2. Galatians 3:26-4:7 E XPERIENCING O UR A DOPTION IN C HRIST

3. Galatians 3:26 - 4:7 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. 1 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.

4. Galatians 3:26 - 4:7 continued 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth 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. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

5. J.I. Packer in Knowing God “What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father. But cannot this be said of every person, Christian or not? Emphatically, no!... The gift of sonship to God becomes ours not through being born, but through being born again... It is not a natural but an adoptive sonship, and so the New Testament explicitly pictures it... Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption... If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all."

6. Old Testament Development Emphasis was strongly on the holiness of God Gal. 3:23-25  23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

7. Greco-Roman Adoption & Sonship Galatians 4:1-2  1 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. All Roman children (especially sons) were under the “power of the father” (patria potestas) Also common to adopt a son if one did not have a male heir, so that inheritance rights could be passed on

8. A New Relationship Galatians 4:3-5  3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth 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. Galatians 4:6-7  6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

9. Embrace the Objective Status of Adoption Gal. 3:26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. We need to know we are God’s adopted children through Christ, to claim this as fact, to sit in this even when it does not feel true…but we are not just escapees from a dirty orphanage… WE NOW HAVE FULL RIGHTS OF SONS!!! We have the same rights as Christ!!!

10. Experience & Enjoy Our Adoption Gal. 4:6  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts You can be adopted as God’s child and still feel and act like an orphan because you don’t know God as Father "Although the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is one of the best loved of the parables, the lesson it teaches us is often overlooked. Jesus was underlining the fact that the reality of the love of God for us is the last thing to dawn on us...

11. Experience & Enjoy Our Adoption As we fix our eyes on ourselves, our past failures, our present guilt, it seems impossible that the Father should love us, so many Christians go throughout life with the prodigal's suspicion. Their concentration is on their sin and failure, all their thoughts are introspective, and that's why, in the Greek text of 1John 3:1, John's statement about the Father's love begins "behold", behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us. Like the prodigal, we have a native inability to believe that salvation is completely by grace and love. We are slow to realize the implications of this. We have the status of sons, but we have the mind-set of a hired servant.”-Sinclair Ferguson

12. Experience & Enjoy Our Adoption Luke 15:20  So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Are you still acting like an orphan?

13. Experience & Enjoy Our Adoption When you experience your adoption, it brings forth an emotional response. Gal. 4:6  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

14. Experience & Enjoy Our Adoption When you experience your adoption, it brings intuitive assurance. Keller - "You are supposed to have assurance in the Christian life, but you never have control over the amount or the level of assurance, and what Paul talk's about here is a high level of assurance... Abba Father is baby talk. It is a word that expresses confidence. A child doesn't doubt unless you teach it to doubt. It just raises its hands and expects to be taken care of, the child just assumes that he or she is so important that you are going to drop everything to come and take care of them. And this is what the Spirit wants to come and show you about God."

15. How do we get this? Ask the Spirit to apply the work of Christ to our hearts. Don’t waste time asking for some kind of experience. Throw yourself into meditating upon the Word and work of Christ Don’t expect many results until you engage in these things…