Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:3
I believe Paul asks a striking question to religion in America today.
Having begun in the Spirit, are we now being perfected in the flesh? American Protestantism has a language of resistance towards a Christianity that is works-based and not faith-based, but I challenge whether we are that in practice.
If we began the Christian life by a supernatural God, through his supernatural Spirit, by hearing the supernatural gospel, why should continue to live the Christian life any differently?
I’m wary of churches and bodies of believers who operate in the spirit of “go to church more and sin less”, or some version of that. I’m wary of encounter-less Christian experiences (I’m also wary of negative attitudes towards emotionalism which unrightfully reduce our need to encounter God in powerful ways).
What I’m saying is.. because the whole Christian experience is supernatural, and religiousness, self-empowerment, Spirit-less Christianity preys us into the trapping that the Galatians fell in.
It’s not just a mental acceptance of spiritual truths, it’s a lifestyle. As Paul deliberates in the entire book of Galatians, it’s a lifestyle living by the power of the Holy Spirit.
