March 13, 2022 - From Slave to Son
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· If you were with us last week – you heard the apostle Paul continue to set the record straight regarding the Law of God…
· Paul’s point was to elevate the INTENT of the Law – because by doing THAT – it would shine a spotlight on how the Galatian believers who were embracing the False Teaching – were ABUSING the Law – in light of its INTENDED purpose…
· *Kid’s example (using something the wrong way)
· And so Paul – last week – made it clear that the LAW was never intended to BRING LIFE…
· And today – Paul is going to begin Shining a light on the REALITY of who the believing Galatians ARE – In Christ!
· And by doing so – hopefully get them to see the foolishness of turning back to the Law.
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.
Today - Paul starts out by likening the Law over God’s children, to a parent over their son.
*Do we as parents believe that morality will SAVE our kids?
No – but we still - - TEACH our kids how to LIVE their lives – in relation to God and to people.
We still OVERSEE their lives, guiding them through it.
What are things we teach our kids?
Manners
How the world REALLY works
What things are
Laws of logic (mathematics, physics)
But we also teach them about God
What HE thinks
Who HE is
What HE’s done
We teach them ALL of these things – YET we don’t believe them learning these things will SAVE them!
So why teach these things?
Are these things WORTHLESS in their lives if they can’t SAVE them?
No – they are Valuable…
And BECAUSE THEY ARE VALUABLE – we GUIDE our kids through life – AS they grow – and AS we do this – we treat them – in a sense - LIKE SLAVES
We give – ORDERS (lovingly – but yet – ORDERS)
There are EXPECTATIONS / this is how they – GROW – and – MATURE
The response can’t always be – Well – my kids are just wild – that’s who they are –
We’re the adults – we PROVIDE the guidance…we – in a sense – TUTOR them…
Remember – the Law WAS our TUTOR – UNTIL Christ came?
SUCH IS THE LAW!
The Law tutored us – Before Christ came. The Law was God’s GUIDANCE to mankind.
NOW – How long are our kids – LIKE SLAVES – under our care…?
Until they – come of age.
They become ADULTS themselves…AND YET – the point Paul is trying to make is that – JUST LIKE us when we are children – we are LIKE slaves
We all can understand that – and so could the Galatians.
Paul was REMINDING them of how they were SLAVES as children….like we all are…But now no longer…as Adults.
An heir – when he was a child – had an inheritance – but had to WAIT on it.
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.
Paul’s getting VERY PRACTICAL HERE!!
WHY?
SO they understand!!
The heir - AS A CHILD - was a slave to his managers/guardians…under his managers
Paul’s saying – you UNDERSTAND?? Yes?
Ok GOOD!
BUT NOW – know THIS!...
3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
Paul’s saying - OK - you UNDERSTAND the (Child-Heir) side of this...
NOW – it’s no different with God!
When Paul says - here - the elementary principles of the world...
He’s referring to -
For the Jews - the Mosaic Law
For the Gentiles - the basic concepts of their pagan religions
He’s saying - when WE - were children - WE were --- what?
ENSLAVED - to the LAW
We were SLAVES to the law
And our DOING - was based on - DUTY
· What do I mean?
· Well – with the Law being the SLAVE MASTER – The Law ORDERED us around!
· And BEING slaves, we obeyed our – MASTER (the Law)
BUT – v4
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
· Jesus was born – UNDER the Law –
· Remember – He was FULLY man – and so He came as a JEW…
· In order to be born UNDER the LAW…WHY?
SLIDE: Christ was Born Under the Law: To be Judged by the Law
Christ was Born Under the Law
Christ was Born Under the Law
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.
· He came UNDER the Law - SO THAT – the He would be judged by the Law…
· V5 says – To REDEEM those who were UNDER the Law…
· Because of SIN – Redemption can ONLY come – when the Law renders Judgment!
· The Law HAD TO render judgment – if redemption was EVER going to come!
And that’s why Christ was born UNDER the Law –
SO THAT – the law could JUDGE Christ – and render a VERDICT!
· The VERDICT?
· Not Guilty!
And because the verdict was Not Guilty…
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
· This is the PATH to Sonship…
· No longer SLAVES – NOW – sons!
And so…
SLIDE: Christ was Born Under the Law: To Turn Slaves to Sons
Christ Was Born Under The Law
Christ Was Born Under The Law
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.
· From a slave – to a son
What are some of the differences between a Slave and a Son…?
· The differences head in both directions…let’s look at 2 (and let’s keep them HIGH LEVEL)
o The differences are External and Internal
[Internally]….
SLIDE: From Slaves to Sons: New Affections for a New Master
From Slaves to Sons
From Slaves to Sons
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
· We see here – NOW being sons….WE (in the power of the Spirit) cry – ABBA Father!
· Being Sons – we’re now a MEMBER of the household…of God
And so we have a New Affections for our NEW MASTER:
NOW - BEFORE our NEW MASTER - Being under the Law - we were SLAVES to sin...
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Is it any more clear, that before we were redeemed by putting our faith and trust in Christ......
that we were slaves to sin? With sin as our Master?
In John 8:34, Jesus tells the unbelieving Pharisees:
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
And so Christ here uses the analogy of a slave and his master......to say that a slave obeys his master because he belongs to him.
Where there's a slave...there's a master.
Paul is saying - If you continue in sin, then you're OBEYING sin, revealing that sin is your master.
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
See slaves have no will of their own...They are literally in bondage to their Master.
When sin is our master, we cannot resist it.
Everyone...All of us, before we were justified before God by faith alone in Christ alone, we were all slaves to sin.
Everything we did was sin...
Regardless of what it was...regardless of how moral it was...or how good it was.
Everything we did was sin.
“Whatever does not proceed from faith - IS SIN!”
And so EVEN while PURSUING obedience to the Law - if we were UNDER the law...
Then our obedience was - founded on DUTY and not DELIGHT!
It was us TRYING to CONFORM ourselves to EXTERNAL behaviors...
BUT...
When FAITH came...
We went from CONFORMITY - to being TRANSFORMED on the inside...
And with our NEW MASTER - we now had NEW AFFECTIONS!!
Question: (i’ve asked this before)
How many of you love being constipated??
Nobody....great!!
NOW - what’s a REMEDY to constipation…??
Rhymes with GENNIMA
How many of you have EVER had an ENNIMA? (I know - WE GOTTA GO there…)
Now - if you don’t know what an ENNIMA is...
THIS might help...
SLIDE: Just Kidding
Just Kidding
Point is -
NO ONE likes being constipated...
But that doesn’t mean - you automatically LOVE the solution...
Just because you hate being constipated - doesn’t mean you love ennimas...
Just because you hate the idea of Hell - doesn’t mean you LOVE Jesus...
BUT when we receive the New Master - we also receive NEW AFFECTIONS FOR that master...
The Christian life - is a FIGHT FOR - - JOY in God!
And this JOY - In Christ - is NOT OPTIONAL!!
Think back to David...David was a bad dude...and when I say bad, I don't mean "good"....
David - adulterer, murderer
And so David...contemplating his own sin before God, cries out to God for the remedy...What does he say?
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
David knew that the Christian life was a - fight for joy in God.
BECAUSE we deal with sin in this life, the remedy is joy in God. When our joy in God fades, we sin.
David knew this.
When his joy in God faded, he committed adultery with Bathsheba
When his joy in God faded, he had Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) murdered...
NEW AFFECTIONS for Jesus…for God...
And this is what Paul is trying to get thru to the Galatians...
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
New Affections!
Let’s go to Romans to hear Paul say it another way...
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!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Paul here is explaining that those who have the Spirit of God inside of them......are sons of God...
Why?
Because of what we received...
We didn't receive the spirit of SLAVERY to fall back into fear, but instead......received the Spirit of adoption as sons...
And being God's sons, WE cry out...by the Spirit - ABBA FATHER! (Father, Father)
And by this crying out - - the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we in fact are children of God...
And notice how the Holy Spirit works in us...Who does the crying out??
"WE" do the crying out...WE cry out ABBA Father....by the Holy Spirit.
This is NEW affections for God on display in our lives... NOT just lip service...
That’s INTERNALLY – New Affections for a New Master ….
But there’s also an External difference between a Slave and a Son…
What’s the external difference?
SLIDE: From Slaves to Sons: New Inheritance
From Slaves to Sons
From Slaves to Sons
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Having a NEW MASTER
with NEW AFFECTIONS…for that Master...
We also receive the Holy Spirit - and now prepare to RECEIVE an inheritance...
But what do we INHERIT?
Let’s dive into Scripture to see...
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
• So if we share the faith of Abraham, then we are fellow heirs with him, and we share in the inheritance....namely the world.
• In the same way - if we're heirs of God, then we will inherit what is God's...
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
• If the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, then we will inherit all that is His...
• In 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Paul puts it this way...
21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours,
23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
• What is the inheritance of all those who have the Holy Spirit??
• All things... • ALL things...what does it say...
• For all things are yours, v22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death - all are yours...
• Death is ours?
• What does that mean?
It MEANS – AS a SON – I INHERIT ALL that belongs to God…!
· Death – belongs to God!
· Death – SERVES God!
Death brings justice to the Unbeliever – and MERCY to the Believer!
• Which means - that ALL things, even death itself (for us believers), will serve our joy!! • We NEED to grasp this!!
• WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, being children of God, EVEN death will serve our JOY!
• why?
• To live is Christ, and to die is GAIN!
• Suffering, tribulation, trials, heartache, loss, struggles....ALL of it...will serve our Joy!
• *In a broken world – isn’t it amazing to know – that our Father in Heaven…is NOT – backed into a corner when it comes to the suffering, evil, trials, or heartache in our lives…??
· That when we WALK in His will – and trust Him to sustain us – that He actually uses those things to INCREASE our JOY in HIM?
· Now filter this – through the Galatians…
· They had been OFFERED the truth of God – Life IN the Spirit…
· Where EVEN DEATH serves their JOY…
· And yet – they TURNED to another way!
· They turned from TRUSTING in God – to TRUSTING in themselves…Where DEATH will serve them – DEATH
Paul today has been ELEVATING the Son over the Slave!
He’s been calling the Galatians to – Sonship
· Calling them to EMBRACE their ADOPTION – as Sons…
SUMMARY
Christ was Born Under the Law:
To Be Judged by the Law
To Turn Slaves to Sons
From Slaves to Sons:
New Affections for a New Master
New Inheritance
To Be Judged by the Law:
Christ came under the Law - because in order for Redemption to come - judgment had to be rendered!
(*when someone has a warrant out for their arrest, redemption can’t come for that person UNTIL judgment is rendered)
And BECAUSE the verdict on Jesus was - INNOCENT…not guilty...
Jesus Turns Slaves into Sons...
Those who BELIEVE go from being OUTSIDERS - to members of the Household!
And diving deeper than that....we see...
From Slaves to Sons: We have new affections for a New Master!
by the power of the Spirit - WE cry Abba Father!
Daddy...
Our hearts now DISPLAY and FEEL affections for Jesus!
JESUS - our new Master!
And when we have Jesus!!
We also have...
A New Inheritance!
ALL things - even death now SERVE our joy!!
ALL things - now - In Christ - belong to us!
Can this change us?
Can we begin to view life...
The struggles
The pain
The hurt
The uncertainty
The weariness
The suffering
The disease...
THRU the lens of God’s GOODNESS toward us?
That joy would arise in us…?
Can we PREACH this to our lost friends and family?
That’s there’s a new MASTER on the scene now!
Can we PRESS people to engage their affections!??
Where does our JOY rest?
For the Galatians - they began to rest in their WORKS...
And Paul is fighting for them to see the error of their ways!
To be continued....
Let’s pray