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Galatians 3: 23-4: 7

April 14, 2021 • Jaime Carnaggio

• The law acted as prison warden and guardian until Christ came, but now that faith has come, we move from living under the law, to living by faith in Christ.
• God sent his Son “to redeem those under the law;” to free us. He had to share in the same condition (“born of a woman, born under the law”) of those he came to rescue!
• God also sent his Son so that "we might receive adoption into sonship.” He came to turn us from slaves into sons!
• In justification, God acts as the judge, who declares us “not guilty” – it’s a legal, once and for all pronouncement. In adoption, God acts as our Father, who gets off the judgment seat, comes down to where you are, leans into to you and says, “I love you, my beloved child. Come home with me.” David Platt
• God is a lot of things to ALL of humanity, regardless of whether or not you’re “in Christ." He’s Creator of all, Ruler of all, and Judge of all, BUT… He is only Father to those in Christ Jesus. Only his sons and daughters have the privilege of calling him “Father.” Phil Ryken
• As a child of God, we have certain privileges that others don’t:
• We are united to Christ himself (Hebrews 2:10-12).
• We are united to the body of Christ. Our ethnic and social distinctions continue to exist, but they no longer divide us because we are all ONE in Christ Jesus. Everyone who belongs to God belongs to everyone else who belongs to God. Because our relationship to one another is based entirely on our relationship in Christ, we have a bond with the family of faith that transcends any physical or cultural differences we may have.
• We are heirs of the Kingdom (Romans 8: 17).
• We experience intimacy with the Father. God sent his Son in order that we may be legally and completely adopted into sonship. God sent his Spirit so that we can experience our sonship with him more fully. In other words, the adoption that was accomplished by the Son is applied by the Spirit.

Questions for reflection:
• How does your adoption impact the way you view other believers? Or the way you view the “church”?
• When do you see yourself more as a slave, or living as a slave, instead of daughter who has the permission to cry out to her Father who loves her?