GALATIANS 4:21–31
Two Women, Two Covenants
Paul has been warning the Galatians not to place themselves under the Law.
Now he turns directly to those who want to do exactly that:
“Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?” — Galatians 4:21
Then Paul goes back to Abraham once more.
But this time he focuses on two women, two sons, and two covenants.
And Paul's conclusion may have surprised his Jewish readers.
Abraham Had Two Sons
Paul begins:
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.” — verse 22
The two women are:
Hagar — the slave woman
and
Sarah — the free woman.
Their sons are:
Ishmael — Hagar's son
and
Isaac — Sarah's son.
Both were physical descendants of Abraham.
But Paul is about to show that physical descent from Abraham is not the main issue.
Two Sons — But Born in Different Ways
Paul says:
“His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.” — verse 23
Ishmael was born through Abraham and Sarah's attempt to produce the promised child by their own plan.
Isaac came because God kept His promise.
So once again Paul brings us back to the theme that has run throughout Galatians:
Promise.
Paul Tells Us He Is Using an Illustration
Then Paul says:
“These things are being taken figuratively.” — verse 24
Paul isn't denying that Hagar, Sarah, Ishmael, and Isaac were real people.
He is using their story to illustrate the controversy facing the Galatians.
He says:
“The women represent two covenants.”
Now we need to pay close attention.
Paul himself tells us what the two women represent.
Hagar Represents Mount Sinai
Paul writes:
“One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.” — verse 24
What happened at Mount Sinai?
The Law was given through Moses.
Paul connects that covenant with Hagar, the slave woman.
That is striking.
Remember the situation in Galatia.
People were telling Gentile Christians that they needed circumcision and the Law.
They apparently thought that would give them a more secure place among Abraham's children.
Paul says it would move them toward slavery, not freedom.
Paul Connects Hagar With the Present Jerusalem
Then Paul makes an even more surprising statement:
“Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.” — verse 25
Notice Paul's words:
“the present Jerusalem.”
That was the earthly Jerusalem of Paul's day.
The city associated with the Temple.
The center of Jewish religious life.
Yet Paul connects it with:
Hagar,
Sinai,
and slavery.
That is probably not the comparison Paul's opponents would have expected.
But There Is Another Jerusalem
Then Paul says:
“But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.” — verse 26
Now the contrast is clear.
Present Jerusalem — slavery.
Jerusalem above — freedom.
Paul does not direct Christians toward earthly Jerusalem as the center of their hope.
He points them toward the Jerusalem above.
And he says:
“She is our mother.”
That includes the Gentile Christians to whom Paul is writing.
Who Are the Children of Promise?
Paul now applies the story directly:
“Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.” — verse 28
Who is “you”?
The Galatian Christians.
Including Gentiles.
They did not need physical descent from Abraham to become children of promise.
They did not need circumcision.
They did not need to come under Sinai.
They belonged to Christ.
Remember what Paul already said:
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” — Galatians 3:29
Now he says the same thing another way:
You are children of promise like Isaac.
Flesh Persecuted Spirit
Paul continues:
“At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.” — verse 29
Paul sees a parallel between the Genesis story and what was happening in his own day.
Those associated with the flesh were opposing those associated with the promise and the Spirit.
Again, physical descent does not determine who belongs to the promise.
Then Paul Quotes Scripture
Paul asks:
“But what does Scripture say?” — verse 30
That's exactly the question we want to ask.
His answer comes from the story of Hagar and Ishmael:
“Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.”
Paul's conclusion is strong.
The Galatians should not put themselves under the covenant represented by Hagar.
That covenant does not produce the inheritance Paul has been discussing.
Paul's Conclusion
Paul finishes:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.” — verse 31
There is his point.
The issue is not:
Who can trace his physical ancestry to Abraham?
Both Ishmael and Isaac could do that.
The issue is:
Who belongs to the promise?
Paul's answer throughout Galatians has been consistent.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
This Raises an Important Question About Jerusalem
Many Christians today are taught to look toward earthly Jerusalem as though God's plan must eventually return there for its final fulfillment.
But we should at least stop and listen carefully to Paul.
When Paul contrasts two Jerusalems, which one does he identify with Christian hope?
He does not say:
The present Jerusalem is our mother.
He says:
“The Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”
That doesn't answer every question about prophecy or the future of the Jewish people.
But it should affect how we ask those questions.
We should not build a theology that ignores Paul's own contrast.
Look at Paul's Argument From Chapter 3 Through Chapter 4
The pieces now fit together.
The promise came before the Law.
The Law was added until Christ came.
The Law served as a guardian until Christ.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed.
Jew and Gentile are one in Christ.
Those in Christ are heirs of the promise.
Hagar represents Sinai and slavery.
Sarah represents freedom and promise.
The present Jerusalem corresponds to slavery.
The Jerusalem above is free.
Paul's argument keeps moving in the same direction.
Toward Christ.
Not backward to Sinai.
Paul Is About to Say “Therefore”
The next verse is Galatians 5:1.
And it really belongs to the force of everything Paul has just said:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
Paul has spent four chapters building toward that statement.
So when we read about Christian freedom in chapter 5, we shouldn't invent our own definition of freedom.
We already know the question Paul has been discussing.
Freedom from what?
Paul has been telling us.
Now he is going to explain what that freedom means—and what it does not mean.
Read the paragraph.
Follow the argument.
Check the context.
Read First. Conclude Later.