-26
  • Galatians 6:1-18
Matthew 22:34–40
Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same place. And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to him to test him: “Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?” And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
Devotions

That The Promise Could Be Given By Faith

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Law is only a problem for those that transgress it by overstepping the boundary. We could also say that law is unnecessary where there is no transgression. We find in Galatians 3:19 (LEB): 19 “Why then the law? It was added on account of transgressions, until the descendant should come to whom it had been promised, having been ordered through angels by the hand of a mediator”. There was transgression not only by man, but also by the devil and his angels. Because of this, in Galatians 3:22 (LEB) “But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe”. The law was established and all are “imprisoned” under its penalty. There is though, a promise that was given by God to Abraham and Sarah that came through Isaac and is fulfilled in Christ in Psalm 110:1 (LEB) “A declaration of Yahweh to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” which is why it says in Galatians 4:26 (LEB) “But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother”.

To His Descendant the Promises Were Spoken

Galatians 3:15–18

That The Promise Could Be Given By Faith

Galatians 3:19–29

The Law exposes transgression “the action of going beyond or overstepping some moral boundary or limit” and makes it clear where the boundary or limit is in

Galatians 3:19 says “It (the Law) was added on account of transgressions, having been ordered through angels”.

It is clear that there are boundaries in heaven and that the devil and his angels transgressed yet God is upholding His kingdom in heaven and also on earth through Christ in

Revelation 12:10 (LEB) And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

This giving of the law makes it clear and all are under the same judgement, all are under the same rule as in

Galatians 3:23 (LEB) “But before faith came, we were detained under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed”

but it wasn’t God’s desire that all would be condemned under the law it was God’s desire that all could be saved so he made a way for us to be forgiven through Jesus Christ in

Galatians 3:22 (LEB) “But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe”

When We Were Children

Galatians 4:1–7

At That Time You Were Enslaved

Galatians 4:8–12

There was a time when people imagined God in their own way because they looked at creation and where they saw evidence of God in

Romans 1:19 (LEB) “because what can be known about God is evident among them, for God made it clear to them”

they looked instead at the forces of nature around them and created their own representations as in

Romans 1:23 (LEB) “and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles”

and because of this, they were enslaved to these natural phenomena

Galatians 4:8 (LEB) “But at that time when you did not know God, you were enslaved to the things which by nature are not gods”

and rather than taking the dominion God had intended for them they were ruled by nature in

Galatians 4:10 (LEB) “You carefully observe days and months and seasons and years”

Until Christ Is Formed In You

Galatians 4:13–20

Do You Not Understand The Law?

Galatians 4:21–31

Paul gives a very clear object lesson using the lives of Isaac and Ishmael, the children of Abraham to represent a spiritual truth. Hagar and the birth of Ishmael represents Abraham and Sarah taking their own action using the slave girl Hagar to try to fulfill God’s promise of children in

Galatians 4:25 (LEB) “Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is a slave with her children”

Hagar represents Jerusalem and the Jewish people under the Law. The spiritual Jerusalem though is represented by Sarah and the birth of Isaac which came through the power of God in

Galatians 4:27–28 (LEB) “For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren woman, who does not give birth to children; burst out and shout, you who do not have birth pains, because many are the children of the desolate woman, even more than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 But you, brothers, are children of the promise, just as Isaac.

The children of the flesh strive, but cannot attain the position that is only given through the promise in

Galatians 4:29 (LEB) “But just as at that time the child born according to human descent persecuted the child born according to the Spirit, so also now”

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Galatians 3:15-29
  • Galatians 4:1-31
Matthew 5:43–45
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Devotions

I Live by Faith in the Son of God

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Paul had experienced life as a Pharisee under the law of Moses as a descendant of Abraham and the result in his life was hatred. Then he had a personal experience, an encounter with Jesus Christ and everything changed. Now he understood that we are not justified by the law but as Abraham was, so are we in Galatians 3:6-7 “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness 7 then understand that the ones who have faith, these are sons of Abraham.” Now Paul says in Galatians 2:20 20 “and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. When we “have faith in the Son of God”, as Paul says, “I no longer live”, the lusts and desires of the flesh no longer control, instead, we have the Spirit of God to lead us.

Our Freedom That we Have in Christ Jesus

Galatians 2:1–5

Paul had an experience with Jesus Christ that completely changed his lifelong beliefs as a Pharisee. After his encounter with Jesus, he stopped persecuting Christians and became one of the strongest witnesses for Christ of his age. Paul did not seek anyone’s approval because he already had approval from the King of Kings, Jesus Christ himself. Now, the Lord leads Paul to go to Jerusalem in

Galatians 2:2 (LEB) “Now I went up there because of a revelation and laid out to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles, but in private to the influential people, lest somehow I was running, or had run, in vain”

This was because there where those that were pressing for legalism that would require all to follow the law which was contrary to the message Paul was preaching so in

Acts 15:4 (LEB) And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them.

Paul held fast to the truth, the freedom of the gospel that salvation through Christ is by grace, not by the keeping of the law.

I Had Been Entrusted With The Gospel

Galatians 2:6–10

How Can You Compel the Gentiles to Live Like Jews?

Galatians 2:11–14

I Live by Faith in the Son of God

Galatians 2:15–21

Paul speaks to the Jews as they understand themselves to be God’s chosen people. They, by their lineage and birthright, are separate from the Gentiles and are taught the covenant that was given to them through Abraham. There is a blessing through that covenant but there is only one way to be justified, and that is through Jesus Christ in

Galatians 2:16 (LEB) “but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.”

Paul also speaks to the Gentiles and tells them that if they are justified by Christ they are not free to do anything, in fact, they are now “enslaved to righteousness” in Romans 8:18.

When Paul says we “live by faith” he is using this word justified in the sense that it is only through Christ that we are “put right with” God, that we are “set free” from the control of sin and death, that we are now able to “obey righteous commands” as the word justified is defined: “1. put right with, justify, vindicate, declare righteous, i.e., cause one to be in a right relation (Ro 3:24); 2. show to be right, demonstrate to something is morally just (Ro 3:4); 3. acquit, remove guilt, set free, i.e., clear of a transgression (Ac 13:38); 4. set free, release from the control of (Ro 6:7); 5. obey righteous commands (Lk 7:29)”1

The Ones Who Have Faith, These are Sons of Abraham

Galatians 3:1–7

There is one simple truth and that is that Abraham walked into this covenant with God because he believed God in

Galatians 3:6 (LEB) “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness”

this means that the true sons of Abraham are not those that mark their bodies with the sign of circumcision because it is not circumcision that justifies it is faith that justifies as in

Galatians 3:7 (LEB) “then understand that the ones who have faith, these are sons of Abraham.”

This is because believing God is a spiritual transaction and not a physical one. Paul says it this way in

Galatians 3:2–3 (LEB) “I want only to learn this 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 by the Spirit, are you now trying to be made complete by the flesh?

Once we “have faith in God” and “receive the Spirit”, there is a transformation that works from the inside to manifest the righteousness of God in our physical lives.

In You, All the Nations of the World Will be Blessed

Galatians 3:8–14

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Galatians 2:1-21
  • Galatians 3:1-14

References

  • 1. Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Romans 13:8–10
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves someone else has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not commit evil against a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Devotions

Test Yourselves to See if You Are in the Faith

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Paul tells the people in 2 Corinthians 12:11 “I ought to have been commended by you” but there were those that challenged him and his apostleship. It was God that called Paul and established him and there were “signs and wonders and deeds of power” in 2 Corinthians 12:12 happening through Paul. But Paul shifts the focus from him and his authority and questions about his legitimacy to a more personal question to each Christian as he says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves!” Our life in Christ is to demonstrate to the world the transformation as we are freed from slavery to sin and come into the freedom of life in Christ. There is only one gospel and it is simple as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” but there are those that for their own reasons are “wanting to distort the gospel” in Galatians 1:7 (LEB) “not that there is a different gospel, except there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ”.

We Are Speaking in Christ Before God

2 Corinthians 12:11–21

Paul has spoken the gospel to the Corinthians as he has to everyone in every place and now says “I ought to be commended” but there are always those that oppose so he says in

2 Corinthians 12:11 (LEB) “I have become a fool! You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I am in no way inferior to the preeminent apostles, even if I am nothing”

As the word of God was preached to them, there were “signs and wonders and deeds of power” in 2 Corinthians 12:12 and this is what we expect because the Lord confirms His word with signs as in

Mark 16:20 (LEB) “And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord was working together with them and confirming the message through the accompanying signs”

Paul had intentionally chosen to not be a burden saying “I will not be a burden to you. For I am not seeking your possessions, but you” in 2 Corinthians 12:14 and Paul goes on to say in

2 Corinthians 12:15 (LEB) “But I will spend and be expended most gladly for your lives. If I love you much more, am I to be loved less?”

While he is responding to those that would bring accusations, Paul makes it clear that “I have not been a burden” in 2 Corinthians 12:16 and “I have not taken advantage of you” in 2 Corinthians 12:17 yet Paul is not being defensive but his words are intended to build them up in

2 Corinthians 12:19 (LEB) Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all these things, dear friends, are for your edification.

Test Yourselves to See if You Are in the Faith

2 Corinthians 13:1–10

As Paul closes this letter, he tells them “test yourselves” in

2 Corinthians 13:5–6 (LEB) “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified? 6 And I hope that you will recognize that we are not unqualified!”

Paul is saying ‘prove your own selves—This should be your first aim, rather than “seeking a proof of Christ speaking in me” (2 Co 13:3)’1 We sometimes get the focus wrong. Our Christian life is not about the minister and their anointing or their gifts, they are accountable to God for that. Our focus must be on ourselves and our relationship with the Lord. Most Christians can recite these words and or at least know them in

Romans 10:9–10 (LEB) “that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation”

and the result of this confession and believing is what we call “being born again”. This point of accepting that work of Jesus Christ frees us from the penalty of our sin and it is also the moment that we begin a transformed life as it says in

Romans 6:11–12 (LEB) “So also you, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires”

Our life in Christ is about “the power of God” working in us to transform us into the image of Christ in

2 Corinthians 13:4 (LEB) “For indeed, he was crucified because of weakness, but he lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him because of the power of God toward you”

and it is this power working in us, the Holy Spirit our comforter and teacher moves us from our old way of life to the fullness of our new life in Christ in

2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (LEB) “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit”

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

2 Corinthians 13:11–13

An Apostle Not From Men

Galatians 1:1–5

There Are Some Who Are Disturbing You

Galatians 1:6–10

There is only one gospel, and it is “what you have received” in Galatians 1:9. There are though, those that would distort the gospel in

Galatians 1:7 (LEB) “not that there is a different gospel, except there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ”

And as Paul told the Corinthians, this is a simple message in

1 Corinthians 2:1–2 (LEB) And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

It is God that established the method and message of salvation and it is not complicated, but people complicate it. The gospel message is “from the one who called you by the grace of Christ” in Galatians 1:6 and why would anyone listen to another message? There can be only one purpose for any other message, and that is to turn you away from Christ so hold fast to what God has given you.

A Revelation of Jesus Christ

Galatians 1:11–17

They Were Glorifying God Because of Me

Galatians 1:18–24

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • 2 Corinthians 12:11-21
  • 2 Corinthians 13:1-13
  • Galatians 1:1-24

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 321). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
1 Corinthians 14:4–7
The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. Now I want you all to speak with tongues, but even more that you may prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks with tongues, unless he interprets, in order that the church may receive edification. But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking with tongues, how do I benefit you, unless I speak to you either with a revelation or with knowledge or with a prophecy or with a teaching? Likewise, the inanimate things which produce a sound, whether flute or lyre, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the lyre?