Grace in Galatians (Part 206) – No Longer A Slave, But A Son

https://youtu.be/-pf_GKj3qHM?si=N72_ozEyWuI_UyhR

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I have taught a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians. We have now studied every verse in the letter. Over the next two weeks, we are recapping the entire book.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 4:4-5 TPT“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. He was born of a woman and lived under the constraints of the law. Yet all of this was so that he would redeem and set free those held hostage to the law so that we would receive our freedom and the privileges of adoption as his children!”

Galatians 4:6 TPT“And so that we would know that we are his true children, God released the Spirit of Sonship into our hearts—moving us to cry out intimately, ‘My Father! My true Father!'”

Galatians 4:7 TPT“Now we’re no longer living like slaves under the law, but we enjoy being God’s very own sons and daughters! And because we’re his, we can access everything our Father has—for we are heirs of God through Jesus, the Messiah!”

Supporting scriptures:

Galatians 4:9 TPT“But now that you have come to know God—or rather, to be known by God—how can you turn back to the weak and bankrupt principles of religion, desiring to be enslaved by them once more?”

Galatians 4:19 TPT“My dear children, I feel as though I’m in labor pains again until the Anointed One will be fully formed in your hearts!”

Galatians 4:31 TPT“It’s now so obvious! We’re not the children of the slave woman; we’re the supernatural sons of the freewoman—sons of grace!”

Romans 8:15 TPT“And you did not receive the ‘spirit of religious duty,’ leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the ‘Spirit of full acceptance,’ enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, ‘Beloved Father!'”

Romans 8:16-17 TPT“For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, ‘You are God’s beloved child!’ And as his children, we are heirs of God himself, and joint-heirs with the Anointed One sharing in his glorious inheritance.”

Ephesians 1:5 TPT“For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us.”

Setting the Stage:

We have walked back through chapters 1, 2, and 3. Today, we step into chapter 4.

Chapter 4 is where Paul shifts from doctrine to identity. Paul told us how grace works in chapter 3. Now he tells us who grace makes us. Paul reaches for the most relational language in the entire letter. Sons. He talks about heirs; about being part of God’s family. He says God sent His Son so you could become a son. He says the Spirit inside you cries out, “Abba, Father.” 

Paul plainly states that we are no longer slaves, but rather, we are sons and heirs. And he warns us against going back to the bondage that grace pulled us out of. Grace did not just save you. Grace adopted you. Let’s talk about it.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. God Sent His Son So You Could Become A Son.

Paul opens chapter 4 with a description that every believer should pay close attention to. He says when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, and born under the Law. Why? So that He could redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Read that again. Let that sink in. God adopted us into His own family. God did not just send Jesus to forgive your sins. God sent Jesus so you could become His child. The cross was not the end goal. The cross was the open door. And the room on the other side of that door is the family of God. This is a place where slaves used to stand, but now sons and daughters sit and rest.

How this applies to you:

— The cross was not just about your forgiveness. It was about your adoption.

— Galatians 4:4-5 TPT says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. He was born of a woman and lived under the constraints of the law. Yet all of this was so that he would redeem and set free those held hostage to the law so that we would receive our freedom and the privileges of adoption as his children!” I love the words, “privileges of adoption.” Jesus did not just clear your debt (of sin). He gave you a family name. You are now HIS!

— Forgiveness gets you out of the courtroom; adoption gets you into the family room.

— I want you to picture an orphan who had nothing, who was also facing charges for things he was clearly guilty of. This person has no family. No inheritance. No future. No way out. But then, all of a sudden, a Father pays his debt and then signs the paperwork to provide him with a new last name. The orphan walks out of court free, and he walks into the Father’s house as a son. That is exactly what happened to you the day you believed in Jesus.

— You are not a forgiven sinner trying to behave; you are an adopted son who has been brought home to a new family.

— Ephesians 1:5 TPT says, “it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One.” Read that again: always in His perfect plan. Your adoption was not a backup plan when the Law failed. It was the plan from before time began.

— Walk into today knowing that the cross opened a door, and adoption walked you through it. Your identity is no longer “sinner saved by grace.” Your identity is “son, brought home by grace.” You are not a slave. You are not a servant. You are a son. Live like it.

2. The Spirit Inside You Cries “Abba, Father.”

Paul moves from doctrine to experience. He says because you are now sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your heart, and that Spirit cries out, “Abba, Father.” Abba is the most intimate word a child has for a father. Paul is saying the same Spirit who lived inside Jesus now lives inside you, and that Spirit’s first instinct is to call God “Abba.” Not Judge. Not Boss. Not Distant Authority. Not even God. But Father. Sonship is not something you achieve. It is something the Holy Spirit confirms.

How this applies to you:

— The Spirit inside you cries “Abba, Father” because you really are God’s child.

— Galatians 4:6 TPT says, “And so that we would know that we are his true children, God released the Spirit of Sonship into our hearts—moving us to cry out intimately, ‘My Father! My true Father!'” Part of the role of the Holy Spirit job is to make sure you never doubt whose you are.

— You do not have to convince yourself you are God’s child; the Holy Spirit settles it from the inside.

— I want you to picture a small child running to his father with arms wide open. He does not stop to qualify himself. He does not check his behavior chart. He just runs because he knows who he belongs to. That child is a picture of what God wants every believer to live like. Not earning approval. Not striving for acceptance. Just running into the Father’s arms.

— Religion produces fear; grace will actually cause you to cry out, “Abba, Father!“

— Romans 8:15 TPT says, “you have received the ‘Spirit of full acceptance,’ enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned.” Read that again, slowly, and let it sink in: never feel orphaned. The Spirit was given to silence every voice that ever told you that you do not belong.

— You are God’s child. You belong. You are loved. You are not an orphan or a bastard. You have a Father, live like it!

3. You Are No Longer A Slave, You Are An Heir.

Paul keeps building his case. First, he says you are forgiven. Then he says you are adopted. Then he says you are no longer a slave; you are a son. And then he goes one step higher: if you are a son, then you are an heir. An heir owns the estate. An heir is in line for everything the Father has. Grace did not just upgrade your status from sinner to forgiven. Grace upgraded you all the way from slave to heir. 

How this applies to you:

— You are no longer a slave; you are a son and an heir.

— Galatians 4:7 TPT says, “Now we’re no longer living like slaves under the law, but we enjoy being God’s very own sons and daughters! And because we’re his, we can access everything our Father has—for we are heirs of God through Jesus, the Messiah!” We have access to everything. That is what an heir has. Full access to what the Father owns.

— Slaves work for what they earn; heirs receive what they inherit.

— I want you to picture a worker who has spent his whole life on a farm, thinking he is the help. He shows up early, works late, and sleeps in the bunkhouse. One day the owner calls him in, hands him the title to the farm, and says, “You were never just my help. You were always my son.” That is the moment so many believers have not had yet. The moment grace says, “Stop working like a slave. The whole estate is already yours.”

— Stop punching the time clock with God; you were adopted into God’s family the day you believed.

— Romans 8:16-17 TPT says, “as his children, we are heirs of God himself, and joint-heirs with the Anointed One sharing in his glorious inheritance.” We are joint-heirs. Everything Jesus inherited from the Father, you inherited too. You are not on a different floor. You are at the same table.

— I want you to get a full picture of what being a joint heir means. I have four children. If I were to leave an estate and say that all four children would receive equal amounts of the inheritance, then there would be no tiered system for the heirs. They will all be joint heirs. This is what God is saying: Jesus is an heir, but so are we, and there’s no tiered system. We’re all joint heirs with Jesus. 

— Walk into today living like an heir. Live like someone with full access to the Father, full ownership of the promises, and full standing in the family. Because that is exactly what you are.

4. Why Would You Go Back To Bondage?

After Paul builds the case for sonship, he asks the question every believer must meditate on. Now that you are a son, now that you have the Spirit, now that you are an heir, why would you turn back to the bondage of religion? Why would you pick up the chains grace took off? Paul closes the chapter with the allegory of two women. Hagar represents bondage. Sarah represents the promise. And Paul says it plainly. We are not children of the slave woman. We are sons of the freewoman. Sons of grace.

How this applies to you:

— Why would a son ever choose to live like a slave again?

— Galatians 4:9 TPT says, “now that you have come to know God—or rather, to be known by God—how can you turn back to the weak and bankrupt principles of religion, desiring to be enslaved by them once more?” Religious performance has nothing to give you. It is a broken system. It is empty. It is bankrupt. Why would you trade the Father’s house for an empty system of religious practices?

— I want you to picture a man who has been set free from prison after twenty years inside. He walks out, breathes free air, sleeps in a real bed, eats a real meal. And then for some reason he keeps driving back to the prison, parking outside, and walking the perimeter as if he still belongs in there. That is what a believer looks like when he keeps going back to performance-based religion after Jesus set him free. Stop driving back to the prison.

— Galatians 4:31 TPT says, “We’re not the children of the slave woman; we’re the supernatural sons of the freewoman—sons of grace!” We are “Sons of grace.” 

— Walk into today as a son of the freewoman. You have God’s Spirit, you are an heir and joint heir with Jesus, and you are a son. The day you embrace this reality is the day you will start living #TheGraceLife.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that the cross opened a door and adoption walked me through!

I am not a forgiven sinner trying to behave; I am a son brought home!

My identity is locked in, and I belong to the family of God!

The Spirit inside me cries “Abba, Father” because I really am Your child!

I will never feel orphaned because the Spirit of full acceptance lives in me!

I am no longer a slave; I am a son and an heir!

I have full access to everything my Father has through Jesus!

I refuse to live like a slave when I was promoted to family!

I am a son of the freewoman, a son of grace!

I am living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!