Galatians 4:21-31

4:21 | Many people find legalism satisfying; it gives them a sense of control and lets them feel superior to others. The irony is that they fail to hear the message of the law, even as they try to obey it.

Note: The birth of Ishmael (he who was of the bondwoman) illustrates religious self-effort and works-righteousness. Sarah and Abraham feared that God was unable to keep His covenant, so they contrived a way to help fulfill the promise. This analogy was shocking - the Judaizers claimed to be sons of Isaac, but Paul’s point is clear: clinging to the law instead of ingeritance through Christ demonstrates that they are not the true sons of promise.

4:23 | The birth of Isaac (he of the freewoman) illustrates the way of faith - God’s way as demonstrated by the Galatian converts.

4:27 | These words from Isaiah 54:1, originally written to cheer the Jewish exiles in Babylon, testify that they Galatian converts are citizens of the “Jerusalem above” (4:26) and describe the joy Sarah felt when she gave birth to Isaac.

4:28 | Just as Isaac’s birth was a product of faith and not of works, so Christ is formed in our hearts the same way: by faith (3:29; Rom. 9:7-8; Acts 3:25). Now Gentiles and Jews alike can be heirs of God and members of the household of Abraham (Rom. 4:16).

4:30 | God commanded Abraham to banish Hagar and Ishmael. That harsh reality symbolizes the truth that law and grace cannot be mixed in a believer’s life. Our salvation comes entirely by grace through faith, and those who teach justification by works should be cast out, just as Hagar and Ishmael were (Gen. 21:10; Rom. 8:5-8).

4:31 | We do not live righteous lives and serve God so that we might be blessed but because we have already been blessed.