Galatians 4:21-31 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Galatians 4:21-31. Let’s go!
Galatians 4:21-31 (NIV)
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.
25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
27 For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29 At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.
30 But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
On verses 21-31: What is Paul talking about in Galatians 4:21-31? Remember that Paul is writing to people who think that in order to be justified (that is, in order for God to see you as blameless and worthy to have a relationship with Him), it’s not enough to believe in Jesus; it also depends on how well you obey the Jewish law. So the goal of Paul’s entire letter to the Galatians is to show that we are not justified by our efforts to obey God’s law; rather we are justified by faith in Christ’s power to save us and to forgive our sins. We need to seek justification by faith, not justification by our works.
Now in Galatians 4:21-31, Paul shows how trying to be justified by your good works and trying to be justified by faith in Christ lead to two completely different results.
He shows this by comparing two famous women from Genesis who both bore children for Abraham: Hagar and Sarah. Hagar was a slave woman in Abraham’s household. Sarah was Abraham’s wife, the “free woman”. Each woman bore Abraham a son but under very different circumstances. Hagar’s son Ishmael was “born according to the flesh” (v23a) – that is, since Abraham and Sarah were barren and wanted children, they devised an immoral plan to have Abraham sleep with the younger, more fertile Hagar and have Hagar bear a son for Sarah. So Hagar’s son was born by natural means, human planning and human effort. This was trying to get God’s blessing by human effort.
In contrast, Sarah’s son Isaac was “born as the result of a divine promise” (v23b) – that is, God promised that Sarah in her barrenness and old age would bear a son. Even though it was humanly impossible, Abraham and Sarah believed God would be faithful to His promise. As a result Isaac was born. Unlike Ishmael who was born out of human effort and planning, Sarah’s son was Isaac born by supernatural means, God’s promise and God’s power. Instead of depending on their own effort, they received the blessing by faith.
Check out the different results: No matter how hard Abraham, Sarah and Hagar tried, their man-made plan to have Abraham sleep with Hagar could only result in a slave-child who could not share in the inheritance (v30). That’s justification by works: you will not become a true heir of God by trying to obey God’s law. At best you will be a slave, bound to the law of God, always trying but failing to meet God’s standards, and unable to receive the blessing you’re looking for.
In contrast, Isaac, the child who was born by faith in God’s promise, was the one who received the inheritance. That’s justification by faith: we receive the blessing of God’s forgiveness, acceptance and presence not because of our clever planning and hard work, but because of our faith in what God has done.
In verse 27 Paul even quotes Isaiah 54:1 to show that God’s desire was to produce children of God through supernatural means (by faith), not through natural means (by works).
Do you see the difference between trying to be justified by works and being justified by faith?
– One enslaves, the other empowers.
– One produces fear, the other produces freedom.
– One causes insecurity, the other causes security.
– One results in a curse, the other results in a blessing.
– One produces slaves; the other produces full-fledged sons and daughters of God.
– One represents the old covenant that Moses delivered at Mount Sinai (v24-25); the other represents the new covenant that Jesus delivered when he died on a hill called Calvary.
– One represents the man-made city of Jerusalem where millions even today are trying to earn justification by their works (v25b); the other represents the heavenly city of Jerusalem (“the Jerusalem that is above”) the place where everyone who trusts in Christ can call home (v26).
It was God’s plan all along to justify people by faith in Him, not by our own efforts.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that because of our faith in You, we are like Isaac, “children of promise” (v28), “not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman” (v31). Thank You that we do not have to hopelessly try to be justified by our own good works; rather we are justified by our faith in Your power to forgive our sins and save us. It’s so much better to trust in You than to trust in ourselves. Thank You for letting us trust in You. In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN!
