How the Gospel Transforms Us

People don't like instability.  When we have breakdowns relationally, vocationally, financially, or any other way, it just tends to freak us out.  Why?  Sure, it's uncomfortable, but is there a deeper reason?  I think there is.  I think instability exposes our fear...but fear of what?  My answer is fear of not being in control.  And when our control issues are exposed, what comes to the surface then is really an issue of where our identity lies and what we put our hope in.  So, if my identity and hope for happiness lies in my spouse, but then we get in a fight, my life feels out of control and unstable which causes me to live in fear.

The good news is that the gospel is designed to go all the way down to these deep levels of our hearts.  The gospel isn't limited to being the elementary truths of being a Christ-follower, it's also designed to carry us through our PhD work, if you will. Tim Keller has often said that the gospel is not just the A-B-C's of Christianity, it's the A-Z.

In Galatians 3:25-4:7 we get a picture of this.  We see how large the scope is of the transforming power of the gospel.  The gospel changes us in the very core of our being, and in doing so provides a stability in life that everything else pales in comparison to.  It is in fact the "perfect love" that John writes about in 1 John 4:18, which "casts out fear."  So, what we find is three areas in which the gospel transforms us.

1) Our identity is transformed to that of a son of God (3:26, 4:1-5). This is not a chauvinistic or sexist idea.  In this culture (and in many places today) it was the firstborn son that had full rights to everything of the father's.  This was called primogeniture.  Paul is saying that both men and women alike, through faith in Jesus, are given the legal status of "son of God."  God in his love and mercy looked out on those who were created to be in relationship with Him and redeemed (bought out of slavery to sin; bought back what was His in the first place) and adopted (chose to be his children and given full rights as sons) them.  What are the benefits of this sonship?

• You are free from the control of sin and are controlled by love.
• You are a full recipient (heir) of every blessing available from God the Father.
• You are not bound to live by the pattern of the world, but by faith.
• You are fully loved by the Father and enjoy intimacy with Him and his protecting authority.
• When you fail (sin), condemnation doesn't drive you away, but the love of the Father draws you back.
• You are secure in your status of a son which will never change.

2) Your primary community is transformed to one with other sons of God (3:27-29). When a marriage happens, the women takes the husbands name, placing her into his family.  That is a picture of what Galatians 3:27 is meaning.  We are baptized and clothed with Christ, becoming fully identified in Him, much like the message a surname communicates.  This is important to note, because it sets up a very misinterpreted verse 28.  Galatians 3:28 is not about the dissolution of race, class, or gender - for there are obvious distinctions and roles within those - but it is about the primary community you belong to.  As a Christ-follower, you have infinitely more in common with other Christ-followers than you do of those who share your race, class, or gender but who aren't Christ-followers.  This shows us the communal aspect of the gospel.  While our faith is personal, it is not private, for God has made for himself, according to 1 Peter 2:9-10 a plural "people, race, priesthood, and nation."  The benefits of this community transformation are:

• You are intimately connected to the first and primary community of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit
• Your local Christian community is irreplaceable and even mandatory for your growth
• You are connected to a history of people - people of faith dating thousands of years back to Abraham
• You are accepted in community as a fellow saint and sinner
• You are never, ever alone

3) Your experience is transformed by the Spirit (Galatians 4:6-7).  Christianity is not simply something we understand and agree with, it is something we experience.  This is one reason we are given the Spirit - so that we experience through our sonship & community the love of the Father, enabling us to cry out to Him in both need and satisfaction.  Being a Christian is about being madly in love with God not in a weird-romantic sense, but in a  passionate, consuming, joyful, satisfying Father-child relationship deeper than any systematic theology or apologetic reasoning.  A child who spontaneously gets picked up, hugged, and kissed by his father has an experience of his love that  a simple knowledge of love doesn't communicate.  So this experiential transformation means:

• We have passion for God
• We have an intimate prayer life - beyond the "niceties" of a meal time prayer, but springing up from our very souls
• We have a deep sense of assurance for our Father's love is unconditional and His love fuels our obedience

What must we do to fully live out this transformation?  It starts with fully surrendering to Jesus. We also must meditate on His Word; not in a way to simply study and learn, but to soak in it and having it become a part of us. We have to walk with others in community by encouraging each other, praying for each other, confessing to each other, serving together, and living together. And we must cry out to God the Father in unscripted ways; the more we spontaneously cry out, the more we are reminded of the Spirit's active presence with us.