Galatians 4:7
7Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Truth to Learn
Because we have been adopted as a child of God we now have all the rights of inheritance, permanently.
Review
Before the Son of God came as the Messiah (born in a manger and crucified on a cross), mankind was spiritually under bondage to religious practices that could not provide the righteousness needed to stand in the presence of a Holy God. The law, which was given to the Jews through Moses, served as a guardian to watch over the Jews and as a steward to make important decisions for them, but it could not free them. Under the law, man is no better than a slave with no rights to inherit the things that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.
But then Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to live His perfect life and offer Himself on the cross as payment for our sins. Now, through faith in His blood, we are adopted into God’s family as His children with all the rights of inheritance. And, as a result of us being declared the children of God we have the Spirit of God living in us, allowing us to cry out to God with the most endearing terms possible: “Abba, Father.”
Behind the Words
“Therefore” is translated from the Greek word “hōste” meaning so too, accordingly, or therefore. It serves to closely connect the following clause with what has just been said.
The word translated “slave” is “doulos” meaning one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another. There are other words in the Greek language for servants: “oiketēs” meaning a household servant and “misthōtos” meaning a hired servant. A doulos slave, having no legal rights, was of the lowest order in Roman society.
Meaning Explained
Because of our faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted children of God. Now Paul gets very personal and changes from the second person plural to the second person singular, talking individually to each one of us. He tells us that because of our adoption each of us is no longer a slave of the lowest order but a son (child). And not just any old child but one who is declared to be an heir of God the Father.
Under Jewish law only the male children could inherit property from the father, and the oldest male child inherited a double portion, but under Roman law all children inherited with equal rights. Paul here tells us that as adopted children of God we now all have the same rights of inheritance as the “Only Begotten Son” because we have become an heir through Him.
Application
Since we are no longer a slave but an adopted child of God, we are in line to inherit what God has for us. And, by both Jewish and Roman law, an adopted child could not be disinherited as a natural born child could. So, in essence, Paul is showing us that by being adopted as children by God we can never become un-adopted. Hence, we are saved for eternity, and we cannot lose that salvation!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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