Family of Faith Galatians 3:1 - 14 ... The church in Galatia that Paul wrote to was dealing with questions about family too {click next slide}

Family of Faith Who is part of the family of faith? Who is in? Who is out? God’s Chosen People How can you tell? ... So again, we come back to our questions: “Who is part of the covenant family?” and “How can you tell?” {click next slide}

Family of Faith Galatian’s Experience Abraham’s Example of the Spirit Abraham’s Example of faith The Great Exchange from curse to blessing ... First, Paul appeals to the Galatians’ experience of the Spirit. {click next slide}

Experience of the Spirit You Foolish Galatians! ... Maybe Paul witnessed miracles like these among the Galatians. At any rate, the Galatians had received the Holy Spirit—and Paul appeals to them on the basis of that experience: {click next slide}

Experience of the Spirit Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? . . . Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by your observing the law, or by your believing what you heard? ... The point he’s making here is obvious. Clearly, the Spirit came when they believed. Just to clarify for a moment. What does Paul mean when he talks about “observing the law”? {click next slide}

Observing the Law {Timed slide} ... and all of these references can be taken as a kind of shorthand to mean the entire Jewish religious system. This he contrasts with faith—that is, believing the gospel. {click next slide}

Believing the Gospel ... Abraham is a very important person in Judaism. {click next slide}

Abraham Ancestral Father of the Family “You have given me no children” He was the father of the Jewish faith. {click for first bullet} ... But Abraham, who God has promised to bless and make into a great nation—and who doesn’t have any children yet at 80-something—replies by complaining honestly and understandably: {click for next bullet} “Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” {click for next slide (looks like 3rd bullet) }

Abraham Ancestral Father of the Family “You have given me no children” “Count the stars” “Abram believed the LORD...” “... and He credited it to him as righteousness.” The Lord repeats his promise. He didn’t change anything in Abraham’s physical circumstances. All he did was repeat his promise to Abraham. “I will give you children, Abram.” And then…faith. verse 6 {click for next bullet} “Abram believed the LORD…” I love this part in the text because Abraham’s faith gets recorded like action. Like it’s part of the dialogue. It gets its own line in the script. Abram believing the Lord is recorded in chronological order, like any other part of the story. It is internal, invisible. It produces no outward change whatsoever. But it was decisive. And it shifted reality in the heavenlies. The verse finishes and He credited it to him as righteousness. .... Now comes the family part. {click next slide}

Children of Abraham Lineage, circumcision, Torah Faith = Children of Abraham “All nations will be blessed” Those who have faith are children of Abraham {click for first and second bullet} ... “all nations will be blessed through you” {click for last bullet} In the third movement {click for next slide}

Law and Faith Way of the Law Under a Curse Impossible to keep Action and attitude Way of Faith Blessing Righteous will live Change of heart In the third movement of this passage, Paul contrasts the way of the Law with the way of faith. He explains that all who “rely on” observing the law are under a curse {click bullet 1} —because no one is able to keep the law perfectly and do everything it says (whether it’s the moral code, ceremonial law, whatever!). In contrast, those who have faith are blessed, and he quotes Habbakuk, which says that the “righteous will live by faith.” {click bullet 2} “The law is not based on faith,” Paul reminds us. And that’s true. Faith is a matter of the heart which in turn affects behavior. {click bullet 3} It’s like a seed that gets planted and grows and then produces fruit. But the law doesn’t primarily address the heart. It addresses action and attitudes. It serves to restrict bad behavior and encourage good behavior. Paul finishes this section... {click next slide}

The Great Exchange Jesus took on a curse We receive a blessing “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Paul finishes this section by describing the “great exchange” that takes place in the gospel: {Click bullet 1} Jesus identified with us by taking on a curse, and in turn, we identify with him and receive blessing. {click bullet 2} Through his death, Christ made this possible. And all of this is so that we can receive full status in the family of God—and receive God’s Spirit—by faith alone. As v. 14 explains, {click bullet 3} “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” ... What does the text teach us about our spiritual family? {click next slide}

Family of Faith Inclusive Gender Socio-Economic Class Language and Culture University Chapel! ... that the family of faith is inclusive {click bullet 1} The idea gets fleshed out in Galatians on a few levels, {click for sub-bullets} including gender and socio-economic class—but for today, we’ll start with the cultural level. Here at UC, {click last bullet} we speak English as our common language and Canada is our common home, but we are a really diverse group! So the first thing we learn about our family is that it’s inclusive of people of all backgrounds. Second, we learn {click next slide}

Family of Faith Faith in Jesus Don’t just do something, stand there! Door to righteousness Homegroup Second, we learn that in our family, faith in Jesus is the heart of the matter... ... His response to this was this exhortation: {click first bullet} “Don’t just do something, stand there.” But to God, faith in Christ is everything. It is the door to righteousness. {click second bullet} I’ve appreciated my homegroup a lot over the years {click third bullet} So our family is inclusive, our focus is on faith, and one last thing we learn {click next slide} about Abraham’s family is that our inheritance is the Holy Spirit

Family of Faith Inheritance is the Holy Spirit Makes it possible to live differently Comforter and Teacher Life, Truth, Freedom ... makes it possible for us to live differently {click bullet 1} He knows our hearts and loves us. He is our Comforter and Teacher and Guide. {click bullet 2} The presence of the Spirit brings life, truth and freedom. {click bullet 3} As we draw to a close today, {click next slide}

Family of Faith Where is the Spirit working in your life today? What do you sense He is calling you to do – or to believe? {final slide}