Galatians 4

Bible Passage: Galatians 4

Galatians 4:9 caught my eye today….

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?”

All of us already know God.  We come to church to worship Him.  We pray to Him.  We read His words. 

But here Paul indicates that actually, we are not the ones that have come to know God…. But rather it is God Himself who knows us! 

Can you see the big difference?  God Himself wants to and knows us!  And that is the reason why we have all the promises and joy with that of becoming His child.

But many a times, we forget this.  We slip back to our old selves.  We forget that God has known us and instead, go back to our former state – a state of doubting, fear and uncertainty.  We struggle as if we do not have a Heavenly Father that cares for us.

This chapter gives us a powerful reminder of who we are in the eyes of God.  And reminding ourselves of this can help us in our daily struggles in life as we sometimes feel overwhelmed and unsure of where or who we are…

Paul points out the contrast between the relationship of a father and child vs that of a master and servant.

Obedience in Love vs Obedience in Fear

“to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (v. 5)

When we have the Spirit of God in us, the Holy Spirit will work in us to quicken and increase our love for God.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love (Gal 5:22; see Rom 5:5).  The problem was that there were these Judaizers who wanted to confuse the Christians by telling them that they would become ‘better’ Christians is they submit to the law.  But we know that the law can never produce obedience. 

Only love can do that…. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Father vs Master

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  (v. 6)

The child has a Father.  The servant has a Master.  No servant will ever call his master ‘Father’. 

But when Christians trusts in Jesus and receives His Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit confirms that He is a child of the Father (Rom 8:15-16).  The Spirit makes him/her cry out “Abba, Father”.  “Abba” is like ‘papa’ – and this shows the close and intimate relationship of the child to the Father.  No servant has this.

Divine Nature as Old Nature

“Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”  (v. 7)

Peter tells us that when we receive the Holy Spirit into us, we now “share His divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). 

The law can never give a person God’s nature within.  All the law does is to reveal to us our desperate need for God’s nature.  Therefore, when we go back into the law, we are denying the divine nature within.  Instead, we are now giving the old nature – our flesh – the opportunity to go to work. 

Rich vs Poor

As God’s children, God has made us His heirs. 

And since we are adopted – placed as adult sons into the family – we are now able to enjoy immediately the riches of His grace (Eph 1:7; 2:7) and the riches of His glory (Phil 4:19), and the riches of His goodness (Rom 2:4), and the riches of His wisdom (Rom 11:33), and ultimately, all of the riches of God are found in Christ (Col 1:19; 2:3).

The servant has none of these promises.

Future vs No Future

While kind masters may provide for their slaves in old age, this is not required of them. 

However, the Father always provides for His son (2 Cor 12:14).  All of us can experience the profound truth that the apostle John expressed: “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children and that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a)