A study of Galatians 4

Inheritors, Not Slaves

In chapter 3 of the letter to the Galatians, Paul explained that Christians receive the Holy Spirit by faith, not through the Law of Moses. The Law was never intended as a path for salvation, and it no longer has authority over the people of God. We are under the authority of Christ, not under the Law (3:23-25; see the study on Galatians 3).

Paul points out that God gave the promise of salvation to Abraham centuries before the Law of Moses was given (3:16-17). Salvation does not depend on the Law in any way, for salvation is based on the promise given to Abraham. Since Christ is the descendant of Abraham, and we belong to Christ, then we are also descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the promise of salvation (3:29).

When it comes to inheriting Abraham's promise, there is neither Jew nor Greek—all ethnic groups may inherit. In Christ, even slaves can receive an inheritance from Abraham. In salvation, there is likewise no difference between male and female—all have equal rights to inherit the promise (3:28).

Children now come of age
In chapter 4, Paul takes the concept of inheritance into another analogy, to show again that the Law was only a temporary authority and that Christians are not obligated to it.

"What 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. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world" (4:1-3).

If a father died early, he might leave his entire estate to a young child. The child, although the legal owner, would not have authority to run the estate. A temporary trustee would run the estate, would have authority over all the slaves of that estate, and would also have authority over the legal owner, as long as the heir was under age.

Paul then makes the analogy that "we" (apparently including himself and the Jewish people) were under that kind of temporary authority. Just as he earlier said that "we were held prisoners by the law" (3:23), he now says that the Jewish people were like underage children—inheritors who were under authority, just as slaves are.

But the child is not like a slave forever. Eventually a time comes when authority is given to the heir. "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons" (4:4-5).

Jesus was born under the jurisdiction of the Law, and he redeemed or rescued the Jewish people from the restrictions of the Mosaic Law. Now, Jews may receive the full inheritance rights, which means that they are no longer under the law.

Gentiles no longer slaves
Gentiles, who were not under the Law of Moses, also become inheritors through Christ, so at this point Paul begins to use the word you again: "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, `Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (4:6-7).

Since God had given the Holy Spirit to these gentile Christians, that was proof that they were his children, with the right to inherit the promise. They were no longer slaves under a restrictive authority. But what kind of slavery had Jesus redeemed them from? Paul explains: "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods" (4:9). They had been enslaved by pagan religions.

"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 principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?" (4:9). The Gentile Christians, having been rescued from slavery, were thinking of returning to bondage. They wouldn't have put it in those words, of course, but Paul is pointing out that this is what it amounts to.

Apparently they were being tempted with a different sort of slavery than what they came out of. They were being told that they had to be circumcised and that they had to obey the Law of Moses (4:21; 5:2-4). They had come out of pagan principles but were in danger of going back into another set of rules—another nonfaith approach to religion.

(Paul uses the uncommon Greek word stoicheia here for principles of the Galatian heresy, the same word he used in 4:3 for the slavery "we" had under the old covenant "basic principles." The context of the letter makes it clear that the slavery the Galatians were falling back into was an obligation to old covenant customs.)

Paul then mentions one way they were falling back into servitude: "You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!" (4:10). In a heresy that involved circumcision and the Law of Moses, it is not difficult to figure out what sort of days, months, seasons and years were being advocated. The old covenant said a lot about special times.

But if Paul was talking about the Sabbath and festivals, why didn't he say so? It is because the Galatians were coming out of one religion and into another. Paul used words that applied to both religions to point out the similarities involved. Pagan religions had their special days, months, seasons and years; so did the old covenant. They have a different set of days, but it is a similar idea. The Galatians had come out religious bondage, and were going back into a religious bondage.

So Paul asks: How could you do such a thing? Can't you see how foolish this is? Don't you know that this can enslave you all over again? Paul does not say exactly how they were observing these special days. He did not say they should observe them in a better way or a different way. He just said that the way they were observing them was a form of bondage, of feeling obligated to something that was not obligatory.

Paul pleads with them
"I fear for you," Paul wrote in verse 11, "that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." In order to win them to Christ, he had become like a gentile (4:12; 2:14; 1 Cor. 9:21). Now he urges them to become like he is.

With heavy sighing and tears, no doubt, Paul remembered how eagerly the Galatians had first believed the gospel he preached. They had joyfully received the gospel with great respect for Paul. That is why Paul is so astonished that they had so quickly believed a different message (4:12-16). He points out that the false teachers had selfish motives (4:17), but he is willing to suffer to help them become more like Christ (4:19).

Son of a slave, or son of promise?
Paul then moves to an illustration of slavery and promise, taken from the Torah itself: "Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?" (4:21). Paul speaks now to people who want to be under the authority of the Torah. This was the heresy he was fighting against.

"For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise" (4:22-23). Paul reminds the readers here of Hagar and Sarah, and the fact that Abraham's blessing was given to Isaac, the child God gave Sarah in a miraculous way. The blessing was given on the basis of grace, not of normal human ability.

He then draws a dramatic analogy from this: "These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants" (4:24). The Old Testament does not make this analogy—Paul is creating it for his own purposes. Some might not like the analogy, because it makes Paul's point painfully clear: "One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children" (4:24-25).

Hagar is associated with the old covenant, the covenant made at Mount Sinai and in Paul's day centered in Jerusalem. This covenant produces slave children, and all who are under the old covenant are in slavery. Paul was flabbergasted as to why the Galatians were being tempted to fall into this slavery (4:9), an old covenant slavery that included the observance of special days and months and seasons and years (4:10).

But Christians are not under the old covenant. "The Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.... Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise" (4:26, 28). Christians are children of Abraham's promise, and are free—which means, in this context, free of old covenant restrictions.

Eliminate slavery
Paul then saw another useful application of the analogy: "The son born in the ordinary way [Ishmael] persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit [Isaac]. It is the same now" (4:29). That is, the Jewish children of the old covenant were persecuting the children of the new covenant.

Paul then makes his point, again from the Scriptures that the people respected: "But what does the Scripture say? `Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son' " (4:30; Gen. 21:10). The application is clear: Get rid of those who teach the old covenant. Do not listen to them, for they will not inherit the promises of Abraham (5:2).

Paul is struggling for the spiritual survival of the Galatian Christians. He is not going to mince his words or beat around the bush. Rather, he makes it clear: The old covenant is slavery and you must get rid of it. Christian life is not found in the old covenant. "Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman" (4:31). We are children of the new covenant, not the old. We cannot have both—we must choose the new.

Written by Michael Morrison;