CHILDREN OF PROMISE

“Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

“For it is written: ‘Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child: shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labour; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.’

“Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.” Galatians 4:25-28.

What is that all about? Paul was comparing the two mothers of Abraham’s sons with two covenants: the covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, and the covenant with Abraham, and two cities, Jerusalem which is in Israel and the heavenly Jerusalem which is above.

What was he trying to explain? He was trying to show his Galatian converts, firstly, that Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, produced a son by natural means and that her son was a slave like herself. Hagar corresponds to the physical Jerusalem in Israel which represents the natural descendants of Abraham, the Jews, who are slaves because they try to gain acceptance with God by keeping the covenant of law which was given at Mount Sinai, and could only expose, not deal with sin.

Secondly, Isaac was born supernaturally through God’s promise. Sarah, the mother of Isaac, represents the Jerusalem, which is above, the heavenly city of God which stands for the people of God who are Abraham’s descendants by faith in Christ. They are the spiritual offspring of Abraham because they receive God’s gift of righteousness by faith just as Abraham did. They are the children of promise.

Children of promise are free. They do not have to earn God’s favour or labour for their place in the family. Unlike slaves who do not belong to the family, who live in the fear of punishment if they do not conform and who have no inheritance because their master is not their father, the children of promise are sons and daughters of God. They have the right to live in the family; they have the Father’s nature and access to His resources because they are born of God.

“…To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12, 13.

Paul was desperately earnest in his desire to show these ignorant Gentile believers that observing the law as a means of gaining acceptance with God was a backward step. He came at it from every possible angle and used every possible argument to convince them of the truth that Jesus is the completion of the law for them as well as for the Jew. They were sons of God, not slaves. Their obedience as sons came from another motivation, not fear but love and trust in God as a perfect heavenly Father.

The Jews were ensnared by their religious traditions.  They refused to recognise Jesus as their Messiah and to put their faith in Him instead of in their futile observance of the law. They refused to believe and accept the truth. “Do you really want to be like them?” Paul wanted to know.

We may not literally do what they were doing, but what about other religious taboos that we adopt as requirements for being Jesus’ disciples? These are all externals which have no place in our simple faith-walk with Jesus. Does it matter what we eat, what we wear, on what day we rest, whether we lie, sit, or stand when we pray, whether we do or do not use musical instruments in public worship, and so on. None of these things enhance or detract from our union with Jesus unless they are acts of deliberate disobedience.

Jesus said, “Follow me; learn from me,” and what do we learn? Jesus was free from the burden of all these irrelevancies to love and obey the Father and to show the world what the Father is really like. He wants us free as well. Religion does not set us free. Jesus does, as we follow Him.

We are only the true children of Abraham and children of promise when we put our faith in Jesus and not in our self-effort, for acceptance with God.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.