Zeal that leads to bondage
By Ivan Ho 19 Feb 2022
They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.
Galatians 4:17 NKJV
Who are “they” mentioned in Galatians 4:17? They are not demons nor are they people in the world, but are people within the church.
They zealously “court” you so you become zealously involved in their programs! You have been targeted by these zealous religious people so you become preoccupied with their projects and programs that are not ordained by God. They are pulling you out of your calling and steering you away from your God given destiny, making you think that you are serving God. The most dangerous people aren’t people from outside but those who are in the inner circles in house.
Paul went on to talk about people of the flesh vs people of the Spirit, the son given birth by the bondwoman vs the son given birth by the freewoman. (Galatians 4:21-31) We can easily birth things in the flesh in our desire to try to fulfill God’s promise, just like Abraham and Sarah did when Ishmael was born to the bondwoman Hagar.
The people who are of the flesh are soulish people who are easily lured and attracted to enticing words from man, and reject the words of truth from God in the process. That’s why they love being courted and are easily tempted by propositions and prospects. They seek affirmation from man and look for “prophetic” words that agree with their self ambitions and soulish desires. People of the flesh cannot hear from God because they want God to speak what they want to hear. When God speaks things that don’t line up with their plans, they would reject God’s words instead of abandoning their plans to follow God. They are focused on external things that appeal to their physical senses and set their eyes on temporal things on earth. In their hearts they may want to serve God but in their minds they try to attain righteousness without God’s grace and approval.
Just like the flesh was productive in giving birth to Ishmael who went on to become a great nation, our flesh aren’t barren but in the contrary often can be very productive, even though God isn’t involved in the process.
God gave His words to Abraham who spoke the same message to his wife Sarah. However, the woman, instead of holding on to God’s promise and mixing faith to what she heard, she looked at her own circumstances and took matters into her own hands and came up with an alternative plan. There seems to be ongoing struggles between the Spirit and the flesh within the body of Christ. The book of Galatians was written because of real issues and battles inside the church.
Thank God, despite the follies of Abraham and Sarah during their life journey, God kept his words of promise when Issac was born.