The Principle of Spiritual Power
Tim Keller | November 30, 1997
Overview
In our culture, many people go to church looking for spiritual power. They’re looking for spirituality, or prayer, or changes in consciousness. People don’t want to be told how to live decently, because that whole idea that there’s a certain way to live is gone. But they’re empty, and they want spirituality. This text from Galatians has everything to say about spirituality. Paul says, “If you want to understand spiritual power, spiritual reality… not just an ethical life, but a spiritually powerful life… here it is.”
How did the Galatian Christians get converted? How did they receive the Spirit? How did this inner transformation happen? There are two things we’ll discuss in this passage. One is the instrument of the Spirit, and the other is the secret of spiritual power.
Outline
Galatians 3:1–5
People go to church for many reasons, and these have changed over time. Now, many are looking for spiritual strength. The book of Galatians talks a lot about this spiritual strength, which comes from the Holy Spirit. This is a key part of being a Christian. Understanding the story of Jesus Christ, God’s love and forgiveness, and realizing that we can’t earn our way into heaven by ourselves, is really important to understand the good news of the gospel.
2. The secret of spiritual power
Our spiritual strength and growth as Christians doesn’t come from trying really hard on our own or following a bunch of rules. It comes from believing in what Jesus did for us. We’re encouraged to stop trying to do everything ourselves and trust only in Jesus. Changing our understanding in this way is really important for receiving God’s spiritual strength and growing in our journey as Christians.
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