David Zhang I grew up in China, where religion wasn’t a part of our lives except that we honored our ancestors during special times of the year. I moved to New Zealand when I was 12 years old and had to learn English. I also began learning a bit about God in the weekly Bible … Continue reading –>
“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 himself according to the good pleasure of his will. God wills … Continue reading –>
“I wish we would win the lottery,” Marcia announced at the dinner table. “That’s impossible,” her father said. “We don’t play the lottery.” 1 “Why not?” “Because it’s a foolish gamble. You have one in eighteen million chances of winning. And that’s in a lottery for a single state. Some lotteries are for several states, … Continue reading –>
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 it … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: As we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, we are called children of God, not because of our merits, but because of His gifts to His children. [Teaching Plan for From Slaves to Heirs November 16, 2011] 1. Have a volunteer read Galatians 3:27-29. A. Ask class members to share a short thought … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
“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 God … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
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? 1 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 a master’s … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:26–4:20; Rom. 6:1–11; Heb. 2:14–18; 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 … Continue reading –>
