Sonship in Christ

4 Now what I mean [when I talk about children and their guardians] is this: as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave even though he is the [future owner and] master of all [the estate]; ² but he is under [the authority of] guardians and household administrators or managers until the date set by his father [when he is of legal age]. ³ So also we [whether Jews or Gentiles], when we were children (spiritually immature), were kept like slaves under the elementary [man-made religious or philosophical] teachings of the world. ⁴ But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family].^{(A) 6} And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ^[a]“Abba! Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave (bond-servant), but a son; and if a son, then also an heir through [the gracious act of] God [through Christ].