Adoption as Sons

I. Welcome & Opening Prayer

Turn to Gal. 4…

Pitch baptism

!! Open in Prayer !!

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II. Introduction: The Power of Choice

In AMERICAN LIFE… WE HAVE CHOICES WHEREVER WE GO… SO WE CAN QUICKLY TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED…

Ill.: IMAGINE, GOING to WALMART for a SNACK

HEALTHY—FRUITS/NUTS/YOGURT

UNHEALTHY—CHIPS/ICE CREAM

CHIPS—WHAT FLAVOR?

WHAT BRAND??

Me: BETTERGOODS GARLIC & SHISHITTO PEPPER CHIPS

Point: W/ MANY CHOICES—WHAT YOU CHOOSE = SPECIAL to YOU — YOU HAD OTHER OPTIONS!

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WITHOUT OPTIONS—CHOICE DOESN’T FEEL as SPECIAL

😅**IMAGINE ADAM & EVE** — ADAM SAYING, “YOU’RE the MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN in the WORLD”😅

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WHEN YOU HAVE OPTIONS—WHAT YOU CHOOSE = SIGNIFICANT.

Focus: CHOICE IMPLIES a SPECIAL FONDNESS or LOVE…

WE’LL SEE THIS in TODAY’S TEXT from the DIVINE PERSPECTIVE

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Transition ➡ I’D INVITE YOU to LOOK W/ ME @ PASSAGE...

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III. Passage Reading:

Galatians 4:1–7 ESV

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

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Transition ➡ Church this is God’s Word for us this morning…

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IV. Context Recap: History Coming of Age

Recent Weeks: GOD’S PROMISE— JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH— = BETTER THAN the LAW

LAW MERELY BRINGS AWARENESS of SIN—NO POWER to DELIVER

Last Week: LAW’S FUNCTION = TEMPORARY— LIKE a BABYSITTER

NOW… REDEMPTIVE HISTORY HAS “COME of AGE” —

— NOW WE ARE CHILDREN of GOD THROUGH FAITH! (3:27)

**NO HIERARCHY in KINGDOM

JEW/GENTILE

SLAVE/FREE

MALE/FEMALE

ALL RELATE to GOD THROUGH CHRIST = EQUAL FOOTING!

Climax: CHRIST = THE OFFSPRING— BELIEVER is IN CHRIST —THEREFORE BELIEVER = OFFSPRING of ABRAHAM—HEIRS of PROMISE

Passage Idea: In Christ we are sons, we are equals, and we are heirs through faith…  

Focus: TODAY—PAUL TAKES the IDEA of “HEIR” a BIT FURTHER

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Transition ➡ LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 1-2

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V. Passage Exposition

1. Heirs Before the Appointed Time (v1–2)

Galatians 4:1–2 ESV

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

Topic: HEIRS — STILL in FOCUS

HEIR = GREAT PRIVILEGE—ON CERTAIN TIMETABLE

Problem: CHILD = CARED for BY GUARDIANS/MANAGERS/BABYSITTERS—THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE a HUGE ESTATE!

Ref. Keener, SLAVES = PART of HEIR’S PROPERTY—contrast: ALL PROPERTY BELONGED to HEIR

**BUT B4 APPOINTED TIME—FUNCTIONALLY THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE**

Conclusion: MANIFESTATION of DIFFERENCE AWAITED APPOINTED TIME.

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Argument in Focus:

💡PAUL’S ARGUMENT— REDEMPTIVE HISTORY HADN’T “COME of AGE”💡

—BIBLICAL HISTORY WORKS in “PROMISE” & “FULFILLMENT” BUT THERE WAS a WAITING PERIOD, UNTIL FATHER APPOINTED!

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Transition ➡ this APPLIES to HISTORY & INDIVIDUALS B4 CHRIST

LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 3

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2. Children, Enslaved (v3)

Galatians 4:3 ESV

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

FOLLOWING “HEIR VS. SLAVE” … PAUL CONCLUDES — ALL ENSLAVED B4 COMING of CHRIST!!

Question: 🤔WHAT WERE WE ALL ENSLAVED TO?🤔

TRANSLATIONS DIFFER

Most Base Reading: “ELEMENTS of the WORLD”

EARTH, WIND, FIRE, WATER?!

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Two Options for Stoichea:

ELEMENTAL PRINCIPLES — ABC’S of the WORLD//HOW IT WORKS

ESV CHOOSES THIS TRANSLATION

ELEMENTAL SPIRITS:

ESV TRANSLATES SAME WORD THIS WAY in COLOSSIANS…

Explanation, Quote, Moo: The material components of the universe were often associated with spiritual beings or the gods

Conclusion, Quote, Keener: In their previous, pagan state, the Galatians had reverenced the elements of the universe as deities

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Difficulty:🤔 PAUL CONCLUDES— ALL ENSLAVED… EVEN JEWS?🤔

**REMINDED,, EVEN PETER THOUGHT SOME THINGS PAUL WROTE WERE TRICKY**

Conclusion: MEANING—ALL PRE-CHRISTIAN RELIGION ENSLAVES

BONDAGE to SIN (PAGANISM)

BONDAGE to LAW (JUDAISM)

**NOTHING COULD DELIVER from SIN**

Recap Ill.: REMEMBER, EVEN GOD’S LAW WAS LIKE a LIGHT in the DUNGEON—IT WOULDN’T BUST YOU OUT.

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Transition ➡ GOOD NEWS—THIS,, NOT the END of the STORY

LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 4-5

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3. God Sent His Son (v4–5)

Galatians 4:4–5 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

**NOTICE THAT WE’RE TRACKING REDEMPTIVE HISTORY—GOD’S PLAN & ACTIONS in TIME…

HISTORY ISN’T CYLCICAL—BUT LINEAR—MOVING ALONG GOD’S FOREORDAINED TRAJECTORY!

Outset: NOTE,, GOD = HERO — HE is the RESCUER!

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SITUATION HOPELESS—ENSLAVED to SIN/LAW.… & THEN… GOD ACTS!!

“FULLNESS of TIME” or… (V2) TIME APPOINTED BY FATHER— THE FATHER SENT HIS SON.

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“SENT FORTH” WORD STUDY:

GREEK WORD MEANS: “to send someone off to a locality or on a mission”[1]

“DISPATCH”

SENSE of DEPARTING— ON MISSION

Exhort: CHRIST LEFT GLORY of HEAVEN BEHIND to COME DOWN HERE on a RESCUE MISSION for HUMAN RACE!!

&& HE DID SO @ HIS PERFECTLY APPOINTED TIME

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Fullness of Time:

Recap: PALM SUNDAY — TALKING ABOUT NATIONS

O.T.… from ASSYRIA -> BABYLON -> PERSIA

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**BETWEEN TESTAMENTS:

⚔️PERSIANS = CONQUERED BY GREEKS (ALEXANDER)

⚔️EMPIRE DIVIDES

⚔️RULED BY PTOLEMIES

⚔️RULED BY SELEUCIDS

ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES — SACRIFICES PIG to ZEUS…

=> MACCABEAN REVOLT

BY MIRACLE— JUDAS MACCABEUS DEFEATS SELEUCIDS…

HASMONEAN DYNASTY ESTABLISHED

63 BC—ROME CONQUERS.

THIS = SETTING for N.T.!

**TWO MAJOR, MAJOR THINGS**

GREEK CONQUEST TOOK GREEK LANGUAGE/CULTURE/ETC. “HELLENIZATION”

ROMAN RULE, TIME of PEACE— PAX ROMANA

INCREDIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE—BUILDING ROADS, BRIDGES, ETC.

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JESUS CHRIST—INCARNATE—COMES DOWN W/ GOSPEL MESSAGE

**WHAT BETTER TIME to SPREAD IT?!**

MOST EVERYONE SPOKE GREEK ((LANGUAGE of N.T.))

YOU COULD GET AROUND VERY EASILY

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Exhortation: SOVEREIGNTY of GOD

GOD—INFINITE WISDOM & KNOWLEDGE—SENT HIS SON WHEN HISTORY WAS RIPE.

BIBLE READING GROUP—READING THROUGH ISAIAH— GOD ORCHESTRATING NATIONS

PAGAN KINGS—CALLED HIS SERVANTS

COMING of CHRIST—AT THE EXACT GOD-APPOINTED TIME —

— GOD ISN’T RECKLESS/HAPHAZARD

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(v4) GOD SENT HIS SON:

BORN of WOMAN (TOOK on HUMANITY)

BORN UNDER the LAW

CHRIST CAME as WE DO—SUBJECTING HIMSELF to HIS OWN LAW!

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HE CAME DOWN for a 2-FOLD PURPOSE.

SO THAT—HE MIGHT REDEEM THOSE UNDER the LAW

✨Redemption = FREEDOM from SLAVERY✨

HE—AS HUMAN—OBEYED PERFECTLY — DIED in OUR STEAD

Galatians 3:13 ESV

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

2. HE CAME SO THAT — WE MIGHT RECEIVE ADOPTION as SONS…

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Exhortation on Adoption:

HE CAME DOWN to RESCUE US—BRING US INTO the FAMILY

Recap Introduction: CHOICE IMPLIES SPECIAL FAVOR/LOVE

**CONSIDER HOW THIS APPLIES to ADOPTION**

Illustration: HAVE a BABY—YOU KEEP THEM

WRONG GENDER/UGLY/ETC....YOU CAN’T PUT THEM BACK.

Contrast: ADOPTION—YOU LOOK @ a CHILD YOU WEREN’T OBLIGATED TO—YOU CHOOSE to TAKE THEM.

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Beauty of the Gospel: GOD WASN’T OBLIGATED TO US—YET HE CHOSE US AS HIS OWN—TO ADOPT US INTO HIS FAMILY!!

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Transition ➡ WE’VE SEEN—GOD SENT HIS SON

THERE’S ANOTHER SENDING WE’LL SEE in V6

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4. God Sent His Spirit (v6)

Galatians 4:6 ESV

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

GOD SENT HIS SON

GOD SENT HIS SPIRIT

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SPIRIT = DOWNPAYMENT of FUTURE INHERITANCE// SEAL of OUR HOPE

✨HOLY SPIRIT GIVES SEAL to SONSHIP—VALIDATING IT.

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HOLY SPIRIT VALIDATES—EVEN IN OUR HEARTS—WE ARE CHILDREN of GOD.

CRYING OUT: ABBA

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ABBA: WORD STUDY

ARAMAIC WORD (WHAT JEWS SPOKE AFTER HEBREW)

ORIGINALLY TERM of ENDEARMENT “MY FATHER/PAPA”

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Scandalous Reality: 🤯THE SAME SOVEREIGN GOD ORCHESTRATING HISTORY is NOW CALLED “FATHER”🤯

Background: JEWS DIDN’T CALL GOD FATHER AT THAT TIME

John 5:18 ESV

18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

GREAT SCANDAL—THAT JESUS INVITES US INTO:

JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES to PRAY: MATT. 6:9

Matthew 6:9 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

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Exhortation: **WE TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED**

🤯WE CAN ADDRESS the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE—FATHER🤯

THE LORD of HOSTS—THE ALMIGHTY

SERAPHIM CRY: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY”

=> WE CALL HIM “FATHER”

ABSOLUTELY WILD.

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Illustration: WE’RE TOLD “IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD to BE TRUE— IT IS!

BUT NOT WITH the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL

IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE… BUT IT IS TRUE!

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Transition ➡ PAUL HAS a POWERFUL CONCLUSION on THIS...

LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 7

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5. Not Slaves, But Sons (v7)

Galatians 4:7 ESV

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

WRAPPING THINGS UP: the BELIEVER MOVES from A SLAVE… TO a SON.

CHRIST REDEEMED US

THE SPIRIT SEALS US

WE ARE HIS OWN.

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SONS = HEIRS

**NOW THAT REDEMPTIVE HISTORY HAS “COME OF AGE” — WE ENJOY THESE BENEFITS**

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Powerful Conclusion: THIS = TRUE FOR ALL OF US—ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL.

Background: WESTERN WORLDVIEW—HIGHLY INDIVIDUALISTIC

WE HEAR “YOU” in the SCRIPTURE— & THINK “ME”

EASTERN WORLDVIEW—CORPORATE/COLLECTIVE — “YOU ALL”

GREEK LANGUAGE: “YOU” & “YOU ALL” = COMPLETELY DISTINCT.

**ENGLISH “YOU” CAN BE BOTH 1ST & 2ND PERSON**

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MUCH of N.T. LETTERS WRITTEN “YOU ALL” — BUT ENGLISH JUST SAYS “YOU”

**WE FILL IN, “ME” … NOT the WHOLE CHURCH**

(V7) BUT HERE—PAUL SAYS YOU (SINGULAR)… YOU YES YOU— CHILD of GOD.

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Context of Galatians:

THIS = TRUE—NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE.

JUDAIZERS REQUIRED CIRCUMCISION—

PAUL SAYS: JEW, GREEK, SLAVE, FREE, MALE, FEMALE—WE ALL RELATE to GOD THROUGH CHRIST…

… WE’RE ALL HEIRS—THROUGH CHRIST

WE’RE CHILDREN of GOD—THROUGH CHRIST.

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Transition ➡ THE ANSWER is FOUND in JESUS CHRIST.

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Gospel Invitation

THIS ISN’T SOMETHING WE COULD EVER EARN or DESERVE

WE AREN’T ADOPTED INTO GOD’S FAMILY BECAUSE WE’RE AMAZING—

— BUT BECAUSE HE IS.

BECAUSE HE SENT HIS SON on a RESCUE MISSION FOR US…

ONLY REASON THAT WE—BEING SLAVES— COULD BE CALLED SONS of GOD…

… IS BECAUSE the SON of GOD WAS WILLING to BECOME a SLAVE…

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

HE DID THIS OUT of LOVE FOR US—BECAUSE HE HAD CHOSEN to SAVE US.

1 John 4:9–10 ESV

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

IT’S NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD—BUT HE LOVED US.

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REMEMBER: HE’S the HERO of the STORY

** WE WERE SLAVES**

BUT GOD...ORCHESTRATING HISTORY:

SENT HIS SON

SENT HIS SPIRIT

ADOPTS US INTO HIS FAMILY

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IT MERELY REQUIRES THAT WE RESPOND to CHRIST in FAITH—

SEEING THAT in CHRIST is OUR RESCUE

TURNING from a LIFE of SIN to the SAVIOR

PUTTING OUR TRUST in HIM

CONFESSING HE IS LORD

WE CAN BE RESCUED—MADE a PART of GOD’S FAMILY BY GRACE.

Invitation: IF YOU’RE HERE W/ QUESTIONS—TALK to ME AFTER SERVICE

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Transition ➡ Now, for the believer…

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VI. Application

The Big Idea: The believer in Jesus Christ is no longer a slave but a son.

OUTSIDE of CHRIST—WE’RE SLAVES

TO SIN

TO LAW

**WE’RE NEVER ABLE to MAKE IT ON OUR OWN**

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BUT in CHRIST WE CAN BE RESCUED— & WE ARE MADE HEIRS,, CHILDREN of GOD.

§ 😱 The fact that YOU & I… THOUGH SINFUL,,,, CAN CALL GOD FATHER…

SHOULD MAKE OUR JAWS DROP EVERY TIME.… , 😱

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IN CHRIST THE FATHER is YOUR FATHER

HE is a GOOD FATHER…

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

SOME PEOPLE STRUGGLE—HAD LOUSY EARTHLY DADS

=> BUT REMEMBER—FATHER in HEAVEN is PERFECT

SOME PEOPLE—HAD AWESOME DADS

=> HEAVENLY FATHER = EVEN BETTER.

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REGARDLESS of OUR BACKGROUND:

App:

THIS WEEK—👣PRAYING—REMEMBER YOU CAN (& SHOULD) ADDRESS GOD as FATHER 👣

**BE SURE NOT to TAKE it FOR GRANTED

IF WE ARE HIS CHILDREN—

WE SHOULD LIVE FOREVER GRATEFUL…

THAT WE WERE ADOPTED INTO HIS FAMILY… AMEN?

!! Close in Prayer !!