One of the greatest risks to God’s people is amnesia, that we forget what God has achieved for us and who we now are. When we do this, then we are prone to the subtle and seductive charms of those who claim to be offering a better deal.
A look at the text (Read Galatians 4:1-7)
Paul uses the example of how sons were treated in Roman families. The son was the heir, so that the whole estate legally was his but until he came of age, this did not affect his status and rights. Up until that point he was treated just like one of his father’s slaves with no rights or freedoms and no control. So an heir, until they reached maturity would still be treated like a slave in practice with someone else overseeing the estate, just as we saw in chapter 3 that the son would b under the supervision of a senior slave acting as his school maser. We have similar customs today where you can put a minor’s inheritance into a trust fund so that the trustees legally own and administer the wealth for the benefit of the child until they reach eighteen (v1-2).[1]
Paul compares the status of Christians to Roman children before they hear and respond to the Gospel. This seems to apply to Jews and Gentiles alike. Their status was that of slaves. Notice that he says at this point that they were not slaves to the Law, although Jews would in effect be but rather that all were under the rule and guardianship of the “elements” or “principles of the world.” In other words, the believers had been outside of a familial relationship with God and instead were subject to the world whether through religious legalism or pagan licence (v3).
The fulness of time, which marked our coming of age, was when Jesus was born. Paul describes hm first as “born of a woman” which indicates his human nature, and links him with the promise to Eve that her offspring would crush the serpent. He was also “born under the law” as a Jew, subject to the requirements of Torah which he kept perfectly (v4). Jesus’ reason for coming was to “redeem” us. The word “redeem has the idea of buying back and was often associated with slaves buying or having their freedom bought for them so that they were no longer indebted to their owners. The freedom he purchased was from the law, so that in him, God’s people were no longer under its supervision and control, they were free. This means that they were given the status of fully adopted sons (v 5).
Now that the believers have sonship, they receive the Holy Spirit. We may connect this with Ephesians where the Holy Spirit is described as a downpayment or deposit of our inheritance. It is through the Holy Spirit that we fully realise our new, true status as children of God and in him that we receive the inheritance promised to us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to call God “Father” (v6). The believer’s status now is sonship and this means that we are full heirs with Christ (v7).
Digging Deeper
The word translated as “elements” or “principles” in most translations could have the idea of the basis foundational materials (elements) of the world, however it was also used to refer to the foundational philosophical principles and to spiritual beings and it is to either, or both of these that Paul seems to be referring in verse 3. [2]
This would be part of his argument against the circumcision and other ceremonial laws being enforced upon Gentile believers. It would in effect take them back to their situation and status before they were Christians. Without the Gospel of Grace, Jews and Gentiles alike have the same status of being in effect slaves, in Christ, they become Sons. The Judaizers were presenting circumcision and Torah observance as a necessary step forward but Paul sees it as a serious and dangerous step back from the status they now enjoyed.
A Look at ourselves
Our status as believers is that we are sons and daughters of the king. Though note that the specific legal status of sons as heirs in the ancient world was central to Paul’s language and argument here. It is important to know that God has already given us this full status and invited us into his presence to enjoy the blessings of his inheritance. It is important that we are alert to the ways in which we might be drawn backwards and lose the benefits of this new found relationship with God. There are obvious threats from temptation to conform to worldly habits but the danger can sometimes cone in religious guise too.
[1] Cf. Keener, Galatians, 321.
[2] Moo, Galatians, 260-261.
Faithroots 