Sermon: Galatians 4 – Identity!
Question: Do you know who you are in Jesus? Do you know your God given identity?
Scripture: Galatians 4:1-31 (NIV)
1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.
4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,£ Father.”
7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.
13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
14Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
15What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you ‹from us›, so that you may be zealous for them.
18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you.
19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
Hagar and Sarah
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
23His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.
25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
27For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.
30But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Thesis: Knowing who we are in Christ and who Abba Father is keeps us from being deceived by religious and secular extremists and the evil one. We need to know who we are in Christ and tap into the relationship we have been given by Jesus to “Abba” Father. Our identity is we are children of God and loved by “Abba!” We are no longer slaves – in bondage but free through our faith and belief in Jesus.
Introduction:
Illustration: Identity theft is a major problem in the world we live in today:
Key Facts & Identity Theft Statistics for 2021
• In 2020 there were over 1.4 million identity theft complaints in the US.
• Due to identity fraud, American consumers lost $56 billion in 2020.
• 86% of global consumers were victims of identity theft, credit/debit card fraud, or a data breach in 2020.
• 33% of all fraud attacks in Europe are linked to identity theft.
We have all had to make adjustments, these last few years, to protect our identity because people have been ruined by others stealing their identity! If you have ever met a person whose identity has been stolen, you know the pain and struggle there is to restore your credit rating and perception of who you really are.
But identity theft does not just happen in the financial realm of our lives – it is happening in the spiritual realm of our lives too – there is an Entity seeking to steal your God given identity away. This Deceiver and Thief is out to convince you are not who God said you are. This liar is telling you that you cannot see miracles, that healing is not for today and whispering in your ear constantly that God does not love you or want you. This Deceptive voice even says that you have to earn your way to heaven, you have to work at becoming better before God will even look at you. All this deception has one purpose to steal away your God given identity and get you to buy into a lie that says this is who you really are. This Murderer is working hard to kill your identity!
Putty Putman said in one of our PKM classes on “Identity” this: “So all we’re doing (in our classes) is learning to believe that God really is who Jesus says he is, and that with God, we really can do what Jesus says we can do. It’s a journey of stepping into a reality that Jesus welcomes us into. One facet of this is in the area we call identity. Identity = the self-directed aspect of our worldview. Our story of who we are. In Matthew 6:33 - We may not recognize (Jesus use of the word) “righteousness” as an identity term, but it is one – as you’ll understand by the end of a few teachings... What Jesus is saying is that these two things need to be walked out together, God’s kingdom - his inbreaking activity, and his righteousness - the identity that we receive from him. We need to seek both of these together. (then we need to believe who he says we are and walk them out together!).
The Biblical Perspective on Identity
Now at this point I want to address a question that may be already floating around in the back of your mind: Why do we have to mess with this? Doesn’t looking at ourselves and focusing on ourselves detract from Jesus? This is a great question to ask, and an important one to think through. Sure, there are some people who are too self-focused and are more interested in themselves than Jesus. Pretty much every unbeliever is here, and it is possible to not have the proper submission to the
Lord here. But in my experience, often this kind of questioning comes from a perspective that hasn’t been well formed as it comes to understanding the relationship between the self and the divine. It’s so easy to have this perspective that the divine is good and that humanity is the problem. This comes from an oversimplification of the biblical story. The Biblical story is not God vs: humanity, it’s God vs Satan + sin. Humanity is the thing in the middle - the spoils - the two sides are battling over, not the source of the problem.
God wants us to know we are His children, we belong to His family, we are His heirs to the things of Heaven and the Devil wants to steal that from us – He wants to deceive us into thinking God does not love us. He wants to murder our God given identity and take on the one He says we are! Why? So we are destroyed, ruined and no longer a threat to his diabolical plan against God and love.
T.S. - This is the battle Paul is addressing with the Galatian Christians – He is in essence saying don’t let the deceivers steal away you God given identity – You are a child of God by faith and heir to the kingdom and resources of Heaven.
1. Our self - Identity – who we are in Christ is crucial to keep us rooted in the love and embrace of Abba Father. (Galatians 4:1-7)
a. Identity – we are heirs = children of God – not slaves to religion’s work’s based mindset. We are delivered from sin not enslaved to it. Paul says we are free through our faith in Jesus – in embracing His great sacrifice and the relations to Abba Father that comes with this believe system.
i. Putty Putman stated in our PKM class this; Our humanness and our self is not the issue. Self over God is a problem, yes, but the answer to that is not God instead of self; it is God in and through self. The incarnation completely undermines any kind of anti-self sentiment. If God doesn’t celebrate our humanity, then why did the Son become one in Jesus? Why is he still one in Jesus? The second person of the trinity - God himself - will forever find expression through a human being in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, there is a melding of the divine and the human. It’s not that divinity is t’s not that divinity is incompatible with humanity; rather its that divinity fills and fulfills humanity. Jesus is more human because he is divine. His divinity doesn’t make him less human, if anything it makes him more human. Human and divine - forever intertwined in Jesus Christ, and Jesus himself is the anchor point for how we see the relationship between God and humanity playing out. Religion contests all of this. Religion undermines the union of God and man in the incarnation and makes them adversarial. It pits divinity against humanity!”
1. Thus enters in the deceived religious works based people who think we have to do the works to become more divine – to become like God or as a god as Mormons teach.
2. Putty adds, “At the end of the day, humility is about this posture: I am not who I think I am - I am who God says I am. I am not the definier of myself; I receive the definition of who I am from the Lord, and whatever he says - however true it may seem (or however hard it is to believe) – I am going to believe him, because He is God and he’s not confused or deceived. When it comes to this whole Identity thing, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to submit our self-definition to God’s story of who I am. We are going to yield our narrative and have the humility to believe what God says, knowing that if one of the two of us is confused, it is us and not him. We are going to receive an identity from the Lord.”
b. So, Galatians 3:26-4:7 (read again) is about our identity in Christ – our biblical identity defined by God for those who believe and have faith.
i. We are all equal in the eyes of Jesus and Abba Father.
1. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ – race-culture-color- language means nothing we are connected together by Abba Father.
2. We are not each other’s slaves – no one owns another person because we are owned and adopted into the Kingdom by Faith in Jesus – we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. God knows our genders – He created us who we are - but we are on the same plan in the Kingdom of Heaven – no one is better than another in the Kingdom. We must treat each other with respect, dignity and love. We all get to minister in His Kingdom!
a. It’s the religious works religions that create caste systems not God the Father “Abba” not Jesus Christ!
ii. When we believe and have faith in Jesus we become part of Abrahams seed – heirs according to the promise God gave to Abraham.
1. We are not under the law anymore because Jesus came and redeemed us from the law into a faith relationship with Abba Father.
2. We have received the full rights as sons and daughters of God – we belong to Abba – He has adopted us into Heaven’s Kingdom and we are heirs to the things of the Kingdom of God.
T.S. – Paul uses the phrase in Galatians 4:6 to reveal and to remind us who we are in Jesus Christ – We are heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven – sons and daughters of God – part of His family – so now we can use the phrase “Abba Father!”
2. The phrase “Abba Father” reveals very intimate relationship between children and their heavenly father. (Galatians 4:6- 8-20)
a. Some today even as Christians do not know who their Heavenly Father is! “Abba”
i. They do not understand Paul’s revelation and reminder, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father!” Galatians 4:6
ii. Paul also use this term in Romans 8:15: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, (daughter-ship) And by him we cry, “Abba, Father!”
iii. Mallory from his sermon: Gifts of a Fathers love states this: You’ve heard the old saying many times that, if God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He’s crazy about us. he really loves us that much! He loves us with such intensity that each and every day he sends a sunrise to greet us in the morning and a sunset at night to kiss us goodnight. He gives us flowers every spring and a then paints us a vivid and colorful reminder of his love to us every fall. What a mighty and loving God we serve to know that whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. whenever you are hurting, he’ll comfort, and when you are filled with joy, he’ll celebrate along with you. Even more amazing to me is when I try to comprehend that fact that God can dwell anywhere in the universe and of all those places he can abide, he chose my heart. Let’s just face the fact right now: God is crazy about us! Nothing more does he desire than to be with us in order to talk, walk, and commune with us on an intimate basis. It is a relational walk with us that grows from a daily basis of friendship and fathership to an eternity of worship and fellowship. again, God loves us that much! As romans 5:6-10, tells us, God poured out his love to us to not only describe his loving character, but to prove to us that his desire was to save us and to have a loving, personal intimate relationship with us. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What a precious gift of love he has showered upon us so that not one single person would have to perish for all eternity.”
1. How we need to see this today and experience this today!
iv. The Greek word for “Abba” - “Pah-tear” signifying a Father as a nourisher, protector, upholder.
1. This term Abba is used here pointing to God and God alone – it is a word derived from Aramaic and Hebrew and can be described by using the words: “Daddy” –“Papa” – “Father” and “My Father.”
2. This word addresses the relationship between God and His children as one of being intimate, rooted in deep love, it speaks of a connected and intimate relationship between “Papa” and child.
a. It’s not a formal word, legal word in meaning but it reveals deep respect, admiration and love.
i. Video from Yentl! Showing the kind of love we need to have for God the Father!
b. Abba Father – God our father and daddy is not like many of the earthly fathers some of us have know and been hurt by: Abba is different!
i. Abba will not abandon us!
ii. Abba will provide for us!
iii. Abba will love us!
iv. Abba will not reject us!
v. Abba will give us grace and mercy!
vi. Abba will bless us with right standing in His family!
vii. Abba will pay the price for us – He will flip the bills for us!
1. Average price to raise a child today: $272,000 to raise a child today to adulthood!
viii. Abba will sacrifice for us!
b. Many people today have a misperception of what a father/parent really is – so when Scripture compares God as our Heavenly Father a distorted picture of a fathers/parents surfaces in their minds and hearts.
i. Top Ten Facts and Statistics on Fatherless Homes for 2022:
1. There are 1.8 million “solo” dads in the US.
2. Statistics on absent fathers show that 7 million American dads were absent from the life of all their minor children.
3. Divorces are one of the leading causes of fatherless homes.
4. When it comes to the importance of fathers, statistics can help determine how children see school and education.
5. Father absence statistics show that adolescent women from fatherless homes have a higher chance of getting pregnant.
6. According to the statistics of fatherless homes, 17.4 million children lived in fatherless homes.
7. Fatherlessness stats may be linked to higher rates of suicide in high school students.
8. Children from single-parent homes participate in more government nutrition, education, etc. programs.
9. Fatherlessness may be linked to lower educational levels of African American girls.
10. According to the Department of Justice, statistics on parents in prison show that the number of incarcerated fathers in the US grew significantly in the period from 1991 to 2007.
ii. Absentee Father Statistics to Keep in Mind:
1. If you live in a happy family or at least know both of your parents, you may not even have the idea of how privileged you are. Millions of children worldwide never called anyone ‘dad’.
iii. National Child abuse statistics:
1. 37% of American children are reported to Child Protective Services by their 18th birthday (African American children are reported at 54%), for a total of 4 million child maltreatment referral reports received.
2. 207,000 children received foster care
3. 3% of victims are neglected.
4. 2% of victims are physically abused.
5. 4% of victims are sexually abused.
6. 9% of victims are psychologically maltreated.
7. 9% of the child abuse victims die from neglect.
8. 9% of the child abuse victims die from physical abuse.
9. 4% of children who die from child abuse are under one year.
10. 80% of child fatalities involve at least one parent.
11. Estimated that between 50-60% of maltreatment fatalities are not recorded on death certificates.
iv. Sexual Abuse
1. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.
2. 34% of people who sexually abuse a child are family members.
3. 3% of girls were age 10 or younger at the time of their first rape/victimization, and 30% of girls were between the ages of 11 and 17.
4. 96% of people who sexually abuse children are male, and 76.8% of people who sexually abuse children are adults.
5. 325,000 children are at risk of becoming victims of commercial child sexual exploitation each year.
6. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14 years old, and the average age for boys is 11 to 13 years old.
7. More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator.
c. But Scripture is clear that God “Abba Father” is a loving and grace filled parent!
i. Jesus called God - “Abba”
1. Mark 14:32-42:
a. Play Passion video clip!
d. Why we should address God as “Abba Father” – I think if we learn to do this we will know our identity in Jesus and latch onto the relationship we can have with God!
i. Blair Park wrote in an article from Bible Study tools this thought about calling God “Abba”
1. Why should we also praise God as our Abba Father when we are not Jesus and we may not have witnessed God while temporarily blind as Paul did? Well, each one of us was created in God’s image, similar to how Jesus was fashioned to represent God on earth (even though He was one and same with God in heaven). Making us as Himself was God’s plan from the beginning, as quoted from Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Knowing that we are made in the same image as God, this establishes an unbreakable bond we share with the Father and a solid form of intimacy that cannot be replicated with any other god or human. The potter made the clay, us, and with the making of us, He put time, attention, and love into us that He also placed within our Lord and Savior Jesus and in the beloved apostle, Paul.
a. From https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/the-wonderful-implications-of-god-being-our-abba-father.html
T.S. – Paul keeps hammering home to the Galatian Christians to know who they are in Christ and the power they received at conversion by their confession of faith and to reject trying to get a relationship with God the Father by their works – when in essence they already have an intimate relationship with “Abba” if they open their spiritual eyes. He then uses an example from the past of what works will get you if you live like this – it will lead to bondage and slavery not freedom.
3. Hagar and Sarah and two sons
a. Hagar’s son Ishmael – Was born by natural means – The son born by natural means reflects the covenant from Mt Sinai and bears children who are slaves. It’s based on the law and not the promise of God.
i. In this situation you would need to read Genesis to get the rest of the story on the two sons of Abraham and the problem that arose.
1. Genesis 16:1-16 – Sarai got the hair brain idea that she needed to help God out in fulfilling His promise to them that they would have children as numerous as the stars of the sky!
a. So she came up with a fleshly works related way to help God do what He said He would do!
i. Hagar was Egyptian and a maidservant of the two Sarai and Abraham – So she says, “The Lord has kept me from having children so sleep with my maidservant and we could build a family through her.” Abram agreed she became his 2nd wife and slept with her and she bore Abraham a child called Ishmael.
ii. Tension rose even before the birth of Ishmael and at one point Hagar ran away but the Lord showed up and comforted her – told her to submit because her son would also birth a nation: He would be a wild donkey though – against everyone – and everyone against him – he would live in hostility to his brothers – the Jewish nation is what is foreseen here.
1. Ishmael birthed the Muslim nations we see around us today and explains why these nations are like they are – especially with Israel – but once again I want to say “Jesus came to save all of us who are lost – we only have to believe and have faith in him to become sons and daughters of God.”
2. God fulfills his promise to Abraham and Sarah and she gets pregnant in Genesis 21:1-21
a. The Lord fulfilled His promise to them and Sarah gets pregnant and bears a son to Abraham name Isaac.
i. But jealousy and tension arise again in the blended family between Sarah and Hagar’s children.
1. Sarah catches Ishmael (a teenager) mocking her son and tells Abraham they must go! In verse 4 of Galatians 4:29 “At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.”
2. Abraham was distressed over the matter but yields to her demands and set them off on their own.
3. God sends an angel to care for them in the desert showing her a well of water and He was with the boy as he grew up.
b. The other son born to Abraham was born by the promise of God the Father – a miracle birth – not a fleshly natural one – because God always keeps His promises.
i. This birth of Sarah to Abraham is a fulfillment of God’s promise – this covenant is the Jerusalem covenant from above brought to us and mankind by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
ii. Paul finished off the chapter making the point:
1. We cannot get to heaven and fulfill God’s promises by fleshly means because this will always lead to bondage and slavery. Instead, we need to believe by faith in the promise of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus and live by faith to please God because God has not created a work your way to Heaven religion.
a. He has created a relationship with Him Abba father solely on grace, mercy and love!
Conclusion:
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: We need to know who we are in Christ and we need to know we are children of God by God’s promise – we need to have a relationship with God the Father – We need to be so intimate with Him we call Him “Abba father!”
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: When we know who we are in Christ then the evil one or others will not be able to steal away our God given identity. When we tap into the resources that ours in the Kingdom of Heaven then we will see the blessings of God flow through our lives and our families.
What do we need to do?
Answer: We need to live like we are children of God – we need to have a relationship with “Abba” that directs us like Jesus was directed that has a deep intimate relationship that goes beyond this fleshly world.
Why do we need to do this?
Answer: When we do this the church will drive back the enemy of our identity and we will take the fight to the Kingdom of Darkness and bring light to this dark world.
