Philippians 1

Philippians 1:1

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23. In Galatians 5:19 we read about the “deeds [plural] of the flesh”. In Galatians 5:22 Paul mentions the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit”. If you think of the deeds of the flesh, you see those deeds more as a result of what a man does. As to the fruit of the Spirit, you rather think of an inner attitude. It is a fruit, not of ourselves, as is the case with the deeds of the flesh, but of the Spirit. You could compare it to a factory and a garden. In a factory, people are working hard to realize a certain production. In a garden grows what is sown in it, without any work of man (except probably weeding).

The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received certain spiritual gifts. Every believer has different gifts. With the fruit of the Spirit this difference is absent. It is a fruit which has to be present in every believer.

As mentioned, the word ‘fruit’ is in the singular. It is one fruit, but it is composed of nine parts. You can think of a diamond which is one stone, but with a difference in brightness, depending on how the light shines on it. You can also think of a flower with nine petals. If you remove a petal, the flower loses its beauty. Similarly, the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit are not available separately. The Holy Spirit wants every part of the fruit to be fully exposed in unity with the whole.

The first part that is mentioned is “love”. That is understandable. It is the nature of God. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16) and His love “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The second part is “joy”. This is the joy which the Holy Spirit works in us as we think of God and what He has done for us in His Son, despite the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. It is the joy “in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) and that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

“Peace”, the third feature of the fruit, is the inner calmness and peace which is in God. It is the peace of God which, through the Holy Spirit, is worked in us if we are led by Him. Again, this peace will be ours, regardless of the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. Of these three, love, joy and peace, the Lord Jesus speaks of in John 14 and 15: “My love”, “My joy”, “My peace” (John 14:27; John 15:10-11). Between Him and the Spirit is a perfect agreement.

How important is “patience”, the fourth feature. How your patience is tested sometimes if you are in a difficult or hopeless situation or if you have to deal with difficult people.

A subsequent feature, the fifth, is “kindness”. In Titus 3, this feature is used for God (Titus 3:4). It shows His friendly mind and benevolent attitude to sinners. Are His mind and attitude, seen in your life? They surely are, if you are led by the Spirit.

“Goodness”, the sixth feature, shows that you are generously and compassionately looking for what is good for others. In Ephesians 5, goodness is connected with the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9).

You show “faithfulness”, the seventh feature, if people can trust you, if you are trustworthy.

“Gentleness”, the eighth feature, means that you are willing to take a humble position. It is not a spineless weakness, but an attitude you consciously take and for which you need much spiritual strength.

The list ends with the ninth feature, “self-control”. The Holy Spirit leads you to a disciplined life, in which you don’t yield to the impulses of passions and desires. He gives you the ability to control yourself.

This ninefold fruit cannot be worked out by putting yourself under the law. This fruit will only grow and prosper in all freshness if you are led by the Holy Spirit. We see this fruit in its full maturity in the Lord Jesus, with the exception of self-control because that word contains the idea of wrong impulses which have to be tamed. Of course such impulses were not present in the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 5:23b. The fruit of the Spirit is beyond the reach of the law. But even if the law had had something to do with it, there is still nothing in the fruit of the Spirit that should fall under the judgment of the law. All the features or parts of the fruit of the Spirit are a delight to God, are useful for our fellow man and have a beneficial effect on our own spiritual life.

Galatians 5:24. This fruit is found in “those who belong to Christ Jesus”. They have radically given up “the flesh” and all “passions and desires” which belong to the flesh. For you this means that you must put into practice what you acknowledged when you were converted. Then you made yourself one with the judgment God accomplished on the cross regarding the flesh.

Paul does not say to crucify the flesh, but to keep it as crucified. So it is not a painful and slow process of mortification, but a case of accepting in faith what God says. That is in retrospect to what happened on the cross.

Galatians 5:25. At your conversion you received life by the Spirit. Now the point is also to walk by that Spirit. This refers to the present, the here and now. The thought is that a certain position, living by the Spirit, must be demonstrated in practice, walking by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:26. The law could not give life; neither does it give strength to a life in which fruit is borne for God. The last verse indicates again where keeping the law leads to: the pride of one’s own flesh and the contempt of others.

Now read Galatians 5:22-26 again.

Reflection: Memorize the fruit of the Spirit off by heart.

Philippians 1:2

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23. In Galatians 5:19 we read about the “deeds [plural] of the flesh”. In Galatians 5:22 Paul mentions the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit”. If you think of the deeds of the flesh, you see those deeds more as a result of what a man does. As to the fruit of the Spirit, you rather think of an inner attitude. It is a fruit, not of ourselves, as is the case with the deeds of the flesh, but of the Spirit. You could compare it to a factory and a garden. In a factory, people are working hard to realize a certain production. In a garden grows what is sown in it, without any work of man (except probably weeding).

The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received certain spiritual gifts. Every believer has different gifts. With the fruit of the Spirit this difference is absent. It is a fruit which has to be present in every believer.

As mentioned, the word ‘fruit’ is in the singular. It is one fruit, but it is composed of nine parts. You can think of a diamond which is one stone, but with a difference in brightness, depending on how the light shines on it. You can also think of a flower with nine petals. If you remove a petal, the flower loses its beauty. Similarly, the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit are not available separately. The Holy Spirit wants every part of the fruit to be fully exposed in unity with the whole.

The first part that is mentioned is “love”. That is understandable. It is the nature of God. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16) and His love “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The second part is “joy”. This is the joy which the Holy Spirit works in us as we think of God and what He has done for us in His Son, despite the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. It is the joy “in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) and that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

“Peace”, the third feature of the fruit, is the inner calmness and peace which is in God. It is the peace of God which, through the Holy Spirit, is worked in us if we are led by Him. Again, this peace will be ours, regardless of the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. Of these three, love, joy and peace, the Lord Jesus speaks of in John 14 and 15: “My love”, “My joy”, “My peace” (John 14:27; John 15:10-11). Between Him and the Spirit is a perfect agreement.

How important is “patience”, the fourth feature. How your patience is tested sometimes if you are in a difficult or hopeless situation or if you have to deal with difficult people.

A subsequent feature, the fifth, is “kindness”. In Titus 3, this feature is used for God (Titus 3:4). It shows His friendly mind and benevolent attitude to sinners. Are His mind and attitude, seen in your life? They surely are, if you are led by the Spirit.

“Goodness”, the sixth feature, shows that you are generously and compassionately looking for what is good for others. In Ephesians 5, goodness is connected with the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9).

You show “faithfulness”, the seventh feature, if people can trust you, if you are trustworthy.

“Gentleness”, the eighth feature, means that you are willing to take a humble position. It is not a spineless weakness, but an attitude you consciously take and for which you need much spiritual strength.

The list ends with the ninth feature, “self-control”. The Holy Spirit leads you to a disciplined life, in which you don’t yield to the impulses of passions and desires. He gives you the ability to control yourself.

This ninefold fruit cannot be worked out by putting yourself under the law. This fruit will only grow and prosper in all freshness if you are led by the Holy Spirit. We see this fruit in its full maturity in the Lord Jesus, with the exception of self-control because that word contains the idea of wrong impulses which have to be tamed. Of course such impulses were not present in the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 5:23b. The fruit of the Spirit is beyond the reach of the law. But even if the law had had something to do with it, there is still nothing in the fruit of the Spirit that should fall under the judgment of the law. All the features or parts of the fruit of the Spirit are a delight to God, are useful for our fellow man and have a beneficial effect on our own spiritual life.

Galatians 5:24. This fruit is found in “those who belong to Christ Jesus”. They have radically given up “the flesh” and all “passions and desires” which belong to the flesh. For you this means that you must put into practice what you acknowledged when you were converted. Then you made yourself one with the judgment God accomplished on the cross regarding the flesh.

Paul does not say to crucify the flesh, but to keep it as crucified. So it is not a painful and slow process of mortification, but a case of accepting in faith what God says. That is in retrospect to what happened on the cross.

Galatians 5:25. At your conversion you received life by the Spirit. Now the point is also to walk by that Spirit. This refers to the present, the here and now. The thought is that a certain position, living by the Spirit, must be demonstrated in practice, walking by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:26. The law could not give life; neither does it give strength to a life in which fruit is borne for God. The last verse indicates again where keeping the law leads to: the pride of one’s own flesh and the contempt of others.

Now read Galatians 5:22-26 again.

Reflection: Memorize the fruit of the Spirit off by heart.

Philippians 1:3

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23. In Galatians 5:19 we read about the “deeds [plural] of the flesh”. In Galatians 5:22 Paul mentions the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit”. If you think of the deeds of the flesh, you see those deeds more as a result of what a man does. As to the fruit of the Spirit, you rather think of an inner attitude. It is a fruit, not of ourselves, as is the case with the deeds of the flesh, but of the Spirit. You could compare it to a factory and a garden. In a factory, people are working hard to realize a certain production. In a garden grows what is sown in it, without any work of man (except probably weeding).

The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received certain spiritual gifts. Every believer has different gifts. With the fruit of the Spirit this difference is absent. It is a fruit which has to be present in every believer.

As mentioned, the word ‘fruit’ is in the singular. It is one fruit, but it is composed of nine parts. You can think of a diamond which is one stone, but with a difference in brightness, depending on how the light shines on it. You can also think of a flower with nine petals. If you remove a petal, the flower loses its beauty. Similarly, the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit are not available separately. The Holy Spirit wants every part of the fruit to be fully exposed in unity with the whole.

The first part that is mentioned is “love”. That is understandable. It is the nature of God. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16) and His love “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The second part is “joy”. This is the joy which the Holy Spirit works in us as we think of God and what He has done for us in His Son, despite the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. It is the joy “in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) and that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

“Peace”, the third feature of the fruit, is the inner calmness and peace which is in God. It is the peace of God which, through the Holy Spirit, is worked in us if we are led by Him. Again, this peace will be ours, regardless of the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. Of these three, love, joy and peace, the Lord Jesus speaks of in John 14 and 15: “My love”, “My joy”, “My peace” (John 14:27; John 15:10-11). Between Him and the Spirit is a perfect agreement.

How important is “patience”, the fourth feature. How your patience is tested sometimes if you are in a difficult or hopeless situation or if you have to deal with difficult people.

A subsequent feature, the fifth, is “kindness”. In Titus 3, this feature is used for God (Titus 3:4). It shows His friendly mind and benevolent attitude to sinners. Are His mind and attitude, seen in your life? They surely are, if you are led by the Spirit.

“Goodness”, the sixth feature, shows that you are generously and compassionately looking for what is good for others. In Ephesians 5, goodness is connected with the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9).

You show “faithfulness”, the seventh feature, if people can trust you, if you are trustworthy.

“Gentleness”, the eighth feature, means that you are willing to take a humble position. It is not a spineless weakness, but an attitude you consciously take and for which you need much spiritual strength.

The list ends with the ninth feature, “self-control”. The Holy Spirit leads you to a disciplined life, in which you don’t yield to the impulses of passions and desires. He gives you the ability to control yourself.

This ninefold fruit cannot be worked out by putting yourself under the law. This fruit will only grow and prosper in all freshness if you are led by the Holy Spirit. We see this fruit in its full maturity in the Lord Jesus, with the exception of self-control because that word contains the idea of wrong impulses which have to be tamed. Of course such impulses were not present in the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 5:23b. The fruit of the Spirit is beyond the reach of the law. But even if the law had had something to do with it, there is still nothing in the fruit of the Spirit that should fall under the judgment of the law. All the features or parts of the fruit of the Spirit are a delight to God, are useful for our fellow man and have a beneficial effect on our own spiritual life.

Galatians 5:24. This fruit is found in “those who belong to Christ Jesus”. They have radically given up “the flesh” and all “passions and desires” which belong to the flesh. For you this means that you must put into practice what you acknowledged when you were converted. Then you made yourself one with the judgment God accomplished on the cross regarding the flesh.

Paul does not say to crucify the flesh, but to keep it as crucified. So it is not a painful and slow process of mortification, but a case of accepting in faith what God says. That is in retrospect to what happened on the cross.

Galatians 5:25. At your conversion you received life by the Spirit. Now the point is also to walk by that Spirit. This refers to the present, the here and now. The thought is that a certain position, living by the Spirit, must be demonstrated in practice, walking by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:26. The law could not give life; neither does it give strength to a life in which fruit is borne for God. The last verse indicates again where keeping the law leads to: the pride of one’s own flesh and the contempt of others.

Now read Galatians 5:22-26 again.

Reflection: Memorize the fruit of the Spirit off by heart.

Philippians 1:4

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23. In Galatians 5:19 we read about the “deeds [plural] of the flesh”. In Galatians 5:22 Paul mentions the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit”. If you think of the deeds of the flesh, you see those deeds more as a result of what a man does. As to the fruit of the Spirit, you rather think of an inner attitude. It is a fruit, not of ourselves, as is the case with the deeds of the flesh, but of the Spirit. You could compare it to a factory and a garden. In a factory, people are working hard to realize a certain production. In a garden grows what is sown in it, without any work of man (except probably weeding).

The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received certain spiritual gifts. Every believer has different gifts. With the fruit of the Spirit this difference is absent. It is a fruit which has to be present in every believer.

As mentioned, the word ‘fruit’ is in the singular. It is one fruit, but it is composed of nine parts. You can think of a diamond which is one stone, but with a difference in brightness, depending on how the light shines on it. You can also think of a flower with nine petals. If you remove a petal, the flower loses its beauty. Similarly, the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit are not available separately. The Holy Spirit wants every part of the fruit to be fully exposed in unity with the whole.

The first part that is mentioned is “love”. That is understandable. It is the nature of God. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16) and His love “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The second part is “joy”. This is the joy which the Holy Spirit works in us as we think of God and what He has done for us in His Son, despite the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. It is the joy “in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) and that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

“Peace”, the third feature of the fruit, is the inner calmness and peace which is in God. It is the peace of God which, through the Holy Spirit, is worked in us if we are led by Him. Again, this peace will be ours, regardless of the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. Of these three, love, joy and peace, the Lord Jesus speaks of in John 14 and 15: “My love”, “My joy”, “My peace” (John 14:27; John 15:10-11). Between Him and the Spirit is a perfect agreement.

How important is “patience”, the fourth feature. How your patience is tested sometimes if you are in a difficult or hopeless situation or if you have to deal with difficult people.

A subsequent feature, the fifth, is “kindness”. In Titus 3, this feature is used for God (Titus 3:4). It shows His friendly mind and benevolent attitude to sinners. Are His mind and attitude, seen in your life? They surely are, if you are led by the Spirit.

“Goodness”, the sixth feature, shows that you are generously and compassionately looking for what is good for others. In Ephesians 5, goodness is connected with the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9).

You show “faithfulness”, the seventh feature, if people can trust you, if you are trustworthy.

“Gentleness”, the eighth feature, means that you are willing to take a humble position. It is not a spineless weakness, but an attitude you consciously take and for which you need much spiritual strength.

The list ends with the ninth feature, “self-control”. The Holy Spirit leads you to a disciplined life, in which you don’t yield to the impulses of passions and desires. He gives you the ability to control yourself.

This ninefold fruit cannot be worked out by putting yourself under the law. This fruit will only grow and prosper in all freshness if you are led by the Holy Spirit. We see this fruit in its full maturity in the Lord Jesus, with the exception of self-control because that word contains the idea of wrong impulses which have to be tamed. Of course such impulses were not present in the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 5:23b. The fruit of the Spirit is beyond the reach of the law. But even if the law had had something to do with it, there is still nothing in the fruit of the Spirit that should fall under the judgment of the law. All the features or parts of the fruit of the Spirit are a delight to God, are useful for our fellow man and have a beneficial effect on our own spiritual life.

Galatians 5:24. This fruit is found in “those who belong to Christ Jesus”. They have radically given up “the flesh” and all “passions and desires” which belong to the flesh. For you this means that you must put into practice what you acknowledged when you were converted. Then you made yourself one with the judgment God accomplished on the cross regarding the flesh.

Paul does not say to crucify the flesh, but to keep it as crucified. So it is not a painful and slow process of mortification, but a case of accepting in faith what God says. That is in retrospect to what happened on the cross.

Galatians 5:25. At your conversion you received life by the Spirit. Now the point is also to walk by that Spirit. This refers to the present, the here and now. The thought is that a certain position, living by the Spirit, must be demonstrated in practice, walking by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:26. The law could not give life; neither does it give strength to a life in which fruit is borne for God. The last verse indicates again where keeping the law leads to: the pride of one’s own flesh and the contempt of others.

Now read Galatians 5:22-26 again.

Reflection: Memorize the fruit of the Spirit off by heart.

Philippians 1:5

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23. In Galatians 5:19 we read about the “deeds [plural] of the flesh”. In Galatians 5:22 Paul mentions the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit”. If you think of the deeds of the flesh, you see those deeds more as a result of what a man does. As to the fruit of the Spirit, you rather think of an inner attitude. It is a fruit, not of ourselves, as is the case with the deeds of the flesh, but of the Spirit. You could compare it to a factory and a garden. In a factory, people are working hard to realize a certain production. In a garden grows what is sown in it, without any work of man (except probably weeding).

The fruit of the Spirit is not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received certain spiritual gifts. Every believer has different gifts. With the fruit of the Spirit this difference is absent. It is a fruit which has to be present in every believer.

As mentioned, the word ‘fruit’ is in the singular. It is one fruit, but it is composed of nine parts. You can think of a diamond which is one stone, but with a difference in brightness, depending on how the light shines on it. You can also think of a flower with nine petals. If you remove a petal, the flower loses its beauty. Similarly, the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit are not available separately. The Holy Spirit wants every part of the fruit to be fully exposed in unity with the whole.

The first part that is mentioned is “love”. That is understandable. It is the nature of God. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16) and His love “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The second part is “joy”. This is the joy which the Holy Spirit works in us as we think of God and what He has done for us in His Son, despite the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. It is the joy “in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) and that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

“Peace”, the third feature of the fruit, is the inner calmness and peace which is in God. It is the peace of God which, through the Holy Spirit, is worked in us if we are led by Him. Again, this peace will be ours, regardless of the difficult circumstances in which we can sometimes be. Of these three, love, joy and peace, the Lord Jesus speaks of in John 14 and 15: “My love”, “My joy”, “My peace” (John 14:27; John 15:10-11). Between Him and the Spirit is a perfect agreement.

How important is “patience”, the fourth feature. How your patience is tested sometimes if you are in a difficult or hopeless situation or if you have to deal with difficult people.

A subsequent feature, the fifth, is “kindness”. In Titus 3, this feature is used for God (Titus 3:4). It shows His friendly mind and benevolent attitude to sinners. Are His mind and attitude, seen in your life? They surely are, if you are led by the Spirit.

“Goodness”, the sixth feature, shows that you are generously and compassionately looking for what is good for others. In Ephesians 5, goodness is connected with the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9).

You show “faithfulness”, the seventh feature, if people can trust you, if you are trustworthy.

“Gentleness”, the eighth feature, means that you are willing to take a humble position. It is not a spineless weakness, but an attitude you consciously take and for which you need much spiritual strength.

The list ends with the ninth feature, “self-control”. The Holy Spirit leads you to a disciplined life, in which you don’t yield to the impulses of passions and desires. He gives you the ability to control yourself.

This ninefold fruit cannot be worked out by putting yourself under the law. This fruit will only grow and prosper in all freshness if you are led by the Holy Spirit. We see this fruit in its full maturity in the Lord Jesus, with the exception of self-control because that word contains the idea of wrong impulses which have to be tamed. Of course such impulses were not present in the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 5:23b. The fruit of the Spirit is beyond the reach of the law. But even if the law had had something to do with it, there is still nothing in the fruit of the Spirit that should fall under the judgment of the law. All the features or parts of the fruit of the Spirit are a delight to God, are useful for our fellow man and have a beneficial effect on our own spiritual life.

Galatians 5:24. This fruit is found in “those who belong to Christ Jesus”. They have radically given up “the flesh” and all “passions and desires” which belong to the flesh. For you this means that you must put into practice what you acknowledged when you were converted. Then you made yourself one with the judgment God accomplished on the cross regarding the flesh.

Paul does not say to crucify the flesh, but to keep it as crucified. So it is not a painful and slow process of mortification, but a case of accepting in faith what God says. That is in retrospect to what happened on the cross.

Galatians 5:25. At your conversion you received life by the Spirit. Now the point is also to walk by that Spirit. This refers to the present, the here and now. The thought is that a certain position, living by the Spirit, must be demonstrated in practice, walking by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:26. The law could not give life; neither does it give strength to a life in which fruit is borne for God. The last verse indicates again where keeping the law leads to: the pride of one’s own flesh and the contempt of others.

Now read Galatians 5:22-26 again.

Reflection: Memorize the fruit of the Spirit off by heart.

Philippians 1:7

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:8

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:9

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:10

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:11

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:12

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1. To emphasize again his connection with the believers of Galatia and their connection to each other, Paul begins his closing admonitions with the wonderful word “brothers”. Of course this includes the sisters. This also is a good introduction to the following verses, which show that the connection is experienced in a special way, namely in the care which should be given to each other as ‘family members’.

In the previous chapter Paul showed the contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He clarified that the Christian life must have the character of the Holy Spirit, to expose the fruit of the Spirit. Now it may happen that at some point a person fails to walk by the Spirit. For that moment, sin lying in wait and overtakes him. That is how it is presented in this first verse.

Sin is lying in wait and strikes at the moment when the vigilance of the believer weakens even for just a second. An example of how you can go wrong is: telling a lie to save yourself out of an awkward situation, by yielding to a sexual desire, or by taking somebody else’s money if you see it laying on the table.

The law has no mercy on these trespasses, only righteous retribution (Hebrews 10:28). The Galatians, who wanted to bring themselves under the law again, having received teaching about the Holy Spirit, can now be urged to deal with such a trespasser.

However, they had to consider some requirements before they could deal with the trespasser. First such a person had to be spiritual. You may wonder: Who dares to say that of himself? The following points make that clear. Someone who is spiritual will have “a spirit of gentleness”. You cannot judge another person with an arrogant attitude. What a contrast to the harshness of the law!

Second, “looking to yourself” will give the consciousness that I am no better than the other. What a contrast to legalistic people, regarding their self-esteem. A legalistic person is unable to suffer with someone else. I must be fully aware that if God does not guard me, I will make the same mistake, or maybe worse, than my brother did.

Concerning this case I found a striking similarity in the book of Job. It is about the good mind we notice in Elihu, when he speaks to Job. Elihu says: “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you” (Job 33:6-7). If you want to deal with someone who has fallen into sin, it is necessary that you bow down to him and to make yourself one with him and his sin. That is the meaning of eating the sin offering by the priest who had to bring a sin offering for someone else (Leviticus 6:26). That is the way to lead the other one to repentance and so to be restored by God.

Galatians 6:2. After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, this verse appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).

But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another’s burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden.

By bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself.

Galatians 6:3. People who preach or keep the law are totally different. They honor themselves and think they are capable of doing everything they want, without considering the needy ones. But in fact such people are “nothing”. They are blind to seeing that no good thing dwells in the flesh (Romans 7:18). They deceive themselves by believing that they are able to do good by keeping the law. Such people always measure others by their own standards and of course they seek to appear better than others.

Galatians 6:4-5. We should not compare the things we do and what we have, with what others have or do. Your own work and everything you are doing for God, including your whole attitude and all your actions, you should examine in the light of God. It is yours and you do it for God. You should be happy with what you can do for Him. And at the end, before the judgment seat of Christ, you will only be responsible for your own work, your “own load”. The latter means that you have to appear before God with your own load of activities.

Galatians 6:6. The third form of bearing loads is about supporting those who teach God’s Word. Please note that this concerns teachers of the Word of God and not people who have their own ideas or interpretations about the Word. This support is called “share all good things”.

Primarily this can be financial support. Are you alert to this need? It can also be a kind of sharing in spiritual blessings by which a minister of the Word is encouraged. Have you ever shared with such a minister a personal and wonderful experience you’ve had with the Lord, just to encourage him? Other ways of sharing involve all sorts of practical matters, such as transport and housing.

Now read Galatians 6:1-6 again.

Reflection: Where do you see opportunities to bear a burden? Does it bring you to bearing that burden?

Philippians 1:13

What a Man Sows, He Will Also Reap

Galatians 6:7. Concerning this verse and the following verses we can say that they deal with the government of God. The government of God has to do with someone’s behavior and with the consequences of this behavior. Whatever you do, it always has a certain effect, a specific result. It does something, it leaves a trace. It does not only influence your own life but also the lives of those who are involved in your life.

It is true that the grace of God is perfect and that by the work of the Lord Jesus you are perfectly saved. Nothing or nobody can snatch you out of the hand of the Lord Jesus and out of the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29). However, that does not mean that it is unimportant how this is exposed in your life and how you walk in your practical life. God has connected infallible consequences with the way you live.

It’s something you can easily observe just by having your eyes open. Eliphaz has also made such an observation: “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it" (Job 4:8; cf. Proverbs 22:8a; Hosea 8:7a). Think for instance of the slogan that has been used for an anti-drink campaign: ’Drink destroys more than you like’. This means that someone who has been drinking too much can cause a fatal accident. When he is sober he may confess that, and be forgiven. He will not lose his salvation, but the victim will still be dead. The awareness of this accident and the knowledge of being responsible for somebody’s death will remain with him.

This principle can be applied to many other situations. It is important to realize that you are constantly sowing, day after day, by what you think, say and do. The environment in which you sow this ‘seed’ and in which it develops, is the breeding ground. Therefore ask yourself again and again: where do I have to be, for example, because of my work or other obligations, and where am I by my own choice, what do I read, what am I watching, what am I listening to?

“Do not be deceived” here means ‘don’t deceive yourself in this regard’. God is not mocked, you cannot fool Him. Actually it also means: don’t treat Him with disrespect. And that’s what you do if you don’t consider what He has said in His Word. This might be the connection between Galatians 6:7 and the previous one, Galatians 6:6, which is about the Word. Indeed the Galatians were to blame in that they listened to the Judaists with their human doctrines and therefore put aside the Word of God. Well, if you do not listen to the Word, you mock God and there will be consequences for you. I put it rather sharply, but that’s what Paul does here as well.

Galatians 6:8. The choice is yours. You can sow to the flesh, or you can sow to the Spirit. If you sow to your own flesh, you’re seeking your own interests, so you’re feeding selfishness. You think of your own pleasure and comfort. The inevitable consequence is that you will reap corruption. Nothing remains of it. If you sow to the Spirit, if you’re busy in His interests, you don’t think of yourself, but of Christ and His own. This results in nothing but enjoyment of what eternal life is about and this enjoyment will be perfected when we are finally with the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:9. That way of life is not made easy for you. In fact, we often have to wait for a long time before we see the results of sowing to the Spirit. Then suddenly the thought may arise: ‘What really is the use of the things I do? I don’t see any result; actually it’s only getting worse and worse.’ Hence the admonition “not to lose heart in doing good”. To connect to the imagery of this section: from a piece of land in which you have sown seed today, you cannot reap a rich harvest tomorrow. Continue to do well, remain true in your daily activities, for the harvest is surely coming. Do well generously and you will have a rich harvest.

Do not weaken, just hold on. Do not be disheartened by the setbacks and the pain you experience when your good work is rewarded with evil. God will reward you at the right time.

Galatians 6:10. Look at all those people around you. They need someone like you, someone who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus. Sow His grace around you. The people in the world need that grace to be saved; Christians who are captured by legalism need that grace to be freed; Christians who have difficulties in other ways, need that grace to be encouraged.

So you have a great area to sow: in all the people you encounter every day. The field in which you sow – in other words, your target group – consists of all people. When there is an opportunity, you can do them good. By that you also show Who God is. God’s target group, speaking reverently, also consists of all people (cf. Matthew 5:45; Titus 2:11).

Amid all these people is living a particular target group called “the household of the faith”. You ought to do them good in a special way. 1 Timothy 4 says God also acts in that way (1 Timothy 4:10). The ‘household of faith’ includes all of God’s children, all members of the church, no matter what group or what denomination they have joined.

Galatians 6:11. With these admonitions Paul seems to have reached the end of his letter. Although the letter is relatively short, he points out that it is a long letter. He had written it completely by himself. Usually he dictated his letters and added a salutation with his own hand (1 Corinthians 16:21). This letter is an exception. Because of the gravity of the error for which the Galatians had opened up their minds, he did the writing himself.

Now read Galatians 6:7-11 again.

Reflection: Consider your ‘sowing activities’ and ask yourself in whose interest you ‘sow’: to your own flesh or to the Spirit?

Philippians 1:14

What a Man Sows, He Will Also Reap

Galatians 6:7. Concerning this verse and the following verses we can say that they deal with the government of God. The government of God has to do with someone’s behavior and with the consequences of this behavior. Whatever you do, it always has a certain effect, a specific result. It does something, it leaves a trace. It does not only influence your own life but also the lives of those who are involved in your life.

It is true that the grace of God is perfect and that by the work of the Lord Jesus you are perfectly saved. Nothing or nobody can snatch you out of the hand of the Lord Jesus and out of the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29). However, that does not mean that it is unimportant how this is exposed in your life and how you walk in your practical life. God has connected infallible consequences with the way you live.

It’s something you can easily observe just by having your eyes open. Eliphaz has also made such an observation: “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it" (Job 4:8; cf. Proverbs 22:8a; Hosea 8:7a). Think for instance of the slogan that has been used for an anti-drink campaign: ’Drink destroys more than you like’. This means that someone who has been drinking too much can cause a fatal accident. When he is sober he may confess that, and be forgiven. He will not lose his salvation, but the victim will still be dead. The awareness of this accident and the knowledge of being responsible for somebody’s death will remain with him.

This principle can be applied to many other situations. It is important to realize that you are constantly sowing, day after day, by what you think, say and do. The environment in which you sow this ‘seed’ and in which it develops, is the breeding ground. Therefore ask yourself again and again: where do I have to be, for example, because of my work or other obligations, and where am I by my own choice, what do I read, what am I watching, what am I listening to?

“Do not be deceived” here means ‘don’t deceive yourself in this regard’. God is not mocked, you cannot fool Him. Actually it also means: don’t treat Him with disrespect. And that’s what you do if you don’t consider what He has said in His Word. This might be the connection between Galatians 6:7 and the previous one, Galatians 6:6, which is about the Word. Indeed the Galatians were to blame in that they listened to the Judaists with their human doctrines and therefore put aside the Word of God. Well, if you do not listen to the Word, you mock God and there will be consequences for you. I put it rather sharply, but that’s what Paul does here as well.

Galatians 6:8. The choice is yours. You can sow to the flesh, or you can sow to the Spirit. If you sow to your own flesh, you’re seeking your own interests, so you’re feeding selfishness. You think of your own pleasure and comfort. The inevitable consequence is that you will reap corruption. Nothing remains of it. If you sow to the Spirit, if you’re busy in His interests, you don’t think of yourself, but of Christ and His own. This results in nothing but enjoyment of what eternal life is about and this enjoyment will be perfected when we are finally with the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:9. That way of life is not made easy for you. In fact, we often have to wait for a long time before we see the results of sowing to the Spirit. Then suddenly the thought may arise: ‘What really is the use of the things I do? I don’t see any result; actually it’s only getting worse and worse.’ Hence the admonition “not to lose heart in doing good”. To connect to the imagery of this section: from a piece of land in which you have sown seed today, you cannot reap a rich harvest tomorrow. Continue to do well, remain true in your daily activities, for the harvest is surely coming. Do well generously and you will have a rich harvest.

Do not weaken, just hold on. Do not be disheartened by the setbacks and the pain you experience when your good work is rewarded with evil. God will reward you at the right time.

Galatians 6:10. Look at all those people around you. They need someone like you, someone who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus. Sow His grace around you. The people in the world need that grace to be saved; Christians who are captured by legalism need that grace to be freed; Christians who have difficulties in other ways, need that grace to be encouraged.

So you have a great area to sow: in all the people you encounter every day. The field in which you sow – in other words, your target group – consists of all people. When there is an opportunity, you can do them good. By that you also show Who God is. God’s target group, speaking reverently, also consists of all people (cf. Matthew 5:45; Titus 2:11).

Amid all these people is living a particular target group called “the household of the faith”. You ought to do them good in a special way. 1 Timothy 4 says God also acts in that way (1 Timothy 4:10). The ‘household of faith’ includes all of God’s children, all members of the church, no matter what group or what denomination they have joined.

Galatians 6:11. With these admonitions Paul seems to have reached the end of his letter. Although the letter is relatively short, he points out that it is a long letter. He had written it completely by himself. Usually he dictated his letters and added a salutation with his own hand (1 Corinthians 16:21). This letter is an exception. Because of the gravity of the error for which the Galatians had opened up their minds, he did the writing himself.

Now read Galatians 6:7-11 again.

Reflection: Consider your ‘sowing activities’ and ask yourself in whose interest you ‘sow’: to your own flesh or to the Spirit?

Philippians 1:15

What a Man Sows, He Will Also Reap

Galatians 6:7. Concerning this verse and the following verses we can say that they deal with the government of God. The government of God has to do with someone’s behavior and with the consequences of this behavior. Whatever you do, it always has a certain effect, a specific result. It does something, it leaves a trace. It does not only influence your own life but also the lives of those who are involved in your life.

It is true that the grace of God is perfect and that by the work of the Lord Jesus you are perfectly saved. Nothing or nobody can snatch you out of the hand of the Lord Jesus and out of the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29). However, that does not mean that it is unimportant how this is exposed in your life and how you walk in your practical life. God has connected infallible consequences with the way you live.

It’s something you can easily observe just by having your eyes open. Eliphaz has also made such an observation: “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it" (Job 4:8; cf. Proverbs 22:8a; Hosea 8:7a). Think for instance of the slogan that has been used for an anti-drink campaign: ’Drink destroys more than you like’. This means that someone who has been drinking too much can cause a fatal accident. When he is sober he may confess that, and be forgiven. He will not lose his salvation, but the victim will still be dead. The awareness of this accident and the knowledge of being responsible for somebody’s death will remain with him.

This principle can be applied to many other situations. It is important to realize that you are constantly sowing, day after day, by what you think, say and do. The environment in which you sow this ‘seed’ and in which it develops, is the breeding ground. Therefore ask yourself again and again: where do I have to be, for example, because of my work or other obligations, and where am I by my own choice, what do I read, what am I watching, what am I listening to?

“Do not be deceived” here means ‘don’t deceive yourself in this regard’. God is not mocked, you cannot fool Him. Actually it also means: don’t treat Him with disrespect. And that’s what you do if you don’t consider what He has said in His Word. This might be the connection between Galatians 6:7 and the previous one, Galatians 6:6, which is about the Word. Indeed the Galatians were to blame in that they listened to the Judaists with their human doctrines and therefore put aside the Word of God. Well, if you do not listen to the Word, you mock God and there will be consequences for you. I put it rather sharply, but that’s what Paul does here as well.

Galatians 6:8. The choice is yours. You can sow to the flesh, or you can sow to the Spirit. If you sow to your own flesh, you’re seeking your own interests, so you’re feeding selfishness. You think of your own pleasure and comfort. The inevitable consequence is that you will reap corruption. Nothing remains of it. If you sow to the Spirit, if you’re busy in His interests, you don’t think of yourself, but of Christ and His own. This results in nothing but enjoyment of what eternal life is about and this enjoyment will be perfected when we are finally with the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:9. That way of life is not made easy for you. In fact, we often have to wait for a long time before we see the results of sowing to the Spirit. Then suddenly the thought may arise: ‘What really is the use of the things I do? I don’t see any result; actually it’s only getting worse and worse.’ Hence the admonition “not to lose heart in doing good”. To connect to the imagery of this section: from a piece of land in which you have sown seed today, you cannot reap a rich harvest tomorrow. Continue to do well, remain true in your daily activities, for the harvest is surely coming. Do well generously and you will have a rich harvest.

Do not weaken, just hold on. Do not be disheartened by the setbacks and the pain you experience when your good work is rewarded with evil. God will reward you at the right time.

Galatians 6:10. Look at all those people around you. They need someone like you, someone who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus. Sow His grace around you. The people in the world need that grace to be saved; Christians who are captured by legalism need that grace to be freed; Christians who have difficulties in other ways, need that grace to be encouraged.

So you have a great area to sow: in all the people you encounter every day. The field in which you sow – in other words, your target group – consists of all people. When there is an opportunity, you can do them good. By that you also show Who God is. God’s target group, speaking reverently, also consists of all people (cf. Matthew 5:45; Titus 2:11).

Amid all these people is living a particular target group called “the household of the faith”. You ought to do them good in a special way. 1 Timothy 4 says God also acts in that way (1 Timothy 4:10). The ‘household of faith’ includes all of God’s children, all members of the church, no matter what group or what denomination they have joined.

Galatians 6:11. With these admonitions Paul seems to have reached the end of his letter. Although the letter is relatively short, he points out that it is a long letter. He had written it completely by himself. Usually he dictated his letters and added a salutation with his own hand (1 Corinthians 16:21). This letter is an exception. Because of the gravity of the error for which the Galatians had opened up their minds, he did the writing himself.

Now read Galatians 6:7-11 again.

Reflection: Consider your ‘sowing activities’ and ask yourself in whose interest you ‘sow’: to your own flesh or to the Spirit?

Philippians 1:16

What a Man Sows, He Will Also Reap

Galatians 6:7. Concerning this verse and the following verses we can say that they deal with the government of God. The government of God has to do with someone’s behavior and with the consequences of this behavior. Whatever you do, it always has a certain effect, a specific result. It does something, it leaves a trace. It does not only influence your own life but also the lives of those who are involved in your life.

It is true that the grace of God is perfect and that by the work of the Lord Jesus you are perfectly saved. Nothing or nobody can snatch you out of the hand of the Lord Jesus and out of the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29). However, that does not mean that it is unimportant how this is exposed in your life and how you walk in your practical life. God has connected infallible consequences with the way you live.

It’s something you can easily observe just by having your eyes open. Eliphaz has also made such an observation: “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it" (Job 4:8; cf. Proverbs 22:8a; Hosea 8:7a). Think for instance of the slogan that has been used for an anti-drink campaign: ’Drink destroys more than you like’. This means that someone who has been drinking too much can cause a fatal accident. When he is sober he may confess that, and be forgiven. He will not lose his salvation, but the victim will still be dead. The awareness of this accident and the knowledge of being responsible for somebody’s death will remain with him.

This principle can be applied to many other situations. It is important to realize that you are constantly sowing, day after day, by what you think, say and do. The environment in which you sow this ‘seed’ and in which it develops, is the breeding ground. Therefore ask yourself again and again: where do I have to be, for example, because of my work or other obligations, and where am I by my own choice, what do I read, what am I watching, what am I listening to?

“Do not be deceived” here means ‘don’t deceive yourself in this regard’. God is not mocked, you cannot fool Him. Actually it also means: don’t treat Him with disrespect. And that’s what you do if you don’t consider what He has said in His Word. This might be the connection between Galatians 6:7 and the previous one, Galatians 6:6, which is about the Word. Indeed the Galatians were to blame in that they listened to the Judaists with their human doctrines and therefore put aside the Word of God. Well, if you do not listen to the Word, you mock God and there will be consequences for you. I put it rather sharply, but that’s what Paul does here as well.

Galatians 6:8. The choice is yours. You can sow to the flesh, or you can sow to the Spirit. If you sow to your own flesh, you’re seeking your own interests, so you’re feeding selfishness. You think of your own pleasure and comfort. The inevitable consequence is that you will reap corruption. Nothing remains of it. If you sow to the Spirit, if you’re busy in His interests, you don’t think of yourself, but of Christ and His own. This results in nothing but enjoyment of what eternal life is about and this enjoyment will be perfected when we are finally with the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:9. That way of life is not made easy for you. In fact, we often have to wait for a long time before we see the results of sowing to the Spirit. Then suddenly the thought may arise: ‘What really is the use of the things I do? I don’t see any result; actually it’s only getting worse and worse.’ Hence the admonition “not to lose heart in doing good”. To connect to the imagery of this section: from a piece of land in which you have sown seed today, you cannot reap a rich harvest tomorrow. Continue to do well, remain true in your daily activities, for the harvest is surely coming. Do well generously and you will have a rich harvest.

Do not weaken, just hold on. Do not be disheartened by the setbacks and the pain you experience when your good work is rewarded with evil. God will reward you at the right time.

Galatians 6:10. Look at all those people around you. They need someone like you, someone who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus. Sow His grace around you. The people in the world need that grace to be saved; Christians who are captured by legalism need that grace to be freed; Christians who have difficulties in other ways, need that grace to be encouraged.

So you have a great area to sow: in all the people you encounter every day. The field in which you sow – in other words, your target group – consists of all people. When there is an opportunity, you can do them good. By that you also show Who God is. God’s target group, speaking reverently, also consists of all people (cf. Matthew 5:45; Titus 2:11).

Amid all these people is living a particular target group called “the household of the faith”. You ought to do them good in a special way. 1 Timothy 4 says God also acts in that way (1 Timothy 4:10). The ‘household of faith’ includes all of God’s children, all members of the church, no matter what group or what denomination they have joined.

Galatians 6:11. With these admonitions Paul seems to have reached the end of his letter. Although the letter is relatively short, he points out that it is a long letter. He had written it completely by himself. Usually he dictated his letters and added a salutation with his own hand (1 Corinthians 16:21). This letter is an exception. Because of the gravity of the error for which the Galatians had opened up their minds, he did the writing himself.

Now read Galatians 6:7-11 again.

Reflection: Consider your ‘sowing activities’ and ask yourself in whose interest you ‘sow’: to your own flesh or to the Spirit?

Philippians 1:17

What a Man Sows, He Will Also Reap

Galatians 6:7. Concerning this verse and the following verses we can say that they deal with the government of God. The government of God has to do with someone’s behavior and with the consequences of this behavior. Whatever you do, it always has a certain effect, a specific result. It does something, it leaves a trace. It does not only influence your own life but also the lives of those who are involved in your life.

It is true that the grace of God is perfect and that by the work of the Lord Jesus you are perfectly saved. Nothing or nobody can snatch you out of the hand of the Lord Jesus and out of the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29). However, that does not mean that it is unimportant how this is exposed in your life and how you walk in your practical life. God has connected infallible consequences with the way you live.

It’s something you can easily observe just by having your eyes open. Eliphaz has also made such an observation: “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it" (Job 4:8; cf. Proverbs 22:8a; Hosea 8:7a). Think for instance of the slogan that has been used for an anti-drink campaign: ’Drink destroys more than you like’. This means that someone who has been drinking too much can cause a fatal accident. When he is sober he may confess that, and be forgiven. He will not lose his salvation, but the victim will still be dead. The awareness of this accident and the knowledge of being responsible for somebody’s death will remain with him.

This principle can be applied to many other situations. It is important to realize that you are constantly sowing, day after day, by what you think, say and do. The environment in which you sow this ‘seed’ and in which it develops, is the breeding ground. Therefore ask yourself again and again: where do I have to be, for example, because of my work or other obligations, and where am I by my own choice, what do I read, what am I watching, what am I listening to?

“Do not be deceived” here means ‘don’t deceive yourself in this regard’. God is not mocked, you cannot fool Him. Actually it also means: don’t treat Him with disrespect. And that’s what you do if you don’t consider what He has said in His Word. This might be the connection between Galatians 6:7 and the previous one, Galatians 6:6, which is about the Word. Indeed the Galatians were to blame in that they listened to the Judaists with their human doctrines and therefore put aside the Word of God. Well, if you do not listen to the Word, you mock God and there will be consequences for you. I put it rather sharply, but that’s what Paul does here as well.

Galatians 6:8. The choice is yours. You can sow to the flesh, or you can sow to the Spirit. If you sow to your own flesh, you’re seeking your own interests, so you’re feeding selfishness. You think of your own pleasure and comfort. The inevitable consequence is that you will reap corruption. Nothing remains of it. If you sow to the Spirit, if you’re busy in His interests, you don’t think of yourself, but of Christ and His own. This results in nothing but enjoyment of what eternal life is about and this enjoyment will be perfected when we are finally with the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:9. That way of life is not made easy for you. In fact, we often have to wait for a long time before we see the results of sowing to the Spirit. Then suddenly the thought may arise: ‘What really is the use of the things I do? I don’t see any result; actually it’s only getting worse and worse.’ Hence the admonition “not to lose heart in doing good”. To connect to the imagery of this section: from a piece of land in which you have sown seed today, you cannot reap a rich harvest tomorrow. Continue to do well, remain true in your daily activities, for the harvest is surely coming. Do well generously and you will have a rich harvest.

Do not weaken, just hold on. Do not be disheartened by the setbacks and the pain you experience when your good work is rewarded with evil. God will reward you at the right time.

Galatians 6:10. Look at all those people around you. They need someone like you, someone who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus. Sow His grace around you. The people in the world need that grace to be saved; Christians who are captured by legalism need that grace to be freed; Christians who have difficulties in other ways, need that grace to be encouraged.

So you have a great area to sow: in all the people you encounter every day. The field in which you sow – in other words, your target group – consists of all people. When there is an opportunity, you can do them good. By that you also show Who God is. God’s target group, speaking reverently, also consists of all people (cf. Matthew 5:45; Titus 2:11).

Amid all these people is living a particular target group called “the household of the faith”. You ought to do them good in a special way. 1 Timothy 4 says God also acts in that way (1 Timothy 4:10). The ‘household of faith’ includes all of God’s children, all members of the church, no matter what group or what denomination they have joined.

Galatians 6:11. With these admonitions Paul seems to have reached the end of his letter. Although the letter is relatively short, he points out that it is a long letter. He had written it completely by himself. Usually he dictated his letters and added a salutation with his own hand (1 Corinthians 16:21). This letter is an exception. Because of the gravity of the error for which the Galatians had opened up their minds, he did the writing himself.

Now read Galatians 6:7-11 again.

Reflection: Consider your ‘sowing activities’ and ask yourself in whose interest you ‘sow’: to your own flesh or to the Spirit?

Philippians 1:18

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:19

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:20

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:21

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:22

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:23

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:24

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Galatians 6:12. I have already mentioned that Paul in Galatians 6:11 seemed to have finished his letter. But it is as if he has reread his letter, and because of its importance comes back to its purpose once more. People who only sought their own interests had sneaked in among the Galatians. These people ‘sowed to the flesh’. They emphasized external things, religious statutes and customs.

To impose circumcision on the Galatian believers had no other purpose than to avoid the persecution which was associated with the cross of Christ. This is what the Galatians had to hear again right at the end. Even today you see that where a religion is preached or defended where the flesh and therefore human efforts are being respected, it is an escape from total rejection. Complying with external conditions gives man a nice appearance. In general this is a great danger, but in religion this is the greatest danger.

Whosoever preaches the cross and defends it as the only way to salvation and the only means to live as a Christian, must not expect acclamation. The cross puts an end to the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jewish religion.

Galatians 6:13. The preachers of circumcision and the law did so only for their own honor and glory. They could show off with that. The same is done in our day when people boast in the number of persons they have baptized or in those who are convinced by their clever arguments about how to serve God in the best way, while in the meantime the cross is passed by. But, Paul says, do not be fooled. These people, who so strongly insist on the importance of the ordinances, don’t keep them themselves. They are hypocrites.

Galatians 6:14. Paul contrasts this with his own attitude and he does so in the light of the meaning of the cross. To him the cross is the place where all became clear. There he sees the true character of the world and there he sees all the perfections of the Lord Jesus; there he sees Who God is and there he sees what man is. Whoever keeps the law glories in the nature of man and what he is able to do. Whoever glories in the cross doesn’t glory in anything of himself. Isn’t the cross indeed the place where the full judgment of God is executed on the evil, sinful nature of man?

It is “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Here Paul is using the full name of his and their (“our”) Savior. This makes the cross, the place of shame, rejection and condemnation, at the same time the place where all the glory of God has become visible through faith.

The cross is the radical separation between the world and the believer. There I am judged in Christ, and so to the world I am finished, just as Christ is finished to the world. The world, and especially the religious world, nailed Christ on the cross. Away with him! That is also the way the world is looking at me.

It is also true vice-versa. The world also is judged for me. By the cross the full malice and wickedness of the world is made visible. As a believer I don’t want to deal with the world anymore. The world has nothing desirable for the heart of someone who looks at the cross and accepts it as Paul presents it here. Any compromise with the world is like a slap in the face of God and Christ, and makes the cross a ridiculous thing.

I sincerely hope that you share with me the desire to see more of the meaning of the cross of Christ and also the desire to live consistently in accordance with that meaning.

Galatians 6:15. All outward ordinances have no value to God at all. What matters is whether someone is “a new creation”. As a new creation, you will be able to see things as God sees them.

Galatians 6:16. Do you want a rule to live by? You can find it here. This rule is: Live the new life you have received at your conversion. In that new life Christ is the Object on Whom you focus and the Holy Spirit is the power therein. In that way you’ll find “peace and mercy”. You will not find those things if you want to keep the law. If you want to keep the law you’ll only receive condemnation, damnation and death.

Paul mentions “the Israel of God” separately. These are the believers in Israel who during this time, the time of grace, have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. So they belong to the church. In Romans 11 Paul says of this same group of believers: “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

Since the rejection of the Lord Jesus, Israel as a nation is not recognized by God as His people. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, God will then continue His purpose with His people here on earth and fulfill all the promises He has made to this nation. All this you can learn from Romans 9-11. The few of His earthly people who have become believers in this time, the time of grace, are recognized by God as His Israel without making them a people separated from the church.

Galatians 6:17. Paul hopes that the Galatians will no longer cause trouble for him. They had caused troubled for him by their wandering away from the gospel he had preached to them. In this letter he fervently defended this gospel accompanied by a great inner struggle. That should be sufficient.

The brand-marks, the scars, he bore due to scourges and by being stoned – for this and for even more hardship, see the list in 2 Corinthians 11 (2 Corinthians 11:23-25) – he calls “the brand-marks of Jesus”. He calls his Master as an exception ‘Jesus’ without further addition. This points to the life of the Lord Jesus on earth: a life of humiliation, shame and pain which He suffered (Isaiah 52:14). Paul desired to be as much as possible like his Master (Philippians 3:10). That was his honor!

Galatians 6:18. Then Paul ends his letter as he had begun: short and cool. There are no greetings as in other letters, although many brothers were with him (Galatians 1:2). His own greeting is missing. He only wishes that the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” would be with their “spirit”, as only grace and nothing else can be the counterbalance to the influence of legalistic thinking. That’s what I need; that’s what you need. That grace must thoroughly affect the heart, the thinking and the spirit of the Christian.

Here Paul again writes “Lord Jesus Christ”, preceded by “our”. This ‘our’ indicates the bond that existed between Paul and the Galatians. That bond is also beautifully expressed in the word “brothers”, which also shows how deeply he loved them. He thus expresses that he had written to them out of the deep consciousness of the relationship he had with his children in faith. Should there be, after all he had written, still some doubt about how he sees them, that doubt has been dispelled with this.

The last word of the letter is “amen”. Of all the letters Paul wrote, only the letter to the Romans ends in the same way. That is another indication of how the two letters are connected; they both have the same significant issues, namely the presentation and the defense of the gospel. With this ‘amen’, which means ‘so it is’, Paul as it were seals the letter. What it says, remains so!

I would like to conclude this commentary with the words of another believer (GC Willis) and I add this with the prayer that this letter will affect your life and mine with the purpose that God the Holy Spirit had to write this letter:

‘It is impossible to say how hard it must have been for Paul to write this letter, but what a treasure we have in it for today. At that time it certainly was the work of the devil to send those teachers of the law to Galatia. But there was a higher hand and a heart of love which led everything.

Because of the attack of the enemy, God forged for us a sword of the finest steel by which all the attacks of the enemy in the past twenty centuries were resisted. And it’s still as fresh and powerful as it has been all these centuries. May God Himself exercise our hands to wage war with it, and our fingers to battle with it (Psalms 144:1) to His glory. Amen.’

Now read Galatians 6:12-18 again.

Reflection: Read the letter again and write down how many times you read the words ‘cross’ or ‘crucified’. Consider in what context those words occur and what that means for the practice of your life of faith.

Philippians 1:27

Introduction

The letter to the believers in Ephesus is a special one. There is a huge difference between this letter and the previous one, the letter to the Galatians, really the difference between heaven and earth. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul had to point out to the Galatian believers in an almost cool and sober manner, their deviation from the truth of the gospel. Although, you can certainly read between the lines his great compassion and emotional involvement with them.

Considering what was at stake, Paul warned them how much they were risking to be robbed from every blessing and even fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). By accepting the law again in their life, the believers in Galatia gave room again to the “elemental things of the world” (Galatians 4:3; 9b).

How totally different is the content of the letter to the Ephesians. This letter shows you as a Christian: 1. what your real blessings are, 2. where to find them and 3. where they come from.

By reading this letter you discover that the blessings of the Christian 1. are spiritual, 2. are found in heaven and 3. have their origin in the heart of God.

However, in this letter you will not only find the blessing for the individual Christian. The believers together make up the church and the church as a whole has also received tremendous blessings. Paul also writes a lot about the height and the depth of these blessings in this letter. It is because of its connection with its glorified Head in heaven, Jesus Christ, that the church receives these blessings. In Ephesians 3 the apostle calls this connection a “mystery” (Ephesians 3:3; 9).

A comparison with the letter to the Romans clarifies still more what the issue is of this letter to the Ephesians. In the last mentioned letter, written around the year 62 when Paul was in captivity in Rome, he writes about what he calls in Romans 16 “the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25).

In the letter to the Romans Paul could not elaborate on this, but he indeed wanted to mention that there was more than righteousness by faith, about which he wrote in detail to the Roman believers. That’s why he lightly touched on the mystery before he ended his letter to them. But in his letter to the Ephesians he writes in detail about the mystery.

To point at a subject briefly in one letter and circumstantiate it in another has to do with the special purpose each of these letters has. The letter to the Romans teaches us what God has done to meet us in our misery in which we were living due to sin and because of our sins. In that letter man in his need is centered. The letter to the Ephesians shows us the heart of God. In that letter God is centered with His purpose, and His desire to bless us without any motive that has to do with man or man in his need.

If you read and reread this letter you will be more and more impressed by the greatness of God’s heart. Nobody else than God alone could think of blessing sinners – who were spiritually dead, living at the same time rebellious against Him (Ephesians 2:1-2) – with enormous riches, instead of consuming them by His righteousness and holiness. One of those riches is that we have put on the new man “which according to God is created in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 Darby Translation). This is totally different than being consumed by His righteousness and holiness.

The following example might be helpful to illustrate what this letter tells us about God. A rich man could do a favor to a poor street-boy if he paid the fine for the crime he has committed. That would be very kind of that man. Due to this kindness the boy also escapes the punishment for not paying the fine. The kindness of this man would go further if he would give this boy the opportunity to an education in order to liberate him from ignorance. If the man would also provide his livelihood the boy would no longer be poor. That all would be kindness in view of the misery the boy lived in.

But, if the man would adopt the boy as a son and therefore have him close to him and provide the boy with wealth and influence, it would have nothing to do at all with the misery the boy lived in. That would only show the nature and the mind of the rich man, and what he enjoys himself.

That is indeed how God is presented in the letter to the Ephesians. Everything in this letter comes from God, from His thoughts and counsels. What man needs or would like to have is entirely not the issue. There is one more picture that illustrates what the letter to the Ephesians teaches us. You can find this picture in the Old Testament, in the journey of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness to the promised land, Canaan. In the book of Exodus you see the ‘picture’ of what the letter to the Romans teaches us.

In Egypt the people of God are in bondage and are being delivered from that after keeping the Passover. That deliverance you find back in the letter to the Romans. There a man is presented to us who is living in the bondage of sin and is being saved from that through the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ.

After the Passover the people leave Egypt and come in the wilderness through the Red Sea. There the people get the tabernacle, wherein God dwells amongst His people. They are also given a sacrificial service through which they can draw near to God and remain connected to Him. This is being described in the book of Leviticus. After Leviticus comes Numbers where the journey through the wilderness is being described and the means God provides for that journey. The pictures of the book of Leviticus you can find in the New Testament, in the teachings of the letter to the Hebrews and the pictures of the book of Numbers you find back in the two letters to the Corinthians.

Before the people enter the promised land, they camped for a certain time in the plains of Moab. That is where Moses held his big speech. You find that in the book of Deuteronomy. In the first chapters of that book he gives a review, thereafter he looks forward, to everything that was awaiting the people in the promised land. In the New Testament you then come to the letter to the Philippians. That letter is about the Christian who is still yet on earth, but his whole heart is focused on heaven.

After the book of Deuteronomy comes the book of Joshua. The people went through the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan. In the New Testament you find this in the letter to the Ephesians. Just as Israel had to take possession of the land that God gave, you are being taught in the letter to the Ephesians to take possession of what your spiritual property is in the heavenly places.

All blessings that are presented in this letter have been given to you in Christ. However, only when you have taken them in possession by yourself spiritually, with your heart, will you be able to say that they have really become your spiritual property. We can only say that a truth has become our spiritual property when not only we have given that truth a place in our heart, but when we have worshiped God for that truth. That is just what God desires according to the truths in the letter you now have before you.

Sender, Recipients, Blessing

Ephesians 1:1. Just as in the four previous letters, Paul presents himself here as “an apostle”. And just as in the second letter to the Corinthians he adds “of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. In some of the letters he also mentions a co-sender. He doesn’t do that in this one. God had announced to Paul, and to him alone, the mystery of the unity between Christ and the church. Considering the purpose of this letter, it must be plain and clear from which position Paul is speaking. That’s why he presents himself as an apostle, which means ‘sent one’. It means that he comes on behalf of Somebody else, a Superior, and he comes with a message of that Superior.

He is an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is his Sender. To practice his apostleship, his eyes are continuously focused on Jesus Christ. By Him, Who is the glorified Man in heaven, he is also called to be an apostle (Acts 9:1-18). The origin of his apostleship lies in “the will of God” and not in his own will or the will of whosoever. Any human appointment was excluded. God was going to use Paul as an apostle. And what God wants, will be done. The authorization of Paul as an apostle is, as it were, marked by the signatures of Christ Jesus and of God. What Paul writes is therefore clothed with the authority of two Divine Persons.

Just one more detail of the apostleship of Paul. There is a difference between his apostleship and that of the twelve. The distinction is in both the calling and the practice. The twelve are called by the Lord Jesus when He was on earth (Luke 6:13). Paul is called by the glorified Lord in heaven (Acts 26:16-18). To him the apostleship toward the Gentiles was committed and to the twelve the apostleship to the people of Israel (Galatians 2:8). The calling of Paul by the glorified Lord in heaven also clarifies the nature of his service. That is aimed at telling the church what her connection is with Christ in heaven. As it has already been noticed, that is the issue of this letter.

After the sender, we read about the addressees. It is not just ‘to the church in Ephesus’. There is a lot more. The believers there are addressed as “saints” and “faithful”. This tells a lot about their life as believers and about the spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. That spiritual condition is significant in regard to what Paul writes in this letter. Could Paul, if he had to address them as ‘fleshly’ (1 Corinthians 3:1), have spoken to them about such elevated blessings? If he had written the profound truths to the Corinthians, which he writes to the Ephesians, then there could have been two possible responses:

1. either they would simply not have understood what Paul was talking about and would have dismissed it as a speech of someone who has his head in the clouds;

2. or if they would have understood Paul intellectually, they would have surely become more proud. They already rejoiced in the many gifts they had received and these blessings came on top of that.

This makes clear that each church receives a letter that matches its spiritual condition. That condition is determined by the behavior, attitude and mind of the individual members of the church. That’s why this is also applicable to you and me as individual Christians. In order to fully enjoy the wonderful things Paul unfolds in this letter, you and I must be in a spiritual condition that justifies the qualification of ‘saints’ and ‘faithful’.

In the situation of the Ephesians these marks give a striking reflection of the condition which is necessary, not only to receive the message in this letter, but to understand it, to enjoy it and finally to praise God for it. The teaching in this letter will also shape further the practice of their faith life.

The qualification of “saints” indicates that the believers in Ephesus were set apart for God. Basically that counts for every child of God that he or she is sanctified, which means that he or she is set apart for God from the unbelieving world. For the Ephesians it was not only a position, but it was also obvious that in their daily life they were set apart for God. They did not join the world, but they were obviously distinct from it.

The qualification of “faithful” shows they were faithful to God and to the Lord Jesus. They did not deviate from the way God wanted them to go. The Greek word ‘faithful’ can also be translated as ‘believers’. The believers in Ephesus were faithful and that’s why Paul could write them this letter.

Also the addition “in Christ Jesus” is significant. This indicates that their sanctified and faithful life is anchored in the position they had in Christ Jesus. It was not about them, but about Him. Many times the term “in” Him appears in the letter. In this chapter you find it eight times. It is well worth the effort to check it yourself.

The letter is written to the church “at Ephesus”. In Acts 18-20 you can read a lot about this city. Paul proclaimed the gospel there. He stayed there for three years (Acts 20:31) and met with great resistance (Acts 19:23-31). When he departed from there he did not leave them to their fate. He gave them after-care through Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3) and when Timothy could not stay longer there he sent Tychicus (2 Timothy 4:12).

He also experienced how at last the church in Ephesus deviated from the life that was in accordance with the special privileges it possessed. He personally felt the pain because among those who were in Asia and who turned away from him, there were also believers from Ephesus that was in the province of Asia (2 Timothy 1:15).

The last remark of the church of Ephesus we find in the letter of the apostle John in the book of Revelation 2 (Revelation 2:1-7). What John writes there, shows how the corruption started, the corruption that through the ages would penetrate the Christian church, a penetration which almost is complete know. It connects to what Paul predicted and against which he warned the church in Ephesus in Acts 20 (Acts 20:29-30).

He must have kept that in mind when he wished the saints and faithful “grace … and peace”. Not just grace and peace, but “grace … and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In Acts 20 he also had entrusted them to “God and the word of His grace” (Acts 20:32). He knew that when it comes to holding on to the wonderful blessings which are reflected in this letter, the future did not look good. But what an encouragement for you and for me that grace will always be abundantly present.

When you live in a living connection with God as Father and with Jesus as Lord and Christ, you can be sure that you are surrounded by that grace. The result is that you will experience peace in your heart that will give you light in your darkest days. The letter begins and also ends with grace and peace (Ephesians 6:23-24). Isn’t it beautiful to see that this letter is thereby enveloped, as it were, by “grace” and “peace”?

Now read Ephesians 1:1-2 again.

Reflection: What do ‘grace’ and ‘peace’ mean to you?

Philippians 1:28

Introduction

The letter to the believers in Ephesus is a special one. There is a huge difference between this letter and the previous one, the letter to the Galatians, really the difference between heaven and earth. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul had to point out to the Galatian believers in an almost cool and sober manner, their deviation from the truth of the gospel. Although, you can certainly read between the lines his great compassion and emotional involvement with them.

Considering what was at stake, Paul warned them how much they were risking to be robbed from every blessing and even fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). By accepting the law again in their life, the believers in Galatia gave room again to the “elemental things of the world” (Galatians 4:3; 9b).

How totally different is the content of the letter to the Ephesians. This letter shows you as a Christian: 1. what your real blessings are, 2. where to find them and 3. where they come from.

By reading this letter you discover that the blessings of the Christian 1. are spiritual, 2. are found in heaven and 3. have their origin in the heart of God.

However, in this letter you will not only find the blessing for the individual Christian. The believers together make up the church and the church as a whole has also received tremendous blessings. Paul also writes a lot about the height and the depth of these blessings in this letter. It is because of its connection with its glorified Head in heaven, Jesus Christ, that the church receives these blessings. In Ephesians 3 the apostle calls this connection a “mystery” (Ephesians 3:3; 9).

A comparison with the letter to the Romans clarifies still more what the issue is of this letter to the Ephesians. In the last mentioned letter, written around the year 62 when Paul was in captivity in Rome, he writes about what he calls in Romans 16 “the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25).

In the letter to the Romans Paul could not elaborate on this, but he indeed wanted to mention that there was more than righteousness by faith, about which he wrote in detail to the Roman believers. That’s why he lightly touched on the mystery before he ended his letter to them. But in his letter to the Ephesians he writes in detail about the mystery.

To point at a subject briefly in one letter and circumstantiate it in another has to do with the special purpose each of these letters has. The letter to the Romans teaches us what God has done to meet us in our misery in which we were living due to sin and because of our sins. In that letter man in his need is centered. The letter to the Ephesians shows us the heart of God. In that letter God is centered with His purpose, and His desire to bless us without any motive that has to do with man or man in his need.

If you read and reread this letter you will be more and more impressed by the greatness of God’s heart. Nobody else than God alone could think of blessing sinners – who were spiritually dead, living at the same time rebellious against Him (Ephesians 2:1-2) – with enormous riches, instead of consuming them by His righteousness and holiness. One of those riches is that we have put on the new man “which according to God is created in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 Darby Translation). This is totally different than being consumed by His righteousness and holiness.

The following example might be helpful to illustrate what this letter tells us about God. A rich man could do a favor to a poor street-boy if he paid the fine for the crime he has committed. That would be very kind of that man. Due to this kindness the boy also escapes the punishment for not paying the fine. The kindness of this man would go further if he would give this boy the opportunity to an education in order to liberate him from ignorance. If the man would also provide his livelihood the boy would no longer be poor. That all would be kindness in view of the misery the boy lived in.

But, if the man would adopt the boy as a son and therefore have him close to him and provide the boy with wealth and influence, it would have nothing to do at all with the misery the boy lived in. That would only show the nature and the mind of the rich man, and what he enjoys himself.

That is indeed how God is presented in the letter to the Ephesians. Everything in this letter comes from God, from His thoughts and counsels. What man needs or would like to have is entirely not the issue. There is one more picture that illustrates what the letter to the Ephesians teaches us. You can find this picture in the Old Testament, in the journey of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness to the promised land, Canaan. In the book of Exodus you see the ‘picture’ of what the letter to the Romans teaches us.

In Egypt the people of God are in bondage and are being delivered from that after keeping the Passover. That deliverance you find back in the letter to the Romans. There a man is presented to us who is living in the bondage of sin and is being saved from that through the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ.

After the Passover the people leave Egypt and come in the wilderness through the Red Sea. There the people get the tabernacle, wherein God dwells amongst His people. They are also given a sacrificial service through which they can draw near to God and remain connected to Him. This is being described in the book of Leviticus. After Leviticus comes Numbers where the journey through the wilderness is being described and the means God provides for that journey. The pictures of the book of Leviticus you can find in the New Testament, in the teachings of the letter to the Hebrews and the pictures of the book of Numbers you find back in the two letters to the Corinthians.

Before the people enter the promised land, they camped for a certain time in the plains of Moab. That is where Moses held his big speech. You find that in the book of Deuteronomy. In the first chapters of that book he gives a review, thereafter he looks forward, to everything that was awaiting the people in the promised land. In the New Testament you then come to the letter to the Philippians. That letter is about the Christian who is still yet on earth, but his whole heart is focused on heaven.

After the book of Deuteronomy comes the book of Joshua. The people went through the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan. In the New Testament you find this in the letter to the Ephesians. Just as Israel had to take possession of the land that God gave, you are being taught in the letter to the Ephesians to take possession of what your spiritual property is in the heavenly places.

All blessings that are presented in this letter have been given to you in Christ. However, only when you have taken them in possession by yourself spiritually, with your heart, will you be able to say that they have really become your spiritual property. We can only say that a truth has become our spiritual property when not only we have given that truth a place in our heart, but when we have worshiped God for that truth. That is just what God desires according to the truths in the letter you now have before you.

Sender, Recipients, Blessing

Ephesians 1:1. Just as in the four previous letters, Paul presents himself here as “an apostle”. And just as in the second letter to the Corinthians he adds “of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. In some of the letters he also mentions a co-sender. He doesn’t do that in this one. God had announced to Paul, and to him alone, the mystery of the unity between Christ and the church. Considering the purpose of this letter, it must be plain and clear from which position Paul is speaking. That’s why he presents himself as an apostle, which means ‘sent one’. It means that he comes on behalf of Somebody else, a Superior, and he comes with a message of that Superior.

He is an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is his Sender. To practice his apostleship, his eyes are continuously focused on Jesus Christ. By Him, Who is the glorified Man in heaven, he is also called to be an apostle (Acts 9:1-18). The origin of his apostleship lies in “the will of God” and not in his own will or the will of whosoever. Any human appointment was excluded. God was going to use Paul as an apostle. And what God wants, will be done. The authorization of Paul as an apostle is, as it were, marked by the signatures of Christ Jesus and of God. What Paul writes is therefore clothed with the authority of two Divine Persons.

Just one more detail of the apostleship of Paul. There is a difference between his apostleship and that of the twelve. The distinction is in both the calling and the practice. The twelve are called by the Lord Jesus when He was on earth (Luke 6:13). Paul is called by the glorified Lord in heaven (Acts 26:16-18). To him the apostleship toward the Gentiles was committed and to the twelve the apostleship to the people of Israel (Galatians 2:8). The calling of Paul by the glorified Lord in heaven also clarifies the nature of his service. That is aimed at telling the church what her connection is with Christ in heaven. As it has already been noticed, that is the issue of this letter.

After the sender, we read about the addressees. It is not just ‘to the church in Ephesus’. There is a lot more. The believers there are addressed as “saints” and “faithful”. This tells a lot about their life as believers and about the spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. That spiritual condition is significant in regard to what Paul writes in this letter. Could Paul, if he had to address them as ‘fleshly’ (1 Corinthians 3:1), have spoken to them about such elevated blessings? If he had written the profound truths to the Corinthians, which he writes to the Ephesians, then there could have been two possible responses:

1. either they would simply not have understood what Paul was talking about and would have dismissed it as a speech of someone who has his head in the clouds;

2. or if they would have understood Paul intellectually, they would have surely become more proud. They already rejoiced in the many gifts they had received and these blessings came on top of that.

This makes clear that each church receives a letter that matches its spiritual condition. That condition is determined by the behavior, attitude and mind of the individual members of the church. That’s why this is also applicable to you and me as individual Christians. In order to fully enjoy the wonderful things Paul unfolds in this letter, you and I must be in a spiritual condition that justifies the qualification of ‘saints’ and ‘faithful’.

In the situation of the Ephesians these marks give a striking reflection of the condition which is necessary, not only to receive the message in this letter, but to understand it, to enjoy it and finally to praise God for it. The teaching in this letter will also shape further the practice of their faith life.

The qualification of “saints” indicates that the believers in Ephesus were set apart for God. Basically that counts for every child of God that he or she is sanctified, which means that he or she is set apart for God from the unbelieving world. For the Ephesians it was not only a position, but it was also obvious that in their daily life they were set apart for God. They did not join the world, but they were obviously distinct from it.

The qualification of “faithful” shows they were faithful to God and to the Lord Jesus. They did not deviate from the way God wanted them to go. The Greek word ‘faithful’ can also be translated as ‘believers’. The believers in Ephesus were faithful and that’s why Paul could write them this letter.

Also the addition “in Christ Jesus” is significant. This indicates that their sanctified and faithful life is anchored in the position they had in Christ Jesus. It was not about them, but about Him. Many times the term “in” Him appears in the letter. In this chapter you find it eight times. It is well worth the effort to check it yourself.

The letter is written to the church “at Ephesus”. In Acts 18-20 you can read a lot about this city. Paul proclaimed the gospel there. He stayed there for three years (Acts 20:31) and met with great resistance (Acts 19:23-31). When he departed from there he did not leave them to their fate. He gave them after-care through Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3) and when Timothy could not stay longer there he sent Tychicus (2 Timothy 4:12).

He also experienced how at last the church in Ephesus deviated from the life that was in accordance with the special privileges it possessed. He personally felt the pain because among those who were in Asia and who turned away from him, there were also believers from Ephesus that was in the province of Asia (2 Timothy 1:15).

The last remark of the church of Ephesus we find in the letter of the apostle John in the book of Revelation 2 (Revelation 2:1-7). What John writes there, shows how the corruption started, the corruption that through the ages would penetrate the Christian church, a penetration which almost is complete know. It connects to what Paul predicted and against which he warned the church in Ephesus in Acts 20 (Acts 20:29-30).

He must have kept that in mind when he wished the saints and faithful “grace … and peace”. Not just grace and peace, but “grace … and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In Acts 20 he also had entrusted them to “God and the word of His grace” (Acts 20:32). He knew that when it comes to holding on to the wonderful blessings which are reflected in this letter, the future did not look good. But what an encouragement for you and for me that grace will always be abundantly present.

When you live in a living connection with God as Father and with Jesus as Lord and Christ, you can be sure that you are surrounded by that grace. The result is that you will experience peace in your heart that will give you light in your darkest days. The letter begins and also ends with grace and peace (Ephesians 6:23-24). Isn’t it beautiful to see that this letter is thereby enveloped, as it were, by “grace” and “peace”?

Now read Ephesians 1:1-2 again.

Reflection: What do ‘grace’ and ‘peace’ mean to you?

Philippians 1:29

Spiritual Blessing

Ephesians 1:3. This verse is the beginning of a long sentence that ends with Ephesians 1:14. From Ephesians 1:3 there comes one continuous flood of blessings running over you. It is as if Paul only stops after Ephesians 1:14 to breathe. In this section you find the source, the center, the area, the nature, the origin and the purpose of all these blessings.

This section can be divided into three parts. Every part closes with a praise on God’s glory (Ephesians 1:6; 12; 14): 1. Ephesians 1:6 closes the part that tells about the will of God (Ephesians 1:3-6); 2. Ephesians 1:12 closes the part in which the work of the Son is centered (Ephesians 1:7-12); 3. Ephesians 1:14 finally closes the part that tells about the work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14).

You see that all three Persons of the Godhead are involved with the blessings of the Christian.

When after the introductory words (Ephesians 1:1-2) Paul wants to write about the blessings of the Christian, first of all a praise to God arises in his heart. He is intensely impressed by all that he – and every Christian – has received from God. He praises and honors God for that. What a wonderful beginning! Through “blessed” he wants to express that there are only good things to say about God. To bless means ‘to speak well of’.

He calls God here “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That means God is seen here as God and as Father. These are the two ways in which He is related to His Son. In these two ways He is also related to the believer. He is also the God and Father of each of His children. The Son is “our Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul mentions Him with His full name.

1. He is “Lord”, He has all authority. 2. He is “Jesus”, that is the name He received when he was born (Matthew 1:21) and which expresses His humiliation and lowliness. 3. He is “Christ”, and that is ‘Anointed’. That name expresses that God will accomplish all His counsels in Him, where Christ Himself will have the central place.

Both names that are used for God show His relationship with the Lord Jesus. To the Lord Jesus as Man He is God. The Lord Jesus called Him on earth ‘My God’. To the Lord Jesus as the eternal Son He is Father. In John 20 the Lord used both names and He brings the disciples in connection with Him when He says: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). By using these names He points at the essence of the specific Christian blessings that result there from.

These names of God, related with His Son, are the basic principle of the letter we have before us. Our blessings are connected with these two names. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the absolute source of all our blessings.

The believers from the Old Testament were not familiar with this name of God. That is because at that time there was not a risen and glorified Lord to Whom this letter is connected. The Lord, risen and glorified by God, is the center of this letter. And we have also become partakers through our connection both with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have become partakers not only because these blessings have been promised to us, but they are our property. It is not written that God will bless us with them, but that He has blessed us with them.

We now can take a look at the nature of those blessings. We read that it is about “spiritual blessing”. The meaning of that becomes clear if we compare it with the blessings of Israel. If Israel were obedient, it could have counted on the blessings that it could take from the land. You can read that for example in Deuteronomy 8 (Deuteronomy 8:7-10). Their blessings were promised on condition and they were material. You could grasp them with your hands.

The blessing of the Christian is spiritual. That blessing you cannot grasp with your hands, you can ‘grasp’ it only spiritually, namely with your heart (Ephesians 1:17-18). Also there are no conditions for receiving them. The ‘spiritual blessing’ is the unconditional portion of every Christian. [Just a reminder: The condition indeed is that they are only enjoyed by ‘saints and faithful’ (Ephesians 1:1).]

The comparison with Israel is also clarified when it refers to the area where you can find the blessing. The blessing of Israel was on the earth, where they stood with their feet (Joshua 1:3). That of the Christian is “in heavenly [places]”, with further specifics “in Christ”. That addition is the essence of all blessings that are received. No blessing has been given to us apart from Christ.

For God and the Father everything is connected with Him, the Man of His pleasure Who has accomplished His whole will. All that an Almighty God could think of to reward the Lord Jesus for what He did, God has given to Him (Matthew 11:27; John 3:35; John 13:3). The great wonder of grace is that everyone who believes (Ephesians 1:13), shares in what He has received (John 17:22; 26).

There is one more word I want to point to before we continue with the following verse and that is the word “all”. From what we saw, we can conclude that God did not hold back any blessing, but ‘all’ emphasizes that. A fullness of blessing is the portion of everyone who is ‘in Christ’. The word ‘blessing’, which is a singular form, indicates that it is about fullness.

The fullness of blessing we can also summarize as: eternal life. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, has received eternal life (John 3:14-16). In 1 John 5 we read of Him: “This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). So everyone who has eternal life has the Son as his life. The conclusion is that all who believe have a portion in all that the Son has.

If you take a look at how John approaches the blessing and how Paul does, you notice a difference. John talks about life, the Son, in us. Paul says that we are in the Son, in Christ, and in that position we have received our blessings. These different approaches do not contradict, but complement each other.

Regarding this matter, I finally want to point out that many Christians are not aware of the riches they have in Christ. We can compare these Christians with the old woman who received from her son who lived abroad, a check which she could cash for a remarkable amount of money. But she did not know what to do with it. To her it was just a piece of paper. Because it came from her son she treasured it. Giving it a nice place on the wall was the only thing she could do with it. But that was not the reason her son sent the check. He wanted her to cash it in order to live without worries.

This example might not be good enough, but it clarifies how many Christians look at blessings given by God. I sincerely hope that you are not like that, but that you will enjoy all that God has given to you in Christ. And what God has given, is abundantly present in this letter.

Now read Ephesians 1:3 again.

Reflection: What do you think when you ponder over the name ‘God’ and the name ‘Father’?

Philippians 1:30

Chosen

Ephesians 1:4. After Paul has spoken in Ephesians 1:3 about the blessing in general phrasings, he starts in Ephesians 1:4 to unpack them. This verse begins with the eternity that is behind us: “before the foundation of the world”, and ends with the eternity that is before us, when we will be with God: “before Him”. But this verse applies also to the present. When it is said “that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love” it means that God already sees us like that. That is how He looks at us. That is how He wanted it, that is how His counsel is and how it happened.

But what is God’s motive to decide and act like that? He did not find that with us. The first verse of chapter 2 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). And with somebody who is dead you cannot start anything. Indeed He did not find the motive in something of man, in you or in me, but in Himself and in His Son. God has namely chosen us “in Him”, that is Christ. Christ has in eternity always been the joy of God. Now it has pleased God to involve others in the perfect fellowship that has always been between Him and His Son.

His purpose has always been that He can also enjoy from others in the same way as from His Son. This cannot be done apart from the Son. That is the reason that it had to be in the Son. Just as every man is ‘in Adam’ to his nature – which means that we are inseparably connected with this first man – just in that way God has determined that every believer is inseparably connected with His Son.

He determined this in eternity, before the creation of heaven and earth. Then there was nothing else than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the perfect love between Them. The Lord Jesus refers to that and because of that He asks: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Before the foundation of the world God chose people from the people that would be living on earth to have them with Him.

The reason for this action is His love for His Son. You could see that also at the beginning of this verse in the words ‘in Him’. When you think about God’s choice, many questions may arise. You could ask yourself: Why am I chosen while a lot of other people are not? Are all of the other ones chosen to be lost?

Some remarks can be of help. The first one is that nobody is being chosen to be lost. Every man is lost indeed and is under judgment because of his own sins: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). When God saves people from that judgment in spite of this general judgment, it is not unfair of God, but that is His sovereign compassion.

Second, you should look at Israel. That nation was chosen by God from all nations to be His people. He did that only because of His own love for them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Does this mean that He did not want to have anything to do with the other nations? No, His only purpose was that Israel would be a testimony to the other nations. Through this testimony they could come to the knowledge of the one true God. Just take a look at the book of Jonah.

Therefore being chosen is something that entirely comes from God, regardless of any situation in which man can be. You have to belong to God to gain insight into this. That is the reason why this truth can only be understood by believers. To unbelievers must be said that they must repent, otherwise they will perish.

The following example illustrates this. There is a sign above a door that says that everyone is invited to come inside to receive a big present. Many pass this door. A few go inside. When one turns inside he sees a sign above the door that says: ‘You are chosen.’ This clarifies that the truth of ‘being chosen’ counts only for those who are ‘inside’.

We return now to the expression ‘before the foundation of the world’. The fact that nothing was seen of the creation then, is not a problem for God. He is above time. To Him it is always present time. He knows exactly what will happen the next hour or the next century. When He looks at the future, this future is today. That is simply one of His exalted qualities by which He is God. Listen to what He says in Isaiah: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; [I am] God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isaiah 46:9-10). This is beyond our understanding, but we can believe it and admire it.

It is already impressive to perceive the majesty of God. It becomes more impressive when you’re going to see that God in His sovereignty has even thought of you and me individually to have us before Himself. This is something that cannot be explained. You can only bow your knees and worship Him for it. How could you ever explain to somebody that He has chosen you out of all the billions of people for such an exalted position, “before Him”? This perfectly clarifies that this blessing only has its origin in the heart of God Himself.

That the blessing of being chosen was determined before the foundation of the world, means that sin that came into the world, cannot affect this. God is not surprised that the people who He had chosen would be sinners. This problem is not mentioned here. In chapter 2 Paul will pay attention to this. Yet sin is certainly assumed here. We see that, when we realize that God wanted us “holy and without blame” before Him. He who comes into God’s presence, must totally correspond to Whom He is in His holiness and that is without any blemish of sin.

That is why He has determined that all whom He would give this place should be “holy and without blame”. ‘Holy’ means ‘to be set apart to be for God’. ‘Without blame’ means that there is no blemish of sin, totally fit to be in God’s presence, Who cannot see or tolerate sin. In this way the demand is fulfilled in regard to God’s holiness and righteousness. How that happened we shall see in Ephesians 1:7. You could say that regarding this part of God’s plan, “the message” is accomplished “which we [the apostles] have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

However, God cannot be satisfied by this alone. He doesn’t only want us to be without blame, He also wants us to feel at home in His love. He has brought us into an atmosphere that breathes pure, genuine – that is – Divine love. The only way God can be satisfied, is when it is also clearly expressed that His plan totally corresponds with the nature of His love. He who is in God’s presence, sees holiness and love wherever he looks.

Now read Ephesians 1:4 again.

Reflection: Just think about the reason why God has chosen you and thank Him because He did it.