In my recent blog posts, I have been approaching the subject of sanctification by an indirect route. This was certainly true with 1 Corinthians, and to a lesser extent with Romans chapter 8. I know that the words ‘law’ and ‘obedience’ can evoke sometimes traumatic emotions in people; often dictated by the kind of atmosphere in the home we grew up in – by the relationship we had with our father, or our parents. Such traumatic emotions can become effective stumbling blocks to experiencing the Father’s love, and the joy of the Spirit, in the matter of sanctification. Being ‘under law’, we are finished with! Being obedient to the Father, we are not finished with. But OBEDIENCE AND LOVE BELONG TOGETHER, in our life of faith. We need to be in a place where we do what we know pleases the Father! Jesus said in John “I always do what pleases him” (8,29) and “my food is to do his will” (4,34). That’s where, by the grace of God, we need to be. We will not get there, unless we first KNOW AND BELIEVE the love the Father has for us (1 Jn. 4,16). For that to happen, difficult emotions need to be dealt with, through the renewal of our minds, leading to a renewal of our emotional lives. This is what is behind the rather unorthodox approach to Galatians 5, which follows:
THE HOUSEHOLD OF HEAVEN
Imagine a household: You enter as a guest. You immediately become aware of the atmosphere of love that fills the house. Children are secure in their parents´ love. And parents speak to them with courtesy and respect. There is joy and laughter – and much of it! There is never any cursing or swearing. There is order; yet a sense of freedom. It is an atmosphere where you know you would grow and thrive as a human being.
Such a household we would all like to belong to. Yet even at its very best, such a household is a very imperfect counterpart to the «Household of heaven». [And I use that expression advisedly, knowing that it’s not really in scripture. When Paul mentions the household of God in 1 Tim. 3,15, he is talking about the church.]
When we become Christians, we are drawn into the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three exist together as one God, in perfect harmony of love and purpose. We become members so to speak of this «Household of heaven», and gradually our lives begin to grow, and to be energised by, and to be changed by our participation in this fellowship. More and more our lives experience the love of God, and it affects the way we treat other people.
HOUSEHOLDS AND LIFESTYLES
In Galatians chapter 5, Paul is juxtapositioning two lifestyles; the lifestyle characterised by the deeds of the flesh, and the lifestyle characterised by the fruit of the spirit. We could visualise them as two different households:
Emanating from them are two different spirits. In the one household your humanity is diminished, your integrity as a human being is diminished, you are diminished. In the other Household, you are a child growing; always growing; loved to bits by the members of the Household: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! You are permitted to be a child; making mistakes, but always forgiven and always restored and always brought into the midst of the fellowship again.
Living in this last Household, is what Paul would term as living under Grace!
THE CONFLICT
Living with the Holy Trinity therefore is living under Grace!
Now, the other household; where it is natural to live according to the deeds of the flesh, is rightly described as the household of sin. Paul does not use the word devil in either Romans or Galatians (though he does elsewhere), but Jesus was quick to identify the father of sin as the devil. Jn. 8,44
Also, there can be no doubt of where we belong, of where our true home is, being incorporated into Christ.
Nevertheless, as Christians we often find ourselves tempted to visit the other household, where the deeds of the flesh are practised. We are in a conflict!
If we do go for a visit, and experience this alternative atmosphere of fear and condemnation, we find in addition that there are locks on the doors and we can’t get out. We need help from outside to break free from this prison. This is indeed how Jesus describes sin:
“He who commits sin is a slave to sin. ……..” So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” (Jn. 8,34-36).
In contrast, there are no locks in the house which has now become our home; we are free to come and go as we please.
And Jesus says:
“The slave does not abide in the house forever; but a son abides forever” (Jn. 8,35) – and sons and daughters, you and I have become!
Why do we experience this conflict? Having become Christ´s, are we not now free from sin? The answer is that although it is true that “our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6,6) – and that “we who are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”, as Paul says in Gal. 5,24 – NEVERTHELESS: Christians experience that sin can be very much alive in them! This is because although JESUS HAS SET US FREE FROM SIN, that victory needs to be worked out in practice in our lives!
All Christians experience this conflict, and they experience it as long as they live in their mortal bodies. Such is the challenge we live with.
WHAT IS NOT THE SOLUTION!
Paul would say: Don’t even think about trying to keep the law!
Why? Because if you attempt to keep the law, you will bear fruit not for God, but for DEATH! Rom. 7,5
“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.””
Gal. 4,30
In Paul’s allegory in chapter 4, this is a reference to Hagar. What Paul means here is, to paraphrase: Have nothing to do with law-keeping, because this is not God’s way!
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
It is the free woman, Sarah – the barren one (we see ourselves here!) who will bear abundant fruit:
“For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.””
Gal. 4,27
Sarah represents life in the Spirit!
Paul continues:
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5,1
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Gal. 5,6
Faith and love – held together in one sentence. A third word so important to Paul is hope (see above in Gal. 5,5). He brings them together; sometimes just two, sometimes all three: See 1 Cor. 13,13; Col. 1,4-5; 1 Thess. 1,3; 2 Thess. 1,3.
THESE ARE 3 MIGHTY SPIRITUAL FORCES, ALL GENERATED BY THE SPIRIT; THEY COME FROM THE HOUSEHOLD WE NOW BELONG TO: WHEN HELD TOGETHER, THEY ARE THE DYNAMIC, THE DRIVING FORCE, THE POWER BEHIND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE!
IN THE COMPANY OF THESE 3, THE HOLY SPIRIT GENERATES A FOURTH – JOY!
If you have these 4 in your life, YOU CANNOT BE BEATEN, BECAUSE YOU ARE FILLED WITH GOD HIMSELF!
So what does this mean?
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Gal. 5,16
Walking in the Spirit must mean walking in the company of these 4 companions: faith, love, hope and joy! Let’s not ever let them out of our sight. Let´s stick so close to them.
And keep this focus!
THROUGH LOVE SERVE ONE ANOTHER! Gal. 5,13
Do I know the wonderful fruits of the Spirit off by heart? YES I DO! They are:
“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Gal. 5,22-23
And I frequently have to remind myself of them; especially if I have performed rather badly!
LAST WORDS ON SANCTIFICATION
1. We are set apart to be a holy people. We need to pursue holiness (Heb. 12, 14). We need to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us” Phil. 2,12-13.
2. The process of sanctification is for all of us, lifelong.
3. Please don’t get uptight about this! The tree doesn’t get all uptight about bearing fruit! It’s just a tree! The job of the tree is to stay well rooted in the ground, and by streams of living water. You and I, gradually will see the fruits of the Spirit in our lives as we daily “Sanctify the Lord Jesus in our hearts” (1 Peter 3,15 KJV) – that means “Set him on high as Lord!” in our hearts.
4. Stay joyful! I mean with the joy that comes from the Spirit. This means staying filled with the Spirit!
WHAT IS COMING:
I have so far written almost exclusively about us in our relationship with God. But aside from this vertical dimension, the Christian life also has a horizontal dimension: The fellowship with other believers. In my next blog posts therefore I want to look at the church and the believer in the church.