GALATIANS 4
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, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. – Galatians 4:1-11
GALATIANS 4 AS LONG AS WE ARE ENSLAVED TO THE WORLD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
As long as we love this world, we remain in bondage to sin
We will be unable to mature and reap the fruits of the Spirit
As infants and children, we will be under the care of a guardian
As long as we are enslaved to the world, we won’t have freedom.
In this letter, the apostle Paul likens slavery to a child. He explained to the Galatian church that even if you are an heir, as long as you are still a child, it doesn’t matter if you are an heir. As a child, your understanding, abilities and skills are limited because you will have to be under the guardianship of an adult. Your development as a child is still not fully developed. Someone who is mature and older can help you grow into becoming wiser and mature in your thinking. Paul calls it slavery to be infants because an underdeveloped brain doesn’t give you the full capacity to make the right choices and decisions. As Christians, we no longer are slaves to sin, but to righteousness in Christ. As long as we stunt our faith growth, we will have a form of slavery in this world. We need to grow our faith and mature as Christians.
REFLECTION
- How is being a slave to sin an indication that you haven’t grown your faith?
