(The Preacher’s Magazine 1988-89)

A warm and loving relationship of a father and a child is one of the most delightful relationships to enjoy and to observe. On the other hand, one of the most bitter and un­desirable of relationships is that of an unhappy slave with an antagonistic master. Paul drew upon the contrast in those re­lationships to illustrate his understanding of the Christian life in Gal. 4:1-7.

THE HISTORICAL SETTING OF GALATIANS

The traditional questions of historical exegesis, author, audience, date, provenance, and purpose tantalize the inter­preter with the appearance of simplicity. However, the fact that Paul wrote the letter is the only historical question that we can answer confidently. The audience consists of several con­gregations (notice the plural, "churches," in 1:2) in Galatia. But whether "Galatia" refers to the province (the so-called South Galatian theory) or the territory (the North Galatian theory) is still debated. The material in Acts 16:6 and 18:23 suggests a later date (such as. A.D. 53-55) if the North Galatian theory is adopted. Acts 13-14 permits, but does not demand, an earlier date (perhaps as early as A.D. 48) if the South Galatian view prevails. The question of the date is further complicated by the question of the relationship of Paul's visit to Jerusalem (mentioned in Galatians 2) to the visits mentioned in Acts 11 and 15.

The purpose of Galatians has long been held to be simple and straightforward. The letter was written to call the Galatians back to the pure evangelical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. False teachers had infiltrated the churches and undercut Paul's authority by promoting the ne­cessity of observing the Mosaic Law for salvation. Most view these false teachers as Jewish Christians, but there is little agreement as to whether or not they represented the Jerusa­lem Church. Some see them influenced by, Gnosticism, urging circumcision and calendar observance for ascetic reasons rather than interest in the Jewish Law. One has claimed that the false teachers were, in fact, Gentile Christians who, in their extreme zeal for their newfound faith, legalistically urged total observance of the Mosaic Law. Others have claimed that Paul was fighting on two fronts against a legalistic group in the first four chapters and against a "superspiritual" group claiming to be above moral restrictions in the last chapter and a half.

THE ROLE OF GAL. 4:1-7 IN THE LETTER

Gal. 4:1-7 provides part of Paul's argument that belonging to Christ means freedom from legalism. In the first two chap­ters, Paul reminded the Galatians that the issue at stake is nothing less than the gospel (1:6-9). The ultimate source of authority, therefore, is not the Jewish Law, nor the apostles in Jerusalem, nor Paul himself, but Jesus Christ. Participation and identity in the gospel cannot be based on "Judaizing'" (taking the yoke of the Law), but must be based on faith in Jesus Christ.

Chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to proving that proposition. A series of independent but linked arguments is produced to provide proof. Gal. 4: 1-7 provides one of the proofs that Chris­tian faith rests on relationship 'to Christ rather than on obe­dience to the Law. Generally speaking, 4:1-7 could tie omitted without destroying the argument; the other proofs would suffice to prove the point. In that sense, the paragraph is independent. However, 4:1-7 is linked to both the preceding and following material.

In 3:19 ff. Paul explains why the Law is no longer the basis for relationship with God. In 3:23 ff. he specifically declares that the Law played a custodial role up to the, coming of Christ. Then 4:1-Tillustrates the change in status that can be experienced because of Christ's coming. The force of 4:1-7 rests on the fact that the Galatians had actually experienced this change in status in their relationship with God through Christ. They were, in fact, adopted as sons of God and en­abled by the Spirit to cry, "Abba, Father" in their prayer of worship. That status, having been adopted, meant that the period of slavery to the Law was past.

Though nothing after 4:7 seems to absolutely require 4:1-7, there are a significant number of references to slavery or free­dom, sonship, and the effect of the Holy Spirit in believers' lives. As the letter is constructed, each of those references is indebted to 4:1-7 for perspective. The interrelationship be­tween freedom, sonship, and the Spirit that is laid out in 4:1-7 is assumed in the subsequent discussion of 4:8-5:25. Also 5:1-6:10 contains a series of ethical exhortations that would be only partially understood if 4:1-7 were to have been omit­ted.

EXEGETICAL INSIGHTS IN GAL. 4:1-7

The transition from 3:23-29 to 4:1-3 suggests another illus­tration of the role of the Law. Verses 24-25 had described the Law as an attendant slave (paidagōgos). The paidagōgos was responsible for safely conducting the children of the master to and from school. Verses 25-26 affirms that we, as believers, are no longer under the paidagōgos because we are now sons [of God1 through faith. 'However; simply being sons of God does not prove that the Law is no longer to exercise its custodial role. A further illustration was necessary. That is the point of 4:1.

As long as the heir is a minor, he is no different than a slave, even though he owns everything. By a change of terminology, Paul is able to redirect the sonship illustration. The word "heir" becomes the general designation for the offspring of the father, which allows the distinction to be made between a minor (nēpios) and a son (who has come of age). Though nēpios could refer to a person from infancy into the 20s, here it de­scribes the person who is younger than the age set for the inheritance of property. In point of fact there is a tremendous difference between the heir and a slave. However, Paul's point here is that the' heir, while a minor, has no more freedom of action or self-determination than the slave does.

The "slavery" of the minor is expressed by the fact that he is under guardians and managers until the time set by the father. Normally, the minor was placed under the legal guard­ianship of one person if the father died. Paul's terminology (guardians and managers) appears to be an attempt to be as comprehensive as possible rather than to reflect typical prac­tice. The time at which the minor was freed from guardianship was generally set by the government, though evidence sug­gests that the father could legally determine the time of matu­rity in some provinces. In any case, the, illustration clearly af­firms that guardianship comes to an end at a legally established, specific point in time.

Verse 3 begins the application: So then, we also, when we were minors, were enslaved under the elements of the world. Prior to becoming a Christian, all (both Jewish and Gentile believers) had been minors in the sense of verse 1. Paul di­rectly compares the minor's status to slavery via a pluperfect passive periphrastic construction of the verb douloō. The point of the construction is that the status of slavery con­tinued for a significant period of time following an initial event of being enslaved, but the slavery is now past. The construc­tion is quite understandable if Paul was referring to slavery to the Law, initiated at Mount Sinai but now past because of the work of Christ.

The surprising twist of verse 3 is that Paul describes the slavery as under the elements of the world. The translation of "elements" is problematic. It can mean elementary or begin­ning level principles, the ABCs, so to speak, of existence in general and religion in particular. As such, "elements" could simply refer to the Law as the elementary or beginning level "religious principle that had enslaved the Galatians. However, such an interpretation would imply a Jewish background from which the Galatians had been delivered. 'It is more likely that "elements" refers to the spiritual powers thought to control the world. These elemental spirits, including astral powers, were considered to be the shapers of daily life through (what we call) natural and supernatural events. Humans were com­pletely at the mercy of these tyrannical powers.

To gain some measure of freedom from the stifling ele­ments of the world, ancient man attempted to appease the powers by religious practices such as sacrifice, rituals, prayers, magic, and astrology. Gal. 4:8.-10 reminds the Gala­tians of the enslavement they had experienced to such powers, and of the rituals they had used to attempt to gain their freedom. The list of rituals also demonstrates that Paul could understand the Law as one of the means used in response to the elemental spirits. Thus turning to the observance of the Law, as demanded by Judaizers, would be, in effect, a return to slavery to the elements of the world, a slavery from which Christ had freed them.

However, Paul's chief interest in this section is not on slav­ery and the Law but on freedom and Christ. The change in focus appears in verses. 4-5. The opening phrase, when the fullness of time came (author's translations throughout), corresponds to the time set by the father mentioned in verse 2. As the minor passed from the status of slave to freedom, so a change in status, for the Galatians in particular and mankind in general, is envisioned. Because Christ is the focus of Paul's interest, he will further explain the great pivot point of history with several subordinate clauses. The kernel sentence would read, "When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son in order that we might receive adoption, the status of sonship."

The fullness of time is sometimes explained in terms of several first-century situations that allowed for the rapid ex­pansion of the gospel. Koine Greek was a lingua franca that allowed evangelization throughout the known world without the painstaking work of learning new languages. The Pax Ro­mana provided the first Christian century with one of the lon­gest periods of general peace in human history. This and the Roman system of roads allowed relatively rapid and safe travel in a way not possible in the preceding or following cen­turies. The general decline of philosophy and the Greco-­Roman religions left a spiritual vacuum, which Christianity was well designed to fill.

These facts provide inspirational insight into God's timing, but they require a historical perspective not available to Paul. For him, the fullness of time was a way of declaring that Christ's coming signaled the end of this present evil age and the beginning of the age to come. In 1 Cor. 10:11, he had described Christians as "those upon whom the ends of the ages have come." The point is that the coming of Christ marked the "time set by the father," and the Galatians must live with the freedom and spiritual maturity that their status as "sons" demands.

Paul draws upon a traditional sending formula in the words "God sent forth His Son." The same form is used in Rom. 8:3-4; John 3:16-17; and 1 John 4:9-10. The sending formulas all describe Christ as Son and imply preexistence (see Bruce, 194-95). But the emphasis is on the salvific purpose stated in each. Before stating the soteriological purpose in verse 5, Paul amplifies the nature of Christ in two concise clauses at the end of verse 4. Christ was born of the woman. This ex­pression was used in Judaism to simply indicate a human be­ing. The impact of the meaning primarily arises from it being in apposition to the Son whom God had sent forth. Further­more, the preexistent Son was born under (the authority of) the Law. Redemption from the bondage of the Law was not accomplished by one who had never experienced it. Rather, he experienced the Law "in all points like as we, yet without sin" (see Heb. 4:15).

God sent this one born under the Law in order that He might redeem those under (the authority of) the Law, in order that we might receive adoption (v. 5). The two purpose clau­ses accomplish several objectives. It is clear that Christ came to redeem those under the Law, specifically Jews. The obvi­ous implication is that a Judaizing process that would return to slavery to the Law runs against the flow of salvation history and the specific purpose of Christ. Jews are redeemed and we (including the Galatian Gentiles) are adopted. The two verbs embrace two major perspectives of salvation. Redemp­tion is a legal term that describes the purchase of liberty and thus the end of bondage. How appropriate that the one born under the Law legally purchases freedom from the Law. But salvation is more than simply the legal purchase of freedom out of slavery. It is also a personal acceptance into a family.

Paul's use of the word adoption is based on contemporary Roman practice. This practice bestowed a change in legal sta­tus that immediately placed the adopted son in the same sta­tus as those born into the family. In light of the flow of Paul's argument, it would seem that he introduces the concept of adoption to show the new status of believers as sons and daughters of God. We are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters with "all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities appertaining thereunto."

Verse 6 moves from the status of sonship described in verse 5b to the actual experience and joy of belonging to God as true sons and daughters. "And because you are sons; God sent forth the Spirit of His Son." The opening because makes it clear that the gift of the Spirit is based on our having been adopted. As Ebeling states, "Receiving the Spirit does not make us sons; it is our being made sons that enables us to receive the Spirit" (p. 221). The close relationship of verses 4-5 and verse 6 is reinforced by the fact that the main subject and verb are identical-"God sent forth." The sending of the Spirit is a distinct but inseparable consequence of the sending of God's Son.

Paul further describes the Spirit as "the Spirit of His [God's] Son." This unique phrase is one of several ways that Paul carefully defines the content or meaning of the Holy Spirit in terms of the person of Christ. "The crucified Christ is the cri­terion by which the Spirit is rightly understood and spirits are distinguished. No spirit that does not meet this criterion is the Holy Spirit" (Ebeling, 222).

When the Spirit is sent by God the Father, He (the Spirit) enters the human heart, where He cries out, "Abba, Father!" "Abba" was the Aramaic expression used by children in their affectionate address of their fathers. It was a term of en­dearment, trust, and warmth. In some (though not all) in­stances, the English word daddy can carry the same force. Jews never used the term in their address to God as Father. Jesus frequently called God "Abba." That God would send His Spirit into our hearts with the Abba cry testifies not only to our status as sons and daughters, but also to God's desire that we experience and enjoy that relationship in love, trust, and warmth.

Verse 7 sums the matter up. "As a result then, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, you are an heir through God." The reality of the change in status is ultimately proved by the will. Our sonship is authentic enough in the mind of God that we become heirs - coheirs, as Rom. 8:17 notes.

TOWARD PREACHING THE TEXT

Gal. 4:1-7 offers a profoundly simple summary of soteri­ology. We were suffering in the slavery of sin; God sent His Son to adopt us; God sent the Spirit to make us Christlike. (The frequent use of words whose English translation begins with the letter s offers tantalizing opportunities for alliteration.) Several observations regarding preaching are in order.

The structure of the passage will allow for three points:

I. Sin's Enslaving Stranglehold (vv. 1-3)

A. Bondage to the Law

B. Bondage to the World

C. Bondage to Childhood

II. God's Saving Sending of the Son (vv. 4-5)

A. Freedom from the Law Through Christ

B. Freedom from Minor-Child Status Through Adoption

III. God's Strengthening Sending of the Spirit (vv. 6-7)

A. Freedom for Intimacy with God Through the Spirit

B. Freedom to Share the Inheritance of Christ Through the Spirit

C. Freedom for Fellowship Through the Spirit

However, the flow of Paul's thought and his rhetoric is anti­thetical. This implies a twofold structure that can be ex­pressed in several ways: slavery versus sonship, bondage or limitations versus freedom, or even legalism versus love. The second pole of Paul's thought includes both the works of the Son and the Spirit, both adoption and sanctification. Thus, rather than dividing soteriology into adoption and sanctifica­tion, which would lead to compartmentalizing and taking one or the other as optional, Paul views salvation as a whole piece in which the works of the Father, Son, and Spirit are com­plementary and naturally inclusive. Sonship must ultimately be understood as responsible freedom, a point Paul will make quite clear in chapter 5. This suggests a possible two-point sermon:

I. The Bondage of the Slaves of Sin (vv. 1-3)

A. Legalism - Bondage to the Law

B. Libertinism - Bondage to the World

C. Immaturity - Bondage to Minor Status

II. The Freedom of the Sons of God (vv. 4-7)

A. Redemption - Freedom from the Law

B. Adoption - Freedom to Be like Christ

C. Sanctification - Freedom for Fellowship with God

The primary emphasis of this text is on God the Father. He is the One who set the fullness of time for our liberation. He is the One who sent His Son. He is the One who sent the Spirit. It is through Him that we are made heirs. It would be a severe misunderstanding of Paul to preach this text and not give central prominence to God and His gracious activity on our behalf The Galatian believers (and we) did not overcome enslavement to this world, nor find or come to know God. God set them (and us) free, He searched for and found us, and He revealed the knowledge of himself to us. This text is salvation history, not moral development.

The lectionaries of Christian churches have often listed this passage as the Epistle reading for either Christmas Day or the first Sunday after Christmas. It is especially appropriate at a season when the expectation is one of joy and holiday spirit. But the reality for many is depression, emptiness, and despair. There is no Christmas spirit apart from the sending of the Son and the Spirit of the Son. The celebration of God's gracious activity on our behalf highlights the bondage experienced by those in whom the Spirit does not cry, "Abba, Father." How incredible it is that some in the Galatian (and our) churches would want to abandon the enjoyment of sonship to return to slave status under the law. May the Christmas message not only set us free but also keep us free.

For Further Reference

Barclay, William. The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, In the Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958.

Betz, Hans Dieter. Galatians. In Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.

Bruce, F. F. Commentary on Galatians. In New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing C., 1982.

Burton, Ernest De Witt. The Epistle to the Galatians. In International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1921.

Cousar, Charles B. Galatians. In Interpretation. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.

Ebeling, Gerhard. The Truth of the Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians. Translated by David Green. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.

Guthrie, Donald. Galatians. In New Century Bible. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1974.

Lightfoot, J. B. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. Reprint. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.

Ridderbos, Herman N. The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia. In The New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1953.

Taylor, Willard H. Galatians, Ephesians. Vol. 8 of Beacon Bible Expositions. Kan­sas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1981.