Slavery (1397) (douleia from doulos - see word study) means slavery, bondage, the condition of a slave, the opposite of freedom (see studies on this word group "free, freedom" = eleutheria, eleutheroo, eleutheros). Douleia describes that state of man in which he is prevented from freely possessing and enjoying his life, a state opposed to liberty. In the NT douleia is only used figuratively to describe a slavish spirit. The idea is that of an enslaved moral or spiritual condition characterized by fear of breaking rules and thus experiencing bondage and lack of freedom. Douleia - 5x in 5v - Ro 8:15, Ro 8:21-note Gal 4:24, 5:1 (= those enslaved to the Law), Heb 2:15-note (= those enslaved to the fear of death) BDAG says douleia is... the state or condition of being held as chattel by another, slavery (the basic perspective of the ancient world that one can be owned by only one master is expressed Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13 Vine writes that douleia is used in Romans 8:21 of that condition of the Creation into which it was brought by the Fall of man, its appointed head, and in Ro 8:15 of that fallen condition of man himself which makes him dread God rather than love Him, and, in Hebrews 2:15, that makes him fear death Paul has been discussing the flesh, so this must have reference to those who are in the flesh (unbelievers) who are enslaved to Sin and the Law and receive the wages of Sin which is death (a cause of fear) Paul is saying in essence... The Holy Spirit, whom you have received, does not produce a slavish and anxious state of mind, such as those experience who are under the law, but He produces the filial feelings of affection, reverence, and confidence and enables us, out of the fullness of our hearts, to call God our Father. No matter how cleverly they may manage to mask or deny the reality of it, sinful men are continually subject to fear because they continually live in sin and are therefore continually under God’s judgment for Jesus declared that... He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Jn 3:18) The lost, unregenerate men of this present evil age (Gal 1:4) are governed by a slavish and anxious apprehension of God's righteous punishment (and ultimately fear of eternal death in the Lake of fire, albeit they have no concept of its true "horrors"! Mk 9:48). Slavery to Sin brings slavery to fear, and one of the great and gracious works of the Holy Spirit is to deliver God’s children from both sets of shackles, setting the captives free (Lk 4:18, cp Col 1:13-note, Acts 26:18), for when the Son sets a man free, he is free indeed (Jn 8:36, 31, 32, Ro 8:2-note). All unconverted (unregenerate, not born again) men, whether Jews or Gentiles, are in this state of enslavement to their deepest, innermost (fully justifiable -2Ti 4:1-note, Jn 5:22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, Acts 10:42, 17:31, Ro 2:16) fears because they are all under the Law which kills (Ro 7:11-note). and the penalty for breaking that Law (which all do - cp Jas 2:10) is death (Ro 6:23-note), their ultimate enemy, which no amount of money or earthly power can avoid (cp Mk 8:34, 35, 36, Lk 12:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, A certain rich man = Lk 16:19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31). Paul reminded Timothy that our heavenly Father has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear = deilia [word study]), but of power (dunamis) and love (agape) and discipline (sophronismos) (2Ti 1:7-note). John reminds believers of the truth that there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (1Jn 4:18). Spurgeon The spirit of bondage is the spirit of servants, not of sons; but that servitude is ended for us who are made free in Christ Jesus. We are no longer afraid of being called the children of God. We are not afraid of our own Father; we have a filial fear of him, but it is so mixed with love that there is no torment in it. Whether Jew or Gentile, we cry, “Abba, Father.” You did receive it once (the spirit of slavery). You needed it. You were in sin, and it was well for you when sin became bondage to you. It was grievous, but it was salutary; but you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. See related discussions - Anxiety, Fear Anxiety (merimna) Anxious, be anxious (merimnao) word study Jesus' solution "Do not be worried" Mt 6:25ff Paul's Solution - Philippians 4:6; Philippians 4:7 Peter's Solution - Cast your cares on God - 1 Peter 5:7 Fear, How to Handle It Worry - What is it? BUT YOU HAVE RECEIVED A SPIRIT OF ADOPTION AS SONS: alla elabete (2PAAI) pneuma huiothesias: (Ro 8:16; Isa 56:5; Jer 3:19; 1Co 2:12; Ga 4:5, 6, 7; Ep 1:5,11, 12, 13, 14) (Dictionary articles on Adoption - Smith's, ISBE) Sons (not slaves) - Gal 4:5 Ep 1:5-note, not slaves Gal 4:7. Paul explains in the next verse that... The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God (Ro 8:16-note) Warren Wiersbe comments that... To live in the flesh or under law (and to put yourself under law is to move toward living in the flesh) leads to bondage; but the Spirit leads us into a glorious life of liberty in Christ. Liberty (see word study on eleutheria = liberty) to the believer never means freedom to do as he or she pleases, for that is the worst kind of slavery! Rather, Christian liberty in the Spirit is freedom from law and the flesh so that we can please God and become what He wants us to become. Adoption in the NT does not mean what it typically means today, the taking of a child into a family to be a legal member of the family. The literal meaning of the Greek word is “son-placing” —the taking of a minor (whether in the family or outside) and making him or her the rightful heir. Every believer is a child of God by birth (Ed: spiritual birth, Jn 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) and an heir of God through adoption (cp heir in Ro 4:13, 14-note, Ro 8:17-note, Gal 3:29, 4:1, 7, 30, Ep 3:6-note, Titus 3:7-note, He 6:17-note, He 11:7-note, He 11:9-note, Jas 2:5, 1Pe 3:7-note). In fact, we are joint-heirs with Christ, so that He cannot receive His inheritance in glory until we are there to share it with Him. Thank God, the believer has no obligation to the flesh, to feed it, pamper it, obey it. Instead, we must “put to death” (mortify) the deeds of the flesh by the power of the Spirit (Ro 8:13-note, Col 3:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15-see notes) and allow the Spirit to direct our daily lives. (Wiersbe, W. W. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. 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