My adopted daughter Amelia and I are currently watching season 4 of the TV series When Calls the Heart. In a recent episode, the café owner/mayor Abigail finalizes her adoption of young Cody, the boy she has been fostering. Soon after Cody receives the adoption certificate from Abigail, he leaves to play outside with his friends. As he crosses the street, he calls her “mom” for the very first time. Hearing Cody express that important change in relationship and identity brings Abigail (and me) to tears.

In Galatians 4:3–7, Paul continues to communicate a radical change in identity for the Galatian believers. They were previously slaves to the “elemental spiritual forces” (v. 3). The expression is difficult to translate with specificity. But perhaps the vagueness was intentional. This pre-redemption “slavery” looked different for people from different ethnic backgrounds. The Jews had been enslaved to the Law, and the Gentiles to their pagan idolatry. But both groups were suffering from a spiritual captivity.

The “but” at the beginning of verse 4 is a simple, yet beautiful, transition. God did not leave the Galatians (or us) in their captive state: “God sent his Son” (v. 4). Again, God’s sovereignty over the timeline is emphasized. God is working out His redemption plan. This Son of God was “born of a woman, born under the law” (v. 4). He was a man and a Jew. And because of who He was—His identity—He alone was perfectly suited to complete the work of redemption (v. 5). The benefits of this redemption are astounding. Believers are adopted by God (v. 5). This adoption implies an intentional choosing and an intimate relationship. But not only that. Believers also receive His Holy Spirit, Who comforts and convicts and helps us pray, “Abba, Father” (v. 6).

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