What's The Plan?

^"21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. ²³ But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. ²⁴ This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. ²⁵ Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

“Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
Than those of the one who has a husband.”

²⁸ And you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But as at that time the son who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so it is even now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say?

“Drive out the slave woman and her son,
For the son of the slave woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”

³¹ So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman."

Galatians 4:21-31

 

Good Morning Beloved,

 

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

We're so glad you're here

 

After a long, dry sermon, the minister announced that he wished to meet with the church's board following the close of the service. The first man to arrive and greet the minister was a total stranger. "Sir, I believe that you have misunderstood my announcement. This is a meeting of the board members," explained the minister. "Yes, I know," said the man, "but if there is anyone here who was more bored than I am, I'd like to meet him."

There was another minister delivered a sermon in 30 minutes one Sunday morning, which was about half the usual length of his sermons. He explained, "I regret to inform you that my dog, who is very fond of eating paper, ate that portion of my sermon which I was unable to deliver this morning." After the service, a visitor from another church shook hands with the preacher and said, "Reverend, if that dog of yours has any pups, I want to give one to my minister."

 

I would like to let all of you know, that I already have a dog and I'm not presently looking for another,

 

How you interpret the facts is important. Events aren’t always what they seem on the surface. There are some events in life that can only be understood if the Holy Spirit explains them to us. The proposition that only those who by a true and living faith accept God’s promise are children of God is given its last defense with an appeal to Scripture interpretation. It is an appeal to Scripture to again prove that Christians are not under the law. People are saved and sanctified because of their faith in Christ, not because of what they do. 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for revealing Your marvelous truth we receive each time we gather, we are so grateful, at times, it's overwhelming. Your majesty, Your glory is beyond our comprehension. It is astonishing to us, that You would grant us such riches, as salvation and eternal life, even at our best, we are so unworthy.

Lord, we patiently wait on You, often suffering, struggling in this present age, for the glory that is to come, for the glorious day when we will suffer no more and all of our tears will be wiped away. We thank You for that hope. We pray that we would know and experience Your joy, that we would rejoice, until that day comes.

In Jesus' name

Amen

Today's Message: What's The Plan?

The legalistic Jews continuously promoted the indispensable necessity of keeping the law. If they had truly listened to the law they would know that it contradicted their beliefs. The word law here is without the definite article referring to a legalistic following of the Torah or Pentateuch. The lively word listen or hear carries the idea of understanding what is heard. The challenge is that if they really hear the law, meaning correctly understand and respond to it, they would not want to be under it.

 

The Jews were always boasting about being descendants of Abraham as if that relationship granted salvation. Yet those who prided themselves on their descent from Abraham forgot that he had two sons. Ishmael by Hagar and Isaac by Sarah. If physical decent from Abraham is so all–important then Jews are no better than the Ishmaelites or Arabs. Yet there is a difference, not just of mothers, but of a contrast in relationships. One was a wife and a free woman, the other a slave and a bondwoman.

 

Open with me your Bibles to the 4th chapter in the book of Galatians, where we will continue our study of this wonderful epistle. We come to a portion of the Word in this epistle, that is very remarkable. It is another one of those passages, that you have likely not heard a sermon message on before. No one would voluntarily preach on this, which I believe is a terrible shame. There seems to be a great deal of confusion, surrounding this particular portion of Scripture and while it appears somewhat complex on the surface, I believe it is so incredibly rich, filled with powerful truth and blessing.

 

We will pick up our study with verse 21 through the end of the chapter, verse 31. I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you, to get it set in our minds. Galatians 4:21-31.

 

"Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written:

“Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
Than those of the one who has a husband.”

And you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.  But as at that time the son who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so it is even now. But what does the Scripture say?

“Drive out the slave woman and her son,
For the son of the slave woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”

So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman."

 

So, in verse 21, Paul begins with a contrast between those who are enslaved by law and those who are free from law. "Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law?"
In other words, Paul is saying, "Do you really know what you are talking about? Have you studied the law? Do you even know what it says?"

 

Up to this point, no one reading Galatians could be confused. No one would be able to miss Paul’s point. One could not miss Paul’s intention. Everything is very clear and straightforward, up to verse 21. That is salvation is by faith, and without works, Christian believers were freed, through Jesus Christ, of the bondage of the Mosaic Law, and most certainly, all the appendages like the ordinances, ceremonies, circumcision, and rituals, restraints and restrictions. The Judaizers were giving the Galatians wrong information.

 

"To be under the law," signifies to come under the yoke of the law, on the condition that God will act toward you according to the covenant of the law, and that in return, you bind yourself to keep the law. The law was the name typically given to the Five Books of Moses. The false teacher were not just talking about the moral law, but the law with all of its many appendages. The ceremonial, civil, social kinds of ordinances, the festivals and the feasts, however, primarily circumcision. They had been telling these Gentile believers, who had already been forgiven of their transgressions,  who had already received the promise of eternal life, who were already possessors of the Holy Spirit. "Your salvation is invalid, you must go back to the Mosaic law, live by the Mosaic restrictions, that God given the law to Moses, the prescribed standards by which they were to live, how to eat and act, to identify the them as His chosen people. We know from the book of Exodus, there were indeed, many prescriptions, like being forbidden to go into the home of a Gentile.

In verse 23, Paul says "For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman."

Here Paul is specifically referring to those who believed it was necessary to keep the Law of Moses. The reference that he uses is one that would speak very clearly to his readers. Paul uses Abraham as an example.

Abraham had two sons: Ishmael who was from Hagar, a bondwoman and Isaac, who was of Sarah, a free woman.

Throughout this epistle, the Law has represented bondage. Just as we have seen time and time again, that grace represents freedom.

Then, in verse 23, Paul states, "But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise."

 

In the house of Abraham there were two mothers, so are there in the Church of God. Doctrine is the mother of whom we are born, and is twofold, Legal and Evangelical. The legal mother, Hagar, represents bondage. Sarah, the second mother, represents freedom. Though Paul begins on a higher level, making our first mother Sinai and the second mother, Jerusalem.

 

The reason that Ishmael was born was because Abraham and Sarah were impatient and demonstrating a lack of faith in God's promise. Things didn't happen when and how they thought that it should so they took matters into their own hands. Regardless, in spite of their rebellion, in His time... God fulfilled His promise! Yes, even in their old age, God enabled Abraham and Sarah to conceive Isaac. I'd like to make it perfectly clear here, that God always keeps His promises, He always keeps His Word.

 

Numbers 23:19 teaches us, "God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

 

In other words, as I have stated many times before, "If God said, that settles it!"

Israel and the Law were symbolic of the bondwoman's children. Isaac and eventually Abraham's promised seed, Jesus, came from the free woman as a result of promise. It was important for Paul to address this issue among the Galatian believers. It was a way of refuting the false teaching of the Judaizers. However, it was also very pertinent, and beneficial information for them to possess. Paul was reminding them what they had been delivered from.

Ishmael was the product of his parents’ physical power of procreation therefore he was flesh-born. He was born by the fleshly nature of Abraham and Hagar. Ishmael’s birth was the result not only of a physical act but of a sinful act caused by doubting the promises of God, recorded in Genesis 16:1-4. Ishmael thus represents all who place their hope of salvation in what they are able to accomplish, or their own works.

Isaac was the child of faith. He was the child of promise born because of a miraculous intervention on the part of God which enabled the dead seed of 99 years old Abraham and his barren wife Sarah to conceive. Isaac was born as a result of the promise of God, born by the Spirit’s enabling. The conclusion is that Isaac is a symbol of all the Spirit-born.

Hebrews 11:11 says, "By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised." 

The allegory here of Ishmael and Isaac, expresses truth embedded in the simple facts of the case in order to inform the legalists that they were related to Hagar, Sinai, and the law and did not have the authority or blessing of God.

An allegory in the Bible is a terrible, terrible thing. In fact, an allegory would send a Bible interpreter into panic. An allegory would be the most dangerous of all possible things in all of Scripture. So, why in the world would God put an allegory here? Let me explain, for those of you who may not know what an allegory is. The simplistic answer, and allegory, or "allēgoroumena," in the Greek, is a story, whether fictional or non-fictional, in which the meaning is not found in the story. Allegories always hide a deeper, or secret meaning, and unless you know that secret meaning, the story in and of itself, is meaningless, without the knowledge of the deeper meaning.

I want to be very clear, there is no allegory anywhere in the Bible! There is no story that is irrelevant or meaningless! I want to make that perfectly clear. The took the Greek word and gave it an English sounding word, when what they should have done was translate it. Allgore. Allgore, should have been the word. Agoreuó means "to speak in public." Allos means "another." Put together, allgore, meaning to speak of one thing by referring to another.

So from the old story in verse 24, begins a new understanding. This story that actually took place was designed by God to convey a meaning additional to the strictly literal. These two women, which represent two covenants, one of law and one of grace. Paul begins with the covenant given at Mount Sinai which was one of law. This covenant places all who try and obtain their salvation through it in bondage and under heavy burdens.

Why then isn’t law keeping enough? Because we were not made to know and love laws. We were made to know and love God. God doesn't want mechanical adherence to certain regulations from us, no matter how noble. He loves us, He wants us, He longs for our love and our loyalty in return! 

Hagar, who represents fleshly birth and the covenant of law, also represents the earthly Jerusalem in verse 25. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Both Hagar and Mount Sinai can produce nothing but slaves. In line with Hagar and Mount Sinai is the present day earthly Jerusalem and her children, the third element of the comparison. Jerusalem, the center of legalistic religion and the place of fulfilling Sinai’s law, is a place of enslavement for her children, for they imagine that by stringent obedience to this legal code – with emphasis on its ceremonial regulations and man made additions– they can achieve entrance into heaven.

They failed to see that the cross of Christ signaled the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant. They failed to believe that God accepted them solely on the basis of faith, not because they kept rules and regulations. They were bound to earth and the earthly and had rejected the heavenly and spiritual.

The place of realized redemption for the God’s born again children is connected to the New Jerusalem in verse 26, "But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother." Free or "eleuthera," in the Greek, meaning not under restraint, not a slave. The heavenly Jerusalem is the mother of all the children of grace. This new Jerusalem which one day will descend to be the eternal city of glorified believers is now the "city of the Living God." The Jerusalem above symbolically is the mother of God’s children. Heaven is the church’s mother for it was heaven that gave birth to her children. The Jerusalem which Paul calls above, or heavenly, is not contained in heaven. So why is it called heavenly? Because it originates in heavenly grace.

This Jerusalem is free. She has been delivered from every form of bondage and enjoys perfect peace in the presence of her Lord. She is the mother, both of the Jews and the Gentiles who have placed faith in God’s promise. Legalistic Jews are really brothers with the Ishmaelites. Those born from above are true Israelites.

Verse 27 teaches "For it is written: "Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; For the children of the desolate one are more numerous Than those of the one who has a husband."

To support his point Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 which says, "Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord."

It originally prophesied the changing fortunes of Israel and pictured spiritual restoration and growth after the Babylonia captivity. Paul seems to be applying this passage to Sarah who though previously barren was later blessed with a child who ultimately would have numerous children.

Spiritual barrenness for those under the old covenant was the norm. For they married themselves to the law instead of to God. Under the new covenant spiritual fruitfulness is the norm for the children of promise.

Verse 28 begins the teaching on the outcome of believing in God’s promise and living out God’s promise. "And you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise."

Here again Paul affectionately addresses them as brothers. They, like Isaac, by virtue of the promise realized in him, are children of promise. They are Abraham’s legitimate sons, the true heirs. As children of the promise, they should live in light of the promise and not the law.

Then, in verse 29, Paul points out another similarity between us and Abraham’s two sons. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

On the occasion of Isaac’s weaning at three years of age, Ishmael mocked or mistreated Isaac, in Genesis 21:10. Because of the in-fighting Hagar and Ishmael promoted, Sarah demanded that Abraham cast out Hagar and her son.

The persecution that existed in Abraham’s household is like the persecution of those in bondage to sin bring upon those free from sin even now. Paul and other Spirit-filled believers had experienced its bit and venom. The persecution of the descendants of Ishmaelites and the Jews is still fierce. Just as the persecution of legalists against the Spirit-filled still is fierce today.

God rejects legalism as verse 30 indicates. "But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son, For the son of the slave woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman."

Sarah gave the order and God approved of it, Genesis 21:10-12. Ishmael had stayed in the home for at least 17 years and it might appear his stay was permanent, but he eventually had to be cast out. The two pairs could not remain together and no reconciliation was possible.

Law and grace are in opposition of each other. Law and grace cannot be mixed. The bondwoman and her son have no inheritance with the son of the free woman. A religion based on works is incompatible with the one true relationship based on faith.

In verse 31, Paul confirms the true heirs of heaven. So then, brother, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman. Paul affirmed that he and the Galatian believers were not children of the slave woman who was driven away and denied a share in the inheritance. Rather they are believers and children of the free woman, "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ" Romans 8:16-17, teaches, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

The apostle Paul used an analogy of an Old Testament story to help us understand bondage and freedom. Alluding to the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, Paul explained the difference between the child of a bondwoman and the child of a free woman. Only the child of the free woman could enjoy an inheritance; the other was destined to bondage.

In Closing...

Each and every one of us, whether male or female, Jew or Gentile, black or white, rich or poor-can share in God’s inheritance. All who trust in Jesus as Savior become children of the free woman. We are released from the bondage of the law of God and offered God’s grace instead. And our inheritance is freedom in Jesus Christ.

The law has its place in God’s plan. It is not the goal put a road sign that tells us we have failed and need Jesus. We should not be chained to this warning sign, nor should we try to chain others to it. We should attach our life to the life of Christ instead.

It was Abraham’s faith in God’s promise that made him right with God. Only those who put their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ are free from the Law and it's curse!

By works of law no one can be right with God and the law lacks power to transform anyone.

The man who makes law the principle of his life makes himself a slave attempting to satisfy this task master. The one who surrenders his self reliance to the grace of God is born from above. Only those born of the Spirit are sons of God and only sons receive an inheritance in God. This present inheritance is demonstrated in a love for God that has a constraining and freeing power that those who adhere to the law cannot know.

When God made the covenant with Abraham, He had a plan. When God made the covenant with Moses, God had a plan. Today, God still has a plan! No matter what happens, ultimately His plan will be accomplished.

May it be so...

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

 

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

 

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

 

Now and forever, in Jesus' name

Amen

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