Triune Adoption
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Context
In Galatians 3, Paul explained that God gave Abraham a promise to bless all the families of the earth though his offspring. His offspring centered on Jesus, but it also pointed to all who would place the same kind of faith as Abraham did in Jesus. The church today is the offspring of Abraham because of our union to Christ. In chapter 3, Paul also explained that God gave Moses the law, which did not annul the promise He made to Abraham, but made it clear that the promise is for those who would come to Him in faith through Christ. The law makes it clear that it is impossible to receive the promise by means of our own effort.
We now go into chapter 4, and while Paul continues to contrast man’s condition under the law with his condition under Christ, he uses the idea of adoption to help us to see the value of what the people of God have in Christ. Do we really know, understsnd, appreciate and value what we have in the promises of God in Christ? It is my aim to help us to see this value more clearly as we consider this text today.
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Introduction
We don’t know what we have until it’s gone. Another phrase that sends basically the same message is absence makes the heart grow fonder. What’s the message? The absence of something or someone that we may have taken for granted helps us to see how much we value that thing or that person. This is often the case in our relationships. We may take the presence of our parents for granted, or a sibling or a friend, but when they are absent from our lives, we no longer take their presence for granted and our missing them is evidence of how much we truly valued their presence in our lives. In this case absence clarifies the value of our treasured relationships.
In our text today, the value of what God’s people have in Christ will be clarified. Just like the absence of someone we love and care can help us see the value we have for that person more clearly, what Paul will discuss, I think, will help us to see the value of our salvation more clearly.
This is important because
FCF: The value of God’s salvation is often lost on those whom He saves.
Main Idea
The value of our salvation is clarified by God’s adoption of us
The value of our salvation is clarified by God’s adoption of us
Main Question
What do God’s people have in His adoption of them?
What do God’s people have in His adoption of them?
Freedom (1-3)
Freedom (1-3)
I mean or What I mean: shows a shift to a different analogy. In 3:22-26 Paul used a prison analogy to describe the previous period of spiritual immaturity and the new life of full-grown freedom.
He goes from comparing the law to a prison warden and a slave attendant to in chapter 4, guardians and trustees.
Paul highlights the freedom Christians have been granted by God by describing the bondage they were under in their spiritual infancy, so
AQ: From what have God’s adopted children been freed?
Spiritual Blindness (1-2)
Spiritual Blindness (1-2)
Paul’s analogy references something familiar to his audience - an heir
The heir, though possesses an inheritance, as long as he is a child (infant legally), has no legal claim to the inheritance.
I this way, the heir is no different than a slave. That they both have no claim to the wealth is what they have in common
But to be clear, the major difference between the salve and the heir, as the end of v. 1 says, though he is the owner of everything.
Until the time comes, the heir is under guardians and managers
I suggest this is a reference to the relationship people who are not yet in Christ have to the law. This really is a restatement of 3:23
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
We were blind to our spiritual need and solution, but God’s people are freed from this blindness, notice the end of v. 2: until the date set by the Father. We will go more into this date set by the Father in a few moments, but we must recognize something here. This is fundamental to our adoption by God. God is the actor. He determines how and when. He’s in control.
In other words, no one can do anything to gain spiritual sight. God grants it, people receive it.
And related to the spiritual blindness from which God’s adopted children have been freed is:
Spiritual Slavery (3)
Spiritual Slavery (3)
Notice how v. 3 begins: in the same way we also.... Paul is comparing the Galatians with the heir discussed in vss 1-2.
Paul is saying that when the Galatians were spiritual infants, that is children, they were just like the heir who had an inheritance but no legal claim to it.
And he describes this condition in v. 3 as being enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
So now, a more sinister shadow is cast. The guardians and tutors in v. 2 are pictured as those in charge of the child heir as controllers of sorts. But now, they are being compared to the elementary principles of the world.
I want to remind us what we suggested what Paul meant in 3:23, where he said, ....under the law, we were imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
Imprisoned carries both the idea of protection and judgement. The law, in other words, protects people from themselves by making clear that obeying it to gain God’s grace is a futile, and always will be a futile effort. It makes clear, though many suppress this reality, that we need God, and we can’t gain His favor by obeying the law or by ignoring it. In this way, the law protects people. But it also holds us captive to our sin. We care shackled and condemned by our sin, and unless we are freed, we will remain bound.
And what I suggest the phrase elementary principles of the world is referring to is this slavery. We are shut up in our sin unable to do anything about it.
It’s important to keep in mind that Paul began this chapter with the heir imagery. This is what all Christians are. Heirs. But until God intervenes in our lives through Jesus, we are enslaved in our sin, and the law is a certain judgement against this truth.
But God did intervene. God did, at just the right time, sent our Redeemer. And because the Redeemer came, those who were once like slaves are now members of God’s royal family. This is what God’s people have in their adoption
Family (4-5)
Family (4-5)
I want us to see this clearly. There is an action in v. 4 and the result of that action is stated at the end of v. 5
The action: God sent forth His Son (4)
The result: that we might receive adoption as sons (5)
AQ: But what made this result possible. It started with God sending the Son, but what did the Son’s coming display about God’s adoption of His children?
It was carried out in God’s timing (4a)
It was carried out in God’s timing (4a)
We could think of the 1st half of v. 4 as a question and answer
Q: When did God send forth His Son?
A: When the fulness of time had come.
Of course, that answer may not be particularly helpful because we need to understand what Paul means by the fulness of time.
In the immediate context, the fullness of time corresponds to the date set by the father in v. 2
But, as we have noted just last week, what helps us best to understand Scripture is Scripture, so based on Scripture, here’s what I suggest the fullness of time is referencing:
When Christ came. Look at what 3:24 says
Galatians 3:24 (ESV)
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
The coming of Christ, that is, His incarnation is when the fullness of time came.
But the fullness of time is also referencing when God’s people place their faith in Christ. In order for this to be so of course, Jesus had to come. But now that He came, the fullness of time comes to full fruition when His people believe. Remember what Paul said in 3:23, 25:
Galatians 3:23–25 (ESV)
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed..... But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
As God’s people place their faith in Christ, the fullness of time comes to full fruition. And upon placing faith in Christ, we are no longer enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. This is what Paul will make clear a few verses down in 4:9: But now that you have come to know God..... how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world....
Something else that the Son’s coming displayed about our adoption is that
It was carried out through the Son’s condescension (4b)
It was carried out through the Son’s condescension (4b)
2 descriptors of God sending forth His Son
born of a woman (incarnation)
born under the law
What Paul said in Phil helps a great deal in our understanding of what we are to take away from the fact that the Son was born of a woman
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
the same word is used here as in Gal. being born in the likeness of men, is essentially saying the same thing as being born of a woman. What Jesus did, in being born of a woman is that He emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave. God sending forth His son coincides with His birth.
That Jesus was born under the law. He was born of a Jewish mother, and was therefore under Jewish law. This is not to be confused with being born under sin. Keep Paul’s words in mind:
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was not born under sin, but under the law. He fulfilled the law, He obeyed the law, and His obedience to the law demonstrated that He was God. And because He was God, he was able to entier the jailhouse of the law, and set His people free. And in setting His people free, they became His children through adoption.
I like what F.F. Bruce said about this in his commentary
The Epistle to the Galatians (i) From Slavery to Sonship (4:1–7)
Christ entered by birth into an inherited obligation to obey the will of God, but to him such obedience was no mere obligation but a spontaneous joy.
The condescension of Christ is seen here. Remember what Paul said in the previous chapter:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
This is why Jesus was born under the law. He fulfilled the law so His people could be spared the curse of the law that they deserved.
In order for us to become adoptable by God, Jesus had to fulfill the law which included obeying it and dying to take on the curse of it.
And so, the Son’s coming also displayed that our adoption by God
It was carried out according to God’s purpose
It was carried out according to God’s purpose
2 purpose statements in v. 5:
to redeem those who were under the law
that we might receive adoption as sons
The purpose of redemption can be seen in the the freedom those redeemed are given. We have been set free from the curse of the law. This is what Jesus accomplished. The word redeemed, as we have noted before means to purchase for a price. People are slaves to their sin, and their freedom requires payment. Jesus paid this price trough His death.
And so, what we see here in these verses is an association of the birth of Jesus with the death of Jesus. Perhaps it will help us to remember this when we celebrate Christmas, Lord willing, at the end of this year.
The birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus resulted in His people being redeemed and that results in His people’s freedom. True freedom.
And this was a display of love. Pure, true love. This is the 2nd purpose statement in v. 5 that we noted earlier: that we might receive adoption as sons
The word adoption is not seen in the OT, but the concept is there, and seeing this concept will help us see how beautiful God’s adoption of His children is.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,
The people of Israel are God’s firstborn son. This is adoption language. Moses was instructed by God to appeal to Pharaoh on the basis of God’s adoption of Israel. Pharaoh was messing with God’s kids.
Also consider
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
When Israel was a child, God loved him. There was nothing impressive about Israel. Even in modern-day adoption, prospective adopters often have a specific criteria of whom they want to adopt:
Gender
health
personal background of the child
age
ethnicity
One commentator noted that God passed over the princes of the world, and determined to adopt a slave boy and loved him.
And church, this is what God did with us through Christ. There was nothing impressive about us. We were like the heir in vss 1-2. Just like slaves. But Jesus paid our price, freed us from slavery, adopted us and loved us.
And so, those adopted are now family. Part of God’s royal family. When you think of your salvation, think of your adoption. The world may not recognize you this way, but God says you are His prince, your are His princess. You are His child.
The value of our salvation is clarified by God’s adoption of us.
Certainty (6-7)
Certainty (6-7)
Certainty is perhaps among the most sought after, prized and cherished possessions in a world and in our lives that seem to be anything but certain. For many of us, certainty revolves around knowing the outcomes of future events. And what is ironic about this kind of certainty is that from the perspective of any person (any of us), what is certain about future events is that they are unpredictable. What will be the outcome of the midterm elections? Lots of predictions, lots of polling, lots of data considered, lots of speculation but no certainty. But because the outcomes of those elections will have significant consequences, and because many on the country are concerned about the state of the country, many want certainty that their way of life will not disrupted. It is the concern for the preservation of a certain way of life that makes those elections so important to many. And what is certain about those elections right now, is that the outcomes are uncertain.
The reason I bring certainty up is because of what the Judaizers were teaching the Galatian church was necessary to have peace with God. Being certain that our connection with God is right, according to these false teachers , is dependent on our behavior. Will we be able to behave consistently enough, that is, obey the law well enough, to have and maintain fellowship with God? If we believe this teaching, certainty will be a much sought after treasure, but never obtained.
So can we have certainty? The short answer is yes, if what we look to for certainty is certain.
AQ: What must the substance of our certainty be in order to have it?
Our membership in the family of God (6a)
Our membership in the family of God (6a)
Why is anyone a son or daughter of God?
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
We are in Christ, that is, we are unified to Christ through believing the promise of God that we can be forgiven of our sins as a result of the substitutionary work of Jesus on the cross. We deserved judgement from God because of our sin, Jesus took our place, received our penalty, our debt to God was then paid in full, Jesus rose from the dead to show all of this is certain and true and is seated at the right hand of the Father to show all of this is complete, and lacking nothing.
And those who have believed this to be true and have repented of their sins and have entrusted themselves to Jesus alone as their Savior and God have been made, that is, adopted into God’s family.
This is what we have been considering in the previous few verses… being part of God’s family, and if this is true of us, then the concerns for certainty in life are satisfied. It’s not that members of God’s family will not experience hardship, and uncertainty regarding future events, but the certainty will be that nothing can change our status as members of God’s family.
If you are in Christ you are a son or a daughter of God.
And what’s also true of those who are members of God’s family? This must also be the substance of our certainty to have certainty:
The rulership of the Spirit (6b)
The rulership of the Spirit (6b)
I suggest that Paul is saying that becoming a child of God (son) and God sending the Spirit of His son into our hearts is simultaneous. It happens all at once. The way Paul unfolds this point in verse 6 seems to be more of a logical progression than a chronological one.
It is clear enough from what Paul says here that the children of God are given the Spirit, but what’s the big deal about that?
The significance of receiving the Spirit is clear in the phrase into our hearts. This is where the Sprit is sent when given to God’s people. But what does it mean that the Spirit is sent into a person’s heart?
Consider how the Bible, elsewhere uses the word heart
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
The heart here in Proverbs 4 and many other places in Scripture talk about our hearts being the place of our wills. When we believe something with our hearts, we are believing something with our wills.
But we have wills without the Spirit, right? We have volition. We make choices that reflect our wills.
But people, apart from receiving the Spirit of God, will behave just like a lion (the choice between a head of lettuce and a slab of meat)
Paul is saying that our reception of the Spirit transforms our wills. We will now have the ability to make choices that reflect our membership of the family of God
But even those of us who are members of God’s family and have received the Spirit of God in our hearts still struggle to make choices that reflect all of this. In other words, we still sin. Paul understood this well:
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Paul’s experience was that even when he desired (had the will) to do right (obey God), the desire (will) to do wrong (sin) was also in play. This is the daily experience of the Christian. It’s not that Christians’ wills do not contend with sin anymore, but something has fundamentally been changed. Look at the rest of what Paul says.
Inner being is not the same word as heart, but these two parts of people seem to be related. Paul is saying that the part of him that has been changed by God, his inner being or we could also say his heart delights to obey God, but there is also part of him, his flesh which is that part of him that remains in rebellion against that which God has accomplished in him.
But back to the Spirit being received in our hearts like we see in Gal. 4. It is the Spirit, and only the Spirit that changes our wills… our hearts.
Something else that must be the substance of our certainty in order to have certainty is
Our dependence on the Father (6c)
Our dependence on the Father (6c)
Many of us are familiar with the word “Abba”, which we often understand or Daddy. It is a term meant to communicate intimacy between God the Father and those who call Him Abba.
But Jesus referred to the Father this way
And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Jesus was in anguish. He knew what the next day would be like for Him. he knew He was about to be crucified, and He was committed to this plan, but He was experiencing the sufferings of people because He was not only God He was man.
And in the moments of His anguish, in an effort to get some relief, He cried out to His Father, and by calling Him Abba, expressed His dependence on Him in that moment.
This is the nature a relationship with God if we care His children. We need Him. We are dependent on Him. He is our Dad, who supplies us with what we need.
And because God will always be an intimate Dad to His children, His children have a certainty in life that is not diminished in any way when it comes to the uncertainties that exist in this world.
And we can cry Abba Father anytime. This particular dynamic to our relationship to the Father provides certainty because our dependence on Him will never be misplaced. Consider what Paul said in Rom.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
There is so much here, but this is what people who have been given the Spirit of God do. They cry Abba father. They are dependent on their Father, and that dependence is what drives them to call out to Him. Reflecting on this not only provides us with certainty but it also gives us a deeper value of our salvation.
Conclusion
The value of our salvation is clarified by God’s adoption of us
The value of our salvation is clarified by God’s adoption of us
Verse 7 sums it up. Instead of being imprisoned under the law, or enslaved by by the world, or being under the control of a slave attendant, or being in the care of guardians or stewards, those who have placed their faith in Christ are full grown sons and daughters of God in Christ who possess the Spirit.
This is the triune adoption of God. The Father is not our Father who sent the Son, the Son set us free, the Spirit enables us to live as members of the royal family of God.
The people of God have freedom, family and certainty in their adoption. God saves, and part of this salvation is His adoption of His children.
Our salvation is precious… even if it all that we have left.