From Slavery To Sonship (Galatians 4:1-10)
The main challenge Christians start to go through as they get older is the feeling that they have done enough or that they will be accepted as God's child. This lack of assurance is frustrating. These doubts are dumb, but the Galatian letter gives us insights into why they are dumb. They help us to look at God and religion through the correct lens.
Tonight, we will look at a very encouraging passage in this letter. Of course, Paul is not encouraging the Galatians because they failed to remember this. But the truths of these texts are incredibly encouraging when we think about them deeply. Paul has been talking about how the law is not like the promise. The law gives you an understanding of your sin and brings a curse, while the promise gives a blessing through Jesus. As we said last week, this explains the entire Old Testament. Tonight, Paul will explain what that blessing is, why these Christians already have it, and what they should do with it. As I said, this is a very encouraging passage.
What Is The Blessing?
To start, let's go back to 3:29 and take note of this transitional text.
Galatians 3:29 (ESV) --- 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Paul says that those who are Christ's are Abraham's offspring. They are heirs according to promise. What does that mean? When I think of an heir, I think of a young prince. This child of the king has a bright future. One day he will assume the throne and rule over the nation. How could Christians be heirs? This text says that if we are Christ's through faith, we aren't Jews or Gentiles, slaves or freemen, men or women. We are all one in Christ. We are all heirs according to our promise.
God promises that we will be made heirs together with Christ. Jesus does not bring us into the kingdom to make us slaves who serve him according to his every whim. He's not an evil king. He is compassionate and merciful toward his people. He wants them to be heirs along with him. We read in Matthew 5, "Blessed are the meek for will inherit the earth" and "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Those who are blessed have ownership in the kingdom. They are given an opportunity that is beyond their imagination. This idea is not something that Jesus made up on the spot. It goes back into the Old Testament as well.
Zechariah 12:8--10 (ESV) --- 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
God wants to make the same covenant with us that he made with David. He wants us to rule the nations. When we go out into the world, we don't feel like we are ruling anything. Our idea of rule and reign is having the ability to tell everyone what to do. When Jesus was on the earth, he reigned with spiritual wisdom and insight. He said and did things that showed he was of a higher spiritual status. Our healing ability will never be on that level. Our wisdom and ability to debate with people will never be on that level because we can't read hearts. However, we have spiritual wisdom from God and the ability to help and heal people selflessly. God gives us that wisdom and that ability. So, we don't need to think about reigning as a physical show of force. Instead, we need to think of ourselves as reigning in life. We are reigning with *hope, understanding, peace, contentment, and satisfaction* because of our spiritual understanding of our creator and our purpose. In Ephesians, Paul says that we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
What Does That Mean?
So the idea of being a joint heir with Christ is found throughout scripture. Now the question is, "Why does it mean to be an heir according to promise?" We want to understand what Paul says about our rule in this context. The answer to that is in chapter 4.
The Law Is Elementary
Galatians 4:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
In the first three verses, Paul gives us an illustration to help us understand the relationship between the law and the promise. He says that when the heir is young, he is no different from a slave. He can't reign over anything because he's not ready for that. His father will set a date and time depending on how ready he is for that responsibility. He says, "In the same way we also were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world when we were children." When you read "Elementary principles," think of the ABCs. Some translations say "Elemental forces," but principles fit better in this context.
The law taught us the ABCs of righteousness and character. It taught us how impossible it is to become what God created us to be on our own. We all fall short. The law was full of elementary ideas. We see this more clearly when Jesus shows up on the scene and teaches us the more profound things in the sermon on the mount. He even shows us what absolute righteousness looks like, and it's way better than what the law revealed.
Also, notice that the "elemental principles" are now considered "of the world." Verse 9 says that they are weak and worthless to us now. We have excelled beyond elemental principles now that Christ has come into the world. What does this mean? It means that the teachings of the law are inferior to the teachings of Christ. They were proven ineffective at transforming believers' hearts, and Christians must let them go. They must stop observing the days and months and seasons and years from the Old Testament because that's child's play.
It Is Time To Grow Up
Galatians 4:4--9 (ESV) --- 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
For a time, we were under the weak and worthless elementary principles. When we were children, we saw God through a veil dimly, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4. But when the Father had determined that the time was right, he sent his Son. The "Fullness of time" indicates that this was the optimal time for people to accept Christ and understand God. So he sent his Son to be born to a woman and born under the law so he could redeem those under the law.
The important part is at the end of verse 5 and verses 6 and 7. He says, "So that we might receive adoption as sons." God wanted to give us all opportunities to be his sons and daughters. That means that the blessing of being an heir makes us sons and daughters of God. The relationship has transformed from being like a slave to having a close and intimate relationship with God. We can call him our Father. Consider that for a moment. How many people get to call you "dad?" Only three children on this earth can call me their dad right now. Only me and my brother have the right to call Greg Gray our father. That's a special relationship that is not understood by anyone else because there is no one like my dad.
Consider having that special relationship with God. It seems far-fetched. No one would dare to call God their Father throughout the Old Testament. It's only once Jesus appears that we start to see Him with a close relationship with God. The fantastic thing is that he teaches his disciples to call God their Father too. He is the true Son of God, but he was paying the purchase price for us to come into the family as adopted children. Reread verse 8. It says, "Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods (referring to idolatry). But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again?" Paul is saying that we have come to know God and to be known by God through a Father and Son relationship. If we can move past the elemental principles of law keeping and move on to faith in Christ, we can experience the relationship with God as our Father.
It is time for us to grow up into a more extraordinary relationship and a greater responsibility. That's what the heirs do. They assume their role and responsibility. Because of this, they grow closer to the Father. We might ask ourselves, "How can we ever take on this responsibility?" God doesn't expect us to grow up without helping us and training us along the way. Verse 6 says, "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." God sending the Spirit of his Son into our hearts is fascinating. When we see the term Spirit, it could refer to the promised blessings (as described throughout the Old Testament), or it could refer to an internal character or way of living. We all have a rebellious spirit, but God changes it into an obedient spirit (Ezek 36:26). So, which is he talking about here?
He has already discussed our reception of the promised blessing in 3:2. So he could be referring to that again. That would make sense because this text is about having a relationship with God. But he could also be referring to a change in our character, which fits much better in this context. Paul says, "Crying, 'Abba! Father!'" Abba is the Aramaic word for Father. It indicates a close relationship. The fact that our hearts cry out, "Father!" indicates that we excitedly call him our Father because he has redeemed and adopted us. He has given us safety and security. Like Christ when he was on this earth, we now have a character that respects, honors and relies on him for everything in life.
What Do We Learn?
The main point of this text is to help the Galatian Christians understand that they have everything they need in Christ. They have been adopted as sons and daughters of God. There is no more incredible spiritual blessing to be found in the law because the law was simply a building block for us to reach spiritual maturity. If we look for more than we have in Christ, we won't find it. Nothing has been kept back from us. We are heirs of all spiritual blessings and privileges. We have what most of mankind does not, a deep relationship with the Father. It can be as deep and wonderful as we want it to be. The closer we draw to him, the closer he will draw to us.
What Do We Need To Do?
So, the question we must ask ourselves after studying Galatians tonight is this, "What are we looking for?" Do we want a closer relationship with God? It's available right now! There is nothing more to do except receive it and enjoy it. If you are here today and don't have a relationship with God, you must understand that we are only set free in Christ. Don't turn to self-help books to find a relationship with your creator.