4) Gal 5

2.1.4 Concluding reflections: confirmation from Gal 5:22ff

The texts examined in this Chapter lead us to conclude that the christian imperative is simply the necessary effect of God’s inward activity in as much as this demands the continuing ‘yes’ of human freedom. It is grounded in what God himself does—that is, in the activity of the Spirit, which, in fulfilment of the prophetic promises of the New Covenant, is operative within the heart of human freedom, effecting what it demands and, therefore, necessarily demanding what if effects. ‘The Christian’s whole moral activity is only the operation, the working out of the divine powers given us, an allowing oneself to be moved by the Holy Spirit.’ The christian imperative demands not, ‘become what you are’, but rather: ‘let God be what he is’, i.e.… the one ‘who works in you’ (Phil 2:13), the one ‘who gives his Holy Spirit to you’ (1 Thess 4:8) …that is, the God who now fulfils what he once promised…p.82-83


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Updated 2009-09-27 (build:50) by Andrew Fountain