# Galatians 04 đź“–: Sons, Not Slaves
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
## Sons and Heirs
**Principle**: The law teaches us what sin is so we know the need for a Savior.
[[#Verse 01.]] Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic forces of the world.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,Â
[[#Verse 05.]]Â to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “_Abba!_ Father!”Â
[[#Verse 07.]] So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.
#### Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law
**Principle**: Don't become enslaved to legalism.
[[#Verse 08.]]Â Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] 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 basic forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?
[[#Verse 10.]] You are observing religious days and months and seasons and years.
[[# Verse 09]] 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 basic forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?Â
[[# Verse 10]] You are observing religious days and months and seasons and years.Â
[[#Verse 11.]]Â I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] I beg you, brothers and sisters, become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!
#### Personal Appeal of Paul
**Principle**: In our weakness, God is strong.
[[#Verse 13.]]Â But you know it was because of a physical illness that I first proclaimed the gospel to you,Â
[[#Verse 14.]] and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God, as though I were Christ Jesus himself!Â
[[#Verse 15.]] Where then is your sense of happiness now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me!Â
[[#Verse 16.]]Â So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
[[#Verse 17.]] They court you eagerly, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly.Â
[[#Verse 18.]] However, it is good to be sought eagerly for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you!
[[# Verse 19]] My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you!Â
[[#Verse 20.]] I wish I could be with you now and change my tone of voice, because I am perplexed about you.
#### An Appeal from Allegory
**Principle**: OT - law. NT- life.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law?
[[#Verse 22.]] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.Â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise.Â
[[#Verse 24.]] These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.Â
[[#Verse 25.]]Â Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
[[#Verse 26]] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.Â
[[#Verse 27.]] For it is written:“**_Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband_**.” [[Isaiah 54]]
[[#Verse 28.]] But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.Â
[[#Verse 29.]] But just as at that time the one born by natural descent persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so it is now.
[[# Verse 29]] But just as at that time the one born by natural descent persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so it is now.Â
[[#Verse 30.]] But what does the scripture say? “**_Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son_**” of the free woman. [[Genesis 21]]
[[#Verse 31.]] Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
[[# Verse 31]] Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. In Roman law an adopted son received the full legal standing of an heir, and adoption was often used among the elite to pass on an inheritance.
2. *Abba* (4:6) is the Aramaic word for "father." Jesus used it in His prayer in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36).
3. In the ancient world a father could set the time when his child came of age, which fits Paul's picture of an heir waiting "until the date set by his father" (4:2).
4. The phrase often translated "basic forces" or "elemental spirits" (*stoicheia*, 4:3, 9) can mean basic principles or spiritual powers. Scholars debate which Paul means.
5. Observing "days, months, seasons, and years" (4:10) likely refers to calendar observances being pressed on Gentile believers.
6. Paul says he first preached to the Galatians because of a physical illness (4:13).
7. Because Paul says they would have torn out their eyes for him (4:15), some suggest he had an eye problem. The text does not say for sure.
8. Paul says the story of Hagar and Sarah may be treated as an allegory (4:24), the only place this Greek word appears in the New Testament.
9. Paul places Mount Sinai in Arabia (4:25), the same region he mentions in 1:17.
10. Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 (4:27), a promise of many children for barren Jerusalem.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Son whom God sent at the appropriate time, born of a woman and born under the law, to redeem us so we could be adopted as God's children (4:4-5). Through His Spirit we cry "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God sent His Son "when the appropriate time had come" (4:4). How does God's timing in history encourage you in your own seasons of waiting?
2. Because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (4:6). How does seeing yourself as God's child change the way you pray?
3. Paul says he is in labor until Christ is formed in them (4:19). Who are you investing in like that?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verses 4-5: When the appropriate time came, God sent His Son to redeem those under the law so we could be adopted as sons.
- đź“– verses 6-7: The Spirit cries "Abba! Father!" in our hearts, so we are no longer slaves but sons and heirs.
- đź“– verse 9: Now that they know God, or rather are known by God, why turn back to weak and worthless principles?
- đź“– verse 19: Paul labors like a mother in childbirth until Christ is formed in them.
## đź”— Related Passages
- đź”— [[Romans 08#Verse 15.|Romans 8:15-16]] - The Spirit of adoption cries "Abba, Father."
- đź”— [[Ephesians 01#Verse 05.|Ephesians 1:5]] - Predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ.
- đź”— [[Romans 08#Verse 17.|Romans 8:17]] - Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
- đź”— [[Colossians 02#Verse 16.|Colossians 2:16-17]] - Festivals and Sabbaths as a shadow of Christ.
- đź”— [[Genesis 21#Verse 10.|Genesis 21:10]] - Cast out the slave woman and her son.
- đź”— [[Isaiah 54#Verse 01.|Isaiah 54:1]] - Rejoice, barren woman.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Galatians 04 - SOAP|The Long Game]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes