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General
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons of the Book
The Potential Crises
of the Truth of the Gospel
1. The false believers premeditated to change the gospel (Gal. 1:7).
2. The true preacher of the gospel may change (Gal. 1:8).
3. Men may compromise in order to please men (Gal. 1:10).
4. The false brothers watched for their chance to deceive others (Gal.
2:4).
5. The true apostles did not dare to practice the truth because they
feared men (Gal. 2:12-13).
How to Know the
False Teachers
1. Their motives:
a. they wanted to please men (Gal. 1:10).
b. they wanted to bring believers into
bondage (Gal. 2:4).
c. they were not for good and wanted to
exclude believers (Gal. 4:17).
d. they wanted believers to be zealous for
them (Gal. 4:17).
e. they hindered believers from obeying the
truth (Gal. 5:7).
f. they desired to make a good showing in
the flesh (Gal. 6:12).
2. Their actions:
a. they troubled the church (Gal. 1:7;
5:10).
b. they changed the gospel of Christ (Gal.
1:7).
c. they secretly brought in and came in by
stealth to spy out the liberty of believers in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:4).
d. they persecuted those who strictly kept
the truth (Gal. 4:29; 5:11).
f. they boasted in the flesh (Gal. 6:13).
The Way of Justification
1. It is not by the works of the law (Gal. 2:16, 21; 3:11; 4:4).
2. But by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16; 3:8, 24).
3. In Christ (Gal. 2:17).
In Christ
1. The way to be in Christ:
a. faith (Gal. 2:16; 5:6).
b. Being baptized into (Gal. 3:27).
2. What we receive in Christ:
a. justification (Gal. 2:17).
b. liberty (Gal. 2:4).
c. putting on Christ (Gal. 3:27).
d. believers are all one (Gal. 3:28).
The Way of Living
1. Though men shall live by the works of the law (Gal. 3:12), men cannot
keep the whole law (Gal. 5:3).
2. Only when I died to the law will I live to God (Gal. 2:19).
3. Only when I have been crucified with Christ will Christ live in me
(Gal. 2:20).
4. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God (Gal. 2:20).
The Proofs that Men
Are Justified by Faith instead of the Works
1. It is proved by the experiences of believers (Gal. 3:1-5).
2. It is proved by the records in the Bible (Gal. 3:6-14).
3. It is proved by God’s covenant of promise (Gal. 3:15-18).
4. It is proved by that the law cannot make men live (Gal. 3:19-22).
5. It is proved by what faith has accomplished (Gal. 3:23-29).
6. It is proved by that God sent forth His Son when the fullness of the
time had come (Gal. 4:1-7).
The Sonship
1. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26).
2. We are redeemed to receive the adoption as sons (Gal. 4:5).
3. We have the Spirit of His Son and cry out, "Abba, Father!"
(Gal. 4:6).
4. We are heirs of God through Christ and could inherit the possessions
(Gal. 4:7).
The
1. Being free from keeping the regulations and ceremonies under the law
(Gal. 3:23-25; 4:1-7, 9, 21-31).
2. Being free from the curse and condemnation of the law (Gal. 3:13; See
3. Being free from the bondage of false idols and Satan (Gal. 4:8).
4. Being free from the constraint of sins and the hopeless in overcoming
sin (Gal. 3:21-22; See
Believers and the
Spirit
1. Believers receive the Spirit by faith (Gal. 3:2, 5, 14).
2. The working of the Spirit in men:
a. He makes men be
born again (Gal. 4:29; 5:25).
b. He leads men to
begin (Gal. 3:3).
c. He makes men cry
out, "Abba, Father!" (Gal. 4:6).
d. He leads men to
walk (Gal. 5:16, 18, 25).
e. He is against the
flesh (Gal. 5:17).
f. He bears the
fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
3. Through the Spirit eagerly believers wait for the hope of
righteousness (Gal. 5:5).
4. He who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life
(Gal. 6:8).
The Five
Exhortations of Justification by Faith
1. Do not turn to be slaves (Gal. 4:8-11).
2. Be zealous in receiving the servants of Christ (Gal. 4:12-20).
3. Hear the true meaning of the law (Gal. 4:21-31).
4. Stand firm in the liberty of Christ (Gal. 5:1-6).
5. Obey the truth (Gal. 5:7-12).
Believers and
Circumcision
1. If a believer is circumcised:
a. Christ will profit him nothing (Gal.
5:2).
b. he is a debtor to
keep the whole law (Gal. 5:3).
c. he has become estranged from Christ (Gal.
5:4).
d. he has fallen from grace (Gal 5:4).
2. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision:
a. avails anything, but faith working
through love (Gal. 5:6).
b. avails anything, but a new creation (Gal.
6:15).
3. The reason why they preach circumcision:
a. they are afraid of suffering persecution
(Gal. 5:11; 6:12).
b. they desire to make a good showing in the
flesh (Gal. 6:12).
c. they may boast in others’ flesh (Gal.
6:13).
Believers and the
Law
1. Believers have broke off the relation with the law:
a. we died to the law (Gal. 2:19).
b. we have been redeemed us from the curse
of the law (Gal. 3:13).
c. we are not under the law (Gal. 5:18).
d. we are not in the bondage of the law
(Gal. 4:9; 5:1).
2. The law that believers should keep:
a. the law of love (Gal. 5:13-14).
b. the law in the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
c. the law of Christ (Gal. 6:1-2).
The Principle of
Believers’ Walkings
1. Walk in love (Gal. 5:13-15).
2. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25).
3. Walk in the law of Christ (Gal. 6:1-10).
4. Walk by the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:11-18).
Believers and the
Flesh
1. Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh (Gal. 5:13).
2. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another (Gal. 5:17).
3. The works of the flesh are evident (Gal. 5:19-21).
4. He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption (Gal.
6:8).
5. How to not fulfill the lust of the flesh:
a. walk in the
Spirit (Gal. 5:16).
b. have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5:24).
How to Deal with
Each other among Believers
1. But through love serve one another (Gal. 5:13).
2. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one
another (Gal. 5:26).
3. Restore a man who sins in a spirit of gentleness (Gal. 6:1).
4. Bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2).
5. Share in all good things with him who teaches (Gal. 6:6).
6. As we have opportunity, let us do good to those who are of the household
of faith (Gal. 6:10).
Believers and the
Cross
1. I have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20).
2. Before their eyes Jesus Christ is clearly portrayed among them as
crucified (Gal. 3:1).
3. Christ hang on a tree, having become a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
4. The cross is disliked by men (Gal. 5:11).
5. We have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal.
5:24).
6. We are not afraid of suffering persecution for the cross of Christ
(Gal. 6:12).
7. Boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14).
8. The world has been crucified to me (Gal.
6:14).
9. I have been crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren