THE PROOF

 

THE PROOF

Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Galatians 3:6-9.

Introduction

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We were reminded that the Promise of eternal life is displayed by the Gospel message and that this Promise is conveyed by the Spirit working among us. In the following we need to look at how we can know the Spirit is at work among us. What is the evidence, or more strongly, the proof, that He is present with us? There’s an old saying which goes: The proof is in the pudding. Well, I’d like to change that a little to say that the proof is in the Bible.

The general gist of what we’re looking at is that the Spirit’s work and our experience as Christians must line up with Scripture.

We’re going to see how Paul insists Christians always measure what they think against Scripture!

We see that the Lord was supplying the Spirit and that He was doing miracles among the Galatians, for back in verse 5 we read, “He … supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you.” So, Paul wants the Galatians to understand that the Spirit of Christ came to them along with the Gospel. The Spirit works with the Word. Therefore, the miracles were a sign that the Christ of the Gospel was in their midst. The word “miracles” here is literally “powerful deeds” or “powerful works.”

    Paul has already told the Galatians that they had begun in the Spirit (Gal. 3:3). Meaning that the Spirit had begun His work of sanctification in the Galatians. The Spirit was the One perfecting them and not they themselves. And the sign or proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit, or if you will, Christ’s Spirit, is in the powerful deeds that are taking place among them. Therefore, Paul’s question is of the rhetorical variety, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

The Galatians are supposed to answer, “That’s right! The Spirit was here long before the Judaizers with their works of the law got here. And we have proof of this in the miracles that are taking place among us.” With this thought in mind Paul, a little later, reminds them that God’s covenant with Abraham was 430 years before the giving of the Law to Moses (Gal. 3:17). In other words, the Galatians are under the same covenant God made with Abraham! Therefore, they have the received the same promise as Abraham. The Promise is Christ, of course. The same Christ who is present doing powerful works among the Galatians by His Spirit. This is only possible because Jesus is both God and man in one Person. As man He remains in heaven but as God He’s everywhere, even among the Galatians. As God He was even around to talk to Abraham in Abraham’s day. Jesus is the great “I AM” of both the Old and the New Testaments, i.e., the Bible.

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Paul is asking how the Galatians received the Spirit – by doing works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Therefore, Paul is equating receiving the Spirit with believing the Gospel message. To receive the promise personally you need to be believing in the Gospel. Indeed, Scripture tells us that to receive the Spirit is to receive the Promise.

Speaking of the Spirit Peter in Acts 2:39 says, For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord will call” (Acts 2:38-39). The proof then, that the Lord has called you and that you, personally, have received His promise, is the Spirit.

The sign that the Spirit of Christ was among the Galatians was the miracles. And no doubt these powerful deeds accompanied the Apostle Paul wherever he went. What did Jesus say to His disciples before His ascension? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Paul said to the Romans, “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient – in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:18-19). And Paul said to the Corinthians, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:12). So, the signs then, were the indication that Christ was indeed with the Apostle among the Gentile nations – including the Galatians. The object of the exercise was, as Paul says, “To make the Gentiles obedient” (Rom. 15:18b).

The Apostle Peter mentions Galatia at the beginning of his first letter, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:1-2a).

Whether a Christian has come from a Jewish background or a non-Jewish background, all Christians are to be obedient to the Gospel. Hence Paul saying in Galatians 3:1, “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” There is an important general principle here, to do with the covenant of grace. It is this: God blesses obedience, and He curses disobedience among His people. Keep that in mind and you’ll begin to understand why Paul is so resolute with the Galatians. Then you’ll begin to catch on to what God meant when He said to Abraham, “In you all the nations shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18; cf. 12:3).

God blessed the obedience of Christ by giving Him all nations for an inheritance. And God is blessing these Galatians, who were predominantly a nation of Celts, in that they were hearing and believing the same gospel Abraham heard and believed. But it doesn’t matter whether your Celtic, Anglo/Saxon, North American Aboriginal or Australian Aboriginal, Chinese, African etc, the blessing is for all nations. The Lord through his Prophet Joel says, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). But these Galatians are in the process of turning their backs on the blessing.

The sign that the blessing has come upon you is the Gospel accompanied by powerful deeds. We’re talking about the stuff we only hear about in revivals. And we’re not talking about the man-u-factured stuff of some American TV Evangelists. Therefore, these powerful deeds or working of miracles Paul is referring to in Galatians 3:5 no doubt included the sign gifts of the Apostolic Age. So, we’d expect that some of the Galatians would have had the gifts as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. These include: “...a word of wisdom through the Spirit...the word of knowledge through the same Spirit...faith by the same Spirit...gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues.”

These sign gifts were given as proof that all nations were included in the Gospel blessing. The Lord commanded His Apostles “...Go and make disciples of all the nations, etc.” (Matt. 28:19ff). Therefore, the sign gifts were proof that they were saved by grace not works.; because only the Spirit can work miracles – which are signs, visible manifestations of God’s grace.

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Another sign that Christ was in their midst would be the fruit of the Spirit. Paul provides a short list of some of the fruit for the Galatians 5. Each Galatian Christian should have been experiencing: “...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,    gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22). But the number one sign that Paul is hammering home – the main proof the Galatians have received the Spirit – is the Gospel. They heard the Gospel they were believing it! What more proof does a person need? And they were to demonstrate their love for Christ by being obedient to the truth. The hearing of faith believes the gospel for eternal life. And to believe the gospel is to receive the Promise. And to receive the Promise is to receive Christ. And to receive Christ is to receive His Spirit. And to receive His Spirit is to receive proof that the Gospel Promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ is for real and is for you the individual. This was reality for Abraham. It was reality for the Galatians. And it is reality for us today.

“Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal. 3:6). This is the heart of the Gospel. We are justified in God’s eyes by faith and not by our works. We’ll look at the doctrine of Justification in a chapter up ahead. But for now, we’re looking at some of the signs that would indicate a person has been justified, i.e., declared by God to be righteous, in the right with God.

The main sign that you’ve been justified is that you have faith in Christ alone for salvation as He is presented in the Gospel. And one major sign that you have this kind of faith is your obedience to the Gospel. It goes without saying, that if you’re obedient to the truth, then you’re at the same time repenting of your sins. For Jesus Christ Himself commands us to, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Therefore, a sign you’re not believing is a continuation of your sins without repentance.

The Christian, although he’s never free from sinning in this life, should be, nevertheless, hating his sins. That’s repentance. And repentance is, of course, one of the major signs that you are indeed a believer. Anyway, enough of signs.

Wonders

We’re not so much looking at wonders in the miraculous sense of the word, as in signs and wonders, because we’ve already done some of that. Instead, we’re using the word in the question sense. For example: One wonders what has gotten into the Galatians! Paul is certainly wondering. Let me illustrate this: You’ll notice that each of the first five verses of Galatians chapter 3 ends with a question mark. At least the way it’s worded in the NKJV. Anyway, Paul engages the Galatians in a whole bunch of questions. He’s wondering: Who has bewitched the Galatians? (Gal. 3:1). How did they receive the Spirit: By a free gift or did they work to receive Him? (Gal. 3:2). Are they so foolish as to want to give the Spirit away and try to go it alone? Was what they’ve experienced all for nothing?

It’s important to note that Paul is engaging the minds of the Galatians here. He’s going after their minds. He wants them to wonder about themselves. He wants them to wonder about how they can tell if they’re saved or not. Who is Jesus Christ? Why was He crucified? Who is the Spirit? What is He doing? How can you tell He’s in your midst? Consider the facts. Mill them over in your mind.

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    He starts by engaging the intellect of the Galatians. And it’s important that we speak to people’s minds. Christianity isn’t for those who believe in blind faith. Those who don’t really care what the Bible says but they say they believe it anyway. Christianity’s not like that. Christianity is the thinking-man’s religion. Oh sure, the village idiot can be a Christian. We don’t all need the brain of an Einstein. But Scripture says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

The Galatians are falling down a bit here! They’re failing to prove what the good, acceptable and perfect will of God is. They’ve fallen at the first hurdle. They’ve heard all about God’s free offer of grace in the cross of Christ. And now they’re beginning to think a must needs to be circumcised to be saved. Paul’s saying in essence, “Use your heads you foolish Galatians!”

After His resurrection the Lord walked with a couple of His disciples on the road to Emmaus and said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” He engaged their minds. He asked them a question. Then He answers His own question. Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and the all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

Jesus engaged the minds of His disciples. Paul engaged the minds of the Galatians. And they both did so by getting the people to think about the Scriptures. We need to think about the Scriptures. We need to ponder and wonder what these things mean. And we must not rest until we find the answers if they can be found.

Christianity is the thinking-man’s religion. Don’t let any anti-intellectual tell you different. If you’re wondering why there’s so many heresies being adhered to in the churches, it’s because too many Christians are ignorant of what the Bible teaches. “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” says Jesus “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” says His Apostle.

We need to know the Scriptures. For the Scriptures are the truth. And it’s the truth that sets us free, even from our bondage under the Covenant of Works. “Engage your minds!” That’s what we should be hearing. But this doesn’t mean that people who are brain-damaged can’t be saved? Neither does it mean that people cannot be saved as infants. But what it does mean is that those who can are supposed to exercise their intellects.

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    Think about the Scriptures. Ponder them. Mill them over in your minds. Deepen your understanding and you’ll avoid pickles such as the one at Galatia. But notice that Paul also goes after the heart, as did the Lord on the road to Emmaus. Jesus said to the disciples, “Ought not the Lord to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory” (Luke 24:26). Christ wants them to think of the meaning of the cross in light of the rest of Scripture. But, as they do so, He wants them to consider what He experienced, what He suffered. Paul has already made the astounding statement to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ!” (Gal. 2:20). And then he reminds them that the crucified Christ had been portrayed before their eyes. So, now that he’s got the Galatians thinking about Christ and Him crucified, he asks the question, “Have you suffered so many things in vain?” That’s the heart-attack! Or rather an attack on the heart, might be a better way of putting it.

Consider the suffering of Christ. Consider what it all means. Consider it all in the light of the Scriptures. Did Jesus Christ suffer in vain? And the Galatians are supposed to think to themselves, “Of course He didn’t! We have eternal life through believing in Him. We have God’s promise which is confirmed by the presence of the Spirit. We know the Spirit is here because we are believing in the crucified and risen Christ.” Well then, now that you have understood it all intellectually: Has all your suffering for the sake of Christ likewise been in vain?

You’ve heard of the Passion of Christ which refers primarily to what He suffered at His crucifixion? Jesus used the word “suffered” when He talked with the men on the road to Emmaus. Paul is using the same word here as he talked to the Galatians. The word speaks of things you experience. So, we notice something very important here for Christians today. Christianity is an experiential religion. If you read some of the Puritans, you’ll hear them use the word experimental. By this they meant that Christianity is a religion which engages the whole man. It’s not a dead intellectualism which detaches itself from all emotion like Mr. Spock on Star Trek. Neither is it an emotional free-for-all where everyone gets to do what they want.

Christianity is the thinking man’s religion. But it is at the same time the religion of feelings. However, the emotions must match the facts. Therefore, you must know the facts before you can respond with the appropriate emotion. Otherwise, you’re just a fool! “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” You are acting like fools! You are not acting according to the facts of the Gospel. Think about what you are doing. Think about it in the light of the Scriptures. Up until the Judaizers came along with their funny teachings, you were experiencing the normal life of the Christian. You were experiencing the usual friction between yourselves and your unsaved mums and dads, brothers and sisters, friends. You were experiencing the Holy Spirit at work among you.

You saw the Lord perform miracles, and what Christian hasn’t? The Lord sometimes answers our prayers in miraculous ways. But most of all, we know the Lord is at work when people come to know the Lord. When His people seek a deeper understanding of His Word. We know the Lord is in our midst when people are obedient to God’s Word. But when people just do their own thing without thinking it through, then we know we are among a bunch of fools such as these Galatians. Because that is the essence of what you are saying.

To turn again to works is to turn away from Christ. It is to say that He suffered in vain. It is to say that what you have suffered up till now has been in vain. One has to wonder along with Paul, why? Since Christ had clearly portrayed among them as crucified before their eyes.

As we begin to tie things together, let me do so by drawing you attention to 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

If you have ever wondered how to tell the difference between the genuine work Spirit, and the counterfeit work of Satan, it’s in 2 Thessalonians 2:10. When it comes to all the signs and wonders there is one sign that stands out above all. This is the sign that separates the Christian from the non-Christian. It separates those who are pretending form those who are born again. Non-Christian and counterfeit Christian alike are, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

What is the sign that a man has received this gift – this love of the truth? Well Jesus says to His Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Therefore, the proof is not in how well you can speak in other languages you’ve never studied. Nor is it through how many healings you have perform. Satan is able to fool people by counterfeiting all of that. In fact, Jesus says, “False christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

Conclusion

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One of the chief signs you should be looking for is an insatiable desire to study God’s Word. You should have a powerful love for the truth that should be expressed in the way you live your life. And one of the chief wonders has to be the so few Christian nowadays who know their Bibles. Not every Christian can be a Knox or a Calvin. But every Christian should be hungering after the righteousness revealed in the Gospel. And where are you going to find the righteousness you need so badly if you won’t study your Bible?

If the Galatians listened more to the teaching of the Gospel and less to the claims of men, then they wouldn’t have been in such a pickle. So always keep in mind that the Spirit’s work and our experience as Christians must line up with Scripture.