1) BORN INTO LIBERTY
Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Galatians 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
1 Corinthians 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
2) CALLED UNTO LIBERTY
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
3) STAND IN LIBERTY
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty whereith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
1) BORN INTO LIBERTY
Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Liberty belongs to the children of God. A child of God is one that has been brought forth or birthed from God. You are a child of your parents because you were conceived by your mother and father and formed in the womb of your mother and one day, after much travail, you were brought forth or birthed. Likewise, you are a child of God, if you are brough forth in the same manner. You were conceived by the Word of God formed by God and one happy day, you were also brought forth and birthed by the Spirit of God. You were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Liberty belongs to such; those who have been (as Jesus said in John 3:3) born again. Liberty belongs to those being (as Peter said in 1Peter 1:23) born again by the Word of God. Liberty belongs to those who have been (as John said 7 times in his 1st letter) born of God. We have been delivered from the bondage of corruption into the GLORIOUS LIBERTY of the children of God. A child of God is one who has been born of God, or born again. To those who have been born again, God has placed them into glorious liberty.
There are many privileges to being a child of God. There is forgiveness and pardon, most definitely. When this life on earth is over, there is the privilege of a mansion in the heaven, the street of God, the face to face presence of God and an eternity of bliss. It’s all good, it’s great, but on this earth after we are saved, but before we are translated into his presence, one of our most precious promises and privileges is the glorious liberty which God has reserved only for the children of God. To us who have been born again, God has made us able to live and stand in the glorious liberty that Jesus has wrought for us.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians confirms this. There is a reference to an allegory there. What’s an allegory? It’s a story that has a hidden meaning. It’s like a type in the bible. Much like we compared Egypt to being Lost, the Wilderness to be saved yet carnal, and Canaan to being saved and filled with Holy Ghost. There’s another allegory in the bible or type. And that the account of Hagar and Ishmael, and Abram and Sarai. Galatians, chapter 4:
Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory:…
These things are an allegory of reality. This is an allegory of what Paul is addressing in Galatians 4: There’s a struggle between the Jews and Christians. The Jews want do things one way, and the Christians want to do things another. These things are an allegory of Romans 8: The flesh wants to serve sin, and the Spirit wants to serve God. These things are an allegory of what is going on in the wilderness: Some wanted to go back to Egypt and some wanted to possess the promised land. It’s the same question: Should be walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit? There’s two that lusteth. There’s two that are vying for your attention. So Paul is saying that this is represented by this allegory Genesis by the bondwoman, and the freewoman.
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
There are two Jerusalems. There is Jerusalam which now is, and there is Jerusalem which is above. And Hagar, or the bondwoman in this allegory answereth to Jerusalem which now is. Hagar represents the flesh. And the flesh answereth or is subject to Jerusalem which now is, that’s the law. Jerusalem is the headquarters, the capital, the ruler, the government. The Jerusalem which now is the government or economy of the law, or the law of sin and death. And Hagar AND all her children are in bondage to this Jerusalem which now is.
But Paul says that OUR mother is Jerusalem which is above. Notice he doesn’t say that Sarai is the mother of us all. No, he says our mother is Jerusalem which is above. And this Jerusalem, this headquarter, this capital, this ruler, this government, this Jerusalem which is above is free. And we are subject to, or a subject of, Jerusalem which is above. Who you are born of is who you answer to. We are in freedom under Jerusalem which is above.
So can I ask you this? “Who’s your mama?” Because who your mama is will determine who your Jerusalem is. Which Jerusalem are you a subject of? Who do you answer to? That depends on who your mama is. John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” There’s only one way to enter into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and that’s to be born into it. Who is your Jerusalem? Jerusalem which now is, run by the law of sin and death, where it’s subject walk after the flesh; for that which now is. Or is it Jerusalem which is above, run by the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, where it’s subject walk after the Spirit; for that which is above.
We should note that Paul believed that Isaac was born after the Spirit. Spirit and promise are used interchangebly. Evn so it is now. That’s where you and I are now. Now, I want to interpret scripture correctly. In Galatians, Paul is actually talking about other Jews that had come in and subverted these Christians.
There were Jews that were trying to get these Christians back under the law. They need to be circumcised. They need to do this part of the law, and that part of the law. The children of the flesh were persecuting the children of promise. Even so it is now. If you go back to Genesis and see the account of all this. Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had concieved, her mistress was despised in her eyes.” When Hagar saw that Hagar had concieved, Sarah was despised in Hagar’s eyes. If there’s any doubt of that. Look at verse 5 “And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes..” So it was the bondwoman that despised the freewoman. Not the other way around. It was Hagar that despised Sarah. Even so it is now. He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit. It was the Jew that persecuted the Christian back then. These were actual people that were troubling the Christians. These people were Jews, and Paul considered them children of the flesh. They were bewitching the Christians. For the Galatians, their troubles were the children of the flesh on the outside. Our trouble today is the child of the flesh on the inside. We don’t have Jews telling us to back under the law. But we do have on the inside that which was born of the flesh trying to subvert, trying to bewitch, and trying to trouble and persecute that which was born of the Spirit. And what was Paul’s advise to this:
Cast them out! Throw them out! You don’t compromise with the flesh. You don’t try to work with it. There’s no room for the desires of both. Cast them out! This reminds me again of that quote from Jim Elliot. “He is not fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” For the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. The flesh will not be heir with the spirit. That means it will not endure. The spirit will endure and last and reign. 1Peter 1:24 “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:” This old flesh is just a temporary things and should have no dominion over us, so cast it out! We are not children of the bondwoman, but we are children of the FREE!
Liberty belongs to us. Liberty is our possession. The glorious liberty of the children of God is our property. It’s our standing ground. Galatians 2:4 “…because of false brethren unaware brought in, who came in privily to spy out OUR LIBERTY which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.” It’s ours, it’s ours, it’s ours. It’s not their’s. It’s not for all men. It’s not for the children of the devil. It’s not even for the angels. It’s ours! God has acquired it for only one people. God has commandeered this glorious liberty for only one people to occupy! The children of God.
Liberty belongs to the children of God. Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and join-heirs with Christ…” Romans 7&8: When we serve in the newness of Spirit, then are our possessions made manifest. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and walk after the Spirit, our glorious inheritance of FREEDOM is clear.
Liberty belongs to the children of God.
2) CALLED UNTO LIBERTY
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
This freedom belongs to those who have been called into it. Ye have been called unto liberty! The word eklesia, or in spanish it iglesia, in english it is church; it means “the called out assembly!” To be called is to be called out, called out of a lost and dying world that is imprisoned and in bondage to sin and death.
The Author of the Call
It says many times in the bible that you have “been made free” and that speaks of the action taken on your soul and the price paid to secure your freedom; but the bible also says that you have been “called unto liberty!” The fact that there is a call, implies that #1 someone is calling, and #2 that someone is calling for a reason. #1, That someone is God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. #2, He is calling for a reason. This speaks to us of the heart of God, the will of God, the desire of God, the plans of God, or as some people say, “the determinate counsel of God”. It speaks to us of the love of God and the compassion and ardent longing that God has for us. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us first. Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…” His call to us is his desire. The bride in Song of Solomon, when she hears her lovers call, she says “The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” It’s speaks to us and tells us that God has intentions for us and desires. We enter in this liberty because we were called! The angels may ask us, “Why are you here?” and we can respond, “I am not here on my own accord, but I have been called unto liberty!” “It was not my desire, but someone else’s desire and summons in that he has called me unto this liberty!” I stand here now in this freedom because I have been called to be here. Not my will that I be free, but thy will be done. O bless his holy name, that he saw fit to call me unto liberty. What a glorious peace to be in the mind and heart of God; that it was God’s desire to set me free. It was his idea and his calling to me. To be called unto liberty is to be called by someone who wants me and longs for me to be in this liberty; God the son, Jesus Christ has written out the invitation in his own blood, even before the foundation of the world; has sent his Holy Spirit, his angels, his bible and his evangelists, to present; this invitation, his will, for you; to call you unto liberty!
The Alarm of the Call
To be called unto liberty is to be awoken unto liberty. 1 Cor 15:34 “Awake to righteousness!” Romans 13:11 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” The Spirit of God must awaken us to liberty; awaken us to freedom. Just as the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters before this earth began, so must the Spirit of God move upon the slumbering chords of our soul. Ezekial 37 “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones… Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord… So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Awake to righteousness! As a newborn babe opens his eyes and takes his first breath, awake, open your eyes, and breath the Spirit’s breath of freedom! For God has called you unto liberty! As Jesus said at the grave of Lazarus, “Take away the stone! Open your eyes to the glory of God! Come forth! Loose him! And Let him go!” Hear the alarm of God! It’s calling you to awaken to liberty!
The Answer to the Call
To be called is not just to hear the call, but to answer the call; to claim and posses the freedom that you have been called into. It’s wonderful thing to be saved; but to be called unto liberty means not to be brought to the threshold of freedom, but to be ushered into it. Liberty is not something that God taunts and teases us with, but gives it to us freely and abundantly, “..it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over..” God gives his freedom. How free we are depends on how much we believe God.
Those Israelite spies that stood at the edge of the promised land had it in their head that they couldn’t posses the promised land. Num 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. Use you imagination for just a minute. These ten spies that had determined that they were not able to overcome the obstacles to possess the promised land; if I know people (some of you know what I’m talking about) those ten spies had already decided that they weren’t going over before they took one step into that promised land to spy it out. They had already decided in their attitude and in their spirit. The bible says that Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit. This wasn’t the first time they disappointed God. It was the tenth time. Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Ten times did they not believe God.
You can get into a habit of not believing God and God brings us to the threshold of freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus. He’s ready to usher us in, but do we really want to go. I can hear those spies with their negative comments the whole time. Oh man, look at these grapes. We’re going to have carry these all the way back. I can’t eat that whole grape. Look at this dirt! We can’t grow anything in this dirt. No, it will never work. Look at these Amelekites. They’re huge. Aww man, there’s no way we can beat them. I can see Joshua and Caleb saying, we can take them! And the others are there nodding their heads, no, no, no, no, no. They didn’t get there and start with the negative attitude. They had been saying no, no, no, no the whole time from Egypt.
They said no at the Red Sea, and God said yes and parted it. They said no when they were thirsty, and God said yes and gave them water from the rock. They said no when they were hungry, and God said yes and gave them manna from above. God gave them the law, and they said no with their golden calf. They said no with their strange fire. Time after time, it’s no, no, no, no.
Quit saying no to God and answer the call. To answer his call is to say yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Believe in God and what he says. The main reason we are not filled with the Holy Ghost and walking after the Spirit of God in the newness of spirit is because we don’t believe that we can. You are what you believe. He that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them diligently seek him. Mat 21 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall recieve. Mat 7 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Luke 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
God is calling you unto Liberty. Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Most people think that Peter is talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If you keep things in their context, you’ll see that he’s talking about what just happened. What just happened. The bible says that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Peter explained that what they saw was what God had promised by his prophet Joel. …having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. … For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Did you catch that? Even as many as the Lord our God shall call! God is calling you unto Liberty! Answer the call! Because freedom belongs to those who have been called into it.
3) STAND IN LIBERTY
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
This freedom or liberty belongs to those that stand fast in it. To ‘stand fast’ means “to firmly remain in the same position.” Paul admonishes us in other letters to stand fast in the Lord, to stand fast in one spirit, to stand fast in the traditions which ye have been taught, and to stand fast in the faith. And here, Paul encourages us to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. We should firmly remain in this place of Liberty.
The Place of Liberty
We must understand that there is a place a position in which Paul admonishes us to stand fast in; this place of liberty. This is the place where God has brought us.
A secure place to be: Psalm 40:2 “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock…”
A safe place to be: Psalm 4:8 “…for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”
A secret place to be: Psalm 27:5 “…he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me…”
A fruitful place to be: Psalm 1:3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
A peaceful place to be: Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep…”
A prosperous place to be: Psalm 122:7 “..prosperity within thy palaces.”
Oh what a wonderful place God has made for us; this place of Liberty. No doubt typified by the land flowing with milk and honey; a place of promise; a place of victory; the blessed promised land of liberty. Where is this land? Where is this secure, safe, secret, fruitful, peaceful, prosperous place? Where is this place of refuge? Fifteen times in the Psalms does is say that “God is our refuge!” Jesus is that rock! Jesus is the Prince of Peace! The Holy Spirit is the rivers of water! It’s the Holy Spirit that causes us to bring forth fruit! It’s the eternal Spirit of God that does not wither and His work that shall prosper. There is a place of Liberty! Psalm 91:1 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” This place of Liberty will I trust. This place of Liberty will I believe. This place of Liberty will I put my faith.
Our Position in Liberty
This place of Libert is our Position in Liberty. This place is where we ought to be standing. There’s no other place for us to stand. Any other place is not liberty. Any other place is not secure; it’s not safe; it’s not secret. Any other place, there’s no fruit, no peace, and no prosperity. Any other place is not liberty; it’s bondage.
That’s why Romans applies to us and not just the Jew. You might not consider the Mosaic Law. You might not worry about the law, but it’s not of faith, then it’s the law, whether you realize it or not.
SOS 2:13 “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs…”