Galatians 4:4-7
Sunday Morning – 10 Jun 2018 11:22:36 am (Pastor Kim Sung Hoon, Good News Masan Church, South Korea)
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And 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 4:4-7 NKJV
Let’s say it’s my father’s birthday and He really wants the medicinal wine.
Serving God does not really require our effort or zeal. Understand the will of God first, and then you can serve.
“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”
Romans 10:2-3 NKJV
Pastor Park spoke at length about this, pointing out that many of us have our own zeal and righteousness which is not the righteousness of God. The reason why the Jews crucified Jesus was because Jesus called Himself the son of God.
Saul in the beginning wanted to kill all the Christians because he did not know the Word of Jesus that He would resurrect after three days. He was ignorant of the righteousness and the will of God. This is why he insisted on his own opinion.
If we understand God with our own vague opinion, we will never understand the righteousness of God.
Consider the three wise men who came to worship Jesus. They saw the star clearly. They passed by the palace in Jerusalem and all of a suffer they had this certain thought that the king should be born in the palace. This is how they entered in. As a result, king Herod came to learn about the “new born king”. As a result, so many children in the region were killed. Because of the vague thoughts of the three men, this is what happened.
Folks, when Satan is at work, he always works through our thoughts. This is why we need to confirm exactly as per the bible.
““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 NKJV
Just going to church and saying “Lord, Lord” does not mean we can go to heaven. Our zeal and works cannot attain salvation for us.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV
Surely many pastors in the world declare their love for God. But they end up going to hell. Why is this the case?
It is because God can see their lawlessness. Lawlessness is sin. God can see their sins. This is exactly why they go to hell.
Who are the really blessed people?
““Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.””
Romans 4:7-8 NKJV
What is the will of God?
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.””
John 6:40 NKJV
Believing in Jesus is the ultimate will of God.
““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
John 5:24 NKJV
Many believe but do not have everlasting life in them. If you believe, then you should have attained everlasting life. You must have been passed from death to life. You would have the assurance of everlasting life.
Faith is believing in Jesus and the fact that we have passed from death to life.
What does it mean to believe?
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
John 1:12 NKJV
One needs to have the fundamentals of spiritual life. If you have it, then everything is easy. However people think they know but they only know by halves. For instance, would you know how to draw the American flag? How many bands, and how many stars, etc? Well, if you do not know then you can just say that you do not know and you can learn the fundamentals.
We have been deceived by Satan for such a long time. For us to believe in God, then we cannot believe in ourselves. folks, there cannot be two kings. If you want to believe in God, then you have to forsake the heart to believe in yourself.
Know that your heart is wrong and it is deceitful. Then only you will be able to believe in God. Trusting in yourself and in God is completely nonsense. This is why spiritual life consists of “repentance” and “faith”. Repentance means stopping to trust in ourselves. But without realising, we are following our hearts. If you look back upon yourself, then you will be able to see how wrong you have been.
There should be two things upon your heart as you hear the Words of God:
1. My thoughts are wrong, so that it can be thrown away
2. God’s thought is right, so that it can enter us
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
John 8:44 NKJV
What is God saying to us, exactly? All the things from us are actually desires from Satan. We think that is is we who are doing it but is actually isn’t. Satan constantly speaks lies to us. The Word says that “there is no truth in him…for he is a liar and the father of it”. This means that he is the father of deceit. So this means that we are also of deceit. We are also liars. God tells us that we are deceitful.
Realising that we are deceitful is the basics of spiritual life. If you know this, then can you still trust yourself? No! You will then throw yourself away naturally.
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”
Galatians 4:4 NKJV
There is a reason why Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law. Why? The law reveals our sins. Without the law, there is no realisation of sin, and we would not know what the punishment is.
“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.”
Romans 7:14 NKJV
We were sold under sin, so who is our master? Sin!
God wanted to show us that we are under sin. God wanted to also show us that the wage of sin is death. Wage of sin is death.
After Jesus came to the world, He paid for our sins. Jesus came for our salvation from sin. In order for us to be saved from sin, we must pay for it actually. But who paid? Jesus paid. He is the master. He redeemed us and he bought us back. We were sold under sin, but we are now redeemed by Jesus through the payment of his blood.
Why did Jesus have the flesh? So that He could die. One must have a body so one can die.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”
Hebrews 2:9 NKJV
Jesus was born to “taste death for everyone”. With his physical body, he came to die for us. By His death, he paid for our sins and with His physical body, God laid all our sins on Jesus.
Redemption means get back by payment. The payment is the blood of Jesus.
“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”
I Corinthians 7:23 NKJV
We were bought at a price. This means that someone has paid for us.
“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
I Corinthians 6:20 NKJV
The bible says that Jesus has paid for our sins. Think it another way, God wants to tell us how much we are worth! In other words, I am worth Jesus Christ. This is how we become children of Jesus Christ. We now belong to God because He has paid with Jesus Christ.
“to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Galatians 4:5 NKJV
“And 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
This also means that we have become equal to Jesus. Jesus was the only begotten son before. But now, we are no longer all begotten sons. We are now all children of God. In fact, we are now siblings with Jesus.
After salvation, we receive the spirit of the son in us and so as sons, we are really free with the Father. We are no longer slaves. Slaves have to follow the master and the conditions stipulated to them. However, the son, no matter how much he sucks, cannot be sacked by the father. Sons are the heir to receive all things from the father.
“For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,”
Hebrews 2:11 NKJV
Thus, Jesus who sanctifies us and we have become brethren. We are now all brethren. Through the love of God. we are all one. Jesus calls us brothers and sisters.
Now, enjoy the blessings of God!