SSL 4 - Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-7
Last week: In Gal. 3:1-14, Paul continued his theme to the Galatians that Christians are saved once "by hearing with faith," and not by keeping the works of the Law afterward. The lesson verses teach us three important principles: 1. We sanctify ourselves and grow in spiritual maturity through the simple continuation of our faith in Jesus Christ. This is completely opposite to the false Judaizer view that a believer must earn God's favor through works on a day-to-day basis. 2. Receiving the Spirit "by hearing with faith" isn't just the beginning of the Christian life but the way of continuing it day-to-day throughout a believer's entire life. You don't have to work to keep the Holy Spirit in you; it indwells once and for all time to lead you through all the peaks and valleys of life. 3. Before Almighty God, a person can only be made righteous by faith. Law-keeping or works can never save anyone. A merit-based system where one tries to earn his way into heaven is never good enough-so it's a curse. By His sacrifice on the cross, Christ removed this curse from us by fulfilling the Law, so that salvation could be given to Jew and Gentile alike through faith in Him.
This Week: Today, in the last part of Chapter 3 and the first part of Chapter 4, we will hear Paul continue to explain the implications of justification by faith in the life of a Christian. Now that salvation by faith is available, Paul asserts there's no longer a need for the Law because all Christians have become the "Children of God" through faith. Using an imaginative analogy, he describes becoming a Christian to be like putting on new clothes that have the power to transform the lives of those wearing them. He also analogizes the Law as a system similar to being a guardian to teach and oversee children until they come of age, then follows with the principle that because salvation by faith has come, the children-who have "put on" Christ-no longer need the guardian.
Read Gal. 3:23-24 - BEFORE FAITH CAME
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
v. 22: " Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed" - The word used for "captive" (Gr. phroureo) doesn't mean incarcerated, but is used in the sense of God acting as a shepherd to protect his sheep (people) from predators. To rephrase the verse, Paul is saying that before faith in Jesus came, God gave His people the law to keep them out of dangerous territory and prepare them for the faith that would be later revealed.
v. 23: "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith" - The word for "guardian" (Gr. paidagogos) literally translates child leader, which could be likened to a mentor, schoolteacher, coach, or scoutmaster. Paul is saying, in effect, that God gave the Law to guide the people of Israel as a way of preparing them for Christ. The Law gave them a framework for moral behavior and the prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah.
TRUTH 1: Acting as a shepherd to protect his sheep (people) from predators, God gave His people the law to keep them out of dangerous territory. The Law gave provided them with a framework for moral behavior and the prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah.
Read Gal. 3:25-27 - NOW THAT FAITH HAS COME
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
v. 25: "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian" - In this statement, Paul is saying that faith in Christ brings us to a spiritual coming of age where the guardian in no longer needed. Most of us (I hope) have fond and nostalgic memories of our childhood doors, but when we grew up, we didn't want our parents, teachers, and others to continue ruling our lives, did we? Our attitude about OT Law as Christians is kind of similar: We have great respect and reverence for the OT, yet we turn to faith in Jesus Christ-A New Covenant-as the source of our salvation.
v. 26: "for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith" - This is a revolutionary statement. Under strict Judaism, a person would have to be super observant of the law, like a Pharisee, to call yourself a "son of God" (and they certainly fell short, didn't they?). But Paul explains that through faith in Jesus, as sons of God, we are among those who have a special relationship with God as a loving, caring Father. Becoming a son of God means much more that simple believing He exists; it means we can place complete trust in Him for now and for eternity.
v. 27: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" - Using a picture of baptism, Paul explains that, like baptism when a person is immersed in the water, when a person is saved by faith, he or she is immersed in Christ. The Greek word for "put on," enduo, literally means to clothe yourself or get dressed. While clothes may seem external, as contrasted with an inward change of heart, Paul uses clothing as a metaphor to describe a truly changed person: People who have "put on" Christ are a new person whose outward actions and behavior reflect that God has given them a new heart. We want the outside world to notice that we are really changed, don't we?
TRUTH 2: We Christians, who have been baptized into Christ's death no longer live under the law but have been clothed in Christ and made one in him as children and heirs of God's promise. Faith in Christ brings us to a spiritual "coming of age" where the guardian-the Law--is no longer needed. People who've "put on" Christ are a new person whose outward actions and behavior reflect that God has given them a new heart. Last, since all Christians belong to Jesus as the promised Messiah, all Christians are likewise the spiritual descendants of Abraham and the Heirs of God's promise.
Gal. 3:28-29 - YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
v. 28: " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" - Here, Paul mentions some of the divisions that separate people, nationality, social standing, gender, and this list isn't exhaustive; others include race, culture, religion, education, economic status (rich-poor), political views, and so on. Paul is telling us that Jesus has completely leveled the playing field. Being "one in Christ Jesus" means that all the barriers that divide people have been abolished. Paul later said in Eph. 2:18-19, "you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Comment: But as Christians, we often fall short don't we? At our best, we see this unity in our churches at times. But at our worst, Christians are still seriously divided aren't we? Besides the divisions we experience in our own churches, we are divided into denominational camps and ethnic and racial camps. Some commentator said that Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. A sad statement, yes? In Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17:20-21, He prayed, "I do not ask for these only (His disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Does that speak to you? It certainly does to me.
v. 29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" - In Gen. 12:3b, God promised Abraham that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (I think this includes everyone, everywhere, doesn't it?). Here, Paul completely refutes the Judaizer's claim that you could only become "Abraham's offspring" by submitting to Mosaic Law. Since all Christians belong to Jesus as the promised Messiah, all Christians are likewise the spiritual descendants of Abraham and the Heirs of God's promise. Paul will illustrate this point further in the next chapter.
TRUTH 3: Being "one in Christ Jesus" means that all the barriers that divide people have been abolished. Paul later said in Eph. 2:18-19, "you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Yet, we Christians, as individuals and as a church, are still seriously divided aren't we? Besides the divisions we experience in our own churches, we are divided into denominational camps and ethnic and racial camps. Can we do better?
Read Galatians 4:1-3 - SLAVES TO THE WORLD
1 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.
vv. 1-2: "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" - A child in this context means someone not yet legally recognized as an adult. Here, using the term "until the date is set by his father," Paul is alluding to the Roman custom (which his audience would understand) in which adulthood wasn't a specified age but whenever the father (or guardian) deemed the child was ready. The child, though destined to inherit everything, at this point controls nothing and has little freedom or authority, in effect, a slave to those in authority over him.
v. 3: "In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world' - Paul uses an interesting phrase here. Elementary principles to the Jews meant the Mosaic Law, but to Gentiles like the Galatians it meant whatever pagan principles and philosophies they believed before they were saved. Whether it was the legalistic system of the Jews or the superstitious and demonic beliefs of pagans, Paul's point is that they were both enslaved to the world. Some might term this as the principle of cause and effect: we get what we deserve. But this is the opposite of grace, because God does not deal with us on the basis of what we deserve.
TRUTH 4: Paul refers to the values, beliefs, and philosophies we lived by before we were saved as the "elementary principles of the world." Under these principles, we were, in reality, enslaved to the world system, but God, by His grace, freed us from our bonds and gave a way of escape.
Read Gal. 4:4-5 - GOD SENT HIS SON
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.
v. 4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law" - The "fullness of time" means when the time is right. Thus, Jesus came at just the right time in God's redemptive plan, when the world was prepared for God's work. The known world at that time was ruled by a huge empire and sunk deep in moral depravity. The phrase "God sent forth His Son" signified Christ's deity and "born of woman" represented His humanity. That He was "born under the Law" meant that He grew up subject to the same religious laws that governed His earthly parents and His community. Jesus understood the Law perfectly and kept it perfectly.
v. 5: "to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" - Because Jesus is God, He has the power and the resources to redeem us. Connecting this to vv. 1-3, He came to purchase us out of a slave market, from our bondage to sin in the elementary principles of the world. The Greek word for "adoption," huiothesia, was actually a technical Roman term which gave a person legally adopted by another the legal standing of a blood-heir. Whereas we are all "God's offspring" in the general sense according to Gal. 3:29, above, under this terminology, we are specifically members of God's family as co-heirs of Jesus Christ for all eternity, true sons and daughters. God not only saves us but goes a step further and makes us members of His family.
TRUTH 5: Since we are "God's offspring" as defined in v. 29 above, we have become members of God's family as co-heirs of Jesus Christ for all eternity-true sons and daughters. Therefore, God not only saves us but goes a step further and makes us members of His family.
Read Gal. 4:6-7 - CELEBRATING OUR SONSHIP
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.
v. 6: " And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" - Paul imparts two ingredients in this verse: (1) we are adopted into God's family and (2) we receive the gift of the Spirit; and it happens simultaneously. Now that the Spirit teaches us to pray as Jesus did a Gethsemane (Mk. 14:36), we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Abba is Aramaic for father). This tells us that as Christians, we enjoy an intimate, father-child relationship with Almighty God.
v. 7: "So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" - The use of the singular Gr. ei for "you" signifies that we have a personal, individual relationship with God, rather then being grouped with all other believers, and our faith in Jesus transforms us from slaves to sons and daughters. Recall the parable of the prodigal son (Lk. 15:11-32), where the repentant son was willing to return to his father as a slave, but the father refused, receiving him as a son in all respects.
First, we are freed form slavery, second, we are adopted as sons/daughter, and finally, we are "heirs through God" Himself, which means we a joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17) to God's Kingdom.
TRUTH 6: Jesus came to purchase us out of a slave market and free us from our bondage to the sin of the world so that we can be adopted as sons of God. Because Jesus is God, He has the power and the resources to redeem us.
