Read Galatians 4:12-20. What is the thrust of Paul’s message in these verses? The initial indication of the concern that weighs heavily on Paul’s heart is his personal appeal in verse 12. The appeal follows immediately after Paul’s insistence that the Galatians “become as I am.” The significance of the word entreat or beseech is, unfortunately, not fully conveyed in … [Click to read more …]
Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 4:12-20, 1 Cor. 11:1, Phil. 3:17, 1 Cor. 9:19-23, 2 Cor. 4:7-12. Memory Text: “ Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are” (Galatians 4:12, NRSV). As we’ve seen so far, Paul did not mince words with the Galatians. His strong language, however, simply reflected the inspired passion … [Click to read more …]
Further Thought: “In the council of heaven, provision was made that men, though transgressors, should not perish in their disobedience, but, through faith in Christ as their substitute and surety, might become the elect of God predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to [H]imself according to the good pleasure of [H]is will. … [Click to read more …]
Galatians 4:8-20 Read Galatians 4:8-20. Summarize on the lines below what Paul is saying there. How seriously does he take the false teachings among Galatians? Paul does not describe the exact nature of the Galatians’ religious practices, but he clearly has in mind a false system of worship that resulted in spiritual slavery. Indeed, he deemed … [Click to read more …]
Galatians 4:5-7 In Galatians 4:5-7, Paul expands on his theme, stressing that Christ has now “redeemed those who were under the law” (vss. 4, 5, ESV). The word to redeem means “to buy back.” It referred to the price paid to buy the freedom of either a hostage or a slave. As this context indicates, redemption implies a negative … [Click to read more …]
You can view an in-depth discussion of “From Slaves to Heirs” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the HopeTV Sabbath … [Click to read more …]
Gal. 4:4, ESV “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4, ESV). Paul’s choice of the word fullness indicates God’s active role in working out His purpose in human history. Jesus did not come at just any time; He came at the precise time … [Click to read more …]
Having just compared our relationship to God with that of sons and heirs, Paul now elaborates on this metaphor by including the theme of inheritance in Galatians 4:1-3. Paul’s terminology evokes a situation in which an owner of a large estate has died, leaving all his property to his oldest son. His son, however, is still … [Click to read more …]
Gal. 3:26-29 Keeping Galatians 3:25 in mind, read Galatians 3:26. How does this text help us understand what our relationship to the law is, now that we have been redeemed by Jesus? The word for at the beginning of verse 26 indicates that Paul sees a direct connection between this verse and the preceding one. In the same way that … [Click to read more …]
Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:26-4:20; Rom. 6:1-11; Heb. 2:14-18; Heb. 4:14-15; Rom. 9:4-5. Memory Text: “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:7, ESV). Paul tells the Galatians that they should not live and act as slaves but as the sons and daughters of God, with all … [Click to read more …]
