Economic systems take many forms. Capitalism. Socialism. Communism. Fascism. Laissez-faire. But none of those comes close to describing God's economy.
That's because the economic system of Almighty God makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. In His crazy economy, He pays ridiculous prices and gives priceless gifts while He gets absolutely nothing in return.
In verse five, Paul explains a critical part of God's economy. He sheds light on what God bought, where He bought it and why He bought it. And it makes absolutely no sense. That's because it is all about grace.
Grace. That ludicrous idea where something is given when it is undeserved. The apostle is telling the Galatians that Jesus' followers no longer live in a "give-to-get" or "if-I-do-this-God-will do-that" system.
That's the economy of the law. That's the economy the Judaizers have sold to them. An economy of works. A Not-So-Free Market. Do this in order to get that from God. Paul tells us that it certainly used to be like that. Until Jesus.
The apostle gives us the "why" here to explain the "what" in the previous verse. In Galatians 4:4, he tells us that at just the perfect moment, "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”
In the economy of grace, God is ALWAYS the active agent. But why did He do this? What was the reason? What's the purpose for such a costly maneuver in which He paid the price of His one and only Son?
"To redeem those who are under the law" (v5). We've seen this idea before in chapter three. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Gal 3:13).
Paul uses the Greek verb εξαγοραζω/exagorazo. This is a compound word that means from (εξ-/ex-) the market (-αγορα/-agora).
It literally means to buy a slave out of the market. As slaves, we're part of the not-so-free market. The only way we can ever leave is someone comes along to buy our freedom. As slaves on the auction block, we're in absolutely no position to place a bid.
That's where God steps in. Specifically, Jesus. His divine assignment from His heavenly Dad is to buy those of us from the slave market "who were under the law." And it came at an unspeakably high price. The death of Christ.
The currency? The blood of Jesus. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1Pet 18-19).
Jesus Himself says that He came "to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). Let's face it. This is a horrible purchase. It makes no economic sense. Well, at least none in an earthly economy. But this is how it works in God's gracious economy.
Paul tells us that this purchase has a unique purpose. "So that we might receive adoption as sons" (v5). One moment we're slaves on sale. The next moment we're sons of the Sovereign.
In the Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way: "Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage" (Gal 4:5b MSG). From slaves to sons. That just doesn't happen in the world's economy. But it does in God's.
And the apostle's use of the term "son" is anything but sexist. It's actually the exact opposite. Everyone that Christ has redeemed, male and female, now has the rights and privileges of the first born male child in the family.
Being the oldest boy in the ancient near east was the pole position. And Paul says that as followers of Jesus, we're all sitting on the pole regardless of gender.
The apostle's point is that we must live in the light of this reality. We're no longer slaves that must answer to the oppressive demands of the law.
Those impossible standards have no authority over us any longer. Jesus' ridiculous purchase in the marketplace put an end to that.
We are the recipients of radical grace. From slaves to sons. We did NOTHING to gain this status. This was all God's doing. Let our lives be a glorious response of worship, praise and thanks to the One who did so much for us!!
©2012
Jay Jennings
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