Galatians: Chapter Four
Galatians 4:1-5 NLT: Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
"Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification...To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater." —J.I. Packer (1926–2020)
Galatians 4:6-7 NLT: And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Galatians 4:8-12 NLT: Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.
"The Law says, 'do this,' and it is never done. Grace says, 'believe in this,' and everything is already done." –Martin Luther (1483–1546 A.D.)
The gospel is not a “grace only” message, but it is surely “grace first.”
If we believe that good works can justify us, then we must also believe that bad works can condemn us—and in both cases, we become the center of our own salvation story. Again, we were the slaves who were seen, found, bought, justified, clothed, and made heirs by another.
Romans 5:6 NLT: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
Hebrews 4:16 NLT: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
"Now it is time to turn your eyes away from the Law, from works, and from your own feelings and conscience, to lay hold of the Gospel, and to depend solely on the promise of God. Thus there is emitted a little sigh, which silences and drowns out that violent roaring; and nothing remains in your heart but the sigh that says: 'Abba! Father!'" – Martin Luther (1483–1546)
