1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything
2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Vs.1 - “Heir... owner of everything,” - The first male child inherits the estate is the law in some countries. When he receives the inheritance he can distribute it as he wishes, or not. The siblings have no say. In essence the child is the owner. He just doesn’t take possession, or have any control until the father passes away. Is the child a slave? No. Has he stepped into his position of head of the family? No. He is basically powerless.
Vs.2 - “Guardians and managers” - Go back to chapter 3:24, in which the Law is shown to be our guardian until faith in Jesus is fulfilled. Repeating what has been said before: the guardian’s job was to protect, teach and train the child so he could step into the position of head of the family as soon as he was an adult. The words used for ‘guardian’ are different in verse 3:24 and here in verse 4:2. The previous guardian (3:24) is someone assigned to teach and train the child in preparation for adulthood. The sense in this verse is that of a superintendent or foreman of and owner’s property or business. God has never left us on our own, but provided a teacher and a roadmap to lead us to Jesus.
Vs.3 - “While we were children” - The ‘children’ analogy has several aspects. In almost all of the uses, children are uninformed (you could say ignorant). This is not intended to be derogatory, but a good picture of the teaching and training needed to raise a child. They need to be taught to not touch a hot stove, to not play in the street, not to scream in church, to have inside voices, to share their toys, be kind to others, to put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. None of this comes without training. I believe Benjamin Franklin said, “Experience is a dear school, but fools will learn in no other way.” Children are ignorant of the consequences of sin. By teaching them things they need to know, you may reduce the amount of foolish learning they must suffer.
In other places in the Bible, being a ‘child’ is being immature in the faith. It means being ignorant of the wealth, and power, and strength available to us as God’s children. We are to be adult children, not ignorant of the responsibility required as a child of God. (See: 1 Pet. 1:14-16; Heb. 5:12-14.)
- “Bondage under the elemental things” - The essence of this verse: ignorance leads to being captive of the worldly nature, the sin nature. “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,” Col. 1:21 “Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance...” 1 Pet. 1:14. While we are children of the world we are going to commit sin. It is our nature. It is as sure as the law of gravity. Under the influence of “elemental things” our glide path is toward depravity. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to lift us out of the spiral into destruction.
Vs.4 - “Fullness of the time” - At just the right time, when conditions were perfect... A study Bible I am using indicated, “Factors that made this such a suitable time included: world wide peace [Pax Romana], an excellent road system [again, the Roman roads], and the dominance of one language all across the empire [Koine Greek].” See note 1. (Interesting side note: It was Roman military and political power, but Greek culture and learning that dominated.)
- “Born... “ - God promised that a descendant of Eve would come to defeat Satan. (See: Gen. 3:15) It is important to understand that Jesus was fully human (“born of a woman”). See: Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:14; Luke 2:1-7. Jesus is also wholly God. See: Luke 1:26-38; Isa. 7:14. Jesus was also subject to the Jewish (Mosaic) Law, but was without sin. (See: Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21.)
Vs. 5
- “Redeem those who were under the Law” - This phrase is directly connected to the “born” in the previous verse. The Jews were born ‘under the Law’, subject to its command and ordinances. Gentile, not so much. Gentiles were not required to follow the Law since they were not part of the covenant. The Law is still a ‘tutor’ to teach us and train us about sin, and show the way to God.
Faith is even more important for we Gentiles. We do not have the history and relationship with God the Father as do the Jews. Our connection to God is more tangential, or perhaps asymptotic. By that I mean we Gentiles, until Christ came, had contact with God ‘around the edges’, watching what God did for and through the nation of Israel. Often we could come near God, but never quite touching.
- “Adoption as sons.” - Through faith all people, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, can be children of God. We are all God’s creation. We are NOT all God’s children. We now have the opportunity to be a child of God. Moved from enemies to His children. Moved from merely created beings - created in God’s image - to His children. See: Luke 20:36; John 12:36. This is significant, important. A child of the king is treated differently than a citizen in the king’s country. A citizen is treated differently than a non-citizen. A citizen or follower is treated differently than an enemy. God is fair and just, sometimes identified as “no respecter of persons” - meaning there are no favors given. The judgment is based on “If you have the son, you have life. If you do not have the Son, you do not have life.” (1 John 5:12)
That is the turning point: do you believe in Christ as Lord and Savior? This is the crisis that determines if you are a Child of God, or are not a Child of God. Your faith decision changes everything - His fairness and justice still apply - the Child of God is now judged on the basis of all debts paid and all sins forgiven through Christ. Those not accepting Jesus are judged on the basis of rejecting God’s salvation, and the judgment of death remains on them. (See: John 3:36.)
Vs.6 - “Abba, Father” - The word “Abba” has been transliterated into English, because we have no direct equivalent for this Aramaic word. It means ‘father’ but with a ‘warm affection & filial confidence’. See note 2. That is why the word ‘Abba’ is almost always followed by ‘Father’ in the N.T. Perhaps “Daddy” is as close as we can get. Little children call their parents Mommy and Daddy. Mother and Father sound so much more formal.
The relationship has changed (for believers) from “God. Father. Sovereign.”, to “God, Daddy”. The change is from fear to love and affection. (The fear will always be there because He is Lord God Almighty, but it is tempered with love and affection.) When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit, who is God. The perfect love that God has is now ours, and the Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts urging us to call out to God as our loving and generous father - Daddy! This is why “we can come boldly [with confidence] to the throne of grace”. (Heb. 4:16) Compare this to Eccl. 5:2, in which we are warned to not be hasty or impulsive.
Vs. 7 - “No longer a slave” - We are slaves to our sin nature until we are saved by faith. We are not slaves of God. The nation of Israel were never slaves belonging to God - they were His people, His subjects. Israel rejected God as their king (1 Sam. 8:5-9). This was not the cause of their downfall into sin and slavery to other nations - it was a symptom of their stubbornness and disbelief. Despite all the miraculous events that saved the nation from Egypt and during the times of the Judges, the people did not see and feel God as their personal father. They were (and still are) His chosen people, but it was all too easy for them to forget this. Human nature is to remember the hurts and slights others do to us. Look at the animosity of the Arab nations towards the Jews - affronts from three or four thousand years ago are remembered. Look at the animosity the blacks in the United States has toward white people - 400 years ago blacks were brought into the U.S. as slaves. That has not been forgiven or forgotten, although only 150 years ago thousands fought and died to set them free. The American Indian tribes suffered tremendous losses in the 1700s and 1800s - some would say they are still suffering. Will these affronts ever be forgotten? Probably not. It is our sin nature, and we are slaves to it.
***Note 1: Holman Christian Standard Bible, (HCSB Study Bible), Copyright 2010, pg. 2018.
Note 2: “Easton’s Bible Dictionary”, as seen in App., “Blue Letter Bible”.
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