Galatians 4:1-11

New Testament for Everyone

The son and the spirit

4 Let me put it like this. As long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave—even if, in fact, he is master of everything! ² He is kept under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father.

³ Well, it’s like that with us. When we were children, we were kept in “slavery” under the “elements of the world.” ⁴ But when the fullness of time arrived, God sent out his son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

⁶ And, because you are sons, God sent out the spirit of his son into our hearts, calling out “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son! And, if you’re a son, you are an heir, through God.

The true God and the false gods

⁸ However, at that stage you didn’t know God, and so you were enslaved to beings that, in their proper nature, are not gods. ⁹ But now that you’ve come to know God—or, better, to be known by God—how can you turn back again to that weak and poverty-stricken line-up of elements that you want to serve all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing days, and months, and seasons, and years! ¹¹ I am afraid for you; perhaps my hard work with you is all going to be wasted.