{"id":26249,"date":"2023-05-11T22:00:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/galatians-3_23-29-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T18:16:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T01:16:52","slug":"galatians-4_1-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/galatians-4_1-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Sets You Free From This"},"content":{"rendered":"

Galatians\u00a0 4:1-11 \u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Galatians 4:1-11.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Galatians 4:1-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the\u00a0basic principles of the world<\/strong>.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0 These are not the easiest verses to interpret, but here goes.\u00a0 Paul begins by painting the picture of an underage child of a rich father, who until the time he becomes of age, is subject to the supervision of guardians and trustees.\u00a0 These guardians and trustees exercise a great deal of control over the son such that this son is effectively no different from a slave, even though he is an heir (v1-2).\u00a0 Why does Paul mention this?\u00a0 It\u2019s because Paul is saying that at one time, we were children living under the enslaving control of \u201cthe basic principles of the world\u201d (v3) (also translated \u201cthe elemental spiritual forces of the world\u201d).<\/p>\n

What exactly are these \u201cbasic principles of the world\u201d?\u00a0 I used to think that Paul was referring only to the law of Moses. But upon further reflection, it seems to me now that Paul is referring to something broader.\u00a0 Perhaps the better answer is that Paul is referring to various systems of religious thinking \u2013 and possibly even the demonic powers which empower them \u2013 that enslave people, both Jews and Gentiles, causing them to worship idols and to put their trust in themselves rather than in the Lord.\u00a0 God\u2019s plan has always been to set people free from these \u201cweak and miserable principles\u201d (v9), from those that \u201cby nature are not gods\u201d (v8).\u00a0 So at the proper time, God sent His Son Jesus Christ, born of a woman (that is, born a human being) and born under the law (that is, subject to God\u2019s laws), to redeem us and adopt us as His children.<\/p>\n

While Paul doesn\u2019t say it here explicitly, Paul is saying that God sent His Son Jesus Christ\u00a0to live the perfect life that satisfied all of God\u2019s laws and to die the death that we were supposed to die because of our failure to obey God\u2019s laws.\u00a0 In so doing, Jesus redeemed (i.e. saved, rescued and won back) all of us who were controlled by \u201cthe basic principles of this world\u201d, that is, various types of religious thinking that caused us to put our trust in something other than the Lord.<\/p>\n

Only when Jesus sets us free from the unhealthy thinking that once enslaved us can we truly enjoy our full rights as children of God (v5).<\/p>\n

Galatians 4:6-7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out,\u00a0“Abba, Father.”
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-7:\u00a0 Here Paul mentions one of the greatest rights and benefits that we get to enjoy as the adopted children of God: we get to have the Spirit of the Son in our hearts (v6), by whom we can call God \u201cAbba, Father\u201d.<\/p>\n

What does \u201cAbba\u201d mean?\u00a0 \u201cAbba\u201d is a word in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke with his family when he was on earth.\u00a0 The word \u201cAbba\u201d is a tender, intimate way to refer to your father, kind of like \u201cDaddy\u201d or \u201cPa\u201d.\u00a0 It is awesome that\u00a0God gave you and me the Spirit of His Son Jesus \u2013 the Holy Spirit \u2013 so that we can experience a tender, intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Galatians 4:8-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to\u00a0those who by nature are not gods<\/strong>.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But now that you know God–or rather are known by God–how is it that you are turning back to those\u00a0weak and miserable principles<\/strong>? Do you wish to be enslaved by\u00a0them<\/strong>\u00a0all over again?
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-11:\u00a0\u00a0Paul sees an unhealthy pattern developing in the Christians in Galatia:\u00a0 At first they received God\u2019s forgiveness by faith in Christ.\u00a0 But instead of continuing to hope in Christ, they are now trusting in their own religious legalism (for example, starting to believe that circumcision is necessary in order to be fully accepted by God (see Galatians 6:12-13) or \u201cobserving special days, months, seasons and years\u201d which Christians were never required to observe (v10)).\u00a0 They have strayed away from a pure faith in Christ and instead have started trusting in their own religiosity, falling into idolatry in the process.\u00a0 In this way Paul fears that the Galatian Christians are reverting back to being enslaved by \u201cthose weak and miserable forces\u201d (v9) and \u201cthose who by nature are not gods\u201d (v8) from which God had earlier set them free.<\/p>\n

Paul says that such behaviour is as silly as a child who used to be under the control of a guardian, who became old enough to access and enjoy his father\u2019s inheritance, who actually did access and enjoy that inheritance for a while, but who now somehow wants to be under the control of his guardian again.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why Paul says, \u201cI fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts\u201d (v11).\u00a0 Paul had tried so hard to lead the Galatians to a pure faith in Christ and he is perplexed by how they are becoming enslaved all over again.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God meant for us to place our trust in His Son Jesus for our hope and salvation, not in anything or anyone else.\u00a0 Trusting in anything or anyone else for salvation is slavery to something that is not God.\u00a0 Trusting in Jesus for salvation sets us free to be the child of God that God made you and me to be, with all the rights and benefits that come with it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Praise You God that because Your Son set me free, I am no longer a slave to fear, to legalism, or to religious thinking that draws me away from a pure faith in Christ.\u00a0 Thank You that as a child of God I have been given Your Holy Spirit, by whom I can call You, \u201cAbba, Father\u201d.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Galatians 4:1-11.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Galatians 4:1-5 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the\u00a0basic principles of the world.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
\n5\u00a0\u00a0to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0 These are not the easiest verses to interpret, but here goes.\u00a0 Paul begins by painting the picture of an underage child of a rich father, who until the time he becomes of age, is subject to the supervision of guardians and trustees.\u00a0 These guardians and trustees exercise a great deal of control over the son such that this son is effectively no different from a slave, even though he is an heir (v1-2).\u00a0 Why does Paul mention this?\u00a0 It\u2019s because Paul is saying that at one time, we were children living under the enslaving control of \u201cthe basic principles of the world\u201d (v3) (also translated \u201cthe elemental spiritual forces of the world\u201d).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26249"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26252,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26249\/revisions\/26252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}