Galatians 4:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.

NIV: At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.

NASB: But as at that time the son who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so it is even now.

CSB: But just as then the child born as a result of the flesh persecuted the one born as a result of the Spirit, so also now.

NLT: But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

KJV: But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

NKJV: But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

Paul is reaching the conclusion of his allegory, which contrasts living under the law of Moses to being justified by faith in Christ. He has shown this difference to be the same as that between living as a slave, or living as a free person. In this way, it is the difference between being born to Abraham's slave-wife Hagar (Genesis 16:1–3), as the result of human efforts, and being born to Abraham's free wife Sarah, as the result of the promise of God (Genesis 21:1–3).

Now Paul makes a further connection between the Ishmael/Isaac relationship and that between the Jewish religious leaders and the Christians of Paul's day. Ishmael, the son of the slave woman, persecuted Isaac, the promise-fulfilling son of the free woman. This persecution took the form of Ishmael, likely a teenager at the time, laughing at or mocking baby Isaac on the day of a feast in celebration of his being weaned (Genesis 21:8–9).

If we had been there, we might not have thought much about a teenage boy mocking his baby brother, but it was significant to Isaac's mother Sarah. That was the moment she demanded that Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael from their family to ensure that Ishmael did not share in Abraham's inheritance (Genesis 21:10).

For the purpose of his allegory, Paul is connecting Ishmael's mocking of Isaac with the Judaizers' persecution of the Christians. As Ishmael was born merely out of human effort, the Judaizers also taught that people could become acceptable to God through our own effort. Isaac's birth, though, was the result of God's work and the fulfillment of a promise. In the same way, Christians become God's children as the result of God's working through the Holy Spirit. It is not something we can make happen on our own.

Galatians 4:21–31 contains Paul's allegory about Abraham's two wives, and the two sons born through them. Paul sets out to use Scripture to show the difference between being born into slavery, by human effort, as opposed to being born into freedom, by the work of God through the Holy Spirit. Ishmael was born into slavery as Abraham's son, but he was cast out when the child of promise arrived. In a similar way, living under the law became pointless when Christ arrived. Those who trust in Him become children of promise by God's power.

In this chapter, Paul uses three new methods to teach his Galatian readers an important lesson. It is futile to follow the law of Moses in order to be made right before God, since justification comes only by faith in Christ. First, Paul shows that the arrival of Christ made it possible for all people to become God's children through faith in Him. Next, Paul makes a more personal appeal, asking what has changed to cause the Galatians to turn on Paul's teaching of the gospel. Finally, Paul builds an allegory from Scripture, illustrating the difference between being born into slavery and being born into the promise by faith in Christ.

Galatians 3 ends with Paul stating, once more, that those who are in Christ are Abraham's offspring, just as He is, making us heirs along with Him. Galatians 4 continues that idea, showing how Christ's arrival signaled the moment all people could receive the inheritance with Him and be adopted as God's children. Paul makes his appeal personal, asking why the Galatians moved from blessing him to rejecting the message of Christ. The chapter ends with Paul's allegory about the difference between being born into slavery under the law and being born into freedom by the power of the Spirit through faith in Christ. Chapter 5 will continue by expanding on the freedom we have in Christ.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.