What is the context?
Paul continues the picture of an inheritance from the end of chapter 3. A child may be the heir to everything, yet still live under guardians and trustees. The child cannot simply take charge of the inheritance; the father has set the time for that change.
Paul uses this picture to describe the earlier condition of bondage. Then comes the turning point: God sent His Son at the appointed time. Jesus was born of a woman and born under the law, entering the situation of those He came to redeem.
The purpose reaches beyond release from bondage. God acts so that we may receive adoption as His sons. Paul includes women in this family language, as he has already made clear in 3:26–29. The family shares an inheritance through God.
God also sends the Spirit of His Son into their hearts. The cry to God is that of children addressing their Father. The word Ἀββᾶ, Abba (ah-BAH), is an Aramaic form of address meaning Father. Thayer’s lexicon identifies its use in prayer to God.
Paul ends with the change in their standing: a son and an heir through God. His appeal rests on what the Father has done through His Son and Spirit.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly read this passage as describing the Father’s saving work through the Son and the Spirit, bringing believers into His family with the standing of heirs. Wesley’s notes on verses 1–7 and the USCCB notes on verses 1–7 both follow that movement from guardianship and bondage to belonging with God.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The same address appears on Jesus’ lips in Mark 14:36, when He prays to His Father in Gethsemane. In Romans 8:15–17, believers also cry to God as Father through the Spirit and are described as heirs with Christ.
These connections show the depth of the welcome Paul describes. Through the Son and His Spirit, people are brought into a relationship with the Father that shapes their prayer and their hope. Romans also connects that shared inheritance with sharing Christ’s sufferings and future glory.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.