Galatians 1:3–4
Memory Verse
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself on behalf of our sins so that He should save us out from the present malignantly evil age according to the desirous will of God even our Father (Galatians 1:3–4).
An age is a period, not restricted to time, in which God shows something about Himself to intelligent beings. We are currently in the malignantly evil age, in which the integrity of God is being shown in contrast to Lucifer’s character.
Lucifer is the prince of the authority of the air, who works in the sons of the unpersuaded. He governs the lives of the unbelievers according to the age of this world system that he designed (Ephesians 2:2). His character is expressed in his numerous names: Satan, the adversary; Devil, the slanderer; Apollyon, the destroyer (Revelation 9:11; 12:9). Independence from God comes from Satan, for he is the father of the lie (John 8:44).
Because Christ has rescued us from this malignantly evil age, we can govern our lives by the desirous will of God in contrast to the age of this world system, doing the good works that He has prepared for us to do, for we are His workmanship in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:1–10).