Last week closed out chapter 3 of Galatians, speaking on the Law and its correlation to the New Covenant. This week we are going to talk about the future. We will discuss what the new covenant means for us and our place in God's future Kingdom. I want to remind everybody of our theme while we study this book. The theme is Truth. Truth is black and white, consistent, and above us all. God is the orchestrator of Truth and the living embodiment of Truth. God is eternal, and his Truth is final. His Truth has been given to us in physical form so we might study the Scriptures we call the Bible. The Bible sets the standard for how we ought to live, and we cannot alter it. We can choose to live by the Truth or ignore it.
Galatians 4: 1-7 "I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the Law, 5 to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
Now the new covenant offers an escape from spiritual death and a promise to a future home for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:1). Homes are for the family; it is a place of communion, gathering, love, forgiveness, joy, and laughter. When we have faith in Christ, accept his forgiveness, and surrender ourselves to his New Covenant, we are adopted into a perfect family for all eternity. This Galatians passage talks explicitly about the new family we have in Christ.
This passage excites me particularly more so than many other passages. I grew up in a challenging home full of abuse, alcoholism, shame, unforgiving hatred, twisted fake religion, and loyalty to blood that supported all of the previous. I know many of you have grown up in homes like mine. In many ways, our family backgrounds lead us to a life in the military, as a member serving or a spouse supporting. We join, looking for a new family to escape the families we were born into. The good news is that we have a new family when we accept Christ, and this new family is perfect in Christ, and we will experience this perfection when we separate from this world and go to it after our physical deaths.
Verses 1 - 3 can be confusing without some context. Paul here is comparing a child heir to that of an enslaved person. In our culture, an enslaved person has a terrible connotation, so I want to explain a little about what a slave means here in a historical context. A slave, in the context of the New Testament, was a person who, by choice or faulting on debt, surrendered to a life of slavery. Now that master would care for and tend to the slave, ensuring he was fed and cared for. The slave, in return, gives up his titles and inheritances to serve his master's family and help it succeed. If the master succeeded, the slave succeeded. Many masters entrusted their more senior and trusted slaves to rule over their finances, business, and estates.
Slaves were not meant to be abused or exploited, and it was not uncommon for someone to sell themselves willingly into slavery to escape poverty. A great example of this is found in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). Slaves in this time, like heirs, were often treated as children; as a child, you are given simple chores, and as you grow, your responsible grows. Paul mentions at the end of this verse that a child heir one day inherits his family's whole estate and business, but a slave does not.
Now God calls us to leave our old lives and follow him. As a child of God, we leave this Earth, raised in a family where our life is only begun and an eternity to live in perfect harmony. He calls us to no longer be slaves to this world but set free and become heirs to his family (1 John 1:12). No longer to love in this world, make the most money, become as powerful as we can, sky to the highest heights, but you die, and you go to a place of nothing.
Verses 4-7, God sets us free from the Law. He set us free from this world. Christ sets us free from our crummy imperfect families and adopts us as sons and daughters into a new family (Romans 8:14-17). Jesus came to us (Matthew 1:21). He stepped down as the ruler of all things (Hebrews 2:9). The creator of all things (Colossians 1:15-17). He was born a man and took on our sins (1 Corinthians 15:22). He Died and conquered spiritual death (Romans 6:9). He rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4). He did not just save himself and return to Heaven, but instead came back to us three days later and gave us the option of freedom and a family (Romans 5:10).
Under Christ, we are no longer slaves without an inheritance. Under Jesus, we are adopted as sons and daughters into his family. With our adoption comes the promise of eternal life. I do not know what you picture as eternal life. Hollywood has done an excellent job of making it look white, with lots of robes and harps. Eternity is so much more than that. Eternity is perfection. A new world will be created, and God's original purpose for us will be restored. In Genesis, God creates everything and puts man in dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Then Satan came and cast doubt in Adam and Eve against God, causing them to sin, and with that sin, God cursed man thing away his dominion over Earth (Genesis 3). The Earth no longer serves under man's dominion to provide for him but now fights man, and man must struggle for his survival. (2 Peter 3:12-13) brings the promise of a new Earth and a new Heaven, one without sin, pain, and suffering (Revelations 21:4). One where God will rule, and men will be restored to their dominion over the Earth as God intended. We will be able to walk with God and seek out every hidden secret, explore the cosmos, and enjoy God's creation to its fullest.
Now, this last section does not directly relate to this passage, but I believe it is profoundly important as a Christian and as a Triple Hare. God, before sin, called us to be stewards of His creation. We fell into sin, and now we pollute, exploit and destroy the Earth. I am in no way a green, tree-hugging hippie, but as a Christian, as a new creation in Christ, I believe this is a responsibility restored to us. We should fight daily to be responsible, care for this planet, and steward it. Triple Hares was founded to steward God's creation, beginning with our families and spouses, but as we grow, we hope to establish a place where we can care for everyone and teach others to steward God's creation. I invite you all to join us in this mission.
Below are this week's reflection questions:
What does eternity mean to you?
Have you surrendered to Christ and become part of his new family?
How have you stewarded what God has given you as a new Christian?
Who in your life this week can you bless by helping?
How can you be a better steward of the planet God has given us?
How can you better steward your time?
How can you get to know your Christian family while on this planet?
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