Grace in Galatians (Part 128): Until Christ Is Formed In You
Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)
"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."
(Galatians 5:4 TPT)
"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"
(Romans 6:14 ERV)
"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."
(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)
"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."
Scripture we will study today:
(Galatians 4:17-20 TPT)
“These false teachers who are so anxious to win you over are not doing it for your good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you will be eager to please them! It is a wonderful thing to be eager to do good, but you must not let your enthusiasm for the gospel cool down just because I am not there with you. You are my dear children, but I agonize for you with the pains of childbirth, and I will continue to do so until Christ is fully formed in you! How I wish I could be with you now; I would change my tone of voice. I am completely baffled by you!”
(Galatians 4:17-20 NLT)
“Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully formed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But as it is, I don’t know what to do with you.”
Supporting scriptures:
(Romans 10:2 NLT)
“I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.”
(Colossians 1:27 NLT)
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”
(Ephesians 4:13 NLT)
“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
Setting the Stage:
In our last message, Paul got personal. He reminded the Galatians of the deep love and joy they shared when he first brought them the Gospel. He asked them, “Where did your joy go?” We learned that legalism steals joy, kills gratitude, and turns spiritual parents into enemies.
Today, Paul shifts his focus to the motives of the people who were leading the Galatians astray. He exposes the false teachers (the Judaizers) for who they really were. These men were zealous. They were passionate. They were wooing the Galatians aggressively. But Paul reveals that their zeal was not for the Galatians’ good; it was for their own control!
The legalizers wanted to “shut out” the Galatians (to isolate them from Paul and from the freedom of grace), so that the Galatians would become dependent on them. It was a power play. Paul, on the other hand, expressed the heart of a true Spiritual Father. He describes himself as a mother in labor, suffering “birth pains” again. He had already labored once to get them saved; now he is laboring again to get them free from religious bondage. His goal wasn’t to control them; his goal was for Christ to be fully formed in them.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Zeal Without Knowledge is Dangerous.
Paul acknowledges that the false teachers were “eager” and “anxious” to win the Galatians over. They were enthusiastic! But enthusiasm is not enough. You can be sincere and be sincerely wrong. The Judaizers had a misdirected zeal. They were passionate about the Law, passionate about circumcision, and passionate about rules, but what they were missing was the revelation of grace.
How this applies to you:
— Don’t be impressed just because a preacher, a movement, or a ministry is loud, passionate, or popular. Passion does not equal truth. Jim Jones was passionate, and he led over 900 people to commit suicide.
— The legalizers were doing all they could to woo the Galatians (paying them a lot of attention) to manipulate them. Religious groups often use flattery and attention to draw people into the system of bondage they have developed.
— Just because someone is zealous about “holiness” or “standards” doesn’t mean they are leading you to Christ. If their zeal leads you to focus on your performance rather than Jesus’ finished work, it is a dangerous zeal! Said another way, countless groups within the Body of Christ claim to be the “true” ones or the “real” ones because they maintain God’s standards! But if they are trying to maintain these standards in the flesh, they are not leading you to Christ; they are actually making Jesus irrelevant. Becuase any Christianity that you can maintain on your own is one where you are not relying on Jesus!
— Paul warns that these teachers wanted to “alienate” or “shut you off” from the true Gospel. Legalism thrives on isolation. It tells you that “everyone else is wrong” and “only we have the truth.” This is dangerous. Don’t allow yourself to fall into this trap.
— True zeal is fueled by the Holy Spirit and grounded in the truth of God’s Word. True zeal leads to freedom, not control.
— Be discerning! Test the spirits behind the zeal. Is it inviting you into the freedom of sonship, or is it recruiting you into the slavery of religion?
— God is not looking for religious fanatics; He is looking for sons and daughters who know the Father’s heart.
2. Religion Seeks a Following; Grace Seeks Christ Formation.
Here is the litmus test for any ministry: Who gets the glory? The false teachers wanted the Galatians to “be eager to please them” (Gal 4:17). They wanted a following. They wanted to be the gatekeepers of God’s favor. Paul, on the other hand, didn’t want the Galatians to follow Paul; he wanted Christ formed in them.
How this applies to you:
— Legalistic leaders create dependency. They want you to come to them for the word, them for prayer, and them for approval. They set themselves up as the mediator between you and God.
— Grace-based leadership empowers you. A true spiritual father or mother wants you to hear God for yourself! Their goal is to work themselves out of a job by helping you mature.
— Paul said, “I labor until Christ is formed in YOU.” The goal of the Grace Life is not just to get you to heaven, but to get heaven into you right now!
— When Christ is formed in you, you don’t need a list of external rules to behave right. The character, attributes, nature, and love of Jesus flow out of you naturally.
— Ask yourself: Is my spiritual life dependent on a human leader, or is it built on a direct relationship with Jesus?
— We honor our leaders, absolutely. But we do not idolize them. Be careful not to fall into the trap of man-worship. No matter how anointed your Pastor, Priest, Bishop, Apostle, or leader is, your dependence should be on the Holy Spirit, and your goal should be for Christ to be formed in you!
3. Spiritual Growth is a Process (It Takes “Formation”).
Paul uses the phrase “until Christ is fully formed in you.” This implies a process. When you get Born-Again, your spirit is instantly recreated. You are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). However, your mind, your emotions, and your character (your soul) take time to be transformed. You are a new man living in an old body in need of a new mind.
How this applies to you:
— Just because you are saved doesn’t mean Christ is fully formed in your character yet. This is why we need renewing of the mind (Rom 12:2).
— The Galatians had regressed. They started in the Spirit but were trying to be perfected by the flesh. Paul had to “labor” with them again to get them back on track.
— Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t perfect yet. Formation takes time. A baby in the womb doesn’t form overnight, and neither does spiritual maturity.
— However, you must be moving forward! Going back to the Law stunts your growth. It stops the formation of Christ because you stop relying on the Spirit and start relying on self.
— As you fill your heart with God’s truth and allow it to transform your soul (the way you think, feel, and make decisions), you are progressively being conformed to the image of Christ, not by external pressure but by internal renewal.
— Your part is to yield, to believe, and to rest. As you behold Him (in the Word and prayer), you are changed into His image from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18). You will eventually become what you consistently behold!
4. True Spiritual Parents Don’t Give Up on You.
This passage shows the agony of a spiritual parent. Paul says, “I am completely baffled by you,” and “I wish I could change my tone.” He was frustrated, yes. He was confused, yes. But he did not abandon them. He said, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth AGAIN.”
How this applies to you:
— If you are a leader, parent, or mentor, you know that loving people is messy. Ministry is a people business, and sometimes working with people is hard. Sometimes people you poured into will turn on you or go backward.
— Paul didn’t wash his hands of them. He engaged. He corrected. He prayed. He displayed long-suffering and endurance with them. This is the heart of God!
— Even when we drift into legalism, God pursues us. He doesn’t want us to stay in bondage. He “labors” through His Spirit to bring us back to the freedom of grace.
— If you have strayed from the Grace Life, know this: You have a Father who hasn’t given up on you.
— God loves you too much to leave you in the hands of religious taskmasters. He wants you free, and He will pursue you until you are!
— Receive the correction of the Holy Spirit today. Come back to the simplicity of faith. Let Christ be formed in you without the interference of religious performance.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that You love me enough to pursue me!
I discern the motives of those who influence me, and I reject any ministry that seeks to enslave me to rules.
I will not be impressed by zeal without knowledge; I stand on the truth of Your Word.
I declare that I am not dependent on human mediators; I have direct access to You through Jesus Christ.
My goal is not just to follow rules, but to have Christ fully formed in me!
I yield to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to shape my character and renew my mind.
I am being transformed into the image of Jesus, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.
I refuse to go backward; I am moving forward in the Grace Life!
I thank You for spiritual leaders who labor for my maturity and point me to Jesus.
I am Living the Grace Life, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
Comments