Galatians 4:5 kjv
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Galatians 4:5 nkjv
to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:5 niv
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Galatians 4:5 esv
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:5 nlt
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.
Galatians 4 5 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Galatians 3:13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. | Christ's redemptive sacrifice |
| Romans 8:14-17 | All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. | Adoption as sons through the Spirit |
| Ephesians 1:5 | He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. | Predestination to sonship |
| John 1:12 | To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. | Becoming children through belief in Jesus |
| Deuteronomy 21:22-23 | Cursed by God is everyone who is hanged on a tree. | Law's pronouncement of curse |
| Galatians 3:10 | For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. | Curse for not keeping the law perfectly |
| Romans 3:20 | For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight. | Law cannot justify |
| Romans 6:14 | For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. | Freedom from law's dominion |
| 2 Corinthians 5:21 | For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. | Christ's substitutionary atonement |
| Philippians 2:7-8 | but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant... humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. | Christ's obedience and humiliation |
| Acts 13:39 | and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. | Freedom from Mosaic Law's ineffectiveness |
| John 15:5 | I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit. | Intimate relationship with Christ |
| Colossians 1:13-14 | He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. | Deliverance and redemption in Christ |
| 1 Peter 1:18-19 | knowing that you were redeemed from your futile ways… with precious blood, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, Christ. | Redemption with Christ's precious blood |
| Romans 9:4 | They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the worship, and the promises. | Israel's privileges |
| John 3:16 | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. | God's love and provision of His Son |
| Galatians 4:7 | So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. | Sonship implies heirship |
| 1 John 3:1-2 | See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God… we are God’s children now. | Assurance of being God's children |
| Hebrews 2:10 | For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect by suffering the founder of their salvation. | Christ perfecting salvation for many sons |
| 1 Corinthians 1:30 | And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. | Christ as source of all spiritual blessings |
Galatians 4 verses
Galatians 4 5 Meaning
Christ redeemed us from the law's curse by becoming a curse for us, enabling God to adopt us as His children. This verse highlights the salvific work of Christ and its consequence: sonship with God, received not through adherence to the Mosaic Law, but through faith in Christ.
Galatians 4 5 Context
Galatians chapter 4 addresses the Galatian believers' tendency to revert to legalism, specifically a desire to adhere to aspects of the Mosaic Law, possibly circumcision, after having been freed through faith in Christ. Paul uses the allegory of two sons of Abraham – one by a slave woman (Ishmael) and one by a free woman (Isaac) – to illustrate the difference between a relationship based on the Law and one based on promise and grace. This verse directly follows that analogy. The primary issue Paul is addressing is the imposition of Old Covenant requirements onto New Covenant believers, which he argues would negate the freedom and full inheritance found in Christ alone. The background includes Judaizers who were teaching that Gentile believers needed to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses to be truly saved.
Galatians 4 5 Word Analysis
- Ὃς (Hos): "who" or "which." Refers back to Jesus Christ, the one who performed the redemptive act.
- ἐλυτρώσατο (elytrosato): "redeemed" or "bought back." This is a powerful term signifying deliverance from bondage through a payment. It implies freedom from the slavery of sin and the curse of the Law.
- ἡμᾶς (hemas): "us." Refers to all believers in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, who have been delivered from the Law's condemnation.
- ἐκ τοῦ νόμου (ek tou nomou): "from the law." This phrase specifies what believers have been redeemed from—not from the entirety of God's moral law, but from the curse and condemnation attached to the Mosaic Law as a means of earning righteousness or salvation.
- τὸν ὑπὸ νόμον (ton hupo nomon): "those under the law" or "those subject to the law." This refers to those who are attempting to find justification or salvation through observance of the Mosaic Law, thus being under its jurisdiction and condemnation.
- ἵνα (hina): "that" or "in order that." Introduces the purpose or result of Christ's redemptive act.
- τὴν υἱοθεσίαν (ten huiothesian): "the adoption as sons" or "sonship." This is the direct benefit of redemption from the law's curse. It's not merely being called sons, but a formal, legal status as children of God, involving all the privileges of an heir.
- ἀπολάβωμεν (apolabomen): "we might receive" or "we might receive fully." The aorist subjunctive verb suggests a completed reception or a full taking in of the status of sonship.
Word Group Analysis:
- "redeemed us from the law" (λυτρώσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ νόμου): This clause establishes the liberating aspect of Christ's work, freeing believers from the burden and curse of seeking salvation through Law-keeping. It marks a shift from a covenant of law to a covenant of grace.
- "those under the law" (τὸν ὑπὸ νόμον): This phrase contrasts those who rely on legalistic performance with those who are in Christ. It emphasizes that the Law itself, when used as a means of salvation, results in being under its condemnation.
- "that we might receive the adoption as sons" (ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν): This is the ultimate positive outcome. Christ's substitutionary sacrifice removes the barrier of the Law's curse, opening the way for believers to be fully received into God's family with all associated inheritance rights.
Galatians 4 5 Bonus Section
The concept of "adoption as sons" (υἱοθεσία - huîothesía) in Galatians, particularly chapter 4, is profound. In the Greco-Roman world, adoption was a legal process that granted full inheritance and rights, often bestowing a new name and complete legitimacy, even to adult slaves. Paul uses this societal understanding to illustrate the spiritual reality: God takes believers, who were previously spiritual slaves to sin and the Law, and through Christ's sacrifice, grants them a legal status as His dearly loved children, securing for them the full inheritance of eternal life and relationship with Him. It emphasizes a familial, intimate, and secure relationship with God, not merely a servitude or legal status without affection. This adoption is an act of divine initiative rooted in God's love and is irreversible for those in Christ.
Galatians 4 5 Commentary
Paul explains the core of the gospel: Jesus' death on the cross was a vicarious atonement. He became what the law condemned (a curse) so that those condemned by the law could be rescued. This rescue was not just freedom, but an elevation to sonship. It’s an imputation of righteousness and a legal transfer into God's family. This is not earned; it is received as a gift, a direct consequence of Christ’s obedient sacrifice. This sonship bestows all the rights and privileges of being God's children, assured through faith.