Gal. 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Here is a critically important, eternally important, point that Paul now makes. You are not saved by birth. The Jews claimed this right, The Jews claimed to be the children of God because they were the children of Abraham. Jesus answered them, Joh 8:39, 40, , "If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham". Again in Romans 9:6. "Not as though the Word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel."
Everyone is a child of God through His creation of Adam but not all are true sons. And in John 8:42 : "If God were your Father, ye would love me." In other words: You are not the children of God. If you were, you would know and love me.
Nor are you a child of God by the will of man. Abraham was promised a child by the Word through Sarah. Abraham made a child by his own will through Hagar, not the will of God. This, I say, is the crux of the problem of the modern church. The church has made itself God and bestowed upon itself the power to make sons of God by the will of man. Man can not make a son of God, only God can.
The only sons of God are those who are sons by the Word and by the promise. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing what? Hearing the Word of God from the Spirit of God, by revelation. God alone can place His seed in a person and make a new creature. And by the promise. What promise? The Holy Spirit. When Mary was given the seed of God she was told "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee". She received both the Word and the Promise. These are necessary for a new birth to occur. If you do not receive the Word by faith through grace. If you have not received the Holy Spirit, the promise, then you are not born of the will of God, but the will of man.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12,13
God’s love is irresistible. You would know if God was calling and you would fall on your knees, then run toward Him that you might obtain mercy in your time of need. This is what happens at Mt. Sinai. You stand before God and in the knowledge of the Law, revealed by God’s Spirit you see yourself as you truly are — a sinner, condemned and separated from God. This knowledge would place the Fear of God into you. You would have no thought but to cry out and beg for God’s mercy, not because of your worthiness but because of His loving-kindness.
Sadly, this is not what happens in many churches. The pastor will often preach a message with heart-tugging pleas, begging you to accept the goodness of God, His provision in Christ, His abundant Life, His great riches and joy by coming and joining the church. All these are often extended without the recognition of our need for His mercy, our own desperate state or affair. We skip the whole Mt. Sinai thing. Remember that God when he invited Israel to have relationship with Him he instructed Moses to have the people sanctify themselves and then approach the Mountain. The original plan was a relationship with God by way of Mt. Sinai. The Law needed to teach them their utter depravity.
Today we just skip over that part. The Fear of God in church is rarely seen. We see a lot of nice people treating people nicely and listening to nice little sermons with some cute jokes, a lot of charisma and personality. But rarely do I see the Fear of God, rarely is God reverenced in His church. No, today we are making men of God by the will of men, absent of God, the power of His Word and the Presence of His Spirit. God help us!
Here is a critically important, eternally important, point that Paul now makes. You are not saved by birth. The Jews claimed this right, The Jews claimed to be the children of God because they were the children of Abraham. Jesus answered them, Joh 8:39, 40, , "If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham". Again in Romans 9:6. "Not as though the Word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel."
Everyone is a child of God through His creation of Adam but not all are true sons. And in John 8:42 : "If God were your Father, ye would love me." In other words: You are not the children of God. If you were, you would know and love me.
Nor are you a child of God by the will of man. Abraham was promised a child by the Word through Sarah. Abraham made a child by his own will through Hagar, not the will of God. This, I say, is the crux of the problem of the modern church. The church has made itself God and bestowed upon itself the power to make sons of God by the will of man. Man can not make a son of God, only God can.
The only sons of God are those who are sons by the Word and by the promise. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing what? Hearing the Word of God from the Spirit of God, by revelation. God alone can place His seed in a person and make a new creature. And by the promise. What promise? The Holy Spirit. When Mary was given the seed of God she was told "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee". She received both the Word and the Promise. These are necessary for a new birth to occur. If you do not receive the Word by faith through grace. If you have not received the Holy Spirit, the promise, then you are not born of the will of God, but the will of man.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12,13
God’s love is irresistible. You would know if God was calling and you would fall on your knees, then run toward Him that you might obtain mercy in your time of need. This is what happens at Mt. Sinai. You stand before God and in the knowledge of the Law, revealed by God’s Spirit you see yourself as you truly are — a sinner, condemned and separated from God. This knowledge would place the Fear of God into you. You would have no thought but to cry out and beg for God’s mercy, not because of your worthiness but because of His loving-kindness.
Sadly, this is not what happens in many churches. The pastor will often preach a message with heart-tugging pleas, begging you to accept the goodness of God, His provision in Christ, His abundant Life, His great riches and joy by coming and joining the church. All these are often extended without the recognition of our need for His mercy, our own desperate state or affair. We skip the whole Mt. Sinai thing. Remember that God when he invited Israel to have relationship with Him he instructed Moses to have the people sanctify themselves and then approach the Mountain. The original plan was a relationship with God by way of Mt. Sinai. The Law needed to teach them their utter depravity.
Today we just skip over that part. The Fear of God in church is rarely seen. We see a lot of nice people treating people nicely and listening to nice little sermons with some cute jokes, a lot of charisma and personality. But rarely do I see the Fear of God, rarely is God reverenced in His church. No, today we are making men of God by the will of men, absent of God, the power of His Word and the Presence of His Spirit. God help us!
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God ... 