Jonah Albrecht

1st Sunday After Christmas

December 29th, 2024

Galatians 4:1-7

Today You Woke Up Rich

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

INJ who’s birth has set us free to be children of God, DFR:

On Christmas Eve in 2002, Jack Whittaker bought a lottery ticket that would change his life. When he went to bed that night, he knew that he had matched the numbers to the Powerball jackpot. But when he woke up, that is when he finally realized just how rich he had become. Not only did he match all the numbers, but he was the only one to win the jackpot. That netted him a then-record, 315 million dollars. After taxes, it was 113.4 million. Still a life-changing amount of money.

When you went to bed on Christmas night, did you know that you were rich too? When you woke up the next day, did it cross your mind that you had just received something that makes a Powerball jackpot seem like pocket change? If not, you really should have. At the right time God sent His Son to put Himself under the Law so that you can receive an inheritance worth more than all the wealth in the world. It is for that reason Today You Wake Up Rich. But it isn’t just today, every day you are rich in Christ.

Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians in an effort to save the Gospel from becoming corrupted in that church. The people were being told that believing in Jesus wasn’t enough to save you. You also had to keep the Mosaic Law, like avoiding unclean foods and being circumcised. Now, this doesn’t seem that unreasonable at face value, but what it really does is misunderstands the original purpose of God’s Law. The Law God gave to the Israelites was never meant to save them. It was not to be on the same plane as the Gospel. It was meant to point them to their Savior.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

A child of a wealthy Jewish family was often put under the watch of a slave who would serve as his guardian and manager. This was to prepare the child for his future life, taking care of his education and development. Yes, that child was still a son of the father and eventual heir. Until that time the father set comes to pass, that child is just a child, and has no more advantage than a slave – because he does not receive the inheritance.

The Law of God worked in the same manner. The lives of the Israelites were guided to the T. They were told what to eat, what to drink, when to sacrifice, what to sacrifice, what not to do, how to remain ritually clean, etc. Until the day came that God had set to bring to pass their inheritance, the promise of the Messiah, they were stuck under this Law. They would be constantly reminded of their sin, failure, and dependency on that promised inheritance – the Savior.

The same is true of the Gentiles. They didn’t have the Mosaic Law like the Jews did, but Paul writes to the Romans, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. The Law Paul speaks of here is the moral law that God wrote on every human being’s heart. This is what tells us it is wrong to murder, steal, lie, rebel against your parents, etc.

Apart from Christ, whether it is the Law of Moses or the Moral Law of God, it enslaves all people. It calls you out when you have done something wrong and demands that you do something to make up for it. The Law can train, and threaten, and punish, but can never do more than make you a slave. It cannot save you or make you a son.

It doesn’t sound like you are very rich, does it? That’s because the Law shows us how broke we are apart from our Savior. We have nothing to our name, but instead completely in debt towards God because of our sin.

And yet, as I mentioned earlier, Paul wrote Galatians to save the Gospel in that church. To remind them what the Gospel means for them. So he goes on to say, . 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Paul sets up the Gospel for his listeners perfectly. First, he shows them how helpless they are when seeking salvation through the Law, even a part of it. All it does for them is make them slaves. Now, he shows how Jesus has taken the requirements of the Law and fulfilled them in their place, giving them a free pass to the inheritance as a son, no longer a slave.

How did He do this? In the first place, it began with His birth. Jesus was born of a woman, but not with a human father. This fulfilled the first Gospel promise God ever made in Scripture, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed.” It was necessary for Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary so that He did not inherit Adam’s sin.

Secondly, He was born under the law. This might not stand out to us much, but it is incredible on the part of our Savior. Imagine if you, as a full-grown adult, had to go back and live with your parents, under their rules. They even told you when to go to bed and when to eat. It is hardly something any of us would be jumping to do. And yet, we see Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, the LORD over all do just that. He subjected Himself to the very Law that He established – The Law of Moses and the Moral Law.

Why? So that He could fulfill every demand that the Law makes. Every time you and I have failed to meet those demands, Jesus submitted Himself under the Law so that His perfect record could cover your failure and mine. While our obedience is flawed and ruined by sin, His was flawless. Jesus rendered complete and perfect compliance, and then, on top of all that, He allowed Himself to be judged as guilty by both Roman and Jewish Law. He allowed Himself to pay the price our sins deserved…so that we might receive the adoption as sons.

In ancient times, the inheritance passed through the oldest son. Through Christ, you, me, and all others who call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior are sons of God. Paul writes in chapter 3 of this letter, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Because of Jesus the penalty of our sin is taken away. Their staining mark on your record is expunged. Yes, we are still under the Law in that we sin and it convicts us of our sin. No more do we have to seek to make up for the wrong things we do through deeds of the Law. You are a son, and an heir of God’s free grace and mercy. God’s forgiveness is yours because of Jesus.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Our sin separated us from God. It made us afraid of the punishment that we deserved. But that all ends with Jesus. Rather than fearing the presence of God, the Holy Spirit has taught your faith to see the Almighty, He who sees all that we do, good and bad, as our dear Father.

We’re not slaves who are driven by the threat of punishment. We are heirs of the richest kingdom that ever has or ever will exist. At this very moment, you have an eternal inheritance in your hands. Because of Jesus, you will live forever. Your soul will never die, your body will live again. Paul told the Corinthians: All things are yours, whether . . . the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. Forget the Lottery, you already own the world – because God uses all things for your good. And if that were not enough, God says you will inherit a special place in the world to come.

Then why don’t we always feel like we’re rich? Why is it that we feel neglected or downtrodden? It’s not because we don’t have the inheritance. Sometimes we lose sight of the inheritance that is ours through faith in Christ Jesus. We see the problems arising in our lives and view them through our limited sight and not the eyes of God. Whether you feel the richness or not; whether you feel the love of God or not; whether you feel His forgiveness or not, it remains yours because of your Savior. That will never change.

Do you know how Jack Whittaker’s life went after winning the Powerball? It wasn’t good. He lost two family members, one to a drug overdose, he was robbed multiple times, got into legal trouble, and ended up more broke than he was to begin with. At the end of it all, he said that he wished he had ripped the ticket up instead.

Not so with our inheritance: We are rich now. When Jesus returns, things get even better! Awaiting us is a rich inheritance of eternal joy that words cannot describe! That is why Today You Woke Up Rich. And not just today, but every day into eternity. Amen.