Galatians 4:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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?

NIV: But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces ? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

NASB: But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?

CSB: But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?

NLT: So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

KJV: But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

NKJV: But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

Paul has made a bold and compelling case that the arrival of Christ created the opportunity for his Galatian readers to be made right before God—"justified"—by faith alone. They need not—they should not—begin to follow the law of Moses in hopes of being justified, when God had already given that to them through Christ.

Now Paul compares following the law to the religious beliefs these Greek Christians held before they heard of Jesus. Back then, Paul wrote in the previous verse, they were slaves to false gods like Zeus and Hermes, who were not even real beings, at all. They worshiped these gods in hopes of being favored, becoming slaves to imaginary masters.

Paul now suggests that legalistic obedience to the law of Moses, after Christ has come, brings with it the same slavery as worshiping false gods like Zeus. They will be making themselves slaves to the basic principles of the world again, just as they did before they knew Christ. What are these "basic principles"? In part, they involve the idea that human beings can somehow prove themselves worthy to the gods–or to God Himself—by leading their lives in a specific way. The attempt to "earn" one's salvation is a common thread in all man-made religions.

Paul has already shown that this cannot be done. Humans cannot earn the favor of non-existent gods. Nor can they earn the favor of the one, true God, because they will never be able to follow His law perfectly. The law showed that we are all slaves to our own sinfulness; we must be rescued.

Now that his readers have come to know God, and God has come to know them, through their faith in Christ, why return to that slavery? There simply is no good reason.

Galatians 4:8–20 reveals that the Galatian Christians have already begun legalistically following the law of Moses, by observing special days. Why would they want to go back to slavery by following the law to be justified by God, Paul asks? Why have they gone from blessing him and trusting in Christ to rejecting him for telling the truth? The false teachers are only using them to bring glory to themselves, Paul insists. Paul is in anguish for them as a mother in childbirth. He longs to see Christ formed in them.

In this chapter, Paul uses three new methods to teach his Galatian readers an important lesson. It is futile to follow the law of Moses in order to be made right before God, since justification comes only by faith in Christ. First, Paul shows that the arrival of Christ made it possible for all people to become God's children through faith in Him. Next, Paul makes a more personal appeal, asking what has changed to cause the Galatians to turn on Paul's teaching of the gospel. Finally, Paul builds an allegory from Scripture, illustrating the difference between being born into slavery and being born into the promise by faith in Christ.

Galatians 3 ends with Paul stating, once more, that those who are in Christ are Abraham's offspring, just as He is, making us heirs along with Him. Galatians 4 continues that idea, showing how Christ's arrival signaled the moment all people could receive the inheritance with Him and be adopted as God's children. Paul makes his appeal personal, asking why the Galatians moved from blessing him to rejecting the message of Christ. The chapter ends with Paul's allegory about the difference between being born into slavery under the law and being born into freedom by the power of the Spirit through faith in Christ. Chapter 5 will continue by expanding on the freedom we have in Christ.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.