Words for the Wise, Matthew 8 Faith to Heal

Matthew 8

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jesus Cleanses a Leper; The Centurion’s Faith

8 When [a]Jesus came down from the mountain, [b]large crowds followed Him. 2 And a leper came to Him and [c]bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus *said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the [d]offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

5 And when [e]Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “[f]Lord, my [g]servant is [h]lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “[i]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just [j]say the word, and my [k]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith [l]with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and [m]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; [n]it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the [o]servant was healed that very [p]moment.

Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed

14 When Jesus came into Peter’s [q]home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and [r]waited on Him. 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and [s]carried away our diseases.”

Discipleship Tested

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [t]air have [u]nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, there arose [v]a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He *said to them, “Why are you [w]afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and [x]it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Casts Out Demons

28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “[y]What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before [z]the time?” 30 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. 31 The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. 33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, [aa]including what had happened to the demoniacs. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.

Bible Panorama

Matthew 8

V 1–17: COMPREHENSIVENESS Jesus heals the unclean leper (verses 1 to 4), the centurion’s servant (verses 5 to 13), Peter’s mother-in-law (verses 14 and 15) and demon-possessed and sick people (verses 16 and 17). He meets the needs of many different types of people, irrespective of their background, social standing, gender, or age.

 V 18–22: COST Jesus’ responses to a scribe and then to a disciple reveal that following Him must come before where we prefer to live and what our family wants us to do. (There is no suggestion that the disciple’s father is actually dying at the time when his son wants to delay following Christ until after his burial.)

 V 23–34: CALM The Lord Jesus Christ stills the storm, showing His power over nature, and casts out demons from demon-possessed people, showing His power over Satan. He can deal with the storms and domination of Satan in men and women. That is why the whole city comes out to meet Him. But, sadly, they want Him to leave.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport,  Merseyside

January 19^th 2014

Why pro-independence Catalans envy Scotland, By Allan Little BBC News

Why pro-independence Catalans envy Scotland

By Allan LittleBBC News, Catalonia

Sant Pere de Torello sees itself as a pioneer in the drive for Catalan self-rule

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Catalonia profile
• Catalans hold 'independence' link-up
• Scotland vote - timeline

The hilltop village of Sant Pere de Torello, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, north of Barcelona, is decked in the colours of Catalan statehood.

The red-blue-gold flag of the movement to win independence from Spain flies from windows, balconies and rooftops in every street.

The flag also rises above the town hall of this community of 2,500, whose mayor was the first local official in Catalonia to declare his area a free Catalan territory - electing to send local taxes to the Catalan capital Barcelona, instead of directly to Madrid. It is a symbolic repudiation of the town's Spanish heritage in favour of an explicit Catalan national identity.

"It is a small thing," says Griselda Castells, an adviser to the mayor, "but we have tried for years to explain to Spain that we need action - but nothing changes.

"Now the government of Spain can see that it is real, this feeling that we have. It's a small thing but an important thing for our ideology, for our dream, that Catalonia will be independent."

There has been a dramatic rise in support for Catalan independence in the last few years. A pro-independence demonstration in Barcelona in September 2012 attracted more than a million people. Opinion polls frequently put support for a break with Spain at more than 50%.

Scottish independence

President Artur Mas: 'Catalonia and Scotland have enough personality to follow their own ways.'

The president of Catalonia's regional government, the pro-independence Artur Mas, has majority support in parliament for a referendum which, he says, will take place in November. Spain, though, has said the move is illegal and that the referendum will not go ahead.

The stand-off is in marked contrast to the situation in Scotland, with which Catalonia is frequently compared. There, the pro-independence Scottish National Party won a majority in the Scottish parliament and announced plans for a referendum to take place in September. It reached an agreement with the British government on the timing of the poll, and on the wording of the question: "should Scotland be an independent country?"

The UK government, and the anti-independence "Better Together" campaign, have both said they will respect the outcome of the referendum.

"We envy a little bit what is happening in the UK," Artur Mas told me, "because what we would like is an agreement with the Spanish institutions.

"Our aim is to reach this agreement, but the difference is that in Spain the central government says you don't have the right to vote."

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

You cannot stop a democratic and peaceful movement like this”

Artur MasCatalan president

So, I asked him, would you rather be dealing with UK Prime Minister David Cameron than with the current Spanish government?

"Of course," he said. "Well, not exactly with David Cameron but with the British mentality. That is to say: if you have a nation, Scotland or Catalonia, and you have in this nation a broad majority of the population that is asking for a referendum, real democracy, what should you do? You should sit at the table, reach an agreement and let the people vote. This is the British way. And I wish that Spain was exactly the same, with the same mentality."

But Spain is not the United Kingdom and Catalonia is not Scotland. Scotland and Catalonia have similar sized populations - five million and 7.5 million, respectively.

Scotland contributes just over 8% of the UK's taxes (excluding oil and gas) - about the same proportion as the size of its population.

But Catalonia is Spain's wealthiest and most economically productive region and accounts for about a quarter of Spain's taxes - far more than its share of Spain's population. This disparity has helped fuel the rise in support for independence.

In September 2012 pro-independence Catalans thronged the streets of Barcelona

Madrid warning

There is a further key difference between Scotland and Catalonia. In Scotland, the SNP has campaigned for independence as a matter of principle since the party was founded nearly a century ago. Support for independence has been fairly solid at more than 30%, arguably for decades.

In Catalonia, support has rocketed from somewhere in the teens to more than 50% since the current economic crisis began, leading many anti-independence campaigners to argue that this recent rise is ephemeral, an anomaly - a short-term response to a short-term economic crisis, but one which could have irreversible long-term consequences.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We hope it won't come to this, but we could for instance suspend Catalonia's autonomy”

Fernando Sanchez CostaCatalan MP in Spain's Popular Party

And although a clear majority in Catalonia - about three-quarters of the people in recent opinion polls - want the right to vote on the matter, a minority want Spain to act to stop the referendum taking place at all.

"Spain could do many things," says Fernando Sanchez Costa, a member of the Catalan parliament for the governing centre-right Spanish party, the Popular Party.

"We hope it won't come to this, but we could for instance suspend Catalonia's autonomy. Our democratic constitution gives us the tools. It wouldn't be necessary to suspend [the Catalan] parliament. In Northern Ireland something similar happened a few years ago. Some competences were taken away temporarily. This could happen in Catalonia."

Many in Catalonia believe that would only boost support for independence still further.

Artur Mas says he is determined to go ahead regardless. "Let me remind you," he says, "that we had democratic elections here a year ago. The electoral pledges were very clear and the people elected us because they wanted the right to exercise this choice. We must stick by our promise to hold a consultation".

And if Spain blocks it? "Then we will call new elections, by 2016 at the latest, and this election will become the referendum on independence. You cannot convince the Catalan people that they have no right to vote on this. You cannot stop a democratic and peaceful movement like this."

More on This Story

Words for The Wise, Matthew 7 Asking in Faith

Matthew 7

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Judging Others

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’, when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thorn bushes? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Build Your House on the Rock

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Bible Panorama

Matthew 7

V 1–5: ‘FIRST’ Before criticising or judging others, especially on relatively small things, we should ‘first’ examine ourselves to see and correct our own faults. Perhaps we are far more culpable than those we criticise or judge. 

V 6: FOOLISHNESS Jesus warns against giving holy things to dogs and ‘casting pearls before swine’ as the pearls may be trampled and the person casting them may be hurt. Both illustrations apply to the sharing of God’s holy Word with ignorant, reckless and aggressive people who will refuse to listen. 

V 7–11: FAITH Faith consists of asking, seeking, and knocking, with the sure promise that God will answer even more than any earthly father will answer the needs of his own children.

 V 12: FULFILMENT The working out of keeping God’s law and the teachings of the prophets will be such that I will treat others as I want them to treat me.

 V 13–14: FINDING Only a few people find the narrow way that leads to life compared with the many who go to destruction. Jesus nevertheless urges His hearers to enter by the narrow gate to find life. 

V 15–20: FRUITSFalse prophets can be detected by the fruits of their lives and activities. Their fruits will show that they are not what they pretend to be.

 V 21–27: FOUNDATIONThe people whom Jesus will accept to be with Him in eternity will not necessarily be those who call Him ‘Lord’ and who have done great exploits in His name. Only those who know Him will be safe eternally. We must build our lives on the rock of Scripture rather than on the sand of anything else. 

V 28–29: FLABERGASTED! The crowds are astonished when they compare the authoritative and powerful teaching of Jesus with the weak words of the scribes.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys

January 19th 2014

Southport,  Merseyside

Slow Araf, Means slow in Wales

Words for the Wise, Doing Good for Others, Galatians 6 ESv

Galatians 6

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Bear One Another's Burdens

6 Brothers,[a] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

6 One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Final Warning and Benediction

11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which[b] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Doing Good (6:9-10)

Growth in our relationships does not happen automatically; growth takes effort. Hard work is required if broken relationships are to be rebuilt. In these two verses Paul simply encourages Christians to keep on working at building their relationships: Let us not become weary in doing good (v. 9). To say that Paul's emphasis on faith means that he was against works is obviously an inaccurate interpretation. Although he warned against relying on the works of the law as the basis of blessing (3:10-14), he clearly taught that true faith expresses itself through love (5:6) and in the hard work of serving one another (5:13) and carrying each other's burdens (6:2).

One of the greatest obstacles to rebuilding broken relationships is simply fatigue. We can easily lose heart and run out of strength when we come up against the same problems over and over again as we deal with others. Even Paul sounds discouraged when he talks about his efforts to rebuild his relationship with the Galatian believers: "I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you" (4:11). Paul recognized that fatigue and discouragement might cause Christians to throw in the servant's towel and quit. So he presents two incentives to keep us from giving up when we grow weary of serving others in love. First, he assures us of a reward for doing good: at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (v. 9). Sometimes the harvest is experienced in this life. When we sow acts of love, we reap a harvest of love in return. When we give generously and sacrificially to the needs of others, we reap a harvest of gratitude as those needs are met. When we sow the seed of God's Word in needy lives, we experience the joy of response. But we must remember that reaping a harvest almost never happens on the same day as sowing the seed. We may not even see a harvest in this life from what we have sown. Nevertheless, we must never give up, because we know that at the proper time our Master will return and reward those who have been faithful servants.

Second, Paul motivates perseverance in service to one another by reminding us that we are part of a great family: Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (v. 10). Although there are no limits placed on the scope of our service to all people, our priority is certainly to serve the family of believers. Here Paul picks up a central theme of his letter. All believers are children of Abraham by faith in Christ, the seed of Abraham (3:6-29). All believers enjoy the full rights of the children of God (4:4-7). All believers are the true children of the free woman; the heavenly Jerusalem is our mother (4:21-31). These great truths about the family of believers should motivate us to keep on doing good to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We belong to one another in one family, since we belong to Christ.

IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.

Office - Cadbury Dairy Milk TV Ad

Words for The Wise, Our Union With Christ, Galatians 2 Esv

Galatians 2

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Justified by Faith

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified[a] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

17 But if, in our endeavour to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness[b] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

A Personal Confession of Faith (2:19-21)

The points of agreement and disagreement that Paul sets forth in response to the crisis in Antioch (and Galatia) are founded upon his own personal confession of faith in Christ (vv. 19-20). His faith in Christ involved both a death and a new life. When Paul says Through the law I died to the law, he is not speaking of physical death. In his vocabulary, to die to something means to have no further relation to it (see Rom 6:2, 10-11). So to die to the law means, in this context, to cease to be under the supervision of the law.

Paul's death to the law was accomplished through the law (v. 19). The phrase through the law is taken by some interpreters as a reference to Paul's own subjective experience under the law. The law led him to discover his inability to keep the law and its inability to make him righteous. Thus it was through the law that Paul was finally led to abandon the law as the means to righteousness and to seek salvation in Christ. But this interpretation is not warranted by the immediate context. Paul does not say in this context that he died to the law because of his terrible sense of guilt and frustration under the law. Instead he declares that his death was accomplished by identification with the cross of Christ—I have been crucified with Christ (v. 20). When we interpret through the law in light of this declaration, I have been crucified with Christ, then we can see that death to the law through the law is accomplished by identification with the death of Christ. Paul explains in the next chapter that the law pronounced a curse on Christ as he hung on the cross (3:13). In this sense Christ died through the law. By crucifixion with Christ, believers also die because of the curse of the law on the one who hangs on the cross—and so, in this sense, they also die through the law. The perfect tense of the verb have been crucified points to the permanent condition of Christians in relation to the law: we remain dead and fully punished. Therefore the law can no longer condemn us.

The result of dying to the law is a new kind of life, not a life of moral license, but a life for God—that I might live for God (v. 19). This new kind of life is not ego-centered but Christ-centered: I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (v. 20). This new life of faith is motivated and guided by the sacrificial love of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (v. 20). Participating by faith in the death of Christ (I have been crucified with Christ) and the resurrection life of Christ (Christ lives in me) is the only way to live for God. But attempting to attain righteousness through the law sets aside the grace of God and negates the value of Christ's death (v. 21).

In succinct, compact form, Paul's confession of faith expresses his own experience that Christ, not the law, is the source of life and righteousness. The reason for his personal confession was his insistence that Jewish and Gentile believers should not be separated as the law demands, but united as the truth of the gospel demands. His new spiritual identity—I no longer live, but Christ lives in me—is the basis of his new social identity: "There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ" (3:28).

When we make Paul's confession of faith in Christ our own, we must keep in mind both the spiritual and social dimensions of our union with Christ. Without the social dimension, our faith in Christ degenerates into individualism. We then become interested only in our personal faith and neglect to maintain and express our union with all believers in Christ. Such individualism has been a root cause of constant division in the church. But without the spiritual dimension, all efforts to maintain unity in the church are fruitless. Not until we can truly know and experience the reality of Paul's affirmation—I no longer live, but Christ lives in me—will we be able to live in true harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ. For until then we will be ego-centered, not Christ-centered.

The experience of union with Christ as expressed here by Paul is a mystical experience in the sense that it transcends rational explanation: direct, intimate communion with God in Christ cannot be fully described. This mystical experience, however, should not be confused with the mysticism prevalent in the Hellenistic mystery religions of Paul's day, or the mysticism of Eastern religions touted by New Age prophets in our day. Both Hellenistic and Eastern types of mysticism emphasize ascetic disciplines leading to absorption into the divine, negation of individual personality and withdrawal from objective reality. The mystical experience of union with Christ is not accomplished by human effort but granted by God's grace (I do not set aside the grace of God); it is not a loss of individual personality but a renewal of true personality (the life I live in the body, I live by faith); it is not a withdrawal into isolation but an involvement in service ("serve one another in love"—5:13).

Mystical union with Christ also needs to be understood from the historical perspective: it is not a totally subjective experience divorced from objective historical reality. Just as a person who becomes a citizen of the United States has decided to live within the historical reality created by events in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, so the person who becomes identified with Christ has decided to live within the new historical reality created by the events of the cross of Christ and his resurrection. Paul places the subjective experience of faith in Jesus Christ in the context of God's redemptive work in history (3:6-25).

The practical outworking of union with Christ comes into focus in Paul's ethical appeal (5:13—6:10). There we find that the experience of union with Christ includes both passive (being led by the Spirit) and active (walking in the Spirit) dimensions. So it would be a mistake to take Paul's words I no longer live, but Christ lives in me as a proof text for total passivity in the Christian experience. The very next phrase underscores the necessity of active faith: The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God (v. 20). We do not become just empty pipes that God's power flows through, as I've heard preachers say. I no longer live as an egocentric person in obedience to all my selfish passions and desires, for Christ is now at the center of my life. Now I live in obedience to him, for he loved me and gave himself for me.

IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport, Merseyside

18^th January 2014