H2O Church
This is week 3 of our series on “Galatians." This week we’re going to look at some pretty amazing stories of transformation—both Kanye West and the Apostle Paul—as we look at our own battle to experience the transformation that’s offered us in Christ.
“Let’s not be concerned with the opinions of men at all. Only the opinion of God. Let’s not be concerned with the validation of men at all. Only of God.” Kanye West
1 Timothy 1:15-16 ESV
2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV
Galatians 1:11-15 ESV
Paul understood himself “eschatologically,” that means “in the big picture,” as someone set apart for a special purpose, as a recipient of grace. He knew that God doesn’t give grace to all, but uses graced people to reach un-graced people.
Common grace defined: the undeserved favor that God extends to all of humanity, even those who are unwilling to believe; thus, common grace.
Saving Grace defined: the undeserved favor that God extends to those He saves; thus, saving grace; it begins in eternity past and extends to eternity future.
Our tendency is to dummy down what Christ has done for us. Paul doesn’t do that, but describes salvation in eschatological imagery, to help us understand who we are. The Christian man or woman is, indeed, an emancipated slave who has escaped the slave-master’s whip, a revivified corpse, having been brought back to life from the dead, an Olympic athlete in the great race of life, a divinely sent ambassador to rep our King to a foreign land, a warrior in a cosmic struggle against the darkness that envelops the world, a person who has awakened and escaped a witch’s spell. “I accepted Christ” certainly does not capture these larger-than-life descriptions of our salvation, nor does it adequately portray the power of who we now are in Christ.
Galatians 1:17-24 ESV
THE UNTOLD TRUTH ABOUT GOD’S GRACE.
#1—Grace isn’t just God doing something FOR us, but God doing something IN us.
Galatians 2:20 ESV
#2—Grace is FREE, but once experienced, it leads to WORK.
1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
For Deeper Study
1. Check out Paul’s testimony as recorded in Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-31; 26:1-29.
2. For further study on common grace, check out https://www.gotquestions.org/common-grace.html
3. God blinded Paul to give to him the life lesson of humanity’s spiritual blindness to God. Are there things about your own salvation which might be understood as life lessons for you?
4. Have you ever written out your own salvation testimony? Try to write it out in 3 seasons: (1) my life before Christ (2) how I heard and responded to the gospel (3) my life since becoming a Christian. Try to keep it at 5 minutes or less.