"I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Galatians 4:1-7).
The word for "Slave" in Greek is "Doulos" which gives the idea of someone who is a bond-slave with no rights of their own. In this passage, doulos is used in the most dignified way, describing a Christian who has voluntarily submitted themself to Jesus' authority over their life [1]. Son is the word "Huios" which signifies a person who shares the same nature as their father [2]; in Christ, this starts when a person surrenders their life to Jesus Christ--becoming a Christian. Huios also points to the importance of a similarity of likeness between the father and the child. Help's says it well:
"5207 huios - Properly, a son (by birth or by adoption); (figuratively) anyone sharing the same nature as their father. For the believer, becoming a son of God begins with being reborn (adopted) by the heavenly father - through Christ (the work of the eternal Son) [...] Hyios ("Son") emphasizes likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father, i.e. resembling His character more and more by living in faith ("God's inwrought persuasions") [...] Hyios ("Son") highlights the (legal) right to the Father's inheritance, i.e. as the believer lives in conformity with the Father's nature (purpose)" [3].
Our sonship as believers--being the children of God--began with being adopted by God when He worked in our hearts, causing us to confess our sins and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day (Rom. 10:9, 1 Jn. 1:9, 4:15). This reality of salvation and belonging was initiated by God.
A.W. Tozer, in his powerful book "The Pursuit of God," has a remarkable insight thereon:
"Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man. Before a single man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him; imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow. We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. 'No man can come to me,' said our Lord, 'except the Father which hath sent me draw him,' and it is by this very prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: 'Thy right hand upholdeth me.' In this divine 'upholding' and human 'following' there is no contradiction. All is of God, for as von Hugel teaches, God is always previous. In practice, however, (that is, where God's previous working meets man's present response) man must pursue God. On our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine. In the warm language of personal feeling this is stated in the Forty-second Psalm: 'As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?' This is deep calling unto deep, and the longing heart will understand it" [4].
We have a God who has gone before us, working in our hearts and drawing us to Himself. We have been specifically pursued and sought out by our Maker; part of this beautiful sonship is sanctification--becoming more like Jesus, through His work in our lives. As Tozer states, there is a vital aspect of response in our own hearts toward God. We must actively pursue our loving Savior. When the book of Galatians (4:7) describes us as Sons--no longer slaves--and heirs though God, we know walking out this faith leads to conformity. In our broken society, many of us as Christians have become used to leading lives of nonconformity to the world. This is vital, as we are called to: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16b), and "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2b). But there is one place in my life where conformity is absolutely necessary. Conforming to the image of Christ.
I want my life to be described as Help's Word-studies had put it:
"Conformity with the Father's nature" [5].
Dear fellow nonconformist, I want you to know there is a place to set down that counter-cultural living. I want you to know there is a place you belong. In an evil world, a counter-cultural lifestyle and actions are often necessary, but there is a place--with our hearts bowed before our faithful God--that the culture is right and virtuous. In quiet communion with my God, the culture there is right, because it is owned by a just God who is always Right and True. There is a place you can "walk into" that you may set aside the dread--normally feeling the discomfort of being amongst people who delight in ungodliness, thus you will have to walk against the current--not here. In the presence of God, I belong. I am at home. I am safe to conform to Him, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We may exit the doors of our home and enter into a society that does not reflect Him--being salt and light, through His grace, every place we walk amongst men--yet we may also be deeply comforted in the truth that there is a haven of safety for us. I have a God in heaven and He is reigning!
God created you to be conformed--not to this culture, the world at large, the peers around you, or to the pervading thoughts of the day--but to Jesus Christ.
How freeing it is to know that in a world with so many polluting influences that often pull us away from God, we can come before Him in quiet devotion and be conformed in a wonderful way that will lead to greater closeness with Him and a more accurate representation of Jesus being made in and through our daily living.
Tozer warns us, though, that if we are not seeking out time with our God, we should not expect to become like Him:
"The man who would know God must give time to Him! He must count no time wasted, which is spent in the cultivation of His acquaintance. He must give himself to meditation and prayer hours on end. So did the saints of old, the glorious company of the apostles, the godly fellowship of the prophets and the believing members of the holy Church in all generations. And so must we if we would follow in their train! May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like little children through the marketplace, chattering about everything but pausing to learn the true value of nothing?" [6]
We have the Holy Spirit crying in our hearts: "Abba! Father!" (Gal. 4:6), and we have been brought near to our worthy Savior who no longer counts us slaves, but sons--heirs though God. I have a belonging with Jesus Christ that far surpasses any acceptance I could experience amongst people. How many of your friends would stick around if you rebelled against them, broke every one of their laws, and murdered their son on a cross? All our friends of earth would be nowhere to be found. They would cut us out of their lives in the name of self-preservation and self-protection. Not so with our God. When we deserved eternal condemnation in hell, God made a way for us to be redeemed. Prior to the time in history in which Jesus died, God's eternal redemptive purposes were at work--the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).
The same Savior who intervened for your eternity is pursuing your heart today. Will you respond to His pursuit by seeking Him above all else, or will you miss out on the one relationship that most matters in light of eternity?
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God [...] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:1-2, 6-7).
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[1] Help's Word-studies. “Strong's Greek: 1401. Δοῦλος (DOULOS) -- a Slave.” Bible Hub, biblehub.com/greek/1401.htm.