David W. Jones

Adopted by God – Galatians 4

Read the passage: Galatians 4

Paul’s Rebuke (4:1–11)

Earlier, in Gal. 3:24–26, Paul discussed the convictional use of the law, as he described the law as “a tutor to bring us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24). Yet, he noted that as believers, “We are no longer under a tutor . . . . [We] are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:25–26). Furthermore, Paul described believers’ identity as being “heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). Now, in Gal. 4:1–3, Paul continues this illustration writing that even though we are now heirs of God (cf. Eph. 1:4–6), before we were saved, we were slaves to the law, man-made religion, self-salvation projects, and unholy spiritual powers. Indeed, Paul says, “We were children . . . in bondage under the elements of the world” (Gal. 4:3). In this passage, Paul is referring to the bondage of moral performance, which all men cannot escape apart from being “appointed by the Father” (Gal. 4:2).

Continuing his illustration of a child coming of age, in Gal. 4:4–7 Paul writes of the glorious adoption of believers made possible through Jesus’ substitutionary atonement. Indeed, from our perspective we are “heirs” (Gal. 3:29; 4:1), but from Christ’s perspective we are “His inheritance” (Eph. 1:18). Several important facts about Jesus are disclosed in this passage by Paul. First, the Father sovereignly engineered “the fullness of time [of Christ’s birth]” (Gal. 4:4a); second, Jesus was fully, one hundred percent man “born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4b); third, like all men, Christ was “born under law” (Gal. 4:4c); fourth, the purpose of Christ’s incarnation was “to redeem those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:5a); and fifth, we can experience “adoption as sons” because of Jesus’ atonement (Gal. 4:5b). In Gal. 4:6–7 Paul describes the benefits of this great adoption.

In Gal. 4:8–11 Paul again reiterates the fact that the Galatians were no longer under the law in a convictional sense, as they were now professing believers and heirs with Jesus Christ. Indeed, the fact that they were still trying to keep the law as a means or measure of righteousness gave Paul great cause for concern. The apostle wrote, “I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. . . . I have doubts about you” (Gal. 4:11, 20). Note that Paul had mentioned this concern earlier when he rhetorically asked if the Galatians’ faith was “in vain” (Gal. 3:4). The reference here to “days and months and seasons and years” (Gal. 4:10) is a reference to the dictates of the ceremonial laws that were being advocated by the Judaizers (cf. Col. 2:16–17). Note, again, Paul’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty in salvation as he refers to the Galatians being “known by God” (Gal. 4:9).

Paul’s Example (4:12–20)

After giving a rebuke in Gal. 4:1–11, Paul gave more of a personal argument in Gal. 4:12–20. Here Paul simply urged his readers, “Become like me, for I became like you” (Gal. 4:12). Paul was not only referring to his example of holiness among them, but also to his own salvation experience, which entailed abandoning his self-salvation project and following Christ (cf. Phil. 3:4–9). After this exhortation, as he had done earlier in Gal. 1­–2, so here again Paul revealed biographical information that is not found in the book of Acts—namely, that he was sick during his visit to Galatia. It is possible that Paul’s illness was related to or affected his eyesight (cf. Gal. 4:15; 6:11). Furthermore, Paul reiterates his love for the Galatians and he notes that the Judaizers had evil motives—that is, they sought to exclude the Galatians from the kingdom of God and to win self-recognition.

Paul’s Illustration (4:21–31)

In Gal. 4:21–31 Paul wraps up his doctrinal argument against the Judaizers by giving an illustration by way of an allegory. Specifically, the apostle refers to the two sons of Abraham: Ishmael who was born to Hagar, and Isaac who was born to Sarah. Paul explains that these two sons were “symbolic” (Gal. 4:24) of two ways to approach the Lord. Ishmael was of the “bondwoman” (Gal. 4:22a), was “born according to the flesh” (Gal. 4:23a), and is equated with “Sinai which gives birth to death” (Gal. 4:24). Isaac, on the other hand, was of the “freewoman” (Gal. 4:22b), was “born . . . through promise” (Gal. 4:23b), and is to be equated with “Jerusalem above . . . which is free” (Gal. 4:26). This illustration is not only a commentary about the lives of Ishmael and Isaac, but also it is a description of the circumstances of their conception. Ishmael was conceived through Abraham’s own efforts, while Isaac was a gift from God who came by promise.

Application Questions:

  1. How can we tell the difference between true believers and false believers (cf. Matt. 7:15–23)? Is there such thing as a life-long carnal Christian?
  2. What is true freedom? The world defines freedom as the ability to make unhindered choices. Is this correct?
  3. Why did God need to adopt us (cf. Matt. 13:38; John 8:38, 41, 44)? What is the spiritual significance of the adoption language in Scripture?
  4. Why are works-based salvation schemes so widespread? What is attractive about earning one’s own salvation?
  5. When is it permissible to allegorize Scripture? Ought we to expect to find hidden meanings or Bible codes behind many texts of Scripture?