The Bond of Sonship: Galatians 4:4-7
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.” Galatians 4:4-7
I want to labor these verses a little longer. The contrast is between slavery under the Law to a Sonship relationship with the Father through faith in Christ. This comparison is extreme and drastic. It paints radically different relationships with God.
But the endearment to God in this text goes far beyond that comparison. The adoption is not like the strained relationship of a rebellious or prodigal son to the father. Notice, “He sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying “Abba Father.” It is the very Spirit of Jesus Himself within us crying out to the Father. There is no closer relationship than that of the Father and His only begotten Son.
There is no strain, no inhibition and no barrier to this relationship between Father and Son. The relationship we enjoy with the Father through faith in Christ is as deep and precious as the relationship between the members of the Trinity.
This means total acceptance, access, favor, love and influence. It affects our prayer, praise, worship, standing and future inheritance. Paul is stressing that we are connected to the Father with the family umbilical cord of Jesus Himself.
Why stand aloft from God as a slave through the rigid Law, when you can be cuddled in the bosom of the Father through Sonship? This was the case Paul was making to the Galatians.
Paul was arguing that returning to the Law was distancing themselves from God. It was replacing the barrier between themselves and God that Jesus died on the cross to remove. Paul was utterly baffled by their actions.
But what about you? Have you embraced the acceptance and bond with God through faith in Jesus Christ? If there is a wall between you and God, it is a wall of your own making.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
