… that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Summary: “Adoption to sonship” might be a bit of an arcane phrase, but the principle behind it is timeless.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:5b – United to God”Galatians 3:28 – What They Wanted to Hear
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Summary: In this passage, Paul makes an astounding claim. God doesn’t see differences between people like we do. So what does God see?
Continue reading “Galatians 3:28 – What They Wanted to Hear”Galatians 3:14a – A Light for the Gentiles
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus …
Summary: There is a big difference between the law and faith. Paul explains the gift we receive when we put our trust in Jesus.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:14a – A Light for the Gentiles”Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club
“You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Summary: Deciphering what Paul is saying to Peter and his companions requires an understanding of past covenants made by God for man.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club”Galatians 2:8 – World History in Four Parts
For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.
Summary: Looking at the history of the world in four parts helps bring into focus the challenges God faced in redeeming his creation.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:8 – World History in Four Parts”Ephesians 4:17b-19 – Garbage In, Garbage Out
… in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
Summary: What we think has a big impact on what we do and who we are. Thinking there is no God is a faulty assumption that leads to faulty — and dangerous — conclusions.
Continue reading “Ephesians 4:17b-19 – Garbage In, Garbage Out”Ephesians 4:17a – A Kind of Test
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do …
Summary: Paul’s problem is that people who believe in God act differently than people who don’t. Being the “Apostle to the Gentiles” carried with it the added burden of educating Gentile believers about this difference.
Continue reading “Ephesians 4:17a – A Kind of Test”Ephesians 2:15b – The Challenge
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace …
Summary: God changed the rules when he instituted a new covenant in Jesus’ blood. Trying to figure out what those rules are and how to apply them has been a challenge for humanity ever since.
Continue reading “Ephesians 2:15b – The Challenge”Ephesians 2:12a – The Gratitude Attitude
… remember that at that time you were separate from Christ …
Summary: Paul is a unique individual. Privileged from birth, Paul was raised to be one of the elite members of society. Then he met Jesus.
Continue reading “Ephesians 2:12a – The Gratitude Attitude”Ephesians 2:11c – The Bright Light of the Spirit
… and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—
Summary: The debate over whether or not believers should be circumcised was really a debate about what “signs” we should look for to determine whether someone is a believer or not.
Continue reading “Ephesians 2:11c – The Bright Light of the Spirit”