Living as Children of Promise (Galatians 4:21-31)

Children's Lesson (click here)

I. To Whom You Were Born

Where you come from often plays a very large part in shaping your identity. To be sure, we are more than our upbringing, and your 'origin story' is not your fate. But it's important to acknowledge (and maybe reckon with) your upbringing. For example, some of you may have already accepted or still might need to confess, “I'm the child of an alcoholic. I'm a child of dysfunction. I'm the child of a rule-giver. I'm the child of a perfectionist. I'm a child of neglect. I'm the child of my mother's loneliness. I'm a child of the American dream. I'm a child of religion. I'm the child of a 'helicopter' parent. I'm a child of divorce. I'm the child of an activist. I'm a child of material wealth. I'm a child of self-esteem. I'm the child of an emotionally distant father, or a smothering mother, or of controlling parents.” Again, to whom you were born and how you were raised is not everything, but it is something, something significant, and if you haven't, you need to consider it.

This morning, as we come to Galatians 4 (one of the chapters from Our Bible Reading Plan this past week), it's important to consider to whom we were spiritually born and how that should shape our identity. So turn if you haven't already to Galatians 4:21-31.

II. The Passage: “Born Through Promise” (4:21-31)

Now, back in 2:4, Paul has introduced the idea of slavery into this letter of concern and warning written around 50 AD to the churches of Galatia. What kind of slavery is Paul concerned about? What kind of slavery is he warning them about? Well, the answer to that question is at the very heart of this letter. But I also want to point out that an even more dominant image up to this point in Galatians has been the image of a son, or more broadly, the image of a child. In 3:7, Paul makes this stunning statement: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” And when we arrive at the opening verses of this chapter, chapter 4, we find Paul bringing these ideas together, that of the child and the slave. So with that in mind, listen to 4:21-31...

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. [23] But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. [24] Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written, “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.” [28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. [30] But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” [31] So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

So as you just heard, this passage is dominated by the contrast between two women. Verse 22: he presents us with this contrast between “a slave woman” and “a free woman”.

Paul's readers, who were predominantly Gentile (i.e., non-Jews), might have been glad to embrace the Jewish title, “sons of Abraham”. But in our passage Paul uses that title to lead them to a follow-up question: “You may think of yourselves as 'sons of Abraham', but... who is your mother?” And this is where Paul directs them back to the stories from Genesis chapter 16 to chapter 21; stories involving Hagar, an Egyptian slave who served Sarah, Abraham's wife. Inter-estingly, Paul doesn't mention Sarah by name in Galatians 4:21-31, but he does name Hagar in verses 24 and 25. Thus, Hagar is the “slave woman” of v. 22, and Sarah the “free woman”. Of course, as we read in Genesis, both women provided sons for Abraham. To Hagar was born Ishmael, and to Sarah was born Isaac.

Now this is where the passage gets really interesting. Look back at verse 24. Paul writes, “Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants.” Okay. What does Paul mean by “allegorically”? He means that though he will be talking about two historical characters, specifically these women, he's really talking about something else. The women simply represent ideas... specifically, “two covenants”. But please notice that Paul is being crystal clear about his approach here. We shouldn't go back to Genesis and conclude those stories are allegories. No. Paul sees some helpful ideas in those well-known stories, and thus, decides to use them as a device for talking about those images of the child and the slave. Let's look at how he does that.

On one side of this contrast you have Hagar, the “slave woman”. In Paul's argument here, she allegorically represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai. What's the connection between Hagar and the old covenant made through Moses? Well... the connection is slavery. Verse 24: she is “bearing children for slavery”. But in v. 25 we learn that the woman also represents “present Jerusalem”. And again, the same connection is emphasized in that verse: “for she is in slavery with her children”. Now notice back in v. 23 how Paul emphasizes that Hagar's son was “born according to the flesh”. That's key, so hold on to that idea.

Now on the other side of this contrast we have the “free woman”. In Paul's argument here, she allegorically represents the new covenant. There is no corresponding mountain provided that contrasts with Mount Sinai, but Paul does mention Jerusalem again. Do you see that? And yet, this woman represents not the “present Jerusalem” but (v. 26) “the Jerusalem above”. And for believers, according to the end of v. 26, “she is our mother”. But remember, she is the “free” woman, for “the Jerusalem above is free”. So the two options (women) presented in v. 22 lead us to a clear conclusion in v. 31: “So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.” Ishmael could call himself Abraham's son, but he was not “born through promise”.

Okay. But why? Why this extensive allegory using Hagar and Sarah? Why was it so important that the disciples in Galatia understand these images of the child and the slave? Well, what the rest of the letter makes clear is that certain Jewish teachers (who also acknowledged Jesus) were teaching these Gentiles that to truly be a Christian, you first needed to become a Jew. They wanted these non-Jews to be circumcised and to follow every point of the OT law. These men could claim to be 'sons of Abraham', but, as Paul explains here, spiritually, their mother was Hagar not Sarah; that is, they were not actually free through faith. Instead, they were slaves to the flesh; to a works righteousness; to earning wages rather than receiving a gift. And like Ishmael, they were (v. 29) “persecut[ing] him who was born according to the Spirit.” The Apostle wants these believers to recognize the danger: that these men will only bring them back under the slavery of sin and the bondage of human works. But that's not the true identity of these disciples. They are children of Abraham... by faith... through the promise... according to the Spirit, not the flesh. Therefore, like Sarah, they too should [v.30] “Cast out the slave woman and her son”; that is, they should show these false teachers the door.

III. As Children of the Free Woman

This morning, this is what God would have us take to heart about our ultimate origin story and identity. Verse 28: “Now you, brothers [and sisters], like Isaac, are children of promise.” Wher-ever you came from, whoever your family is or was, however you were raised, whatever you experienced, good and bad, you... are a child of promise. What does that mean? It means...

You are the result of a miraculous birth. Just like Isaac, your new birth defies what is humanly possible. No, you weren't born to a 90 year old mom and a 100 year old dad. But you were born again through the Holy Spirit, according to the word of God. If you are a genuine Christian this morning, then who you are now, and who will be for eternity, is bigger and better, is even more astounding than we often think. Brought from darkness to light, death to life. Forgiven. Cleansed. Reconciled. Empowered. Loved. Kept. Safe. Secure. But there's more...

Your life is a undeserved gift from God. Abraham didn't earn Isaac. God's promise of blessing was not a blessing or reward for his obedience. It was given by grace and received through faith. In the same way, the stunning reality of your identity as a child of God never has been and never will be a result of your efforts or virtue or faithfulness. If such things exist in your life, they flow out of your identity, they do not produce or secure your identity. But there's more...

You are an heir to God's promises. In verse 30 Paul reminds his readers that Isaac was the one who would inherit the promises of blessings that God had given to Abraham and his seed, That is true for us as well. If you are a child of promise, then according to 2 Peter 1:4, God has “granted to us his precious and very great promises”; promises of eternal blessing. Or as Paul expressed it Romans 8: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ...” (vs. 16-17). Finally...

[if you are children of promise, then] You are spiritually and wonderfully free. As children of the free woman, is Paul saying we are free to do whatever we want? That God's grace is simply a 'get out of hell' card and a license to sin? No. Through Jesus we are not free from doing what is right. We are free from doing what is right as a means of being right with God. Why is that such good news? Because it was never going to happen. We never could and never can earn a good standing with God. And that's what makes the good news so good, right?

And that should direct the eyes of our heart even more fully to what Christ has done... and what we should do in response. Look at the very next verse after our main passage. It's Galatians 5:1,

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The great exchange of grace is that, through the cross, Jesus took our sins and gave his righteousness. He set us free from systems of human efforts in which we must somehow earn our way out of condemnation and into eternal blessing.

You see, though you might not be struggling like the Galatians with a wrong-headed view of the Jewish law, all of us are tempted every day by some notion that we must prove our worth rather than live in light of Christ's worthiness; the worthiness He's given to us, freely. And oftentimes, our 'origin story' is what is tripping us up, with temptations toward either self-righteousness or self-condemnation. But here's our eternal identity: we are “children of promise”, brothers and sisters. Therefore, we must “cast out” the mindset of slavery. We must daily reject that yoke. You were born of “the free woman”. The new covenant is your mother. You have life through her! What kind of life? A life of freedom for the glory of the Father. What will your life look like this week if you are who God says you are, a child of promise? Let's pray in light of that question.