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. … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: We have been adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters in Christ. As part of His family, we have access to the rights and priviledges and responsibilities that entails. Lesson 8, August 19 2017 1. Have a volunteer read Galatians 3:26-29. a. Ask class members to share a thought on what the … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
From slaves to heirs. Read the short description at the beginning of the lesson and consider how Martin Luther learned to understand Galatians and obtain from this book the hope he craved for his own soul. How can you and I obtain the same blessing from studying this book? Our condition in Christ. Once we … Continue reading –>
The title of this weeks’ lesson study, along with the Memory Text: Galations 4:7, give us our first hymn for this week, Hymn 594, “Heir of the Kingdom”. As we study further into the week, Hymn 568, “Make Me a Captive, Lord, and then I shall be free” is a theme that keeps coming back … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
… knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be … 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 still … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
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 … Continue reading –>
