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Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:4, 13-15a, 16a; 2:20a; 3:24, 27-28; 4:19; 5:2, 4
We have seen that in the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul gives us a record of his life, showing us how he experienced the indwelling Christ. After this, in the book of Galatians, he still is speaking about the indwelling Christ but with a specific aspect. This is the matter of religion. We all must realize that religion is mostly composed of four things: teachings or doctrines, regulations, traditions, and ordinances. In any religion there are the teachings, the regulations, the traditions, and ordinances or rituals. All these four things are covered in the book of Galatians.
We also see that in the book of Galatians the law is thoroughly and absolutely dealt with. There are some similar aspects in the books of Romans and Galatians, but Romans does not mention the law as much as Galatians. Paul shows us in Galatians that if we use the law in a wrong way, it becomes an entanglement to us in enjoying Christ. Therefore, the law in this book is fully dealt with in a negative way.
Paul tells us that he was one of the foremost ones in the Jewish religion. As such, he opposed Christ and persecuted the church, while at the same time he kept all the traditions of his forefathers. Hence, we see the religion, the teachings, the law, and the traditions. He also mentions the matter of circumcision two or three times. This is a kind of ordinance. Moreover, he was concerned about the Galatians’ keeping the days, months, seasons, and years. This is all a matter of ordinances. Therefore, we can see in this short book how religion, which includes the teachings, the law, the traditions, and the ordinances, is opposed to the indwelling Christ.
Paul opens the book of Galatians by calling such a religion the present evil age: “Who gave Himself for our sins that He might rescue us out of the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father” (1:4). Every book in the Bible opens in its own specific way. Paul opens Galatians by saying that Christ gave Himself for our sins in order to rescue us from the present evil age. He does not say that Christ gave Himself to rescue us from hell. In a general sense, all Christians usually consider that Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from hell. But here Paul says that Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. This was the age in which Paul was living.
Many Bible translators translate the Greek word for age into “world,” because an age is a part or period of the whole world. All the ages added together equal the world. During the time of the apostle Paul, there was a certain age. If you have ever read the world history of that period of time, you could see that that age had three aspects: Greek philosophy, Roman politics, and the Hebrew religion. The Greeks brought in the philosophy, the wisdom, and the knowledge. The Romans brought in the way to govern and organize a strong administration. Then the Hebrews had the best religion.
Now we can see that what Paul means when he speaks of the present evil age is the Hebrew religion. As far as he was concerned, he was not in Greek philosophy or Roman politics. But he was very much in the Hebrew religion. And his subject in this book is not in the sphere of philosophy or politics. It is fully related to God. Therefore, we must realize that religion is part of the world. Most Christians do not know what Paul meant when he said that Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. They all interpret this word to mean the world in a general way. But this is not the Greek word kosmos. It is the word for age. It is not the world in a general way but the age in which Paul lived. And of course, this had to be the religious world of the Hebrew religion. In Galatians 6:13-15 the apostle Paul also makes it very clear that circumcision, the religious ordinance, was something of the world to which Paul was crucified.
Also, at the time when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatian churches (Galatia was a province of the Roman empire), the saints in those churches had become ensnared in a kind of religion. This means that they had been caught by the present evil age. This is why the apostle Paul wrote this letter. All the believers in Galatia had been caught in a religious realm, which at that time was the present evil age.
It is very meaningful that this letter follows 2 Corinthians. This means that if we would be a person like Paul, living by Christ and taking Him as our person, we must be aware of religion. Whenever we become religious, we become ensnared in the present evil age. If we look at today’s Christians, we can see that so many of them are simply in a kind of religion. They have the teachings, the regulations, the traditions, and the ordinances. In the past I have mentioned several times what a religion is. A religion is the act of doing things for God without the presence of Christ. If we worship God without the presence of Christ, that is a religion. If we work for God without the presence of Christ, that is a religion. If we try to be a good person without the presence of Christ, that is a religion. Anything for God without the presence of Christ is a religion. Religion is simply to worship God, to work for God, to keep the law, and to improve ourselves and do so many good things religiously without the presence of Christ. It may be good, but it is still a religion because it is without Christ.
The Jewish religion never taught anyone to worship idols, to commit sin against God, or to be evil. Rather, it always taught others to worship God sincerely, to serve God faithfully, and to behave honestly. Surely this is good. But this is what the apostle Paul called religion. He was the foremost in such a religion, keeping the law, keeping his forefathers’ tradition, and observing all the ordinances. But if we would enjoy the indwelling Christ, we must beware of all these religious things. This is why Paul said that Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. There is no doubt that the present evil age of the apostle Paul was the typical Jewish religion, a religion supposedly founded according to the verses of the Bible. Therefore, if we would realize the real experience and enjoyment of the indwelling Christ, we must beware of anything religious.
Of course, I realize that this word does not sound right to religious ears. But if we read our Bible in Galatians, we can see that religion is not a positive word. Religion persecuted the church. Religion damaged the church. Religion opposed Christ. This is why we need to be rescued from all the religious teachings, all the regulations, all the traditions, and all the ordinances. This is what it means to be rescued out of the present evil age.
Paul told us that he was exceedingly zealous in his forefathers’ religion: “You have heard of my manner of life formerly in Judaism, that I persecuted the church of God excessively and ravaged it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my race, being more abundantly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers” (1:13-14). But then something happened to Paul, and he expresses it in this way: “But when it pleased God...to reveal His Son in me” (vv. 15a, 16a). When Christ is revealed in us, all the religious matters simply fall off. Paul was so zealous for his religion, but on the way to Damascus a voice came from the heavens and smote him to the earth. He was blinded. Actually, he was already religiously blind, but he did not know it. Now his blindness became exposed.
This is the case of so many dear ones. They thought they were clear, but they did not realize that they were religiously blinded. Then one day the Lord touched them and exposed their blindness. Paul had been so clear. He knew where to go, and he took the lead to take others there, but now he needed someone to lead him. He did not know where to go. He was made blind by Christ. But, praise the Lord, this blindness eventually became a real vision. Paul became blind to religion, yet he became clear with a vision concerning Christ.
From that time, Paul began to see Christ. It had pleased God to reveal Christ into him, and he was rescued out of religion. This is why he said that Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us out of the present evil age. Now he is writing that the Galatians might obtain the same deliverance. They had been trapped in a snare of religion and needed deliverance from religion. Now it is not a matter of keeping the traditions but of having Christ revealed in us. And it is not a matter of keeping the law but of having Christ living in us. “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (2:20). Christ should not only be revealed in us but also live in us. Christ has to be both our life and our living.
Paul made it clear to the Galatians that there should be no more religion, no more law, no more regulations, no more traditions, and no more ordinances. They were not baptized into religion but into Christ (3:27). And as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. It is all a matter of Christ. It is not a matter of keeping the days, months, seasons, and years. That is religion; that is not Christ.
Where are we today? Are we in the realm of religion, or are we in Christ? I have to tell you the truth that very few Christians know the difference between religion and Christ. In a sense, all parents like their children to be religious. However, they neglect to see that their children care for Christ. They would rather see them so formal, regulated, fundamental, and scriptural. If this is the case, then the book of Galatians was written for them. Christ gave Himself for our sins that He might rescue us out of religion. This is the message of this book.
We all must be rescued from being religious. Suppose we come to the meeting so quietly and piously, yet the Christ within wants to shout Hallelujah! Would we shout with Him? We like to be so quiet, but the indwelling Christ wants to be released. Otherwise, we simply become a cage to Him.
The problem is that we are a religious person, but the indwelling Christ wants to be another person in us. For Christ to be our life, we must learn to take Him as our person. To do this we must learn to forget about everything. We have to forget about being religious and good. God had no intention of giving us a religion. God’s intention was to use the law as a child-conductor to bring us to Christ. “So then the law has become our child-conductor unto Christ that we might be justified out of faith” (v. 24). In ancient times among the Jews, the parents sent their children to the teachers with a servant as a conductor. Paul used this as an illustration to show us that God used the law as a child-conductor to bring us to Christ. But the problem is that the Jewish people would not care for Christ. They stayed with the conductor.
Today the principle is the same. So many so-called Christians do not care for Christ. They care for many religious traditions and ordinances. Now the Lord in His recovery is bringing us back to the beginning. That is, He is bringing us back to Himself as the pure Christ.
Christ first is revealed into us, and then He begins to live in us. Third, He must be formed in us. “My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you” (4:19). A mother’s pregnancy is a good illustration of this. At the start of a pregnancy, what is within the mother has no form. But after nine months, the pregnancy is fully formed into a human image. Christ is in us; we are all so clear about this. But the problem is that He has not been formed in us. To have Christ formed in us, we must take Him as our person. Then He will saturate every part of our being with Himself. This means that we must stop our thinking, our choosing, our loving, and our likes and dislikes. But we do not stop just to stop. We stop in order to turn to the indwelling Christ so that He may be all these things within us. If we will do this, gradually, bit by bit, the indwelling Christ will saturate our being in a fine way. Eventually, He will take over our whole being. This means that He will be formed in us.
By the time Paul gets to chapter 5, he tells us that if we are still religious, Christ will profit us nothing: “Behold, I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing” (v. 2). And not only that, but if we continue to be religious, we are brought to naught, separated from Christ: “You have been brought to nought, separated from Christ, you who are being justified by law” (v. 4).
What does it mean to be separated from Christ? We may use today’s electrical terms as an illustration. To be separated means to be insulated. Electricity may be installed in a building, but if we do not apply the switch, we are insulated and cut off from the flow of electricity. Christ is installed within us, but we must go to the switch. We must turn to our spirit to switch Him on. As long as we stay in our mind, we are insulated from Christ. Christ is within us, but He does not profit us, because we are insulated from Him. Darby’s translation says, “Ye are deprived of all profit from the Christ.” What deprives us from the profit of Christ? It is simply religion.
Regardless of whether we have Christ within us, if we still live by our wisdom, our thinking, or our emotion, this means that the religious snare has deprived us of all the benefits of the indwelling Christ. This is why Paul calls religion the present evil age. It is evil because it keeps me away from Christ. God has chosen me and called me to be baptized into Christ. God has attached me to the anointed One. But the subtle, religious snare has deprived me of all the benefits of the indwelling Christ. This is really the evil age, the age that keeps people away from the real enjoyment of the indwelling Christ. But, praise the Lord, Christ gave Himself in order to rescue us from religion! Now He is bringing us back to Himself and is rescuing us from the present evil age.
