I Am Adopted
Notes
Transcript
INTRO
INTRO
Have you ever heard of an inheritance?
Like when someone passes away and leaves behind money, a house, possessions, something valuable, and it gets passed on to someone else
Some inheritances are normal
Some are a little strange
And some are just straight up insane
There was a woman, named Leona, who left $12 million… to her dog.
Not her family
Not her kids
Her dog…
Some people have left their entire house to their cat…
Like the cat owns the house… and people just live there to take care of it
There was a guy who had his motorcycle buried with him so he could “use it in the afterlife.”
Imagine you are his kid and you are looking forward to getting his prized mortocyle to remember him by but nope… it’s going with him
And then there are people who leave their money to random people they met online instead of their own family
And we hear stuff like that and think, “That’s crazy”
But here’s what’s interesting…
Every single one of those inheritances no matter how big or matter how weird has something in common:
They don’t last
Money runs out
Houses fall apart
Stuff fades
And eventually it’s all gone
TENSION
TENSION
But what if I told you that if you are in Christ you have been given an inheritance that makes all of those look like nothing?
one thats not temporary
one thats not fading
one thats not fragile
an eternal inheritance
That’s exactly what Paul is talking about in Galatians 3:24–4:7.
TRUTH
TRUTH
Before we jump in, you need to understand what’s going on
Paul is writing to the church in Galatia, and they are confused.
They’re asking questions like:
Do we still have to follow the law?
Did Jesus replace the law?
How are we actually made right with God?
And here’s the issue:
They are starting to believe that faith in Jesus isn’t enough
That they need Jesus + the law to be saved
And Paul’s answer is a big NO
You’ve completely missed it
Salvation has always been by faith, not by works
And the law was never meant to save you
It was meant to show you that you need saving
Paul explains it like this…
The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
The word guardian means it’s like a caretaker or nanny who watches over a child
but not the nice, loving, caring nanny
in Roman culture this person was seen as strict and mean because their sole job wasn’t to take care of the child’s needs but to correct them and call out their wrongs
So Paul is saying that the law had this same job…
it shows you what’s wrong
but it doesn’t fix anything
it exposes your sin
but it cannot save you from your sin
Becasue of this the law was never the solution
it was only a mirror to show us our sin
But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
The good news Paul says is that once Christ has come
once faith has come
you are no longer under that system
The law had a purpose
But it was a temporary one
But if we aren't under the law anymore and now have faith in Christ?
what does that mean for us?
for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul says now, through faith you are sons of God
Not servants
Not outsiders
Not second-class
Sons
But what does that even mean?
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
Paul goes back and forth from theses physical things to spiritual things when describing our sonship
Baptized —> Clothed
physically your were dunked under the water
spiritually you were dying to yourself, being raised in new life, and now are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness not your own
Human Differences —> One
physically you have different ethnicities, occupations, and genders
spiritually are all one in Jesus
Family Heir —> Abraham’s Heir
physically you are a heir to your earthly family
spiritually you are a heir of Abraham, God’s family
How is all of this possible?
not because we were able to follow the law close enough for God say, “sure, come in”
but through faith in Jesus and His work on the cross for us
Before we move on, we need to focus on something that Paul says in these verses that can often be overlooked but is crucial
Sons ≠ Sons and Daughters
This is important because in that culture sons were the ones who received the inheritance
The son got everything
the name,
the property,
and all of the authority
So when Paul says sons he’s not excluding anyone
in fact, he’s doing the opposite
He’s saying:
In Christ, everyone gets full inheritance status
Paul isn’t saying that
jews aren’t jewish anymore
gentiles aren’t gentiles anymore
slaves aren’t slaves anymore
free people aren’t free anymore
or that gender doesn’t matter
Paul is saying no matter your ethnicity, occupation, or gender and how people on earth might treat you because of that
in the eyes of God you are all Sons who get the full inheritance of that status
Sons ≠ Sons and Daughters
Sons = Full Inheritance status
Again, not becasue you earned it…
but because you have put your faith in Christ and now belong to him
But how did this take place?
yes, we put our faith in Jesus but what did this process of becoming Sons of look like?
Well Paul tells us…
Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.
Paul gives this picture:
You have an heir someone who technically owns everything
but if he’s still a child
which means his life doesn’t look any different than a slave
He doesn’t have freedom yet
He doesn’t have authority yet
He’s still under control
Still being told what to do by his mean nanny
until that day when his father hands it all over to him
Paul is saying that was who we once were
Before Christ
we were under the law
under sin
under slavery
But Paul says something really interesting in verse 3
‘we were in slavery under the elements of the world.’
That phrase ‘elements of the world’ literally means the basic principles
the ABCs
the systems that people use to try to make sense of life and get right with God
And here’s Paul’s point:
The law and every other system in the world actually lead to the same place
The law says:
“Do this and live.”
The world says:
“Be good enough, prove yourself, earn it.”
But neither of them can save you
So whether you were a religious person trying to follow the law
Or just someone trying to be a good person and figure life out
You were still a slave
Even though we were made for more we were living like slaves
But then everything changes in verse 4
When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
This is the gospel in one sentence:
Jesus redeemed you to adopt you
“When the time came to completion…”
At the perfect moment
not early
not late
God stepped in
“God sent his Son…”
Jesus didn’t just appear
He was sent with a mission
“Born of a woman…”
He comes into our world fully human
“Born under the law…”
fully human who is under the same standard we failed to meet
but He actually kept it
Perfectly
Completely
Without sin
Why?
“To redeem those under the law…”
Redeem means to buy back
Jesus paid the price for your sin
The debt you owed…
He covered
But He didn’t just stop at forgiveness…
“So that we might receive adoption as sons.”
This is where it gets crazy
God didn’t just clear your record
he brought you into His family
You’re not just forgiven…
You’re adopted
Given a new name
A new identity
A new future
Not one that can be taken from us when we fail or sin but one that is sealed and secure
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
Because you are sons
Not trying to become sons
Not working your way into sonship
But because you already are
God sends His Spirit into your heart
And what does the Spirit do?
It cries out… “Abba, Father!”
“Abba” = Dad
It’s not formal
It’s not distant
It’s not cold
It’s deeply personal
It’s the kind of word a child uses for their dad
It’s intimate
It’s close
It’s relational
Which means this
God is not just your judge
He’s your Father
And the Spirit inside of you doesn’t just remind you of that
He makes you experience that
Not just something you know in your head but something you feel in your heart
The same kind of access, the same kind of relationship that Jesus has with the Father
you now have
There’s a quote from Timothy Keller that says:
“The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.”
Think about that…
You don’t approach God like a stranger
You don’t approach Him like an employee
You don’t approach Him like someone hoping you don’t mess up
You approach Him like a child going to their Father
At any moment
At any time
With anything
And here’s the other side of this
The Spirit doesn’t just give you intimacy
He gives you security.
Your Sonship is sealed by the Spirit
Your sonship isn’t based on how well you perform
It’s based on what Christ has already done
And the Spirit is the seal of that
Meaning…
You don’t lose your sonship when you sin
You don’t fall out of the family when you struggle
You don’t get demoted back into slavery
Because this isn’t something you earned so it’s not something you can lose.
It’s been secured for you and sealed in you by the Spirit
Paul then summarizes his thoughts in one sentence
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.
You are no longer a slave…but a son
And if a son…then an heir
Remember the picture Paul gave earlier
The law was like a guardian
a strict caretaker watching over a child, pointing out everything they did wrong, holding them in place, until the time came
But now…that time has come
And in Christ you’re not a child under a guardian anymore…
You’ve stepped into adulthood.
The inheritance isn’t just something in the future it’s something you now live in
You don’t live under the constant correction of the law…
You live in the freedom of a son
You don’t live trying to earn your place
You live from a place that’s already been given to you
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
That said… believers in the room tonight
Paul has been clear tonight:
You are a son
You are sealed
You are an heir
You are a son
that’s your identity
You are sealed
that’s your security
You are an heir
that’s your future
That’s who you are in Christ
So the question is…
Are you actually living like it?
Or are you still living like a slave…
Still trying to earn God’s approval…
thinking if you do enough, God will finally accept you?
Are you living like you’re not secure…
Like one bad day
one sin
one failure
is going to make God give up on you?
Are you keeping your distance from God…
Only going to Him when you feel like you’ve earned it
instead of running to Him as your Father?
Are you living like the inheritance is someday…
Instead of realizing you already belong in the family now?
You don’t have to live that way anymore
That’s not who you are
So live like who you are!
For those who are unbelievers…
Right now, you’re still under the law
Still trying to earn
Still carrying the weight
But you don’t have to stay there
Jesus didn’t come just to make you better
He came to make you a son.
And that’s not something you earn it’s something you receive by faith
that can happen tonight!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
At the beginning, we talked about inheritances
Some are big
Some are weird
Some don’t make any sense
But every single one fades.
But in Christ…you’ve been given one that never will
A Father
A family
A future
So don’t live like a slave…when Jesus died to make you a son
