Week ?
Galatians 3:23-4:7
(Note to leader:
One thing to keep in mind: remember on the review... that it is probably
better to quickly yourself summarize things... up to that point in two
sentences... you really want to draw out the discussion for the current
text... and people might get tired and feel uncertain... when you will get to
the day's text... if it takes a long time for review... and they are looking
over many verses... to figure things out... hence the random answers that
some gave last week... I do not think anyone in this group is up to
concisely summarizing things themselves... If they are new... and need to
hear the review... they will need to hear it from you anyway...)
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"Jesus is the Only Heir to God's Promise of Blessing to Abraham; And so are YOU in HIM"
Opening Question:
1. What rights do you have simply because you were conceived and born into your parents' family?
(a: e.g. money, genetic traits, name, care, culture, citizenship, etc.)
2. How can someone not born into a family get the same rights?
(a: adoption)
READ Galatians 3:23-4:7
3. How are you an "heir according to the promise"?
vs. 26 (a: through faith)
4. What ways does Paul describe an "heir" in this passage? What does each mean?
vs. 29 belong to Christ - Jesus owns us, his name is on us...
vs. 27 baptized into Christ - (same term used "baptized into Moses" the emphasis is not on "Water" Baptism... but on a "washing" initiation setting aside as holy... and a "uniting"... so meaning: "united to Christ, brought under Christ's covenant headship"
vs. 27 clothed w/ Christ - notice... clothes are a covering ... remember Adam and Eve? They sinned and then tried to hide/cover themselves with fig leaves... WE who are covered with Christ, no longer have to be ashamed in God's presence... also... notice. It is not our own clothing... not our own works... when God looks at us, he sees Jesus... our sin is covered and dealt with... in Jesus.
vs. 26 Sons of God:
-
- adopted legally... children (but not in the "divine" sense of God's ONe and
ONly Son... Jesus)
- legally - heirs (vs. 7)
- see from (vs. 6) we have a new nature, (actually get more than an adopted child... we get genetic traits... new creation... ) not only legally declared righteous, but also new life... this is why in James, it talks about faith without works is dead... because if we really have faith, we will have new life... if we really have the new life... we will act like our new nature... there will be fruit of works... the legal declaration and the Spirit of Sonship come together...
- equally heirs... everyone is equal partaker... before in Israel women and Gentiles could not go into the inner court... now every one has equal access to God... and to the blessings...
but notice... this does not make us stop being male and female or erase specific differences in both roles and nature between men and women... (see. 1 Timothy 2... men still have the role of headship in the church and in the family... women still have the "helper" role...
but even with different roles... still equal heirs and equal access... that is why it calls even the women "sons"...
NOTICE: the current modern "gender neutral" movement in the Bible would replace the word "sons" with the word "children" but that would erase the meaning of what Paul is trying to say... in many socities the children do NOT get an equal inheritence... especially not the daughters... Paul is saying "sons" to say that all get an equal inheritence of blessing... NO second=class citizens...
4:1-5 What is Paul's point here?
The law given to Israel was like a childhood where even though we have rights to the blessing... we do not get it... the law is in charge... we are a slave in practical function, though in truth we are heirs... but once Jesus came, the law served its purpose as the gardian... we could then get our inheritance... not under the law anymore... in that way... we are under grace... ...
Memorize:
Galatians 3:26-27
Galatians 4:4-6
KEY VERSES... discuss their significance... what does it mean for you today?