Connect 1 Corinthians 7:22 with Galatians 5:1 on freedom in Christ. Living out new identities: 1 Corinthians 7:22 and Galatians 5:1 “For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.” (1 Corinthians 7:22) “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) What Paul is saying right where we live • In Corinth, believers came to Christ from every social tier. Some were literal slaves; others were legally free. • Paul anchors their hope not in changing earthly status but in recognizing a higher reality: the slave in Christ is “the Lord’s freedman,” while the free man is now “Christ’s slave.” • Galatians 5:1 adds the call to guard this freedom—never slipping back into the bondage of sin or works-based righteousness. Two sides of one coin 1. Freedom in Christ • Freedom from guilt and condemnation (Romans 8:1–2). • Freedom from sin’s mastery (Romans 6:17–18). • Freedom from the curse of the Law as a means of self-salvation (Galatians 3:13). 2. Servanthood to Christ • Bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). • Obligated to obey the Master who loves us (Luke 6:46). • A voluntary, joyful slavery that paradoxically amplifies true liberty (Matthew 11:28–30). How 1 Corinthians 7:22 and Galatians 5:1 fit together • 1 Corinthians 7:22 speaks to personal identity: no earthly chain or title defines you more than belonging to Jesus. • Galatians 5:1 speaks to practical perseverance: refuse any teaching or habit that re-chains what Christ has broken. • Together they insist: real freedom is rooted in redemption and expressed through wholehearted submission to Christ. Living the paradox every day • Remember whose you are. Whether on a factory line or in a corner office, say with Paul, “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20). • Stand firm. Resist legalistic add-ons, cultural pressures, and sinful appetites that promise freedom but deliver slavery (2 Peter 2:19). • Serve others. Use liberty “not as a cover-up for evil, but live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). • Celebrate grace. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Key takeaways to carry into the week – Earthly status cannot rival the eternal status Christ gives. – Freedom in Christ is not autonomy; it is release from sin to serve righteousness. – Stand firm against anything—legalism or license—that would shackle the conscience Christ has freed. – The Christian life is simultaneously the highest freedom and the most devoted servanthood—and both are gifts of grace. |
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