Monday, February 21, 2005

Lena's Comments on Gal 5

Do you sense Paul’s anger at the yoke of religious performance, of good works of the flesh? He’s angry at that which tries to mold us into its own image and is so far from the mold God has made for us. Some will misunderstand this and take it the exact opposite way I mean it, but the point here is walking in the spirit, not in the flesh. Paul was angry at the lies that try to make us good through our own works and diminishes the work of the cross. The cross was hard work. An intentional work done by God to save and heal and deliver us, yet we substitute ourselves, even to the point here of cutting away our physical flesh to serve God? He gave His all to us, why would we diminish that work? There’s only one reason, that is to diminish its work in us, and to decrease our faith in Him. If we have more faith in ourselves, we have less faith in Him. There’s an enemy out there, the enemy can come in many shapes and forms, the sole purpose of any shape or form it may take is to steal our faith walk and our love walk, these are the evidences that the cross was good enough. This type of revealing will lead us to desire truth in our inmost parts. I love this translation as it zooms in and pinpoints things I’d not thought to express these truths. Vs 19-21 are symptoms and indicators of the type of lies we’ve listened to. If we see these things in our lives we know we need to repent and walk another way. The verses that begin at 22 are what we want to seek after diligently, the manifestations of the power of the cross alive and working in me. God’s Holy Spirit alive in me. Oh God arise and let every enemy be scattered