TRV
Translation
King James Version
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Complete Jewish Bible
so that he might redeem those in subjection to this legalism and thus enable us to be made God’s sons.
Berean Standard Bible
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
American Standard Version
that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
World English Bible Messianic
that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
Geneva Bible (1599)
That hee might redeeme them which were vnder the Law, that we might receiue the adoption of the sonnes.
Young's Literal Translation
that those under law he may redeem, that the adoption of sons we may receive;
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In the KJVVerse 29,137 of 31,102
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Commentary on Galatians 4 verses 1–7
1 ¶ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
In this chapter the apostle deals plainly with those who hearkened to the judaizing teachers, who cried up the law of Moses in competition with the gospel of Christ, and endeavored to bring them under the bondage of it. To convince them of their folly, and to rectify their mistake herein, in these verses he prosecutes the comparison of a child under age, which he had touched upon in the foregoing chapter, and thence shows what great advantages we have now, under the gospel, above what they had under the law. And here.
I. He acquaints us with the state of the Old Testament church: it was like a child under age, and it was used accordingly, being kept in a state of darkness and bondage, in comparison of the greater light and liberty which we enjoy under the gospel. That was indeed a dispensation of grace, and yet it was comparatively a dispensation of darkness; for as the heir, in his minority, is under tutors and governors till the time appointed of his father, by whom he is educated and instructed in those things which at present he knows little of the meaning of, though afterwards they are likely to be of great use to him; so it was with the Old Testament church - the Mosaic economy, which they were under, was what they could not fully understand the meaning of; for, as the apostle says (Co2 3:13), They could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. But to the church, when grown up to maturity, in gospel days, it becomes of great use. And as that was a dispensation of darkness, so of bondage too; for they were in bondage under the elements of the world, being tied to a great number of burdensome rites and observances, by which, as by a kind of first rudiments, they were taught and instructed, and whereby they were kept in a state of subjection, like a child under tutors and governors. The church then lay more under the character of a servant, being obliged to do every thing according to the command of God, without being fully acquainted with the reason of it; but the service under the gospel appears to be more reasonable than that was. The time appointed of the Father having come, when the church was to arrive at its full age, the darkness and bondage under which it before lay are removed, and we are under a dispensation of greater light and liberty.
II. He acquaints us with the much happier state of Christians under the gospel-dispensation, Gal 4:4-7. When the fulness of time had come, the time appointed of the Father, when he would put an end to the legal dispensation, and set up another and a better in the room of it, he sent forth his Son, etc. The person who was employed to introduce this new dispensation was no other than the Son of God himself, the only-begotten of the Father, who, as he had been prophesied of and promised from the foundation of the world, so in due time he was manifested for this purpose. He, in pursuance of the great design he had undertaken, submitted to be made of a woman - there is his incarnation; and to be made under the law - there is his subjection. He who was truly God for our sakes became man; and he who was Lord of all consented to come into a state of subjection and to take upon him the form of a servant; and one great end of all this was to redeem those that were under the law - to save us from that intolerable yoke and to appoint gospel ordinances more rational and easy. He had indeed something more and greater in his view, in coming into the world, than merely to deliver us from the bondage of the ceremonial law; for he came in our nature, and consented to suffer and die for us, that hereby he might redeem us from the wrath of God, and from the curse of the moral law, which, as sinners, we all lay under. But that was one end of it, and a mercy reserved to be bestowed at the time of his manifestation; then the more servile state of the church was to come to a period, and a better to succeed in the place of it; for he was sent to redeem us, that we might receive the adoption of sons - that we might no longer be accounted and treated as servants, but as sons grown up to maturity, who are allowed greater freedoms, and admitted to larger privileges, than while they were under tutors and governors. This the course of the apostle's argument leads us to take notice of, as one thing intended by this expression, though no doubt it may also be understood as signifying that gracious adoption which the gospel so often speaks of as the privilege of those who believe in Christ. Israel was God's son, his first-born, Rom 9:4. But now, under the gospel, particular believers receive the adoption; and, as an earnest and evidence of it, they have together therewith the Spirit of adoption, putting them upon the duty of prayer, and enabling them in prayer to eye God as a Father (Gal 4:6): Because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. And hereupon (Gal 4:7) the apostle concludes this argument by adding, Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and, if a son, then an heir of God through Christ; that is, Now, under the gospel state, we are no longer under the servitude of the law, but, upon our believing in Christ, become the sons of God; we are thereupon accepted of him, and adopted by him; and, being the sons, we are also heirs of God, and are entitled to the heavenly inheritance (as he also reasons Rom 8:17), and therefore it must needs be the greatest weakness and folly to turn back to the law, and to seek justification by the works of it. From what the apostle says in these verses, we may observe,
1.The wonders of divine love and mercy towards us, particularly of God the Father, in sending his Son into the world to redeem and save us, - of the Son of God, in submitting so low, and suffering so much, for us, in pursuance of that design, - and of the Holy Spirit, in condescending to dwell in the hearts of believers for such gracious purposes.
2.The great and invaluable advantages which Christians enjoy under the gospel; for, (1.) We receive the adoption of sons. Whence note, It is the great privilege which believers have through Christ that they are adopted children of the God of heaven. We who by nature are children of wrath and disobedience have become by grace children of love. (2.) We receive the Spirit of adoption. Note, [1.] All who have the privilege of adoption have the Spirit of adoption - all who are received into the number partake of the nature of the children of God; for he will have all his children to resemble him. [2.] The Spirit of adoption is always the Spirit of prayer, and it is our duty in prayer to eye God as a Father. Christ has taught us in prayer to eye God as our Father in heaven. [3.] If we are his sons, then his heirs. It is not so among men, with whom the eldest son is heir; but all God's children are heirs. Those who have the nature of sons shall have the inheritance of sons.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–7. Public domain.
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TertullianAD 220
Against Marcion Book V
But as for that idle god, who has neither any work nor any prophecy, nor accordingly any time, to show for himself, what has he ever done to bring about the fulness of time, or to wait patiently its completion? If nothing, what an impotent state to have to wait for the Creator's time, in servility to the Creator! But for what end did He send His Son? "To redeem them that were under the law," in other words, to "make the crooked ways straight, and the rough places smooth," as Isaiah says -in order that old things might pass away, and a new course begin, even "the new law out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem," and "that we might receive the adoption of sons," that is, the Gentiles, who once were not sons.
TertullianAD 220
Against Marcion Book V
But as for that idle god, who has neither any work nor any prophecy, nor accordingly any time, to show for himself, what has he ever done to bring about the fulness of time, or to wait patiently its completion? If nothing, what an impotent state to have to wait for the Creator's time, in servility to the Creator! But for what end did He send His Son? "To redeem them that were under the law," in other words, to "make the crooked ways straight, and the rough places smooth," as Isaiah says -in order that old things might pass away, and a new course begin, even "the new law out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem," and "that we might receive the adoption of sons," that is, the Gentiles, who once were not sons.
Gaius Marius VictorinusAD 370
EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.5
Since the law by its precepts held people bound, as it were, only to decency of life but not to the hope of deliverance and eternity, God sent his own Son. He sent him subject to the law, that is, the law of Israel, that he might redeem those who were there and lived under the law. Now this is a great thing, that he says [Christ came] not merely to show them the way of life or to stir them up toward eternity with harsh commands but to redeem them. This is the mystery of what he performed, the redemption of all who believed in him, that they might become sons by adoption. When, therefore, such a great benefit came from Christ, nothing was to be added beside this. The law was no longer a matter of servitude.
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily on Galatians 4
Here he states two objects and effects of the Incarnation, deliverance from evil and supply of good, things which none could compass but Christ. They are these; deliverance from the curse of the Law, and promotion to sonship. Fitly does he say, that we might "receive," "[be paid,]" implying that it was due; for the promise was of old time made for these objects to Abraham, as the Apostle has himself shown at great length. And how does it appear that we have become sons? he has told us one mode, in that we have put on Christ who is the Son; and now he mentions another, in that we have received the Spirit of adoption.
JeromeAD 420
EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.4
Someone might raise the problem: “If then he was made subject to the law to redeem those who were subject to the law … if he himself was not made also outside the law, he did not redeem those who had not been subject to the law.” Another, however, will scrutinize the word redeemed more closely and will say that by the “redeemed” are meant those who were once of God’s party and later ceased to be so, whereas those who were not subject to the law were not so much redeemed as purchased.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 30 [1B.4.4-5]
He says “adoption” so that we may clearly understand that the Son of God is unique. For we are sons of God through his generosity and the condescension of his mercy, whereas he is Son by nature, sharing the same divinity with the Father.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Galatians 4:5 encapsulates the dual, profound purpose of Christ's advent: to liberate humanity from the bondage and condemnation of the Mosaic Law, and to elevate believers to the full, privileged status of adopted children of God. This verse highlights the radical transformation from legal servitude to intimate familial belonging, made possible solely through divine intervention at the opportune moment in history.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Paul employs several powerful literary devices in this concise verse. The primary device is Metaphor, specifically the legal metaphor of "redemption" and "adoption." "Redeem" (exagorázō) draws on the imagery of a marketplace transaction, where a person or item is bought out of a state of bondage or possession, emphasizing the costly price involved in securing freedom. This is complemented by the legal metaphor of "adoption of sons" (huiothesía), which was a well-understood legal practice in the Greco-Roman world, signifying a formal change of status, identity, and inheritance rights. This metaphor vividly conveys the profound shift from being an outsider or a servant to becoming a full, legitimate heir. The verse also utilizes Contrast, implicitly contrasting the former state of being "under the law" (a state of bondage and minority) with the new state of "adoption of sons" (a state of freedom, maturity, and full heirship), thereby highlighting the radical transformation wrought by Christ.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Galatians 4:5 stands as a foundational statement of Pauline theology, articulating the core of the gospel: Christ's work is not merely to forgive sins, but to fundamentally alter humanity's relationship with God. It moves believers from a covenant of works, where righteousness was sought through adherence to a legal code, to a covenant of grace, where righteousness and sonship are freely bestowed through faith in Christ. This transition is from an external, conditional relationship to an internal, familial, and unconditional one. The Law, while holy, served to expose sin and demonstrate humanity's need for a Savior, ultimately leading to Christ. Christ's redemption liberates us from the Law's condemnation and its inability to justify, opening the door to a new identity as God's beloved children, co-heirs with Christ, and recipients of the Holy Spirit who testifies to this new relationship.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Galatians 4:5 offers profound comfort and assurance to every believer. It reminds us that our standing before God is not based on our performance or our ability to perfectly adhere to a set of rules, but entirely on the finished work of Christ. We are not merely forgiven, but we are brought into the most intimate of relationships, becoming God's own children. This truth should liberate us from the burden of striving for acceptance and empower us to live from a place of secure identity and belovedness. Knowing we are adopted sons and daughters means we have full access to our Heavenly Father, His resources, and His love. It transforms our understanding of prayer from a duty to a privilege, and our obedience from a legal obligation to a joyful response of love. This verse calls us to embrace the freedom and security of our new identity in Christ, living as beloved children rather than striving servants.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean to be "under the law"?
Answer: To be "under the law" refers to being subject to the Mosaic Law, particularly its demands for perfect obedience and its consequences for failure. It implies a state of legal obligation and condemnation, as the Law, though holy, could not provide the power to perfectly obey or the means of forgiveness, thus holding humanity in a state of spiritual bondage and revealing sin. Paul argues that no one can be justified by perfectly keeping the Law (Galatians 3:11).
How does "redeem" relate to Christ's work?
Answer: The Greek word exagorázō (redeem) means to "buy out" or "ransom." It signifies that Christ paid a price – His own life on the cross – to free humanity from the bondage of sin and the curse of the Law. Just as a slave might be bought out of the marketplace, believers are bought out of their former state of legal and spiritual servitude, securing their freedom and new identity in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20).
What is the significance of "adoption of sons" in this context?
Answer: "Adoption of sons" (Greek: huiothesía) is a powerful legal metaphor from the Greco-Roman world. It means being formally placed into the position of a full, legal son or heir, with all the accompanying rights, privileges, and inheritance. In the New Testament, it signifies that believers, regardless of their past status, are granted a new, intimate, and secure relationship with God as His beloved children, no longer slaves or minors, but full heirs to His spiritual blessings and eternal kingdom (Romans 8:17).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Galatians 4:5 powerfully articulates the Christ-centered fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. The "fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4) was precisely when God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to accomplish what the Law could never do. Jesus, born "under the law" Himself, perfectly fulfilled its requirements and bore its curse on the cross, becoming a "curse for us" to redeem us from it (Galatians 3:13). His redemptive work, the ultimate act of ransom, was not an end in itself, but the means by which humanity could be reconciled to God and brought into an entirely new relationship. Through His death and resurrection, Christ made it possible for us to "receive the adoption of sons," transforming our status from alienated sinners or legal minors into beloved children and co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). This divine adoption, secured by Christ, is confirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who enables us to cry out "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4:6), testifying to our new, intimate, and eternal familial bond with God through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son.