Paul left off chapter three explaining that we are heirs of the promise of God. He picks up on the concept of heirs again in chapter four, but this time uses them to compare their coming of age to the redemption of the believer.
He reasons that heirs, when they are young are like slaves because they must still obey the rules of those who care for them, but once they reach the age their father set to inherit his possessions, they are free.
In the same way, we as believers were once like children, slaves to the law, but when he deemed the time was right, God the Father, sent his Son Jesus, born under the law, to free us from the law.
His purpose was to make us His children through adoption.
When we became his children, He sent us the Holy Spirit, who gives us intimate communication with the Father.
Because we are now sons, and not slaves, we will receive everything He promised His children.
8-20
Paul reminds them that before they knew God, they were slaves of the false idols of the Greco-Roman empire. But now that they know God, and are known of God, Paul marvels that they would choose to be enslaved once again to weak and useless rules of their past.
He mentions he is concerned that they follow the Jewish calendar, full of rules and rituals, which was never meant for the New Testament church.
Upon seeing all these things, Paul fears his work and preaching to these people has been in vain.
Even though he is exasperated with the falling away of these people, his compassion for them overrides the dismay as he appeals to them as brothers and sisters.
He reflects with them, on his first visit to them, and how they were so kind and welcoming, even though he was very sick at the time.
You treated me like an angel, even like Christ himself, Paul recalls. You would have done anything for me.
Where has that joy gone, he wonders aloud.
He then asks a pointed question, “Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
How many times do we Christians take offense at the words of a brother or sister in Christ simply because they are speaking a truth that we are not yet willing to hear?
Instead of listening to Paul, the Galatian believers were falling for the flowery words of the Judaizers. Yet, he tries to warn them that the Judaizers are only interested in them for their own gain. They do not truly care about the Galatians.
Indeed, it was Paul who had such great concern and care for their souls. He calls them his little children and tells them he pains over them like a mother giving birth and will continue to do so until he sees Christ formed in them.
He told them he wished he could be there with them to help them understand. He was just so perplexed by their behavior.
21-31
He concludes the chapter with a question and an illustration.
He asks those who are acting like they want to be back under the law if they are sure of what they are asking for. “Do you know what it says?,” he asks.
He then compares the law and the promise through the story of Hagar and Sarah.
He explains that Abraham had two sons by two different mothers. The first son, Ishmael, was born of a slave woman, by human means and human decision, not of God.
The second son, Isaac, was born of a free woman, born by the miraculous hand of God, as a sign of the promise God made to Abraham.
The two women are like the two agreements between God and His people.
The first agreement is the law which God delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai.
The people who live under the law are like slaves.
Hagar is like that agreement. She is a picture of the earthly city, Jerusalem.
That city and all of its people are slaves unto the law.
The second agreement was the promise God gave to Abraham.
The people who live by the promise are free.
Sarah represents the promise. She is a picture of the heavenly Jerusalem.
That city and all of its people are free.
Paul concludes his illustration by explaining that the Galatians are children born of the promise, just as Isaac.
However, just as Ishmael sought to cause trouble for Isaac, so those enslaved by the law (the Judaizers) seek to persecute and cause trouble for the free (those who believe the gospel).
But the scriptures assure us that one day, those who seek to pervert the gospel by adding works, rules or laws, and do not believe in Christ, will be cast out from God’s presence forever.
Final Thoughts
Just like Paul, it exasperates me, that almost 2000 years after his writing, there are still so many Christians enslaved by the law. Oh, it’s not circumcision or food choices that people try to add to salvation these days. Instead, it’s wearing the right clothes or singing the right songs or even reading the right translation of the Bible.
But our salvation does not depend on any of those things, nor does our sanctification for that matter. The gospel is as clear today as it was in Paul’s day. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ – plus nothing or no one else.
Obeying a bunch of man-made rules does not make us holy, obeying the Holy Spirit does. Let him be your guide because he is the one God sent who can truly make us more like Christ.
