No Longer Slaves But Sons and Heirs

4 Now I say, for as long a time as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he^[a] is master of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the time set by his father. ³ So also we, when we were children, we were enslaved under the elemental spirits of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ in order that he might redeem those under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption. ⁶ And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba!^[b] (Father!),” ⁷ so that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir through God.