Gálatas 3

Gálatas 3

Piper writes "How then does the apostle Paul teach us to live? Will he say: "You are decisively and irrevocably new, so you can coast through life with no fight to become new"? Or will he say: "You are not decisively and irrevocably new and must fight to get to that place in Christ"? No, neither of these. He will say: "By faith, embrace all that God is for your good in Christ and all you are for his glory in Christ. Believe that. And now, with that confidence, fight to take possession of the territory that Christ has conquered for you. Fight to become in practice what you are in Christ. Eight illustrations of this truth....(Illustration #6) 6. Statement of newness: Galatians 3:27, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Command to become new: Romans 13:14 (note), "But put on (aorist imperative = command to "Do this now!" "Don't delay!" Enabled by the Spirit) the Lord Jesus Christ." (click to see the entire article and the seven other illustrations that describe our position and our practice). Comment: Do you understand what Dr Piper is saying? He is saying in essence that yes, we have the character of Christ (position), but that in everyday life we are to live like Christ lived when He was on the earth. And the only way to succeed is by daily jettisoning self-reliance (natural power, self will, etc) and trusting wholly in the Holy Spirit to give us the supernatural desire and power to live like Christ. See Php 2:13NLT-note where "God Who is at work (energeo in the present tense = continually supernaturally "energizing") in you" is a description of the Holy Spirit, Who is continually "energizing" and enabling us to live a godly life, to live a Christ-like life. In other words, don't just try to act and speak and think like Christ by relying on your natural power. You will fail and become frustrated. And the world will not see the "garment of Christ" on you. Our new position should motivate a new practice. Galatians 3:3-note is a key truth you should memorize - "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit [saved by grace through faith], are you now being perfected [progressively being sanctified, daily growing in Christ-likeness] by the flesh?" And the answer to Paul's rhetorical question is "Of course not!" Just as you began by the Spirit (Jn 3:3-8) by faith, now daily continue by the same Spirit by faith, by trusting and obeying. (Already: Decisively and Irrevocably Free, Not Yet: Finally and Perfectly Free) Ray Pritchard says "Paul’s point is that when we come to Christ, we enter into a new relationship that changes all of life. Now we are clothed with Christ. Coming to Christ is like gaining a whole new wardrobe. You exchange the tattered rags of the old life for the beautiful robes of the character of Jesus Christ. The old life is gone forever. Out with the old addictions! Out with the swearing! Out with the lies! Out with the evil relationships! Out with the sinful habits! Out with the anger! Out with the lust! Out with the racial prejudice! All of it must go out the door when Jesus comes in. (Ed: Yes, that is true, but because we still have the fallen flesh in us, some of the rotten garments we once wore continually, will potentially from time to time raise their ugly heard so to speak - when they do put them to death by the Spirit - Ro 8:13, kill them - Col 3:5. Confess failure, repent, and walk on enabled by the Holy Spirit!) What does the well-dressed Christian wear? He wears the character of Jesus Christ. When people see us, they see Him, and if they knew us before, they want to know, “What happened to you?” And we tell them, “I’m a new person. Jesus Christ has changed my life.” (2 Cor 5:17-note) Of course, this change is both instantaneous (Ed: Our new position in Christ) and gradual (Ed: Our daily practice in Christ, enabled by His Spirit). We are given a new wardrobe the moment we are saved but we usually hang on to our old one for a while. We’re so used to the smelly rags of sin that it’s hard to give them up (Ed: We will spend the rest of our time on earth casting off these old smelly rags -- but they should be on us less and less as we grow daily in Christ-likeness). But we have to (Ed: Yes, but not legalistically, not under law which says "You must do this!", but under grace which enables us to obey), because coming to Christ is like joining a new team and putting on a new uniform. Suppose a member of the New York Yankees is traded to the Chicago White Sox and he shows up at Comiskey Park still wearing his Yankee pinstripes. What will his new teammates do? They will tell him to change his uniform or go back to New York! And well they should. Once you join a new team, you change uniforms. Coming to Christ is like that. We’ve joined his team and now we wear the “uniform” of the character of Christ so that everyone will know we belong to him." (Born Free: Seven Promises You Can Count On) OUR SPIRITUAL "TOGA VIRILIS" John