Galatians 3:26

This morning we are only going to be focusing on one verse of Scripture.  In fact, we are really going to narrow our focus to just three English words; which in Greek are only two words.  “Great, we can be out of here in 5 minutes.”  Well, it may take a little longer than that.  It is a big verse and two really significant words.  So, it will take our normal time this morning. “Rats, I was anxious to get to the Easter eggs.”  I guarantee we will be out in plenty of time to find all the Easter eggs. 

Anyway the one verse we are going to study is Galatians 3:26. 

Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

The three English words which we are going to zoom in on are, “sons of God.”  The two words in Greek they are huoi theou. 

What I want to do in this sermon is make you really glad that you are a son of God.  What would it take to make you ecstatic about you being a son of God? I want to give it my best shot.  This is good stuff. I want you to connect to being the houi theou; sons of God.

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Let’s begin with some historical motivation. 

Exodus 4:21-23  The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.  Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'"

Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

Down through the pages of Scripture God treated the nation of Israel as his son.  God has always wanted to be the loving Father of his children.  One of the most common images of God is father.  The point Paul is making in Galatians is now the Gentiles can become the precious children of God.  Gentiles, through their faith in Christ, can now be his children.  Gentiles now step into the stream of history; into the story of God.   Now, we, who are Gentiles, are tied into the heritage of the people of God.

Do you ever think much about heritage?   How many have gone back and looked up some of your relatives; checked out the family tree? Dr. Timen Stiddem came to America in 1654.  Here is a website for Stidhams. That’s cool I have a heritage as a Stidham. 

But that’s really nothing compared to the heritage I inherit by faith.  Abraham is my great-great-great (200 times) grandfather.  I am related to King David and the prophet Jeremiah and Daniel in the lion’s den is a great (couple hundred) uncle.  And, most importantly, Jesus is my older brother! 

Is it working?  Are you feeling ecstatic about being a son of God? You are have stepped into the story of God.  “Not yet, Tim.  Heritage is cool, but I’m not to ecstatic yet.”  Let me keep going. 

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Let’s talk about inheritance. Maybe that will jazz you.  Last week I made the statement that there are no females in Christ.  The reason I said that was not because I don’t like females.  I am rather fond of females; a couple in particular.  But it was because of the inheritance customs of Bible times. Typically, the sons got all the stuff when the father died; oldest son the most and then other sons; but only males.  Paul in this amazing passage is saying all who have faith in Christ are sons; not simply children but inheritable boys!  Let me sneak ahead in Galatians to the next chapter and you will see what I mean.

Galatians 4:6-7   Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."  So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Wow this is spectacular.  Because you all, including you females and including you Gentiles, are now sons by faith, God then gave you the Spirit and it is his Spirit in your heart that allows you to say, “Daddy.” You aren’t a slave anymore, you are a son and as a son you are an heir!  I’ll come back to the “Daddy” part again later.  But note the heir part!  I have to connect this passage with 2 Corinthians 5.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

As sons we are going to inherit a new earth in which we will live in a new body and this inheritance is guaranteed because of the Spirit living in our hearts!  Because I am son of God I have a will which promises that I am going to get a heavenly body to live forever with my father and his family. 

Is that beginning to get the ecstatic juices flowing?  Are you really glad, yet, that you are a son of God?  “Well, I am getting there.”  Well, I’m just getting warmed up.

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Let’s go back to that “Daddy” thing.  Let’s read some in Romans 8.

Romans 8:15-16  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Abba is the familiar way a small child might speak to his loving father.  It is daddy, or papa.  It is this close relationship.  This is not FATHER and CHILDREN.   This is Daddy and kids.  Or whatever nickname you may have for your child.  I used Hoos Foos. I called several of my kids when they were little, Hoos Foos.  Can anyone name the book that Hoos Foos came from? 

TOO MANY DAVES  by Dr. Seuss

Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave?
Had twenty-three sons and she named them all Dave?

Well, she did.  And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one and calls out, "Yoo-Hoo!
Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get ONE.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!

This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn
And one of them Hoos-Foos.  And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot.  And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack.  And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy.  And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt.  Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy.  And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill.  And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy.  And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters.  And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate...
But she didn't do it.  And now it's too late.

We are all not named Dave. Some of us are, but not all of us. God knows all of your names. He has a precious nickname for each of us!  What does that mean?  He loves and will care for you.  The God of all the universe has a nickname for you and will do whatever it takes to help you be who he sees that you are made to be.  Like any parent, it is not all sugar and candy, but rather what will help you to grow up in him.

Am I getting close?  Are you ecstatic about being a kid of the Abba, yet?  God loves you as no Father has ever loved a son before.  He is your heavenly father and he will take care of you!  Ecstatic, yet? I still have more.  You want some more or is that enough?  Here is some more. 

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This is really where Paul is going with this verse.  We are family.  Let me read our verse in context with the next couple verses. 

Galatians 3:26-28  You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Notice this; four times in three verses Paul says we are “in Christ.” (counting the with).  Here is the point.  We are all part of one family.  Those who are sons of God are all part of the same family, regardless of race, how much money you have or don’t or social standing or whether you are male or female, we are all one in Christ.  We are all part of this amazing family of God!    

How powerful is the appeal to be a part of a family?  My son, Tony and his wife, Zandree, are in the process of adopting a 12 year-old girl named Karina.  Let me see if I can tell you what Karina told her counselor several weeks ago.  She had spend some time already with Tony’s family when her counselor asked Karina, “If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?”  Her answer was quick and clear, “I would want Tony and Zee to adopt me.”  If you could have anything you want; a million bucks or be a part of a family, Karina and you and I would take being a part of a loving and caring and supportive and nurturing and affirming and life-giving family!  

That is what we have in Christ!  That is what we should be here in our church.  That is how we treat each other, and stand up for each other, and defend each other, and fight for each other, and love each other.  We are the family of God! 

That makes me ecstatic to be a son of God!  We are all one in Christ! 

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Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

There is an interesting word that is not translated here in this verse.  There is actually a “the” right before “faith in Christ Jesus”.   It should say:

Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus.

“What difference does that make?”  The the means this faith Paul talks about encompasses our entire response to God. 

1) Faith is knowing we are part of the story of God.  It means we intellectually acknowledge Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.  It understands God made a promise to a guy named Abraham 4,000 years ago that came true in the death of Jesus.  Faith is knowing (upstairs) we are part of the heritage of that promise.

2) Faith is anticipating the inheritance. We must believe Jesus was the Messiah and that he died upon a cross.  We must also believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  That is why we are here this morning, it is after-all Easter.  Faith means we join Jesus in his resurrection.  Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead we know that one day we will be resurrected to a new Jesus kind of body.  Faith is anticipating the promise of the eternal inheritance! 

3) Faith is trusting like children.  The the in faith means more than knowing Christ was resurrected, it is how we live.  It includes trust.  Being a son of God means we trust our Dad.  Abba is going to take care of me.  When he says he will do something, we trust he will do it.  Faith is trust, everyday in everyway.

4) Faith is obedience. It is being born into the family.  This is so cool.  Look at the next verse after Galatians 3:26, verse 27. 

Galatians 3:26-27   You are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus,  27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Faith is responding to God in baptism.  It is wanting to be born into his precious family.  It is being baptized into the family of Christ.  Isn’t that a wonderful picture?  Baptism is the new birth into the family of God!

The faith in Christ Jesus wraps all that up.  It is belief.  It is anticipation.  It is trust.  It is obedience.  

That was my best shot at getting you ecstatic about being a son of God.  Was I successful?  Do you want to be a son of God more than anything else in the world?  You can be a son of God through the faith in Christ Jesus! 

Los Alamos Church of Christ
April 12, 2009