Section 3:26–4:7

A child of God is not a slave of the law

In the previous section, Paul talked about people from a Jewish background. In this section, he returned to focus on the non-Jews whom he had talked about earlier.

This section has two parts. In the first one (3:26 to 3:29), Paul reminded the non-Jewish Christians in Galatia that they had become children of God through faith. When people become children of God, there is no longer a difference between Jew or non-Jew, male or female, slave or free. He further pointed out that once people have become children of God, they are entitled to all the blessings of the new life in Christ.

In the second part (4:1 to 4:7), Paul compared the time under the law to a time of slavery. But when Christ came, he freed people from slavery. The time under the law ended. So believers in Jesus Christ are God’s sons. They are not slaves to the law. It is no longer necessary to follow the law.

Some other examples for a heading for this section are:

By faith we are sons of God and are rescued from the law
-or-
You are not slaves but children of God
-or-
No longer prisoners to the law but sons

Paragraph 3:26–29

3:26

In 3:26, Paul further explained the faith in Christ that he had talked about in 3:24–25. He introduced this further explanation with a Greek conjunction that most English versions translate as “for.” Here is another way to translate this conjunction:

So (New International Version)

The Berean Standard Bible has not translated this conjunction, and some other versions, such as the Good News Translation and God’s Word, also do not translate it. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either. Connect 3:26 to 3:25b in a way that is natural in your language.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus: There are two ways to interpret how the phrase in Christ Jesus fits in this clause:

(1) It modifies the whole clause. This means that the believer is united with Christ and this makes him a son/child. For example:

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. (New International Version (2011))

(New International Version (2011), NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It modifies through faith. It states that the object of faith is Jesus Christ. For example:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Here Paul used the phrase in Christ as in other passages to mean “in union with Christ.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

In/Through Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith ?in him? .
-or-
All of you who are united with Christ Jesus are sons of God because you believe ?in Christ? .

sons of God: This phrase refers to all people who believe in Christ. They are both male and female. After a person has believed in Christ, God considers him as his child.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

children of God (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
sons and daughters of God

through faith: Some other ways to translate through faith are:

because of your faith (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
because you believe ?in Jesus?
-or-
by believing (God’s Word)

A similar phrase also occurs in 3:14d. See also faith, Meaning 1 in the Glossary.

Christ Jesus: In the phrase Christ Jesus, Christ is his title and Jesus is his personal name. One way to show this is:

the Christ/Messiah Jesus

In 1:1c, Paul used the phrase “Jesus Christ.” Both Christ Jesus and “Jesus Christ” refer to the same person. Either order may be used in your translation.

This phrase also occurs in 3:14a. You should translate it here as you did there.

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