Freedom Part 3: Galatians 4:1-7

Introduction

Attention:

Many of you know this, but Samie and I adopted a cat.

Here’s a picture of Him; his name is S’mores

And we really did adopt this guy; He was fully grown when he got him (in fact, the vets are already calling him a senior!)

My parents found him when he was full grown in NC, and they already have too many cats to take care of him, so we adopted Him.

And you know what? All Christians are like S’mores in their own way, because one of the primary truths of Christianity is that we have been adopted by God!

That’s exactly what we are going to talk about today as we look at Galatians 4:1-7

Need:

One of the main reasons we need to hear this message is because we all long for a sense of belonging.

We all desire to be cared for. We all desire to be loved.

And that’s why hearing about the doctrine of adoption is so important; It reminds us that God truly does love us, and we really do have a place where we belong.

The doctrine of adoption is one of the most important doctrine’s of all of the Bible, and it is one of the least talked about, so this is important for all of us to hear.

So let’s dive in!

Body

The Big Idea: God spiritually adopts believers.

The Question: What does spiritual adoption look like?

1. We are released (4:1-3)

2. God is family (4:4-5)

3. The inheritance is ours (4:6-7)

Galatians 4:1–3 (NLT)

Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

Explanation:

The phrase “think of it this way” shows us that Paul is getting ready to give an analogy

Essentially, an analogy is a comparison between the similarities of two different things two things.

But what is he comparing, exactly?

In 3:23-25. he talks about living “under the law,” and in 3:26-29 he talks about no longer living under the law because we are no “in Christ”

Remember: the false teachers were telling the church that they should still live under the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. But Paul’s point is that, now that they are in Christ, they aren’t under the Law anymore.

This is the process that he describes, and in Chapter 4 here, he compares this process of going from guardianship to adoption

Paul is referencing Jewish, Greek, or Roman customs here. In these countries if a father died, male children would technically have an inheritance, but even then they would be treated like slaves until they were order, and then at a certain age their status would change to “son” and they would receive the inheritance.

So the connection that Paul is making is that we are no longer “slaves” to the Law, AKA, the Law of Moses is no longer our guardian.

Notice the phrase “basic spiritual principles of the world.”

This is referring to the law.

In the OT, God’s people were under the law of Moses. But it was always only meant to be a temporary thing until Jesus came.

Now that Jesus has come, God’s children can live freely as mature sons (Longenecker)

The date set by the Father has come. We are RELEASED.

Illustration:

What Paul’s analogy is essentially saying is that, back in the OT times, God’s people had a babysitter. That babysitter was the law of Moses

Does the babysitter say good stuff? Sure does; he gives great advice.

But imagine still having a babysitter when you were 30 years old. That would just be weird.

That’s what Paul is saying here; for the Galatians to go back and live under the OT law is like them going back to a babysitter after moving out of the house. Why would you do that?

Christians can now serve God in more cool, more free and genuine way. It is awesome stuff!

Application:

How does it make you feel to know that Christians are released from the OT law?

Imagine that you still had to do animal sacrifices and all of the other tiny details of the law.

It would be good, because you’d be obeying God, but now you are able to obey Him through your freedom, which is even better.

How does your freedom in Christ allow you to obey God better than being under the Law?

Well, first of all, Jesus obeyed the Law FOR you. He did a better job than you and I ever could.

Now, you get to obey God by loving Him and other people, while resting in the fact that Jesus has taken care of the rest.

The Big Idea: God spiritually adopts believers.

The Question: What does spiritual adoption look like?

1. We are released (4:1-3)

2. God is family (4:4-5)

3. The inheritance is ours (4:6-7)

Galatians 4:4–5 (NLT)

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

Explanation:

God sent His Son to make us sons and daughters

God has sought believers out for adoption, and the way that he did this was by sending over His son to seal the deal.

We talked a lot about justification last week, and how awesome it is that Jesus has declared righteous those who have trusted in Him

But the awesome part about what God does through Jesus is that he doesn’t stop with justification; he goes beyond justification, and adopts us as His very children.

In other words, God isn’t just a judge that declares us innocent. He’s a Father that declares us beloved (J.I. Packer).

Something that we need to understand about adoption is that, in order for something like adoption to happen, there are certain requirements that had to be met

First, adoption requires someone who comes at the right time.

Also notice that Jesus came “when the right time came”

The literal Greek here is “when the fullness of time had come.”

Jesus came when we needed Him the most

We were at a dead end, on our last rope, when suddenly, the God of the universe looks at us and calls us His child.

That is the best news on Earth!

Second, adoption requires someone who has the right qualifications

Jesus is God’s true Son, which means that He is fully divine

He’s also human, which is emphasized by the fact that he mentions that he is “born under the law”

Third, He is fully righteous. He completely met the requirements of the Law

Third, adaption requires someone with the right resolve.

AKA, you don’t adopt accidentally.

The text is clear here that God sent Jesus for the purpose of adopting us

His purposes were clear!

Becoming a part of God’s family requires a lot of different pieces to fall into place. But through God’s sovereignty, he has caused all of the right pieces to fall into place for those who trust Him in faith.

For believers, God is family!

Illustration:

When we hear about God adopting us, the natural picture that comes to our mind is, well… adoption!

And in our country, if you want to adopt somebody, there are a lot of hoops that you have to jump through, AKA, there are a lot of requirements that have to be met.

Just like with Jesus, adoption requires someone coming at the right time.

There are so many forms that you have to fill our for adoption; often, the process of getting all of that stuff straightened out takes years

This is something that David Platt talks about in His book, and it is something that I have seen people go through in my personal life as well.

There’s a lot that goes into it, and if you aren’t in the right place at the right time, it can’t happen

Furthermore, when people adopt, they need the right qualifications, too.

You have to be a certain age to adopt from some countries, for example, and sometimes you have to be homeowners

There are ALL sorts of screenings that take place, and again, these all take a lonnnnnnnggggg time to go through.

Also, when people adopt, they have to have the right resolve too

It is an intentional process, and it is a HUGE decision to make

People that adopt are determined to adopt; it takes perseverance

All of these things that are true of normal adoption are true of the way that God adopts us to an infinitely larger degree.

Jesus came at the most perfect moment ever, He was infinitely qualified to adopt us in a greater way than we could ever understand, and He was more determined to adopt us than anyone has ever been determined to do anything else.

Application:

How does it make you feel to know that God wants you to be a part of His family?

This is the best news in the world; we should never grow tired of it!

How can this truth bring peace and joy to your life?

If God is my Father, I have no reason to be anxious. I can talk to Him about my worries and concerns and allow His peace to fill me

What would it look like to embrace God as your Father?

Maybe there are some stresses that have been weighing you down that you need to give to Him tonight

Maybe there are some sins that you’ve been holding onto that you need to hand over to Him tonight in obedience

Maybe, for the first time in your life, you need to respond to the Gospel, the truth that we are sinners, but God through the death and Resurrection of Jesus has made a way for us to have a relationship with Him again.

You can accept Him as your Lord and Savior for the first time

Or maybe, as a Christian, you need to find a way to embrace Him as Father in a way that is more authentic. What is that going to look like for you?

Transition statement: Because God spiritually adopts believers, believers have an inheritance.

Table question: What talents/hobbies have you inherited from your parents?

The Big Idea: God spiritually adopts believers.

The Question: What does spiritual adoption look like?

1. We are released (4:1-3)

2. God is family (4:4-5)

3. The inheritance is ours (4:6-7)

Galatians 4:6–7 (NLT)

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Explanation:

Here we see why adoption is so important; the reason that believers have the HS living inside of them isn’t because they have been justified; it is because they have been adopted.

And it is because we have the HS that we are given a new identity.

The way that 3:27 words it is that we have been baptized with Christ, and we have put on new clothes, marking us as having a new identity as His sons

And that’s all made possible through the fact that, if you are a follower of Jesus, God Himself LITERALLY lives inside of you through the Holy Spirit!

We who were once held captive by the Law (because of our inability to meet its requirements) are now captivated by His love!

Here’s a quote from Platt that really puts this into perspective: “Do we realize that the privilege of approaching God, which was once reserved only for Moses in the Old Testament, is now what happens when you do something as simple as bowing your head before a meal?”

That’s what it means to go from being held captive by the Law, to being captivated by His love!

Let’s also take a moment to talk about what it means that we call out “Abba, Father”

First of all, again, it is the HS that enables us to do this

And secondly, this word, Abba.

This word refers to calling out to a Father, but not just calling out to Him in any way; calling out to Him DESPERATELY. It is longing and groaning for our Father.

So the point is that , because the HS is in us, we can rightfully call God Father, but not just that; we can CLING to Him in the way that our souls are craving to cling to something

And lastly, it says that because of the HS living inside of us, we are made “heirs.”

As children, we receive an inheritance.

There are three blessings that we receive very specifically.

First, we have an eternal Father. That’s the best inheritance that there is!

Second, we have an eternal family

3:28 says that we are all one in Christ Jesus. He has brought us all together; no matter what family you came from, no matter what race you are, male or female, doesn’t matter; we’re all ONE in Christ.

Third, we have an eternal home.

Believers belong in Heaven with Jesus.

We have a place where we belong. Praise the Lord!

Illustration:

Well, since we’ve already talked about cats, let’s talk about cats some more

I inherited my mother’s love for cats

We had cats growing up for as long as I can remember

And now, my mom has cats all over the place. Cats in the neighborhood hear about my mom and come to the door begging to be adopted by her.

If you are a believer, the HS lives inside of you, and you have a beautiful inheritance.

As we inherit our Father, our family, and our home, we become more and more like Jesus, and that is awesome.

Application:

When was the last time that you reflected on the awesome truth that the HS lives inside of believers?

That means that, if you are in Christ, God Himself literally lives inside of you!

If that doesn’t give you confidence and hope, then I don’t know what will.

In what ways do you need to call out to God as “Abba, Father” tonight?

What did you come in here with?

In what ways do you need to cling to your heavenly Father tonight?

How can you allow your inheritance to shape your future?

What things can you do to start focusing more on eternal stuff than you do on temporary stuff?

Embrace your inheritance.

Conclusion

Visualization

If you are in Christ, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you.

Embrace Him, and allow Him to embrace you

Reiteration

My challenge for you tonight is to do one of two things.

One, if you have truly trusted Jesus with your life, walk out of here with a heart that remembers that you have been adopted by Him

Walk out of here cherishing that truth tonight!

And if you haven’t accepted Jesus, realize that He wants to make you His child, if only you’ll trust in Him

I would love to chat with you about that!

Let’s pray

PRAY

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