Drew Boswell

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“The Enemy of Freedom” Galatians 4:21-5:12

Grace Abounds

A Sermon Series Through the Book of Galatians

“The Enemy of Freedom”

Galatians 4:21-5:12

Introduction

The enemy of Christian freedom is legalism. Legalism defined is “treating something that is good as something that is essential.” We preserve our freedom when everything is properly placed in our lives. What is essential to God is essential to us, everything else is kept in its place. The Christian has to resist placing things in too high a priority in their lives. When we allow legalism into our hearts or allow it stay there we begin to lose sight of what ultimately counts.

We will begin to insist that good things remain as ultimate things – eventually there are is no such thing as priority, everything is of equal importance, or what is really not that important becomes paramount. Churches can even begin to find their identity in these misplaced priorities, instead of finding their identity in Jesus.

The Appeal of Allegory (vv. 21-27)

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”

Paul reaches back to the OT story of how Ishmael and Isaac were born. God had come to Abraham and promised him an heir when he was 86 and she was 76 years, old. Then another 10 years passed, and growing impatient he had a son with a servant girl named Hagar. Ultimately, the couple would have to wait twenty-five years before Isaac (the son of promise) would be born, and Abraham would be 100 years old. Paul uses this story as an allegory. This was a very common teaching practice with Jewish rabbis.

Allegory: “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.” “Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey”

(v. 23) “the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise,” – For Ishmael to be born there was no need for miraculous intervention, “according to the flesh,” but for Isaac to be born, God had to miraculously intervene “born through promise,” because Sarah and Abraham were very old, and she had been barren her whole life. When Isaac was born Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 (Gen. 17:17; 21:5).

He says, “these women are two covenants,” Christians (Jews and Gentiles) are children of the promise as Isaac was. (v, 24) “One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.” Sinai is where God gave Moses the ten commandments, and the law.

From the law was born a nation under the law, and the law enslaved the people. In Paul’s allegory this is pictured as Hagar, the slave woman who gave birth to a son who was not the son God promised. “Ismael symbolizes those who have only natural birth and who trust in their own works. Isaac symbolizes those who have had spiritual birth because they have trusted in the work of Jesus Christ.”[1]

“One difference was their status in the eyes of the law. Although the boys had the same father, they each had a different mother. From their respective mothers they inherited two different legal standings. Ishmael’s mother was a slave, so he was born a slave. Isaac, on the other hand, was born free, the heir of a free woman.”[2]

(v. 26) “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” – But this new birth, like Isaac’s had to be supernatural (from above), “the Galatians are the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise in that they are Isaac-type children, for they represent the spiritually and supernaturally born children of Sarah.[3]

Think of how controversial this would have been to the Jewish teachers who were pushing the Galatians to observe the law – the law following Jews were Hagar and Ishmael, and the foreign Gentiles were Sarah and Isaac! The crucial question is, “Who is your mother?” (Hagar or Sarah) – that determines whether you are a slave or free.

Sarah and Abraham did not believe that God would give them a child (a lack of faith) so they decided to take the situation into their own hands, they came up with their own plan, and a child was born – but it was not the child of promise from God. When we try to please God by taking our own lives into our own hands, we do not trust that God will save us by grace (or keep His promise).

In Genesis 17:15 God comes back to Abraham and promises again that Sarah will have a son. But Abraham wants God to accept Ismael as his son, but God says no, “I will give you a son and you will name him Isaac.” “In effect Abraham says that they did not need a son because he and Sarah had already taken care of that problem. . .

Abraham began with faith, “and it was credited to him as righteousness,” but later faltered by not trusting that God would keep His promise and had a child with Hagar. The Galatians also began in faith by the Spirit and have lapsed into seeking “to be made complete by the flesh” (Gal. 3:3).”[4]

 In the eyes of God everyone is either an Ismael or an Isaac. Do we seek our salvation by trying to be a good person (some other means other than Jesus), or do we seek God’s grace through faith?

The Appeal to Be Rid of Legalism (vv. 28-31)

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

If you are a slave, then you will always be a slave, unless you are redeemed. If you keep all of the law, you still remain a slave. Like a horse grinding grain in a circle – the harder you pull, the faster you go, you still remain in attached to the mill grinding grain. The law is a brutal master, when you have done everything, it whips you to keep on going. You have no means to be free from the law.

Since salvation comes by grace, then the church cannot tolerate graceless (legalism, self-righteous moralism) works. Legalism has no place in the church. Paul then gives them a solution to the false teachers being in their ear, “But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son,” – we must pray and cast out legalism from our hearts and our churches.

Salvation is by faith in Jesus alone; this is why all other religions, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Mormanism – are all slave religions. It is never about what we do for God; Christianity is about what God has done for us. You cannot become a child of God by being a slave (working your way into heaven) – He has to adopt you as His child by grace (redeem you through the cross). You must be born from above.

The Appeal to Live Free (5:1-13)

5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

The reason Christ died, rose again, endured the suffering and pain was so that a person could be free, “For freedom Christ has set you free,” later in 5:13 he says, “For you were called to freedom,” – The state that Jesus wants you to have is one of liberty. God’s grace is what frees us from sin, and it is grace that sustains us. When Paul cries out for God to answer his prayer, God responds back, “My grace is sufficient for you,” (2 Cor. 12:9). His grace is sufficient to save us, and to get us through this life. God’s grace has an effect upon us (freedom). We deprive ourselves of that freedom when we seek to be self-righteous.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

If you seek to be justified (made free from your sin) by keeping the law, then, “he is obligated to keep the whole law.” By not trusting in Christ’s work on the cross, a person is cut off from Christ, and that they have fallen away from the grace Jesus offers. Either go back to the law, (all of it), or have the gospel; you can’t have both. Fallen is from a word (ekpipto) that means to be separated or loosed from, it is to lose one’s grip of something.

(v. 4) When Paul says, “You are severed from Christ,” the same word and idea is used in Romans 7:2 “For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.” You are cut loose from Christ by your going back to works righteousness. Is this talking about losing your salvation? He is not talking about eternal security of the believer – but that grace and the law cannot be mixed together.

It deals with the freedom that comes from the assurance of our salvation. You are set free from the prison of, “have I done enough? And “Am I good enough?” Assurance of salvation is not possible if we think we must earn or even maintain our salvation by our efforts. If we keep ourselves saved by good living, how could we ever be sure we were being good enough to retain God’s favor?”[5]

Also, there is no spiritual growth for a person who began in receiving God’s grace through faith, but then turning back to self-righteous moralism. You stop relying on God’s grace and move to trusting your own self-effort – when that happens you stop growing spiritually.

 “Contrary to justifying grace, sanctifying grace is interruptible. Living by the flesh interferes with living by the Spirit, and living by the flesh may even involve doing the right things for the wrong reasons, or in the wrong way. For example, To witness to a person while trusting God to convict and convert him is to live by the Spirit. To witness with the intention of converting a person thorough our own knowledge of Scripture and powers of persuasion is to live by the flesh.”[6] When we try to live the Christian life in our own strength we forsake the grace of Christ.

(v. 5) “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” Everyone who has faith in Jesus has the righteousness of Christ. In heaven, we will be without sin. We eagerly await a time when we won’t have this battle raging within us. But for now, we wait and seek to be guided by the Spirit, and we seek the grace of God.

Also, while we wait, we are waiting eagerly for the arrival; we are not waiting with anxiety for the arrival. So we see three characteristics of a godly life – a life lived through the Spirit rather than the flesh, a life lived by faith rather than works, and a life lived in patient waiting rather than in anxiety and bondage to the law.

children waiting from dad to come home from work. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dVHjZFU7VRg

(v. 6) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” If you have the love of Christ, you don’t need the law to tell you right from wrong. If you love a person then you won’t murder them, or commit adultery against them, or dishonor them, or steal their stuff. When you love with a Christ-like love, guided by the Spirit, you will naturally keep the law.[7]

Reject Those Who Hinder Your Walk With God (vv. 7-12)

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

“You were running well.” When the Galatians accepted the false message, they disbelieved the truth. “Had they continued to believe God they would have continued to obey God, for obedience is the only possible evidence of a heart-belief in God. In the case of the Israelites their disobedience is said to be the evidence of their unbelief.

Hebrews 3:18-19 “And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” They didn’t believe that God would get them into the Promised Land. The disbelief led to disobedience. Abraham didn’t believe that God would provide a child, so he disobeyed and had a child another way.

“Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Back in the 1990s every home had a house phone with a phone line. If you were talking with someone on the phone, another person could pick up a second phone in the house and listen, or “cut in”[8] on the conversation, “ok, Drew it’s time to say goodnight.” Someone is cutting in on the Galatians running with Christ, trying to trip them up, and pull them away from salvation by grace through faith. (v. 9) “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,”[9] – leaven in the Bible is a picture of corruption and sin. A little legalism if allowed to stay will grow and grow into much legalism.

Conclusion

Nothing can choke the heart and soul out of walking with God like legalism. Rigidity is the most certain sign that the Disciplines have spoiled. The disciplined person is the person who can live appropriately in life.

Consider the story of Hans the tailor. Because of his reputation, an influential entrepreneur visiting the city ordered a tailor-made suit. But when he came to pick up his suit, the customer found that one sleeve twisted that way and the other this way; one shoulder bulged out and the caved in. He pulled and managed to make his body fit. As he returned home on the bus, another passenger noticed his odd appearance and asked if Hans the tailor had the suit. Receiving an affirmative reply, the man remarked, “Amazing! I knew that Hans was a good tailor, but I had no idea he could make a suit fit so perfectly someone as deformed as you.”

Often that is just what we do in the church. We get some idea of what the Christian faith should look like: then we push and shove people in to the most grotesque configurations until they fit wonderfully! That is death. It is a wooden legalism which destroys the soul.

_____________________________

[1] MacArthur, 124.

[2] Philip Graham Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary, Galatians (Phillipsburg, New Jersey; P&R Publishing Company, 2005) 183.

[3] Jason C. Meyer, NAC Studies In Bible & Theology, The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 2009) 133.

[4] Meyer, 135.

[5] Timothy Keller, Galatians For You (United States; The Good Book Company, 2013) 134.

[6] MacArthur, 136.

[7] See also Romans 13:8-10

[8] Robertson, 310.

[9] 1 Cor. 5:6

“Being Made Much of” Galatians 4:12-20

Grace Abounds

A Sermon Series Through the Book of Galatians

“Being Made Much Of”

Galatians 4:12-20

 Introduction

John 8:31-32 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The false teachers in Galatia were saying that they needed to add the law to grace through faith in Jesus. There is a good chance that when they sat down in fellowship at meals, the Gentile Galatians were forced to sit at a different table until they were circumcised and were following the law. But freedom comes from resisting any claim (apart from the true gospel) that promises God’s displeasure unless we submit to said claim.

There will come a time in your lifetime when well-meaning Christians will recommend various systems of “godly” “child-rearing, financial management, Scripture memory, prayer, missions involvement, coping with health problems, etc. – we should evaluate if whether they conform to Scripture and common sense, and use them if they are beneficial. They should not become activities that in our imagination cause God to love us more. If we find ourselves taking pride in such activities and internally condemn those who do not participate with us in them, we are on a dangerous path not unlike the Galatians were traveling and that caused Paul such distress.”[1]

The Appeal of Affection (vv. 12-16)

12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

In Paul’s attempt to persuade the churches in Galatia to his argument (salvation is by grace and not works) he appeals to their previous common experiences. He first calls them “Brothers,” We are in the same family of God, and he says, “become as I am, for I also have become as you are.” He is telling them that “there was a time in his own life, as a devout Jew, be observed all of those Mosaic rites to which the Galatians were turning now.”[2]

He had kept the feast days and observed the Passover and looked upon certain foods as clean. But when he came to them, he had been set free from the Law of Moses. But now, he pleads with them, “become as I am,” free from trying to earn salvation by keeping the law and free from having to live by outward symbols, ceremonies, rituals, and restrictions.”[3]

(v. 13) “though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus,” When Paul first came to them there was something about his physical condition that would have made his acceptance harder than normal. He doesn’t say exactly what happened, but it was because of this condition that caused him to originally preach to them.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Galatians 6:11 “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.”

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for pall the churches.”

Paul’s physical condition would have been a man whose body was scarred and wrecked. Think about it from the Galatian perspective, “you want me to believe in Jesus as the Savior, the Son of Man, God in the flesh – and this is what he allows his followers to go through? For Paul, getting the gospel to other people was all worth it. Paul could see eternity even if he couldn’t see across the room.

But whatever it was they accepted him, warmly received the truth of the gospel, he even says that, “if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.” He loved them, and they loved him. They received the truth of the gospel, in spite of Paul’s physical condition. There was something about Paul’s condition that was revulsive, unsightly, but they accepted him anyway, “you did not scorn or despise me.” Literally “they did not spit at him.”

“During the first trip to Galatia, persecution had been severe, and Paul had even been stoned and left for dead by those hostile to the gospel (Acts 14:19). But as he later returned to Antioch with Barnabas, one can imagine how he must have marveled over the vastly contrasting love and kindness be had received from believers.”[4] So in spite of Paul’s difficulty, health problems, etc. God used all of it to get him to the Galatian churches to preach the gospel. God uses our problems to achieve His purposes.

(v. 15) “What then has become of your blessedness?” – There was an excitement and an openness to receive the gospel of grace, salvation by faith. But now, there is a strong resistance to the truth. What happened? The gospel of legalism had become more attractive to them than the gospel of grace, and the man who had been their beloved friend had become to them like an enemy. (v. 16) “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

Their blessedness was being replaced with Self-righteous law following.

 Joy is replaced with hard-heartedness.

Our ability to receive the truth of God’s Word is directly related to our sense of needing it in our lives. If we become self-righteous we become hardened to the truth and even those who seek to tell us the truth.

The Warning of Too Much Appeal (vv. 17-20)

17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

The Galatian churches were people who were sought after – for Paul, he sought after them for the purpose of sharing the gospel to them, and he has said several times of his love for them, and calls them “my little children.” Paul went there originally because of his desire to share the gospel with them (even if it was because his others plans were changed).

He is explaining that there is another group of leaders who is pursuing them also. They will also, “make much of them,” But their ultimate goal is to get them to give over to legalism and once they have done so, they will then look to these leaders for “the rules,” “that you may make much of them.” Paul was self-giving, these false teachers were self-serving.

Jesus put it this way in reference to the Jewish leadership of his day, Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” These religious leaders don’t really care about them, they only want their praise; these Judaizers have no love or concern for them as individuals, only that they be counted among their numbers and agree to their doctrine.

There are some spiritual leaders that only care about your wallet

and your head counted in the room.  

Genuine spiritual leadership is concerned about your spiritual growth. 

John 11:45 “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” These leaders were only concerned about how people’s beliefs would affect them.

(v. 19) “until Christ is formed in you,” – Paul’s opponents wanted to change people, and Paul wanted to change people. Paul’s message was salvation by grace through faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. The false teachers way of change was to get them away from grace, and to add the law and works to Jesus (Jesus plus the law). Which of these approaches transforms a person to be more of what God desires?

Conclusion

Paul has given multiple arguments to the Galatians for the sake of their receiving the true gospel: in spite of illness he went there and preached the gospel, 1) his authority as an apostle 2) the gospel is from God, (a revelation) not from men (or angels) and those that preach another version are accursed 3) the other apostles and church leadership agree with Paul, 4) an example from church history (Paul confronting Peter), 5) their own personal experience, “did they receive the Spirit by work?” 6) Biblical history, theological study (Abraham received righteousness by faith before the law was ever given) 7) Theological arguments (Christ became the curse for us), 8) law arguments (God’s covenant with Abraham), 9) cultural examples of how the law was a guardian and its purpose as a prison, 10) How a person becomes a child of God (we are adopted) 11) and here today, yet another allegorical argument of how we have one of two mothers, another point from the Old Testament, and we still have two chapters to go.

Paul does not just give one argument – he gives example after example, argument upon argument. Why go to such trouble, why not just make an effort and when they (in their stubbornness won’t listen), just move on? Look at Paul’s physical condition (he is wrecked) If anyone deserved a retirement party, it was Paul – look at his zealousness, bulldog push to not let go of these churches – why?

The world enslaves people, we have been entrusted with the truth of how Jesus through faith gives freedom. Also, when their relationship was damaged because of doctrinal differences, He does not back down from the truth, but he does pursue the relationship (argument upon argument). He doesn’t give up the truth for the sake of the relationship, be does both at the same time.

People need to hear the truth about Jesus.

____________________

[1] Frank Thielman, Expository Commentary, Volume X, Romans – Galatians (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2020) 632.

[2] Lehman Strauss, Devotional Studies in Galatians and Ephesians (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers Publsihing, 1974) 61.

[3] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Galatians (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Bible Institute, 1987) 114.

[4] MacArthur, 116.

“The Call To Keep Moving Forward” Galatians 4:1-11

Grace Abounds

A Sermon Series Through the Book of Galatians

“The Call To Keep Moving Forward”

Galatians 4:1-11

Introduction

Have you ever had a time in your life to where to keep moving forward looked too hard, required more than you thought you had to give, and would take longer than you wanted to spend? As you looked at the road before you, you thought it would be better to turn around and go back.

Exodus 14:11-12 “They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

There is always the temptation to return to the slavery we know than to step out in faith and move toward an unknown future. For the Galatians, they were at a cross roads of wanting to accept a self-righteous approach to religion (even though they had never been Jewish), than to seek through faith to build a close relationship with God. So this morning, I want to encourage you to keep pushing forward in your walk with God, and not turn back to a life that may feel comfortable and know – instead seek to know God differently than you ever have before.

Keep Moving Forward Because You Have Been Adopted and Are Spirit Filled (vv. 1-7)

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 family life of Paul’s day, a father would place his children under the care of a tutor. The tutor had complete control over the children. They were told when to get up, when to go to bed, what to wear, where to go, what to study, when to study, for how long to study – every part of their lives was controlled by the tutor. In that sense there was no real difference between the servants of the family, and the children of the family, even though, “though he is the owner of everything.”

The “elementary principles of the world,”[1] are what kept you from inheriting “everything.” The cost of being enslaved to the elementary principles of the world is everything. Elementary principles being religion and morality; “Compulsory obedience to definite rules of justice and order were necessary preparation for the freedom of the Spirit.”[2] Religions and traditions formed a valuable discipline for the education of the world.

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.

In Paul’s culture, the father also set a date in the future when the children would be free from that control and inherit what belonged to the family.

Paul has shown earlier that the law was given to push people to understand their need for a Savior – the law explained what sin is, God’s standard of behavior, and how we are then imprisoned with no means of escape because of our rebellion against God, sentenced to death. God gave the law and then waited for it to have its full effect upon mankind. “the fullness of time,” refers to “the completion of the period of preparation in God’s sovereign timetable of redemption.”[3]

(v. 4) “God sent forth his Son, born of woman,” – Jesus had to be both God and man in order to live a sinless life, to completely and perfectly keep the standards and requirements to live a life out before God. He had to be human, born of a woman, to be the perfect substitute – so He could take our place. He came it into the world, and lived a sinless life so that He could, . . .

(v. 5) “to redeem those who were under the law,” – to redeem is to buy back; for the slave it would be to purchase their freedom. Jesus purchased us, He redeemed us by being our substitute – His life exchanged for our lives, our debt was paid by His life. Jesus became the curse on the cross so that our curse of sin could be removed.

“we might receive adoption as sons,” – God could have left us in that state of a freed slave – you are no longer a slave, but you also have nothing. So, He adopted us into His family, as sons.

In the Antebellum south during the time of Reconstruction immediately after the Civil War, the slaves were freed by the ending of the war and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. But they owned no property, no capital, had no education, and with no means of providing for themselves became share croppers. Many previous slaves, as sharecroppers eventually had massive debts owed to the land owners and became essentially slaves all over again. To prevent us, having been freed from sin, to be able to live a life free from bondage “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” The Holy Spirit (God’s presence within us) is what enables us to now live a life pleasing to God.

Romans 8:14 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,. . .”

Orphanage illustration.[4] In the late 1980s in Romania there was a dictator who encouraged his people to have children to drive the population numbers up in an effort to jump start the economy (it went up by 4 million), but he sold the food and food surpluses to foreign countries which he used the money to build himself huge houses and other luxuries and to pay off national debt. So the people starved, and then there was a revolt and the dictator was killed. The world came in to help. It was then that they discovered that unable to take care of the children many parents abandoned their children into orphanages.

100,000 children in warehouses of cribs and children. The horror of these orphanages was that when groups would go into them there was complete silence. Underpaid and vastly overworked workers would change them, feed them, and then go to the next child. There was no time, and the numbers too many, to sit and hold each child, so the children would rock to self-sooth, and they were silent because they had learned that if they cried no one would come – so they stopped crying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEzTFmiCeks 2:53-3:09 (no sound)

(v. 6) “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” – Notice in the Romans passage (8:15) and here in Galatians 4:6 “Abba! Father!” have exclamation marks, it is a crying out, a yell. Because the Spirit of God confirms with our spirit, that we are children of God, we cry out Daddy! Father! Words used by a child who loves their dad, and they are crying out for a response. We move from hopeless silence, to crying out to the Father who loves us – because the Spirit speaks to our spirit that He loves us and we are His child.

The Christian prayer is a child talking to their loving Father.

(v. 7) “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” An heir is someone that inherits something. What is it that a person who is a believer in Jesus will inherit? Jesus as the Son of God will inherit the Father’s estate, and we are co-heirs, with Jesus.

In the ancient world as a means of survival the father would pass on to his son and inheritance (which would pass from one generation to the next). If you became an orphan, you have no inheritance, no means to survive, and most poor people became slaves just to be able to eat and have some kind of shelter. So the chances of the orphan becoming a slave were very high. The inheritance provided the means to be free from slavery. So, when we become a child of God, and an heir to His kingdom, we can be free from slavery because God has all we need. The fear of starvation, freezing in the rain, dying of thirst, or any other horror that may come because I don’t have what I need to survive is gone.

Salvation has two things happening; 1) our sin is transferred to Christ and is done away with and, 2) the Son’s rights and privileges are transferred to us. “Not only did Christ remove the curse we deserved (3:13; 4:5a), but He also gives us the blessing He deserved (3:14; 4:5b). God’s honor and reward are just as secure and guaranteed as our pardon.”[5]

Jesus has not just taken us out of prison and death row, but as we are leaving a medal of honor is hung around our necks and we are paraded through the streets as a hero. If we don’t remember this, we begin to think that my slate is clean and then when we sin, we feel guilt and shame – but we should also remember that on the clean slate was written Jesus’ righteousness. God loves you and sees you as He sees Jesus. Our inheritance is not a prize to be won. It is a gift from Christ.

When Jesus was praying on the night he was betrayed, He prayed specifically for those who would place their faith in Him, John 17:21, 23-24 “ . . . so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” The Father loves those that believe in Jesus (adopted children) just like He loves His own Son. Jesus prayed that we would know and understand how deep the Father’s love is for us.

What is better than the Father’s love for us?

 How deep the Father’s love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He would give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One

Bring many sons to glory

“Though we are rich in the gospel, adopted children of God with complete and direct access to the Father, we can go back to relating to Him only through our record and moral merits.”[6] Paul warns that is we allow ourselves to go back to religious moralism we break a relationship that God gave His Son to establish.

Keep Moving Forward Because You Are Known By God (vv. 8-11)

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? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

“to be known by God,” – God is omnipotent – He knows everything. He knit you together in your mother’s womb, He knows the number of hairs upon your head. To be known by God is not your existence, it is about a relationship. David says is Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

There is an openness where your heart is open to the Lord, you have a relationship with Him, and You know Him and His ways, and He knows you and in spite of our wicked hearts; We desire for Him as our Father to lead us “in the way everlasting.” But we get to choose what that relationship looks like.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” When it’s all said and done, and we stand before God on judgement day, it won’t be about the things that we did, it ultimately come down to, “does God know you?”

Conclusion

Jesus told the parable of the unfaithful servants, and we are described as children of God, the principle is the same, Luke 12:48 “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” We are heirs of heaven, have been given “every spiritual blessing, (Eph. 1:3)” the Holy Spirit speaks directly to our spirit, and we are children of God (that counts as much), what will be required of us (if it is ultimately not about doing stuff?) You have been promised by God everything – what then as a child of God is required of you?

Emulate Jesus. Since God loves us as the Son, and has adopted us as a son, we should seek to be as much like Jesus as possible. We must consume God’s Word, and seek to be as much like Jesus as possible.

Seek God Constantly. God gave His Son so that we can have a close relationship with God; are we then seeking to have that relationship with our Father? Are we acting like a slave who is afraid of God, or are we acting like a child who is assured of our Father’s love? Cry out to your loving Father in Prayer. God wants a close relationship with you – reach out to Him.

Walk Being Led by the Spirit. God wants us to be free, led by His Spirit. We are free from the law to worship God, serve Him, live For Him, — are our daily lives led by the Spirit of God which is rooted in a relationship, or are we walking through life enslaved to rules and man-made traditions that are rooted in trying to please God apart from a relationship?

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[1] Colossians 2:8, 20

[2] W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Volume III (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1967) 176.

[3] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Galatians (Chicago, Illinois; Moddy Publishing, 1987) 107.

[4] Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, The Priority of Adoption For Christian Families & Churches (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2009) 46.

[5] Timothy Keller, Galatians For You (United States; The Good Book Company, 2013) 98.

[6] Keller, 97.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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