Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Gal 4:1 and following. Indeed, God had given much more than the Law: unconditional promises. They came from his love and joy in blessing both the nations and the Jews. To despise such a gift was to despise His love. To pretend, for example, to pay for a gift that one receives is to offend the donor. How much the heart of God is particularly saddened to see so many Christians forget the freedom of the Spirit and replace it with poor and tedious practices. What does this prove? Let these children of God know little about their Heavenly Father. It is understandable that an inconvert is content with “weak and miserable principles” because he has nothing better. “But now having known God,” and being known to Him (1 Co 8:1-4), let us no longer allow ourselves to be enslaved and tolerate nothing unworthy of Him. Let us have full confidence in his love.
Then the apostle interrupts his talk to speak to the heart of his beloved Galatians. He knows how to remember their benevolence, their dedication to him. But, the ailments that absence cools are weak ailments. The convictions that allow themselves to be undermined as soon as the servant of God leaves are weak convictions. What about our Christian love? And what about our faith? The apostle is full of anguish and perplexity. Is his patient work annihilated(Gal 4:8-11)? He was forced to take up with the Galatians the first rudiments of the gospel. Let’s take the opportunity to relearn them with them. For if Paul laments not being able to teach his spiritual children orally (Gal 4:20), we understand the reason: God wanted to give us this letter.
Yet, you will say, today we hardly run the danger of putting ourselves back under the Law. Whenever we indulge in our conduct with the impression that God owes us something, it is nothing more and nothing less than legalism. Every time we make a resolution without relying on the Lord, every time we compare ourselves to others to our advantage, we show this spirit of self-righteousness, the declared enemy of grace (Gal 4:29). To illustrate this enmity, Paul evokes the two sons of Abraham. Isaac, son of the promise, is the only one who can inherit. Ishmael, a child according to the flesh, descended from Hagar the slave, has no right to paternal wealth and blessings. Do we all belong to Jerusalem from above? With Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, are we “co-heirs of the same promise”: the Heavenly City (Gal 4:26; He 11:8-16)?
It is here that the apostle shows us, as we have already observed in the introduction, the absolute incompatibility of the religion of the flesh with the religion of the Spirit. The principles of the former are exactly the same in Judaism as in paganism; the principles of the second are based on faith and grace, the flesh having been definitively condemned to the cross of Christ. Moreover, the Spirit of God will return to this subject when it comes to the exhortations in chapter 5 that flow from the doctrine set out in chapters 3 and 4.
The apostle now highlights the points of contact between the religion of the Jew under the law and that of the Gentile still immersed in idolatry. First, what were Jewish believers before they were united in one body to the Gentiles and before the gift of the Holy Spirit? They, all the disciples before the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, were still young, as were all Jewish believers under the law, before the formation of the Church. Although intended to inherit everything, they were in no way different from a slave. Their future dignity was hidden. They were waiting for the time, set by the Father, when they would be declared heirs by Him.
What a contrast between this passage and the description of a freed Christian in Gal 3:27-29. And one would like you to return to the child who “differs in no way from a slave”, you, son of God, having “put on Christ”! There is no question here of despising the Jewish privileges that God granted to his people, but it is shown to us that what this people possessed was a waiting time before a completely different purpose than to acquire justice for them.
But the Jews too were previously enslaved under “the elements of the world.” These elements were the same in a Jew as in an idolater who, while enslaved to his idols, had the same principles to make them propitious. These elements are as follows: It was necessary to observe certain days and certain feasts for this purpose; it was then necessary to abstain (Col 2:21) from certain things. These two prescriptions spoke of notions entirely alien to God’s thought, but which God admitted in order to convince man of his state of sin. For they were built on three principles: man is perfectible. He can correct himself and improve himself because there is good in him. 2° He can therefore draw near to God and acquire a justice that God can accept. 3° The world is not doomed.
Now, the Christian died with Christ to all the elements of the world. To all this we find an answer in the Christian state as described to us below. There was a time when this provisional state came to an open end: “The fulfillment of the time has come” by sending to God’s side “his Son, born of woman, born under the law, that he may redeem those who were under the law, that we may receive adoption.” This word: “Receiving adoption” has a significance that far exceeds Jewish blessings. From there the word “we received”. For Jews and Gentiles received the position of sons as a free gift from God himself, for the Jew was under the law in the position of a slave, and the Gentile had no right whatsoever to blessing. As long as Jews and Gentiles became sons through faith in the work of Christ, the enjoyment of this relationship is established. For God sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts and this relationship is so intimate and complete that we can, in the same way as our Lord Himself, cry out: Abba, Father! (Rom 8:15). We are not left to our personal appreciation that might deceive us, but the Spirit in us, who is a Spirit of adoption, gives testimony that we are children of God. So that we are no longer slaves like the Jews, but we are all, Jews and Gentiles, sons and also heirs, made as by God himself.
And the apostle returned to the Gentiles, saying: You were once enslaved to those who, by their nature, were “non-gods” (2 Ch 13:9). They could have a religion, a priesthood, more or less knowledge of the thoughts of God, as we saw in the case of Jeroboam and the ten tribes, they were nevertheless enslaved to idols, which could in no way be said of a Jew. Only these Gentiles, Galatians, having been converted, had known God, for their knowledge was very imperfect, were known to God, and belonged to Him as His children; but how did they return to the weak and miserable elements to whom they again wanted to be enslaved? The fact is that they possessed, while being idolatrous, the same weak and miserable religious elements of the world, as the Jews.
For those who brought them back were these false brothers who came out of Judaism. They observed days and months, and times and years, to which they had once obeyed, and returned to their first condition, so that the work of the apostle was useless to them. Now it is of uest importance to note that the principles of present-day Christianity, when they are not the negation of the word of God, a prelude to the final apostasy, do not differ in any way from the elements of the world, as Judaism or paganism present them to us in this epistle. From the moment one has arrived, one abandons one’s vain efforts, to be done righteousness of God in Christ. For the whole religion of Christianity that surrounds us is built on these principles. All “relief works” have no other origin. Man, as with the prodigal son, needs a divine word teaching him that he is lost and even more so that he is dead (Luke 15:24). A dead man makes no effort to come back to life, but he enjoys the whole new life that grace offers him in Christ.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
You are no longer a slave, but a son:
- Spiritual immaturity
-Inability to receive a solid doctrine 1 Co 3:1-2 For me, brethren, it is not as spiritual men that I have been able to speak to you, but as to carnal men, as to children in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you could not bear it; and you can’t even now, because you are still carnal.
-Necessity of being taught Gal 4:1-3 Now, as long as the heir is a child, I say that he is in no way different from a slave, though he is the master of everything; 2 but it is under guardians and administrators until the time marked by the father. 3 We too, in the same way, when we were children, were under the slavery of the rudiments of the world;
-Instability of faith Eph 4:14 so that we may no longer be children, floating and carried away in every wind of doctrine, by the deception of men, by their cunning in the means of seduction,
-Continue in the elementary principles Hb 5:12 You, in fact, who for a long time should be masters, still need to be taught the first rudiments of the oracles of God, you have come to need milk and not solid food. 1 P 2:2 desire, like newborn children, spiritual and pure milk, that through it you may grow for salvation,
- Fulfillment of time
Dn 9:24 Seventy weeks have been fixed on your people and on your holy city, to put an end to transgressions and sins, to atone for iniquity and bring about eternal justice, to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Mk 1:15 He said: Time is finished, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent, and believe the good news. Gal 4:4, but when the times were fulfilled, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, Eph 1:10 to carry him out when the times were fulfilled, to gather all things in Christ, those in heaven and those on earth. 1 Tim 2.6 who gave himself as a ransom for all. This is the testimony given in one’s own time; 1:3 and who manifested his word in his time by the preaching entrusted to me according to the order of God our Savior, -; Hb 9:26 otherwise, he would have had to have suffered several times since the creation of the world, while now, at the end of the centuries, he appeared only once to abolish sin by his sacrifice.
- Spiritual heirs, promised blessings:
-Knowledge Os 6:3 Let us know, seek to know the Lord; His coming is as certain as that of the dawn. It will come for us as the rain, as the rain of spring that waters the earth.
Spiritual Light Jn 8:12 Jesus spoke to them again, and said: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but he will have the light of life.
-Direction, thanks to His voice Jn 12:26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there too will be my servant. If someone serves me, the Father will honor him. Jn 21:23 On this, it was rumored among the brethren that this disciple would not die. However, Jesus had not told Peter that he would not die; but: If I want him to stay until I come, what does it matter to you? Eph 5:1 Become, therefore, the imitators of God, like beloved children;
-A divine example 1 P 2:21 And this is what you have been called to, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you might follow in his footsteps; Rev 14:4 These are those who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; they follow the lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from among men, as firstfruits for God and for the lamb;
- Dispensation superior to the old
Hb 7:19-for the law has brought nothing to perfection,- and the introduction of a better hope, by which we draw near to God. Hb 8:6 But now he has obtained a ministry all the more superior as he is the mediator of a more excellent alliance, which was established on better promises. Hb 9:23 It was therefore necessary, since the images of things that are in heaven were to be purified in this way, that the heavenly things themselves be purified by sacrifices more excellent than those. Hb 11:40 God having in mind something better for us, that they may not achieve perfection without us. Hb 12:22, 27 But you have approached the Mountain of Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the myriads that form the choir of angels, 27 These words: Once again, indicate the change of shaken things, as being made for a time, so that the unshakable things may remain.
From all of the above, we note that there is a Jerusalem from above; it is not the heavenly Jerusalem or the Church; but a second covenant, of heavenly origin, which has no relationship with Sinai. This free woman is our mother. It is she, the new covenant, who gave birth to us. We have come out of it, out of the free covenant of grace. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, gave birth to Isaac according to the promise. Since Sara was sterile, we could never have been her children without the promise. Now, like Isaac, we are children of promise, and this free woman is our mother, for it is written in Isa 54:1-2: “Exult, barren, who did not give birth; burst into songs of triumph, and shout with joy, you who have not been in labor! for the sons of the desolate are more numerous than the sons of the married woman,” said the Lord.” In this passage, the barren woman did not give birth, had not been in labor, like Sarah, before the promise was given to her, but the sons of the desolate, of Jerusalem guilty and abandoned by God, are more numerous than the children of the one who has a husband, of Jerusalem recognized under the first covenant as the bride of Jehovah on condition of obedience, which the people had failed from the first step under the law. There was no resource left but to be a child of the promise; so the door was open to the Gentiles. But, it was the character of those who brought these Galatians back to the law, they persecuted those who were born according to the Spirit, for they were born according to the flesh. This is the only role of the flesh in all this religion, and it will remain the only one until the end. Also what does Scripture say? “Cast out the servant and her son, for the son of the servant will not inherit with the son of the free woman” (Gen 21:10-12). There is no common heritage between them. Those who had been brought by the ministry of the apostle had nothing in common with those spoken of in this passage, for they were all sons of the free woman, while the others were begotten in slavery. As we conclude, the Jerusalem from above is not, as we have said, the heavenly Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem founded on grace of divine origin, and not on the law. It is the same in Rev 12 of the woman, Israel according to the thoughts of God, seen above and begat the Messiah. This will be the future Jerusalem during the Millennium, as shown in the passage of Isaiah 54. He shows at the same time that it was during the sterility of neglected Jerusalem that his children were born to him. She will be restored under grace, thus becoming the free woman, our mother, but it was during her abandonment under the law that her children were born to her. May the Savior help you all in understanding this mystery. Our prayers sustain you in your efforts to become children of God.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow on “Christian freedom; the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.