Your New Identity (Victory Series Book #2): A Transforming Union with God (8 page)

Galatians 4:1–7

Key Point

It is not by means of an accidental birth that we have been adopted as sons and daughters into the family of God.

Key Verses

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

Ephesians 1:4–5

T
he Thirteenth Amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States on December 18, 1865. So, how many slaves were there on December 19, 1865? In reality, none, but many people still lived like slaves. Some did so because they had never learned the truth that they were indeed free. Some didn’t believe the truth and continued to live as they had been taught. Others reasoned that they were still doing the same thing that slaves did, so they must still be slaves. They maintained their slave identity because of the things they did.

One former slave, however, heard the good news and received it with great joy. He checked out the validity of the amendment and discovered that the highest of all authorities had originated the decree, and that it personally cost that authority a tremendous price. As a result, the slave’s life was transformed. He correctly reasoned that it would be hypocritical to believe that he was still a slave rather than believe the truth that he was free. He determined to live by what he knew to be true, and his experiences began to change rather dramatically. He realized that his old taskmaster had no authority over him and did not need to be obeyed. He gladly served the one who had set him free.

In Galatians 4:1–7, Paul says that we were all like little children (
nepios,
“child,” in verse 1, in contrast with
huios
, “son,” in verse 7) who were subservient to our guardians and trustees—similar to the way slaves are under the authority of their masters. Even though we had a birthright, we could not become heirs until the time appointed by our Father. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (verses 4–5). We were enslaved to the “elemental spiritual forces of the world” (verse 3) until Christ came and set us free. We were in bondage to the Mosaic Law or other religious systems.

Christ did two things for those who were under the yoke of slavery (see Galatians 5:1). First, He redeemed those under the Law. The Jews were enslaved to the whole Mosaic system; it was the bondage of legalism. Second, the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ secured for all believers their birthright as adopted sons and daughters. “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘
Abba
, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:6–7
NKJV
). As believers we may not
feel
free from sin and we may not
feel
like children of God, but in reality we are. Our position in Christ is real truth, and we must choose to believe it.

The Holy Spirit resides in our hearts, ensuring our position in God’s family. The Spirit moves us to pray, “
Abba
, Father.” The word
Abba
is the Aramaic word for “father.” Small children used it to address their father—it
would be similar to the English word “daddy.” Calling God “
Abba
” implies intimacy and trust as opposed to slavery and legalism.

If Christians have been liberated in Christ, why do you think so many still live as they always have?

What does it mean to be “in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world”? To what or whom are they in bondage?

What are the positives of being adopted into the family of God?

As an adopted child, do you view God as a legalistic taskmaster or as a loving “Daddy”? Explain.

From what has God set you free?

“The fullness of time” is the completed time which had been foreordained by God the Father for the sending of His Son, so that, made from a virgin, He might be born like a man, subjecting himself to the law up to His baptism, so that He might provide a way by which sinners, washed and snatched away from the yoke of the law, might be adopted as God’s sons by His condescension, as He had promised to those redeemed by the blood of His Son. It was necessary, indeed, that the Savior should be made subject to the law, as a son of Abraham according to the flesh, so that, having been circumcised, He could be seen as the one promised to Abraham, who had come to justify the Gentiles through faith, since He bore the sign of the one to whom the promise had been made.

Ambrosiaster (written c. AD 366–384)

Jeremiah 52:31–34

Key Point

By the grace of God we can stand before His throne with our relationship restored.

Key Verse

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:6

A
fter the fall of Jerusalem, Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, was exiled to Babylon and imprisoned. At the time, the king of the Babylonian empire was Awel-Marduk, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. (The name Awel-Marduk actually means the son or servant of the god Murduk.) Out of kindness, Awel-Marduk set Jehoiachin free, placed him in a position of honor, fellowshipped with him daily, and provided for all his needs.

This kingly act of grace is an Old Testament type (or foreshadowing) of what has been perfectly fulfilled in Christ. Israel had a covenant relationship
with God, which was conditional. Had the people trusted God and been obedient, they would have enjoyed prosperity in the Promised Land. The Lord had said to His Covenant People, “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this—the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil” (Isaiah 56:1–2).

But the Chosen People were unable to keep the Law. The nation divided into Israel and Judah, and because of their disobedience, God raised up Assyria to defeat Israel in 722 BC. Finally, Judah fell along with Jerusalem in 586 BC. Because of Adam’s sin, they had no legal relationship with God, causing them to stand guilty and under condemnation. Sin had severed their personal, moral relationship with Him, causing their nature to be impure and at odds with God’s holiness.

Through Christ and God’s grace, our relationship and right standing with the Lord can be restored. We can be justified by faith. Justification is a judge’s pronouncement of a person’s right standing before the law. We are no longer condemned (see Romans 8:1). When a judge condemns someone, he does not make the person a sinner; rather, he simply declares that such is the case. In justification, God is not making us inherently righteous; rather, He is declaring that we are in a right standing before His law. This change of legal relationship is a gift from God because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.

Out of the kindness of our Lord, our relationship has been restored. We have been set free from our sins. We are no longer children of wrath; we are children of God. We are no longer darkened in our understanding; we have been given the mind of Christ, and the Holy Spirit will lead us into
all truth. We are no longer spiritually dead; we are alive in Christ. We are no longer hardened in our hearts; we have been given a new heart and a new spirit. We are no longer given over to sensuality; we have been given the freedom to live a morally pure life by the grace of God.

What is it like to stand before a judge when you both know you are guilty?

What is the best sentence you could hope for once you have been found guilty?

Who can rectify the guilty sentence? You or the judge? Why?

Have you ever tried to defend yourself when you knew you were wrong? Did that work in the long term?

What defense mechanisms have you employed to defend yourself (lying, blaming, hiding)?

After having taught what conflict there is in those who are caught in the struggle between a mind which lives according to the law of God and the desires of the flesh which lead them to sin [Romans 7], Paul now goes on to talk not about those who are partly in the flesh and partly in the Spirit, but about those who are wholly in Christ. He declares that there is nothing in them worthy of condemnation [Romans 8:1].

Origen (AD 184–253)

Judges 6:1–24

Key Point

Because we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Key Verse

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

Ephesians 2:17

W
hen the angel of the L
ORD
appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The L
ORD
is with you, mighty warrior’” (Judges 6:12). The angel of the Lord was probably a “theophany” (a manifestation of God) or a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Like Moses, Gideon had been commissioned by God to deliver Israel. To make sure this word was from God, Gideon asked for a sign (see verse 17).

So it was that when Gideon brought his offering as instructed, an amazing miracle occurred. “Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and
the bread. . . . When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the L
ORD
, he exclaimed, ‘Alas, Sovereign L
ORD
! I have seen the angel of the L
ORD
face to face!’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die’” (verses 21–23).

Any unregenerate person would respond as Gideon did if suddenly confronted by the presence of God. That being the case, why would anybody want to draw near to a holy God who is perceived as a consuming fire? That is the unfortunate perspective of many defeated Christians. They live as though God were out to get them. If they make just one mistake, they think the hammer of God will surely fall on them.

Dear child of God, the hammer fell. It fell on Christ, once and for all. You are not a sinner in the hands of an angry God. You are a saint in the hands of a loving God who has called you to come before His presence. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12).

“So Gideon built an altar to the L
ORD
there and called it The L
ORD
Is Peace” (verse 24). Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and His primary work has been to mediate peace between fallen humanity and God. “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Peace is now no longer out of reach: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Paul describes this justification—this peace between God and humankind—using the past tense. It has already been accomplished. There is nothing more that needs to be done. We will not die in the presence of God as Gideon feared. We are already in the presence of God, because we are alive “in Him.”

As the Peacemaker, Jesus also reconciles Jew and Gentile, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14–16).

When the barrier between God and us is torn down in Christ, it also brings down the barrier between those who are committed to Him. Trying
to negotiate peace in this world without first having peace with God has not proven successful. Peace between religious and philosophical factions can only happen when both find their peace with the same God.

How did Gideon respond when confronted by the presence of God? In what ways do many Christians respond the same way?

Why don’t some Christians sense the peace to “approach God with freedom and confidence”?

In what ways has Jesus been the Prince of Peace?

Do you feel at peace living in the presence of God? Why or why not?

What relationship do you need to restore?

Faith gives us peace with God, not the law. For it reconciles us to God by taking away those sins which had made us God’s enemies. And because the Lord Jesus is the minister of this grace, it is through Him that we have peace with God. Faith is greater than the law, because the law is our work, whereas faith belongs to God. Furthermore, the law is concerned with our present life, whereas faith is concerned with eternal life. But whoever does not think this way about Christ, as he ought to, will not be able to obtain the rewards of faith, because he does not hold the truth of faith.

Ambrosiaster (written c. AD 366–384)