European Bible Study MeetingOctober 29th, 2006, AfternoonFor you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Galatians 3:26-29You Received the Holy Spirit Let’s read the letter to the Galatians chapter 3 from verse 1 to the end of the chapter. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—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. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  verses 1-29 In Matthew chapter 1, there is what people see as the genealogy of the royal family line of Jesus’ ancestors, a genealogy which we can also find in the annals of history. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (verse 1) The genealogy begins by drawing attention to two particular people within it: Abraham and David. We need to take a look at how the image of Jesus Christ, who was to be born at some point, is reflected in the lives of these two people in the Old Testament. The passage we read above, from the letter to the Galatians chapter 3, talks in a little more detail about Abraham. In the first verse, the apostle Paul wrote, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?” He points out that they had clearly seen Jesus Christ crucified and yet they kept deceiving themselves and being deceived by other doctrines.  These words apply to those who have experienced being born again through the words of the Bible, but they are also a lesson for those who do not know the Bible at all.This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Galatians 3:2 The Holy Spirit cannot be seen with your eyes, it cannot be heard with your ears, and neither does it give you a physical feeling of heat, and yet Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). The Bible also says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Many Christians in this world make a great effort to find some way to receive the Holy Spirit, but here, the apostle Paul wrote, “Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Paul was asking, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the law? Did you receive the Holy Spirit by reading the law and keeping the law?” To put it simply, the law is the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Genesis is included in a historical sense, and the law appears from the book of Exodus.  Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:3, 5-8). With these words, Jesus gave us the task of obtaining something through the Bible. There is an answer to this matter, but there are various ways to receive God’s answer. That is not to say that there are various ways to receive salvation; there are very many verses in the Bible that can give new life to a person.  In regard to being born again, Jesus said, “Do you not marvel,” and, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.” Being born again is not a case of a person thinking, “I think now is about the time,” or, “This verse will do for me.” It does not happen as you want it to. God looks at the heart of the individual. The Bible says that God revives the spirit of those who have a contrite and humble heart (see Isaiah 57:15). What is pride before God? God provides His own definition of pride. It says, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). It says that they love themselves more than they love God. We can see an image of this in the city of Babel that we read about in Genesis chapter 11. Many people gathered in the broad plain of Shinar. When they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth,” God came down and confused the language. (see Genesis 11:1-9) When several people are gathered together, there is the desire in the heart of man to be the best. Man also has the desire in his heart to be exalted above God. When the devil approached Eve, he told her that if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil her eyes would be opened and she would become like God. Having heard these words, when she looked at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it appeared attractive to her and so she ate it. Then she gave some to her husband and he also ate it. Later, when the devil tested Jesus, he took Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and said that all these had been delivered over to him. Adam had delivered them to the devil, and now the devil said that if Jesus would worship him, he would give all of this to Him. At that time, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” In this way, Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil. (see Matthew 4:8-10, Luke 4:5-8) Pride before God is much more terrible than the pride people have among themselves, believing they are better, or what they do is better, than others. Yet we do not acknowledge the pride that has taken hold of our hearts. Most people who believe the Bible would ask, “How would I dare to confront God?” and yet even people who claim to be serving God with great diligence may have exalted themselves above God. It was such people that the apostle Paul was addressing when he asked, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law?” A proud heart before God is humbled through the words of the Bible. There is no need for a person to make an effort to humble himself, and neither is a person humbled through his own efforts. A person cannot achieve this himself. You need only entrust your heart to the word of God and it will quietly begin to take effect. God is reading your heart, which you yourself cannot see, and He knows when your heart is ready. That is when He gives you a gift in your heart.  In regard to this, the Bible says it is not of works, but is the gift of God. Why is this? It is so that no one can boast before God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). We use various expressions to describe this: being saved; receiving the Holy Spirit; being born again; being forgiven for our sins. It is recorded in this way in the Bible. Through the life of Abraham we have a glimpse of what this faith is. Abraham Believed the Lord Let’s turn to Genesis chapter 22 and read from verse 1. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.  verses 1-13If we are not careful we may think, “So this is faith. As long as I make a great effort in my life that will be enough.” Such thoughts may arise because here Abraham’s works are also revealed here. There is, however, a reason that we have read these verses first. Many people make a mistake in this regard. Ignorant of what came before and after this incident, they look only at this passage and say that since God told him to sacrifice his son, he just had to do it. This passage is, of course, a lesson for us. Within these words, we can discover the true heart of God. First, however, we need to know what lay behind this incident. In verse one it says that “God tested Abraham.” Did God suddenly called Abraham and test him? If we first look at the background to this we can see, when we read such passages, we can understand why God acted in this way.Let’s turn into Genesis chapter 12 and read from verse 6.Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, traveled via Haran, and then entered the land of Canaan. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.  Genesis 12:7-10 When Abraham first entered the land of Canaan God said to him, “To your descendants I will give this land.” Different expressions are used in different Bibles. Here in the New King James Version, it says “descendants.” It is plural. In the King James Version, however, it says “seed.” When we turn to our main text, Galatians chapter 3, we find it says “Seed,” in both English versions. It is singular. In Galatians chapter 3 it says, “but as of one, ‘And to your Seed.’” (verse 16) Who does it say this Seed is? It says it is Christ.  Abraham entered the land of Canaan about four thousand years ago, and Jesus was born on this earth about two thousand years ago. Two thousand years before Jesus was born, God promised He would give that land to Abraham’s seed. The Bible says, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” God’s promise was given to Abraham. This promise was not just for the Israelites to receive and enjoy. Within it, is hidden the promise of the birth of the Messiah who would save all mankind and would be born as one of the

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