230 - ARE CHRISTIANS DEAD OR ALIVEJUNE 4,1961
HENRY F. KULP
Galatians 2: 19 - 21 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Paul was writing to the church at Galatia because it had been disturbed by the law-keepers—those who wanted to put these folks back under the law and told them they had to live under the law, they had to keep the law—they had to be circumcised. And now Paul is reasoning with Peter, who had become a law-keeper. He segregated himself from the Gentiles believers and gone over to the Jewish believers and he endeavored to be with those who were law-keepers.
1/ Paul is pointing out the futility of the law. First of all, he says, I though the law am dead to the law. He said, the law has put me to death and I am a dead man, and the law cannot touch a dead man. For example, if I come down Sixth Avenue at eighty miles an hour and if there is an officer cruising in his prowl car and he takes off after me, and he knows I am breaking the law, and he writes down my license number. He is not able to catch me, and I make a turn off Sixth Avenue and go up through the countryside, and finally I run into a tree and crash and snuff out my life. The officers have my license number, but they look up the number and sure enough it is my car, so they send a summons to me that I am to appear, and I am to stand trial for breaking the law. What can the police department, what can the law do? I have broken the law, I have been guilty, I deserve to be punished, they can’t take my license from me, they cannot fine me because I am dead. I have cheated the law—but that is not the illustration here—the law has put me to death because the wages of sin is death—that is what the law said, and I died in Jesus Christ.
2/ Galatians 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
I am crucified with Christ. Paul says I died by crucifixion—I died on the cross and there the law spent its wrath upon me—I paid the penalty, I satisfied all its demands. You say, when did you die by crucifixion? When did you die on the cross—when Jesus Christ hung on the cross.
3/ When Jesus Christ hung on the cross, men saw only a man—a human body with nails through its hands and its feet. But when God looks upon His Son, He saw far more than a physical body. He saw a spiritual body called the body of Christ, which is the church, which is made up of believers. The body of Christ is a figure of the Church in Scripture, for we read again in Ephesians 5: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
We are members of His body, of His flesh and His bones. Christ, then is the head.
Colossians 1: 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
He says, He is the head of the body the Church. And we are members of His body—so as God looks down upon the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, He saw not only the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, but He saw the entire body, and that means you and me—for He saw the Church.
4/ By faith, Paul was in Christ when He hung upon the cross, and what happened to Jesus Christ, happened to him, and the same this is true for me. By faith in Jesus Christ, I hung on the cross, and what happened to Jesus Christ happened to me.
5/ After Jesus Christ hung on the cross, He was buried. After Jesus Christ died on the cross, two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus went to Pilate and requested the body of the Lord Jesus Christ for burial.
Matthew 27: 58 - 60 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
Please notice, no less than three times, the word body is used in just these two verses. Remember, we are members of His body, of His flesh and His bone, when they, therefore buried the body of the Saviour, they buried both the head and the body, and we are the body. We were buried with Jesus Christ.
Romans 6: 3 - 4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
We are buried with Him by baptism into death. Yes, we were crucified with Jesus Christ, but we were also buried with Him in the baptism of His death.
6/ Remember in Galatians 2: 20 it says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yes, you see, the Lord Jesus arose, and not only did the Head arise from the grave but the body as well. Every member of that body came forth out of the tomb.
7/ But there is still more. We are not only crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, raised with Christ, but with him already seated in the Heavenlies. Although we are still here in our bodies on earth, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven. Not only the Head ascended, but the whole Body. Then forty days after His resurrection Jesus ascended into Heaven—the Head and the Body ascended together. The body of Christ is in Heaven today, and I am a member of that Body, and I have ascended into Heaven. That is what He tells us.
Ephesians 2: 4 - 6 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
8/ Spurgeon once said something that has always stayed with me. It is a wonderful truth. He said, as long as your head is above water, you cannot drown your feet. Our Head is truly in Heaven, having ascended, so therefore, we haven’t any worries. Yes, we may still be on earth, but positional we are in Heaven and the Head of the Body is in Heaven, so that means I am eternally secure. There are so many who keep writing to me and they send me waste basket after waste basket full of books, and magazines and letters, trying to get me back under the law and the commandments again. But what a waste of time and postage this is. Do you think for one moment I would give up my position in grace and put myself back under the curse of the law? Of course not, not for one second would I do that. I am eternally saved, by this glorious grace Gospel.
9/ Notice, what he says in Galatians 2: 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
I am not going back under the law. No, I am perfectly happy were I am in grace—In Christ Jesus.
10/ Let us look at Galatians 2: 20 again. It say, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.
Notice, it doesn’t say, I live by the law as people would have us believe, but I live by the faith of the Son of God. You say, don’t we need the law, so that we can live now? Yes, you are saved, you are seated in Heavenly places, and your head, the head of the body is in Heaven, but you need the law to live today. Of course, not. Not for a moment do I need the law to live.
Notice, Titus 2: 11 - 12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
It says the grace of God teaches us. The grace of God teaches us true holiness. Would you dare for one moment to substitute the word, law, for grace here in Titus 2: 11? If you did, it would read like this—for the law of God teaches us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly. Some would like it to read that way, but that is not the way Paul stated it. He knew we needed grace, and so he says, the grace of God teaches holiness. The only way to have holiness is through grace.
11/ The law is for sinners, not for saints.
I Timothy 1: 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
Notice what he says, knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient.
Now, I would have you stop there for just a moment. Notice, Paul says the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. The question that forms immediately is, are you a righteous man or a lawless, disobedient one? If you are a righteous man, Paul says the law is not for you. If you are in Christ, born from above by God’s grace, and through this you are righteous in God’s sight, then the law does not have dominion over you—you are not only dead to the law, through the law, but the law has no part upon a righteous man, but if you are not a righteous man, not saved, lawless and disobedient, then Paul says the law stands ready to condemn you—that is all it can do for you. Where do you belong? If you are in Christ, you are as righteous as Christ is.
I John 4: 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
II Corinthians 5: 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
12/ These are tremendous words. If you place yourself, therefore, under the law, you admit that you are guilty, and you deserve the judgment of God, you deserve to be cursed by the law. But I praise God, I am not under the law, I am dead to the law through the law, and I have been made righteous by God, so therefore the law is not for me.
13/ THIS BELONGS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SERMON.
Romans 8: 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Please notice the first phrase of this verse, For what the law could not do. Even though some folks do not recognize it, there are some things that the law cannot do. There are some things that God never expected it to do. We ask, therefore, what is it that it could not do? It cannot save. It cannot justify. It cannot pardon. It cannot redeem. It cannot improve. It cannot fix up. It cannot assist.
Why can’t the law do this? The answer comes back from this verse again—In that it is weak through the flesh. It is the weakness of the flesh that prevents the law from doing anything but curse the sinner.
14/ What then is our hope? The answer comes right back from this verse again. What the law could not do, the Lord Jesus Christ did do. We do not turn to the law, but we turn to Christ in our desperate plight, in our despicable condition.
15/ Now, of course, this does not mean I can live anyway I want. As we read in Titus 2 the grace of God teaches us, but it teaches without the law. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
I would like you to notice, I Corinthians 10: 23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Paul makes an enlightening statement. He says all things are lawful to me. Notice the word, lawful—all things are lawful. Four times he makes this statement. Twice in this chapter, and twice in I Corinthians 6 All things are lawful. Paul insists as a believer he is not under the law of commandments, but he is under grace. His service to God is not legal but voluntary. Notice the difference—it is not legal—it is voluntary, and immediately the question comes back, if the believer is not under the law he can live as he pleases, do as he wishes, it makes no difference. Of course, that is not true. Paul says all things are lawful, but I am not going to do all things, for the grace of God teaches me that not all things are expedient, and all things do not edify. Here grace teaches me that I have to be careful of what I do, not according to the law, but according to grace.
16/ Then notice, I Corinthians 10: 32 give none offense, neither to the Jews or the Gentiles nor to the church of God. And this is the way we should live. Grace teaches us that we do not want to cause anyone to stumble. We do not want to do a thing that will bring offense to God. We will walk in trembling.
17/ Now we start with the third chapter. Now that Paul has thoroughly vindicated his apostleship and his message, he now continues, proceeds, with a doctrinal discussion.
First of all, notice what he says. O, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? I am sure these believers when they read that statement were shocked. They were aroused. They probably read it a number of times to make sure that they were getting it straight. Because Paul uses very unusual language. What he really means is this—how is it that you have seemed to come under a sort of spell. Actually, Paul is using something that was a popular superstition of that day—the evil eye. He says, who has put the evil eye upon you? And therefore put you under a spell? Folks believed that people could cast spells in those days—they could put an evil eye upon you, and you would be under their spell. Paul says, when these evil teachers have come in—these legalistic teachers, they seemingly have put a spell on you—they have put an evil eye on you and you are sort of bewitched. Did you ever stop to think what legalism does to people? It affects them that way. My, they seem to be bewitched, they seem to be under a spell.
18/ There is another thing I want you to see. It is quite possible for one to have been truly saved—to have begun his Christian experience with a clear, definite knowledge of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then because of failure to follow or to study, to come to know God’s truth, they have fallen under the influence of some false system, some unscriptural line of teaching, and then when you go and try to correct that, they seem to be under a spell, it seems to be almost impossible to deliver them. I have had this happen many and many times.
19/ Then Paul asks a second question as he interrogates these Galatians, he says—This only would I learn of you. Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? When they heard and believed the Gospel of the grace of God, which Paul taught—notice, which Paul taught —they believed what he said when he came into their midst. And so Paul would ask them if they received the Holy Spirit by the ceremonial law of Moses, or by hearing and believing in Jesus Christ. There could be only one answer, of course. The gift of the Spirit was an act of God by those who would receive Him by faith—there is no doubt about that at all. We have this brought out to us Ephesians 1: 13 Upon your believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. They knew that. They knew they had received the Holy Spirit when they were saved. They knew they couldn’t be saved apart from the Holy Spirit, and they knew they were saved all right. They had to be saved under the preaching of Paul. Well, they said, did you have the deeds of the law then to give you the Holy Spirit? Of course not.
20/ Then a third question follows—Verse 3 Are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit, are ye made perfect by the flesh? Paul’s argument is logical, because the law keepers are very logical, there is a strange inconsistency in law keepers. They knew that they couldn’t be saved by the law, they knew that only too well. But now that they were saved, they said, you have to keep the law to continue on to what God wants you to be after you are saved. In other words, they said, saved by faith, yes, but kept by faith and law. He said if the law couldn’t help save you, how could it keep you? That is just common sense, isn’t it?
I meet many folks like that. They say, no, we are not saved by the works of the flesh, we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, but after we are saved, it takes works to keep us saved. If it doesn’t save us, how can it keep us? That certainly is not consistency in doctrine, is it?
21/ They knew that the flesh is weak and sickly.
Romans 6: 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
They knew that in the flesh dwelleth no good thing.
Romans 7: 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
How foolish then to think that this flesh could keep them saved.
22/ We know it is impossible today, don’t we, because my life’s verse tells it to us ever so clearly.
Philippians 1: 6 He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it or continue it until the day of Jesus Christ.
We are kept saved by the work of Christ, not our own work—we know better than to fall into the trap of the legalists.
23/ Then the fourth question comes up, in Galatians 3: 4 Paul continues to press argument upon argument, and he is using the ground of experience. Have you suffered so many things in vain?
Apparently the Galatians, like many other believers in the early church were made to suffer for their stand in Christ. When they received Paul’s message, they were persecuted, they suffered horribly, and Paul reminds them they were turning their backs upon the very thing that caused them persecution, believing the Gospel as Paul preached it. We know that in Acts 14 there was a great dissension there in Galatia because of Paul, and these Galatians took part with Paul. They received Paul and believed Paul’s message, and they fought for him and suffered for what he taught.
24/ Then Paul brings his final question.
Galatians 3: 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Then he talks about the miracles that had been done. Had they been done by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. We cannot be certain what these miracles are because we are not told. The question was, when the Galatians saw Paul and Barnabas performing miracles, they knew that the power of God was there and the blessing of God was upon what they were preaching, and so they knew whatever Paul did in their midst, it was not by miracles. Of course, the greatest miracle that they had seen in Galatia, Acts 14: 19 - 20 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Here where Paul was stoned to death and he rose again from the dead. They knew that that did not happen by the law, but they knew that was exhibited and gave Paul the authority that he needed. He was the man of God.
AMEN
Ref: 06/04/1961 / ARE CHRISTIANS DEAD OR ALIVE? / 02/28/2021
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