Galatians 5:1-6 Stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if
ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to
every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ
is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye
are fallen from grace.For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any
thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 For
though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I
might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the
Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them
that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being
not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them
that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak:
I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this
I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
Acts 16: 1-3 Then came he
to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named
Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but
his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at
Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and
circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew
all that his father was a Greek.
Paul has used Hagar and Sarah as a representation of a believer’s
heart. In the conception and birth of Ishmael we see Abraham and Sarah trying
(with sincerity I am sure) to bring to manifestation that which YHWH has promised
and in which Abraham has placed His faith. The conception and birth of Isaac
was a good bit different.
The outer works of Abraham in both cases look the same; he
goes in unto a woman in order that she would conceive what YHWH has promised
Him.
However if we look
inside his heart we see in the first a faith that believes YHWH but depends on
men expecting God to bless that which men work; for he knows his wife Sarah’s
womb has been barren despite years of trying to conceive, he knows that Hagar
is young enough to bear children, he knows YHWH’s promise cannot fail, and his
own helpmate is counseling him that this is the way YHWH will bring His promise
to pass.
Paul concludes that when men depend on the self in any way
the seed sown is by a man in bondage to death and sin and can only bear fruit of
that same bondage.
Now let us look at the heart when the same “work” is done by
faith with Sarah. Sarah has passed menopause more than a decade before so no
hope from there, He has no confidence in his own body to produce, the only
reason he believes and expects a son to come from this union is the promise of YHWH.
The conclusion of this is that when men try to perform the
will of God all that can be produced from corrupt flesh is corruption; in this
same manner when we put no confidence in any other reason than He said so that
He would will and do in us, that it is no longer I but Christ in me, that the
life we now live in our body we live by the power of the Spirit of God.
Stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage.
Take hold of the freedom to Life YHWH’s life in you by
trusting in Him alone to give you life and be one with you. Never letting your
faith (reliance, dependence, trust, and expectancy) be in self, or men, or the
world system of men for if you do you will find yourself in bondage to corruption
once again.
Behold, I Paul say
unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I
testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the
whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace
If we attempt to take this verse and use it against the scriptures
to say that Paul has said if we obey the law then we have fallen from Jesus grace;
we miss the point of what Paul is saying. Paul is not advocating disobedience to
the law he is teaching the only way a man can come into obedience to it.
Paul is warning the Galatians that seeking to be justified
by the law is impossible. For to be justified is to be made or declared as
innocent the law can only do that if one has never sinned and never sins again.
Do we believe YHWH will lie for us because we tried hard and
did pretty well? No he will not lie. Do we believe He is gives blessing on a
bell curve; giving more to those who keep 70% compared to 50% and really
pouring it on one who may keep 99%.
Only one has ever been
found to keep 100%. He was the way of the words of life, He is the truth of
what the law described, and He is the life because His life was YHWH’s life. When
we trust in that which He endured we receive his death and our old self is put
to death; hidden in Him. We remain in Him and become partakers of His resurrection,
receiving YHWH’s breath into us, sharing His life, no longer a self but one with
Him, and all that are of that same faith.
So it is that Paul warns if you seek to attain to life by
your own power to affect your actions what Messiah has done will have no effect
for you.
For we through the
Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither
circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by
love
We of the faith of Messiah do not look to that which we inherited
from Adam for whatever power our self had brought only corruption and it can
have no power in faith as it is crucified in Messiah. Instead we expect the
Spirit to live through us and we know that he lives a righteous life. For this
reason whether a believer is circumcised as the Jews where or uncircumcised as
the gentiles had no effect on the righteousness lived through us by the Spirit
through our faith in Yeshua the messiah of YHWH.
YHWH said through Moses love YHWH your Elohim with ALL YOUR
heart, soul, and might and these words shall be in your heart.
Messiah said I came to fulfill the law and again He said if
you love YHWH with all you are and love your neighbor as yourself all the law
will be fulfilled in you.
Paul adds that our faith works by love.
Do we trust Him that he will do what He promised? Even the
world knows you cannot have love without trust. Can we fall into him without
trying to uphold ourselves trusting Him to be obedient in and through us.
Paul never abandons the law, He is probably the greatest
commentator on the law among those who witness to Messiah, we see Him keeping
feast and Sabbaths and participating in
temple worship, He even still considers
himself a Pharisee, unless He is a liar. The way in which He relates to it however
is completely different. He sees the law as a description of the living word
not as a way for men to obtain life.
This is the reason that Paul confuses many. For he comes
strongly against doing the things in the law then says the law is holy and
righteous then adds without righteousness you will not enter the kingdom of
Heaven. These things all being true at the same time are because Messiah has
set us free from the sin and death we received from Adam.
This “life” received by the flesh is of flesh and can only
produce the works of the flesh. The life Yeshua gives us is by the Spirit it
only comes by the Spirit and can only produce the fruit of the Spirit.
