The Church of the Adopted
Galatians 4:1-7
I sat in a restaurant this week at a table next to two guys who when their food arrived they decided which one would pray by saying, ‘Age before beauty’. I thought they both fell into the same category and unless they were waiting for someone else to arrive there was no ‘beauty’ at that table.
Age is something that precedes something very beautiful and that is the true Christian life. It is when we come of age that we are able to enjoy the full benefits of being the people of God.
Paul writes to the churches in Galatia about how being under the Law is like being a child but when we are set free in Christ we finally come of age as God’s people.
There was an article a few years ago in which a man gave his idea of a perfect world. He said "In a perfect world, mail would always be early, & the check in the mail would always be for more than you expected it to be.
"In a perfect world professional basketball & baseball & football players would be complaining because schoolteachers and church workers were signing multi million dollar contracts.”
I think that in a perfect world pecan pie would cure cancer, your coffee would never get cold unless you ordered it that way and golf balls would only fly in the direction of the green’.
He also said, "In a perfect world you would feel as good at 60 as you did at 17. And you would be as smart at 60 as you thought you were at 17."
A mistake many people make is to confuse age with maturity.
There are many 40 year old teenagers walking around nowadays. Age is a quantity of time while maturity is a quality of time.(W.W.)
For many the worst day of their life is when the graduate from High School. They see themselves as finally being totally free but those who know understand that it is the beginning of becoming totally responsible.
Good News: With maturity comes freedom. Bad News: Freedom brings responsibility.
1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
Word for child does not suggest any specific age but just that the person has yet to be recognized as an adult.
ADOPTION under Roman Law was not about adopting children like we do but about adopting ADULTS for the purpose of being heirs.
A child’s life is little different from someone who has no real hope for the future such as a slave. All that will one day be theirs cannot be used until they come of age. During that time of waiting they are under the protection of guardians and managers.
1) Hopefully those tutors/guardians would prepare the child to rightly use that which they would eventually inherit.
2) Prince William? Paris Hilton?
In Judaism a boy passed into manhood shortly after age 12, Barmitsva.
In the Greek world it was at about 18 years old at a festival called Apatouria.
In the Greek culture, the father controlled the son from the age of seven to eighteen, the mother having the responsibility for the first six years. And then at the age of eighteen the son became ethovas and for two years he was under the authority of the state. Before he became an ethovas he was received into a class at a very special festival in which his long hair was cut off. His long hair wasthen offered to Apollo; it was a sign of him passing into manhood.
Under Roman law the year was not fixed, but at the discretion of the father, based upon the development of the son, the family held a sacred festival called a Liberalia, held anuually on March 17th, in which the son was liberated from parental rule. He was taken down to the forum and he was introduced into public life. It was a very definite day and if he was a boy, he took his toys and he put them in the forum and left them there; and if it was a girl, she took her dolls and offered them to the gods to show they were putting away what Paul called childish things.
Galatians 3:22-25 says we were “under the Law,” described as: (1) a jailor which kept us in protective custody (3:22-23) or (2) a tutor (3:24-25). However, in chapter 4, it changes to “guardian” and “trustee.”
In Roman law, boys from birth to 14 years of age were in the charge of a legal guardian (3:23-25).
From age 14 to 25, their property was administered by trustees (cf. 4:2).
Under Roman Law the father would decide when the child would come to the age of inheritance. One might say 18 and another 35.
In our culture a baby is protected by the Law until they have a chance to come of age. Not one of my kids was born and then looked up and me and said, ‘Hi Dad…great day to be born huh’. Know a good place for me to get a job today?’ They all came into this world and were protected by laws that say they must be fed, clothed, sheltered and kept from unusual physical harm.
A man came by the church this week who was only wearing one shoe and was totally barefoot on one foot. It was rainy and in the 40’s. As an adult the law says he can do that but if a parent made a child do that then there are laws that could be enforced to protect the child.
Israel was protected by the law until the fullness of time came and now they are responsible to make the right decisions or suffer the consequences.
When the Judaizers led the Galatians back to following the Law they were actually taking them back to a type of spiritual infancy.
Those who would put upon others some legalistic demands usually see themselves as more spiritual but the opposite is actually true.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law
Jesus came when the time was ‘JUST RIGHT’.(ripe)
Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, Alexander the Great conquered the known world and Greek culture brought with it philosophy, art, drama and literature. The Greek language united that part of the world and could be read and understood by almost everyone. In 280 B.C. the Old Testament was translated into Greek and people started reading the record of God’s work of redemption. Later, the New Testament was written in Greek and was widely dispersed.
“when the fullness of the time came”
God is in control of history and Christ came in God’s timing
The time was perfect for the birth of Jesus. 1.) Pax Romana - The Roman peace provided social, economic and political stability. This allowed the early missionaries and preachers to travel freely throughout the Roman Empire.
2.) Lex Romana - The Roman Law gave the citizens living in the Empire many rights that also helped spread the Gospel.
3.) Rio Romana - The Roman roads. These highways, many of which are still in use today, served to aid in the spreading of the Gospel message.)
When Christ showed up it was just in time – The world was in great need of it - The Law had prepared them & it was in exact fulfillment to the Prophecies of the OT
Chuck Colson tells about going to Salem, OR. & preaching to prisoners there. Kathy Trocoli went with him, sang the song, "My Life is in His Hands."
After the service was over, one of the inmates came up to Kathy & said, "I really want to thank you for singing that song. It ministered to me so much." He said, "My soul was dry."
She asked, "Why is that?" He answered, "Well, I’m here in prison, & I have a lot of time left to serve. I received a letter this past week from my wife asking for a divorce. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did, & I felt like there was nothing left for me. But now I realize that my life is in the hands of God, & that somehow it will be okay. I really want to thank you for singing that song."
Five days later, Chuck Colson & Kathy Troccoli were in Chicago, more than 1,000 miles from Oregon. They were in a prison there, & Kathy sang that same song, "My Life is in Your Hands."
Afterwards, a woman came up to Kathy & said, "I really want to thank you for singing that song. My soul has been so dry." Almost the same exact words. Again Kathy asked, "Why?" She said, "Well, my husband is in prison, too, & I felt like I couldn’t put up with it anymore. So I wrote him last week & asked for a divorce. But I’m not at peace about it."
Her husband was the man they had met back in Salem, OR. Kathy was able to minister to her, & now God is healing the marriage & bringing them back together again.
Born under the Law. Jesus was born under the Law so that He might fulfill the requirements of the Law through His sinless life.
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Hebrews 10:11-14: “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
He met the requirements of the law and then paid our debt through His death because He did not owe that debt Himself due to His righteous life.
Verse 5 "redeem them that were under the law". The word "redeem" means "to buy in the slave market through the payment of the redemption price. To buy for oneself and to forever remove from the sale." He came "to give His life a ransom for many", Mark 10:45)
He made our adoption possible(we adopt children while they adopted adults)
Under ROMAN LAW you were not in the family until you were adopted.
A father could raise a child and never choose to adopt them. They would never be an heir. We are born again and given new life by God but we are not in His family unless He chooses to adopt us. God choose to adopt us as His children.
I would have felt amazingly blessed just to be saved from the consequences of my sin and given eternal life. God did not stop there but choose to adopt us as well.
In Roman law, adoption was very difficult. A long, involved and expensive legal procedure, once enacted adoption afforded several special rights and privileges.
1. all debts were cancelled
2. all criminal charges were dropped
3. they could not be legally put to death by their new father
4. they could not be disinherited by their new father
In legal terms, they were a completely new person. Paul was alluding to the believers’ security in Christ by using this Roman legal procedure (Rom. 8:15, 23). When a father publicly adopted a son, he officially and permanently became his heir.
In Christ we are made full adopted adults in God’s family. We are responsible to act as we should. We are responsible to make sure we are fed, to make sure we are protected from the enemy, to make sure we are in the shelter of God’s family. Because we are Sons the Spirit of God’s Son is now in our lives to lead us and help us to develop a relationship with Him of such intimacy that we now cry out. ABBA FATHER. If we don’t have that level of intimate relationship then it is because we are neglecting the privileges that are ours as full grown sons.
6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" ABBA FATHER
How strange would it be for me to return from a trip and to see my kids and hear them say, ‘Well hello Mr. McGraw, how was your trip?’ Hopefully they would say, ‘Daddy’s home!’ or at least “His Daddy, what did you bring me”.
Abba – more associated with intimacy than infancy. This was a new idea to the Jews. They had many names for God. He was Jehovah-Jireh; Jehovah-Rohi; Jehovah-Shammah; Jehovah-Rapha. When they prayed to God, they used whatever name they felt was appropriate for their current circumstances. When the disciples came to ask Jesus about praying to God Jesus told them to pray, "Our Father". We don't have to memorize lots of names for God, we just need to remember that regardless of what we face in life, He is our Father!
Heb 4:16- Let us therefore come boldly [WELCOME] to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
What if Lynne and I adopted a child and brought him/her into our home. That child might be so thankful that every day they might ask, ‘Can I mow the lawn today, can I do the dishes for you, do you need a foot massage?’ That would be great but it would break my heart to hear them say after doing something like that, ‘Am I still your child now?’ ‘Was that enough to keep me belonging to you?’ YOU ARE OUR CHILD REGARLESS OF HOW THE LAWN OR DISHES LOOK OR WHETHER WE GET MY FOOT MASSAGES. YOU ARE AND WILL ALWAYS BE OUR CHILD.
There is nothing you will receive this Christmas will come close to measuring up to the gift God gave the world on that first Christmas. Paul said 1 Cor9:15, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." He said that the gift God gave the world was great beyond description! What was the gift that God gave to the world 2,000 years ago? It was His Own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The French mathematician Auguste Comte was talking about religion one day with the Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle. Comte suggested they start a new religion to replace Christianity, based on positive thinking and mathematical principles. Carlyle thought about it a moment and replied, "Very good, Mr. Comte, very good. All you will need to do will be to speak as never a man spoke, and live as never a man lived, and be crucified, and rise again the third day, and get the world to believe that you are still alive. Then your religion will have a chance."
God showed that it wasn’t a simple thing to bring about all that was done to present His Son to the world.
It took millenniums of preparation and absolute control of history and the people in it. Only God could pull that off and the reason He did was to make us His own.
