Bible Strands
Galatians 4:5
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Galatian believers who are being drawn back into law-observance as a condition of their standing. This verse is the hinge of his argument: the Son's coming under the law was not to keep them under it.
The words — ἐξαγορῆσαι (exagorasē) pulls from ἀγορά, the open market; literally "to buy out" as one purchases a slave from the seller. υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) is a legal term for the formal act by which a father grants sonship to one who was not his by blood.
The thread — The redemption-to-adoption sequence appears in Ephesians 1:5 (predestined for adoption through Christ) and 1 Peter 1:18 (redeemed from an empty way of life). Hebrews 9:15 pairs redemption with the receiving of a promised inheritance, the same two-beat structure.
Why it lands — The verse makes the law a means, not a destination: it was the arena in which the buying-out happened, not the status it confers. A reader who treats the law as their secure ground is mistaking the marketplace for the father's house.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 9:15 Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
- Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
- 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Hebrews 9:12 He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
- Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.