So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
3 sermons cite this verse
… but instead our status changes from slave to a child of God. Look at this in Galatians 4, verses 6 and 7. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then you are an heir through God. That word Abba is an Aramaic term that is a term of intimacy. It can literally be translated daddy. or Papa. When you trust in Christ as your Savior, that gap has been so bridged with God that you come into his presence with the intimacy of a child who says to his father, Daddy, Papa. Isn't that a great thought? You say, well, Pastor, isn't that contradicting what you just said about fearing God? Doesn't feeling secure in God as a child feels with a loving parent, doesn't that negate any kind of fear of God that we have? Not at all. The fact is, fear and security can coexist with one another. You can have both emotions, a fearing and yet feeling secure at the same time. Author Steve Farrar illustrates how fear and security can coexist with one another. He says, there is a difference between acceptable, healthy awe and destructive fear. A child should have general apprehension about the consequences of defying his parents, but he should not lie awake at night worrying about parental harshness or hostility. Perhaps a crude example will illustrate the difference between these aspects …
… Galatians 5.1, for freedom Christ has set us free. Galatians 4.7, Christian, you are no longer a slave to sin. You are now a son or daughter of God. Keep going. You have given Jesus your defeat against sin, and Jesus has given you his victory over sin. Romans 7, Paul, who's writing Galatians 2, says, what a wretched man I am in this war with sin. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So Christian, don't believe it. Do not believe that you cannot overcome that sin. Christ is in you. Absolutely, you can overcome that sin. And Christian, stop beating yourself up over your sin. Keep going here. you have given Jesus your judgment for sin. He has taken it from you. And in exchange, Jesus has given you his salvation from sin. Romans 8.1, there is now no condemnation for those who are what? In Christ Jesus. Christ is in you. Christ has taken all your judgment upon himself. …
… We speak to God with intimacy because we are one with Him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Verse 7, You are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God." God is in the process in redeeming His people, Hebrews says, of bringing many sons to glory. You are a child of God. And again, that's what verse 1 says, we are beloved children. And as beloved children who bear the mark of God, who possess the divine nature, in whom both Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwell, we should imitate God. We have the power, not in our own strength, but in the strength of the Spirit and by the work of the Word through the Spirit to walk in love, and that love will be like God's love again, sacrificial, unconditional, and continuously forgiving love. One other text that I would lay before you is in 1 John 4, verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. …