Galatians 4:5 · Bible study
Galatians 4:5 Commentary: Redemption and the Gift of Adoption as Sons
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegetical study of Galatians 4:5: Christ's redemption from the law and the reception of adoption as children.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Christ's redemption from the law's curse is the foundation for believers to receive the full status of adopted children of God.
- Key words: Exagorazō (redeem, to buy off), huiothesia (adoption as sons, a legal transfer into sonship), apolambanō (to receive what is promised or due).
- Main debate: Whether Old Testament believers already possessed the status of adopted children or received it only after Christ's work was completed.
- Theological theme: Redemption and adoption are twinned acts of grace: the first releases from bondage, the second grants belonging and inheritance.
- Best use: This verse anchors the assurance of salvation in Christ's objective work rather than subjective feelings; ideal for sermons on identity, security, and the transition from law to gospel.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
WEB World English Bible 2000
that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.
KJV King James Version 1769
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
that those under law he may redeem, that the adoption of sons we may receive;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
That he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Para que redimiese á los que estaban debajo de la ley, á fin de que recibiésemos la adopción de hijos.
para redimir os que estavam sob a Lei, a fim de que nós recebêssemos a adoção como filhos.
afin qu’ il rachetât ceux qui étaient sous la loi, afin que nous reçussions l’ adoption.
auf daß er die, so unter dem Gesetz waren, erlöste, daß wir die Kindschaft empfingen.
Opdat Hij degenen, die onder de wet waren, verlossen zou, en opdat wij de aanneming tot kinderen verkrijgen zouden.
per riscattare quelli che erano sotto la legge, affinché noi ricevessimo l’adozione di figliuoli.
Aby tych, którzy pod zakonem byli, wykupił, żebyśmy prawa przysposobienia za synów dostąpili.
чтобы искупить подзаконных, дабы нам получить усыновление.
要 把律法 以下 的人贖出來，叫 我們得著 兒子的名分。
That he might make them free who were under the law, and that we might be given the place of sons.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Galatians 4:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators unanimously read this verse as Paul's summary of the twofold purpose of Christ's incarnation: redemption from the law and the conferral of adoption as sons. Vincent's Word Studies notes that the verb exagorasē (to redeem) carries the commercial image of paying a price to buy off slaves, here, releasing people from the law's curse and dominion. The second purpose clause (hina … apolabōmen) then gives the positive counterpart: receiving adoption. Matthew Henry and Calvin both locate this within Paul's contrast between childhood under the law and full sonship in Christ. The Cambridge Bible adds that redemption is not merely from the law's penalty but from the whole old order, so that believers may enter the family of God. There is broad agreement that redemption and adoption are inseparably linked: the first frees, the second welcomes.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Pre-possession view: Calvin and Matthew Henry argue that the fathers under the Old Testament were certain of their adoption but did not yet enter into the full enjoyment or actual possession of it until Christ came.
- New reality view: Vincent's Word Studies contends that ἀπολάβωμεν means 'receive from the giver', not 'receive back', implying adoption was something never possessed before Christ. Wesley and Barnes echo that adoption is a distinctly New Covenant privilege.
What is clear: Christ's redemption from the law is the necessary prerequisite for anyone to receive the full status of adopted children of God.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Status of Old Testament believers regarding adoption | Christ's work is necessary for adoption to be fully realized and received by believers in every age. | Protestant traditions like Calvin hold that OT believers had adoption in promise but not in full possession; others (e.g., Wesleyan) see adoption as a new covenant blessing not given until Christ. Both affirm the continuity of God's people but differ on the timing of the legal status. |
| Meaning of 'under the law' | It includes being bound to observe the Mosaic law and being subject to its curse for disobedience. | Some commentators (Gill, Poole) emphasize the moral law as a covenant of works binding all humanity; others (Clarke, Cambridge) focus on the ceremonial law specific to Israel. The difference affects whether redemption is primarily from legal guilt or from ritual bondage. |
| Scope of redemption: Jews only or all mankind? | The immediate context addresses Jews ('those under the law'), but Paul includes Gentiles by implication (Gal 3:13, 14, 4:8, 9). | Some (Gill) limit the redemptive intent to the elect among Jews and Gentiles; others (Barnes, JFB) see a universal provision for all who were under the law's curse. The question ties into broader debates about the extent of the atonement. |
| Nature of adoption: legal declaration or transformative reality? | Adoption is a real change in status before God, entitling believers to inheritance as sons. | Catholic and Orthodox traditions emphasize the ontological transformation through grace and the sacraments; Reformed traditions stress the forensic declaration of sonship. Both affirm that adoption is more than a metaphor, it is a genuine relationship. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Paul writes to churches in Galatia where Jewish-Christian teachers insisted Gentile converts must keep the Mosaic law (especially circumcision) to be saved. In Galatians 4:1, 7, Paul reframes the entire history of salvation using a legal analogy: an heir while underage is no different from a slave, subject to guardians until the day appointed by the father. The law, Paul argues, functioned as a temporary guardian, not a permanent covenant. The phrase ‘under the law’ (ὑπὸ νόμον) in first-century Judaism carried both the sense of being bound to observe the Torah and the existential reality of being under its curse for failure to keep it perfectly (Gal 3:10, 13).
Roman adoption law, well-known in the empire, provides the background for υἱοθεσία (adoption as sons). When someone was adopted into a Roman family, he was legally transferred from his old patria potestas into a new one. He received all the rights of a natural son, including inheritance. Paul draws on this legal imagery in a Jewish context: Israel had been called God's son (Exodus 4:22; Romans 9:4), but that status was bound up with the law and the old covenant. Now, through Christ, a new, directly-purchased adoption is granted to both Jews and Gentiles. The ‘fullness of time’ (v.4) marks the moment God appointed for the heir to come of age. The Judaizing teachers were thus trying to drag believers back into a childhood status they had already outgrown.
Textual Notes
Among the major Greek manuscripts, the text of Galatians 4:5 is stable. The variation between τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον (those under law) and the expanded τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ (to redeem those under law) is insignificant in meaning. No variant affects the main interpretive question. The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse.
Reception History
Early church writers consistently read Galatians 4:5 as teaching that Christ's incarnation accomplished both redemption and adoption. Augustine, quoted in the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown note, saw the verse as the exchange: the Son of God became Son of Man so that sons of men might become sons of God. During the Reformation, Luther extolled the intimate cry ‘Abba, Father’ as the Spirit's testimony to adoption (v.6), understanding v.5 as the legal basis for that cry. Calvin insisted that the ‘adoption’ here is actual possession, a status OT believers anticipated but did not yet fully enjoy. In Wesleyan tradition, the verse undergirds the doctrine of entire sanctification: believers not only freed from sin's penalty but made children of God by grace. Across centuries, this verse has been sung in hymns of refuge (e.g., ‘Blessed Assurance’) and preached as the charter of Christian identity.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The price was paid. Christ's redeeming work (exagorazō) buys us out from under the law's curse and dominion. This is not merely a release from rules but a transfer from one legal state to another.
- The family is opened. Redemption is not an end in itself; it serves the greater purpose of adoption. We are not just freed prisoners but welcomed children with all the rights of heirs.
- The Spirit confirms the change. The following verse (v.6) shows that God sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying “Abba, Father.” Adoption is not a cold legal decree but a lived, relational reality.
Five-point outline
- Christ's incarnation placed Him under the law (v.4).
- His death paid the redemption price (exagorazō) for those under the law (v.5a).
- Redemption clears the way for the reception of adoption (v.5b).
- Adoption means we are no longer slaves but sons (v.7).
- The Spirit of the Son is the seal and experience of this new status (v.6).
Illustration hooks
- Foster care to full adoption. A child in foster care is legally under the state's authority, but once adoptive parents pay all legal fees and the court finalizes the adoption, the child gains a new identity, name and inheritance. Redemption pays the legal cost; adoption grants the family identity.
- The child under a guardian. A teenager living with a strict guardian can count the days until the legal age of inheritance. The law was that kind of guardian, necessary for a time, but never meant to be permanent. Christ's coming is the day the father appointed to end the guardianship.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Am I really a child of God? I don't always feel like it.
- Does God love me less when I fail to keep His commands?
- Why did God give the law if it only condemned? Wasn't there a better way?
Leading a Discussion
Galatians 4:5 sits in the middle of Paul's argument that believers are no longer under the law's supervision but have received the full status of adopted children. This passage addresses a deep human question: how can I be sure I belong to God? Paul's answer is not moral effort but Christ's completed work. As you discuss, pay attention to the movement from redemption (what Christ did) to adoption (what we receive).
Discussion questions
- Read Galatians 4:1, 7 aloud. What does Paul mean by comparing believers before Christ to children under guardians?
- What does the word ‘redeem’ (exagorazō) suggest about our condition before Christ? How is this different from simply ‘helping’ us?
- Paul uses ‘adoption as sons’ (υἱοθεσία). What rights and responsibilities would a person receive in Roman adoption? How does this picture our relationship with God?
- Verse 5 says Christ redeemed ‘those under the law’. Does this refer only to the Jewish people, or do Gentiles also come under the law's curse? (See Romans 2:12, 15).
- Some Christians believe Old Testament believers were already God's children in a real sense; others think adoption is entirely new after Christ. What evidence does this verse provide for each view? How does your answer affect how you read the Old Testament?
- Paul says we ‘receive’ (apolabōmen) adoption. The Greek verb can mean ‘to receive what is due or promised’. What does this imply about God's faithfulness to His plan?
- How does knowing you are an adopted child, not merely a forgiven criminal, change the way you pray, face failure, or relate to other Christians?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Matthew 20:28 | even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” |
| Luke 1:68 | “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; |
| John 1:12 | But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: |
| Acts 20:28 | Take heed, therefore, to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood. |
| Romans 8:19 | For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. |
| Romans 8:23 | Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. |
| Romans 9:4 | who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; |
| Galatians 3:13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke stresses that Christ paid a price to buy believers free from the requirement of keeping Jewish ceremonial laws like circumcision and sacrifices. True adoption as God's children comes only through the Gospel, not the law, which could never grant that status.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that Christ's redeeming death was an atoning sacrifice for sinners who had broken God's law and faced its penalty. The purpose of this redemption was to secure for believers the full status and rights of adopted children of God.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools notes that Christ, born under the law, fulfilled its commands and bore its penalty to redeem us from its curse. His birth from a woman made Him humanity's representative, so that in Him we become sons of God by adoption, a status distinct from His own eternal Sonship. The commentator also suggests a wider reading of "under law" that includes all mankind.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Christ's work had a twofold goal: to redeem those who were bound by the Law's demands and to secure for them the full rights of sonship. The adoption is not earned but received, a gift flowing from the redemption He accomplished.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that Christ's redemption targets only the elect, not everyone under the law. He sees adoption as a privilege decreed from eternity, blocked by sin, and then made accessible through Christ's work. Faith receives this gift but does not create it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the Greek word for "receive" implies receiving something long destined and due, not merely granted. He also notes that while the redemption primarily addresses Jews under the law, it includes Gentiles because Israel represents the whole world. The result is that God makes sons of men into sons of God, just as the Son of God became the Son of man.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this passage as describing two stages of sonship: minority under the law's guardianship and majority through Christ. The law was elementary instruction for all pre-Christian humanity, not just Israel. Christ's coming ends that tutelage, and the Spirit's cry of "Abba, Father" confirms believers now enjoy full, mature heirship.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry compares the Old Testament church to a child under age, kept in a state of darkness and bondage by tutors and governors. The key point is that the law held believers in a lesser, restricted condition compared to the full light and liberty believers now enjoy under the gospel.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent observes that the purpose clause "to redeem" mentions only the goal, not the method; that is given later. He stresses that "receive" means accept from the giver, not recover something lost, since adoption was new. He also specifies that "adoption" refers to the conferred status, not sonship as an inherent quality.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley distinguishes two aspects of redemption from the law: freedom from its curse and release from its low, servile condition. He specifies that the adoption granted to Jewish believers includes all the privileges of adult sons, not merely the status of children.