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Our theme for 2021 is “Redeeming the Time”
A while ago I began a study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians
Becoming a follower of Christ is not just a matter of following a religion, it is a supernatural transformation.
You are no longer what you used to be.
The Galatians were people who came to Christ on Paul’s first
and second missionary journeys and the churches that they started.
After Paul testified before the Jerusalem council in Act 15 that the Gentiles were receiving the Holy Spirit
and that powerful and supernatural signs and wonders were happening,
the council decided that they should be accepted as believers without keeping all of the Jewish laws.
Meanwhile, there were these Jewish teachers that were following Paul’s trail trying to convert the people back to the old way of Judaism.
They were causing these young Christians to doubt everything that they believed and were taught.
So Paul had to remind them of the powerful encounter that they had with Christ and that they are no longer deceived.
He had to tell them that they are no longer inferior - say it with me, “I am adequate, I am competent and my life is meaningful!”
Last week we learned that we are no longer cursed.
Jesus reverses the curses because the blessing is stronger than the curse.
What are some of the other voices that get into our head and try to get us to go back to the way that we were?
I’ll tell you one - its the voice that says “I can’t do this!”
We learned last week that trying harder is part of the curse, but what if you have given up trying at all?
In Elijah House they talk about the captive spirit as being the one who cannot fully enter into life because they are bound or have retreated so far into themselves that they are barely even there.
Often the inner vows that they have made are like prison bars that keep them from moving in any direction.
Their spirit is not just asleep, they have checked out.
Their life is perfunctory and never fulfilling.
It takes an encounter with Jesus and sometimes specifically breaking the lies that have bound them to bring them back.
Often God gives us keys - truths that unlock the specific ways that people are bound.
Everything unravels once the key is applied.
If you have been held captive, you need to come back to simple faith in Jesus.
You are not what you used to be.
You are not who you think you are or what you think you are.
In fact you are so much more than what you think you are.
But you have to let go of who you think you are to become all that God made you to be.
As we go through this series, I want to confront those other voices.
There is One Key
The thing about spiritual captivity is that it seems so overwhelming.
There are are layers of problems that restrict us.
There is a row of prison bars.
There are so many things that bind us.
But it only takes one key to unlock the door.
One word from God can set you free!
Imagine how it was for Jesus’ disciples looking back and understanding everything that he said and did in light of His death and resurrection.
Just as last week we learned that Jesus broke the curse because the curse couldn’t stick to Him- What a surprise that was?!
Imagine how they and Paul and others saw all of the Old Testament scripture in a different light.
Things that were hidden to them before are now suddenly plain
And it all fits together because the key has been turned.
Lets read about the surprising things that have been revealed in scripture.
The key to a will is the executor.
A covenant is an agreement made between two parties which is considered unbreakable.
A covenant is sometimes translated as “Testament”.
The Greek word, generally meaning “last will and testament,” contains certain legal characteristics which have important theological implications.
First, a testament was not an agreement between parties (especially equals), but rather was exercised solely by the testator.
Second, the testament became effective upon the death of the testator.
Third, the testament was irrevocable.
- Bakers Encyclopedia of the Bible “Testament”
The translators of the Bible into Greek chose the word Testament because it conveyed the idea of the sovereignty of God as the testator.
The NT writers picked up on this meaning and saw it as being like God’s will and testament.
So for a will to be executed, the person who made it has to die and then the will is ratified - we call that probate.
A judge declares that the will is valid and is to be enforced.
The one who enforces the will or executes it is called the executor.
Contrary to what some people think, the executor does not get all the money.
They may get a fee for the time that they put into handling the money,
but they are held accountable by the court to be sure that the estate is settled according to the will.
What if a large estate were left to a man’s children only to discover when the will was in probate that the entire estate was left to one child, not all.
That child is now the executor of the estate, but is charged with up the estate among all the children.
If I’m a child in that family, then I would want to be in good standing with the sole heir because whatever I get is at their discretion.
That is essentially what Paul reveals about the Abrahamic covenant.
Being a child of Abraham doesn’t get you anything - at least not automatically.
God’ promised Abraham innumerable descendants and then gave the land to his descendants or “seed” as is literally translated.
But just as the English word “seed” can be either singular or plural, the Hebrew is determined by context as well.
The immediate context of several passages where God reiterates his promise to Abraham seems to indicate the plural usage.
However there is one passage in Genesis where the usage is clearly singular.
This passage is the first mention of God’s plan of salvation.
In light of how “offspring” or “seed” is interpreted here, Paul sees that God’s plan all along was to redeem mankind through one man - Jesus Christ.
He is the “seed’ in Genesis 3 and therefore also the “seed” of Abraham and of David.
What does that mean for those who have put stock in their inheriting the promises of God through Abraham?
They may still inherit the promises of God, but that promise comes through Jesus.
Receiving depends upon their relationship to Jesus, not to Abraham.
One more interesting note - the word that is translated “ratified” in verse 15 is the Greek word Kyrio.
Which is the same word for Lord.
The declaration of the early church (and the church through the ages) is Jesus is Lord!
He is the one who ratifies the covenant.
Jesus is the executor of the Father’s will.
The key to an inheritance is the heir.
It is possible to set conditions on a will, that the beneficiaries need to meet in order to receive their inheritance.
Many of the Jews in Paul’s day probably thought that the Law Torah was the conditions for receiving their inheritance.
However Paul point’s out that the Abrahamic covenant preceded the covenant at Sinai by some 430 years.
You don’t make an agreement and then put stipulations on it 430 years later!
But what has Paul already said about the Abrahamic Covenant?
We talked about his last week.
Abraham believed God by faith and then God made a covenant with him.
The covenant was not exclusive to Abraham’s natural descendants, but to everyone who has faith like Abraham.
The key to receiving your inheritance in the Kingdom of God is knowing who you are.
Are you a child of God? Then you have the inheritance of a child of God?
Are you in relationship with God? Then you have access to God’s resources by faith.
Are you in union with Christ?
Then you have everything that you need to carry out your calling and destiny in Christ.
You are a child of God and an heir of God’s promises.
The key to a covenant is it’s mediator.
So why do we have the law?
The law prepared the way for Christ.
The law helped us to recognize sin and holiness, but it could not take away sin or make us holy.
The law isn’t bad, its good because we needed to know these things.
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