WHO ARE THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE?

*Memory Verse: Galatians 3:29*

If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.(KJV)

*Central Truth*

Christ frees believers from sin and enables them to receive His promises.

*The Lesson Outline*

*1. Freed and Adopted by Faith*

  *Galatians 3:23 through 4:7*

A. Baptised into Christ

B. From Slavery to Sonship

*2. Do Not Return to Bondage*

*Galatians 4:8 Slavery

B. Pulled Away from the Truth

*3. Free by God's Promise*

*Galatians 4:21-31*

A. Two Sons, Two Covenants

B. Children of Freedom

*Teaching Goals*

*1. Impart and Reinforce Knowledge:* _Inform students that the Law was not given to save us, but to reveal our need for a Saviour.

*2. Influence Attitudes:* To inspire students to praise God for adopting into His family all who live by faith in Christ.

*3 Influence Behaviour:* To encourage students to check for signs of self-reliance and remain committed to Christ for their salvation.

*Introducing the Lesson*

Write on the board: What is the purpose of the law of Moses? After students have an opportunity to respond, say: "Many people throughout the centuries have attempted to keep the Law to gain salvation. But the Law was put in place to lead us to salvation in Christ." Then ask, "How could a Law that is impossible to keep make us aware we need a Saviour?" The Law exposes our sinfulness and, thus, our need for a Saviour.

*The Holy Scriptures*

Gal 2',3. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2. But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

3. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

4. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5.  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

7. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

8. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.  

9. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

10. Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

*COMMENTARY AND APPLICATIONS*

*1. Freed and Adopted by Faith*

*A. Baptised into Christ- Galatians 3:23-29*

God gave the Law to instruct His people regarding Sin, and to reveal their need for a Saviour (verse 23). The Law was never meant to serve as a means of salvation. Rather, The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith (verse 24, NIV). After Christ's death and resurrection, the Law would no longer be our "guardian" (verse 24, NIV), or "schoolmaster (KJV). The Greek term translated "schoolmaster referred to a slave placed in full charge of a Greek or Roman slave owner's son. That slave's task was teaching the son right behaviour, and would enact punishment when needed, until the son was approximately sixteen years old.

Faith in Christ brings a person into a Father-child relationship with God (verse 26). Having believed, converts publicly identify with Christ through water baptism (verse 27), demonstrating their commitment to live a life that reflects the character of Christ and the transformation that has come into their lives by faith.

All people can be part of God's family (verse 28). Walls of ethnicity (Jew, Gentile), social status (slave free), and gender (male, female) are broken down through Him. ln addition

to a new relationship with God, Christians also have a new relationship with one another, for they are all one in Christ Jesus (verse 28, KJV)

Christians are God's children, and also the children of Abraham, his spiritual descendants (verse 29). Abraham believed God's promise, and was counted righteous before Him. Believers today find that same reality; they belong to Christ by faith (see Galatians 3:9; Romans 5:17).

*Questions for Application*

Paul wrote that those who have been baptised into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Why is it important for Christiens to be baptised in water?

What walls divide believers today and how can these walls be broken down?

 *B. From Slavery to Sonship- Galatians 4:1-7*

Paul described the period of the Law as being like the childhood of God's people (Galatians 4:1-3). Although God had a great spiritual inheritance in store for them, they would be like slaves under the guardianship of the Law. These verses describe a similar illustration to Galatians 3:2-29. Under Roman law, an heir who had lost his parents would be placed under a guardian until age fourteen, even though he was heir to his parents' estate.

Paul then spoke of the time when the inheritance would begin to take shape. At the right time God sent Jesus to die for our sin (Galatians 4:4-5). In this way Jesus made atonement for us (see Hebrews 2:14-17;1 John 3:8). In Christ, people become children of God through adoption, not the Law.

Paul emphasised to Christian Gentiles that their spiritual adoption brought them the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:5). This gave them full identity with and participation in God's family (verse 7).

Paul also assured the Gentiles that God places the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers to assure them of their identity as children of God (versse 6). The Holy Spirit enables Christians to accept and enjoy their identity as the children of God.

*Questions for Application*

What does it mean to you to know that you are a child of God?

God assures us that we are His children through faith in Christ. In what ways is God a good Father?

*Response to the Word*

God has taken His people from spiritual slavery to spiritual sonship. The Law had served as a guardian and tutor during their "childhood," to lead them to Jesus Christ. Now, all who have received Christ are God's children, and have the Holy Spirit to help them live as sons and daughters of God. Such a life is lived in step with the Holy Spirit, reading the Word He has inspired, and building faith through prayer (Jude 1:20).

*2. Do Not Return to Bondage*

*A. Legalism Is Slavery- Galatians 4:8-16*

Before the Galatian converts received the gospel, they were "slaves to those who by nature are not gods" (Galatians 4:8, NIV). They worshipped false gods, or idols. Now that they were "known by God" (verse 9, NIV), Paul asked them why they would subject themselves to legalism—thus becoming enslaved again, a reference to spiritual slavery. The evidence of their subjection was their observance of the special days and festivals of the Jewish calendar verse 10). Such observances would have been very important to the Judaizers.

This was ironic considering the Galatians came to Christ from a non-Jewish background. Their turning to the Law made Paul fear that his efforts in bringing them to Christ were wasted (verse 11)

Paul reminded the Galatans or how they had met him (verses 12-13).  Some kind of illness had brought Paul to preach to them (some believe that this could refer to the "thorn in the flesh" Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:7). Perhaps he had to delay his travels. Although Paul's illness had posed an inconvenience to the Galatians, he was not greeted with "contempt or scorn" (verse 14, NIV);  rather, Paul enjoyed a rich, joyful welcome from them. He believed they would have sacrificed their own eyes for him (verse 15; this verse leads some commentators to believe Paul's thorn in the flesh involved a problem with his eyes).

After reminding them of their love for him, Paul asked, "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? (verse 16, NIV). He had been a great friend to them by bringing them the gospel. If they now rejected his correction, it was tantamount to them considering him to be their enemy.

*Questions for Application*

Paul said that the Galatian Christians were known by God. What should God's intimate knowledge of your life mean to you when you pray? When you struggle? When you are faced with problems?

Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians as the result of an illness. What can this teach us about the Christian response to iliness or infirmity?

*B. Pulled Away From the Truth- Galatians 4:17-20*

The false teachers strained the bond that Paul had with the Galatian Christians. However, Paul credited these Judaizers With zeal; sadly, their intensity of purpose was directed at alienating the Galatians from Paul and the message of salvation by faith alone (Galatians 4:17-18).

Paul's love and concern for his Gentile converts moved him, and he used the language of childbirth to describe his work in their lives. By stating that he was "again in the pains of childbirth" (verse 19, NIV) for them indicates that he considered his evangelistic efforts to be like childbearing (verse 19, NIV). Now he wondered if he needed to undergo

spiritual labour again, and be used of God to lead them back to the truth of justification by faith alone.

Their digression into legalism made Paul frustrated that he could not be there in person to help them. From a distance, he could only respond with a tone of strong correction to the reports of their error. He was perplexed and astonished that they had strayed from the truth (verse 20 see 1:6).

*Questions for Application*

The Judaizers seemed to be alienating the Galatian Christians from Paul. What are some of the ways false teachers might alienate believers from solid Bible teachers and teachings today?

How can the imagery of childbearing help us better understand what it means to evangelise and disciple a new believer?

*Response to the Word*

Paul said the Galatians were known by God. God knows the condition of each person's heart. He knows if a man or woman is trusting His grace, or relying on their own works to be made right with Him. He also sees a believer's subtle drift from trusting Christ for salvation by faith. Ask the Lord to help you recognise and overcome any hint of self-reliance in your Christian walk. 

*3. Free by God's Promise*

 *A. Two Sons, Two Covenants- Galatians 4:21-28*

Paul saw that in order for the Galatian Christians to be freed from rellance on the Law, they needed to understand Old Testament history prior to the Law (Galatians 4:21-23). God's promise of countless descendants seemed hopeless because Abraham and Sarah were quite elderly. So Sarah encouraged her husband Abraham to father a child with her slave, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-9). Sarah saw this as the only way she could have a family. This natural birth resulted in Ishmael (Galatians 4:23).

Yet God promised Abraham in Genesis 17:15-19 that Sarah herself would bear a child, even though she was far too old to conceive. This birth by promise resulted in Isaac (Galatians 4:23, KJV).

Paul then stated that these two mothers illustrate two different covenants. Hagar, a slave, represented the covenant established at Mount Sinai, the "slavery the Judaizers sought to impose on the Gentile Christians because they thought the Law intended that people be justified by its Works (Galatians 4:24-25). Sarah, the "free woman," represents the new covenant, by which all who believe are justified by faith alone (verses 23,26).

By means of God's promise, Sarah bore Isaac despite her barrenness. As a result, the time would come when God would bless a nations through Abraham, as each person who believes in Jesus Christ becomes a child of promise—one more fulfilment of God's word to Abraham (verses 27-28; see Genesis 12:1-3).

*Questions for Application*

What can Galatians 4 teach you about why it is important for Christians to understand the Old Testament as a foundation oftheir faith?

What do you think it means to say that a Christian is a child of promise (Galatians 4:28), and how can this affect the way you live out your faith?

B. Children of Freedom

*Galatians 4:29-31*

Genesis 21:9 records that, during a celebration for Isaac, Ishmael mocked his younger brother. This was more than sibling rivalry; it was the animosity of a child "born according to the flesh" toward one born "by the power of the Spirit" (Galatians 4:29, NIV). The same animosity exists  today among those who attempt to gain God's favour through good works against those who believe that faith in Christ is in itself the sole means salvation.

Paul himself had suffered persecution by unbelieving Jews for sharing the message of Christ (see Acts 13:50; 14:2,19). The Judaizers demanded observance of the Mosaic law in addition to faith in Christ. Paul knew that compromise with the Judaizers would bring a kind of "peace," but at a cost that was far too great (see Galatians 2:11-13). Those who sought to gain favour with God through observing the Law would be counted as children of the slave woman-ineligible to inheritance with those justified by faith (Galatians 4:30). Paul called on the Gentile Christians to return to their identity as children of the free woman, made right with God through faith in Christ (verse 31).

*Questions for Application*

Ishmael, born in the ordinary way persecuted Isaac, born through the Spirit. What kind of persecution do Christians suffer today that might compare with this?

How are Christians tempted to compromise today simply to be at peace with those who disagree with them? Why is such compromise dangerous and destructive?

*Response to the Word*

Christians will always stand out from those who seek God's tavour through ways other than faith. They will be separate from both professed Christians who seek salvation outside of faith in Christ, and from those of non-Christian religions who seek to work their way to God. We must remain both firm in our faith and joyful as we share the spiritual freedom available in Christ.

*Call to Discipleship*

Everyone who exercises faith in Christ becomes a child of God, fulfilling God's promise to bless the co world through Abraham. Not everyone accepts the freedom we have as God's children, however. Some want to pressure us into adding conditions to our salvation. We may be tempted to agree, simply topreserve our relationship with them. Paul presented  only two choices in this matter. We may either be children of freedom, made ight with God solely by believing in Jesus sacrifice, or children of slavery. Believing we may, even in part, earn our salvation. We must remember that salvation comes by faith alone.