**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. **4** But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, **5** to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. **6** And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” **7** Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.