God's Unconditional Love · Day 3
Galatians 4:4-9 — a devotion
Galatians 4
- 4때가 차매 하나님이 그 아들을 보내사 여자에게서 나게 하시고 율법 아래 나게 하신 것은But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
- 5율법 아래 있는 자들을 속량하시고 우리로 아들의 명분을 얻게 하려 하심이라To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.
- 6너희가 아들인 고로 하나님이 그 아들의 영을 우리 마음 가운데 보내사 아바 아버지라 부르게 하셨느니라And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
- 7그러므로 네가 이 후로는 종이 아니요 아들이니 아들이면 하나님으로 말미암아 유업을 이을 자니라Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
- 8그러나 너희가 그 때에는 하나님을 알지 못하여 본질상 하나님이 아닌 자들에게 종 노릇 하였더니Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.
- 9이제는 너희가 하나님을 알 뿐더러 하나님의 아신 바 되었거늘 어찌하여 다시 약하고 천한 초등 학문으로 돌아가서 다시 저희에게 종 노릇 하려 하느냐But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
KJV and World English Bible — Public Domain · 개역한글 ⓒ Korean Bible Society
Background
Paul wrote this letter to the churches in the region of Galatia. At the time, Judaizing teachers had come into the Galatian churches, teaching that Gentile believers also had to keep the law in order to be saved. Paul pushes back strongly, insisting that salvation is given not by works of the law but by faith alone. Verses 4-9 of chapter 4 form the theological heart of the letter; following the earlier explanation of the relationship between the law and the promise, Paul presents the concrete event of God sending His Son. In compressed form, he shows the drama of salvation — the shift from slavery under the law to the freedom of adoption — and urges his readers not to return to the bondage of the law.
Reflection questions: 1. What difference could it make in my daily life that God has made me His child, not a slave? 2. Do I feel close enough to God to call Him Abba, Father? If not, what barriers might be in the way? 3. What shift of heart do I need today to approach God out of a child's love rather than a legalistic sense of duty?
Today's reflection
In Galatians 4, Paul explains the decisive moment when God's love appeared in concrete action. When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem us from the law. Through this, our status changed from slaves to sons. The heart of it all is the adoption in verse 5.
God did not merely make us forgiven sinners — He made us His children. Verse 6 says that God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father, which shows that our relationship with God goes beyond a legal arrangement into an intimate family bond. The word Abba is the tender name a little child uses to call his father.
Simply put, God is not someone who watches us from far away — He has come close enough for us to call Him Daddy. Through Jesus we became God's children, and this identity comes not from our effort but from God's love. Today, remember your identity as God's beloved child.
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