Galatians 3:1-14 Back to the Start

Welcome to the podcast of Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan, where you can grow in faith, community, and service. We're currently studying Galatians in a series called Off the Chain, Finding Freedom in Galatians.

Here's Pastor Don Filsack. This morning, we're going to come to the heart of the book of Galatians. Like really, Paul's gonna just let us have basically his basic premise, his basic thesis as we go through, and he's going to do it in a little bit of a creative way.

He's going to appeal to do different things to defend the gospel of grace. That is He went through and he planted these this cluster of churches in South Central Turkey During his life and just an amazing journey.

You can read about that back in Acts 13 and Acts 14. So if you're taking notes You can jot that down and go back and I'd encourage you to read that. See about his experience in Galatia when he was actually there, but Paul's gonna appeal to two different things to defend that gospel.

He's gonna appeal to the experience of those Christians in Galatia. He's gonna say I came and I lived among you for a short period of time. He wasn't able to be there long but he's gonna appeal to the experience that they jointly held together while he was with them some things that transpired during that time and Equally at the later part of our text.

He's gonna appeal to the Old Testament scriptures. Now if you're anything like me appealing to scriptures on the for for the way that you think about God that that kind of makes Sense, right? Okay. That's the way that I was raised.

I mean you go to scripture to find out who God is anybody with me on that like that's but how many of you. It may it feels a little bit dicey to appeal to people's experiences. Is anybody with me on that?

All right, go ahead and raise your hand if you're with me three of you agree with me, but are you understand what I'm saying because I'm gonna know that we have a vast variety of experiences in our lives right and some I'm gonna be you've ever experienced a Kind of false experience like in a sense you experienced it.

So it's true like in a sense it really happened. But it didn't really reflect well on God. Like when you really thought about it or didn't really reflect Reality very well the way that things were meant to be the things that were are you getting what I'm saying?

So experience is kind of a could be a faulty guide, right? How many of you know like have you had that experience with in your family where you experience an argument with somebody else in? Your family different than they experienced it and you're talking about it a week later, and you're like no no.

No, that's not what you said, and it's like your experiences were different, right? So that's what I mean when I say it can be a little dicey and yet if we're all honest experience is a powerful spiritual force in our lives isn't it the way that we experience a relationship with God is valuable and as far as people coming into Galatia and Disagreeing with Paul's message now again.

He had gone there. He had planted these churches. He had to leave. He was basically forced out of the district by Jews who were seeking to kill him so under duress He leaves Galatia and now some Jews come in after him and begin to say Paul was Paul was wrong.

He was wrong and so it makes sense. That he appeals in a letter to the Galatians to the things that he saw Transpire when he was there with them the things that they jointly experienced together in that short time that they were together.

And so as we come to worship this morning, and we come to this text this morning I'm gonna ask you to answer the question that Paul is gonna ask rhetorically to the Galatians. So here's one of the questions the primary question.

He's gonna pose to them. Did you receive the Spirit of God by works? Did you earn God's favor by works by doing good things? And so you did such a good job. You've done such a good job up to this point in your life that now God has given you his spirit because you know what?

You have really got God's attention. You have just behaved so well that God was like I'm gonna send my spirit down on them because I you you're keeping the law. You're you're getting it done. Or did you receive God's Spirit his indwelling power and presence with you?

By faith. Which was it? And that's what he's gonna ask the Galatians appealing to their experience. Which one which way did how did it come to you? How did the Spirit actually how did God save you? How did you get into this family of God?

Was it by law and keeping rules and regulations. Or was it by faith has a miraculous change come about in your life through law or through grace. The God of truth is the God who has brought us into this family.

Has brought us together through grace and by the end of this text We will see that all of Paul's arguments in this text culminate in the promise of his Holy Spirit in us. And that is the definition of full life.

We're gonna get down to what the definition of real good living looks like and that is a life lived in the power of his indwelling spirit. Now Paul's gonna take us through part of the Old Testament also in this text and the first song that we're gonna sing I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna kind of introduce the song then I'm gonna read the text and then the band's gonna come up and We're gonna sing it and um, it's a little bit of a unique song.

We used to sing it a lot here. It's been a while since we sang it. It's called take me in have any of you heard of it? I'm actually a band called cutlass sings it and every once in a while. It's on the radio, but it can be a little confusing because there's a lot of words about the Old Testament in there there's words like the Holy of Holies and it appeals to or or reminds us of a passage of Scripture in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah Actually is taken up and stands before the throne of God actually falls on his face before the throne of God and he says I All woe is me.

I'm undone because he experiences God and There's a lot of allusions to the Old Testament system in this song and I drew that out with intention because in in reality If you were to go back in the Old Testament if we were to go back to living under law.

Do you realize how just radically different our lives would have to look? We would not be here in a church. My prayers would be on your behalf I would be a priest and you would have all brought lambs and goats and oxen and birds to sacrifice.

There was a lot of hoops to jump through in order to even get connection with God. There were intermediaries called priests and there were laws to be kept and all of us. Are you understanding? I'm saying there was distance in the Old Old Testament covenant between us and God and yet what this tech what the text of the song is going to tell us is take me into the Holy of Holies take me in by the blood of the Lamb, the Lamb is Jesus Christ.

He has cut through that Old Testament code and has brought us near to God By his shed blood for us and that's something that I it gives me chills. I mean part of it maybe is just the amount of knowledge that you have about the Old Testament Creates awe in that God in Christ has brought us near that we can pray and I mean, honestly I mean Kyle and I were praying together this morning and I was confessing God.

I don't pray enough to you. I haven't got this vision enough yet. Because we have access to the throne room of the creator of the universe through Jesus Christ that gives me chills at the thought and all of the all the hoops that had to be jumped through in the Old Testament are Just a sign how much more holy he is than us, but we've been brought near through Christ so I want you to open your Bibles place to Galatians chapter 3 and That's page 833.

If you take the Bible in the seat back in front of you take that out and turn to page 8 3 8 3 3. That's easy to find. If you don't own a Bible, please take that one with you. If you don't own an English Standard Version of the Bible, it's not that that one's magical.

But that's the one I preach from and you can take that one with you. If you don't own that version just to have a copy that you can read at home. But let's dive into Galatians 3 1 through 4 and be ready.

The Spirit Received by Hearing with Faith

Paul's going to let the Galatians have it. Oh foolish Galatians. Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit. Are you now being perfected by this flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness so then. That it is those of faith who are the sons. No, no than this that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham and The scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham.

Saying in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith for all. Who rely on works of the law are under a curse? For it is written cursed to be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law for the righteous shall live by faith. But the law is not a faith rather the one who does them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written.

Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree so then in Christ Jesus. The blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. Let's pray father. I'm I'm in awe of your grace.

As I hear Paul just tenaciously in Almost vehemently opposing the notion that we can be righteous enough in and of ourselves. Father that even in our lives that our primary mode of operating is one of law it Misunderstands the awesome righteousness.

It might misunderstands the concept of justification. That uh that not only have we not only has our sin been forgiven and our account brought to zero. But it's it's been brought up to the righteousness of Christ that you've credited our account with his righteousness.

There's nothing we can add to that. So father I ask that you would produce in us lives of gratitude. For the one who loved us and gave himself for us. That we would we would we would come to a place of a higher moral understanding a higher ethical life.

Higher than laws higher than rules higher than regulations, but one that is driven by love. And joy and delight in your awesome sacrifice for us, and I ask this in Jesus name Amen in our text this week Paul comes out of his corner swinging.

Did you get that in the way that I kind of inflected my voice there a little bit when I was reading? He's gonna let him have it. I mean, that's that's really what's going on in the text and those of you who are visiting I'm not always like a hellfire and brimstone kind of preacher.

So I mean, I just want to let you know that everything up to this point. In the book of Galatians has been kind of somewhat of a personal defense. And in those things Paul has been relatively tame now to say Paul is tame is you know overstating the case?

He's never quite tame. But now he comes to the heart of his defense and it's no longer a defense of his personal ministry. It's no longer a defense of his own personal calling to ministry. But now he comes to the defense of the good news of the gospel itself and the gloves come off.

He's gonna let them have it. Oh foolish Galatians. He says see that right there in verse 3 I'm not making this up. Exclamation point the Greek lets you put exclamation points in there for the way that I mean.

The words are used in a very emphatic way in Greek if he was writing an email. This would be in all caps. Okay, and then he's gonna go on to say Oh foolish Galatians who has bewitched you. What do you think that that's a little bit of inflammatory language?

Like is he is he letting him have it you think so? Although it's inflammatory Paul is doing this to drive his point home and it's something that we can grasp here sitting hundreds of years removed from this situation.

We can grasp the the emotion that he's experiencing here. He's driving a point home and that is that in Paul's estimation. He knew these people that he's writing to and he says in essence. You should know better.

You're acting foolishly. You should know better. I know you I know the things we experienced. I lived life with you. Even if it was a short period of time. I was there. I was on the ground. We prayed together.

We saw faith together. We saw God do miraculous things while I was there. This is just foolhardy that you are that you are basically pushing aside the gospel reminding them then of the awesome experience and the glorious life change that they experienced while he was with them and Paul can think of nothing shy of a hex or a curse or that they've been bewitched.

That would make them second-guess the good news that they experienced. Do you see that that's what he's getting at by that rhetorical question who's bewitched you? He doesn't think that somebody's literally put a hex on them or some witches come through and cast a spell on them but what he's saying is that just something crazy has happened in your mind to Move you to this place where you're questioning the gospel of grace.

In verse 1 it's clear that they heard teaching that vividly. Picturesquely impressed on their mind's eye the crucifixion of Christ. Do you see that? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified that phrase publicly portrayed.

It's not like they were play acting if that's a word that's used for. Literally published and like staked it on the on the on the bulletin board in the community center. So it's like it was the crucifixion of Christ was was was pinned up for you to see.

You you you you you saw this it through his teaching. It's obvious that Paul's message when he was with them focused on the crucifixion. Now, I don't know how graphic he got about the crucifixion and I'm not suggesting that you have to go to the extent of explaining How long the nails were or how long the thorns were or how much blood there was?

I'm not convinced that you need to get into like to what depth of detail. But Paul's message focused on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and so should ours. We should focus on that as well. If we think we're proclaiming the gospel and the cross barely makes a cameo appearance appearance.

We are not proclaiming the gospel. The cross is the centerpiece of our faith. It is the point. It is the culmination of all of this ancient history moving down God working in human history to bring about the ultimate sacrifice that we might be saved.

Now it's funny that Paul is going to use some rhetorical questions in rapid-fire succession to get his main point across and so that's what we're Going to see really in the first few verses of chapter 3 all these rhetorical questions.

Who has bewitched you all of these things? But the central question is found in verse 2 and you know that it's a central question because he says let me ask you only this. So what comes next is his main point all of the other questions?

It's not like he says let me let me ask you only this and then he forgets that he said that and he asked some five questions. He says let me only ask you this and then all of the other questions serve to support the one primary question.

He wants them to answer in their minds. Again appealing to their experience. Paul asks and here's the central question. Did you receive the Spirit of God by works of the law or by hearing with faith? How did you?

Get into this whole thing this whole Christian thing. It's clear by the follow-up question in verse 3. Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? It's clear that he's talking about he basically equates Receiving the Spirit with salvation those two are a joint venture those two things happen in tandem in succession.

So if you are in Christ, you've accepted Christ by faith. You are you have received the Spirit. Are you seeing what I'm saying? Those two are parallel in this text. So he says you've given your life to Christ.

You've received the Spirit if you've received the Spirit you're in with Christ so you see what I'm saying those two are are tied together and that's that's really important as we move forward and Particularly as we as we contemplate and consider our own Walk with Christ that those who are in Christ those who have trusted him by faith have the Spirit of God in them.

Dwelling in them and we're gonna get there at the end of the passage. But in essence he's asking the Galatians then I was with you I preached the gospel some of you believed and how did you get into the whole Christian life thing?

How in the in the first place? What was your initiation into it like? Anyone who hears the truth and responds with trust or faith or belief? You know the problem is the word faith is a word that can be misunderstood.

In English language, and we really need three words to understand the Greek word trust faith or belief. Because we have an intellect a will and emotions, right? So because we have this kind of this this kind of set up in our minds of our understanding of what does it mean to?

Be a person that we have a will that enacts and does stuff that we have Emotions that feel things and then we have a mind that takes in knowledge. Faith is an exercise of all three of those things. Do you understand what I'm saying your will is exercised in in making a decision for Christ your knowledge is enacted in Understanding what Christ has done for you your emotions are engaged in recognizing Love the love of God to you.

Are you getting what I'm saying? So when we talk about coming in by faith that's what we're talking about and anyone who hears the truth and responds with that kind of faith is justified before God and receives the Spirit of God and Throughout the remainder of this book We are going to see that this reception of the Holy Spirit is the key to how we move forward in our life with Jesus.

So really what Paul is issuing in in in verse 2 is a 50 -50 question. It's like a multiple-choice question with only two answers. So it might as well be true or false. So you're kind of hoping you get this one, right?

I'm hoping you get this one, right? You got a 50 chance of getting it, right? How did you get into the Christian life was it by works of the law? Was it by obedience and doing a bunch of good things or was it by hearing?

With faith so you heard the message and you believed it and trusted in it. How did you get in? Well, obviously the right answer is hearing with faith. I hope did you get it, right? I Hope you I hope you got it, right?

If you didn't please come and see me afterwards. I'd like to I'd like to talk with you. But let me camp here for a minute because the phrase hearing because this phrase hearing with faith is as I wrote in my I wrote In my notes.

It's right there my notes I didn't change it and I and Kyle and I were Interacting over my sermon and he said I don't think you can use the word unreasonably important. I don't think you can put those two together.

I was like, okay, it's just crazy important. It's radically important that this phrase hearing with faith. Because it stands in the text is the one thing required to receive the Holy Spirit, which we said is equated with salvation, right?

How many of you think that's an important phrase? Like like you'd like to get down to the bottom of that because that's what gets you in the kingdom of God, right? Hearing with faith. So it's like anybody want to raise your hand and say that sounds like an important phrase to me.

I kind of want to understand what that means because that's the difference between in with God and not with God. Not works of the law. But hearing with faith in other places Paul is going to expand on that notion so I kind of turned to some other texts and some other passages to expand out and kind of blow up this notion of Hearing with faith.

Romans 10 17 is an example of that where Paul writes faith comes by hearing. Hearing with faith faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. Word of Christ can be translated word about Christ.

So what we have here is the word of hearing the message about Jesus and believing it as true and Trusting trusting in it for salvation is the way to salvation you hear it. You hear the truth. You hear the good news about Jesus Christ and you express faith towards what you know.

You you put your weight on it. You sit on it. You you trust it that it's not that it's gonna hold your weight. Are you getting what I'm saying? That's hearing with faith in other words no hearing about Jesus.

No salvation. No trust or faith in Jesus. I mean, you know, you can hear about Jesus and not trust him, right? So no hearing no salvation, but no trusting in what you've heard. No salvation. Are you getting what I'm saying?

And that might produce some questions in your mind, and I'd love to talk with you. I don't have time to get into the the guy the Aborigine out in the jungle or whatever hearing about Jesus or not hearing About Jesus, but if you have questions about that, I would love to talk with you.

I know Kyle would probably love to talk with you about those things, too. But understanding like what does a person need to know in order to be saved? Have any of you ever asked those questions before like how much does a person need to know in order to be saved?

What do you need to trust and we're gonna talk about even what Abraham understood that was reckoned to him as faith. I think that sometimes we dumb down how much a person needs to know. Well, you just trust in God and you'll get in or something like that.

There's there's more to it than that. There's a content faith. The faith that saves is not because we express faith. It's the object of our faith that saves us. It's Jesus Christ that saves us. It's not just that we have faith and therefore we are saved.

Are you getting what I'm saying? You can have faith in a lot. You can express faith in a lot of different things, right? It's not that you have faith that saves you. It's that you have faith in Jesus the one who can save you.

Is that making sense you guys tracking with that? I think that that's very vital. And so in follow-up to this initial question Paul assumes that they got it, right and Again pointing to their foolishness.

He's really digging in. Are you so foolish verse 3? So he appeals to their foolishness again. Asks if they who began this Christian life by the Spirit are now seeking to be perfected by the flesh. That's not talking about this this material, you know muscles in and skin and bones and things like that.

That's not that's not what he's talking about when he says flesh. There's something else that is going on In in that are you now being perfected by the flesh? The question is pretty straightforward. He says if the Spirit is the one who brought you into the kingdom of God He was the one who initiated this whole thing.

He brought you in. Are you now going back to that old man that was crucified with Christ if you look back just to just take a glance back I don't know if you have to turn the page to verse 20. I've been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me in chapter 2. Do you remember I was talking about that a couple weeks or last week? Are you bringing back that old weak self? That's under the law and asking him to make you righteous in this walk with God.

Are you are you reviving that old self again? The one who was crucified with Christ by even posing the question in this way Paul is saying it is foolish to have tasted the freedom of the Spirit and then return Back to seeking righteousness or perfection through the old man under the law.

He's saying that's foolish to have to have actually been set free from the law and then to go back to it as though you are now a Slave and a servant under the law. So what about us? Have you Started strong in the Lord.

Have you expressed faith in God? That's something that each one of us I'd encourage everybody here to wrestle with that. Have you expressed a saving faith in Jesus Christ saying I trust you. To set me free from the sin that so easily entangles my life.

I'm asking you to forgive me and to give me your righteousness. Justification by the way is not just bringing you to zero. It's not like God has just merely forgiven the wrong that you've done and now your account balances at zero.

And I think some people live the Christian life like that. It's a misunderstanding of the word justification. So I've been forgiven now my accounts at zero. So now I better get busy and get good works added to my account.

I better fill my account with a lot of good stuff, right? Have you have you have you maybe thought that way or heard it preached that way or taught that way? Justification is a much more radical understanding.

Yes, your account your balance has been taken care of. There your sin is gone wiped clean and the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself is now credited to your account. That's what justification says.

Justification means that you have a balance in your account account. What kind of balance do you have in your account the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself? If you are justified God looks at you and says purchased by my son righteous free and clear in Jesus.

Praise God. I Just yeah. That's so unreasonable that God would say that of me that he would look at me and say righteous. My child my son whoo. That's intense. So what about us? Have you started strong in the Lord and then taking your eyes off of him and begun to look to yourself.

How many of you know that the law drives us inwardly the draw the law drives us to look and overanalyze our own lives. Have you been to that place in life? We're gonna kind of explain this out here a little bit.

You see I find crazy bouts of discouragement when my eyes are focused on me. Anybody relate to that you look at your own life you how many of you know that it doesn't take long to look at your own life and you see Sin.

Anybody a little discouraged that like I'm going I'm I'm 39 years old. I'm gonna be 40 next year. Yeah, and and I'm looking at it. I'm going. Shouldn't I be further along in my walk with God by now? Can anybody relate to this statement?

Like shouldn't I be more mature than I am now and I'm guessing that I'll be 50 and I'll say shouldn't I be more mature? Than I am now and I'll be 60 and I'll say shouldn't I be more mature and I'll be 70 if I live that long 80 whatever 90 and I'll be like Just take me home and finish this.

Do you know what? Do you know what I'm saying? But isn't that kind of what our lives are really like? It's it's it's looking inside and I mean that's. So think about the way that you approach your internal life the way you talk to yourself the way you think about things.

Is it man? I want to get my act together. I Wish I could get my act together or God. I want to bring you more glory. Do you hear the difference? Do you hear the difference of focus is the focus on me?

I want to get my acts together or God start with God God. I want my life to glorify you. Do you hear the difference in those two statements? Think about where your focus is. Where are your eyes eyes here or eyes there?

That's what the book of Galatians in a nutshell is about. Where are your eyes? Focused upward at the glory of God and his righteousness that he has declared to you. Or is it down here in the mud in the mire of just trying to slug it out on your own?

But there are have been seasons in my life where I've been able to let Jesus. Let the great love of Christ let Jesus is great sacrifice. Let his power to save. Consume my vision. Have you been there? Oh, that's a glorious place.

That's an exciting place when you actually have your eyes transfixed on the Savior and his sacrifice for you and You're able to focus on him. Those are times that I find growth despite my circumstances all different kinds of things can be swirling around in life.

But if your eyes are fixed on Jesus Christ you can grow and You find sustenance you find encouragement and strength to carry on because you're looking to the right place. Not looking here, but looking there.

Looking to ourselves as a surefire pathway to discouragement. And not just discouragement, but I'm convinced that looking at ourselves and over analyzing ourselves is also a pathway to deadness. In our spiritual walk but the law.

The law always drives us to focus on ourselves. The law always drives us to focus on our own performance. But faith in the cross of Christ will draw us deeper into love and gratitude. And that's why that works by the way keeping the cross in your eye.

Drives you to gratitude. Drives you to thankfulness. Drives you to desire to do things not out of law-keeping not out of hoop jumping. But because you recognize his great sacrifice and you're motivated by love.

Love for your Savior. Love for the awesome sacrifice that he made for you. Well still appealing to experience Paul now in verse 4 you can look down at your text. Turns to their persecution and suffering.

Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? We know that Paul brought the gospel to them and suffered greatly for it. Personally physically suffered in the process of taking the gospel to the Galatians was stoned was left for dead.

So it seems to make sense that those who believed in his message also suffered greatly for the cause of Christ. Wouldn't you think that those who came to faith in Christ under his ministry while he's being persecuted.

Would themselves then in turn be persecuted even after he left. Maybe even more so. And he doesn't want their suffering to have been for nothing to have been empty the word vain there. In verse 5 Paul turns to the miraculous things that they experienced at the beginning in Lystra one of these several.

There's there's there's five cities that are mentioned in Galatia when Paul goes through in Acts 13 Lystra being one of them that stands out prominent. He gets up in front of a group of people. Proclaims the gospel in the front row is a man who has been born and his legs have never worked.

Everybody in the community knew him. He's there in the gathering. He's probably had to be carried in there to sit in the front row and God miraculously gives Paul the ability to heal this man and he gets up and walks out of that meeting together.

How many of you would just be like whoa? Massive things happening here the power of the Spirit coming on them. They could see it. They can see his power working through Paul and Then equally Paul himself was stoned as they're leaving Lystra.

Paul was stoned and left for dead outside of the same town and yet he rose walked into town the next day. He's gonna take a 60-mile journey to the next town. Miraculous. They thought he was dead. He gets up dusts himself off walks into town next day.

Marches 60 miles to the next village and proclaims the gospel there. They saw the works of the Spirit and Paul asked did those miracles happen because you obeyed the law or did they come to you by faith?

Was it because you got it God's attention so much Galatians you people in Lystra? Was it because you were such good law-abiding individuals that God was like man. We got to give them a miracle. Look at them look at them.

They deserve it. They've earned it or was it by faith. Was it a gift from God? That's what he's saying, and he's still appealing to their experiences. The miracles, of course came by faith in God and not by works of the law.

That's what he's pointing to. And notice briefly the two titles that are given to God in verse 5. He is called he who supplies the Spirit. Speaking of the Father he who supplies the Spirit and he who works miracles.

The Spirit again is so central That it's reasonable for believers to rejoice in the Father as the one who supplies the Spirit. That's a noble title for God the one who gives us the Spirit. I'm convinced that in many evangelical churches Baptist churches many many denominations that we Hear have come from or been involved in.

Really sidelined the Spirit of God because we're afraid of maybe a little bit of speaking in tongues thing or some of the things that we've seen in the past or whatever and The Spirit is the key to the Christian life.

We've missed it. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Well, and we'll and that's what's going to go up forward in the book of Galatians here after the end of our text. He is the key to our walk with God in this fallen world.