In our study of Galatians chapter four, we look at what it means to be a true son of God. We will look at Abraham's sons and see how it relates to our adoption into God's family.
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What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a minor he is no different from a slave, even though he is the legal owner of the estate; rather, he is subject to guardians and caretakers until the time previously set by his father.
In chapter three, we saw how we, as Christians, were all made to be sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This passage is talking about the period of time in a child's life before they are mature and considered to be legally of age. Today, in the USA, that is determined in many cases by the law such as legal drinking age, drivers license, etc. During Paul's time, it was not up to the government or a law but the father of the child. Until the father decided that the son was mature enough, he was considered to be a child and, though he was a legal heir, he did not have control of anything to do with the estate. The child was still, in effect, a slave to the guardian or trustee that was put in charge of them.
So it is with us - when we were "children" we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe;
Paul is talking about his Jewish heritage and the fact that he was a slave to the law.
but when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, so that he might redeem those in subjection to this legalism and thus enable us to be made God's sons.
Freedom from the law only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Through Him, we all are given the "full rights of sons".
Now because you are sons, God has sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, the Spirit who cries out, "Abba!" (that is, "Dear Father!"). So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son you are also an heir.
If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then, the Holy Spirit lives in us and testifies that we are sons of God. Because we are sons, we also are heirs meaning we inherit all that is God's (which is everything).
In the past, when you did not know God, you served as slaves beings which in reality are non-gods. But now you do know God, and, more than that, you are known by God. So how is it that you turn back again to those weak and miserable elemental spirits? Do you want to enslave yourselves to them once more?
Before the Jews had came to faith in Jesus, they had been under the high priests and other religious leaders who were mere men. After accepting Christ, they were freed from that religious system and brought into a right relationship with God. Now, some of them were allowing the religious system to creep back into their lives and bind them to the law once again. Paul asks them these questions to get them to see how ridiculous it is to be set free and then turn back to bondage. We too are set free from all of the rituals and traditions when we accept Jesus but we must also be ready for those leaders who would try to put us back under the law.
You observe special days, months, seasons and years! I fear for you that my work among you has been wasted!
Paul uses some pretty strong words to get them to see how dangerous it is to try to mix law with grace. People were trying to put them back under the Sabbath restrictions (which were a part of the law) and once you add a little bit of law then you no longer have grace. We are adopted in God's family and become "sons of God" by His grace and not through our own efforts.
Brothers, I beg of you: put yourselves in my place - after all, I put myself in your place. It isn't that you have done me any wrong - you know that it was because I was ill that I proclaimed the Good News to you at first; and even though my physical condition must have tempted you to treat me with scorn, you did not display any sign of disdain or disgust. No, you welcomed me as if I had been an angel of God, as if I had been the Messiah Yeshua himself!
Paul had a pretty nasty eye disease in which excess pus ran out of his eyes. This would have been tough to look at and "a trial" to show him kindness and love. We see, here, that it was because of this disease that Paul had been able to tell them about Jesus. They welcomed him instead of shunning him and that is what we are called to do with the less fortunate and those that the world looks on as being lower than the rest.
So what has become of the joy you felt? For I bear you witness that had it been possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
The Galatians had loved Paul so much that they would have even been willing to give him their eyes but that has changed. Paul asks them a question to get them to see how ridiculous their behavior is now. Because he loved them enough to tell them the truth, they turned on him. In our world today, it is much the same way in that many will just go along with whatever in order to keep the peace. They will say that they are doing so out of love but we must ask ourselves if that really is love or is love warning someone about a dangerous condition. Paul's love for the Galatians required him to tell them that they were turning back to be enslaved again by the law. Are we ready to share the truth with people that we say we love? That is the question that we must each answer in our minds but we must also remember that our answer has eternal consequences for ourselves as well as them.
True, these teachers are zealous for you, but their motives are not good. They want to separate you from us so that you will become zealous for them.
Paul always preached of grace but others were trying to put a little bit of law back into it. They were not doing so to benefit the believers but were doing so to further their own goals. The same is true today in many places for example: If you go to just about any church for a year, you can bet that you are going to get at least a month long focus (if not a sermon series) on tithing. In many cases, this is done at the end of the year to make people feel guilty about their financial contribution so that they will give more. There are many other examples but our reaction should be the same as what we see here in Paul.
To be zealous is good, provided always that the cause is good. Indeed, whether I am present with you or not,
Paul is talking, here, about people that are playing both sides of the fence. When he was around, they would be sold on grace and their freedom in Christ. When he was away, they would go back to trying to set up another religious system. It is sorta the way it is with many believers today that will attend a place of worship once (or even twice) each week but when they are outside of that building they are totally different. This is the same type of thing that Jesus warned the church of Laodicea about in Revelation 3.
my dear children, I am suffering the pains of giving birth to you all over again - and this will go on until the Messiah takes shape in you. I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone of voice. I don't know what to do with you.
Paul considered the Galatian believers to be his children because of the fact that he had initially shared the gospel with them. He was trying to get them to mature but he says that it is back to as if they were newborns again. He did not like the fact that he had to be corrective in his tone towards them but realized it was for their own good. Everyone wants to give good news to people but sometimes it is necessary to speak the truth in love even if the truth contains things that they do not want to hear.
Tell me, you who want to be in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism, don't you hear what the Torah itself says?
Once again, Paul asks a question to try and get them to see how ridiculous their answer would be. It seems crazy to want to be under the law without even knowing what it says but, in a way, that is happening even more today. Many people (pastors included) want to pick out a certain part of the law and dig in their heels. They will even go so far as to call it their statement of faith or some other religious sounding thing. They forget the rest of the law and the devil uses them to divide God's people. The truth of the matter (and what Paul was trying to get them to see) is that, if you put your hope in the law, then, you are bound to the entire law and not just a little part that you tend to like or agree with.
It says that Avraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The one by the slave woman was born according to the limited capabilities of human beings, but the one by the free woman was born through the miracle-working power of God fulfilling his promise.
This passage shows us the heart of many of the problems in the world today. Abraham, like Adam (in Genesis 3), chose to listen to his wife instead of obeying God. The result for Adam (and us) was sin and death. The result for Abraham (and us) is Islam and the jealousy between Muslims and Jews. Isaac (the Jews) are children of the promise and all who accept Jesus Christ are added to the family of the Jews. Ishmael (and those who follow the teachings of Islam) cannot claim the promise that was given to Abraham. They are children of man's work and works do not gain you salvation.
Now, to make a midrash on these things: the two women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children for slavery - this is Hagar. Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Yerushalayim, for she serves as a slave along with her children. But the Yerushalayim above is free, and she is our mother;
Mount Sinai represents the Mosaic Law and, as we saw in chapter three, the law does not have the power to free us. Therefore, those who trust in the law remain slaves and this corresponds to Hagar and her son Ishmael. Today, the equivalent are those who practice Islam, which began in Arabia, as they are slaves to rituals that cannot bring salvation and freedom. Likewise, the city of Jerusalem today is captive to those who are trying to earn their freedom. But, the new Jerusalem which is coming (see Revelation21) is not for those who try to earn it but those that accept the freedom that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
for the Tanakh says, "Rejoice, you barren woman who does not bear children! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the deserted wife will have more children than the one whose husband is with her!" You, brothers, like Yitz'chak, are children referred to in a promise of God.
Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah (54:1), in order for us to see that we are children of the same promise that was given to Abraham and Sarah. The quote is a call for the relatively small nation of Israel (God's people) to rejoice in the fact that there was more of God's people than what they were seeing. Although they could not see it at the time, God was looking down through time and speaking about the adoption of Gentiles through the blood of Jesus Christ (a Jew).
But just as then the one born according to limited human capability persecuted the one born through the Spirit's supernatural power, so it is now.
After Isaac was born, Ishmael mocked him by trying to claim his promise. It is the same today as we see the battle between Islam (Ishmael) & Judaism (Isaac). This battle is displayed in attempts to claim Jerusalem and parts of Israel as well as the shedding of Jewish and Christian blood.
Nevertheless, what does the Tanakh say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for by no means will the son of the slave woman inherit along with the son of the free woman!" So, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Paul quotes from Genesis 21 and this is where God tells Abraham these words. Those who are identified with Ishmael and his descendants do not share in the inheritance which is salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus was a descendant of Isaac and so all who are his are also descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Therefore, we are children of the promise and share in the inheritance through Jesus. We are, in fact, sons of God.
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