Mystical Union by Crowder John

Author:Crowder, John [Crowder, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sons of Thunder Ministries & Publications
Published: 2010-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Part 4 …

THE GALATIAN BEWITCHMENT

Much of the church today is under some degree of the Galatian bewitchment. Paul’s letter to the Galatian church is chronologically considered to be the first New Testament book ever written. The issue facing those early believers is likely the first, foremost and central problem ever to surface in the church universal.

O you dear idiots of Galatia, who saw Jesus Christ the crucified so plainly, who has been casting a spell over you? (Gal. 3:1, PHI)

Paul uses a term of affection for the Galatians – literally beloved idiots ! If he openly declares their idiocy, be sure that he equally spells out his love for them. He asks, who has bewitched you ? Wasn’t Jesus Christ clearly portrayed as crucified among you? Didn’t we paint a superbly clear picture of the crucified Christ as your ultimate and only connection to Heaven?

The Galatians had jumped back into formulas and effort to obtain “more” from God. This was a very severe issue. In fact, Paul sat down and wrote his letter to them by hand , which was not his usual custom. And he withheld his customary niceties. “Note that in this Epistle alone he plunges straight into his upbraiding; in every other letter he first says such courteous things of his readers as he truthfully can,” notes C.T. Wood. 37

I shall ask you one simple question: Did you receive the Spirit by trying to keep the Law or by believing the message of the gospel? Surely you can’t be so idiotic as to think that a man begins his spiritual life in the Spirit and then completes it by reverting to outward observances? Has all your painful experience brought you nowhere? I simply cannot believe it of you! Does God, who gives you His Spirit and works miracles among you, do these things because you have obeyed the Law or because you have believed the gospel? Ask yourselves that (Gal. 3:2-5, PHI).

The Galatians lost their fundamental understanding of union with God. They had started in a revelation of Christ’s cross, but reverted to formulas and human-effort to further their relationship with Him. It is the same principle that says, “Jesus saved me, now it’s up to me to improve my own spirituality.” It reduces the cross of Christ to an initiation rite – a kindergarten class that we move on from as we mature. While this is a prevalent problem in every stream of the church, it finds its most fertile soil in the charismatic circles.

Not every church is focused on miracles and spirit baptism. For non-charismatic churches, the bewitchment usually manifests in this way: it emphasizes a need to get my own character into alignment, learn more about God or serve Him in order to appease Him. And this form of self-reliance for personal growth is surely indicative of where the Galatians slipped. But in charismatic crowds, the spell flourishes in a different way. Much more in its original version – people feel they must turn to self-effort to get more of Holy Spirit or to work better and more fantastic miracles.

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