If you have ever been in a painful or difficult situation, you naturally wanted deliverance. The situation usually determines how we will be delivered. In Galatians 1:1-4, Paul is giving his introduction to the Galatians. He reminds them that his salvation and the authority to address them comes from Jesus Christ and God the Father. He mentions to them that the letter is not just from himself but from the brethren that are with him. Because Paul does not mention them by name of where he writes the from we do not know who they were by name. After he goes through his formalities in verses 1-3, he reminds them of the price Jesus paid to “deliver us from the present evil world.”
Galatians 1:4 “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”
The word deliver in this verse means to pluck out, to tear out, which means to rip with force or to rescue. God’s design for us is to free us from the bondage of sin. Jesus delivers us from the penalty of sin by shedding His blood for our sins.
This word, “deliver,” in Acts 7:10, describes how Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers, was delivered from slavery to a prominent place in the kingdom. He found favor with Pharoah, and because God delivered him, his family was saved from the famine. Joseph’s deliverance took him from the humiliation of his role as a servant to an honorable position in Egypt.
Act 7:10 “And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.”
In Acts 12:11, God delivered Peter from certain death as He opened the gates and freed him from the power of Herod. Herod intended to kill Peter, but God allowed him to walk out without any resistance. He had been sleeping between two soldiers and bound with chains. God sent an angel to release him from the chains, put the guards into a deep sleep, and open the gates so he could walk away freely.
Act 12:11 “And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
Those who are Christians have been delivered from the evil world we live in by the power of Jesus Christ. This is not referring to death, but it separates us from the power of sin that permeates this world. It will no longer have dominion over us. We are to be separated from sin and unto God. Have you been delivered? If you have repented and accepted Jesus as your Savior, you have been equipped with the Holy Spirit, who will enable you to turn away from sin and unto God. You have the power to say no to sin and yes to God. The power to yield your will to His will. It is your choice. You cannot live seeking the pleasures of this world more than you are seeking God. While we have to live in this world, we are not of this world.
One of the most beautiful prayers in scripture is Jesus’ prayer in John chapter 17. This prayer is just before his arrest and betrayal. In verse 13, Jesus prays to the father that those following Him would have His joy fulfilled in themselves. In verse 15, He asks the Father to not take them out of the world but to keep them from evil while they are in the world. He proclaims they are not of the world as a follower, just as He is not of this world. In verse 18, we are sent into the world just as he was sent into the world.
John 17:13-18 “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”
We can live a victorious life for Christ. He has delivered us, but it is up to us to follow Him so closely that the world does not affect our relationship with Him. We must live so close that we are light in this dark, sin-cursed world. It is time for all Christians to live lives that show our deliverance from sin. The only one stopping us from living this delivered life is ourselves.
