Gal 4:27 | KingComments | STEP | . What Paul said in “is allegorically speaking”. It means that this history has a deeper meaning than you would think at first glance. When the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write down this history, He did it just because of that deep meaning. In 1 Corinthians 10 you find the same and also in Romans 15 ( ; ). Apart from that, the fact that Old Testament histories often have a deeper meaning doesn’t change the historical accuracy of the history itself. What then is the deeper meaning Paul is quoting here? The two sons of Abraham “are two covenants”, that means, they represent two covenants. You can compare it with what the Lord Jesus says about the bread when He instituted the Supper: “This is My body” ( ). That also means: ‘This represents My body’. . The one covenant, the first one, is the covenant that is made at Sinai. This is what Hagar reminds us of. Hagar was Abraham’s slave who gave birth to Ishmael. And because she was a slave, automatically Ishmael was a slave as well. Children get the position of the mother. At Sinai the law was given. That’s why the people of Israel came into bondage. Whoever puts himself under the law puts himself in the position of slave. The “present Jerusalem” [i.e. the earthly Jerusalem] is the center of the law and therefore “is in slavery with her children” [her children are the citizens]. If the Galatians therefore, or like so many Christians today, accept the law in their lives, it means that they accept Hagar as mother. They want to keep the covenant of Sinai and therefore declare themselves citizens of the earthly Jerusalem. Another character of Mount Sinai is, it says, that it is situated “in Arabia”. That emphasizes again, that whoever connects himself with this, connects himself with a place outside the land of blessing which is Canaan. Whoever connects himself with the law, will be deprived of every blessing in Christ ( ). . After stating the position of Christians who wish to give the law a place again in the Christian's life, Paul moves on to the real “mother” of the Christian: the free, heavenly Jerusalem. It is the place God has given, from where His promises in grace are given and where the Christian is at home. This is his ‘mother-city’. Here he gets his education and his Christian character is formed. It relates to what is written in the letter to the Philippians: “Our citizenship is in heaven” ( ). The big question today in professing Christianity is: By which mother are you being raised, or what is your mother-city? . Paul cites from Isaiah 54 ( ) to show what it means to belong to “the Jerusalem above”. This verse is originally meant as a comfort for Israel after a time of being dominated by foreign powers. It is a song of joy at the beginning of the millennium, when God has accepted His people – that is the remnant – again into His favor after they have confessed their sins in humility to God. Then they will be free to enjoy everything that God has prepared for them. Paul uses this event and the time it will happen as an application for the Christian in the present time. There, where there was nothing to be expected from human efforts and where there was only unfruitfulness, God performed a wonder in His grace and brought people to repentance. Like Isaac, the Galatians and all Christians are born in a supernatural manner. For the Christian it means that he is born “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” ( ). The amazing thing about this quotation from Isaiah is also that all Christians belong to the Jerusalem that soon will be the center of the millennium. The present Jerusalem is not related to God. It is illustrated as the sent away woman because of her unfaithfulness (cf. ). As mentioned earlier, this situation will come to an end. Jerusalem will then look back to a time when she was not fruitful for God. But then she will see that in that fruitless period, God Himself has begotten a numerous posterity which He accounts to her. In that time grace has made Jerusalem what God always had in mind: a city by which He can freely bless all people. It is the same grace by which He in these days has redeemed so many from the yoke of sin and has set them free. . Paul assumes that the Galatians went in the wrong direction only outwardly, but that they inwardly had not yet accepted the wrong teachings. He speaks to them as being convinced that at heart they were true children of God. . To this is connected a life by grace alone. To live that life consistently means persecution from people who want to serve God in their own strength. Persecution is inevitable because living by faith is one big indictment of any form of religion that emphasizes its own performance. . The blessing of God can never be obtained by a kind of cooperation between law and grace. Everything that has to do with the law cannot be allowed anymore in the life and the mind of a Christian. Unfortunately, many Christians do not heed this call. Many are in the hands of the ‘wrong mother’, so they are constantly in doubt about their relationship with God. The influence of Judaism in professing Christianity is clearly visible: everywhere you see sacred buildings, and a spiritual class is also maintained. . It all fits in with the “children of a bondwoman”, but not with the children “of the free woman” and that is what we are! Now read Galatians 4:24-31 again. Reflection: By which mother are you being educated?

‏ Galatians 4:27

Children of the Bondwoman or of the Free Woman

Gal 4:24. What Paul said in Gal 4:21-22 “is allegorically speaking”. It means that this history has a deeper meaning than you would think at first glance. When the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write down this history, He did it just because of that deep meaning. In 1 Corinthians 10 you find the same and also in Romans 15 (1Cor 10:6 ; 11; Rom 15:4). Apart from that, the fact that Old Testament histories often have a deeper meaning doesn’t change the historical accuracy of the history itself.

What then is the deeper meaning Paul is quoting here? The two sons of Abraham “are two covenants”, that means, they represent two covenants. You can compare it with what the Lord Jesus says about the bread when He instituted the Supper: “This is My body” (Mt 26:26). That also means: ‘This represents My body’.

Gal 4:25. The one covenant, the first one, is the covenant that is made at Sinai. This is what Hagar reminds us of. Hagar was Abraham’s slave who gave birth to Ishmael. And because she was a slave, automatically Ishmael was a slave as well. Children get the position of the mother. At Sinai the law was given. That’s why the people of Israel came into bondage. Whoever puts himself under the law puts himself in the position of slave. The “present Jerusalem” [i.e. the earthly Jerusalem] is the center of the law and therefore “is in slavery with her children” [her children are the citizens].

If the Galatians therefore, or like so many Christians today, accept the law in their lives, it means that they accept Hagar as mother. They want to keep the covenant of Sinai and therefore declare themselves citizens of the earthly Jerusalem. Another character of Mount Sinai is, it says, that it is situated “in Arabia”. That emphasizes again, that whoever connects himself with this, connects himself with a place outside the land of blessing which is Canaan. Whoever connects himself with the law, will be deprived of every blessing in Christ (Gal 5:4).

Gal 4:26. After stating the position of Christians who wish to give the law a place again in the Christian's life, Paul moves on to the real “mother” of the Christian: the free, heavenly Jerusalem. It is the place God has given, from where His promises in grace are given and where the Christian is at home. This is his ‘mother-city’. Here he gets his education and his Christian character is formed. It relates to what is written in the letter to the Philippians: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20a). The big question today in professing Christianity is: By which mother are you being raised, or what is your mother-city?

Gal 4:27. Paul cites from Isaiah 54 (Isa 54:1) to show what it means to belong to “the Jerusalem above”. This verse is originally meant as a comfort for Israel after a time of being dominated by foreign powers. It is a song of joy at the beginning of the millennium, when God has accepted His people – that is the remnant – again into His favor after they have confessed their sins in humility to God. Then they will be free to enjoy everything that God has prepared for them.

Paul uses this event and the time it will happen as an application for the Christian in the present time. There, where there was nothing to be expected from human efforts and where there was only unfruitfulness, God performed a wonder in His grace and brought people to repentance. Like Isaac, the Galatians and all Christians are born in a supernatural manner. For the Christian it means that he is born “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn 1:13).

The amazing thing about this quotation from Isaiah is also that all Christians belong to the Jerusalem that soon will be the center of the millennium. The present Jerusalem is not related to God. It is illustrated as the sent away woman because of her unfaithfulness (cf. Hos 1:6 ; 8-9). As mentioned earlier, this situation will come to an end. Jerusalem will then look back to a time when she was not fruitful for God. But then she will see that in that fruitless period, God Himself has begotten a numerous posterity which He accounts to her.

In that time grace has made Jerusalem what God always had in mind: a city by which He can freely bless all people. It is the same grace by which He in these days has redeemed so many from the yoke of sin and has set them free.

Gal 4:28. Paul assumes that the Galatians went in the wrong direction only outwardly, but that they inwardly had not yet accepted the wrong teachings. He speaks to them as being convinced that at heart they were true children of God.

Gal 4:29. To this is connected a life by grace alone. To live that life consistently means persecution from people who want to serve God in their own strength. Persecution is inevitable because living by faith is one big indictment of any form of religion that emphasizes its own performance.

Gal 4:30. The blessing of God can never be obtained by a kind of cooperation between law and grace. Everything that has to do with the law cannot be allowed anymore in the life and the mind of a Christian. Unfortunately, many Christians do not heed this call. Many are in the hands of the ‘wrong mother’, so they are constantly in doubt about their relationship with God. The influence of Judaism in professing Christianity is clearly visible: everywhere you see sacred buildings, and a spiritual class is also maintained.

Gal 4:31. It all fits in with the “children of a bondwoman”, but not with the children “of the free woman” and that is what we are!

Now read Galatians 4:24-31 again.

Reflection: By which mother are you being educated?