First Nations Version

by Terry M. Wildman

3The good news is that Big Man (Titus), who was with me, was not required to participate in the cutting of the flesh ceremony, even though he was a Wisdom Seeker (Greek), that is, from an Outside Nation. 4The ceremony was talked about because some who were not true sacred family members had been sneaked in. They crept in to spy on the freedom we have in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One and to make us slaves to their understanding of our tribal law. 5But we stood firm and gave them no ground, even for a moment, so that the truth of Creator’s good story would be preserved for you.

  6As for those leaders who are supposed to hold such a high reputation, their reputation means nothing to me, for the Great Spirit does not judge by outward appearance. Those leaders did not add one thing to the good story that I tell.

  7Instead, it became clear to them that I had been given the sacred task of telling the good story to the Outside Nations,3 just as Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) was to our Tribal Members.4 8For the Great Spirit who gave Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) the calling and power to be a message bearer to our Tribal Members also gave me the calling and power to serve the Outside Nations.

  9So when He Leads the Way (James), Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter), and He Shows Goodwill (John), who seemed to be the spiritual leaders,5 came to understand that I had been given this sacred task, they joined hands in agreement with me and Son of Comfort (Barnabas). They agreed that we would go to the Outside Nations and they to our tribal nation. 10They asked only that we would not forget to help the poor, a desire that was already burning in my heart.

  SMALL MAN’S CONFLICT WITH STANDS ON THE ROCK

  11After that, something else happened that I need to make clear: when Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) came to stay for a time at the village of Stands Against (Antioch), I had to take a stand against him face-to-face, to clearly show that what he was doing was wrong.

  12From Village of Peace (Jerusalem) He Leads the Way (James) sent some men to Stands Against (Antioch). Before they came, Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) would sit and eat with the sacred family members from the Outside Nations. But after those men came, he separated himself from the sacred family members from the Outside Nations, for he was afraid of what these Tribal Members might think of him.

  Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) was not remaining true to what the Great Spirit had shown him in a sacred vision.6

  13Then all the other Tribal Members joined with him in his cowardly ways, so that even Son of Comfort (Barnabas) was drawn into their false-faced ways.

  GOOD STANDING DOES NOT COME FROM KEEPING THE LAW

  14When I saw that they were not walking true to the meaning of the good story, I said to Stands on the Rock (Cephas-Peter) in front of everyone there, “You, who are a Tribal Member, have been living in the same manner as the people from the Outside Nations. So how is it that you would force them to follow the traditions of our Tribal Members?

  15“We who are Tribal Members by birth are not like those ‘outcasts’ from the Outside Nations who do not keep our law. 16But we who follow the Chosen One know that working hard to keep our tribal law does not put us in good standing with Creator. For good standing comes through trusting in what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One has done. As Tribal Members we have put our trust in him, so that our good standing comes from trusting in the Chosen One and not by working hard to keep our tribal law. For no human being will be put in good standing with Creator by working hard to keep the law.

  17“If we Tribal Members, while seeking to be in good standing by trusting in the Chosen One, are also found to be outcasts and guilty of wrongdoing, can it be said that the Chosen One is leading us into broken ways? May it never be! 18For if I were to rebuild the things I have torn down, that would prove that I was wrong from the first and make me a lawbreaker. 19It was through our tribal law that I died to our tribal law, so that I could be set free to live for the Great Spirit. When the Chosen One died on the cross, I died with him.

  20“My life is no longer my own, for my life belongs to the Chosen One, who lives in me. The life I now live in my weak human body, I live by trusting in the faithfulness of the Son of the Great Spirit, who loved me and gave up his life for me. 21I cannot do away with the gift of Creator’s great kindness, for if good standing with Creator could be gained through the law, that would mean the Chosen One died for nothing.”

  WORKING TO KEEP THE LAW OR TRUSTING IN THE CHOSEN ONE

  1O you foolish ones who live in Land of Pale Skinned People (Galatia)! Did someone put a spell on you? Was it not clearly shown to you that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One was put to death on a tree-pole—the cross? 2I have one chief question to ask you: Did the Holy Spirit come to you because you worked hard to keep our tribal law, or because you heard and trusted in the good story we told you?

  3Have you become foolish enough to believe that a journey begun in the power of the Spirit could be finished by weak human strength? 4I cannot believe that you have traveled so far just to end up at a dead end.

  5Does Creator give you his Spirit and work his power among you because you are working hard to keep our tribal law, or because you hear and trust in the good story we told you?

  LESSONS FROM THE SACRED TEACHINGS

  6It was the same for Father of Many Nations (Abraham), for it says in our Sacred Teachings, “Father of Many Nations (Abraham) put his trust in Creator. This is what gave him good standing in the eyes of the Great Spirit.”7 7It should now be clear to you that the true sons and daughters of Father of Many Nations (Abraham) are the ones who trust in Creator.

  8It was foretold long ago in our Sacred Teachings that it would be through trusting in him that Creator would give good standing to all the Outside Nations. The good story was told to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) when Creator said to him, “It is through you that I will bless all nations.”8 9So then, all who walk the same path that Father of Many Nations (Abraham), the man of trusting, walked are also blessed with good standing.

  10All who seek good standing with Creator through working hard to keep our tribal law are under the law’s curse. For it is written in our Sacred Teachings, “Cursed is anyone who does not perform all that is written down in the book of the law.”9

  11It should be clear for all to see that no one is given good standing in the eyes of the Great Spirit by keeping our tribal law, for “The ones in good standing will find life by trusting.”10 12Our tribal law is not about trusting. It is about doing. As our Sacred Teachings tell us, “It is the ones who keep doing what is written in the law who will find life.”11

  SET FREE BY THE CHOSEN ONE

  13The Chosen One paid a great price to set us free from the law’s demand about doing by taking on himself the law’s curse. As it is written in our Sacred Teachings, “Anyone who has been hanged upon a tree-pole is under a curse.”12 14This was done so that the promise made to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) to bless the Outside Nations would come to them through Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. In this way we can all receive the promised Spirit by trusting in him and what he has done.

  15My sacred family members, I will now speak to you from a human point of view. Once a peace treaty has been made between human beings, no one can change or put an end to the agreement. 16It is the same for the promises made to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) and his descendants.13 The promises were not made to many descendants—but only to one. And that one descendant is the Chosen One.

  17Here is what I am saying: our tribal law, which was given four hundred and thirty years after Father of Many Nations (Abraham), does not undo the peace treaty Creator made with him or do away with the promise. 18For if sharing in these blessings depends on walking the path of the law, then the promise falls to the ground. But the Giver of Life promised it to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) as a gift of his great kindness.

  THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW

  19So then, what was the purpose of our tribal law? The law was added because of bad hearts and broken ways, but only until the coming
of the Chosen One, the descendant to whom the promise was made. The law was put in place by spirit-messengers through a go-between. 20A go-between is only needed when there is more than one. But the Great Spirit is one.

  There was no go-between when the Great Spirit gave the promise to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) long before the law was given.

  21Does this mean that our tribal law is against Creator’s promises? It does not! For if laws had the power to give life, then good standing with Creator would have come through our tribal law. 22But our Sacred Teachings make it clear that because of broken ways Creator has rounded everyone up into one corral, so that the promise he made to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) would be sure to find its way to all who trust in what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One has done.14

  THE WAY OF TRUSTING

  23Before this way of trusting came, we were rounded up and held firmly under the guidance of our tribal law until the time came when the way of trusting would be made clear. 24Our tribal law was like an elder who watched over the children and told them how to do every little thing, but only until the coming of the Chosen One, who would give us good standing by the way of trusting. 25But now that the way of trusting has come, we are no longer children needing someone to watch over us and tell us what to do. 26For we are all sons and daughters of the Great Spirit through our trust in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 27All of you who participated in the purification ceremony15 of the Chosen One have put on the regalia of the Chosen One himself.

  28It no longer matters whether you are Tribal Members or Wisdom Seekers (Greeks), slaves or free, male or female. For in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One you are all one people. 29And since you belong to the Chosen One, you are a descendant of Father of Many Nations (Abraham) and the ones who share in the blessings of the promise Creator made to him.

  1What I am saying is that a father might die and leave everything to an only son. As long as that son remains a child, he has no say in the family,16 even though one day all will be his. 2He must wait until he reaches the age that was decided by his father. Until then, he is under the care of his aunts and uncles and other relatives.

  SET FREE TO BE MATURE SONS AND DAUGHTERS

  3In the same way, we were also children held in bondage under the spiritual powers that rule this world. 4But when the time was right, Creator sent his Son, who was born of a woman and born under our tribal law. 5He came to set free17 the ones who were under the law, so that all of us could take our place in Creator’s family as mature sons and daughters. 6Because this is true of you, Creator has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out from within us, “Abba! My Father!”

  7So then, you are no longer slaves to the spiritual powers of this world that use the law to accuse you and bring you under bondage. You are now taking your place as mature sons and daughters ready to share in the family blessing promised by the Great Spirit.

  DO NOT TURN BACK TO THE OLD WAYS

  8Before you fully knew about the Great Spirit, you served spirits that do not share the nature of the Great Spirit.18 9But now that you know the Great Spirit, and even more, that the Great Spirit knows you, how is it that you desire to turn back to serve those weak and pitiful spirits that use the law to make you their slaves? 10This is what you are doing when you require people to take part in things like special days, moon cycles, ceremonial seasons, and yearly festivals, in a useless attempt to gain the blessing of Creator’s good road. 11I am worried that my work among you has come to nothing.

  12My sacred family members, I beg you to become like me, for I was once like you when I served those weak and pitiful spirits—but now I am free. You did not treat me in a bad way when I first came to you. 13As you know, I was sick and weak in my body when I first told you the good story. 14But even though the weakness in my body was hard for you to bear, you did not look down on me with scorn or turn away from me in disgust. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were a spirit-messenger from Creator, or even as if I were the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) himself.

  15Have you lost your desire to be such a blessing to me? I am telling you the truth that in those days, if it had been in your power, you would have sacrificed anything to help me, even your own eyes. 16Do you now see me as an enemy because I speak truth to you?

  17These false teachers I am warning you about are working hard to snatch you away from us and win you over to their way of thinking. They do not truly care about you. They only want more followers to help them spread their lies. 18Yes, to win people over is a good thing, but only when it is done for the right reasons, and not just when I am there with you.

  19My little children! Once again I am like a mother struggling to give birth to a child. My struggle will continue until the Chosen One has been fully formed within you. 20O how I wish I were there with you so we could speak face to face! Then we could sit in counsel together, where you could hear my heart and not just my words. I do not know what to do about you.

  WHAT IT MEANS TO BE UNDER THE LAW

  21So then, you who wish to remain under our tribal law, are you ready to hear what it means to be under the law?

  22Let me tell you a story from our Sacred Teachings. Father of Many Nations (Abraham) had two sons. A slave named Wandering Woman (Hagar) gave birth to one son, and Noble Woman (Sarah) gave birth to the other. 23The son born to the slave woman was born because of broken desires, by trying to force Creator’s promise to come true. The son born to the free woman was born because Creator himself made the promise come true.

  24-25This story reveals a deeper truth. These women represent two peace treaties between the Great Spirit and his people. One peace treaty was made from Mountain of Small Trees (Mount Sinai), where our tribal law was given. This mountain is in Land of Wanderers (Arabia) and is represented by Wandering Woman (Hagar), whose children are all born into slavery. Wandering Woman (Hagar) also represents the present-day Village of Peace (Jerusalem), for this village and its people remain in slavery.

  26But the Village of Peace (Jerusalem) from the spirit-world above is represented by Noble Woman (Sarah), the free woman. This Village of Peace (Jerusalem) is our mother, and we are her children, born in freedom.

  27For it is written in our Sacred Teachings, “O childless woman who has never given birth or felt the pains of childbirth, dance for joy and shout as loud as you can! For the woman who was barren has more children than a woman with a husband.”19

  28Now you also, my sacred family members, are children born of promise. For it was by Creator’s promise that He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) became the child of Father of Many Nations (Abraham).

  29At that time the one who was born from broken desires hunted down and brought trouble to the son born of the Spirit’s promise. The same kind of thing is happening today from our own Tribal People.

  30But what do our Sacred Teachings tell us? “Send the slave woman and her son far away. For the son of the slave woman cannot share the family blessings with the son of the free woman.”20

  31So then, my sacred family members, we who trust in the Chosen One are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

  1The Chosen One set us free so that we can remain free, so stand firm and do not let anyone rope you into being slaves again. 2Listen closely to what I, Small Man (Paul), am telling you: if you decide to participate in the cutting of the flesh ceremony for good standing with Creator, then what the Chosen One has done will not help you. 3Again, I speak truth from my heart: any man who participates in the cutting of the flesh ceremony for good standing must follow all of the law given by Drawn from the Water (Moses). 4You who trust in the law for good standing have cut yourself off from the Chosen One and walked away from the gift of Creator’s great kindness.

  THE THING THAT MATTERS MOST

  5But through the Spirit we keep trusting in the Chosen One for good standing and aim our hearts toward Creator’s right ways. 6So then, in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, whether or not you participate in the
cutting of the flesh ceremony does not matter. What matters is walking out our faith on the road of love.

  7You were walking in a good way. Who talked you out of following the path of truth? 8That counsel did not come from the one who called you to follow him. 9It has been said, “A little yeast will spread through the whole lump of bread dough.”

  10But I am sure that our Honored Chief will bring you back into agreement with the truth. As for the one who is troubling you, whoever he is, his ways will come back on his own head.

  11My sacred family members, if I still teach that the cutting of the flesh ceremony is needed, then why am I under attack? If that is what I truly teach, then the story of the cross of the Chosen One would make no one stumble. 12If only those false teachers who are trying to force their way on you would go the whole way and cut it all off!

  FREEDOM TO LOVE AND SERVE

  13But you, my sacred family members, have been called to walk in freedom. Do not use this freedom to walk in weak and broken human ways. Instead, walk in love and serve each other. 14For all of our tribal law finds its full meaning and purpose in this one instruction, “Love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourself.”21 15If you keep on acting like wild animals, biting and snapping at each other, watch out! You may end up wiping each other out!

  WALKING WITH THE SPIRIT

  16So I say to you, if you keep walking by the Spirit’s guidance, your weak and broken desires will no longer lead you down the wrong path. 17For our broken human desires go against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit go against our broken human desires. They are at war with each other, and this struggle keeps you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you follow the guidance of the Spirit, you are not under tribal law. You have been set free to follow the Spirit!