The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1973

THE WORD OF DELIVERANCE (Galatians 1:4) One of the outstanding statements in the Galation Epistle occurs in the alutat1on of the Letter. The Apostle point out the personal sacrifice of Chri t for in in the first clause of v. 4... Who gave Himself for our sins,'' and then tate the purpose of the acrificial work in a second extra– ordinary clause: "That He might de– liver u from this present evil age,'' hopos exeleitai l1ei111as ek tou aionos tou enestotos. While written under in– spiration so long ago, thi s great propo– sitio11 is as timely for the present generation as it was for Paul 's day. People are clamoring tod ay for de– liverance from this thing and that , some sensing in a limited way a need for deliverance from certain evil forces - but failing to turn to the one great source of full and final de– liverance from all that is evil and apostate. From this most significant clause in v. 4, "that He might de- 1 iver us from this present evil age,'' let us consider the deliverance point– ed out in these words, and note five characteristics of it. 1. It is a REAL deliverance. We are assured of this at the very outset. First, because it is the clear testimony of the Holy Scriptures; second, because the source of the de– liverance is the eternal God Himself ; and third, because of the word used by the Holy Spirit to describe the de– liverance. The verb is exaireo, which means "take out, rescue, deliver." In the Papyri, certain soldiers are "picked out" for honorable regard; and in the rental of a flower garden for a fes– tival, mention is made of "special se– lected items," In Matt. 5: 29, it occurs in the Lord's statement "And if th)' right eye offend thee, pluck it ot, t. ( exele) ..." Acts 7: 10 describes the fact that God ' 'delivered" ( exeilato) Joseph out of his afflictions; and in Acts 23: 37, Claudius Lysias points out to Governor Felix how his troops "rescued" ( exeilamein) Paul from the mob. 10 MAY, 1973 Such is the meaning of the verb . The \'erbal idea is clear: Christ de– Iivered us from this present , evil world-age by His substitutionary work on the cross. The Gospel is a means of rescue; it is a divine emancipation from the bonds of sin. Christ has taken us ou t of the power of Satan's domain. The preposi tion ek prefixed to the verb, denotes a genuine, actual change of position and standing: out of one realm in to another, now. What has occurred in our experience is real: the Lord has actually rescued tis, and has delivered us from Satan's owner– ship. We must still appear and take our place in the external strL1cture of this age, but we no longer belong to it. 2. It is a deliverance BY FORCE. The verb infers an unusual display of power and energy to accomplish a result. Acts 12: 1-19 describes Peter's imprisonment by King Herod , and . the Apostle's escape from the prison. In v. 11, after the angel had set Peter free and had departed, Peter said , "Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hat/1 delivered ( exeilato) me . . .' ' Peter's release was accomplished by the exer– cise of supernatural power. God work– ed through His angelic deputy. Such power is necessary to loose us from this world-age and its evils, its sins, and its corruptions. 3. It is a DEFINITE, ONCE-FOR– ALL deliverance. The aorist tense of the verb ( exele– itai), denotes the definite and effec– tive act of the Lord in rescuing us. It is like the snap of the camera lens : over and done once and for all, effec– tive for each individual saint, al– though Paul takes all together and speaks of the act as one. The de– liverance has been accomplished for– ever . Let us then count it to be so, and reckon ourselves dead to the sinful habits with which we were bound to this world-age. This is the key to over-all victory in the Chris– tian life. 4. It is a deliverance from THIS PRE ENT EVIL AGE. he age in which we live is evil through and through ( poneiros ) . This Greek word stands in contrast with "bad" ( kakos), in that a man who is ubad" ( kakos), will go to his doom without dragging others with him. But the term "evil" (poneiros) char– acterizes one who is bad and who is not content to go down to destruction without taking others with him. This world-age is poneiros - it Will go down to destruction under divine judg– ment, and will take its multitudes of people - and their leaders - along with it. We must recognize its true char– acter. Paul is speaki ng of th is very age. in wl1ich we are now living. It began with Christ's manifestation in it b) virgin birth and incarnation, and is now present, involving all that makes up the period of time that will end with the Lord~s return. It is ruled by Satan and his host, so it is evil· act ively and viciously so - throug~ and through. We have been deliverec. from its darkness and doom, and wt ,nust not be drawn back into its way~ and works. We are now temporarily confinec to its time period , which has a be· ginning and ending. It is a realrr. where time is calculated by humar means. But the deliverance whicl Christ has wrought for us will ulti mately take us out of this realm an< transport us into another period an< another place. We have been rescue< from darkness and death, and hav< passed into the realm of light an< life, and one day we shall be remove< from this present structure of thing and will be ushered into the Kingdon of the Lord and the eternal glory. 5. It is a deliverance FOR THI LORD HIMSELF. The verb form ( exeleitai), is i1 the middle voice, which reveals th 1 subject as chiefly concerned in th, action and its results. The Lord Him self is responsible for the work o rescuing us, and is thus also respon sible for the lasting results of th, deliverance, as they affect us. Certain ly, the Lord has saved us and rescue, us from this world-system for ou own good - this is grace . But in do ing so, He has made us His very owr taking us out of this age for Himsel1 as His own particular peop)e an possession. Thi s is our great and lasl ing hope and bulwark of strengtl We must go on living in this age fo it , as a part of it. We are Christ own. Let us not forget it. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIS