What is the significance of "two covenants" mentioned in Galatians 4:24? Setting the Scene in Galatians • False teachers were insisting that Gentile believers must keep the Mosaic Law to be fully accepted. • Paul answers by reaching back to Genesis, showing that the Law was never intended to be the believer’s route to life and inheritance. Paul’s Use of Genesis 16–21 • Sarah and Hagar were real women in a real story; Paul treats the history as literal, then draws a Spirit-inspired analogy. • “These things may be treated as an allegory” (Galatians 4:24) means the events illustrate a deeper, God-planned truth without denying the facts. Identifying the Two Covenants 1. Hagar → Sinai → Law – “One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar” (4:24). – Represents the Mosaic covenant, written on tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12). – Produces “slavery,” because law-keeping can expose sin but cannot free from it (Romans 3:20). – Linked with “the present Jerusalem” (4:25)—earthly, limited, under Roman rule and spiritual bondage. 2. Sarah → Promise → New Covenant – “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother” (4:26). – Pictures the covenant God promised and fulfilled in Christ: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). – Supernatural birth of Isaac foreshadows the Spirit-wrought new birth of believers (John 3:6). – Leads to freedom, inheritance, and joy (Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:15–17). Key Contrasts at a Glance • Law versus Promise (Galatians 3:18). • Fleshly effort (Ishmael) versus Spirit-enabled life (Isaac) (Galatians 4:29). • Temporary tutor (Galatians 3:24) versus permanent sonship (Galatians 4:7). • Earthly Mount Sinai (fear, thunder, darkness) versus heavenly Mount Zion (grace, festal gathering) — compare Hebrews 12:18–24. Why This Matters for Everyday Faith • Identity: You are not servants earning favor; you are sons and daughters already accepted in Christ (Galatians 4:6). • Freedom: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1); resist any teaching that mixes grace with law-keeping for righteousness. • Power: The same Spirit who gave life to Isaac empowers believers to walk in holiness (Galatians 5:16–18). • Hope: As heirs, believers look to “the Jerusalem above,” a certain, eternal homeland (Philippians 3:20; Revelation 21:2). Other Passages Echoing the Same Truth • Jeremiah 31:31–34 — promised New Covenant written on hearts. • 2 Corinthians 3:6 — “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” • Romans 7:6 — released from the Law to serve “in the new way of the Spirit.” • Hebrews 8:6-13 — Christ mediates a better covenant, enacted on better promises. The two covenants in Galatians 4:24 draw a clear line: reliance on human effort leads to bondage; resting in God’s promise through Christ brings true freedom and inheritance. |
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