Freedom From Our Terms For Freedom

Context

So far in this chapter, Gal. 4, Paul has expressed his concerns for the Galatians by urging them to treasure their salvation. Treasure it by reflecting on the fact that God has adopted them int His family (1-7). But Paul is frustrated. He is exasperated by what the Galatians are doing. They are believing lies. They’re being duped. And this, for Paul, is agonizing. He is desperate that Christ would become formed in them. This is to say that Paul yearns for their faith to mature and become more stable. He relates this pain to that of childbirth pains. As the creation itself is in childbirth pains as it waits for Jesus to complete his work of redemption in the world, so he is desperate for the Galatian Christians to not embrace the bonds of the slavery that the false teachers were promoting but to embrace the freedom that have in Christ.

And this is the subject matter of Paul’s plea in our text today. Freedom. We all want it. We are willing, in some measure to protect it. We value it. But do we have it? Are we free? The Galatians thought that by doing what the Judaizers were teaching would result in their freedom. We have, perhaps, certain assumptions about freedom. Maybe we, when we look at the world around us, even those whom we observe frequently in our day-to-day experience, envy the freedom they appear to possess. Who is free and who is not? Paul, in our text, helps us to make sense of this.

Galatians 4:21–5:1 ESV

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Introduction

Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi and first published in 1881, was popularized by Disney who made the story into a movie in 1940.

Pleasure Island from Pinocchio

What’s the appeal of a place like pleasure island? Freedom. At least, freedom according to our terms for freedom. Pinocchio and his friends had terms for freedom. To be in a place where they could do anything they wanted with no one or no rule to get in their way. Drinking, smoking cigars are some of the pleasures of Pleasure Island in the story. They were able to drink and smoke, and no one nor any rule got in their way. But the more they were entranced by this supposed freedom, the more they became unaware of the bondage that was taking hold of them. Eventually, after a brief indulgence of these pleasures, he bondage took over and the bondage came in the form of a donkey. All the children who too the trip to Pleasure Island were turned into donkeys. They became something else as a result of thinking that freedom and their terms for their freedom were inseparable.

And I suggest, this is often what we do.

FCF: We often assume that freedom and our terms for freedom are inseparable

We may assume, perhaps even without being completely conscious of it, that our terms for our freedom and freedom itself are inseparable. In other words, we may be operating under the assumption that what we require to be free and freedom are the same thing. But this is not always the case.

A drivers license will not provide freedom if the driver is not able to drive safely

Jumping out of an airplane with a parachute strapped to our backs will cease to be enjoyable (if you’re into that sort of thing) if the parachute malfunctions

Living with someone to whom you are not married may be convenient and even fulfilling but is union that is not honored by God

So freedom is never obtained on our own terms.

Main Idea:

God sets the terms for true freedom.

Contrived Freedom (21-22)

Misguided desires (21)

Paul is making clear that some corrupt ideas had begun to set in among the Galatian church. It’s not total yet. Not everyone has bought into the false teaching, but this teaching is starting to gain some traction.

And notice v. 21 is a question. Paul is addressing people who claim they want to be under the law, that is, to be subject to the law. Earlier in v. 9, Paul asked a similar question: … how can you turn back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

And the desire to be under the law, is a misguided not because the law is evil or not of God. The desire is misguided because it represents a wrong understanding of the law. The law was never meant as a means of justification. No one has ever been declared righteous by God because of his or her obedience to the law. The reality is no one can obey the law enough to obtain forgiveness of their sins.

The Judaizers were teaching that people must continue to obey the law in order to be justified. God does His part, and we need to do ours. The law points to the moral character of God, and He is perfect. We are not, so not only can we not obey the law as we need to in order to gain God’s favor, we need Him to intervene in our lives and give us what we cannot acquire ourselves.... His righteousness.

We need to be under His grace not His law

So this contrived freedom that the Galatians were flirting with is the result of misguided desires but also

Misinformed conclusions (22)

Paul’s point here is that it is clear that the Galatians did not know what they were into by desiring to be under the law because they clearly do not understand what Abraham’s 2 sons and the sons’ 2 mothers represent.

We will walk through the historical background of the Hagar-Sarah account in just a moment, but I think part of what Paul is doing here is pointing out the Galatians’ ignorance and immature faith. He’s essentially telling them that they have no idea what they are really asking for by wanting to live a life that attempts to gain God’s approval through their effort instead of trusting in what Christ has accomplished on their behalf. It is the difference between slavery and freedom. This is what the 2 sons and their 2 mothers represent. This is the difference between the law and God’s grace: slavery and freedom.

Their conclusions were wrong. Many Jews took great pride and comfort in being children of Abraham. But their conclusions about being children of Abraham were incorrect… misinformed.

Remember what Paul said earlier:

Galatians 3:7 ESV

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

It is those who have placed their faith in Christ who are children of Abraham. Biology may make you a distant relative of Abraham, but it is only faith that makes you a child of Abraham and ultimately a child of God

Today

In my observation, the idea that God’s favor can be earned through effort is something that has been and always will be part of the fabric of humanity. But there is something that has been emerging and in play now that I think we need to take note of.

What remains the same is the desire for freedom. Perhaps at one point our culture connected having peace with God and having freedom. But now it seems, at least to some extent, that God is not necessary for freedom. Now, for many, freedom can be found within. The more in tune we are wit h ourselves, suggests many, the more free we will be. The problem with this is that it is a much too optimistic view of humanity. While it is not popular in our culture to talk about humanity as corrupt, we can’t but help acknowledge the corruption that is all around us. Even the more morally liberal media has recently, perhaps reluctantly, acknowledged that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violates moral imperatives. People do not come close to honoring moral imperatives because people are corrupt. We are naturally selfish, greedy, deceptive and self-serving. This, perhaps shows itself to varying degrees and in varying ways, but never-the-less, we all share this in common.

So the notion that looking in to ourselves to find the freedom that all people want is absurd.

We need to look outside ourselves. We cannot create our own freedom. Freedom is not contrived.

So if true freedom is not contrived, that is, it is not something we can create for ourselves then how does anyone come by true freedom?

True Freedom (22-27)

Through God’s intervention not self reliance (23)

Again, v. 22 introduces the Hagar/Sarah account which represents slavery and freedom

Verse 23 summarizes the account: the son of the slave (Ishmael born of Hagar) was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman (Isaac born of Sarah) was born through promise.

Since Paul is referring to events from the OT, let’s get a summary of these events as seen there. All of what Paul references in v. 23 we find in Gen 15-17.

Genesis 15:1–6 ESV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Abraham is troubled that he has no son (no heir). God assures him that his own son (v. 4) will be his heir. This was not possible for man (Abraham and Sarah were well beyond child-bearing years), but it was possible with God.

We go to Gen. 16, and there we find that Abraham and Sarah take matters into their own hands. Sarah gives her maid-servant, Hagar, to Abraham. Hagar becomes pregnant and bears a son - Ishmael. And when Paul says that the son of the slave woman was born according to the flesh, he is saying that Ishmael was the product of self-reliance.

The 14 years pass, and we get to Gen. 17 where God reiterates His promise to Abraham that his own son, from his wife Sarah, will bear a son who will be his heir.

Genesis 17:17–19 ESV

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

Abraham found this comical because it was not according to convention

Abraham suggests Ishmael as the heir, but God again says that the heir will be the son that is yet to come from Sarah

What’s made clear here is that God rejects that which is the product of self-reliance and works only according to His promises.

Isaac’s birth was not the result of human effort, but the supernatural intervention of God.

And what v. 23 does is it summarizes all of this. The difference between spiritual slavery and spiritual freedom is the promises and supernatural intervention of God. It is not self reliance. What seemed best to Abraham and Sarah when they could not see or understand how they would have an heir was for Abraham to commit adultery.

Some of us have had to be a little more self-reliant than others, but we all know what it is to live life that way. But not all of us make the connection between our inclinations to self-reliance or taking matters into our own hands and the tragedies and heart-aches of our lives. Not all our suffering is caused by our own self-reliance, but it is all the result of someone’s self-reliance. You might recall what we suggested a couple of weeks ago: the one problem we have is thee rejection of Christ.

We’re talking about true freedom, and we come to have it. It comes by God’s intervention not self-reliance. It also comes by...

By God’s favor not personal qualifications (24-25)

Before we get into this further, we need to note how Paul frames the rest of his argument. Notice how Paul says we are to understand what he is saying: allegorically.

What does he mean?

An allegory, as we understand it is a story or maybe a poem that, when interpreted, reveals a hidden meaning (often a moral meaning). An example of an allegory would be The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. The Pilgrim’s progress is a story, but it has a meaning beneath the story. The story allegorizes the doctrines of salvation. It’s a story with characters and a plot, but it is an allegory.

Is this what Paul does here in this text? I don’t think so. The word allegorically is unique n the NT. In fact, it’s only occurence is here in v. 24. I suggest, what we are meant to understand here is that the Hagar/Sarah account is best understood as typology. What is typology:

Typology is the idea that persons, events and institutions can, in the plan of God, prefigure a later stage in God’s plan and provide concepts necessary for understanding God’s intent. (adapted from Graham Cole)

Examples of typology

the brazen serpent Moses erected in the wilderness is a type of the cross of Jesus

The exodus of Israel from Egypt is a type of Christian redemption

And so the Hagar/Sarah account is a type for spiritual slavery and bareness and redemption and spiritual vitality.

The best commentary on these verses is what Paul said elsewhere:

2 Corinthians 3:7–16 ESV

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

The covenant of Moses, that is the law. The covenant from Mt. Sinai. The covenant represented by Hagar, though it is good and from God and, in fact, it was glorious, it is no comparison to the covenant of promise.

The law shows, because of our inability to keep it, that we are condemned without God. This is why the law is glorious. It shows us our need. But how much more glorious is the covenant represented by Sarah. It is a covenant of promise. A covenant pointing us to the New Covenant. Pointing us to Jesus, who fulfilled the law. Kept it. Who died in our place so that we could have a place in God’s kingdom. And now, through Christ there is a permanent glory that will not fade away.

This is what Paul is referencing in vss 24-25, but why did the covenant of promise from through Sarah and not Hagar? Yes, there was the sin of Abraham and Sarah in taking matters into their own hands, but why ultimately did God choose Sarah and Hagar?

It wasn’t their personal qualifications? If that was the case, then one could say that Sarah disqualified herself when she gave Hagar to Abraham. It was not personal qualifications but God’s favor. God favored Abraham and his line through which to bring about His people.

Notice the end of v. 25: she (Hagar) corresponds to present Jerusalem. What does that mean. Well, present day Jerusalem is a reference to the legal system of Judaism., and this with all the mandated feats and ceremonies, was slavery for all those who descend spiritually from Hagar.

According to God’s will not our limitations (26-27)

But by contrast, the Jerusalem above, in v. 26 corresponds to Sarah who here represents, ultimately, the New Covenant. And this concept of Jerusalem above Ezekiel anticipates in 40-48. A new temple in the rennovated city of Jerusalem. And ultimately this points to the coming age:

Revelation 21:2 ESV

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

It is here, this this future and heavenly city where we will enjoy true freedom to its absolute fullest. And no one will be there because they obeyed enough or because they were true enough to themselves. They will be there because they were favored by God. Their eyes were opened to who Jesus is and what He has done. Able to see that they fall short, but that they can be with God because Jesus did not and will never fall short.

And notice that v. 27 quotes something: For it is written. It quotes Isa. 54:1.

Original context

Compares Jerusalem to a barren widow, covered in sackcloth and ashes because her husband has been carried away into captivity and she has no children to take care of her in his absence.

God breaks into this desperate scene and declares she will have more children than the woman whose children never left her and who has a husband.

Paul applies this to the great reversal from spiritual bareness and despair to spiritual vitality and hope. And the point is this reversal can only come by the supernatural intervention of God which He accomplished through Christ.

And again, the point is that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac were not favored by God because of their personal qualifications. They were favored by God because God chose to favor them. And this understanding of God and ourselves is crucial to us having true freedom. Performing well enough, knowing ourselves deep enough leads to an unending and defeating pursuit.

God sets the terms for true freedom. But possessing the freedom that grants his children does not go unchallenged. We can struggle to live in that freedom. So let’s consider some of the terms for…

Realized Freedom (28-5:1)

Even in suffering (28-29)

Paul has completed developing his argument regarding the appropriate relationship the people of God have to the law. He developed the analogy of Sarah and Hagar, and is now ready to apply all of what he has said from verses 21-27 to the Galatians.

And notice that Paul refers the the Galatians as brothers. Despite the sharp disagreements and pointed criticisms Paul has issued of the Galatians in this letter so far, he still regards them as part of the family of faith.

In verse 28, Paul is saying that the Galatians are like Isaac or after the order of Isaac because they too have been born into the family of Abraham through faith and not on the basis of biology.

But in verse 29, Paul draws out another similarity between the Galatians and Isaac. Just as Isaac experienced a certain degree of persecution from his brother Ishmael, so they ought to expect persecution because of their standing as children of promise. And to be clear to be a child of promise today means that we are unified to Christ. In other words, our union with Christ can and will result in persecution from others.

And Paul’s point here is to make clear that even through our suffering the freedom we are granted by God will endure. The suffering does not replace the freedom. The freedom from sin, from evil’s ultimate victory is secure and not threatened by our suffering.

Enduring suffering faithfully is fundamental to Christian living. I like what Luther said in his commentary on Galatians:

“If someone does not want to endure persecution from Ishmael, let him not claim to be a Christian.” Martin Luther

Exclusive from bondage (30)

The freedom that God grants His people is not a freedom that is susceptible to bondage.Notice that v. 30 is a quote (what does the Scripture say). This references Sarah’s words from Gen. 21:10.

Now how Sarah behaved here introduces certain moral problems to be sure, but the point of her words is that freedom and bondage cannot co-exist.

Paul is applying Sarah’s words but saying that the Galatian church needs to cast out the Judaizers from among them. What the false teachers are teaching is incompatible with the gospel.

Very recently I heard a pastor tell a story about his experience from his twitter feed. He was in a discussion about evangelism and reaching people with the gospel. One of the individuals involved in the conversation said that he would not share the gospel with people unless they first repented of their sin. To which this pastor rightly said that that is another gospel.

The Judaizers were preaching a different gospel from the true gospel, and Paul is urging the Galatians to cast them out. Don’t give them attention anymore. Show each other and anyone else who might be watching that they no longer have credibility with you.

Church we all have allot of preferences and priorities. And we have them when it comes to church. Let’s be clear in our minds that something none of us will tolerate is the promotion or proclamation of a different gospel. Paul told us earlier that another gospel is no gospel at all.

So, this realized freedom perseveres in suffering and is exclusive from bondage and is

Inseparable from union with Christ (31-5:1)

v. 31 is a summary of Paul’s argument, but notice the shift in pronouns: so brothers, we are children not of the slave but of the free woman. Paul still regards the Galatian church as his brothers and sisters. Yes, they have behaved foolishly and yes, their actions have caused Paul significant pain, but Paul sees above and beyond this.

The church’s union with one another is no based upon getting along with each other. The relational glue that holds us all together in the church is not interpersonal harmony. We get on each others’ nerves and we disagree and there are times we disappoint and hurt one another.

Notice the command in 5:1: stand firm and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. This command is grounded in Christ’s purpose in His redemptive work: For freedom Christ has set us free.

We are free from the tyranny of our sin because of what Christ has done. This idea is captured well in Romans

Romans 6:22 ESV

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

This is the same phrase as we see in 5:1 (set free). The fruit we get from being set free from our sin is what leads us to sanctification and sanctification’s end - eternal life. In other words, since we are no longer bound by our sin, we can grow in the work that God is doing in our lives. Yes, our experience in our sanctification is turbulent. We continue to contend with our sin and we see this in our interactions with others, even in the church.

But the work of sanctification does not stop, and it will lead us all the way home to our final destination… eternal life with Jesus. It is for the freedom that Christ did what was necessary for us to have freedom.

Conclusion

Freedom cannot be had on our own terms. What we envision of freedom on our own amounts to nothing more than what we might expect from a place like Pleasure Island.

This world is a Pleasure Island of sorts. It promises a certain bill of goods that may appeal to us, but once we attain that kind of freedom, it ends up enslaving us.

The world promises

meaning, purpose, fulfillment, but it does not deliver.

Christian, become what you are. For freedom, Christ has set us free, so live free.... just never loose sight of the fact that there is no freedom apart from the God who grants people freedom.

God sets the terms for true freedom