Key Verse 5
“…to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
We have been studying the book of Galatians, in which the Apostle Paul defends the truth of the gospel from attacks by the Judaizers, who were Jews that attempted to add human rules to the gospel for salvation. Specifically, they said that salvation is by Jesus plus obeying over 600 Jewish ceremonial laws. Galatians highlights the freedom that we have through faith in Christ. Jesus accomplished salvation through his death and resurrection. Throughout the book of Galatians, Paul points to this gospel theme. In last week’s passage, Paul showed how the law did not contradict the promise, but rather it pointed to the promise. Paul also pointed out that the promise preceded the law as the way of salvation. In today’s passage, Paul shows how the law and gospel are not only stages in the history of redemption, but they are also stages in an individual’s journey toward salvation in Christ. Paul uses the theme of slavery and sonship to describe this journey.
First, Clothed in Christ (3:26-27)
Let’s read verses 26-27 together, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” The phrase “You are all sons of God…” tells us that sonship is something we have in the present. We are already sons. It is not something we are aiming at. It is not something that we achieve. There is no such thing as a partial son. Notice that the Bible says “You are all sons”, but in a modern context, this includes daughters also. Though it would be convenient here to use the word “children”, there is a sense of immaturity about childhood that makes it less complete than an adult son or daughter. The phrase, “through faith in Christ Jesus” tells us that Sonship is not universal. All people are God’s creation, but sonship can only be received through faith in Christ. Because of our sins, our natural state is one of alienation from God. Sin caused a barrier that puts us under God’s judgment. But Faith in Christ is God’s adoption process. The gospel in a nutshell is that faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection enables us to become sons and daughters of God. Paul continually defends this gospel throughout the book of Galatians.
Verse 27 says, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Here Paul uses the rich metaphor of clothing as a way of describing our relationship with God. Firstly, Christ is our identity. Our clothing tells people who we are. Our clothing tells people something about our gender, social class, and cultural background, as well as our personality. Secondly, Christ is our closest relationship, just as we keep our clothes closer than any other possession. And just as we take our clothes go with us everywhere, we take Jesus everywhere we go. We have moment by moment dependence on him. Thirdly, Jesus covers our shame, just as clothing covers our nakedness. Our sins make us shameful, but Jesus covers our shame through his forgiveness and restoration. When we are with Christ, there is no shame. Paul uses clothing as a metaphor that describes a whole new life in Christ. It means that his character permeates everything we think, say, and do. This is why we do not need an additional commitment to the law of Moses in order to receive God’s acceptance.
Second, From Slavery to Sonship (3:28 – 4:3)
Let’s read verse 28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul is not saying that all Christians become identical but rather that we are all “one”. In the world, people strive for unity through being uniform in their attitudes, dress, behavior, etc. Cultural groups or class groups make up sets of rules by which people are identified. Those who do not measure up to the group standards are left out. For example, those who do not have a certain quality of house, car, clothing, or job do not fit into the upper class, so they are relegated to the lower class and looked down upon. Paul is not trying to eliminate cultural distinctions. But Paul is pointing out that identifying with these distinctions creates barriers – cultural barriers, class barriers, and gender barriers. So uniformity leads to division. Living with these barriers is called sectarianism. However, when our unity is in Christ, there are no divisions. Unity in Christ leads to true diversity. There are many different Christian denominations and cultures which have different methods and styles in serving God. But we are all part of one big family in Christ which is called the Universal Church. Focusing on the unity that different groups have in Christ is called ecumenism.
Let’s read 4:1-2, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.” In this verse, Paul contrasts a slave, a child, and an heir. In last weeks study, we contrasted law and grace. Martin Luther, the great protestant reformer, said, “Until you have Christ’s righteousness, all the law can do is show you how sinful and condemned you are.” Without Christ, we were slaves under the law. The law could only show us our sins and condemn us. But the law pointed us to see our need for Christ. After we receive Christ, we are no longer enslaved to the law but are under grace. Let’s think about the difference between a slave, a child, and a son. A slave is outside the family, under a master, poor, fearful, has no blessing, is under the law, has no understanding, and is condemned. A child is entering the family, under a guardian, has the promise of wealth, has hope, has future blessing, is justified, but is still under law, and only has basic understanding (ABC’s). An heir who is an adult son or daughter is enjoying the family, has liberty as an adult, has the experience of wealth, has love, has present blessing, is under grace, has full understanding (A-Z), and is glorified.
Let’s read 4:3, “So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.” Before knowing Christ, all people are in slavery under the basic principles of the world. We are desperately trying to measure up to some standard, and we are filled with a sense of burden and distance from God. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were given the promises of spiritual freedom and a close relationship with God through the coming messiah, but they did not receive or experience the fulfillments of these promises. Basic principles, according to the ESV version, are elementary principles. The Law was like an elementary education, it was like the spiritual ABC’s of life. However, in Christ we have the full revelation of God, and complete redemption and restoration. Jesus said that he is “the Alpha and the Omega”, which means that Jesus is our spiritual A to Z. 1 John 2:16 describes the basic principles of the world as “The cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.” We could summarize this as lawlessness and legalism. So, the basic principles of the world are not only incomplete, but they are also enslaving.
Third, Inheritance of the Great Exchange (4:4-7)
Let’s read 4: 4-5, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” This verse begins with a mini version of the Apostle’s Creed. It contains the who, when, how, and why of the gospel. Who: Jesus. When: the fullness of time. How: God’s Son born of a woman. Why: to redeem those under the law. We cannot emphasize enough that our inheritance is only through the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection, so Paul refers to the gospel constantly. Verse 5 is our key verse. It tells us that the purpose of the gospel is for us to be redeemed and adopted by God. To Redeem is defined as to set free by paying a price. To Adopt is defined as to give the privileges of a son to one who is not a son by nature. Redemption and Adoption is the heart of the gospel message. As sinners, we deserve death. Jesus, as the righteous Son of God, deserves life. But by faith, we accept that Jesus took our death, and he gave us his life. This process has been called the Great Exchange. By taking the punishment of our sins, Jesus redeemed us. By giving us the inheritance of sonship, Jesus adopted us. Some Christians focus on redemption, but forget about adoption. They believe that Christ redeemed them by grace, but now they are back under slavery to the law. We will talk about this problem more in next week’s passage.
Let’s read 4:6-7, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” These verses describe the details of our inheritance, which Christ has provided for us through his great exchange. Firstly, we have an intimate relationship with God. The word “Abba” translates as “Daddy” or “Papa”. We are no longer under the harsh guardianship of the law. Now, as sons of God, God becomes our loving father. Jesus tells us to address God as our father in the Lord’s Prayer. Paul also greets Christians with the love of the Father. This gives us a confident assurance of God’s love for us. The law’s acceptance is performance based, but God’s acceptance is unconditional. Children cannot get “fired”. Under the law, we were fearful for survival. But in Christ, we can have the confidence of saying, “My dad owns this place!” This intimate relationship with God also gives us direct access to God in prayer in the present time. Secondly, our sonship is more than just a legal status. It is also an experience. God sent the Holy Spirit to bring his adoption into our actual experience. The Spirit leads us to cry out with spontaneity and reality of prayer. With his guidance, our prayers are not mechanical or formal. Prayer ceases to be an obligation and becomes a joyful relationship with God. Sinclair Ferguson said, “The notion that we are children of God, His own sons and daughters… is the mainspring of Christian living…Our sonship to God is the apex of Creation and the goal of redemption.” In other words, our sonship to God is the main purpose of the universe. It is the reason why the world exists. And there is even more inheritance in heaven after the resurrection, which we cannot even yet imagine. But we must remember that all of this wonderful inheritance is all based on the grace that Jesus provided through the Great Exchange of the gospel.
Today we learned about what it means to be a Christian. Paul compares Christ to our clothes which give us identity, relate to us most closely, and cover our shame. Paul also contrasted the slavery that we had under the law with the sonship that we receive in Christ. Sometimes as Christians, we are like a young child, who has received promises and legal adoption, but has not experienced the joys and freedoms of our inheritance in Christ. But we learn that Christ gives us his full revelation, and he makes us fully adult sons with all the privileges of his inheritance. We do not have to wait a long time or make some big accomplishment in order to experience these privileges. But we must remember that all these wonderful privileges of inheritance come to us only through the gospel on the basis of Christ’s Great Exchange. This is why Paul so often repeats and emphasizes the gospel in the book of Galatians.