************************

Heirs Through Faith

Galations 4:4-7

Good News Translation (GNT)

4  But when the right time finally came, God sent
   his own Son. He came as the son of a human
   mother and lived under the Jewish Law,
5  to redeem those who were under the Law, so
   that we might become God's children.
6  To show that you are [a] his children, God sent
   the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit
   who cries out, "Father, my Father."
7  So then, you are no longer a slave but a child.
   And since you are his child, God will give you
   all that he has for his children.

   Footnotes
   Galatians 4:6 To show that you are;
   or
   Because you are.

*************************

Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

Heirs Through Faith

But when the time had fully come - that is, when we heirs had come of age - God sent his Son, Jesus.

He was born of a woman, just as we were. He experienced all man's temptations and weaknesses. He was born under The Jewish law.

God, the lawgiver, came to earth as a man, and put Himself under His own law. In this way He was able to completely fulfill the law. Not only that, He also paid the price for our sins according to the law.

That price was his own life - because the wages of sin is death. God send His Son to redeem those under law - that is, those under the basic principles of the world, both Jews and Gentiles.

We were once like slaves, and our master was Satan, the prince of this world. Therefore, because we were Satan's "property," Jesus had to pay a price to redeem us from Satan.

But when He "purchases" us, we are no longer slaves, as before. We become His brothers and sisters, that is, adopted children and full heirs of God.

An adopted son is one who has been made the heir of someone who is not his natural father. Even though he is the natural son of another man, the adopted son receives the full inheritance of his new father.

Similarly, in a spiritual sense, believers in Jesus are also adopted children. We have received the full rights of sons.

Here let us remember one thing.
If we choose not to leave the basic principles of the world - that is, Satan's kingdom - Jesus will not purchase us.

He will only redeem those who turn to Him in faith. He never forces people to enter His kingdom against their will. Our inheritance is eternal life in heaven.

We receive the Holy Spirit now as an advance on our full inheritance. He is also like a sign, a seal, placed on us, which gives proof that we are God's adopted children, now and forever.

To obtain salvation, to become adopted children of God, to receive the Holy Spirit - these always go together.

Through the Holy Spirit we know with complete certainty that we are God's children. We personally experience the heavenly Father's presence in our lives. We can call out to Him: "Abba, Father."

Abba was an informal Aramaic expression meaning "my father." Aramaic was the language spoken by most of the people in the Middle East during New Testament times; it was the language spoken by Jesus and His disciples

Because of the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we have no doubt that we are fully children of God.

As soon as the Holy Spirit enters our hearts, we are set free. We are no longer slaves, but sons. And if we are sons, we are also heirs.

Think of the greatness of God's possessions. And we are the inheritors of them!

Let us reflect for a moment on what it means to be an adopted son or daughter of God Himself. It is the highest of all the blessings God gives to us.

Some people believe that all men are children of God, but this is not true. Yes, God is the Creator of all men, but He is not the Father of all men.

Only those who believe in Jesus can legitimately call God their Father In no other religion is God called Father.

The followers of other religions cannot fully know God, because they do not know Him as Father. Yes, they know that God is living, holy, all-powerful, all-knowing.

But God is more than all this. God is also our loving and merciful heavenly Father. And we who believe in Jesus are His children.

Other versions are available here

Return to the Home Page

  Contact the Rector
  The Revd.Nic.Edwards
  The Rectory,
  Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE,
  Northampton,
  NN7 3PB

  Land Line: 01604 - 815496
  (Can be accessed from the mobile device)
  Mobile: .....
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com

  Contact the Benefice Office
  Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
  Land Line: 01604 830373
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
  Mon., Tues., Wed,, Thur., Fri.
  9:00^am to 11:30^am

  For Baptism bookings  (Christenings)
  to arrange an appointment please contact
  the Benefice Office.

  For Wedding bookings:
  please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
  an appointment.

  Who Made This?
  Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
  advice or report factual corrections and
  'deliberate mistakes, email:-
  regparker3 at gmail dot com

Email addresses shown using words in an attempt to avoid 'spam',
Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@', and 'dot' with '.'