Dwell in the Word: Galatians 4:1-7

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Galatians 4:1-7:

1. How does Paul use the analogy of a child inheriting from an owner to illustrate the transition from being under the law to freedom in Christ, particularly emphasizing the timing and purpose of this change?

2. What significance does Paul attribute to the idea of God sending His son into the world, born under the law, in order to bring about the redemption of those enslaved by it?

3. How does the concept of being adopted as sons and daughters of God, empowered by the Spirit to call God "Father," redefine the believer's relationship with God and their inheritance in Christ?

Transcript:

So, we see here Paul's continuing argument about how we are united to Christ, how we are sons and daughters of God, and so therefore, we are heirs of eternal life, regardless if we are Gentile or Jew, whether we are man or woman, whether we are slaves or free, all those distinctions that we have seen that the world values, we see all of those come together in Christ. All of those are brought together because we have been made whole in Him. So we see this argument that we are heirs continue here. And it's interesting where Paul goes. He says, Hey, if you're a child of the owner, you're really no different than the slave because you don't have the authority. You're under guardians; you're under managers until you are made the one who is the guardian and the manager. Paul uses this to describe how the law was over the Hebrew people, but now they are set free in Christ. They have something that is greater. We see here just like there is a point where the child becomes the owner, the guardian, the manager, there also was a point when God did this for us.

 And notice what he said: In the fullness of time, it had come. In other words, God set forth to do this in his good pleasure. He did it when he wanted to do. There was not panic. There was not need that, Oh, no, we need to do this now. Instead, God, from the beginning, from the fall, set forth His plan, and He did it in His timing. He pointed to that salvation that would come in Christ as we went through the stories of the Old Testament, through the genealogies, through the stories, through the way in which God interacted with His people. It was all pointing forward to this freedom that we would have in Christ. And it came at the fullness of time when he ordained it to happen by his sovereign will. How do you do this? Well, he sent forth son, and noticed the son was born to the woman, born under the law, real human, real time space, history here. His purpose was to redeem those who were under the law. He had to become one of us to set us free from it. And what was the end goal? That we might receive adoption as sons.

 In other words, that we might become truly children of God, united to Christ, that we might receive the salvation through Him. And now there's logical consequences of that. And this is very good news for you and I. And because we are children, because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His son into his hearts, and we are able to call God Father. We're able to cry out to him, Abba, Father. We're not slaves any longer. We are children, children who have been to get free from sin that has enslaved us. We are able to say and pray our Father who are in heaven. We're able to say, heavenly Father. And as you've heard me say before, whether from the pulpit or in these videos, when we call God Father, this is an awesome thing. We don't say this just because he is God Father that we call him Father. We are able to call him Father in an intimate way because we are Christians. We have been united to Christ, so he is our Father. It is more than a title that we have for God. It's more than one of the persons of the Trinity.

 It is our Father God because we are connected, united to Jesus Christ. Because of that, we have a sure promise that we are heirs with Christ. We're heirs through God. And that inheritance is abundant life. That inheritance is salvation. That inheritance is the forgiveness of sin. That inheritance is eternal life in Him. So may we be a people who understands who we are in Christ, that we are children of God. We are united to Him. Because of that, we have the greatest inheritance that we can possibly have. We are inheriting Kingdom of God and eternal life.