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Applying Paul's Illustration: Purge Anti-Gospels & Know Who You Are
Galatians 4:30-31
Today, we finish looking at Paul’s illustration using the story of Sarah and Hagar, which he used to show the struggle between law and grace for the Galatians. Let’s look at two more applications from this Old Testament story.
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Applying Paul's Illustration: Rejoice in Spiritual Barrenness & Expect a Struggle with Legalism
Galatians 4:27-29
In last week’s post from Galatians, we saw how Paul used the story of Hagar, Sarah, and the birth of their sons from Genesis to illustrate the struggle between law and grace to the Galatians. Today, we’ll see how Paul applies his illustration and consider four applications of the truth he laid out by contrasting Hagar and Sarah.
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Reject Anti-Gospels
Galatians 4:21-26
At this point in Galatians, Paul decided to cap his scriptural defense of the gospel of grace with a story from Scripture. [1] Paul was shocked that some in the Galatian church contemplated living under the law, after receiving Christ's gospel (21). They were not listening to the demanding nature of the law (21). And Paul could not understand why they wanted to rely on it for their standing with God.
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Do I Think of God as My Father?
Galatians 4:1-7
This entire passage illustrates the point in the final verse: "So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (7). If you have trusted Christ and believed his gospel, you have been transferred from slavery to sonship. You are—right now, not only in the future—a full heir of God because of your connection to Jesus.
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What We Are After the Gospel
Galatians 3:23–29
Before placing our faith in Christ, we were imprisoned and guarded, as we saw in last week’s article. Let’s also think about what we become after placing our faith in Christ. What does faith in the gospel do to us?
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What We Were Before the Gospel
Galatians 3:23–29
In this passage, Paul will tell us what faith in the gospel does to us. When we truly believe, what happens to us? Paul will explain it to us in fairly radical terms, first by telling us what we were (the bad news) and then by telling us what we are (the good news). So, let us look first at what we were.
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The Law Complements the Gospel Because It Combatted Sin until Christ Arrived & Reveals Our Need for Christ
Galatians 3:19-22
Last week, we began looking at how the law complements the Gospel, the first way being that it arrived after Christ was promised - over four centuries after the promise made to Abraham and his offspring.
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The Law Complements the Gospel Because It Arrived after Christ Was Promised
Galatians 3:15-18
In a sense, there is no bigger question than the one Galatians attempts to answer: How do we relate to God? Do we experience God as a reward for good works? Do we gain fuller and more complete revelation of him by keeping more of his law as revealed in nature, conscience, or Scripture? Or do we encounter God by his grace? Do we enjoy him through faith in his promises?
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The Gospel of Grace Brought the Spirit to Us
Galatians 3:10 -14
Through this passage over the past couple of weeks, we’ve examined two reasons the gospel of grace transfers us from curse to blessing: it shows us the way of faith and that Christ is the one to consume the curse. The third reason the gospel transfers us from curse to blessing is that it brought the Spirit to us. Because Jesus died and rose, when we believe in him, we become recipients of the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:22). He is God, and he makes his home in us. Paul explained this truth this way:
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Gospel Blessing: Christ Was Cursed for Us
Galatians 3:10-14
Last week, we began looking at how the gospel transfers us from curse to blessing, the first way being that it promotes the way of faith. The second reason the gospel transfers us from curse to blessing is that Christ was cursed for us. This is what we must believe. For this point, Paul again quotes from Deuteronomy. He wrote:
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