No Longer Slaves, but Sons€¦ · No Longer Slaves, but Sons •Galatians 4:1-7—1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he

No Longer

Slaves, but Sons

Galatians 4:1-7

Part 2

No Longer Slaves, but Sons

• Galatians 4:1-7—1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.


• 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.


• 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.


• Galatians chapters 3 and 4 form a single unit where Paul addresses his main theological argument.

• Galatians 4:1-7 is a continuation of Paul’s basic argument that justification is not achieved through personal merit, good works, or obedience to the Mosaic Law.


• Being justified (or being declared righteous by God) is based solely on faith in Christ.

• Justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

• The Judaizers taught that justification came through a combination of faith in Christ and obedience to the Law.


• During his first missionary journey, Paul started churches in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

• Paul’s letter to the Galatians remains as one of the greatest theological statements on the doctrine of justification by faith alone.


• Galatians 3:23-26—23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.


• 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

• In chapter 4, Paul continued to develop this analogy of a child becoming an adult.


• In Paul’s analogy, the child and servant represent life under the Law.

• The son, who has become an adult, represents life in Christ.




• In each ancient culture there was a set time when a child would be considered an adult.

• As long as an “heir” was “a child,” he lived under conditions that did “not differ at all from” those of “a slave.”


• The son knew he would someday inherit his father’s entire estate.

• However, he didn’t currently possess it.

• For the time being the son had rights and freedoms that were essentially equal to that of a household slave.


• The young master would often feel more like a slave than a son.

• The child would remain “2 …under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”


• Galatians 4:3—So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.

• In Paul’s analogy, being “children” (or “like slaves”) is a reference to a life without faith in Christ.


• The incarnation occurred when the second person of the Trinity took on a human nature and came to live among His creation.




• 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.


• 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

• Paul clearly laid out a contrast between what he had just said with what he was about to say.


• Galatians 4:3-5—3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.


• The “elemental things” of all worldly religion inevitably involves the idea of achieving divine acceptance through one’s own efforts.


• In his analogy about the child, Paul stated, that the child remained “under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”

• Galatians 4:4—But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son…


• At the perfect time in history, “ 4 …God sent forth His Son born under the Law, 5

so that He might redeem those who were under the Law.”

• Ultimately, “the fullness of the time” has to do with the fact that “God sent forth His Son” at the precise time in history that perfectly fit His plan of redemption.


• God wasn’t waiting for the right time to arrive.

• He put all the pieces in place for the world to be ready for the coming of the Messiah.


• Some of the things in human history that God had orchestrated to make it the perfect time to send His Son:

• First, it was the right time theologically.

• Everything in the Old Testament had led up to this point in human history.


• Second, it was the right time religiously.

• Both Jews and Gentiles were ready to move on from their false gods, to worship the one true God, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

• There was a universal spiritual hunger for something that was real and satisfying to the soul.


• Third, it was the right time culturally.

• Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire.

• That removed the language barrier and made it much easier for the gospel to spread throughout the Empire.


• Fourth, it was the right time politically.

• The Pax Romana (Roman Peace) was in place.

• And, it was very conducive to the spread of the gospel.

• The apostles and others who proclaimed the gospel were able to travel freely and in relative safety throughout the Roman Empire.


• God sovereignly orchestrated all the events in human history to bring things to the point where He would send “4

…His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons..”


• A few things we should note about Jesus in these verses:

• First, Jesus didn’t become the Son at His birth.

• His existence and His sonship were eternal.


• Second, Jesus also possesses a human nature.

• He was “born of a woman.”

• He didn’t just descend from heaven and appear on earth.


• Third, Jesus was fully righteous.

• He was “born under the Law.”

• The Galatians were no longer under the Law.

• And, neither are we.


• Galatians 4:4-5—4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5

so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.


• To “redeem” means “to buy back.”

• Why did God send His Son?

• “So that He might redeem (or buy back) those who were under the Law.”

• Galatians 3:13—Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us…


• When God sent His Son, He not only freed us from the “curse of the Law,” He also adopted us as His sons.

• Through the finished work of Christ, we are able to move from slaves to sons.


• Paul’s point, to his original readers, had to do with the inheritance of the oldest son.

• God made us sons so that we may share in the inheritance of His only-begotten Son.


• Galatians 4:6-7—6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.


• God’s Spirit in us testifies to us that we are indeed His sons.

• “Abba” is a shortened form of the Aramaic word for “father.”

• It was a term of endearment, like “daddy” or “papa” might be used today.


• Galatians 4:7—Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

• As those who have faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit, we are no longer slaves to the Law.

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No Longer Slaves, but Sons€¦ · No Longer Slaves, but Sons •Galatians 4:1-7—1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he