WHO WE ARE: Not Slaves, But Heirs

“So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:7

In Galatians, Paul explains that the blessing of Abraham was never intended to come through the Law of Moses, but through the promise believed by faith (Galatians 3:18).

His Gentile readers then wondered, “Why the Law? Was it even necessary?” (Galatians 3:19). So Paul explains to them the purposes of God’s Law, one being its role as a Guardian until the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:24).

In Roman times, the guardian was the slave responsible for the children’s education. This slave raised the children under his charge until they reached the age of maturity. Since the years a child had a Guardian were years of being under control, Paul likens this time of childhood to slavery (Galatians 4:1). Though the Law was a Guardian for good and for protection, God’s children under its control were basically slaves.

But when the fullness of time came, Christ freed the children from this slavery (Galatians 4:4-5). This was why Paul vehemently opposed the message of the Judaizers to the Gentile Galatians: that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Law in order to be saved (Galatians 5:2-6). Not so! For with the coming of Christ, the children were freed from their short-term Guardian and Manager…free to receive the full benefits of being heirs according to the promise.

If you belong to Christ, then you too are a child who is no longer under the control of the Law. You are an heir. A son or daughter of the King of the Universe. Beloved. Free.