TUESDAY December 19th
Today I will highlight some of the verses from Galatians and Ephesians.
Galatians 4:4-6 is apt for the season we have entered as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, reminding us that as our Saviour he has also brought us into adoption as the sons and daughters of God ‘But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.’
Galatians 5:22-25, Paul was without doubt a man who understood all about the ministry of and the importance of the activity of the Holy Spirit in both the life of a local Church and the life of the individual believer. In 1 Corinthians he gave clear instruction concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit and here in Galatians as he talks about the need to be living by and walking according to the Spirit he reminds us of the fruit that should be evident in our lives. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.’
In coming to Ephesians I wish I could just cut and paste the whole of this epistle, as along with John’s gospel it is my favourite Bible book. But I will select firstly Ephesians 1:3 which reminds us of how much we have been blessed as those who have been saved, if you can make the time read from verses 3-14, but here is verse 3 ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.’
From chapter two, verses 4-5 and 8-9 reminding us that we have become what we are because of God’s amazing, incredible yet undeserving grace!
‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.’
Finally for today, I will include an important ‘finally’ of Paul’s in this letter, especially in the dark and difficult days in which we find ourselves, Ephesians 6:10-11 ‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.’
God has not only given us his grace, he has also given to us the means by which we can be enabled to remain in his grace, the armour to enable us to fight the good fight of the faith. And although this is jumping ahead it reminds us of what he wrote to Timothy ‘Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses’, 1 Timothy 6:12.