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Galatians 4:1-7 – Sonship in Christ

One of the tragedies of legalism is that it gives the appearance of spiritual maturity when, in reality, it leads the believer back into a “second childhood” of Christian experience. The Galatian Christians, like most believers, wanted to grow and go forward for Christ; but they were going about it in the wrong way. Their experience is not too different from that of Christians today who get involved in various legalistic movements, hoping to become better Christians. Their motives may be right, but their methods are wrong.

Paul enumerates some of the characteristics of childhood to illustrate the spiritual immaturity of living under the law. Though a child may be the heir of a great estate, he still lives and functions as a slave until a time set by his father.

In verse 3, Paul uses first person to include himself and give the sense that they are in this together. Prior to the grace of Christ, the Christian is enslaved to the elementary things (or basic principles) of the world, the ABCs of the law.

Verse 4 provides the divine answer to humanity’s slavery under the law. When the law had accomplished its purpose and man was ready for release from the bondage of the law, God sent his Son. He came right on schedule, arriving on the earth when the time had fully come. Some suggest world conditions were ripe for the spread of the gospel. The Romans had ushered in an era of relative peace through law and order. Their network of roads made travel more convenient. Widespread use of the Greek language simplified communication. At the same time, the proliferation of empty religions among many people created a spiritual hunger for something genuine. The Son had the qualifications to bring salvation to human beings.


1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (NASB)

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • As son and heir, each Christian receives the Holy Spirit, the down payment of his or her inheritance (Eph. 1:14).
  • Christ came for two purposes: (1) to redeem those under the law by His death to free us from slavery to the law. And (2) that we might receive the full rights of adoption into His family. These rights come as a gift and not by human effort
  • we have matured from restricted childhood under the law to privileged adult sonship under grace. It makes no sense to regress to childhood after becoming adults.

CLOSER LOOK:

Verses 1–2: To illustrate the spiritual immaturity of those who lived under the Mosaic Law, Paul reminded the Galatian believers of certain characteristics of an heir as a minor child (nēpios,[1] “infant, young child” or “minor, not yet of age,”; in contrast with huios, “son,” in 3:7, 26).[2] Though by birthright “he is the owner pf everything,” nevertheless the child was kept in subservience like “a slave” in that he enjoyed no freedom and could make no decisions. In fact the heir as a child was under “guardians” (epitropous, different from the paidagōgos [word for “tutor”] in 3:24–25) who watched over his person, and managers (or trustees) who protected his estate. This was true until he came of age as a son, an age that varied in the Jewish, Grecian, and Roman societies. Under Roman law the age of maturity for a child was “set by the father” and involved a ceremonial donning of the toga virilis[3] and his formal acknowledgement as son and heir. Legally appointed trustees make all decisions and exercise all power over the estate even though the child may be the legal owner in cases where the father has died.

Verse 3: Paul applied the illustration in order to show the contrast between the believers’ former position and what they now enjoyed. Formerly, in their state of spiritual immaturity (“while we were children,” nēpioi), they were like slaves. The scope of that bondage or slavery was described as being under the “elemental things” (stoicheia, “elements,” or translated as basic principles) “of the world.” Though often interpreted as a reference to the Mosaic Law, this view does not fit the Galatians, most of whom were Gentile pagans before conversion and were never under the Law.[4] It seems better to understand the “elemental things” to refer to the elementary stages of religious experience, whether of Jews under the Law or Gentiles in bondage to heathen religions (cf. “weak and worthless elemental things” in v. 9, and “elementary principles of this world” in Col. 2:20) Thus all were enslaved until Christ came to emancipate them.

Verse 4: “But … God” marks the fact that divine intervention brought hope and freedom to mankind. As a human father chose the time for his child to become an adult son, so the heavenly Father chose the time for the coming of Christ to make provision for people’s transition from bondage under Law to spiritual sonship. 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 common language (i.e. lingua franca) of the empire; when the Jews had proclaimed monotheism and the messianic hope in the synagogues of the Mediterranean world. It was then that “God sent forth His Son,” the preexistent One, out of heaven and to earth on a mission. The “Son” was not only Deity; He was also humanity as the expression “born of a woman” indicates. The exclusive reference to His mother harmonizes with the doctrine of the virgin birth as taught in the Gospels (cf. Matt. 1:18). Further, Christ was “born under the Law” as a Jew. He kept the Law perfectly, fulfilled it (cf. Matt. 5:17), and finally paid its curse (cf. Gal. 3:13).

Verse 5: The reasons “God sent forth His Son” are twofold (again both reasons are introduced by hina, “so that” and “that” also translated as “in order that”; cf. 3:14). First, He came to redeem (exagorasē)[5] those under Law. This is not a redemption from the curse of the Law (as in 3:13), but deliverance from a slavery to the entire Mosaic system. The emphasis is not on the penalty of the Law as in 3:13, but on its bondage. Since Christ redeemed and set free those who were under the Law, why should Gentile converts now wish to be placed under it? Redeem, meaning “to buy from the slave market,” is a term used only by Paul in the NT (3:13; Eph 5:16; Col 4:5). The verb describes Christ’s supreme and final payment for the sins of humanity (Rom 3:23-25). This payment, His death on the Cross, frees those who believe in Him from the curse of the law and slavery to sin. This decisive payment and resulting freedom clears the way for Christians to become God’s sons. Second, Christ’s Incarnation and death secured for believers the full rights of adoption as sons (“the adoption of sons”). All the enjoyments and privileges of a mature son in a family belong to those who have entered into the benefits of Christ’s redemptive work. Although there is only one natural Son in God’s family, Jesus Christ, God has graciously adopted all believers as His sons. We are no longer slaves to sin, nor children under the guardianship of the law.

Verse 6: God the Father not only “sent His Son”; He also sent “the Spirit of His Son.” Thus the full Trinity is involved in the work of salvation. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God to every believer because of sonship. No sons or daughters lack the Spirit. Further, He is present within each believer’s heart to give evidence of that one’s position in God’s family. Christians can know intimacy with the Father because of the indwelling Spirit. The Spirit moves the believer to pray to God, addressing Him as “Abba, Father” (cf. Rom. 8:15). The word “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Father.” Abba means a term of endearment, later used as title and personal name; rarely used in ref. to God. that it is the diminutive form used by small children in addressing their fathers. Many say it is appropriate to see its similarity to the English word “Daddy” or some will say it means “Papa.” Used by Christ (cf. Mark 14:36), this familiar form indicates intimacy and trust as opposed to the formalism of legalism. It shows the closeness children of grace have with their Father. No slave of the law had such an intimate relationship. That intimate relationship comes through the Spirit not through the law.

Verse 7: To conclude, Paul declared that the Galatians were no longer slaves, but were sons and heirs. Thus, under grace we have progressed from being slaves to being sons and heirs. Grace is adulthood. Law is childhood. With the privileges of adulthood, the Christian has no reason to regress back to the law. The plural forms in verse 6 were replaced by the singular forms in verse 7 thus making the application to the reader direct and personal. In God’s family, sonship carries with it heirship (cf. Rom. 8:17).

To be an “heir of God” is true of all “sons” unconditionally. This should be distinguished, however, from being an heir of the kingdom. The Bible speaks of two inheritances (Rom 8:17). All children of God by faith have an inheritance in heaven which can never fade (1 Pet 1:3-5), but the inheritance in the earthly reign of Christ is earned as a result of our sufferings for Him (2 Tim 2:12).


Rights:

We live in a time when it seems that everyone is concerned about exercising their “rights.” Paul indicated to the Galatians that before God, no one has any rights; whatever rights humanity once had have been forfeited as a result of sin. To bring this situation home to his readers, Paul used the metaphor of a slave (Gal 4:1-3), an image that the Galatians probably knew well, as the Roman Empire depended heavily on slave labor (Rom 6:16).

The Galatians had become children of God, but before that they were in bondage to sin, to the “elemental things of the world” (Gal 4:3). As slaves to sin, they had no rights before God. He owed them nothing. They belonged to sin, which they were forced to serve. Emancipation from that position had to come from a source other than their own power, ingenuity, or morality. Such is the plight of all sinners before God—helpless and hopeless (Rom 3:23; Jn 3:19-20). But just as God gave life, resources, and responsibility to humanity in the beginning (Gen 1:26-2:4), so now He has given Christ His Son to rescue or “redeem” people from sin and grant them all the privileges of adoption into the family of God (Gal 4:4-7). No one deserves that, which is why receiving Christ’s new life and the rights therein is truly a gift and an unbelievable one at that.

If as believers we have received these treasures from God, then we ought to let others know that the same opportunity is available to them.


Adoption as sons:

The New Testament word for adoption (huiothesia) means “to place as an adult son.” It has to do with our standing in the family of God: we are not little children but adult sons with all of the privileges of sonship. To adopt someone is to make that person a legal son or daughter. Adoption is one of the metaphors used in the Bible to explain how Christians are brought into the family of God.

Why is that important? We need to remember that Paul is writing to people who were under the rule of the Roman Empire. They were subject to Roman law. The picture that Paul is using here in Galatians is definitely the Roman law of adoption of sons, because that is what the people who received this letter would have understood.

Adoption was not common in the Jewish world. A person’s standing was based on his birth. This is the reason that, if a man died, his brother was supposed to marry the widow. The first son to be born of the new marriage would be legally considered the son of the dead brother so that his family line would continue. There was never any thought of the widow adopting a son to carry on the family name. In John 3, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, and He uses the Jewish concept of being born again (or born from above) to explain how one is brought into God’s family.

In the Roman world, adoption was a significant and common practice. Today, we can write a will and leave our wealth and property to anyone we want, male or female. In the Roman world, with few exceptions, a man had to pass his wealth on to his son(s). If a man had no sons or if he felt that his sons were incapable of managing his wealth or were unworthy of it, he would have to adopt someone who would make a worthy son. The adopted son had the same rights and privileges as a naturally born son. These were rights that were not granted to an adopted daughter. And the law also granted the one who adopted that son the full rights and responsibilities of a father, full authority over the adopted son, and full responsibility to care for him. So it worked both ways.

These adoptions were not infant adoptions as is common today. Older boys and adult men were normally adopted. In some cases, the adoptee might even be older than the man who was adopting him. When the adoption was legally approved, the adoptee would have all his debts cancelled and he would receive a new name. He would be the legal son of his adoptive father and entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son. A father could disown his natural-born son, but an adoption was irreversible.

We see a picture of this in the book and movie, Ben-Hur. In the movie, Judah Ben-Hur (a Jew) has been imprisoned on a Roman galley ship as a rower. When the ship sinks in battle, Judah escapes and saves the life of a Roman commander, Arrius. Arrius’s only son has been killed, and he ultimately adopts Judah, who is pardoned for his supposed crimes. He is also given a new name, “young Arrius,” and has all the rights of inheritance. In the scene where the adoption is announced, Arrius takes off his ancestral signet ring and gives it to young Arrius. Young Arrius says that he has received “a new life, a new home, a new father.”

Paul, writing to Roman audiences, uses the metaphor of adoption, which a Roman audience would have understood. In Galatians 4:3–7, Christians are born enslaved, but Jesus buys them out of slavery and they are adopted by the Father and given the Spirit, so now they are heirs. When we come to faith in Christ, our debts are cancelled, we are given a new name, and we are given all the rights that heirs of God possess. One difference from Roman adoption is that Christians are not adopted because God thinks they will make worthy heirs. God adopts people who are completely unworthy, because He adopts on the basis of His grace.


[1] In this context of 4:1, it seems that the definition is more fitting of “one who is not yet of legal age, minor, not yet of age.”

[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 601.

[3] From Merriam Webster: “the white toga of manhood assumed by boys of ancient Rome at age 15.” It represented adult male citizenship and its attendant rights, freedoms and responsibilities

[4] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 601.

[5] to secure deliverance of, deliver, liberate