Dwell in the Word: Galatians 4:21-31

Think on these questions as you dwell in Galatians 4:21-31:

1. How does Paul's comparison between the children of Hagar and Sarah illustrate the contrast between faith and the law, and what implications does this hold for those who prioritize following rituals and laws over faith?

2. What significance does Paul's reference to Ishmael and Isaac carry in understanding the conflict between those seeking justification through the law versus those relying on faith in Christ?

3. In Paul's analogy between Hagar and Sarah, what parallels does he draw between the Galatians' situation and the biblical narrative, and how does this reinforce the importance of faith over-relying on works or rituals for salvation?

Transcript:

Every time I come to this passage, one of the first thoughts I have is, I wonder how being told that they are the children of Hagar went over with the Judaizers. I'm guessing that wasn't very popular at all because what is Paul doing here? He is telling these people who are desiring the law to be what determines whether or not they're in the faith that they are basically Ishmael, they are not Isaac, and that those who trust simply by faith are Isaac. They are the children of the promise. So, as we think about this passage, as we look at it here today, we see that what Paul is implying is that by faith we are brought into the family of God, just as Abraham and Sarah ultimately had very little to do with having Isaac, that she was barren, they were both old. It was the work of God, him being the child of promise. So we have the same experience. We are not brought to faith because of the actions that we do by our works, by our keeping of the law. We are brought in by trusting in the promise, by faith. And so what we have here is Paul using this story to say, Hey, those of you who are trusting in the law, you're like Hagar. 

Again, he says she corresponds to the present, Jerusalem. The people who are in Jerusalem, the people who are... And by Jerusalem means people who are following the law or are saying that the law needs to be followed more accurately because ultimately you're in slavery. You're allowing yourself to be held by the law. Not keeping moral law here, but the rituals, the believing that somehow your keeping of the law brings about God's work in you or brings you to salvation. But then he talks about the Jerusalem above. He's talking about those who have the promise by faith, and that is the free people, those who are free. Those are not the slave, Hagar, but Sarah, who was free. So you see what's going on there. We have this quote here, and we see that it's from Isaiah 54:1, and it says, Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. That calls us back to this idea of Sarah and how the children of the promise would be as numerous as the stars. 

Now, that includes us. We've seen that already here in Galatians that Paul is saying, Hey, you are children of the promise. You have been brought in by faith, faith, you are Abraham's children, more so than the people who have the genetic proof of this. By faith, you are just as much and more so, actually, children of Abraham. And so he says, Now, you're like Isaac. You're the children of the promise. But then he says something really interesting here, and it's harsh. He's saying, Hey, just like Ishmael persecuted Isaac, remember back to Genesis, that there was this issue with the two and Sarah saw it, and then Ishmael and Hagar ended up being sent away. You're being persecuted by the children of Hagar. That. You're being told that your faith isn't enough. You're being told that you have to do something else. And so now you're having this same problem that Ishmael had. Notice the connections that Paul is making here to this story, and none of it is very favorable. Again, you're actually children of Ishmael instead of children of Isaac. That's not what my genetics say. They probably would reply. We're the ones who are holding this. 

And Paul saying, No, you are, by persecution the people, the children of faith, you are just like Ishmael. Again, I go back to how harsh would that have been to their ears. But Paul gets right down to the point here with this last verse. So, brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. He says, Hey, by faith, this is who you are, end of discussion. And so for us, as we think about this, we come back to this continuing theme that we have seen here in Galatians, right? What are we trusting? And are we trusting in our works? Are we trusting in our ability to keep a ritual? Are we trusting in Christ alone? And do we understand just how free we are in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we trusting in Him? So may we daily make that decision that we are not going to look to within ourselves, but we are going to look to the promise that we have in Christ. We are going to remember that we are free. We are going to remember that we are the true children of Abraham because we have that promise of God by faith.