This morning we continue our series entitled, “Power of Fellowship.” All week I have been teaching under the theme, “From Slaves to Sons,” because it was a message I preached last Sunday. Today I will give you one final passage from this message and we will break it down. Let’s take a look at something the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the believers in Galatia.
(Galatians 4:4-7 Easy-to-Read Version)
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law.
5 God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.
6 Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba,Father.”
7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children.
So what does this mean to you today? We will go verse-to-verse as we close out the week. Here we go:
(Gal 4:4,5)
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law.
5 God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.
a) Jesus came at a time when the Israelites lived under The Law. The Law was designed to be so perfect that no human could ever comply with it fully. As a result, The Law made humans sinners. Before The Law there were no rules to break. Once the rules were introduced, humans broken them, and were in need of a Savior. In the Old Testament they provided animal sacrifices as temporary offerings. Innocent animals had to die for the sins of guilty man. But when the right time came, God strategically sent His own Son to be the only perfect human to ever live. We could not fulfill The Law, but Jesus fulfilled it for us. And when He sacrificed His life, He became the ultimate sacrifice. After jesus, there is no need for animal sacrifices. He dealt with sin and death once and for all.
b) As the perfect human, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice. He paid for our freedom from The Law, and the curse of not obeying The Law, with His own blood.
c) Now that we have been redeemed from the curse of the Law through Jesus Christ, we are no longer servants, but sons. We are children of God and heirs with Jesus to the inheritance stored up for God’s children. Everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to us.
(Gal 4:6)
6 Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba, Father.”
a) Once we are Born-Again we receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to testify. He comes to tell us that we are God’s very own children. He tells us that we are not slaves or servants. He tells us that we are SONS!
b) The Holy Spirit in us causes us to cry out to God as our Father! There is a big difference between seeing God as some sort of disconnected celestial being and seeing Him as your Father. When addressing God, Jesus never called him God. He always addressed Him as “Father”. We should learn from Jesus.
(Gal 4:7)
7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children.
a) Because of Jesus you are not slaves to sin. If you are Born-Again you have been forgiven of sin (past sin, present sin and future sin). Sin is no longer your issue. But don’t mistake grace to be a license to sin. You are not free to sin. You are free FROM sin. Sin no longer has any power over you.
b) Because of Jesus you are not slaves to service. You are not working to earn or deserve anything in God. Everything God does for you He does by His unearned and amazing grace.
c) Once you are free from the power of sin, you are free from the bondage of working for righteousness, and you see yourself as a child of God, you are in position to have amazing relationship with God’s other children. At this point you won’t go around judging others or criticizing their performance, because you have been delivered from the pressure to perform. You are free to be you and allow others the freedom to be the men/woman God has called them to be. This is how you can have amazing fellowship. This is the point of this series.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I am Your child. Jesus is my elder brother. I am an heir and joint heir with Him. I also have brothers and sisters all over the world and billions waiting for me in heaven. I am a member of a global family. I am not a servant. I am not a slave to service. I am SON. My focus is not on earning or deserving anything. Jesus earned everything FOR me. My focus is on simply doing whatever the Holy Spirit leads me to do everyday and on treating my brothers and sisters like family. I have fellowship with You, as my Father. And I have fellowship with them, as my family. By loving You and loving others, I live a life that is pleasing in Your sight. That is my goal and I shall attain it. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
