Sons and Heirs of God

Well, the title of our study today, Sons and Heirs of God. Sons and Heirs of God. And I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Galatians chapter 4. And we'll begin reading in verses 1 through 7 here. Galatians 4, verses 1 through 7. You know, when we read our Bibles, it's important for us to approach Scripture in light of God's great and panoramic purpose for mankind. And regarding God's purpose for mankind, what Scripture ultimately reveals is that His purpose is to make many sons and many daughters to bring them to glory in the process of bringing them from physical men and women to that of the divine and to share in His divine family. And it's always been His purpose that through His Son, Jesus Christ, that God's called now, in all of humanity at some point, eventually, would become sons and heirs of His divine family. And that Christ came to share His sonship with us, with you and I. And in making and wanting to make this purpose known to us, the Apostle Paul is going to put forth here in this chapter a very useful illustration here. He's going to give us an illustration of a child moving into adulthood, into maturity, and becoming an heir of the family inheritance. And the purpose that Paul is doing this, in this illustration, and giving us this, is the intent on helping God's people, then, to understand the process by which God is taking us upon maturity into His family and to share in God's inheritance. Okay, so let's begin here in Galatians 4, chapter 4, and let's read verse 1 through 7 to establish our study here. So, Galatians 4, beginning in verse 1.

Verse 3.

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then heir of God through Christ. So let's stop there. There you have it. It's quite a passage there. Here Paul is revealing God's purpose for mankind, and you have his purpose clearly stated here in verse 4 and 5 again. Verse 4 and 5.

That's the purpose for mankind. So, the time had come, the fullness of the time had come, and at that point, therefore, God sent forth His Son for this reason. And if you think about those words, the fullness of time had come. When you read those words, then you understand that this was not some half-hearted or half-hazard thought or some arbitrary plan that God was unfolding. Rather, God had planned and established from the beginning a specific and ordained time in which this would be carried out here. God had determined the exact time in which He would send His Son to begin this process. And it's interesting if you think about this from the perspective of God's people who lived in the Old Testament times. You know, they were aware, they were fully aware of the fact that the words of the prophets were absolutely certain. And even those living in the Old Testament times, God's people, they knew there was a child to be born, a son that would be given. They knew the government would be upon His shoulders. They knew He would be a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, Prince of Peace. You can read all of that in Isaiah 9 later. They knew all of this.

But they kept waiting and waiting and waiting, didn't they? And when you read the Old Testament, you realize, as it concludes, that it's really a story that is in search of an ending. Because if you stop reading there at the end of the Old Testament, you realize that, as it concludes, you realize that there must be something more.

And if you did conclude that, you'd be right. There was much more because the Old Testament promised that God would provide a son, a Messiah. And when you move into the New Testament, then, you realize that that promise is fulfilled through the sending of Jesus Christ. So the Old Testament demanded the arrival of Jesus Christ. And when you read the Gospel writers, then, you don't get the sense that they're writing and they're somehow disconnected from the Old Testament. Rather, you realize that they knew, the Gospel writers knew that without the Old Testament, much of what they were writing would be hard to understand, be hard to decipher. It'd be like coming into a movie, you know, halfway over, if you will. And so it's not uncommon, then, for the Gospel writers, as they're putting forth truth, they will add things like, this was foretold, you know, just as the prophets had foretold, you know, so on and so forth. So, just at the right time, when the fullness of time had come for God to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, He sends forth His Son, that we might receive the opportunity of sonship from the Father.

And what a time it was in history. You know, when the fullness of time had come, it was quite an interesting time in history. History tells us that this was the time of the Pax Romana. Maybe you've heard of that. History tells us that right at this time, it was the time of the Pax Romana, meaning Roman Peace.

And it was a time that lasted from 27 BC to about 180 BC. And it was a time in which Octavian took over Rome, and he ushered in a 200-year period of unprecedented peace and economic prosperity there in the Roman Empire. In fact, the Pax Romana, during this time, the Roman Empire reached its peak as far as land area. Its population swelled to approximately 70 million people. Roadways were being put in, and new ways of mobility, which would allow the information of ideas and information to move around in such a way that it had never been before. And it was even a time in which the Roman and Greek culture began to come together, even in their language.

They kind of had a platform of language that was being created and being increasingly shared. So this was the time in which the sun could be sent and the Gospel could go out in a very effective and essential way. The fullness of the time had come. But this was also a time in which history reveals that there were really two different types of mindsets within the culture at that time. Two different mindsets. One part of the culture being those who were becoming increasingly disenchanted and unsatisfied with their mythological gods, lower G gods, not gods at all, the Greece and Roman gods.

They began to discover that the things that these pagan gods promised, they couldn't fulfill. So that was one mindset. A second mindset at this time was a group of individuals who were the so-called religious individuals. They were in the framework of Judaism, the Pharisees, who attempted to move away from the pagan practices, and they moved all the way to the other side of the ditch, if you will.

They landed there and they created a framework of oppressive rules and regulations. These were ugly additions added to God's beautiful law. That's what they did. All of which made them just as unfulfilled as the other group. So if you like, when the fullness of time had come, you had one aspect of the culture, individuals who were longing for reality and meaning, not being supplied by their gods. Then you had these so-called religious individuals, the Pharisees, who embraced this form of legalism that had gone way far beyond what the commandments had intended.

So Jesus was sent forth into a society of these two extremes. Now, I hope this rings true for us today. We're not too far from these same conditions, are we? We have today substitute gods. There is a New Age spirituality that's gaining momentum in our society today. It is what looks like a framework of a spiritual belief, but it's not framed by the Bible. Individuals are picking and choosing how they will want to worship God. There's a little bit of the Bible, maybe. But other things which are not of the Bible. So we see this on the one hand, and it's full of empty promises. On the other hand today, we have men and women who are also not depending on God, and they're focused on their regulations, or they're focused on merely their observances.

They're kind of going through the motion, and their heart's nowhere in it. We see that today, and an individual in that space will feel either ruined by despair or filled up with pride. But they also will know that they're missing something. Jesus Christ then is sent into these, and to speak to every culture from every background.

Paul, it's important for him now to get this truth and this purpose into the lives of the men and women, of those who God was calling. So here in Galatians 4, verse 1, Paul begins to give this helpful teaching, and he wants to give an illustration and the process. He wants to give them how God is creating sons, and he wants them to get it. Because once someone again has this purpose instilled in them, it can transform them.

You have to have a purpose. You have to know where you're going. You have to know what your destiny is, so that you might be transformed.

So I'd like to break this process down for us into four main headings this afternoon. Four main headings that is found in these opening verses here, these first seven verses of Galatians 4. The four main headings are going to be the illustration. We're going to see Paul's illustration. Then we're going to see Paul's explanation. So illustration, explanation, then the implication of these things. The implication, and fourthly, our obligation.

So illustration, explanation, implication, obligation. That helps me. Maybe it'll help you. It helps me structure this. Okay, so number one, the illustration. The illustration that Paul's going to put forth here to help us understand this process. It is found in the first two verses here. So chapter four, verse one and two again. Here now Paul says, I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all. But is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. So let's stop there. So this is the illustration here. And he says, as long as the heir is a child, he's no different than a slave, although he owns the whole thing. Although he's master of the whole thing. Okay. So to us today, this illustration might not immediately be apparent for us, but those who were brought up in Judaism, they would understand this much better because Judaism then, and today, we will see this. The Jewish boy recognizes and anticipates reaching adulthood with a celebration of the Bar Mitzvah. We've heard of the Bar Mitzvah, of course. With the Bar Mitzvah being a celebration marking a significant point in the development of the youth as he moves from boyhood into manhood. And at this celebration, the father of the son actually states these words. He says, Okay, so the boy's moving into adulthood. And then the boy responds by making a definitive statement himself about acknowledging the new relationship, the mature relationship that he's moving into with God the Father, as he matures now into adulthood.

So those who had this background, this was Paul's background, would have understood this analogy in that way, this illustration. Those whose words they were falling on the Greek ears, they would have had some context with this as well. The Greek boy, moving into maturity, he was under the framework of parental jurisdiction up until the age of 18. And then at 18, he moved from being under the control of his parents to being under the control of the state, actually, for two years. And from there, then, moved into society.

The Roman context, those who had a Roman background, they would have had some context to this. They had a religious festival, not necessarily at a particular age, but when the parents deemed that the child was ready to move into adulthood, they had a festival in which the young man donned a new toga, of all things. At that time in childhood, their togas had a purple rim on the hem. And so when it was deemed that this boy was moving into adulthood, that toga would be removed, and a new toga would be given to him, devoid of the purple rim. It's completely white, such as his father would wear. So this illustration comes into and lands on those with a myriad of backgrounds here. But again, Paul is putting forth this illustration to help those called believers at that time, to help us today, what this process is of becoming a sun and maturing into an air of the most high. So this is the illustration, verse 1 and 2. And you'll notice with this illustration, there's really, it's a picture of really two things here, this illustration that Paul gives. It's a picture of two things. One is a picture of unlimited resources that the sun has, unlimited resources, but it's also a picture of limited rights. So this is the picture in this illustration. Unlimited resources of the sun, but limited rights. Unlimited resources, that's implicit in these words here, that the child owns the whole thing. Verse 1 again, I now say that the air, as long as it's a child, does not differ from that of a slave, though he is master of it all. So as long as the air is a child, no different from the slave, although he owns the whole estate, he has limited resources that one day he will come into the fullness of. But not yet. But not yet. So the air is actually Lord of the Mainer here. He walks around the estate, he sees the manicured lawn, he sees the fountains, the beauty of it all, and he says to himself, This is all mine. This is all mine by promise, the boy says, the son says. But it's not yet fully by experience, you see. It's his by promise, but not fully by experience. The legal jargon is air de jour. He's air de jour, but he's not yet air de facto. And it is only upon complete maturity that he will then move from being air by promise to being air by experience. That only happens when he reaches full maturity. So when you begin to think about these things as far as spiritual matters, and our sonship, and our airship, because this is where the believer, the called believer, finds themselves, because it's only upon complete maturity that the called believer, the son or the daughter, will then move from being air by promise to becoming air by experience. And ultimately, air by experience for the son or daughter of God comes when complete maturity is reached, and he or she will join God's family in the resurrection from the physical to the spiritual and join God's family. So air by experience will ultimately come when the son or daughter is resurrected and to experience all that he or she was only air to previously. But we'll get into a little bit more about that in the second heading with the explanation. But for right now, as a child, he has potentially unlimited resources. He also has the status of a son, but he has limited rights. He's being—the reason he has limited rights is because he's still a minor and not yet fully matured. And so therefore, because he is a minor, he's under the jurisdiction of guardians and stewards. That's the illustration here.

Verse 1 and 2 again, I say that the air, as long as it's a child, does not differ from that of a slave, though he's master of it all. He's still a son, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by his father. So this is the physical illustration here that Paul is putting forth. Guardians and stewards. At this time, the physical illustration of this is—these would be individuals who were going to bring up the boy. They were going to order his days, really. They were going to tell him largely when he was going to get up, when he was going to go to bed. They were going to give him various dictates as directed by the father. So Paul is saying that, although the youngster has all of this potentially, he always has someone there exercising jurisdiction over the child until the time of maturity. You will see this in China, when the emperor—you've seen certain emperors that are put into the position, and they're very young. They're like children. In that case, there is always someone there who is exercising jurisdiction over the child, even though they are emperor, until he grows into maturity.

In this way, the heir is no different from a slave. He's not referring to status. Of course, there's a difference in status. One is a slave, one is a son. But they are the same in the sense of having limited freedom of action, if you will. So, in becoming a son, it does not then free them to do whatever they wish. Rather, in sonship, there are guardians and stewards regulating and guiding the son to help them reach the fullness of maturity. So, if you think about this spiritually, think about—let me ask you, what's a steward or guardian does the spiritual son or daughter have today? Guiding our behavior, guiding our thoughts, guiding our actions. Well, one good steward is the law, isn't it? It is a good steward, we could say. Helping guide us until we reach the fullness of maturity.

So, that's a good transition into our next heading here. So, that's the illustration, verse 1 and 2. Now, the explanation. The explanation is found in verses 3-5. Paul will now relate the illustration to that of the believer's life, in terms of moving from spiritual slavery to spiritual sonship. So, verse 3-5. Even so we, Paul says, when we were children, we were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born unto the law, to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. So, there's the joining words here. Even so we. So, this is the connection that he's making from the illustration to the explanation here. Before we were in this maturing process, in other words, spiritually, before we had access and opportunity to God's family, before that maturity began, in our experience, we were slaves. We didn't have the status of a son or a daughter. We were in bondage. You'll notice, bondage under the elements of the world, as it says. This word here, bondage under the elements, elements, it's really a word that speaks to, it's a Greek word that is referred to physical terms. Things like earth, wind, and fire. Even heavenly bodies, like the sun, the moon, and the stars. So, Paul is reaching into the background of the Galatian Gentiles, those who were coming out of their little G gods worship. And he's telling them, you know, actually before you began in this maturity, you were captive under the notion that these elements, the sun, the moon, the stars, could direct your days. And that they give you purpose. So he's telling those Gentile listeners that ultimately those things represented bondage to them. They were held captive by those things, the elements of the world. So they would have received that message here, in this illustration and explanation here. And the majority of Paul's listeners would have been Gentiles. But there would have been others there as well who would have come from different backgrounds in society. So Paul was also reaching into the lives and the backgrounds of those so-called religious people, the Pharisees, you remember, who added all those ugly additions to God's law. Somehow that that was going to bring them inheritance. And he's saying, you know, you were bondage under those principles as well. So he had a message for them. They were also in a bondage that they had created for themselves. So whether these words were falling on Gentiles with their small g-gods and in bondage to them, or whether these words were falling on the so-called Pharisees, religious leaders of the time, who were in bondage to the legalistic elements they had put in place, the message is the same. Paul is telling them that you're now being called out of and you're being called to know the true God and you're being called to know you're truly your purpose.

And that's verse 8. Verse 8. But then, indeed, he says, when you did not know God, you served those things by nature which are not God's. Verse 9 and 10. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. So, verse 9 and 10 are really speaking directly to the Gentiles coming out of paganism.

Paul was attacking these superficial observances that they had put in place. They had all this... they had on their calendar, if you will, all these observances of the sun, the moon, the stars, elements. So, Paul is essentially saying to them, now, you've been enlightened. Why would some of you want to return back to those bondage practices? Understand you're a son. That's what he wants to get them to understand. You're a son now. Your status has changed. Therefore, you're an heir to the God, and you can know this God. He's saying. So, why are you still acting like a slave? You know, I actually ask myself that sometimes as I was preparing this study. You know, when we go back to some of those things that we were called out of, we need to remind ourselves, I'm a son. Why am I going back to these things?

Let me quote you from the expository's Bible commentary. The expositor's Bible commentary. Quote, this is regarding verse 9 and 10. Quote, it would seem that in Paul's time, this exceedingly early and primitive view had been expanded to the point in which the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets, all of them were associated with gods and goddesses, because they regulated the progression of the calendar. So, these associations, they were associated with pagan festivals and honoring these gods. So, they had all these observances, these days, these months, these seasons, these years, were all being guided by the gods that they associated with the planets. So, that's a quote there. So, the majority of Paul's readers would have been from this background, the Galatian Gentiles coming out of these powerful pagan influences. And they were observing these days dedicated to false gods. But also, for the Jewish person to whom these words landed upon, Paul would have also been attacking how they were adding to God's perfect laws and adding to God's perfect observances. You'll notice that Paul does not say, does not mention the Sabbath or the Holy Day observances. He doesn't say that in verse 10. He simply says, these are days and months and seasons and years that they were observing. He doesn't mention the Sabbath. He doesn't say these were God's holy days. Some people try to attach the Sabbath and God's holy days to this. No. You've got to know what the culture was. And you've got to see that it doesn't mention the Sabbath or the Holy Days. These were their own making. So this is not referencing God's days or holy days as he intended them to be observed. But Paul is attacking those who perhaps were adding to God's perfect law and observances, man-made additions, making God's law ugly and burdensome. In fact, the Talmud, that is a recording, a compilation compilation of historic rabbi discussions and discussions about what the Torah means and things like that. But the Talmud records some of the ugly additions, days, observances that the religious elite were adding at that time. For example, they were adding mandatory fasting days. So not just taking the Day of Atonement, but they were adding mandatory fasting days. Fasting Mondays and Thursdays and boasting about it. Oh, I fast twice a week.

They were adding ugly observances. You can see some of these things mentioned in Luke 18, verse 12. We won't turn there, but Luke addresses some of this in Luke 18, verse 12. Ugly additions to God's law, ugly observances, distorting what God had intended. You know, God meant for the law and his commanded observances to be like good stewards, to be like good guardians, to move people to maturity, to move them toward repentance, to move them to becoming a son, becoming a daughter, and receiving the inheritance. And his observances are like good stewards.

But influenced by Satan the Devil, men back then, they added things and they distorted it. And they ended up moving those who had a potential to become sons. They ended up moving them either to despair, because they were put down so much. They couldn't live up to all the regulations. Or it moved men and women to pride. You know, look at all that I'm doing. Let's add one more thing. Oh, I'm better than that. Let me add another one. So it was either despair or pride.

So Paul is telling him that they're being called out of, no matter what your background is. You're being called out of these weak, beggarly elements. So that's number two. This is the explanation of the illustration there. So, number three, the number three heading, is implication. What's the implication of these things? If you and I are a son or you are a daughter, what's the implication now in this process to airship, if you will, to become an heir to an inheritance? Again, even though we know our ultimate maturity comes when we're resurrected from physical to spiritual existence in God's family, even though we know that that's still yet to come, we also know that our status has changed. And that today we are considered a son, or today we're considered a daughter of God today. So what's the implication of that? What's the implication of being a son or daughter today? Well, I think there's two implications that jump out from Scripture. One is, one implication of being a son or daughter today is, number one, you now have a present intimacy with God. That's the number one implication. When you become a son or a daughter, you now have a present intimacy with God. And number two, you have unlimited resources. Those are the two implications of becoming a son or a daughter today. A present intimacy available and unlimited resources. So, in the maturing process, a son or a daughter to them, God provides a present intimacy and unlimited resources. And He does this by giving his son or a daughter a gift. So when an individual moves into becoming a son or a daughter, God gives them a gift. What is that gift? Well, verse 6 tells us the gift. The gift given to the son or the daughter. Verse 6. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. So that's the gift. And He puts it in your heart. He takes your heart and opens it up and puts a nice gift in there.

So if you are a son or a daughter today, God has given you this gift.

The spirit of his son. And what a gift it is. You know, we see this gift spoken about throughout all of scripture. We won't turn there, but of course one of the most known scriptures is John 14 verse 23. You can look that up later. John 14, 23. You know this scripture. Christ answered and said, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him. And then He says these great words. And we will come to Him and make our home with Him. So they come into our hearts and they make their home with us. This is the gift of the spirit of the son. Their power, their essence, if you will.

So as a child grows and matures, upon repentance and baptism and the laying on of hands, the child then makes a commitment to God through Jesus Christ. At that time, a gift is given and they become a son or a daughter of God. And at that time, the very essence of God the Father and Jesus Christ, it's a gift given. And the son or the daughter will come into that new status and they will make their home with them. So this is the clear implication of the status of a son or daughter today. And if you are a son or a daughter today, you have received this gift. You know you've received it. So the spirit-begotten believer is a child of God now and today and is an actual member of the God family. The spirit-begotten believer is a son or daughter now. And you can say to yourself today that you're an actual member of God's family. That's pretty awesome.

Now, we know that this is not yet in the ultimate sense, of course. That will come at the resurrection. We know as children, as heirs, right now we're going through a maturity process. We're developing. We're growing. We're maturing, building godly character, becoming like our Father, exercising this gift that He's given to us, putting it into action. We're training. We're testing. But at the end, we will have this ultimate experience and change into divine spirit beings to be like the Father and Jesus Christ. That's our future. But I want you to know that even today, in the midst of the ebb and flow of life, the sons and daughters deep down in their heart will be able to cry out to their Father and say, Abba, Father, Father, dear Father. And we can have this intimacy now. And we can have access to unlimited resources now.

I hope you know that. God's Spirit joins with our spirit, assuring us that we're a Son of God. That's our experience now. So, that brings us to our fourth and final heading. The Obligation. The Obligation. We'll just say a short word on this. The Obligation which follows from this. Now, notice verse 8 again, and beginning in verse 9. Verse 8 again. But then indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not God's. But now. So here's the Obligation now. Moving into that. After you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it, Paul says, that with that you would turn back to bondage? So what is the Obligation of the new son or daughter?

The Obligation is not to turn back. Not to turn back. Not to turn back to those things of who you used to be. And the motivation, the motivation in fulfilling the Obligation comes from this understanding of who you were before. Formerly, you did not know God. It says, the Father initiated the relationship with you. He reached out to you. And unless he did that, you would not know him. Unless he did that through his son, Jesus Christ, you wouldn't know him. You might know about him. You might have conceptions about him. You might have an interest. But you would not truly know him. When you were a slave, you were a slave by nature and you were not God's. But now, you know God. And even more impactful, God knows you. That's even heavier, isn't it? You know, it's one thing to say, I know God. It's another thing to say, God knows me. God knows you. He knows his children. He knows our names. He calls us by our names. And he speaks to us and he knows us intimately, even more so than we know ourselves. And Paul says, this is the truth I want to get across to you. Let this resonate in you. This is the truth that will truly cause a transformation. God reached out to you, gave you the opportunity to become a son or daughter. He did that. And that understanding drives a son or daughter. That's the motivating factor in fulfilling all of the obligations of a son or daughter. God reached out to you, specifically you. Behold, what manner of love is this that we should be called the children of God?

It's quite remarkable. You know God. God knows you. Yet, you and I may be turning back to weak, miserable bondage practices. What bondage are you turning back to today? What small g gods are you turning back to and putting yourself back under slavery? Do you want to become a slave again? Paul would ask. Do you want to go back to who you were before Christ came and made his home with you?

You know, the great driving motivation in the believer's life is to remember who we once were and to realize what we are today and who we are today. And with that, we can know this experience here of verse 6. This is quite an experience that God has given you the spirit of his son into your hearts so that you can actually cry out, Abba, Father. You can actually have this experience where you can call out, Dad. You can actually do that to the Almighty God. You can actually call him Dad. Daddy. In this intimate way.

Do you know this intimate relationship? Do you know what it is to have access to unlimited resources to overcome any bondage in your life? You have the ability to overcome these things. Sometimes we just have to remind ourselves, who am I? Sometimes when you start with a repentance and you want to overcome something, you've got to think, okay, I'm a son. I'm a son. And I have a present intimacy, and I have unlimited resources. So let's start there. Let's start there. That'll help you fulfill the obligations. We can divide ourselves in many different ways, but the division here from Paul is that of slave or son, slave or daughter. Are you a slave? God would want to make you a son this afternoon. Are you a son? Then don't act like a slave. If Paul were here today, he'd say, be who you are. Be a son of the Most High. Be a daughter of the Most High. Go out and live in the power of the spirit of his son. Go out then with a spring in your step, a glean in your eye, because you know that you are a son. You know that you are a daughter, and therefore heir of the family of God.