Galatians 4 | What the Story of Hagar and Sarah Teaches Us About True Freedom

 How does Galatians 4 explain spiritual adoption and sonship? 
 What is the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4? 

Here's the episode on Genesis 16-18 that we referenced: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2105752/12058592

Galatians chapter 4 delves into the theme of spiritual sonship and the contrast between living under the law and living in the freedom offered by Christ. Paul continues from the previous chapter, emphasizing that if believers belong to Christ, they are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to God’s promise. The chapter begins by comparing heirs under the law to children under guardians, who are no different from slaves until they receive their inheritance. Paul emphasizes that when the time was right, God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that they could be adopted as God’s children.

Paul warns the Galatians against returning to their former ways, reminding them that they are now known by God and should not revert to practices rooted in legalism, such as observing special days and rituals in an attempt to secure salvation. He urges them not to abandon the freedom they have received in Christ by turning back to “weak and worthless” principles. This concern is central to Paul’s message as he highlights the destructive influence of false teachers who seek to lead them astray by promoting a works-based form of righteousness.

The chapter also presents the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, where Paul uses the story of Abraham’s two sons—Ishmael, born to a slave woman, and Isaac, born to a free woman—to illustrate the difference between living under the law and living by God’s promise. Ishmael represents striving to achieve God’s promises through human effort, while Isaac symbolizes receiving God’s promises by faith. Paul concludes that believers are children of the free woman and should live in the freedom Christ provides rather than being enslaved by legalism.

Paul's message in Galatians 4 is a powerful reminder of the uniqueness of Christianity: salvation is not about what humans can do to please God, but about what God has already done for humanity through Jesus Christ. The freedom found in this sonship allows believers to live as heirs, enjoying the benefits of God's promises without the burden of trying to earn salvation.

Overall, Galatians 4 invites readers to examine their own faith practices and consider whether they are truly living in the freedom of Christ or falling back into the trap of trying to justify themselves through

Transcript

 Galatians 4

Galatians 4

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's Plan, Your Part, Year Two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today we are looking at Galatians chapter four and it is naturally full.

Following up on the point that was already made at the tail end of Galatians three. So just so you understand exactly what's going on here in chapter three, verse 29, Paul says, and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise. And Paul is going to wrap up chapter four talking about specifically.

Abraham's offspring. So he does kind of wiggle here and there and everywhere. Uh, but he wants to keep this idea of sonship in mind and specifically Abraham's sons in mind, because it's going to teach us what it means to be following Christ and not justifying ourselves by what we do with our hands or how we follow the law.

Yeah, it is helpful, especially if you, if you are reading this for yourself or you stick around for the readings, [00:01:00] the chapter kind of starts out with a really odd, Like, it seems like it's this weird sense of nowhere. It says, I mean that the heir, as long as he's a child. So it feels like you're picking up in the middle of a conversation that you just walked into.

So it is helpful to have the context of chapter three right before that with the, the promise of being an heir of Abraham, uh, if you are in Christ. So it's really important that we kick that off. Um, and then also I do love how this chapter. Yeah. Kind of seeps back into, uh, Hagar and Sarah at the end of the chapter that really gives us kind of like those So just to set this in context, one, you got to read this for yourself, so make sure you read it, make sure you, uh, read over Galatians 4 and see what it says instead of just going off of what we say.

Uh, but remember that Paul is trying to confront false teachers. that are trying to convince the Galatians that it is not enough just to believe that they are justified [00:02:00] by Christ, by believing in Christ, uh, they have to do other things. So it's kind of like salvation in Christ plus this, that, and the other thing, specifically in chapter four, um, just a helpful verse for context.

He's going to say in verse 10, you observe days and months and seasons and years. I'm afraid. I may have labored over you in vain. He's saying one thing they're being encouraged to do is celebrate certain holy days and apparently they're tying their salvation to it. So it's not wrong to celebrate holy days.

It's not, it's not wrong to celebrate, um, You know, Christmas, for example, um, it is wrong to assume that you are justified before God because you are celebrating holidays. That is actual total nonsense. So that's what he's confronting here. And to make that case, he's going to play on this sonship idea, uh, which would have been pretty impactful to the Roman audience, and I would say actually impactful to our audience today.

Um, if you know, if you yourself have been adopted or if you know anyone who Who is adopted? [00:03:00] Um, it is a very powerful experience to be adopted into a family and to become an heir of that family. Uh, and in the Roman audience, uh, adoption was like a critical thing that Christians were very famous for, but also in the political sphere, a lot of the Roman, um, emperors were actually adopted.

And what was interesting is they would, they would have a very limited amount of power, but once they were adopted by an emperor, they would inherit all All of his power. So to be an adopted son of God, um, you know, if you've been a Christian for a long time, you kind of lose the imagery because you've heard it so many times.

Um, but it is no small thing to be an adopted son of God and heir of all of his promises, uh, an heir of all of the things that he has created for us. That's a big deal. Well, I think it's also important to take a look at the verses right above what you were just reading too. Um, he's. Essentially laying out his concern for them because he said, formerly you were enslaved, um, to [00:04:00] those that by nature are not gods.

So he's afraid of them kind of falling back into their old ways. Um, Verse nine, but now that you have come to know God or rather be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world whose slaves you want to be once more? I think that's pretty powerful too.

Um, if I would be getting that message or if I was having a talk with like a mentor of mine and they asked me why I'm like falling back into my elementary, like childish ways or like trading something. So precious and wonderful that I have found in Christ for something that was So worthless and like binding in the past.

I think that those words carry a lot as well. So Not only are they they're dealing with their their sonship or they're being an heir They're also turning back to something so cheap and worthless and keep in mind the thing They're trying to turn back [00:05:00] to what he's confronting them about is that they desire to turn back to being justified by the law Justified by the things that they do the way that they look The ways that they act, the days that they celebrate, like they actually were being led to believe that that is how they accomplish salvation.

And the really, really uniquely Christian thing that we believe, everybody else that sets up systems to honor gods that aren't real, they, it's all about what you do to please God and what is so unique about our God and our faith. And I think what proves that he is the one true God is that our entire faith is defined by what he has done.

For us, he has approached us. He has sacrificed for us. We're not trying to do things to make him happy so that he'll accept us. He is trying to move toward us so that we accept him. It's really unique. And it's this really powerful thing that Paul's continuing to teach in Galatians and that we are justified before God.

Only by accepting Christ's sacrifice, nothing else. And that's the case that he's making [00:06:00] here in chapter 4. Interesting fact, if you look at verse 12, he said, Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I have also become as you are. You did me no wrong. Um, interesting thing, he's saying, he's like, He's gotten rid of his, like, Jewish mosaic covenant law ways to be like them in order to, like, I would assume, to preach the gospel to them.

And what's interesting is because he's doing that, he's like, well, hey, hold on. Now you're like flipping backwards to the things that, Really, I don't know, threw him off. So I think that's kind of a, a crazy transformation going on too. He's like, hold on, put the brakes, put the brakes. It is important. It's important to highlight for all the Paul haters out there, uh, that Peter also left his Jewish life behind and started living at times like a Gentile.

Barnabas also left his Jewish life behind and started living as a Gentile. This is not just a uniquely Paul based thing. Um, the apostles. [00:07:00] You know, themselves stopped living by the law and instead realized that they were justified by faith in Christ. This was across the board. And what people will try to do today is point to these Pauline letters and be like, yeah, well, he was just lying.

It was like, well, okay. But also Peter was living this way. We know that because it's recorded. Um, also the apostles were living this way. We know that because the acts 15 council, uh, so don't be deceived by false teachers. Fun fact to verse 13 follows right after he's telling them. I guess it's just a little bit of a nugget towards, uh, God's sovereignty.

He said, You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you didn't scorn me because of it, and you received, uh, me as an angel of God, uh, as Christ Jesus. So, crazy thing, like, it seems to me, like, Galatia was not even a place that he had fully intended on even being, but because of God's sovereignty, he's like, this is amazing, like, the fact that I was even able to be there to preach to you, um, to [00:08:00] like, turn my, my ways to like, I don't know, not be so heavily on the Jewish side of things and preach to you in the way that I was able to, is just, Is an incredible testament to what God is up to in that church.

So I think he's even, he's just like backing himself up with even more evidence that, Hey, this is a good thing. You don't want to shy away from it. Stop doing what you're doing, quit the direction that you're going. Okay. So in a second, we'll dive into this, uh, sunship thing with Hagar and Sarah and Abraham.

We'll talk about that in a second, but I want to point out one quick little detail. It's like a blink and you miss it kind of thing. Verse 16, have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you. But for no good purpose, they want to shut you out that you may make much of them.

This is Paul talking about the false teachers that are present in Galatia. We know from finishing up first Corinthians, second Corinthians, they're present in Corinth as well. These people that are teaching this false doctrine, all they're doing is trying to empower themselves. These are selfish teachers that see an [00:09:00] audience that they can use to empower themselves, enrich themselves, increase their, um, influence like.

These false teachers are always trying to inflate their own egos, and that has not stopped. This is a huge problem in today's world where there are people that are teaching this like weird watered down Christianity light, um, that is like not countercultural so that they can enrich themselves so that they can empower themselves and bolden themselves.

They want to be famous. They want to be on all the stuff, and I think Paul would say like, Hey, Be careful about these people because a person that's trying to bring you real honest and true doctrine that honors Christ is going to try to bring attention to Christ, not themselves. And you can see Paul here, um, sort of hating the fact that he's in conflict with this church because he wants them to focus on Christ and not himself.

I just think it's a really important detail to point out. Mm hmm. So we do move into the next section, which [00:10:00] I immediately remembered at the beginning of this. I was like, Oh, I think this is the one where they talk about, uh, Hara, Hara, Hagar, uh, and the crazy thing about this one is I always think about my own strivings and when I try to do what I want God to do, and then God is just kind of like, I just seems like laughable to him.

Um, and then he comes through in such a different and better way anyway. Uh, but that's the idea that we get here with, um, The example of Hagar and Sarah. So there's like these two people that are, or the two examples that are showing on the scene, um, obviously relating back to that original story where Abraham like takes matters into his own hands, um, and Ishmael is born, which actually creates a lot of strife for the entire family.

Um, but then also. Sarah, out of nowhere, just becomes pregnant and has Isaac, uh, which is that promise that was given to Abraham. So it just kind of like sets us up for this idea of [00:11:00] sonship. If you, if you want the context of this, you can go back and check out, uh, Genesis 16 and 17. If you want, we've actually done podcast episodes on Genesis 16 and 17.

You can see, you should link that. Oh, we can, we can see if we can link that in the description. Um, yeah. That it all plays out back there. And if you don't know the context, go back and read it. But essentially God promises Abraham that he will have a son. And it is crazy that God promised that because both Abraham and Sarah are too old to have sons and they, Like Sarah actually laughs because it's like, this could not be possible.

You know, it would only be possible if God did it. And they basically get sick of waiting. They actually believe God's promise. Like they know that God intends for them to have a son. They just start to convince themselves, uh, that they need to do something in the process to make it happen. And so, um, Sarah actually encourages Abraham to have sex with a slave so that they can have.

Now, what Paul's doing here is he's pointing [00:12:00] out that essentially, um, Ishmael is the son of trying to figure things out on your own, trying to make a way for God to work. And Isaac is the son of God, just working. And what's interesting, go back and read in Genesis for the context, but God actually takes care of both of these sons.

He does not actually just blatantly forget Ishmael. He does not mistreat Ishmael. He cares for this family, uh, and continues to care for that family. You can see the context for yourself. Um, but what Paul's doing here is saying, Hey. We want to live lives that are defined by what God is doing, not by what we are doing because oftentimes when we try to do something for ourselves, specifically when we're trying to accomplish something that God has already promised on our own, we will always do a less good job, less better job, less, it won't be good.

Um, it, it will, it will be embarrassing. And when we wait for God to move and God to accomplish his own promises, God gets the glory and we get the [00:13:00] benefit. So it's always better to trust in God's promises. And in Galatia, what's happening is these people have come in and saying, no, no, no, you can't trust.

Just in Jesus, you need to trust yourself. You need to accomplish salvation for yourself. You need to do it sound like today? Like, believe in what your heart says. Yes. Trust in what you, you feel is best for you. But I always think, now I, I hesitate to say it because it just sounds kind of like, A little uncomfortable with, um, Ishmael, but he's giving an example.

So I'll just say it, it always feels like when we try it ourselves, just like a cheap counterfeit of what original intentions were. And so when we try to do things our own way, it has always like, even if you do get the outcome you want, it's, it seems so much more painful and so much more like stress and anxiety, all those buzzwords that you always hear about.

Because when we try to do things our own way, when we Follow our own heart when we follow our own destination and dreams and all the things we completely discredit the original plan and design that God has put out in front [00:14:00] of us. Um, and I think honestly, if nothing else, it's an opportunity for us to learn, but again, it just reminds me of that like cheap counterfeit because God has already done the work.

Jesus already gave his life and took it back up again. Jesus already paid for your sins. There's nothing you can do to pay for your own sins. And so anytime you're led to believe that you can. You're believing a lie. So what can we do or what can we say would be a good wrap up your part for today? I feel like there's a couple of things, but I guess mostly my mind goes to sovereignty of like, God is the one who has the plan.

And when we try to like craft up our own or make up our own, um, it just, it, I don't want to know. It like ultimately ends in disaster or just, we find ourselves in a place where we're like crying out like, God, please help us. Look what we've done. I will point out that one of the best things you can do is evaluate this for yourself.

It's very easy to point to other groups of people and say what they're doing to try to accomplish their own salvation. And there [00:15:00] is a plethora of that out there. But one of the best things you can do is examine your own life. And the way this happens is, is subtle kind of. sneaky little ways where you just, you know, you used to believe, yes, I'm completely justified before God by Jesus sacrifice.

And then you start to believe like, yeah, but it's that plus this and that plus this and that plus this. And eventually you move further and further away from God and your relationship. Um, so I would say, and invite you to evaluate your own life and see, are there any things that you are doing that you believe will justify you before God?

And if there is, um, you, you need to stop believing that because Jesus did it. You can't do it. Um, that's what I'll leave you with. We'll pick up that argument, uh, tomorrow with Galatians chapter five. We'll see you then. Thanks for listening to today's episode. Before we get to the reading, I want to recommend another podcast that I'm a part of called God's whole story.

This year, we're releasing one episode a week on [00:16:00] Monday mornings, overviewing one book of the Bible each week. So, God's Play on Your Part is a deep dive, chapter by chapter, where God's whole story is taking it one book at a time. If you enjoy this podcast, you'll enjoy that one. Go check it out. Now, here's the reading.

Galatians, chapter 4. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave. Though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way, we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son.

And if a son, then an heir through God. Formally, when you did not know God, you were [00:17:00] enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of this world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first. And though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that if possible you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It [00:18:00] is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.

I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Huh? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through the promise.

Now, this may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

For it is written, Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear. Break forth and cry aloud, You who are not in [00:19:00] labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of a promise. But just 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. 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. So brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part.

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Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again [00:20:00] tomorrow.