Galatians 4:1-5. “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Paul continues to press the point that we no longer live under the Law. Since Christ came and performed the work God sent Him to do, we who believe in Him have received the adoption of sons. That is, we are heirs jointly with Christ, beloved children of God who have come out from under the authority of the Law (governors and tutors) and have been given instead the position of adopted heirs with Christ.
We have been redeemed. Bought back. The price of our liberty was paid at Calvary through the death of Jesus Christ. Our adoption as sons is possible because the price of redemption was paid, and because Jesus did not stay in the tomb but rose triumphant over the law of sin and death.
Prior to the coming of Christ, both Jews and Gentiles were “in bondage under the elements of the world” (verse 3). Elements of this world refers to the fact that the unconverted mind is subject to the Prince of the Power of the Air, Satan, who is busy about the work of blinding men’s eyes to the truth of the Gospel.
Made of a woman refers to the humanity of Christ; fully God, fully man, conceived not of a man and a woman, but by the Holy Spirit.
Made under (the) law: There is no artice (the) in the original text. This statement is not talking about the Mosaic Law, but instead refers to the simple fact that Christ was subject, as a man, to the law under which He and all other Israelites lived. He was also subject to the same natural laws that all mankind experiences: Hunger, thirst, the need for sleep, and so on. His experience on earth was like that of so many others in His time–subject to Rome, and living under bondage to Rome.
That is why Paul could say, in I Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Jesus lived as a man, yet He was wholly God. He understands our struggles because He, Himself, was tempted by Satan. But He did not succumb, and He has made it possible for us, as well, to be strong enough to resist the lures that Satan casts out.
Wholly man, wholly God.
Linda's Bible Study 