An Analysis of Galatians 4:24-26: Children of Promise

Context of Galatians 4:24-26

To understand Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah, we need to see the pressure the Galatian believers were facing: some were urging Gentile Christians to follow Jewish laws like circumcision and special religious days.

Paul reminds them in verses 9 - 11, 'But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.' These 'elementary principles' refer to basic religious rules that enslave rather than free. By returning to them, the Galatians were risking a loss of the freedom they had in Christ.

With this background, Paul turns to the story of Abraham’s two sons in verses 22 - 23: 'For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.' This sets up his spiritual comparison - law versus promise, slavery versus freedom - leading directly into the allegory in verses 24 - 26.

Two Covenants, Two Jerusalems: The Spiritual Battle Between Slavery and Freedom

Paul tells a story that dismantles a false way of life. He shows how Hagar and Sarah represent two entirely different ways of relating to God: one through human effort and law, the other through divine promise and grace.

Hagar, the slave woman, symbolizes the covenant made at Mount Sinai - the giving of the Law in Exodus. That covenant, while from God, brought a system of rules that, when relied on for acceptance with God, leads to spiritual slavery. Paul says this covenant 'bears children for slavery' - meaning anyone trying to earn God’s favor through law-keeping ends up in bondage. He even identifies 'Hagar' with 'Mount Sinai in Arabia' and says she 'corresponds to the present Jerusalem,' showing that the religious system centered on the earthly city and its temple rituals is tied to that old, enslaving order.

The 'present Jerusalem' in Paul’s day was the center of Jewish religious life, where people tried to please God through sacrifices, circumcision, and strict rule-following. But Paul contrasts this with 'the Jerusalem above' - a living, spiritual reality, free and eternal, which belongs to those who trust in Christ. This 'heavenly Jerusalem' is our true mother, the source of our spiritual birth. Sarah gave birth to Isaac by God’s promise, illustrating this spiritual origin. This distinction is key: we are not made right with God by joining a religious system, but by being born into God’s family through faith.

This idea echoes Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises a new covenant - not written on stone, but on hearts. Paul is showing that the old covenant had a purpose, but it was temporary, like a guardian for a child (Galatians 3:24). Now that Christ has come, we live under the new covenant, where freedom, not fear, defines our relationship with God.

The real inheritance doesn’t come from following rules on earth - it comes from God’s promise, and it belongs to those led by His Spirit.

The next section will show how this spiritual freedom demands a decisive break with the old way. Isaac and Ishmael could not share the inheritance, and we too must live by the Spirit, not the flesh.

Living in Freedom: Our Identity in Christ

Because we belong to the Jerusalem above, our relationship with God is based on promise and freedom, not on keeping religious rules or calendars.

To the Galatians, this was liberating - many were being pressured to follow Jewish laws like observing special days, but Paul says that kind of life leads back into slavery. Instead, we live by faith in what Christ has done, not by checking off religious duties.

We are not bound by rules or religious routines, but born into freedom by God’s promise.

This freedom isn’t careless - it’s the joy of being God’s child, led by His Spirit, not driven by fear of breaking rules. The next section will show how this freedom calls us to stand firm and not return to old ways.

The Bigger Story: From Promise to Eternal Freedom

The vision of the 'Jerusalem above' is the climax of God’s promise, which extends from Sarah and Isaac. It is not exclusively a New Testament idea.

Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 - 'Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband' - to show that God’s people are no longer defined by earthly lineage or temple rituals, but by His life-giving promise to the spiritually 'barren.' And this promise finds its final home in Revelation 21 - 22, where John sees 'the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband' - a real, eternal city where God dwells with His people, and there is no more death, sorrow, or slavery.

Our true home isn’t a religious system - it’s the coming city of God, where freedom, peace, and life with Him never end.

This truth changes how we live now: we don’t build our identity on religious performance, but on being part of God’s coming city, which shapes how we love others, welcome outsiders, and live with hope in a broken world.

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