Trinity for Norman

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, ^vwalk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^wthe desires of the flesh. 17 For^xthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against theflesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^yto keep you from doing the things you want todo. 18 But if you are ^zled by the Spirit, ^ayou are not under the law. 19 Now ^bthe works of theflesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity,strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^cdivisions, 21 envy,^{Some manuscripts add murder}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f4-">4 drunkenness,orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^dthose who do^{Or make a practice of doing" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f5-">5} suchthings will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But ^ethe fruit of the Spirit is ^flove, joy,peace, patience, ^gkindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 ^hgentleness, ⁱself-control; ^jagainstsuch things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^khave crucified theflesh with its ^lpassions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, ^mlet us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 ⁿLet us notbecome conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy & Peace

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, ^vwalk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^wthe desires of the flesh. 17 For^xthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against theflesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^yto keep you from doing the things you want todo. 18 But if you are ^zled by the Spirit, ^ayou are not under the law. 19 Now ^bthe works of theflesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity,strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^cdivisions, 21 envy,^{Some manuscripts add murder}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f4-">4 drunkenness,orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^dthose who do^{Or make a practice of doing" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f5-">5} suchthings will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But ^ethe fruit of the Spirit is ^flove, joy,peace, patience, ^gkindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 ^hgentleness, ⁱself-control; ^jagainstsuch things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^khave crucified theflesh with its ^lpassions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, ^mlet us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 ⁿLet us notbecome conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Fruit of the Spirit, Part 1

 22 But ^ethe fruit of the Spirit is ^flove, joy,peace, patience, ^gkindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 ^hgentleness, ⁱself-control; ^jagainstsuch things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^khave crucified theflesh with its ^lpassions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, ^mlet us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 ⁿLet us notbecome conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

The Battle Within

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, ^vwalk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^wthe desires of the flesh. 17 For^xthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against theflesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^yto keep you from doing the things you want todo. 18 But if you are ^zled by the Spirit, ^ayou are not under the law. 19 Now ^bthe works of theflesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity,strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^cdivisions, 21 envy,^{Some manuscripts add murder}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f4-">4 drunkenness,orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^dthose who do^{Or make a practice of doing" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f5-">5} suchthings will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

What Motivates Your Faith

Christ Has Set Us Free

5 For ^sfreedom Christ has ^tset us free; ^ustand firm therefore, and do not submit againto ^va yoke of ^wslavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that ^xif you accept circumcision, ^yChrist will be of noadvantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that ^zhe isobligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are ^asevered from Christ, ^byou who would bejustified^{Or counted righteous}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f1-">1 by the law; ^cyou have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith,we ourselves eagerly ^dwait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus ^eneithercircumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but ^fonly faith working throughlove.

7 ^gYou were running well. Who hindered you from obeying ^hthe truth? 8 Thispersuasion is not from ⁱhim who calls you. 9 ^jA little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 ^kIhave confidence in the Lord that you will ^ltake no other view, and ^mthe one who istroubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,^{Or brothers and sisters; also verse 13}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f2-">2 still preach^{Greek proclaim" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/#f3-">3}circumcision, ⁿwhy am I still being persecuted? In that case ^othe offense of the cross hasbeen removed. 12 I wish ^pthose who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. ^qOnly do not use your freedom as anopportunity for the flesh, but through love ^rserve one another. 14 For ^sthe whole law isfulfilled in one word: ^t“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you ^ubite anddevour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

An Allegory of Law & Grace

Example of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it iswritten that Abraham had two sons, ^eone by a slave woman and ^fone by a free woman.23 But ^gthe son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while ^hthe son of the freewoman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: thesewomen are two ⁱcovenants. ^jOne is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she isHagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;^{Some manuscripts For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+4/#f5-">5 she corresponds to the presentJerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But ^kthe Jerusalem above is free, andshe is our mother. 27 For it is written,

^l“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.”

28 Now you,^{Some manuscripts we}" href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+4/#f6-">6 brothers, ^mlike Isaac, ⁿare children of promise. 29 But just as at that time hewho was born according to the flesh ^opersecuted him who was born according to theSpirit, ^pso also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? ^q“Cast out the slave womanand her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but ^rof the free woman.

Returning to Shackles?

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? ¹⁰ You observe days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

¹² Brothers,^[c] I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. ¹³ You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, ¹⁴ and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?^[d] 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. ¹⁸ It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, ¹⁹ my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! ²⁰ I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

At the Fullness of Time, God Sent Forth His Son

²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

 

Sons and Heirs

4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,^[a] though he is the owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. ³ In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles^[b] of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

No Longer Under God's Law?

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ To give a human example, brothers:^[f] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Cur Deus Homo? Why the God Man?

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[d]12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit^[e] through faith.