3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.
5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.
9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?