Galatians 4:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

NIV: So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

NASB: Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

CSB: So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

NLT: Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

KJV: Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

NKJV: Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Prior verses used the analogy of an heir being under the control of other people, until they reached an appointed time. Then, their inheritance would take effect, and they would truly be free. Building on that idea, Paul assures his Galatian readers, and us along with them. For those who have come to God by faith in Christ, their slavery to sin and to the law is over. They have become God's beloved little children. And, as children of God, they are also His heirs. Because they are in Christ, they are entitled to share in all the inheritance that is due to Him from God the Father.

As a result, believers in Christ are completely provided for throughout all of eternity. We are protected and loved and included in the plans and purpose of our God. Without Christ, we would have nothing. Because we are in Him by faith, we have everything a child of God can have.

Galatians 4:1–7 paints the picture of the heir of a wealthy son, who remains without freedom himself until he actually receives his inheritance. This corresponds to the customs of the time, when even wealthy children lived under the control of teachers and guardians. Paul insists that the crucial day has already come for all who trust in Christ. We are no longer under the supervision of the law of Moses. Christ has bought us out of slavery and into God's family. In Him, Christians are adopted as full children—we are God's heirs. We are given the Holy Spirit, making it possible to call Him our ''Abba,'' meaning ''Father.''

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.

Accessed 5/5/2024 7:11:13 AM