Wherefore thou art no more a servant
This is a benefit resulting from adoption, and the manifestation
of it to the children of God, and supposes them to have been
formerly servants; as whilst in a natural state they were the
servants of sin, the vassals of Satan, slaves to the world, and
the lusts of it, and in bondage to the law; but now being
declared to be the sons of God under the witnessings of the
Spirit, they are freed from the servitude of sin, from the
captivity of Satan, from the slavery of the world, and
particularly from the law, and that spirit of bondage which it
brought upon them, which is chiefly designed; and from which they
are delivered by the spirit of adoption, enabling and encouraging
them to cry "Abba", Father; so that they are now no more under
the former servile spirit, the spirit of a servant,
but a son;
whose spirit, state, and case, are vastly different from those of
a servant: the servant has not that interest in his master's
affections as the son has; nor that liberty of access to him; nor
is he fed and clothed as he is, or shares in the same privileges
he does; nor is his obedience performed in the same free generous
manner, from a principle of love and gratitude, but in a servile
and mercenary way; and though he may expect his wages, he cannot
hope for the inheritance; nor does he always abide in the house
as the son does. He that is once a son, is always so, and no more
a servant: predestination to sonship is immutable; it is God's
act to put any among the children, and none can put them out; the
covenant of grace, in which this blessing is secured, is
unalterable; union with Christ, the Son of God, on which it is
founded, is indissoluble; the spirit of adoption, wherever he
witnesses, abides as such. They that are the sons of God may be
corrected and chastised, as they often are, in a fatherly way;
but these corrections are proofs for, and not against their
sonship; they may indeed judge themselves unworthy to be called
the sons of God, and may be in such frames of soul as to
conclude, at least fear, they are not; but still the relation
abides, and ever will. They will never more be servants, but
always sons. The very learned Mr. Selden F9 thinks
the apostle alludes to a custom among the Jews, who allowed only
freemen, and not servants and handmaids, to call any Abba, Father
such an one, or "Imma", Mother such an one: but this seems to
proceed upon a mistaken sense, and rendering of a passage in the
Talmud F11, which is as follows, (tynwlp amaw ynwlp aba Mtwa Nyrwq Nya twxpvw
Mydbe) ; which he thus renders, "neither servants nor
handmaids use this kind of appellation, Abba", or "Father such an
one", and "Imma", or "Mother such an one"; whereas it should be
rendered, "servants and handmaids, they do not call them Abba,
Father such an one", and "Imma, Mother such an one"; this is
clear from what follows. "The Family of "R. Gamaliel" used to
call them Father such an one, and Mother such an one"; which in
the other Talmud F12 is, "the family of" R. Gamaliel
"used to call their servants and their handmaids Father Tabi, and
Mother Tabitha"; which were the names of the servant and handmaid
of Gamaliel. Rather therefore reference is had to a tradition
F13 of theirs, that
``a servant, who is carried captive, when others redeemed him, if under the notion of a servant, or in order to be one, he becomes a servant; but if under the notion of a freeman, (dbetvy al) , "he is no more a servant".''Or to the general expectation of that people, that when they are redeemed by the Messiah, they shall be servants no more; for so they say F14,
``your fathers, though they were redeemed, became servants again, but you, when ye are redeemed, (Nydbetvm Mta Nya dwe) , "shall be no more servants";''which in a spiritual sense is true of all that are redeemed by Christ, and through that redemption receive the adoption of children, and is what the apostle here means.
And if a son, then an heir of God through
Christ;
which is another benefit arising from adoption. Such as are the
children of God, they are heirs of God himself; he is their
portion and exceeding great reward; his perfections are on their
side, and engaged for their good; all his purposes run the same
way, and all his promises belong to them; they are heirs of all
the blessings of grace and glory, of righteousness, of life, of
salvation, and a kingdom and glory; and shall inherit all things,
and all "through Christ": he is the grand heir of all things;
they are joint heirs with him; their sonship is through him, and
so is their heirship and inheritance; their inheritance is in his
possession, it is reserved safe in him; and by him, and with him
they shall enjoy it. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, only
read, "an heir through God", and so the Vulgate Latin version;
and the Ethiopic version only, "an heir of God".