I remember a song that went something like open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you.  We want to see God.  Really what we want is to know God.  We want to experience God in the depth of our being.  Our hearts desire is to have intimacy with God.  Well how can you be intimate with someone you can’t see.  It can be frustrating sometimes trying to connect with something that’s invisible.  We experience intimacy through our senses.  Well how can you be intimate with someone who’s invisible to natural sight.  Paul prayed that the eyes of our understanding be lightened; that Christ; the image of the invisible God be fully formed in us; by faith.  

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when you did not know God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  You observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

The Galatians are a group of believers who were fathered in the faith by the apostle Paul.  Galatia is the area Paul visited after he was stoned and left for dead in Acts 14.  Paul says in Galatians chapter 3 he put Christ on display in their midst, clearly crucified.  What Paul means is he put the faith that was revealed in Christ on the cross, clearly on display in their midst.  

Paul’s writing to the Galatians because he doesnt want his labor to be in vain.  He says he will continue in labor amongst them until Christ is fully formed in them.  The problem is the Galatians are trying to be filled with all the fulness of the Godhead through the rituals and carnal ordinances contained in the law.  Some judaizers visited the Galatians and told them the way to know God; the way to commune with God and His mercy and grace, is through rituals and carnal ordinances, specifically circumcision of the flesh of the foreskin.  

You might think why were they confused to begin with?  Why would they think the power to know God’s grace is found in rituals and ordinances?  Paul says he put Christ clearly on display crucified amongst them.  The reason the Galatians were confused, and really the reason why people continue to be confused today thinking they can commune with God’s grace through certain religious rites, is because those things testify of God.  They were given by God through Moses to be an introduction to the doctrine of Christ.  The difficulty is these things can’t be evil.  They were instituted by God, through Moses.  The idea is if God gave these things, and these things are pointing to Christ, then shouldn’t we be observing these things; things like days and weeks, and baptisms and eating and drinking certain things, or abstaining from eating and drinking certain things.  

So the apostle Paul like a wise master builder explains the purpose of the works of the law, and why the power to commune with the divine nature is not found in rites, and rituals, and carnal ordinances.  So what was the purpose of God giving us those things, and why are they no longer required for Christian worship.(when we talk about worship - we’re talking about communing with God; we’re talking about communing with the divine nature).  

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

The word elements is the Greek word “stroicheia”.  It’s been translated using various English words such as “elementary principles” “rudiments”.   The elementary principle of the world is to live by natural sight instead of the faith of God.  The world does not know God so the live by sight instead of the knowledge of God.  The spies in the OT lived by sight instead of the knowledge of God, except for Joshua and Caleb, they lived by the knowledge of God.  So the elementary principle of the world is because the world lives by sight, it seeks to know God; the world seeks to have intimacy with God, with life, by observing rituals, and feasts and days and weeks and moons, and baptisms, and cleansings, and meat and drink. 

Paul connects the purpose of the works of the law, with its carnal ordinances, and baptisms and washings; and feasts; and holy days with us being a small child, not yet a full grown son, immature, meaning carnal and not spiritual, not able to see God because we are living by natural sight.  When we were living by natural sight, living in bondage to the elements of the world, Paul says we were babes; he says we were infants, and even though we were heirs of God, we needed tudors; we needed a schoolmaster; to exercise our senses; to discern God; to feed us with milk; to continuously remind us of God’s righteousness to serve us with His life.  

Paul writing after Christ is come says in 2nd Cor 5 we live by faith and not by sight.  The faith revealed in Christ Jesus is the substance of things hoped for.  The faith that is of him; of Christ, is the evidence of things not seen with the natural sight.  Faith is the substance of God Himself;  Faith is the revelation of the God that wasn’t able to be seen by natural sight.

There’s a time when mankind was living by sight, and not by faith.  Our hearts were hardened to the Spirit of Truth.  We could not retain God in our knowledge.  Its not that the world didn’t see God perform many mighty works.  Look at everything God did to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and into the promised land.  The problem is we couldn’t retain the righteousness of God in our knowledge.  It didnt matter how many mighty works God performed, and He performed many.  He parted the Red Sea.  He caused death to pass over them.  He poured out manna from heaven; He brought forth water from the rock.  He gave them a land that was occupied with giants, a land filled with milk and honey; vineyards they didnt plant; houses they didnt build.  It didnt matter how many miracles God performed, mankind was still living by sight and not by faith.  So the next time their senses encountered something that contradicted the knowledge God was with them to offer them Himself; to prepare a table for them, where they can partake of His divine nature.  They transgressed God; they walked out of the way; they went awhoring after other gods; they lusted after the strength of the flesh.  How can you worship a God you can’t see.  How can you give yourself over into the arms of someone if you cant see Him.  How can you trust someone you can’t see with your life.  How can you see a God who’s invisible to the natural sight if you’re living by natural sight?  

Paul says in Galatians 3:19 the law was added because of transgressions.  The law and the works of the law; with its carnal ordinances, and baptisms and cleansing, and feast days and holy days washings, and rituals, were added because mankind was living by sight.  When we were living by sight, and not by faith, we had all the works and rituals contained in the law, so we can touch and handle and see the God who was invisible to our senses, and through that, commit the care of our lives into the hands of God.  

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Faith came in the person of Christ Jesus.  Faith is the revelation of Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the revelation of the invisible God.  So until faith came we were living by natural sight, and because we were living by sight, we were under school masters and tudors(religious rites, and ordinances and ….)The school masters and tudors were meant to exercise our senses by helping us to see the invisible God.  But now that faith is come in the person of Christ Jesus, and the God who was invisible is made visible in the face of Jesus Christ.  We don’t touch and handle and see God through rites or rituals or sacraments.  We touch and handle the invisible God through the Holy Spirit; through the hearing of faith.  As it is written God has poured out the Spirit of His Son into our hearts whereby we cry out Abba Father.  We cry Abba Father because by faith we see him who is invisible.  We see Him who was invisible through the eternal Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

The God who was invisible was made visible in the person of Christ Jesus.  Faith is the revelation of Jesus Christ.  The faith Jesus authored in the earth is the revelation of the invisible God.  Faith made the invisible God visible. Jesus makes visible the God who was invisible to the natural sight.  In John 8 Jesus says he’s the light of the world, and then immediately after he heals a guy who was blind from his birth.  The point of Jesus healing the blind man isn’t that His natural sight was healed.  Yes his natural sight was healed, but blindness in the scriptures speaks of not being able to see God with you, serving you with His life; causing death to pass over you.  The point of Jesus healing the blind guy is that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and we can touch and handle and see God in him.  The woman caught in the act of adultery was blind.  She couldn’t see God; and because she couldn’t see God she went awhoring after other gods.  There’s Jesus, he’s the image of the invisible God, he heals the womans blindness, by removing the sentence of death that was reigning over her, justifying her from her accusers.  Jesus says he judges no one after the flesh.  The Pharisees were living by natural sight.  They issued a judgment based on the sin and death that was manifesting in the woman caught in the act of adultery.  Jesus didn’t issue a judgment based on natural sight.  He issued a judgment based on the knowledge of God, and through his judgment, the invisible God was made visible in him.  

Jesus says in John 14 the Father will send the Holy Spirit in his name, to guide us into whatsoever things are revealed in him. What was revealed in Jesus?  The invisible Godhead.  Jesus says if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.  Not that Jesus is the Father, but that Jesus is the self same substance as the Father; He and the Father are of the same nature; their being is of the self same substance … the Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see Jesus, and in seeing Jesus we are touching and handling the God who is invisible to the natural eyes.  

Col 2:6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Col 2:9  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Col 2:10  And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power,
Col 2:11  in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,
Col 2:12  buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead.

We received Christ Jesus by the hearing of faith.  How do we continue to walk in Christ Jesus?  By the hearing of faith.  It’s by faith, the revelation of Jesus Christ, the God who is invisible to the natural sight is set forth in your midst and you can handle him; you can touch him; see him; commune with Him; having your senses exercised by what is revealed about the nature and workings of God in Him.  Faith awakens our senses to the invisible God; so we are able to touch him; handle him; see him.  Jesus awakens our senses to God, so our members can be animated by what we see in him.  Faith awakens your senses to Gods presence.  We commune with the divine nature by faith.  Not just any faith, but the faith thats revealed in Christ Jesus.  For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him. 

The letter to the Hebrews says by faith the patriarchs were animated by the grace of our Lord.  By faith, not by rituals and carnal ordinances and washings.  By faith.  Why?  Because its by faith they were able to touch and handle and see God.  It’s by faith their senses were animated with the invisible God.  By faith Moses saw him who was invisible.  Moses touched and handled and saw God who was invisible to the natural sight, and the way he was able to commune with the God, who is invisible to the natural sight is by faith.  By faith Moses considered the reproaches of Christ greater than the riches of Egypt because Faith opened his eyes to be able to see the recompense of the reward that is of Christ. 

Prayer