This post is part of the Free to Live series. Find the whole series here.
“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir” (Galatians 4:4-7).
If I can just keep from doing this one sin—if I can just keep even a little bit of God’s law—then he won’t be angry with me. Then he will accept me. Then God will love me.
Have you ever thought something similar to those thoughts above? I know I have.
Oh, my dear Christian, . . . when we think such heartbreaking thoughts, we fall for one of the devil’s oldest lies: the lie that God could not love us because of the things we have—or haven’t—done. It’s a lie that speaks to our rational minds, a falsehood that can only be crushed by the truth of God’s Word.
God isn’t angry with us. God already loves us. Already, he calls us his dearly loved children in his Word. That’s our identity now.
That kind of thinking, though—the idea that we can earn righteousness, love, and favor from God by keeping his law—isn’t anything new. Believers have always struggled with it. This is exactly what Paul sought to address in the quoted verses above from Galatians chapter 4.
He wrote to Christians who so desperately needed to hear that they were no longer slaves to sin and the law. Through Jesus—and Jesus alone—they were now free to live as sons and heirs of eternal life. As children of God. That message of comfort—God’s comfort—is the same one you and I desperately need to hear daily.
“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son . . .”
In a temporal sense and from an earthly standpoint, everything was ready for Jesus to enter the world. The vast expanse of the Roman Empire and the ease of travel it provided—making it suitable for the spread of the gospel—Jewish communities spread throughout the known world—providing a good location for missionaries to start evangelizing—all of that was carefully put in place and set in motion by God, who holds all things in his hands. It was all according to his timing.
And in a spiritual sense, God sent his Son in the fullness of time as well—while we were still dead in our sins. Being spiritually dead, we can’t save ourselves—we certainly can’t keep all of God’s law, not even the smallest part of it. The spiritually dead can do nothing! That was the exact right time that God sent his Son into the world.
“Born of a woman, born under the law . . .”
God’s Son had to be true man—human in every sense of the word, just like us, the people he came to save. And yet Jesus was without sin, as true man and true God. He subjected himself to the requirements of God’s law and kept it all perfectly.
He did that “to redeem those under the law . . .”
For us, who were held fast in the bondage of sin, our Savior came to break those chains, to redeem us from the captivity of sin, death, and the devil. The price? His blood—shed on the cross. For you. For me.
All this, “that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
That phrase—“adoption to sonship”—we know what that means for us. No longer are we slaves. We’ve been set free by Jesus. No longer are we enemies of God. We’re his dearly loved children. Because we were so lovable? Of course not. We’ve been adopted into God’s family by Jesus and because of his works, his righteousness alone.
And now, because of Jesus, our relationship with God has changed in the most incredible way. How? God has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts. He’s given us faith—complete confidence and trust in our heavenly Father. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we now cry out, “Abba, Father.”
We are no longer slaves but God’s children, and since we are his children, God has also made us heirs.
God loves me. He loves you, dear Christian. He says so in his Word.
Because of Jesus, we are free to live . . . as God’s children!
Free to Live is a five-part series on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It doesn’t cover everything though, so if you want to study the entire book of Galatians, Pastor Roy W. Hefti’s devotional commentary, Galatians: The Beating Heart of the Gospel, is an excellent choice.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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