18_Children of the promise

Gal 4:21-30 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 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.

24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 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 labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”

28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 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. 30 But what does Scripture say? “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.” 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for slaves in the Southern states. Many slave owners exploited the illiteracy of their slaves by not letting them know. Though the rumours spread far and wide, legally emancipated slaves continued to be in bondage. This continued until the government officially announced in their hearing that they had been set free.

This mirrors the spiritual condition of many today. Though Christ’s gospel proclaims freedom to the enslaved sinner through union with him, people continue to be bound in sin. Ignorance, unbelief, and misplaced priorities often keep the sinner bound, keeping us from the liberty for which Christ has set us free.

The story of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac in Genesis 21, paired with Paul’s reflection in Galatians 4:21-31, provides a profound picture of this struggle. It is the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, between human self-salvation effort and divine promise. Ishmael, born of human effort and impatience, represents the life of the flesh. He represents Abraham’s doubt, his fleshly energy to get himself an heir, and his self-reliant strategy to use the slave woman to accomplish his objective. Isaac, the child of promise, embodies the life of the Spirit. Abraham did nothing but cooperate with God who gave Sarah the power to conceive at last. Trusting and dependent wholly on God, Abraham received the miraculous son of promise.

These two sons, born in two distinct sets of circumstances, symbolize two covenants: one of the flesh which brings its seed into bondage, and the other of the Spirit which engenders freedom.

The flesh in scripture is the human being separated from God. It represents all of the natural self in isolation from its origin and home in God because of unbelief and disobedience and ambition. As such, it is driven by selfish desires and swayed by the tests and trials presented by the world and the devil. James 1:15 describes sin as the fruit of these selfish desires of the flesh.

Ishmael symbolizes life governed by the flesh. It is a life that resists submission to God and seeks to rise on its own. It remains enslaved to sinful attitudes and behavior despite its efforts. In contrast, Isaac, the child of promise, represents the life of the Spirit. This is marked by faith, obedience, and freedom in God to do what is good.

This freedom is not an unbridled ability to do whatever the passions or emotions or intellect suggests in the absence of restrictions. Rather, it is the mastery of these aspects by the Spirit dwelling with our spirit. It is the newly created ability to live as we were designed. A bird in a cage from its infancy may become used to the bars. When the door is opened, the bird is free to leave. It hesitates to hop out of the cage. Even if it does, it walks around, not knowing what to do. The bird is truly free only when it soars, fulfilling its design.

For us, however, true freedom is not simply being free from all rules or constraints. It is not even being morally upright. It is living in harmony with God’s design for us. Since we are created in his image, we are free when we reflect His image before creation.

Jesus declared, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36). This freedom is Christ in us the presence of life in Christ. It is living by faith, walking in obedience to God’s will, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. As long as we live in the flesh, we miss this freedom. The flesh opposes God and produces dead works. Its actions come from human effort rather than obedience to divine instruction.

The Spirit therefore speaks powerfully (Galatians 4:30): “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.” Abraham was deeply attached to his firstborn, Ishmael. To send him out was a difficult if not intolerable command. Yet it had to be done. The persecutor of Isaac had to be sent away if Isaac was to inherit the promise.

The flesh resists the Spirit. It mocks at the righteousness of God. It loves the easy way out of getting its own way. We too have a deep attachment to the will of the flesh. Like Abraham, we have a soft spot for our own decisions and their outcomes, even when we know they are not right or good for us. The flesh hates to do the will of God. Yet Christ cuts away the flesh when we come to him for eternal life. This spiritual circumcision, made without human effort, is the sign of the new covenant that we enter into as followers of Christ.

Without this circumcision we cannot inherit God’s promise of eternal life. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. For the flesh is not of faith, but of self-will. And without faith it is impossible to please God. But if we take the gentle yoke of Christ on ourselves, we will grow to inherit the promise of God.

Abraham showed his commitment to God’s plan and his trust in God’s promise by letting go of Ishmael. We too must recognize and reject the works of the flesh in our lives. The life of the flesh leads to slavery. It is constant striving, frustration, and spiritual barrenness.

But the life of the Spirit leads to freedom, peace, and fruitfulness in everything good. We choose to walk in the Spirit by obeying his voice, rather than our own will and passions. We choose to be obedient to God in Christ, and not to our own disobedient desires. We abandon our devotion to our own plans, ambitions, and efforts and trust them to God’s will.

Obedience to Christ as Master makes us free, bold and strong in God to carry out his purposes in our lives. We cannot achieve this freedom by self-righteousness. It is the gift of God to those who come to Christ and follow him as Master.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: Are we living as children of the promise, enjoying the freedom Christ has won for us, or are we still clinging to the works of the flesh, enslaved by our own efforts? If so, let us heed the instruction today: “Cast out the slave woman and her son.”

Let us walk in this freedom as children of the promise, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ. As we do, Christ will be manifest in us, and our lives will reflect the glory and grace of our emancipator. God bless you.