Him Who Calls You
/Galatians 5:7-12
In this paragraph, though Paul is speaking directly to the people of the church, he has some words for these False Teachers in Galatia.
* They are hindering the church from obeying the truth (5:7).
* They are troubling (5:10) and unsettling (5:12) the church.
* They are persecuting Paul (5:11).
* Paul's confidence is that they will bear the penalty (5:10).
* Paul's wish for them is that they would not stop at circumcision, and that they would CUT. THE. WHOLE. THING. OFF (5:12).
Whoa.
And Paul wants to point out that the church is being persuaded by these teachers, and not being persuaded by God Himself. He says in 5:8...
"This persuasion is not from him who calls you."
Note how Paul frames this. He doesn't simply say "This persuasion is not from God."
There's something about God, and what God has done for these Galatians, to which Paul wants to draw their attention.
He is the One "who calls you."
And Paul has used this verbiage in the letter already.
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel" (1:6).
God has *called* these Galatians.
Called them in grace and kindness.
Called them to freedom (5:13).
Called them "out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Like Lazarus, called them out of the tomb, and to walk out, from death into life.
They were slaves, but God called them into freedom.
They were in darkness, but God called them into light.
They were dead, but God called them into life.
With this focus on calling, Paul is wanting to underline something. For both the Galatians, and us today.
That in our salvation, God is the One who does everything.
He is the Actor.
We are the spectators.
He is the Giver.
We are the recipients.
He does everything.
We do nothing, but believe.
In what ways can God change us when we understand this? When we fully get our minds around this?
We will stop trusting in our own efforts to save ourselves, and earn righteousness from Him.
We will rest in the finished work of Jesus.
And we will rest in the One who has called us.
---
Remember how Paul described his own conversion, back in chapter 1?
"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and *who called me by his grace*, was pleased to reveal his Son to me..." (1:15-16, emphasis mine).
Called by His grace.
Set apart before you were born.
Pleased to reveal the Son to you.
Believer in Jesus, rest in the freedom of this today.
- Joe