Galatians 4

No Longer a Slave, But a Son

Start in verse 3:27

Text: Galatians 4:1–11

Big Idea

God sent His Son to redeem slaves, adopt them as sons, give them His Spirit, and make them heirs—so why would we ever go back to slavery?

Introduction

Paul has been showing the Galatians that sinners are justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the law.

In Galatians 3, he said:

Galatians 3:24 “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”

Now in Galatians 4, Paul continues that thought with the picture of an heir.

Before Christ, We Were Under Slavery

Galatians 4:1–3

Galatians 4:1 “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave...

Paul gives the picture of an heir

The heir is legally connected to the inheritance, but while he is still a child, he lives under authority, restriction, and supervision.

He is “owner of everything,” but practically, he is “no different from a slave.”

This connects directly to what Paul already said:

Galatians 3:23 “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.”

The law functioned as a guardian, not as a savior.

It could restrain. It could expose sin. It could point forward. But it could not give life.

Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.”

The law exposes our bondage

The problem is not that the law is evil. The law is good.

Romans 7:12 “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

The problem is that sinners cannot be made righteous by the law.

The law reveals sin, but it cannot remove sin.

Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

So before Christ, we were not free sons enjoying the inheritance. We were under bondage.

That’s why Galatians 4:2 “but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.”

Enslaved to the elementary principles of the world

Galatians 4:3 “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.”

For some, that could be life under the law treated as the basis of righteousness.

For others, that could be religion, doing the religious acts.

Paul brings both together because whether someone is trusting in religious law-keeping or spirituality, if it is apart from Christ, it is slavery.

Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.””

Application

We may not think we are enslaved to the same things, but the human heart still runs back to systems of slavery.

We try to prove ourselves by morality. We try to prove ourselves by tradition. We try to prove ourselves by religious performance. We try to prove ourselves by comparison.

But anything we trust in to make us acceptable before God apart from Christ becomes a chain.

Key Line

The law can show you your chains, but only Christ can set you free.

At the Fullness of Time, God Sent His Son

Galatians 4:4–5

Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,”

This is the great turning point of the passage.

Paul does not say, “When man finally figured it out.” He does not say, “When you finally earn it.” He says:

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent…”

The Greek word for fullness is plērōma, meaning fullness, completion, or the time brought to its appointed measure.

Just as the heir was under guardians “until the date set by his father,” Christ came at the time set by the Father.

God sent His Son

This shows that Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. He was sent by the Father.

John says:

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

And again:

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Born of woman

Galatians 4:4 born of woman,

This shows His true humanity.

Jesus entered our weakness, our suffering, our condition, yet without sin.

Hebrews 2:14 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,”

He had to become truly man in order to redeem man.

Born under the law

Galatians 4:4 “born under the law…” Jesus came under the very law that condemned us.

But unlike us, He fulfilled it perfectly.

Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Where we failed, Christ obeyed.

Where we were guilty, Christ was righteous.

Where we stood condemned, Christ stood in our place.

To redeem those under the law

Galatians 4:5 “to redeem those who were under the law....”

Redemption means being bought out of bondage.

Paul already said:

Galatians 3:13 “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”—”

Christ did not redeem us by ignoring the law. He redeemed us by bearing its curse for us.

So that we might receive adoption as sons

Galatians 4:5“so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Jesus did not only come to forgive criminals. He came to adopt slaves as sons.

This is more than pardon. This is family.

John says:

John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”

And Paul says:

Ephesians 1:4–5 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

Adoption Question

Do you get to decide to be adopted?

In adoption, the child does not initiate the adoption. The child does not draw up the papers, pay the cost, choose the legal standing, and secure the inheritance.

The adopting father is the one who acts.

That is not meant to remove the biblical call to believe. Scripture clearly calls us to repent and believe.

But Galatians 4 emphasizes that adoption is God’s gracious act.

God sent the Son. God redeemed. God adopted. God sent the Spirit.

Key Line

Adoption is not the reward for spiritual performance; it is the gift of the Father through the Son.

Because We Are Sons, God Sent His Spirit

Galatians 4:6–7

Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”

Notice the order.

Paul does not say:

Because you cried “Abba,” God made you sons.

He says:

“Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit…”

The Spirit’s cry is evidence of sonship.

The Spirit confirms our adoption

Romans 8 gives the parallel passage:

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””

And then:

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”

The Spirit does not lead us back into fear-driven slavery.

He teaches us to cry out to God as Father.

The Spirit of His Son is sent into our hearts

This means Christianity is not merely external rule-keeping.

God does not only change our legal status. He sends His Spirit into our hearts.

This fulfills the promise of the new covenant.

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

The son does not obey to become adopted. The son obeys because the Spirit has changed his heart.

“Abba! Father!”

This is the language of access, intimacy, and belonging.

Not casual disrespect. Not flippant familiarity. But the real cry of a child who belongs to the Father.

No longer a slave, but a son and heir

Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

This is identity language.

Not slave. Son.

You are not just a freed slave but you are in: Heir.

Not through yourself. Through Christ.

Paul says something similar in Romans:

Romans 8:17 “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

We are already sons. We are already heirs. But we have not yet received the fullness of the inheritance.

Peter says: 1 Peter 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”

Prodigal Son Connection

The prodigal wanted the inheritance early.

Luke 15:12 “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.”

He wanted the father’s stuff while distancing himself from the father.

That is the human heart.

We often want God’s gifts without God’s rule. We want blessing without surrender. We want inheritance without fellowship.

But the gospel gives us something better than the prodigal demanded.

The gospel brings us home to the Father.

So Why Go Back?

Galatians 4:8–11

Galatians 4:8 “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.”

Before Christ, they were enslaved.

But now something has changed.

Galatians 4:9 “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

That phrase is powerful.

Paul puts emphasis here.

The foundation of salvation is not merely that we know God. The deeper wonder is that God knows us.

Jesus uses similar language:

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,”

And again:

John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Being known by God is our security

Jesus gives a terrifying warning in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:21-23

The worst thing is not failing to have religious activity. In Matthew 7, they had religious activity.

The worst thing is not being known by Christ.

So Galatians 4:9 is deeply comforting:

“or rather to be known by God…”

Why return to slavery?

Galatians 4:9b how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

Paul is astonished.

Why would someone redeemed from slavery return to slavery?

Why would someone adopted as a son live like again like a slave?

Why would someone given the Spirit return to external religion?

We would not do that right?

But Israel did the exact same thing.

God delivered them from Egypt.

He broke Pharaoh's power.

He parted the Red Sea.

He destroyed their enemies.

He fed them with manna.

He guided them by cloud and fire.

Yet listen to what they said:

Exodus 16:3 “and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”” What kind of Worldview is that. It’s a separation worldview...why BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH.

Later they said: Numbers 14:4 “And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.””

Think about that.

They wanted to go back to slavery.

Not because slavery was good.

Not because Pharaoh was kind.

Not because Egypt loved them.

They wanted to go back because slavery was familiar.

Israel had been delivered physically, but they still thought like slaves.

The greatest obstacle to freedom is often not the chains on your hands, but the slavery that remains in your mind. Jesus set you free. The chains are broken. That is why we must renew our mind.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Days, months, seasons, and years

Galatians 4:10 “You observe days and months and seasons and years!”

Paul is not condemning every special day, tradition, or calendar observance.

The issue is trusting in these things as necessary for righteousness, identity, or acceptance before God.

D. Modern application

We may not be tempted to observe Jewish calendars as the basis of righteousness, but we are tempted to return to slavery in other ways.

We return to slavery when we trust our religious performance more than Christ.

We return to slavery when we measure our worth by how well we are doing.

We return to slavery when we think God loves us more on good days and less on bad days.

We return to slavery when we care more about external markers than inward sonship.

We return to slavery when we try to prove ourselves before God by anything other than Christ.

E. Paul’s pastoral fear

Galatians 4:11 “I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” .

Paul sees people who were brought to freedom beginning to rebuild the chains Christ broke.

Key Line

Christ did not redeem slaves so they could keep living with a slave’s heart.

Conclusion

Paul’s message is clear:

You were a slave. God sent His Son. Christ redeemed you. God adopted you. The Spirit cries within you. You are now a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

So why go back?

Why go back to proving yourself? Why go back to fear? Why go back to external religion? Why go back to worldly identity? Give the separation worldview : Scarcity, Certainty, Perfection, and self- interest. Why go back to slavery?

If you are in Christ, you are not a slave trying to earn a place in the house.

You are connected.

You are a son because the Father brought you in through the Son and gave you the Spirit.

Final Exhortation

Do not trade sonship for slavery.

Do not trade Christ for performance.

Do not trade the Father’s house for the elementary principles of the world.

Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Communion We get to partake of Communion to remember what it took to make you a son.