Galatians Journal: Chapter 4, Verse 26

Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

In the previous verse, Paul compares Hagar, as the “slave woman,” with Mt. Sinai and Jerusalem, both centers of Judaism and Jewish culture, sources of the Law, and therefore under the bondage of the Law. Here he makes reference to a new concept – “the Jerusalem that is above.” Rabbinical teaching of Paul’s day taught that in the coming Messianic age, a “new Jerusalem,” a heavenly archetype, would descend to the earth. This, of course, was not too far off from the reality of Christ’s Kingdom. Revelation 21:2 notes that there is a New Jerusalem, a heavenly City of God, where Christ eternally reigns, and of which all “true believers,” all authentic Christians – believers in “the promise,” not the literal descendants of Abraham or citizens of Israel – are citizens. Remember, Paul has announced that he is making this argument “figuratively.” (See Galatians 4:24). The problem is that the Jews took things too literally. They viewed the promise of the new Jerusalem as a physical presence, as something for the present and the here and now, and literally for the re-establishment of the Jewish nation in Israel at some future, but not too far future time. The Messiah would be a temporal King, just like David and Solomon had been. In this verse, Paul makes his own comparison about these concepts complete – and the connections to ethnicity (or lack thereof) could not be clearer. The reality is God’s plan is fulfilled in the promise of Jesus, not in obedience to the law. We are to rely on the Lord’s sacrifice, and not our own merit. Relying on the promise produces life and fulfillment – just as God promised Abraham a son, and produced Isaac. Relying on the law can produce a type of “promise production” that might look and feel similar, but the effort will always fall short – they are never enough to please God – just like Abraham’s relationship with Hagar, and the production of Ishmael. It also drives home that bloodline, ethnicity, and culture mean nothing. Fulfilling the Law means becoming a Jew. But Ishmael, as a literal “child of Abraham” (see the discussion back in Galatians 3: 6-9), was a failure -- and he certainly was not a Jew. So then are all attempts to please God by our own effort, in what we are, what we do, or how we behave. Any outward effort falls short. Any definition of who is a child of God that focuses on what we are, or what we do leads to slavery. We can only be a child of God by being children of the promise. Defining by race, culture, denomination, style, personal preference etc. is no different than trying to please God by following the minutia of the Law.