Neville Goddard on Galatians 4:8-11 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Galatians 4 in context

Scripture Focus

8Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

9But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

10Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Galatians 4:8-11

Biblical Context

The verses say that after knowing God, believers should not return to bondage by clinging to weak elements and external rituals. True freedom is found in the present awareness of God, not in days, times, or years.

Neville's Inner Vision

Verse 8–11 is not a call to change outer calendars, but to change your inner calendar. The God you knew is the I AM—your present awareness—so the idols and the days you cling to are nothing more than states of consciousness clinging to limitation. When you have known God, you no longer serve what merely appears to be gods of nature; you stop seeking approval from rituals and external schedules. The weak and beggarly elements are inner habits you have trained yourself to obey. To avoid returning to bondage, assume a higher state now: know that you are known of God, and God is knowing you in this moment. Practice the technique of revision—close your eyes, reframe the past as fulfilled in your present consciousness—and feel it real: that freedom, not bondage, is your true nature, and it is yours here and now.

Practice This Now

Sit quietly, close your eyes, and repeat this: I am known of God; I know God now. Feel the truth as your present memory, and revise any bondage thought by replacing it with the sense that freedom is your natural state.