Chapter 4 (NASB)

Paul now begins here in chapter 4 to elaborate on this transformation of identity that he introduced at the end of chapter 3—which was, itself, an explanation of what he means back in chapter two when the apostle declares, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

"Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."

Because Jews and Gentiles were both “held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world,” as Paul writes in verse 3, the Law was given as a guardian (3:23-29) to protect us from ourselves—and a fat lotta’ good that did us! So instead of the “elementary principles’” impulse and reaction, the Law was given to reveal an intentional way of living. 

Sadly, this most simple reason for the Law was ignored or misunderstood, and the thing that God had provided to keep us from going over the cliff like a herd of possessed pigs became in our eyes how we were to earn our place in God’s household. The Law became an instruction manual for merit. And we descendants of Adam do like us some merit.

Eventually, however, over the course of time, the plan of God was revealed, and Christ Jesus’ ministry freed all of us—first the Jew and then the Gentile—to live by and through faith. This is done, according to verse 6, to give us access to the blessing of the Spirit of God that produces in is new life:

"6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”

Verse seven does call for closer examination: "7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. “Whoo-Hoo,” people cheer. “I’m an heir of the kingdom!” Although I do agree that this is cause for celebration, I am not convinced that Paul intends this declaration to be solely for this purpose. Remember, the purpose of this letter is to prevent the Galatians from enslaving themselves to legal works. Paul reminds them here that their faith in Christ has transformed them and freed them from—in their case—the natural, fleshly life. But also, he is reminding them that Christ had made them God’s sons and daughters and with that comes responsibilities. 

"8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10 You meticulously observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain."

Verse 9, “9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again,” summarizes verses 4:1-7 quite well and prove that verse seven—about being no longer slaves by sons and daughters—is about something more than making the Galatians feel good. Why do you want to be enslaved again to the very thing from which Christ has freed you? But according to verse eleven, the Galatians may have already gone too far down the path of this new gospel. “Perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”

We will spend some time with this when we get to Romans, but I think it would be helpful to interject something here: Paul is doing everything that he can to keep the Galatians from taking back up the sin of Adam. And really, I think this is the struggle that we fight every day and in every trial. I know that it was a rather overused question in Christian culture some years ago, but I think that we modern Christians suffer from the same reason that the Galatians did: We fail to ask what would Jesus do. 

We end up trying to find our own solutions in tough and uncertain times—or we give into impatience or even complacency—because we, like Adam, don’t want anybody else, especially God, telling us what is right and wrong, good or hurtful for us, or what we should want or desire.
 
This is the choice and the temptation: like Jesus or like Adam. And if we choose the latter, we get to claim all the successes; we get to do it through our own merit. Sure, we may publicly share credit, but in the privacy of our own hearts and minds it’s, “I did this.”

In the next section, in verses 12-20, Paul wants to know what has prompted the Galatians to turn away to this new, different gospel.