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Galatians 4

Galatians 4: Abba, Father

Galatians 4 reveals believers as adopted children of God who cry 'Abba, Father,' contrasting law and promise through Hagar and Sarah - sung by Psalm Selah.

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Galatians 4: Abba, Father
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Galatians 4Study this chapter → · World English Bible · public domain

Galatians 4: Abba, Father

Galatians 4 continues Paul’s argument from the previous chapter, moving from the courtroom language of justification to the family language of adoption. Believers who were once held in bondage under the law and “the elemental principles of the world” have, in the fullness of time, become sons and heirs of God, sealed by the Spirit’s own cry of “Abba, Father.” Paul then turns pastoral, pleading with the Galatians not to return to their former bondage, before closing with an allegory drawn from Abraham’s two sons - Ishmael, born to the slave Hagar, and Isaac, born to the free woman Sarah - picturing the difference between a covenant of slavery and a covenant of promise.

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Quick Answer

Galatians 4 teaches that believers have moved from slavery under the law to adoption as God’s own children, sealed by the Spirit’s cry of “Abba, Father,” and pictures the difference between law and promise through the allegory of Hagar and Sarah.

About Galatians 4

Galatians 4 opens with the picture of a child heir who, though he will one day own everything, is no different from a slave while he remains under guardians and stewards - “until the day appointed by the father.” Paul applies this directly to his readers: before Christ, they were held in bondage under “the elemental principles of the world,” whether that meant the Mosaic law for Jewish believers or pagan religious systems for Gentile ones. Then, in a phrase that has become central to Christian reflection on the incarnation, Paul writes that “when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.”

The proof of that adoption is experiential, not merely legal. Because believers are children, Paul says, “God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” “Abba” is the intimate Aramaic address a child uses for a father - the same word Jesus uses in Gethsemane in Mark 14:36, and the same cry Paul says every adopted believer now shares. No longer a bondservant but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

The chapter’s tone shifts sharply in verse 8, as Paul expresses alarm that the Galatians are drifting back toward “the weak and miserable elemental principles” they once escaped, observing “days, months, seasons, and years” as though ritual observance could secure their standing. He appeals to their earlier affection for him - reminding them that they once would have “plucked out their eyes” for him - and confesses he is again in labor pains “until Christ is formed in you.”

Paul closes with an allegory built from Genesis: Abraham had two sons, Ishmael by the slave Hagar “according to the flesh,” and Isaac by the free woman Sarah “through promise.” Paul reads these two women and their sons as standing for two covenants - one from Mount Sinai, bearing children into bondage, and the heavenly Jerusalem, which is free and “the mother of us all.” Believers, like Isaac, are children of promise, and Paul’s conclusion is direct: “we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.”

Full Chapter Text

Galatians 4 (World English Bible)

  1. But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a bondservant, though he is lord of all,
  2. but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father.
  3. So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world.
  4. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
  5. that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.
  6. And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
  7. So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
  8. However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.
  9. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
  10. You observe days, months, seasons, and years.
  11. I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.
  12. I beg you, brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong,
  13. but you know that because of weakness in the flesh I preached the Good News to you the first time.
  14. That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you didn’t despise nor reject; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
  15. What was the blessing you enjoyed? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.
  16. So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
  17. They zealously seek you in no good way. No, they desire to alienate you, that you may seek them.
  18. But it is always good to be zealous in a good cause, and not only when I am present with you.
  19. My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you -
  20. but I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
  21. Tell me, you that desire to be under the law, don’t you listen to the law?
  22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman.
  23. However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise.
  24. These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar.
  25. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
  26. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
  27. For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren who don’t bear. Break out and shout, you who don’t travail. For the desolate women have more children than her who has a husband.”
  28. Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
  29. But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
  30. However, what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the servant and her son, for the son of the servant will not inherit with the son of the free woman.”
  31. So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.

World English Bible. Public domain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main message of Galatians 4?

Galatians 4 teaches that believers have moved from slavery under the law to adoption as God’s own children, sealed by the Spirit’s cry of “Abba, Father.” Paul illustrates this shift with the allegory of Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, showing the difference between a covenant of bondage and a covenant of promise.

Who wrote Galatians 4?

The Apostle Paul wrote Galatians, one of four letters - alongside Romans and 1-2 Corinthians - universally accepted by scholars as authentically Pauline. He wrote to churches he had personally planted in the Roman province of Galatia, addressing a crisis over whether Gentile believers needed to keep the Mosaic law.

When was Galatians written?

Galatians is typically dated to between AD 48 and 55. Scholars who hold the “South Galatian” view place it earlier, around AD 48, shortly before the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15; those who hold the “North Galatian” view place it later, during Paul’s third missionary journey.

What does “Abba, Father” mean in Galatians 4:6?

“Abba” is an Aramaic term of family intimacy, closer to “Papa” than a formal title. Galatians 4:6 says God sends the Spirit of His Son into believers’ hearts crying it, proof of their adoption as true children rather than servants. Paul uses the identical phrase in Romans 8:15.

What does “the fullness of the time” mean in Galatians 4:4?

“The fullness of the time” refers to the moment in history God had appointed for Christ’s incarnation - after the giving of the law and the long preparation of Israel’s history, God sent His Son “born of a woman, born under the law” to redeem those under the law and secure their adoption as children.

What is the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4?

Paul reads Abraham’s two sons - Ishmael, born to the slave Hagar “according to the flesh,” and Isaac, born to the free woman Sarah “through promise” - as picturing two covenants: law-based slavery from Mount Sinai versus freedom in the promise. Believers, like Isaac, are children of promise rather than of the slave woman.

Why does Paul call the law a form of bondage in Galatians 4?

Paul is not condemning the law itself but describing what life under the law feels like apart from Christ - like an heir who is still treated as a slave under guardians before he comes of age. Once faith in Christ arrives and adoption is secured, returning to law-keeping as a means of standing before God is a return to that childhood bondage.

How does Galatians 4 connect to Genesis and Romans?

Galatians 4:22-31 draws directly on Genesis 16 and 21, the accounts of Hagar’s son Ishmael and Sarah’s son Isaac. Paul’s language of adoption and the Spirit’s cry of “Abba, Father” also appears nearly word-for-word in Romans 8:15-17, where Paul makes the same case for believers as heirs of God.

How many verses are in Galatians 4?

Galatians 4 contains 31 verses.

Reading Plans Featuring This Chapter

Sources & Further Reading

  1. The Bible Project: Galatians Overview — bibleproject.com
  2. NET Bible Notes on Galatians 4 — bible.org
  3. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians (NIGTC) — Eerdmans
  4. Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (1535) — public domain

About Psalm Selah

Psalm Selah is the cinematic indie-folk project of Psalmody Press, a male and female duo bringing Scripture into the sonic world of contemporary indie - fingerpicked acoustic guitar, cello-led strings, brushed drums, mandolin shimmer, and two voices used as a per-song lever (a raw male lead, an ethereal female lead, harmony, duo, or solo). The duo works in the tradition of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire,” Hozier, Bon Iver, Sleeping at Last, Sandra McCracken, and Andrew Peterson, with Hans Zimmer’s intimate-to-cinematic dynamic range. Their signature compositional move is build choreography - every song-structure transition is locked 1:1 to an instrumentation event, so the song’s shape is its instrumentation order. They are setting every chapter of the Bible to song, with particular attention to the wisdom literature, the parables of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, the apocalyptic books, and the chapters of Scripture where careful, lyrical attention rewards close listening.

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Published: 2026-07-06 · Last updated: 2026-07-06 Written by: Reid Wender, Editorial Director, Psalmody Press