Galatians - Week 7 (3:26-4:7)
Galatians 3:26-4:7
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Galatians 3:26-4:7 〰️
Discussion Questions
Could someone read Galatians 3:26-4:7?
Why does Paul describe believers as God’s sons rather than simply as people God has forgiven? What does belonging to His family give us that forgiveness alone does not fully capture?
(Optional) Follow-up: In his book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer writes, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child.” Is that true? Explain why or why not.
Leader Note:
Forgiveness removes our guilt, but adoption brings us into God’s family as His beloved children. In Christ, believers are not merely pardoned criminals or tolerated guests; they receive a new relationship with God, full access to Him as Father, and a promised inheritance. Paul’s language of “sons” emphasizes the full legal standing and inheritance given to every believer—both men and women—in Christ. Help the group see that salvation includes not only rescue from judgment but also welcome, intimacy, security, and belonging in God’s household.
Additional Scripture: John 1:12–13; Romans 8:14–17; Ephesians 1:3–6; Ephesians 2:18–19; Hebrews 4:14–16; 1 John 3:1–2
Paul connects baptism with being “clothed with Christ.” What does this image teach us about the new identity and standing God gives believers?
(Optional) Follow-up: How should knowing that you are clothed with Christ affect the way you respond to shame, failure, and the pressure to prove yourself?
Leader Note:
Baptism does not earn salvation, but it publicly portrays the believer’s union with Christ by faith. To be clothed with Christ means that His righteousness becomes the basis of our acceptance before God and that belonging to Him becomes our defining identity. Christians do not need to construct their worth from success, approval, background, or past failure. Help the group see that our identity in Christ is both received by grace and expressed through a life increasingly shaped by Him.
Additional Scripture: Isaiah 61:10; Romans 6:3–4; Romans 13:14; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:1–11
Paul says that believers are “one in Christ,” – how does the gospel remove the spiritual superiority and division we can attach to our differences without erasing the differences themselves?
(Optional) Follow-up: How might social, cultural, economic, or political differences make it difficult for Christians to live as one family?
Leader Note:
Paul is not claiming that ethnicity, social circumstances, or sex cease to exist or become meaningless. He is teaching that none of these distinctions determines a person’s worth, access to God, or standing within His family. Every believer is equally united to Christ and receives the same promised inheritance. Gospel unity therefore rejects both superiority and forced sameness, enabling diverse people to love and serve one another as equal members of one body.
Additional Scripture: John 17:20–23; Romans 10:11–13; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Ephesians 2:13–22; Colossians 3:11–15; James 2:1–9
If you were discipling a young believer who felt that God accepted them more when they were obedient and less when they failed, how would you help them understand the difference between living as a fearful servant and living as a beloved child?
Leader Note:
Paul compares life under the law to the condition of a minor heir who does not yet enjoy the freedom of his inheritance. Before Christ, God’s people lived under the law’s supervision while awaiting the fulfillment of the promise. Christians can still fall into a slave-like mindset when fear, performance, or insecurity governs their relationship with God. The gospel produces obedience, but it is the obedience of children who know they are loved rather than servants trying to secure a place in the household.
Additional Scripture: Romans 6:15–23; Romans 8:14–17; Galatians 5:1; Colossians 2:20–23; Hebrews 12:18–24; 1 John 4:16–19
Paul says that God’s Son was “born of woman” and “born under the law” to redeem us and secure our adoption. Why were Christ’s incarnation and obedience necessary for us to become God’s children?
(Optional) Follow-up: What does the cost of our adoption reveal about both the seriousness of our condition and the depth of God’s love?
Leader Note:
The phrase “born of woman” emphasizes that the eternal Son truly became human, while “born under the law” means that He willingly entered the obligations borne by humanity. Jesus perfectly obeyed the law we failed to keep and bore its curse in our place. He did not merely release us from condemnation; He brought us into God’s household with the full rights of adopted children. Our adoption is a gift of grace, but it came at the cost of the Son entering our condition and giving Himself for our redemption.
Additional Scripture: Isaiah 9:6–7; John 1:14; Romans 5:18–19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5–8; Hebrews 2:14–18
Paul says that God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” When you feel distant from God or uncertain of His love, how can the truths of adoption and the Spirit’s presence shape the way you pray?
Leader Note:
Adoption is more than a change in legal status; it brings believers into a personal relationship with God as their Father. The Spirit does not merely inform us that we are children—He enables us to approach God with the trust and dependence expressed in the cry “Abba! Father!” Our assurance ultimately rests on God’s saving work in Christ and the Spirit’s witness, not on the strength of our emotions. Because believers are children, they are also heirs who can approach their Father with confidence and hope.
Additional Scripture: Mark 14:36; Romans 8:14–17; Ephesians 1:13–14; Ephesians 3:11–12; Hebrews 4:14–16; 1 Peter 1:3–5; 1 John 3:1