Being made perfect

Galatians 3:2-3 “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

The truth of the grace of God can be a struggle for human nature to understand. Grace is so often the opposite of what we experienced in life. We grow up with a mentality of being defined by our works. We either justify ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, or we condemn ourselves by thinking that we’re never good enough. Trying to live life by our own self-effort seems to be ingrained in our way of thinking.

When we encounter the grace of God, our whole understanding of our worth, our identity and our ability completely changes. The blood of Jesus now defines our worth. Our identity is now found in Jesus. And our ability is now empowered by Jesus’ ability in us.

It’s a radical change! It’s no wonder that the Holy Spirit through Paul says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

We have been saved by grace, that is the foundational truth of our Christian life. Not only are we saved by grace, but we are also being made perfect, complete and established by grace. Paul questions the church at Galatia asking them “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

He’s asking them, You became a new creation by grace through faith, are you now becoming a “better Christian” because of your works?

The answer is, NO!

Jesus did the work for us and in us. We don’t grow into becoming a “better Christian” by behaving better. Rather, we believe in the finished work of Jesus. He’s the reason why we have been made righteous, been made holy and now we are saints of God. It’s our minds that need to become renewed by God’s Word so we can understand who we already are. We don’t change our behaviour to become “better”, we renew our minds and use our mouths to say exactly what God says about us.

Praise God for His wonderful work of grace in us! You are a work of His grace and He is working in you that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:21)

Remember, we love you, and we are praying for you.

Blessings,

Chloe