LESSON IX.—SABBATH, DECEMBER 1, 1900.
6 “And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a bond-servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
8 “Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them which by nature are no gods; but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known of God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.” NOTE.—Be sure that you have the preceding verses clearly fixed in your mind, before you proceed with these, and then note the connection. If those have been well learned, it will be no task, but a pleasure, to include them in the present lesson. (1) In what condition were we all in former times?—“In bondage under the rudiments of the world.” (2) What are the rudiments of the world? See 1 John 2:15, 16; Eph. 2:1-3. (3) With what are they not in agreement? (4) What, therefore, did God14do in the fulness of time? (5) How was Christ sent forth? (6) For what purpose was He thus sent forth?—“To redeem them that were under the law.” (7) What purpose did this serve for us?—“That we might receive the adoption of sons.” (8) Since we are sons, what has God done?—“Sent forth the Spirit of His Son in our hearts.” (9) What does the Spirit of Christ in our hearts cry? (10) What change has therefore taken place?—“Thou art no longer a bond-servant, but a son.” (11) And what is every one who is indeed a son? (12) At the time when the Galatians were bond-servants, to what were they in bondage?—“At that time . . . ye were in bondage to them which by nature are no gods.” (13) What was the cause of their being thus in bondage?—“Not knowing God.” (14) What was their present condition?—“Ye have come to know God.” (15) What is even better than this?—“To be known of God.” (16) Yet, in spite of this, what were they doing?—“Turning back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments.” (17) What were they deliberately choosing?—“Ye desire to be in bondage over again.” (18) What was the evidence that they were turning back to heathenism?—“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (19) What fear did the apostle express for them?—“Lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.” 1. THE Holy Spirit is the seal of sonship. The Spirit is the agent of the new birth, and is continually sent forth into our hearts, abiding there as the necessary consequence of our adoption as sons. This is the infallible sign. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Rom. 8:9. 2. CHRIST is the Son of God; both have one Spirit, one mind. It is by the Spirit that Christ abides in us. In promising to send the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, He said, “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18. Therefore when the Spirit comes into our hearts, He cries, “Father, Father,” for it is Christ Himself speaking to the Father. Thus we see that our relation to God, when we receive the adoption of sons, is the same as Christ’s. It is not we that live, but Christ liveth in us. 3. THE Hebrew word for Father is Ab, as we have it in Abraham, father of many people. The word “Abba” is a strengthened, emphatic form of this word. “Abba, Father” is, therefore, the same as “Father, Father,” with emphasis. 4. THERE is a difference between a bond-servant and a son. Read John 8:31-36. The slave can not be an heir; he can not own anything, not even himself. He has no control of himself, much less of anything else. But the sons of God must be as free as He is, for they are heirs, not only of all that God has, but of all that He is; they are heirs of God Himself. They are rulers with Him, set “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion.” Compare Eph. 1:17-21 and 2:1-6. As sons of God we are masters, not slaves. No enemy can have power over the soul whose life is hid with Christ in God. Luke 10:19. 5. COMPARE verse 8 with Eph. 2:11, 12. That is all the comment that need be made upon the state from which the Galatians were delivered on accepting Christ. Compare also verse 9 with verses 6 and 7 of chapter 1. The same wonder is expressed in both places, and for the same reason. What a strange thing it is that people after having a glimpse of heaven will turn back to the world; after having known freedom in God will deliberately put themselves under the burdensome bondage of sin! 6. DO NOT fail to note that the “rudiments” spoken of in verse 9 are the same as those mentioned in verse 3,—the rudiments of the world. We have already learned what they are. What are they? and where do we find the statement? What is friendship with this world? 7. COMPARE verse 10 with Deut. 18:9-12. The observation of times, that is, the practise of augury, a common thing among the heathen, was expressly forbidden by the Lord. Note in Isa. 47:10-14, with margin, the vanity and wickedness of observing months. 8. SOME will ask, “How could it be that the Galatians were going back into heathenism, when the ‘false brethren’ who were perverting them were Jews?” The answer is easy. That they were relapsing into heathenism is evident from the fact that they were turning back to the things to which they had formerly been in bondage; and they had formerly been heathen. They never were Jews. Remember that they were being led by false brethren into “another gospel,” which was not a gospel at all. They were being led away from Christ. The real Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” The false gospel,—the substitution of one’s own works for faith in Christ,—is the power of man, not to salvation, but to destruction; for there is no help in man. Now when men lose their faith in Christ, they have no power to hold them to God, and they invariably drift back into their former habits of life, no matter who their teachers may be. So the Galatians, being taught by Jews to put their trust in their own works, were naturally taking up the works to which they had previously been accustomed. 9. OBSERVE that Paul expresses no concern for himself, but only for the Galatians. His fear was for them lest his labors had been in vain for them. He did not mourn lest he had wasted his time upon them; he did not regret the time and strength he had spent, but only feared lest they should lose the benefit of it.