Knowing my rights

Pastor Aage Aleskjar preached this Sunday from, praise God! The dear book of Galatians! My goodness, it's been a long time since I read Galatians - I was too enamoured over Romans :D

Romans and Galatians - the truths of the new covenant.


Galatians 4:21-28

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.

So here, the bondwoman is Hagar and the freewoman is Sarah. See below

But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic.

Paul made typology Kosher. The old testament is the new testament hidden.

What is according to the flesh? And according to promise?

Well, God promised Abraham a son with Sarah - that was His promise, His Word.

But Abraham and Sarah couldn't wait and decided to 'help God along'. So Abraham and Hagar had Ischmael the natural way. The word 'flesh' is symbolic. The opposite of promise, is self-effort (taking God out of the equation)

For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Mt Sinai is where the 10 Commandments were given. The covenant of law.

And look what the Word says! It gives birth to bondage. (Let us not use our human logic to interpret the clear words of the bible.)

For it is written:

“ Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.”

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

So remember, we are as Isaac, children of promise - living by the promises of God!

We are not children of Hagar, living by the blessings and cursings of the law!

Not I say one, bible say one! (This book is written after the cross - if it means anything to thee... :) think on that! )

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.

Sad, but true.

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.”

This is actually what Sarah said. And God agreed with her 'cos He caused the Holy Spirit to write these words down through Paul.

And what does it say? CAST OUT! No ifs, no buts about it. No such thing as, 'yes, we're saved through grace, but we need the law to live in holiness' - where? where? did the bible say that?

The Word is spirit-inspired. It NEVERS contradicts. So then, one guideline in biblical interpretation. Never use obscure verses to interpret what is clear in the Word.

I get pretty annoyed with some preachers who hit God's people over the head with an outdated covenant.

So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Amen!


Another interesting verse:

What does the bible say about the 10 commandments?

Note that in this passage, the spirit and the law are opposites.

2 Corinthians 3:2-17

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (ref also Hebrews 8 - He writes His laws on our hearts)


And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.