19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Paul is so concerned for the Galatians that it feels like the pains of childbirth. He is not concerned about their position in Christ because he knows they are believers. His fear is that they will fall completely into legalism. His desire is to see them grow to maturity in Christ. This is compounded by the fact that he is not with them. If we were with them, he could be more gentle in tone and guide them personally. Because he is away from them, he needs to use a more stern tone in his letter.
To further illustrate the problem of being under the law (the law of Moses), Paul points the readers back to the law (the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament). The life of Abraham provides a lesson in freedom versus bondage. Abraham had been promised a son and a great nation to come from him. Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands by arranging an heir for Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s slave. This was a cultural action that was not illegal, but also one that showed a lack of faith in God’s promise. Abraham took things into his own hands. Paul explains that the two women represent two covenants. Hagar is the one from Mount Sinai (where God gave the law) which represents slavery. This would have been insulting to Jewish readers because Hagar was the mother of Ishmael and the Arab nations, not of the Jews. Jerusalem is the mother who is under slavery with her children. Paul then says that it is the New Jerusalem (not Sarah) who represents freedom and she is the mother of believers. As believers, we are citizens of a new city in heaven.
How is your faith walk? Is it on a path to maturity in Christ, or is it hindered because you are moving towards things that are unhealthy for your spiritual growth? What can you do today to move towards “Christ formed in you”?