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Study of 4th Chapter of Galatians -
** Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary **
Date: 12/5/2017 9:26:53 PM ( 7 y ) ... viewed 858 times
In the 4th Chapter of Galatians, we find some basic and elementary elements of Eternity which effects each of us - Our mission is to seek the Truth!
Galatians 4
Galatians 4:1
Note on Galatians 4:1
Remember the context of this. In the latter part of Galatians 3, Paul compared us before our new birth to children shut up through the Law to the faith that was to come (Galatians 3:23-26). So those who are under the Law are immature.
They haven’t grown into their son-ship (our true relationship)yet.
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 1 at Galatians 4:1: Here, Paul gave a human illustration to show the state of spiritual immaturity that people experience by being under the Law. Paul stated that being under the Law is no better than being a slave, whereas faith in Christ brings people into a position of full-grown sons and daughters (Galatians 3:26).
It is sad to say, but most Christians have never graduated into the personal God-relationship that Paul was describing here. They are still serving God with an Old-Testament-Law mentality; that is not pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:6) and is oppressive to them (see note 4 at Romans 3:19).
The truth is that son-ship is theirs. It’s been provided for them freely through Christ, but it doesn’t happen automatically. They have to renew their minds (see note 9 at Romans 12:2) to take advantage of this blessed relationship.
** Note 9 at Romans 12:2: When people are born again (see note 2 at John 3:3), they become totally new creations in their spirits. Their spiritual salvation is complete. They don’t need any more faith, joy, or power. They are complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10, see note 3 at Matthew 26:41).
However, it is not God’s will that we only be changed on the inside. He wants to manifest this salvation in our physical lives also. That takes place through the renewing of our minds.
We each have a spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). As born-again believers, our spirits are as perfect as they will ever be in heaven (see note 1 at Romans 8:18). If we will change our thinking so that we believe what God says in His Word about who we are and what we have, then this agreement between our spirits and souls forms a majority, and our flesh will experience the life of God that has been deposited in our spirits.
If we fail to renew our minds, we can live our entire time on this earth without experiencing the abundant life that Jesus provided for us (John 10:10).
Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.
Galatians 4:2
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 2 at Galatians 4:2: The illustration Paul was making is a continuation of his thoughts in Galatians 3.
In Galatians 3:24-26, Paul likened the Law to being our schoolmaster, or “PAIDAGOGOS” (see note 10 at Galatians 3:24). There, he was emphasizing the job of the Law (Galatians 3:19 and 21).
Here, he was continuing that comparison but emphasizing the effect that relationship had on man. Under the Law, people were no better than slaves. They were constantly being told what to do and actually had no freedom to choose. Through Christ, people have been redeemed from the slave relationship to the Law and are now sons and daughters with all the rights, privileges, and freedoms that go with that.
Galatians 4:3
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 3 at Galatians 4:3: By being under the Law and outside of Christ, we were the young “child” of Galatians 4:1-2 without really having any spiritual rights.
Paul stated that we “were in bondage under the elements of the world.”
The Revised Standard Version translates this phrase as “we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe.”
If this translation is correct, then Paul was referring to the demonic spirits that brought bondage to our lives before we came to Christ. It all adds up to this: Being under the Law makes us slaves, and the Law does not have the power to free us from the flesh or the demonic realm. In fact, it gives place to the devil, because we are operating in our own strength. Faith in Christ gives us deliverance from both.
Galatians 4:4
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 4 at Galatians 4:4:
The New International Version translates this phrase as “when the time had fully come.” The God’s Word translation says, “But when the right time came.” Each of these translations is emphasizing that Jesus was sent at a specific time. The entrance of Jesus into the physical realm was not a random thing occurring at a haphazard time.
The word “fullness” literally means the maximum or complete size, amount, or development. There were developments that had to take place before Christ could come to the earth and redeem man. The Father sent His Son to the earth at the earliest possible time. Any time prior to the time that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary would have been premature.
Note 5 at Galatians 4:4:
Notice that Paul was not saying that God created His Son when He appeared on earth. No, God the Son had existed as God forever prior to that time (see note 3 at John 1:3). God the Father sent the already existent Son, Jesus, to the earth through the virgin birth.
Note 6 at Galatians 4:4:
The virgin birth of Christ was an essential part of the redemption process
(see note 1 at Luke 1:27 and note 18 at 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Note 7 at Galatians 4:4:
Christ was born under the dispensation of the Old Testament Law. He is the only person who ever kept that Law flawlessly (Hebrews 4:15 and 1 Peter 2:22).
He already had righteousness as God before becoming man. Then He earned the righteousness that comes through the Law by being perfect. He bore our curse and punishment that we should have received for breaking the Law and thereby redeemed us out from under the Law (see note 19 at Galatians 3:13).
We now have received the perfect righteousness of Jesus by faith (see note 9 at Romans 8:4).
Galatians 4:5
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 8 at Galatians 4:5: When the right time came (see note 4 at Galatians 4:4), God sent forth His Son in His preexistence state from heaven into the world. He was born of a woman (virgin birth) and was made subject to the requirements of the Law
(see note 7 at Galatians 4:4).
His purpose in coming into the world was twofold. First, He came to “redeem them that were under the law.” He did this by perfectly keeping the Law, fulfilling it, and paying its curse (Matthew 5:17 and Galatians 3:13).
Thus Christ delivered us from the entire system of the Law. The Greek word for “redeem” used here is “EXAGORAZO,” and according to Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, it means “to buy out of the slave market” (emphasis mine). Wuest goes on to say that “the word law is not preceded by the definite article, hence law in general is referred to here”
(Volume 1, p. 115). This system of Law was then superseded by grace, with an emphasis on living by faith.
Second, Christ gave us the status of son-ship with all its privileges.
In the Greek, the expression means adult-sons. Under grace, we are treated as adults, not babies.
Therefore, we were redeemed not only from the bondage of the Law but also unto son-ship. Many people stop short, only realizing what we were delivered from. Sure, we need to rejoice in that, but we also need to move on into realizing the full benefits of our inheritance (Romans 8:19, see note 10 at Galatians 4:7).
Galatians 4:6
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 9 at Galatians 4:6:
One of the benefits of being God’s son is receiving the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. This allows the believer to address God the Father in the same manner that Jesus did (Mark 14:35-36). The word “Abba” is an Aramaic word used by Jesus (Mark 14:36), and it carries the idea of God being our “daddy” (see note 29 at Matthew 6:9). It is a term used for intimacy and affectionate fondness. It removes the idea of God as our strict Judge and carries the idea of Him being a loving Father who cares, understands, and is our best friend.
Galatians 4:7
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 10 at Galatians 4:7: What would your reaction be if you were told you were an heir to the richest person in the world, or the most powerful or the most popular? Whatever that reaction would be, it would be positive. You would have hope, joy, peace, and many other reactions.
Being an heir of God is infinitely greater than being an heir to the greatest person alive today. If we aren’t experiencing positive emotions in knowing we’re heirs of God, it is because we aren’t fully understanding or appreciating our inheritance, not because the inheritance is unworthy.
It would have been wonderful if God had just redeemed us from His wrath so that we would not have to spend eternity in hell, but He did much, much more than that. He actually made us His sons and granted us an inheritance. That’s supernatural! Only God could embrace a rebellious world and elevate them to son-ship (1 John 3:1-2).
Galatians 4:8
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 1 at Galatians 4:8: Formerly, before the Galatian Christians came to know God through Christ, they were slaves to sin and in bondage to idols (1 Corinthians 12:2). These idols were gods in name only. They had no life and couldn’t do anything good or bad (Psalms 115:4-8, 135:15-18; Isaiah 44:9-20; and Jeremiah 10:3-16). That’s what Paul meant when he said, “Which by nature are no gods.”
Galatians 4:9
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 2 at Galatians 4:9: Paul was writing this letter to turn the Galatian Christians away from trusting in the Old Testament Law for justification (see Life for Today Study Bible Notes, Introduction to Galatians). In this verse, when he referred to turning “to the weak and beggarly elements, where-unto ye desire again to be in bondage,” he was referring to turning to the Law. In doing so, Paul was likening the Galatians’ departure from the Gospel to them turning back to the idolatry they practiced before their salvation (Galatians 4:8). Indeed, legalism is very similar to idolatry.
Just as with the worship of idols, legalism assumes God is a wrathful God who has to be appeased by our efforts. In contrast, Christianity presents a merciful God who has personally paid for our sins and offers us salvation as a gift. Idolatry has countless rituals, and so does a legalistic interpretation of the O.T. Law. Legalism is bondage, just as all false religions are. The Law is “weak”–i.e., powerless to save–just as all idolatry is powerless. The same Greek word that was translated “weak” here was also translated “more feeble,” “impotent,” “sick,” “weakness,” and “without strength.” The Law is “beggarly” in the sense that it is totally inadequate. This same Greek word was translated “poor” thirty times in the New Testament.
So, the Law in its proper place (see note 3 at Romans 3:19) and used for its proper purpose (see note 4 at Romans 3:19) is good (see note 14 at Romans 3:31). But any attempt to mix the Gospel (see note 5 at Acts 20:24) and Law together is bondage
(see note 6 at Galatians 1:6).
Galatians 4:10
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 3 at Galatians 4:10: Paul was rebuking the Galatians for trying to incorporate observance of the Old Testament Law into the Gospel that he had brought to them (see note 8 at Galatians 1:7). Here, he named some of the things they were proclaiming had to be done to receive right standing with God.
The observance of days refers to keeping the Sabbath
(see note 1 at John 5:16).
Observing months and times is a reference to the new moons (Numbers 10:10, 1 Chronicles 23:31, and Psalms 81:3) and feasts (i.e., Passover, Firstfruits, etc.). Observing years refers to the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee of Leviticus 25. Paul made it very clear that the keeping of these rituals is not necessary for salvation. Those who preach that it is are dangerously close to having their faith in Christ voided (Galatians 2:21), as Paul described in the next verse.
Galatians 4:11
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 4 at Galatians 4:11:
There is no doubt that Paul considered these Galatians to be born-again Christians. He was the one who founded the churches of Galatia. He spoke to them as believers in this letter (Galatians 1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; and 6:1). Yet, it is also clear that Paul was in doubt about the state of their salvation (Galatians 3:4; this verse, 4:20; and 5:1-4). This reveals that salvation is not an irrevocable gift
(see note 1 at Matthew 12:31).
Paul went on to say in Galatians 5:10 that he was confident the Galatians would stand firm in the Gospel. So, in the end, Paul believed they were still standing in faith that Christ was their Savior. However, his statement here reveals that they were dangerously close to rejecting their salvation
(see my note at Hebrews 6:4).
Salvation is secure for those who keep their faith in Christ, but as we can see through the opinions expressed by Paul here, it is possible to renounce faith in Christ. Legalism taken to the extreme can lead people to becoming reprobate
(see note 6 at Romans 1:28).
Galatians 4:12
Note on Galatians 4:12
What a powerful statement. Every minister–indeed, every Christian–should be able to say this same thing. Only a free person can set another person free. If we don’t wish others to be like us, then we should work on ourselves before we start working on others. This doesn’t mean we have to have arrived before we can tell others about the Lord, but we should have at least left.
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 5 at Galatians 4:12:
Paul was pleading with the Galatians to join him in rejecting the Law as a means of being justified with God. Paul was a Jew by natural birth, but he had forsaken the Law as a means of being reconciled to God. Therefore, he was living like a Gentile (see note 45 at Matthew 6:32) in that sense. He was saying, “Be like me (free from the Law), because that’s the way you really are.”
The Galatians’ tendencies toward legalism hadn’t affected Paul. He was going to continue in grace.
Galatians 4:13
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 6 at Galatians 4:13:
Some people have taken Paul’s mention of an “infirmity of the flesh” here, and his reference in Galatians 4:15 to the Galatians’ willingness to pluck out their own eyes for him (see note 8 at Galatians 4:15), as referring to the sickness that Paul called his “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7. However, as pointed out in note 14 at 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was not sickness.
The assumption that this verse and Galatians 4:15 refer to some rare Aramaic eye disease could only be made if someone is already disposed to believe that Paul had a chronic sickness. These passages certainly do not provide evidence for that conclusion on their own.
A much more obvious interpretation is that Paul was referring to some of the physical effects of a stoning he received while in Galatia. In Acts 14:19, Paul was stoned and left for dead (see note 3 at Acts 14:20). This happened in Lystra (Acts 14:8), one of the main cities of the region of Galatia (see Life for Today Study Bible Notes, Introduction to Galatians, The Recipients of Paul’s Epistle “Galatians”). Paul was either dead or so close to death that his persecutors thought he was dead. Certainly, he had cuts and bruises all over his body as he preached to the very people to whom he was writing this letter. It would not be unthinkable that he had received injuries to his eyes, which he was referring to here. He did say that this infirmity was “at the first,” implying that this was not a permanent, chronic problem but a temporary thing that had healed. In Galatians 4:15, Paul may have been using a figure of speech just to emphasize that these Galatians were willing to do anything for him at one time
(see note 8 at Galatians 4:15).
Paul was referring to injuries he had sustained from the stoning to make the point that in the beginning, the Galatians hadn’t despised him but had received him as they would an angel of God. Why had they changed? Paul hadn’t changed.
The Gospel hadn’t changed.
It was the Galatians who were inconsistent. He was putting them in remembrance of their original reception of him to rekindle their love for him and to cause them to submit themselves once again to the Gospel that he preached.
Galatians 4:14
Note on Galatians 4:14
Paul was describing his physical state that was battered and bruised when he first met them (see my note at Galatians 4:13). These Galatians looked past Paul’s physical condition and saw the condition of his heart. They received his word and were born again, but they had moved out of the spirit back into the flesh. They were going into the Law, which only dealt with the external. Legalism only looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Galatians 4:15
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 7 at Galatians 4:15:
The Greek word that was translated “blessedness” is “MAKARISMOS.” This word comes from the word “MAKARIZO,” and MAKARIZO was translated as “count...happy” in James 5:11. Legalism causes people to lose their joy. This is what happened to the Galatians. The New International Version translates this phrase as “What happened to all your joy?” Paul was saying, “Where is the joy you used to have through our relationship? At one time, you would have done anything for me, even given me your own eyes if it were necessary. But now you’ve drawn back. It is you that have changed, not me.”
Note 8 at Galatians 4:15: As explained in note 6 at Galatians 4:13, the infirmity Paul was speaking of was not a chronic problem but a temporary problem that was probably associated with him being stoned and left for dead. Likewise, any reference to his eyes in this verse would be related to the physical problems he suffered from that stoning.
However, it is possible that Paul did not literally mean by these statements that there was something wrong with his eyes. Just as today when someone says, “I’d give my right arm for them,” that doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong with the other person’s right arm. This is just a way of expressing a commitment to another person, even to the point of sacrificing a valuable part of his or her own body for the loved one’s benefit. Likewise, Paul may have just been saying that these Galatians were at one time willing to do anything for him–what had changed?
Galatians 4:16
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 9 at Galatians 4:16:
Here, Paul was saying, “Does telling you the truth offend you and make me your enemy?” The truth isn’t always welcome, but it truly is love to tell others the truth regardless of whether they welcome it or not (Leviticus 19:17).
If a bridge had washed out on a dark, rainy night, would it be love to flag down other drivers and stop them from driving to their deaths? Sure, it would. At first, though, some of those drivers might not welcome your attempts to stop them. They might think you were trying to harm or rob them. But if you truly loved others more than yourself, you would stop them regardless of what they thought.
Likewise, those who don’t know the Lord may misinterpret our attempts to share the Gospel with them, but if we truly love others more than ourselves, we will persist despite their objections.
Galatians 4:17
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 10 at Galatians 4:17:
The New International Version translates this verse as “Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you (from us), so that you may be zealous for them.” This seems to accurately represent what the King James English is trying to convey.
Paul had addressed the false teachers’ gospel, and here, he was addressing their motives. He was stating that they were zealous but not in a good way or for a good purpose. Their intention was to alienate the Galatians from the true Gospel and from those who taught it, so that instead of the Galatians going to Christ, they would go to them
(the Judaizers).
Galatians 4:18
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 11 at Galatians 4:18: Once again (see note 10 at Galatians 4:17), the New International Version translates this Old English into modern English very well: “It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you.” The Simple English Bible says, “It is good for people to show interest in you, but only if their purpose is always good. This is true whether I am with you or not.”
Galatians 4:19
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 12 at Galatians 4:19:
Through prayer, Paul had interceded for these Galatians when he first brought the Gospel to them. Here, he was in doubt of their relationship to Christ, since they were moving back toward trusting in the Law. Therefore, he was praying for them again as he did in the beginning.
This does not mean that the Galatians had lost their salvation and that Paul was praying for them to be born again, again. That can’t happen (see note 5 at Acts 5:5). He was simply stating that he wanted to see the Galatians turn back to Christ and develop and grow in Him again.
Galatians 4:20
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 13 at Galatians 4:20:
Paul did not regret the things that he had said to the Galatians; rather, he regretted the tone in which he had to say them. If he had been present with them, he could have approached them in a gentler way and possibly explained himself more completely. Paul longed to be with them so that he could answer the questions he had about them.
The phrase “I stand in doubt of you” means “to be at a loss, to be disturbed” (UBS Handbook, p. 107), or to feel helplessness about the situation. Paul was like a parent feeling very concerned about his children going astray (see note 8 at 2 Corinthians 12:14).
Galatians 4:21
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 1 at Galatians 4:21:
Those who advocate obtaining righteousness by keeping the Law don’t know what they are saying (1 Timothy 1:7). You can’t just keep part of the Law. You have to keep every precept of the Law perfectly or else you’ve broken the whole thing (see note 15 at Galatians 3:10).
Paul here used the Old Testament scriptures that the legalistic Jews had perverted to prove the Gospel he had preached.
Galatians 4:22
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 2 at Galatians 4:22:
Paul’s statement, “it is written,” refers to a summary of Genesis 16-17 and 21. This is the story of Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was born of a slave woman, while Isaac’s mother, Sarah, was a free woman.
Note 3 at Galatians 4:22: Paul used an allegory (Galatians 4:24), a type of interpretation common among the rabbis. An allegory interprets scriptural events or persons as foreshadowing a deeper spiritual truth. In this passage, two women represent two covenants, and the two children represent a work of the flesh and a work of the Spirit.
The two women are Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Hagar, an Egyptian slave who was Sarah’s handmaiden (Genesis 16:1). Sarah was barren, so she suggested that Abraham have a sexual relationship with Hagar; Sarah would then raise the child as her own (Genesis 16:2). This was a common practice of their day.
Abraham did as Sarah wished, and Hagar had a child named Ishmael (Genesis 16:4 and 11). However, God made it clear that this was not the child He had promised to Abraham through whom He would fulfill His promise
(Genesis 17:20-21). So, approximately fourteen years after the birth of Ishmael (see note 2 at Romans 4:10), Abraham and Sarah had a child supernaturally, who was named Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3).
Ishmael, the son of Hagar, persecuted Isaac, the son of Sarah, to the degree that Sarah begged Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away (Genesis 21:9-10). Abraham did not want to do this, but God spoke to him and told him to do as Sarah had said (Genesis 21:11-12).
Here, Paul interpreted the significance of these actions. Ishmael was a product of self-effort, just as any trust in the Law for the purpose of justification would be. In contrast, Isaac was supernatural. Both Abraham and Sarah were well beyond the age of having children, so Isaac was a miracle. Likewise, salvation by grace is a miracle, not self-effort.
In the same way that Hagar and her son, who was a product of the flesh, were cast out, so those who seek to be justified by the Law are rejected by God. But those who believe the Gospel and receive salvation as a gift are like Isaac, who came supernaturally through the promise of God.
Thus, Paul showed that the truths of the Gospel were present in the Old Testament Law (see note 3 at Romans 1:2), but the legalistic Jews had been blinded to these simple truths. They had misinterpreted the purpose of the O.T. Law (see note 4 at Romans 3:19) and were therefore wrongly teaching that conformity to the Law was necessary for salvation. Peter spoke of people who were willfully ignorant of the truth (2 Peter 3:5). Paul said in Galatians 3:1 that legalism is crazy (see note 1 at Galatians 3:1).
Galatians 4:23
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 4 at Galatians 4:23:
Abraham’s son, born of his slave-wife, was conceived and born according to the natural process. Abraham’s son, born through Sarah, was a work of God’s Spirit, conceived when Abraham and Sarah were incapable of having children. Isaac was a result of God’s “promise” given to Abraham (Genesis 15).
Galatians 4:24
Note on Galatians 4:24
The American Heritage Dictionary defines “allegory” as “the use of characters or events to represent ideas or principles in a story, play, or picture.”
The Old Covenant of Law, like Ishmael, was to be cast out or done away with (2 Corinthians 3:7). Our New Covenant is like Isaac, who received the blessing and inheritance.
Galatians 4:25
Note on Galatians 4:25
This verse very clearly states that Mount Sinai is in Arabia. Traditionally Mount Sinai has been thought to be in what we call the Sinai Peninsula, but that’s not what Scripture indicates. The video “The Search for the Real Mount Sinai” makes a very convincing argument against the traditional location in the Sinai Peninsula. See my notes at Exodus 14:2, 23:31; Numbers 21:4; and Deuteronomy 1:1.
I’m sure Paul’s statement about Jerusalem being in bondage with her children was very offensive to many Jews, but it was the truth
(Galatians 4:16).
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 5 at Galatians 4:25:
Hagar represents Mount Sinai (where Moses received the Law) and the city of Jerusalem in Paul’s time, which was enslaved to Rome as well as to the Law. Hagar’s children being slaves corresponds to the Jews’ bondage of being under the Law, or as the Living Bible states, “The center of that system of trying to please God by trying to obey the Commandments.”
Galatians 4:26
Note on Galatians 4:26
There is a heavenly Jerusalem of which all true, born-again believers are citizens (Hebrews 12:22-23).
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 6 at Galatians 4:26: The earthly city of Jerusalem was corrupt.
Its inhabitants rejected Jesus by crucifying Him, and as a whole, they had also rejected the Gospel. But the heavenly city of God (of which the earthly Jerusalem was supposed to be symbolic) was pure and free. Those who receive salvation by faith in what Christ did for them, instead of what they do for Him through the Law, are all citizens of this heavenly Jerusalem.
Galatians 4:27
Note on Galatians 4:27
This is a quotation from Isaiah 54:1.
The allegory (see my note at Galatians 4:24) is that those who have relationship with the Lord supernaturally by faith in what Jesus did for them are more blessed and fruitful than those who trust in the natural (i.e., what they do for the Lord instead of what the Lord has done for them).
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 7 at Galatians 4:27: This verse is a quotation of Isaiah 54:1 from the Septuagint
(the Greek translation of the Old Testament). The “barren” in this verse refers to Sarah. She was told of the Lord to break forth into singing and rejoicing before she became pregnant. The barren Sarah rejoiced at the promise of God through faith (Hebrews 11:11), and through the promised seed (i.e., Christ [Galatians 3:16]), she had infinitely more children than her slave Hagar (all believers are Abraham’s seed -
see note 3 at Galatians 3:29).
Galatians 4:28
Note on Galatians 4:28
Isaac was the first full-blooded Jew. Likewise, those who are true Christians are true Jews
(see my notes at Romans 2:28-29).
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 8 at Galatians 4:28:
Just as Isaac was conceived supernaturally, so the Galatians became God’s children not through their own efforts but through a supernatural work of God (see note 3 at Galatians 4:22).
Galatians 4:29
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 9 at Galatians 4:29:
In the same way that Ishmael persecuted Isaac, the child of promise (Genesis 21:9), so it is now. Those who rely on the flesh (the Law) persecute those born of the Spirit (those who have been saved by grace).
There have always been and will always be only two kinds of religion: those of faith (grace) and those of works (Law). Those of Law will always continue to persecute those of grace (consider Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:3-8).
Galatians 4:30
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 10 at Galatians 4:30: Here, Paul was taking the Galatians back to the Scriptures. He was speaking from Genesis 21:9-14. The point was that just as Hagar and Ishmael would not have any part in the inheritance of Isaac, so those of the covenant of Law with its legalism will not inherit the promise of justification that comes by faith.
Galatians 4:31
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 11 at Galatians 4:31:
Paul was saying that we do not obtain right standing with God through the Law (“the bondwoman” - Hagar), but through faith (“the free-woman” - Sarah).
Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.
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