Galatians 3:27-4:6

Benefits of Being a Heir

Benefit 1 - Heir has a new Position: Child of God

Galatians 3:26 – “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Note: Paul is emphasizing the word “All”.

Benefit 2 – Heir has a new Privilege: Adulthood

Galatians 3:26-27 – “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

** Analogy for our Christian Application of Baptism: Roman rite of Toga

Point: Paul’s point is that Christian Baptism is the donning of adult faith.

Benefit 3 – Heirs have a new Purpose: Equality

Galatians 3:28-29 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

** Three Barriers that the Law (i.e.: Sin) Creates

1. The Ethnic Barrier – “There is neither Jew nor Greek...”
2. The Social Barrier – “...slave nor free...”
3. The Gender Barrier – “...male nor female...”

Rabbinic Prayer – “I thank you God that I am not a Gentile, slave or woman.”

Josephus Flavius (1st Century Jewish Historian who worked for the Romans) – “Woman is inferior to man in every way.”

Paul’s Point: Jesus overcomes our earthly barriers to fulfill God’s will in salvation: “...for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:29 - “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Comparing and Contrasting a Child and the Heir 

Note: The word Paul uses for “child” really means “baby” or “infant”.

“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ.

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” 

- 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

“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.”

– Galatians 4:1-3

Child

• Restricted Rights and Privileges Under a Guardian
• Limited access to Riches of Inheritance Slave
• Intermediary to Father
• “Under the Law”

Heir

• Full Access to Privileges Self-regulated
• Full Access to Riches of Inheritance Free
• Direct Access to Father 
• “Under Grace”

Note 1 – God’s grace “redeems” the Heir.

Galatians 4:4-5 – “But 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.”

** Redemption by Jesus has two purposes:

1. To make us acceptable to God
2. To free us to live as adopted heirs.

Note 2 – God’s grace creates a new relationship for the Heir.

Galatians 4:6 – “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

John R. W. Stott - “We cannot come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin, guilt and condemnation, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ.”

Faith Fellowship Boca · Galatians 3:26-4:7