The Fullness of Time

 Greetings.

In my last post, we finished on Galatians 3, so, today we begin chapter 4.  Paul has been talking how the Law served as a guardian, but now, in Christ, the guardian is no longer needed.  In the early of chapter 4, he explains what he is talking aobut further: 

1 Let me explain. When the heir is a child, even though everything belongs to him, he is essentially no different than a slave. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time that has been appointed by his father. 3 Just like when we were children, and we were held captive by the fundamental principles of the world. 

In these first few verses of chapter 4, Paul continues this thread about guardianship and does a compare and contrast of mankind’s condition under the Law (the guardian) with our condition under grace.  

In verses 1-3 he discusses our condition under the Law. He continues talking about the sons as heirs to everything, but at the same time, while they were still children, they had no real power.  As children, they had guardians and trustees, appointed by their fathers, who acted in their interest.  Upon coming of age, the sons would receive the full benefits of being master, even though he had been technically master all along.  

One certainly does not think of the future master as a slave, even though, as a child he is under authority like a slave. We should remember that Paul is saying all of this within the context of comparing the Promise and the Law. Underlying all of this is the idea that the Law makes us slaves, while the Promise offers us freedom and grace. 

The Law was the guardian. Then, at the fullness of time, the coming of Jesus, the Law ceases to be guardian.  We reach adulthood and receive the full benefits of being the heir.  

In verse 3, Paul seems to shift gears just a little bit.  He is talking to a largely Gentile audience in the churches in Galatia.  While the Jewish brothers had been under the guardianship of the Law, the Galatians, as Gentiles, had been largely under the guardianship of the world, and its principals.  They had been enslaved to its forces. Jesus had set them free from those forces, but now, the Judaizers were trying to bind a new slavery on them.

Paul uses the Greek phrase, Στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (stoicheia tou kosmou) Στοιχεῖα, according to the Lexicon can mean a number of things, 1) basic components of something, elements, 1a) heavenly bodies, 1b) fundamental principles, or 2) transcendent powers that are in control over events in this world, elemental spirits. τοῦ κόσμου translates to “of the world”, so together these translate to something along the line of “fundamental principles of the world.”  There are many different ideas about what Paul means by this phrase, but the one that makes the most sense to me is the idea that prior to knowing Christ we were all living under the basic principles of the world and therefore, guided by sin. 

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a letter about freedom, freedom from sin, as well as, freedom from the trappings of legalistic religion.  We are often held captive by one or the other, or both. Paul is spelling all of this out for them, as plainly as he can, so that they can escape the trappings of legalism and truly enjoy freedom in Christ.