Throw Out Those Legalists!

 By S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.

An Exposition Of Galatians 4:21-31 [1]

Lewis Johnson regularly ministered the Word at Believers Chapel in Dallas for more than thirty years. During his academic career he held professorships in New Testament and Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. At the time of his death in January 2004 he was Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Dallas Seminary. Both MP3 files and printed notes of Dr. Johnson’s sermons and theological lectures may be downloaded from the web site of Believers Chapel «www.believers-chapel.org/index.html».

Introduction

“Legalism is one of the major problems among Christians today,” a noted author of a commentary on Galatians has written. [2] It is by no means an overstatement. It is, in fact, a gross understatement, for legalism has troubled the people of God and the human race since the fall in the Garden of Eden. From Adam’s fig leaves, through the perverted use of the practice of circumcision by the Judaizing false teachers, on to the sacramental systems of modern religious organizations, legalism has flourished. Man loves legalism because it provides the flesh with an opportunity to look good.

What are the main marks of legalism? One of my former teachers has suggested three of them. In the first place, it is essentially “a religion of redemption through human effort,” a method by which man may build his own highway to the heavens. In this it is a direct contradiction of the truth of Ephesians 2:8–10. In the second place, there is “its tendency to import a mercenary spirit into religion.” A man, pointing to his achievements, becomes able to demand of God the reward of eternal life. And, furthermore, by multiplying regulations and requirements, he is able to continue increasing his claim upon God. In this it is a direct contradiction of 1 Corinthians 4:2–7. Finally, legalism has a “fondness for negatives.” We are reminded of the “thou shalt nots” of the Ten Commandments and of the modern taboos invented by contemporary churchmen. In this, legalism is a contradiction of the truth of Colossians 2:20–23. [3]

Legalism, of course, does not mean the recognition of spiritual standards. It is the doctrine that one may conform to such standards by one’s unaided efforts and gain merit before God by such accomplishments. The Pauline solution to the problem of legalism is his epistle to the Galatians. In this epistle there is an extended treatment of the error of the legalistic way of salvation and life, and there is also an extended treatment of the antidote in the grace of God through the cross of Christ.

In the third chapter of the letter Paul has demonstrated by various arguments that legalism and law-works cannot merit salvation. He has convincingly shown that the Scriptures do not support the claims of the Judaizers. Salvation is by grace, apart from law-works. In chapter four the argument continues by the use of illustrations. In them he shows that law is opposed to grace and works to faith. The first illustration is that of the ancient custom of adoption, by which a child came to his majority. By means of this illustration Paul argues that the age of the Mosaic law has passed and the age of freedom from the Mosaic law has come (Gal. 4:1–7).

After an earnest appeal to his beloved converts to drop the legal system, the apostle concludes his argument with a typical treatment of the story of the birth and youth of Isaac and the conflict between Sarah, the freewoman, and Hagar, the bondwoman. The argument is a most unusual one and deserves a careful treatment. It is to this that we now turn.

The Historical Situation, Verses 21-23

21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

The Interrogation, Verse 21

“With these Judaizers he uses an argumentum ad hominem. That is, he meets them and refutes them on their own ground. He exposes the inconsistency, the illogicality of their position. ‘You want to be under the law?’ he asks. ‘Then just listen to the law! For the very law, whose servant you want to be, will be your judge and condemn you.’” [4]

The Explanation, Verses 22–23

After the question there follows a reference to Abraham, his two wives, and his two sons. The circumstances surrounding these relationships now become the material from which the apostle unfolds a typical illustration of the superiority of grace to law.

It is important, if the reader is to grasp the thought of the apostle, that he be familiar with the Old Testament narrative of the events to which Paul refers. A brief summary of the story follows. First, at age seventy-five, Abraham, receiving unconditional promises from God, left Ur for Canaan. Although he received assurance that he would be blessed by a son through Sarah his wife, Sarah was barren (Rom. 4:16–25). Then, when he was eighty-five, Sarah became impatient and suggested that Abraham take her maid, Hagar, as a wife and try to have the son by her. This he did (Gen. 16:1–3). When he was eighty-six, Hagar became pregnant, but Sarah reacted in jealousy. Sarah then forced Hagar to leave, but God intervened and she returned. The son was born and called Ishmael (Gen. 16:4–16). At age ninety-nine God again spoke to Abraham and affirmed that he would have a son through Sarah, and that his name would be Isaac, or “laughter.” The promise was confirmed to Sarah also (17:1–18:22). Finally, at age one hundred the son was born, a supernatural son traceable to the promise of God, and his name was Isaac. Ishmael now had a rival.

The final stage in the story was reached when Abraham reached the age of 103.At Isaac’s weaning a feast was made, but Ishmael mocked the young child Isaac, creating a tense situation in the home. The solution was a painful one: Ishmael must go with his mother, Hagar, from the home. The decision originated with Sarah, but it was confirmed to Abraham by God. Thus, the action became God’s as well. “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac” was thus the judgment of God upon the matter (Gen. 21:1–8, 9–14).

At first glance the narrative seems just that: an ancient story of the experiences of the patriarch and his family, a tale of a family trial. The apostle, however, sees much more in the account. In fact, through the Spirit’s guidance he sees that the story has a typical significance and illustrates the superiority of grace, or promise, to law, or the flesh. Abraham, his two wives, and his two sons teach important spiritual lessons, which the Galatians must come to know. To this he refers in his opening words, “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?” (v. 21). They, the Judaizers, have appealed to the law of Moses, and so will he. They have boasted that they stand in the line of Abraham. He will show them the real meaning of the life of the patriarch and that the superiority of the promise to the law, of faith to works, was “latent in the very foundation of Abraham’s line.” [5]

The distinction between the births of the two children, represented by the phrases “according to the flesh”(κατὰ σάρκα [kata sarka]) and “through the promise” (δι᾿ ἐπαγγελίας [diʿ epangelias]), is important. Ishmael’s birth was by natural generation, but Isaac’s was by natural and supernatural generation, for Sarah’s womb was dead. Thus, Isaac’s origin is traceable to the power of the Word of God (Gen. 18:14; Luke 1:37).

The Spiritual Interpretation, Verses 24-27

24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. 27 For it is written, “Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more numerous are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband.”

The Principle Of The Pauline Exposition, Verse 24a

“This is allegorically speaking,” the opening words of verse 24, have occasioned a great deal of discussion. Is the apostle using allegory, [6] or is he expounding the text of the Old Testament in a typical way? [7] Commentators differ in answering the question.

Perhaps it would be best to begin by clarifying the translation of the original text. The words translated “this is allegorically speaking” (ἅτινά ἐστιν ἀλληγορούμενα, hatina estin allē goroumena) are the rendering of the verb ἀλληγορέω (allē goreō) in a periphrastic construction and literally mean “are being allegorized.” In other words, the apostle is not denying the historicity of the Old Testament narrative, even if we take the verb to be a reference to what we would call an allegory. He does not say “which things are an allegory,” but “which things are being allegorized.” The allegory, by this understanding, does not consist of the Old Testament passages, but in Paul’s use of the story. As 1 Corinthians 10:1–11 indicates, Paul has no doubts about the historicity of the Old Testament narratives.

This is not the whole story, however. It is true that our English word “allegory” is derived from the Greek verb used here, but that does not necessarily mean that the English sense is the sense of the Greek word. Meaning is determined by usage, and the verb really meant “to treat or interpret as an allegory.” [8] It is Lightfoot’s opinion that the apostle’s use of the word here is quite close to his use of the word τύπος (typos) in 1 Corinthians 10:11. [9] This is the opinion of many others, and I am convinced that this view is correct. [10]

When we think of allegory, we generally think of a story which is not historical but which is given moral or spiritual meaning that goes beyond the simple literal sense of the story. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, in which he traces Christian’s experiences from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, is a familiar illustration. The story may be read on two levels: the literal sense and the symbolic (or spiritual) sense.

When we think of a type, however, we think of an event, person, or institution in the Old Testament revelation which corresponds with a New Testament person, event, or institution foreshadowed by the Old Testament mention. The key point, however, is this: the Old Testament person, event, or institution, is historical in character. [11] The Old Testament record has, in the case of a type, both a historical and a typical meaning. [12]

In the light of the historicity of the events to which Paul refers here, it is much better to see his use of the Old Testament as typical, rather than allegorical. Incidentally, the leading exegetes of the ancient Antiochene school took the text in this way, too. [13]

The Content Of The Pauline Exposition, Verses 24b–26

The words of this section give the details of the typical sense that Paul finds in the story of Abraham, his wives, and his children. The word “these” (αὗται [hautai]) in the clause, “These women are two covenants,” is feminine and refers to the two women. [14] So, the first point in the exposition is this: the two women, Sarah and Hagar, represent the two covenants, the Abrahamic and the Mosaic. Hagar represents the Mosaic, for she is the bondwoman and begets children for bondage.

Further, the apostle goes on to identify Hagar with Mount Sinai in Arabia, far removed from the Promised Land. The very place where the law was given is connected with the slave woman, Hagar, for she went south to Beersheba, and Ishmael dwelt near Sinai. Arabia, thus, becomes the land of bondmen. Hagar and Ishmael left the land of blessing for a desert. Thus do all who abandon grace!

The verb translated “corresponds to” (συστοιχέω [systoicheō]) in verse 25 originally meant to be in the same row with. [15] It is, therefore, a very suggestive word in this context and justifies us in lining up the similarities and the differences that the apostle sees in the Old Testament story. We can set forth those that stand in the same line and their opposites in this way: [16]

Row One	Row Two
Hagar (a slave)	Sarah (free)
Ishmael (persecutor)	Isaac (persecuted)
Born “according to the flesh”	Born “through the promise”
Mt. Sinai in Arabia	Heavenly Mt. Zion, Heb.12:22
Mosaic Law (Covenant)	Abrahamic Promise (Covenant)
Contemporary Jerusalem (Below)	Jerusalem Above
Children of Hagar	Children of Free Woman
Unbelieving Jews (bondage)	Christian Church (free)

These are the two rows that proceed from the one man, Abraham, illustrating clearly that to be a son of Abraham physically is in itself of no merit whatsoever (John 8:33).

The beautiful picture of the Jerusalem above as the home of the redeemed, freed from bondage to the legal system, is in harmony with other parts of the New Testament. It is the same as the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2). The city is the place of our birth, and it is our home (Phil. 3:20). It is our “mother city,” the sense of the apostle here (v. 26). Our names are there, our citizenship is there, our life is there, and soon we shall be there bodily. It is a free city, for it is the city of the resurrection of the dead, utterly removed from the sphere of the law.

The Illustration From Scripture, Verse 27

Appealing to the Septuagint Greek text of Isaiah 54:1, the apostle illustrates the preceding truths. In Isaiah 51:2 the prophet had pointed to God’s dealings with Abraham and Sarah as a type of his dealings with their descendants. [17] And in 54:1, after the rich unfolding of the inauguration of the covenant promises of redemption through the work of the Suffering Servant of Jehovah, the prophet calls upon Israel to sing because of the rich blessings to be received in the future. The time reference is the Messianic days, inclusive of the present age, for the Abrahamic blessings are being granted today (Gal. 3:16, 29). That the “barren” shall be fruitful accentuates the grace of the fulfillment of the covenant (Gen. 17:16; Isa. 49:14–23; Rom. 11:11–24). The apostle Paul sees the ancient prophecy of Isaiah as being fulfilled in measure in the salvation by grace of the great numbers of Gentiles, among whom are the Galatian believers. The “unnatural” branches are being grafted into Israel’s olive tree (Rom. 11:11–24). [18]

The Personal application, Verses 28-31

28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.

The Identification Of The Typological Features, Verse 28

The Galatians are said to be a supernatural people, like Isaac, for they had been born according to the promise made to Abraham (v. 23). Just as Isaac was born by divine interposition, so is every believer now (John 3:3, 7).

The Persecution By The Flesh And The Divine Judgment Regarding It, Verses 29–30
The apostle goes on to show that it is the natural thing for the flesh to persecute the spirit. It was true of our Lord, of the apostle Paul, Luther, Calvin, Whitefield, and the line of the saints (2 Tim. 3:12).

And what is the divine judgment upon such persecution? The apostle, alluding to the incident in which Ishmael mocks Isaac at Isaac’s weaning and using the divine decision concerning Hagar and her son, writes, “But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.’” The incident was prominent in rabbinical tradition, and that adds force to Paul’s use of it.

The thirtieth verse, then, with its “cast out the bondwoman,” gives the judgment of God upon the legalists. The persecution of the Galatians by the Judaizers is not to be interpreted as an indication that they are to abandon grace. By no means! Just the opposite is the divine mind. The “Ishmaels” are to be thrown out. “Cast out the bondwoman and her son” has become God’s verdict upon all clinging to legalistic Judaism. Law and grace cannot mingle. There is no inheritance for Judaizers.

The Conclusion, Verse 31

“So then, brethren,” Paul concludes, “we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the freewoman.” Believers are not under the law, but are free through the work of Christ. And this is what you are, Galatians! Stand firm!

Conclusion

There are a number of truths that emerge in this interesting section. First, it is evident again that the apostle regarded the reign of the law of Moses as temporary, while the reign of the promise is regarded as permanent (John 8:31–36). Second, the age of the law may have its progeny, but the age of the Abrahamic promise has a greater progeny. Third, we notice that the source of spiritual bondage is a wrong interpretation of the purpose of the law of Moses. It was never meant to give life, but to give the knowledge of sin. The source of freedom rests in the grace of the divine promises. Fourth, we thus see the failure of the fleshly birth and the sufficiency of the spiritual birth to secure our sonship and inheritance. Fifth, we also see that the possessor of the promise does not persecute the legalist, but it is the legalist who is compelled to persecute the recipient of grace. The same conditions prevail in our time.

Yes, it is true: legalism is one of the major problems among Christians today. May the Lord deliver us from the error and enable us to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has made us free.

Notes

1. This is article twelve in a sixteen-part series, “Expositional Studies in the Epistle to the Galatians.”
2. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Free: An Expository Study of Galatians (Wheaton: Victor, 1975), 108; idem., The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton: Victor, 1989), 1:712.
3. James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul’s Religion (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1935), 84–88.
4. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, BST (London: Inter Varsity Press, 1968), 122.
5. C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, The Epistle to the Galatians (1922; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Kregel, n.d.), 216.
6. So, Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians,WBC (Dallas: Word, 1990), 209; James D. G. Dunn, The Epistle to the Galatians, BNTC (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993), 248; BDAG, “ἀλληγορέω,” 46; Friedrich Büchsel, “ἀλληγορέω,” in TDNT, 1:263. A. Kretzer argues that Paul’s approach in Galatians 4:24 is that of “typological allegorizing” rather than allegorizing (“ἀλληγορέω,” in EDNT, 1:62).
7. So, J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (1865; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 180; F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 217 (“Allegory in the Philonic sense was introduced into Christian interpretation with Origen and his successors”); Anthony Tyrrell Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Techniques and Theology (London and Grand Rapids: SPCK and Eerdmans, 1974), 94–95 (“Paul’s ‘allegory’…is really an elaborate piece of typology”); Leonhard Goppelt, “τύπος,” in TDNT, 8:253. Goppelt writes, “Paul himself can use the general ἀλληγορούμενα.… But [this term is not adequate]…to bring out the significance of the events which Paul calls τύποι. Hence it is not surprising that under Paul’s influence τύπος became a hermeneutical term in the whole Church.” The NIV translates, “These things may be taken figuratively.”
8. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 180.
9. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 180.
10. The same word may have different nuances in different contexts, and it is usage that determines the meaning in a particular passage. For example, the word type is derived from a Greek word (τύπος, typos) which occurs sixteen times in the NT. The Greek word denotes the visible impression of a stroke or pressure, i.e., a mark or trace of a blow (BDAG, s.v. “τύπος,” 1019). The verb is τύπτω (typtō) meaning “to strike.” In the NASB it is translated by eight different English words: “imprint” (John 20:25); “place” (John 20:25); “image” (Acts 7:43); “type” (Rom. 5:14); “pattern” (Heb. 8:5; Acts 7:44); “form” (Acts 23:25; Rom. 6:17); “model” (2 Thess. 3:9); “example” (Titus 2:7; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Phil. 3:17; 1 Thess. 1:7; 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3). Just as Paul does not necessarily mean “type” every time he uses τύπος, “so we are not justified in assuming that ἀλληγορούμενα means ‘are an allegory’ [in this passage]” (Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 91).
11. Cf. S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., The Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980), 53–57.
12. “Although denominated ‘allegory,’ the passage differs from the symbolical use of Scripture in Philo and Origen, both in its view of history and in its epistemology. Its basis is not γνώσις but πίστις, not the esoteric experience of a mystery religion but the ‘heilsgeschichtliche Glaubenswirklichkeit’ [‘a redemptive-historical reality of faith’]. Although following an allegorical form in part, its subject matter places it within the framework of Pauline typology” (E. Earle Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament [1957; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985], 130).
13. Robert J. Kepple, “An Analysis of Antiochene Exegesis of Galatians 4:24–26, ” WTJ 39 (Spring, 1977), 239–49.
14. The Greek text does not have the word “women,” which is here supplied by the translators of the NASB.
15. BDAG, s.v. “συστοιχέω,” 979.
16. Cf. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 94.
17. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 182.
18. For further discussion of Romans 11:11–24, see S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., “The Parable of the Olive Tree: Romans 11:11–24, ” BBB (May 10, 1981): 1-6; idem., “Evidence From Romans 9–11, ” in A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, eds., Donald K. Campbell and Jeffrey L. Townsend (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 199–223 (esp. 211–19).