Galatians 4:4-7

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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
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  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • III.XVI., 7, III.XXII.1, V.XXI.1, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • I.6, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • Chapter VI, On The Veiling of Virgins, Tertullian (c. 205)
  • Chapter XX, On the Flesh of Christ, Tertullian (c. 211)
  • V.4, V.8, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 212)
  • XIII.26, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
  • "The People of Law and of Grace," Galatians 4:1-7, Martin Luther, c. 1522.
  • Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 4:1-9) by Martin Luther.
    • "Thus Christ banished the Law from the conscience. It dare no longer banish us from God."
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "The time is said to be full when all parts of it are past and ended, and therefore Christ could not have come either sooner or later."
  • How the Spirit Enables Us to Pray, Thomas Boston (Puritan, c 1700)
    • "The man may go to his knees in a very unprepared attitude for prayer, yet the Spirit blows, he is helped."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "May the temper and conduct of sons ever show our adoption; and may the Holy Spirit witness with our spirits that we are children and heirs of God."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "The Hebrew and Greek word are joined together, to express the joint cry of the Jews and gentiles."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "God does nothing prematurely, but, foreseeing the end from the beginning, waits till all is ripe for the execution of His purpose."
  • "Adoption -- The Spirit and the Cry: Galatians 4:6," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1878.
    • "Once more upon this point of the believer's dignity, we are already tasting one of the inevitable consequences of being the sons of God."
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "Those under bondage need redemption in order to secure freedom."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Galatians 4:4-7, Hans Weirsma, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.

    • "...there is no shortage of things we think we can do to make God accept us into the household of Christ: be good people, go to church, assent to the creeds, give our hearts to Jesus, and on and on and on. Here the task is anything but abstract. You expose all of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways your hearers attempt to gain the divine inheritance via obedience to the law...Then you hit them with the sweet gospel: 'God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.'"

  • "First Thoughts on Passages on Year B Epistle Passages in the Lectionary: Christmas 1," William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia, 2002.

    • "Paul and others like him made a deliberate choice to make the relationship with Christ and through Christ with God the sole criterion for what mattered and to read the scriptures in that light."

  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.

  • "Christian Maturity," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.

    • "The danger in seeking an extra over what is already complete, involves not only the loss of spiritual maturity, but quite possibly the loss of salvation itself. To move from God's free grace, is to move from life to death."

  • "The Inferiority of Immaturity (Galatians 4:1-11)," by Robert L. Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "While the Jews were no better than slaves under the economy of the Law (4:1), the Gentiles were truly slaves, in bondage to elementary principles. These elementary principles were somehow related to the false idol worship of “no gods” (4:8; cf. 1 Cor. 12:2; Eph. 2:1-3). How foolish it would be for them to turn back to the “elemental things,” which Paul here calls “weak” and “worthless” (4:9)."
  • Environmental & earth-centered reflections, Rev John Gibbs, from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission.
    • "In the wake of Christmas, then, the household of faith is freed from its self-preoccupations as it is sent forth into the world to participate in that grand process by which God works throughout Creation toward the energetic "fullness of time.""
  • Galatians 4:4-7, in Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary's An Exegetical Study of the Common Lectionary, coordinated by Prof. John E. Alsup, features rough translation, disposition, immediate context, broader context, hermeneutical bridge, and contemporary address.
    • "The center of theological gravity is found in God's primacy in the pericope. The other major concerns include Jesus" redeeming and our being God's children. The minor concerns include Christ's humanity and His Spirit's crying in our hearts. Then, the negative ideas contrasting what God has done for us in Christ cannot go unmentioned as elements worthy of consideration."
• Articles & Background:
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  • Aasgaard, Reidar, "Paul as a Child: Children and Childhood in the Letters of the Apostle," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2007.
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  • Bellevile, Linda L., "'Under Law': Structural Analysis and the Pauline Concept of Law in Galatians 3:21-4:11," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1986.
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  • Cloete, G Daan, "Christmas: Heirs of God, the Father, through Jesus, the Son, Incarnated (Galatians 4:4-7)," Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1993.
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  • Hay, David M., "Between Text & Sermon: Galatians 4:1-31," Interpretation, 2000.
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  • Jones, Peter Rhea, "Exegesis of Galatians 3 and 4," Review and Expositor, 1972.
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  • Marcus, Joel, "'Under the Law': The Background of a Pauline Expression," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2001.
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  • McWilliam, Stuart, "When the Fullness of Time Was Come," Journal for Preachers, 2003.
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  • Mendenhall, Laura S., "Adoption," sermon, Journal for Preachers, 2001.
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  • Okamoto, Joel P., "Homiletical Helps on the LSB Series C - Old Testament / A - Epistles," Concordia Journal, 2007. (Section on this text begins on page 398.)
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  • Siker, Judy Yates, "Unless You Become Like Children..." The Living Pulpit, 2003.
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  • Smith, Michael J., "The Role of the Pedagogue in Galatians," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2006.
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• Reviews:
  • Review: Marc Rastoin, Tarse et Jérusalem: La Double Culture de l'Apotre Paul en Galates 3,6-4,7. Editrice Pontifico Istituto Biblico, 2003. Review (in English) by Stephan Witetschek, Review of Biblical Literature, 2005.
• Sermons:
  • "Adoption," Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
• With Children:
• Drama:
  • "Fruit of the Spirit," Heather Adams, dramatix.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art, Galatians 4:4-5, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Galatians 4:4, 6. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Galatians