Galatians 4:1-5 – What You Were
How can Paul describe a law given by God as weak and worthless? Because it had served its purpose. As v10 makes clear he’s thinking particularly here about the ceremonial law – sacrifice, holy days, new moons, festivals, and so on. Yes, they were instituted by God. But now they’ve served their purpose.
He explains this in vs 1-3 with an illustration from Roman culture. In Roman culture at that time, slaves were part and parcel of everyday life. The rights and privileges of slaves were, of course, very different from the rights and privileges of those who were freeborn. But although the heir in a Roman family had all these rights and privileges, until he was a certain age they were all in the future. And until that time there was very little difference in practice between him and a slave. Until the time arrived when he would be free, he was kept in place by the guardians and managers mentioned here in v2.
And in the same way, Paul says in v3, ‘we’ – that is, ‘we Jews’ – were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Just as the son and heir in a Roman family was prepared for his future role by managers and guardians, so the Jews were prepared for the coming of Jesus by the ceremonial law. For hundreds of years it drummed the lesson into their heads that if they wanted to approach God, they would need to do so through sacrifice. That they couldn’t come directly to God, but they needed a priest to come between them. They were taught that being God’s people meant that they were to be different from all the nations around them. They got used to standing out as different. So like the guardians and managers, the ceremonial law of God had its place – but it was only ever meant to be for a limited amount of time. The son and heir of a family wasn’t meant to still have guardians and managers when he was 50. Before Jesus came, the ceremonial law pointed to him and was good. But now that he has come, the ceremonial law will prove to be weak and worthless to anyone who tries to use it.
Paul reminds the Galatians what they were. They were pagan idol worshippers. And if they give up trusting in Jesus alone for outward religion, they’ll be no better off than they were before they were saved. And so he urges them: Don’t go back.
Questions
- What was the purpose of the ceremonial law?
- What does Paul urge the Galatians not to do?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would not go back to our old ways.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.