Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians Part 19

Thus Christ banished the Law from the conscience. It dare no longer banish us from G.o.d. For that matter,--the Law continues to reveal sin.

It still raises its voice in condemnation. But the conscience finds quick relief in the words of the Apostle: "Christ has redeemed us from the law." The conscience can now hold its head high and say to the Law: "You are not so holy yourself. You crucified the Son of G.o.d. That was an awful thing for you to do. You have lost your influence forever."

The words, "Christ was made under the law," are worth all the attention we can bestow on them. They declare that the Son of G.o.d did not only fulfill one or two easy requirements of the Law, but that He endured all the tortures of the Law. The Law brought all its fright to bear upon Christ until He experienced anguish and terror such as n.o.body else ever experienced. His b.l.o.o.d.y sweat. His need of angelic comfort, His tremulous prayer in the garden, His lamentation on the Cross, "My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast thou forsaken me?" bear eloquent witness to the sting of the Law. He suffered "to redeem them that were under the law."

The Roman conception of Christ as a mere lawgiver more stringent than Moses, is quite contrary to Paul's teaching. Christ, according to Paul, was not an agent of the Law but a patient of the Law. He was not a law-giver, but a law-taker.

True enough, Christ also taught and expounded the Law. But it was incidental. It was a sideline with Him. He did not come into the world for the purpose of teaching the Law, as little as it was the purpose of His coming to perform miracles. Teaching the Law and performing miracles did not const.i.tute His unique mission to the world. The prophets also taught the Law and performed miracles. In fact, according to the promise of Christ, the apostles performed greater miracles than Christ Himself.

(John 14:12.) The true purpose of Christ's coming was the abolition of the Law, of sin, and of death.

If we think of Christ as Paul here depicts Him, we shall never go wrong.

We shall never be in danger of misconstruing the meaning of the Law. We shall understand that the Law does not justify. We shall understand why a Christian observes laws: For the peace of the world, out of grat.i.tude to G.o.d, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the Gospel.

VERSE 5. That we might receive the adoption of sons.

Paul still has for his text Genesis 22:18, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." In the course of his Epistle he calls this promise of the blessing righteousness, life, deliverance from the Law, the testament, etc. Now he also calls the promise of blessing "the adoption of sons," the inheritance of everlasting life.

What ever induced G.o.d to adopt us for His children and heirs? What claim can men who are subservient to sin, subject to the curse of the Law, and worthy of everlasting death, have on G.o.d and eternal life? That G.o.d adopted us is due to the merit of Jesus Christ, the Son of G.o.d, who humbled Himself under the Law and redeemed us law-ridden sinners.

VERSE 6. And because ye are sons, G.o.d hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts.

In the early Church the Holy Spirit was sent forth in visible form. He descended upon Christ in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16), and in the likeness of fire upon the apostles and other believers. (Acts 2:3.) This visible outpouring of the Holy Spirit was necessary to the establishment of the early Church, as were also the miracles that accompanied the gift of the Holy Ghost. Paul explained the purpose of these miraculous gifts of the Spirit in I Corinthians 14:22, "Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." Once the Church had been established and properly advertised by these miracles, the visible appearance of the Holy Ghost ceased.

Next, the Holy Ghost is sent forth into the hearts of the believers, as here stated, "G.o.d sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." This sending is accomplished by the preaching of the Gospel through which the Holy Spirit inspires us with fervor and light, with new judgment, new desires, and new motives. This happy innovation is not a derivative of reason or personal development, but solely the gift and operation of the Holy Ghost.

This renewal by the Holy Spirit may not be conspicuous to the world, but it is patent to us by our better judgment, our improved speech, and our unashamed confession of Christ. Formerly we did not confess Christ to be our only merit, as we do now in the light of the Gospel. Why, then, should we feel bad if the world looks upon us as ravagers of religion and insurgents against const.i.tuted authority? We confess Christ and our conscience approves of it. Then, too, we live in the fear of G.o.d. If we sin, we sin not on purpose, but unwittingly, and we are sorry for it.

Sin sticks in our flesh, and the flesh gets us into sin even after we have been imbued by the Holy Ghost. Outwardly there is no great difference between a Christian and any honest man. The activities of a Christian are not sensational. He performs his duty according to his vocation. He takes good care of his family, and is kind and helpful to others. Such homely, everyday performances are not much admired. But the setting-up exercises of the monks draw great applause. Holy works, you know. Only the acts of a Christian are truly good and acceptable to G.o.d, because they are done in faith, with a cheerful heart, out of grat.i.tude to Christ.

We ought to have no misgivings about whether the Holy Ghost dwells in us. We are "the temple of the Holy Ghost." (I Cor. 3:16.) When we have a love for the Word of G.o.d, and gladly hear, talk, write, and think of Christ, we are to know that this inclination toward Christ is the gift and work of the Holy Ghost. Where you come across contempt for the Word of G.o.d, there is the devil. We meet with such contempt for the Word of G.o.d mostly among the common people. They act as though the Word of G.o.d does not concern them. Wherever you find a love for the Word, thank G.o.d for the Holy Spirit who infuses this love into the hearts of men. We never come by this love naturally, neither can it be enforced by laws.

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Roman theologians teach that no man can know for a certainty whether he stands in the favor of G.o.d or not. This teaching forms one of the chief articles of their faith. With this teaching they tormented men's consciences, excommunicated Christ from the Church, and limited the operations of the Holy Ghost.

St. Augustine observed that "every man is certain of his faith, if he has faith." This the Romanists deny. "G.o.d forbid," they exclaim piously, "that I should ever be so arrogant as to think that I stand in grace, that I am holy, or that I have the Holy Ghost." We ought to feel sure that we stand in the grace of G.o.d, not in view of our own worthiness, but through the good services of Christ. As certain as we are that Christ pleases G.o.d, so sure ought we to be that we also please G.o.d, because Christ is in us. And although we daily offend G.o.d by our sins, yet as often as we sin, G.o.d's mercy bends over us. Therefore sin cannot get us to doubt the grace of G.o.d. Our certainty is of Christ, that mighty Hero who overcame the Law, sin, death, and all evils. So long as He sits at the right hand of G.o.d to intercede for us, we have nothing to fear from the anger of G.o.d.

This inner a.s.surance of the grace of G.o.d is accompanied by outward indications such as gladly to hear, preach, praise, and to confess Christ, to do one's duty in the station in which G.o.d has placed us, to aid the needy, and to comfort the sorrowing. These are the affidavits of the Holy Spirit testifying to our favorable standing with G.o.d.

If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of G.o.d, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of G.o.d, we would be ever so happy and grateful to G.o.d. But because we often feel fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.

Train your conscience to believe that G.o.d approves of you. Fight it out with doubt. Gain a.s.surance through the Word of G.o.d. Say: "I am all right with G.o.d. I have the Holy Ghost. Christ, in whom I do believe, makes me worthy. I gladly hear, read, sing, and write of Him. I would like nothing better than that Christ's Gospel be known throughout the world and that many, many be brought to faith in Him."

VERSE 6. Crying, Abba, Father.

Paul might have written, "G.o.d sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, calling Abba, Father." Instead, he wrote, "Crying, Abba, Father." In the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans the Apostle describes this crying of the Spirit as "groanings which cannot be uttered." He writes in the 26th verse: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

The fact that the Spirit of Christ in our hearts cries unto G.o.d and makes intercession for us with groanings should rea.s.sure us greatly.

However, there are many factors that prevent such full rea.s.surance on our part. We are born in sin. To doubt the good will of G.o.d is an inborn suspicion of G.o.d with all of us. Besides, the devil, our adversary, goeth about seeking to devour us by roaring: "G.o.d is angry at you and is going to destroy you forever." In all these difficulties we have only one support, the Gospel of Christ. To hold on to it, that is the trick.

Christ cannot be perceived with the senses. We cannot see Him. The heart does not feel His helpful presence. Especially in times of trials a Christian feels the power of sin, the infirmity of his flesh, the goading darts of the devil, the agues of death, the scowl and judgment of G.o.d. All these things cry out against us. The Law scolds us, sin screams at us, death thunders at us, the devil roars at us. In the midst of the clamor the Spirit of Christ cries in our hearts: "Abba, Father."

And this little cry of the Spirit transcends the hullabaloo of the Law, sin, death, and the devil, and finds a hearing with G.o.d.

The Spirit cries in us because of our weakness. Because of our infirmity the Holy Ghost is sent forth into our hearts to pray for us according to the will of G.o.d and to a.s.sure us of the grace of G.o.d.

Let the Law, sin, and the devil cry out against us until their outcry fills heaven and earth. The Spirit of G.o.d outcries them all. Our feeble groans, "Abba, Father," will be heard of G.o.d sooner than the combined racket of h.e.l.l, sin, and the Law.

We do not think of our groanings as a crying. It is so faint we do not know we are groaning. "But he," says Paul, "that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit." (Romans 8:27.) To this Searcher of hearts our feeble groaning, as it seems to us, is a loud shout for help in comparison with which the howls of h.e.l.l, the din of the devil, the yells of the Law, the shouts of sin are like so many whispers.

In the fourteenth chapter of Exodus the Lord addresses Moses at the Red Sea: "Wherefore criest thou unto me?" Moses had not cried unto the Lord.

He trembled so he could hardly talk. His faith was at low ebb. He saw the people of Israel wedged between the Sea and the approaching armies of Pharaoh. How were they to escape? Moses did not know what to say. How then could G.o.d say that Moses was crying to Him? G.o.d heard the groaning heart of Moses and the groans to Him sounded like loud shouts for help.

G.o.d is quick to catch the sigh of the heart.

Some have claimed that the saints are without infirmities. But Paul says: "The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." We need the help of the Holy Spirit because we are weak and infirm. And the Holy Spirit never disappoints us. Confronted by the armies of Pharaoh, retreat cut off by the waters of the Red Sea, Moses was in a bad spot. He felt himself to blame. The devil accused him: "These people will all perish, for they cannot escape. And you are to blame because you led the people out of Egypt. You started all this." And then the people started in on Moses.

"Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." (Ex. 14:11, 12.) But the Holy Ghost was in Moses and made intercession for him with unutterable groanings, sighings unto the Lord: "O Lord, at Thy commandment have I led forth this people. So help me now."

The Spirit intercedes for us not in many words or long prayers, but with groanings, with little sounds like "Abba." Small as this word is, it says ever so much. It says: "My Father, I am in great trouble and you seem so far away. But I know I am your child, because you are my Father for Christ's sake. I am loved by you because of the Beloved." This one little word "Abba" surpa.s.ses the eloquence of a Demosthenes and a Cicero.

I have spent much time on this verse in order to combat the cruel teaching of the Roman church, that a person ought to be kept in a state of uncertainty concerning his status with G.o.d. The monasteries recruit the youth on the plea that their "holy" orders will a.s.suredly recruit them for heaven. But once inside the monastery the recruits are told to doubt the promises of G.o.d.

In support of their error the papists quote the saying of Solomon: "The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of G.o.d: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them." (Eccles.

9:1.) They take this hatred to mean the wrath of G.o.d to come. Others take it to mean G.o.d's present anger. None of them seem to understand this pa.s.sage from Solomon. On every page the Scriptures urge us to believe that G.o.d is merciful, loving, and patient; that He is faithful and true, and that He keeps His promises. All the promises of G.o.d were fulfilled in the gift of His only-begotten Son, that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Gospel is rea.s.surance for sinners. Yet this one saying from Solomon, misinterpreted at that, is made to count for more than all the many promises of all the Scriptures.

If our opponents are so uncertain about their status with G.o.d, and even go so far as to say that the conscience ought to be kept in a state of doubt, why is it that they persecute us as vile heretics? When it comes to persecuting us they do not seem to be in doubt and uncertainty one minute.

Let us not fail to thank G.o.d for delivering us from the doctrine of doubt. The Gospel commands us to look away from our own good works to the promises of G.o.d in Christ, the Mediator. The pope commands us to look away from the promises of G.o.d in Christ to our own merit. No wonder they are the eternal prey of doubt and despair. We depend upon G.o.d for salvation. No wonder that our doctrine is certified, because it does not rest in our own strength, our own conscience, our own feelings, our own person, our own works. It is built on a better foundation. It is built on the promises and truth of G.o.d.

Besides, the pa.s.sage from Solomon does not treat of the hatred and love of G.o.d towards men. It merely rebukes the ingrat.i.tude of men. The more deserving a person is, the less he is appreciated. Often those who should be his best friends, are his worst enemies. Those who least deserve the praise of the world, get most. David was a holy man and a good king. Nevertheless he was chased from his own country. The prophets, Christ, the apostles, were slain. Solomon in this pa.s.sage does not speak of the love and hatred of G.o.d, but of love and hatred among men. As though Solomon wanted to say: "There are many good and wise men whom G.o.d uses for the advancement of mankind. Seldom, if ever, are their efforts crowned with grat.i.tude. They are usually repaid with hatred and ingrat.i.tude."

We are being treated that way. We thought we would find favor with men for bringing them the Gospel of peace, life, and eternal salvation.

Instead of favor, we found fury. At first, yes, many were delighted with our doctrine and received it gladly. We counted them as our friends and brethren, and were happy to think that they would help us in sowing the seed of the Gospel. But they revealed themselves as false brethren and deadly enemies of the Gospel. If you experience the ingrat.i.tude of men, don't let it get you down. Say with Christ: "They hated me without cause." And, "For my love they are my adversaries; but I give myself unto prayer." (Ps. 109:4.)

Let us never doubt the mercy of G.o.d in Christ Jesus, but make up our minds that G.o.d is pleased with us, that He looks after us, and that we have the Holy Spirit who prays for us.

VERSE 7. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son.

This sentence clinches Paul's argument. He says: "With the Holy Spirit in our hearts crying, 'Abba, Father,' there can be no doubt that G.o.d has adopted us for His children and that our subjection to the Law has come to an end." We are now the free children of G.o.d. We may now say to the Law: "Mister Law, you have lost your throne to Christ. I am free now and a son of G.o.d. You cannot curse me any more." Do not permit the Law to lie in your conscience. Your conscience belongs to Christ. Let Christ be in it and not the Law.

As the children of G.o.d we are the heirs of His eternal heaven. What a wonderful gift heaven is, man's heart cannot conceive, much less describe. Until we enter upon our heavenly inheritance we are only to have our little faith to go by. To man's reason our faith looks rather forlorn. But because our faith rests on the promises of the infinite G.o.d, His promises are also infinite, so much so that nothing can accuse or condemn us.

VERSE 7. And if a son, then an heir of G.o.d through Christ.

A son is an heir, not by virtue of high accomplishments, but by virtue of his birth. He is a mere recipient. His birth makes him an heir, not his labors. In exactly the same way we obtain the eternal gifts of righteousness, resurrection, and everlasting life. We obtain them not as agents, but as beneficiaries. We are the children and heirs of G.o.d through faith in Christ. We have Christ to thank for everything.

We are not the heirs of some rich and mighty man, but heirs of G.o.d, the almighty Creator of all things. If a person could fully appreciate what it means to be a son and heir of G.o.d, he would rate the might and wealth of nations small change in comparison with his heavenly inheritance.

What is the world to him who has heaven? No wonder Paul greatly desired to depart and to be with Christ. Nothing would be more welcome to us than early death, knowing that it would spell the end of all our miseries and the beginning of all our happiness. Yes, if a person could perfectly believe this he would not long remain alive. The antic.i.p.ation of his joy would kill him.