The remainder of chapter 4 can be divided into three literary units. Verses 8–11 are an exhortation in which Paul reminded his Galatian converts of their former way of life, the great transformation that had happened to them through their adoption into God’s family, and his deep concern that they were about to exchange their spiritual heritage for a mess of pottage. Verses 12–20 extend the theme of Paul’s fear for the Galatians in the form of a personal expostulation. He recalled the endearing bonds of friendship and love he and the Galatians had enjoyed in days past and pleaded with them to remain faithful to the one and only gospel he had first preached among them. The final section, vv. 21–31, contain the allegory of Hagar and Sarah whose sons, Ishmael and Isaac, are taken as representative types of spiritual slavery and spiritual sonship.
Throughout this entire passage Paul was pouring out his soul in earnest entreaty to the Galatians.
What really happened when the Galatians turned back from grace to Law? To begin with, they abandoned liberty for bondage. When they were ignorant sinners, they had served their false gods and had experienced the tragedy of such slavery. But then they had trusted Christ and been delivered from superstition and slavery. Now they were abandoning their liberty in Christ and going back into bondage. They were destroying all the good work the Lord had done in them through Paul’s ministry.
They gave up the power of the Gospel for the weakness of Law, and the wealth of the Gospel for the poverty of Law. The Law never made anybody rich or powerful; on the contrary, the Law could only reveal man’s weakness and spiritual bankruptcy.
8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- Do not trade the power and wealth and grace of the Gospel for the weak and worthless system of works
- All of us must beware of that legalistic spirit that caters to the flesh, leads to pride, and makes the outward event a substitute for the inward experience.
- Christians are free from the bondage of rituals and legalism. It is illogical to revert back to it.
Closer Look:
Verses 8–9: Prior to conversion the Galatians, in their ignorance of the one true God, were in bondage to false gods such as Zeus and Hermes (cf. Acts 14:11–13). But a great change took place and they came to “know God” (salvation from the perspective of man), or “to be known by God” (salvation from God’s perspective).[1] Yet having come to know (gnontes, from ginōskō, literally, “to know intimately and on a personal level”)[2] the true God, the Galatians were turning back. Paul was amazed and dismayed. Did they understand that they would be going back to a state of religious slavery? Was this their desire? If so, why would they be attracted to a system that was weak (it could not justify or energize for godly living) and worthless (it could not provide an inheritance). The “bondage” and “elemental things” (stoicheia) of that system are “of the world,” as Paul had already said in verse 3. Paul was in effect asking the Galatians, “Is it spiritual progress again to be enslaved to weak and worthless rituals and observances (v. 10)? How could you have known God and turned away to ‘childish’ things?” The Galatians had come to know God through faith in Jesus Christ. He had adopted them as His own sons, but they were turning back to the law that had once enslaved them. They were in the process of leaving the light and liberty of Christianity for the shadow and slavery of legalism. Ritualistic observances are idolatrous in principle. They are a system of bondage opposed to God’s grace. How can anyone want to exchange the robe of Christ’s righteousness for the filthy rags of paganism, idolatry, or any other system that is not based on the grace of God.
Verse 10: Under the influence of the Judaizers the Galatians had at least begun to observe the Mosaic calendar. They kept special days (weekly sabbaths or special feasts), and months (new moons), and seasons (seasonal festivals such as Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; both months and season are longer celebrations), and years (sabbatical and jubilee years). (Cf. Col. 2:16.) They observed these special times, thinking that they would thereby gain additional merit before God and please God. But Paul had already made it clear that works could not be added to faith as grounds for either justification or sanctification.
Does this mean that it is wrong for Christians to set aside one day a year to remember the birth of Christ? Or that a special observance of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, or the blessing of the harvest in autumn, is a sin?
Not necessarily. If we observe special days like slaves, hoping to gain some form spiritual merit, then we are sinning. But if in the observance, we express our liberty in Christ and let the Spirit enrich us with His grace, then the observance can be a spiritual blessing.
The New Testament makes it clear that Christians are not to legislate religious observances for each other (Rom. 14:4–13). We are not to praise the person who celebrates the day, nor are we to condemn the person who does not celebrate. But if a person thinks they are saving their soul, or automatically growing in grace, because of a religious observance, then they are guilty of legalism.
Verse 11: Showing deep concern for the Galatians, Paul expressed the fear that his efforts (kekopiaka, literally, “I have labored to the point of exhaustion”) would be in vain or wasted (eikē, “in vain”; cf. 3:4) if their attachment to legalistic practices continued. The apostle’s words disclosed his strong antipathy toward legalistic religion.
What did Paul mean when he feared his efforts on them have been wasted? This could mean one of two things. It could mean that the Galatians were true Christians but that Paul’s efforts to spur them on to spiritual maturity in Christ were not fruitful. Or it could mean that he feared that not turning from their legalism could indicate that they were never Christians in the first place.
ASIDE: Let’s talk about the word “elemental”
(Greek stoicheion; Strong’s 4747) (4:3, 9; Col 2:8, 20; Heb 5:12; 2 Pet 3:10): This Greek word can mean (1) elementary or rudimentary principles; basic components of something, pertaining to either substances underlying the natural world, basic components of celestial constellations or heavenly bodies, or things that constitute the foundation of learning. Or (2) it means elemental spirits or transcendent powers that are in control over events in this world. The word itself means things placed in a line or row, like an alphabet. It was used to speak of rudimentary principles (Heb 5:12) or basic elements of the universe, whether physical or spiritual. If Paul was thinking of elementary principles, he meant that people were in bondage to the basic elements of religion; if he meant spirits, he was saying that people are in bondage to the “elemental spirits,” meaning certain gods or demons. “Principles” suits the overall context of Galatians, whereas spirits accords with 4:8-10. In either case, Paul was saying that people were in bondage until Christ came.
[1] 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), 602.
[2] BDAG – “to arrive at a knowledge of someone or something, know, know about, make acquaintance of.” Specifically with a personal object