Seeking the Life in Christ

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

God Has Made You His Heir

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 28, 2020

God Has Made You His Heir

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:6

Read: Galatians 4: 1-7

I want to jump ahead for just a minute. At the end of Chapter Six, Paul makes clear that the ultimate purpose of God working through Jesus is to create the ‘new people of God.’ (Galatians 6:15) We become the new people of God when we are transformed to become like Jesus. I mention this because in the opening passage of Chapter Four, Paul reveals what I believe is the key to understanding how the transformation to the new people of God comes about.

In verse 7, Paul shifts from speaking in general terms, second person plural ‘we’, to speaking in specific terms, second person singular ‘you’. Paul moves from talking about ‘we’ and ‘us’ to talking about YOU. You are God’s child. You are God’s heir. There’s the key: your personal ownership of your new identity in Christ.

The majority of Christians believe the most beautiful passage of scripture is, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). However, that passage is just beautiful prose until you take personal ownership of the subject phrase, ‘everyone who believes,’ and you affirm, ‘I believe.’

My Takeaway: Sometimes people tend to focus on the whole people of God, because they cannot imagine God caring for them as an individual. These people struggle with applying the promises of God to their personal life. However, God saves us one at a time, so that together, we can become the new people of God.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life. The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Monday, April 27, 2020

The Faithfulness of Jesus

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 27, 2020

The Faithfulness of Jesus

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Galatians 3:29

Read: Galatians 3: 23-29

In this passage Paul speaks of before and after: “Before the way of faith in Christ, and “now that the way of faith has come” (Galatians 3: 23, 25). However, there is a bit of nuance in the Greek that makes this passage difficult to translate. I believe N. T. Wright comes closest to Paul’s intent when he renders these verses as, “Before this faithfulness arrived” and “now that faithfulness has come.” “The way of faith” can imply that it is our personal way of faith that means “we no longer need the law as our guardian” (v.25). However, in this passage Paul is celebrating the faithfulness of Jesus, not our way of faith. Our salvation is only made possible by the faithfulness of Jesus. Our right-standing with God is initiated and maintained, moment by moment, by the faithfulness of Jesus. It will never be my ambition to be a man of great faith. I will always strive to be a fully- devoted follower of the man of great faith, Christ Jesus. It is not my great faith I am interested in because I am possessed by the great faithfulness of Jesus and his passion for me.

(I love the way Paul puts this thought in Philippians 3:12 (NASB) “. . . but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

One of the fruits of my faith in the faithfulness of Jesus is revealed at the end of this chapter. Paul writes that when “you belong to Christ there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).This is impossible when you live by the law. This is reality when you live by faith in Christ.

My Takeaway: I am convinced that if Paul was writing this letter to the churches in our era, he would write, there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female, Methodist or Baptist, Presbyterian or Episcopal, Protestant or Catholic. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

God wants unity more than He wants denominations.

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Saturday, April 25, 2020

O God, Our Eyes Are on You

April 25, 2020

O God, Our Eyes Are on You

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

“Be still, and know that I am God!

Psalm 46:1, 10 (NRSV)

Today marks the end of the sixth week we have been home on “house-arrest” in North Carolina. Our Governor has extended his stay-home order for two additional weeks. I heard yesterday the social-distancing recommendation may extend through the summer and into the fall of this year. It appears it will be a long, long time before our society returns to anything like the normal I experienced the last time I was in church, March 8^th.

Knowing God as our refuge and strength, a very present help in this time of trouble, has been an interesting experience for me. I have been introduced to online video conferences through ZOOM, a medium I had never heard of before. Now I am doing four or five conferences a week. I meet with colleagues in my HOA for committee work, family and neighbors for socializing, and most importantly I am teaching a Sunday School class each week.

During the last few months, a line from a song keeps popping up in my mind: “I don't know what the future holds, I know who holds the future.” I need to remember that because there are unsettling times ahead for me, and not just the coronavirus’ changes in society. There are significant challenges facing the UMC and changes that will take me out of my comfort zone are looming on the horizon. Knowing God in this present stillness has been a great comfort to me. I go to verse 10 of Psalm 46 several times each day.

Each time I read Psalm 46, I remember the psalmist was inspired to write this psalm by the story in 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30. Verse 12 in that story is a powerful reminder of how I want to respond to every crisis in my life: “O our God . . . For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (NRSV)

My Takeaway: Even so,

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. Sē’lah

This is verse 7 of Psalm 46, and is repeated at the end of the Psalm as verse 11.

Sē’lah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the complimentary closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things. I think it is clear the psalmist is using the word the same way here in Psalm 46 -- pause and think about what this means – the Lord of hosts is with us!

As we move forward into an unknown future where most everything will be different than it was before the coronavirus, let us not forget that the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Heirs of Father Abraham

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 24, 2020

Heirs of Father Abraham

But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:22

Galatians 3: 15-22

If we had been sitting in one of the Galatian churches when Paul’s letter was read, we, like our Galatian Gentile brothers and sisters, would probably be looking at one another and saying, “What in the world is Paul talking about?” Paul was using the heritage of Israel against the Judaizers, and we need to unpack that history a bit to catch Paul’s point. And what a point it is!

This episode in the life of the Galatian church is an example of how the Old Testament is only fully understood in the light of Jesus the Messiah. In Galatians 3:6-9, Paul interpreted Genesis 12 and 15 to reveal that from the very beginning of God’s covenant with Abraham, God intended to have one worldwide family, bound to Him eternally by faith. To be an heir of God’s covenant with Abraham, a person did not have to be born of particular parents, or in the nation of Israel; a person is reconciled to God by faith. Paul is saying that Abraham is the trunk of God’s family tree, and we who believe in Christ Jesus have been grafted into the family tree of God (Romans 11:17). Don’t pass over this too quickly. Take time to drink in what Paul is affirming here. Father Abraham is our father too. This means that King David was not just a Jewish King. He was our King. King David is in our family tree because we have been reconciled to God by faith, and we are a part of the people of God. Our family tree reaches all the way back to God making covenant with Abraham, “For Abraham is the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:16).

Paul also affirms that while the law of God cannot save us, its purpose is instrumental in our salvation. Sin matters and has huge consequences. Whenever we sin, we are investing our life, our time and our resources in something other than the Kingdom of God. The law reveals our sin so that we, the prisoners of sin, can receive God’s promise of freedom by believing in Jesus Christ.

My Takeaway: In a typical Sunday morning worship service, Christians affirm their faith in God by saying the Apostles’ Creed, which includes the affirmation that Jesus “will come to judge the living and the dead.” If you believe this, Paul’s affirmation about our being heirs of God’s covenant with Father Abraham is very Good News indeed!

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

A Matter Of Life And Death

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 23, 2020

A Matter Of Life And Death

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing.

Galatians 3:13a

Galatians 3: 10-14

You have heard it said that the USA is a nation of laws. Even though we are a constitutional democracy governed by many, many laws at the local, state and national levels, we are not particularly a law-abiding nation. Our congress and President frequently ignore laws they find inconvenient. While the vast majority of Americans would never sneak into their neighbor’s garage and steal a tool or yard equipment, these same Americans have no compunction filing a false tax return, exceeding the posted speed limit, littering, or violating hundreds of laws they deem minor, annoying or with which they just disagree. Accordingly, we need to work a bit to fully comprehend the two points Paul is making in this passage.

The general principle of the religious laws of Israel was that each and every provision was essential in working out a right relationship with the Almighty. Not one provision could be compromised. If on the Sabbath you did everything perfectly, and then stooped to tie the straps around your sandals, you might as well have violated every provision of the Sabbath law. The result was the same; you were a sinner in God’s sight and in need of atonement. If you are trying to keep the law to please God, the only response according to Paul is to cry out, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Of course, Paul also provides the answer: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25).

To make his case that Jesus is the answer, Paul used a provision of the law in Deuteronomy 21 that deals with capital punishment. That provision states a person convicted of a crime punishable by death and then executed and hung on a tree, is cursed by God and must be removed from the tree and buried the same day. Paul is saying that Jesus took our place. Paul is saying that when Jesus “was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing” (Galatians 3:13). Paul is saying that Jesus is our answer because he rescued us from having to keep every dot and tittle of the law in order to earn a right relationship with God. Paul is affirming that Jesus is our righteousness, our right- standing with God, and that all we need to do is remember we have “died to this life, and (our) real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

My Takeaway: Whether we realize it, we and our brothers and sisters in the Galatian churches are like two peas in a pod. It is not optional whether we are in a rightrelationship with God. It is a matter of life and death. Thank God! Our answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

For God Is Working In You

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 22, 2020

For God Is Working In You

Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.

Galatians 3:2

Read Galatians 3: 1-9

Our culture differs greatly from that of the Galatians. Most of the people in our culture do not believe in any gods, much less in the Christian God. Many Christians, while affirming their faith in God, see their faith as a means to a better quality of life, not a means to be in a right-relationship with the God of the universe. In contrast to our culture, it was vitally important to the people in the Galatian congregations to be in a right-relationship with God. This was not optional to them. It is not hyperbole to say it was a matter of life and death to them. With this in mind, you can sense Paul’s frustration. Paul had proclaimed the Gospel to them, and the Galatian Christians had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They had entered into a right-relationship with God by grace, through faith in Jesus. Now the church leaders were backing up and forcing their congregations to keep rules and laws in a desperate attempt to stay in a right-relationship with God.

Seeking the life in Christ is hard work! On one hand, we rejoice that God loves us, unconditionally, just as we are. On the other hand, we know this marvelous grace of God does not give us a license to keep on sinning. We are called to crucify our flesh with its sinful desires. On one hand, we want to glorify God and live in a manner that others can see Christ in our mortal flesh. On the other hand, the witness of Christ within us comes by grace, not an accumulation of good works.

My Takeaway: Reaching a balance where our good works are evidence of God’s grace at work in our lives is an art more than it is a process to be learned. As we seek to release the graceful artist within us, we’ll do well to remember Paul’s words to his friends in Philippi: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13).

Trust God.

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Christ Lives In Me

Meditations on the Book of Galatians

April 21, 2020

Christ Lives In Me

I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Galatians 2:21

Read Galatians 2: 15-21

The leader of the continuing education seminar I was attending asked us to fill in the blank on three statements:

1- I am ____;

2- Others are ____;

3- The world is ____.

The exercise, which is often used by counselors, is aimed at getting a quick snapshot of your general mental or emotional health. The answers the counselor is looking for are:

1- I am OK;

2- Others are OK;

3- The world is safe.

Our group of pastors must have shocked the seminar leader because our answers were very diverse and didn’t much resemble what he was expecting. I offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God that day because my instinctive response to the exercise was exactly what Paul was affirming to the Galatians. I answered,

1- “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

2- Others are the children of God, and

3- the world is God’s and the fullness thereof.”

In this passage, Paul proclaims the foundation of the Christian faith:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”

Galatians 2:20b

As the followers of Jesus, our life, our identity is in Christ. The Jewish believers were initially shocked to find that God’s plan of redemption included the Gentiles. As they struggled to accept this ‘new’ salvation of God, they assumed that it would mean the Gentiles would be incorporated into the Jewish faith and customs. Paul then confronts them with the news that God is doing a completely NEW work in Christ. While the Jews were the first to hear the Good News, that did not mean a Gentile had to become a Jew in order to receive the Good News. Salvation is not about incorporating Jesus into our existing life. Salvation is about completely letting go of our existing life and immersing ourselves into New Life in Christ Jesus.

The Life in Christ we seek is experienced only after we have come to the place in our lives when nothing, absolutely nothing, but the love of God in Christ Jesus satisfies the longings of our soul. The only way we can come to that place is to first experience that our efforts in the flesh to satisfy our longings for love, acceptance and worth do not bear lasting fruit. The Apostle Paul contrasts the flesh life with the life in Christ as the difference between night and day, as between death and life:

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

My Takeaway: “You’ll never know Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” (This statement has been attributed to both Mother Teresa and Corrie Ten Boom) How do we get to the place that Jesus is all we have? Getting to the place where we are broken, clinging to nothing but Christ is the work of our sovereign God, and God alone. Our part is to trust where God is taking us and to keep our eyes of Jesus.

Sē’lah

<>< <>< <>< <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

God Has Made You His Heir

Monday, April 27, 2020

The Faithfulness of Jesus

Saturday, April 25, 2020

O God, Our Eyes Are on You

Friday, April 24, 2020

Heirs of Father Abraham

Thursday, April 23, 2020

A Matter Of Life And Death

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

For God Is Working In You

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Christ Lives In Me

Seeking the Life in Christ

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