Galatians 4: 1-11

In going through Galatians 3 verse 19, and showing that the law was added because of transgressions. And in the mere fact, if a law is added because of transgressions, it means that he's talking about two laws. So the law of the ceremonies of the sacrifices was added because of transgressions towards God's holy law, God's Ten Commandments, and other laws related that affect sin.

So we spent quite a bit of time in the previous study of the Book of Galatians addressing that.

But we need to understand something that is very important. And I want us to to grasp this clearly because this is what's happening to us today.

You see, when people come into the church, they bring with them their own ideas in which of or under which they were raised. I'll repeat that again because this is important for us to understand. When people come to the church, they bring with them the ideas or the thoughts or the approaches with which they were raised. And then they try and inculcate them into the church of God. And it's very difficult to unlearn wrong things. Why? Because these things in people's minds are not wrong. They think these are important things to be more righteous, and therefore they don't let those things go. Now, the people in Galatians, the majority of the brethren in Galatia, were, guess what, Gentiles. They were not Jews. They were Gentiles. Yes, they were Jewish people coming in from Jerusalem. If you read that first chapter of Galatians, that's very clear. They were coming in, bringing to them a different Christ and a different justification. But the majority of the brethren in Galatian, their background, their upbringing, their education, was basically pagan, was basically from the world.

And so they brought with them their pagan ideas, and they tried to embed or inculcate those pagan ideas into the Church of God.

And so, in this fourth chapter, Paul starts addressing that second problem. You see, there were two problems, as I mentioned. One, where the Jewish people coming in and saying, yeah, it's not just faith in Christ or the faith of Christ, but you also have to keep the ceremonial law. But then, there was an additional problem, which was the majority of the brethren that came from a pagan world, bringing their own religious ideas, and tried to bring those religious ideas into the Church of God, because they thought that those religious ideas made them more self-righteous. And why this is important for us to understand, brethren, is because we live, our background, the majority of the people in God's Church, are basically from a background of false Christianity.

The majority of the people that come into God's Church, I would say 99% or so, come from the so-called Christian world. But as you and I know, the Christian world is grounded in, rooted in, into hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of false ideas that make people think they're more self-righteous. They're better people. Whether those ideas are keeping pagan holy days, like saying, oh well, but Christmas is so nice, it's just giving presents.

Whether it is extreme paganism that they bring in, oh well, Halloween is just fun.

Or whether it is acting as if they worship in Christ, they say, well, these rabbits and these eggs are so beautiful, they're so colorful, what's wrong with it? Brethren, this is paganism being infiltrated into the Church, just like in concept. It was being brought into the Church at the time of the Church in Galatians.

But I'll give you another example of Christianity, false Christianity, corrupt Christianity, that tries to bring their ideas into God's Church. An example, which a lot of people are afraid to talk about it, is this evangelical Protestant sanctimonious approach, being these, what is the word? Just bringing those ideas of being more righteous, and they've got so many false ideas embedded in their religion. And you know what? People come into the Church and bring and want to bring those ideas into the Church. They can't see that they need to change the old man or the old woman. They need to change that. So, this concept is very important for us to understand.

This is exactly what Paul is referring to in Galatians, but it wasn't just Paul. Peter emphasized this. I want you to turn with me to 2 Peter chapter 3.

2 Peter chapter 3, and we're going to read right at the end of 2 Peter chapter 3.

2 Peter chapter 3, and right at the end here, starting in verse 14, and he's basically saying, listen, if you read that chapter, he says, at the time of the end, there's going to be scoffers. People are not going to believe what you say. He says, this has been going on for years, and he goes on with that attitude. And then he says, but the day of the Lord will come, and ultimately the day of the Lord will come to a point. You read that in verse 10, where it says, when everything will melt with fervent heat, it says, the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burnt up. So, Yah is a word. I'm just emphasizing it now because I'm going to refer to this word a little lighter. But Yah, the word is the elements will melt with fervent heat. And when you're talking about the elements, it means these basic physical elements. Some of you, for instance, took chemistry at school. And when you did chemistry, you had a table of elements. Remember the table of elements? And depending on many atoms they different had, different elements were fitted into the stable from the basic most simple elements to the most compound elements. So, elements are basically physical things, which like physical building blocks from which other physical things are made. So, that's what it is, the elements. In this case, it's referring to physical elements, whether it's the earth, whether it is, for instance, oxygen, whether it is carbon, whether it is lead, which is more compounded elements. But those are the basic elements that form different things. It says all these elements are going to melt right at the end of this judgment. And then it says, therefore, we really got to watch ourselves and become better people. Really, this verse 11 here of 2 Peter chapter 3, to me, is the purpose of prophecy. Think about it. The purpose of prophecy is that we know there will be a judgment, and therefore, and therefore, we need to change. You see, the purpose of prophecy is not to say, oh well, there's going to be punishment and all these things, and you count how many things, and people get involved of counting all these things, and whatever it is. The purpose of prophecy, brethren, is for us to change and to become better people. That's what it says. So what manner of persons ought to be in holy conduct and godliness? Really, that's why prophecy is for us to repent and become better people.

Because it says the heavens and all this will melt and will disappear. But now then it gets to verse 14, and this is the section I wanted to read, but I'm just putting the context here for you to get a better understanding. But then verse 14, it says, therefore, therefore, and the word therefore, it means it follows what was mentioned before, of course. Therefore, looking forward to those things, be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blindness. You know, therefore, make sure that you're conducting yourself in a godly manner.

And consider the long suffering of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. The reason why Christ suffered for us is for us to be saved, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. Just like Paul explained listen, guys, Paul was explaining, don't get involved in a lot of technicalities, get the point, the basic principle is that we need to become better people.

And so, as Paul explains this, and then in verse 16, there's also in all these epistles, speaking in them these things, in which are some things hard to understand. You see, when Paul writes, sometimes it's difficult to understand. You know why? Because Paul was a very intelligent man, very well educated, and he was writing at a high level.

And sometimes we miss the point because we don't understand that high level that he's getting through. And that's why we're going, for instance, through the book of Galatians today, that chapter to understand Paul was talking about certain things, and how people twist that. And we're going to show today in Galatians 4, how people twist one section. And we want to make it very clear what Paul was saying, because he says people twist his scriptures, which says, which untaught and unstable people.

In other words, untaught and unstable. Oh yeah, do you think these people are think of themselves as untaught? No, these people think of themselves as very wise, and very well educated, and knowing the Bible. But you know, they actually are untaught, because they're pulling strings in the wrong direction. And it says, and they twist, in other words, they twist scriptures to their own destruction.

They twist Paul's words to their own destruction, as also they do the rest of the Bible. They twist the words in the Bible to their own destruction. And they say, therefore, beloved, since you know this, beware. Beware. Don't fall down and be led in the way in the era of the wicked. So beware. So I brought this point here about in 2 Peter, because of two things. One is to show a word about elements, which I'll explain to you a little later, but also to bring to you a point that people with twisting Paul's writings to their own destruction, as they do today, as people do today.

And Paul was an apostle, called by God, a faithful man. And his words are scripture, as it says here in verse 16, as they do the rest of scripture, which therefore means that Paul's words are scripture. And we are not to add or subtract from scripture, because as you know, at the end of the book of Revelation says, if you add or subtract from us, beware. So we've got to be very careful. And if we don't understand it, find out carefully from God's ministers.

But don't jump to the conclusions that Paul is coming out or contradicting scripture, because he isn't. So let's go back to and start then in Galatians chapter 4. As I mentioned to you, Paul was in chapter 4 bringing in an understanding that it was not only the Jews bringing in funny ideas, as saying that you need the ceremonial law to be justified in addition to Christ's sacrifice, but also the pagans were bringing in their pagan thoughts into the church and trying to change things.

So that's what I'm going to be showing you today. In a sense, you could call that the specific purpose statement of today's sermon. So let's read the first three verses. Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is the master of all.

So Paul is bringing the example, a secular example, of an heir, of a narrator. Say, for instance, you're a wealthy family, and as a wealthy family, I'm being a part of, as a wealthy family, maybe you have servants that help you raise up your children. And these servants that help you raise up your children, while the children are small, they in fact are above the children.

They have a responsibility over the children. But once the children grow up and get to a certain age, then they don't have that capability anymore. That is a temporary job, in a sense, in a concept, in an analogy.

Paul is tying this to the example of the ceremonial law. Ceremonial law was just a temporary teacher. Thank you, pardon. Ceremonial law was just a temporary teacher to, until Christ would come, and therefore would be our real sacrifice.

So, there he is just saying, he's giving that as a secular example. And he continuing that in verse two, but he's under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. So, in other words, that child is under these servants that are helping this wealthy family raise up the children. And so, and this is so, until the father or the mother or the parents say, okay, that's enough. We don't need any more servants to help us raise up the child. The child is now free from that. Let's call it that. And that's why he says, yeah, in verse three, even so we, when we were children, we were in a bondage under the elements of the world. And so now, yeah, is bringing a perfect point, because even though the analogy can be referring to the fact that this child or us were under the teaching, or as, for instance, the Jews were, under the teaching of the ceremonial law, once Christ came at the appointed time, then the people are no more under the teaching of the ceremonial law, because they got the real sacrifice, which is Christ. But because these people were gentiles, the analogy now pivots to the point that it says you were under the teaching, the training of the principles that you were raised up in the pagan world, and that was temporary. So you were raised up in a pagan world, and therefore, under that time, you were under those, let's call it teachings. But now that you are in the church, you'll know more under the teaching of that pagan world. And that's what it says. You were under the elements of the world. Now, he has the word elements that I mentioned to you a little earlier on in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10. It's the same word, it's the same word, but now this word elements is not talking about the physical elements, like the physical elements of the table of chemical elements in the earth. It's talking about the physical principles in which these people, basic principles which these people were brought up, principles of the world, principles of the world which are none other than paganism. That's what they were brought up, and principles of paganism. Now, the word here is stolchion, which is the basic elements, or the rudiments, the basic elements, which basically is anything from which other things are belonging to, or some theories are composite elements. So, conceptually, that word means it's anything basic from which other things come up. And therefore, we can look at it two ways.

You can look at it as basic elements, which are physical elements, like we showed in 2 Peter 3 verse 10. Those were the physical, basic elements, which are going to be destroyed. That is physical. But spiritually, these elements are the primary fundamental principles of any art, science, discipline, or even religion. So, in other words, are the basic principles, the basic fundamental principles of that, let's call it theology, or of that science. So, it's the basic elements. So, Paul is using the same word, stoichion, and saying that in verse 3, at the end of verse 3, when we were children, and they, when they were children, remember they were young people that were in the world, in a pagan world, because they were not Jews. They were Gentiles. And they were in bondage under the elements of these fundamental teachings of that world, of that pagan world. And those fundamental teachings of that pagan world was no more, no less than demon-based. They were no more, no less than demon-based teachings.

So, Paul here, in verse 3, is perverting the teaching to say, like he has said in the previous chapters, you know, we got these people bringing in Jewish ideas, which they were temporary until Christ came. Now we have the real sacrifice, which gives us justification because of Christ, or what is done for us. But then he's saying, but not only those things with basic teachings that people, like the Jewish people, had, you yourselves coming from the pagan world, you also had basic teachings that you are bringing in to the church. And these basic teachings were, as he calls, elements of the world. But let's just call a spade a spade. They were demonism, demon-based ideas, pagan ideas which were demon-based, which were influencing or trying to get into the church with their pagan ideas.

Now, it is important for us to understand rules of interpretation, of biblical interpretation. In other words, hermeneutics. We have a booklet, a Bible study guide, How to Understand the Bible, that addresses a number of those principles of biblical interpretation. But one of them is what we call exegesis. And exegesis means you take what it says and you extract from it what it says.

Regrettably, many people say they're doing exegesis, but they're not doing exegesis, but they're doing isegesis, which means they put into the scripture their own ideas.

Now, exegesis means we need to understand the context. We need to understand the context to take out of the scripture what is basically saying. And the context here is that these brethren that came into the church in Galatians, they were basically from a background which was non-Christian. In other words, non-Jew. It was a pagan background. And they were bringing into the church their pagan ideas. And that's what he's talking about, the elements of the world. That's what he's talking about. And then you go on reading in verse 4. But when the fullness of time had come, when the Father decided that is the right time now, God the Father sent forth his Son, Jesus Christ, born of a woman. In other words, he was a woman. In other words, he was made flesh. As we read in John chapter 1 verse 14, the word was made flesh, born of a woman, under the physical laws, under the law. Why? Because to redeem, you know, was to buy us back, those of us, we were under the law. We were under the law. What do you mean we were under? We were under the penalties of the law. Christ was made, became flesh, born under the law, subject to the law of physical law of carnal mind, but he never sent. And he did that to buy us back, we were under the penalty of the law. Why? Because we all, being under the law, we have sinned, and the wages of sin is death. And so we all were under the penalty of the law, which is condemned to death. And Christ bought us back from that condemnation. So what? Then we might receive the sonship as sons. Then we may become really sons of God. The word translated there in English as adoption is the Greek word heothesia, which means placed as sons. And so a more accurate translation to today's world is sonship. We receive the sonship as sons. So, yes, two important things. First, the father sends his son to buy us back. And secondly, he gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can be begotten as sons of God so that we can ultimately be transformed at the end of our lives when we resurrect it and then ultimately be born again as spirit beings. Because today we're not spirit beings. We're flesh and blood. And so we are showing here that we're going through a process first of conversion and then ultimately of transformation. And that transformation is when we become ultimately born again as spirit beings. So that's what he's saying here in verse five. And because you are sons, you see the act of beghetto is the act done by the father. And you know, brethren, when a physical dad begets a child in the mother's womb, from that moment, he has fathered that son or daughter. He has fathered that son or daughter. That baby growing in the mother's womb has been fathered, in the words begotten, has been fathered by the father.

Now he just has to wait until the time the child is born and then you'll be a living, independent human being. But he has been fathered by the father at the time of beghetto. So that's it. And therefore, once he is the father, he is a son of that dad, even though not yet born. And that's because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son. Yes, God's only spirit, which is God's spirit. But it's also Christ's spirit, because there's only one spirit. It's the spirit of the father and the spirit of the son. He sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, ever, father. It's like saying, daddy, father. It's a very intimate relationship. Daddy, father. Therefore, you're no longer a slave but a son.

And if a son, an heir of God through Christ, we're going to inherit as children in the family of God. And that's what it says. We're going to be heirs of God. We're going to inherit God. We're going to be children of God through Christ. That is an amazing and a very encouraging statement. Very encouraging statement. Now, look how Paul moves on and re-emphasizes this pivot point. And by this pivot point, I mean he emphasizes that these brethren in Galatians were Gentiles, came from a pagan world. Look how he brings that point again. Look at in verse 8, but then, indeed, when you did not know God, yeah, there were pagans. They were in the world. There were pagans. It's like the world out there today. They don't know the true God. Oh, yeah, they say they're Christians, but they don't really know the true God. And it says, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. What do you mean? You mean you served demons. That's what you did. You served demons.

You know, you get people that say, oh well, I speak in tongues. Brethren, some of these speaking in tongues are demons. Oh, how, George, can you say that? I will say it, and I'll say it again. Because God is not the author of confusion. Oh, how can you say that? They're such nice people. They did not know God. Just because you're a nice person does not mean that you're following God. And that's what he says, yeah, but then, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now you are in the church. Verse 9. After you have known God, it was now you in the church, you now know God, or rather, you are known by God. Now God knows you. You know, you're supposed to have a relationship with the Father. How is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage? How is it that you turn back again? What do you mean turn back again? Understand the context. There were pagans, so they're going back to paganism, which is the weak and beggarly elements. Stoic, chéon, those philosophical concepts, those theological concepts, and they're going back to it. This is the point that I want to emphasize, brethren. As people coming to the church, they drag with them their old, pagan beliefs. And by bringing that, they think they're more righteous. They think they're better people than others. And we've got to be careful, brethren. We've got to examine ourselves and root ourselves out of the old man.

It's a big change. This transformation, this conversion process, that's what I should have said, this conversion process of changing the old man into a new man, it's a huge step. But it's not born yet again. It's just a huge step of conversion, of changing from the old man to the new man. And it takes years for you to wash your mind from these pagan beliefs that came in from the world, and you think that you're doing a good thing by bringing them into the church, but you're not. You've got to wash yourself out of that paganism. Oh, George is talking strong. Yes, I am, because people don't get it. So, brethren, here's the problem.

Paul is talking about these ex-pagan people that are now Christians in the church, trying to bring into the church of God paganism, and he's saying, these are weak and beggarly elements, and get them out.

And he says, to which you decide again to be in bondage. Yeah, because demons put you in bondage. They don't put you in freedom.

You see, brethren, this is the concept that I mentioned before I started this section on the Book of Galatians about Gnosticism. Gnosticism is this intellectual thing of bringing old pagan ideas and mixing them and bringing them into the church, and masquerading them as Christian, and masquerading them as Christian. How are these elements that Paul is referring to, how are these elements came to be? What is he talking about more specifically? Now let me give you a little bit, very briefly, very briefly, of history in a conceptual way.

You see, this all started in Numerod. Numerod, the grandson of Noah, he founded the city of Bible Babylon. He became very powerful. You can read about that in Genesis chapter 10, run about 8, verse 8 through 10, and also Genesis 11, verse 1 through 4. He became a very powerful ruler, and so powerful that his success was such that he, from a religious point of view, became known as he was the seed of the woman. And you know, in Genesis 3, verse 15, where he talks about the seed will bite the heel of the woman and all that, he became that prophetic seed of the woman that would bring salvation to humanity.

And that's why he became known as Zoroaster, which in the Chaldean language, the Babylonian language, meant the seed of the woman. Now, these doctrines of Numerod spread out to the whole world into different languages, because you know, after that, there was a Tower of Babel, and they went out into different languages, and this went out into different languages. In the Chaldean language, this pagan teaching started from Numerod, but reality started from Satan. In reality started from Satan, and Numerod was merely a tool in Satan's hands.

And so, these satanic ideas, or pagan ideas, went with different names into different languages, and that's why you have these gods with different names in different languages. This is what it's talked about on the 17th chapter of Revelation. Talk about Babylon, Mystery Babylon, the mother of holids. This teaching has infiltrated into the early Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church became the mother of holids when there was the Protestant Reformation, and all these other little churches, the holids, follow it.

And this is going to be, there's going to be an ecumenism where they're all going to get united again, and this is going to happen at the time of the end. So, Numerod, and his false ministers, priests, taught a false interpretation of the religious history from the days of Adam and Eve, and a false understanding and teaching about the nature of man. Such things like as an immortal soul, and all other things have come from Numerod. And since the educational system, and by that I mean the religious system, in ancient Babylon was controlled by Numerod's priesthood, the people that were educated, and then when they went into different languages, all that infiltrated into the whole world, into different languages, with different interpretations, or incorrect interpretations, of the first three chapters of Genesis.

So, Numerod combined monotheism with animism. Now, what is animism? Animism is that each object is inhabited by a different spirit. Each object is inhabited by a different spirit. In other words, each object is inhabited by a different demon. And that is what it's called pantheism. And pantheism is the concept that God is everything as all in all. In other words, God is nature itself. So nature, God, in nature everything in nature is God. God is in everything in nature.

That is this false religion, an extreme point of that, that comes all the way from Numerod. And nature, in those old days, was composed of four elements, and the R is the elements. You know, the elements, remember going back to the basic elements? He says nature, the way they believed at that time, was composed of four basic elements, namely, number one, the earth that brought life.

Two, water which moistens the earth. Three, air. In other words, the Spirit that gives life, or the Spirit of life. And four, fire, the fire of the sun which gives light and heat. And therefore, the creation was worshipped as God, because these elements were each controlled by a demon. So, it is clear, once we start understanding this in more detail, that Paul was referring to demon powers that were no gods. And as we read, for instance, in Romans 1, verse 25, he says, they changed the truth of God into a lie, and they honored and served the creature rather than the Creator. That's what they did. And that's why, in Galatians chapter 4, verse 9, he says, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to these weak spirit beings, which you desire to be under bondage again?

Brethren, yeah, we see that Paul was not referring to the law. He was not even referring, in this context, yeah, in this section, to the ceremonial law. Because even if you read sections like in Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 13, and Hebrews 8, verse 8 through 10, Paul is referring to the Old Covenant, and he doesn't say there was anything wrong with the Old Covenant. What he said, what was wrong, is wrong with the people, because they didn't keep the laws, they didn't stick to the Covenant.

They broke the law. There was nothing wrong with the agreement that God made with them. And that's why he says, yeah, in verse 9, at the end of verse 9, which you desire again to be in bondage. You're not in bondage to God's law. God's law is good, holy, righteous. They were in bondage to sin, to demonism, the law of sin. And so, and then he says, verse 10, you observe days and months and seasons and years.

You see, what is he talking about? You observe pagan, pagan holidays. You observe holidays and days which are pagan. You observe days like Christmas, like Easter Sunday, like Halloween. You observe days. You observe months like in Brazil, they observe the month of June, they call it Juníne, which is a whole pagan month of things. And seasons and years of paganism. You think about it, you can tie that to things like astrology and all other things, watching the stars. Well, if you're born under the star, that is demonism. Do not follow astrology. So brethren, Paul was warning the Galatians to not observe these days which were associated with these elements, which were basically nothing else, elements which were controlled by demons. And he says, don't get back into bondage.

You see, this verse is not talking about the Sabbath. This verse is not talking about God's early days.

We in the Church of God, brethren, we believe that he is required to observe God's Sabbaths and God's Holy Days.

Oh, some people don't like to hear that. How can you say that?

Brethren, it is required to obey God. Yes, you and I are justified freely by grace, but that does not mean that now we can just scot free and disobey God. Now, it means that once we're justified by grace, we better obey God. And so, we have various booklets addressing those points that we need to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days. For instance, we've got God's Sabbath rest. We've got one booklet. We've got another booklet called God's early days plan. We've got another booklet called Holy Day or Holy Days. You can go on our website and download those booklets. So, the situation that was happening in Galatian is very similar to the situation that is happening today. And what I mean by that? What I mean, it is very difficult to unlearn false teaching. I'll repeat that. It's very difficult to unlearn false teaching. You see, this false teaching we receive from our youth, it's deep, has deep roots and is very difficult for us to unlearn. Brethren, I'm not talking about culture, national culture, like the Canadians and the United States. The Brazilians have certain national cultures, the Scottish have certain national cultures, the Brazilians have certain national cultures, the Netherlands have certain national cultures. I'm not talking about a national culture. I'm talking about a religious culture which is based in paganism. That we gotta change. It's different. We gotta change from the old man to the new man. The old man which is against God's laws. And that's why then Paul says in verse 11, and this hits home, brethren. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

Brethren, doesn't this hit home? Put it into today's context. And when we got people coming into the Church of God and dragging with them old religious so-called Christian concepts, then it's easy for us to say, and again brethren, what are these old concepts? People think they're doing the right thing. They think they're being more self-righteous. They think they're doing better. But we gotta be careful, like it says, they're twisting the Scriptures like we started in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 17 through 18. Be careful that they're twisting Scriptures. Be careful. Wash yourself with God's Word. Beware. Otherwise, as ministers of Jesus Christ, could be saying the same thing. I am afraid of you, brethren, lest I have labored for you in vain.