Who is a son of God?
Galatians, Part 7
Galatians 3:26 – 4:7
Open to Galatians 3 … Place holder at Romans 8
Introduction
- Purpose of the letter:
1. To teach
2. To correct
3. To point us to Jesus
- The Law was given to bring God’s people back to Himself because we strayed
- The Law shows us the sovereignty of God by giving us Grace through Jesus
-- This brings us into a place of reconciliation in 2 different ways as a creation
-- 1. We must (v22) be reconciled to Christ and accept His death for our sins
-- 2. The Law is given (v24) to reveal to us our NEED for a Savior, who is Jesus
- Read Galatians 3:26 - 4:7
- Pray
∆ Point 1 - Who is a Son of God?
- Paul does a reminder here of simple Christianity, simple yet … often missed
-- HUGE: There is no difference in any person if they are found in Christ
-- This is a great application light for 2015 in when race/class/etc. comes up
- Last week we discussed the revelation of the promise:
- (v21-22) God could not give us a law that justified us; else He would have
- Here is the fulfillment of the promise:
• IF you belong to Christ …
• IF Christ resides in your heart as Lord …
- APP: Then you are part of the promise of the seed; which is life giving for all
- So, who are the sons (and daughters) of God?
• Those in the faith (Those who have placed their faith in Jesus)
- IMP: Without Jesus, there is no heir, no sonship, nothing … except separation
- There is an underlying warning about prideful actions …
-- Even as an heir; we cannot get a big head - we must be under submission
-- There is a direct line of submission here to the Master
-- Romans 2:11, “… God does not show favoritism” (no respecter of persons)
- This is just like how we are under the submission of rulers here on Earth
-- Supervisors, government leaders, those God has put us under (even pastors)
-- We have to obey the One who is responsible for the whole estate
-- APP: We can’t place ourselves over God - EVER … leads to dangerous ground
- TRANS: IF we are sons/daughters of God, then what does that mean for us?
∆ Point 2 – From slave to heir
- There is no difference in a slave or an underage heir, we all must submit to Him
- There was, however, nothing that we could do without God’s intervention
-- When God’s time had fully come; He sent us His Son to redeem us (v4)
-- Why? Simply because there was nothing else that we could do
- (v5) God had to provide a way in order that we might be redeemed
-- Without redemption, we cannot fully receive what God has for us …
- (v6) Paul shows us a very critical stance that we must adopt
-- The Spirit cries out to God, the Creator, because we are sons of God
-- Abba, Father, or dear daddy, is the cry of our hearts because of our weaknesses
- AN: Think of a child who has fallen down; he wants a parent to come and rescue
-- The child cries because of his helplessness; we too ought were once helpless
-- This is the exact stance that God had to take with us; to rescue us; deliver/save
- Turn to Romans 8
∆ CHANGE SLIDE
- Romans 8:14-17 says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
- All that are Christ’s are taken in as Children of God (v14)
-- They are led by the Spirit of God, as a scholar in his learning is led by his tutor
-- It is the undoubted character of all true believers that they are led by the Spirit
- Having submitted themselves in believing to his guidance:
-- We become sons of God, received as God’s child by His adoption
-- We are owned and loved by him as his children (it’s why we cry “Father”)
- We are not slaves (v15) by fear or any other control methods
-- The Spirit of adoption was not then so plentifully poured out as now
-- The Law opened the wound, but gave us little of the remedy
-- We were given a guideline to live righteous; but did not have direct access
- Since Christ has come, we have been offered the Spirit of adoption
∆ CHANGE SLIDE
- IMP: Men may give a charter of adoption; but God gives a spirit of adoption
- A sanctified soul bears the image of God, a the child bears the image of the father
-- Praying is here called crying, which is a natural expression of something needed
-- It’s an expression of desire; desire for something needed but not known
-- APP: Children that cannot speak will vent their desires by crying …
- So why is this important? Because we are witnesses to the revelation (v16)
-- Those that are sanctified have God’s Spirit witnessing with their soul
-- This is an ordinary work of the Spirit, by the means of comfort, speaking peace
- The Spirit always testifies to the Word of God; which reveals us as heirs
-- IMP: The Spirit in the heart cannot contradict the Spirit in the word
-- Without the Spirit, there can be no revelation of those who belong to God
- So if we are children of God, then we are heirs to what is his (v17)
-- On Earth, an heir is someone who is first born; a true blood relative
-- In the church, if we’ve been born again, we are ALL heirs to what is God’s
- Heaven is an inheritance that all the saints are promised, it’s what is ahead
-- We do not come to it as purchasers by any merit or procurement of our own
-- Purely by the act of God; for God makes heirs; we are granted access to it
∆ CHANGE SLIDE
- APP: The honor and happiness of an heir is in the value of what is inherited
• Heirs of God
• Joint-heirs with Christ
- We shall partake in His glory and what is His because He has asked for it
-- John 17:24, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
- Turn back to Galatians …
- Galatians 4:7 is the fulfillment of what it means to be an heir for all believers
- Challenge: We must be aware that rebellion alienates us from God
-- APP: When Dad says, “Clean your room”, and we don’t; there are consequences
-- The same thing happens from God’s point of view over our response to Him
∆ Big Idea
- The lesson for believers today is to heed the words that Paul encourages us with
-- IMP: We are no longer slaves to the world; but heirs with & submitted to Christ
-- It is in this knowledge that our actions must be focused and guided daily
- What we will see next week is Paul’s concern for the church as a whole
-- It is to the Galatian church; but the application is very important to ours
- Are we on firm ground in the faith, or simply living week by week?
-- We’ll examine that more next Sunday
- Pray
