“MY little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). …is one of those great verses and phrases of the NT writer and Apostle Paul. Referencing lessons from Galatians, Paul seems to have been less than thrilled with that church’s adherence and faithfulness to the true gospel, writing, reminding, and calling them back as true sons of God through faith in Christ, heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:26-29). As such, his statement in Gal. 4:19 is not unlike that which he wrote is Romans 8:29, the conforming to Christ objective within every believer. But it is not an easy a path or task. Like one who labors in childbirth, from conception followed by period of careful development, to a period of intense pain and suffering until a life is born, only to require more nurturing and sacrificial care to maturity. “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” is an unavoidable process if we are to know the true riches of a life hidden away “in Christ” to be revealed in due season.
WE come now to the last paragraphs on the Chapter dealing with being Complete and Secure in Christ. Again, I would remind you of the authors view here on “eternal security,” which would parallel our view on the perseverance of the saints. Understand that there are those in the non-Reformed camp who would and do scoff at the idea of “eternal security,” teaching that a believer can loose their salvation, and much debate is over that point. In the Reformed side, we would argue that the Lord knows his own, and if one were to abandon their profession it may appear that they were never his to begin with (1John 2:19); but in the end it is the Lord who knows the heart and judges all things.
AS we close this chapter, the author finishes with five statements of affirmation upon which the believer can rest upon — resting secure in his position in Christ: The Lord Himself, The sovereignty of God, the justice of God, the will of God, and the love of God all working on the intended goal, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19).
May the Lord bless us in the consideration of these things.
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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Chapter 22—Completeness and Security – Continued
The believer who rests in the Son of God knows he is eternally secure. “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory” (Col. 3:3, 4 NASB). “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11).
The believer who rests in the sovereignty of God knows he is eternally secure. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29, 30). “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy…” (Jude 24).
The believer who rests in the justice of God knows he is eternally secure. “To declare … his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…” (1 Pet. 3:18). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:1, 2, NASB).
The believer who rests in the will of God knows that he is eternally secure. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” (John 15:16). “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us … redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).
The believer who rests in the love of God knows he is eternally secure. “…I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jer. 31:3). “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution … ? … For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35, 38, 39).
