August 19, 2026 - Imago Dei
- brooks16055
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Galatians 3:1-6 NIV
[1] You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. [2] I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? [3] Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? [4] Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? [5] So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? [6] So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
The false gospel of works was at work here. There were those known as Judaizers who were teaching the gentiles in Galatia that they needed to adhere to the Jewish laws and customs. Paul is setting them straight but man is it hard to read and understand. It seems harsh to me so I am guessing that the Galatians were learned people who Paul expected to understand that that difference between the power of Jesus grace and the power of the law.
I think we can get caught up in wanting to make sure we are doing things right and fall into the trap of focusing on what we are doing instead of who we are knowing. Listening to a podcast on the Holiness of God which is beyond our ability to comprehend. The more we look to Him and study Him and learn about who He is the easier it becomes to recognize His hand at work. If the Galatians had focused on what they knew about God, what they "experienced" they would have been less likely to be deceived by the false messages they were hearing. Jesus crucified and risen. The Spirit of God given to them on their belief in that truth. God performing miracles among them. Just like Abraham had righteousness credited to him by his faith that was from the heart and influenced how he lived, our faith that is from our heart will influence how we live. We need only to listen to it and not fight against it.
The messages of lies that we are surrounded by in today's culture can pull us into foolishness if we are not daily in His word. If we are not seeking to know Him so that we can be more like Him we will succumb to the distractions of the world. I also listened to a podcast about how the media influences our Christian walk. We know that we are at war, the Spirit of God that is given to us and the spirit of flesh that we are born with. What we focus on and look at and spend time with will be what influences our thoughts words and actions. To quote Mark from the Living Waters Podcast "We've been created in the image of God, Imago Dei, and if we fill our time, our 8 hours, with godlessness well then godlessness is what is going to come out. It's kind of like the idea of two dogs are in a fight. Whatever dog you feed the most, that one is going to win, as the saying goes." The best way to avoid being "bewitched" by a false gospel.
I had been being convicted of the need to not waste my time watching and listening to things that do not build up my relationship with Christ. In fact, I was just thinking yesterday about how much time I had been spending in the word, reading and writing, or listening to Christian podcasts or radio, or working on things that are part of my ministry. And the thing that I am recognizing is that all of those things have given me the ability to fight the temptation to hold onto anger and bitterness and to respond to things that upset me with restraint and prayer.
I am not saying that I do not relax and enjoy recreation. I still will put on a TV show or movie, play a game or read a fictional book etc. God has given us recreation as a gift and we need it, but I have been more and more convicted of what kinds of shows and movies that I watch and for how long. I stopped watching news over 20 years ago and try to avoid social media for anything more than what I need to use it for.
Last night I was with some friends at a meeting, and one was expressing how upset she was about what she was seeing on Facebook about our local school district, and we discussed how cowardly people become bold on social media and we can't get drawn into doom scrolling. I have made a purposeful effort to not scroll social media and when I catch myself doing it, I stop. When I don't catch that I am doing it I can look back in hindsight and see the negative influence it has on me. Even though the majority of what is on my feed is encouraging and spiritual it is frequently without substance. I do not want God's word for fluff but for truth. I need to hear the truths that teach and convicts me, and I can only get that through the word of God in context. The Galatians who learned from the Apostles and did not have TV, social media, movies, cell phones and computers, were fooled by the Judaizers who were trying to conform them to their image instead of seeing themself made in the image of God. How much more will we be fooled by the false messages of the world that comes at us from so many directions if we are not spending more time with God than we do with the world? IMAGO DEI! You were made in God's image. Know it, live it.
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