Galatians:4
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Now I say that the heir ,
as long as he is a child ,
does not differ at all from a slave ,
though he is master of all ,
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but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father .
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Even so we ,
when we were children ,
were in bondage under the elements of the world .
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But when the fullness of the time had come ,
God sent forth His Son ,
born of a woman ,
born under the law ,
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to redeem those who were under the law ,
that we might receive the adoption as sons .
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And because you are sons ,
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts ,
crying out , "
Abba ,
Father !"
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Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son ,
and if a son ,
then an heir of God through Christ .
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But then ,
indeed ,
when you did not know God ,
you served those which by nature are not gods .
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But now after you have known God ,
or rather are known by God ,
how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements ,
to which you desire again to be in bondage ?
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You observe days and months and seasons and years .
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I am afraid for you ,
lest I have labored for you in vain .
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Brethren ,
I urge you to become like me ,
for I became like you .
You have not injured me at all .
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You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first .
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And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject ,
but you received me as an angel of God ,
even as Christ Jesus .
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What then was the blessing you enjoyed ?
For I bear you witness that ,
if possible ,
you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me .
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Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth ?
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They zealously court you ,
but for no good ;
yes ,
they want to exclude you ,
that you may be zealous for them .
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But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always ,
and not only when I am present with you .
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My little children ,
for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you ,
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I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone ;
for I have doubts about you .
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Tell me ,
you who desire to be under the law ,
do you not hear the law ?
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For it is written that Abraham had two sons :
the one by a bondwoman ,
the other by a freewoman .
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But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh ,
and he of the freewoman through promise ,
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which things are symbolic .
For these are the two covenants :
the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage ,
which is Hagar --
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for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia ,
and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is ,
and is in bondage with her children --
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but the Jerusalem above is free ,
which is the mother of us all .
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For it is written : "
Rejoice ,
O barren ,
You who do not bear !
Break forth and shout ,
You who are not in labor !
For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband ."
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Now we ,
brethren ,
as Isaac was ,
are children of promise .
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But ,
as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit ,
even so it is now .
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Nevertheless what does the Scripture say ? "
Cast out the bondwoman and her son ,
for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman ."
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So then ,
brethren ,
we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free .