Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians Justification by Faith – The Position of Sonship as Believers Galatians 4:1-31

Chapter 4 of the thrilling book of Galatians continues the discussion of Justification by faith showing us our full status as sons of God.  We are full-grown sons of God, having the spiritual ability to grow to spiritual maturity.  Galatians 4:1-31 may be outlined as follows:  I. Paul’s Discussion from the Law – Galatians 4:1-11; II.  Paul’s Discussion from Personal Testimony – Galatians 4:12-20; III. Discussion from an Allegory – Galatians 4:21-31

1. Paul’s Discussion from the Law – Galatians 4:1-11

In verse 1, as heir to his father’s wealth (estate), a son would one day possess all that his father owned.  Yet as a child, he differed little from a servant.  Being an heir as a minor child, though by birthright he owned the whole estate, nevertheless he was kept in subservience like a slave in that he enjoyed no freedom and could make no decision.  In fact, the heir as a child was under guardians who supervised by person and trustees who protected his estate.  This was true until he came of age as a son, an age that varied in the Jewish, Grecian, and Roman societies.

Under Roman law the age of maturity for a child was set by his father and involved a ceremonial donning of the toga virilis and his formal acknowledgement as son and heir.  While growing up, the heir was “under tutors and governors: (v. 2).  He actually had to obey people that in some cases he would one day own.  This would continue “until the time appointed of the father.”

Believers, in their former state of spiritual immaturity, were like slaves.  The scope of that slavery was described as being under the basic principles of the world.  The expression “basic principles,” may refer to the elementary stages of religious experience, whether Jews under the Law or Gentiles in bondage to heathen religions.  Both groups were enslaved until Christ emancipated them.

Beginning with verse 4, The expression “But God” brought hope and freedom to mankind.  As a human father chose the time for his child to become an adult son, so the heavenly Father chose the time for the coming of Christ to make provision for people’s transition from bondage under Law to spiritual sonship.

The “time” was certainly right: the Roman civilization had to bring peace and a road system which facilitated travel; the Grecian civilization had to provide a language which was adopted as the lingua franca of the empire; the Jews had proclaimed monotheism and a Messianic hope in the synagogues of the Mediterranean world.  It was during this time that God sent His Son, the Preexistent One, out of the heaven to the earth on a mission.

The “Son” was not only Deity; but He was also humanity as the expression born of a woman indicates.  According to verse 5, there were two reasons “God sent His Son.”  First, He came to redeem those under the Law (from slavery to the entire Mosaic Law).  Second, Christ’s incarnation and death secured for believers the full rights of sons (“the adoption of sons”).  God the Father not only “sent His Son”, but He also sent the Holy Spirit (v. 6).

No sons or daughters lack the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; I Cor. 12:13; I Cor. 6:19).  The Spirit moves the believer to pray to God, addressing Him as “Abba, Father.”  The word “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Father.”  In verse 7, Paul said emphatically: The Galatians were no longer slaves, but were sons and heirs.  In God’s family, sonship includes heirship (Romans 8:17).

In an effort to grasp their spiritual history, Paul took them back to the time when the Galatian Gentile converts did not know the true God at all.  They had worshipped so-called gods that were nothing more than man-made images.  They even did “service” to them, being enslaved to them (v. 8).  Having reminded the Galatians of their previous spiritual history, Paul then pointed out that they had been freed from the bondage by coming to know God.  To know God is to be born again to eternal life through faith in Christ (John 17:3).

These believers were “known of God” (v. 9), in that, He had chosen them and graciously acted to bring them to faith and salvation.  The sad thing is that these believers, who had been delivered from the terrible bondage to pagan gods, were now being influenced by false teachers to enslave them to weak and useless principles.  These elements were weak (unable to give power to rescue man from condemnation) and beggarly (impoverished and unable to provide the spiritual wealth that only Christ can give).  These elements that the Galatians were turning to consist in observing “days, months, times and years.”   These were Jewish celebrations established by the Law of Moses.  From verse 11, Paul feared that all his labor among the Galatians would be in vain if they (the Galatians) followed the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers.

1. Paul’s Discussion from Personal Testimony – Galatians 4:12-20

In verse 12, Paul appeals to the Galatians on the basis of his past experience with them.  He urged them, “Be as I am; for I am as ye are” (v. 12).  In fact, when Paul had preached the gospel in Galatia, he had done so while experiencing an “infirmity of the flesh” (v. 13).  However, the Galatians had welcomed him.  The Galatians had not yielded to the temptation to despise or reject Paul but had received him “as an angel of God” (v. 14).

The infirmity Paul referred to may have been a physical weakness such as malaria, a serious eye problem.  Whatever the problem, the Galatians were not put off by Paul’s appearance.  Paul reminded the Galatians in verse 15 that they loved him and rejoiced in the message he brought them so much that they would have plucked out their own eyes if they could have given them to Paul to help him.  The joy of salvation through faith in Christ had caused them to fully accept Paul and made them willing to do anything for him.  But that joy now was fading away, as false teaching was bringing them again into sorrowful bondage.

In verse 16, Paul said: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?”  The false teachers who were pushing their doctrines in Galatia had attacked Paul’s integrity.  The false teachers suggested that Paul was insincere and had not taught the truth.  However, Paul had spoken the truth to the Galatians in verse 17, but sadly, they were now listening to those who told them lies.  To “zealously affect” means “to eagerly desire or seek.”  The false teachers were eagerly seeking “to curry favor” with the Galatians, with a desire to deceive them.

In verse 18, Paul was quick to acknowledge that it is good to be eagerly sought out for a good purpose.  Paul had sought the best interests of the Galatians by preaching the gospel.  He wished only that their loyalty to the gospel of grace had continued when he was no longer in their presence.  In verse 19, Paul addresses the Galatians as his “little children.”  Paul was their spiritual father, but Paul adopted maternal language in saying he had experienced the pains of their birth into God’s family as he preached the gospel.  Paul also experienced pain in seeing them falter in their faith and turn from the truth.  That pain would continue as he sought to correct them and until Christ was “formed” in them.  Paul experienced his desire to be present with the Galatian Christians again.  He acknowledged his doubts about them, for he did not know how much of the Judaizing heresy they really had embraced.

III. Discussion from an Allegory – Galatians 4:21-31

Beginning in verse 21, Paul instructed the Galatians to “Listen to the Law.”  The Galatians had not even heard the Law.”  The giving of the Law was not a beautiful sight to experience, but a terrifying one (Exodus 19;16-21; 20:18-19).  The Galatians wanted to be under the Law, so Paul was going to let them hear it.

Looking at the illustrious life of Abraham (Gen. 16; 17; 18; 20; 21) Paul was appealing to the founder of the Jewish nation from whose physical descent the Jews traced their blessings (v. 22).  John the Baptist and Jesus declared that physical descent from Abraham was not enough, however, to guarantee spiritual blessing (Matt. 3:9; John 8:37-44).  Paul reminded the Galatians that Abraham had two sons and they should consider which of the two they were most like.  One son Isaac was born of Sarah, the free woman; the other son Ishmael was born of Hagar, the slave woman.

In verse 23, Paul wanted the Galatians to consider the ways in which the sons were conceived.  Ishmael was born in the ordinary way, that is, in the course of nature and requiring no miracle and no promise of God.  Isaac, on the other hand, was born as the result of a promise.  Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of childbearing, but God miraculously fulfilled His promise in bringing life out of the deadness of Sarah’s womb (Rom. 4:18-21).

In verse 24, Paul then pointed to two covenants: one, the Mosaic Covenant, that had it origin at Mt. Sinai; then to the Abrahamic Covenant, a gracious system represented by Sarah that brought about a Messianic promise.  Simply put, Hagar brought forth a slave and Sarah brought Messianic promise and hope.

In verses 25-26, Paul pointed to two Jerusalem(s).  Hagar stood for the first century city of Jerusalem, a city enslaved to Rome and in slavery to the Law.  Sarah corresponded to Jerusalem above, the mother of all the children of grace.  This heavenly city, which one day will come to earth (Rev. 21:2) is now the “city of the living God” (Heb. 12:22), the home of departed believers of all ages.

In verse 27, Paul quotes from Isaiah 54:1, prophesying the changing fortunes of Israel, which he applied to Sarah’s history.  Israel before her Babylonian captivity was likened to a woman with a husband.  The barren woman was Israel in captivity.

The woman bearing more children may have pictured Israel restored to the land after the exile, but also portrays Israel’s millennial blessings.  Paul applied this passage to Sarah, who was once barren, but later blessed with a child, and who will ultimately enjoy a greater progeny than Hagar.

In verses 28-30, Paul will make three comparisons in applying the truth from the biblical illustration.  First, Paul compared the birth of Isaac in verse 28 to that of Christians.  As “Isaac” experienced a super-natural birth and was a child by means of a promise, so each believer experiences a supernatural birth (St. John 3:3, 5), and is a recipient of the promise of salvation (Gal. 3:9, 22, 29).  As children of God, we should not live as children of bondage.

Second, in verse 29, Paul compared Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac to the false teachers’ opposition to believers.  As Abraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac, Ishmael laughed derisively at Isaac, thinking and assuming that he would be heir to his father’s estate since he was the oldest (Genesis. 21:8-9).  This early animosity has been perpetuated in the two peoples which descended from the two sons of Abraham and is seen in the current Arab-Israel tensions.  Paul likened the Judaizers to Ishmael, who continue to persecute true believers who were born by the power of the Spirit.

Third, in verse 30, Paul compared the action of Abraham to the obligation of the Galatians.  When Sarah observed Ishmael mocking Isaac, she asked honorable Abraham to expel the slave woman and her son lest Ishmael become a joint heir with Isaac.  God granted Sarah’s request (Gen. 21:10, 12).  Law observance brings no inheritance; thus, Judaizer should be excommunicated with their false doctrine.  In verse 31, Paul concluded his argument affirming that Galatian believers were not children of the slave woman who was driven away and denied a share in the inheritance.  Rather, all believers are children of the free woman, “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

May God Bless!