Galatians 4:9–11

Context

Galatians is a letter that Paul sent to the churches in the region of Galatia. At the time, people had entered these churches teaching that Gentile believers also had to be circumcised and keep the law. Earlier in chapter 4, Paul uses the analogy of an heir who, while still a child, is under guardians and differs nothing from a servant. Believers, too, were formerly "in bondage under the elements of the world," but God sent forth his Son and adopted them as his children (Galatians 4:4). In verse 8 Paul reminds them that they had once served "them which by nature are no gods." Then, in verses 9–11, he laments that these same people are seeking to return to their former bondage. The self-correcting phrase "or rather are known of God" is commonly interpreted to mean that salvation begins not with a person's knowing God but with God's first knowing that person.

Interpretation

Interpretation centers on two questions: what the "elements" (Greek stoicheia, "basic components") refer to, and what is meant by "days, and months, and times, and years." Translations render stoicheia in various ways.

• As elementary instruction: This reading takes stoicheia as "basic principles," like the first stage of learning the alphabet. It understands the term to refer to the immature stage of faith under the law before the coming of Christ.
• As spiritual powers: In the ancient world the word could also denote the elements that make up the cosmos, the heavenly bodies, or spiritual beings associated with them. Scholars who emphasize this usage read Paul as grouping the bondage of pagan religion together with bondage under the law.
• As Jewish festivals: Many commentators take "days, and months, and times, and years" to refer to the calendar of the Jewish law—that is, the Sabbath, the new moon (the first day of each month), the annual feasts, and the sabbatical year. On this interpretation, when Gentile believers sought to observe these as a condition for belonging to God's people, Paul regarded it as equivalent to returning to pagan religion. Scholars who follow the so-called New Perspective on Paul understand such observances as boundary markers separating Jews from Gentiles.

Controversies and Issues

• The Sabbath question: Most Protestant denominations that worship on Sunday cite this passage as one of the grounds for holding that the festivals of the law are not binding obligations for Christians. This view is closely tied to their understanding of law and gospel and justification. The Seventh-day Adventist Church takes a different view: the days mentioned here are pagan festivals or the feasts of the ceremonial law, and they do not include the weekly Sabbath, which was instituted at creation and is contained in the Ten Commandments (see Sabbath and the Lord's Day).
• The church year and holy days: Some Reformed traditions, including the Puritans, opposed observing festivals not commanded in Scripture and at times cited this passage in support. By contrast, denominations that observe the church year hold that what Paul objected to was the attitude of making festivals a condition of salvation. They argue that the passage should be read together with Romans 14:5–6, which leaves the observance of days to each person's conviction.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, this passage is frequently cited in disputes with groups that insist on keeping the Saturday Sabbath or the Old Testament feasts. In preaching, it is also used as a text warning against legalism that seeks to substitute formal observance of ordinances for faith.

Related Passages

• Galatians 4:3–5
• Colossians 2:16–17
• Romans 14:5–6
• Galatians 5:1