4:3–7
In 4:3–7, Paul explained the meaning of his illustration in 4:1–2. In the same way that a future heir is surrounded by guardians and is like a slave when he is a child, Jewish and Gentile believers had been slaves of sin. God the Father decided the right time to change this situation. This happened when he sent his Son. After God’s Son had redeemed us, believers became sons and received the full inheritance as sons. They were no longer slaves.
4:3a
So also, when we were children: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So also, when we were children introduces Paul’s explanation of his illustration in 4:1–2. In his explanation, Paul compared Jewish and Gentile believers to the heir in 4:1–2. He referred to their lives before they believed as a time when they were like children. He compared their lives at that time to the life of an heir when he is a child.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
That is how it was with us. We were like children (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
It is the same for us. We were once like children (New Century Version)
-or-
And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children (New Living Translation (2004))
we: There are two ways to interpret the pronoun we here:
(1) It refers to all believers. It refers to both Jewish and non-Jewish believers and should be an inclusive we.
(2) It refers to Jewish believers only and should be an exclusive we.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as the majority of commentators do. Here Paul was no longer talking about Jewish slavery under the law of Moses. He was talking about a more general slavery to the “basic principles of the world” (4:3b).
Also in support of this interpretation is the fact that in 4:9, Paul rebuked the Gentiles for returning to the basic principles of the world. Therefore, the Gentiles must have been included in we who had been slaves to those principles in 4:3b.
4:3b
Before Jewish and Gentile believers believed in Christ, they were like children. They were the same as slaves who are under the authority of a master.
we were enslaved under: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as we were enslaved under can also be translated as “we were slaves to/of.”
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
we were in slavery under (New International Version)
-or-
we were slaves to (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
We were…ruled by (Contemporary English Version)
the basic principles of the world: There are two main ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the basic principles of the world :
(1) It refers to the rules, laws, customs, and principles of this world. For example:
the…rules of this world (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
(2) It refers to spiritual beings. For example:
the ruling spirits of the universe (Good News Translation)
(New International Version (2011), Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (1996))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
customs and laws in this world
-or-
the customs/teachings of our ancestors
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