Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Tuesday, March 10, Galatians 1:2

"And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:"

We see in this introduction how Paul had a group with him. We know from the book of Acts that he was even fortunate enough to have a doctor with him: Luke, the one who wrote the Gospel that bears his name and "Acts", its sequel. Luke is also considered one of the most accurate historians that ever lived, and these two books have been essential in locating ancient historic information.

When I read this part of the greeting, it made me realize how crucial it is to surround yourself with companions of the Gospel. There is nothing in the New Testament that tells one to be a loner. Those who do not function within a church body are rebuked. Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:14-20:

"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body."

Paul himself was no exception. God used Paul to "write" some of the greatest literature ever written, yet, from what I see, most of his writings were actually dictated to a brother who wrote them down as he dictated. So even here, the "mouth" needed the "hand" to breathe out God's words effectively!

And nobody is perfect. There is an old joke, that if someone is looking for the perfect church, if ever there was a "perfect" church, the minute he walks in it is no longer perfect. For we are all flawed individuals, and God deliberately bestows each member with unique gifts so the body can function properly.

The difficult part is finding a church whose leadership adheres to sound Biblical Teaching. The Bible should be central, and its standards held and followed to the best of our abilities. And leadership should not be based on personality or bling, but on service to the flock and reflecting Jesus.

Secondly, commitment to a local body is also important, because a local church needs strong, mutual commitment to serve one another. Jesus Himself, in Matthew 18 used the example of church discipline to point out how the church was needed for final discernment of one teaching falsely or sinning without repentance.

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (15-17 ESV)

So, it was a given that Jesus would have churches even before they existed. No man is an island, and we are all dependent upon one another. I often refer to local church bodies as "training grounds" for us, because we are all flawed, each with different faults as well as different strengths, and learn to bear with one another, help one another, and learn to love one another as Christ loves us. And with that training we can go out into the world to proclaim the Gospel, learning from one another the ways of the Gospel given us through Holy Scripture and solid Biblical leadership, teaching, and fellowship.

Even Peter did not consider himself anything special. For example: "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder…" (1 Peter 5:1a) He, as well as all of us need our brothers and sisters to help us learn more about the glory of Christ and how to reflect Him before the world. We are many facets to this Heavenly "Jewel", so to speak, for we represent Christ, and when people look at the church, they should see His reflection. We all need each other, and work together as a body under the headship of Christ.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

*KJV used*

Memory Helps

"And all the brethren (4 wds)
which are with me, (4 wds)
unto the churches of (4wds)
Galatia:" (1)

First, I divided the verse into a 4-4-4-1 word pattern, so I can count the words on my hand as I recite it OUT LOUD.

An easy word picture to see: Set yourself in the midst of your "brothers", maybe with arms around a couple, like you're going to have a picture taken. Set this group behind a couple church buildings, and have a bunch of "Gals" in front of the churches as well. I use "Gal" as my reminder of "Gal-atians".

By the way, a simple way to "link" chapter 1 to this verse would put a "rhyming" word picture in each one, for example, "Sun" can represent chapter 1. I typically use a modified form Harry Lorayne's phonetic alphabet from his "memory books" for a more elaborate and failsafe system for verses and numbers, which are explained on my website, but it is only one of countless tools people can use to memorize.

Linking verse numbers:

I use "Noah" (N=2) as my memory character for verses 2. I just insert the whole picture above on his Ark and the old white-bearded guy takes my place in it. And of course, they are all wearing huge bow "TIEs" to represent chapter 1.