Sanctification by the Spirit
WARM-UP
Who of your friends or relatives would you consider to be a perfectionist? Recall an instance explaining this.
Think of one activity or hobby you started but never finished. What happened?
Who do you spend most of your time with? Share two to three names. How do they rub off on you?
WORD
Faith or Works of the Law
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are
you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? GAL 3:1-3
The Apostle Paul was writing to the churches in Galatia to remind them of what Jesus had already accomplished for mankind on the cross and that our salvation is by faith from first to last. He was very disturbed about what he had heard, that the Galatian believers were adding works of the law to the finished work of Christ and trusting this legalistic fulfillment to bring them salvation. So, Paul asked them to recall how they first came to faith in Christ and what they had believed. Like the Galatians, we tend to add our good works to the finished work of Christ to feel secure in our salvation. In this lesson, we will look at two aspects of our life of faith in Christ that we need to be constantly reminded of.
Is this how you repay the Lord [who has the power to exact punishment of you, and who accorded you all manner of good],
you foolish [who forgot all that was done to them] and unwise people [to foresee consequences, it being in his power to do good and ill]?
Is he not your Father, who bought you?
He made you [a nation among nations] and established you [securely]. DEU 32:6
Rashi’s Commentary
Is this how you repay the Lord?—This is an expression of astonishment: Do you mean to grieve him who has the power to punish you, and who has bestowed all these favors upon you?
You foolish . . . people—i.e., a people that has forgotten all that has been done to them.
Unwise to consider what will result from their actions, viz., that it is in his power to do them good or evil according to their actions (cf. Sifrei Devarim).
Is he not your Father, who bought you?—The word קָּנֶךָ may mean: who has acquired (קָנָה) you, or, who has placed you (more lit., made you nest, קִנְּנֶךָ) in a nest of rocks and in strong ground, or, who has fitted you out (תִּקְּנֶךָ) with everything that will benefit you.
He made you a nation among the nations of the world,
And established you afterwards on every kind of firm base andfoundation (כַּן) (i.e. made you self-contained): out of your
midst come your priests, out of your midst your Levites, and out of your midst your kings—a city in which is everything (Chullin 56b; Sifrei Devarim 309:7).
Sifrei Devarim 309:1
Is this how you repay the Lord? An analogy: A man was standing and taunting a senator in the market. The bystanders: You fool, do you stand and taunt a senator! What if he wanted to beat you, to tear your garment, to imprison you! Could you do anything about it? If he were of higher station, how much more so! If he were greater than both, even more so!
But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ROM 2:8
16 But they have not all accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. ROM 10:16-17
1 We begin by the Spirit.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? GAL 3:3
As followers of Jesus Christ, we recognize that we are saved by grace through faith. It is his finished work on the cross that enabled our salvation. We begin our Christian life by the power of the Holy Spirit—he renews us, lives in us, teaches us, guides us, and empowers us (1Co 6:11). How did you begin your journey of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit? What were the challenges you faced when you came to know the Lord and how were you able to overcome them by the power of the Holy Spirit?
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1CO 6:11
The Lord said [to Moses to say] to Aaron [to exhort him to prevent non-priests from entering the sanctuary], “You, your sons and your father’s house [the sons of Kohath, the father of Amram] with you shall bear the sin connected with the sanctuary [i.e., you will be held responsible for non-priests’ sinning with the consecrated things that I have placed in your charge—the tent (of meeting), the ark, the table and the holy vessels. You must keep watch and warn them], and you and your sons [the priests] with you shall bear the sin connected with your priesthood” [which is not relegated to the Levites; you must keep them from inadvertently encroaching upon your service]. NUM 18:1
Rashi’s Commentary
The Lord said to Aaron—i.e. he said it to Moses that he in turn should speak to Aaron to admonish him regarding the precautions to be taken for the benefit of the Israelites in order that they might not enter the sanctuary.
You, your sons and your father’s house—“And your father’s house” refers to the sons of Kohath the father of Amram (whose charge it was to carry and to watch over the most holy vessels; cf. Num 4).
Shall bear the sin connected with the sanctuary—Upon you I impose the punishment for any strangers who may inadvertently sin in respect to the sacred objects which are entrusted to you—which are the tent, the ark, the table and the holy vessels; you have to sit down (i.e. wait there and be in readiness) and give warning to any stranger who may be about to touch the holy articles.
And you and your sons—The priests.
Shall bear the sin connected with your priesthood—For it is not a charge given to the Levites; you must therefore warn the Levites who might do so inadvertently not to come near to you during your performance of the service.
In the Lord all the seed of Israel
will find deliverance and will boast. ISA 45:25
Rashi’s Commentary
In the Lord . . . find deliverance and . . . boast—In the promise of the support of his love they will find deliverance and . . . boast of his strength.
Boast—Heb. וְיִתְהַלְלוּ, porvantir in O.F.
From the toil of his soul
he will see it and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities. ISA 53:11
Rashi’s Commentary
From the toil of his soul—He will eat and be satisfied, and he will not rob and plunder.
By his knowledge . . . will justify—My . . . servant will judge justly all those who came to litigate before him.
And he will bear their iniquities—He will bear, in the manner of all the righteous, as it is said (Num 18:1): “You and your sons shall bear the sin of the sanctuary.”
12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. GAL 6:12-14
2 We will be perfected by the Spirit.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? GAL 3:3
Paul was upset with the Galatian believers because although they knew the gospel, they were trying to go back to a life of legalism. He asked them if, after having begun in the Spirit, they were now trying to be perfected by the flesh. Paul was clear—we are not only saved by God, we are empowered to live the life he has called us to live, by his grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit (1Pe 1:2). We grow in our faith because of his work, we become more and more like Christ because of his Spirit, and we will be perfected for his glory. Why do you think the Galatians tried to work out their salvation by following religious rules? Why is this dangerous and sinful?
. . . according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 1PE 1:2
6 And the Lord passed before him and he called, “The Lord, the Lord [the attribute of mercy: one (Lord) before the sin; one, after sinning and repentance], the God [אֵל, likewise the attribute of mercy], who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger [withholding his anger in anticipation of repentance], and abounding in love [to those who are in need of it, being deficient in merit] and faithfulness [paying a good reward to the doers of his will],
Rashi’s Commentary
The Lord, the Lord—This is the attribute of Divine mercy. It is repeated, once for before the person sins, and once for after he sins and repents (Rosh Hashanah 17b).
Slow to anger—He puts off his anger and does not hasten to punish—it may be that the sinner will repent.
And abounding in love—To those who need love because they have not sufficient merits to be saved by them.
And faithfulness—Faithfully rewarding those who perform his will.
Rosh Hashanah 17b:4
Ilfai, and some say it was the Sage Ilfa, also raised a contradiction: It is written in the list of God’s attributes: “And abounding in love” (Exo 34:6), and it is written in the same verse: “And faithfulness,” which implies the attribute of justice. He answered: Initially, at the time of judgment: “And faithfulness,” i.e., God employs strict justice, but in the end, when he sees that the world cannot survive on judgment based only on faithfulness and justice: “And abounding in love,” i.e., he is compassionate.
Rosh Hashanah 17b:5
The verse states: “And the Lord passed before him and he called” (Exo 34:6). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Were it not explicitly written in the verse, it would be impossible to say this, as it would be insulting to God’s honor. The verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be he, wrapped himself in a prayer shawl like a prayer leader and showed Moses the structure of the order of the prayer. He said to him: Whenever the Jewish people sin, let them act before Me in accordance with this order. Let the prayer leader wrap himself in a prayer shawl and publicly recite the thirteen attributes of mercy, and I will forgive them.
7 maintaining [a man’s] love [before him] for two thousand [generations], forgiving [deliberate] wickedness, [acts of] rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished [completely]; he remembers the sin of the parents on the children [who persist in their parents’ ways] and on the children’s children to the third [generation] and fourth.” EXO 34:6-7
Rashi’s Commentary
Maintaining love means God keeps (stores up) the mercy which a person does in his presence.
For two thousand—For two thousand generations (the plural, “generations,” and “two” is the least that this can imply; cf. Rashi on Exo 20:6).
APPLICATION
Have you understood and put your faith in what Christ did for you on the cross? Who is the Holy Spirit to you, and how does he help you grow in faith every day?
Recall how you came to know Christ. How has the Holy Spirit guided and taught you to be more like Christ every day? How can you guard against the temptation to work out your salvation by following religious rules?
Pray for a friend or relative who may have begun in the Spirit but seems to be trying to work out perfection by the flesh. How do you think you can help him/her understand that our perfection one day will only be possible by the power of the Holy Spirit?
PRAYER
Thank God for fulfilling his plan for our salvation and for now sanctifying us by the Holy Spirit every day.
Pray that you will learn from the believers in Galatia, that you will not just begin by the Spirit but you will also be perfected by the same Spirit.
Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to boldly proclaim the gospel wherever you go.
This work, "MAKE ROOM: Sanctification by the Spirit" is a derivative of "MAKE ROOM: Victory Series" © 2018 by VICTORY® All rights reserved
"The Rashi Chumash" and "The Rashi Ketuvim" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein is licensed under CC BY 3.0