1
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,
2
but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
3
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.
8
But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.