Chapter three
Dedicated to
Sanctification to God
God’s first
commands regarding circumcision was given to Abraham AFTER Abraham was given
the Abrahamic Covenant. Abraham was
eighty-five in Genesis twelve when he was first given the Abrahamic
Covenant. Abraham was ninety-nine years
old in Genesis seventeen when God added circumcision as a “token of the
covenant” (Genesis 17:11) between God and Abraham. Circumcision as a “token of the covenant” was
extended to all the future generations of Abraham (Genesis 17:10-14).
“1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him,
saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and
thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any
more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings
shall come out of thee. 7 And I
will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto
Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant
therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy
seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child
in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any
stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy
house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my
covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh
of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people;
he hath broken my covenant” (Genesis 17:1-14).
The Hebrew
word translated “token” in Genesis 17:11 simply means a monument, landmark, or physical
evidence. The obvious intent is that circumcision of
the flesh was intended to reflect an understanding of the need to purify the
heart from all forms of unrighteousness, especially in the areas of human
sexuality and reproduction. Physical
circumcision could not accomplish that to which it testified. It was merely a promise or commitment to
an understanding that began with personal repentance of worldliness. Circumcision was not a testimony to something
accomplished, but rather a testimony to personal involvement in something that
needed to be accomplished beginning with a change of attitude/heart. Therefore, circumcision was a sign or physical landmark to remind the saved believer of a commitment of
the heart to unworldliness.
Why then was circumcision to be done on the
eighth day after the birth of a male child? This practice
is connected to the responsibilities of the patriarchal priesthood of the home. Prior to the Mosaic Covenant, every
father was the high priest of his own household, including all servants/slaves
in his household. As the priest of his
household, the father was morally responsible for maintaining the sanctity of
his household before God. This truth
transcends all dispensations. Physical
circumcision was a teaching tool to ensure that every male child or adult in a
household knew that God expected sanctity/separation extending from the
circumcised. To be circumcised
physically but live unsanctified was essentially equal to being uncircumcised
(Romans 2:25). This was the substance of
God’s warning to apostatized Israel through the prophecies given through Jeremiah. Circumcision
is sanctificationally connected to
separation from the licentious practices of the fertility cultus of pagan
idolatry.
“1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him,
and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land
be greatly polluted? but thou hast
played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast
not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the
wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy
wickedness. 3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there
hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. 4
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide
of my youth? 5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he
keep it to the end? Behold, thou
hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest” (Jeremiah 3:1-5).
“1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the
LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my
sight, then shalt thou not remove. 2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD
liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall
bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 3 For thus
saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise
yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men
of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and
burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings” (Jeremiah
4:1-4).
Circumcision was given more details in the
Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was
a covenant of works and was purely sanctificational in its purposes. As Galatians 3:19 says, the Mosaic Covent was
“added” to the Abrahamic Covenant “because of transgressions.” Circumcision was a “sign” that a person had entered
the Mosaic Covenant with God and was committed to live a sanctified life before
God and the world.
Romans 2:17-29 teaches that God intended outward
circumcision to merely reflect an
already existing inward reality. The difficulty was that circumcision took place
on the 8th day after birth before the inward reality of circumcision
could ever be a reality in a child’s heart.
A child could not make this commitment.
The commitment of circumcision was
the father’s commitment, to ensure that it became a reality in the child’s life
as he matured to adulthood. This is
where the failure took place in the patriarchal priesthood of the home. Therefore, the ritual of circumcision evolved
into mere externalism with little meaning to most Jews.
“17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and
makest thy boast of God, 18 And knowest his will, and
approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 19
And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them
which are in darkness, 20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 21
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that
preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that
sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that
abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy
boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24
For the name of God is blasphemed among
the Gentiles through you, as it is written {Isaiah 52:5}. 25
For circumcision verily profiteth, if
thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is
made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the
righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for
circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if
it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost
transgress the law? 28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly;
neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is
not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:17-29).
God would constantly address the failure of
Jews to understand the purpose of circumcision throughout the Old Testament
history. The responsibility of
maintaining sanctity in every household through the patriarchal priesthood was
never abrogated under the Mosaic Covenant.
It is not abrogated even during the Church Age. This is a primary constant throughout all
dispensations and all covenants. No
where is this more evident than in arrangement of Israel’s encampment around
the wilderness Tabernacle in Numbers chapter two. It is from Numbers 2:1 that we get the
phraseology of of having Biblical
standards.
“1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2
Every man {individual} of the
children of Israel shall pitch by his
own standard, with the ensign of
their father’s house {family}:
far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch” (Numbers
2:1-2).
The Hebrew
word for “standard” in Numbers 2:2 is masculine
gender. Every household had a banner, or flag, that was raised over their own tent of dwelling. This
banner was uniquely styled to represent each household and represent the
individual testimony of that
household. Then that individual
household banner (the testimony of
the standards of that household) would be raised underneath another flag of
that man’s father’s household. Every
brother would raise an individual flag of their own underneath the “ensign” of
their father. Above these two flags
would fly their tribal flag (Numbers 2:3-34).
These three levels of flags were intended to represent levels of
continuing testimony to a pure/sanctified genealogy back to Jacob and
Abraham. These flags represented a
genealogy coming from Abraham committed to living sanctified before God all
connected to the spiritual circumcision of the heart represented by their
physical circumcision.
The Apostle
Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, equates spiritual circumcision with
spiritual baptism in Colossians 2:4-15.
The importance in the text is that the “circumcision of Christ”
(Colossians 2:11) is a circumcision “made without hands.” “Complete” in Colossians 2:10 is perfect
tense connected to the phrase “in Him” or the baptism with the Spirit into the
New Genesis of the “last Adam.” What
Christ did in fulfilling the Law was done perfectly and vicariously once for all. If a person is baptized by the Spirit into
the New Genesis “in Christ,” all that has happened to Jesus perfectly has
positionally happened to the believer “in Him.”
Just as physical circumcision was merely an outward sign of spiritual
circumcision, water baptism is merely and outward representation of Spirit
baptism. Neither physical
representations had anything to do with salvation. Both are connected to a representation of a
spiritual understanding of obligation to sanctity.
“4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile
you with enticing words. 5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet
am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding
your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have
been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11
In whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13
And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it” (Colossians 2:4-15).
Do we have any Old Testament Scriptural representation that
God intended and expected the Jews to have this understanding of circumcision? God has been redundant with this explanation. Physical circumcision was intended to
represent a spiritual separation unto
God in sanctified living so that God
could bless the “fruit” in the fruition of children, animals, and crops. We see this clearly in Deuteronomy 30:1-10. The text is a prophecy regarding God’s
foreknowledge that the nation of Israel will apostatize, and God will scatter
them into all nations of the world (Deuteronomy 30:1). This text is spoken to Moses while the
children of Israel are still in the wilderness.
In this text, God speaks of spiritual circumcision as the circumcision of the heart. The text is about the potential to produce
spiritually sanctified fruit. The
putting away of physical flesh of the foreskin could not accomplish this unless
it was connected to the spiritual reality of a consuming desire of the heart to
live sanctified and dedicated to the righteousness of God.
“1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come
upon thee, the blessing and the curse,
which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all
the nations, whither the LORD thy God
hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and
shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and
thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul {this is during the last three and a half years of the Tribulation};
3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have
compassion upon thee, and will return {second
coming of Christ} and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD
thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out
unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God
gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy
God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt
possess it {Kingdom Age}; and he will
do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine
heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 7 And the
LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that
hate thee, which persecuted thee {the
judgment of the nations during the Tribulation}. 8 And thou
shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which
I command thee this day. 9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand,
in the fruit of thy body, and in the
fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the
LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10
If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his
commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and
if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul
{as a manifestation of the spiritual
circumcision of the heart and genuine
repentance}” (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).
Moses explains what God expects spiritually
of a circumcised nation in Deuteronomy 10:12-22. The
spiritual principle portrayed within physical circumcision is that only spiritual
people can produce spiritual children.
The intent of God in creating a
nation of circumcised people was to create spiritual
progenitors. Understanding this
purpose in God’s institution of circumcision is almost lost to most people
today. Those involved in the licentious
fertility cultus of pagan idolatry just produced more corrupted and licentious children.
“12 And
now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God
require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and
to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with
all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments
of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the
heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also,
with all that therein is. 15 Only the LORD had a delight in
thy fathers to love them, and he chose their
seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this
day. 16 Circumcise therefore
the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 17 For
the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a
mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18
He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the
stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land
of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve,
and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 21 He is
thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and
terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went
down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for
multitude” (Deuteronomy 10:12-22).
God often uses the metaphor of Israel
being His wife. Christ does the same with the Church by using
the metaphor of His bride to describe
her. Any form or degree of
unfaithfulness to the commands of God regarding separation from worldliness was
viewed as spiritual adultery by God. This
is a sanctificational responsibility belonging to every believer and
particularly to the local church.
The Mosaic Covenant, the Law, defined what
was immoral and unjust/unfair in the eyes of God. The primary purpose of the giving of the Law
was sanctificational. The Law defined
sin in no uncertain terms. If a person
understood that the Law was from God and understood what the Law taught, that
person understood what was sinful. This
is also true of the epistles of the New Testament. Most of the New Testament epistles have to do
with doctrinal purity leading to personal sanctification before God.
“16 Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as
of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant,
that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none
effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is
no more of promise: but God gave it
to Abraham by promise” (Galatians
3:16-18).
The central point of
Galatians 3:16-18 is that the Abrahamic Covenant was not made with Abraham.
The Abrahamic Covenant was made
with Christ, the God-man who would become incarnate in human flesh. The Abrahamic Covenant was an immutable
promise from God that He would incarnate His eternal Son through Abraham’s
generations. Once the Promised One was
born, He would vicariously die to fulfill Genesis 3:15. His sacrificial death would once and for all
propitiate the wrath of God (I John 2:2) for believing sinners and impart to
those believers His righteousness (justification) in the indwelling presence of
the Holy Spirit of God. Abraham, as do
all believers, entered this “promise” of the Abrahamic Covenant “by grace” and
“through faith.” The Mosaic Covenant,
the Law, was added to the Abrahamic Covent FOR BELIEVERS ONLY for
sanctification.
“19 Wherefore
then serveth the law? It was
added {to the Abrahamic Covenant} because of transgressions {therefore, for sanctification}, till the
seed {the Promised One, see vs. 16} should come to whom the
promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a
mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God
is one. 21 Is the law
then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise {of the propitiation of God and justification
of believers} by faith {faithfulness}
of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe. 23 But before faith came {the promise was fulfilled}, we were kept {guarded to protect from the wrath of God} under the law {as a garrison or prison}, shut up unto
the faith {imputation until impartation}
which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster {a guardian}. 26
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For
as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:19-29).
To
understand the purpose of directions, always determine the destination to where
those directions lead. The Epistle to
the Galatians begins with clarifying the Gospel (chapters one and two) and
moves to clarifying how a person is perfected/matured sanctificationally
(chapter three), and finally to the “fruit” of being “filled with the Spirit”
(Galatians chapter five). The
destination of the Epistle to the Galatians is ultimately to our practical
sanctification before God to serve/minister as His believer-priests.
“1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should
not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set
forth, crucified among you? 2 This
only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law {Mosaic Covenant}, or by the hearing of faith {Abrahamic
Covenant fulfilled}? 3
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit {salvation through faith in the Promised One of the Abrahamic Covenant}, are ye now made perfect {sanctification} by the flesh {external
keeping of the Law}? 4
Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 5
He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit {sanctification through a cooperative effort with the indwelling Holy
Spirit}, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith” (Galatians 3:1-5)?
These five verses are foundational for the
context of the rest of the Epistle, which from this point forward deals with
the spiritual potential of no longer needing to live under the Law as an
external guardian to physically
restrain believers in limited perimeters of external righteousness. The indwelling Holy Spirit graduated
believers into the realm of adulthood whereby they could be spiritual
restrained from sin and spiritually empowered to righteousness by yielding to
the Holy Spirit (being filled with,
Ephesians 5:18). This is the meaning of
the word “adoption” in Galatians 4:5.
The problem associated with the
translation of huiothesía (hwee-oth-es-ee'-ah)
as “adoption” in Galatians 4:5 is that we give a dictionary meaning to
the English word that is not equal to the contextual meaning of the Greek
word. The context means the removal
from the position of children under guardianship to a position of adulthood
with all the capabilities of mature adults.
Adults should no longer require a guardian to externally restrain them
and guide them in making moral choices.
This is referring to the transition from the sanctificational restraints
provided by the guardianship of the Law to the internal self-restraints
of the “Comforter” (paráklētos) in the indwelling Holy Spirit – childhood
to adulthood. “Adoption” is NOT
referring to God choosing a foreign lost person to become His
child. “Adoption” is referring to a
transition of BELIEVERS from spiritual childhood to spiritual adulthood;
from LAW to GRACE.
“1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though
he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the
time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children {believing
children of God under the Law}, were in bondage under the elements of the
world: 4 But when the fulness
of the time was come {birth, death,
burial, resurrection, and glorification of the Promised One of the Abrahamic
Covenant}, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons {placement/transition into adulthood under Grace}. 6 And
because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7
Wherefore thou art no more a servant
{child under the Mosaic Covenant; vs.1},
but a son {an adult now indwelt by the
inwardly enabling Holy Spirit}; and if
a son, then an heir of God through
Christ” (Galatians 4:1-7).
The “if” of Galatians
4:7 contextually questions the reality of the salvation of believers
considering returning to the elementary shadows of the Mosaic Covenant when the
“fulness of time” (Galatians 4:4) has happened in the fulfillment of the
salvation promises of God in the Abrahamic Covenant. There is a perfect positional sanctification
given in the New Covenant gift of salvation.
This is justification. Therefore,
to allow the shadows of completion of the sacrifices and practices of the
Mosaic Covenant is in fact a denial of the finished propitiatory sacrifice of
Christ and the gift of justification to a believing sinner. Therefore, a misunderstanding of positional
sanctification “in Christ” can reflect a misunderstanding of the Gospel thereby
revealing a false faith. Paul will
explain this more thoroughly in Galatians 4:21-31.
“21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear
the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by
a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of
the bondwoman was born after the flesh;
but he of the freewoman was by
promise. 24 Which things are an allegory {has a double meaning; historical and spiritual}: for these are the two covenants; the one
from the mount Sinai (Mosaic Covenant},
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount
Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage
with her children. 26 But Jerusalem {the heavenly city} which is above is free, which is the mother of
us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that
bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate
hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we,
brethren, as Isaac was, are the children
of promise {the Abrahamic Covenant}.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh {Ishmael} persecuted him that was born
after the Spirit, even so it is
now {those trusting in works
persecute those trusting solely in faith in the Promise}. 30
Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast
out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir
with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not
children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Galatians 4:21-31).
Misunderstanding of either the positional complete salvation or the positional perfect sanctification reveals a
misunderstanding of the Abrahamic Covenants and the Mosaic Covenants. The positional nature of the Abrahamic
Covenant connects to the practical nature of the Abrahamic Covenant. There is therefore a disconnect from the
Mosaic Covenant sacrifices and types. To
fail to disconnect from the Mosaic Covenant sacrifices and types reveals a
pseudo faith and its consequences.
Paul’s warning continues into Galatians chapter five becoming even more
severe.
“1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty {of completion; spiritual adulthood} wherewith
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye
be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify
again to every man that is circumcised {if
you are trusting in your practical sanctification for salvation}, that he
is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified
by the law {Mosaic Covenant; belief that righteousness can be achieved
rather than gifted}; ye are fallen from grace {Abrahamic Covenant where salvation/justification is a gift}. 5
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith {referring to complete glorification}. 6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 7 Ye did run well;
who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This
persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump {the smallest amount of trust in one’s own
ability to achieve a righteousness satisfactory to God meriting to us eternal
life}. 10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye {plural} will be none {no one} otherwise minded: but he that
troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. 11 And I,
brethren, if I yet preach circumcision {justification
through the sanctification of the Mosaic Covenant}, why do I yet suffer
persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. 12 I would
they were even cut off which trouble you” (Galatians 5:1-12).
“Behold, I Paul say
unto you, that if ye be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing” (Galatians 5:3) is a critical statement to
those that connect imperfect practical sanctification as part of the salvation
gift of perfect positional sanctification (justification). This
is what the text is addressing. If
circumcision is necessary to justification, then works, or practical
sanctification, is part of justification.
It is either perfect sanctification, which is justification in the
gifting of God-kind righteousness to the believing sinner, or it is a man-kind
righteousness achieved through human efforts.
The latter is impossible since every sinner begins in sin (Romans
3:23). Practical righteousness is the
moral responsibility of the “born again” believer, which can only be produced
through the filling of the indwelling Spirit (II Corinthians 5:21
and Ephesians 5:18). The filling is impossible without the indwelling.
Confusing the issues of
perfect sanctification in the gift of justification with the imperfect issues
of practical sanctification has caused theological problems for centuries, if
not millennia. Therefore, even though a
person can be saved and positionally/perfectly sanctified in Christ, there will
be a constant tension between the “flesh” and the Spirit until glorification in
the redemption of the body. The control
of the “flesh” is accomplished through inwardly yielding to the indwelling Holy
Spirit (Romans 6:11-13). This is the
ONLY practicum for producing the “fruit of the Spirit” and practical God-kind
righteousness through any believer’s life.
The “flesh” cannot, and will never, produce God-kind righteousness in a
believer’s life. A poisoned well can
only produce corrupted water. This is
the substance of what Paul says in Galatians 5:13-26.
“13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty {from the external controls the Law as a
child leader to the inward enabling of the indwelling Spirit of God}; only use not liberty for an occasion to
the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye
be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the
other: so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. 18 But if
ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the
works of the flesh are manifest {any of
these make it apparent when the flesh is leading}, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell
you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk
in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:13-26).
The transitional verse in Galatians 5:13-26 is Galatians
5:16. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh.” Paul is explaining
in detail what he is speaking of in Galatians 3:1-5. “The flesh” is the fallen sin nature that is
still a part of every “born again” believer.
Practical sanctification will never happen apart from walking “in the Spirit.” In the Spirit” means the supernatural
enabling of the indwelling Holy Spirit by yielding the body, mind, and heart to
Him and God’s revealed will in the Word of God (Romans 6:11-13). Two radically different outcomes are detailed
depending to what spirit we yield
control; the “flesh” or God’s Spirit.
Practical sanctification is dependent upon walking and living “in
the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). The
Apostle John gives similar instructions in I John 1:5-7. In that text. walking and living “in
the Spirit” is what gives the believer entrance to what God calls “fellowship”
(ministry partnership) with Him.
“5 This
then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:5-7).
The Apostle John’s second epistle is
primarily intended to address the issue of separation from the world and walking in
truth through the supernatural enabling of the indwelling Christ. Although separation is always from worldliness
and false doctrine (II John 1:7-11), the focus is primarily being separated unto walking/living in obedience to the truth of God’s Word enabled by
God’s grace.
“1
The elder unto the elect lady {the
local church and priesthood of all believers} and her children {‘born again’ believers}, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also
all they that have known the truth; 2
For the truth’s sake, which
dwelleth in us {the incarnate Word in the
Person of the Holy Spirit}, and shall be with us for ever. 3 Grace be with you, mercy, and
peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Father, in truth and love. 4
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the
Father. 5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new
commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love
one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That,
as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it” (II John 1:1-6).
“Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is
this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”
(James 1:27).
It is impossible to be in the world and
not be touched externally by the filth of degradation. We must live within the stench of sin in this
world but should do all we can so as not to contribute to that stench with our
own corruptions. This is the warfare we
fight in the struggle for our own sanctification BEFORE God. This is the tension of the life described in
I John 1:5-9. The whole point of this
text is that God understands the weakness of the flesh and the frailty of our
own carnal desires.
God
understands and has made provision for our restoration to sanctification and
fellowship with Him. If these verses were not in the Bible, just
one failure, just one bad choice, or just one sin would defile you from serving
God and being used by Him again for the rest of your life on earth. That means just one outburst of anger, one
moment of unforgiveness, or one selfish act of sinful self-indulgence and you
hope for impacting this world for Christ through your ministry would be
over. Praise God for I John 1:5-9.
“5 This then is the message which we have heard
of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. 6 If we say that we
have fellowship with him {a working
partnership with Him in ministry as His sanctified priests}, and walk in
darkness {fellowship with God means we
are walking in the light that He is, vs 5}, we lie {our living is a contradiction to what we profess} , and do not the
truth: 7 But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (I John 1:5-10).
There is a presumption of repentance in I
John 1:5-10. This is apparent because of
the context of the two realms of existence in which believers can choose to
“walk” – DARKNESS and LIGHT. Darkness is the worldly realm of satanic
influences and corruption whereby worth-ship
is given to the things of this world (this is the context of the statement in I
John 2:15). Light is the godly spiritual realm of righteousness and purity of
worshiping God and God alone. There must
be a turning from the realm of existence in the darkness of worldliness before a person can walk in the realm of
spirituality (light) in sanctified
fellowship with God. In other words, a
person CANNOT walk in the darkness
and in the Light at the same
time. These two realms of existence are
contradistinctive to one another. There
MUST be a turning from one to walk in the other. This is the first step into the realm of
spirituality. Salvation merely provides an open door of opportunity. Although sin can no longer condemn the
believer, it can still consume the believer’s life. Salvation does not automatically make you a
spiritual person in your walk.
One of the great texts in the Bible
reflecting the fact that certain priests among the faithful remnant understood
the mercies and graciousness of God is Nehemiah chapter nine. These were priests that returned to rebuild
the Temple in Jerusalem fourteen years after Ezra. Nehemiah chapters eight through eleven
describe a time of spiritual revival in Israel among the faithful remnant. The
first twenty-five verses of Nehemiah chapter nine describe the history of God’s
mercies and blessings to the constantly disobedient children of Israel. The point is that God never abandoned them in
their struggle for their own sanctification even when, in most part, they were
not working very hard at obeying Him. The testimony of understanding that God is
merciful and gracious to sinners is the constant historical testimony about God
recorded in Scripture. That reality
should humble redeemed sinners. Therefore,
should the redeemed simply take advantage of God’s mercy and grace to live in
disregard of His will grieving Him with their disobedience?
“26 Nevertheless they
were disobedient, and rebelled
against thee, and cast thy law
behind their backs, and slew thy
prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations {their corruptions provoked blasphemies
against God amongst the heathen in that righteousness was corrupted}. 27
Therefore thou deliveredst them into
the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee {repentance}, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold
mercies thou gavest them saviours {the
judges}, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28 But
after they had rest {from God’s
chastisements}, they did evil again
before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so
that they had the dominion over them: yet
when they returned, and cried unto thee {repentance}, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them
according to thy mercies; 29 And testifiedst against them, that
thou mightest bring them again unto thy law {for sanctification}: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto
thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he
shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder {like an ox turning away from the yoke resisting its purpose}, and
hardened their neck (adding increasing
levels of resistance to doing God’s will}, and would not hear {like wild animals resisting domestication}.
30 Yet many years didst thou
forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets:
yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the
people of the lands. 31 Nevertheless
for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake
them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. 32 Now
therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not
all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings,
on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers,
and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. 33
Howbeit thou art just in all that
is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 34
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy
law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou
didst testify against them. 35
For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness
that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before
them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are
servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to
eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in
it: 37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast
set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and
over our cattle, at their pleasure, and
we are in great distress. 38
And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it;
and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it”
(Nehemiah 9:26-38).
If God has told
you once, He should not have to tell you again! The problem is you’re not
heeding what you're hearing!
“10
My
son, if sinners entice thee, consent
thou not. 11 If they say,
Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent
without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and
whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all
precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in
thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain
thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and
make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the
sight of any bird. 18 And they
lay wait for their own blood; they
lurk privily for their own lives. 19 So are the
ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life
of the owners thereof” (Proverbs 1:10-19).
The warning of Proverbs 1:10-19 is the
warning of Solomon to his sons (Proverbs 1:1).
However, C.I. Scofield says, “That the
Proverbs were Solomon’s (1.1) implies no more than that he gathered into
orderly arrangement sayings already current amongst the people, the wisdom of
the Spirit, perhaps through many centuries (Ec 12:9).”[1] The reason this is important is because the
testimony of Solomon’s life is a complete contradiction against the advice he
gives in this proverb. Solomon is
recording by inspiration of the Spirit of God things that had been passed down
orally through the centuries establishing that the truths originate with
God. Therefore, the warning is from God
to His “born again” children – the redeemed of all ages. Therefore, the first nine verse of this
Proverbs are so important.
“1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king
of Israel; 2 To know wisdom
and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To
receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4
To give subtilty to the simple, to the
young man knowledge and discretion. 5 A wise man will
hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto
wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;
the words of the wise, and their dark {the
things that puzzle, deep or hidden}
sayings. 7 The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of knowledge {To fear God’s judgment and chastisement is primary wisdom. Teaching children to fear God’s judgment and
chastisement is primary and elementary to a child’s education to be able to
live in this evil world.}: but
fools {unbelievers} despise wisdom and instruction. 8
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy
mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy
head, and chains about thy neck” (Proverbs 1:1-9).
The point of this first Proverb from God is that evil is in
the world and it is ingrained within the human populace. This evil is a personality with
characteristics. This evil cultivates certain
characteristics of personality and seeks to inculcate the people to which it
becomes attached with the characteristics of evil. This evil personality seeks to enjoin itself
to others – it entices. People are very naive if they do not
understand this dynamic of evil in the world.
Parents are very foolish if they do not ensure their children’s
understanding of this reality. Often the
most appealing people are the most dangerous people to our children, because
they have a covert agenda of enticement to an evil worldly view of life. Satan has a worldwide organization of social
engineering intent upon shaping the thinking of people developing the idols of
their hearts. Neo-paganism is nothing
more then the practices of old paganism absent of stone idols. Today, the idols become movie stars, rock
musicians, and progressive politicians.
These people are the devil’s evangelists enticing the world into worldliness. This whole dynamic of enticement and the
cultural acceptance of this social engineering of evil influence is to what God
refers by the word “world” in I John 2:15.
“15 Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world. 17 And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever” (I John 2:15-17).
The word “world” in I
John 2:15 describes the enticements of evil that are intent upon corrupting the
human nature into the depts of human degradation even they cannot imagine at
the beginning of this slippery slope.
The point is that our fallen nature wants the enticements that the world
offers. The more people expose
themselves to the enticements of Satanic influences in social engineering, the
deeper the corruptions inculcate us and draw us into the depths of secret
sins. They are secret sins because they
are done privately and are not known to our peers in the Christian
community. It is not that they are
secret to God. These secret sins are in
fact a serious manifestation of unbelief.
The person understanding this evil influence understands
the necessity of replacing an evil desire with a righteous desire. This redirects the pursuits of our
fallen nature. This is to where
Colossians 3:1-7 leads the true believer in Christ. The “world” is a visible reality of evil
influence. At the beginning of the
Christian life, the believer has already become accustomed to the influences of
the “world.” Much of what the “world”
uses to entice sinners has become a regular part of the sinner’s life. This
is where repentance begins.
Repentance is the change of mind
that sees the inculcation of evil in one’s life and begins to take steps to eradicate it and replace that evil with
righteous pursuits. Repentance does not
just turn from practices or ideas it
sees as evil or sin. Repentance turns to something righteous in the eyes of
God.
“1 If
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and
your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is
our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are
upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which
things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7
In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them” (Colossians
3:1-7).
Having established
the doctrine (completeness in Christ) in Colossians chapter two, God begins to
establish the practical expectation of that doctrine. Through preaching or personal study of the
Word, God brings the believer to accept a Biblical truth (faith). From that point on, He begins to test the
believer to see if he has accepted that truth in his life (if faith is
real). Once practice corresponds with
the truth, it becomes a conviction. You
cannot say you believe a truth until it changes your thinking, emotions and
actions.
“23
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man
beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man
shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:23-25).
The admonition of belief or faith
(Colossians 3:1-2)
“If ye,” the question is, if you believe
the following, then here is what will take place in your life. The
point is this; if you have been spiritually resurrected out from among the
spiritually dead to a state of spiritual life, then you will be constantly
seeking spiritual things. Now friends,
that is quite a statement of expectation, but it is God’s expectation. You see, when He says we are to “seek those
things which are above,” it qualifies itself; “Where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God.” The idea is more
than seeking spiritual things above the worldly things but seeking the exact
same things that Christ is seeking.
Bringing the body
under subjection to its “head” (Colossians 3:2); “set
your affection,” means to bring one’s mind into union with the mind of
Christ. This is a rare reality among
believers.
“19 But I trust
in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of
good comfort, when I know your state. 20 For I have no man
likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. 21 For all seek
their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:19-21).
The Christ “life” in us keeps the
ministry of Christ through us a priority by bringing glorification and praise
to Christ through our actions. Any inconsistency in our lives brings
reproach on the Name of Christ and upon the ministry. Paul’s statement regarding Timothy has been
consistently true throughout church history.
Trustworthy people with the right
priorities are a rare commodity. A
person who truly thinks with the mind of Christ puts other people first by an
unwillingness to compromise truth.
“Not on the things on earth”
(Colossians 3:2); the things of this earth are not sinful in themselves;
alcohol, tobacco, money, etc. The Word
does not say that “money is the root of all evil.” What does it say? “The love of money is the root of all evil”
(I Timothy 6:10). Therefore, the sin
problem here is when we become preoccupied with these things and they become
idols of the heart. The things of this
world are used of Satan to entice us away from serving God. The answer is not to just correct our
attitude towards things, but our attitude towards God. Asceticism may help take our affection away
from the things of the world, but it does not transfer that affection to God.
The reminder (Colossians 3:3), “Ye are dead;” the reminder is, as far
as our being “risen with Christ” is concerned, we were separated from all the
lusts and enticements of this evil world and we should be walking in the
reality of that resurrected spiritual life.
In fact, that reality should be so vivid that the world should not be
able to see our old life styles, but only the life of Christ in us and through
us. Our old life styles and affections
should be “hidden with Christ.” As
Christ is hidden from the view of the lost world in the Godhead, so should our
affections for the things of this world, be hidden “with Christ.”
Christ our life (Colossians 3:4); many Christians only share their lives with Christ. Christ expects much more than sharing our lives with Him. The meaning of this verse is the heart of
practical Christianity. If you were to
find some philosophy or formula for a perfect life in the eyes of God, anyone
who believes in that reality would grab for it.
It is right here. Stop trying to
live your life and let Christ live His life through you. He has given you a new life. He expects you to yield that new life to
Him. This releases His life through your
life. He intends for you to give His
life away through ministry. That is the
only way your life will not be wasted.
If you are not experiencing the fulfillment of a resurrected life “in
Christ,” let Christ have your life completely.
Everything else in this life will prove to be unfulfilling. You can believe the Word of God and protect
yourself from wasting more minutes of your precious life by simply determining
to live every moment to the glory of God.
[1] Notes from the Scofield Reference Bible, 1917. C. I. Scofield, Module file
location: C:\Program Files (x86) \SwordSearcher\Modules\Scofield.ss5cmty,
Module file time: 7/31/2011 8:15:28 PM UTC.
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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.
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