Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Galatians
Chapter 4: The Adoption of Sons
Galatians 4 shows the difference between a slave and a son. Once we were like heirs still under age, 'in bondage under the elements of the world.' 'But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.' And the proof of sonship is the Spirit: 'because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.' So 'thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.' Paul is grieved that the Galatians would turn back to bondage, and pleads with them out of love, longing 'until Christ be formed in you.' He closes with the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, the two covenants, one of bondage and one of freedom: 'Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.' The chapter shows us the incarnation, adoption, the Spirit of the Son, and the freedom of the children of promise.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Galatians chapter 4. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul unfolds the sending of God's Son, the adoption of sons, and the Spirit who cries Abba, Father, and pleads with the Galatians to remain free children of promise. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
God Sent Forth His Son
In the fullness of time, God came in flesh to redeem us.
No More a Servant, but a Son
We receive the adoption of sons and become heirs of God.
Crying, Abba, Father
The Spirit of the Son in our hearts is the proof of sonship.
Children of the Free
Two covenants, one of bondage, one of freedom; we are of the free.
God Sent Forth His Son (Galatians 4:1-11)
In the fullness of time God sent His Son to redeem us and make us sons, sealing our sonship by the Spirit who cries, Abba, Father.
The Spirit of His Son, Crying, Abba, Father
"Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."
Word Study
"adoption of sons," Greek huiothesia (υἱοθεσία). The word joins huios, son, with a form meaning placing or setting; it means the placing of one as a son, the legal act by which a person is given the full standing of a son, with all its rights and inheritance. "God sent forth his Son... that we might receive the adoption of sons." By faith in Christ, God does not merely forgive us; He adopts us, giving us the full standing of sons in His family, with the right to call Him Father and to inherit as heirs. And the proof of this adoption is the gift of the Spirit: "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." The Spirit within us cries out to God with the intimate word "Abba," the tender family word a child uses for his father. This is the wonder of the gospel: those who were slaves under sin and law are made sons of God, given His own Spirit, and taught to call Him Father. Adoption is not becoming God by nature, but being received into His family by grace, "no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
Explanation
Paul illustrates the change with an heir who, while a minor, "differeth nothing from a servant," under tutors until the appointed time. So Israel lived under the law until "the fulness of the time was come," when "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Proof of that sonship is the Spirit crying "Abba, Father." Having become sons and heirs, why would the Galatians turn back "to the weak and beggarly elements," re-enrolling in the bondage from which they were freed?
Gospel Focus
Paul illustrates the change the gospel brings with a picture from family law. An heir, while still a child, "differeth nothing from a servant," though he owns everything; he is under "tutors and governors until the time appointed." So it was with us: "when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world," under the law and its rudiments, not yet free. "But when the fulness of the time was come", at the exact moment God had appointed, "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." Here is the incarnation in a single line: the one God sent forth His Son, that is, came Himself in flesh, "made of a woman", truly born, truly human, born of the virgin, "made under the law", subject to it, that He might redeem those under it. God did not send another to do His saving work; the one God came in flesh as the Son, born of a woman, to redeem us. And the purpose was adoption: "that we might receive the adoption of sons." Then Paul names the seal of that sonship: "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." The same one God who sent the Son also sends "the Spirit of his Son", His own Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, into the believer's heart, and that Spirit cries "Abba, Father," the tender cry of a child to his dad. The Son sent in flesh and the Spirit sent into our hearts are the working of the one God to make us His sons; this is not three separate deities but the one God redeeming and indwelling His people. So "thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." How tragic, then, to turn back: the Galatians, having "known God," were drifting toward "the weak and beggarly elements," the bondage of law-observance, "days, and months, and times, and years." Paul fears his labor among them was "in vain." Why would sons return to slavery? The gospel has made us sons and heirs, sealed by the Spirit of the Son; we are called to live in that freedom, not to crawl back under the yoke of bondage.
Jerusalem Which Is Above Is Free (Galatians 4:12-31)
Paul pleads with the Galatians in love and shows, by the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, that we are children of promise and freedom.
Until Christ Be Formed in You
"Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."
Word Study
"an allegory," Greek allegoreo (ἀλληγορέω). The word means to speak so that something else is meant, to convey a further truth through a story; it describes an account that carries a symbolic or illustrative meaning beyond the literal. "Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants." Paul takes the true history of Abraham's two sons, Ishmael by the bondwoman Hagar, born "after the flesh," and Isaac by the freewoman Sarah, born "by promise," and draws from it a picture of two covenants. Hagar stands for the covenant "from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage," the law, which cannot free but only enslave, answering to "Jerusalem which now is," in bondage. Sarah stands for the covenant of promise and grace, "Jerusalem which is above," which "is free, which is the mother of us all." Paul is not denying the history; he is using it, under inspiration, to teach that those who trust the law are like children of the bondwoman, while those who believe the promise are, "as Isaac was... the children of promise." The allegoreo drives home the whole letter: law brings bondage, promise brings freedom, and we belong to the free.
Explanation
Paul's tone softens to personal pleading: he recalls how they once would have "plucked out your own eyes" for him, and asks, "am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" The Judaizers court them with flattery for selfish ends. Then he draws an allegory from Abraham's two sons: Hagar the bondwoman answers to Sinai and the present Jerusalem "which is in bondage"; Sarah the freewoman to "Jerusalem which is above... the mother of us all." Believers are "children of promise," born free. His conclusion is sharp: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son" — law and grace cannot co-inherit.
Gospel Focus
Paul turns from argument to a tender personal appeal. He reminds the Galatians of their first love: when he first preached to them "through infirmity of the flesh," some bodily weakness, they did not despise him but "received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus," and would have "plucked out your own eyes" to help him. What has happened to that "blessedness"? "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" The false teachers courted them with flattering zeal, "but not well," seeking to shut them out so they would depend on them. Paul's love is different, the love of a mother in labor: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." His aim is not to bind them to himself but that Christ be fully formed in them. Then, to those enamored of the law, Paul makes a final appeal from the law itself, the story of Abraham's two sons. Ishmael, born of the bondwoman Hagar "after the flesh," and Isaac, born of the freewoman Sarah "by promise," are "an allegory" of "the two covenants." Hagar and Sinai represent the law, which "gendereth to bondage," answering to the earthly "Jerusalem which now is... in bondage with her children." Sarah represents the covenant of promise, "Jerusalem which is above," which "is free, which is the mother of us all." Believers, "as Isaac was, are the children of promise," born "after the Spirit," free by grace. And as Ishmael once "persecuted" Isaac, so the children of law-bondage persecute the children of grace, "even so it is now." But the verdict of Scripture is clear: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." The law and grace cannot share the inheritance; those who would be justified by law forfeit the promise. So Paul concludes: "we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free." We are Isaac's kind, children of promise, born of the Spirit, heirs of grace, and free. To return to the law is to trade the freedom of a son for the yoke of a slave. Stand fast, then, as children of the free.
Chapter 4 in Review
Galatians 4 moves from slaves to sons and from bondage to freedom. Once "in bondage under the elements of the world," we were redeemed when "the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." The proof of sonship is the Spirit: "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father," so "thou art no more a servant, but a son." Grieved that the Galatians would return to bondage, Paul pleads in love, longing "until Christ be formed in you." And by the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, "the two covenants," one of bondage and one of freedom, he shows that "Jerusalem which is above is free," and "we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter shines with the incarnation and adoption. At the appointed time the one God sent forth His Son, came Himself in flesh, "made of a woman," to redeem us; and He sends "the Spirit of his Son," His own Spirit, into our hearts, so that we cry "Abba, Father." The sending of the Son in flesh and the sending of the Spirit into our hearts are the one God's work to make us His sons, not the acts of separate deities but the one God redeeming and indwelling His people. And the fruit is adoption: we who were slaves are made sons and heirs of God through Christ, free children of promise like Isaac, born of the Spirit. To turn back to the law is to leave the freedom of a son for the yoke of a slave, to be cast out with the bondwoman rather than to inherit with the free. So rejoice in your adoption, live by the Spirit who cries Abba, Father, and stand fast as children of the free.
- "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman": the one God came in flesh to redeem us (4:4).
- By faith we receive "the adoption of sons" (4:5).
- "The Spirit of his Son" in our hearts cries "Abba, Father" (4:6).
- We are "no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God" (4:7).
- Paul's aim is that "Christ be formed in you" (4:19).
- Two covenants: bondage (Hagar/Sinai) and freedom (Sarah/promise); "we are... of the free" (4:24, 31).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you live as a son and heir of God, or still as a servant under bondage?
- Does the Spirit within you cry "Abba, Father," giving you assurance of sonship?
- What would it mean for "Christ" to be more fully "formed in you"?
- Are you resting in the freedom of grace, or drifting back toward the yoke of law?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. God sending His Son in the fullness of time; the incarnation: Galatians 4:4-5; John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Romans 8:3; Luke 1:35. Adoption and the Spirit of the Son crying Abba: Galatians 4:5-7; Romans 8:14-17; Ephesians 1:5; John 1:12. Warning against returning to bondage: Galatians 4:8-11; Colossians 2:16-17, 20-23; Galatians 5:1. The allegory of Hagar and Sarah; children of promise: Galatians 4:21-31; Genesis 16; 21:1-12; Isaiah 54:1; Romans 9:7-9. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- God sent forth His Son; the adoption of sons and the Spirit: Galatians 4:1-7; Romans 8:14-17; Luke 1:35.
- Warning against returning to bondage; Paul's appeal: Galatians 4:8-20; Colossians 2:20-23.
- The allegory of Hagar and Sarah; children of the free: Galatians 4:21-31; Genesis 21:1-12; Isaiah 54:1.