See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Not traditions. Not sacraments. Not theologies. Not denominations. Not what you're most passionate about or what they're {anyone not you} most passionate about....
A new creation.
You're a new creation if you're in Christ.
The point of the Gospel is the invitiation into an eternal relationship with God. That relationship, through Jesus and empowered by Holy Spirit, bringing us from glory to glory- closer and closer to the image in which He created us in; Himself. That's what matters.
Listen. I'm becoming increasingly more aware of the attempt to persuade any of us that any group of Christians has Christianity "right" while the others have it "wrong" and therefore "false" Christians. Have you ever attended a church that you found was not on the same page as you were? Did those theological or philosophical discrepencies render one party right or wrong? Have you ever had the conviction that your particular denomination was the "right" one? Have you ever considered why? Have you ever read through Acts to see how the church was founded in the beginning and then weighed that against your allegiance to your theological and traditional beliefs? There are obviously some key points in Christianity that cannot be interpreted any other way than what the Word says, but I'm suggesting that God's a lot more patient and long-suffering than most of us and, perhaps, all the denominations that currently exist have a part of the pursuit of Jesus down really well and are missing the mark in other areas.
There are SO many (even well-intentioned) Christians and leaders that are vilified in their own minds and hearts when they are able to obtain followers. I do truly believe that most of these people believe they are discipling followers of Jesus, but the discipling and reproduction of members that follow certain traditions and believe certain doctrinal statements take the place of the pursuit of the life Jesus made possible for us. Furthermore, at this stage in history, where persecution took place many times for believing in the grace and power of the gospel in Paul's day; persecution tends to be the most prominent in the bodies of believers that are actually delving into what it means to be a new creation not only individually, but to the world around them. You don't know what I mean? Look for any church that is going after the spiritual gifts or remaining firm in God's precepts and commands.....Just because there are 500 people following a leader doesn't mean they're following Jesus.
Do you know what I have found to be an accurate measurement of credibility in the church?
Humility and Maleability. If we are ALL truly in process and process in its own right gives our thinking the space to grow and change- then it is possible to recognize where we aren't in line with what God has said and to reroute....you know, repent.
Why does this matter in the context of the end of Galatians?
Joe Rogan recently interviewed Terrence Howard (a memorable actor in such movie franchises as the Avengers) and also a brilliant mind of our time. Among insights that Terrence discusses during the interview, the periodic table is one that has become the subject of much interest. Through an incredible experience- that I would suggest is quite similar to Solomon's encounter with the Lord- Terrence believes he was gifted with insight and revelation during a dream he had as a child. After being asked if he could have anything at his request from a being in the dream, Terrence asked to "know how all things worked". Following this encounter, he went on to have other dreams through the course of his life; one being about the periodic table as a vortex rather than linear. He became highly interested in proving this theory and in his pursuit found that a man by the name of Walter Russell had already proposed and worked out exactly what Terrence believed- that all elements were actually formed from one element and changed in frequency as they changed in form all the while being 'wrapped' around eachother in sucession as they changed (essentially doubling as you moved from one element to the next). Without going into detail of this discovery, the point is, no one wanted to change from the standard of the original periodic table as assembled by Mendeleyev. Interesting to note, both Mendeleyev and Russell attribute their 'epiphanies' to supernatural experiences (the former a dream the latter a 39-day cosmic illumination). As we have discussed to this point, God IS the God of increase and multiplication and He has promised to increase the distribution of His wisdom and kingdom until the return of Christ (Ephesians 3:10); so... isn't it interesting how much [we] fight against changing our thinking when there is a greater revelation available? Is it possible that Russell's understanding of the elements is a greater degree of understanding than what was originally revealed and stewarded by Mendeleyev? That both are right, one's revelation just increases the others? In the same way, is it possible that the Church has become obsessed with its differing denominations and traditions instead of the greater revelation of the New Creation? Being unwilling to set aside what we first believed to be right about our pursuit for the abundance of what Jesus promised- all because of religion and tradition?
You guys, this is exactly the same climate Paul was preaching in...except the only 'church' body that was in direct conflict with him most of the time were the Jews not 45,000 different denominations that currently exist in the world.
What if we all actually pursued what it meant to be New Creations?
Paul says that anyone that walks by the rule of "boasting only in the cross of Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world; with neither circumcision or uncircumcision counting for anything, but only a new creation" (Galatians 6:14-15 paraphrased by me) that peace and mercy be upon them AS WELL AS the Israel of God.....that means it's a personal and corporate blessing in case you needed an explanation.
Your salvation is something that happened (born again), is happening (sanctification) and will happen (Christ's return) in fullness in the future. I would suggest that putting your hope in traditions and religion through the course of sanctification instead of Jesus in you as a new creation will not lead to peace and mercy, but unrest and criticism. Your identity is not in anything you can do for God, but who you are IN Him and His great delight when He saved you and reconciled you unto Himself was that you would now have eternity to unwrap the abundance of life.
I was on a walk today considering this final part of Galatians and had this inner vision of what it truly means to be crucified to this world (cut-off from the need or desire to belong to anything carnal or outside of Jesus). I saw Paul standing and talking to the church and knew that he was aware in this particular vision that there were very few that understood or agreed with him, but that behind him-heaven was listening intently to the revelation of what Paul was sharing...
There is something quite sombering when you come to a place where many may not understand, agree or maybe even persecute you for your relationship with the Lord; but it doesn't matter. God desires that all of us would know who we are and whose we are. His entire story of the world is His plan of saving humanity. He didn't just save us to correct a mistake, He saved us because He loves us and His plan was always that He would share this age and everything He has with us to the glory of His name.
Far be it from me to desire any less of Him.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, friends.
Amen.
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