Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 4:5

"that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." — Galatians 4:5 (ASV)

But God has set believers free! These are wonderful words, because they show that the entry of the Christian message is at the same time the turning point of history. Apart from these words, life offers no future hope for anyone. We are lost, without hope and without God (cf. Ephesians 2:12). But God has intervened in a way that brings an effective and complete salvation.

Paul goes on to spell out what God has done. First, he “sent his Son.” From the historical point of view, the fact that “the time had fully come” suggests several factors. It was a time when the Roman peace extended over most of the civilized earth and when travel and commerce were therefore possible in a way that had formerly been impossible. Great roads linked the empire of the Caesars, and its diverse regions were linked far more significantly by the all-pervasive language of the Greeks. Add the fact that the world was sunk in a moral abyss so low that even the pagans cried out against it and that spiritual hunger was everywhere evident, and one has a perfect time for the coming of Christ and for the early expansion of the Christian Gospel. Viewed theologically, however, it may also be said that the time was full because God himself had filled it with meaning.

Specifically, God sent his Son “to redeem” those who were under the law’s bondage and to provide the basis by which God is able “to adopt” them as sons and daughters. Redemption is mentioned here for the first time since 3:13 and is particularly appropriate in view of the imagery Paul is using. Redemption means “to buy out of slavery” (cf. comment on 3:13). People were slaves either to the law, as Jews, or to the “basic principles of the world,” as Gentiles. Christ paid the price of their redemption and set them free. Moreover, it is through him that human beings have the adoption. That is, they move not only from bondage into freedom; they also move into the household of God, where all are free and are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). Observe the subtle link between the central ideas of this verse and the phrase “weak and miserable principles” in v.9. The opposing powers are “weak” because they cannot redeem and “miserable” (or “poor”) because they cannot provide the adoption.

And who is the one through whom this great salvation comes? It is striking how much of the important Christian teaching about Jesus is revealed here. He is divine, for he is God’s “Son.” This speaks of an ontological relationship existing from eternity (Colossians 1:15). He is human, for he was “born of a woman.” He was “under law”; i.e., he was born into Israel and thus within God’s historical stream of salvation. Paul may even be alluding here to the virgin birth.