Galatians: True Heirs (Part 2)

Text: Galatians 3:19-4:7

Theme: Believers are granted redemption and are adopted into God’s family.

Date: 07/12/2020 File Name: Galatians_04.wpd ID Number:

In 1880 Lew Wallace published his novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. He framed the story through the eyes of a young Jewish noble, Judah Ben-Hur. The novel features friendship, betrayal, revenge, love lost, love regained, redemption, and, of course, a chariot race. Interestingly enough, Wallace’s inspiration for the novel came after a chance meeting and conversation with Robert G. Ingersoll—the most famous atheist of his generation. The conversation made Wallace realize he didn’t know as much about his Christian faith as he would like to. So he began to read the bible and study. The result was the story of Ben Hur.

The story recounts the adventures of Judah Ben-Hur, (Judah, son of Hur) a Jewish prince from Jerusalem, who is enslaved by the Romans at the beginning of the first century and becomes a charioteer and a Christian. (Unfortunately, the Charlton Heston movie version says little about his conversion to Christianity, only hinting at it). In the novel, Judah’s life runs parallel with the unfolding story of Jesus. Through a series of providential circumstances, the enslaved Judah saves the life of the Roman general Quintus Arrius who is hailed a hero for his sea victory over Greek pirates. They return to Naples where, five years later, Arrius adopts Judah as his son, making him a freedman and a Roman citizen. In that adoption Judah receives his new father’s name, has his honor restored, and becomes Quintus’ heir. Once a slave he is now set to receive his adoptive father's entire estate. This is a perfect example of what Apostle Paul was sharing would happen to all those who come to Christ Jesus. “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:6–7, NIV84)

I. AS CHRISTIANS WE HAVE A NEW IDENTITY

1. we’ve been looking at one of the most important chapters of the entire New Testament

a. it is also one of the most difficult to follow

2. Paul essentially tells the congregations of Galatia, “Look, the Judaizers keep pointing you to Moses and the Law. They’re telling you that before you can be good Christians, you first have to be good Jews”

a. that means having to be circumcised, observing Jewish religious holidays, and eating Kosher

b. the problem is that no one can perfectly keep the Law

c. neither can any of us become righteous before God through our own moral goodness or observance of religious rituals

1) which is why we need the Gospel of Grace

ILLUS. Suppose for a moment that you are a resident of Illinois, but you want to move to Missouri, and become a legal resident of this state. You enquire of the Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft who says, “We will be glad to have you. Here’s the deal. You have to perfectly obey all the laws of our state for the rest of your life. If you don’t, we will ship you back to the Land of Lincoln. Are you prepared to 1st, discover all the laws of our state, and 2nd, obey all the laws of our state—even ones that seem archaic but are still on the books?” You ascent to the conditions.

• If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law, then you cannot drive around with an uncaged bear in your car!

• If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law, you may not get your elephant drunk.

• If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law, women cannot wear a corset, or I suppose a girdle, because that’s denying red-blooded American men the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a woman.” (Ladies, those tummy-tucking pantyhose have got to go).

• If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law, and you move to Excelsior Springs, don’t worry or harass the squirrels.

• If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law, you’d better not ever honk someone else’s car horn.

• OK, so let’s get real ... If your Missouri citizenship depends on perfectly obeying Missouri law your entire life, you’d better not ever, even by accident, go 71 MPH in a 70 MPH speed zone.

c. none of us could ever be Missouri citizens if our citizenship involved perfectly obeying all Missouri laws and statutes

1) similarly, none of us could ever be Kingdom Citizens, if our eternal citizenship depended on perfectly obeying God’s Law

3. Paul point’s out the futility of righteousness by the Law, and instead point’s them to Father Abraham saying, Abraham was made right with God by faith, and that’s how the Galatians are made right with God, and that’s how we’re made right with God

a. what are the implications of that?

A. WHEN WE ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD WE BECOME SONS OF GOD

“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” (Galatians 3:24–26, NIV84)

1. as a Christian you are no longer under a guardian, which Paul says is the Law

a. by faith (believing in God’s redemptive plan in Christ) we are all sons of God

1) whether Jew or Gentile, faith makes us all sons (and daughters) of God, and spiritual kin to each other

2. this declaration by Paul is absolutely startling in two ways

a. 1st, in Jewish literature the phrase sons of God was used of only the most pious, most righteous of Jews

ILLUS. Think Christianity and those Christian men and women of history whom have been canonized as Saints by various churches.

1) Gentiles were considered rejected by God—they were outsiders and sinners

a) for Paul to call Gentiles sons of God was blasphemous to pious Jews

2) Paul is clear ... even Gentiles who come to God by faith in Christ, are the sons of God

b. 2nd, women are included in God’s adoptive family

ILLUS. In Galatians 3:26 many modern-day translations change the word sons to the more gender sensitive word children because Paul is not discriminating here about saving faith. But to use the more gender sensitive word, in this case, loses the radical nature of the Gospel.

When the Apostle is writing in the early 1st century, virtually all adoptions involved an older man who had an estate, but no son to inherit it. So he would adopt someone to inherit it. That person would become his legal son and inherit the estate. It was never done for a woman. Women were never adopted to be the heir of an estate; only men were adopted into sonship.

1) but now look at what the apostle says in vs. 26, “You are ALL sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ”

2) then he tells us that when it comes to our sonship in God, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NIV84)

3) Paul is telling us, but especially women, “You have an equal share in the inherited glory through Jesus Christ, you have equal access to the love and commitment of our Heavenly Father”

a) this was radical ... in some parts of the world it still is

ILLUS. By trying to be sensitive, some modern English translators actually ruin the radical nature of what Paul is saying. Women, in the Roman world and in Jewish culture could never have the same rights as sons; could never inherit if there was a son, but you have an equal share of glory through Jesus Christ, you have equal access to the Father and the Father’s inheritance.

B. WHEN WE ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD WE BECOME UNCONDITIONAL ACCESS TO THE FATHER’S LOVE

“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”” (Galatians 4:6, NIV84)

ILLUS. Martin Luther said that if he could understand the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer—Our Father—as Jesus understood them, the rest of his life would fall into place.

1. think about it ... how do we wrap our heads around the thought that the Creator of the universe, the One who has flung the stars into place and knows each of them by name, the One who exalts nations and debases nations, the One Who speaks and it suddenly exists, how do we wrap our heads around the thought that that God is our Father, that we are his children, and that we are unconditionally loved, with unconditional access to His presence

ILLUS. As a freshman in college and a brand new Christian, I learned an important lesson about God's Fatherhood one day in the university library. I was working on the second floor where many of the school's professors had private study cubicles. One evening, as I was shelving books, I noticed a young man come across the room and knock on the door of one of those cubicles. In a flash, the door flung open and this red-faced, angry, fire-breathing professor, who obviously did not want to be disturbed, came charging out of that little room. Right there in front of a room full of students and colleagues that professor ripped into the unfortunate student who had dared to disturb his study. “How dare you disturb me in my study cubicle? I’ve told my classes repeatedly that when I’m in here I am not to be disturbed under any circumstances!” I mean he just chewed this guy up and spit him out in little pieces.

With his raged vented, the professor slammed the door and this poor kid just slinked away, I'm sure to contemplate either Hari-Kari or murder. Not twenty minutes later, two young girls came bounding up the steps, noisily crossed the room and banged on the that same cubicle door. Everybody in the room stopped what they were doing to watch Act 2. Instead of flying into a rage, this same professor came out smiling and graciously received these two boisterous young girls. They talked for a few minutes, the girls each hugged him and off they went.

What was the difference? Yeah ... they were his daughters. His children had the right and the audacity to seek fellowship with their father any time they wanted, and so they boldly knocked and sought entry.

C. WHEN WE ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD WE GAIN AN INHERITANCE

ILLUS. In the story Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, Judah inherits the name, the authority, and the estate of Quintus Arrius. It’s all his when Quintus dies.

1. the whole world is waiting for believers to receive their inheritance

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:18–19, NIV84)

a. sometime in the future, if you’re a child of God, you will become glorified

b. that means you’ll be so endowed with, so infused with, such unimaginable degrees of glory, perfection, bliss, wisdom, beauty and blessedness that your mind cannot now comprehend what you will be

ILLUS. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “It is a serious thing to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship it.”

c. he’s talking about the inheritance of our resurrection bodies that will be ours at the end of history when Christ comes in power and majesty

2. As Christians We Have a New Identity That Makes Us Sons of God, Gives Us Unconditional Access to the Father, and Guarantees a Inheritance We Can’t Imagine

II. APPLICATION

1. you are not a natural born son of God, but by faith you can become one

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26–28, NIV84)

2. vs. 26 is the high water mark of the epistle ... You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus

3. when we become the children of God we acquire three blessings: a father ... a family ... and a future

A. COMING TO CHRIST GIVES YOU A NEW FATHER

1. upon our new birth, we become sons of God

a. when we are adopted into God’s family, it is then and then alone that God becomes our Father

b. Paul is telling us that the Most High God, the Creator of the universe, the self-revealing Lord of all loves us like a Father loves his child

ILLUS. In the parable of The Lost Son in Luke, chapter 15, we see a wonderful illustration of what God’s love for us is like. The prodigal has returned home; he is ragged, and repugnant. When he is still a long way off his father sees him. His heart is filled with compassion and he runs to meet his son. He throws his arms around the boy, hugging him and kissing him. The father calls for his own finest robe to be wrapped about his son’s shoulders. He puts a ring on his son’s finger, and calls for a celebration to be planned. His son, who was lost, has been found.

c. when Jesus told this parable he astounded his listeners with this radical view of God as a loving, adoring, forgiving father

2. in Galatians 4:5 Paul writes that when we become the children of God, the Father adopts us into His eternal family, and we now have the full rights of sons

a. what does that mean?

1) an adopted son was no longer liable for old debts he had occurred

a) when we were lost in our sin, our debt was the burden of sin and guilt which we could never have paid off

b) as heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ our sin-debt has been paid in full

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14, NIV84)

2) an adopted son was considered dead to his previous family

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14, NIV84)

ILLUS. When Bonhoeffer read that, he said that Jesus was saying, “When I call you, I bid you to come and die.” To take up a cross means to die. To follow Jesus is to experience a kind of death. And the way he says it in Luke 9 is it is a daily taking up of the cross. So, there is a daily dying going on.

a) conversely, though dead to our old father and old family, we are alive with our new Father, and His new family

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4, NIV84)

3) an adopted son is considered an heir of his adoptive father, and a joint-heir with any natural-born sons

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17, NIV84)

B. COMING TO CHRIST GIVES YOU A NEW FAMILY

1.the entire Bible is the story of God building a family ... it is an eternal family

a. Hebrews 2:10 tells us "God is the one who made all things, and all things are for His glory. He wanted to have many children share His glory"

b. in Ephesians Paul writes, “he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” (Ephesians 1:5, NIV84)

c. the Bible says that God planned everything in the entire universe so we could be born, so we could share in His glory, so we could be part of His family

2. your physical family will disappear when this world ends

a. but your spiritual family is going to go on forever and ever and ever

1) you're going to spend a whole lot more time with your spiritual family than you do with your physical family

2) God wants you to learn to love them

3. why does He want us to learn to love our spiritual family? – three reasons . . .

a. 1st it makes us more like God, because God is love

b. 2nd he wants His children to learn to get along together

ILLUS. Those of you who are parents want your kids to get along with each other, don’t you? You like harmony and peace within the family. So does God. How many times as a parent did you tell your children, “Now, play nice!” I think God smiles when His children play nice.

1) the Bible is full of commands to us that essentially say, “Now, play nice!”

c. 3rd learning to love and get along with your spiritual family is practice for eternity

ILLUS. Ya know. I really think that God has a sense of humor. One of the ways He’s going to express that humor is by making that fellow believer you really can’t stand your next door neighbor in heaven!

1) so ya better learn to love that person now

4. our new family is all one in Christ

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NIV84)

a. in Christ, all the characteristics that divide humanity are stripped away

ILLUS. Jews divided the human race into two categories, Jew and Gentiles. Jews were God’s chosen people. Gentiles were pagans outside the covenant. The most radical Jews believed that God created Gentiles merely to fuel the fires of hell. Staunch Greeks similarly viewed non-Greeks as inferior barbarians. In both cultures women were second-class citizens at best.

1) Paul’s point is that all believers stood on equal footing in the Christian community

2) these distinctions were not to be allowed to fracture the church’s fellowship

b. the deepest level of fellowship in the family of God is what we might call kinship

1) kinship is an old term that we don't use it much anymore

2) kinship literally means your closest relationships and refers to your closest family

c. the Bible tells us that we are to be as committed to each other as we are committed to Jesus Christ

C. COMING TO CHRIST GIVES YOU A NEW FUTURE

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:4–7, NIV84)

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Revelation 21:7, KJV)

1. because God has adopted us into His family, we have all the rights and privileges of a son ... meaning we have an inheritance

ILLUS. I’ll never forget the evening that my mom and dad sat my brother and I, and our wives down around the dinner table, and said, “We want to talk to you about your inheritance. We just made out our will.” Now part of me immediately said, “No. I don’t want to hear this. You’re both young, and have many years left. This is really none of our business.” But then there was another part of me that said, “OK. Cool. I want to hear this.” They proceeded to lay things out. Bottom line, since there was just my brother and I everything was a 50/50 split. But it’s how they ended that I appreciated. Mom said, “Nothing personal, but you’re father and I are going to do our best to spend as much of your inheritance as we can, because we plan to travel!

a. I had the promise of an earthly inheritance, but it was by no means a sure thing

1) any number of variables were involved in receiving it, if I received anything at all

2. the inheritance God has readied for His children is certain and inexhaustible

a. what does our inheritance consist of?

1) 1st, our inheritance is the forgiveness of sin and eternal life

“so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7, NIV84)

a) God has bequeathed His children eternal life with Him forever and ever

2) 2nd, our inheritance includes the consummation of our salvation

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8, NIV84)

a) Justification delivers from the guilt of sin

b) Sanctification delivers more and more from the power of sin

c) Glorification delivers ultimately from the presence of sin

3) 3rd, our inheritance is God’s Kingdom

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; ... .” (1 Corinthians 15:50, KJV)

a) at the end of days, God’s Kingdom will come in it’s fulness and it’s all ours

4) 4th, our inheritance is eternal abundance of God’s blessings

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7, NIV84)

a) in the Old Testament, especially in the Prophets, God’s Kingdom is often pictured as a banquet where there’s lots of food and the wine flows freely, and joy and happiness result

b) in a culture where survival was a day-to-day challenge nothing could top the promise of abundance ... abundance of food, drink, and fellowship

c) and so abundance is one of the blessings of our inheritance

5) 5th, our inheritance is a large multi-ethnic family in perfect unity before God’s throne

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9, NIV84)

6) 6th, our inheritance is the eternal presence of the Father and our unfeigned worship of the Godhead for eternity

“The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”” (Revelation 19:4, NIV84)

How do we become the Son of God? By faith we accept the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross, and his glorious resurrection from the dead. God’s promise is that if we do that, we are adopted into His family. Why? Because Jesus got what we deserve. He momentarily lost the sonship he deserved so we could have the sonship we don’t deserve.