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Children of God Through Faith

Galatians 3:26 – 4:31.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  (Galatians 3:26, 27 | TNIV)

Introduction.  Previously, in Galatians 1 – 3, Paul defended justification by faith alone apart from works of the Law.  Today, I want to examine the glorious implications for believers in Galatians 3:26 – 4:31.  Having shown that the Law was a temporary guardian until Christ came, Paul now reveals what it means to be in Christ:  Full sonship in God’s family, radical unity, and genuine freedom.

The Christians in Galatia were facing pressure from Judaizes to a circumcision and law-keeping to faith, effectively exchanging sonship for slavery.  Paul responded with both warning and warmth, using Scripture, personal appeal, and a powerful allegory from the Book of Genesis to demonstrate that there are only two covenants – one of slavery and one of freedom.  This passage calls us to embrace our identity and God’s children through faith, to refuse to return to rule-keeping for salvation, and to live in the freedom and inheritance Christ has secured.

God’s children through faith.

United in Christ, Galatians 3:26 – 29.

 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  (Galatians 3:26 – 29 | TNIV)

Verse 26 flows directly from the preceding argument.  The Jewish Law served only as a guardian until the coming of Christ; now faith has come and we are no longer under its supervision.  The result is not only justification but adoption into God’s family as His children – Greek “huioi” means “sons with full rights.”

The scope is universal – all included because in Christ there are no ethnic, social, or gender distinctions that lead to some kind of spiritual hierarchy.  Every believer shares the same privileged position before the Father.  Verse 27 grounds this union with Christ.  We have been baptized into Christ and have “clothed ourselves with Christ.”  Like a garment that covers and identifies, we wear His perfect righteousness and sonship.  We approach the Father not in our own merit but wrapped in the Son.

Verse 28 dismantles the ancient world’s deepest divisions.  Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female – no longer determine status or access in Christ.  This in no way erases God-given distinctions but does away with spiritual pride or inferiority.  Verse 29 completes the logic:  Those who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.  The promise finds its fulfillment in Christ, and all who are in Him inherit its blessings.

Our identity in Christ must reshape how we view ourselves and others.  We are no longer defined by background, performance, or status but by our union with Christ.  In the church this means extending equal honor and love to every bother and sister as co-heirs.  Personally, when shame or comparison pop up, we need to preach to ourselves:  I am a child of God through faith, clothed with Christ, and an heir of the promise.  This truth liberates us from both pride and self-condemnation.

Adopted in God’s family, 4:1 – 7.

What I am saying is that as long as heirs are underage they are no different from slaves, although they own the whole estate. [2] They are subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by their fathers. [3] So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. [4] But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. [6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba , Father.” [7] So you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.  (Galatians 4:1 – 7 | TNIV)

Paul uses the image of an underage heir to help us understand.  Though legally owner of an estate, the child lives under guardians and is essentially like a slave until the father’s appointed time.  Paul applies this secular law to redemptive history.  Both Jew and Gentile were once in spiritual minority, in slavery to the “elemental spiritual forces of the world” – that is, basic religious principles and powers that could not bring maturity or freedom.

At the exact moment God ordained – the fullness of time – He sent His Son.  Born of a woman, He entered our humanity; born under the Law, He perfectly fulfilled its demands.  His purpose was to redeem (from a Greed term meaning to buy out of the slave market) those under the Law so that we might receive adoption to sonship (“huiothesia”).  God didn’t just pardon us; He legally adopted us into His family with full rights and inheritance.

Because we are now sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, producing the intimate cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit doesn’t make us sons but rather assures us that we already are.  The conclusion is decisive:  We are no longer slaves but God’s children and therefore heirs.

There are many believers today who live as orphans or slaves, trying to earn acceptance or fearing rejection.  This passage invites us to rest in adoption.  We don’t pray to a distant judge but to a loving Father who has placed His Spirit within us.  When we fail, we run to the Father who disciplines in love rather than disowning us.  In the church, we should foster an atmosphere where believers experience the security and intimacy of God’s family.  Regularly remind one another:  You are no longer a slave.  You are God’s beloved child and heir.

Do not abandon the faith.

Don’t return to slavery, 4:8 – 11.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. [9] But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces ? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? [10] You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! [11] I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.  (Galatians 4:8 – 11 | TNIV)

Here, Paul is addressing Gentile believers with astonishment.  Formerly enslaved to idols that are not gods, they now know God – or rather are known by Him.  Yet inexplicably, there are turning back to the “weak and miserable forces” – the ritual calendar observances that the Judaizers were promoting!   These shadows, good in their original context, become enslaving when treated as necessary for right standing with God.

Paul’s question cuts to the quick:  Do you wish to be enslaved all over again?  Having been delivered from pagan bondage, they risked a new, subtler bondage under Jewish legalism.  Both systems – rule keeping or obeying the Jewish Law – when trusted for justification, actually keep people from the freedom of faith in Christ.  Verse 11 reveals Paul’s deep pastoral concern:  He’s worried that all his work among them would be a waste of time if the left the Gospel.

Legalism never presents itself as slavery.  It often masquerades as deep commitment of holiness.  Today it may appear in rigid rule-keeping, performance-based acceptance, or external markers elevated above heart transformation.  We should all ask ourselves:  Am I living as a beloved child resting in grace, or as a slave trying to earn brownie points with God?  Let’s guard the freedom Christ has purchased for us.

Live in freedom, 4:12 – 20.

I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. [13] As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. [14] Even 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. [15] What 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. [16] Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? [17] Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. [18] It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. [19] My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, [20] how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!  (Galatians 4:12 – 20 | TNIV)

Paul shifts from warning to personal appeal.   He urges the Galatians to become like him – free from the Law as a means of righteousness – just as he became like them to win them to Christ.  He recalls their first encounter:  An illness (probably affecting his eyes) kept him in Galatia, yet despite the burden his condition placed on them, they received him with extraordinary love, as an angel of God or even Christ Himself.  Their former affection has cooled because Paul had confronted them about the truth of the drift.

He exposed the false teachers’ motives:  They are zealous to win the Galatians over, not for their own good, but to alienate them from Paul and the true Gospel so they might become dependent on the Judaizers.  Zeal can be good when its purpose is right and constant.  Paul’s heart is laid bare in this his metaphor of a mother again in childbirth pains “until Christ is formed” in them.   His desire isn’t just initial conversion but ongoing spiritual growth – Christlikeness being shaped in them.  He longs to be with them in person to speak with the right tone.

Paul models the heart of true shepherd who works for the maturity of those he serves.  For believers in general, the question is whether Christ is being formed in us.  Freedom in Christ is never static; it’s freedom to grow up into Christ in all things.  Welcome the comfort and the correction that come from faithful teaching and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and pursue the formation of Christ’s character in your life and church.

Children of the Law or faith?

Abrahan’s two sons, 4:21 – 27.

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. [23] His son by the slave woman was born as the result of human effort, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. [24] I am taking these things figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”  (Galatians 4:21 – 27 | TNIV)

Paul challenges those wanting to be under the Law to listen to what the Law actually says.  He goes back to Genesis 12 – 21 and the story of Abraham’s two sons.  Ishmael was born to the slave woman named Hagar “according to the flesh” – that is through human effort and initiative.  Isaac was born to the free woman Sarah as the result of God’s promise – supernatural intervention when human strength had ended.

Paul interprets these events figuratively.  The two women represent two covenants.  Hagar represents the Law, which produces slaves.  She corresponds to earthly Jerusalem, still in bondage with her children.  By contrast, the Jerusalem above is free and is our mother.  Sarah, once barren, becomes fruitful beyond expectation through the promise.

Paul quotes from Isaiah 54:1, which celebrates God’s surprising multiplication of the children of the barren woman – the New Covenant community born of faith.

Paul’s allegory is actually simple and it presents a clear choice:  Two covenants, two mothers, two kinds of children.  There is no middle path of mixing Law and grace for justification or sonship.  Many today trust Christ for salvation but seem to prefer rule-keeping for spiritual growth.  Paul’s says that’s impossible and enslaving.  We need to decide whether are children of Hagar – slaved to religious effort – or children of Sarah – free, born of promise and resting in grace.

Children of the promise, 4:28 – 31.

Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] At that time the son born by human effort persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. [30] But what does 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.” [31] Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.  (Galatians 4:28 – 31 | TNIV)

The argument reaches its climax:  “You are children of promise.”  Believes are not Ishmaelites earning their place by fleshly effort; we are supernaturally born children of he promise, like Isaac.

Verse 29 acknowledges the ongoing conflict:  The son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit then, and the same pattern continues.  Those who trust in works often oppose those who rest in Christ alone.  We shouldn’t be surprised when fidelity to the Gospel brings pressure or opposition.

Paul uses Genesis 21:10 in verse 30 to show that the inheritance belongs exclusively to the children of promise.  And verse 31 delivers the ringing conclusion:  We are not children of the slave women but of the free women.

Living as children of the free woman means refusing to share our inheritance with the slave system.  We add nothing to Christ’s finished work for our acceptance.  We resist the pressure – internal or external – to prove ourselves worthy.  We extend grace rather than imposing extra requirements on fellow believers.  As children of promise, we walk in the freedom of the Spirit, produce His fruit, and bear one another’s burdens without self-justification.   Above all, we rejoice that our names are written in heaven and that an imperishable inheritance is kept for us.

Conclusion.  In this section of Galatians, Paul has shown us the breathtaking privileges of being in Christ:  We are God’s children through faith, united with one another, adopted into the family by the Spirit of adoption crying “Abba Father.”  And we are heirs of the promise.  He warns us not to abandon this freedom by trying to introduce rule-keeping, whether ancient or modern forms of legalism.  Instead, we are called to live in the freedom Christ has purchased, allowing Him to be formed in us.

The allegory of Hagar and Sarah makes the choice unmistakable.  There are only two ways to relate to God:  Through the covenant of the Law that brings only bondage or the covenant of promise that brings freedom and an heritance.  We are children of promise, like Isaac.  The slave woman and her son have no claim on us.