Galatians 4a (5-28-25)

What's up everybody? It's Pastor James. Welcome back to our midweek Bible study. Today we're

going to be starting chapter 4, and our first seven verses are actually piggybacking off

of the end of chapter 3, as Paul was talking about the law, being the temporary guardian

over God's people. So let's begin reading, and we'll start. Let's read verses 1-7 together.

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, they have to obey their guardians until they reach

whatever age their father set. And that's the way it was with us before Christ came.

We were like children who were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

But when the right time came, God sent his son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

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. And because we are his children, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts,

promoting us to call out, Abba Father. Now you are no longer a slave, but God's own child.

And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Okay, so we see some very interesting

aspects of the law in this passage. First, we see that we are like children. Okay, we kind of get

that analogy. Now, this is very important to understand as Christians because in this world,

as adults, we love to think that we know best and have an understanding of things.

But spiritually speaking, we are always like children. Rarely do we ever fully understand

all that's going on in us spiritually, much less all that's going on around us spiritually,

and especially things in the spiritual realms rather than the physical realm. But spiritually,

we're always like children. We just have a tough time understanding all that's going on.

And this is tough to think about because my children think that they know best and that

they can do lots of things that they really just aren't able to do yet. Mind you, I have three

children, six and under. Our two-year-old being my main one at the moment, about three months ago,

she hit this stage of wanting to do everything herself. She literally doesn't want us to help

her do anything. And if we leave her to her doing everything she wants to do,

my wife and I will die from old age before she gets it done. However, if we help her,

she gets very angry, very, very mad that we are not letting her do it on her own.

And this is a very frustrating time in life as she thinks she can, but she doesn't realize that

she can't. I mean, like she will try to do something for five to ten minutes. And then

finally she's melting, she's crying, and then only then will she let us help her willingly.

And sometimes we're like that with God. We think sometimes that we're right, that we know,

things that just aren't right, that aren't true or possible. You know, God knows, but we don't.

So Paul is comparing all of humanity as being children whose father has passed away.

We've been separated from our father, which is God. And it's a great analogy as sin has

literally separated us from our Heavenly Father. Now, we got to understand that while we have been

separated, we must be under the authority of a caretaker until we are able or of the age

that the Father has determined for us to take full control of our inheritance. And this, spiritually

speaking, refers to the designated time that Christ the Messiah would come to set God's people

free from the obligations to the law, which was always intended to be our temporary guardian. Now,

we're also referred to as slaves of the basic spiritual principles of this world.

And there's, there is a, this innate understanding as people that there is a God and that we need

to worship this God. I think every people group on earth for all of existence has worshiped some

form of deity with the exception of the 21st century, where you have this ongoing

rise of atheism that kind of hits the mainstream. And even today, as we have progressed, I think

less people are leaning towards atheism, but they're looking for answers in other places,

not necessarily Christianity, but in other ways. There's something within us as humans that knows

there's a need for us to submit and serve something greater than ourselves. So,

we fall into this trap as Christians of trying to obey rules rather than just having faith in

Jesus Christ and being led by His Spirit. So, while God's people were being guarded,

it's also a form of slavery as we must do what we are told to do until we're set free. So,

the people of Israel commit themselves to the law and the requirements of the law at the foot

of Mount Sinai. When they do this, they put themselves in bondage to the law, but they

also put all of their descendants in bondage to the law until the Messiah comes to set them all

free. Now, this can be very unpleasant as many people do not like being told what to do,

but sometimes people need to be told what to do until they're mature enough to know what the

right thing really is and what the wrong thing really is. And so, then comes this idea of an

inheritance. This goes back to that promise that God made to Abraham 430 years before the law

that Paul was talking about at the end of chapter 3. We have this wonderful inheritance

in Christ that we all have the opportunity to take hold of and possess and receive.

The problem is that there isn't an age of maturity to reach or to take hold of it. Rather,

it is a state of surrendering that each person must reach or come to in order to receive the gift

that Christ has for us, but we have to surrender to Christ. We have to believe in Him and surrender

to Him. And this is why Jesus came at just the right time for all of us. God sent Him

to be subject to the same law that was condemning us and holding us in bondage and slavery.

And as a result of His perfect obedience, He was able to fulfill the law completely with obedience.

At the same time, He was able to buy our freedom from that law so that we could be true

children of God by believing in Him and accepting Him as Lord and Savior. And the proof of who we

belong to is the Holy Spirit that lives in us and prompts us to refer to God as our Father,

who made everyone who calls on the name of Jesus and heir an adoptive child into His kingdom.

Now, this is important because not yet, but in chapter 5, we're going to talk about the importance

of being filled with the Holy Spirit and how this prompts us to live for God and do the things He's

called us to do. But let's continue in chapter 4 verses 8 through 18 as Paul displays and talks

about His concern for the Galatians. So before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called

gods that did not even exist. 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? You are not trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days

or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

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. You did not mistreat me when I first

preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the good news.

But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away.

Now you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus Himself.

Were it that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then, where is that joyful and grateful

spirit that you felt then? I'm sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to

me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I'm telling you the truth?

Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good.

They are trying to shut you all from me so that you will pay attention only to them.

If someone is eager to do good things for you, that's all right,

but let them do it all the time, not just when I'm with you.

Oh my dear children, I feel as if I'm going through labor pains for you again,

and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.

I wish I were there with you right now so I could change my tone,

but at this distance, I don't know how else to help you.

All right, so we see that Paul finally changes gears in verse 8 as he talks about his concern

for the Galatians. He's no longer focusing on his apostleship or the law itself.

Now he's going back to talk about how all of this directly affects the people of the

religions before, and now they're slaves to the law. Rather, before they were slaves to false gods,

and now they're slaves to the law that God had given his people,

and it isn't a matter of whether or not they know God or know about God.

Paul draws attention to the fact that God should know them.

Now, while God obviously knows every single person on earth because he created all of us,

he is not going to claim us as his own if we have not accepted Christ the Savior

and been received as a son or daughter through that adoption.

The Paul finally drops the bombshell of putting your faith in the law of God is basically no

better than putting your faith in false gods. They were slaves before the false gods,

now they're slaves to the law. It's no better. Neither one provides you with salvation.

You cannot achieve salvation in a relationship with God through human efforts. You need to be

redeemed by the only one who is more powerful than you and greater than you and gives you

that power through his Holy Spirit. So because the law doesn't save, it only condemns.

You cannot earn your favor with God through those efforts, through obedience to the law,

because nothing we do is deserving of God's favor. Paul even talks about how he himself

abandoned the law to become like the Gentiles. There's more freedom in living apart from the

law than there is trying to obey the law. So you don't have to put so much effort and emphasis

into trying to live a certain way and doing certain things. Rather, we can live in freedom

in the grace of Jesus Christ the way we were intended to live. Paul speaks slightly

of his hard work with them as he presented them with the gospel message and how they did not

mistreat him but accepted him and the message that he taught them gladly. He even talks about how

he was sick and they took him in and they cared for him as though he were like an angel

or an angel from Christ himself and they treated him as someone important. They did this amazing job

of caring for him and loving him even when they could have rejected him. They were so good to him

but now they're wanting to reject him whenever he's healthy, whenever they receive the message

of the gospel. So what's changed? Where's the joy? And the truth is that they've been robbed

of their joy because of these false teachers leading them back to the law and as a result

the law is causing them to be harsh. It's causing them not to love, not to do the things that Christ

has caused to do and this is really the first time we see Paul talk about the false teachers

and what their intentions are. They are trying to win the people of Galatia over for something

totally different. Paul never taught them to reject anyone. Paul never taught them to turn

away or to rob anyone of anything and these false teachers are gaining their respect and their

authority and their favor by encouraging the Galatians to reject Paul but also other people

and part of being a Christian means to love others and to give to them and to sacrifice for

others and he even calls them out as they're only willing to do things for them if the Galatians

only do what they are asking them to do but the truth is is that Paul is willing to love them even

after they have rejected him. Paul still loves them and cares deeply for them and so we see in

verses 19-20 how Paul is agonizing over them and even as he views the Galatians as his own

children, his only desire for them is that Christ would become fully developed in their lives. He only

wants them to be saved, to be made whole, and to have freedom in Christ and he admits that at this

moment he has a little loss on how to help them because he's not with them. He's very worried

about them. He simply wants them to acknowledge Christ as Lord, to put Christ first. He wants

to be with them and help them find their way back to putting their trust and faith and hope in Jesus

Christ and we'll finish up chapter four next week. Let's pray together. Father, thank you so much

for the opportunity to read your word once again. Jesus, we pray that you would speak into our

hearts and lives. Lord, help us to see and understand how important it is to put your son

first in all things. He is the one that frees. He is the one that forgives. He is the one who brings

us into right standing with you and I pray that our trust and hope and faith will be put in you

no matter what. Jesus, we are so grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we pray that we

would always keep you first. Verse in your name we pray. Amen. Alright guys, thanks again for tuning

in for another week and being a part of the Graham Chapel family. Tune in this weekend for

our video services on Facebook, YouTube, and the podcast, but most of all we would love to see you

in person. We love you. We're praying for you. Hope you have a great week.