The Promises to Come - Deacon John Lotter
Deacon John Lotter preaches on Galatians 4:1-7, discussing the promises that we are offered when we give our lives to God.
Transcript:
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the set, until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.
But when the time, when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are in, because you are his 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 God's child. And since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4: 1- 7. Thanks be to God.
Good morning, and happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.
Have you ever arrived at home and smelled something cooking? You don't know what it is, but you want it. You hurry through the door and head straight to the kitchen, ready to sit down and dig in, only to find out it won't be ready for a couple more hours. The roast has to finish cooking, or the cake still has to be decorated, or the bacon was just being prepped for something else that wasn't ready yet.
You are certainly disappointed for the moment, but you have something to look forward to that you know will be amazing when you finally get it.
So as Charlie read from the beginning of Galatians chapter 4, we're going to look back just a little bit at the end of chapter 3, just to go over a little bit of what Tom touched on last week in Galatians 3, 27 through 29.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Paul is pointing out here that once you are a Christian, no other social, political, or gender identity matters.
Jesus has erased all of the dividing lines between all of these identifiers. This doesn't mean that there are no differences. Paul knew that there was still a difference between a Jew and a Greek, and his evangelistic approach might differ, differ to each group. From 1 Corinthians 9: 19- 21, Paul says, For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
To the Jew I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law, though not being myself under the law, so that I might win those who are under the law. So that's a lot of law right there going back and forth. So basically he's saying If I'm around Jews, I'm going to be as though, behave as though I am under the law and show that I can comply as long as they can comply to the law.
But he's also going to teach them Jesus. And then in verse 21, to those who are without law, As without law, though not being without the law of God, under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. So there he's speaking about the Gentiles. They were not under the Mosaic law, but under, well, most of the Gentiles were living just a worldly life at that point.
So he's coming to them, bringing them Jesus. So kind of a, a lot of the word law in those couple of passages there. So, uh, but just keep track that basically Paul is saying, I am going to try to fit in with the people that I'm speaking to. And at the end he's saying that he is going to stay under the law of Christ and live a Jesus- like life.
So, uh, going back to 27 and verse, uh, Galatians 3:27-29, where he speaks about the slave, he says this, this, the slave still had a daily obligation to obey his master, though he might be equal in Jesus.
So, Paul is saying that the, the relationship between a slave and a master is changing, and he mentions this in Ephesians 6, 5 through 9. Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and sincerity of your heart. As Christ, or as to Christ, not only by way of eye service as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And masters do the same thing to the, to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. So there he's saying that the slave and the master are equal before God, even though their roles on earth are vastly different. The master is now responsible for the slave in the way that he treats the slave As well as the slave doing all things for Christ.
Again, keeping in mind that not always would both of them be Christians, but Paul is pointing out the case of if they are both Christians, they need to treat each other like Christians. And if they're a Christian, they need to treat non Christians like they're Christians as well. So a lesson for us as well when we're dealing with people in the world.
There are still different roles for male and female in the home and in the church as well. Again in Ephesians 5, 21 through 27. We're doing good so far. So, starting in verse 21, And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body.
But the church is subject to Christ also. So also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by washing of water with the word, that he might present himself to the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.
So again, we see differences in the roles of men and women. There are differences in roles and functions, but there is none in the standing before God through faith in Jesus. When we say that Christ has abolished these distinctions, we don't mean that they do not exist, but that they no longer create any barriers to fellowship.
As Jesus said in John 13, 34 through 35, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. So again, through these differences and through our behaviors toward one another all will know that we are followers of Christ through our behavior.
In Galatians 3:29, the end of that chapter, Paul states that if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. Yes, that means that we all inherit the same thing from God according to his promise to Abraham in Genesis 17. Regardless of any way that we are identified.
So, Genesis 17, 4 through 8. As for me, behold my covenant, this is God speaking to Abraham. As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants. And your descendants after you throughout their, their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
I will give you, I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.
So, keep these things in mind as we move on to chapter 4, Galatians 4, 1 through 3.
Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also, we, while we were children, we're held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
So here, Paul is comparing a free child and a slave. Neither of them has the ability to just go off and do whatever they want. Those of us who are parents understand that. That both of us, under guardianship, do not have the freedom to use any of their potential inheritance. Think about that delicious meal I was talking about, that we couldn't touch, right?
We weren't allowed to have just yet. Paul's use of the slave as an example to compare to the child leaves us to think about the fact that the child has the hope of inheritance and freedom, while the slave will continue to be under the same conditions of his social status here on earth, just like a believer and a non believer only in terms of worldly conditions placed on people by people.
Paul uses the child as an example as he and Jesus had done in other scriptures referring to those who have not matured in their faith as children. Our inheritance is not available to us until we have clothed, clothed ourselves in Christ. Much the same, for children of that time were not eligible for their family inheritance until they had reached an age of maturity that their father had determined.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30, Paul says, You are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. And then Jesus in Matthew 19, verse 14, But Jesus said, let the children come and don't try to stop them.
People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom.
Are we being like the children and going straight toward Jesus? Or are we going off on a tangent and circling our way back once in a while? We need to go right to Jesus, like a child to Their grandfather, their fathers, their mothers, open arms, running ahead, got to be there, right?
Moving on to Galatians 4, Galatians 4 verses 4 through 5. But when the fullness of time had come, but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. So again, we're back to that law thing.
I feel like a lawyer today.
At the time God, the father appointed from eternity past. So this was God's plan from the beginning, uh, to bring his son to the earth as a form of redemption from the law.
He sent his son into this fallen world to fulfill his promise because Jesus was born of a woman showing him to be fully human and born under the authority of the Mosaic law. Obviously he was born before his own teachings that freed us from the law. So Jesus, Jesus was born while the Mosaic Law was still in place as a human.
After his teachings, the Mosaic Law was not taken away from us, but replaced with Jesus' teachings. And our redemption is through Jesus.
But by these things, he was able to free or redeem both Jews and Gentiles from the penalty of their sins that they deserved,
and free them from their slavery to sin as well. This redemption enables believers to be adopted as God's sons, because they are united to Jesus the son of God, because believers Regardless of their gender, ethnicity, whether they're slave or free, our sons, God sent the spirit of his son, Jesus, to live inside of them, just as the Old Testament had promised.
We see that Jesus has provided the way from our earthly sinful lives, no matter what our background, to a life pleasing to God. And the way to our inheritance through his teachings and examples we see in Ezekiel that God sent Jesus to mature us and bring us to him. Ezekiel 36: 26-28 I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts because I will put my spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.
You will once again live in the land I gave your ancestors, you will be my people and I will be your God.
So again, we see God's promises coming to fulfillment through Christ coming to us and living on this earth as a human, but also as a God. as God.
And then Galatians 4, 6 through 7. Because you are, because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.
The spirit deepens our intimacy with God by crying out, Abba, Father. Abba. So in Mark 14:36 is where we see that, uh, and this is Jesus and he was saying, Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will.
The term Abba was, was a term of that time, similar to a child of our time saying dad or daddy or papa.
And I say similar to that because Abba had a slightly, uh, slightly more formal meaning than than our current terms, uh, that that children often use to refer to their father. So it's kind of hard to describe but it's it's in between just saying father and daddy. So it's it's somewhere in the middle there. So when Christ is crying out Abba, Father, He's using that more personal abba and father, the, the genetic, uh, connection there. So he's using both terms to, uh, refer to his father.
And we see that all three persons of the Trinity work to, and get work together to ensure the believers salvation. As a result, believers are no longer slaves to the elements of this world, but sons who have been set free and have an inheritance from God, as Paul explained to the Romans in Romans 8: 12-17
So then brothers and sisters we are we are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, for if you are living in accord with the flesh you are going to die, but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
So yes, in verse 17, we do suffer with him. If we are living a Christian life in this world, we will suffer the struggles that come with that.
And we also see in verse 12, so then brothers and sisters, we are under, under obligation not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. So as we put Christ on through baptism, through our commitment to Christ, we are changing ourselves. We are not, we are no longer to live just an earthly life or to live in Christ according to him.
And again, in, in verse 14, he says that these are sons and daughters of God. And he also, it goes on to say that if we are sons and daughters of God, we are also his heirs, and that we are eligible for his promises of life everlasting with him. Going back to our scripture reading today, Galatians 4,
1 through 7, uh, I won't read it again, but it is up there. Kind of want to break it down just a little bit, uh, a little bit further. Verses one through three refer to our lives before Christ. So if we look at one through three real quick, I guess I will reread it, just in parts.
Now I say, as long as the heir, is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So, if we look at this part as our lives before Christ, these first two verses. Actually three verses. Uh, so also we were, we were children.
We were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. So before Christ we were slaves to what sin and life. Once we've put Christ on in baptism, we, we become God's children. a brother of Christ.
So also while we were Children, we were held in bondage to the elemental things of this world. So that's where we were. Verses four and five tell us now where we're going. But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law so that he might redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons.
So Christ came to this earth to teach us, to be an example to us, brought us from that slavery that we were in, the bondage we were in to this earthly world, brought us together with him. And then verses six and seven are where we are going. So because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying Abba father, therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son.
And if a son, then an heir through God. So, verses four and five, we're putting, we're coming together with Christ versus six and seven. We are told what we're looking forward to, that inheritance that we are eligible for by being sons and daughters of God, that we do have that inheritance to look forward to and that life here on earth that has changed for the better for all of us. Thank you.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)