XH74wQ7vnM8
Transcript
0:00Well, once again, good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 4. I'll be looking at the first six verses this morning. Galatians chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. Galatians 4, verse 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. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the Father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
1:14I have a question for you. What era are you living in? What era are you living in? Are you living B C or are you living A D? You know, our whole Calendar is centered around the person of Christ. Can you imagine an impact that Christ has had on the world? That our calendar is centered around Him before Christ, BC, AD, the year of our Lord. Now, I know that there's been some secularists today that have tried to revise that, and they want to say BCE, before the common era, and making AD, CE, meaning common era. But it's not very convincing because it still starts at the same point, the person of Christ.
2:15But imagine an event so profound that the calendar itself and all the nations have to deal with it. I know this was the Roman Empire that changed, but think about it: how significant it is. You can't get around who Christ is and the impact that he has had in this world. I want you to think for a moment: where are you living? We can think about the epic before Christ came, and he so changed human history that now we look back before Christ came and after Christ came. History itself, world history, can pivot around that one figure, so significant the changes. We know that on a historical level, but now I want to talk to you on a personal level.
3:12What era are you living in? Are you living before Christ, or are you living after having met Him? Where are you? There are slaves and there are sons. The slaves are those who are still outside of Christ. You haven't met Christ yet. And there are those who have come to Christ and now are sons. And that should be that great pivot point in your life. Just like in world history, when the soul comes to meet Jesus Christ, it does change the epics of not only world history, but also personal history. So much so that you can look back and say, ah, that was before Christ came. Ah, and that is after.
4:08Now, imagine for a moment, going back in time, imagine for a moment an heir of a great estate back in the days, Rome, Greek. Imagine a very wealthy man, and he controlled key segments of commerce. Imagine that he owned all these vast properties, and he had a large number of servants and controllers and stewards and administrators who would manage his great wealth and who would run his household. Imagine also that he had several young children and they were the only heirs to this vast estate.
5:01Do you think he placed them over his estate? No. He placed them under his most trusted guardians, most trusted tutors, most trusted caretakers to oversee their growth and development and to ensure that they would come to appreciate who they were and appreciate their inheritance and to know how to properly steward their inheritance. Imagine that. It's not too hard for us to imagine. We understand heirs today and estates, and we understand children. They need to be brought up. They can't just be given the keys to the Ferrari without being prepared for it.
5:57Imagine that you're one of these. Children in this estate. What do you think life is going to be like growing up in that household? Well, life is going to be very much like what Paul described in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 4. Let me reread those. Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from the slave, although he is owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the Father. For all practical purposes, imagine yourself growing up in this household. There would be no practical differences between you and a slave, even though you are the heir of it all. A few observations from these first two verses. The child is the Lord of all. That's the word there, the Lord of all.
7:04Speaking of the estate, the child is the owner of everything, the Lord of all, because he has a family relationship with the one who owns it all, his father. Observation number two. The child also has to grow up like everyone else. He's not born ready to run a vast estate. Number three, observation number. Guardians, handlers, and tutors, and property managers have to be employed to take care of the children, you being one of them, and the estate to make sure it's there when you're old enough to steward it.
7:50But the emphasis, the emphasis in these verses, observation number four, is this epic-changing event that is set by the Father. Verse 2: He is under guardians and managers until the date, the time set by the Father. And as we're going through Galatians 3 and 4, the law has been compared to a prison warden. Look at verse 22. But the scripture has shut up everyone under sin, meaning that everybody, the law, incarcerates everybody in the category of sin. So it's a prison warden. It's also a custodian. Look at verse 23. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, a keeper, a preserver, not an executioner, a guardian of a sort.
8:51And now, coming into chapter 4, this compared to, well, let me say this. I missed one. The tutor. Look at verse 24. Therefore, the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ. So, a prison warden, a custodian, a tutor that has a graduation in mind, a preparation, a learning, instruction in mind. And now, the law coming into chapter 4 is related to governors or governesses, guardians, trustees appointed to take care of a child until he is ready to handle the property.
9:31Think of this period as a coming-of-age period. That's what Paul is using: this minor coming of age, coming into his inheritance. Now, look at verse 3. So, also, we. Paul is wanting to get you and me in the middle of this analogy. So, also, we, while we were children, we were held in bondage under the elemental things of this world. Paul is inviting you and me to step into this analogy with him as the children, this vast estate, heirs of this vast estate.
10:21Now, think about it. Step carefully through here with Paul. The Father is God. The children, who are they? They are those. Who will inherit the promised blessing to Abraham? So we go through the seed, the promise, the inheritance. The children are those who are going to receive the blessing to Abraham. And as Paul's already said, it's not those who obey the law, it's those who, quote, obey the law, it is those who have faith in Jesus Christ. That's what Paul's been proclaiming through this whole section.
11:05But Paul described a period of time when we, as the heirs of the gospel, were held under the things of this world, the elemental things of this world. Now, what in the world is that? The elemental things of the world. There's been several suggestions. One, demon spirits. You can see these actually in the various translations. But some see this as the demonic spirits who rule the present world. Some refer to this as the stars. You're held under the stars or the pagan systems of religion. Others think the human religion. And this probably makes the best sense because we get down here to verse 9. It says, But now you have come to know God, or rather be known by Him, how is it that you turn? Back again to the weak and worthless elemental things. So they're weak and they're worthless.
12:08So it seems to be something associated with false religion. But it has to do with something. We can start eliminating some. It has to do with something more than just physical elements. It's like the elements of the world. Like someone would say, okay, well, we're subject to earth, wind, and fire, and all that kind of stuff. But the problem with that is once a person becomes a Christian, they're still subject to gravity. So it's not like, wow, there goes a Christian. See him bouncing around? No, it's got to be something that we're actually freed from. And sure, it is.
12:53But the major question really to ask is: is he talking about the law here? Is he referring to the law that the elemental things of the world is really the law? No, I don't think he is. The language, the law is of God, the law is not of the world. It's clearly he's not talking about the law. So to think about the elemental things of the world is synonymous with the law is not where Paul's going.
13:23But it's clear that the law somehow interacts with these elemental things and maybe even exposes them. So, what I think what Paul has in mind here are those superstitions of man-made religion. And those superstitions could come out of the religion. Think about Galatia, the pagan paganism that was there, and I've been there all around. The temples are plentiful. It could come out of superstition, could come out of folklore, could come out of philosophy, can even come out of a misuse of the scriptures. But this superstitions of man-made religion and ideology can imprison people.
14:14And the law, the law, was given to navigate people away from the superstitions of the world and point them to the God of the universe. And so, there's a period of time, a coming of age, when the law was in place. And I mean, you understood that the God of Israel was the God of Israel and the God over all. You also understood that Israel didn't measure up, that God had standards, and it's not because another God conquered the God of Israel, it's because God has expectations. He's a just God.
14:52And what he expects of Israel, he expects of all. There's a righteousness that he expects. So. When you think about it in this light, the elements of the world, that would really cover all things that you place your trust in outside of that truth that's revealed in Christ. And that can become your God, that can become, and you can become its slave. Superstition, simply put, these elemental things. Superstition, what is it? It's unbiblical speculations about the spiritual realm all around us.
15:38We are spiritual beings. We live in a spiritual universe, a spirit realm. And there's a lot of wrong thinking about this spiritual realm in which we live. And we can get spooked. Good things, created things, can become an improper doorway into the spirit realm. I remember just this last year, we were in the area of Turkey and Greece, and I was trying to buy all these stones that were used for the, that were part or described in Revelation. All the fancy stones that were used in the building of the material. And I would go to these shops and I was looking. For them, I was trying to gather them all. And some of the shops would put great emphasis upon these stones. Like, oh, here's this one. Ah, this one represents power. I said, no, no, it's not power. It's just a pretty rock.
16:45Don't say that. You'll get the evil eye looking at you. There is no evil eye. Let me tell you something. Satan isn't omniscient. There is only one who sees all, and he's good. He's the God of the universe, revealed in the Bible. That's the truth. But boy, you can see, I start picking up rocks, and people get really spooked, and especially when I start saying they're just rocks. We would never do that here in our country or here at Texas AM.
17:27Let me tell you about the Aggie Century Tree. Talk about a little local folklore. Well, I was a transfer student. I didn't know any better. So, you know, I was also an engineering student. So, what's the deal? The shortest place, way between two points is a direct line. And sometimes that took me under the century tree. I've been married 30 years. So, any folklore about me not getting married wouldn't work. But it's interesting to me that, no, it's just a tree, by the way. There is no Lord, there is no power. That tree doesn't have power over who you marry, how long your marriage would be, or if you'll never get married. It's a tree.
18:27Sorry. It's a testament to the goodness of God, the God who created it. But people can get spooked about it. Some people avoid the tree. Maybe they're afraid to get tackled if they go under it. But one time I thought it would be fun to open a Chinese restaurant and to sit back there and put the fortunes in the cookies as I watched people eat. So if I saw a young couple, I really had these ideas. I really did. I thought it would be fun to go into, just open a Chinese restaurant for this purpose that I could put the fortune cookies, put the little fortunes in the fortune cookies. So when they open it up, like it, I would customize it. So if I saw a young man sitting next to a woman, a young lady, I might put in there, the lady across the table thinks you're a moron. I mean, I had all these things worked out, and I thought it would be fun to slip those in there, tip gently. And you might have a chance.
19:32But you could, I've seen people get spooked. Have you? I can tell you, there are so many ways that people, we live in a spiritual realm, and when you start taking, when you start going through doorways that weren't intended, it can really wig you out. That's why we have the scripture that tells us all about the spirit realm from the God who understands it, we can know truly, and He has given us clarity so that we're not bound to these elemental spirits of a fallen world.
20:12Even the Bible can be used in a superstitious way. Remember my time in Africa? The witch doctors would even carry a Bible around or a cross. And there are people who use the Bible in a superstitious way. I pulled this here, and then look at this, and this. If you count back this number of words, and you come back to this word, and all of a sudden, wow, this is the word you come to. That's superstition.
20:41And so, even the Bible, if used wrongly, can be the means that demonic spirits use to incarcerate people into false systems. And I think this is what the Judaizers were doing. And this is what Paul is addressing. Their use of the scripture. Is inappropriate. Their use of the law is inappropriate. It should lead you to Christ. It's a tutor. It's a guardian. It has good and purposes. God has put it there so that you would find Christ.
21:14It's not an end in itself. And there are those who are coming. Yes, it is an end to itself. Christ died so that you could bow down to the Mosaic law. Paul is saying, no, the law points to Christ. But it takes the work of God to free people from their fallen superstitions. Maybe you have some superstitions here today. Maybe sometime in life you may have said some things or cursed God in a way, and somehow you believe you've sinned outside. Maybe some of you have even prayed to the devil. Some of you think you've sold your soul.
21:59It doesn't work that way. Let me tell you about the truth of the gospel. There's one who took all of the curse. His name is Jesus Christ. There is one Lord over all, and whoever comes to him shall be free, shall be brought from being a slave to the superstitions of this world to being a son, the status of the Most High God. So, if we go back to Paul's analogy, at some point, at this time fixed by the Father, the minor comes of age.
22:41The minor becomes an adult and takes possession of the inheritance. Look at verse 25. But now that faith has come, 325, but now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. What has come? The faith. There's a period of the law. There's a period of the faith. Epics, epoch-changing events. The purpose of the law was to prepare the Jews and the world for the coming of Christ. And with the coming of Christ, God calls people to be done with their superstitions, to be done with the shadows and types laid out in the Old Testament, and enter into the faith.
23:34That blessed faith. That blessing of Abraham through the promised seed. This is the inheritance. The blessing of Abraham. That's the inheritance. And so, what happens in verse 4? Is that Paul begins to describe this epic-changing event that changes the status from a slave to a son and how God does that? You see, some of you are here today, and you need to stop living BC. You need to stop living before Christ, and you need to start living in union with Christ. You need to go from being a slave to your sin to a child of the living God.
24:41And I pray that today will be that day for you. Listen, become a child. Be done with your slavery today. Well, I want you to see how God changes the status of a person, how He changes the status of a slave to a son, so that you will take hold of that inheritance which is before you today in Christ Jesus. Very simple outline: From slaves to sons. This is the work of grace in His people. This is the inheritance of grace to go from slaves to sons. Let's look at the first one, verse 4.
25:32But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Now, keep in mind the language here is sons, and yes, we could easily say daughters as well, and would be inclusive of that. But the importance that will stay with the biblical text here, it says sons, it's not stressing gender, it's stressing a status, that of heirs.
26:17And in that fullness of time, when that time came, that time that was set by the Father, that right time that was set by the Father to bring fulfillment to the promise, God does a couple of things. God does a couple of things. First of all, verse 4, what does he do? He sent forth his son. He sent forth his son. And he gives two descriptions of this sending forth. Two descriptions of the son. Number one, she's born of a woman. He's born of a woman. Two, Born under the law.
27:03And this describes how he sent forth. The word for sent forth is dispatched. When the time came, God dispatched his son. And he dispatched him, born of a woman, stressing the humanness of Christ. Also, perhaps his sinlessness. We know that God was doing something new in the earth. And he promised that. And Jeremiah, and Isaiah promised he was doing a new thing. Jeremiah speaks about a woman encompassing a man. Isaiah speaks about the virgin being with child.
27:50And so when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, a new humanity was brought forth. A new humanity, the seed. Emphasis, born of a woman, human, like us. Second emphasis, born under the law, is stressing his Jewishness. He was born under the Mosaic law, not Roman law. Yeah, he was that and some elements, but Paul is talking about the Mosaic law. That's how God dispatched. His son, to be born of a virgin, speaking of his humanness, all the same humanness under the law, Jewishness. He had two purposes in mind. Look at verse 5, so that he might redeem those who were under the law. That's the first purpose. To redeem.
28:51Word for redeem literally means to buy back. To buy back. He dispatched his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to buy back those who were under the law. Who's under the law? Well, directly speaking, he's speaking about the Jews. They were the ones under the law. But by application, the whole world. Maybe not directly under the law, but certainly by application, because what God expects, the righteousness that God expected of Israel, he expects of all nations, and that's why he drove out the nations before them.
29:30He's about establishing righteousness in the earth, in all the nations, and he does this by dispatching his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. What's the idea of bankruptcy? You ever think about bankruptcy? What is bankruptcy? You have an inability to pay your creditors. You have an inability to pay your creditors to such an extent that the seizure of your property and your livelihood is imminent. That's what bankruptcy is about.
30:13And that's the language of the Redeemer. He comes to buy back those who had sold themselves into slavery through their sin, through their hardness, through all that. They are on the verge of not being able to pay losing their property, losing everything, coming under judgment. So he comes to buy back those under the law. And the cross paid for the deficit of the Jews. And the cross paid for the deficit of all humanity. Redeem, to buy back.
30:56Very important concept in how a slave goes from being a slave to a son. The work of Christ. But notice, there's another purpose in mind. To adopt. Notice that. He dispatched his son so that, verse 5, he might redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. To adopt. Redemption has a goal. In and of itself, or it has a goal to adopt, to take those who were formerly slaves. The word is literally a son placing, redemption. He came to dispatch the son to redeem them, to pay what they couldn't pay, and then to place them in the category of sons, in the status of sons, heirs.
32:05And what this means is that a fallen sinner who is bankrupt before God can receive the finest blessing, that of sons. That's why we call it the gospel good news. And you may be here today a slave to your own sin, bankrupt. You know, if you had to stand before God today, you know what the outcome would be. And yet, the good news is that you can boldly this day come into his presence based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ and receive the finest blessing of all. That is heirs. Heirs with Christ. Heirs with Abraham.
32:55You see, redemption is necessary for the adoption. And that's what God does. He sends forth his son to accomplish it. But it's not complete there. There's something else necessary to complete this transaction of adoption. There's redemption. But then there's one other element. We'll see that in a moment. But God's work of grace in his people is our inheritance. That grace is our inheritance. It transforms us from slaves to sons. Now, look back at verse 6, and I want you to see the second action of God in this passage.
33:41You know, when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son to redeem and to adopt. Second thing he did is he sends forth the spirit of his son. Look carefully at verse 6. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So not only did God send forth his son to redeem, he sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts. Now, all of a sudden, Paul has picked up. He's come back to this theme of the Holy Spirit. Look back at verse chapter 3, verse 3. He says, This, are you so foolish, having begun by The Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? The Spirit was at work in your life. Look what he says in verse 14.
34:42Jesus Christ was cursed, verse 13, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. What is the blessing of Abraham? It involves the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, the promise of His Spirit. He goes on in verse 27: For all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. What is being clothed with with Christ looks like? Being clothed in His Spirit. That's what the baptism here is talking about. That immersion into His Spirit, that Spirit of His Son. So Paul now picks this up. He picks this theme up again. And by the way, he's going to expand on this a little more in Romans. Let me reread to you a few verses. I read through them earlier in this service. Romans 8:12, so then, brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
36:01For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may be glorified with Him.
36:37So you see this logical relationship here. First, you have the redeeming work, and that's where the slave receives Christ as His Redeemer and experiences forgiveness. Next, they experience the Spirit of sonship, spirit of sonship overwhelming their heart. Now, in our little baptistic world, we don't separate the two. It's all a one-time event. We recognize when you come to faith, you're immediately joined with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. And all this happens in time at the same point.
37:26But logically, what's happened is priority is... Given to Christ's redeeming work, and the application of that work, coming in, being born of the Spirit. All happens at once. And yet, you see how God sent forth to accomplish this adoption, He does two things: He dispatches His Son, and then He dispatches His Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of His Son, into the hearts of His people. That's what's necessary for adoption. It's not just sending away the old sin, it's putting in a right spirit, that Spirit that cries out, Abba, Father.
38:17It's because, and notice the first word of verse 6: Because, it's because you are already sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son. And notice where He sends His Spirit into our hearts. I appreciate Spurgeon's comment here. Note that it does not say into our heads and brains. The Spirit of God doubtless illuminates the intellect and guides the judgment, but this is not the beginning or the main part of His work. He comes chiefly to the affections, He dwells with the heart, for with the heart man. Believes unto righteousness.
39:04God comes to the central fortress and universal citadel of our nature and thus takes possession of the whole. And you hear it. That's what happens. All of a sudden, God starts changing the hearts. And then all of a sudden, everything else seems to fall into place. But notice, He sends forth the Spirit of His Son. You see, to be a Son in the truest sense, guess what? You have to have the Spirit of Sonship. The Holy Spirit here is described in terms of sonship. And what is the Spirit of the Son like? Obedience. Delight in the Father's will. This was Jesus Christ. Obedient. He loved the Father. He loved His will. This is at the heart of who Christ is.
40:02And this is at the heart of what a true disciple is. The Spirit of Sonship. Do you have the Spirit of Sonship? You see, without a Spirit of Sonship, you can never truly act as a Son. And this is what Paul was saying. This is what I witnessed there in Galatia come upon you. Don't turn away from that. But this is what. Missing with so many professing Christians today. This is what was missing in the Judaizers. They missed this spirit of sonship, wanted to reduce the relationship with God to just a few principles, which you could check the box. But I think this is what's missing with so many professing Christians today. Come to church. Yet there is no real spirit of sonship.
40:59Of I believe. That spirit of sonship was also missing in Israel. Have you ever said to God, God, I just wish you would appear and tell me what you want to do, want me to do? Have you ever done that? God, just open heaven, tell me what you want to do, and I'll go do it. No, you won't. That's exactly what Israel said. Just tell me what you want. In Exodus 20, 18, all the people perceived the thunder and lightnings, flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. This is right there at Mount Sinai. Then they said to Moses, Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But let not God speak to us, or we will die.
41:54Just tell us what he wants. Tell us what he wants, and we'll go do it. No, they won't. A few chapters later, they're. Making a golden calf. You see, it's bold arrogance to say, God, just tell me, once you do it, I'll go do it. Now, there needs something more needs to be in the heart. That spirit that comes from above, that spirit of sonship, that delights, that wants to obey, and delights, sees the beauty of it. In Deuteronomy 29, verse 2: Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land. The great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. And then he says this in verse 4: Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. They're still thinking, just tell us what we'll do, we'll do it. No, you don't understand the heart of sonship.
43:02But the good news is, God promised to change Israel's heart. This is what he says in Deuteronomy 30, verse 6, speaking of what's ahead for them. The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul so that you may live. What does a circumcised heart look like? A circumcised heart is one that has received the Spirit of sonship.
43:36Abba, Father. Crying out, back at verse 6, crying out. A literal translation could be, O Father, my Father. It's a soul coming into the awareness. Oh, Father, my Father. Abba, Father. It implies an awareness and a delight in this special relationship. This is what some theologians like to call the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. And notice that the emphasis in verse 6 is upon the cry of the heart. This is a wordless cry. Oh, it may reach the mouth sometimes, but it's the cry of the heart. It's the heart that has become consciously aware that God is truly my Father.
44:42And not only is He my Father, but I am full heir to all of His favor and eternal blessing forever and ever. And when you, by faith, give A hold of that truth, it transforms you from a slave to a son. The evil eye, that ain't nothing. All that kind of stuff just vanishes when you step into the spirit of sonship. When it grabs a hold of you, you know who the heavenly Father is and you know that you belong to him. Friend, that's when life begins. And that's the life that you're called to today, to go from BC before Christ to in him.
45:43You see, when God adopts someone, he redeems them by the work of his son, and then he imparts to them the spirit of his son. That's why we're called little Christs of the partisan, of the party of Christ. I love what A.W. Pink said here. He said, When God designed the salvation of his elect, he appointed two great means: the gift of his son for them and the gift of his spirit to them, thereby each of the persons in the Trinity being glorified. Hence, from the first entrance of sin, there were two great heads to the promises which God gave. His people, descending of his Son to obey and die, and descending of his spirit to make effectual the fruits of the former.
46:40You see, when the time came for the world to come of age, God did two things: he sent forth his son, and he sent forth the spirit of his son. Let's go back for just a moment before we close out this analogy, this great estate analogy. God is the Father. The only unique Son is Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Son is the Holy Spirit. The epic, there is that epoch before Christ, that period of the law.
47:16There is that period what we might call anno-domini in history, the faith, before the law, after the faith. It changed world history so much so that we put a dividing point there to measure what came before and what came after. But the same is true on a personal level. Where are you today? What epoch of life are you living in? Before Christ? Or have you received the redemption and forgiveness of Christ? Have you received the Spirit of sonship? Are you now living as an heir?
47:57You see, there comes a time for a slave to become a Son. And we can look in our personal histories. And what does God do? God sends forth his Son through the preaching of the word, like he is doing this morning. And what does he do in those who receive? He imparts his spirit. Are you one of those here today who will believe? Come out of your before-Christ condition. Celebrate. You're in Christ. Celebrate your condition. And why does he do all this? Look at verse 7. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.
48:47Why did God send forth his son? Why does he send forth his spirit of his son in so that you will no longer live as a slave, but live as an heir. We're going to pick up there from last time. A lot of truth to mind there. But God's work of grace is our great inheritance. And what a joy it is. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you, thanking you that it pleased you to send forth your Son and send him, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, to take in His person the entire eternities of wrath of his people.
49:40Having paid the debt owed by the law, Father, he bought us out of our deficit. We, Father, thank you for sending your Spirit to communicate these truths to our hearts and instilling that precious spirit of sonship. Father, may we leave here today, tutored, to live as an heir, for these truths are realities. Father, help us to go now in the glory of your Son's name. Amen.