“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision 
nor uncircumcision means anything, 
but faith working through love.” 
~~Galatians 5:6~~

In a devotional that was part of a YouVersion reading plan I did recently (Letters of Paul: 30-day Reading Plan) a comment was made that hit me hard.  

“Grace sounds too good to be true; so we go back to trying 
to earn the right standing Jesus died for us to receive.” 

As I pondered that, I was impacted that what really means something to Christ isn’t what we choose to do or not do, but rather what means something to Jesus is “faith working through love” (5:6). 

The Greek word for faith (pistis) means our moral conviction of the truthfulness of God and our reliance upon Christ alone for our salvation.  

Before I explore the definition of working (energeo), I want to look at the Greek grammar.  (Energeo) is used in the present tense (it’s happening right now).  It’s in the middle voice denoting that the subject, which in this phrase is faith, is both the agent of the action and somehow concerned with the action (it’s our faith that exerts the energy to both want to work and to do the work of loving).  Lastly in the “grammar lesson” (haha) is the fact that (energeo) is in the participle mood, it is an “-ing” word — ongoing action. 

Ok, with all that understood, working (energeo) means to be active, efficient and effectual; to display one’s activity, show yourself operative, with the dative of a person in whose MIND shows itself active. Let’s explore the dictionary definitions of three of the descriptions of (energeo).  

• Active – characterized by action rather than by contemplation or speculation
• Efficient – capable of producing desired results with little or no waste (as of time or materials) : being or involving the immediate agent in producing an effect
• Effectual – producing or able to produce a desired effect

The working of faith begins in the mind, but it doesn’t stay there.  
It works itself out in the behavior.  

The Greek word for through (dia) denotes the channel of an act and the manner in which a thing is done. 

Love is the channel through which your faith has its effect.  

The Greek word for love (agape) means affection, good-will, love, benevolence.  As I looked up those words in the dictionary, I noted something.  Check it out!

• Affection – a moderate feeling of liking AND caring for someone; tender attachment.
• Good-will – a kindly feeling of approval AND support, interest and concern
• Love – unselfish loyalty AND benevolent concern for the good of another
• Benevolence – disposition to do good AND the act of kindness. 

Love is feeling and then doing.  

An eye-opening example of love being feeling AND doing is John 3:16 – “For God so loved (feeling) that He gave (doing) His only begotten Son…”.  

THE EVIDENCE OF OUR FAITH IS HOW WE LOVE

The evidence of our faith being how we love is a very sobering reality. How I act and/or react to others is undeniable evidence of my walking (or not walking) in the Spirit. OUCH!!!

FAITH HAS A TATTLETALE – OUR BEHAVIOR