Galatians 4:8-11 Podcast To invest in BYM, click here
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. (Galatians 4:8-11)
When the believer in Christ turns away from Him, he will be the slave to something else. Previously, the Galatians did not know the God of the Bible, so, they were enslaved to their definition of life. As a result, these people were trapped in earning the favor of their gods.
According to v.8, their bondage to the law was connected to their lack of a personal relationship with God.
These young believers were being tempted to depend upon their good behavior for their spirituality. In v.10 we read, "You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! " These religious activities included being circumcised, following strict dietary laws and observing certain holy days. They did this in order to gain and maintain God's blessing upon their lives.
The most surprising thing in this passage is that these Christians had entered into a personal relationship with Christ. But their problem was that they were immature in their understanding of God and His Gospel. They were wrongly equating, as most do, spirituality with morality.
Our understanding of the the word "know" used in v.8 and in v.9 is crucial to our understanding of that which Paul is describing here. In v.8 the Greek word used is "eidos" which is the Greek word for see or recognize. The Greek word used in v.9 for "know" is "gnosko" which means to know something experientially or seeing God with our hearts. Note that our knowing God experientially is preceded by being known by God first. This being known by God is followed by faith which is God persuading us to see Him with our hearts.
In Ephesians 1:18, Paul puts it is that you must have “the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know." The heart has eyes beyond comprehension. Pascal put it this way, “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things.” There is a spiritual seeing through and beyond seeing with the eye. There is a spiritual hearing through and beyond hearing with the ear. There is spiritual discerning through and beyond reasoning with the mind.
The key my friend is trusting Him and depending on Him to define you and your world. In Romans 1:21 Paul wrote, “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him." The key is letting Him have control of your life, not so that you can go to heaven, but that heaven can come to you, now and every day. This, the Bible calls, wisdom, truly knowing as a result of being known by the One who knows all.
