[4] "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. [6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba , Father.” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."
As someone who never knew what it was like to live under the law, the first verse and a half don't really have as much weight as they would have to a Jew, living during that time. To the Jew, the Law controlled much of their life, and their identity was interwoven with the Law. Much of who they were and how they thought about themselves was because of the Law. Thus, being redeemed out from under the law would have had a huge impact in their life.
Another thing that we probably don't fully understand is what it means to be redeemed. The word used by Paul that is translated redeem is the Greek word Exagorazo:
Definition:
1) to redeem
a) by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off
b) metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death
2) to buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use
a) to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own
The primary definition is related to the practice of attacking villages and or other tribes and taking hostages or slaves. The rescue of these hostages through either monetary exchange (ransom) or battle is what exagorazo means. The second definition under this is described as Jesus freeing the elect out from under the dominion of the Law by His death. His death was the price that He paid. Think of it as a hostage exchange. For those who are familiar with the book, "The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe", C.S.Lewis included a great example of redemption when Aslan the Lion (symbolizing Jesus) offered to be exchanged for Edward, who would have died for His actions. This is such a great example of redemption, and what Jesus has done for each of us. I like that the author, who wrote the definition above, described Jesus' death as vicarious. Webster's Dictionary defines vicarious as follows:
1 a : serving instead of someone or something else
b : that has been delegated
2 : performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another :substitutionary
Again relating this to modern literature, in the book and movie "The Hunger Games", Katniss volunteers to take her sister Prim's place in the Reaping, which was a sort of human sacrifice to maintain peace for all or her region. This is a great example of what vicarious means. She served the sentence, which was effectively a death sentence, and suffered through the Games rather than allowing her sister to go to her almost certain death. In the same way, Jesus vicariously died for each of us, taking upon Himself the suffering that we might have experienced, the condemnation for our sins, and allowing His blood and Life to pay the ransom for our life.
One could stop right here, and we would have enough to be extremely grateful to Jesus, redeeming us and setting us free from the Law. However, God is the God of abounding love, and rather than just redeeming us, He takes another step and adopts us as His own children! Paul says that we become God's child, and because of this we also become heirs!
I know I have no idea what God means when He says I am His heir, but that is what He calls us. We can somewhat understand this word through its use in our culture. A good example would be the children of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. They are all on the list of the most wealthy 100 Americans, and they are on the list because of what they inherited from their father. This is just a microcosmic understanding of what it must mean to be God's heir. The Lord doesn't just bless us with material wealth, but pours forth spiritual blessings, identity, authority, and the like. The story of the wayward son found in Luke 15, is a good example of how the Father blesses us. When His wayward son comes home he immediately calls for his robe, his ring, his sandals and a feast. These three articles are signs of his restored identity, authority and provision, and the feast is indicative of God's joy in his salvation and redemption.
In summary, I am so grateful for Jesus taking my place, and redeeming me. I am so grateful for His vicarious death. I am just beginning to grasp what it means to be His adopted child! Lord, I pray that you would help us all understand this great gift that You have provided to us in adopting us as Your children!
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