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Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies John 11:25 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, January 15, 2026
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Finishing as You Started [1] (Galatians #24) Bible Verse: Galatians 3:2-3 (Daily Prayer Bible) " I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?" Message:
In classical education, students studied Rhetoric as a primary subject: the art of speaking and writing to persuade. Paul shows either some education, here, or a natural grasp of a persuasive technique. First, you ask a question which the listener must, or will probably, answer “yes”. (And if you guessed that this is where the expression “rhetorical question” came from . . . go to the head of the class!) Then, you ask a second question, whose answer logically follows (or seems to follow) from the first. Third, you ask a powerful emotional question designed to make the listener want to take action based on the second.
Peter preaching Pentecost
So the first question Paul asks — “Did you receive the Spirit by works of law or by faith?” — is one which he has confidence that the listeners would answer “by faith.” (This rhetorical question works fine in writing, today, but the presentation would have been primarily spoken in 50 A.D. Paul’s epistles were transmitted by having someone read them aloud, as few could read Greek and fewer still read it well.)
Paul knew the answer. He would have known, for a fact, that the churches of Galatia were convicted by faith, because he had personally founded the churches. The original members had received the Spirit by listening to him and believing what he said; and those who had joined after he had left would necessarily have been convinced by listening to the original members, and believing.
The congregants were primarily Gentile and thus found Christ without any exposure to the Law at all. Perhaps they knew a few odd habits of the Jews in their town, but they were not educated in the Law of Moses and certainly did not try to follow it. But even Jewish members would have to realize that their salvation had not come from Judaism, but from faith in Christ. If their Judaism had been sufficient for them, they would not have converted in the first place.
The phrase “the law and the prophets” was common in Judaism of the day and was used by Jesus. We see easily that the prophecy of the Old Testament has been fulfilled, for the prophets promised a Messiah. When viewed in this light, it is easier to grasp what Jesus meant when He said He has fulfilled the Law. (Matthew 5:
Then Paul, having established the necessity of faith in the forefront of the listeners’ minds, asks if they are stupid enough to think they can complete in the flesh what was started in the spirit. One can imagine the listeners practically stumbling over themselves to say, “No! I’m not that stupid!”
To be continued . . .
Meditation : Prayer : et me not forget my prayers as I go out into the world. Holy Spirit, be with me, and let me praise you and remember you in my every action and thought, for the entire day long. In Christ’s name I ask this, Amen. |
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