Paul’s purpose for the book of Galatians hinges on the idea of an apocalyptic rescue mission of Christ for His people. From the beginning verses of the epistle through the ending chapters, Paul focuses on this theme and how it is played out in the life of the believer. Not necessarily displayed in their law-keeping actions but, in their love, and cruciform lifestyle. The book of Galatians is book-ended with the themes and character of Christ’s self-giving work.[1] It is in the book to the church at Galatia that we find a little of an unfamiliar opening, where Paul giving his typical “Grace and Peace” but prefaces the reason that it is made available to believers. Paul explains that it is through Christ who has come, to “rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”. (Gal. 1:4) This deliverance from the present world, having been accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, would be played out in the life of every believer, and part

  My kids love stories, and honestly, I would argue that we all do. I remember around the age of ten or eleven, my dad would read a chapter of the Hardy Boys to us before bed. The suspense, the drama, the excitement, it was almost as if you were there with them watching the story play out. But as exciting as this all was, I’m not sure I would know how to explain the quiet depression that would set in when realizing that the chapter was coming to a close. It seems that as we experience the death of a loved one, you almost get a sense of Déjà vu . A similar void begins to form knowing that a story that we loved is ending. The scriptures tell us that whether it is us or a loved one, we long to do whatever we can to add to the story of life. The author of Hebrews explains this by saying that due to the fall, we have been placed in the bondage of death and do everything that we can to outrun it (Heb. 2:15) but gives us the hope that there is One that has already outrun death for us. When f

It is the holiness of God that defines His character, and all of His other characteristics. This holiness is what sets Him apart from His creation and what makes Him completely unique from anything and everything else. It is this understanding that He is transcendent or set apart from His creation that we must keep in view as we explore all the other attributes that make God who He is; it is literally the starting point for or understanding of His person.  While all of the attributes of God are woven together so that none can be taken without all of them falling apart, it is His holiness that bonds them together. This is the reason that when given that view of angels around the throne in Isaiah 6, they are crying that He is "holy, holy, holy". It is the holiness of God that manifests itself in the actions that He takes in the world such as His mercy, righteousness, and judgment. If the holiness of God is what He is, then we could say that the love of God is who He is. It is