CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE GALATIANS _HELEN POCOCK_ CHAPTER 4 YOU ARE GOD’S SONS, YOU ARE NOT SLAVES V1 I will continue what I was saying to you. A young son will receive the property that his father has promised to give to him. But before the son becomes a man, he is no different from a slave. V... [ Continue Reading ]
Each society has a time for a young boy to become a man. In Paul’s days, it was a very important event. As soon as a boy became a man, he had full legal rights. Until that time, other people had to manage a child’s personal and business affairs. Young children could not own property, even if their f... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The basic things that people in the world believe’ probably refers to the *Gentile religions. Paul had already described how the *Jewish law made the *Jews like prisoners (3:23). Most Christians in Galatia were *Gentiles. And they used to obey the rules in their religions. They did not understand w... [ Continue Reading ]
God’s plan was perfect. He decided how he would free people from their *sins. And he decided when he would send Jesus into this world. Luke 1:26-38 describes how this happened. Jesus was a real man. He had a physical body. He was born into a *Jewish family. Even Jesus had to obey the *Jewish laws.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Children’ refers to adult sons (verse 1). Jesus came to free people. He could free the *Jews who had to obey God’s laws. And he could free the *Gentiles from the religions that controlled them. God could adopt everyone so that they would become his children. Every person who trusts Jesus becomes a... [ Continue Reading ]
In this verse, Paul calls the Holy Spirit ‘the Spirit of Jesus’. The Holy Spirit lived in Jesus. He made Jesus alive again after Jesus died. And now the Holy Spirit lives in every Christian (Romans 8:11). The Holy Spirit causes us to say ‘Father’ when we pray. As we pray to God, we speak to him as ‘... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse ends a long section that Paul started in 3:1. He showed clearly why the false teachers were wrong. The Christians in Galatia were no longer slaves. They were part of God’s family. They did not have to obey the rules and traditions of any religion. They were receiving the good things that... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Gentiles did not understand anything about God until they became Christians. They were like slaves because they could not trust the real God. Instead, they obeyed their false religions. They used to *worship false gods. Some of these false gods were really evil *angels. In 1 Corinthians 10:20,... [ Continue Reading ]
God knew us before we were born (Psalms 139:13-15). We love God because he loved us first (1 John 4:19). It is very important that we understand this. God chooses us because he loves us. He does not choose us because of our efforts. The Christians in Galatia thought that their efforts would make the... [ Continue Reading ]
This probably refers to the special events in the *Jewish religion. These events are not wrong. But the Christians in Galatia were wrong to turn away from God. They were obeying these traditions instead of trusting God.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had told the Christians in Galatia the *good news about Jesus Christ. He helped them to become free. They were no longer like slaves of their religion. He expected them to become mature Christians. So he was very worried about what had happened to them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul did not write in a very warm way in this letter. He wrote to teach the Christians correctly rather than to praise them. But in the next few verses, Paul wrote about things that were more personal. Paul and the Christians in Galatia were all part of God’s family. Paul was a *Jew. When he became... [ Continue Reading ]
The people had been happy when Paul *preached to them. They were happy that Paul was with them. They wanted to help him in any way that they could. They wanted to help him to become well in his body. Some people think that Paul’s illness affected his eyes. But Paul probably used a special form of wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul *preached the truth when he first went to Galatia. And Paul was writing the truth in this letter. He was telling the Christians that they were wrong. So he probably offended some of them. False teachers often cause Christians to become enemies of the true teachers. PAUL CARES ABOUT THE CHRISTI... [ Continue Reading ]
Those ‘other people’ were the false teachers. Their intentions were not good because they were jealous. They did not want the Christians to be loyal to Paul. To ‘separate you’ also means ‘to shut you out’. The false teachers did not really care about the Christians. They did not want the Christians... [ Continue Reading ]
The false teachers had an interest in the Christians in Galatia. And they wanted the Christians to have an interest in them. But their reasons were evil. They wanted to control people. The Christians in Galatia used to have a real interest in Christ. That was good. But they should have continued, e... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul really cared about the Christians. His intentions were always good. When a mother has a baby, she feels a lot of pain. She suffers a lot because it is a difficult time for her. But she must wait until her child is born. Paul used this fact as a description of his own emotions. He cared so much... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul could not understand why the Christians wanted to leave their freedom. It is often very difficult to write what we feel. It is much easier to speak. We can use a loud or soft voice. People understand more when they can hear the tone of our voice. Paul had to write this letter in a rather strict... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul became stricter again in the rest of this chapter. He was a *Jew. He had studied the *Jewish law. He understood it very well. He knew about the law’s strict demands on people who obeyed it. The law did not make people better Christians. Instead, it made them slaves. Not all the Christians belie... [ Continue Reading ]
You can read about Abraham and his two sons in Genesis Chapter s 15-21. Abraham’s name used to be Abram until God changed it. He had a wife called Sarai. But later God changed her name to Sarah. Sarah had a slave called Hagar. Hagar had a son called Ishmael. Sarah had a son called Isaac. In those da... [ Continue Reading ]
Abraham could make Hagar have a baby. He had sex with Hagar, the slave. Hagar’s body worked properly. Ishmael was born 9 months later. This all happened in the normal way. But Hagar and her son were slaves. Abraham and Sarah had sex in the usual way for married couples. Sarah was not a slave but her... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wanted to explain again the difference between the law and freedom. He compared it to Hagar and Sarah. He used the principle rather than all the details. Ishmael’s sons and their families lived in the region called Arabia (Genesis 26:18). Mount Sinai is in Arabia. Moses had to climb up Mount S... [ Continue Reading ]
Revelation 22:2 refers to Jerusalem that is in heaven. This Jerusalem refers to all Christians who have trusted Jesus Christ. This Jerusalem is free. So everyone who belongs to God’s family is free. Isaac was a free person because his mother was free. In a similar way, Christians who belong to God’s... [ Continue Reading ]
This *Scripture is Isaiah 54:1. Isaiah was referring to the *Jewish nation when he wrote it. But Sarah is like the woman who had no children. God kept his promise. All the people who trust Jesus Christ are like Sarah’s free children. More and more people are trusting Jesus Christ. And so, this famil... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaac was born because of God’s promise. Isaac was not born because of Abraham’s effort. The Christians in Galatia were like Isaac. They belonged to God’s family. This happened because of God’s promise. It did not happen by their own effort. Verse 29-30 God promised a son to Abraham. But God’s Spi... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul finished the explanation that he started in verse 21. Ishmael could not receive anything from his father. Real Christians, who trust Jesus, are not like that. They are like Isaac. They will receive all that God has promised. JEWISH ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews. JEW ~ a... [ Continue Reading ]