Galatians 4

Galatians 4 continues the argument of chapter 3, namely that one becomes a child of God through faith, not through the law. The chapter restates this claim through two illustrations and leads into the exhortation on freedom that begins in chapter 5.

Outline

• Verses 1–7: An heir, while still a child, is under tutors and governors and differs nothing from a servant. In the same way, people were in bondage under "the elements of the world." When the fulness of the time came, God sent His Son to redeem those who were under the law. To redeem means to set free by paying a price. God gave them the adoption of sons and sent forth the Spirit of His Son, so that they cry, "Abba, Father."
• Verses 8–11: Although they have come to know God, the Galatian believers are turning back to the elements and observing days, months, times, and years. Paul fears that his labor among them may have been in vain.
• Verses 12–20: Paul recalls that he first preached the gospel to them through an infirmity of the flesh. At that time they received him as an angel of God, and, he says, they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him if it had been possible. He declares that he is again in travail until Christ is formed in them.
• Verses 21–31: Of Abraham's two sons, the son of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, and the son of the freewoman was born by promise. Paul interprets the two women as two covenants. Agar represents Mount Sinai and the Jerusalem which now is, while the freewoman represents the Jerusalem which is above. He concludes that believers, like Isaac, are the children of promise.

Key Verses

• Galatians 4:4 "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman" — presents the incarnation of Christ as an event occurring at the time appointed by God.
• Galatians 4:6 "Crying, Abba, Father" — frequently cited as the basis for believers addressing God as Abba, Father.
• Galatians 4:19 "Until Christ be formed in you" — often cited in discussions of spiritual maturity and nurture.

People and Places

• Paul: The apostle who wrote the letter.
• The Galatian believers: Members of the churches in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor.
• Abraham: Mentioned as the father of the two sons.
• Hagar: Rendered "Agar" in the text. Her son Ishmael is not named and appears only as "the son of the bondwoman."
• Sarah: Not named in the text; she is called "the freewoman."
• Isaac: Represents the children of promise.
• Mount Sinai: The mountain where the law was given. The text states that it is in Arabia.
• Jerusalem: Contrasted as "Jerusalem which now is" and "Jerusalem which is above."

Interpretive Considerations

• The meaning of "elements" (Greek stoicheia) is disputed. Some interpreters understand the term as basic principles encompassing both the law and pagan religion; others understand it as spiritual powers thought to rule the world.
• Interpretations of "days, and months, and times, and years" in verse 10 also differ. Many Protestant interpreters read the phrase as a criticism of observing the festivals of the law as though they were a condition of salvation. The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds that the verse refers not to the weekly Sabbath but to pagan religious days or the festivals of the ceremonial law (see Sabbath and the Lord's Day).
• The text does not specify what the "infirmity of the flesh" in verses 13–15 was. On the basis of verse 15, a tradition that it was an eye ailment is widely repeated, and some connect it with the "thorn in the flesh" of 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. These suggestions, however, remain conjecture.
• In verse 24 Paul interprets an Old Testament narrative symbolically. The passage is often discussed in debates over how far allegorical interpretation is legitimate. Verse 27 quotes Isaiah 54:1, and verse 30 quotes Genesis 21:10. Verses 4–7 closely parallel Romans 8:15–17.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 4 is used as a Christmas sermon text. Churches that follow a lectionary (a table of Scripture readings arranged according to the church year) may also read verses 4–7 during the Christmas season.