THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY
SCHOOL CLASS
APRIL 24TH, 2005
FROM A CHILD TO A SON
I. Christians are one in Christ (28)
A.
Paul is speaking of our standing with God in the body of Christ.
1.
There is no racial superiority in salvation, (“neither Jew nor Greek”).
2.
There is no social superiority in salvation, (“bond or free”).
3.
There is no gender superiority in salvation, (“male or female”).
B.
Paul is NOT removing the Biblical functions of these people.
1.
No one is any less or more a child of God because of the above reasons.
2.
A woman is still a woman, a man is still a man, but they are Justified the same way.
II. Paul sums up his argument in verse 29
with a logical conclusion.
A.
A Christian is the possession of Christ (“If ye be Christ’s” ).
1.
We are baptized into Him (27).
2.
We are clothed with Him (27).
3.
We are in Him (28).
B.
Christ is the seed of Abraham (16).
1. All who are in
Christ are also “Abraham’s seed.” (29)
2.
All people, Justified by faith in Christ, are
the spiritual children of Abraham.
3.
And we also are “heirs according to the promise.” (29).
C.
The salvation that we enjoy today is a result of the promise that God
gave to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant.
***** A Justified believer
is both a child of Abraham and a son of God (3:7 and 26).
- Paul now develops this thought in 4:1-7.
III. There is a difference between a child
and a son. (4:1-3)
A.
A child is like a servant (4:1).
1.
He is too young to inherit the inheritance (4:1) even though he is an
heir (3:29).
2.
He must wait until he becomes a responsible son to inherit his
inheritance.
3.
The son is no better than the children of servants while still a child
(4:1).
B.
The child/heir is placed under the supervision of “tutors and governors”
by his father (2).
1.
These tutors and governors prepare the child for son-ship by attending
to his education and future responsibilities.
2.
The child remains under this supervision “until the time appointed by
the father” (2).
3.
The appointed time is a legal binding that will be carried out even if
the father dies.
C.
A child is in bondage - (Paul’s picture of us) - (3).
1.
Before son-ship, an heir is under the Law of tutors; before
Justification, Paul and the Galatian Christians were
under the Law of Moses.
2.
“when we were children” (3) refers to before
Justification.
3.
Paul describes the time before Justification as “under the elements of
the world.” (3).
4.
Paul has used the word “under” as a word picture (4:2. 4:3, and 4:5).
D.
So, before Justification, the Law served as a tutor - preparing us for
the day when we would become sons.
Conclusion - Next week, we
will see how
the Christian escapes the Law, and becomes a son.