Who Were the Nephilim Part One: The Fallen Angels View

The Nephilim...for many years, biblical historians and theologians alike have rendered theories on who these beings may have been.  Even today, there is not one solid consensus on who the Nephilim were.  As I have stated in both my podcasts and video teachings, we must not take this issue as one though for us to distrust Scripture or to hold it even on a level of importance as salvation.  Sometimes as theologians and students of the Scriptures, we have a tendency to focus on certain subjects with so much fervor that they actually distract us and hinder us from spreading the gospel.

I'm going to be breaking down these lessons into 5 lessons.  The first 4 lessons are going to focus on the most common and accepted arguments amongst Christian scholars and are the 4 most likely candidates of who the Nephilim were.  In the fifth lesson, I'm going to go over the ridiculous assumption that the Nephilim were actually a reference to alien beings.  This view has become mainstream due to secular teachers on channels of teaching such as the History Channel.

For the first four views, I will interject some of my teaching along with some information that has been gleaned from Bodie Hodge of Answers in Genesis.  I hope these sessions will help as we dive into the subject.

First, let us look at the Scriptures in reference.

Genesis 6:1–6
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God (bene Elohim) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God (bene Elohim) came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.1

Number 13:30–33
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

With the Scriptures in reference.  I would now like to discuss the first view.  The Fallen Angels View.

The Fallen Angels View

• Sons of God: Fallen angels
• Nephilim: Mix of human and angel

This is one of the most popular views. It stems from angels being called “sons of God” or interpreted as such in Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7. In fact, if the Nephilim were indeed half human/half fallen angel then it would give great understanding to the many ancient religious views after Babel and demi-gods. As pointed out, Nephilim is related to the verb series “to fall” in Hebrew, giving support to the view that this is related to fallen angels. So, it does hold some status among biblical scholars.
Defenders of this view also find support in two key New Testament passages. In 2 Peter 2:1–11, the Apostle wrote:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.

Before commenting on this passage, we need to look at Jude 4–8.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

These verses do not specifically mention the Nephilim, nor do they clearly state that fallen angels had sexual relationships with women. However, they do place “the angels who sinned” (2 Peter 2:4), “who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode” (Jude 6), in the same context as Noah. Both passages seem to compare the sin of these angels with the sin of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who had “in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh” (Jude 7). Genesis 19:5 reveals that the men of Sodom lusted after the two angels who had gone into Lot’s house. It is important to understand that while these verses seem to lend strong support to the fallen angel view, they do not make a watertight argument for it.
For example, expositor Dr John Gill clarifies with regards to Jude 6:3

Ver. 6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, &c.] Or “principality”; that holy, honourable, and happy condition, in which they were created; for they were created in perfect holiness and righteousness, stood in the relation of sons to God, and were, for the lustre of their nature, comparable to the morning stars; they were among the thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; were a superior rank of creatures to men, and who beheld the face, and enjoyed the presence of God; but this estate they kept not, for being mutable creatures, one of them first sinning, the rest were drawn into it by him, and so were not what they were before, nor in the same estate, or place.

but left their own habitation; by attempting to rise higher; or by quitting their station and posts of honour, being unwilling to be subject to God, and especially to the Son of God, who was to assume human nature, and in it be above them, which they could not bear; and by gathering together in a body, in another place, with Satan at the head of them; though this may be considered as a part of their punishment, and they may be said to do what they were forced to; for they were drove out of their native habitation, heaven; they were turned out of it, and cast down to hell; see 2 Peter 2:4. And this their habitation, which they left, or fell from, or they were cast out of, is by the Jews frequently called the place of their holiness, or their holy place.

He hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness; by these “everlasting chains” may be meant the power and providence of God over them, which always abide upon them; or their sins, and the guilt of them upon their consciences, under which they are continually held; or the decrees and purposes of God concerning their final punishment and destruction, which are immutable and irreversible, and from which there is no freeing themselves, the phrase, under darkness, may refer to the chains, as in 2 Peter 2:4; where they are called “chains of darkness”; either because the power, providence, and purposes of God are invisible; so the Syriac version reads, “in unknown chains”; or because horror and black despair are the effects of sin, and its guilt, with which their consciences are continually filled: or it may denote the place and state where they are, either in the darkness of the air, or in the dark parts of the earth, or in hell, where is utter darkness, even blackness of darkness; or that they are under the power of sin, which is darkness, and without the light of God’s countenance, or any spiritual knowledge, or comfort: and they are “reserved” in these chains, and under this darkness; or “in prison,” as the Arabic version renders it; which denotes the custody of them, and their continuance in it, in which they are kept by Jesus Christ, who can bind and loose Satan at his pleasure; and it shows that they are not as yet in full torment, but are like malefactors that are kept in prison, until the assize comes: so these are laid in chains, and kept in custody.

Gill continues in verse 7:

in like manner giving themselves over to fornication; not as the angels, who are not capable of sinning in such a manner; though the Jews make this to be a sin of theirs, and so interpret Genesis 6:2,4, but rather the Israelites, among whom this sin prevailed, 1 Corinthians 10:8; though it seems best of all to refer it to the false teachers that turned the grace of God into lasciviousness, and were very criminal this way; and then the sense is, that in like manner as they, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, gave themselves over to the sin of fornication; wherefore these men might expect the same judgments that fell upon them, since their sin was alike; which sin is a work of the flesh, contrary to the law of God, is against the body, and attended with many evils; exposes to judgment here and hereafter, and unfits for the communion of the saints, and for the kingdom of heaven.

and going after strange flesh; or “other flesh”; meaning not other women besides their own wives, but men; and designs that detestable and unnatural sin, which, from these people, is called sodomy to this day; and which is an exceeding great sin, contrary to the light of nature and law of God, dishonourable to human nature, and scandalous to a nation and people, and commonly prevails where idolatry and infidelity do, as among the Papists and Mahometans; and arose from idleness and fulness of bread in Sodom, and was committed in the sight of God, with great impudence: their punishment follows.

The context is discussing ungodly people who have crept into the church and a warning about their future. Such sin and unrighteousness is nothing new:

1. When the Israelites fell away from Him in the desert after Moses brought them out of Egypt, God destroyed them.
2. When the angels rebelled, God bound them to eternal darkness.
3. In a similar fashion to how the Israelites were adulterous to God and sought after other gods; Sodom and Gomorrah were seeking after inappropriate flesh.

God will destroy those who are ungodly and creep into the Church, just as He did the other ungodly people and angels mentioned. Their condemnation will be the same. This type of logical thinking would also apply to 2 Peter 2.

The spiritual can produce physical offspring, as witnessed by the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary. However, the Holy Spirit is the Creator and has that power (Psalm 104:30). Do fallen angels? The Bible simply doesn’t reveal this.

While many commentaries, as well as the Alexandrinus manuscript of the Septuagint, refer to the sons of God in Job 1:6 and Job 2:1 as angels, this may not be the best argument for Genesis 6 for two reasons, and some commentaries leave open the possibility that these could be referring to godly men and/or magistrates on earth, who were human.4

The author of Job was aware of the term used for angel (Kalm mal’ak), as Eliphaz the Temanite used it in Job 4:18. So, if the sons of God were referring to angels, then why not say it? It may be too much to say for sure that these two verses early in Job are referring to angels, but even so, it wouldn’t be referring to fallen ones. There are no other instances in Scripture that refer to fallen angels or demons as sons of God to verify this in Job.

Sometimes we fall into the mistake of assuming one name or phrase in a portion of Scripture is the same thing/type as another portion of Scripture. Though this may be the case, one shouldn’t be dogmatic about it. For example, the Hebrew lbb (0894) for Babel or Babylon is referring to two distinct empires. If we find lbb referring to Nebuchadnezzar, we shouldn’t assume it is the Babel that followed soon after the Flood.

Regardless though, Job 38:7 is an excellent example of angels being termed sons of God. However, this is referring to angels during the Creation Week, before any of them fell (which would have to be after God’s declaration that everything was “very good” in Genesis 1:31). So this doesn’t give much support to fallen angels being called sons of God.
Another argument in opposition to this view is that godly men were sometimes called son(s) of God such as Adam in Luke 3.

Luke 3:38
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Other passages also confirm that Christians are called this:

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Romans 8:14
because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Romans 8:19
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus

Although each of these is in Greek and the “sons of God” for Genesis 6 is in Hebrew, they are both rendered correctly as “sons of God.” Luke 6:35 renders the term “sons of the Most High.” Also, Psalms 82:6 has “sons of the most high” and renders correctly that godly humans can be called sons of God in another language. Hosea 1:10 points out that people will also be called “sons of the living God” (note the added descriptor living) in Hebrew:

Hosea 1:10
Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.”

Again, this is not identical to the Hebrew in Genesis or Job but still renders that humans can be called sons of God in another format. So, we have instances where humans are called:

• Sons of God (5 times in Greek)
• Sons of the Most High (1 time in Greek; 1 time in Hebrew)
• Sons of the Living God (1 time in Hebrew)

Why is “sons of God” in Hebrew suddenly off-limits to refer to humans when God has already used similar formats for calling godly men by such a godly title? It seems unlikely that God would put fallen angels in a class with un-fallen angels, Israelites (God’s chosen people), and Christians (the bride of Christ). I doubt that God would want confusion with fallen angels with his bride! Some dismiss this verse in Hosea out of hand, but it shouldn’t be neglected. Other verses point out that men can be children of God, such as Psalm 73:15 and Deuteronomy 32:5. Thus God-fearing men can also rightly be called sons of God.

I’ve heard the response that the reason Adam and Christians were called son(s) of God was because they were made directly by God in one fashion or another—Adam from the dust by God’s hand and Christians will be made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Along with this then, angels, who were directly created by God during creation week, could also hold to this title.

However, there are other direct creations by God, such as sea creatures, land animals, and so on. Are these also sons of God? Few would say they are. Also, godly men of the Old Testament would one day be new creations in Christ and, by the foreknowledge of God, could easily have been called “sons of God.” So, this argument really doesn’t make a case exclusively for the angelic view, but could also be used for godly men as well.

Also, in Hebrew, we find sons of Israel (bene Yisra’el) used of descendants of Israel who were not his direct sons (Exodus 6:6, 6:11, and so on.) Therefore, there is no reason to assume that sons of God couldn’t be referring to men, since they are descendants of Adam, who was a son of God. To clarify, this is not to be confused with the only begotten son of God, Jesus Christ, who was the unique and perfect Son of God.

Another theological problem presents itself for the fallen angels view if we take a closer look at the Anakites (descendants of Anak), descendants of the Nephilim according to Numbers 13:33. The Anakites were not completely wiped out by Joshua. Joshua says:

Joshua 11:22
No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive

The Bible never records their line ending. Thus, there is no reason to assume the descendants of Anak are not still living today. In fact, they have probably interbred with many other people groups since then.
This theological problem has been challenged, though, and rightly so because Numbers 13:33 is part of a bad/evil report spread among the Israelites. But was the information false about the Anakites being Nephilim? Let’s take a look:

Numbers 13:30–33
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

So, was the report of the Anakites being Nephilim accurate or inaccurate, as even falsehoods often contain some aspects of truth. For example, we know that Anakites were indeed in the land, as Joshua went to war with them later. So, what aspects of this report were false and which were true? We get a clue when Caleb and Joshua answer the congregation who was grumbling about the bad report in Numbers 14:6–9.

Numbers 14:6–9
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Interestingly, Moses, who penned Genesis, said that the Nephilim were on the earth pre-Flood and also afterwards:

Genesis 6:4a
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards (emphasis added)

Some translations say “and after that,” and one could argue that this was still referring to a pre-Flood time. However, it makes much more sense that this phrase refers to this post-Flood event, especially since Genesis 6 was penned by Moses.
Acts 17:26 indicates all nations are of “one blood” or “one man.” If some nations are a combination of angelic blood and Adamic blood, as the Anakites would have been in this view as well as the Nephilim pre-Flood, then there is a major problem—Acts 17:26 would be wrong. The Anakites were still living and breeding with many other people groups during Paul’s time. Thus, it presents a problem to say angels bred with women. Another problem presents itself from the rest of Genesis 6:4:

Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men (vya ‘iysh) of renown.

In Genesis 6:4, the phrase “men of renown” uses the Hebrew word iysh. This term is used consistently as “man” or descendants of Adam—even Adam used it of himself in Genesis 2:23, yet it is never used of fallen angel, demons, or of Satan. It was used for some unfallen angels when they took the form of a man, though. If the Nephilim were crossbreeds between men and fallen angels, then why did the Bible use the term men (iysh) as opposed to something that would lead us to believe they were not fully men?
If we follow the context of iysh into the following verses in Genesis 6, we find:

• Verse 4: Nephilim are men of renown
• Verse 5: wickedness of man great
• Verse 6: God sorry He made man on earth
• Verse 7: Blot out man from earth
• Verse 8/9: Noah found favor with God and was a righteous man

The context reveals that Noah was compared with and amongst the men being discussed in Genesis 6, yet unlike them he was righteous (Genesis 6:9). There is no mention of Noah being fully human and other men being half-breeds, but merely that he was righteous among them. Having Noah be righteous among his generations is slight support for the view that sees the sons of God as human.
One early argument against this angelic view was that angels didn’t marry in heaven according to Jesus (Matthew 22:30). This has been responded to many times and it is rightly pointed out that this is referring to angels in heaven, not fallen angels. So, the option was left open that fallen angels may very well do this. However, a new problem now arises. Moses points out that the sons of God took wives (ishshah wife/women) (Genesis 6:2). Never once have I found a verse in the Bible where wife, wives, husband, husbands, or marriage was anything other than between a human male and female. If these were marriages between fallen angels and women, then it opens up the possibility of marriages that are not limited to man and woman, when the Bible is clear on this subject.
 An argument in response is that ishshah could merely be used for women, not wives, and doesn’t necessarily mean they were married, but rather taken for sexual purposes outside of marriage, possibly forcibly. In light of some of these criticisms, this popular view may not be the best one, though many great scholars hold to it and it should be at least respected. I encourage deeper study in both the view and the responses as I am only touching the surface.
Perhaps the most devastating argument against this view came from Jesus Himself, though. We have no instance in Scripture where fallen angels ever materialized as previously stated. This is significant because Christ offered proof of His resurrection when the disciples questioned Him:

Luke 24:37–43
But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. (emphasis added)

If fallen angels or demons, which are spirit, could materialize, then this calls into question the entire resurrection of Christ. Christ says spirits do not have flesh and bones, so it would seem these entities can’t make physical bodies for themselves.

So, here we have the fallen angels view.  Again, as I have stated, I will take a balance view at all 4 popular views and will give both the arguments for and against each view.  I personally will reveal my view in the final teaching entry, so please do not assume that just because I give some of the arguments against, it does not mean that I personally don't hold that view.  Again, there has not been a single consensus on who the Nephilim were.  So there are pro and con arguments for all views.

Being a Post Turtle

        I love spending time with my grandpa Harold.  The wisdom that he shares with me is second to none, and it's done through the simplest of things.  My grandpa is an old Kentucky country boy grandpa.  He shares his wisdom sometimes through old saying and funny quotes.

One of those quotes has really stuck with me over the years.  Sometimes I hear Papaw call other folks, or most often himself, a post turtle.  

When I heard that the first time, I asked him what he meant by that.

Papaw said, "If you see a turtle up on a fencepost, you know that it didn't get up there by himself.  You also know that it's not doing any good up there just wailing about, but it'll stay up there until someone takes it down or it realizes why its supposed to be up there to begin with."

I've found out through the years that a lot of times, this saying is used when it comes to politics, but for some reason this little saying made me thing of a verse of Scripture that I hold dear.

2 Corinthians 12:9 states,

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

In today's world we don't like to acknowledge weaknesses.  In fact, most of us won't even admit them. 

A lot of times, when we view something as a weakness, our first instinct is that we need to change that weakness and make it a strength.

I believe that as a Church, we have failed to realize what is truly talked about here as weakness.  Due to pride and ego, we allow weakness to take a back burner.  Let's talk about weakness.

Three Questions About Christian Weakness 

1. What are the weaknesses that Paul has in mind here when he says, "The power of Christ is made perfect in weakness"?
2. What is the source of such weaknesses? Do they come from Satan or from God? Or both?
3. What is the purpose of such weaknesses? Is there a goal or an aim for why the weaknesses come?

I ask these three questions not only because they are the ones answered in the text, but because knowing these things and being reminded of them in our hearts as God's truth will give us the strength to live and endure and often even to thrive in the midst many weaknesses.

Do you remember the old hymn, Since Jesus Came Into My Heart?  The chorus goes, 

Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o'er my soul
Like the sea billows roll
Since Jesus came into my heart.

When we have sang it, I wondered how everyone in the chapel was processing that statement in the light of real life experience when sea billows of joy do not roll over the soul. Here's how I fit it in my own experience: Yes, since knowing Jesus, joy has rolled over me like the waves of the sea, but not always. There are times when the tide goes out. God is still God; joy is still joy; but I am baking in the seaweed on the beach waiting for the tide to come in.

What makes days and months and years like that livable is the grace and power of Jesus described in our text.

1. What Weaknesses?

What are the weaknesses Paul has in mind here when he quotes Jesus as saying in verse 9, "My power is made perfect in weakness"? And then says, "I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses"? And then again in verse 10 says, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses"?

I think the safest way to answer is to let the four other words in verse 10 fill out what he has in mind. What he summarizes as weaknesses in verse 9 he spells out in four other words in verse 10: insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.

1. Insults—when people think of clever ways of making your faith or your lifestyle or your words look stupid or weird or inconsistent. When we were giving out "Finding Your Field of Dreams" at the dome, I heard one man say mockingly, "And the Lord said, Play ball." And all his friends laughed.
2. Hardships—circumstances forced upon you, reversals of fortune against your will. This could refer to any situation where you feel trapped. You didn't plan it or think it would be this way. But there you are, and it's hard.
3. Persecutions—wounds or abuses or painful circumstances or acts of prejudice or exploitation from people because of your Christian faith or your Christian moral commitments. It's when you are not treated fairly. You get a raw deal.
4. Calamities (or distresses or difficulties or troubles)—the idea is one of pressure or crushing or being weighed down; circumstances that tend to overcome you with stress and tension.

So you can see that what Paul has in mind here is not sin. He is not talking about a kind of behavior—like we might say he has a weakness for lust; or she has a weakness for overeating. Paul is not talking about bad choices that we make. He is not saying, The power of Christ is perfected in my bad choices. Or: I will all the more gladly boast of my bad choices. Weaknesses here are not imperfect behaviors. 

They are circumstances and situations and experiences and wounds that make us look weak; things we would probably get rid of if we had the human strength.

1. If we were "strong," we might return the insult with such an effective put down that the opponent would wither and everyone would admire our wit and cleverness.
2. If we were "strong," we might take charge of our own fortune and turn back the emerging hardship and change circumstances so that they go the way we want them to and not force us into discomfort.
3. If we were "strong," we might turn back the persecution so quickly and so decisively that no one would mess with us again.
4. If we were "strong," we might use our resources to get out of the calamity or distress as fast as possible, or take charge of the situation and marshal our own resources so masterfully as to minimize its pressure.

But in reality we don't usually have that kind of human strength, and even when we may have it, Christians don't use it the way the world does. Jesus tells us not to return evil for evil (Matthew 5:38–42). Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:12–13, "When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate." And then he added, "We have become like the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things." In other words, this kind of lifestyle, this kind of response to abuse, looks weak and beggarly and feeble and anemic and inept—at least it looks that way to those who thrive on pride and equate power with the best come back.

So the answer to our first question is that weaknesses are not sins but experiences and situations and circumstances and wounds that are hard to bear and that we can't remove either because they are beyond our control or because love dictates that we not return evil for evil.

2. Where Do They Come From?

What is the source of such weaknesses? Do they come from Satan or from God? Or both?

Let's take Paul's thorn in the flesh as an example and see what his answer is. In verses 1–4 Paul describes what amazing revelations of God's glory he had been given—he was caught up into Paradise and heard things that cannot be told on earth (vv. 3–4).

How easy it would have been for Paul to think that he was already rising above the ordinary hardships and troubles of earthly life because he was given such a privilege. But verse 7 shows what actually happened: "To keep me from being too elated [RSV; a better translation would be: "to keep me from exalting myself," NASB, or: "to keep me from becoming conceited," NIV] by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from exalting myself."

Now this thorn in the flesh (whether it was some physical problem or some relentless enemies) is one of the weaknesses he is talking about. We know this because when he prays that God would take it away in verse 8 ("three times I besought the Lord"), the Lord answers in verse 9, "My power is made perfect in weakness." So the thorn in the flesh is one of the weaknesses we are talking about.

And where did it come from? Paul calls it a "messenger of Satan" (v. 7) given to harass him. So one clear answer is that some weaknesses come from Satan. Satan afflicts the children of God through his angels or messengers. His aim is destruction and death and misery.

But it is not that simple is it? Satan is not the only one at work here. God is at work. This thorn is not just the work of Satan to destroy. It is the work of God to save.

We know this for two reasons. First, because Paul describes the purpose for the thorn in terms of preventing pride. But Satan's whole design is to produce pride not prevent it. That's how he kills: either with pride in what we have done, or despair over what we haven't done. Paul's revelations in Paradise made him vulnerable to pride and self-exaltation. So God uses the hostile intentions of Satan for Paul's holiness. Satan wanted to make Paul miserable and turn him away from the faith and the ministry and the value of the visions he had seen. But God wanted to make Paul humble and turn him away from self-exaltation. So God appointed the thorn of Satan for the work of salvation.

The other reason we know the thorn is God's work and not just Satan's is that when Paul prays in verse 8 that God would take the thorn away, the Lord says, No, because my power is made perfect in this weakness. In other words, I have a purpose in what is happening to you. This is not ultimately Satan's destroying work. It is ultimately my saving, sanctifying work.

Just like it was with Job—God permits Satan to afflict his righteous servant, and turns the affliction for his good purposes. (See also Luke 22:31–32.)

So the answer to our second question is that the source of our weaknesses may sometimes be Satan and his destructive designs for us; but always our weaknesses are designed by God for our good. This is why the truth of God's sovereign grace is so precious in the midst of hardship and calamity. God is in control of Satan. Satan does nothing to God's children that God does not design with infinite skill and love for our good.

Which brings us to the final question, which we have already answered.

3. For What Purpose?

What is the purpose of such weaknesses? Is there a goal or an aim for why the weaknesses come? Why insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities, troubles? Why can't I find a job? Why am I trapped in this awful marriage? Why does my dad have cancer? Why can't I have children? Why do I have no friends? Why is nothing working in my life?

Paul gives three brief answers about his own experience and I think they are tremendously important for us to live by.

Satan's Purpose to Buffet You

First, he says that Satan has the purpose to buffet you or harass you (v. 7). And so it is OK to pray for relief. That's what Paul did until he got word from the Lord. Pain is not a good thing in itself. God does not delight in your suffering. Satan does and he must be resisted.

God's Purpose to Humble You

Second, God's purpose over and through Satan's harassment is our humility. Paul was in danger of pride and self-exaltation and God took steps to keep him humble. This is an utterly strange thing in our self-saturated age. God thinks humility is more important than comfort. Humility is more important than freedom from pain. He will give us a mountain top experience in Paradise, and then bring us through anguish of soul lest we think that we have risen above the need for total reliance on his grace. So his purpose is our humility and lowliness and reliance on him (cf. 1:9; 4:7).

God's Purpose to Glorify Jesus

Finally, God's purpose in our weaknesses is to glorify the grace and power of his Son. This is the main point of verses 9–10. Jesus says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." God's design is to make you a showcase for Jesus' power. But not necessarily the way the market demands: not by getting rid of all our weaknesses; but by giving strength to endure and even rejoice in tribulation.

Let God be God here. If he wills to show the perfection of his Son's power in our weakness instead of by our escape from weakness, then he knows best; trust him. Hebrews 11 is a good guide here. It says that by faith some escaped the edge of the sword (v. 34) and by faith some were killed by the sword (v. 37). By faith some stopped the mouths of lions, and by faith others were sawn asunder. By faith some were mighty in war, and by faith others suffered chains and imprisonment (see also Philippians 4:11–13).

The ultimate purpose of God in our weakness is to glorify the kind of power that moved Christ to the cross and kept him there until the work of love was done. Paul said that Christ crucified was foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block to the Jews, but to those who are called it is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23f.).

The deepest need that you and I have in weakness and adversity is not quick relief, but the well-grounded confidence that what is happening to us is part of the greatest purpose of God in the universe—the glorification of the grace and power of his Son—the grace and power that bore him to the cross and kept him there until the work of love was done. That's what God is building into our lives. That is the meaning of weakness, insults, hardships, persecution, calamity.

I hope that as we have gone through the topic of weakness, that you see that sometimes it's ok to be weak.  Allow God to have control.  For His power can be seen in our weakness.

Galatians 6 Part One

For those that have known me in my personal life or have heard my preaching, you know that I hold Galatians 6 in a special place in my heart.  Being a minister who has had his own failures in ministry, this chapter has always brought me hope.  Sadly, as I look at the church today, I realize that not many church's hold to Galatians 6.  We may take bits and pieces from it, but we don't take in the whole.  That is especially true when it comes to verses 1-10.  God has worked in marvelous ways in my life thanks to an understanding of His word in Galatians 6.  A large part of why Simply Scripture exists and why I belong to Mercy Ridge Community Church in Dry Ridge, KY is because of this part of Scripture.  I want to take the next few blogs and break down Galatians 6.  

What I want us to talk about today is spiritual community, and how we’re free to love one another as a result of the Spirit of God in our hearts. There’s one truth that I want us to see in Galatians 6 that really...really is all over Galatians 5 and 6, but we’re going to kind of hone in on it today, and that truth is this: The greatest evidence of the Spirit-filled life is love for one another. 

This is what we see in Galatians 5, verses 13 and 14, when Paul said, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Then, he goes on and he starts talking about living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit, and he says, “The fruit of the Spirit is...” what? It starts with love. “The fruit of the Spirit is love...” This is the first picture that we have in this fruit of the Spirit.

Then, you come down to Galatians 5:26, that’s where I want us to start. 

Paul says,

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

This text and this truth...this truth: The greatest evidence of the Spirit-filled life is love for one another...I believe it’s so important, because so many of the misconceptions and misunderstandings that people have...Christians have...about the Holy Spirit today, usually, when you start talking about the Holy Spirit, the topics that really start to come to the forefront are tongues and second baptisms and prophecies. There’s a place, obviously, where Scripture talks about those things, but what we need to see here in Galatians 6 is that the fruit of the Spirit is love, and we need to be reminded of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 when he said, “If I speak in tongues of men, but have not love, then I’m like a resounding gong. If I have prophecies that I speak, but I have not love,” he says, “then I am nothing.”

The greatest evidence of the Spirit-filled life is love for one another. This is where we need to realize that evidence of the Spirit-filled life, maybe, is not primarily about emotional highs as it is about practical acts of love that we show to one another, and that’s what Paul brings us down...he won’t even let love remain an abstract concept during Galatians 6. He says, “Here’s some concrete, practical ways that we love one another.”

So, what I want us to do is I want us to take this text, and we’re going to kind of split it up into a few different parts, and we’re going to pause after those couple of different parts, and we’re going to respond to God’s Word. Remember, worship is a rhythm of revelation and response. We see God’s revelation and we respond.