Galatians 4 - Abba Father!
4 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. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Paul draws on the metaphor of being an heir to an estate. It is not until a certain age that the heir is able to inherit the estate. Until that time guardians and trustees are in charge.
In both Jewish and Greek cultures, there were definite “coming of age” ceremonies where a boy stopped being a child and started being a man, with legal rights as an heir. - Guzik
In the Roman custom, there was no specific age when the son became a man. It happened when the father thought the boy was ready. When Paul used the phrase until the time appointed by the father, he shows that he had the Roman “coming of age” custom more in mind than the Jewish custom.
Importantly Paul uses a couple of other terms to indicate the new relationship we have with God when we "come of age", or "come to faith". Notice that the action of us becoming children of God is from God down to us. God initiated the whole process. God sent Jesus down to earth to redeem us and "adopt us" as his sons and daughters. An adoptive parents chooses their son or daughter, just like God has chosen us.
Also, Paul says the Holy Spirit calls out through us to God and says, "Abba Father". The word "Abba" is the same word in Aramaic as "daddy". It signifies an intimate relationship between a parent and a child.
“Abba is an Aramaic affectionate diminutive for ‘father’ used in the intimacy of the family circle; it passed without change into the vocabulary of Greek-speaking Christians” (Fung)
Therefore, it would be appropriate when you pray to start by saying, "Abba Father!" You have to realize how radical of a concept this would be to the Jews of Paul's time. To suggest such a personal relationship betwen us and God was seen as blasphemy by them. The bottom line for us is we can call out to God just like as a little boy or girl would cry out to our parents when they needed them.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
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[d]? 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.
Paul wonders how after receiving adoption as sons and daughters of God, how anyone would choose to go back to the slavery of the law. He calls being enslaved to the law as turning back to "weak and miserable forces."
“If you were a slave and are now a son, if you did not know God but have now come to know Him and to be known by Him, how can you turn back again to the old slavery? How can you allow yourself to be enslaved by the very elemental spirits from whom Jesus Christ has rescued you?
aul seems amazed that someone would turn from the liberty of Jesus to this kind of bondage. Yet legalism caters to and recognizes our flesh by putting the focus on what we achieve for God, not on what Jesus did for us. The liberty of Jesus gives us status as sons and a rich inheritance, but it won’t cater to our flesh.
12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14 and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Paul's initial relationship with the Galatians was started through an illness he had. The Galatians welcomed him despite all of this. Now they were turning their back on him. - Guzik
Paul’s fear was that this attraction to legalism would mean that his work among the Galatians amounted to nothing and would end up being in vain. - Guzik
17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
Though Paul is a missionary to many churches, he frequently shows how much each church and each member of every church means to him. He little considers himself a father to them. Paul is so passionate about them that he says, "I am in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!"
I always joke, "How did Paul know what the pains of childbirth were like?"
Paul not only had a huge heart for evangelism, "leading people to Christ", but a huge heart for discipleship, "equipping people to become like Christ!"
This is why he was so upset, because he knew legalism would steal the joy of the abundant life Jesus came to bring. It is interesting that Jesus had the most anger toward the Pharisees, because they took the Law and lorded it over their flock, the Jews. Jesus called them "false shepherds". One of the worst things a Christian leader can do it to make following Jesus a bunch or rules and obligations. Like Paul says that is just like going back to slavery.
Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Be glad, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”[e]
28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does 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.”[f] 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Paul then uses the example of Hagar and Sarah and the nature of the sons they bore to Abraham. Hagar was a slave, who bore Ishmael. Sarah was a free woman, who bore Issac, the Son of the Promise. Ishmael's birth was like the covenant God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, which was in Arabia, and now was figuratively was in Jerusalem. Sarah's gave birth to the promised Son, the son from above. The new Jerusalem.
How does this relate to living the Christian life that Paul has been talking about so far?
The second contrast Paul draws between Christianity and legalism is the contrast between a work done by God’s promised miracle and a work done by the flesh. The real Christian life is connected to God’s promised miracle and not the flesh. - Guzik
And what are the differences between the two covenants, one with Moses and one with Abraham?
One covenant is associated with Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the Law (Exodus 19-20). This covenant gives birth to bondage. Since it is all about what we must do for God to be accepted by Him, it doesn’t set us free. It puts us on a perpetual treadmill of having to prove ourselves and earn our way before God. - Guzik
This covenant corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, that is, earthly Jerusalem which was the capital of religious Judaism. This was the way most Jewish people in Paul’s day tried to be right with God – by trusting in their ability to please God by keeping the law. - Guzik
The Jerusalem above is free: Paul will now tell us more about the covenant represented by the heavenly Jerusalem. This covenant brings freedom – it is free. It is free because it recognizes that Jesus paid the price, and we don’t have to pay it ourselves.
Which is the mother of us all: This covenant has many children; it is the mother of us all. Every Christian through the centuries belongs to this new covenant, the covenant of the heavenly Jerusalem. And every birth under this covenant is a miracle, like the fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 54:1, Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Every one is born because of a miracle by God.
So what does this all mean for us?
If you are Christian, you are born of the new covenant, which Jesus fulfilled through his life, death, and resurrection. You are a citizen of heaven, also called the "New Jerusalem". One day this covenant will be fulfilled when Jesus comes back to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will have no end. As children of God we are inheritors of this kingdom and one day will co-reign with Christ.
Are you living as a child of and a Son of the King? Or, are you living like a slave in bondage to the Law and your inability to ever live up to it?
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