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Galatians 4

Paul grounds the Galatians’ freedom in God’s gift of adoption and challenges their desire to live under the law.

Paul writes to the Galatian believers as they turn toward life under the law, warning that they risk returning to bondage. He begins with an heir living under guardians, then describes God sending his Son to redeem and his Spirit to dwell in his children. His argument becomes a personal appeal as he recalls their welcome during his illness. He closes by reading Abraham’s two sons as an allegory of bondage and freedom, contrasting Sinai with the Jerusalem above.

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1But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a bondservant, though he is lord of all,
2but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father.
3So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world.
4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
5that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.
6And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
7So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
8However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.
9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
11I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.
12I beg you, brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong,
13but you know that because of weakness in the flesh I preached the Good News to you the first time.
14That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you didn’t despise nor reject; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15What was the blessing you enjoyed? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.
16So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17They zealously seek you in no good way. No, they desire to alienate you, that you may seek them.
18But it is always good to be zealous in a good cause, and not only when I am present with you.
19My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you—
20but I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
21Tell me, you that desire to be under the law, don’t you listen to the law?
22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman.
23However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise.
24These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar.
25For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren who don’t bear. Break out and shout, you who don’t travail. For the desolate women have more children than her who has a husband.”
28Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
29But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
30However, what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the servant and her son, for the son of the servant will not inherit with the son of the free woman.”
31So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.
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Key verses
Galatians 4:4God’s sending of his Son marks the appointed time when those under the law can receive redemption and adoption.
Galatians 4:6The Spirit’s cry, “Abba, Father!” expresses the relationship God has given believers as his children.
Galatians 4:9Being known by God makes the Galatians’ desire to return to bondage the central contradiction in Paul’s warning.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans shares the language of adoption, the Spirit’s cry to the Father, and believers becoming heirs; Ephesians also connects adoption with God’s work through Christ. Genesis supplies the account of Abraham’s sons that Paul reads here in terms of promise, inheritance, and bondage.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What changes in your understanding of prayer when you read the Spirit’s cry, “Abba, Father!”?

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How does Paul’s memory of the Galatians’ welcome shape your reading of his warning?

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Questions people ask about Galatians 4

What are the elemental principles in Galatians 4?

The phrase can refer to basic religious principles or to spiritual powers associated with the world. Its precise scope is debated. Paul links it with the Galatians’ former bondage and their present observance of days and years. His point is clear: their proposed return places them under bondage again.

What does the allegory of Hagar and Sarah mean in Galatians 4?

Paul identifies Hagar with the covenant from Mount Sinai and the present Jerusalem, described as being in bondage. The free woman, Sarah in Genesis, belongs to the contrasting line of promise associated with the Jerusalem above. Paul calls the Galatian believers children of promise, like Isaac, and heirs of freedom.

What illness did Paul have in Galatians 4?

Paul says weakness in his flesh occasioned his first preaching among the Galatians, but he does not name the illness. Their willingness to give him their eyes has led some readers to suggest an eye condition. That detail may express their devotion; it does not establish a diagnosis.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).