Paul used the story of Hagar and Sarah to help the Galatians understand their inheritance in Christ, which came by faith. When Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was unable to conceive, he took her maidservant, Hagar, who was a slave, and she bore him a son. This son was born according to the flesh. But in His time, God blessed Sarah with her son Isaac who was born as the result of His gracious promise. Paul uses these two women to compare the two covenants. Just as Hagar’s children were born out of slavery, so are we who are bound by the law. But just like Isaac, we are children of promise through God’s covenant to us in Christ.

Sarah was once barren and unable to conceive. But God fulfilled His promise to her husband Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. We are children of that promise. The Galatians were being persecuted by those enslaved by the law, just as Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael. However, just as the Scripture said to get rid of the slave woman and her son, so the Galatians needed to be separated from these false believers. They needed to know their identity as children, not of the slave woman, but of the free woman. We are made free in Christ and through God’s promise.
Application: Father, thank you for setting us free by your grace and promise to us. Forgive me for compromising and trying to go back to the law. May I live as your child who has been set free through faith.
One Word: Children of God’s promise