Thursday 2 January 2025
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (v. 6)
Background
As we continue to think about the lordship of Jesus, today’s reading is all about the life-changing understanding that Christians can have, knowing they are children of God.
Paul is writing to the fellowship of believers in Galatia, in the central part of what we know as Turkey today. There had been arguments in some of these churches that new followers of Jesus Christ should become Jewish converts before becoming Christians. In this letter, Paul makes it very clear that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to a right relationship with God. It is not essential first to become Jewish in order to become a Christian.
In Monday’s 'Word in Time' we reflected on how 'lordship' clarified Jesus’ divinity. In this letter to the Galatians, Paul writes that the response to God’s presence is best described as the bond between a loving parent - "Abba, Father” (v. 6) – and his children.
In a few verses (vs 4-7) there are a number of deeply meaningful images: the humanity of Jesus, God’s son, “born of a woman” (v. 4); Jesus’s principal task on earth of saving God’s people (v. 5); the idea that God has chosen this path, chosen us, and adopted us as his children (vs 5, 7); and God’s Spirit within us enabling us to worship God as Father (v. 6).
It is this relationship of mutual love between God and people of faith that should characterise Christian faith, our worship, as well as our day-to-day behaviour. Every day, we make choices about honouring Jesus' commandment to “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. Later in Galatians we read of the 'Fruit of the Spirit' (5:22-26). It is a list of how God is able to use us as channels of God's grace to interact with those around us, following the example of Christ's love.
In I John 4:19 we read “We love because he first loved us.” Today’s verses from Galatians express the same fundamental truth for us as Christians, as children who know they have been adopted by God. It is an immense truth.
Thanks be to God.
To Ponder:
- In 2025, may we resolve to demonstrate more of the Spirit of God’s fruits in daily living: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The fruit is God’s, how we share it is a choice we make personally.
- “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Prayer
Today we meditate on Graham Kendrick's hymn 'Meekness and Majesty' with the repeated lines: "Oh what a mystery – meekness and majesty: bow down and worship for this is your God, this is your God!" (Meekness and Majesty' – Singing the Faith 362)
Bible notes author: Michael King
Michael is a Methodist local preacher in Salisbury and was Vice-President of the Conference in 2012/2013.