We Must Boast In the Cross

Well, later this afternoon, there is a bit of a competition.

The Green Bay Packers will square off against the San Francisco 49ers.

And if the Green Bay Packers should win, the state of Wisconsin will be boasting.

Yes, the NFC title is on the line and rights to the Super Bowl.

So if the Packers should win, Packer fans everywhere will have boasting rights to boast in their team,

to boast that Aaron Rodgers is not a wash-up, to boast in their new coach, to boast in the win,

to boast in the program, to boast.

Here's what you need about boasting.

When you boast in something, you're putting your present trust in that.

When you boast in something, you're putting your future hope in that.

When you boast in something, it's what defines you.

When you boast in something, it's that in which you celebrate.

What I'm getting at is your ultimate boast.

Now, we've reached the end of the book of Galatians.

And this is not the last sermon, though it's the last section I'll be expositing.

We've got one more sermon next week, which is going to be a retro view of the book of Galatians.

It's kind of like what we walk away with.

But all throughout the book of Galatians, it's been about the one true gospel of Jesus Christ.

And how the cross of Christ alone frees us from slavery to the flesh to live by the Spirit for the glory of God.

So this morning's passage, which just read, Galatians 6, 11 through 18.

What you need to understand here is that Paul is drawing this letter to a conclusion.

And it culminates in a comparison.

A comparison of boasts.

Boasting in the flesh.

Boasting in the cross.

And this comparison between boasting is intended to call all of us to boast not in the flesh, but in the cross of Jesus Christ alone.

So I can summarize this passage in seven words.

We must boast in the cross alone.

We must boast in the cross alone.

And here's how we're going to move forward in walking through this passage.

I want to answer a general question first.

What is this boasting that the Apostle Paul is talking about?

And then I want to help us understand what is this boasting in the flesh that he's talking about?

And then I want to land us in what is this boasting in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?

And why we must boast in the cross alone.

So what does Paul mean by boasting?

Well, let me frame it for you.

Because the verses 13 and 14 in which he actually talks about boasting, that's framed by what he says in verse 11 and verse 17.

So let me help you show you where this boasting stuff comes in the context stuff.

Notice in verse 11, Paul says, see with what large letters I'm writing to you with my own hand.

There's some speculation on what these large letters are.

Maybe it's because Paul, his eyesight wasn't the best.

Maybe the ailment of Galatians 4.13.

It could be the equivalent of us writing an email and putting something in bold italicized print to emphasize something.

What the big clue is when he says, I write to you these things with my own hand.

You know, each of us has our own handwriting.

It's like our own fingerprint, right?

It's unique to us.

And so what Paul is saying here is saying, hey, this is me that's writing you.

This letter's from me.

The apostle Paul, the one called by God.

Galatians 1 and 2.

The apostle to the Gentiles, given the authority from the risen Christ.

So it's an authenticator of who's writing this letter.

And then in 6.17, we read this.

From now on, let no one cause me trouble.

He's writing this letter.

It's going to be distributed to the churches in Galatia.

And in these churches, this letter would have been read publicly.

And so all those people who are giving him trouble, and what I mean by that is they're teaching a different gospel.

They're saying that you can believe in Jesus just as long as if you're a guy, you're circumcised,

and make sure you're observing the Jewish kosher dietary laws, making sure you're hitting all the Jewish holidays.

So if you believe in Jesus and do all that stuff, you do those works, you're good with God.

It's adding to the gospel.

And it's not the gospel.

And so Paul knows that, so he's writing this letter, and he's aiming at those people at this point.

He says, from now on, let no one cause me trouble.

It's like a cease and desist letter.

Stop it.

And then he gives the reason.

For I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Literally, the stigmata of Jesus.

Those who boasted in the flesh, they did so to avoid persecution.

Verse 12.

Paul boasted in the cross alone, and he suffered for it.

You know, these marks are actually referenced to scars.

Scars.

If you look at 2 Corinthians 11, you get a sense of what Paul suffered for proclaiming the cross of Jesus Christ alone.

Scars tell stories.

I've got scars on my body.

When someone asks me about them, I'm like, oh yeah, I've got a story behind that one.

The scars on Paul's body are the marks of Jesus.

The cost he endured to proclaim the cross of Christ alone.

It's another way of authenticating his ministry.

Of legitimizing his apostleship.

So in between these authenticating comments of the apostle Paul at the end of the book of Galatians,

he then starts talking about boasting.

A contrast of boasting.

I tend to think about this as this.

Paul's wrapping up the book.

It's kind of like Joshua 24, where Joshua says, okay, Israel, the old Israel, Israel, choose this day whom you're going to serve.

Either the gods of the land or Yahweh.

As for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord.

Paul is saying, choose this day whom you will boast.

You're going to boast in the flesh.

You're going to boast in the cross of Christ.

And Paul says, as for me and God's new people, the Israel of God, we will boast in the cross.

So what does Paul mean by boasting?

Well, on the most basic sense, boasting is a kind of speaking about something, right?

But it's a particular kind of speaking about something.

Boasting is verbally expressing your confidence in someone or something's ability to win.

Or to be the best.

Or to do what nothing or no one else can do.

My team's the best.

It's kind of boasting.

My neighborhood's the best.

My school's the best.

My political party's the best.

My race is the best.

My gender's the best.

My religious practices are the best.

Boasting is a complex thing.

Here's why.

When you boast in something, you're actually putting your present trust in that something.

It's the governing reality of your life.

As far as that thing goes, so goes your happiness.

But your boasting is not simply just your present trusting in something.

Your boasting is always a future trusting.

A future faith.

It's what we call hope.

You're boasting in something with a hope that it's going to deliver down the line.

Have you heard people say, I have no problems with science.

I believe God has used science for great good in humanity.

But when people say things like, hey, science will eventually figure everything out.

People are actually putting their hope in human reason and ingenuity.

It's future faith.

And it's not just boasting as a future faith, a hope.

When you boast in something, it defines you.

Okay, if you are rooting for the Packers tonight, you're like, go Pack, go!

You are a Packers fan!

It defines you!

What you boast in defines you.

It shapes your identity.

It's how you think about yourself.

When you are driving in your car and you're looking at bumper stickers, maybe you should think of them more as boasting stickers.

It's what people are putting their trust in, their hope in, their identity in.

It's what they even celebrate.

So boasting is present trust, future hope, who you are, identity, and it's what you celebrate.

It's what you want to yell about.

It's what you get worked up over.

It's what you sing about.

It's what you've got to tell other people about.

Do you remember Jesus' words in Matthew 12?

Jesus is explaining to his disciples how to discern the difference between an evil person and a good person.

Jesus uses a tree illustration.

A tree is known by its fruit, either good fruit or evil fruit.

And Jesus says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Words are fruit of a heart at its root in what you trust.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth boasts.

What you trust in, what you hope in, what defines you, what you celebrate.

That's what Paul is getting at with this word boasting.

It's big.

It's complex.

It's not just words.

It's worship.

You boast in what you worship.

So, when it comes to boasting, we've got to be asking the right question.

To boast or not to boast is not the right question.

Because everybody is boasting in something.

Everyone is trusting in something.

Everyone is hoping in something.

Everyone is being defined by the words of something.

Everyone wants to celebrate something.

We're all boasters because we're all worshipers.

So, the question is not whether you should boast or not.

The question is, what are you presently boasting in?

And is it worth it?

And what we're going to see in this passage is that Paul says all of humanity basically has two options to boast in.

You're either going to boast in the flesh or you're going to boast in the cross.

What is your ultimate boast?

It's not an either or.

It's not a both and.

It is an either or.

We must boast in the cross alone.

So, what is this boasting in the flesh then?

Well, that's where 12 verses 12 and 13 helps.

And as I unpack this, I want to help you see the motive and the method and the manner of this boasting.

But before we get there, I just want to remind you what Paul means by the flesh.

Because in the book of Galatians, he uses that word flesh in at least two ways.

Remember in Galatians 5, 16 and 17, Matt preached this a few weeks ago.

What the flesh is there is this internal self-oriented power that seeks to express itself in desires like strife.

In envy, jealousy, fits of rage.

We see all the works of the flesh spelled out in verses 19 through 21 of chapter 5.

And basically, if there's a banner that you raise over the flesh, it would be this.

It's not love your neighbor.

It's use your neighbor.

Use your neighbor for selfish gain.

The flesh is in opposition to the Holy Spirit who's seeking to work in us to love our neighbor unto loving God.

So, the first use of flesh is this internal power that is self-oriented that is seeking to use our neighbors.

But then there's the second use.

And the second use of the word flesh shows up in our passage.

Galatians chapter 6, verses 12 and 14.

Galatians 6:12

We read, it is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised.

Verse 14, but far be it for me to boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ.

I just got lost there.

In verse 13, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

In this passage, flesh is tied to circumcision.

It's literally referencing the foreskin of a male's sexual organ.

In Galatians, the false preachers were saying, teaching that in order to be saved, male Gentiles who believed in Jesus needed to have their foreskins removed.

They needed to become Jews before they could become Christians.

And regardless if you were a man or woman, you needed to observe Jewish dietary laws and the Jewish holy day calendar.

And it also sounds like these false teachers were downplaying the cross of Christ and emphasizing obedience to circumcision and eating kosher and observing a calendar so that they wouldn't be persecuted for the cross.

Here's what I want to help you to see.

This emphasis on the external flesh of circumcision is just an outworking of that internal power of the flesh within.

They go hand in hand.

And that's where we see it played out in motive, method, and manner.

This boasting in the flesh, what motivates that?

Well, we see it in verse 12.

It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised.

A good showing.

Who do you think they want to make a good showing to?

They want to be man pleasers.

They want to impress those who are observing of Jewish descent.

And they want to impress those people.

It's the very thing that Paul himself was accused of in chapter 1, verse 10, ironically.

Those who are boasting in the flesh were seeking to impress others, not God.

That's the good showing.

The motive of these boasters in the flesh was to impress man.

When people's opinion is more important than God's opinion.

But not just motives of the flesh.

We see method in verse 12.

It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would force you to be circumcised.

Force.

If you flip back to Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

In verses 2 and 3 we read this.

I went up because of a revelation and set before them, though privately before those who seemed influential,

the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles in order to make sure I was not running or had run in vain.

Verse 3, but even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

Look at chapter 2, verse 14.

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel,

I said to Cephas, Peter, before them all,

If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew,

how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?

One of the classic symptoms of the flesh is human manipulation.

Human forcing things to happen.

It's not loving your neighbor.

It's using your neighbor in order to impress other people.

This motives and method, they go hand in hand, it turns out.

This method is kind of summarized, might makes right.

Verse 13, we see the manner.

We read this.

For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law,

but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

For even those who are circumcised, speaking of those who are the false teachers,

who have bought into this false teaching,

they do not themselves keep the law.

Do you see what Paul is saying?

They're hypocrites.

They're not in it for God.

They're in it for themselves.

They're forcing things to happen.

And they themselves are not seeking to keep the law.

And what we read earlier is to love your neighbor as yourself.

They're saying, hey, do as I say, not as I do.

Let's just make people look like they belong to us.

So these people who are boasting in the flesh, literally the foreskins,

were operating out of the flesh.

They were seeking to impress man by using methods of force

that were kind of done out of hypocrisy.

Their boasting in the flesh is a trusting in the flesh,

a hoping in the flesh, a being defined by the flesh,

a celebration of the flesh.

And so let me just ask you this question.

What does circumcision accomplish?

In God's economy of things.

What does eating kosher accomplish in God's economy of things?

What does observing the right Jewish holidays accomplish in God's economy?

Do they save?

No, they do not.

No, none of these has any saving merit in God's eyes.

So boasting in the flesh are just these outworkings of the flesh.

And it's not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.

And boasting in the flesh continues today.

It's not a first century Jewish religious context kind of a thing.

Motives to seek approval of people,

methods of manipulation and force,

manner of hypocrisy.

We see it played out on the political scene in our country.

We see it played out with social issues.

We say it played out in educational frameworks.

We even say it played out in our parenting.

We're more concerned with what people think about us

than doing things for the praise of God.

It's like requiring foreskins,

or requiring to eat kosher,

or observing Jewish holy days.

None of these things can save anyone.

None of them gets you right with a hold of God.

Do you know what all this boasting in the flesh has in common?

It's man-centered.

It's trusting in human agency.

Trusting in man.

Not God.

Hoping in man.

Not God.

Being defined by what man says.

Not what God says.

It's celebrating man.

Apart from celebrating God.

Boasting in the flesh

reflects a man-centered approach to life.

It's worldliness.

A form of godliness,

but denying its power.

That's why boasting in the flesh

is completely incompatible

with boasting in the cross.

It's not both and.

It is either or.

Who you ultimately trust.

We must not be boasting in the flesh,

brothers and sisters.

We must boast in the cross alone.

And it's to that end

I want to aim us

and start wrapping up this sermon

in verses 14 through 16.

In this passage,

in these verses,

Paul essentially gives us

three reasons why

we must boast

in the cross of Jesus Christ alone.

I want to help you understand

what it means

to boast in the cross.

Why we boast in the cross.

And we boast in the cross

because of what the cross

has accomplished.

Now,

before I get there,

I just want to help you

understand something.

We don't realize

how crazy that sounds.

In verse 14,

Paul says,

but far be it for me

to boast except

in the cross

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We're so used

to hearing cross talk.

We forget

how scandalous it is.

And so let me try

to help you

kind of get a sense

of how scandalous

this sounds

in the first century.

In the first century,

a cross was the instrument

of Roman capital punishment.

So in the modern era,

it would have been

the equivalent

of a firing squad

or the hangman's noose

or the electric

chair.

All different forms

of capital punishment.

So,

could you imagine

someone coming up

to you

wearing a silver chain

with an electric chair

pendant around their neck

saying,

man,

I got to tell you

about this guy

that died

in the electric chair

for me.

Have you heard the song

When I Survey?

When I Survey

the Wondrous Cross?

When I Survey

the Electric Chair.

See how crazy

that sounds?

How scandalous

that is?

It's like Paul saying,

but far be it

for me to boast

except in the electric chair

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross,

like the electric chair,

was a shameful

way to die.

Cursed is anyone

who's hanged on a tree.

But we must boast

in the cross

because of the one

who died on the cross.

Did you see

the pile up of titles?

But far be it

for me to boast

except in the cross

of our Lord Jesus

the Christ.

God in the flesh.

He died on the cross

bearing God's curse

for our sinfulness.

All of our living

out of our flesh

opposed to God.

He died for it all.

His death and resurrection

accomplished what no human

or group of humans

could ever do.

And that's why

we boast in it.

And that's why

Paul gives us

three reasons

from this text

of why we should be

boasting in the cross alone.

So let me help you

see that.

In verse 14

we read this.

But far be it

for me to boast

except in the cross

of our Lord Jesus Christ

by which the world

has been crucified

to me and I

to the world.

The first reason

why we boast

in the cross

is that the world

has been crucified

to us

and us

to the world.

Do you remember

Galatians 2.20?

It's one of my

all-time favorite verses.

Paul says,

I've been crucified

with Christ.

It's no longer

I who live

but Christ

who lives in me

and the life

I now live

in the flesh.

I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave himself

up for me.

He died on the cross

because he loved me

and gave himself

up for me.

Paul fully believed.

He was completely convinced

convinced that he himself

was co-crucified

with Christ

on the cross.

That's what that's

getting at.

He was united

with Christ

in Christ's cross work.

And the same

is true

with us

who believe

in Christ alone

for our salvation.

The very moment

you first believed

in what Christ

had done for you,

God united you

to Christ

in his death

and resurrection.

And one of the results

we've already looked at

in 524

and those who belong

to Christ Jesus

have crucified

the flesh

with its passions

and its desires.

Now why am I telling you this?

Because we're talking

about the world, right?

Here's why.

The world

in this context

is describing

a community

of human beings.

a community

of human beings

who have not

been united

to Christ.

And because

they haven't been

united to Christ

their passions

and desires

of their flesh

has not been

crucified either.

So they are

ruled

by their passions

and desires

of their flesh.

So the passions

and desires

of the flesh

of every person

of the world

controls

their being.

And they boast

in the flesh.

The flesh

the internal

power

of selfishness

that exerts

itself

cannot

put to death

the flesh.

So you need

to think of

the world

as all of humanity

being ruled

by the passions

and desires

of the flesh.

It's like

Galatians 5

19-21

all those

15 works

of the flesh

multiplied

and spread out

across billions

of people

on this planet

transcending race

transcending culture

religion

and gender.

That's the world

and it creates

a current

of ungodliness.

The world

exerts

a fleshly

influence

not towards God

but away

from Him.

the world

way of doing

things

normalizes

a use

your neighbor

approach

to life.

Only being

united to

Christ

in His

crucifixion

will put

to death

the world's

fleshly

hold on you.

I hope you're

starting to understand

that the cross

of Christ

has set us

free

from living

for the world

from

worldliness

a culture

characterized

by

what we read

in Galatians 5

19-21

the cross

has

freed us

from the world's

hold on us

and our

allure

to the world.

Now if you

struggle with

worldliness

and I know

I do

you need

to remember

and believe

in the

finished

work

of Jesus

Christ

and that

you

have been

co-crucified

with Christ

and when

you do that

you start

to realize

the world

no longer

owns you.

Being crucified

to the world

does not mean

removing ourselves

from the world

that's the whole

point of Jesus

praying for His

disciples in John 17

that God would not

take them out of the world

but He would

set them apart

in the world

by sanctifying them

with God's word

the truth

and so think about it

this way

here's what happened

the cross

called us out

of the world

so the cross

has made it possible

for us to be

in the world

but not of the world

to proclaim to the world

that Jesus is the Savior

of the world

that's the first reason

why

we boast

in the cross

why we trust

in it

why it

it defines

our hope

it defines us

we celebrate

the cross

because the cross

has made it possible

for us to be

in the world

but not of the world

to proclaim

Christ

to the world

only the cross

can do that

we must boast

in the cross alone

the second reason

why we must boast

in the cross alone

you see in verse 15

for neither circumcision

counts for anything

nor uncircumcision

but a new creation

it's only through the cross

that we can be

new creatures

of a new creation

Galatians 5 25 says

if we live by the Spirit

let us keep in step

with the Spirit

according to God's word

when you believe

in Jesus

for the first time

you

are united to Christ

in his death

and resurrection

and all of his

resurrection power

and life

given it to you

so you are considered

in God's eyes

a new creation

the old is gone

the new has come

all of your sin

paid for

now you are right

with God forever

2 Corinthians 5 17

says therefore

if anyone is in Christ

united to Christ

belonging to Christ

he's a new creation

the old way

use your neighbor

is gone

the new way

love your neighbor

for the glory of God

has come

in Christ

the old flesh ruled

Mike Salvati

that boasts

in the flesh

has been crucified

and the new creation

Mike Salvati

has come

with a new heart

a new boast

new motives

new method

new manner

the cross

of Christ

of Jesus

it not only

just makes

individuals new

at the cross

a whole new

creation began

what God is doing

now is this

he is making

new creatures

out of old

sinners

on the old

earth

but what

the cross

inaugurated

will one day

come complete

full

culminate

when Jesus

comes back

and he

recreates

everything

behold

Revelation 21

5

I am making

all things

new

it's all

by God's

powerful grace

circumcision

doesn't do that

so if you think

that having your

foreskin removed

or eating right

foods

or observing

the right days

or doing the right

Christian things

don't yell at your

kids

don't swear

read your Bible

pray before meals

give regularly

if you think

any of these

works

can make

you new

in God's

eyes

you are terribly

mistaken

it's only through

the cross

that does that

gives you new

life

only the cross

can make

a dead

sinner

into a new

living

creature

of the new

creation

that's the

second reason

why we boast

in the cross

the cross

alone is the

source of

life

the third

reason

why

we must

boast

in the cross

alone

is an

outworking

of the new

creation

of what

the cross

has inaugurated

we read it

in verse 16

and so

for all who

walk in this

rule

by this

rule

the new

creation

rule

what's most

important is

the new

creation

for all who

walk by

this new

creation

mindset

peace and

mercy upon

them and

upon the

Israel of

God

here's what

Paul's saying

if the world

is the

community of

those ruled

by the flesh

who boast

in the flesh

then the

Israel of

God

616

is the

new

creation

community

of those

co-crucified

in the

cross

walking

by the

spirit

who boast

in the

cross

it's the

church

in verse

16

Paul calls

the Israel

of God

all who

walk

by this

rule

for neither

circumcision

counts for

anything nor

uncircumcision

but a new

creation

that's what

matters most

being a new

creation

it's only an

act of God

neither

circumcision

counts for

anything or

uncircumcision

so those

who are of

the new

creation

are the

Israel of

God

and that's

been Paul's

argument all

throughout the

book of

Galatians

those

who put

their

faith in

the finished

work of

Christ

anyone

who puts

their faith

in the

finished

work of

Christ

are justified

those

Jews and

Gentiles who

trust in

the finished

work of

Christ

they are

the offspring

of Abraham

and recipients

of God's

promised

blessing

Galatians

3

pointing back

to Genesis

12

they're the

Israel of

God

those

who trust

in Christ's

cross work

alone

they are the

righteous who

shall live by

faith

Hebrews 2

quote in

Galatians 3

Habakkuk 2

quote in

Galatians 3

those who

trust in

Christ's

cross work

alone

are the

true children

of promise

the citizens

of the

heavenly

Jerusalem

above

Galatians 4

they're the

Israel of

God

God

Paul's

been arguing

all throughout

the book

of Galatians

that anyone

who trusts

in Christ's

finished

cross work

they are part

of the new

creation

they're new

creatures of

the new

creation

they are

the new

Israel of

God

the church

it's not about

ethnicity

it's not about

obedience

it's not if

you're male or

female

it's about

whether or

not you

believe solely

by faith

in the

finished work

of Christ

on the

cross

that's why

in Galatians

3

28-29

we read

writing to

both Jews

and Gentiles

there's neither

Jew nor

Greek

there's neither

slave nor

free

there's no

male and

female

for you

are all

one

in

Christ

Jesus

and if

you are

Christ's

then you

are

Abraham's

offspring

heirs

according to

the promise

and here

in Galatians

he wraps

it all up

by saying

you are

the new

Israel of

God

God's

new

treasured

possession

at the

heart of

the gospel

is the

cross

of Jesus

Christ

it's

only

through

the

cross

that

God

calls

a people

out of

the world

making

them new

creatures

of a new

creation

and a

whole

new

cross

crucified

community

the

Israel of

God

the church

of Jesus

Christ

it takes

the cross

to do

that

this new

Israel of

God

the church

we walk

by the

new

creation

rule

it's not

about

circumcision

or

uncircumcision

it's about

being born

again

a new

creation

and we

boast

in the

cross

of our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

what that

means is

we trust

in the

cross

what Christ

has done

for us

period

it never

changes

anymore

we're

his

period

we hope

in the

cross

the cross

the cross

has inaugurated

a whole

new creation

that will

one day

culminate

when Jesus

comes back

that's what

we hope

in

we find

our identity

in the cross

I have been

crucified with

Christ

we

celebrate

the cross

it never

gets old

because it's

true

it results

in a new

motive

we're not in it

for man's

approval

but that

man would

praise the

living God

who would do

such a thing

we have new

methods

we're not by

force

but by grace

that's where

Paul closes

this letter

grace to you

and we have

a new

manner

we're not

hypocrites

who don't

seek to

fulfill the

law

no we

walk

by the

spirit of

God

in order

to love

our

neighbors

as

ourselves

Christ

the king

church

choose

this day

in whom

you will

boast

we must

not

boast

in the

flesh

we must

boast

in the

cross

alone

because of

what

God has

accomplished

through it

now you may

be asking

well should I

watch the

Packers game

tonight

yeah

watch it

but just

realize this

if the

Packers win

does that

accomplish

our salvation

the cross

gives

perspective

let's pray

God in heaven

thank you so

much for

the book of

Galatians

God thank you

so much for

the cross

that has

called us

out of the

world by

crucifying us

to the

world

for giving

us a

very a new

identity

because we're

new creatures

of a new

creation

and a new

community

we are part

of the Israel

of God

and it's all

by your

grace

oh God

would you do

a work

in us

and through

us

by your

spirit

that brings

worshipers

boasters

of the cross

it's your name

we pray

Jesus

amen

those

what

how

how

how

can

it's your word

.

.