Who
gave Himself for our sins: What a precious word! Paul reminds the believers that the Lord
Jesus was the only One who really cares for them and loves them. The Lord Jesus demonstrated His love by
giving Himself for our sins. In
Galatians 2:20, Paul expresses his appreciation saying “…the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
This is a very sweet, intimate, and personal realization of what the
Lord Jesus did on our behalf.
It is good to be
reminded how the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us. When the fullness of the time came, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law (Gal 4:4). Existing in the form of God, the Lord Jesus
did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a
slave, becoming in the likeness of men.
He was found in fashion as a man and humbled Himself, becoming obedient
even unto death, and that the death of a cross (Phil. 2:5-8).
The Lord Jesus took no
short cuts. He came as a real, genuine
man. He was made like us in all things
(Heb 2:17), He was tempted in all respects like us, yet without sin (Heb 4:15). Because He was tempted and suffered, He is
able to help those who are being tempted (Heb 2:18). As a Man with the human nature, He can be
merciful and sympathize with us in all things.
And as the very God, He can be faithful to us in all things. He did not know sin but was made sin on our
behalf (2 Cor 5:21).
He bore up our sins in His body on the tree (I Pe
2:24) and died for us.
that: Paul goes on to explain the
reason, the purpose why the Lord gave Himself for our sins.
He
might rescue us out of the present evil age: We do not usually consider that one of the reasons why the Lord Jesus gave
Himself for our sins was to rescue us out of the present evil age.
rescue:
Gk.-to pluck us out
(dictionary meaning of pluck - to move or separate forcibly); Gk.-to choose out
(for one’s self), to select, one person from many; Gk.-to draw us out
(dictionary meaning of draw - to bring or pull out by effort); Gk.-to root us
out (dictionary meaning of root - to remove altogether often by force); Gk.-to
extricate us from (dictionary meaning of extricate - to free or remove from an
entanglement or difficulty, to untangle, to free from what binds or holds
back). Vines expository says the person
who does the rescuing
has a “special interest in the result of his act.” In Gal 1:4, this refers to the act of God in
delivering His believers indicating “His pleasure in the issue of their
deliverance.” Paul’s use of the word
“rescue” gives a feeling of urgency and desperation. The believers in
out of: Some may think that the rescue Paul is speaking of here is out of the world
- out of the affairs of our human life to a kind of isolation and detachment
from normal human involvement. But when
the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He did not ask the Father to
take us out of the world, but that the Father would keep us out of the evil (Jn 17:15). As the Lord Jesus was sent by the Father into the world, so the
Lord has sent us into the world (Jn 17:18). Just as our Lord, we are in the world but not
of the world (Jn 17:16). Our source, strength, supply, energy, and
hope is not from the world but from the Lord Jesus
Himself!
the present: Gk.-to place in or among, to be close at hand, to be upon, to impend
(dictionary meaning of impend is to hover threateningly).
evil: Gk.-full of labors,
annoyances, hardships (pressed and harassed by labors), denotes evil that
causes labor, pain, sorrow, malignant evil (evil in influence). This same word for evil is used in John 17:15
and in Mark 7:23 where it speaks of evil things that proceed from within man
and defile man.
age: Gk.(aion)-an age, a period of time. Differs form world (Gk. kosmos). Kosmos denotes an order, a set form, an orderly
arrangement, an ordered system set up by Satan, an anti-God world system on the
earth formed by Satan (see Recovery Version, I Jn
2:15, note 15). An age (aion) is a part of the world. In Gal 6:14-15, Paul considered
circumcision a part of the world.
According to the context of the book of Galatians, the present evil age
refers to the religious course of the world (see Recovery Version, Gal 1:4,
note 4).
according to
the will of our God and Father: It is the will of God our
Father that we be rescued out of the present evil age.
To
whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.: The more we are rescued out of the present
evil age, the more glory (expression) of God there is.
God’s will and strong desire
expressed through Paul was that the believers would be rescued out of the
present evil religious age. Not only an outward rescue but even more an inward rescue. Under Satan’s cunning, religion is utilized
to attract people to things related to God and yet at the same time keep people
from God Himself. There are many things
in the realm of religion that can become a replacement, substitute, and
counterfeit for the genuine and real experience of the Lord Jesus in our
lives. How we need the Lord to rescue us
out of all the replacements and to rescue us into Himself as everything to us!
Gal
1:4,5
Gal 2:20
Gal 4:4
Heb 2:17, 18
Heb 4:15
Jn 17:15, 16
Gal 6:14, 15
Verses:
*1 Thes. 1:8-9
1 John 5:21
2 Cor 6:16
*John 4:23-24
*Acts 19:18-20 (most important is v19)
*Luke 19:1-10 (most important is v8)
*Matt 8:21-22