Those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord are sons of God, and yet many in the western church act as if they were slaves and not sons. This is due to our immaturity as believers. This immaturity is evident in our biblical ignorance and worldliness. An examination of Galatians explains something of why this is the case.
“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal 3:26-4:7).
Paul makes some powerful statements in Gal 3:26-29. Any person in Christ is a son of God. It makes no difference whether that person is a Jew of a non-Jew, whether the person is a slave or free. It does not even matter whether the person is a man or a woman. When you are in Christ, you are a son of God and sons of God are heirs of God. It is something amazing to be a son of God, established in an intimate relationship with the Father. Sons inherit all that the Father has to give.
Now in the western church we are all happy to hear about privileges because we feel a sense of entitlement in our western affluence. We are fond of self-indulgence and consider ourselves “worth it”. I have heard messages about being sons of the king. Our God is the king of the universe so we have everything at our disposal. I have also heard messages about being a daughter of the king. Christian women are princesses. What father would not indulge daddy’s little princess? None of this is actually what being a son of God is about. The fact that we think this way simply exposes our immaturity.
But these powerful statements must be understood in light of the difference between infants and mature sons. “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything” (4:1). The immature son is not ready to be treated as the heir. He is no different to a slave. The heir owns everything and yet cannot access anything because he is as yet immature. He needs to grow up before he is able to manage the estate. That is why “he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father” (4:2). Immature sons must be given instruction and allowed to grow up. It is unwise to allow the immature to enjoy the privileges of adult sonship. A child sees adulthood as a time of privilege, but a mature adult sees adulthood as a time of responsibility. Therefore, letting the immature have privilege will only spell disaster; it would ruin the child.
The child is not given adult status “until the date set by his father”. It is not the child who determines whether he has reached an age of maturity; it is the father. This was true in the family system of the ancient world. It is plainly applicable to the church. Our Father in heaven has made possible our adoption as sons, that is, our appointment to adult status. It is because of what he has done for us in Christ that we are able to be mature sons. It is not something that we can accomplish. The Galatians were falsely under the impression that Christian maturity could be attained by their own efforts at following the law. That is why Galatians mentions circumcision so many times. The Galatians were trying to attain maturity through circumcision. But in effect this attempt merely demonstrated that they were slaves.
There are two kinds of slavery mentioned in Galatians – law (Gal 2:4) and elementary principles of the world (Gal 4:3). Both involve a set of rules. If we pursue law as a means of gaining God’s favour this is called legalism. It results in condemnation because we are bound to fail. This is therefore a kind of slavery. On the other hand, in my experience, Christian principles are touted as the way to navigate through life. Churches often preach Christian principles because these appear to make the Bible “relevant” and appealing. Yet this is a kind of formula that is not much different to preaching law, except the rules are different. What these things have in common is that rules for living are not Christ. We can only be saved through Christ and we can only live the Christian life through Christ.
Paul forcefully opposes any means of trying to attain Christian maturity other than faith in Christ. “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith” (Gal 3:1-5).
It is impossible for us to fix the problem that we are slaves. But God did this for us. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). The church never realises sonship through slavery to principles or law. It was Jesus who made it possible for people to be freed from the law. He did this by living under the law and perfectly fulfilling it. Jesus is the Son of God and he lowered himself to be a human being under the divine law. He made himself a slave (Phil 2:7) under the law to free those who were slaves under the law, and made them sons of God as he is. It is Christ, who was crucified for us, who brings about our adoption as sons. No one can ever become a son of God, with the privileges and responsibilities of sonship, without the work of Christ. We cannot make ourselves sons through legalistic following of Christian principles. The more we pursue these other paths, the more we demonstrate our immaturity by acting like slaves.
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal 4:6). What is evident from reading this passage in Galatians is that the whole process of becoming mature sons, as against infant children who are effectively slaves, is driven by God the Father. He determines the time of adoption to sonship (or the time of bestowing the full rights of sonship). He determined when Jesus was born of a woman, lived and died and rose again. And God the Father also chose to send the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. The idea that we can become sons of God by some formula that we dream up is always false. The Father determines these things. Mature sons know this and this is part of the cry, “Abba, Father”.
The sign that the church is immature and in slavery is the fact that Christians do not pray to the Father. If they do then it is to daddy. God is not our indulgent daddy. To cry out “Abba, Father” is to submit yourself to God as your Father in utter obedience. This is what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. “And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (Mark 14:36). Jesus is a mature son. He became mature through what he suffered (Heb 2:10). As believers we come to the place of crying, “Abba, Father” through the witness of the Holy Spirit who leads us to live in obedience to the Father instead of living according to the flesh.
The contrast between slaves and sons is made again in Romans. “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:12-17). The slave lives according to the flesh. But the son cries, “Abba, Father” because the son lives according to the Spirit in obedience to God. Sons know that indulgence to the flesh is immaturity. Mature sons are prepared to suffer as Jesus did because suffering according to the will of God leads to glory (1 Pet 4:12-13).
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal 4:7). Because the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to release us from the bondage of the law, humans can become sons of God. When the church understands this we will no longer act as slaves but as sons. Sons know God as Father. Because of Christ, Christians are heirs of God. Being an heir is the other side of the coin. Sons have responsibilities toward the Father and they are also given the privilege of an inheritance. Heirs of God receive something that the general populace do not receive. Sons of God know God in an intimate way. This is our primary inheritance. Inheritance is not money or property, but relationship. If you are a son of God then you participate in the relationship that Father and Son share in the Trinity. This is why sons of God refer to him as Father.
It is time for the western church to come to maturity and understand that we are no longer slaves but sons of God. This is only possible when we stop focusing on rules and principles and focus instead of Christ. He is the one who has made our sonship possible. If we continue to believe that the Christian life can be lived by adhering to rules and principles instead of according to Christ alone, then we will remain immature and will effectively remain in slavery to law and the elementary principles of the world. On the other hand, when we recognise that Christ is the foundation of the Christian life, then as God’s sons we will be able to cry, “Abba, Father” in both obedience and affection. Let’s grow up.