Galatians 4:1

GAL. 4

The argument of this whole chapter is a continuation of Paul's teaching on the abolition of the Law of Moses and the replacement of the entire system by Christianity. First, he compared the Law to the conditions governing a person not yet come of age, as something sure to be replaced by another arrangement later on (Galatians 4:1-7). Secondly, he pointed out the restrictive and onerous nature of the Law itself, comparing it to slavery or bondage (Galatians 4:8-11). Next, he reminded them of the circumstances of their conversion, their love for him, and warned them against the evil men who were seducing them away from the faith (Galatians 4:12-20); and finally, he appealed to an allegory based upon the life of Abraham, which was climaxed by "Cast out the handmaiden and her son," meaning, in the analogy, "Christianity and Judaism are not compatible, or reconcilable; and it is the Law of Moses that has to go." (Galatians 4:21-31).

But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)

It is plain, as Ridderbos suggested, that Paul's language here is not technical. "He is not thinking of a special legal procedure,"[1] but using an illustration that would be appropriate in any society. No child of whatever culture is to be trusted with an inheritance until the age of responsibility. The word here rendered "child" really "means babe,"[2] as Paul used the same word in 1 Corinthians 3:1 for a child needing a milk diet; but the evident meaning here is simply that of "a minor." As McGarvey noted, "In this paragraph Paul resumes the metaphor of Galatians 3:24ff, but from a slightly different point of view."[3] There it is the pedagogue which is stressed; here it is the child himself.

[1] Herman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 152.

[2] R. Alan Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p 112

[3] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 271.