“And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.” Galatians 4:14
Like the Apostle Paul, gospel ministers suffer from physical infirmities and weaknesses. Yet, as the apostle was received as a messenger of God — even as Christ Jesus Himself — we need to remember that when ministers, frail as they may be, faithfully speak the Word of God to us, Christ Jesus Himself speaks to us and shares with us His life-giving promises and creates faith in our hearts.
Grant, O Lord, that I hear Your voice when my minister proclaims Your Word and that Your promises convey to me, through faith in Your name, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting You won for me on the cross. Amen.
“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.” Galatians 4:4-5
Why did God send His own dear Son into this world? He sent Him to redeem us from the curse and condemnation of God’s law by fulfilling the righteous demands of the law for us and then suffering the just penalty for our sins by dying on the cross in our stead so that we might look to Him and His redemptive work in faith and be forgiven and adopted as God’s dear children and receive the eternal joys of heaven.
Thank You, O gracious God, for sending Your Son to redeem me from the curse and condemnation of Your holy law. Grant that I hold fast to Christ Jesus in faith that I may be Your child and partake of the eternal joys of Your kingdom. Amen.
“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.” Galatians 4:4-5
In the gift of the Christ Child, born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, God fulfilled His promises of old to send the Seed of the woman, the offspring of Abraham and David, the eternal Son of God in human flesh, to keep God’s commandments without sin in our stead and to suffer on the cross the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the entire world so that we might look to Him in faith and be pardoned, forgiven, accepted by God, adopted as His own dear children, and inherit the eternal joys of heaven.
Dear Lord Jesus, eternal Son of God born into this world the Son of man, grant that I trust in You and Your cross for pardon, forgiveness, sonship, and a place in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
“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
As children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and being baptized in His name, God gives us His Holy Spirit, who creates faith in our hearts and moves us to trust that God does indeed accept us as His own dear children. The Holy Spirit moves us to address God as our dear Father and assures us that, as God’s sons, we have an eternal inheritance awaiting us in heaven through faith in Christ Jesus.
I thank You, dear Father, for accepting me as Your dear child and granting me Your Holy Spirit and an eternal inheritance in heaven for Jesus’ sake. In His name, I pray. Amen.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:28-29
While often misapplied by those seeking to justify women in the pastoral ministry, this word of God teaches that all who trust in Christ Jesus for pardon and are baptized in His name, whether male or female, Jew or Greek, slave or free, are a part of the one body of Christ, members of the holy catholic (universal) church. And those who trust in Christ are the promised offspring of Abraham and will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham — a place in Christ’s eternal kingdom!
Grant that I trust in You, O Christ, that I might be a part of Your church and kingdom and inherit the everlasting joys of heaven. Amen.
