The Rule Of The New Creation

Good day dear friends. 

It is another new week, and this post will be the last in the first series of Vignettes of Grace. This week we’re looking at verses 15 & 16 of Galatians 6:

“For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah]. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule [who discipline themselves and regulate their lives by this principle], even upon the [true] Israel of God!" Galatians 6: 15 and 16 Amplified Version.

During my years as an undergraduate in University of Ibadan, I was exposed to lectures and presentations. With time, I also became involved in making presentations myself and I have come to the realization that sometimes, the audience tend to miss out on some important information in the presentation. As a result, I have learnt that it is not only proper to always end one’s presentation by reminding the audience of the key points, it is also very effective in helping them leave with the right messages. 

Like I pointed out last week, we are now at the end of this epistle to the Galatians and in this closing section, Paul was concluding the letter.  In these last verses to sum up, he identified 2 key things he wanted the Galatians to always remember; the cross of Jesus (as we saw last week), and the new creation in Christ which we are considering this week.

This week we are reminded again that circumcision or uncircumcision, fastidious adherence to codes of conduct, superficial external niceties, powerless sanctimony and several other things are not the heart of the matter. Not at all. The real heart of the matter is the new creature; the new being created in Christ Jesus; the newness of life that is a result of our union with Jesus in His death and resurrection. 

"When anyone is united with Christ, they become a new person. God makes them new. Old things have gone. See, they have become new!" 2nd Corinthians 5:17 Easy English Version

Romans 6:4 speaks of a newness of life for all who have been united with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Ephesians 4:24 also talks about "the new man created after God in righteousness and true holiness. Do you now see that as the main issue or are you still bothered excessively about issues that do not count?

Paul in verse 16 made a statement affirming God’s blessings upon everyone that lives according to this rule. As the Amplified version puts it, living by the rule of the new creature is about disciplining ourselves and regulating our lives by the principle of the supreme importance of the new creation in the new life in Christ. Make it your standard. Make it your canon. Make it your code. Make it your guiding principle. Nothing else is of greater importance than the new creation. As you wake and as you sleep, in every sphere, in all your considerations, let the predominating thought be the reality of the new creation!

One of my greatest desires is to see believers in Christ living in the reality of this revelation. Too often it appears we are not aware of the amazing implications of the grace of God upon our lives. We allow quite a number of things unsettle us but I want to believe that in the past weeks during which we have reviewed this epistle, the Spirit of God has helped us discover some wonderful insights while also re-appraising some glorious concepts concerning God and the new relationship we have with Him.

I almost do not want the series to end. I have been richly blessed posting them and I’m trusting God you have been blessed too in some way. Remember all what we’ve gone through have been snapshots of God’s truly astounding grace. God's grace has done so much for us, it has taken us away from such depths of depravity and doom, brought us to new glorious positions, given us new matchless possessions, bequeathed on us new incomparable privileges and commited to us new awesome responsibilities. 

My song for the week is "I Am New" by Jason Gray.

Enjoy His grace, take full advantage of it. Have a great day and a wonderful week. 

"I Am New" by Jason Gray 

The Cross, My Confidence

Hello folks. It is another new week, another opportunity to experience the rich depths of God’s grace. I hope we are set for the week after a restful weekend.

We are drawing near to the end of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians and we are now at the concluding section of this letter. After very good explanation throughout the letter to address different issues causing confusion or controversies in the Galatian church (as we have been considering in the different episodes of Vignettes of Grace), Paul then gave a final summation. This week we will consider verse 14:

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” Galatians 6:14 King James Version

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” Galatians 6:14 New International Version

Paul actually had so many things he could have boasted in. In Philippians 3:4-6, he reeled out a number of them. He had been born with a significant number of special advantages; properly circumcised, born into a choice tribe in Israel with dual Jewish and Roman citizenship. He had been a well-schooled Pharisee taught by one of the greatest teachers of their time (Gamaliel) and had then become an avid adherent of the law of Moses. But Paul considered all of those and concluded there was no greater ground of confidence, no higher pedestal of glory than the cross of Jesus Christ.  

Albert Barnes identified the object of this verse as a call to simple dependence on the cross. Permit me to quote some words from his commentary: “Others glory in their conformity to the laws of Moses; others in their zeal, or their talents, or their learning, or their orthodoxy; others in their wealth, or their accomplishments; others in their family alliances, and their birth; but the supreme boast and glorying of a Christian is in the cross of Christ.” 

Do you rejoice in the cross? Does your heart make its boast in that emblem of our purchase, pardon, redemption, victory and safety? Indeed it is a mighty cross. We owe so much to God because of what happened on Calvary. The events at Golgotha were extremely crucial in the unfolding drama of God’s intervention in mankind’s history. Without the cross of Christ Jesus, there would have been nothing for us to boast in. We would have all remained in the same pitiful hopeless and Godless state. The cross of Jesus Christ was the highpoint of the grace of God in full display!

Nothing else is good enough to match up with this. Not our parentage or natural heritage no matter how noble. Not our natural talents no matter how grand. Not our wealth or riches no matter how large. Not our accomplishments no matter how superlative. To boast in any of these is to short-change ourselves; all these (natural heritage, natural talents, wealth, riches and personal accomplishments) cannot confer lasting eternal benefits and even here on earth, their value diminishes over time.

A great Saviour driven by the greatest love paid the greatest price to accomplish the greatest freedom! Who will not glory in such a Saviour? Who will not boast in such a thing? Not me. I ask this week that you join me and let us like Paul make our boasting in nothing else but the cross of Jesus Christ. 

Don’t merely wear the cross as a pendant on a necklace or use it only as a piece of art hung up in your house. Draw confidence in life from what the cross of Jesus Christ represents to you-God’s love displayed, God’s grace in operation, God’s eternal plan brought to fulfilment, full payment for our sins, eternal redemption for our souls, newness of life as liberated sons of the Most High God. Let that be your ground and foundation for life.

My song for the week is “Just For Me” by Donnie McClurkin.

Have a good day folks and a great week as well. 

"Just For Me" by Donnie McClurkin 

A Little More on Reaping...

Hello folks. It is the beginning of another week. I hope last week was productive for you.

This week we will be concluding this section of Galatians that focuses on the responsibilities placed on us as recipients of God's grace.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” Galatians 6: 9 & 10 (King James Version)

Last week we considered the immutable principle of sowing and reaping, this week I'd like us to focus on the issue of consistency in sowing the right seed. The verses in focus call us to continuity, perseverance, persistence and patience in godly practice. They describe an attitude that never gives up, even in the face of daunting challenges.  

As believers in Christ, we are born of the Spirit and we live in the Spirit. As you will recall from earlier posts on walking in the Spirit, a characteristic of people who walk in the Spirit is goodness- that attribute of moral and spiritual excellence that is manifested in active kindness. Very many believers in Christ start out with a desire to walk in this reality. We start off sowing the right seeds, doing good as Galatians 6:9 says. 

However, many times we become weary and give up. The challenges are usually two fold. On one hand there is the strong opposition all around us-evil influences that attempt to pull us to pull us away godly principles and practice (remember the Spirit versus the flesh description earlier in the series?). Then on the other hand, there is the weariness that comes to the heart when expected results are not visible after some periods of concerted effort. After all, Proverbs 13:12 says it well: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…”

The encouragement today is an assurance that indeed we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Are you almost giving up? Have you lost hope in sowing for eternal benefits? Do you want to just relax and become unfruitful? A proper season of harvest is coming. God has perfect timing. He ensures that things fit into His plans accurately. So don’t give up and don’t let anything dissuade you from carrying on in sowing the right seeds.

There are many examples I could possibly draw on to illustrate this but one story jumps to my mind every time I read this portion of scripture. It is the story of Dorcas, a woman described as being “full of good works” (Acts 9:36-42). Dorcas probably epitomized goodness to all the believers in Joppa at that time. It does not seem likely that she would have received anything in return (in material substance) from the people she was helping and being good to, they were described as poor while there also widows among them. Dorcas became ill and died but you see the goodness she had displayed while she was alive played a major role in the events that led to her miraculous restoration to life after death. 

Some of our harvest will be here on earth in our lifetime. Some of it will only become evident in years to come, perhaps after we have left this plane of existence. A good bit of our harvest will even be in eternity. Never-the-less, we need to be assured that at the proper time, God makes everything fall in place for the right harvest. So never give up. Remain consistent in sowing the right seed.

Have a great day and a wonderful week. We will view more snapshots of God’s amazing grace next week.

My song for the week is one from the last decade, "King Of Glory" by Third Day. 

"King of Glory" by Third Day