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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Galatians

Chapter 4 

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[Prefatory note: The Authorized (King James) Version, unless otherwise indicated, is employed herein, featured, most notably, in bold type as plenary verses and, at times, as key words and phrases.]

A Survey and Critical Analysis of Galatians 4

4. 1. Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

The apostle, continuing with his analogy of the “nursery,” explains that a rich man’s son, though destined to rule over his father’s estate, while he is under the care of guardians, is treated with no special deference.

4. 2, 3. 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:

we. Jews and Gentiles (3. 29). Paul includes himself. The "we" here cannot refer to "we Jews" as opposed to "you Gentiles" because the flow of this complex sentence leads us to the purpose of the Savior's coming (verses 4 and 5), hardly a private Jewish affair.

when we were children. That is, when we were in our spiritual minority, the state of needing an external threat and prod to obey our Father; when we were without a willing heart and spirit to serve him, to be about the “family business.”

bondage. Childhood is a kind of bondage or slavery, according to the nature of the case. Children require being told what to do; they are to obey their parents,"guardians and trustees," until such time that they understand that responsibility is the concomitant of freedom; that desire to serve their Father must supplant self-will.

elements of the world. The Greek word elements historically referred to:

“(a) the letters of the alphabet, hence elementary education in any branch of knowledge;

(b) the elements (as taught by Aristotle) of which a thing was composed, as the fire, air, earth, and water of which the world was thought to be constituted;

(c) the elements of the universe, the larger cosmos, including the sun, moon, planets, and stars; and

(d) the spirits, angels, and demons which were believed to ensoul the heavenly bodies, traverse all space, and inhabit every nook and cranny of earth” (Stamm 521).

Paul's use of the term "elements of the world" seems to include a combination of some of the above. The "elements" as the (a) first principles of religion, appears to have a natural meaning within the context of Paul's analogy regarding childhood. During our spiritual minority we were told what to do by the law. However, this straight-forward explanation is muddied by Paul's inclusion of what seem to be direct references to the worshipping of (d) spirits.

Verse 8 gives us a clear enough reference to demonic elements with verse 10 issuing a condemnation of legalistic observance of both Gentile and Jewish special days and seasons. Also, it seems clear in Colossians 2. 8, 20, another reference to "elements of the world," that Paul links all of this to demonic forces. It may be a reasonable approach to suggest that Paul here includes both of these meanings, (a) and (d). Possibly, verses 1 - 7 emphasize "elements" as the ABCs of religion while verses 8 - 10 center on the aspect of spirit-worship, with both items somewhat mutually overlapping.

To be under a "governor" is not something evil; children are immature. But Paul’s tone seems to change beginning with verse 8. Now the "elements" are also called "weak and beggarly," a step down from status as first principles. Doing “service” to other “gods” edges us closer to evil than to mere immaturity, which may imply a degree of accountability. Let us analyze these verses before continuing this discussion.

4. 4-7. 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.

the fulness of the time. Paul’s phrase here is the complement of verse two’s “time appointed of the father,” that long-awaited event when all systems of legalism would end – the Old Covenant brand in particular, but not exclusively. “Trustees” and “governors” of humankind would be unemployed. Mankind was now given opportunity to grow up and move beyond the “nursery” of works-oriented religion. Apparently, after several thousand years of human history, the Father determined that homo sapiens had accumulated sufficient collective experience to (potentially) realize the futility of “merit-badge” religion.

made of a woman. While made is better rendered “born,” the reference to “woman [. . .] speaks of Jesus' true humanity and representative quality” (Longenecker 166, 171).

the law. Stamm again asserts that in neither verse 4 nor 5 does “law” carry with it the definite article. Paul, once more, speaks of legalism in a generic sense. In verse 4 the context mandates the sense, “Jewish law,” but in verse 5, one that addresses Gentiles too (“we”), law-systems of all stripes are in view.

made under the law. Several commentators offer the sense of this phrase as "He became a Jew subject to Jewish law." While there is an element of truth here, precision is lacking. Some imply that this verse teaches us that Jesus was a kind of Mr. Good-Jewish-Citizen, that he obeyed all traffic laws and paid his taxes. Maybe so, but civic rectitude, most definitely, is not on Paul’s mind here. Jesus and his submission to law "means not [merely satisfying] legal requirements [. . .] and certainly not legalism [as Paul's entire theme in Galatians is one of dismantling all law-systems] as though Jesus in his life became a legalist – but [law-obedience] in the sense of [. . .] submission to the will of God [that is, the spirit of the law] revealed through Moses. [The] early church spoke of Christ [. . .] ‘born under the law’ to offer a perfect obedience to God the Father" (Longnecker). 

The Son was "sent" by the Father to do something that no man had ever done. He would perfectly keep the law, that is, he would perfectly obey the Father; not specifically in terms of ritualism, but the Father's original legislative intent, what the Father wanted from the beginning - a love relationship with a kindred-spirit Son. In this sense, Jesus becomes the perfect Jew, the perfect Man “under law,” for the first time in history, fulfilling the law and the Covenant.

Notice the connection to elements of the world: in our spiritual minority (verse 3), we were in bondage to the elements of the world, the ABCs of religion, law-keeping as a means to salvation. But Christ came to redeem those "under law" (verse 5), that is, those who view law as a means of achieving salvation. "Elements" and "under law" stand in apposition to each other, parallel thoughts.

Both of these terms are generic in nature and refer to both Jewish and Gentile law-systems. The deeper significance of Paul’s meaning here will be troubling to some (it was to the Judaizers) – the great Jewish Old Testament religion is lumped together with “Gentile dog” attempts at seeking God! Paul’s come a long way since his days of being the Pharisee’s Pharisee!

adoption. "(Greek, huiothesia, ‘the placing as a son’), the admission of a person to some or all of the privileges of natural kinship [. . .]. [Among the Romans the] adopted one became, in the eyes of the law, a new creature [. . .] born again into a new family. This custom was doubtless referred to by Paul" (Unger 22).

we [. . .] ye. Why does Paul suddenly change his perspective? Is he no longer speaking as fellow Christian but now as preacher, emphasizing what should be obvious to them but is not? Is he saying, "You have forgotten the essence of your calling.” If so, Paul now assumes his role of admonishing preacher.

God hath sent forth the Spirit. God's second "sending" - compare verses 4 and 6.

Abba, Father. "Father, dear Father" (Phillips 395).

the Spirit [. . .] crying, Abba, Father. The Galatians were doubting that they were truly Christians; even that the Father loved them; which is why they were succumbing to the Judaizers’ works-oriented heresy. Paul encourages his flock here with the statement that their compelling inward desire to call God, “Father,” is, in itself, evidence of their status as his sons and daughters. This “spirit of sonship” gives us a permanent place in the Father’s house, unlike that of a hired servant (John 8. 35, 36); further indication that we are “heirs” of God (compare to 3. 29 and 4. 1).

because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit. This phrase, at another time in my life, when I viewed the world through a legalist’s eyes, caused some concern for me. “Shouldn’t these words read,” I worried, “‘after we are sons, God sends his Spirit’?” This phrase, left unedited, suggests the annoying concept that God loves all people, not just those who have been dunked in water. “Exactly!” says Paul. “Now you’re starting to get it. The Father – he’s not called that for nothing – sees all peoples as his sons and daughters. Yes, many of them, for the moment, are wayward – just like the prodigal son. But this waywardness does nothing to dampen God’s love for us, nor his status as Father; and, at the slightest willingness we display, he “sends forth his Spirit” – precisely because we are his children. We may be confused about this - but he never is.”

4. 8-11. 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.

Howbeit then. Paul is linking the foregoing to what he is about to say: "In view of the fact that you have enjoyed a close relationship with God to the point of calling Him 'dear Father,' how can you return to the sterile activity of what amounts to demon worship?"

when ye knew not God. Paul wants them to remember the lonely days when they felt no inner prompting to cry, “Father, dear Father.”

rather are known of God. Paul interjects this to remind them that they came to know the true God through his efforts alone, not through any works on their part: "Grace, not law, made you a Christian!" Paul will not miss an opportunity to strike on this note.

how turn ye again. "Since you know what kind of God he is, how can you exchange that for the tired, old and cold legalism?"

weak and beggarly elements. "weak because [legalism] has no strength to redeem us (verse 5), and beggarly because it has no wealth with which to bless" (Stott 104).

observe. “The word denotes careful, scrupulous observance, an intent watching lest any of the prescribed seasons should be overlooked”; the kind of “scrupulousness” found in “merely legal or ritual religion” (Vincent 140).

Ye observe days. Addressing the Gentiles (“Ye”), Paul clearly is referring to various Gentile pagan holy days; however, such days are not exclusively in view. These “days” are subsumed under the term “elements” (verse 9), a clear allusion to verse 3 where the same word, without a doubt, includes Jewish feast days.

Paul’s point is this: “Whether your holy days find origin in Jewish or Gentile religious practice, for you, they become an avenue back to legalism. You’ve returned to believing that mere observance of a day, by itself, will earn you points with God.” It is sometimes asked why Paul refuses to give up any ground here about “days” when in Romans 14, in a spirit that to some seems overly tolerant, he allows great latitude to those who “esteem one day above another.” The answer to this seeming conundrum is the same answer to the question, “Why did Paul require Timothy to be circumcised but not Titus?” Paul was not a slave to his own freedom. When the “truth of the gospel” required defending, Paul was stalwart and immovable; but in all matters peripheral, those of mere personal taste, Paul, the former jackal-eyed Pharisee, had learned to take his place among the meek, ready to become “all things to all men” (1 Cor. 9. 22).

We must address one more question before we leave this section. In verse 8 Paul links legalism to the worship of  “gods,” probably, demon spirits as “elements.” How can slavery to a works-oriented law-system reasonably be associated with dark forces? Is Paul suggesting that “the law” is an orchestration of Satan? Rom. 7. 8, 10 may supply a clue to Paul’s thinking: "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence [. . .] [and that] which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death." The apostle seems to be saying that the prince of evil took that which God designed as a “stepping-stone to liberty” (Stott 105), that which is good, the law, and crafted it to his own foul purposes. Playing upon humankind’s ill-conceived desire for independence from God, the devil casts the law as a tool to forge a man-made righteousness.

4. 12. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

Brethren, I beseech you. Paul sets aside his polemics and now, as a grieving pastor, appeals from the heart. He is about to tell them: "I have a personal relationship with God -- as you once did when you began your Christian life. Become like me once again."

I am as ye are. Stott asserts that the Greek here is difficult, but that the sense is one of Paul reminding the Galatians, in the spirit of his respect for his Gentile brethren in Antioch, that he, unlike Peter and others, had always treated the Galatians as brothers and sisters and had become as one of them (112). In those early days, responding in kind, they had not “injured” him but had treated him kindly as well.

4. 13-16. 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?

Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? This may be the most poignant statement of the entire letter: “What has happened to all your joy?” (The Holy Bible, New International Version). Paul appeals to their hearts: “Think back to when you first knew Christ. Remember how free and unburdened you felt!” Legalism, inevitably, causes “burn out,” the fear and frustration of never quite measuring up to God’s standards.

4. 17-20. They zealously affect you, but not well; 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.

They zealously affect you, but not well; “These people are zealous to win you over, but for no good” (The Holy Bible, New International Version).

they would exclude you. “shut you out [. . .] from Christ” (Vine 132).

that ye might affect them. “that you may make much of them” (The New Testament, A New Translation 855). With this phrase, Paul gives us his sense of what motivates the Judaizers – they seek the approbation of men, the very vice of which they accused Paul (1. 10). Stott explains that “when Christianity is turned into a bondage of rules and regulations, its victims are inevitably in subjection, tied to the apron-strings of their teachers” (116). So often, works-oriented religion leads to a cultish worship of hierarchical leadership structure, all in the name of loyalty to God.

until Christ be formed in you. John Stott quotes Calvin: “If ministers wish to do any good, let them labour to form Christ, not to form themselves, in their hearers” (118). We find here the crux of the issue. The Judaizers, neurotically seeking affirmation of their own religious authority, viewed the Galatians as a trophy on a mantlepiece, a notch on a scorecard. The difference between Paul and his enemies becomes clearer.

4. 21. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

do ye not hear the law. "You who think the Bible in infallible," is the sense of Paul's jab, "maybe you should read it some time!" Paul charges ahead with a tinge of unveiled sarcasm: “You that love the law so much - do you know what it says?” The Judaizers, gun-shy by now, wonder what Paul, the high-priced lawyer, has up his sleeve this time.

4. 22, 23. 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.

born after the flesh. "in the course of nature" (The New English Bible).

by promise. Isaac's birth was a miracle, promised by God.

4. 24-27. 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.

This section is well illuminated by The New English Bible: "This is an allegory. The two women stand for two covenants. The one bearing children into slavery is the covenant that comes from Mount Sinai: that is Hagar. Sinai is a mountain in Arabia and it represents the Jerusalem of today, for she and her children are in slavery. But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman; she is our mother. For scripture says, Rejoice, O barren woman who never bore child; break into shout of joy, you who never knew a mother's pangs; for the deserted wife shall have more children than she who lives with the husband."

Notice the parallel concepts in Paul’s allegory:

A favorite line of the Pharisee-Jews was "Abraham is our father"! They made much of their physical lineage from Abraham. Paul, in chapter 3, has already attacked this idea explaining that the true descendants of Abraham are those who choose the “faith way” to salvation. But the apostle now takes things a step further: not only is it important for Abraham to be one’s “father,” it’s also important to have the right “mother”!

mother of us all. "she [Sarah] is our mother" (The New English Bible). Paul is saying this: “Allegorically speaking, If you are a Christian, Sarah is your mother. You are like Isaac, a child born of God’s promise. You were born into freedom, unlike your brother Ishmael, representing those who insist on living in legalism.”

Jerusalem. Jerusalem is used as the focal point of both systems, law and grace. Jerusalem “which is now,” represents works-oriented religion; Jerusalem “above” signifies God's grace. 

4. 28-31. 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.

we [. . .] as Isaac. The birth of Ishmael becomes a kind of parable representing the way of human effort, strategy, and devising; the birth of Isaac is a picture of promised, miraculous birth representing God's mercy, God's grace, God's efforts.

persecuted [. . .] even so it is now. Paul explains that if the Judaizers are blood brothers to anyone, it is to Ishmael, ever the symbol of those who persecute those of faith. “The [. . .] greatest enemies of the evangelical faith today are not unbelievers, who when they hear the gospel often embrace it, but the church, the establishment, the hierarchy. Isaac is always mocked and persecuted by Ishmael” (Stott 127).

what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son. Paul, the lawyer, using “laser-guided bombing,” devastates the Judaizers’ position with a tiny verse from the Old Testament. The “scripture,” he asserts, and its law-way, proclaims its own future undoing. Hagar and Ishmael, representing Judaism and all forms of legalism, are to be “cast out”!

The Jews had used this same verse as support for their racist, exclusivist activities in their rejection and condemnation of the Gentiles. Well apprised of rabbinical arguments, Paul, the man who “wrote the Judaizers’ manual,” uses their own words to foil them.

The allegorical form of argument is likely used here because the “other side” had been doing so, pontificating something like this:

"Allegorically speaking, God commands us to condemn the Gentiles when he says Cast out the bondwoman.”

Responding to this sophistry, Paul, with steel-eyed coolness, declares to his critics:

“You want to talk allegory? I’ll give you some allegory. You are like Hagar and Ishmael, icons of legalism, not 'promise', consigned to be cast out of the Christian community.”