Galatians 4:1-7 - “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles[b] of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
When I was getting ready to set off for UofR I was trying to craft what I wanted my life to look like. I remember scrolling through social media, seeing what life could look like. Like most people I subconsciously believed the stereotypes of college life. I believed that with a new found independence I would suddenly be free to live college life as it was supposed to be.
Perhaps, many of us and our peers come and fit quite nicely into these preconceptions. We’re satisfied and content with the independence and what we’ve chosen to do with it.
I was not one of those people. I was wildly unsatisfied. I was really discontent.
In fact, I realized all of those stereotypes or identities, if you will, were put on me by the world and those around me. They weren’t things I deeply wanted. I had entered a life I had believed was my identity, only to find out it was quite the opposite. I didn’t know who I really was - I needed to find a new identity, my true identity.
Last week, I spoke about how we partake in the Kingdom of God and ultimately that was through gaining the capacity to love and obeying the greatest commandment - to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. I said that ‘love’ is the theme of the Christian story and we discussed the first week that redemption was the main idea and Jesus was the main character. So, perhaps, we must now identify ourselves in the story. As God created the world in love, he created man and female as well. He gave them dominion and identities as His image-bearers - “let us make man in our own image”. This was our first identity - given to us by God. Then in rebellion we chose to claim our own power and identify ourselves - as the serpent says - “to be like God”. This of course was not our intended identity. Over the course of generations, God consistently tries to reclaim our identity and show us who we really are, but we continue to choose power and control ourselves instead. Eventually, he sends his Son to redeem us, and give us a new name, a new identity. Thus you and I are invited to a new family and chosen as a royal priesthood in the Kingdom of God. Tonight we’ll discover what this all means and how we find ourselves within God’s Kingdom.
It is our hope that you all would ‘find your identity in Christ’. This is so important and life-altering. Through Christ’s death and resurrection - we gain a new identity. Tonight we’ll simply ask ourselves - what is this new identity? What is our identity in Christ and in the Kingdom of God?
In our passage tonight Paul is writing to a group of Gentile Christians for this reason - they are being told, for some reason, that they are not quite the same as the Jewish Christians. They have a less-than status. Here’s why - the Jewish Christians argue: they were not given the original promise. BUT if they want to become “full” christians - they’re going to need to get circumsized, follow the law, etc. Paul, an expert of the law, comes in and is like - listen, these guys, are incorrect. They’re wrong. You in fact, don’t need to do any of that. You have always been a part of God’s plan for salvation and you already are “full” christians. Paul is basically writing this letter to clarify the Gospel to people who’ve been told the Gospel isn’t enough.
So Paul, in this specific passage, is trying to tell these gentile christians that they’ve always been a part of God’s plan. He reminds them that God’s promise to Abraham was for the nations, not a nation. Then, he proceeds to tell them what this means so they can find their place in the story and find their identity. We too in fact are gentiles, so this passage should be very very relevant. Let’s find our identity, our place in the story…
We’ll do so through these three points. First, we were slaves. Second, we were adopted. Third, we’ve become heirs.
First, we were slaves. How did we gain this identity? How had we become slaves? Notice two parts of this passage. It says we were under guardians and managers and second ‘we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Due to sin, we have been and still are prone to gain identities given to us from the world, others, and ourselves.
First the world, notice Paul says ‘elementary’. He’s pointing out the standards of the world are fallen. They are sub-standard. Therefore, the identities we’re given by the world are just okay. What does the world tell you your identity is? Has the world told you you’re unimportant? Have perfect pictures on social media convinced you that you’re less than and don’t measure up?
Second, others. As we were under guardians and managers, we were under or subject to others opinions and beliefs of us. Have your parents told you you’re not enough? Has a peer or stranger told you you’re less than because of your race, gender, class or status? That’s what these gentiles are dealing with....
Third, ourselves. We also hold ourselves to a very low standard. This is where I struggle most. Have you also believed that you are not liked or loved by others? Have you thought that maybe, your life is unimportant and insignificant? You’re not seen or known?
How have these false identities enslaved us? How have these identities hurt you? Lastly, do you know your true identity?
Second, we were adopted. Paul says, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son....to redeem....that we might receive adoption as sons and daughters.” Brothers and sisters, our true identity is this - we are adopted sons and daughters of God. This is really good news.
Paul then says, because we’ve been adopted we’ve received the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit brings a joy that truly allows us to love and worship our Father. We cry out Abba! Father! Daddy, Daddy! We love you! We respond this way, because we ourselves, are loved. We are beloved. Henri Nouwen says, “being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence”. We have been adopted and this means that we have been given our true identity. Beloved. As Hosea 2:23 says - “Those who were not my people (slaves) I will call my people, and her who were not beloved, I will call beloved”
Third, we’ve become heirs. On top of all this we have also become heirs. You are no longer a slave, you’ve been adopted, your identity is beloved. Also, you’ve become heirs. If you remember the beginning of the christian story I shared that we were created and given dominion and called to bear God’s image. In God’s redemptive work, He has adopted us and called us heirs so that we could live into this calling once again.
Now for many of us, it’s really really difficult to believe we’re any of these things. You may be thinking that none of this applies to you. Maybe you’d say, Tee I find it really hard to believe I am loved or that I have become an heir. I don’t feel like this is my identity. Perhaps, you’ve got the wrong person.
Paul later says, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation, the old has passed the new has come. We have a new and true identity. Though we were once slaves, we were adopted and called beloved, and we’ve become heirs. This is our identity in the Kingdom of God. Let us rejoice and find great comfort in this truth.
Lord, may we know we are loved and adored by our Heavenly Father. May we know this as our true identity given to us by Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
