This chapter discusses the push to have the Galatians add works as in the Law to the Salvation of Christ. This was being presented by the Judaizers as they thought the combination would be a more "complete and thorough" salvation. They thought that obeying the law along with their faith in Christ would be more beneficial before God. Paul teaches that salvation through Christ is the only way and to try to add to it would belittle Him and the salvation He offers.
Paul taught the crucifixion of Christ, what that meant and what His sacrifice offered them. Paul seemed bewildered at the thought of the Galatians, having been taught rightly, turning back to the law. It would seem that if anyone thought that the law still had to be held, their faith was incomplete or perhaps insincere. If by faith, salvation in Christ was fully accepted, then all would realize that keeping the law was not required. Hence the old covenant, which was not complete and was designed for physical sins and sins against tradition, comes up lacking versus the new covenant that covered all sins and cleansed the conscience. The wrong understanding was that faith in Christ was step one and that to become "even more right" with God, adhering to the law would be needed.
Paul declared that if that were the case, Christ would have suffered for nothing. In fact Christ redeemed all from the curse and burden of the law. He did so by taking all the curse, all the penalty, all the punishment for all the lawbreakers upon Himself so that in Him, all who believed in Him would be made right before God.
The promise God gave was of an individual by the seed of Abraham who would be their redeemer and Messiah. Through Christ the people and Gentiles would receive salvation and the Holy Spirit. The Law was given to show the people their sins and to help them understand that none could find salvation by the works of the law. None, not one could live under the Law flawlessly. This showed the need for the Savior, Jesus Christ and that only in Him could there be redemption.
Paul explains there is no conflict in this because if anyone could be made right by the Law then there would be no need for Christ. That being said, we realize that "all" sin and are condemned by the Law. The only way to be set free from that sin is by believing in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Paul closes with the point that all who believe are children of God. We are made new as if wearing new clothes by baptism with Christ. Now in that relationship we are heirs and true children of Abraham and the promise He gave to Abraham also belongs to us.
Chapter 4
Paul explains the law and freedom in Christ in a more worldly way. The Law acted as a guardian to keep man somewhat protected and safe for a future time. He compares that to a child whose father dies and who is left an inheritance. That inheritance is kept as a trust until the child comes of age. Until that time the child has to obey the guardian and terms of the inheritance, even though he already really owns the inheritance. He compares that to the time before Christ with the Law and/or religious practices and principles.
At the right time, God sent Christ who was born of a woman. Being born of that woman made Him subject to the Law as all men were. Christ, God's Son, came and bought freedom from the Law by His sacrifice. Once free, we were adopted by God and have become heirs to His promise. Now being His children, He placed the Spirit of Christ in our hearts helping us to call out to God as our Father.
Paul encourages the Galatians to recognize themselves as heirs and children of God now free from laws and principles of religion. He asks them why would they want to go back to rules they could never keep. Why would they want to trade the freedom of salvation for a life that would only lead to death. He compared it to being a free child but choosing to become a slave. Paul expressed his frustration and the pain of seeing the Galatians, whom he shared the Good News with, go back to a way of life that would rob them of their inheritance in Christ. He sounds overwhelmed by the entire situation.
Paul then talks about how Abraham and his wife dealt with God's promise that they would have a child. His wife, Sarah, grew impatient and gave her slave, Hagar, to him to have a child by her. When the right time came, Abraham had a child by Sarah, who was a free woman.
The child born of a slave girl, Hagar is a picture of those people given the Law at Mount Sinai. They became slaves to the Law. The child born of Sarah, was born a free man representing the heavenly Jeruselem and the city of the living God.
He tells them, they are like Isaac, the son of the free woman Sarah. He explains they are being pushed into wrong thinking by those who have wrong motives and want them to be slaves to the law as Ishmael the son of the slave girl. These wrong teachers persecute them as Ishmael persecuted Isaac. We see that today as the line of Isaac can be seen as Israel and the line of Ishmael can be seen as the Arab people. That dispute still continues.
Paul then closes with the Scripture teaching them to get rid of the slave and her son for they will not share the inheritance of God that the son of the free woman will receive. He then tells them to rightly identify themselves as being children of the free woman and to live as such and to give up any confusion about being children of the slave woman or being slaves to the law.
I also see the situation with Hagar as one of being impatient with God. God's timing is always perfect and that which He promises, He will always do. Taking matters in our own hands leads to nothing good and finds us with much less than He intends. While waiting on God and His perfect timing, the result is His promise fulfilled beyond what the mind can dream of.