The motivation of the flesh is fear, fear of man (6:12-13). Those motivated in such a way find their rest in a life of comfort and take pride in numbers: they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. Galatians concludes with a wonderful statement of Paul, one who was motivated by the Spirit (6:14-18).
In v14 the “world” represents the entire
system of values and motivations in the kingdom ruled by the god of this age
(2 Cor. 4:4), the course of which is according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Eph.
2:2). It is passing away, and the
lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 Jn.
2:17). Jesus, in the cross and empty tomb,
did not just “take a stand” against the world; He destroyed the one who was the
power behind it, and rescued those who had lived in fear of what Satan could do.
Thus, unlike those of the world who boast in
the flesh, Paul’s boast was solely in the cross of Jesus Christ. In Christ, Paul had become a new creation. By the cross, the world had been crucified to
him. What did that mean? On the one hand, the world could no longer
lay claim to Paul; he no longer boasts in the flesh. On the other hand, as a new creation, he no
longer desires to live according to the world.
Read Phil. 3:3-7 where Paul testifies that what things were gain to
me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
And then Phil. 3:10 where his life goal is to be conformed to His
death.
Truly, Paul boasts in the cross of
Christ. But not just in words. His life backed up this testimony. He bears in his body the stigmata, the
marks of the Lord Jesus.
·
The marks are from “imprisonment, chains,
scourging, blows, stoning, and every kind of injurious treatment which he had incurred
in bearing testimony to the gospel.” (Quotes are from Warren Wiersbe.) They are not the “stigmata” some have
imagined, that Paul had marks on his hands and feet and side identical to what
Jesus had.
·
This is not fleshly boasting because “stigmata” “literally
denotes the marks with which barbarian slaves or fugitives or malefactors, were
usually branded.” While these marks indicated
shame and disgrace to the world, to Jesus Christ they were marks by which he
honors his most distinguished soldiers.
I have always been encouraged, and challenged, by Paul’s proof of
apostleship in 2 Cor. 10-12. He does not
boast about the large crowds who heard him preach or the numbers of churches he
started. Instead, he goes through an
amazing litany of afflictions and sufferings he encountered in his
ministry. That is boasting, not in the
flesh but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is on this basis that Paul says to those
who trouble the Galatian Christians, from now on let no one trouble me!
No comments:
Post a Comment