How do you identify yourself? (EXAMPLES:a jock, a nerd, an anime kid, a good ole country boy)
“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”
Galatians 3:26-29(NLT)
It does not matter who you are. We all have different ways that we choose to identify ourselves by in this world. In the same breath of me being a cabinet maker, I’m also Berlin’s husband. I’m a bit of a nerd, but I also love kayaking and playing disc golf.
In our world there will be categories you could put me in. Whether thats the category that I fit in politically because of the beliefs I have, or the categories based on what I do for a living. We all have identity markers and usually identity markers separate us from each other. Cole is not a band kid, but Alethia is. That separates the two. But Jesus has been at this work of tearing down walls that divide us, in order to bring us together.
“Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”
Galatians 4:1-7(NLT)
There are three things I want us to dive into tonight based on this text:
1.)Paul immediately begins talking about the inheritance a child receives. In context he is talking about as sons and daughters of God because of what Jesus did for us, we will receive an inheritance.
What do you think that inheritance is? Is it something we receive on this earth or after we die and go to heaven?
2.)Paul says that even though we are children of God, “we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.” In 1 John 2:15-17, John says: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away.”
What is the world? Do you believe there is something spiritual, but not of God, going on in the world? How do you know you are a slave to the world?
3.) In verse 6, Paul says: “God has sent his the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.”
What happens when the Spirit enters into our hearts? Do we feel any different? What are some characteristics of someone who has the Spirit in their heart?
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22-23
Even though we all have various ways that we identify ourselves, there is one identity that must always stand high above all the others. That identity that is most important in our lives is our identity as God’s sons and daughters. What makes this identity different than all the others is that this identity is a gift. You did nothing to earn it. Where as with many of the other identities you carry, you earned them somehow. You are deemed a band kid because you play in the band. You are on the soccer team because you play soccer. Being a child of God is a gift, and it is the identity that will whether you like it or not have an effect on every other in deity that you have.
Because you are a child of God, the Spirit now lives inside of you and is slowly over time changing who you are, the Spirit is changing your character. So the effect of the Spirit then changing who you are, means you no live as you once did. You live all of your life differently no matter the cost.
And it will cost. Whether it means you have to take the high road, or be more patient than others. It may mean you going out of your way to be friends with a person in your class that no one has given the time of day. Whatever it is, and wherever you are, you must live differently because of who you are.
What is a personality trait that I need the Spirit to change this week? What are some real opportunities you have to live differently this week?
This lesson was taught on September 27th, 2023
By Austin Neil Gregory
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