Basic Elements Of The World
© 06.17.24 By David Eric Williams
(1) Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. (2) They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. (3) And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. (4) But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (5) God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. (6) And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father." (7) Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir (Galatians 4:1-7 NLT).
When we step back at look at this section of Paul's letter to the Church in Galatia we realize Paul is making use of the Exodus trope to describe the condition of God's people during the Mosaic dispensation. It is a story of people effectively enslaved even though they were heirs to the world. Finally, a time came when a long promised redemption took place. As a result the people were declared to be children of God, in full possession of the covenant promises. One blessing of the covenant was the promise of God's presence, "God with us," as his people journeyed toward the full realization of the covenant promises.
Thus, Israel was enslaved in Egypt even though God had promised the descendants of Abraham they would inherit the land. Savior Yahweh redeemed them from slavery through mighty acts and journeyed with them, dwelt with them, on the way to the promised land.
Likewise, prior to the redemptive work of Jesus the Messiah, Jew and Gentile alike were enslaved in sin. But there was a promise of a coming Messiah, one who would redeem God's people from slavery and exile. Not only that, the Redeemer promised to be with His redeemed and work through them to fully realize the covenant promises.
The only problem with this understanding is Paul's claim that Jew and Gentile alike were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. The Greek here (and in 4:9) is stoikia and refers to the basic elements or principles of the world, often referring to pagan "gods" and spiritual powers. This doesn't seem to fit the circumstance of the Jews in Paul's audience. After all, one selling point of the Judaizers was the connection to a long history of worship of Yahweh, the one true God. So, what does Paul mean? The answer is found in the stipulations of the Mosaic jurisprudence.
In Deuteronomy chapter 28 we read a litany of curses leveled at the children of Israel for turning away from Yahweh. Among them is the promise the LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone! (Deuteronomy 28:64 NLT). This was part of the slavery – of the exile, imposed upon the Children of Israel. They would be to be subject to other gods even though they participated in the ritual of Yahweh worship. This wasn't just a technicality or a matter of semantics. Indeed, Jesus himself said those who opposed his redemptive ministry were children of the devil (John 8:44). Therefore, if the Gentile Believers underwent circumcision and became Jews as part of the process of receiving Christ, they would be reentering slavery and exile and once again be slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
More on this next week.
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