Galatians 4 shows that both legalism and idolatry are forms of spiritual slavery that reject the freedom found in Christ. Paul uses the image of a child-heir under a guardian to illustrate that, before faith, people are enslaved to “elementary principles”—whether the Jewish law or pagan gods. But when Christ came, he redeemed us, adopted us, and sent his Spirit into our hearts so that we cry “Abba, Father.” Christians are not slaves but sons, and we are called to live out that sonship through knowing the truth, praying as children to our Father, and serving others in love—rejecting anything that would pull us back into trying to earn what has already been freely given.

God’s promise to Abraham was a gift of grace, not something earned through effort. When the law came centuries later, it didn’t cancel or replace that promise—it revealed just how much we need it. The law exposed our sin and humbled us, like a stern tutor preparing us for the arrival of Christ. But now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the law—we are adopted as God’s children through faith, fully loved and fully accepted. In Jesus, we are united, made heirs of a rich inheritance that includes not only forgiveness and the Spirit now, but the whole world to come. From beginning to end, our standing with God rests not on what we do, but on what Christ has done.

This passage comes at the end of Paul’s bold defense of the gospel of grace—that we are justified by faith, not by works of the law. It’s an audacious claim, and it raises the question: if salvation is by grace, does it matter how we live? Paul’s answer is deeply personal and theologically rich. The Christian life begins with death: “I have been crucified with Christ.” The old self—the one that lived as its own reference point—has died, and now Christ lives in us. The Christian life isn’t about trying harder, giving up, or achieving spiritual greatness. It’s about living in union with Christ—Christ as the reference point for everything we do.