Galatians 4:7 - Your heir-ness...

"Thus no longer you are a slave but rather a son.  But if a son, also an heir through God."

-The other thing about sons as opposed to slaves, besides the fact that the master is their daddy, is that they are in fact heirs of his estate.  Inheritance follows sonship, the line of actual descendants.  This is the main point which Paul has been trying to prove since chapter 3, that we are heirs in the household of faith, legitimate beneficiaries of the promises which God made to Abraham - justification by faith, Holy Spirit by faith - because we are (now) descendants of Abraham - through faith (in Christ).  God made the promise to Abraham and his Seed - Who was Christ - and when we belong to Christ, when we put our faith in Him and are put into Him, we become Abraham’s heirs, heirs of the promises.  ALL are heirs who are in Christ - Jew AND Greek, slave AND free, male AND female.  All that matters is in Christ, and all - and everything - that matters is being in Christ Jesus.

-At this point one might be interested to know that what is in play is something more akin to the Roman law of inheritance, as opposed to the Jewish law.  With the Jews, inheritance was only for sons (unless there was no son), and even then it was unequal.  Under Roman law, all the children, sons AND daughters, inherited alike.

-None of this would be true of a slave, however.  Not only is the master not his daddy, a slave owns nothing.  A slave gets nothing, not one bit of the family inheritance.  Not in this situation.  The only way a slave gets part of the inheritance is if the owner makes him a son.  Which is precisely the point...!

-Note the change from plural to singular in this verse.  Everything Paul has been saying has been in the plural - our hearts, you all are sons, we are adopted, we were children, you all belong to Christ, you all are one in Christ.  All plural.  Now suddenly, for this one verse, Paul switches tracks and employs the singular.  You - individually - are not a slave: you are free!  You - each of you - are a son: you don’t have to earn your Daddy’s love and favor anymore!  Your heir-ness... You are an heir, every one of you: there is no longer good deed which you need to do in order to try and earn salvation!  Each and every one of you!  You, and you, and you, and you - it’s as if Paul is pointing his finger individually at each person in the audience, calling us out, driving home the point that all of this that is in Christ is mine if I am personally in Him.  All this is in fact true of me!  It is both fantastic privilege and tremendous responsibility, something to be thoroughly enjoyed as well as something to be stewarded and treasured with both care and humility.  Read on...