Gal 3:2-5 How did you receive the Spirit?

[bcbsr]

 

How did you receive the Spirit?

Gal 3:2-5 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  Have you suffered so much for nothing— if it really was for nothing?  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul presumes that they had received the Spirit. After all it says, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." Rom 8:9 Once a person comes to faith in Christ he receives the Spirit. The point here is that the receiving of the Spirit is not a matter of ceremony or following certain rules and regulations. It's not even a matter of prayer, nor of wishful thinking. It's a matter of believing the gospel.

Paul says elsewhere, "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." Col 2:6 The way you're supposed to receive Christ is by faith and not by ceremony; not by following certain rules and regulations. And in the same manner you received Christ, so you're supposed to live - by faith.

By "human effort" Paul is referring to relying upon rituals to attain the goal. The observance of days, the eating or abstaining from certain foods, or even water baptism and communion - if people are relying on such things to achieve their goal, then they are caught up in legalism. It is not that rituals are bad, or even inappropriate. For some, such as water baptism and communion, are even commanded by the Lord. But the issue of legalism comes up when people rely upon the ceremonial aspects of these to confer some sort of grace or salvation.

Furthermore when Paul speaks of "faith" here obviously he is referring to faith in Christ and not faith in ceremonies or rituals. For indeed the Galatians were exercising "a faith" - but it was a faith in ceremonies and not a faith in Christ.

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The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources

[enoob57]

1 hour ago, Flowersun said:

I believe,what I recieved,a revelation from God,straight to my heart/spirit...no Bible...a personal encounter from the Holy Spirit....Spirit to Spirit....how else could I possibly know he was God....

Were you saved before this or was this the point in your salvation?

[Hidden In Him]

3 hours ago, bcbsr said:

How did you receive the Spirit?

Gal 3:2-5 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  Have you suffered so much for nothing— if it really was for nothing?  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul presumes that they had received the Spirit. After all it says, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." Rom 8:9 Once a person comes to faith in Christ he receives the Spirit. The point here is that the receiving of the Spirit is not a matter of ceremony or following certain rules and regulations. It's not even a matter of prayer, nor of wishful thinking. It's a matter of believing the gospel.

Paul says elsewhere, "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." Col 2:6 

 

Greetings, BCBSR.

Going by scripture, the two ways they received the Spirit were by 1. direct outpouring, and 2. laying on of hands.

Both on the Day of Pentecost and when Peter was preaching to Cornelius' house, they received through direct outpouring. After those in Samaria believed, however, John and Peter came and laid hands on them after which they received (Acts 8:14-17). 

Both occurred as a result of believing what they heard, the same wording Paul uses in Galatians 3:2. Thus, these two means are what he is referring to in Galatians 3:2-5.

 

Hidden

Edited March 20, 2020 by Hidden In Him

[enoob57]

3 hours ago, Flowersun said:

Hi enoob57......I was born again...that evening,when I received the Holy Spirit into my spirit......I was open and ready.."looking back"..... I messed up,big time....I will never forget it...it was like a bolt of lightning/pure Love from God,that melted my heart/ spirit....it was intimate and personal.....

I fell in Love with God.....my spirit that is.....have been in love ever since....he is my life...my number one!......no one can touch my heart as God does...

 

So you being dead in spirit was able to recognize The Holy Spirit from that deadness... no Gospel message, no repentance... just your dead spirit validating the spirit was of god. Is that a fair understanding?

[Desopixi Seilynam]

What avails anything is faith that demonstrates itself by love. Gal. 5:6.    For Christ taught that we are to love; Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:27-49. And we are to have faith in Christ.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word even this; love your neighbor as yourself. 5:14.    The spirit of the law is; love. Deut. 10:16-19, Zech 8:14-17, Romans 13:8-10.

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the letter of the law.   5:18.    Christ; Luke 1:35, John 6:63, the ultimate orator of the Spirit; taught that we are to love.

And they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 5:24.    By the power of His Spirit. 

[enoob57]

10 minutes ago, Desopixi Seilynam said:

For all the law is fulfilled in one word even this; love your neighbor as yourself. 5:14. 

This is the entirety of what Jesus said on the matter
 

Matt 22:37-40

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
KJV
 

[Desopixi Seilynam]

38 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

This is the entirety of what Jesus said on the matter
 

Matt 22:37-40

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
KJV
 

"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets" Matthew 7:12

The majority of what that Christ taught has to do with how we treat other people and our mindset concerning others; Luke 6:27-49, Matthew 5 through 7.

"And they were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught as one with authority" Matthew 7:28.

"Whoever transgresses(disobeys the Torah 1 John 3:4) and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. Whoever abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son."           2 J0hn 1:9-10.

 

 

[enoob57]

2 hours ago, Desopixi Seilynam said:

"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets" Matthew 7:12

The majority of what that Christ taught has to do with how we treat other people and our mindset concerning others; Luke 6:27-49, Matthew 5 through 7.

"And they were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught as one with authority" Matthew 7:28.

"Whoever transgresses(disobeys the Torah 1 John 3:4) and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. Whoever abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son."           2 J0hn 1:9-10.

 

 

My understanding of the subject thus far is the first and greatest commandment is to Love God with all that we are able and then we can love our neighbor as ourselves... it is the relational aspect to The Father, Son and Spirit that energizes us with His resource to love others as God loves us....

[Your closest friendnt]

5 hours ago, Hidden In Him said:

 

Greetings, BCBSR.

Going by scripture, the two ways they received the Spirit were by 1. direct outpouring, and 2. laying on of hands.

Both on the Day of Pentecost and when Peter was preaching to Cornelius' house, they received through direct outpouring. After those in Samaria believed, however, John and Peter came and laid hands on them after which they received (Acts 8:14-17). 

Both occurred as a result of believing what they heard, the same wording Paul uses in Galatians 3:2. Thus, these two means are what he is referring to in Galatians 3:2-5.

 

Hidden

You have raised an important issue....

To begin with you are referring to "the baptism of the Holy Spirit", and Paul is referring to "the Spirit of Jesus Christ", to the Spirit of Adaption, which everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is seal with..as Jesus Christ is our Spiritual Patriarch...

This is the witness that  we belong to him...him been our Spiritual Father...

There are a lot of scriptures that tell one from the other but even from the scriptures you have referred to we are able to distinguish one from the other...

We have to keep in mind that after and not before at any given time but one time only at the Baptism of Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit of God, (the Heavenly Father) was not given to anyone else...because no one else had the Life of God in him....everyone had "death"....or was born with the death inheritance....even Abraham and his descendants were separated from their God...even thought they were separated from the rest of the world....

God had cleansed the seed of Abraham and had given it righteousness but not Life...and definitely they did not have a Heavenly inheritance....they had only the promised that one day God will do that through the Christ, the deliverer from their death inheritance and not only to Life but to a Heavenly inheritance...

Jesus is raised from the dead....the disciples have been enlightened and believe...and many others...

Jesus Christ is  in fellowship with them...they are in his e Eternal Life...

They are in the New Covenant they are the only ones from the living that they are not in their sins....(the Jews understand context, their history...and they can relate and use suggestive language...they were saying to Jesus..."we are Abraham's seed"... That says a lot...Jesus understand their point and he gave them a warning ....which warning only those of the Jews who believe in him after his death understood that's why they believed...

Before the ascension Jesus teach them about the Heavenly Father and their Heavenly inheritance....

That they were in him and because of him they were also in the Heavenly Father....

Till the Penticost they only had the witness of Jesus and the relevant scriptures....but on the day of Penticost and there after they had the witness from the Holy Spirit which came from the Heavenly Father...that it is truth about Jesus Christ...

The Holy Spirit gives the witness to everyone in the world that hears the Gospel that it is truth about Jesus...

The situation was similar but not exactly the same with the Samaritans....the difference is that the Holy Spirit was already on earth and gave them the witness that it is truth about Jesus and help them to believe in what each one of them needed to understand...

But the disciples had to believe by seeing and having fellowship with Jesus Christ and were also others..  that's why Jesus said: bless are those who will not need to see and believe...knowing that the Holy Spirit soon is coming...and will help the people see him in their heart and believe...

The Ethiopian with Philip....he believed and wanted to declared not to Jesus Christ that he has believe in him as he is portrayed in Esaias 53: that he had to died first to said his blood for the Atonement of our sins....but also to be the Spiritual Patriarch as to have children after his death..." here am I and the children the Lord has given me", that scripture and the one that said " the Eunuch will have children and rejoy stridently made the Ethiopian Eunuch very happy...as he also saw himself with spiritual children in the faith...people born to Jesus Christ with his preaching...he gave them the Gospel, he gave them Life....

Paul also said: my son Timothy...who also was his student....

 

[Hidden In Him]

1 hour ago, Your closest friendnt said:

You have raised an important issue....

To begin with you are referring to "the baptism of the Holy Spirit", and Paul is referring to "the Spirit of Jesus Christ", to the Spirit of Adaption, which everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is seal with...

 

Greetings, and blessings in Christ.

Your post brought up too many texts to respond to, but I can at least respond your main argument here. I understand what you are arguing, but the passages are actually all referring to the same thing. There is no differentiation in the Greek. In Galatians 3:2 we have,  ἐξ ἔργων νόμου τὸ πνεῦμα ἐλάβετε ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως, or "by works of the law did you receive the [Holy] Spirit, or by the message of faith?" In Acts 8:15, οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περὶ αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσιν πνεῦμα ἅγιον, or "who having come down prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit." The wording is exactly the same in Greek in both verses, tying the two together.

I think the problem for interpreters today is in not understanding that there were no believers in the early church walking around believing in Christ who had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Each time this was discovered it was corrected as in Acts 8. So verses which speak of all believers "receiving the Spirit" in New Testament times hold true for them, but the same cannot be said for all believers today. Granted, receiving the Spirit is NOT what saves us. We do not "receive" unto salvation, we believe unto salvation. Thus, the Samaritans would have went to Heaven regardless of receiving or not, provided they continued to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ until death, and the same is true of believers today. But those who side-step clear statements made in the word of God do their fellow believers a great disservice, by directly contradicting it and teaching something else instead.

God bless,

Hidden  

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by Hidden In Him