Galatians 4

Paul illustrates that an heir, while a child, is no better than a slave, but “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son... to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Now, as sons, believers have the Spirit crying “Abba! Father!” and are heirs, no longer slaves. He pleads with the Galatians not to turn back to bondage, recalls their former love for him, and, in an allegory, contrasts Hagar and Sarah, slavery under the law versus the freedom of the promise, concluding, “we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”