Well, good morning. Everyone is a wonderful day to
be here together to worship God. And I believe 100%, he has been
worshipped. He has been glorified in our
hearts individually and collectively.
It's a good day, we are individuals and perfect.
And when we come together, I know in many ways, we may be
imperfect as a body. And so I'm hopeful as a as a
congregation we can grow together.
I think every teacher that comes up and gives a lesson.
Our goal is to help us grow as a congregation both individually
and collectively. So I'm looking forward to see
what we can learn from Galatians chapter 4 today.
So Chris alternated, Chris and I have an alternating.
He had chapter 3 last week and I'm going to try to do the same
thing. I'm going to try to take that
whole T-Bone down today and chapter 4 so do your best to get
through it. And we're going to start off
just with an outline going back over.
What is the outline where we've been where we going?
And kind of the keynote verse to me of this whole book, I'm going
to keep stating it was is what it's coming soon, where he says
Stand Fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made
us free and do not be entangled again with the Yoke of bondage.
So this is kind of the theme of our whole letter.
Remember, this is Paul writing to the Galatians churches in the
region of galatia and we started off in chapter 1, Paul.
His apostleship, he was reminding them of the divine
origin of his gospel. He got it from God, he got it
from the Savior and his relationship to the apostles to
prove that he was legitimate in his early years.
As a Christian, we talked about the Jerusalem Council, we talked
about how James cephas and John kind of gave him.
The go-ahead, they confirmed you're doing.
Keep doing what you're doing. We learned about Peters rebuke
last time. I taught and how we started to
get into that lesson on justification by faith.
With this is a huge theme of the book of Galatians.
Chris really got deep into that last week in chapter 3 and he's
going to continue that argument through chapter 4 that I'm
covering today. And in Chris's chapter, we
coupled the cover, the personal argument things like, how did
were you really justified in the first place?
Did you start out by faith? And then all of a sudden?
Okay, now we're going, we don't need Faith anymore.
Now, we can just beyond our own work stand, on our own two feet.
No, the personal argument doesn't work and he's Arguing
the day on a personal basis, should know that they need Faith
as their justification. There, that we're justification,
remember, meaning to be made a right to be made justified in
God's sight and so even in their personal argument, they know
that's true. The scriptural argument, Chris
talked about those themes from the Old Testament, took us a
long way through the Old Testament to show us why they
should know that it was through a seed of Faith through Abraham
that we are safe. Saved.
And today we're going to get into the Practical argument and
the sentimental argument and the symbolic argument within this
practical argument a couple of the main ideas he's going to say
here is that in Christ? They are one as children of God,
which are Abraham's seed and Heirs of the promise.
The second main point is that they are redeemed from the law
in adopted as Sons. They are no longer slaves but
heirs and after that we're going to continue on in chapter 4.
It's going to cover the sentiment.
All argument or their relationship argument, he's
going to be. Prying on the relationship he
has had with him in the past to help convince them.
He's going to talk about his fears, Paul's personal fears
over there returning to some kind of bondage and we're going
to talk about what that bondage is.
We've already had a lot of hints of it in the past and we're
going to talk about their past and present relationship to
Paul. Finally, this symbolic argument,
he's going to use some symbols from the Old Testament.
Not unlike what was covered last week.
Okay. And in chapter 5, after what I
cover today, it's going to be kind of an application because
of all this, he's going to, he's gonna call them to stand strong,
in the liberty of Christ, and that's going to be a liberty
that excludes circumcision keynote.
That's that's Old Testament, Liberty?
That fulfills the Old Law. It's a liberty in which one is
led by the spirit. We're going to see what that
means and Liberty with a sense of responsibility.
So that's what's coming. And we're going to get a little
Up to speed. Now with Galatians chapter 3,
the ending versus there, to kind of run into chapter 4.
Because it's all based on what he just said in chapter 3, Paul
says is the law then against the promises of God, certainly not
for there. Had been a law given which could
have given life, truly righteousness, would have been
by the law, so he's trying to convince them like Chris taught
last week. That the law didn't do it.
If it would have worked great, it would have been done.
We've already tried that. It didn't.
Work and they should know that, but the scripture is confined
all under sin. They're stuck under sin that the
Promise by faith. In Jesus Christ.
Might be given to those who believe it.
Can find all understand a show us.
That it was the only way out to have Jesus, our savior verse 23.
But before Faith came before that, we were kept under guard
by the law kept for the faith, which would afterward be
revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor
to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith K.
There we go. There's a huge key point.
He's going to talk a lot about the law and this previous being
kept and trained. And a lot of people try to make
this all about just law in general.
But this is a very specific law that was training them.
So he's talking about the Old Testament, the Old Testament law
was what taught us and prepared us for Christ, so that we might
be justified. Justified by faith so that we
could see it wasn't by our own works that we can ever never
save ourselves. But after faith has come, we are
no longer under a tutor notice. He doesn't say, we no longer
have any need for a law there, there are some general
principles of law in general that yes, by following works of
a law, we cannot earn our salvation But the law this
tutor, this Old Testament law. We're not under any more because
the it's sir its purpose was served but he's not saying we
have no need for any law. We're going to learn more in
other in other chapters about this.
But the law of Christ is a long Liberty.
It's a lot of freedom that guides us and he's talking about
the Old Testament here. Verse 26, for you are all sons
of God through phases. And faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you are baptized into Christ.
Have put on Christ, there's neither Jew, nor Greek, neither
slave nor free. There is neither male nor female
for you are all one in Christ, Jesus.
Okay, so this is, this is directly linking to the next
chapter and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and
heirs, according to the promise. We're going to talk about these
errors in the beginning of chapter 4, but I love that
picture of the mustard seed in the parable.
Jesus teaches about how the the, the church and God's plan
started out as a small tiny seed, but grew into a tree that
would that would Nest all the birds of the air and provide
shelter. This is this great see that
started with Abraham as now continuing with us today and
Faith chapter 4 verse 1. Now I say that the heir as long
as he is a child does not differ at all from a slave, okay?
So he's gonna get into like a little realistic if you were an
air of an estate or an air of an inheritance and you had maybe
servants working in the household he's going to say that
are as long as he's a child did. He doesn't differ at all from a
slave, he doesn't have any responsibility.
He doesn't have any Authority, doesn't really have much Freedom
if you're a little kid and you're That is this great you
know, Financial Mogul. He is a lot of money, a lot of
real estate as a child. You have none of that, you're
just your kind of powerless Though he is master of all
because that child is going to inherit all things one day.
But when they're young, they don't have any of it.
But he is under Guardians and stewards until the time
appointed by the father. So this is setting up the whole
discussion of being a slave and how that child is like a slave
even under the Old Testament. We might think only, you know,
sin is slavery. Well, it's true.
But the Old Testament can find them under sin so that they
didn't have a way out because it didn't have a savior yet.
So we, so he's talking about they as Jews were slaves, as
children under the Old Law because they were under
Guardians and Steward. Speaking of the Old Testament,
until the time appointed by the father and realistically
speaking, the father has the right to decide when his child
gets the inheritance, just like the father decided when it was
time for Jesus, and this is kind of an analogy.
These kids right here, have absolutely no Authority.
These are like Like the Jews in the Old Testament had no
Authority. They had no Real power until
things were granted to them through their through the Savior
Jesus Christ. And just like, they had a great
inheritance. They might be master of all
Kings of England, and queens of England right now.
They don't have any power like that.
And Paul's drawing a comparison here to the Old Law.
He says, even so we under the Old Testament when we were
children were in bondage under the elements of the world.
But when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his
son. So the question I asked is I was
first going through this what what are these elements?
What are the young bondage to? And there's a clue right here at
the end of this verse 4, when the fullness of the time had
come, there was a change, the change happened when God sent
forth his son. So the elements of the world
isn't just sin itself. The elements of the world is
some kind of early form of God's plan and figure defines elements
as the first principles, or any first thing from which others
belonging to the same series, or composite whole take their rise.
And he compared to in his description to an alphabet to
someone who's going to be a seasoned Rider or do anything
with language or reading or writing the elementary
principles, the elements of a writer.
Or a reader is the ABCs. It is the first thing the ABCs
would be the first thing from which all the other things would
come from. Now for them, this is not what
they're doing, this is Christianity.
This is taking the elements, the elementary principles of
something and learning it so that you can become something
later. This is a picture of
Christianity. If the alphabet is the elements
And what he says they're doing is they're like an adult kind of
just reciting the alphabet over and over.
It's like getting through all your schooling, getting a
college degree, and then going and just using the alphabet and
going back and practicing your alphabet over and over.
He's like, what was the point of learning the elements, you learn
the elementary principles for a purpose to be later.
Gone into and it's both immature and it defeats the purpose of
the alphabet itself. If you're just going to use the
alphabet later in life, He says even so we when we were children
were in bondage under the elements, the elementary
principles of the judaic, the judaic faith of all of the plan.
God setup But when the fullness of the time had come God sent
forth his son born of a woman born under the law.
This under the law is marking the transition point.
He's trying to show us that this is a hinge point where
everything changes to redeem those who were under the law
that we might receive the adoption as Sons.
We're told here that God redeemed us that is to purchase
something that was maybe owned by another We were under slaves
to sin and God redeemed us or purchased us from under the law
so that we would be adopted and receive adoption as Sons.
Now, since my aunt and uncle adopted their youngest daughter,
Addison, it has been really cool to see that full blending of the
family. They she was adopted at such a
young age that it doesn't even feel like she was adopted.
It feels like she's just normally part of the family,
there was no other adoption happen.
And that's the beauty of God's plan to is.
That's the intention, is that as an adopted son or daughter, you
should feel just as much a part of God's family as Jesus
himself. Even that we're told that we are
joint heirs with Christ. We are adopted as sons and
because you are Sons. Now, if I read this phrase, if
I'm going to, because I'm a son of the creator of this universe,
because I am an heir of everything from God.
I probably want to listen to what comes after because if I
were to tell you, if you were to tell me that you had an air that
was going to leave you a large estate and because of that, you
know, you're going to get x y. Z, I would be listening very
clear closely to hear what's going to come of this.
He says, because you are Sons. God has sent forth the spirit of
his son into your hearts. Crying out.
Abba Father. The great inheritance that we
can enjoy. Now, is the spirit of his son
into our hearts, that would cry out to God from a place of
closeness and Trust to where we would use terms, like, like we
do and talk to our own parent. God has many names in the Bible,
he has various ways of being addressed and they have their
own purpose, but this is, this is one of the best of all the
Bible to me. He's called Almighty.
He's called Prince of Peace. He's called The Savior.
He's called so many things. But we can call him Abba Father.
God has sent forth the spirit of his son so that we could claim
that for ourselves so that we could have how Jesus is able to
call. God, father We can do that too
this word, Abba. Father, we can take from this,
the key ideas are intimacy and loving Authority.
There's a lot of people that I had men in researching.
This, there's a million things people want to explain from this
and go into and then you can do that on your own time, but the
the simple simplest way to explain it.
Is we have that kind of love an authority figure and intimacy
with our God and every single guy Thing that we could think
about from a good father, we should attach to God.
Every single good connotation because God is the perfect.
Father, every good connotation of a father, we should take from
this. We should take that.
He's a caregiver, he's a protector, a comforter, he
teaches the ways of life. He gives a caring mentorship
quality time, he loves to spend with his children, understanding
with us, he has Authority. That gives us Clarity and
purpose when there's not a authority figure in the home of
the father. There's a lack of clarity and
purpose and drive God provides that as a loving.
Father. He takes care of physical needs,
he is emotional support encouragement in the list would
go on and on and as we talked about this, I know the reality
is not everyone can hear that phrase of us calling Godfather
and feel it the same way because you may think about your father
in a experience to what you related to And you can know that
it's not your father, good or bad that you are answering to
that you are coming to and prayer.
It is the perfect father. It is the complete father who
does do all the right things who does handle situations all the
right way. And for some people you you
don't, you have to learn that, you have to learn that view of
God, but I think in reality, part of the reason people are
frustrated with their own examples because they know what
it's supposed to look like. If you didn't have that, great
example, you know, intuitively what you should see in a father,
what you should be comforted by and strengthened by And that's a
beautiful thing to learn. I encourage you search the
scriptures and see what it really means for God, to be the
father. And to appreciate that in your
own life, in your own way to understand what that might mean
for you. And what you might have to learn
about a good father. And the other thing it says,
here is that the spirit of his son into our hearts should lead
us to cry out when got when the spirit of his son, through what
we learn in. Through our great saving should
happen as we should cry out to the Lord, we should cry out to
our Abba. Father, not with uncertainty.
You don't cry out when you're uncertain, you cry out and
that's not like a - cry out. It's a it's a rejoicing.
It's a, it's a full Certainty. And for coming to the throne
don't praise God. Timidly or half-heartedly as one
of the lessons from this may we cry out with confidence when we
sing May our Spirits cry out to a father wholeheartedly and I
encourage, especially the men, the the challenges in life and
the responsibilities that can kind of Harden the heart and
make us need to step up and handle things and just kind of
deal with it. Can make us a little calloused.
Can make us hardened by our challenges to our.
Maybe it's harder for a lot of men to cry out to a loving
father. I encourage the men.
Cry out to the Lord. Because that's what the Bible
says should happen in our heart, with the spirit of his son
within us. Verse 7.
Therefore you are no longer a Slave. but a son, and if a son,
then an heir of God through Christ, Now this this section
this discussion of what we could have been in slavery, whether it
was slaves to sin, whether it was slaves to the Old Testament
in their own attempt to be justified by the by the law.
We read of a, we can understand in very serious progression.
It was, would have been wonderful of God, to not punish
us to the full extent of what we deserved.
We deserved the plan and the system of punishment.
God design is to be separate from him.
And what that means to be separate from God is punishment
in an everlasting. Hell, we deserve that but just
to not be punished to the full extent, would have been
gracious. Not only that but he reduced our
sentence God, took our sentence and reduced it.
He didn't just reduce it a little bit, he completely wiped
it out. Not only did, he completely wipe
it out our sentence, but we were set free completely.
We are not on house arrest, so to speak.
We are set free from sin and from bondage, and not only are
we set free and just kicked out to be on our own.
We are given support for a whole new life to go into.
That all would have been plenty. But to be named as a
beneficiary, in his own house, to be named a son and an heir of
God through Christ. Is so far beyond what we
deserved that is. That is Grace and that is Mercy
fully fleshed out. And I think we can understand
and appreciate that Airship maybe in different ways as a
young person as I think about what that would mean to have a
great inheritance, I think about being set up for your future.
There's a lot of things as a young person you're trying to
get in order and try to like set up a path and set things up
early so that you get the benefits in the long term, maybe
getting a house, getting your investment started the right
way. I think about his young person,
we want to set ourselves up for the future, and that is
definitely true in the Airship from God.
We are set for the future. We don't have to worry about
what's going to come of our future.
We have a sure plan and ensure inheritance coming beyond what
we may ever be able to achieve on her own for the middle aged
people. As I was talking to my dad, he
he was saying as he's getting closer to retirement, one of the
things he's really Wanting to do is make sure he leaves us.
Something that is valuable and he said, you know, I don't have
like you know every parent would want to give their child
everything as inheritance you know you want to set them up for
forever so they don't never have a financial worry or whatever it
might be. And he said, you know, I don't
have that massive inheritance to just give to you guys.
And so the Mind tries to think, what can I leave behind will be
valuable to you. and for the middle-aged, the value you can
give is in spiritual things. The value you have left to give
that's going to be worthwhile because money is going to fade.
Every parent wants to give what they can and there's a true
sincere desire there but that's not going to really take care of
anyone who's left as your beneficiary.
For middle-aged people, your value to give isn't spiritual
things. Your value to provide and mentor
and strengthen. And ultimately to lead others to
is the Airship of God. That's where the true value is.
And for older folks, for many people, a lot of times, the, the
sentiment is, there is nothing left for me to see.
I've seen it all. I've been experienced, the joys
of life. I've experienced the highs, I've
experienced the lows, I've had the successes from the low to
the high. I've, I'm enjoyed the blessings
of having stability and maybe an even, well, that maybe this
point for a lot of people, maybe that's the peak of your earnings
or your Your savings is all there, maybe that's for you.
I don't know your case, but for many older people, there's
nothing left to see nothing left to maybe do your Limited in many
ways. And what an awesome thing that
it doesn't end right there. Nothing left to see that.
Ye The Best Is Yet To Come that in all of these things that the
Airship that you are set to receive why you might be
thinking about your heirs, you are about to be an eternal are
of an eternal reward in heaven with God.
Everything is ahead of you. There are things left to see,
it's just not Earthly we have great value in our Airship as
children of God. Verse 8, but then indeed when
you did not know God you serve those by which nature are not
Gods. So he's already been appealing
to the elementary principles of the world, which I believe are
the basics of God's plan for the world and the Jewish religion.
And I think he's also here referring to the people who did
not know God and who were worshipping false gods idolatry.
He says, when you did not know God, you serve those which by
Nature are not gods. Romans tells us that they would
turn to the birds and the rocks and the trees and say, you we
came from you, they were not, they by Nature are not gods and
it is mind-blowing to think about how people serve these
things in world religions. If you look back at through
time, the way people turn to the greater elements of the world,
the, the wind planets, all these things, they turn to those
things. And they weren't going intending
to be Heirs of that. They were maybe taking their
heart, that desire to worship. A god, they were taking that
desire to what they could see around them, but they didn't,
they didn't have an Airship with their creator or there a greater
being So, if you compare Christianity to many world
religions, the fact that some people serve what they claimed
to be a God, not intending to be an air of him.
It's mind-blowing that we serve a God that we are going to be an
air of But now, after you have known, God, or rather are known
by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly
elements to which you desire again, to be in bondage.
This could be any of the elements, whether it's the
elementary principles of the of Judaism that they were not
supposed to stay in or whether it was the elements of the
natural war that they might have been worshipping as Idols.
He said, why in the world after you've known God and all of his
goodness and his inheritance and his saving How in the world are
you going to turn to the weak and beggarly elements?
I love. It's almost hilarious.
That he's like, that's that's, that's week in there.
Broke those Gods, you're trying to turn back to the things
you're trying to serve. That's their broke compared to
your God, beggarly week Elements, which you desire again
to be in bondage to And I believe that especially the Old
Testament can be called bondage Benny Cryer says it.
Well in his commentary, he says Old Testament was bondage
because it was the law without the Savior.
There was no Plan of Salvation. There was no savior in that law.
And so it's bonded. You're stuck there.
If you're these Jews, And I like how you just point out a little
side note after you've known, God or rather are known by God,
this is where the true blessings are Jesus says, many will say to
me, you know, I knew you, I did all these things for you, but
Jesus said, I never knew you and there's a, there's kind of an
allusion to this idea right here.
God must know us to does, God, know us.
Not only do we think we know God, we people say a lot of
times I have I know my relationship with God.
Okay. That's great.
But does God know you. You and for God to know you, we
have to know. What does it mean?
What does God want from me? He says You observe days and
months and seasons and years. Now this I believe is
specifically talking about the Old Testament, but it could
probably also mean their idolatrous observances of Feasts
and special times of the year solstices.
Maybe all those things he says, I'm afraid for you.
Les. I have labored for you in vain.
This is about a sincere as it can get in a plea.
He's deep into the sentimental argument right now, I'm afraid
for you. Out of all the arguments, he can
make out of all the things he could tread plead with them.
It's a very powerful argument to say do I'm just afraid and what
you're getting into. I don't want you to go down this
path because I know what it leads to less.
I have labored for you. In vain now, many times when
people start to slip away from truth, they don't see how How
dangerous it is, how serious it is.
And he's saying he's making a An intensifier here by saying that
I'm concerned. It's all for nothing.
Now, maybe they would have expected to say it's just not a
good thing it's going to hold you back but it's not really
going to affect you that much. Maybe they would think that way,
but he's intensifying it and saying it is worthless.
All the work I've done for you, it is in vain the whole thing,
all this stuff is just useless. If you go back to where you came
from and go back to the Old Law, it's as serious intensifier
here, this is a wake-up call. Call.
This isn't just a small thing where you should really try to
improve in this area. He's like no it's all pointless.
If you if you don't listen to me right now, He says Brethren, I
urge you to become like me for. I became like you now.
We hear that like whoa. Whoa, become like me.
What are you trying to say, Paul?
I thought it was supposed to be like Christ.
Well, when he's talking about, is the context of he became like
them and he left Judaism and became like a gentile to these
people. Many of the many of the Jews
considered Paul will be leaving the faith.
And Gentile, he became like the Gentiles By becoming all things
to all men and leaving behind the Old Law.
He became like them to teach them the word to bring them into
gods family. And now he went out of his way
to leave that to come to them. And they're about to go back to
what he just left. He said, I did this already.
I left that don't do when I left, I left the Old Testament.
I became like you so be like me and that I left and I became
like you He says you have not injured me at all.
Now it doesn't mean that they didn't do anything wrong.
He's making a personal appeal, basically.
He's going to talk about how they've always been good to him.
They've always been so kind and taking care of him in different
ways. And so he says, you know, you
have an injured me at all, you've been good to me this
whole time but really, they're, they're in danger of strongly
injuring him if they don't turn around. verse 13, you know, that
because of physical infirmity, I preach the gospel to you at the
first He says there was something he doesn't tell us
what it is. There's a lot of commentators to
say it was his eyes because of what he's about to say.
I you would have plucked out your own eyes and give him to
me. Some people say it was his eyes
but then there's some clues that make it seem like, it might have
been something else. We don't know, he had some kind
of physical issue. Some kind of sickness that made
him stay there and galatia for an extended amount of time and
preach the gospel to you at the first, we learned in Acts
chapter 14 and 16, he took different trips to galatia.
This was likely First trip in Acts chapter 14 and he stayed
there for an extended amount of time.
And I've just think it's awesome that you know, many people have
had and physical infirmity. That would be an excuse to not
do the work for Paul. That was an excuse to do the
work just in a specific way and how he was limited may, we not
use our infirmities as a way to get out of doing the work of
God, but maybe it just changes what we do.
Maybe it refines our focus in different way.
I'm going to read this next verse out of the ESV because I
think it makes the wording more clear and actually more accurate
from what many of the commentators were saying.
So in verse 14 says, and though my condition was a trial to you,
you did not scorn or despise me but receive me as an angel of
God as Christ Jesus. So somehow his trial was a trial
to them. Also so his infirmity or
something about his illness was a trial to Them.
But they they received him as an angel of God, throughout the
Bible, angels of God are messengers and they took him and
honor him took care of him and didn't just toss them out.
On the curb, they were so good to him and he appreciates that
he's reminding them of how they've always had such a good
relationship verse 15. What then has become of your
blessedness? You started so good.
What's happened to that? Now, back in the new King James
for, I bear you witness that if possible you would have plucked
out your own eyes. Eyes and giving them to me.
Now this is why many people say yeah, issued his eyes, Okay?
So that not made so much sense to me.
But then when you read somehow, that condition was a trial to
them, some people will say that it was he had some kind of
disease that he was like hard to look at or hard to listen to
speak. I don't know.
It makes still makes more sense to me that it's his eyes.
Maybe they had to help him out in some way.
I don't know. Whatever the case is he says you
would have plucked out your own eyes and give them to me.
Whether that means It's a it's a hyperbole saying you'd have done
anything for me. You would have given up anything
to take care of my needs. Whether it's that or whether it
was his eyes that were the problem and they would have
given them their own eyes to him, who knows, for sure.
But the whole point is the same. These people, these Galatians
were so good to Paul and the past and had a great
relationship, they would have done anything for him.
Have I? Therefore become your enemy
because I tell you the truth after all this I'm teaching you,
what's right? And am I going to become your
enemy because of that? These Ellis Lee Court, you they
speaking of the Judy izing teachers so the people are
trying to pull them back to the Old Testament to circumcision
the Old Law. He says, they zealously Court
you they're really, really trying to get you and show
interest in you but for no good. It's not a good reason.
Yes they want to exclude you that you may be zealous for
them. It's interesting.
The word exclude doesn't seem to fit here.
They want to exclude them. From all the promises of God.
Paul is saying that if they get what they're doing for their
going to be, excluding you from God's blessings, from God,
saving family and from the promise of Jesus Christ.
Is there a good reason for that? No, it's also you may be zealous
for them. It's about them.
It's not about your own interest, he says, but it is
good to be zealous in a good thing.
Always and not only when I am present with you Let me ask the
question, you know, how were they when Paul was there?
It can be easy to know when certain people around act, a
certain way. Like we talked about before,
putting on a mask, Could be easy to put on a Christian mask or to
act a certain way or to be a certain level of it of his Ellis
when the situation is, right. But what if Paul were literally
standing here today? What if Paul were here, would
you step up your game? What, I step up my game and my
personal life, in my fleeing from sin, and my running to
what's right and filling my life with good things and taking on
the evangelic will work of the Lord.
How would I act if Paul were here?
Because it sounds like they acted a little bit different and
kind of started to regress when Paul wasn't there.
What if Jesus were here? I changed that sentence.
Not what? If we were just, we're here
because Jesus sees every he's seasonal, God is among us.
We just don't see him. What if we could see him?
Would that change the way we act that changed the motivations the
zealousness for good things? Or we or would we be the same
way we are right now. Will we be more zealous, will we
be more focused on things that God says matters?
We could see Jesus. Verse 19.
My little children for whom I labor and birth again until
Christ is formed in you. I would like to be present with
you now and to change my tone. For I have doubts about you.
So, Paul's feels a very parental care over them.
He talks about, you know, different people are sons in the
faith, it's a parental, you feel responsible, and you feel like
you want to help someone so deeply when you have people who
you're responsible for spiritually.
But he calls them little children.
He doesn't just call them children.
He has that modifier. It's like the immaturity is
still there that that lack of spiritual maturity to move on.
For the Old Law, they're going back to be children under the
Old Testament. But it shows his concern.
He says, for whom I labor and birth.
Again, that's some serious language for a man to try to use
that kind of terminology as get. He's got to be both.
He's got to know what he's talking about because I've heard
men's feel like make comments about.
They might know what it feels like for a woman to go through
birth and those women give them a death stare because you don't
know what it's like to go through childbirth and Paul is
pretty serious here. It pains him.
And he is going through the process of trying to teach them
all over again. It's painful but it's worth it.
That's the beauty of childbirth. It is all worth it in the end,
something beautiful comes of it and it is a process for Paul
here to work through them again. No, the the first time it was to
teach them and convert them. This again is to kind of reteach
and go back over and and re get them back on the right track
until Christ is formed in you and I know many of you are
Remember that lesson, Frank time until Christ is formed in you
this implies that it's understood by someone who
teaches the word to others and tries to strengthen others and
so understood by God himself that people will take time
people, take patients to continually be teaching.
That's why the blood of Christ must continually cleanse us and
must continue to work on us. And let's continue on to work on
the people we're working on teaching.
And it's a process of Christ becoming formed within us, but
it doesn't take away from the urgency, as Frank mentions in
his lesson. The urgency, that's required
because this is serious enough to be like, childbirth.
Verse 20. I would like to be present with
you now and to change my tone. So remember this is a letter.
It's not Paul standing in front of them.
This is a letter. I wish I could be there because
I have doubts about you to change my tone.
Okay? Now he's going to get into this
symbolic argument. Tell me you who desire to be
under the law. So remember he's still talking
about the Old Law because he says, do not hear the law, do
you not hear what the Old Testament saying?
Are you not even listening to the thing?
You are trying to go back to for it is written that Abraham had
two sons, Isaac and Ishmael two sons, one by a Bond woman, Hagar
the other by a freewoman, Sarah and Hagar was there was there?
Gentile servant. But he, who was of the bondwoman
Ishmael was born according to the flesh, according to the
flesh. Meaning number one, it wasn't
with faith. Because God, God told Abraham,
he's got a kid and he didn't follow the promised way through
Sarah. He went and did the natural
thing. And just got a servant and that
was the normal way it gets done, but was born according to the
flesh. That's how Ishmael was born.
And he of the freewoman, which is Isaac, through promise, which
things are symbolic. So, you have the two kind of big
Nations, the to diversions of faith and flesh.
And Isaac came through Sarah which was a child of promise.
We talked about that a lot in Hebrews already for.
These are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai which gives
birth to bondage which is agar. So Mount Sinai, that was the Old
Law. God gave Moses the Old Law on
Mount Sinai, and Hagar symbolizes that.
Now you might say that's a little interesting because
that's the old law, but Hagar was a slave.
So she wasn't really like A priest or anything.
Okay. What we'll come back to that.
Verse 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds
to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children.
So the great irony here, the bondman was supposed to be.
The Bond woman was supposed to be kind of anti-jewish, she
wasn't of the faith but now that Bond woman, is a representation
of the Jews who are staying And Judaism.
It's kind of a great irony here that she represents what they
are supposed to be leaving behind.
But the Jerusalem above is free which is the mother of us.
All Sarah is referring. Who that mother of us all?
Is that Jerusalem above is free and that's the freedom in Christ
that we have. It's not a physical Jerusalem,
it's not the Jews trying to stay in Judaism.
It's the Jerusalem that's above. It's God's plan through faith
for it is written Rejoice, O Barren.
You do not heat. Rejoice O Barren, you who do not
bear? Break Forth and Shout you who
are not in labor for the desolate.
This is speaking of Sarah or the one who had to have faith has
many more children than she who has a husband.
Now we Brethren as Isaac was, are children of Promise that's
us? We are symbolized, not by
Ishmael, but by Isaac, we're children of promise, but as he,
who was born, according to the flesh, then persecuted him, who
was born, according to the spirit even.
So it is now So Ishmael persecuted and kind of picked on
Isaac. And so that's why The scripture
says nevertheless, what the scriptures say, cast out the
bondwoman, and her son for the son of the bondwoman, shall not
be Heir with the son of the free woman.
Sarah said this and had Ishmael, cast out, send them out in the
wilderness, that's whole discussion on its own, but he's
saying even now the Jews, who should be living, according to
Faith are living according to the flesh.
And they are persecuting you who are trying to be of Faith.
It's like a role reversal. The Jews are supposed to be a
faith are doing the persecuting. That has been repeated through
centuries ago. So then brethren we are not
children of the bondwoman but children of the free this is the
freedom in Christ is kind of the whole point of Paul's point he's
making and this is going to bring us to the end of chapter 4
weird Children of the free woman.
We are free in Christ. Yes we are free from having to
justify ourselves through works. We are would have been
responsible under the Old Law to do it perfectly.
Otherwise you're stuck in sin. But today we can also be stuck
in sin and so we can be free any account.
We have freedom through Christ through faith in him.
They're what he brings us in Salvation promise ages ago, even
back to Abraham and Isaac, I hope we can take something from
this and I hope we can cry out to the father with love and
appreciation because we are his heirs because of this and have
today, you're not one of those errors.
As was said earlier basically how could you not?
He said, how could you go back but how could you not want to be
an air of his? Do not serve the weak and
beggarly things, the all the riches and the things that are
empty in this life? How could you not want to move
on to serve God to come believing in him, from
understanding his plan to repent and change your life to become
walking by the spirit, not walking, according to just what
we want, but to change our lives, to follow him to confess
that Jesus Christ is Has the Son of God and that we are saved
through him and be baptized for the remission of your sins.
To be added to his church as Chris read.
Last week, when we are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.
If you've already done this, and you already a member of gods
family, but you want to make something, right?
And if you need support of the Brethren, we're happy to take
care of that. Always stay in.
Am always saying We thank you for listening to our podcast,
put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional
information, or you would like to receive a free Bible
correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at her
Church of Christ Bakersfield.com.
Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us.
We would love for you to be our honored guest.