Sons and Heirs
Paul says that an heir, while still a child, differs little from a slave even though everything belongs to him, because he remains under guardians until the time appointed by his father. So too, before the coming fullness, people were held in a childish bondage under the world's basic principles.
W1hat I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father. 3So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
But when the fullness of time arrived, Paul says, God sent his Son, born of woman and under the law, to redeem and to secure adoption. Because believers are sons, God also sends the Spirit of his Son into their hearts crying "Abba, Father," and so their old slavery gives way to sonship and inheritance through God.
4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.