9.20.26 – Sermon Study Guide

by | Sep 22, 2026 | Sermon Study Guide

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SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: SONS & DAUGHTERS | FROM UNDER TO OVER
Based on the message by Pastor Chad Everett

 

OVERVIEW

Where are you still living under something Jesus has given you authority over?

In Spiritual Authority: Sons & Daughters | From Under to Over, Pastor Chad Everett continues through Galatians 4:1–7 and the journey of growing in our identity as sons and daughters of God.

Paul describes an heir who, while still a child, lives no differently from a slave even though he is master of all. Spiritually, we can have more available to us than we are actually accessing. God wants us to grow in maturity so we understand who we are and what is available to us through Christ.

Part of that growth means recognizing what we are supposed to be under and what we are not supposed to be under. God uses guardians and stewards to help us mature through discipleship, accountability, correction, wisdom, and guardrails. Yet we were never meant to remain under the elements of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Then something changed.

“When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.”

Jesus came to redeem us. He paid the price with His own blood to bring us out of bondage and into freedom. Through Him, we can receive adoption as sons and daughters. We are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters, and therefore heirs through Christ.

This freedom is not something we have to wait for someday. Jesus has already come. Jesus has already died. Our inheritance became available through His death.

Now we must believe what God says over what we feel and receive what Jesus has already provided.

“Where we’re under, we got to come over.”

HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE

Read → Respond → Reflect

Read each passage carefully before answering the Respond questions. Keep your Bible open and allow Scripture itself to provide the answers.

Then use the Reflect questions to examine your own life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you need to grow and where you may still be living under something Jesus has given you freedom and authority over.

This guide is designed for individual study, family discipleship, and Roads Groups.

 

SECTION 1 — GROW UP INTO THE FREEDOM JESUS HAS FOR YOU

Focus

An heir can have more available to him than he is actually accessing. In the same way, spiritual immaturity can keep us living in bondage even though Jesus lives within us.

God’s call to grow up is an invitation to mature as sons and daughters and walk in the freedom Jesus has given us.

Read

Galatians 4:1–7; 1 John 4:4

Respond

  1. According to Galatians 4:1, how does an heir who remains a child compare with a slave?
  2. What does Galatians 4:1 say is already true of the heir even while he is still a child?
  3. According to Galatians 4:4–5, why did God send His Son?
  4. According to Galatians 4:7, what are believers no longer, and what have they become?
  5. According to 1 John 4:4, what is true about the One who is in us compared with the one who is in the world?

Reflect

  • Are there areas of my life where I belong to Jesus but still find myself yielding to my flesh or human nature?
  • When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, do I recognize it as an opportunity to grow?
  • What am I yielding to internally that may be keeping me in bondage?

Further Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 3:1–3

 

SECTION 2 — ALLOW GOD TO USE PEOPLE TO HELP YOU MATURE

Focus

God places guardians and stewards in our lives to help us mature. They can provide guardrails, advice, insight, correction, and accountability.

Maturity requires humility. We need people who can speak into our lives, and we need to trust the Father to know when we are ready.

Read

Galatians 4:1–2; 1 Peter 5:6

Respond

  1. According to Galatians 4:1, how does Paul describe the heir while he is still a child?
  2. According to Galatians 4:2, who is the child placed under?
  3. How long does Galatians 4:2 say the child remains under guardians and stewards?
  4. According to 1 Peter 5:6, under whose mighty hand are we instructed to humble ourselves?
  5. What does 1 Peter 5:6 say God will do “in due time”?

Reflect

  • Who in my life has permission to tell me when my response or behavior is immature?
  • Is there an area where correction quickly becomes an offense to me?
  • Am I trusting the Father to know when I am ready, or am I trying to move myself into a position before His appointed time?
  • How willing am I to humble myself and receive the guardrails God provides through other believers?

“Our level of maturity is directly connected to our level of humility.”

Further Scripture Reading

Galatians 4:1–2

 

SECTION 3 — STOP LIVING UNDER THE ELEMENTS OF THE WORLD

Focus

We need to know the difference between what we are supposed to be under and what we are not supposed to be under.

First John 2 identifies three elements of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Chad connects these with the same choices seen in the Garden of Eden.

Read

Galatians 4:3; 1 John 2:15–17; Genesis 3:1–7

Respond

  1. According to Galatians 4:3, what were we in bondage under?
  2. According to 1 John 2:15, what are believers told not to love?
  3. What three things does 1 John 2:16 identify as being “of the world”?
  4. According to 1 John 2:17, what is passing away, and who abides forever?
  5. In Genesis 3:6, what did Eve see about the tree before she took its fruit and ate?

Reflect

  • Where am I choosing what I want over what God wants?
  • Is what I see controlling my desires, decisions, or what I believe to be true?
  • Where am I relying on myself rather than depending on God?
  • In what area do I need to follow Jesus’ example and say, “Not my will, but Yours”?

Further Scripture Reading

Luke 22:42

 

SECTION 4 — JESUS HAS ALREADY TAKEN YOU FROM UNDER TO OVER

Focus

“The fullness of time” means God’s appointed time for Jesus to come and accomplish redemption. When that time came, God sent His Son.

Jesus fulfilled what God had promised and paid the price for our freedom with His own blood. We were under, but Jesus came to redeem us and place us over. The fullness of time has already come, and through Christ, freedom and adoption are available to us now.

Read

Galatians 4:4–5; Genesis 3:15; Matthew 5:17; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Romans 8:2

Respond

  1. According to Galatians 4:4, what happened when the fullness of the time had come?
  2. According to Galatians 4:5, why did Jesus come?
  3. According to Genesis 3:15, what did God say would happen between the serpent and the woman’s Seed?
  4. According to Matthew 5:17, did Jesus come to destroy the Law and the Prophets or to fulfill them?
  5. According to 1 Peter 1:18–19, what did not redeem us, and what did?
  6. According to Romans 8:2, what has made us free from the law of sin and death?

Reflect

  • Do I think of freedom as something Jesus has already provided, or something I am still waiting for Him to provide?
  • Where are my feelings contradicting what God says is true?
  • What would change if I believed what God says even when I do not feel it or see it?
  • Where might I still be living “under” something Jesus has already redeemed me from?

“God’s wanting to take us from a place of being under to a place of over.”

Further Scripture Reading

Genesis 3:15; Matthew 5:17

 

SECTION 5 — RECEIVE YOUR ADOPTION AND LIVE AS A SON OR DAUGHTER

Focus

Jesus came so that we might receive adoption as sons. Because we are sons and daughters, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, “Abba, Father.”

We do not earn this identity. We receive what Jesus has already accomplished and live as sons, daughters, and heirs.

Read

Galatians 4:4–7; Luke 10:19

Respond

  1. According to Galatians 4:5, what are we able to receive because Jesus redeemed us?
  2. According to Galatians 4:6, whom has God sent into our hearts?
  3. What does the Spirit cry out according to Galatians 4:6?
  4. According to Galatians 4:7, what are we no longer, and what are we now?
  5. According to Luke 10:19, what authority did Jesus say He had given His followers?

Reflect

  • Do I believe I am a son or daughter because God says it, or do I allow my feelings to determine my identity?
  • Where am I trying to earn something Jesus is asking me to receive?
  • Where do I need to choose “faith over feeling” and believe what God says about me?
  • Chad said, “You know what your inheritance is? It’s Him.” How would seeing God Himself as my inheritance change what I pursue or believe I need?

Further Scripture Reading

Luke 10:19

 

FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT — TAKE YOUR NEXT STEP

“Where we’re under, we got to come over.”

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you are still living under something Jesus has already given you freedom and authority over. Do not hear His invitation to grow as condemnation. Jesus has already come, paid the price, and made adoption and inheritance available to you.

Believe what God says over what you feel. Receive your position as a son or daughter, and take an intentional step toward maturity. Go deeper in God’s Word, connect with other believers, join the conversation on Wednesday night, or respond to an area the Holy Spirit revealed through this study.

Don’t stop at recognizing where you are still “under.” Receive what Jesus has provided and take your next step toward living “over.”