In conclusion of this study, I wanted to provide an overview of Galatians and what we learned.  I hope you enjoyed this study and discovered some things about the heart of God that you didn’t know before.  I sure did.  And I have a better understanding of my relationship with the Holy Spirit and how he helps me stay free!

There is only one gospel – the gospel of the Messiah.  It was the will of God for Jesus to give himself for our sins and rescue us.  Jesus gave himself willingly as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, to save and sanctify us.  Any different gospel is no gospel at all.  Anyone preaching a different gospel is to be condemned.  Those who are called to preach, teach, and lead should be appointed by God to do so and should not ever seek to please men but only to please God.  Though there may be those who try to distort this gospel by preaching a man-made religion, we are responsible to discern the truth as spoken in His Word.  We can trust Him to bring revelation to us if we seek Him.  It pleases Him to do the work of transforming us and he does this through the revelation of Jesus in us.  Our transformation is a testimony of God’s grace to others.

It is the main aim of Satan to obscure the cross.  The crucified Christ was the means of Satan’s total defeat.  If the cross is obscured, we no longer enjoy the provision of God.  We can never be justified by works, observing religious rituals, or “being good enough”.  We are only justified by our faith in Jesus Christ; faith that we have been declared free of sin, the guilt of sin, and the penalty of sin.  Our new life is empowered by this faith in the Son of God who loves us so much that he gave himself for us and dispenses his life into ours.  We receive everything by faith.  The work that the Holy Spirit does within us begins when we have faith in his promise to do it.  We do not receive the Holy Spirit as a result of obeying any requirements but rather as a result of hearing the message of salvation and believing it.  We are not perfected by the flesh or by works of the flesh.  We will never reach spiritual maturity by our own doing.  We are perfected only by the Holy Spirit working in us.

The Law was given for a time to make us conscious of the sinfulness of sin and show us our need for a Savior.  The Law did not supersede the covenant that God made with Abraham.  There is no law that we can keep that will bring us new life.  The Law kept us imprisoned until faith could be revealed and set us free.  It is by faith that we enter into new life – the Law is no longer in force.  Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us.  We have all become true children of God by our faith in Jesus.  It is faith that immerses us into Jesus; we are covered and clothed with his anointing.

Our freedom does not give us the freedom to sin but rather to live a life free from a sinful nature.  As we yield fully and freely to the Holy Spirit, he helps us to turn from living from the flesh (self-life) to living from the Spirit (Spirit-life).  He empowers us to love and serve, changing our desires and equipping us with all we need to overcome temptations to sin.  When we walk habitually in step with him, seeking him in all things, and are responsive to his guidance we are able to abandon the cravings of the self-life and live fully from the Spirit.  The fruit produced in us as a result of his presence in us is divine love in all its expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of Spirit.

The only thing that matters is living by the transforming power of our new creation life.  This transformation is progressive.  The transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us will empower us to love.  Love will empower us to serve and care for one another and unite as one in Christ.  We do not earn salvation by works, but we all have a work to accomplish assigned to us by God.  If we seek to fulfill that whole heartedly, we will find joy and satisfaction in what we do with no temptation to compare ourselves or our works to others.  It is important that we take advantage of every opportunity to bless others.  Harvest will always come.  If we plant seeds of corruption, we will reap self-destruction.  But if we plant seeds of the Spirit, we will reap the everlasting fruit of eternal life.  We must not grow weary or get discouraged in doing good and planting good seeds, harvest will come at the appropriate time. 

“Finally, my beloved ones – may the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, be flowing in your spirit.  So shall it be!” (Gal. 6:18 TPT)