Called to BE Free: through the Spirit
Mark my words!
By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus…the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:2,5-6
Paul was on a roll: Mark my words! (5:2), you foolish Galatians! (3:1). They were in Christ by faith; so are we. They were set free by Christ for freedom (5:1); so are we. They were called to be free (5:13), as are we. High time we, along with those Galatians, put our own personal exclamation marks on Paul’s words.
Why throw righteousness into the freedom conversation (5:5)? It’s obvious to Paul that freedom and righteousness go hand-in-hand. Once in Christ, you are declared righteous and set free. Yet both attributes continue to develop, peaking into the perfection for which we hope at the end of time. How? The Greek text tells us to “expect” or “anticipate” (eagerly await) the Spirit to help us understand how to be free as we become more righteous. The Holy Spirit is integral to the process.
Trust Jesus. If He wraps a rule to love Him in a command: “If you love me, you will obey what I command”(John 14:15), He will not leave us without the perfect solution to the inevitable dilemma: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17).
The only thing better than being set free by Christ (5:1) is being set free with a helper, the Holy Spirit, to “guide you into all truth”, to “speak only what he hears” in the Godhead, to “bring glory” to Jesus (John 16:13-14).
The Spirit and the sinful nature in you are in a constant state of tension, in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (5:17). Paul lets us in on the secret: live by the Spirit (5:16), be led by the Spirit(5:18). Then we will be free to do the only thing that counts: lovingly express our faith (5:6), in the power of the Spirit within. That’s our righteousness growing.
Nancy P
