Galatians 3:23-4:7 – Adoption into the Family of God

Yvonne and I have been involved in the Foster Care/Adoption world for more than 20 years, mainly through one of our partner ministries, Love Fosters Hope – for five years, we directed one of their camps for 16-19 year olds.  The goal of the camps were to create positive memories for a group of teenagers who were in the foster care system, and were longing to feel a sense of belonging. Many of these kids, some of them are a part of Restoration today, would say that the only real sense of family they felt was this 4-day experience once a year. They would leave very difficult living circumstances, and for a few days, feel a sense of peace, love and hope. Unfortunately, it was only for a few days, and our goal was to connect them to a relationship with Jesus that would sustain them no matter their living circumstance.

Every foster child, the Bible uses the term “orphan”, longs for a permanent home. Last week, Paul compared the Promise, or covenant given to Abraham, with the law given to Moses. The summary of last week’s passage is that the Promise of salvation came through the “seed” or “offspring” of Abraham, a clear allusion to Jesus, and the law was simply a placeholder until Jesus came – Today, Paul will look at that concept from a different angle: from orphanhood to sonship – here is the concept in a nutshell –  Children in Foster Care are appointed a guardian, given a temporary place to live, hopefully basic needs met, but generally it is always understood by both parties that this is a temporary situation – However, an ADOPTED child has a completely different experience – they no longer have a guardian but a PARENT, they no longer have permanent shelter but a HOME, it is no longer about receiving basic needs, but having FULL ACCESS, all RIGHTS and PRIVILEGES to everything in the family – ADOPTION is not temporary but PERMANENT – through the process, an adopted child takes on a NEW NAME, a NEW IDENTITY, and, because of their PERMANENT STATUS, they are now HEIRS of the parents - What we will see in the passage today is that Paul is showing the Galatians, and you and me, that in Jesus, they, and we,  are no longer orphans under guardianship of the law, but sons and daughters of God because of the work of Jesus. - Galatians 3:23-4:7

V23-25 – Paul is setting up his analogy here – Before Jesus, the law had custody of and was guardian for every person – We’ve talked about this for weeks, but for those who are here for first time, let me summarize: The law is very simply a placeholder for Jesus – until Jesus came to change and regenerate every heart who would believe, the law was external enforcement to keep us all in line – We said last week that the law did two things: It drew boundaries around sin and it exposed our predisposition toward sin – Remember, you don’t speed badly, not b/c you want to do right, but because you don’t want to get caught – Matt Chandler said that the law cages a lion, but doesn’t change the lion.

So, Paul is just saying it in a different way, he uses the terms custody and guardian, which in our culture today are LEGAL TERMS. For instance, when my father passed away several weeks ago, and I spoke at his funeral, it never occurred to me to say, “my legal guardian passed away, the man with whom had custody of me growing up went to be with the Lord.”  While those may have been true of my relationship to him growing up, he was so much more than a custodian and guardian – he was DAD – let’s keep moving.

V26-27 – Look at what Paul is saying here: Jesus changes your status from orphan to son. There are several important things here –“In Christ Jesus…”  What does it mean to be “In Christ”? We talk a lot about receiving Christ, about his inner-working in us when we say yes, so that is Christ in me. But what about me “in Christ”?

One way to look at it might be that I am on Team Jesus, and I am identified by the uniform I wear. In this analogy, baptism represents my drafting/or initiation onto the team, public acknowledgement that I play for HIS TEAM and then being “clothed in Christ” is the uniform I wear. – Colossians 3:12, Paul describes what a follower looks like, or the uniform one wears in KOG – Here is the most important part to me. Being IN CHRIST is a team sport. It is no longer about my agenda, my personal stats, but how I work to accomplish TEAM GOALS. Again, this is Galatians 2:20 – no longer ME, but JESUS. The idea would be that Christ didn’t save you so you could be the MVP and have awesome stats. That may happen, but its not the point. Realistically, you were grafted into his family, drafted onto his team, and your new goal is to accomplish HIS GOALS, NOT YOURS.

V28 – Key verse here – he contrasts three things here: Racial identity, Social Identity, and Sexual identity – But what he is saying is so important – Race is not a prerequisite for salvation, social-standing is not a prerequisite for salvation, gender is not a prerequisite for salvation – why is he bring this up? Remember, Paul is speaking out against the Judaizers, who were basically, telling all non-Jews that they needed to become Jewish to follow Jesus – Gentiles were less than in the eyes of the Jews, so their social standing was an issue to the Judaizers – and women were less than in culture at the time, so Paul is making a clear statement regarding gender equality when it comes to Salvation.

Here is what Paul was NOT SAYING: You lose racial identity, social identity and gender identity when you are IN JESUS – NO! In fact, God wants to use your uniqueness for HIS GLORY – His point is that none of these are PREREQUISITES FOR SALVATION – Jesus UNIFIES our distinctiveness like a pieces to a puzzle, like different positions on a sports team – All are needed in the Kingdom of God. – Ephesians 2:10

V29 – Look at this! In Christ, your identification changes, your DNA changes, you are now Abraham’s seed – and b/c of that, you’re an HEIR to the promise of blessing given to Abraham – you are grafted into the lineage of faith! And because of that, you get all the rights and privileges that go along with it!

Chapter 4, V1-3 -  Paul is again contrasting the Promise and the law – The PROMISE of HEIRSHIP was held in GAURDIANSHIP by the law – very simply, what Paul was saying is that the plan was always JESUS – ADOPTION, RESTORATION, RECONCILIATION was always on the mind of God, and the LAW was a placeholder until the appointed time.

V4-5 – “The time had fully come…” – This was not haphazard, but an intricate plan by Father God – God SENT his son – so, we will see a picture of the roles and responsibilities of the Trinity over the next few verses – Here, God SENT Jesus for the purpose of changing the EXTERNAL reality – John 3:16, God loved THE WORLD so much that he gave an alternative to self-righteousness through the LAW – You were born into SELFISHNESS, and the LAW exposes that – BUT JESUS CAME to REDEEM, or PURCHASE your FREEDOM from trying to EARN your stripes – but get this – It was not just a distant universal act – he offers a new construct: ADOPTION into SONSHIP – This is not simply LEGAL LANGUAGE, but an INVITATION INTO FAMILY – In Jesus, you are become a son and daughter of the LIVING GOD!

I have been a part of several adoption days, Dean and Ashley Hall when they adopted Zoe, Maiko and Kari Hogan when they adopted Krissy and JoJo, Brent and Sabrina Wagoner when they adopted JoJo. Every one of these days was not just legal, although the judge decreed each child as part of a new family, but a celebration! These kids are now given a new last name and they are sons and daughters with full rights and privileges in these families.

V6 – But God didn’t stop there. Again, God SENT. First, he sent his SON to offer a NEW SYSTEM, but then he SENT the SPIRIT of JESUS to into the HEART of everyone who says YES. So, God offered an EXTERNAL alternative through Jesus and the cross, then offered an INTERNAL alternative through the HOLY SPIRIT. Here, Paul calls him the SPIRIT of HIS SON. – Colossians 1:27 – So, Jesus, God’s SON paid for our freedom through the cross, a one-time universal payment,  and the Spirit now dwells INSIDE everyone who says yes.  But, not JUST DWELLS, he CALLS OUT “ABBA”. This is ARAMAIC for FATHER, or DADDY – Here is the richness of God’s plan, this is not just a legal transaction, but a call to intimacy.  My Identity in Jesus is that of a SON, and the SPIRIT of JESUS that now lives in me is constantly connecting me to my FATHER, my DADDY - So, Paul is saying here that God isn’t just paying to get you out of your mess, but wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He sent the Son for payment, and the Spirit for intimacy, that we can know HIM – and look at verse 7:

V7 – Not just a move from SLAVE to CHILD – that would be enough – but a move from SLAVE to HEIR!!! Luke 15, prodigal son, to his inheritance and misused it – when he came back to father, said, “Not worthy to be called son, just make me a slave” – Father spoke identity over him – “RING, ROBE, FATTENED CALF, CELEBRATION” –  Maybe that’s you today: you identify as follower of Jesus, but still see yourself as an unworthy slave – In Jesus, you have been SET FREE!

Scene from Lion King – Simba has believed lie from Scar that he is a murderer, and he spends formative years wandering as an orphan – but there is a moment when he looks into the water and sees his father in his reflection – he REMEMBERS WHO HE IS, A SON OF THE KING – everything changes in that moment – he lives into his potential, reclaims the kingdom.

Adoption – Permanent home, Full access, New Identity, Heir!