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This Week's Scripture & Reflection: Galatians 2:6-8
Certain atmospheres and environments are specifically designed for competition, which we currently see taking place in Tokyo, Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Unfortunately, that element of competition is often ushered into the body of Christ by the members of the body of Christ themselves. We unconsciously seek to one-up one another in various aspects: church attendance, social media reach, music production, viral sermon messages, and so on. It's almost as if we believe God is working in our favor and simultaneously working against our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.
In Galatians 2, the apostle Paul provides the Galatians with an in-depth look into a private meeting held among himself; Barnabas and Titus, his two traveling companions; and Peter, John, and James (the brother of Jesus), the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem. In verses 7-8, Paul highlights Peter and himself, more specifically their respective ministry assignments and God's active role in both of them: “for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles.”
The keyword in this verse is “also”. God did not limit Himself to divinely working through one apostle and not the other. Rather, He worked in and through both vessels to achieve His ultimate purpose of bringing both Jews and Gentiles into a saving knowledge of Himself through the preaching of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. This verse substantiates Paul’s revelation in verse 6: “God shows no partiality”; God did not favor Peter over Paul nor did He favor Paul over Peter. He did not fully avail Himself to one apostle and simultaneously limit Himself with the other. Having called both Peter and Paul to this assignment, God proved Himself faithful by actively working through them both, so long as they allowed Him to do so.
One of the major purposes of the body of Christ is for its members to work collectively to fulfill God's purposes in the Earth! We lose sight of this overarching focus when envy and jealously consume our hearts and minds, thus motivating us to outdo one another for the sake of bringing glory to our names rather than the name of the Lord. Let us outdo one another in serving each other, and remember that God is effectually working through each one of us to accomplish the individual assignment(s) He has ordained us to fulfill!
#livetransformed #weeklydevotional #mondaymotivation #AGodofImpartiality #faithful #service #kingdom #kingdomcitizens #thebodyofJesusChrist #purpose #assignment