The Epistle to the Galatians

1. The Epistle to the Galatians Now Sons and Heirs: Galatians 4:4-7 • Gal 4:4 – NKJV ‘But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,’ • Note verse 2 – ‘until the time appointed of the Father’ • God is not haphazard in His planning – Eph 1:10, Psalms 102:13 • Consider the plethora of prophecy related to this timing. • And God became proactive (also in verse 6) • What does ‘sent forth’ or ‘sent out of’ (exapostellō) imply? • His Son already existed! – Phil 2:6, John 8:42 • Out of a woman.- born or made (anew) • And under the demanding system of bondage. • Gal 3:10,13 • And like every other Jew? – Matt 5:17 • The true God-man. 1 July 11, 2010 Bob Eckel

2. The Epistle to the Galatians Now Sons and Heirs: Galatians 4:4-7 • Gal 4:5 – NKJV ‘to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.’ • Two purposes • redeem them under the law • Jews only or Gentiles too? • There’s no article before law here . • ‘Here he changed from ‘them’, the third person, to ‘we’, the first person, so in Gal 4:6 he changes from ‘ye’, the second person, to ‘our’, the first person: this he does to identify their case as Gentiles, with his own and that of his believing fellow countrymen, as Jews.’ - JFB • Redeem – again, Gal 3:13 • buy out • rescue from loss • purchase out of a condition with no idea of selling back • pay a price to recover from the power of another • adopt ‘us’ as sons • Adoption, huiothesia – signifies the place and condition of a son given to one to whom it does not naturally belong (Vine) 2 July 11, 2010 Bob Eckel

3. The Epistle to the Galatians Now Sons and Heirs: Galatians 4:4-7 • Not as infants or small children, but sons or full grown heirs – why? • Eph 1:5-12 • Gal 4:6 – NKJV ‘And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" • Positional truth – John 1:12 • And not as to an infant or children – Gal 4:1 • Notice that the sending forth the Spirit of His Son is conditional. • Are you a son? • What is the principle role of the HS? • John 15:26; 16:13,14 • crying out • not tears but croaking like a raven; being vociferous; a proclamation • Abba, Father • Abba is simply the Syriac for father • In Aramaic - ‘papa’ • ‘The identity-trust expression of a feeble infant’ - Merryman • Yet, we are sons not infants. 3 July 11, 2010 Bob Eckel

4. The Epistle to the Galatians Now Sons and Heirs: Galatians 4:4-7 • Implies intimacy • Christ Himself declared thisrelationship - Mark 14:36 • Father • ‘Identity-confidence expression that springs from a knowledgeable, intelligent, understanding of identity.’ – Merryman • ‘By faith ye are one with the Son, so that what is His is yours; His Sonship ensures your sonship; His Spirit ensures for you a share in the same.’ JFB • Rom 8:15-17 • The application – Heb 4:16 • Gal 4:7 – NKJV ‘Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.’ • Therefore – what’s it there for? • The slave here is to the Law (Israel) not to sin. • This is not ‘law-works-merit’ but ‘grace-promise-faith’ – Merryman • Gal 3:18, Gal 5:1 • II Cor 6:18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty." 4 July 11, 2010 Bob Eckel

5. The Epistle to the Galatians Now Sons and Heirs: Galatians 4:4-7 • He shows us that we are free and set at liberty in such a way that while here we are governed by the Spirit of Christ who while reigning in our hearts, may teach us the true service of the Father. • But this is not to serve as a slave, but rather to enjoy true liberty, as it is fitting for true sons and heirs. • By that which follows He gathers that which went before, i.e. Calvary: for if we have His Spirit, we are His sons, and if we are His sons, then we are free. Keep looking down! 5 July 11, 2010 Bob Eckel