Galatians 4:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”

NIV: But what does Scripture say? 'Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.'

NASB: But what does the Scripture say? 'DRIVE OUT THE SLAVE WOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE SLAVE WOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.'

CSB: But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman."

NLT: But what do the Scriptures say about that? 'Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.'

KJV: Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

NKJV: Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

Paul has constructed an allegory about the difference between those who trust in following the law to save them, contrasted with those who, by faith, trust in what Christ has done. It is the difference between slavery and freedom.

To illustrate this, Paul has shown that Ishmael was born into slavery as the son of Abraham's slave-wife (Genesis 16:1–3). This was the result of human efforts, not faith. As the older son, Ishmael may have felt he was secure enough to become Abraham's primary heir, though technically a slave. Perhaps that's why he mocked baby Isaac on the day of a feast to celebrate his being weaned (Genesis 21:8–9).

Sarah, though, saw it happen. Protective of her son Isaac, born in freedom as a result of God's promise (Genesis 21:1–3), she immediately demanded that Abraham cast both Ishmael and Hagar away from their family. She did not want the son of a slave woman to share any part of the inheritance with her son. Abraham resisted, but God confirmed that he should do what Sarah said (Genesis 21:10–12).

Paul's point is very direct. Those who insisted Christians must follow the law to be truly saved correspond to Ishmael. They were still in slavery to sin, and God had cast them out, in a sense. Now that Christ had come, those who followed the law no longer had any part in the inheritance from Abraham. That inheritance is only for those who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin and a place in God's family.

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.