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November 2008 Published Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Galatians (4:-5-11)
(Lesson 13)
Welcome back to
HBS.
We began our study
of chapter 4 last week and we made it as far as verse 5. So that’s where we’ll pick up the lesson
today.
In 4:1-2 our
Apostle Paul talks about a well-known practice in both the Greek and Roman
cultures, that of an heir coming of age. At that time the son could legally take ownership of his father’s estate. Previously, his father’s assets belonged to
him he just didn’t have any control of them yet. Then in 4:3-5, he uses the analogy to address
the status of the believing Jews who lived under
the Law. The heir under Roman law
had legal ownership of his father’s estate too, minus the control, until he came of age. Similarly the Jews who believed in Christ
Jesus had the promises of God to Abraham; they just hadn’t realized them
yet. God is in control of the timing of
these promises.
********
Please
open your Bible at Galatians 4:5.
Galatians 4
In order that He
might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons.
In order that He
might redeem those who were under the Law – the Koine Greek
word for redeem is Exagorazo (ex-ag-or-ad’-zo), Verb,
Strong’s Greek #1805, meaning, by payment
of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, to buy back. This word is taken right from the
marketplace in Paul’s day where slaves were bought and sold routinely. It literally means: “to buy
out of the marketplace” or “to ransom
from slavery.”
The
slave was powerless to alter his or her position in the marketplace. They did not possess the ability or the means
to “deliver themselves;” they were
helplessly held in bondage hoping
someone would show them mercy by redeeming them. A life of slavery in someone’s home or in
their workplace was a far better end then to be taken away to be a galley slave
or entertainment for the masses in the arena or coliseum where crowds encouraged
and cheered for their ghastly death.
Most
people are familiar with the hymn “Amazing
Grace” but few people know the man John Newton who wrote it. He grew up as an only child. His mother died when he was 7 years old. He chose the life of a sailor and went to sea
at the age of eleven. He learned that
way of life well as he became a captain of his own ship; a slave ship. He had a hand in that horrible degradation of
humanity that will forever be a stain on human history which has been called
the “Slave Trade.” But at the age of
twenty-three, on March 10, 1748, when his ship was in imminent danger of
sinking off the coast of Newfoundland, he prayed to God for mercy, and found
it. He never forgot how amazing it was that God had heard his
prayer and received him, after all the wrongs he had committed. To mark this event and to keep it fresh in
his memory, he fastened on the wall over his fireplace mantel the words of
Deuteronomy 15:15: You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the
LORD your God redeemed you.
May
this serve to remind each one of us, if we’d only remember, keep fresh in our hearts and minds, what we once were, where we once were, and what we are now
in Christ Jesus, it will benefit us greatly daily for we are slaves no longer but free men and women and co-heirs with God, by faith; thanks to God’s Amazing Grace.
that we might
receive the adoption as sons (and daughters) see Romans 8:14-15,
23, 9:4; Ephesians 1:5. Right out of the
gate I want to address the fact that the Bible is not gender-neutral and
mean-spirited toward women as some people believe and some people teach. It presents from beginning to end a masculine
perspective because that represents the culture or accepted traditions of
society when this book was written. Instead
of re-writing scripture it’s up to the reader of scripture to determine what
application to females or what inclusion of females is implied by the passage. Sometimes, a reference to men or brothers
(brethren) should be understood to include females; in other instances, men
simply mean “men.” The context will
guide you at all times. It’s not
difficult.
Next
in line, the Koine Greek word for adoption
is Huiothesia (hwee-oth-es-ee’-ah),
Noun Feminine, Strong’s Greek #5206, meaning:
that relationship which God was
pleased to establish between Himself and the Israelites in preference to all
other nations; the blessed state looked for in the future life after the
visible return of Jesus Christ from heaven.
Our
Apostle Paul continues to explain the benefits or privileges true Believers
receive as full heirs of Abraham through faith in Christ
Jesus. He uses the metaphor adoption in reference to our salvation. The Apostles John and Peter used the metaphor
most people are familiar with “born
again.” In Roman law, the process of
adoption was very difficult. It not only
took a long time to arrange it was also quite expensive; but once enacted
adoption afforded several special rights and privileges:
1: All debts were cancelled
2: All criminal charges were cancelled
3: The adoptee could not be legally put to death
by his father
4: The adoptee could not be disinherited by
their new father
Legally
speaking, the adopted child was a
completely new person. When a
father publicly adopted a son, he officially and permanently became his
heir. In using this Roman, legal
adoption procedure, our Apostle Paul is in effect saying the true Believer is
eternally secure once they place their faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15,
23). The metaphor was used in the
official ceremony of a boy becoming a man, i.e. Liberalia, which was held annually
on the 17 of March.
Verse
6:
Galatians 4
6: Because you
are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying, “Abba!
Father!”
Please
note Paul shifts from writing in first-person to second-person in verse 6 to
show the adoption received by those under the Law (v5) was also received by the Gentile converts. He’s speaking to the Gentiles when he says, “Because you are sons…” How did they become sons? The only answer is by faith in the gospel: For
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians
3:26).
“But now” that the Galatians had believed the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ had died for the sins of all, was buried, and was resurrected (1
Corinthians 15:1-4; Galatians 3:1); their faith (plus nothing else) enabled
them to be immediately considered as “sons
of God.” And being sons (daughters is implied), God has sent forth the Spirit of His
Son into their hearts (Ephesians 1:13).
Some
people have declared this a difficult verse simply because two Persons of the
Triune Godhead are mentioned. They say this
confuses its meaning. I don’t believe
Paul intends to introduce confusion. I
do believe he has introduced a significant teaching about the Holy Trinity in
this passage. God the Father sent God
the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit
of God the Son, into our hearts to give us an assurance
that we are the sons and daughters of
God.
The Spirit of His
Son:
The Holy Spirit can be called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, or
linked to God the Father. This is
because the nature of God is consistent among the Persons of the Trinity. Here, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of His Son because the
idea of our sonship is based on Jesus' sonship.
I
may have just lost some of y’all, so I’ll say according to this book the
ministry of the Son and the Spirit has always been closely linked. Still, the Father is not the Son, the Son is
not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not God the Father. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the
Holy Spirit is God. They are not three
different gods, but separate, eternally existing in three Persons, equal in
every respect.
As
I’ve said before the Trinity is an unfathomable and yet an unmistakable
doctrine in scripture (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:30, 33; 14:16, 18, 23; 1
Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9). Although
they are one, the Word of God in no way denies the simultaneous existence and
distinctiveness of each of the three Persons of the Godhead. The Bible is clear: God is one God (not three), but the One God
is a Trinity of Persons, each One with individual characteristics, capable of expressing
thought, will, and emotions.
In
Galatians chapter 3 Paul mentioned the Spirit
frequently in reference to our becoming Believers (Galatians 4:2, 5, 14). He is now called “the Spirit of His Son.” We’re
seeing two works of the Spirit: 1) drawing people to Christ Jesus; and 2)
forming those He has called into Christlikeness
(John 14-16). The Spirit also baptizes Believers into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).
So
Paul’s saying as a result of being adopted
into God’s (holy) family, by faith,
every true Believer will have the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus Christ in them. We
find Paul saying something similar to this in Romans 8:9: However,
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells
(where) in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Him (Romans
8:9).
Before
our conversion we were excluded from
the presence of God; our access was denied, even our prayers were inaudible
because of our “unrighteousness” (John 9:31; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Now I believe the Sovereign God can and will
answer any prayer from anyone, as He chooses, but because all men and women are
alienated from God at the moment of their birth this book is very clear in
saying unbelievers are by nature enemies
of God (Proverbs 15:8, 29; Psalm 34:16; Romans 5:10). Our Father in heaven hears the prayers of His
children but not those of His enemies, unless they’re asking Him for salvation
of course. I call this the “life-guard
principle.” Having said that, one of the
blessings we experience because of our “right standing” with God, thanks to the
righteousness of Christ Jesus, is timeless
access into the very presence of God the Father (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12;
Hebrews 4:14-16, 10:19:22; 1 Peter 3:18).
For through Him we
both have our access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18).
crying, “Abba! Father - Paul wants the Galatians to know
this is the result of having the Spirit
of Christ in their hearts. The Sprit is crying to the Father and
not ourselves, by the way. One of the
first ministries the Spirit performs to us, after baptizing us into the Body
of Christ and securing our eternal salvation, is providing our faith.
The Spirit assures us God has
become our “Abba” “Father.” In doing so, He confirms our identity as the adopted children of God, assuring each one of us have the right
to call Him “Abba, Father!”
Common slaves were not permitted to use the
loving and reverent title “Abba” in
addressing the head of the family.
However, all true Believers are considered free men and women in Christ Jesus because they are no longer
enslaved by sin (Romans 6:6, 18). For you have not
received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have
received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children
of God (Romans
8:15-17).
Verse
7:
Galatians 4
7: Therefore you
are no longer a slave (servant in the KJV Bible), but a son; and if a son, then an
heir through God.
Therefore you are
no longer a slave, but a son - if you read ahead through verses 8-10, you’ll
see Paul’s used the word slave but
he’s referring to unbelievers – for
they “knew not God,” nor were they “known by God.” What Paul means to say is, “They did not have
an intimate knowledge of God.” This kind of knowledge can only be derived from a personal Father/son relationship.
and if a son, then an
heir through God – because
we are sons and daughters of God, we are
heirs. But here’s the thing, we are heirs only through Christ Jesus. Just like the Roman male child who was
adopted into the prominent family back in Paul’s day, we too did not have a
hand in our adoption. We’re entitled to all
the privileges of a son and we’re
all heirs of God through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer (Romans 8:17).
Verse
8:
Galatians 4
8: However at
that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which
by nature are no gods.
However at that
time, when you did not know God – beginning here and
in the following verses Paul is addressing the Galatians, the Gentiles, who were
pagans in every sense of the word prior to his first visit to Galatia. In their state of paganism, when they had no
knowledge of God, they could not serve
Him, obviously. Instead, Paul said, “you were slaves to those which by nature
are no gods.” Paul’s saying, they
were slaves by nature to idols;
false gods.
With
this statement, “you were slaves to
those which by nature are no gods,” Paul shines a light on a biblical truth
that runs throughout scripture and that is all
humans are religious by nature. This
book is quite clear in expressing the fact that all humans have the potential
of knowing the One, true God both from creation (Psalm 19:1-5; Romans 1:19-20)
and also an inner moral witness (Romans 2:14-15). However, the Bible asserts that all of us, Jews and
Gentiles, have rejected this knowledge: as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS,
NOT EVEN ONE; (Romans 3:10); for
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
A
person doesn’t have to be deeply committed to some religiously defined god to
be a slave to non-gods. All a person has to do is have some objective
or goal which he or she consistently pursues.
I’ll explain: the acquisition of
wealth is, for some, a god. For others,
public opinion is a god for whom they will do most anything to please. For others, pleasure in the physical realm is
a god to them and their commitment and willingness to sacrifice is incredible
(they will destroy their bodies, families, health, marriages, minds, and their
reputations in order to experience a momentary pleasure). For others, knowledge is a god for whom they
will spend themselves. For some, work
becomes a god and they surrender all their time to this inanimate object
sacrificing their health, their family, and their marriage as they feed their all
to it. There are far too many non-gods to list here and the truth is people
are fashioning new ones constantly, all the while ignoring and despising the Creator
God who holds death and life in His mighty right hand (Deuteronomy 5:9; Isaiah
44:6-23; John 3:36; Romans 2:5; Colossians 3:6; Revelation 14:19, 16:1).
To
illustrate this message Charles Dickens’ classic The Christmas Carol quickly
comes to mind. Ebenezer Scrooge, a
bitter, old man made excuses his whole life for his uncaring nature, as he diligently
worked to build his fortune. He wasn’t
interested in family or making lasting friendships during his lifetime; he was
interested in making money, in making a name for himself among his peers. In the movie the last spirit showed him the
“price” of his success. He died a lonely,
old man while serving his non-god. He was given an opportunity to view his
future and repent.
Christ
came to tell us He is the resurrection
and the life… without Him in our lives, in our hearts, we are not free men
and women, enslaved to sin we have
no future (John 11:25, 14:6). The
unbeliever’s future without Christ is worse than Ebenezer’s vision by far. The unbeliever faces the second death; an eternity suffering in the Lake of Fire and separated
from God’s love. That’s a heavy price to
pay for being purposely uninformed and stubborn fence-sitters.
Paul’s
not pulling any of his punches; so to speak, he wants these Galatians to understand
their current situation. As Believers, they
are free men and women in Christ
Jesus, adopted children of God, and heirs
of God. Why would they willingly return
to enslavement under the Mosaic Law?
Verse
9:
Galatians 4
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?
But now that you
have come to know God, or rather to be known by God – the time element
Paul introduced in verse 8 is contrasted in verse 9 with the words “But now.”
The
term know God means more than
acquiring knowledge of God from His Word.
It implies an interpersonal
relationship (Genesis 3, 4:1; Jeremiah 1:5). Both
the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden knew
the LORD God on an intimate, personal level. They walked with Him in the garden and conversed
with Him; they spent time with Him
daily because they were committed to their relationship with Him. Only one relationship between humans comes
close to matching that intimate relationship and that’s the marriage
relationship.
The
Galatian Believer’s new relationship wasn’t based on knowing facts about God
and His Son, but God initiating a New Covenant through Christ with the Gentiles
who were once excluded and far off
(Ephesians 2:11, 3:13).
how is it that you
turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things - Paul chooses to use
the word elemental again here (see
4:3). In Koine Greek the word is Stoicheion (stoy-khi’-on), Noun Neuter,
Strong’s Greek #4747, meaning: any first thing, from which the others
belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise, an element, first
principle or discipline. They were
trading the slavery of paganism for the slavery of Judaism as a means of
salvation. Paul’s saying both Judaism
and paganism were subject to the Stoicheia
(See verse 8). Both of these are
inadequate and incapable of providing eternal life. The Law could not justify anyone; Paul described them as weak and worthless in this respect.
Verse
10:
Galatians 4
10: You observe days
(of
the Jewish festivals) and months (new
moon: Numbers 10:10, 28:11-14) and seasons
(the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, etc.) and years (the year of Jubilee or the sabbatical year).
Here
Paul is referencing the Jewish religious calendar (Colossians 2:16). The Galatians were attempting to make
progress in their spiritual life by learning and keeping the Mosaic Law. They were in effect exchanging one religious
calendar (pagan) for another (Jewish). But Paul’s understanding of the gospel allowed him to apply its
truth to different situations. The
situation in the Galatian churches required him to oppose legalism and
works-based righteousness. However, in
Romans 14, Paul encouraged strong Believers not to judge weaker Believers who
respected “certain days” (Romans 14:5-6).
So, there’s no conflict here. In
Galatians it is a matter of the proper understanding of the gospel, whereas in Romans 14 it concerns the Believer’s
fellowship (1 Corinthians 8, 10).
Verse
11:
Galatians 4
11: I fear for you,
that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.
After
the Galatians salvation, Paul’s goal in the Galatian churches was spiritual
maturity in Christ. This is the reason
for this statement. He’s not questioning
their salvation. The meaning of the word
labored is, “done with obvious effort or difficulty to the point of
exhaustion.” Paul’s saying he labored among the Galatian churches in
preaching the gospel and teaching church doctrines to these folks. Now he is concerned because they have strayed
from the true path of spiritual maturity in Christ; they have been side-tracked
by the Judaizers onto the path of legalism.
That was quite literally a dead-end;
this is what he feared.
(To
be continued)
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Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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