This is possibly one of my favorite portions of Scripture in all of the Book of Galatians. Here we’re going to find out what it truly means to be saved, what it means to be God’s heir and one with Christ. There’s been a lot that we’ve talked about over the last several weeks as we’ve studied this book, so make sure that you’ve read the other parts before diving in here. If you don’t, you’re missing out on so much goodness that the Lord has for you in His Word.
An Heir Who Lives Like a Slave
In Galatians 4:1, Paul says that an heir to a fortune is no different than a slave when they are still a child “though he is the owner of everything.” “Though by birthright he owned the whole estate, nevertheless he was kept in subservience like a slave in that he enjoyed no freedom and could make no decisions.”¹ Just as slaves, “he is under guardians and maangers until the date set by his father” (Gal. 4:2). A child is under the headship of his parents and will remain so until the father decides that he is old enough to receive the inheritance that is his.
This is something that was familiar to the Galatians and something they understood. Although the age varied among the different cultures, there was always some form of “child to adult” age that happened when inheritances could be claimed. “Under Roman law the age of maturity for a child was set by his father.”²
Under the Old Covenant
“This was the situation of Paul and his fellow Israelites under the old covenant.”³ The old covenant was there to guide them and keep them safe, as we talked about in the last post. In verse 3, Paul mentions the “elementary principles of the world.” In verse 9 and here, this “refers to the elementary principles the Galatians previously followed, which for Jews would be the Mosaic law and for Gentiles the basic concepts of their pagan religions.”⁴ There’s also overtones of demonic bondage in this that need to be highlighted. Because of their idolzation of the law, they were enslaved by it. “Legalistic superstition and demonic domination are closely linked.”⁵
The Fullness of Time
The Israelites, and all of those living under the law, had to wait until God decided that they had reached the point to be free from the law. That’s when He sent Jesus.
“This “time” was when the Roman civilization had brought peace and a road system which facilitated travel; when the Grecian civilization provided a language which was adopted as the lingua franca of the empire; when the Jews had proclaimed monotheism and the messianic hope in the synagogues of the Mediterranean world.”⁶
God had a perfect plan. He had everything laid out so that the gospel could reach all the corners of the earth. “The “Son” was not only Deity; He was also humanity as the expression born of a woman indicates… Further, Christ was born under Law as a Jew. He kept the Law perfectly, fulfilled it, and finally paid its curse.”⁷ God gave everything we could possibly need to be free and Paul wanted to make sure that the Galatians understood that. Considering how much time Paul has spent pointing to this, it’s important that we today don’t take this fact for granted.
Right on Time
As someone who grew up in church, I knew Jesus died for me but honestly I didn’t really care. Like, that was cool and I all, but I didn’t really get what it meant, what Jesus’ sacrifice actually saved me from. This is where we can all grow. Whether we’re learning the gospel ourselves, sharing with our kids or going out into the world and sharing it, we can’t take this important fact for granted.
By now it can be easy to go through all of this study and be like “ok, yes, we get it, salvation by faith and not works. Jesus died. Yes.” But when you look at the fact that Paul really went in on this we can’t be that casual about it. Recognizing that “God sent his Son at the right moment in human history”⁸ is nothing to look past. He did it when everything was laid out for it, is something that we should be so grateful for, not sick of hearing about.
Adopted as Sons
Jesus did all of that “so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:6). I pray that I never take that for granted again in my life. “Because Christians are now sons and “of age,” they are in a position to receive the inheritance, beginning with the promised “Spirit of his Son.”⁹
When you really think about the heaviness of it all, it becomes clear why Paul is so passionate about this.
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No Longer Slaves, But Heirs
“Paul declared that the Galatians were no longer slaves, but were sons and heirs.”¹⁰
The Galatians were willing to turn their back on all of that just because they felt inadequate. The truth is that they felt God Himself was inadequate. That point is rarely made clearly. By going back to what was done before Jesus fulfilled it says that God Himself got it wrong, that what He did wasn’t enough, that His plan wasn’t good.
Where the Enemy Wants Us
It becomes clear that this is where the Enemy wants us. When we focus so much on ourselves and what we can do, it becomes easy to take our eyes off of God. We get self centered and focused on how not-enough we are that we forget all that He’s done for us to not have to be enough.
The more I study Galatians the more that I realize that I have so much further to go in my relationship with God and my walk as a Christian. I know more than I ever have. I love God more than ever. Yet I see the ways that I still need to surrender my own ego to Him. It’s so easy to get caught up in what the world thinks about us. We end up comparing ourselves to others, getting distracted. We think that if we could just do XYZ that it would fix everything.
But it won’t. And it doesn’t have to. The only thing that we have to do is trust that God is who He says He is, Jesus did what He said He did and have faith that He’s got it. And even in the hardest of times, He’s got it. Always.
Footnotes
- Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 601.
- Ibid.
- Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2251.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Campbell, “Galatians,” 601.
- Ibid.
- ESV Study Bible, 2251.
- Ibid., 2252.
- Campbell, “Galatians,” 601–602.
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