X. Adoption as Heirs March 7/8, 2012 Galatians 4:1-11 Aim: To appropriate by faith our positions as adopted sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ, relying on the Holy Spirit for assurance of our salvation. A. Freedom through Adoption (Gal. 4:1-7) In the first century, one could obtain the inheritance by being a natural born heir or by becoming an adopted heir. There was, though, one major difference: while a natural born heir in the Roman culture could be disinherited and often was, an adopted heir could not be disinherited. This legal concept of an irrevocable inheritance for an adopted heir underlies Paul s doctrine of adoption. When Paul teaches about adoption, he not only is dealing with the reality that we have been brought into God s family, he also is dealing with the fact that, as God s children, we have received an inheritance that cannot be annulled. Reference to Roman practice also explains why Paul speaks of adopted sons in Roman culture it was the son who was the heir. His reference to sons does not exclude women from the inheritance; in Christ there is no male or female (3:28); all have equal standing with respect to the inheritance. The very fact that Paul applies the concept of the adopted son to women demonstrates that men and women share equally in the inheritance. Paul continues this theme of sons and inheritance in chapter 4 as he relates the inheritance to our adoption. 1. Sons in Minority (4:1-3) a) The Analogy (4:1-2) 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, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Those who are Christ s declares the closing verse of Galatians 3, are heirs according to the promise. This statement prompts Paul to develop in some detail the meaning and implication of the word heir. We are reminded here that an heir does not necessarily enter immediately into his inheritance. Paul reaches into the Roman culture of his day for an analogy. In the ancient world the division between childhood and adulthood was more definitive than it is in most societies today. Although ancient customs varied, there was usually a prescribed age when a child, especially a boy, would officially come of age and take on the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood. The illustration of a child (nēpios, infant, one without understanding, or a minor) coming of age was therefore easily understood by both Jews and Gentiles to whom Paul wrote. Paul reminds us that a child of a wealthy family, while in his minority, before coming into his inheritance, did not enjoy privileges beyond many of the slaves. He had not obtained the inheritance. Throughout his childhood, the eldest son knew he would inherit his father s estate, but he did not own it yet. The heir apparent is lord of all, meaning that his father s land belongs to him by title, but not yet by actual possession. In the meantime, the heir had about as much liberty as a common slave. He had no legal or property rights. Until he came of age he was called the young master master because one day he would inherit the estate, but young to keep him firmly in his place. Galatians Notes.doc p. 109 15-Jan-12
Families would assign certain capable and trusted slaves to act as guardians (a general term for a person who cared for underage boys) and managers (house stewards) over the child until he was grown. Along with his pedagogue, those family slaves would have virtually full charge of the child s education, training, and welfare. The child was subservient to them and could do nothing without their permission and go nowhere without their companionship. So just as slaves labored under a hierarchical management system, in effect the heir in his minority lived, worked, and studied under this hierarchy. In reality, one could detect little difference externally in the household with respect to the son and the slaves, and this condition continued until the date set by the father when the son would enter into his maturity and receive his inheritance. Under this system, the young master sometimes felt more like a slave than a son. But it was all for his own good. What seemed at times like bondage was necessary to bring him to full maturity. Nor did his minority last forever. Eventually he received his inheritance, in keeping with the date legally established by his father. Just as a slave had masters, the heir had masters. But at the date set by the father, the child s status changed radically. He was no longer simply an heir de jure (heir by legal right) but became an heir de facto (heir in fact). He was no longer a child or like a slave, but a responsible adult and citizen. In the same way that Paul has likened the law to a pedagogue, charged with disciplining young men and instructing them in the ways of the world, he now compares its function to that of guardians and managers, charged with taking care of the young man s estate. Until the date set by his father the young man could not spend a penny of his inheritance. He had no rights of his own. He was no different in effect from a slave. b) The Application (4:3) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. The point of Paul s analogy is that the law plays a similar role in the story of salvation. In verse 3 he applies the analogy to what he has been saying about the old covenant people. In his use of the pronoun we he refers to the Jews. In Greek, basic principles or rudiments means essential components or elementary things. It is from stoicheion, which has the root meaning of row or rank, signifying foundational and rudimentary orderliness. It was used, for instance, of the letters of the alphabet, the elemental building blocks of writing. The term was sometimes used to refer to basic teachings like the ABCs. Paul does not specify what the elemental things of the world represent, and Bible scholars have offered many suggestions. Some hold that it refers to the demon spirits who rule the present world system. Other say it refers to stars and therefore to pagan systems of astrology. Still others believe it refers to the basic, elemental things of human religion; and that interpretation seems appropriate in this context, especially in the light of the fact that in 4:9 the same phrase is connected with the ceremonial rituals of human religion (cp. Col. 2:8). The elemental things of all human religion, whether Jewish or Gentile, ancient or modern, inevitably involve the idea of achieving divine acceptance by one s own efforts. And they are elemental in that they are only human, never rising beyond the mundane to the divine. There are two potential ways to understand Paul s use of this term here. Perhaps the elementary elements of the world is another way of describing the law. To study the law is to learn the Galatians Notes.doc p. 110 15-Jan-12
alphabet of God s will. To follow the analogy through, the Old Testament law was like elementary school for the people of God. Keeping all the law s requirements was like being in grammar school, tracing the ABCs that were first written by the hand of God. Eventually, schoolchildren outgrow their elementary education. They master the alphabet and move on to composition. In the same way, God raised His people on the law to prepare them for the gospel. The phrase elemental things refers to the ceremonies of the Mosaic administration. These things were temporary; they were designed to keep the heirs in a state of servility until they reached maturity. Their description, being of the world, implies they were externals. They were not designed to change the heart. The contrast that is being established is between partial and full. The law (especially those laws currently under discussion in Galatia and Jerusalem about circumcision and food) belong to an age that was temporary and preparatory, not to the age of fullness and completion. The Galatians wanted to go back to the era of guardians and managers when, by faith in Jesus Christ, they had graduated to full inheritance! What has been brought about in the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, and our subsequent faith in Him, is our translation from slavery to legal inheritance. By calling the law an elementary principle, Paul was giving the law teachers from Jerusalem a remedial education. Those Judaizers had been telling the Galatians that the law was a graduate school for the gospel. But Paul insisted that being under the law was actually a sign of spiritual immaturity. For the Galatians to go back to the law would be like a Ph.D. repeating kindergarten to work on his alphabet. If they wanted to be spiritual grown-ups, they would have to advance beyond the law. There is another way to interpret elementary principles, however, which also includes the Gentiles. The term elementary principles shows up again in 4:9, where Paul is clearly talking about pagan worship. Among the pagans, elementary principles could refer to spiritual beings, such as the elemental spirits of earth, air, fire, and water. So perhaps Paul spoke of being enslaved to the elementary principles of the world to refer to demonic powers. There was a time when the Galatians themselves were in bondage to precisely such gods and goddesses. The elements of the world are those basic tenets to which unregenerate men adhere, especially in matters of philosophy and religion. It is evident that Paul includes the law of Moses among these elements (cp. 4:9). How can Paul categorize the God-given law in this manner? The answer is that Paul condemns, not the law itself, but the idea that man can be justified by observing the law. It is belief in the efficacy of law-keeping or of works generally, to justify or purify the sinner, that constitutes a basic tenet of the world and brings human beings into bondage. Whether the term elementary principles refers to God s law for the Jews (which seems more probable) or to Satan s control of the Gentiles, the point is that eventually God s people needed to grow up. There are lessons to be learned here even by true believers. Firstly outward conformity to the mores and practices advocated by a church or denomination, does not of itself constitute Christian discipleship. God looks for inward transformation, not outward conformity; and since our actions flow from our hearts, the fruit of a transformed heart and mind will be evident in Christ-honoring lives. Secondly, there is a real danger that believers may revert to law-keeping in the mistaken belief that this makes them more spiritual and thus more acceptable to God. Galatians Notes.doc p. 111 15-Jan-12
Paul s purpose here is to point out that the very opposite is true. That is, submission to the law begets bondage. 2. Sons through Adoption (4:4-5) What brings their childhood to an end? The advent of Christ, replies the apostle. As these verses outline the plan of salvation, they give six central teachings about the coming of Christ. a) Timing of the Incarnation (4:4a) But when the fullness of the time had come The first teaching concerns the timing of His coming. Jesus came when the fullness of time had come. Under ancient law, the father had the right to fix the time when his son would receive his estate. In the same way, God the Father determined when God the Son would come to give all God s children their inheritance. The fullness of the time marks the turning point from expectation to fulfillment and culmination. The date set by the father is tied to the purchase of adoption. What is the set time? It is the time that God had appointed when Christ would come and do all that was necessary to bring the church into her majority, here called the fullness of time. The fullness of time is the time God set to bring His people into the fullness of their inheritance by the work of the Redeemer. When the law had fully accomplished its purpose of showing man his utter sinfulness and inability to live up to God s perfect standard of righteousness, God ushered in a new era of redemption. Christ came when the world was ready for His coming, too. The Greeks had provided a common language and culture for sharing the gospel. Through the might of the Romans, there was safe transport for spreading the gospel. But most of all, sinners were ready to be released from their bondage. The Gentiles were tired of serving the old pagan gods. The Jews were weary of being held prisoner by the law they had tried (and failed) to keep for over a thousand years. God not only prepared the Jewish people, he also prepared the historical scene for the advent of Christ. So it was just the right time not a moment too soon, not a moment too late that Christ came to make us God s sons and daughters. b) Origin of the Incarnation (4:4b) God sent forth His Son The second teaching concerns the origin of Christ s coming and testifies to His eternal deity. Paul gives expression to the existence of Jesus Christ before His coming into the world. The fact that the Son was sent shows that He existed before he was born in Bethlehem. God s sending His Son states the pre-existence of the Son, and implies the divinity and eternality of the Son. Jesus had been God s Son eternally. He did not become the Son of God at the point of His incarnation. He always was the Son of God. His sending from heaven thus declares His divine nature. Jesus Christ is God the Son, fully equal to the Father in glory and might. The Son is not someone whose existence began at birth; His sonship is eternal. c) Manner of the Incarnation (4:4c) born of a woman The third teaching concerns the manner of Christ s coming. Whereas the word sent implies His eternal deity, the word born declares His true humanity. Jesus had an ordinary birth. This Galatians Notes.doc p. 112 15-Jan-12
is the doctrine of the incarnation: God became man. These two simple phrases, sent forth and born of a woman sum up the mystery of the incarnation. He was fully man, born of a woman like all other men, yet He was fully God. Otherwise He could not have been Savior of the world. He had to be fully God in order for His sacrifice to have the infinite worth necessary to atone for the sin of mankind. He also had to be fully man in order to represent mankind and take the penalty of sin upon Himself in man s behalf. It was man who sinned, who was under the curse, and who was condemned to render his life forfeit to God. d) Condition of the Incarnation (4:4d) born under the law The fourth important teaching concerns the condition of Christ s coming, which was perfect obedience. Jesus was born a Jew, and therefore He was bound to obey God s law in its entirety. Like every other Jew, He was under obligation to obey and to be judged by conformity to God s written law in the Old Testament; He was born under the law. Although Jesus is the heir of all things, He was born under the Mosaic covenant with all its obligations. He humbled Himself and entered into that estate. The King of the universe is made subject to the law s demands in all its ceremonial, civil, and moral components. The Ruler of all becomes a servant, without rights of His own. He not only comes under the law s demands; He comes under its condemnation. As the divine substitute, He takes the curse of the law upon Himself. By submitting to the law as the covenant of works, Christ was under contract to obey the law of God perfectly and to bear the curse of any law breaking. In particular, He obeyed the moral commandments perfectly (His active obedience) and He satisfied the curse of God s judgment (His passive obedience). By His birth He was required to keep Torah, which He did with total perfection. Jesus kept the whole law for His people. Jesus even died under the law. For God s Son, coming under the law included accepting the death penalty His people deserved for breaking it (3:13). He not only kept the whole law for His people, but also suffered the punishment due to their sins. Christ, being born of a woman, because fully human and as a Jew, he was subject to the law. In other words, Christ fully identified with our condition, in respect both of our humanity and of our obligation to observe the laws of God. e) Purpose of the Incarnation (4:5a) to redeem those who were under the law The fifth teaching concerns the first element of the twofold purpose of Christ s coming, which was to redeem those who were under the law. Here Paul refers specifically to the atonement that Christ provided on the cross. Christ s death was more than a rescue (cp. 1:4); it was also a redemption. Redeem is from exagorazō, which literally means to buy out or buy back and was used of slaves whose freedom was purchased. Although we were enslaved to the basic principles of the world (4:3), Jesus paid the price for our freedom when He died on the cross. He paid the ultimate price. When God sent His Son, He sent Him to die. Verse 5 contains two purpose clauses. The first purpose statement describes Christ s work: He came to redeem. There are two major aspects involved in our redemption: the removal of the curse (cp. 3:13) and the restoration of the inheritance. Here it relates to the restoration of the inheritance (cp. Lev. 25:25). Galatians Notes.doc p. 113 15-Jan-12
f) Result of the Incarnation (4:5b) that we might receive the adoption as sons. The sixth teaching and second purpose for Christ s coming was that we might receive the adoption as sons. Christ s coming had an adopting purpose as well as an atoning purpose. God sent His Son to make us all His sons and daughters. Christ accomplished our adoption as well as our redemption. It would be enough for God to release us from slavery, to rescue us from our captivity to the law, and so to redeem us from its curse. But god did not stop there. Once Christ had gained our freedom, He gathered us into His family. He went beyond redemption to adoption, turning slaves into sons. Huiothesia ( adoption ) is a compound of huios ( son ) and thesis ( a placing ) and refers to a man s giving the status of sonship to someone who is not a natural child. Because men are not naturally the children of God, they can become His sons only by divine adoption. In the Roman world adoption was an honored custom that gave special dignity and family membership to those who were not born into a family. Often a wealthy, childless man would adopt a young slave, who would trade his slavery for sonship, with all its concomitant privileges. The second purpose clause relates our adoption to Christ s work of redemption. By adoption Paul is describing the unique relation God bears to all those who are in Christ. Paul discusses the inheritance in terms of adoption, because none whom God savingly adopts can be disinherited. Paul describes adoption in terms of the Jews, but in verse 6 he relates it to the Galatians ( and because you are sons ). When the old covenant people entered into the reality of their adoption, God incorporated Gentiles into the Church. Redemption was not an end in itself, but rather the means to a still greater end. The ultimate purpose of redemption is adoption. Forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God are enabling means. They have a further objective, namely that the elect should be made fit to be the adoptive children of God. Adoption means placing as a son. Adoption describes the new relationship established between God and the believer in regeneration. It is by adoption that we attain the legal status of sons and heirs. Adoption is the confirmation and guarantee that the inheritance is ours and can never be taken from us. The elect are God s children and heirs from all eternity. Adoption bestows on the believer both the experience of sonship and its rights and privileges. As part of our inheritance we have received regeneration, faith, justification, adoption, and sanctification, along with the hope of glory. What is more, we also have the subjective reality of the inheritance. We are God s sons and daughters with all family privileges. We have the privilege of communion with God, the privilege of prayer, of coming freely and boldly into the Father s presence. We have a personal enjoyment as well as the solace, comfort, and joy that come from justification and adoption. Paul was not being sexist when he called the Galatians God s sons (huios). In the ancient world, a father s inheritance was only for his sons. By calling His children sons, therefore, God guaranteed that all His sons and daughters would be included in His will and testament (see 4:7). The promise of eternal life with God in heaven is for everyone who becomes a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians Notes.doc p. 114 15-Jan-12
3. Sons in Majority (4:6-7) a) The Ministry of the Spirit (4:6) (1) Sending the Spirit (4:6a) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts When we purchase a house, most often we are not able to pay the entire amount at one time; therefore, we make a down payment. The purpose of the down payment is to secure from us a pledge of commitment. It serves as the surety that you are going to keep the contract. In verses 6-7, God tells us that He has given the down payment of our inheritance; namely, the Holy Spirit, as the pledge of our adoption. We receive the Holy Spirit because we are sons of God. The phrase sent forth is the same word Paul uses in verse 4 to describe the Father sending the Son. As the language of God s sending His Son implies the divine pre-existence of the Son, the language here implies the same with respect to the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Spirit is called the Spirit of His Son. This language reminds us of the unity of the God-head. Furthermore, Paul describes the Spirit as the Spirit of God s Son to show that He comes on behalf of Christ; He comes because of the completed work of Christ for us and He comes to complete the work of Christ in us. The Galatians had indeed received the Spirit (3:2); and when they did, they also received the assurance that they were God s sons. For God sent His Spirit as well as His Son. First, He sent His Son to make us His children (4:4); then He sent us His Spirit to let us know that we really are His children (4:6). The adoption that was accomplished by the Son is applied by the Spirit. Adoption is the work of the Triune God. God the Father, just because He is the Father, is the one who adopts us. He did this by first sending His Son to redeem us from bondage, so that we are no longer slaves but sons. Then the Father sent His Spirit to convince us that we are indeed the sons and daughters of God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all work together to make us God s true sons and daughters. In whatever way the old covenant church participated in the work of the Holy Spirit, they could not participate in the indwelling of the spirit in the way that we do because the indwelling that we have is contingent upon the completed work of Christ. (2) Crying Out Abba, Father (4:6b) crying out, Abba, Father! It should be noted that the cry, Abba, Father! is one which Jesus Himself uttered in the agonizing moments of Gethsemane (Mk. 14:36). In Romans 8:14-16, Paul reminds us that, because of the work of the Spirit, we cry Abba, Father. In Galatians 4:6, however, it is the Spirit who cries for us Abba, Father. He comes to us as a pledge, a seal; He is the guarantor of our adoption. With these words Abba, Father, the Spirit bears testimony to our hearts and minds that our sins are pardoned, that we are accepted in Christ, that we are the children of God, and that we are full heirs with Him. The way we know that we really are God s sons and daughters is by calling Him Father. And not just calling Him Father, as if we could be saved by a mere word, but crying out to Him as our Father. The biblical word for crying out (krazon) is full of the most intense feeling. Abba is an Aramaic term of respect as well as endearment. Being composed of simply sounds such as Galatians Notes.doc p. 115 15-Jan-12
a baby might utter, the word is akin to our daddy or papa ; that is, a form of address that the youngest of children might use. It means Dear Dad, or Dearest Father. Paul thus implies a degree of intimacy between God and His children that the word Father alone cannot convey. It is the special work of God s Holy Spirit to put this filial world into our hearts and onto our lips. It is the Spirit who assures our sonship by enabling us to call God Abba, Father. This cry is the Spirit s work, and the evidence of His presence and of our adoption. Paul uses both the Aramaic term, Abba and the Greek term, Father. Here we have a beautiful expression of the universality of the gospel, in contrast with the Judaizers concept of God. Paul joins the Jewish expression of intimacy with the Gentile expression of fatherhood. As all are one in Christ (3:28) and indwelt by the Spirit, whatever our language, we know that God is our Father and we may address Him intimately. The Spirit is the pledge of our adoption. He is in us as the Spirit of Christ, not only to effect the union, but also to bear testimony to us that we are the children of God. Therefore, no one can take the Spirit from us. This work of the Spirit relates directly to our assurance of salvation. The Spirit is the earnest, the seal, and the guarantee of our inheritance that we are God s now and that God will keep us until the day of our glorification. This inner testimony of the Spirit in bearing witness to the believer s status is the primary grounds of assurance for the believer. b) The Privilege of Sonship (4:7) Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. For the Galatians, this meant that since they had the Spirit of the Son, they already had the full rights of sons. The inheritance is for sons, not for slaves. It does not come by keeping the law, but by living in the Spirit. Just as it was in the ancient laws of adoption, so it is in the family of God sonship means heirship. Paul concludes by personalizing the argument. Notice how the apostle switches to the singular, a son, to emphasize that each and every believer enjoys these privileges in his own right. Since each believer is already an heir, there is nothing extra to be gained by subscribing to the law. He speaks here particularly to the Gentiles, declaring that no man or woman in Christ Jesus is a slave. They are not enslaved to the elemental things of Judaism. They (and we) are no longer under tutors and pedagogues, managers and stewards. We are the sons of God and the joint heirs of the Lord Jesus Christ. One implication of this new family relationship is that our prayers help us know that we are God s children. Undoubtedly this is one of the reasons Jesus taught us to begin our prayers by addressing God as Father. B. Bondage through Backsliding (Gal. 4:8-11) By the Spirit of God s Son, the Galatians had learned to call God Father. Yet they were in imminent danger of going from sonship right back into slavery. They were about to squander their spiritual inheritance by selling their birthright as the sons and daughters of God. No wonder the apostle Paul was so alarmed. In the middle of chapter 4, Paul pleads with the Galatians on the basis of their personal relationship. Afraid that all his work has been in vain, he pours out his soul to them in 4:8-20. From the profundities of the gospel, Paul returns to the dismal condition of his readers. The apostle is driven repeatedly to contrast the Galatians actual spiritual condition with their high Galatians Notes.doc p. 116 15-Jan-12
calling in Christ. Paul is frustrated by their lack of understanding, but he is motivated by more than frustration. He has a genuine desire to restore these people to the right path, and to full enjoyment of their standing in Christ. By pointing out the contrast between what they are and what they ought to be, he seeks to awaken them to the spiritual poverty and danger of their situation. Now Paul appeals to their experience in Christ. There is a formerly (verse 8) in contrast to a but now (verse 9). Their conversion from Judaism to Christianity has involved a transformation from a what I used to be to a what I am now. Paul now asks them: Why do you want to return to what you used to be? 1. The Galatians Past (4:8) But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. For the Jews, their bondage lay in the belief that the law could make them righteous. For the Gentiles, however, their bondage was of a different kind. Before they heard the gospel of Christ, the Galatians had been idol-worshippers, serving their non-gods in slavish fear (cp.1 Th. 1:9). Two things characterized their former life outside of Christ. First, they did not know God. Second, they were slaves to idolatry, aided in their rebellion by demonic powers. Paul s initial dealings with the Galatians had uncovered a history of worshipping pagan deities. In Lystra, a city in Galatia, God healed a crippled man through Paul (Acts 14:8-18). The people of the area were so astonished at this miracle that they supposed Barnabas and Paul, whom they called Zeus and Hermes, to be pagan gods! The Galatians were generally superstitious and worshipped pagan deities. But Paul has something more subtle in mind. Before their conversion, these Gentile Christians had not known the true God, but had been enslaved by demons. The danger they were facing now as new Christians is that they might turn back and become enslaved again after having tasted the joy and freedom of Christ. Paul reminds his readers of the bondage from which they have been delivered. There was a time when the Galatians did not know God at all. Most of them were Gentiles, and thus they were unacquainted with the God of the Bible. Before they were converted, the Gentile Christians were in a form of slavery much worse than that of the Old Covenant people. They worshipped pagan gods and goddesses. Paul describes the essence of conversion as knowing God. He reminds them that they did not always know God. They had been delivered from spiritual slavery. Although Israel was in bondage, at least they were in a bondage to God. The bondage of paganism was far worse. All pagan religions are products of sinful imaginations and bind their followers in superstitious bondage. Before their conversion, the Galatians were in bondage to those who were not gods; in reality they were in bondage to demons. Paul declares the foolishness of all false religions. 2. The Galatians Present (4:9-10) a) Conversion (4:9a) But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God The term know refers to God s covenant love and favor. Because God placed His favor on them, they had come to know (love) God. To know God is to be a child of God, but this depends on the even more fundamental truth that we are known by God. It is the knowledge of God, Galatians Notes.doc p. 117 15-Jan-12
therefore, that distinguishes true religion from false. It is God Himself who knows His elect, and makes Himself known to them in a creative act of regeneration and self-revelation. The initiative is God s, not ours, for by nature we are dead in trespasses and sins. Until we are made alive by the Spirit in regeneration we cannot know God. Thus, Paul emphasizes the profound transformation that his readers underwent at their conversion to Christ. They once served idols, in ignorance and fear. Now, through Jesus Christ, they know the living and true God. b) Backsliding (4:9b-10) how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. By this question, Paul goes to the heart of the problem of their defection. As in verse 3, these elemental things are the rudimentary elements or principles, the ABCs, of the old covenant church in her Mosaic childhood: the things God gave to prepare the church of Christ. In verse 10 Paul details what he has in mind. Paul is not talking about the Christian Sabbath; he is talking about the seventh day Sabbath, the new moon festivals, the annual feasts, seventh year remission, and the year of jubilee (cp. Col. 2:16-17). In other words, to embrace circumcision was to place oneself under the old order with all its ceremonial observances. These gentile Christians in Galatia were trying to be Jewish with all these ceremonies; in effect they were trying to earn God s favor. Although they had been delivered from the bondage of false gods they now were returning to the bondage of weak and worthless elements. The Galatians were converting back to practical paganism. It was like déjà vu. They were going back to the first principles of paganism, back to their religious ABCs. Although they had graduated to faith in Jesus Christ, they were re-enrolling for spiritual kindergarten. Apparently the Galatians were doing this by following the rituals of Old Testament Judaism. In other words, the Galatians were starting to follow the Jewish calendar rites as a matter of religious obligation. Like so many Pharisees, they were observing the whole Jewish system of special holidays such as the feast of the new moon and festivals such as Passover and Tabernacles. If Paul has Gentile Christians in mind, it is evident that the days, months, seasons, and years referred to in verse 10 were the pagan, idolatrous festivals and observances that the Galatian Gentiles had observed before their conversion. What they are in danger of here is turning back to their old, heathen way of life that included keeping various superstitious holidays connected to the worship of pagan deities. However, if Paul is thinking of Jewish Christians, then something more subtle is in view. The connection between verses 9 and 10 suggests that the Galatians are returning, not to evil spirits, but to law, whether pagan or part-jewish. The danger is that they begin to use the law of God as a divine job description to help them demonstrate their moral accomplishment before God in the hope of obtaining the wages of blessing. Paul fears legalism: a return to the idea that somehow, by their obedience, they could merit the salvation of God. They were not, of course, reverting to their former idols, but rather seeking to embrace the law of Moses. Yet, declares Paul, to do this would be to return to the selfsame bondage from which Christ had once delivered them. It was difficult for the Galatians to grasp the fact that submission to the law was tantamount to a return to idolatry. There seems such a world of difference between the two. Yet both idolatry and legalism, asserts Paul, belong to the same philosophical genre; the both represent the elements of the world (4:3) from which Christ set His people free. Religious beliefs and practices vary enormously in outward form, but they all have a common thread, namely the idea that man can earn favor with God by his works. The Galatians Notes.doc p. 118 15-Jan-12
Galatians had been persuaded that works (such as the observance of Sabbaths) were necessary to augment faith. This is why Paul condemns their observances as dangerous legalism. As far as Paul was concerned and this must have shocked the Judaizers this kind of religion was no better than paganism. If the Galatians wanted to practice the forms of outward religion, they might as well read their horoscopes or practice some other form of paganism. In their legalism, they were reverting to the very kind of religion they had rejected when they were converted to Christ. The Judaizers rigorous, moral monotheists that they were must have been thunderstruck to hear Paul say to the Gentiles: if you begin to use the Jewish law to show God the merit of your virtue, you come under the sway of demons and are no better off than you were in your former idolatry. Thus Paul has exposed a typical device of Satan: he drives us from carelessness to a rigorous effort of commandment and law-keeping. But such obedience is just as damning as license. It may have all the trappings of morality and religion, but it comes from the darkest pits of hell. Any religion that is based on observing special days is primitive because it reduces a relationship to a ritual. It makes following God a matter of doing one s duty rather than receiving God s grace. This is the potential danger with religiously observing the liturgical calendar the way some churches do. It is also a warning sign that many Americans are really pagans, for our national spirituality focuses on major holidays rather than on living for Christ every day. There are still far too many people who think that all they have to do for God is to go to church at Christmas and Easter. 3. The Apostle s Concern (4:11) I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. Paul is not saying that they are going to lose their salvation, but that by choosing a system of legalism they will manifest that they were not saved in the first place. There is no support in the New Testament for the idea that true believers, having once been saved, can then be lost again. The biblical doctrines of election, particular redemption, and the perseverance of the saints stand as bulwarks against any such notion. What we are taught, however, is that true believers may be so engulfed in error that their fellow Christians cannot be certain as to their spiritual state. It becomes impossible to tell whether they are the Lord s or not, and we are compelled to suspend judgment as to their true standing. Christian legalism is dangerous for four important reasons. First, it denies the sufficiency of Christ. In Him is everything that we need. To add anything to His work for our acceptance with god is to denigrate Him and His work. Second, legalism denies the moral authority of God. He alone possesses the right to tell us the ways in which we should walk and how we should live. Third, it denies God s absolute authority over the conscience. God alone is Lord of the conscience; legalism allows others to usurp that role. Fourth, it denies the sufficiency of the Scriptures, but adding man-made beliefs and requirements to them. All of the errors of Christian legalism are not soul damning, but all are dangerous and soul damaging. For next time: Read Galatians 4:12-20. Galatians Notes.doc p. 119 15-Jan-12