Bible Study notes (1 Feb 2019)

Friday 1 Feb 2019

The book of Galatians Chapter 3:1-5

- Paul received a report of people being bewitched/brain washed and swayed from the word of God.

- We need to remember that Paul is in a battle here with false teachers that had infiltrated Galatia namely the Judaizers

- He is in a battle with people that were coming in with another fake gospel

- He wants to prove and is teaching his followers/Christians that salvation comes by grace alone and nothing else

- He was not going to give into the fight as he was fighting for people’s salvation and to make sure that people were saved and saved correctly

- Paul stood with the truth and he said only the truth shall set these people and everyone free

- Paul was not an armature in this word as he knew what he was talking about.

- There were different arguments which Paul was talking about

- And the first one was a personal argument which he said, who has bewitched you, then he use Spiritual, logical, historical, sentimental and allegorical arguments as well is epistle to the Galatians.

- Vs 4 says “Did you suffer so many things in vain-if indeed it was in vain?”

- The key word here is “suffer”.

- It’s a very important question to always ask ourselves if we have really suffered in vain

- They had experienced the Holy Spirit and a many other personal, subjective and objective experience from God.

- Experience can be dangerous because it can be counterfeit

- Subjective experience should be balanced with objective evidence

- Our experiences also can change but the truth can never change.

- As the bible says, we move from glory to glory so yes, experience can change but at the end God speaks the last

- Paul emphatically says “have you suffered in vain”

- It is very important not to forget our experience in the Lord

- As human we have suffered a lot and had gone through so much experience but the Son of God have always rescued us from our day to day troubles.

- Paul also asks a very important question whether the Galatians had received the holy spirit in vain”

- He also used the word foolish which means spiritual dullness.

- False teachers had take advantage of them because of their ignorance.

- Paul was saying in all the experience you had in Christ, are you spiritual dull that you are now doubting if he will do it again and if he will protect you again.

- Oh how often, we quickly forget what the Lord has done for us

- Always remember that He never changes, if he did it before, He will definitely do it again

- Faith is our pillar for it is where everything starts.

- The Judaism is only seeking one thing, that we bow down to idols and lose our focus in Jesus Christ

- Also remember that Judaism here is a metaphor. It’s a comparison of different things that try to sway us from God.

- Glory be to God, The word of God and Holy Spirit always takes us out of idolatry.

- The bible says “Thou shall not have other gods, beside the true living God.”

- When Hezekiah (2 Kings 19) destroyed all alters, he left one alter, which is Jesus Christ our saviour who died for us and saved us though we did not even deserve it.

- Psalms 14v1 and Psalms 53v1: The fool says in his heart, There is no God.

- When you are foolish you will change your focus and start to focus on the mortal.

- The mortal will destroy you but the immortal will cleans us. We need Jesus Christ.

- He said tarry yee in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes, for he will teach you so many things and he will comfort you

- Whenever you face something that affects your faith, it destroys your focus and you will be easily led astray.

- If you are to climb on a higher place and you should have your balance on something, the moment you start doubting the balancing pillar, you will not make it. Just the same in Jesus, he is our balancing rock and pillar, how then do we doubt him and lose focus.

- The bible says it is impossible to please God without Faith

- Therefore we need to inform people about the knowledge which they have received about God.

- Luke 24 vs 5 “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Here he is emphasizing that he is alive and well, he is speaking to those ladies asking them, why they were looking for the living among the dead. For our Redeemer lives.

- There were a lot of people who were prophesying to God’s people yet they were not God’s people. The false ravenous teachers and in this case Judaizers.

- On vs 1 is saying was “Was Christ not crucified before your eyes.”

- He is saying evidently that you saw him being crucified

- The word Evidently set forth as evidence that he was truly crucified

- And crucified for them

- He was crucified for the unworthy and the rejected ones. He was crucified for the non privileged ones.

- So Paul is actually talking to us specifically that you have seen and heard a lot about Jesus, why now are you losing your faith and focusing on the wrong that people are feeding your ears with. Why are focusing on the false teaching. Have you totally forgotten your Messiah who saved you in so many situations to the extent that you have now lost faith?

- When they received him and saw him coming as the Holy Spirit, how then have they forgotten quickly?

- Romans 8 vs 9; “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. “Meaning as Christians, we are not controlled by our sinful nature but we are controlled by the spirit of God which leaves in us.

- We should always pray to God that we remain spiritual

- For we received the Spirit by faith and not by works

- The devil will always come and manipulate and deceive you but we should resist the devil and he will flee away

- We received the Holy Spirit in our lives because we believe Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God through the word that was preached to us(the Good News). Now He (The Holy Spirit) lives in us.

- The word of God is all we need in our life day after day

- We need to understand the importance of the Holy Spirit in our salvation and in our Christian life.

- The Holy Spirit convict us, teach us, gives us revelation, strengthen us, empowers us and controls us. It is the dynamite power in our lives

- We are born in the spirit and we are not born in the flesh

- We walk in the spirit

- Whenever we give our lives to God, we receive a new life and we become like Christ

- 1st Cor 6 vs 19-20. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” Everything of you does not belong to you, for your body is the temple of God and belongs to him.

- 1st Thessalonians 5 vs 19 “Do not quench the Spirit”.

- Ephesians 5 vs 18 -21“ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

- John 14 vs 16“ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”

- With the Holy Spirit you will walk a new walk, talk a new talk and live a new life

- For those who walk in the Spirit will not be mislead

- You can’t bring the flesh to the Spirit for the Spirit will leave as Spirit and flesh as flesh. Those who were born of Flesh and changed to Spirit and are no longer living in the flesh.

- Vs 4 and 5 say, You have begun in the spirit therefore walk in the Spirit and you will grow in the Lord.

- We can only walk in the Spirit is by reading the word of God and praying

- Paul is saying remove all spiritual doubts and be self alert so that you will not be taken advantage of, he is elaborating to them that all the miracles which they have seen happened not because of the law, but because of the Holy Spirit living in them.

- The father is the one who works miracles in us through the Holy Spirit and through our faith we shall experience many miracles

- Let him continue to work in you

- We should remember that even today we do have Judaizers amongst us, so if we are not careful we will lose our focus and turn away from the word of God and His grace

- The bible says, :Romans 10v17 Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

- It is impossible to please God without faith

- The Holy Spirit will live in us forever and you will live in him also.

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- Do you really believe in the miracles in the bible? Do you believe within you that God can do these miracles in your life even now?

- If you have all answers as yes, therefore do not move from him.

- Jeremiah 32v27: There is nothing too hard for the Lord that made all flesh

- John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

- Mark 16v17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

- We need to be strong and continue fighting for what we know and believe in praying without ceasing, for if you move away from God you will not have the protection needed to overcome devil and his evil ways.