Galatians 5:1-6 – “you are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace”
Galatians 5:1 – The yoke of slavery here is the Law of Moses.
Galatians 5:4 – It is possible to fall from grace. Calvinists believe that it is not possible to fall from grace. See Galatians 3:26.
The Calvinist possession is stated as:
“Many who profess to believe fall away, but they do not fall from grace, for they were never in grace. True believers do fall into temptations, and they do commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation or separate them from Christ.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, pp. 64-65
“As the Westminster Confession of Faith states, saved people “can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” – as cited in Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, p. 65
Galatians 5:7-12 – Beware of this erroneous influence!
Things had been good, but now they had been turned by a bad influence.
Galatians 5:9 – Compare I Corinthians 5:6-7.
Galatians 5:11 – Paul had taken a firm stand against circumcision, shown by how he had been persecuted by the Jews.
Galatians 5:12 – Compare the use of the word “mutilating” or “emasculating” in John 18:10.
Galatians 5:13-18 – “walk by the spirit”
Galatians 5:13 – See Romans 6:1-2. We should not attempt to abuse the grace and forgiveness of God. See Jude 1:4.
Galatians 5:14 – See Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37.
Galatians 5:15 – Don’t fight and bicker with each other.
Galatians 5:16 – What does “spirit” mean here? The capitalization is a decision by the translators. It could be the Holy Spirit or the spiritual nature of man. We are deciding to either follow God or go our own way.
Galatians 5:19-26 – Deeds of the flesh vs. fruit of the spirit
Galatians 5:23 – This could be an understatement for effect.
Acts 12:21-23 – Herod accepted worship and was struck dead.
Jesus forgave sins while He was on earth.
Mark 2:5-12 – Jesus could heal physical problems and forgive sins.
Jesus worked miracles by His own power.
Acts 2:22-24
Hebrews 1:1-2 – Jesus had full power at the time of creation. This phrasing just shows how Jesus and God the Father worked together.
John 1:1
Luke 10:1, 17
John 2:11 – Jesus showed His own glory.
Acts 3:6, 16
John 20:30-31
Jesus is the Savior (Luke 2:8-14)
Mark 16:15-16
John 3:5
Acts 5:18; 8:26, 35; 10:22, 48
Angels said Jesus was the Savior and helped that message to spread.
Jesus rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1-8)
Matthew 28:11-5 – The soldiers participated in a cover-up.
Justin Martyr (c. 165 AD):
“A godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one Jesus, a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole him by night from the tomb where he was laid when unfastened from the cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.”
Tertullian (c. 160-225 AD):
“The grave was found empty of all but the clothes of the buried one. But, nevertheless, the leaders of the Jews, whom it nearly concerned both to spread abroad a lie, and keep back a people tributary and submissive to them from the faith, gave it out that the body of Christ had been stolen by his followers.”
The historian Josephus (c. 37-100 AD):
“And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross, upon his impeachment by the principal man among us, those who had loved him from the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive on the third day, the divine prophets having spoken these and thousands of other wonderful things about him.”
John clearly already knew who Jesus was, having baptized him. But why did he send his disciples to ask this?
Possibly, John’s faith was shaken, having been put in prison.
He could have sent the disciples for their own benefit to reinforce their faith.
See Isaiah 35:5-10. Note the context. This is referencing the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus gave them an answer that required them to think.
Matthew 11:6 – People in Jesus’ hometown took offense at Him.
John 6:54-56
John 16:1 – Jesus’ disciples would be persecuted.
Jesus was offensive to those for whom He did not:
Meet their expectations
Bring peace on earth
Matthew 11:7-11 – John the Baptist also offended them. See Malachi 3:1-5.
Matthew 11:12 – Compare Mark 10:35. Some people thought Jesus’ kingdom was one that would rule by force. This could also be saying that to be in the kingdom took effort (Luke 16:16). This could also mean that the kingdom of heaven was advancing and those who wanted to be in it were seizing it.
“take it by force” – See Matthew 12:29; John 6:15
Matthew 11:13-14 – See Colossians 4:6; Jude 1:22-23. If the listener does not accept the message, it is possible they would have refused it no matter how it was presented.
Matthew 11:20-24 – Those who had seen more would have more required of them (Luke 12:47-48). God has blessed us greatly and He expects a lot out of us.
Matthew 11:25-26 – The gospel is for the ordinary man.
