William Knibb sailed for Jamaica in November of 1824. He traveled to replace his missionary brother Thomas, who had died just a few months before his departure from England.
His school in Jamaica dedicated to the children of slaves prospered. Slaves flocked from the sugarcane fields every night to hear him teach. Sunday morning services were packed. The churches in Jamaica grew like wildfire under his guidance. But success brought persecution. The slaves were soon forbidden from attending evening services. One of the church’s deacons, a slave, was flogged and ordered to work in chains by order of the magistrates for holding prayer meetings. Still, the slaves openly sang hymns and prayed for each other. The Colonial Legislature even attempted to forbid the building of new chapels for the slaves.
Finally, Knibb and other missionaries were arrested and the chapels they built were destroyed by angry mobs, with many of the mobs incredibly led by the magistrates themselves. The sugarcane planters were furious at Knibbs and his companions, for imagine the effect on the soul of a now literate slave as he or she read these words from St. Paul, Gal. 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” These Jamaican believers understood the depth of these words, the gospel of Jesus Christ was very alive and real to them; They had tasted a depth of freedom in their spirit from Jesus Christ that would cause them to hunger even more for freedom from physical slavery.
William Knibb sailed back to England and his testimony alone swept away any hesitation from the churches of England from supporting abolition of the slaves in Jamaica. The churches lined up behind the cause of abolition. Finally, on August 1st, 1838, complete freedom was granted throughout the British West Indies.
Back in Jamaica, On July 31st, 1838 Knibb led a late night worship service packed with over 10,000 men and women who sang praises to Jesus Christ until at the stroke of midnight, when they were literally freed from the bonds of slavery. How powerful is that? The Gospel of Jesus Christ woke these people to freedom, and it was to Jesus Christ they gave the credit for their truly being free. The next day a children’s celebration ensued with the burial of a casket containing a slave collar, a whip and a chain. Freedom had come at last Jamaica.
There was now not a soul in the West Indies that was truly a slave. But in remote areas, there were those who did not hear the news, there were those who had no idea they were now free. Former slave masters kept these slaves in the dark, and free people continued to work as slaves for months after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Can you imagine that? They were free, but in their ignorance, they remained enslaved.
We too were enslaved once. We too were held down by the bonds of sin, and yes, we too like those freed in the West Indies, can remain in slavery on account of our ignorance. We are no longer slaves, we are now in fact sons, entitled to the full rights of an heir. Well, then, Paul encourages us this morning, let us set aside our ignorance, let us set aside our slavery, and live as free people.
Taking a look at chapter three, starting there in verse 26, we see that we are all sons of God, that is, those who believe in Jesus Christ are sons of God. Let’s stop right there. How do you become a son of God? See there in verse 26, you become a son of God by faith.
Remember, we saw last week that Abraham became a son of God by faith – and not by merit, not by any good works. Remember, he placed his faith in the promise, and the promise, it turns out was Jesus Christ. Abraham placed his faith in the promise, which was the person of Jesus Christ, and by that faith he became a son of God; In the same way we saw that we come to faith in exactly the same way, by placing our faith by placing our faith in the promise of God, which is Jesus Christ.
Here, we see that there is one way to become a son of God (which, by the way is parallel to the phrase, ‘children of God’), we become a son of God, by faith, period. Have you heard folks say this: Everyone is a child of God, all humans everywhere are the children of God…are they? What does it say here in verse 26? Does it say everyone is a child of God by virtue of being human? NO. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”.
Is everyone a child of God? No. Only those who place their faith in Christ Jesus. How do I know that? Because that is what is says right here, it cannot be any clearer. Remember what Jesus said about the Pharisees? He said that their father was Satan. If their father is Satan, are they sons of God? No, they are the sons of the devil. Remember, as Christians, where do we get our information about how to be Christians? The bible of course, that is more than obvious. So when you find yourself believing something that is contrary to what is here in Scripture, like ‘everyone is a child of God by virtue of being human’, you need to stop yourself and reflect – where did I get that idea from? Why do I believe that? Why would I continue to believe something that is so clearly contradicted in Scripture? That my friends is a moment of spiritual growth, that is a moment of a choice of being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, that is a moment where you decide to stop living in slavery to this world.
A few weeks ago we talked about how Paul says in Galatians 1:4, that when we give our life over to Jesus Christ we are literally taken out of the dominion of the world, the dominion of evil spirits and placed under the dominion of Jesus Christ. Chapter one was very clear about that. Paul is now showing us that when we enter that new dominion under Jesus Christ we become sons of God.
Now, let us not get confused here, When Paul is speaking of ‘sons of God’, he is not speaking of gender related issues, he is speaking of a title. The title, ‘sons of God ‘is not a gender specific title. It does not only apply to men. So just place any ‘daughters of God’ equations out of your mind – this is not about our gender. How do we know that? Verse 28 tells us. Take look. Gal. 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” What Paul is saying is in Christ, there are no race issues, no gender issues.
There is no Irish, no Inupiat, no German, no Sudanese, no Yupik, No Italian, no Peruvian, no Columbian, no Icelandic – absolutely, without question, no one kind of people are any better than any other – we are all equal in the Lord Jesus Christ…AND….men are not superior to women, nor, are woman superior to men, we are all equal. Anyone who tells you anything different is NOT expressing Christianity – they do not speak for Jesus Christ – they speak for the pagan world. They speak for a fallen culture where people attempt in vain to Lord over one another.
My brother Kevin, in his church in California, has had a new convert to Christianity attending his church for about two years now. This new convert is a recent immigrant from Iran. This woman attended his church for a few weeks out of curiosity, and then decided that Jesus Christ was the promise Messiah and she gave her life over to Jesus Christ and became a Christian – The absolute dramatic change that happened to this woman! She is now feels so free. Burdens she carried for years, just fell away, boom, over night, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Before, she was a second class citizen because she was a woman, she was always placed behind men – but in Jesus Christ, she is free, she is equal to all others who are in Christ. The absolute joy she has in her life is remarkable. Her relatives see that she is now so different, and one by one they are experiencing the same joy she has through Jesus Christ.
What has happened to this woman? Look at verse 27, she is clothed in Christ. Remember a few weeks ago we talked about how you are always you, that when you die, you do not become someone different, that in the afterlife, you will always be who you are. That is so true, however, upon our conversion we are clothed in Christ, we are still who we are, but now we have the Holy Spirit upon us. Christ is like a new garment we wear, this shows that we have come into the maturity of the Gospel.
See, she is a child of Abraham. Look at verse 29, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Now, if you are a child of God, then you are also a child of Abraham. If you are a child of Abraham, you are a child of God…And how do we become a child of God? By faith in Jesus Christ. So, who are the children of Abraham? Those who have placed their faith in the promise, which is who? Jesus Christ. Let me be clear, only those who have placed their faith in the promise as Abraham did, and that promise is Jesus Christ – are children of Abraham, are children of God.
See, remember last week, we saw that Paul likened the Mosaic law, the ten commandments, to a guardian. If you remember, it was Roman custom to assign a slave to watch the conduct of a little boy until he was ready for manhood. The slave would literally smack the kid upside the head when he misbehaved. And remember that when the child came of age, the slave who disciplined him would be dismissed. Here Paul takes this analogy a step deeper. Starting in Chapter 4, Paul now uses an analogy that the Galatians would instantly understand, for they saw it all the time around them. He draws from Roman custom and compares it to the spiritual life in Christianity. He doesn’t say these are parallel, and he doesn’t endorse Roman customs, Paul uses a comparison so the Galatians can understand at a deeper level what he is speaking of.
With Roman society there was not a set age for a child to become an adult. The father would have discretion on when the time was right for his child to become an adult. It usually was around 14 to 16 years of age. The only person who could make this decision in Roman society was the father. If the father was deceased a guardian would be appointed in his will and it would be up to this guardian figure when the time was right for the boy to be given the rights of a man. The son would be given right to the inheritance of the father’s estate, yet we see at the beginning of chapter 4 there, that as long as the son is considered a child he is no different than a slave. What Paul means is that the son, though he is an heir to the estate, as a child he has no rights, absolutely no rights. He is treated as property – no different than cattle, sheep, or a barn full of grain. The father had absolute and complete control over him, he could make no decision without his father’s approval.
But then came the day of the toga virilis. The father, on this day would take off the toga praetexta, which was white with purple trim, place a white toga on his son the toga virilis, which was the toga all adults would wear. The son was not just received as a son, but as an adult son, and a ring was placed upon his finger – this was the estate ring – he now was a son with full right, and full inheritance rights. That slave who had disciplined him the previous day, the boy, now a man, was now master over that slave.
In the same way, the law, the ten commandments, acted as this slave guardian for us until the time we received Jesus Christ as Lord. God the Father, when we became Christians, He took clothing of the world off of us, like the toga praetexta was taken off of that little boy, He then placed the clothing of Christ upon us, like the toga virilis was placed upon the man.
In the story of the prodigal son, which Jesus relates to us, in the end the father places clothing upon the prodigal son upon his return. The clothing the father places upon the prodigal son is the same toga virilis Paul is speaking of here – it is full acceptance into the love of the Father, through, forgiveness, though mercy, thought grace….through faith n Jesus Christ.
See, take a look at verse 3 to 5, “So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
We were children – through Jesus we are sons, remember sons is a title and has no gender reference. As sons we are given full rights in Jesus Christ.
What does this mean as a practical matter? What does being a son of God mean as a practical matter in my life?
Let’s look at this question form the view point of God the Father. Because we are sons, God invites us into His kingdom, He then offers us His spiritual protection, and then He offers us something, that is almost unbelievable, and we could easily miss the most important thing He offers us – we see what that is in verse 6. Paul uses the term Abba, Father. This is how we see Jesus Christ refer to the father in the Gospels. The word Abba is difficult to translate, but what is carries with it is a very intimate form of the word ‘daddy’. Jesus calls God his Father, not at a distance, or in an impersonal way, Jesus calls God his Father in the most gentle and personal way possible. The image of Abba is of a father cradling in his arms his newborn baby. It show the absolute love and affection God offers us.
God offers us an intimacy of love with him. One where we can come before Him without fear, for he loves us with the love of Abba, father.
If you have been ever blessed to be a father, you know very well what this means. You know the first time a father take his newborn son or daughter in his arms, that is when a father becomes a dad. That is when theory becomes reality. That is when love blossoms new. As a new father, when you hold your child for the first time, at that moment, there is nothing that you will not do, there is nothing that you will not give up to raise and protect this child of yours; At that moment, there is nothing that can come between you and your child that will separate you, there is nothing that can pull away your love.
This is what Paul means here when he speaks of Abba, Father.
Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you this morning. When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, God does not see you as the world does, God does not place you in this category or that category, no God looks past everything in your life an He declares you something new, He declares you – a son of God, He clothes you with Christ – and with that comes an intimacy and an equality never possible before.
Let us not live as slaves, let us live as free men an woman.
Amen.
Next week, Paul, continues, He explains to us in detail how we can live like slaves, even though we are free.
