THE SON. Since God intended all along to put men right with himself through faith in Christ, two questions arise: (1) Why didn't Christ come immediately when our first parents sinned? (2) Why did God leave mankind for so many ages under the control of the law of nature and the Law of Moses, when nei... [ Continue Reading ]
WHILE HE IS YOUNG. "An orphan son, before he reaches the age of legal maturity, is treated just like a slave, and there are men who take care of him (guardians) and who manage his affairs (trustees), even though he really owns everything." UNTIL THE TIME. "Not until the time his father set, does he... [ Continue Reading ]
WE TOO WERE SLAVES. "Before the First Coming of Christ, the ruling spirits of the universe formed a valuable discipline for the education of the world, although they held us as slaves." Compare Galatians 4:9; Colossians 2:8; Colossians 2:20. Those same ruling spirits are condemned when their traditi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RIGHT TIME. "When the time of preparation was completed, at the _right time,_ God sent his own Son! He sent him from heaven into our own world!... [ Continue Reading ]
TO REDEEM. "Since both Jews and Gentiles were held slaves by the ruling spirits of the universe, God sent his own Son as a human being to BUY FREEDOM for us, so that we might become God's sons and receive every blessing God has for his people!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SHOW. "You believing Jews and Gentiles are sons, and to show this God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we can come to him in complete confidence, each calling him _Father_ in our own language!" Compare notes on Acts 2:6; Acts 26:14. In Christ, God becomes our Father in a sense w... [ Continue Reading ]
NO LONGER A SLAVE. [Both the TEV and the NIV follow the corrected Greek text.] "You who have the Holy Spirit as a pledge or guarantee, are no longer a slave under The Law and driven to obey through fear of punishment. You are a son, who is motivated by love (1 John 4:18). Since you are a son, you ar... [ Continue Reading ]
IN ME PAST. "Don't be foolish enough to give up your favored status as God's sons!!! Remember what you used to be when you did not know God! Remember when you were slaves to idols and the spirits of dead men who only existed in your imagination!... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT NOW. "But now in Christ you have chosen God to be your Father, or rather, God had identified you as his sons (Galatians 4:6). How can you possibly think of turning back and making yourselves again slaves to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits, by converting to Judaism???" The false teachers cl... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION. "These holydays, even though Moses commanded them, are no more effective to gain the favor of God than were the pagan rites you formerly practiced when you worshiped idols." Both Paul and the Jewish Christians continued to pay special attention to these _holydays,_ but the... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM AFRAID FOR YOU! "You seem to love these weak and pitiful spirits so much, that I am afraid for you! Can it be that my work has been for nothing? You do not seem to value and understand the freedom you have in Christ!... [ Continue Reading ]
BE LIKE ME. Paul may be thinking that as he gave up the advantages of Judaism to become free from The Law as they were, so they should remain free in Christ, as he is! _MacKnight_ understands it: _"Brethren, I pray you to continue in friendship with me; for I am your true friend,_ having reproved yo... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU REMEMBER. Some sickness sent Paul into their area originally, and they showed him great love and respect! _Ramsay_ thinks it might have been malaria, and that he went into the highlands of Galatia hoping to recover.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT YOU DID NOT. Even though Paul's physical condition put a strain on the Galatians, they did not despise him for it or reject him as unfit to be a messenger from God. _MacKnight_ has Paul say: "You received me with as much respect as if I had been Christ Jesus himself.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU WERE SO HAPPY! "The Good News I preached to you then made you jubilant!!!" WHAT HAS HAPPENED? "What has changed your attitude toward me???" YOU WOULD HAVE. This is a figure of speech describing great gratitude! Some think this implies that Paul's sickness was a chronic eye disease.... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE I NOW? "After all the love and devotion you showed to me your spiritual father, have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth of Christ and urging you to hold firmly to it???... [ Continue Reading ]
THOSE OTHER PEOPLE. "The _circumcision party_ claims to love you and to be working for your own good. But their intention is to turn you away from the truth of Christ, and to separate you from me." SO THAT YOU. Compare what Jesus said in Matthew 23:15, and see note there.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR A GOOD PURPOSE. _Alford_ understands this verse to say: "I have no wish, in thus writing, to set up an exclusive claim to show a deep concern for you - whoever will really teach you good, at any time, let him do it and welcome.... [ Continue Reading ]
MY DEAR CHILDREN! From the deep concern of Galatians 4:18, Paul narrows it down by speaking as a_ parent._ He had brought the Galatians _into the world_ as spiritual children, and his claim on them is greater than any new teacher could have! UNTIL CHRIST'S NATURE. Their eternal destiny depends on th... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW I WISH. "If I were with you now, I would better know just what to say to help you!... [ Continue Reading ]
DO YOU NOT HEAR? "The Law itself teaches that Abraham's descendants by faith, who will receive all God has for his sons, are not slaves to The Law!... [ Continue Reading ]
ABRAHAM HAD TWO SONS. "These two sons of Abraham are an example of what I mean.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE SLAVE WOMAN. "This son was born through the natural strength of his parents, but being born a slave, he had no claim to receive his father's estate." BY THE FREE WOMAN. "This son was born through supernormal strength that was given to his parents by God's promise. He was born free, and had cl... [ Continue Reading ]
A FIGURE. "These two women symbolize the two covenants by which men and women become the church and people of God. The one came from Mount Sinai, making Abraham's descendants by Isaac the only _visible church_ and people of God, is symbolized by Hagar, whose children are born in slavery.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHE IS A FIGURE. "She represents the present city of Jerusalem, that is, the Jewish church which was organized on that covenant, and is a slave with all its people, slaves to The Law.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM IS FREE. "But the _church_ of Christ, the messianic community, which is made up of all who reach out through faith to seize Christ and make themselves part of Him, is free and not slave! It is organized on the covenant which comes from Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22-24), which... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE SCRIPTURE SAYS. "What I say about the meaning of Abraham's wives and sons is not just something which I dreamed up! Isaiah spoke about this very thing (Isaiah 54:1)_!_ Sarah was the _deserted wife,_ because when she could not have children, Abraham took Hagar as a second wife and by her had... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW, YOU. "Even though you are not Abraham's descendants as we Jews are, yet like Isaac, who became their son by God's promise, you, my brothers, are God's children as a result of His promise! In this way, you are also children of Abraham and Sarah!... [ Continue Reading ]
PERSECUTED THE ONE. "At that time, Ismael the slave son persecuted Isaac the free-born son. It is the same way now, when certain Jews who are _slave-sons_ persecute us _the free-born-sons_!... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHAT DOES? Genesis 21:10_. "_I show you that the scripture says to throw out the slave woman and her son. This means that all who have _no spiritual relationship_ to God will be thrown out, no matter who their ancestors are. Only the true sons (and daughters) by the Promise of God, will share wh... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT OF THE FREE WOMAN. "I have showed you from The Law itself that we who are God's children by faith, are Abraham's true descendants, born of the free woman, and we will receive our Father's property!!!... [ Continue Reading ]