Message One

The Focal Point of the Divine Revelation
in the Book of Galatians

Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:15-16; 2:20; 4:19; 3:26-28; 6:15

1. The most crucial and mysterious matter revealed in the Bible is that God’s ultimate intention is to work Himself in Christ into His chosen people—Eph. 3:17a; 4:4-6:
   1. God’s desire to work Himself into our being is the focal point of the divine revelation in the Scriptures—Rom. 8:9-10, 6, 11.
   2. The book of Galatians reveals that God’s intention is for Christ to be wrought into His chosen people that they may become sons of God for His corporate expression—1:15-16; 2:20; 4:19; 3:26; 6:10, 16.
2. The book of Galatians presents a comparison of God’s two economies—His Old Testament economy and His New Testament economy—3:22-29:
   1. The word for God’s Old Testament economy is law, and the word for God’s New Testament economy is Christ—v. 24.
   2. Paul experienced a genuine conversion, a real turn from God’s old economy of law to His new economy of Christ—1:13-16.
   3. Christ, the Spirit, the new creation, and our spirit are the four basic things covered in this book as the underlying thought of God’s New Testament economy—2:20; 3:2; 6:15, 18.
   4. God’s New Testament economy is to dispense Himself as the processed and consummated Triune God into our being to be our life and our everything to make Himself one with us and us one with Him so that we may express Him in a corporate way for eternity—Rom. 8:10, 6, 11; 12:4-5; Rev. 21:2, 9-10.
   5. It is not God’s intention to have a group of good people; God wants many sons who are one with Him organically and who possess His life and nature and who thus can be members of the Body of Christ—Rom. 8:14; 12:4-5.
   6. God’s New Testament economy is the dispensing of Himself into His chosen and redeemed people to make them His sons; therefore, sonship is the focal point of God’s economy—Gal. 4:4-6.
   7. As we read the book of Galatians, we need to see that God’s New Testament economy is to put us into Christ and to impart Himself as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit into us to produce an organic union—an organic oneness in life—between us and the Triune God so that we may become His corporate expression—3:27-28; 4:19; 6:10, 16.
3. Galatians reveals that Christ is versus religion with its law—2:16, 20:
   1. Galatians deals with the law given by Moses and with the religion formed according to this law—4:21; 1:13-14.
   2. The law, the base of Judaism, has been terminated and replaced by Christ—Rom. 10:4; Gal. 2:16.
   3. The book of Galatians deals strongly with deviation from Christ by going back to the law—5:1-2, 4.
   4. The desire of God’s heart cannot be satisfied by our efforts to keep the law; His desire can be satisfied only if we remain with Christ and live Him out—Phil. 1:21a.
   5. To hold to the law after Christ has come is against the basic principle of God’s New Testament economy—Gal. 4:21; 5:4:
      1. It is rebellion against God’s economy to snatch people from Christ and to bring them back to the law.
      2. Since Christ has come, the function of the law has been terminated; therefore, Christ must replace the law in our life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose—3:23-25.
   6. The three main negative things dealt with in Galatians are the law, the flesh, and religion; these three go together, for when we are under the law, we are involved with both the flesh and religion—2:16; 3:3; 1:13-14; 6:14.
   7. Paul’s burden in Galatians was to reveal Christ in such a way that He would be not only the focal point of God’s economy but also the focal point of our daily walk—1:15-16.
4. God’s New Testament economy is not with man in the old creation but with man in the new creation through the resurrection of Christ—6:14-15; 1:1:
   1. The main issue in Galatians is not circumcision or uncircumcision, religion or no religion; it is an issue of whether or not we are a new creation through an organic union with the Triune God—6:15.
   2. Apparently Paul wrote the book of Galatians to deal with the law; actually this book deals with the old creation.
   3. The new creation is altogether different from any kind of religion; religion is part of the old creation, and everything practiced in the religious world is part of the old creation—v. 14.
   4. Galatians brings us to the new creation by way of the inward revelation of the living person of the Son of God—v. 15; 1:15-16.
   5. The new creation is the mingling of God with man—John 15:4; 1 John 4:15:
      1. The meaning of the new creation is that the processed and consummated Triune God mingles Himself with us and constitutes us with Himself to make us new—Eph. 4:4-6, 24; Col. 3:10-11.
      2. Although we remain God’s creatures, we are nonetheless mingled with the Creator.
      3. Because we are now one with the Creator, His life becomes our life, and our living becomes His living; this mingling produces a new creation—1 Cor. 6:17.
   6. If we would be in the new creation, we must enter into an organic union with the Triune God; apart from this union we remain in the old creation—2 Cor. 5:17.
   7. The new creation is the new man in Christ (Eph. 4:24), our being that is regenerated by the Spirit (John 3:6), having God’s life and the divine nature wrought into it (v. 36; 2 Pet. 1:4), with Christ as its constituent (Col. 3:10-11); it is this new creation that fulfills God’s eternal purpose by expressing God in His sonship.