God's Promise, Guardian, and Redeemer
Notes
Transcript
This morning I would invite you to turn with me to our main text found in Galatians 4. We are going to start in verse 4 and read to verse 7. Galatians 4:4-7
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
This passage serves as a summation of several verses that lead up to it. To be honest, we could spend a great deal of time unpacking what is presented in the latter half of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4, but God led me to point out three very specific points found within the text.
Today we are going to briefly talk about God’s promise, God’s guardian, and God’s Redeemer. These three things play an important role in the text we just read.
Thus far, we have been talking about justification - how it is given by grace and received through faith. Justification is the process by which we are made righteous in the eyes of God. This righteousness comes when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, the One who died for our sins.
In our passage, Paul is working to explain to the Galatians, to set the record straight regarding the true gospel message.
The Law is NOT the source of our salvation nor is it the source of our righteousness. The law was given to serve a purpose… a purpose we will look at in just a moment, but that purpose has been fulfilled through the work of Christ.
Here’s the reality church, God gave His Son that we might become His children… that we might be adopted to sonship. And with this adoption comes the infilling of His Spirit. And this is something that the law could never deliver.
I believe that God is wanting to break us free from something very specific. I believe God is wanting to break us free from what I would call a capitalistic mindset when it comes to the gospel message of Jesus.
When it comes to the economy, we know capitalism and it’s benefits very well. In short, we work to earn. Opportunity is there to be discovered by those who would choose to discover it. In most cases, the harder and more effectively a person works, the higher the earnings that person will (or will potentially) receive.
The problem arises when we try to apply this same kind of thinking to our spiritual walk with Christ. Romans 6:23 lays it out for us today.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This verse talks about what has been earned… and what has been gifted.
The wage we have earned is death for our sins. That is what our actions or work has earned us. But the gift extended by grace to those who would believe is eternal life through Christ. He was the only One who could do the work necessary to break us free from what we had earned.
Paul works to explain how the law was never meant to save us. Paul starts by talking about a promise… a promise made to Abraham… a promise that has led to our ability to be set free from sin.
God’s Promise.
God’s Promise.
It all began with a promise. And we know today that when God makes a promise… He will keep that promise. Paul brings up this promise when addressing the Galatians… he speaks of a promise given to Abraham… a promise that can be found in Genesis 12:7. And Paul explains this promise in Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
God was speaking of the inheritance to come by way of His promise - an inheritance that is received through sonship. Paul is pointing out that this inheritance, this promise, would be fulfilled through One person - Jesus Christ.
God’s promises are yes and amen. This is something we know to be true through our personal experiences and through the testimony of others… but it is something we also know because of Scripture.
Time and time again we read of the promises that God made and then see the fulfillment of those promises.
We also see passages like 2 Corinthians 1:20 that make this truth very clear.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Now notice something very important in that text… God’s promises are yes in who? in Jesus our Lord and Savior! The promised inheritance spoken of by God would come through Jesus - the seed of Abraham - through the One who would make our justification - our being made righteous in the eyes of God - a reality!
So if God had made this promise to Abraham, what purpose would the law serve that was given 430 years later? Was the law given to supersede the promise of a coming Savior? Would it set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with this promise?
No, this wasn’t the case at all. Galatians 3:18 explains
For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
So what purpose did the law serve?
God’s Guardian.
God’s Guardian.
Paul gives the answer to the question in Galatians 3:19
Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.
The law was given… to steer God’s people away from sin. The law was unable to impart life on those who followed it but it kept those who followed it away from the effects of sin. Righteousness could not come by way of the law, for if it could, the law would have wiped out the promise made by God we looked at a moment ago… the promise of a soon coming Savior.
The law set the standard of life until God’s promise was fulfilled. Paul said it this way in Galatians 3:22
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
The law served a great purpose… it served as a guardian. No… i did not come up with that word on my own. Paul used that word in verse 24. Galatians 3:24
So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Once Christ came on the scene, the law had served it’s purpose AND the promise of God was fulfilled. Jesus did for us what we could not do on our own under the law. Jesus provided the way for our forgiveness. He provided the way for our justification.
When we give our life to Jesus, His righteousness becomes our righteousness. He took on our sin and nailed it to the cross FOR GOOD. If you are in Christ, you have been forgiven and set free. If you are in Christ, you have been adopted into the kingdom and made His sons and daughters. And since you are now a part of His family, you are now an heir - you are now eligible to receive the promised inheritance!
And this is all possible because God sent to us a Redeemer!
God’s Redeemer
God’s Redeemer
God made a promise… a promise of inheritance… a promise that would be made possible through Abraham’s seed. God gave His people a guardian… in the form of the law. A guardian that would “guard” His people from sin and its effects… a law meant to watch over the people until the promise was completed. God sent the redeemer… His Son… as the fulfillment of His promise! Jesus WAS THE ANSWER… the needed redeemer for our justification!
Those who place their faith in Him are no longer slaves and have been adopted into the family of God. Galatians 3:26-29 lays it out.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
God made a promise and HE KEPT THAT PROMISE! Our redeemer has come! And because of what Christ did on the cross, those who place their faith in Him will be set free from the wages of sin and will receive the GIFT OF GOD which is eternal life!
The key is to recognize the law for what it was. Works was NEVER the pathway to righteousness or justification. The law helped to guard God]s people away from sin. The law did not supersede or replace the promise that God had given to Abraham… nor was it given in opposition to the promise made to Abraham. It served it’s purpose and has been completely fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
God sent His Son to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. The redeemed are no longer slaves but are children of God, filled with His Spirit, and heirs of the promised inheritance!
This morning I want to do two things as we close out the message.
One… I want to invite everyone listening to become a part of the family of God.
This is accomplished by placing your faith in Jesus… by choosing to follow Him. This is accomplished by recognizing our sin and repenting of our sin - turning away from our sin. Jesus wants to set you free, not so you can walk right back to sin, but so you can be free from its effects destructiveness!
If you would like to give your heart to Him, I would encourage you to pray with me right now.
PRAYER - Salvation
Two… I want to invite all believers to celebrate what Christ has done through receiving Communion together.
Communion is something we do in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the law, so that those who would believe, would be set free. But a price had to be paid… blood had to be split…
Jesus gave His life that we might be made… righteous in the eyes of God. His blood, not the law, is what paved the way for God’s promise to become reality. His blood was enough. His grace is sufficient. This morning, as we receive the elements together in a moment, let’s celebrate and remember all that Christ has done for us.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.