Galatians 4

The Gospel of Grace brings peace, freedom and security. In Christ, if we do not give up, we will be transformed into His character through the power of the Holy Spirit. What an awesome assurance! Christ came with shouts of Peace, Peace to all who accept Him.

Grace: is based on faith- justifies sinful men- begins and ends with Christ- is the way of the Spirit- is a "blessing"- is God's desired end for His people- results in intimacy with Christ-• makes one a son of God and an heir of Christ- brings liberty- depends on the power of the Holy Spirit- is motivated by love- centers on the cross of Christ

Galatians 4

4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born  of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 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? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

17 They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. 18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, 20 I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the
two covenants: the one from Mount aSinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:

"Rejoice, O barren,

You who do not bear!

Break forth and shout,

You who are not in labor!

For the desolate has many more children

Than she who has a husband."

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

The NKJV Study Bible says this: In ancient society a child had to wait until the proper time before he could inherit what was his. Paul uses this to explain why God delayed Jesus Christ's coming, leaving people with His law as a guide. The fullness of the time is "the perfect time" in history, the "time appointed" by God the Father for His Son to be born, and later to die for the sins of the world. Born of a woman speaks of Christ's humanity and perhaps alludes to His role as the ultimate "Seed" of the woman. Born under the law means Christ was subject to the Jewish law further establishing His identification with all people who are subject to the law. His death on the Cross, frees those who believe on Him to become God's sons. Although there is only one natural Son in God's family, Jesus Christ (vv. 4, 6), God has graciously adopted all believers as His children. Christians have become children of God through faith, which means we are all in the same family. We are no longer divided by ethnicity, social status, or gender, but have become brothers and sisters in God's family. In the early Christian communities this meant that both Gentiles and Jews could exercise their spiritual gifts. Both slaves and masters could pray or prophesy. Both women and men could enjoy full membership in the body. "Christ is all and in all". The breaking down of traditional barriers wasn't just a future hope. The early church worked to make it a reality. What walls of ethnicity, status, or gender divide believers today? Are we willing to model reconciliation between different and even antagonistic groups? If not, then is our church truly a sign of God's kingdom, or merely a human institution? Just as "God sent forth His Son" in "the fullness of the time" in world history so God has sent forth the Spirit of Christ at just the right time for every person who believes in Christ. The Galatian believers, under pressure from Jewish legalists, were considering rejecting the gospel of grace and reverting back to dependence on the Mosaic Law for salvation. Paul wrote this letter to outline the dramatic differences between the two approaches to God. The Galatians had come to know God through faith in Jesus Christ. He had adopted them as His own sons, but they were turning back to the law that had once enslaved them. Paul appeals to the Galatians to follow his example. He had abandoned the ceremonial rules and regulations connected with Judaism so that he could freely preach the gospel of Christ to Jew and Gentile alike in the cities of Galatia. They too should not hinder the gospel of Christ with laws and regulations. A person with pure motives and real friendship does not always say things that are pleasant to hear. Paul was telling the Galatians the truth, and as result was being labeled as their enemy. Sometimes the truth hurts; but a faithful friend would courageously confront another. Paul was strongly implying that the false teachers in Galatia were making the same mistake he had made prior to his conversion. Their zeal for the law was blinding them to the freedom and truth to be found in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ brings about not only justification before God, but also growth in the Christian life until we are completely glorified by God and freed from the presence of sin. This is the hope of righteousness. We can be assured that we will be declared righteous before the Lord on that last day, because we have a foretaste of that righteousness from the Spirit who lives within us.