4 But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a bondservant, though he is lord of all, ² but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father. ³ So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, ⁵ that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children. ⁶ And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba,^[a] Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.