Slave or Son

There were times when I was growing up that I felt like a slave. I was required to do what I considered a lot of chores. I was also required to work on any “family” projects that my parents came up with. That feeling of being a slave diminished when my parents provide me with things that I was given because I was their son. It was only after my parents died and I received an inheritance that it was very clear I was a son, not a slave.

In Galatians 4:1-7 Paul makes it clear that we are sons of God, not slaves of God.

Galatians 4:1

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.

Paul points out that when a child is under age he is much like a slave in that others make decisions for them, tell them what to do, when to do it, and generally control their lives.

It can feel much like they are slaves. Feelings and perceptions can be very wrong.

The reality is that the child owns the whole estate.

Galatians 4:2

He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.

The child will have others in his life to guide him, protect him, and hold him accountable.

The child has ultimate ownership of the estate.

Why does the ultimate owner of the estate have to be under the guidance and control of others? Because he is a child.

He is not mature enough.

He is not experienced enough.

He is not knowledgeable enough.

The child needs the time to gain the maturity, the experience, and the knowledge to direct his own life.

When will that happen?

It happens when the time set by the father arrives.

God the Father has created us.

God the Father has redeemed us.

God the Father has made us His children.

God desires us as His children to grow to adulthood. He will give us what we need to reach that level. There are things that we will not receive until we have matured and reached the point of being able to use it for God’s honor.

Galatians 4:3

So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

When we were children, the laws and traditions of the culture kept us in submission also. Children are not allowed to do certain things because the culture recognizes the need for children to grow up before they are capable of handling certain situations.

When we look at these truths from a spiritual viewpoint, it means that we have to grow up as children of God so that the world can see the truth of who our Father is.

When immature children of God try to represent Him to the world, they show an incomplete picture of God. The result is that the world rejects God because they see Him as trivial or unnecessary.

God wants mature children to show the truth of His love, grace, and righteousness to the world.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is growing up and showing the truth of who God is to the world.

God did something so that we could become fully mature.

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those born under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

What did God the Father do to enable us to receive the full rights of being His sons and daughters?

He sent His Son, Jesus!

In John 3:16 it says that God loved the world (people) so much that He sent His Son and that whoever puts their trust in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. John continues in John 3:17, saying that God sent Jesus into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world.

God does not want to condemn or punish people but to save them. Saving us means, for one thing, growing us into mature children of God.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the saving power of God that turns us into mature children of God.

Paul then shares with us four things that happen when we allow God to grow us into mature children.

Galatians 4:6-7

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

First, we have been given God’s Spirit.

Romans 8:14 says that all who are led by the Spirit are children of God. If we have God’s Spirit in us, we are God’s children.

Second, we can know and experience God as our Abba.

Abba is a term that is a personal and intimate term for our father. It equates to Dad or Daddy or Pop. It is that special name that you have for your father that reflects a special relationship.

Third, we are no longer slaves, but God’s children.

In John 15:15 Jesus says that He no longer calls us servants but He calls us friends.

When we submit ourselves to Jesus as Lord and commit to be His servants, He makes us His friends and children of God.

Fourth, we are now heirs.

Romans 8:17 says we are God’s children or heirs and we are fellow heirs with Jesus. You and I share the inheritance of Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the fullness of being God’s mature children.

As Mature Children of God Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                             Joe