2005 06 June

The apostle Paul addresses the book of Galatians to the churches of a Roman province in Asia Minor. The province of Galatia included believers who were mostly Gentiles. The cities of Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra are all in Galatia. Paul writes this book some time around 50AD.
The early church in Jerusalem included mostly Jews. As the Gospel spread, conservative Jewish teachers claiming authority from James and the Jerusalem church taught in Galatia that without circumcision no one could find salvation. They also taught that Gentile believers needed to follow important aspects of the Jewish ceremonial law. This was a work of the enemy and brought confusion to the churches of Galatian. These apostate teachers and Paul were teaching much differently and they knew it. Therefore, they attacked the authenticity of Paul and his ministry by sowing the seeds of doubt. In time, the churches in Galatia questioned important truthes and Paul's apostleship.
The battle did not rage in Jerusalem. Rather, the battle raged in Asia Minor. Paul opens this book by declaring that he indeed was an apostle specially called by God. God communicates through His Word, by His Spirit and through His servants. This communication is authenticated and recognized by God's people. As he opens this book, Paul gives the traditional Jewish greeting of "peace" and adds the distinctively Christian greeting of "grace". Paul describes this age as being dominated by evil or the evil one. No doubt the implication is that the enemy was working in these churches. Sometimes people look at things like this as personality conflicts. Paul was unique and we might even be tempted to describe his personality as difficult. However, this had absolutely nothing to do with this conflict. This conflict was a deeply spiritual conflict between the forces of light and darkness. The enemy sought to derail Paul's ministry and subvert the church.
The enemy was at work to deceive people in these churches, and he is at work trying to deceive people in churches today. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. The enemy must ever work through flesh and blood, but make no mistake; the force at work is more deceitful, more manipulative, and more powerful than mere flesh and blood. Hence this great battle centered around the apostle Paul and his ministry. DW

The apostle Paul engages this attack of the enemy on the truth of the Gospel and his ministry. He is consumed with the need to stand for the purity of the gospel message. If the gospel message were successfully distorted in the churches, souls would be lost. Apostate Jews, professing Christianity, were teaching that Gentile believers needed circumcision in order to find salvation. Apostasy and internal strife has plagued the church from the very beginning of the age.

In verse 7, we read that Paul marvels at the successful influence these apostate teachers had on the churches in Galatia which he started. The Gospel was being twisted in a very dangerous way and many believers he reached with the Gospel opened their hearts to these apostate teachers. It is the work of seducing spirits, and truly amazing.

It is very interesting to note that God's Revelation cannot contradict itself. Even if an apostle or an angel were to teach a distorted Gospel message, they would be wrong and under the curse of damnation. Throughout church history there have been those that teach of some new revelation. They often come from an angel or some special spiritual leader with the status of an apostle. These teachings change the Gospel tradition we have from Jesus and the apostles. We should reject these kinds of things.

There is no difference in thinking relative to the message of the Gospel as demonstrated in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. As sure as there is salvation, there is unity on these central doctrines. This was the focus of Paul's affection. He was not concerned about what was popular or what pleased people. He was concerned with a pure Gospel message. In life, we face many challenges and problems. In dealing with these problems, a particular human culture develops as people in close proximity to one another define morality. This is the way God has made us. However, we cannot let the good become the enemy of the best. One of the main purposes of the enemy is to take good objectives and ideas and use them to effectively destroy essential truth. There is no truth more essential than the truth of the Gospel. In our desire to establish and maintain good relationships with others and a moral society, we cannot lose sight of the truth of the simple Gospel. DW

When the enemy attacks the Gospel, his record is to also attack those God has called to preach the Gospel, as well. This is a pattern we see throughout the Bible. It is important then, that believers focus on standing for the Gospel and supporting those God calls to preach truth. Sadly, in Galatia, believers entertained a dangerous corruption of the Gospel and questioned Paul's position as an apostle.

Paul received his knowledge of Jesus Christ first hand. All the apostles were directly called and taught by Jesus Christ. Paul was an unusual apostle, but he was an apostle. He was zealous for the law and dedicated himself to destroying the church. He used to be under the influence of the enemy in the same way that these false teachers were, except that they were subverting the church, while Paul sought to destroy it.

At the end of Paul's ministry, all these churches turned against him. They would have never come to Christ and found salvation without the work of Paul. In spite of this, the enemy successfully subverted these believers and corrupted the churches. Once we come to faith in Christ, the enemy cannot destroy our souls. However, that does not mean that the enemy will leave us alone. The enemy seeks to captivate the minds of those who come to Christ. When the enemy takes our minds captive, confusion surrounds the simple Gospel message. Those, whose minds are captive, are a great hindrance to others as they seek salvation.

Furthermore, when there is confusion about God's messengers, God's people wander about as sheep without a shepherd. As sheep without a shepherd, they are more vulnerable to the enemy. We need to appreciate how important it is that we not give way to the flesh. If we do, the enemy will bring destruction into our lives, and we will become the instruments of spiritual destruction in the lives of all those around us. We must realize that we are surrounded by powerful spiritual forces. Without the blessing and power of God, we cannot stand against these forces. These powerful forces will come to captivate our minds, and destroy everything we hold dear. I wonder. Are you living in the light of freedom or in the bondage of darkness? In time, most of God's people and churches give way to darkness. DW

Paul's ministry is under attack by apostate teachers who hold that circumcision is essential to salvation. These apostates identified with the Jerusalem church and the apostles that were there. The enemy not only attacks the truth but God's messengers. He delights in trying to use Christians against each other. Paul was God's messenger. He was an apostle.

Paul had limited contact with Peter and James. In response to God's call on his life, Paul preached in Asia Minor. Though he had limited contact with the apostles, they clearly knew his testimony, recognized his calling, and received his ministry. In support of this, Paul gives the example of the Jerusalem council recorded in Acts 15. This church council gathered to consider the question of circumcision for Gentile believers. At this council, James and the apostles rejected the teaching of these apostates who so zealously opposed Paul. The ministry of Titus also supported the truth of the simple Gospel. Titus was an uncircumcised Greek preacher.

Paul's ministry was not the result of the efforts of the Jerusalem church and the apostles. He was independent of these, but they agreed with Paul. In verse 4 of chapter 2, Paul describes these apostates as false brethren. In other words, the church received them as the genuine article, but they were false. Not everyone that identifies with the truth actually believes the truth. In the flesh, there is a great tendency to try to get along with others and gloss over even the most important issues. When it comes to the truth of the gospel, there must be no compromise.

We need to appreciate that the most important thing is not getting along with others who profess faith. If that were true, we would have to yoke together with unbelievers and apostates. The most important thing is knowing God, following His will and being faithful to Him. The result of following this path will be the hatred and abuse of many who profess to be believers and friends. Faithfulness to God and truth often means the loss of some who fellowship with us and profess to know the truth. We need to realize that it is one thing to profess truth and another to be faithful to God and those whom He has called to ministry. In Paul's case, all the churches in Asia Minor turned against him. How tragic! DW

As we look at these verses, it is clear that Paul was most concerned about what God thought. He recognizes that in the early church the apostles were well received, but such human practice means nothing to God. Man often approves of what God disapproves, and disapproves what God approves. Paul is confident of his calling, and does not particularly feel a need for recognition by the other apostles.
However, at the Jerusalem council, the apostles recognize God's unique work among the Jews through Peter, and among Gentiles through Paul. There were others, but these men had a great impact on these respective communities. The response of the Jews on the day of Pentecost is an example of Peter's work and the response of the Gentiles in Asia Minor is an example of Paul's. At this council, the apostles extended Paul the right hand of fellowship. In so doing, they formed an agreement relative to ministry.
The other apostles recognized Paul's apostolic authority. One important incident that took place at the church at Antioch was the Holy Spirit set aside Paul for his missionary work. At this church, Peter fellowships freely with Gentile believers until James and other Jewish believers come from Jerusalem. At this point, Peter gives way to peer pressure and withdraws from Gentile believers. Paul rebukes the apostle Peter publicly. In so doing, Paul was not trying to put Peter down or compete with his leadership. Paul was simply upholding important truth. This is the calling of any who would really serve God.
Believers are not accepted by God on the basis of their conformity to the law. They are accepted by God only on the basis of their faith in the work of Jesus Christ. There are no classes of believers. All in Christ are fully accepted. Any other message involves a corruption of the Gospel.
There is a great tendency for us to look to great spiritual leaders and ministries rather than Christ. In the end, we don't need anything but Christ, and those who He has entrusted as leaders over us in the local church. Someone has noted that an expert is someone from out of town. As sure as God is at work in a place, He raises up leadership and gives the believers in that place everything that they need. Sadly, people often look to "successful" leaders and ministries rather than God's provision. DW

In this section, the Gospel is examined in terms of justification. Justification is a legal term describing ones status before the bar of justice. Relative to justice, a person stands guilty and condemned or not guilty. Before the bar of God's justice, people stand guilty and deserving of damnation or not guilty and justified. There is no middle ground.

The Jews considered themselves to be righteous based on their outward adherence to the law. Like the Pharisees, they worked hard to appear in outward conformity to the moral and ceremonial law. Gentiles on the other hand, were often ignorant of the law and as a result rejected by Jews and held in contempt. In truth, the best outward adherence to the law means nothing relative to justification. No one finds salvation through the law. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, and one is either justified through faith and consequent union with Christ or lost and doomed and damned. There is no middle ground. The effort to promote righteousness by turning from Christ to the law is vain. There is no real righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. The one who turns from simple faith in Christ to the law and works, only grows in corruption and sin. In this regard, it is important to note that every holiness movement in church history has produced the deepest moral and spiritual corruption.

It is only when we let go of all hope of establishing our own righteousness that we can take hold of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Sadly, in spiritual blindness and pride, the natural man often seeks to produce his own righteousness, by embracing God's law. God gave us the law to reveal sin. God never intended that the law become a standard by which to measure and produce holiness. Yet those who take hold of the law in this way often feel deeply that it would be unrighteous for God not to recognize their effort and condemn them as sinners. In other words, the law, which ought to demonstrate clearly the hopeless and helpless condition of all, becomes a tool used to promote and measure personal holiness. There is no greater moral and spiritual corruption. When light becomes darkness, the darkness is indeed great. Only the Spirit of God can produce new thinking, feeling and action. The focus is not the law, but the Spirit. It is hard to understand how believers are seduced to turn their focus from faith and fellowship with God through the Spirit to some mechanical relationship with the law. The sinful heart is indeed corrupt. DW

Many of the folk in the churches of Galatia heard the message of the Gospel. Many were born of the Spirit. Yet now they were turning from the truth of faith to works. It is simply unbelievable. It reminds us of Israel's experience with the golden calf. God's people no more than received the Ten Commandments from God, when they turned from God. In coming to Christ, these believers knew that salvation is a simple matter of hearing the Gospel and believing. They experienced the love, joy, and peace that come with the presence of the indwelling Spirit of God. They did not understand it all, but they experienced God.
However, now they were turning from faith and the power of the indwelling Spirit of God to the law and the flesh as a means to grow in grace. I have often wondered, if the emphasis today on experts, seminars, and principles does not involve a similar error. If we live our spiritual lives in a theoretical and mechanical way, we have turned from simple faith and the Spirit of God to human understanding. We are not to lean on our own understanding, but lean on God.
Genuine spiritual leadership brings people to God. They do not put God into some kind of understandable box. As soon as we embrace God in this way, we have created a golden calf. The scripture is clear that God is bigger than our ability to understand. Isaiah 55:8,9 … my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. The scripture is clear that we are not to follow our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5,6 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. For this reason, we make a terrible mistake when we try to judge another Christian, or place them into some camp or category. We read in Romans 14:3,4 relative to an issue of standards, 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. Yet if we are honest, this kind of error goes on in the name of spirituality in churches today. DW

God promised Abraham a land, descendents, and spiritual blessing. The heart of Jewish thinking was the idea of the covenant. A covenant involved a just relationship between two parties with God as witness. All relationships are based on trust. There is simply no way to know sure what the future holds. It is clear from the Biblical record that Abraham had absolute confidence in the goodness of God. It was this confidence demonstrated in His life that brought him into a position where God accepted him.

The faith of Abraham involves following God because God is good and His way is perfect. The religion of humanity involves doing something for God so that God will do something for us. The focus of Abraham's faith was God. The focus of all idolatrous worship is getting something for self. The two couldn't be any farther apart. The truth of the Gospel is in the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant came through Abraham. There was a spiritual distinction between Jew and Gentile. Salvation was of the Jews. Yet in God's promise to Abraham, this division is broken down. God's promise included all families of the earth. God's election of the Jew was a means to reaching Gentiles, too. This purpose became a reality in Christ.

The law reveals that both Jews and Gentiles are hopelessly lost in sin and bound under the curse of sin. The law is holistic. To break even the most insignificant part is to break the whole. Not one of Adam's race has ever kept the law. Before the law all stand hopelessly and helplessly condemned. In His death, Jesus took our curse upon Him. In Christ, we become partakers of perfect righteousness. In short, God's promise to Abraham was fully realized in Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation or curse for those in Christ. The law should then bring us to Christ as we understand our spiritual need. The reformers taught that the preaching of the law needs to go before the preaching of the Gospel. It is only after we understand our lost state that we are ready to turn to Christ in faith. Therefore, the first work of the Spirit of God in a life is to bring about a deep consciousness of sin. Conviction of sin is something far deeper than understanding some need in the life. It involves the terrible realization that we justly deserve eternal damnation, and can do nothing to change things on our own. It is not adding Christ to the life. It is turning from sin to Christ in faith as our only hope of salvation. DW

The message of this book is clear. God's promise to Abraham is a matter of God's grace and faith. Salvation then involves grace and faith, not merely the outward works of the law. This text uses the illustration of children. Children think differently than adults. Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 13:11. In this text we read, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Before the indwelling Spirit, the law had value as a guide in our lives, but with the coming of Christ, it does not.
As such the law was a schoolmaster. This word refers to a slave who helped with the instruction of children. The law safely brought God's people to maturity and Christ as a teacher. Before Christ, believers were at best very immature. Before Christ, believers could use the law as a helpful guide. However, once Christ came the law can no longer serve this purpose. After Christ, unbelievers use a highly subjective and selective application of the law as a base for false hopes of salvation. Furthermore, misguided believers use the law as some kind of a bigger and better party to classify believers. This is corrupt and turns our focus away from the guidance of the indwelling Spirit of God.
In Christ, God receives us as sons and deals with us as sons. A school master is a poor substitute for God as a perfect parent. All Christians, Jew, Gentile, masters, slaves, male, and female are equal in their standing in Christ. All in Christ are of the seed of Abraham and heirs of the promise. Today, there are those who would derive standards from the word and use them the same way many early Jewish believers used the law. This is a misuse of standards as it was a misuse of the law. We find some who seek to define Christian fellowship around standards. The heart of Christian fellowship is the doctrine of Christ. We are not to receive those who turn from the doctrine of Christ according to the book of 2 John. The doctrine of Christ is the basis of Christian fellowship. To ignore the doctrine of Christ and use standards as a basis for Christian fellowship involves turning from Christ. There is nothing new under the sun. We dare not be deceived or seduced by the enemy. We find the law in God's Word. Important standards are derived from God's Word. Those who turn from Christ to standards demonstrate greater spiritual corruption than early Jewish apostates who turned from Christ to the ceremonial law. DW

The book of Galatians opens in chapters 1 and 2 with a defense of Paul's calling as an apostle. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with Jewish legalism from a doctrinal perspective. Chapter 4 recounts the experience of Jews coming to faith in Christ. Before the coming of Christ, the Spirit of God did not indwell all believers. They lacked this important internal control. Under the Old Covenant, the law provided helpful external control, but in the fullness of time this changed. Under the Old Covenant the people were servants and the law was their master.

With the coming of Christ, believer's spiritual status changed from that of servants to that of sons. Galatians 4:4, 5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. In Christ, the relationship of duty transformed to a relationship of family and love. The focus of the law was more on not offending God. The focus of faith in Christ is on pleasing God. The focus of the Old covenant was on the negative and the New on the positive.

Nothing could be more wrong than turning from Christ to the bondage of the law. In our text we read in verse 9 … now, after that ye have known God…, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? This section concludes with Paul's concern that if people turn back to the law, his labor would be in vain. In other words, if they turned from Christ they would be doomed and damned. The law came from God. It was perfect and right. How could people follow the will of God as expressed in the law and be damned? In turning from Christ to the law, they would lose all spiritual connection to God. God is not with them in their application of the law. Therefore, they would be selective and self-serving in their use of it. It is possible to take any good tool and use it for a corrupt purpose. What is not possible is to know God, follow Him, and at the same time follow a corrupt purpose. Fallen humanity would much rather deny the corruption of heart behind the externals of God's law rather than recognize the corruption by repenting of sin and turning to Christ in faith. If the heart is right, there would be no desire to turn from Christ. This tendency of fallen humanity is evident at the giving of the Ten Commandments from Mt. Sinai. The people didn't want to hear God. They preferred to hear Moses. DW

In this chapter, Paul deals with Jewish legalism from a doctrinal perspective. From what we have considered, it ought to be clear that the desire to return to the law was a deadly move into apostasy. God used Paul to reach these people with the Gospel. While they were faithful to the truth, they loved Paul. When people's hearts turned from the truth, their affections also turned away from Paul.

In this section, Paul talks about some weakness of the flesh that he had. The weakness involved some difficulty with his eyes. There was a time when these folk loved him so much that they would have given him their eyes if it that were possible. They received the Gospel and their hearts were full of love and gratitude for Paul. Paul sacrificed greatly for them and they felt deeply indebted to him. Then the enemy comes in the form of apostate teachers from the church at Jerusalem. They sow the seeds of doubt concerning Paul and his ministry and message. These men teach that believers cannot find salvation without circumcision. Paul vigorously opposed this teaching. Paul continues preaching and teaching the truth. We read in verse 16 where he asks, Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

It is interesting to note that when people are on the right path spiritually, they are reasonable and gracious. However, when they turn from the right path they are very intolerant and hateful. The hatred that spiritual leaders encounter in ministry at times is difficult to understand. Yet if we appreciate that the greatest darkness involves a profession of faith and an outward appearance of righteousness, it ought not to be that difficult to understand. The greatest darkness is a deep moral and spiritual matter that is very difficult to identify. None of the apostles identified the deep darkness in Judas.

These apostate teachers at Galatia were self-serving. They did not really care for people. On the other hand, Paul deeply cared for these folk. God puts something in the heart of a mother for her children and He puts something similar in the heart of His servants for His sheep. Paul deeply desires a restoration of sweet fellowship with these folk. It is wonderful to experience sweet fellowship in ministry. Apostates are ever responsible for the destruction of unity among God's people. DW

As we think of the problems stirred up by apostates, we need to remember that the core of the issue involves believers and the choices that they make. It is the purpose of the enemy to turn Christians from the path of fellowship with Christ. It begins with questioning truth, but the authenticity of Paul's ministry is also questioned.
In these verses, Paul uses the story of Isaac and Ishmael to illustrate important spiritual principles. Ishmael was the product of the flesh. Isaac was the product of the promise of God and faith. Abraham's life produced both, and so can the life of any believer. Ishmael was born in bondage and Isaac was born free. In effect, Paul is acknowledging the heritage of apostate Jews to Abraham. They are in the covenant, but like Ishmael, they will be excluded from the spiritual blessings. We read where Abraham goes through a time of doubt and pleads with God that Ishmael might live before God. There can be no salvation apart from God's promise and faith. Salvation is of the Lord.
In our text, we also see the hatred of those born only of the flesh for those who are born of the Spirit. Ishmael mocked Isaac while Isaac was just a baby. Those whose spiritual lives are lived after the flesh have no place among those who are born of the Spirit. There can be no spiritual fellowship between light and darkness.
There is a letter written in the 2nd century from an early Christian to a leading church leader on what it means to forsake worldliness. Among the things to be avoided are colored clothing, soft pillows, warm baths, and certain types of music. What those who give way to such deception fail to realize, is that apart from the leading of the Spirit of God, the flesh is defining flesh. The Pharisees fell into this trap, and it resulted in going contrary to what was right. They believed with all their hearts that it was wrong to heal on the Sabbath day. Jesus taught clearly that it would be wrong not to heal on the Sabbath day. Jesus was right, and the Pharisees in their zeal to restrain the flesh gave way to the flesh. When we follow the path of the Pharisees as these Galatians, we can come to see light as darkness. There is no greater spiritual corruption than this. Ishmael was a wild man whose hand was against every man and every man's hand was against him. This is a picture of the apostate in the church. DW

The book of Galatians opens in chapters 1 and 2 with a defense of Paul's calling as an apostle. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with Jewish legalism from a doctrinal perspective. In short, we have seen that using the law or standards derived from them as a guide, rather than the indwelling Spirit of Christ, is a move to apostasy.

Salvation is possible by trusting the work of Christ in our behalf. In the end, these folk were either trusting Christ or circumcision. If they trusted circumcision, a work of the flesh, they were damned and doomed. We see in verse 6 that faith worketh by love. As sure as there is faith in the heart, there will be a manifestation of that faith in love for God or love for others. This is not a work of the flesh, but fruit of the Spirit.

The churches in Galatia made a terrible mistake in receiving these apostate teachers. They hindered and confused the believers. Furthermore, the churches in this region were quickly lost. In Galatians 5:9 we see the danger; A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Those who tolerate evil will find that they eventually give way to evil. By the end of Paul's life, we see the results. In 2 Timothy 1:15 Paul writes … all they which are in Asia be turned away from me… Think of it. Paul started these churches. The enemy came in and God's people didn't want to fight. They didn't want to stand. Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free… All they had to do was appreciate and hold on to the grace God gave them. Sadly, they did not.

Paul wishes that these apostates would go beyond circumcision and become emasculated. I am sure that some saw this as a crude and hateful statement, but apostasy is a deadly serious thing, and these people needed to be shocked as to how serious the situation was. We see the fruit of the work of apostates. Believers fail to love and serve one another as they ought. Furthermore, they look at each other with a hypocritical and critical eye. They are warned in verse 15, if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Believers who fail to stand against apostates and their corrupt thinking, soon destroy the church and each other. Love is lost, and the terribly destructive forces of pride and envy dominate. DW

15th

June 15

The Fruits of Righteousness
Galatians 5:16-26

In this section of Galatians, Paul deals with the practical application to the message he is giving. The message is one of faith in the simple truth of the Gospel. Real righteousness is not the product of fear, but of love. Therefore, those who seek to promote righteousness through the law, peer pressure, and fear of damnation don't understand the truth. All these are a terrible substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit in the life.

There are only two kinds of hearts in people. There is the heart of people touched by Adam's sin, and there is the heart of people touched by the Spirit of God. The heart touched by Adam's sin is corrupt and can only bring forth growing corruption and sin. The heart touched by the Spirit of God is pure and can only bring forth righteousness. Therefore, righteousness is a matter of walking in the Spirit and not the flesh. We read in verse 16, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. In other words, righteousness is not a matter of self-discipline, effort or anything relating to the flesh. It is a matter of yielding to the Spirit of God. In the flesh, we simply don't have the power to live as we ought, and in the Spirit we cannot sin. Righteousness, then, is a matter of yielding to the power of the Spirit of God.

There is a difference in this text as we look at the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Of the works of the flesh we read of such things as, immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, 21 feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. We read of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control… We identify works of the flesh by wrong actions and self. We identify the fruit of the Spirit by love for God and others. The right heart produces the right actions. The wrong heart produces the wrong actions. Whenever we sin, we need to appreciate that we have pushed God out of our hearts. We have a heart desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Such a heart makes effective use of the law or standards, but lacks love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… DW

16th

June 16
Promoting Righteousness
Galatians 6:1-10

The flesh uses the law and standards derived from them in a competitive way. The one who appears to adhere to the law or specific standards the best is the holiest. The law and standards derived from them become a tool whereby we become desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Though there is an outward appearance of righteousness, the heart has embraced the deepest kind of corruption. The deepest kind of corruption always has a spiritual focus. If the light in us involves darkness, it is great darkness.

Rather than give way to ego and exalt ourselves above those who manifest sin, we ought to help them. The word translated overtaken in our text has the idea of being overpowered by surprise and being unable to escape. The saint falls into sin. The reprobate seeks out sin and wallows in it. Sin is described here as a trespass. A trespass is something that is Biblically wrong. Only one in the Spirit who manifests a meek spirit can help a person overcome in a trespass. Such a person recognizes he, too, is vulnerable to being overpowered by surprise and unable to escape.

The last part of our text defines the responsibility believers have to each other. The recognition of this responsibility led to holding property in common in the early church. On the surface, our text appears to contradict itself. We read, bear ye one another's burdens, and every man shall bear his own burden. However, the words translated burden here are two different Greek words. The first word describes a burden no one person can carry. The responsibility is too big for one person. The second word describes a burden one ought to carry. The responsibility is right and reasonable. We are to help each other with the first kind of burden, but not the second. In this context, sin is a burden those immature in the faith will find more than they are able to overcome by themselves. This is interesting. It would seem that Christians in sin are lacking in knowledge and experience, not character. This being true, those with more knowledge and experience have nothing in which they can really glory. The outward appearance of righteousness then, is not something in which we can glory. It is like giving way to pride over a child because we are potty trained and the child is not. This is absurd. It is foolish to look to the law and standards as an evidence of spirituality. DW

17th

June 17
Spiritual Maturity
Galatians 4:12-20

The book of Galatians opens in chapters 1 and 2 with a defense of Paul's calling as an apostle. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with Jewish legalism from a doctrinal perspective. Chapter 5 and 6 deal with the practical application of the doctrine. This is a good pattern. We experience the value of truth in the application to practical life. This experience is evident in the leadership of Paul and the apostate teachers. The apostate teachers were seeking glory for themselves. They were desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. When the Galatians became circumcised, these teachers gloried. They were spiritual scalp hunters. They sought leadership.

There are a number of things in which we can glory. Paul made it his purpose not to glory in anything, but the cross of Christ. The servant of God must maintain the right focus. The right focus is on Christ and our relationship to Him; not outward things. Self confidence and pride are not good things. If we can do nothing of ourselves and we cannot, then we have nothing in which we can glory. Indeed, if God has used us in the past and we give way to pride it will only hinder Him being able to use us in the future. Experience is only valuable as it relates to our understanding of spiritual things. If we have understanding as Paul does, we will avoid glorying in fleshly things.

As we conclude this book, we see a very interesting point. In verse 17 we read, 17From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. The greatest glory belongs to Jesus Christ, because Jesus endured the greatest hatred and suffering. Therefore, the greatest evidence of being like Christ goes beyond the fruit of the Spirit. It is the hate and abuse the enemy throws at us. No one in their right mind seeks hate and abuse. If it comes our way, we ought to accept it with grace, but I would just as soon do without hate and abuse. I would be glad to settle for less glory if it means less hate and abuse. I see the same mind in Jesus as He prays in the garden of Gethsemane. It is not spiritual to seek hate and abuse. Similarly, the more we manifest Christ, the more hate and abuse we will find in this world, because the sinful heart is desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Those who give way to sin, hate genuine goodness. DW

18th

June 18

Introduction to First Peter

From 1 Peter 5:13 we infer that it was written "at Babylon," it has been thought by many writers, ancient and modern, that Peter is using the word "Babylon" metaphorically, as a cryptograph, and that he was really writing from Rome. This was the opinion, according to Eusebius of Papias and Clement of Alexandria. Jerome took this view, which was generally accepted up to the time of the Reformation. The large Jewish population which was once settled in Babylon and to which Peter, as the apostle of the circumcision, would probably address his ministry had been destroyed or had migrated about A.D. 40. It may be urged that the absence of any notice of a Babylonian Church does not prove that the Gospel had never been preached at Babylon: Peter's preaching may have been unsuccessful there. The apostle did not confine his ministrations to the Jews; he may have preached to Babylonian Gentiles; though, indeed, it is quite possible that many Jews may have returned to Babylon by the time of his visit. We see no sufficient reason for supposing that one word is used in a symbolical sense, while all else is plain and literal. There seems to be no sufficient grounds for importing a figurative meaning into Peter's words. If he were writing from Rome, it seems strange that he should make no mention of Paul. It is true that we have no historical evidence of a journey to Babylon; but then we have no certain records of the apostle's history after the date of his leaving Antioch (Galatians 2:11). We may, amid the confusion of romance and legend, see sufficient reason for accepting the ancient tradition of his preaching and martyrdom at Rome; but it cannot be said that even this belief rests on historical grounds. There was a Babylon in Egypt, but if Peter had been writing from a place so little known, he would surely have described it as the Egyptian Babylon.

Peter is often called the apostle of hope. He begins his Epistle with a thanksgiving for the living hope which God, in his abundant mercy, has granted to his chosen. Evidently the grace of hope was a living power in the heart of the apostle. He is constantly dwelling upon it; it occupies that central place in this Epistle which faith has in the writings of Paul, and love in those of John (see especially 1 Peter 1:3, 7, 9, 13; 3:9-15; 4:13; 5:4). Throughout the Epistle his eye seems fixed on the glorious

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST PETER

hope which lies before the true Christian; he employs that hope as the principal topic of consolation in the prospect of the afflictions which were coming upon the Church. This is just what we should expect from the character of the apostle. He had been chastened and refined; the old impetuosity and forwardness had been subdued; but there was still the same natural temperament. The same sanguine hope, not now directed to self-exaltation and pre-eminence above his brethren, but guided by the refining influences of the Holy Spirit to dwell on the glorious prospects open to all faithful souls. One object which Peter had in view when writing this Epistle was evidently to comfort the Christians of Asia Minor by directing their thoughts away from the sufferings which were gathering round them, to dwell in a holy hope apart the inheritance reserved for them in heaven. Another, not the primary object, but secondary and incidental, was to show his entire sympathy with the teaching of his Christian, brother the Apostle Paul. There had been differences between them; those differences may probably have been greatly exaggerated in the apostolic times, as they certainly have been by some modern writers. Peter seems bent on showing that the two apostles held close to their hearts, the same faith.

This introduction was excerpted from the Pulpit Commentary

19th

June 19
Authorship and Salutation of Peter
I Peter 1:1-3

1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Peter identifies himself as an Apostle chosen by Jesus Christ. He was one of the first three chosen of Jesus at the Sea of Galilee according to Mark 1:16-18. Peter is writing to the "diaspora" or the dispersed Jews that failed to return to Israel after the Babylonian Captivity. These Jews had lived in Babylon for about 600 years and had accepted the ways of the world.
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. God's election places the Christian in the sphere of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit; he lives in the Spirit, he walks in the Spirit, he prays in the Holy Ghost; and the blessed Spirit sanctifies the elect people of God. The Spirit works in them that holiness without which they cannot see God (Hebrews 12:14); they have their fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, unto holiness. The fundamental idea of the Greek is "separation and purity." We regard it as meaning originally "fresh, new, young," and so a "pure, shining, bright." Obedience is the work of the Spirit; for the fruit of the Spirit is love, and "if a man love me, he will keep my words." Thus election has its origin in the foreknowledge of the Father; it is wrought out in the sanctifying influences of the Spirit. Obedience is the sign and test of God's election: "By their fruits you shall know them." Thus we have in this verse the concurrence of the three blessed Persons in the scheme of salvation is the choice of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, the redeeming work of the Son. Pulpit Commentary, when we quote or lift excerpts from these books we will use light face italics and in the future only refer to the quotes as "P.C."
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If there had been no resurrection of Christ from the dead, Christianity would be as the other religions of the world. Christianity is as alive as Christ is, and we are alive in Him. All worldly religions point to a tomb that holds the body of their leader, but we point to an empty tomb. All cults disregard the Biblical position of the resurrection and take away or add to it to conform to their particular misguided teachings. We take the Bible literally! RJS

20th

June 20
An Incorruptible Inheritance
I Peter 1:4-5

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. (1) Incorruptible. All things earthly have within themselves the seeds of decay and death; but "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption" (I Cor. 15:54), the redeemed of the Lord will receive a kingdom that cannot be moved, where "neither moth nor rust doth corrupt" (Matt. 6:19-20). Someone has said, "Your automobile is designed to self-destruct as soon as you have made the last payment." The wind and rain turn large rocks into soil. Water leaches away the nutrients in the land and they have to be replenished by natural or artificial fertilizer. These earthly bodies change as the years go by and these bodies prepare themselves for the grave. Everything in this old world is in a state of decay. (2) It is undefiled. The inheritance of Israel was defiled (Leviticus 18:27-28), but into the heavenly inheritance entereth not "anything that defileth" (Rev. 21:27). Heaven cannot be defiled, that's why we must put on a new glorified body; the earthly body in heaven would be totally out of place. Our glorified bodies will be in the form of the glorified body of Christ, (Philippians 3:20-21). (3) It fadeth not away. "The grass withereth, the flower falleth away;" (1:24) it is not so in heaven. There are no tendencies to corruption in heaven, no possibilities of defilement. The many mansions in our Father's house have been kept from the beginning, and still are kept in perfection for his elect; Satan cannot rob us of it, as he robbed man of the earthly paradise.

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. "The following word is important kept especially the word in Greek kept is "phrouomenous" and is a present participle implying an action that is going on. It is a military term meaning to guard or protect. While our inheritance is being kept or guarded in heaven under the watchful eye of our Heavenly Father, we are being garrisoned by the Holy Spirit's presence here on earth. The guard is never changed. It is on duty 24/7, year after year, until we arrive safely in heaven. What a great God we have, to think that we are under His eye from our new birth until we arrive in His presence." Wuest on I Peter) RJS

21st

June 21
The Perfection of our Faith through Suffering
I Peter 1:6-9

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation. Paul says to rejoice in your salvation now, because there is a time of testing coming very soon. Remain true in the testing for a season, because there is a time of greater rejoicing in the near future as you enter into His glory. As long as we are in these old bodies there will be testing and actually the testing is to help us grow that we may become more like Christ.
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The illustration here is the refining of gold. The goldsmith melts the gold in a large caldron and as he stirs the gold the dross and impurities rise to the surface. He then skims off this dross and sets it aside. He continues this skimming until the surface is so clear that he can see his face mirrored without blemishes. Our faith is put to the test many times. We are being tested in little things as well as the big ones. What we say and what our minds dwell upon are being heard and understood by the Lord. No matter how we might try to hide our thoughts and words, we can't hide them from the Lord.
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. It's doubtful that any of those who received this letter when it was delivered to you had seen the Lord in person. Likewise none of us have seen Him and yet we believe in him with all our hearts. We've seen pictures that artists have painted, but no one actually knows what he looked like. Our faith and believing leads us to rejoicing with joy that comes from deep in the inner person. There are times when we read a passage of Scripture and it leaps out of the page, and it is as though we had never seen it before and it fills us with joy.
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Rev. J. C. Macaulay said the following in "Thyself" "I read thy word, O Lord, each passing day, and in the sacred page find glad employ: But this I pray - Save from the killing letter. Teach my heart, set free from human forms, the holy art of reading thee in every line, in precept, prophecy and sign, till, all my vision is filled with thee, thy likeness shall reflect in me. Not knowledge, but thy self my joy - For this I pray." RJS

22nd

June 22
The Prophets searched Diligently for the
Grace that is to Come
I Peter 1: 10-12

10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. It must have been very frustrating to these writers of old who wrote great things about the coming Messiah, but did not understand when and how these events were to take place. Another frustration, was when the disciples went to the Mount of Olives with the Lord on the day of His ascension. They asked, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times of the seasons, which the father hath put in his own hands. Acts 1:6, 7. We too admit that we would like a better understanding prophecy and have answers for the questions that arise. However as the Prophets and Disciples we too will have to wait and watch these events unfold in God's own good time.
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Those ancient prophets wanted some answers. The Old Testament is filled with passages that point to the first coming of Christ, but the Jews were blinded as to the time of His coming and they refused to recognize Him for who He was. He was not what they wanted, they did not need a new spiritual leader, after all they were the spiritual leaders of their day. They only wanted a Messiah that would agree with their philosophy and a deliverer from Rome's oppression.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Before the universes were formed in space and the world was created the Godhead sat down in council and laid out the plan of salvation for the human race. It was a perfect plan and never had to be changed. So often the plans of mice and men go astray, but not with the Godhead. According to the divine plan even the angels desired to look into it. It was beyond their comprehension that the Christ should lay aside his glory and become the Saviour of mankind. Have you ever asked your self, "Do I want the Saviour on his plan, or do I want him according to my will and plans?" RJS

23rd

June 23
The Prophets searched Diligently for the
Grace that is to Come
I Peter 1: 10-12

12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Before the universes were formed in space and the world was created the Godhead sat down in council and laid out the plan of salvation for the human race. It was a perfect plan and never had to be changed. So often the plans of mice and men go astray, but not with the Godhead. According to the divine plan even the angels desired to look into it. It was beyond their comprehension that the Christ should lay aside his glory and become the Saviour of mankind. Have you ever asked your self, "Do I want the Saviour on His plan, or do I want him according to my will and plans?" RJS

24th

June 24
The Holy Walk of the Believer
I Peter 1:13-16

13 Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. According to Jewish manners and customs, when the Jewish man was working in the field, he would reach down between his legs and gather the back of his robes, and pull them up between his legs and stuff them into his girdle, or belt. He was then free to run or work without being encumbered. Peter tells us to gird up the loins of your mind, in other words, clean and clear your mind of anything that would encumber it, or keep you from being in contact with God. This is a once for all experience and you will be in control of your emotions and thoughts. When you do this, the words and thoughts of the world are put back in the recesses of your mind and you will no longer dwell upon them. Be Sober temperate, dispassionate and circumspect, i.e., self-controlled and you will see things clearly and there will be no distortion caused by fear and worry and other related attitudes.

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. A child inherits the nature of its parents so the child of God is made a partaker of the divine nature. The child learns from its parents to speak, act and react as they do. The habits, mannerisms, speech, expressions and behavior of the parents are reflected in the children, so the cleansed and regenerated mind will reveal that the Christian is a child of God.

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. The word "Holy" in the Greek means to "set apart" or "be sanctified." It has the idea of being separated and that is what Peter is talking about. The word "saint" can only be applied to the person that is living a holy life and reflecting the Lord in every facet of their lives.

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. These words are recorded five times in the Book of Leviticus. God had called the Israelites to be His peculiar people a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now he calls the Christians to be a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood" and separated from all that is impure, in order that we might be consecrated to His service according to I Peter 2: 9. RJS

25th

June 25
We are Born Again by Faith in the Blood of Christ
I Peter 1: 17-20

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. The "if" could be translated "since" or "in view of the fact" that those to whom Peter is writing are calling on God as Father since they have been brought into the family of God by or through salvation. What a blessing to know that we can talk to the Father as a child talks to its earthly father. Abba is the word Jesus used in talking to His father and we can use the same word, best translated "Papa." It is an endearing expression of love and affection.
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. You were bought with a price, not the price of a slave as with small silver and gold coins, but with something far more precious, the blood of Christ. Our blood is tainted with the sin inherited from Adam and only the pure sinless blood of Christ could pay the price to redeem us from the devil's slave markets. From your former "manner of life" is a better translation than "conversation." Remember, this was first written to the Jews who had been converted and they could not look back to the traditions of their fathers, because their fathers had neither faith nor understanding as to whom Christ was. 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. This takes us back to the first Passover in Egypt and the Passover lamb was shut up from the tenth day until the fourteenth to make sure it was without spot of blemish, Ex. 12. In like manner our Saviour was without spot or blemish, He was tried and tempted as we are, but did not succumb to the temptations and was sinless.
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. We must look to Ephesians 1:4-5 for another reference of this great event that took place in heaven before the foundation of the world. According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Yes, chosen children in Him; what a blessing, let us rejoice! RJS

26th

June 26
Great things gained by Faith, In God, In Christ,
In The Holy Spirit, and In the Word of God
I Peter 1:21

21 Who by him (Christ) do believe in God, that raised him (Christ) up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Who by him do believe in God; or according to two of the most ancient manuscripts, "Who through Christ are faithful towards God." Through Christ, not only through his incarnation and atoning death, but through his grace and abiding presence. He was manifested for your sake, for all the faithful, whether Jews or Gentiles; "for your glory." Paul says in (1 Corinthians 2:7). This thought shows the greatness of God's love for His own. The eternal Son was manifested for their sake. The Spirit raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory. Peter returns to the "after-glories," which he had mentioned in verse 11. The death of Christ is the total payment for sin; his resurrection and ascension are the grounds of our confidence and hope. They put a halo of Divine glory upon the awful cross; they bring out the beauty and the dignity of the perfect sacrifice; they show that it was accepted and that the work of our redemption was complete. The Resurrection held a very prominent place in the preaching of Peter, and, indeed, of all the apostles (Acts 2:32-36; 3:15; 4:10; comp. Acts 4:33; Romans 1:4,). That your faith and hope might be in God; rather, so that your faith and hope are in God - directed towards God or perhaps, "so that your faith is at the same time, hope towards God." The resurrection and the glory of Christ not only inspire the Christians with confidence in God, but it also gives his faith the character of hope. Christ had promised that where He is there would His servants be; He had prayed that those whom the Father had given Him would be with Him where He is, to behold His glory. He is in heaven, on the right hand of God. Thus the Christian's faith assumes the attitude of hope; he hopes to be where Christ is, to see him as he is, to be made like unto Him. This is "the hope of glory" for which we offer our thanksgivings. Peter is truly the apostle of hope. (Some of the above was excerpted from Pulpit Commentary, I Peter, Vol. 22, p 11) The above is much better stated than we could state it. Paul also has something to say about the resurrection and the passage in I Corinthians 15:12-19 it is too long to quote, but please read it and praise God for His Resurrection. RJS

27th

June 27
The Unfeigned Love for the Brethren
I Peter 1:22

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. Some Christians are tempted to turn back to the old friends whom they knew before they were saved, because there is not the fellowship or love among the saints that they thought there would be. Then there are some Christians that are very discriminating as to whom they want to fellowship with. This discrimination is brought on by their status, finances, education, dress code, looks, and a multitude of other petty reasons. There are two kinds of love to be found in the church, they are both mentioned in our text for today. The first is from the Greek word "anupokritos" and with the alpha, or "a" as the first letter of the word it is a negative "kritos" translated into English word is "hypocrisy." The word originated in the Greek theatrical productions as the actor wore a mask and played the part of someone he was not. So often we see hypocrisy in the church as people put on a pious attitude for others to see on Sundays in church. This is the "phileo" type of love that should be translated "like" rather than love. This was used by Peter in John 21:15-17 where Jesus asked Peter, "do you love me?" the Lord used agapao (love) me. Peter answered with (like) or "phileo" the first two times and the third time the Lord condescended to use the word for like. The "love of the brethren is "philadelphian" from which we get the "City of Brotherly Love." The second word is "agape" a word that is found in John 3:16; I Corinthians 13 and I John 4:8. This is a true brotherly love, and what Peter was seeking to find in both Jews and Gentiles who were in the church. No middle walls of partition and a love that causes one to rejoice in the welfare of another. There is no room for envy in their hearts. No strife, jealousy or boasting, a love that keeps each one from seeking their own rights and position in the church. If this were true in the church there would be a heavenly fellowship and we would always be glorifying the Lord for everything. Unfortunately, there is plenty of "phileo" fondness, and affection among the saints and too little of the "agape" divine love. One of our church ladies always closes her e-mails with "agape" and from what we see in her life it is not just a final word, but a real expression of her love for others. RJS

28th

June 28
The Living and the Written Word of God
1 Peter 1:23-25

Ver. 23. - Being born again; rather, having been begotten again. Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. The word used here means, properly, "sowing;" but, as in (Luke 8:11), it stands also for seed; and here the epithets "corruptible" and "incorruptible" necessitate this second meaning. In the passage quoted from Luke, "The seed is the Word of God." In the conversation with Nicodemus the Lord had said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The Spirit is the germ of spiritual life, and that precious germ abiding in the true children of God lives and energizes "till we come … unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). The Spirit of God is the Seed of the new birth, the Word is the instrument. The Word preached by Peter on the great Day of Pentecost was the means by which three thousand souls were saved, baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Again, the Word preached derives its power from the personal Word, from Christ who is the Word of God. He is the Word of life: (1 John 5:12). "Through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (Eph. 2:18). It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that we receive the grace of the new birth.

24. - For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. Peter quotes, The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. Isaiah 40:6-8, to illustrate his assertion that the Word of God abides forever. 25. - But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word that by the Gospel is preached unto you. Acts 10:36, 37 literally, This is the Word which was preached as good tidings. Here Peter recognizes the Gospel that had been preached in Asia Minor as the Word of the Lord that abides forever. Paul and his companions were the missionaries from whom these provinces had heard the Word of God. Peter gives his formal testimony to the teaching of Paul, as he had already done at Jerusalem. On several occasions we have read critical dissertations that Paul and Peter were at odds on many of the Scriptures teachings. Here we see the critics were wrong. Paul and Peter are in perfect agreement as to "What and Who" is the Word of God and both apply it to our salvation. RJS

29th

June 29
Laying aside the Old and Putting on the New
1 Peter 2:1-3
Condensed from Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, pp. 68-69

2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby: Wherefore laying aside, those who would wear the white robe of regeneration must lay aside the filthy garments (Zechariah 3:3) of the old carnal life. Paul bids us put off the old man and put on the new (Ephesians 4:22, 24; Romans 13:14), "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." The metaphor would be more striking when, at baptism, the old dress was laid aside, and the white, Christ like garment, is put on. All malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings. The sins mentioned here are all offences against that "unfeigned love of the brethren" which formed the subject of Peter's exhortation in the latter part of 1 Peter 1. Cf. (Ephesians 4:22-31); the close resemblance between the two Scriptures reveals Peter's knowledge of the Ephesian Epistle. 2. As newborn babes, these words look back to 1 Peter 1:3, 23. God begat them again; they were newborn babes in Christ, they must remember their regeneration. The rabbis used the same metaphor of their proselytes; but the apostle was doubtless thinking of the Savior's words (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:14, 15). Desire the sincere milk of the Word. Desire, long for it eagerly, as babes long for milk, their proper food, the only food necessary for them. The apostle is not thinking of natural milk, but of that nourishment which the Christian reason can regard as milk for the pure "soul food," simple and nourishing; capable of supporting and strengthening those newborn babes who not long ago had been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God; 1 Corinthians 10:3, 4. Paul also speaks of milk as the proper food of babes in Christ (1 Cor. 3:2; Cf.: also Heb. 5:12), though the thought is somewhat different; Peter's words do not convey any reproof for want of progress. This spiritual milk is pure, unadulterated. That ye may grow thereby; literally, "therein, in the use of it." Most of the ancient manuscripts add the words, unto salvation. The soul that feeds upon the pure milk of the Word grows unto salvation. And as the child grows and needs to masticate stronger food; so the young Christian grows and seeks the "Meat of the Word." RJS

30th

June 30
The Living Cornerstone, that is Christ
I Peter 2:3-4
Condensed from Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, P. 69

Ver. 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious; rather, "since ye tasted," that ye may grow therein. The "if" does not imply doubt; rather it is "since" the apostle supposes that they have once tasted, and urges them, on the ground of that first taste, to hunger for more. The first experiences of the Christian life stimulate God's people to further efforts. The words are a quotation from Psalm 34:8, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!" Peter is simply quoting the words of the Psalm, and applying them to the metaphor of milk.
Ver. 4 To whom coming as unto a living stone. Omit the words, "as unto" which are not in the Greek, and weaken the sense. The "living Stone" is Christ; the "Lord" of Psalm 34:8 is Jehovah. Peter passes from the figure of milk to that of a chief corner stone. So Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, after saying that he had fed his Corinthian converts "with milk, and not with meat," passes first to the figure of laborers on the land, to that of builders building upon the one foundation "which is Jesus Christ." Peter may have been thinking of his own name, the name that Christ gave him when Andrew brought him to the Lord. The Greek word here is not the solid native rock on which the temple is built, nor a piece of rock, an uncut stone, but a stone shaped and wrought, chosen for a chief cornerstone. The apostle does not mention himself; he omits all reference to his own position in the spiritual building; he wishes to direct his readers only to Christ. He is plainly referring to the Lord's own words in Matthew 21:42, where Christ applies to himself the language of Psalm 118, He described himself as a Stone. The figure of a stone is inadequate, all figures are inadequate, to represent heavenly mysteries. This stone is living, full of life; it gives life, as well as, strength and coherence to the stones that are built upon it; for the Lord has the life in Himself. Disallowed indeed of me, Peter slightly varies the quotation, and attributes to men in general the rejection ascribed in the psalm and in the Gospel to the "builders." "He was despised and rejected of men." In his speech before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:11), he had directly applied the prophecy to the chief priests. But chosen of God, and precious; rather, another translation with God elect, precious, or perhaps better, honored; is a reference to Isaiah 28:16. RJS

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Please Email us to share a testimony of how this ministry has been a blessing to you, Or to request these devotions be sent to you daily via email!

Read Past Devotionals in the Devotional Archive!

Read Past Devotionals in the Devotional Archive!