"After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth."~Genesis 8:6-11

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Galatians


Paul is writing this letter to the churches in Galatia (1:1-2) while he is in Antioch, before the Jerusalem Council has occurred (a council at which they debated the way we achieve salvation). He had planted the churches during his first missionary journey, and now he is frustrated and perplexed at how the people of the churches in Galatia are being so easily swayed toward a gospel that differs from the one he preached to them (1:6).  During this time, there is a lot of serious debate surrounding the question of whether or not circumcision is required for Gentiles.  So it makes sense that Paul is as emphatic and straightforward as he is during this letter, because he doesn’t want the Galatians to be confused.  He wants to be clear that the gospel he has been preaching is from God (1:1) and that it completely negates the necessity to adhere to the Jewish laws (2:16), especially circumcision (5:2).

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles" 1:15-16.

OBSERVATION:

What does Paul say about grace?
God called him by his grace and set him apart before he was born.  It also pleased God to reveal Jesus to Paul.

What was Paul like before he experienced God's grace?
He was a persecutor of the church and tried to destroy it.  He was a zealous Jew (1:13-14).

INTERPRETATION:

What does grace mean?
The Complete Word Study of the New Testament defines grace as a favor done without expectation of return.  Or unearned favor.

How did Paul experience unearned favor?
In being called out of his former life of enslavement and destruction by Christ Jesus himself-receiving complete forgiveness and being called to be a warrior and a pioneer for God's kingdom.  Salvation was something that came to Paul entirely by God's initiative, not his own.

APPLICATION:

Is there a timeless truth?
Salvation comes to us by God's initiative, not ours.



Also, each book we come up with a creative application to express one of the timeless truths that we have found from our studies.  This week I made a video.  It's short.  And awesome.


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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousNovember 30, 2012 at 7:21 AM

    Finally got a chance to look at your blog. This video is awesome. So creative girl. I am so impressed. Also, great insights in your posts.

    ReplyDelete

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