Galatians 4:21–31 – Hagar & Sarah Two Covenants
📖 Passage
Galatians 4:21–31
Read Galatians 4:21–31 (NKJV)
🧠 Context & Background
Having shown that inheritance is by promise (Gal 3:15–22) and that believers are sons and heirs (Gal 4:1–7), Paul now turns to Genesis to illustrate the danger of returning to the Law as the ground of belonging.
- Two mothers, two sons (Gen 16; Gen 21): Abraham fathered Ishmael through Hagar (Sarah’s slave, Gen 16:1–4), a child born “according to the flesh”—human effort to achieve God’s promise. Later, Isaac was born through Sarah (Gen 21:1–3), the child of promise, by God’s miraculous intervention.
- Typological reading (Gal 4:24): Paul interprets this history allegorically (or typologically). Hagar represents Mount Sinai and the old covenant, which produces children for slavery. Sarah corresponds to the Jerusalem above, the new covenant community, free and fruitful.
- Prophetic confirmation (Isaiah 54:1): Paul cites Isaiah 54:1, where the barren woman (Sarah-like, representing Zion) is called to rejoice because her children will outnumber those of the fertile woman. The prophecy finds fulfillment in the gospel: a vast, grace-born family from all nations.
The contrast clarified:
- Hagar/Ishmael = slavery, flesh, Sinai, earthly Jerusalem.
- Sarah/Isaac = freedom, promise, Jerusalem above.
The Judaizers’ insistence on circumcision and Torah badges placed them spiritually in the line of Hagar, not Sarah.
- Pastoral thrust: Believers in Christ are children of promise, not slaves. To submit to Law as the basis of inheritance is to side with Hagar, forfeiting freedom. To live by promise is to embrace the identity of Isaac—born by grace, free heirs of God through Christ.
🌿 Key Themes
- Two Mothers, Two Covenants — Hagar/Sinai/slavery vs. Sarah/promise/freedom.
- Children of Promise — Like Isaac, believers exist by God’s power, not human scheming.
- Jerusalem Above — The church’s homeland and identity are heavenly, not boundary-marked by Sinai.
- Persecution Pattern — “He who was born according to the flesh persecuted him born according to Spirit” (v.29).
- Separation for Freedom — “Cast out the bondwoman” = refuse Law-as-basis for belonging.
📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Galatians 4:21–23 — Do You Hear the Law?
Two sons: one by a bondwoman “according to the flesh,” one by a freewoman “through promise.”
- According to the flesh: Ishmael’s birth through Hagar was human expedience, an attempt to “help” God’s promise by natural means (Gen 16:1–4).
- Through promise: Isaac’s birth came by God’s initiative and power, fulfilling what was impossible for Abraham and Sarah (Gen 21:1–3; Rom 4:18–21).
Galatians 4:24–26 — Allegory: Two Covenants
Hagar = Sinai = present Jerusalem = slavery. Sarah = Jerusalem above = freedom.
- Sinai’s role: The Law, holy and good, becomes condemning when used as a ground for righteousness (2 Cor 3:7–9). To cling to it for status is to remain enslaved.
- Jerusalem above: By contrast, believers belong to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22; Rev 21:2)—the true, free, grace-born community that defines the church’s identity now.
Galatians 4:27 — Isaiah 54:1 Fulfilled
“Rejoice, O barren… more are the children of the desolate…”
- Grace-surplus: Paul applies Isaiah’s prophecy to Sarah/Zion: the barren becomes fruitful not by human effort but by God’s promise.
- Gentile ingathering: The “many children” foreshadow the global family of faith, born of the Spirit rather than lineage (Isa 54:1–3; Gal 3:8).
Galatians 4:28–29 — Isaac's Pattern & Persecution
“We, like Isaac, are children of promise… he born after the flesh persecuted him born after the Spirit.”
- Identity secured: Believers, like Isaac, are born by promise and Spirit, not human striving.
- Pattern of persecution: Just as Ishmael mocked Isaac (Gen 21:9), so legalistic systems will always pressure and oppose gospel freedom (2 Tim 3:12).
Galatians 4:30–31 — Cast Out the Bondwoman
“The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir…”
- Pastoral command: Believers must not allow Law-as-basis to remain alongside promise. Like Hagar, it must be cast out as a rival ground of belonging (Gen 21:10).
- Identity affirmed: Paul ends with a declaration: “We are not children of the slave but of the free.” Freedom in Christ is the believer’s birthright, not an optional extra. -
🔍 Trusted Insight (Spurgeon on Bunyan)
Paraphrase: Spurgeon said of John Bunyan, “Prick him anywhere; his blood is Bibline.” Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress pictures the terror of Mount Sinai and the relief of the Cross. Spurgeon’s point fits Paul’s: let Scripture govern our reading of Hagar and Sarah. The way of Law crushes like Sinai’s thunder; the way of promise sets the soul free. The church must keep her eyes on Zion above, not on the old yoke, and send packing any confidence that leans on the flesh.
❓ Common Objections
- “Is Paul dismissing the Old Testament by using allegory?”
No. Paul is not denying the historical reality of Ishmael and Isaac. He honors the literal history (Gen 16; Gen 21) and reads it canonically, showing how the Law itself, rightly understood, points forward to Christ and His promise (Gal 3:24). - “Is ‘cast out the bondwoman’ unloving?”
No. Paul is not calling for cruelty toward people but for pastoral clarity: Law-as-basis for justification must be expelled from the gospel (Gal 5:1). Love for persons remains, but we must firmly reject systems that enslave. - “Does freedom in Christ encourage antinomianism?”
No. Freedom is from the Law as justifier, not from the Law as guide. By the Spirit, believers fulfill the law’s righteous intent—living in holiness and love (Rom 8:3–4; Gal 5:13–23).
🌎 Worldviews
When Paul speaks of “the present Jerusalem” (Gal 4:25), he’s pointing to the city as it stood in his day:
- Covenantal center of Torah-observance — Jerusalem was the hub of circumcision, temple rituals, and calendar laws. It symbolized life under the Mosaic covenant.
- Religious pride and boundary-markers — For the Judaizers, “Jerusalem” was shorthand for legitimacy. To be aligned with that city meant belonging, status, and acceptance by God — if one bore the marks of Torah.
- Slavery under Law — By tying their identity to the earthly city, they tied themselves to the covenant of Sinai, which in Paul’s allegory corresponds to Hagar — bondage. Thus “Jerusalem now” represents not geography alone but a whole religious system built on Law-as-basis.
Jerusalem Above in Galatians 4
In contrast, the “Jerusalem above” (Gal 4:26) represents:
- God’s eschatological city — Not bricks and mortar, but the heavenly reality where Christ reigns, into which believers are already enrolled (Heb 12:22–23).
- Free inheritance — This Jerusalem is “our mother,” the source of true spiritual life, defined not by Torah-badges but by faith and the Spirit.
- Future hope breaking into the present — The “Jerusalem above” will one day descend in fullness (Rev 21:2), but believers already live from its reality now (Phil 3:20).
Why it matters
Paul’s point is piercing: those clinging to earthly Jerusalem as the badge of belonging are not aligned with Sarah (promise and freedom) but with Hagar (law and slavery). The true heirs of Abraham belong not to an earthly city defined by Law, but to the heavenly city defined by promise. To return to the earthly Jerusalem as covenantal center is to return to slavery; to live as citizens of the Jerusalem above is to live free as sons.
🧩 Review Questions
- Why does Paul appeal to the story of **Hagar and Sarah** (Gen 16; 21) to expose the danger of legalism?
- What does it mean to live “**according to the flesh**” versus “**through promise**” (vv.22–23)?
- How does the contrast between the **present Jerusalem** and the **Jerusalem above** (vv.25–26) challenge where we seek our identity and hope today?
- Why is persecution of the “children of promise” by the “children of the flesh” (v.29) a normal pattern for the church?
- What does it mean, practically, to “**cast out the bondwoman**” (v.30)? How do we reject law-based belonging while still walking in holiness? 💬 **Want to go deeper? Ask the study bot these questions (or your own) to explore further insights!** ---
🔍 Definitions
- Allegory/Typology (ἀλληγορέω) — Paul’s Spirit-guided reading of real history to reveal deeper covenant contrasts.
- Jerusalem Above — The heavenly city that now defines the church’s citizenship and worship.
- According to the Flesh — Human strategy/strength as the principle of religion.
- Children of Promise — Those whose life and status arise from God’s promise fulfilled in Christ.
- Cast Out — Remove legal foundations from the basis of acceptance and fellowship.
🙋 Application Questions
- Where are you tempted to “help” God’s promises with fleshly strategies (performance, badges, boundary markers)?
- What would it mean, practically, for your church to live as the Jerusalem above—free, joyful, welcoming on the basis of promise?
- How might you respond when legal pressure arises (v.29) while maintaining love and clarity?
- What concrete “cast out” step is needed—policy, habit, or message—to keep the gospel as the only basis for belonging?
🔤 Greek Keywords
- allēgoreō (ἀλληγορέω) — To speak allegorically; interpret history to unveil covenant meaning (v.24).
- paidiskē (παιδίσκη) — Bondwoman/slave (Hagar) (vv. 22–23, 30).
- eleuthera (ἐλευθέρα) — Freewoman (Sarah) and the status of gospel heirs (vv. 22–23, 26, 31).
- epangelia (ἐπαγγελία) — Promise; God’s pledged gift (vv. 23, 28).
- diōkō (διώκω) — Persecute/pursue; pressure from flesh-religion against Spirit-born faith (v.29).
📚 Cross References
- Genesis 16:1–16; 21:1–21 — Hagar/Ishmael and Sarah/Isaac.
- Isaiah 54:1 — The barren woman’s children abound.
- Hebrews 12:18–24 — Sinai and Zion above contrasted.
- Romans 9:6–9 — Children of promise counted as offspring.
- Galatians 5:1 — Stand fast in freedom; do not submit again to a yoke of bondage.
- Philippians 3:20 — Our citizenship is in heaven, not an earthly city.
- 2 Timothy 3:12 — All who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution
📦 Next Study
Next Study → Galatians 5:1–6 – For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free