A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 3 (Part 1)

We’re going to skip chapter 2, as it is simply a numbering of the various tribes and move on to Numbers 3:1-10— 1 Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.  5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death."

First thing we need to remember is this: Everything in all of creation belongs to God. Even people. Psalm 24:1— The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. God would have been perfectly righteous to declare “every single soul on Planet Earth shall come before Me to serve Me”. And who could argue with Him? It all belonged to Him anyway. But He doesn’t. He says “I will take the Levites, they will belong to Me, they will be in My service”. So let’s go through this passage.

Numbers 3:5-13—5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 "Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.”

Aaron was to be the High Priest. He was the chief of all who were to go between man and God. But remember, there were over 600,000 people in the camp of Israel. And they were all sinners, as everyone is. And the depth of their sin was exposed when Moses was atop Mt. Sinai receiving the Law from God, and before he could even come down they were already throwing a drunken orgy in front of the Golden Calf that they convinced Aaron to make. So whoever it was going between man and God was going to be busy. Especially when you take into account all the details of all the various sacrifices, what animals were to be brought, male or female, how they were to be prepared, what to do with the blood, etc etc etc. Not to mention having to inspect the people and their houses for possible leprosy.

Now, remember, this was under the Old Covenant. And under this Old Covenant, only Levites could serve in the priesthood. And when one priest died, or one High Priest died, they were replaced. So this priesthood was transferred from one man to another to another, throughout successive generations. As it says in Hebrews 7:23—Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. And this is a place where we say “But God…” He gave to us a New Covenant, with a better High Priest, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. And the good thing about Him is, He is not dead, as He lives forevermore. And because He lives forever, His priesthood is forever. Hebrews 7:24—But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. No more need for going through the divisions of the priesthood to see who will sprinkle incense and offer prayers today or tomorrow or the next day. No more deciding who will be High Priest today or tomorrow. We now have one Priest, both now and forever, and He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).

You may ask, “But Jesus isn’t from the tribe of Levi, He is from Judah”. And this is true. But remember, New Covenant. The Old Covenant, with all its rules and regulations, and its imperfections because of men’s weaknesses (Romans 8:3), could redeem no one simply because they did their best to keep it. So a New Covenant had to be made. External commands could save no one, as they were always being broken and the burning flesh of bulls and goats could not take away their stain (Hebrews 10:4). If we were to be redeemed to God, we needed a better and eternal sacrifice. And for this, we needed a better and eternal High Priest. And it had to be One who did not come from the tribe of Levi.

Why? Simply to show that this High Priest was offering a sacrifice better than the Law. If He were from the tribe of Levi, the people—especially the Jews—would think salvation came from the Law. However, Galatians 2:16—knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. So now we have a New Covenant, a better and eternal sacrifice, mediated by a better and eternal High Priest, to redeem us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13).

Us. Sinful, wretched us!!! Us who for however long turned our backs on God, despised God, rebelled against God, violated His Law and ignored His salvation! And yet, here comes the Lion of Judah—a different tribe entirely from the tribe of Levi—to become our High Priest, to become our perfect and eternal sacrifice, that we may be reconciled to the very God we hated! The very God in whose face we spit came and offered Himself as the sacrifice. Think about it! When the Roman guards were beating Christ and spitting on Him and mocking Him. They were not doing these things to a mere man. They were beating and spitting on and mocking—God! Were they any different than us? No. They were not

Isaac Watts said it quite well—

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,/and did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head/for sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done,/he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!/And love beyond degree!

 (“Alas And Did My Saviour Bleed?”)

 The blood of Bulls and goats could not take away sin. They can cover them up, but can never take them away. Hallelujah! He wrote in another place-

 

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.

(“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”)

What do many hold onto on this Earth, what do many prize more, what do many not want to rid themselves of, in exchange for the eternal goodness and beauty of our Lord Jesus! May it never be with those of us who love Him! There are about a thousand more rabbit holes I could go down, but I won’t.

Look at the last part of Numbers 3:10—“But the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” Only the Levites were to perform any work in the Tabernacle of Meeting. Anyone who was not a son of Aaron could not come near to the Tabernacle of meeting to perform priestly duties, lest God Himself wipe that person out. “But that’s not fair, shouldn’t everybody have a chance???” The short answer: no. The longer and more detailed answer: also, no.

Again, God has a certain way He wants things done. And if you go against the way He wants things to be done, you will incur His wrath and you run the risk of being destroyed on the spot. Just ask Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2). God declared that only the incense that was made according to His specifications was to be used on the altar. They said “we’ve got a better idea” and…..*poof*

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

On the Incarnation and the Submission of Christ

1st Peter 2:21-24 may not seem like the kind of passage we would read around Christmas time. But we’re going to see that when Christ took on human flesh, and was conceived in the womb of Mary, and was born and walked this earth, He gave us a pattern to follow in fulfilling the will of God in our own lives.

Now, to answer the question that comes up every year at this time—on what day of the year was Jesus born? Well, we don’t know. But it probably wasn’t December 25th. It was more likely in the spring or even more likely in the fall. Listen to what Luke says in Luke 2:8-11—8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Now, notice what he says in verse 8—And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. In December, in the land that was called Palestine, what is now modern-day Israel, in December it got downright cold. And shepherds would not be dwelling outside at night. Adam Clarke has this to say about shepherds “watching their flocks by night”—

It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts, about the Passover (spring), and bring them home at the (time of year that we call) October and November, we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole of the summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is (can be assumed) that October had not yet started, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could he have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the (idea that Christ was born in) December should be given up.

But here’s an even more important question: does it matter what time of year He was born? All that matters is that the Son of God came to earth, lived a perfectly sinless life, died on the cross so that all who believe in Him could be reconciled to God.

That said, let’s read our text in 1st Peter and see just what the apostle is telling us. 1st Peter 2:21-24—21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. The key phrase in this whole passage I want to focus on is verse 21—For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. This idea ties in real well with our study of the OT Law, because many of the commandments deal with the fact that we are to subject ourselves to each other and to not trample on the rights of others. We know also that Christ fulfilled the Law for us, and if we are in Christ—that is, if we trust Christ and Christ alone to save us from our sins and, consequently, from the wrath of God; if we turn away from our sins and obey the commands of Christ to love God and to love one another—then He has fulfilled the requirements of the Law for us. Romans 8:3-4—3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. So let’s see now just how far Jesus submitted Himself for our sakes.

First, He submitted to the will of the Father. This is where all submission must start. If Christ did not submit to the will of the Father He would not have been our Savior. John 5:30—“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” Luke 22:41-42—41 He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." This is by no means an exhaustive study of the Trinity, but here goes. God the Father is the head of all things. Everything in creation is subject to God the Father. And not only is creation subject to the Father, but so is God the Son. Jesus Christ has existed from all eternity past as God. He will be, for all eternity in the future, God. BUT God the Son, at a point in time, left His throne, at the command of God the Father. He did not just have some bright idea one day and came up with this brilliant plan to save mankind from their sins--that is what the Mormons teach. Truth is, before creation God the Father, knowing all things, knew that we wretched human beings would fall into sin. And God the Father, still before the foundation of the world, counted His Son—the Son that He loved—as being slain for our sins. There are many verses that talk about this idea. John 17:24—“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Ephesians 1:4—He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Hebrews 4:3—For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest'” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 1st Peter 1:18-20—You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold…19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest [i.e., 'has appeared'] in these last times for you. Revelation 13:8—All who dwell on the earth will worship [the Antichrist], whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So even before creation, God the Son submitted Himself to God the Father on behalf of us worms.

And our main verse today tells us that we should do the same. If we are going to call ourselves a Christian, we must also submit to the will of the Father. After all, what does Jesus tell us should be the one of the first things we pray for? Matthew 6:9-10—“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” Not our will. You may have heard some of these prosperity preachers on TV--the likes of Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland and Paul Crouch and Morris Cerullo. They will say something like this: “Don’t pray according to God’s will! Pray according to your faith!” That is blasphemy! They are basically calling Jesus a liar. Christ is our example, that we are to submit to the will of the Father.

Next we see that Jesus submitted Himself to His own Law. Galatians 4:4-5—4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. How many times do we hear about police officers, judges, lawmakers basically getting away with committing crimes that you or I would have gone to prison for? Ted Kennedy left a woman to drown in Chappaquiddick Bay in Massachusetts and he got to keep his job in the US Senate for another 48 years. And we hear that and we are outraged—as well we should be. And this is why Jesus subjected Himself to His own Law—so that when we share the good news of Christ we can point to Him as the spotless Lamb of God. If He did not subject Himself to His one Law, He could have—literally—gotten away with murder. And He would have been no different than you or me.

BUT—listen to our main verse for today, 1st Peter 2:21-22—For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” I like what John Gill said about this:

“‘Who did no sin’ He was in the likeness of sinful flesh; he looked like a sinful man, being born of a sinful woman, and keeping company with sinful men, being himself a man of sorrows, greatly afflicted, and at last put to death. He was (accused of being) a sinner by his enemies, and had all the sins of his people on him, which he bore, and made satisfaction for, and were the reason of his sufferings; but he had no sin in his nature, nor did he commit any in his life: ‘neither was deceit found in his mouth;’ though it was diligently sought for, by the Scribes and Pharisees; there was no deceit in his lips, no falsehood in his doctrine, any more than there was immorality in his (conduct).”

He submitted Himself to the Law of God, leaving us an example. Not that we should try to keep the Law perfectly because we never will. Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23—As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one” and for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And anyone who tries to do so will fail. James 2:10—For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. And when a person tries to make themselves righteous by keeping the Law, they have no part in Christ. Galatians 5:3-4—3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law. But if we are in Christ, as I read from Romans 8:3-4 earlier, He is our righteousness, we are justified in Him, and we will love His law and turn away from sin and obey the “royal Law” in James 2:8—If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well. And as Jesus Himself said in John 13:34—“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Next we see that Jesus submitted to His own creation. When He took on flesh, He did not become some kind of “Superman” who could leap tall buildings in a single bound and catch bullets in His hands. When people saw Christ, they saw a man who looked just like any other man. Philippians 2:6-7 (Weymouth New Testament)—6 Although from the beginning He had the nature of God He did not reckon His equality with God a treasure to be tightly grasped. 7 Nay, He stripped Himself of His glory, and took on Him the nature of a bondservant by becoming a man like other men. That is as close as you will ever get to what the original actually means. As God He could have snapped His fingers and all creation would have vanished. BUT He did not exercise that right of ownership, and instead He became subject to the very limitations placed upon us by our being human. Again, John Gill—

“Though he took that which he had not before, he lost nothing of what he had; the glory of his divine nature was covered, and out of sight; and though some rays and beams of it broke out through his works and miracles, yet his glory, as the only begotten of the Father, was beheld only by a few.”

Listen to some of these passages. Matthew 4:1-2—Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Matthew 8:24—And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. And one of the last things that Jesus ever spoke before He gave up His life as He hung on the cross, John 19:28—After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"

He was also tempted. Now, let me qualify that statement. He was tempted with sin, but He was not tempted by sin. Satan offered Him temptations, but Jesus was not tempted by them. (For a more in-depth discussion of Jesus and temptation, see here) Hebrews 4:14-15—14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. And since Jesus is our example, as our text from 1st Peter says, we too should follow that example. We know that God is not the originator of temptations. James 1:13—Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But when temptations do come, and they will, we must always remember that there is always a way out. We don’t have to give in to that temptation. 1st Corinthians 10:13—No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. When Satan tempted Jesus, how did Jesus respond? Three times, “It is written…it is written…it is written…” If we diligently study this word, and we use it when Satan comes knocking on our door—as Jesus did—then as James 4:7 says, resist the devil and he will flee. Christ fulfilled all righteousness by becoming like us. He was subject to the will of God, He was subject to His own Law, He was subject to all the frailties we humans suffer because of sin. And yet he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.

And as we read the last words in that passage from Peter, we see that Christ submitted Himself to death. 1st Peter 2:24—He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness. The fact that Christ submitted Himself to death because of our sins gives us a pattern to follow—that we too should die to our sins. We will die because of our sins; but while our bodies live, we must die to our sins, and not let sin reign in our mortal body. But because Jesus died for our sins, to pay for our sins, if we believe in Him and allow ourselves to die to sin, then as that passage concludes with Peter echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah, by whose stripes you were healed. This of course is a repeat of Isaiah 53:5—But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Because He died, we can have life.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Jesus IS Lord in 2nd Corinthians and Galatians

2nd Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

2nd Corinthians 1:13-14—For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

2nd Corinthians 2:12-13—Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

2nd Corinthians 3:16-18—Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 4:5—For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

2nd Corinthians 4:10—Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

2nd Corinthians 4:13-14—And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

2nd Corinthians 5:6-8—So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 8:9—For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2nd Corinthians 8:18-21—And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself...not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

2nd Corinthians 10:8—For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed.

2nd Corinthians 10:17-18—But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

2nd Corinthians 11:17—What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

2nd Corinthians 11:31—The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

2nd Corinthians 12:1—It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2nd Corinthians 12:8—Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

2nd Corinthians 13:10—Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

2nd Corinthians 13:14—The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

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Galatians 1:1-3—Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:18-19—Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 5:10—I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

Galatians 6:14—But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:17-18—From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

"Paul never quoted Jesus!" (Galatians)

Today, we look at the places where Paul told to the saints in Galatia of the things taught by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:1--Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead).

• Acts 22:15-18--"So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’"

Galatians 1:3-4--Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.

• Matthew 20:27-28--"And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
• John 16:33--"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Galatians 1:15-16--But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood...

• Acts 22:9-10--"And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.'"

Galatians 2:11-13--Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

• Matthew 5:46-47--"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?"

Galatians 3:5-9--Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

• Matthew 8:5-13--Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof"...When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"...Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
• Matthew 15:21-28--And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed"...And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Galatians 3:10-12--For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

• Matthew 5:20--"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
• Matthew 5:48--"Therefore, you shall be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect."

Galatians 3:13--Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”).

• Mark 15:33-34--Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Galatians 3:23-25--But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

• Matthew 5:17-18--"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

Galatians 4:4-5--But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

• John 3:16-17--"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Galatians 4:17--They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.

• Matthew 23:15--"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

Galatians 4:31-5:1--So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

• John 8:31-36--Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Galatians 5:6, 13-14--For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love...For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Mark 12:29-31--Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
• John 13:33-35--"Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Galatians 6:12-13--As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

• Matthew 23:25-26--"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."