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"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes
Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn
just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law,
or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with
the
Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Have you suffered so much for nothing -- if it really was for nothing?
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe
the law, or because you believe what you heard?" (Galatians 3:1-5, NIV).
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In this passage you sense Paul's bewilderment at the Galatian believers,
who were certainly off track in their understanding of God's work among
them. Through a series of significant questions, which almost beg
an answer, Paul gets to the essence of receiving the Spirit: it's certainly
not by observing
the law, but by opening our lives in faith. We must realize afresh
that God yearns to give us his Spirit freely and to also work miraculously
among us, but that He's hindered by our unbelief. As Eugene Peterson commented,
"God is a reservoir of blessing who supplies us abundantly. If we lose
touch with
the reality of God, we will live clumsily and badly." Let's believe
and continually receive God's Spirit in our lives.
Prayer response: Father, you have given the promise of your Spirit
to all who believe. Help me seek you and commune with you as I go about
the business of my day, as I face the demands of work, home, and family.
I believe; help my unbelief. Let my life be Spirit-filled, walking honestly
and obediently in the truth of the gospel, which is setting me free.
I offer myself willingly in Jesus' name. Amen.
