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Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:16a; 2:20; 3:27; 4:19; 3:2-3, 5, 8, 13-14; 4:4-6, 29; 5:16-18, 22-23, 25; 6:1, 8, 18
The verses in Galatians listed in the Scripture reading above unveil the experience of Christ in four aspects. First, 1:16a says, “To reveal His Son in me.” Then 2:20 says, “It is Christ who lives in me.” Verse 19 of chapter 4 says, “Christ is formed in you.” Then 3:27 says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” After being revealed in us, Christ is now living in us, and He is being formed in us. Moreover, we are clothed with Christ. Christ is our inner life and content, and He is also our outer expression. He is in us as our life, and we are in Him as our expression. In this way we are one with Him.
How can Christ be revealed in us, live in us, and be formed in us, and how can we put Him on? It is only by the Spirit. Apart from the Spirit it is not possible to experience Christ in this way. In addition to showing us that God’s intention, desire, and pleasure are to reveal Christ in us, have Christ living in us, have Christ formed in us, and clothe us with Christ, the book of Galatians speaks much concerning the Spirit. The Spirit in this book has a specific position, because without the Spirit it is not possible for us to experience Christ.
Verse 8 of chapter 3 says, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles out of faith, announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham: ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’” We may consider that the gospel began to be preached at the earliest by John the Baptist. However, this verse tells us that the gospel was preached to Abraham in Genesis 12. The key to understanding Galatians 3 is to know what the blessing is that God announced to Abraham. Verses 13 and 14 say, “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree’; in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” To receive the promise of the Spirit is to receive the Spirit who was promised. Therefore, the blessing that God promised to Abraham is the Spirit, who would be given to the nations in Christ.
These two verses speak of two matters. On the negative side, Christ has redeemed us, and on the positive side, the purpose of redemption is that we may have the Spirit whom God promised. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Then verse 32 adds, “John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him.” Here we have the Lamb and the dove. The Lamb is for redemption, and the dove is the Spirit. On the negative side, the Lamb redeems us to bring us back to God, and on the positive side, the Spirit fulfills God’s eternal purpose. The blessing that God promised to Abraham is that He would give the Spirit to the nations through Christ as the seed of Abraham.
In John 1 the dove descended upon the Lamb. The Lamb signifies redemption, and the dove signifies the life-giving Spirit. This indicates that the life-giving Spirit comes to us on the basis of the redemption of Christ. Since God is triune, when we consider who the Spirit is, we must trace Him back to Christ. Then when we ask who Christ is, we must trace Him back to God. God is the fullness, Christ is the embodiment and expression of the fullness of God (Col. 2:9), and the Spirit is the reality of all that Christ is (John 14:17). Stated another way, God the Father is the source, God the Son is the expression, and God the Spirit is the transmission (2 Cor. 13:14). Therefore, the Spirit is the reality of the Triune God; that is, He is the reality of all that the Triune God is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He has obtained and attained. The central item and blessing of the gospel preached to Abraham was that God would give this Spirit to all the chosen ones.
In this Spirit is God the Father, God the Son, the divine nature, the human nature, and Christ’s incarnation, human living, crucifixion for redemption, resurrection with the power of life, glorification, ascension, enthronement, headship, lordship, kingship, and transcendence. All these are realized in the all-inclusive Spirit. God promised Abraham that He would give such a blessing to all the nations through faith. The nations who believe in Christ as the unique seed of Abraham are blessed by this Spirit. If we realize the Spirit in this way, Galatians 3 will be open to us.
Galatians 3:2 and 3 say, “This only I wish to learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Verse 5 continues, “He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?” Bountifully supplies is one word in the Greek text; it is the verb form of the noun in Philippians 1:19, which speaks of “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” God not only gives us the Spirit but also supplies the Spirit to us bountifully. There is a difference between giving and supplying. To give may be only once for all, but to supply is to give continually. Like a power plant that constantly supplies electricity, God continually supplies the Spirit to us. At the time of Abraham, God promised the Spirit described in Galatians 3. Then after Christ came and accomplished redemption, this promised Spirit was given to us and is now being supplied to us. We have received this Spirit, and now having begun in the Spirit, we need to go on to be perfected in Him.
Galatians 4:4-5 says, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law, that He might redeem those under law that we might receive the sonship.” Verse 5 does not say that God sent forth His Son to redeem us so that we may go to heaven. This is the incorrect gospel that many Christians preach. Rather, Christ redeemed us that we might receive the sonship. Verse 6 continues, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!” The way we know that the Spirit of the Son of God has been sent into us is that there is a cry within us. For us to cry, “Abba, Father!” is a proof that we have the Spirit of the Son of God. Before we believed in Christ, we could not cry, “Abba, Father.” However, after we believed in Jesus, there was immediately a desire within us to cry to God in this way. Now the more we cry in this way, the more we have the sweetness within. This proves that the Spirit of the Son of God has been sent into us. After our new birth by the Spirit, the Spirit of the Son of God is within us.
Someone may wonder whether or not he has the Spirit of the Son of God within him. Once, a classmate of Brother Watchman Nee asked him, “How can I know that I am a child of God and that I have the Spirit of the Son of God?” Brother Nee replied, “I know that you are married. The first time you saw your father-in-law, were you able to call him ‘Father’ with a sense of sweetness?” The classmate answered that he was reluctant to address him in such a manner. Brother Nee asked, “Have you ever called your own father ‘Father’ in a reluctant way?” The classmate replied that it was always with gladness that he called his father “Father.” The reason he could not call his father-in-law “Father” was that this man was not his actual father. God is our Father, not our “Father-in-law.” We do not call him Father reluctantly but willingly and with much gladness. Especially when we face troubles and hardships, we come to God, crying, “O Father! Abba, Father.” The more we call Him in this way, the more comfort and sweetness we sense within. This is a strong proof that we have received the Spirit of the Son of God within us. We are born of the Spirit, and the Spirit of the Son has come into us, crying, “Abba, Father.” Now this all-inclusive, wonderful, marvelous, and rich Spirit is within us.
Verse 29 says, “Just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.” This verse speaks of our birth by the Spirit. When the Spirit came to us, we received Him in the way of birth; that is, He came into us to regenerate us.
Verses 22 and 23 of chapter 5 say, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” All of these items are not different kinds of fruit. Rather, verse 22 speaks of “the fruit,” singular in number. The fruit is one, but the aspects of this fruit are many. The one fruit is Christ expressed through us by the Spirit. These verses list nine items, but there are many more than nine aspects of the one fruit. Lowliness, humility, tenderness, purity, godliness, and holiness are all not listed here. This proves that these nine items are not all-inclusive. They are simply examples of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, which is Christ expressed in us.
Verses 16 through 18 say, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these oppose each other that you would not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Verse 25 continues, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” After being born of the Spirit, and after the Spirit has come into us, we simply need to walk in Him. To walk includes many matters. All that we do and speak and even our entire being must be in this Spirit. As we have life in this Spirit, so we must also walk in Him.
The Spirit has regenerated us, and He is now dwelling in our spirit. Therefore, we simply need to learn one thing, that is, to constantly walk in Him and do everything in Him. Then spontaneously we will bear fruit. To bear fruit is not a work carried out by a branch. Rather, it is the outworking of the inner life within the branch. When we walk in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and sow unto the Spirit, this indwelling Spirit produces fruit. This fruit is the outworking of the inner Spirit in many aspects as the expression of Christ.
Verse 1 of chapter 6 says, “Brothers, even if a man is overtaken in some offense, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, looking to yourself lest you also be tempted.” Even when we do the good work of restoring a fallen brother, we must do it not in our self or soul but in our spirit. Then we will be a spiritual person. All of the verses mentioned above prove that after we are born again in our spirit and the Holy Spirit comes into us, we must walk, live, and do everything in the spirit.
Verse 8 says, “He who sows unto his own flesh will reap corruption of the flesh, but he who sows unto the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life.” We must not only walk in the Spirit but also sow unto the Spirit. Then we will have something of the Spirit to reap as a harvest.
The last verse of Galatians says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (6:18). This verse does not say that the grace of the Lord is with our mind, heart, soul, or body. Rather, the grace of the Lord is with our spirit. This grace is Christ Himself transmitted into us as the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is the grace, and this grace is in our spirit. Now we simply need to set our mind on the spirit (Rom. 8:6), come back to our spirit to touch and enjoy the grace, and exercise our spirit to contact the Lord. When we do this, we will immediately realize that the Lord is within us as the grace for our need.
Because the order of the books of the New Testament was arranged by the Holy Spirit, the sequence of the Epistles is very meaningful. In Romans we have the Spirit of the Son of God for our sonship, making us the sons of God so that Christ can be the Firstborn among many brothers. Then in 1 Corinthians there is the building Spirit to give us the growth in life and build us together as the house, the temple of God. In 2 Corinthians we have the transforming Spirit, because for God’s building there is the need for transformation. The Spirit who builds us together as the house of God also transforms us. Following this, Galatians tells us that we are one with Christ and that He is one with us. Christ is revealed in us, lives in us, and is formed within us, and we put Him on to be clothed with Him. All this is by the Spirit, who is the blessing promised by God to Abraham. When God called Abraham, He preached the gospel to him, promising him that this blessing would be given not only to him and to his descendants but also to all the nations who would believe in the one seed. Through and based upon the redemption that Christ accomplished, the Spirit who was promised to Abraham came as the all-inclusive wonderful One with many items. He first came into our deadened spirit to make it alive, to regenerate us in the spirit. Then He remains in our spirit as the Spirit of the Son of God.
On the negative side, the message of the book of Galatians is that we should not care for the law, that is, for trying to do good. We should not try to love our wife in our self. The more we try to love our wife, the more we may be a terrible husband. We need to forget about trying to keep the law in this way. Rather, each of us should say, “I am dead to the law, even to the law of loving my wife in my self.” Likewise, the sisters should not consider that they need to submit to their husband in their self. Submitting to their husband must not be a law. By her flesh, a sister may be able to submit to her husband today, but tomorrow she may no longer be able. Instead, the sisters should be dead to the law of submitting. We should not care for doing good in our self. We must realize that our flesh is good for nothing but to be put on the cross. We should not try to do good or overcome by our self. We can never overcome by exercising our flesh to accomplish something.
On the positive side, we need to realize that God’s intention, desire, and pleasure are to reveal Christ in us, for Christ to live in us, be formed in us, and be wrought into us as our everything, and for us to be clothed with Christ. This is a matter of dealing not with good but with Christ. For this purpose, we must also realize that the Spirit of the Son of God is now in us. He has been given to us and is now being supplied to us. Therefore, we need not to do good but simply to walk in the Spirit, have our being in the Spirit, sow unto the Spirit, and work in the Spirit. Then there will be the outworking of the expression of Christ, which is the fruit of the Spirit in many aspects, including love, peace, joy, and many items.
The book of Galatians reveals not the demand of the law but the grace in our spirit. This grace is simply Christ as the Spirit for our enjoyment. We must learn to turn back to the Spirit to touch this grace. If we open to this grace, it will become living water, flowing within us for our enjoyment and nourishment. Then everything will come out of this flow. This salvation of God in Christ through the Spirit is the central message of the book of Galatians.
In Galatians the law is versus Christ, and the flesh is versus the Spirit. The law is always related to the flesh, and Christ is related to our spirit. To try to keep the law is to exercise the flesh, but to live by Christ and live out Christ requires us to exercise our spirit. The cross has dealt with the flesh, and the law of the commandments in ordinances has been crucified (Eph. 2:15). By dealing with all negative matters, the cross prepared the way for the Spirit. Now when we are in our spirit, we touch Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ, and Christ becomes our grace.
There are five main items in Galatians: the law, the flesh, Christ, the Spirit, and the cross. The flesh, including the law, has been dealt with on the cross. Now we have Christ as the Spirit. Therefore, we need to walk by the Spirit, live in the Spirit, sow unto the Spirit, and do everything in the Spirit for God’s pleasure. When we are in our spirit, we are one with Christ, and Christ becomes grace to us for our enjoyment and our fruit as His expression through the outworking of the inner Spirit. This is the way of God’s salvation.
