Abraham: Faith in God, not our abilities
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WPM,
Abraham:
Faith in God, not our abilities
Abraham
was a man of faith. He trusted in God,
not man, not himself, not in the natural order of things.
Galatians
3:1-29 Amplified
1
O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians!
Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom--right
before your very eyes--Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically
set forth and portrayed as crucified?
2Let me ask you this one question: Did you
receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works,
or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it
from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?]
3Are you so foolish and so senseless and so
silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you
now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
4Have you suffered so many things and
experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)--if it really is to no
purpose and in vain?
5Then does He Who supplies you with His
marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so
on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your
believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that
you heard?
6Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to
and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account
and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose,
thought, and action).(A)
7Know and understand that it is [really]
the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham.
8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify (declare righteous, put in right standing with Himself) the
Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel [foretelling the glad
tidings of a Savior long beforehand] to Abraham in the promise, saying, In you
shall all the nations [of the earth] be blessed.(B)
9So then, those who are people of faith are
blessed and made happy and favored by God [as partners in fellowship] with the
believing and trusting Abraham.
10And all who depend on the Law [who are
seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals] are under a curse
and doomed to disappointment and destruction, for it is written in the
Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal
punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all
the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice
them.(C)
11Now it is evident that no person is
justified (declared righteous and brought into right standing with God) through
the Law, for the Scripture says, The man in right standing with God [the just,
the righteous] shall live by and out of faith and he who through and by faith
is declared righteous and in right standing with God shall live.(D)
12But the Law does not rest on faith [does
not require faith, has nothing to do with faith], for it itself says, He who does
them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [not by faith].(E)
13Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming
us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself]
becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is
everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);(F)
14To the end that through [their receiving]
Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles,
so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise
of the [Holy] Spirit.
15To speak in terms of human relations,
brethren, [if] even a man makes a last will and testament (a merely human
covenant), no one sets it aside or makes it void or adds to it when once it has
been drawn up and signed (ratified, confirmed).
16Now the promises (covenants, agreements)
were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He
[God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many
persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously
referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah).(G)
17This is my argument: The Law, which began
430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and
cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to
abolish the promise and make it void.(H)
18For if the inheritance [of the promise
depends on observing] the Law [as these false teachers would like you to
believe], it no longer [depends] on the promise; however, God gave it to
Abraham [as a free gift solely] by virtue of His promise.
19What then was the purpose of the Law? It
was added [later on, after the promise, to disclose and expose to men their
guilt] because of transgressions and [to make men more conscious of the
sinfulness] of sin; and it was intended to be in effect until the Seed (the
Descendant, the Heir) should come, to and concerning Whom the promise had been
made. And it [the Law] was arranged and ordained and appointed through the
instrumentality of angels [and was given] by the hand (in the person) of a
go-between [Moses, an intermediary person between God and man].
20Now a go-between (intermediary) has to do
with and implies more than one party [there can be no mediator with just one
person]. Yet God is [only] one Person [and He was the sole party in giving that
promise to Abraham. But the Law was a contract between two, God and
21Is the Law then contrary and opposed to
the promises of God? Of course not! For if a Law had been given which could
confer [spiritual] life, then righteousness and right standing with God would
certainly have come by Law.
22But the Scriptures [picture all mankind
as sinners] shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that [the inheritance, blessing]
which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given
(released, delivered, and committed) to [all] those who believe [who adhere to
and trust in and rely on Him].
23Now before the faith came, we were
perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith
that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed),
24So that the Law served [a][to us Jews] as
our trainer [our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us] until Christ
[came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing
with God) by and through faith.
25But now that the faith has come, we are
no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood).
26For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of
God through faith.
27For as many [of you] as were baptized
into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed
One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ.
28There is [now no distinction] neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male [b]and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29And if you belong to Christ [are in Him
Who is Abraham's Seed], then you are Abraham's offspring and [spiritual] heirs
according to promise.
The
things that belonged to Abraham belong to us, by faith.
Abraham
was blessed, became righteous and blessed, because he believed God. Because he trusted in Him, not because of the
flesh.
Jer 17:5-9
5 ¶ Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who
trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from
the LORD. 6 "For he will be like a bush in the
desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in
the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. 7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the
LORD And whose trust is the LORD. 8
"For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its
roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be
green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield
fruit.
Romans 4 – justified by faith
Psalms 40:1-5
1 ¶ For the
choir director. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He
inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He
brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set
my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will
see and fear And will trust in the LORD. 4
How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not
turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which
You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
Ps 84:11-12
For the LORD
God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He
withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who
trusts in You!
Isa 51:1-2
¶
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to
the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. 2
"Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in
pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied
him."
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