Sons And Heirs

INTRO

Our theme for the book of Galatians is Christ, the Liberator, as described in Galatians 5:1: “Christ has liberated us to be free.” Because Christ has set us free, there is no reason to go back to the law. In Galatians 4:1–7, Paul compares the old and the new; the flesh and the Spirit; and Hagar and Sarah. Paul had a heart for the Galatians and wanted to know why they were trying to go back to the old way of doing things or trying to integrate the false teaching of the Judaizers and imposters.

TEACHING

Galatians 4:1-7: In the first seven verses, Wiersbe says Paul was trying to explain their adoption.¹ Paul made a comparison: they were once children in bondage, but God came in and released them from bondage. According to MacArthur, in verses 1–2 Paul referred to “a child too young to talk, a minor, spiritually and intellectually immature and not ready for the responsibilities and privileges of adulthood.”² Because they were like underage children, they were under someone’s guardianship and authority until they came of age (v. 2). In the beginning, they didn’t understand the bigger picture. The “elemental forces” (v. 3) Paul mentions could refer to the demonic realm, the flesh, or the world. The Greek word for elements means “raw or rank ... basic, foundational things like the letters of the alphabet.”³

According to MacArthur, “In God’s timetable, when the exact religious, cultural, and political conditions demanded by His perfect plan were in place, Jesus came into the world.”⁴ MacArthur further points out: “As a father sets the time for the ceremony of his son coming of age and being released from the guardians, stewards, and tutors, so God sent His Son at a precise moment to bring all who believe out from under bondage to the law.”⁵ Paul describes the Son in a couple different ways: He was born of a woman (which emphasized Jesus’ humanity) and born under the law (v. 4). Jesus had to be born under the law to fulfill the law. “Like all men, Jesus was obligated to obey God’s law. Unlike anyone else, however, He perfectly obeyed that law. His sinlessness made Him the unblemished sacrifice for sins . . . That perfect righteousness is what is imputed to those who believe in Him.”⁶

MacArthur said adoption “is the act of bringing someone who is the offspring of another into one’s own family. Since unregenerate people are by nature children of the devil, the only way they can become God’s children is by spiritual adoption.”⁷ As believers, we have the Spirit of Jesus in us (v. 6). Because we are adopted as God’s sons, then we are heirs of God (v. 7).

You don’t have to work for it; you don’t have to earn it. God already knows when He adopts you that you are a mess and that you’re bringing baggage from the past. Throughout the book of Galatians, there’s a theme of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3:2 says we receive the Spirit by faith. Paul then said to stay with the Spirit and don’t go to the flesh (Galatians 3:3). God supplies us with the Spirit, which even allows us to work miracles (Galatians 3:5). In Galatians 5, Paul tells us to walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh (Galatians 5:16). There’s a constant fight between flesh and Spirit. But as God’s children, we don’t have to go back to the flesh.

Galatians 4:8–11: In these verses, Wiersbe says Paul lamented their regression.⁸ Paul worried they were going back to their old ways. Sunday mornings are easy but depending on faith and the Holy Spirit gets messy. Paul warned that walking in the bondage of religion leaves no room for the fruit of the Spirit. Paul freely observed the festivals they celebrated—the special days, months, season, and years (v. 10), and wondered if his efforts to share the gospel with them had been wasted (v. 11). This was just like the Israelites who wanted to go back to Egypt. They would rather be enslaved there, because they knew what they would be doing.

Galatians 4:12–18: In these verses, Wiersbe says Paul seeks their affection.⁹ This was where Paul’s shepherding side showed up. Paul begged them to become like him (v. 12). In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul told the Corinthians, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” Paul had ministered to them during a time of physical illness (v. 13), which MacArthur said could have been malaria contracted from the coastal area of Pamphylia.¹⁰ Paul wondered why they had received him so eagerly back then but didn’t want to receive him now (vv. 14–15). Paul’s illness had impacted his eyes to such a degree that he testifies in verse 15, “you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me”, indicating the Galatians had truly cared for Paul. Paul warned them, “They (meaning the Judaizers) are enthusiastic about you, but not for any good” (v. 17). Today, there are people who will come into a congregation and their intent is not good. They are looking for something for themselves but have no intention of furthering or encouraging the body of Christ.

Galatians 4:19–20: Paul was implying he was at his wit’s end and didn’t know what to do with the Galatians.

Galatians 4:21–31: Paul then begins to draw a comparison using an Old Testament story about Abraham. He compared the slave mentality versus the free. Hagar, from Mt. Sinai, bears children into slavery (v. 24); she represents bondage and flesh. Sarah on the other hand represents freedom, “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother” (v. 26). Quoting from Isaiah and from Genesis, Paul concludes his argument. “Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman” (v. 31). Paul walked through their adoption process and was saddened that they were turning away and going back to their old ways of doing things. Then he asked them which they wanted to be—the slave children or the free children, who can run because of the Spirit of God in them. Because Abraham didn’t depend on the promise of God, we have Ishmael, which brings in the Islamic faith. Because of the Islamic faith, we have major issues between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael. But what we really have is a picture of bondage and freedom. That freedom can only come through the Liberator—not through the Jews, the Muslims, or even Christianity. That freedom only comes through Christ. Christ is the one who says, “Because of Me, you are a child of God.”

CLOSING

Pray through what you heard today and process it. Maybe go back and read through Galatians 4 again. Tomorrow will be a lot more lighthearted as we talk about the fruit of the Spirit.