4 But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; ² but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. ³ So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the ^[a]rudiments of the world: ⁴ but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ⁶ And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.