Shepherding Love

                                                                        Sunday School Lesson

Introduction:  David’s music comforted King Saul (1 Samuel 16:23), but the lyrics of the shepherd’s 23rd psalm comfort us all. Who hasn’t been moved by the words of this most famous passage? It has been read at more funeral services than any other psalm. It underlines God’s comfort, provision, discipline, guidance, joy, reception, and affirmation. This month we will hear from four of the most famous voices in the Bible. One was a king (David). Two were fishermen (Peter and John), and one was a tent maker (Paul). The voices are distinct, but the theme remains constant for this quarter of lessons, and that theme is love. Brother Seth Wilson said the job of church shepherds (elders) was threefold: feed, lead, and guard. Those three words can be imposed on this text to expose the shepherd’s love.

The Shepherd Leads 

Psalm 23:1-3KJV

 1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

It is not about the sheep or David. It is about the true Shepherd of Israel. The key line in the psalm is the first one, The Lord is my shepherd. He provides, he makes, he leads, he refreshes, and he guides. His care of his sheep is complete. Unlike the shepherds of Israel who took care of themselves (Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 34), this good shepherd is totally focused on the sheep. He leads them in such a way that they lack nothing. This is quite a statement in light of the neediness in the land of Israel. Rarely did people go to bed with their bellies full. He leads them in such a way as to make them lie down in green pastures (note also Mark 6:39). Is this a harsh makes (as in being forced) or a provisional makes? Israel knew little of green pastures in the south where David lived, so this was special and lush provision. The parallel line is next, he leads me beside quiet waters. Quiet waters could be stagnant, but in this case it means calm—not raging or dangerous. This shepherd leads in such a way that he refreshes the soul. In a stained world our livingness often needs a restart. Finally this shepherd guides his sheep in the proper direction. Notice that this is done to advance the shepherd’s name—not ours. It is all about the Good Shepherd.

The Shepherd Guards 

 Psalm 23:4 KJV

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Sheep need lots of protection. They have a knack for getting into trouble. The psalmist anticipates going through darkest valleys. What else could we expect in a fallen world? Even though the valley of death has been equated with death itself (and thus the use of this psalm at funeral services) David probably means what some would call “the dark night of the soul.” The figurative takes its meaning from the literal. David knew something about hiding in dark valleys (think of En Gedi in 1 Samuel 23:26-29). But the dark valleys of the soul are worse than the dark valleys of the Judean wilderness. However, the shepherd can cause the sheep not to fear. Sometimes the way the Good Shepherd guards is with a whack on the head. Notice, your rod and staff they comfort me. Rods and staves do not seem like instruments of comfort. But the shepherd’s rod can protect, and the staff can rescue. God’s methods of guarding sometimes take a toll on us, but at the end of the day they show his love for us (Hebrews 12:5-11).

The Shepherd Feeds 

 Psalm 23:5, 6 KJV

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The shepherd’s provision for his sheep has already been stated. In verse 5 the provision is spoken of as a banquet. This verse must be understood by its sociopolitical background. Socially speaking one has to think about hospitality in the ancient world. Whenever there were guests, the table would be prepared. Not to prepare for guests would be a major faux pas. But politically speaking this table has been set in the presence of my enemies. David recognized his place as the anointed King of Israel. Remember that prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. God’s banquet for his sheep is one of great victory. No one can stand against the true Shepherd of Israel. He is victorious and is coming again (1 Peter 5:4). The famous psalm ends with a twofold promise. God’s goodness and love will follow David, and God’s presence (dwell in the house of the Lord forever) will be existentially experienced. The house of the Lord for David was the tabernacle, but he probably is thinking of a bigger house than that (2 Corinthians 5:1-5; Revelation 21:3).

Matchless Love

                                                              Sunday School Lesson

Introduction: Matchless means peerless; no equal; unsurpassed. When we speak of God’s love for us, it is matchless. Our text is in the middle of what is called the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. The content stretches from John 13–15. It was the night of his betrayal. In an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, Jesus met with his disciples, washed their feet, instituted the Lord’s Supper, predicted his betrayal and denial, and promised the Holy Spirit. The words are tender and drip with emotion. The genre follows the typical farewell address forms in the Bible and during Jesus’ time. The theme of the evening is love. In fact, love appears around 43 times from John 13–21.

 Unsurpassed Productivity 
John 15:1-8 KJV

1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Out text begins with yet another “I am” claim from Jesus. Perhaps as they anticipated the walk to the Garden of Gethsemane from the Upper Room, the metaphor of the vine was generated. Jesus said, I am the true vine. The vine was a familiar image in the Jewish reservoir of understanding. They viewed themselves as God’s vine in the world (Isaiah 5:1-7). But nowhere inside or outside of the Bible can we find evidence of someone saying that they were the true vine. Jesus may well have been claiming that he is the New Israel. The details of the imagery are easily discerned: God is the gardener and the one who does the pruning. Jesus is the true vine, and disciples are the branches. Vines produce fruit. The best fruit in the Christian experience is love. Jesus marked out two keys to the production of matchless love. The first is to abide (remain). The word remain appears 11 times in our text with 8 of those times being in these first 8 verses. To love like Jesus we must receive the love of Jesus. This is done best by constantly abiding in him. We must remain in the vine. The second is to be pruned. In God’s vineyard it is not just the old worn-out branches that get cut out. The healthy branches he also cuts back (literally, lifts and separates). The goal in pruning is to make the branches even more productive. Jesus also marked out three results of this production of matchless love. First we learn that by abiding in Jesus we avoid judgment. While all people will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), those who stay connected to the vine get a free pass on judgment. Second, we have the prospect of answered prayer. This promise seems wide open: ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. No strings attached? But remember that if we are abiding in the vine, we most likely will not ask for anything that is not in line with the Father’s wishes. Third, we prove ourselves to be disciples of Jesus. Disciples stay connected to the vine to bear fruit (a phrase that occurs 8 times in this passage). This fruit of matchless love gives evidence of our discipleship.

Unsurpassed Sacrifice

John 15:9-17KJV

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Matchless love produces a bumper crop. But matchless love also shows up in tremendous sacrifice. Jesus got intimate in this section of our text. He spoke about the closeness he has with his Father, and he invites believers into that intimacy by being their friend. The Father loves the Son. The Son loves the disciples. The disciples love each other. Often this love takes the path of most resistance. It involves sacrifice, but that thought is not oppressive. When love is in high gear, sacrifice is actually a joy. Jesus wants our joy meter running high. Sacrifice is what creates intimacy. Is there a greater way to demonstrate love than through sacrifice? Jesus removed any awkward distance by calling those who love him and remain in him friends. There is a difference between a friend and a servant. Servants serve because they must. Friends serve because they want to serve. Jesus chose the disciples to be his friends. He bridged that gap with them by giving himself on the cross. Sacrifice also leads to greater productivity in prayer. As it is in John 15:7, so it is in v. 16. God answers our prayers because we are his kids—not because we always do everything he wants. Jesus loves us so much, it hurts.

Perfect Love

                                                            Sunday School Lesson

Introduction: Is there such a thing as mutual “love at first sight”? Psychologists debate the idea. Fans of romance endorse it. Filmmakers often employ the possibility as a plot device. Some happily married couples affirm it was true for them. But relationships don’t usually work this way. Far more common is for one person to be attracted to another and thereby begin a courtship to convince the other. One person loves first; the other person comes to love later. In today’s lesson, John uses this sequencing of love, but he is not writing about the romantic love that men and women have for each other. Rather, he is explaining our relationship with our loving God. He expresses this with one of the Bible’s classic verses, “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We do not need to attract God’s attention and convince Him to love us. He has loved us from the start. God knows us before we are born (Psalm 139:13-16). That fact is more astonishing than even “love at first sight”!

1 John $7-12KJV

 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

This is one of John’s absolute statements, so we should read with care. At first glance it may seem to say that every one on earth who demonstrates love has a personal relationship with the Lord, that loving behavior is proof that a person knoweth God. But we all have known people who demonstrate love toward others and yet have no relationship with God at all. Instead, it’s the other way around: all who have been born of God (that is, Christian believers) are to demonstrate the love of God in their lives and relationships. The further point is that a lack of love among those who claim to be Christian indicates that their relationship with the Lord is not what it should be.ohn has sometimes been called “the apostle of love,” because of his frequent use of that word and concept in his writings. Indeed, some form of the word love occurs about two dozen times in today’s lesson text alone! But the churches in and around Ephesus seem to be lacking in love. John knows that love cannot be commanded, but it can be expected. His tone is not “I order you to love your brothers and sisters in Christ or else!” but rather “Why do you not love your fellow Christians?” This is a call for self-examination. To fail to be loving is to exclude God from one’s life, for God is love. Other religions speak of love and the love of God. For example, Islam speaks of God’s mercy. But other religions would not agree with a statement as bold as God is love (also in v. 16). This is not merely “God is loving” or “God is capable of showing love.” And especially, it is not “love is God.” John presents a doctrinal truth that there is something essential and fundamental about the nature of God that cannot fully be explained. God did not learn how to love. God does not adopt love as a practical good. God does not merely choose to love. God is love! The implications of that statement should make our heads spin and our hearts skip beats! We might imagine John’s opponents asking the questions skeptics ask today: “How do I know that God loves me? What about all the pain in my life?” Perhaps John’s opponents try to explain the apparent mismatch of continued suffering and the doctrine of a loving God by teaching that claims about God’s loving nature are irrelevant. We deduce from the letter that the false teachers are saying that the way to salvation is through something other than faith in a God who loves. They do not teach that Jesus came to die for our sins, but to impart secret knowledge. What matters, they say, is being given secrets and insights that allow membership in a fellowship of spiritual elites.John’s response is to pull the reader back to the fact of history we see in the verse before us. How do we know God loves us? Because He sent his only begotten Son on a mission to save the world (John 3:16). John draws a direct connection between Jesus’ life and God’s love.

1 John 4:13-19 KJV

¹³ Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

¹⁷ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.

John and the other apostles saw in the flesh the Son of God (1 John 1:1). Jesus is the focus of God’s love, the expression of God’s love to us. God proves His love to us by sending His Son to save the world (John 3:16). We prove our love to God by believing John’s testimony and by replicating God’s love to others. ohn now ties three things together: (1) our confessed belief that Jesus is the Son of God, (2) the mutual dwelling of God in us (through His Spirit) and we in God (through our faith), and (3) the uniting factor of love. To say God is love is not an abstract concept. It is the basis for our lives. How do we get to know God better, to have a closer relationship with Him? There may be more than one answer to this, but John is teaching here that our relationship with God grows deeper when we love others. Teresa of Calcutta, the tireless servant of the poor, said of the children she served, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” This outlook reflects Matthew 25:31-46, discussed below.

Freedom in Christ

                                                            Sunday School Lesson



Introduction: Benjamin Franklin was leaving Independence Hall in Philadelphia when the Constitutional Convention ended, and a certain Mrs. Powel asked Mr. Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Not hesitating, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” The apostle Paul says something very similar in our text. Freedom has been given to us as a gift from God through Christ. Maybe the question is, “Can we keep it?” Two telling verses that focus on the theme of Galatians are 2:16 and 5:1. They function like a thesis, proposition, or dominant thought to the epistle. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. The verb tense in the original language of the phrase has set us free indicates that Paul had in mind a particular moment in time when this happened (Calvary?). But the next phrase, Stand firm is in present tense indicating ongoing action. Freedom is a gift of God at a particular moment in time, but maintaining that freedom has to be worked out continually.

Freedom in Christ Can Be Compromised 
Galatians 5:1-4, 7-10, 12 KJV

1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

Freedom is such a slippery thing. Vigilance is necessary to retain it. It is too easy to slip back into slavery. The Judaizers wanted to add circumcision to the finished work of Christ. It was one thing to circumcise someone for expediency so as not to hinder the missionary enterprise of the church (Acts 16:3). But it was quite another thing to require circumcision as a term of salvation (Galatians 2:3). If people need Jesus plus circumcision then Christ will be of no value (“will profit them nothing”). In fact, embracing circumcision as a salvific requirement demanded obedience to the whole law, and that was an obligation that no one could bear (Acts 15:10). Attempting to be justified by the law ends in two horrible consequences: 1—being alienated (separated) from Christ and 2—having fallen from grace. The word translated fallen can mean “to fall but be able to recover oneself,” but it still means to fall away. It is amazing that so many people say that people cannot do this when Paul affirmed that it is a real possibility. Paul was comfortable using athletic imagery to describe the Christian experience (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). He pictured the Galatians running a good race and then getting cut off by the Judaizers. God called them to freedom. The Judaizers were guilty of contaminating (like the influence that yeast has in dough) and confusing (“to stir up” like a storm) the believers. Paul said that those people’s penalty (sentence or condemnation) was just. Strong language—but not near as strong as verse 12. Paul graphically indicated that maybe they should let the knife slip a little further. Enough said.

Freedom in Christ Is Demonstrated in Love 

Galatians 5:5, 6, 13-17KJV

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

To maintain freedom takes internal transformation, not external constraints. When believers trust Christ for salvation, they receive the Holy Spirit on the inside, and the Spirit becomes God’s gift to live out the righteousness that has been given. Since we have the Spirit we are called to walk (live) by the Spirit. This means choosing daily not to gratify the desires of the flesh. The Holy Spirit works with our human spirit to make good choices in life. Paul does admit that the way of the world and the way of the Spirit are contrary. This means they stand opposite each other. So Christians end up being a walking civil war. But remember that God’s power is stronger than that of the flesh (1 John 4:4). Christian freedom is actually measurable. Christian freedom has an objective outcome. In a word, it is love. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17). But at the end of the day it counts for nothing. What matters is faith expressing itself (“working or energizing itself”) through love. Love will never misuse freedom. Freedom is doing the right thing, and that right thing is always love. Christians do not use their freedom to indulge the flesh. Instead they serve one another in love. Circumcision does not fulfill the law, but love does. Rightly demonstrated love will never bite and devour. Rather it will demonstrate freedom in Christ.

New Birth Brings Freedom

                                                                 Sunday School Lesson


Introduction: Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Were he still living he would be 208 years old. We know him as the 16th president of the United States and also as the Great Emancipator. He not only signed a freedom document, he also saw the country through a terrible civil war. Freedom is not easy. The birth of a new nation comes with a huge price.Our lesson picks up where last week’s lesson left off. The churches in Galatia had their harmony and freedom threatened by people who felt compelled to have a “Jesus plus” faith (Jesus plus the Law, Jesus plus circumcision, Jesus plus special religious holidays). But Jesus plus anything is a minus. Jesus alone is sufficient to save to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25).

Freedom Is Threatening 
 Galatians 4:8-11KJV

8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

As odd as it sounds, there were some slaves in Paul’s day who were doctors and lawyers. They had sold themselves into slavery so others would take care of them. Freedom is threatening, and some people cannot handle it. The believers in the churches of Galatia were both Greeks and Jews and both were likewise threatened by Christian freedom. They were tempted to turn back to paganism or to their former religion in Judaism. Paul was upset about this. (In fact, his angst about this is seen in all three sections of our text—verses 11, 12, and 20.) Why would people who were once enslaved desire to go back to slavery? The answer is that freedom is threatening. The Greek regression is in verses 8 and 9. Before the Greeks in Galatia knew God (before they became believers) they were slaves to pagan influences. Paul referred to these false gods as not gods. There is only one true God (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). They were turning back to the weak and miserable forces (we saw this expression in our lesson last week in Galatians 4:3). We might think of them as the ABCs of paganism. The Jewish regression had to do with observing special days and months and seasons and years. Carving out sacred time to celebrate faith is one thing. But keeping festivals as a term of salvation is quite something else. Returning to paganism or Judaism bothered Paul. He felt as if he had wasted his ministry (labored in vain) on the Galatians.

Freedom Is Frustrating 

Galatians 4:12-16 KJV

12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

There is some significant self-disclosure by Paul in this paragraph. One can feel his personal frustration with the Galatians. He pleaded with them earnestly. The word translated plead means “to make a specific request.” It is one of the words for prayer in the New Testament. Paul prayed that the Galatians would experience total freedom in Christ like he enjoyed. Paul himself was once enslaved in Judaism (Philippians 3:4-6). But as one freed in Christ, he called the churches to become like him. Paul took the churches back to when they were converted (Acts 13–14). Their reception of him as one freed in Christ was remarkable. Even though Paul referenced his illness (about which we know very little), he mentioned that the Galatians received him like an angel or Jesus himself. Their devotion to Paul was so strong they would have traded their good eyesight for Paul’s bad eyesight (see also Galatians 6:11). The Judaizers had turned the people away from the apostle who had taught them the truth of freedom in Christ. Of the making of rules there is no end, and Paul was frustrated that the Galatians seemed to want to go back to rules for the sake of rules.

Freedom Is Hard Work 

 Galatians 4:17-20 KJV

17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

The easy road is rules. The harder road is freedom. Paul noted that the Judaizers had bad motives. They were trying to take undue advantage of the Galatians by stealing them away from Paul and freedom in Christ. Paul commended zeal. Zeal with knowledge is a wonderful thing. Zeal that creates unity is also good. But zeal without knowledge and zeal that is divisive is terrible. The last two verses of our text drip with emotion. The real heart of the apostle Paul can be seen. These two verses are high watermarks in the passion of Paul. He appealed to them tenderly (My dear children). The metaphor that he used is that of a woman in labor. Paul was like a mother in the pains of childbirth until Christ would be formed in them (see 1 Thessalonians 2:7). Forming Christ in people is hard work, and sometimes it leaves us downright perplexed. Both Paul and President Lincoln learned that freedom isn’t easy. But it is worth it.

Re-Created to Live in Harmony

                                                        Sunday School Lesson


Introduction: Someone has rightly said, “You cannot be ‘revived’ if you have never first been ‘vived.’” In last month’s lessons we focused on God creating the universe. This month’s lessons focus on God recreating the universe through redeeming his people for freedom to live in holiness. Our study takes us to Galatians, that Magna Carta of Christian freedom. In Galatians Paul strongly defended that Christians are saved by faith in Christ and not works of the law (so significant that he stated that truth three times in one verse—Galatians 2:16). In chapters 3 and 4 Paul made several arguments for that theme: Faith is the vehicle of receiving the Holy Spirit (3:1-6). Faith puts us in touch with the promise of God through Abraham (vv. 7-18). Faith is the result of letting the law lead us to Christ (vv. 19-25). Faith is what puts us in God’s family (3:26–4:20). Faith is the basis for our freedom (4:21-31).

Our Clothing Shows Our Clan 
Galatians 3:26-29 KJV

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

When God redeems us by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8, 9), he places us into his forever family. The ground is indeed level at the foot of the cross. All are embraced and equal. Harmony is possible only in Christ—notice also the phrases, into Christ, in Christ, and to Christ. Responding to God in faith makes us children of God (see also John 1:12).The entry point for this harmony is baptism. The New Testament writers had what we might term their own doctrines of baptism. For Matthew baptism was fulfilling righteousness (Matthew 3:13-17). For Mark baptism was an immersion in suffering (Mark 10:36-39). For Luke baptism was forgiveness and the reception of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). For John baptism was the new birth (John 3:1-8). For Peter baptism was a pledge of a clear conscience (1 Peter 3:21). For the Hebrew writer baptism was drawing near to God (Hebrews 10:22). For Paul baptism was identification with Christ (Romans 6:1-4). Metaphorically speaking, baptism is putting on clothes that mark out our clan (family). People get out of tune because of race, social status, and gender. Yet faith expressed in baptism destroys disunity. Certainly a high watermark of the New Testament is Galatians 3:28. Harmony is possible when we are recreated, regardless of race (Jew nor Gentile), social status (slave nor free), or gender (male and female). Picking up the argument from earlier in the epistle, Paul said, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. The baptismal clothes make us all look the same. We may have different roles and gifts, but the harmony can be in perfect pitch.

Our Family Shows Our Identity 

Galatians 4:1-7 KJV

1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Paul did not create a chapter division at Galatians 4:1. The link word to this next section is heir. You can’t talk about an heir without thinking in terms of family. The word heir leads to further discussion of our identity in Christ. So Paul extended the metaphor in a way that his world would easily understand. The household of Paul’s world consisted of a mother, father, (maybe even grandparents), children, and slaves. While Paul put in place the principles whereby slavery would implode, he spoke to the culture of his day with his “household rules” (Ephesians 5:22–6:9; Colossians 3:18–4:1). Therefore the people had a reservoir from which to draw to interpret his analogy. The children of slaves and the children of masters played together. They were good friends. They looked past categories. At that point slaves and heirs were the same and under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But the slave and the heir were very different when it came to who inherited the estate. Even though the heir had to bide some time, one day the estate would be hers or his for the taking. Earlier Paul mentioned that this “guardian” taking care of the heir until the proper time was the law (3:24). But God jumped in and changed all of this in the perfect time. Jesus was born of a woman, who herself was living under the law. The purpose for Jesus’ coming was to redeem (a marketplace term) his people. The end result was that people were adopted into his family. We have such intimacy with God that we can call him Abba, our “Dear Father.” Paul’s argument builds—slave, child, and finally heir. With new clothes and a new identity, we can live in harmon