Study questions

Life-Study of Galatians

1. The Background and Subject of the Book

  1. What does it mean to say that Galatians is a "winter book"?
  2. What is the subject of the book of Galatians?

2. The Apostle's Gospel

  1. What are some crucial points found in Paul's gospel which are not found in the four Gospels?
  2. What is the focal point of Paul's gospel?

3. God's Son Versus Man's Religion

  1. What is God's pleasure and man's natural tendency in relation to the living person of Christ?
  2. What was Brother Lee's concern expressed at the end of this message and how can we be saved from such a situation?

4. The Revelation of God's Son in Us

  1. What are some of the veils that keep us from knowing Christ?
  2. How practically can we receive the revelation of Christ?

5. The Formation of Paul's Apostleship

  1. How does this passage in the book of Galatians on the formation of Paul's apostleship apply to us as believers today?
  2. What does it mean that Paul was set apart by God from his mother's womb and how does this relate to us today?

6. Paul's Faithfulness and Peter's Unfaithfulness to the Truth of the Gospel

  1. What lessons can we learn of Paul from this message and how does this apply to our church life?
  2. What negative points can we see concerning the situation in the church in Jerusalem and what lessons and warnings can we draw from this?

7. Freedom in Christ Versus Slavery under the Law

  1. What is the proper definition of freedom in Christ?
  2. How is freedom in Christ related to Christ, the life-giving Spirit, and grace?

8. The Truth of the Gospel

  1. What is the function of the law?
  2. Based on the fellowship in this message, give an experiential definition of faith.

9. Dead to Law but Living to God

  1. Explain the relationship between our having an organic union with Christ and being dead to law but living to God. Provide verse references.
  2. What does it mean to live to God?

10. No Longer I, but Christ Living in Me

  1. Explain why the teaching of the exchanged life is incorrect. Explain also the significance of the old "I" and the new "I" in Galatians 2:20.
  2. How is faith related to the appreciation of the Lord Jesus?

11. Not Nullifying the Grace of God

  1. What is the definition of grace?
  2. What does grace do for us?

12. Christ Crucified

  1. What are the seven major points concerning Christ crucified found in the Epistle to the Galatians?
  2. What is the difference between Romans 6:6 and Galatians 5:24? What is the significance of this difference?

13. Christ and the Spirit

  1. Why can we say that chapter 3 is the center, the inner core of Galatians?
  2. What is the relationship between Christ and the Spirit?

14. Hearing of Faith Versus Works of Law

  1. What are the eight items implied in faith mentioned in this chapter?
  2. What does it mean to say that faith is the reflection of the Triune God processed to become our all-inclusive grace?

15. The Spirit—The Blessing of the Gospel

  1. What is the significance of the term "the Spirit" in Galatians 3?
  2. What is the significance of the blessing of Abraham?

16. The Spirit Versus the Flesh

  1. What is the definition of the flesh and of the Spirit?
  2. How does Satan frustrate the development of the organic union?

17. The Gospel Preached to Abraham

  1. Explain the difference and the relationship between the word, the promise, the covenant, and the gospel.
  2. What is the center of the blessing of Abraham and what is its spiritual significance?

18. The Promise Versus the Law

  1. What does it mean to say that God deals with His people according to the promise?
  2. What does it mean to say that Christ fulfills the promise?

19. Faith Replacing Law

  1. Explain what it means that the law was God's principle in dealing with man in the Old Testament economy, as well as the function that the law had in the Old Testament economy.
  2. Explain what it means that grace is God's principle in dealing with man in the New Testament economy.

20. The Seed of Abraham and the Sons of Abraham

  1. What is the significance of Christ being the seed of Abraham and how does this include all the believers?
  2. Give a brief sketch of Galatians 3.

21. Baptized into Christ, Putting on Christ, and All One in Christ

  1. Prepare a rich, living message on the meaning of baptism, including the matter of how through our being baptized into the Triune God we enter into an organic union which is able to transform our whole being.
  2. What does it mean to say that we have put on Christ and are all one in Christ?

22. The Spirit of Sonship Replacing the Custody of the Law

  1. What does it mean to say that sonship is the focal point of God's economy and what is a proper definition of sonship in the Bible?
  2. What are the two sendings in Galatians 4:4-6 and why does verse 6 say that the Father sent the Spirit of His Son into "our hearts," not into our spirits?

23. The Need for Christ to Be Formed in the Heirs of Promise

  1. What does it mean for Christ to be formed in us?
  2. What is the difference between carrying on an ordinary Christian work and ministering Christ to others?

24. Two Covenants and Two Kinds of Children

  1. In considering the matter of the two covenants and two kinds of children, what are the five positive matters and what is the relationship between them? What are the five corresponding negative matters and the relationship between them?
  2. How does the promise given to Abraham unveil God's desire?

25. Not Brought to Nought from Christ

  1. What does it mean to be brought to nought from Christ and how can we avoid such a condition?
  2. What does it mean to expect the hope of righteousness by the Spirit by faith?

26. Getting Rid of the Leaven and Not Turning Freedom into an Occasion for the Flesh

  1. According to this message, what is one of the most important source of problems in the church life?
  2. What does it mean to not turn freedom into an occasion for the flesh?

27. Walk by the Spirit, Not by the Flesh

  1. Based on the contents of this message, explain in detail what it means to walk according to the Spirit.
  2. Why is it necessary to differentiate between our natural virtues and those virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit and how can we discern between them?

28. Crucifying the Flesh to Walk by the Spirit

  1. Prepare a brief prophecy concerning the fact of our crucifixion accomplished by Christ, our application of the accomplished fact, and our experience of what we have applied.
  2. According to Galatians 5, what is a crucial and practical test to us concerning whether or not we are walking according to the Spirit?

29. How to Restore the Fallen One, How to Fulfill the Law of Christ, and How to Sow

  1. What is the law of Christ and how do we fulfill it?
  2. What does it mean that everything we do is a kind of sowing, either to the flesh or to the Spirit?

30. Crucified to the Religious World to Live a New Creation

  1. What is the new creation and how can it be real in our experience?
  2. What is "the Israel of God" mentioned in Galatians 6:16?

31. The Brands of Jesus and the Grace of Christ

  1. What is the spiritual significance of the brands of Jesus?
  2. Why does Paul conclude the book of Galatians with a reference to the human spirit?

32. Born of the Spirit to Receive the Spirit (1)

  1. What is the meaning of regeneration and why can this be considered the greatest miracle?
  2. What are the elements of the all-inclusive Spirit?

33. Born of the Spirit to Receive the Spirit (2)

  1. What is God's ultimate intention?
  2. What are two practical ways mentioned in this chapter for us to receive the processed Triune God?

34. Live and Walk by the Spirit

  1. According to this message, what kind of life is the Christian life? What kind of life is it not? How is this related to the divine transmission?
  2. What is the difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit?

35. Sow unto the Spirit to Reap Eternal Life

  1. What is the focal point of Galatians and how is this related to the flesh and the Spirit?
  2. According to this message in particular, what does it mean to sow unto the Spirit?

36. Sow unto the Spirit for the New Creation

  1. What is the relationship between sowing to the Spirit and the new creation?
  2. What is the ultimate issue of our sowing to the Spirit and becoming a new creation with the divine element wrought into us?

37. Receiving and Enjoying the Grace of the Lord in Our Spirit

  1. Prepare a brief prophecy concerning the matter of grace being with our spirit with an emphasis on our practical experience.
  2. According to this message, what are three particular practical ways for us to enjoy grace in our spirit?

38. Two Kinds of Walk by the Spirit

  1. Prepare a brief word of teaching concerning the significance of the two Greek words for "walk," peripateo and stoicheo.
  2. What does it mean to say that the Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God?

39. Walking in the Divine Rules and Steps by the Spirit

  1. How is the second kind of walk by the Spirit, stoicheo, related to God's goal, and what does it mean to take the Spirit as our rule, our way?
  2. What does it mean to walk according to the rule of the new creation, the rule of pursuing and gaining Christ, and the rule of the church life?

40. Walking by the Spirit as the Essence of Our Life and as the Path for Our Way

  1. What does it mean that the Spirit becomes the essence of our life?
  2. According to this message, what should be our only reason for doing things or for not doing things?

41. Walking by the Spirit to Live Christ

  1. What are four kinds of laws mentioned in this message?
  2. What is the relationship between living according to the Spirit and expressing Christ?

42. Walking by the Spirit According to the Elementary Rule to Live a New Creation and the Israel of God

  1. What does it mean to walk orderly according to the elementary principles of God's economy?
  2. What is the principle of the new creation, how does this relate to our experience today, and how does this relate to the Israel of God?

43. Walk by the Spirit in the Enjoyment of Christ in Our Spirit

  1. As those who believe in Christ Jesus, what is our dual status and how does this relate to our daily living?
  2. What is a practical way mentioned in this message for us to enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ as grace in our spirit?

44. Walking by the Spirit as Sons of God (1)

  1. Explain in some detail what is God's goal in redemption.
  2. What is the climax of the New Testament and how does this relate to our daily living? How does this relate to our being sons of God?

45. Walking by the Spirit as Sons of God (2)

  1. Prepare a brief prophecy concerning sonship as the goal of God's economy, using the points in this message and in the book of Galatians as a basis.
  2. What is the difference between living the life of God's creatures and living the life of God's sons?

46. Walking According to the Elementary Rules

  1. Practically and experientially, what does it mean to live a new creation?
  2. As Christians, what should we take as our elementary principle? What should we not take?