Galatians 4:1-5 Podcast To invest in BYM, click here
1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:1-5)
In our text for today, the Apostle Paul is using the Roman rite of passage into manhood to illustrate the goal of God in the life of each believer. The goal is maturity, spiritual maturity, which includes a deepening appreciation for God's grace.
In the Roman society, the father decided when a son would become an adult. Every year, the Romans held a festival. At this feast, if the father thought his son was ready, he would be formally adopted by the father as his acknowledged son and heir. After the celebration, the son was considered to have come of age with new privileges and responsibilities.
The Apostle Paul is referencing this age old Roman event to illustrate the goal of God in the life of the believer. In his illustration, Paul is referencing a boy who is the heir of a large estate. As long as he’s a child, he is no different from a slave, he has no freedom. He’s subject to what his guardian says, until he reaches the age at which his father decides that he’s an adult.
Paul is illustrating our condition before we became followers of Jesus Christ. The word the Apostle uses for “spiritual forces” describes misguided religious understanding. As we see throughout the scriptures, we show our spiritual immaturity when we major on the minors and ignore the majors. This is what was happening in the church at Galatia.
The phrase “when the set time had fully come” dovetails with this Roman rite of passage, illustrating the time that God sovereignly chose to send His Son into the world to redeem mankind.
The world at that time had experienced a social revolution that made it perfect for Jesus to come to earth. The world was united under Roman rule, something called pax Romana, Roman peace. Roads lined the Roman empire, making travel and commerce possible in a way that hadn’t been before. The world spoke a common language, Greek, making communication much easier. On top of all this, people were spiritually hungry. Time could not have been better for God to send his Son, the Lord Jesus, at just the right time.
According to v.5, God intervened in history to change our relationship with Him. He redeemed us through the obedience of His Son. He came to buy us out of slavery to misguided religious understanding which included the wrong teaching that we were obligated to keep the law perfectly in order to be made right with God.
Oh, the timing of God, it is always spot on. When I graduated from high school, I was not a believer in Christ. The following October, just three days before my dad died, I trusted Christ as my Savior. A year and a half later, I enrolled in Columbia Bible College in Columbia, South Carolina. It was during my Junior year that I met the girl who would become my wife. Think about it, had I enrolled at CBC right out of high school, I would have missed her. Not to mention that I almost left CBC several times during my Freshman and Sophomore years. And here's the kicker, God raised up a man and his wife to pay for my college education. So many variables, so much design. We can trust God like that! He's got this!
