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the will of the father, using the illustration of a child who though heir is, during his
minority, under tutors and governors:--
"Until the time appointed of the father" (verse 2).
The argument then proceeds
"Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the
world: but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption."
Adoption and Inheritance.
If you study the references to adoption in Rom. 8: you will find that they too speak
of deliverance from bondage, and the entry into a position of predestined glory. There
are many important features which I have omitted: you will find a fuller treatment of
them in Sir W. Ramsay's work on Galatians, or in articles in The Berean Expositor.
A.--I noticed in Gal. 4:, Rom. 8: and Eph. 1: that the word "adoption" appears in
the same context as the word "redemption"; why is this?
B.--Perhaps we shall be in a better position to answer that question after we have looked
into the scriptural meaning of the term. Now, how would you arrive at the meaning of
redemption?
A.--We can best understand redemption by realizing the nature of sin, and the character
of God.
The Chameleon method.
B.--Had we a complete understanding of "sin" and "God" I would grant that your
method would be a good one, but, when one man's temperament causes him to magnify
the love of God above all other attributes, and another man's temperament leads him to
place undue emphasis upon God's righteousness, the meaning of redemption will be
coloured continually by such differences in point of view; the same also is true as to the
meaning of sin. Is it a crime, a weakness, a lapse, a failure, a forfeiture? According as
you answer, so will you understand redemption. This I call the "Chameleon method of
interpretation"; it is the fruitful cause of all the "isms" that split up the church of God
into conflicting camps.
A.--What alternative can you offer to this "Chameleon" method as you call it? Will not
your method be as equally coloured by your own temperament?
B.--No. My method being based upon the revealed typical teaching of Scripture is so far
impersonal. It can only become tinged by my own personality when I attempt the
construction of a creed. The material is already to our hand.