Galatians
Chapter
4 (Continued)
16~~[By]
Telling you the truth,
[aletheuo - present active participle]
have
I therefore now
become
what I was not before
with
results that last forever . . .
[ginomai - perfect active indicative (a statement of fact)]
your
enemy/"hated one"? [echthros]
{Note: Paul is getting tough with them. Paul is sarcastically leveling with them! He told them the Truth! Are they now hating him for doing so?}
{Verses
17-18: Flattery Hinders Grace}
17a~~They
{the legalistic Jews}
keep
on zealously courting/affecting you [zeloo]
{tell you HOW GOOD YOU are doing}.
17b~~[But] Not honestly/"with honor"! [kalos]
17c~~But
in contrast [alla],
they
would/"wish to"
[thelo - expression of free will]
"separate
you"/"keep you from me" [ekkleio]
{from Paul and his teaching of Grace}
with
the result that [hina]
they
might court/affect you.
[zeloo - subjunctive]
18~~
But, good to be properly courted
when
I am present
{they treated Paul well while he was face to face with them}.
And,
not only when I am present with you!
{and should continue to respect him
and the doctrine Paul taught after he left.}
{Note: They are battling Paul for influence over the Galatians. They are believers who want to stay with the Old Testament "rituals" mostly established under the Mosaic Law. Paul is teaching them that they need to forget ritual and follow the Way of Jesus Christ. Not that Jesus did not follow the correct teaching of the Mosaic Law, but His teaching was a Higher Way. And, Paul was saying they should follow Jesus' Way not the ritual of the Mosaic Law for spiritual growth.}
[Paul
is Begging His New Converts in Galatians to not be fooled -
Grow to Spiritual Maturity Via following the Ways of Jesus]
19~~
My "little children" [teknion]
[first stage of spiritual growth in Church Age - faith in Christ
results in one being "born again" - spiritually an infant]
I
am "in the pangs of birth"
[odino - to keep the analogy going - Paul "delivered" these
babies into the Way of Jesus and he feels like he is still
in the process of giving birth to them! Anguish!]
again
[palin - Paul is figuratively giving birth to them again]
until
when
[the
Way of] Christ
may
be formed [morphoo]
in
you.
[Note: It is God's purpose for Christ to be formed in every believer. Paul is using a birthing analogy. They are his spiritual children. He is still 'hurting from the birth' because the baby is not growing! When they take in doctrine and grow spiritually, then they will build a set of norms and standards in the soul imitating those Jesus prototyped. Building one doctrine on another creates "an altar of the soul"/"an edification complex of the soul". With doctrine resident in your soul, you LEARN to allow the Thinking of Jesus (the Bible is the "Mind of Christ") to have power in your life. You become 'Occupied with Christ', conscious of His Thoughts verses your own human viewpoint, and Christ will be 'formed in you'. When you imitate Christ you allow His Divine Good Production to be produced through you (only someone Divine can produce anything "Divine"). Bible doctrine is His divine viewpoint. He receives the glory/honor from His thoughts being exercised on earth. For the glory you bring to Him, there are rewards in time and in eternity future.]
{Contrast
of desires - Paul's desires are in verse 20. Galatians' desire in
verse 21}
20a~~
I keep on desiring/wishing
[thelo - Paul's expression of his own free will desire]
to
be present, face to face with you now [pareimi pros]
and
to change/transform [allasso]
my
voice.
{from parental harshness to parental kindness}
{Note: Paul wishes he could change from the harshness in this epistle to soft and pleasant teachings to those straightened out. The spiritual maturity of the audience affects the tone the message a good teacher should use (John 21:15-17). Mature believers have accepted the authority of the teacher and absorb the message easily. Therefore the communicator can deliver the message in a much more pleasant manner . . . for communicator and student alike.}
20b~~For
I continuously
"stand
in doubt"/"am perplexed"/"am confused" [aporeo]
in/by/with/"in
the sphere of" [en] you.
[Note: But Paul has to continue treating them like infants because he is perplexed that they have not grown!]
21a~~Tell
me!
[lego - an imperative - this is an order!]
21b~~[You
who are] Continually desiring/wanting
[thelo - present active participle]
to
be under [hupo]
the
[authority of the Mosaic] law,
do
you absolutely not hear [ouk akouo]
the
law?
[Note: Paul is saying, "Just listen to what the Law says! If you listen and understand, how can you continue to desire to be under the yoke of it?]
{Allegory
of Ishmael - representing the Mosaic Law
and Isaac - representing the newly revealed Way of Spiritual
Growth}
22a~~
For [gar]
it
stands written
in
the past with the result that it stands written forever
[grapho - perfect passive indicative]
that
Abraham had two "adult sons" {huios - Ishmael and Isaac}.
22b~~The
one {Ishmael} -
out
from the source of [ek]
a
bondmaid [paidiske]
{"Hagar" in Hebrew, "Agar" in Greek since they
have no "h"
(Genesis 16:1)}.
22c~~And,
[kai]
the
other {Isaac} -
out
from the source of [ek]
a
freeborn {eleutheros - Sarah}.
{Note: In the Bible, scholars say there are 'Parables' which are characterized by phrases such as 'there was a certain man'. Parables never use a real person's name. Next, they say there are "allegories" in the bible. In general, allegories do not always have to refer to real events. However, in the Bible, the allegories are always 'historical analogies' that relate events that really took place - and use real names and real events.}
23a~~
But in contrast [alla]
certainly
[men]
[he
(Ishmael)] out from [ek]
the
bondwoman [paidiske]
was
born in the past
with
results that last forever
[gennao - perfect passive indicative]
according
to the norm [kata]
of
the flesh [sarx].
[Note: God promised Abraham he would be the father of nations. Sarah convinced him this must mean through Hagar since she was beyond menopause. Ishmael was born from "human viewpoint thinking" (fleshly thinking) not "divine viewpoint thinking" where all things are possible.]
23b~~Moreover
[de],
[he
(Isaac)] out from [ek]
the
freeborn [eleutheros - Sarah]
was
"by the instrumentality of"/"by means of" [dia]
the
promise. [epaggelia]
[Note: In the allegory Ishmael represents human viewpoint. God said to follow the Mosaic Law and that was that. They refuse to understand that Jesus fulfilled the Law and now there was His Higher Law to follow.]
24a~~Which
qualitative class of things
are
receiving speaking figuratively/allegorically?
[allegoreo - present passive participle]
24b~~For
these
[Ishmael = "Mosaic Law" and Isaac = "Jesus' Way"}
represent/are
the
two
covenants/compacts/testaments {by analogy}.
24c~~The
one {Ishmael/"Mosaic Law"}
certainly
[men]
out
from the ultimate source of [apo]
the
Mount Sinai,
[Hagar was from Egypt. The Mosaic Law was given to
Moses by God on Mount Sinai in Egypt]
which
keeps on giving birth
[gennao - present active participle]
into/toward
[eis] bondage [douleia] . . .
which
is Agar [Hagar]
[Hagar represents the Mosaic Law and was the
bondswoman of Sarah].
{Note: The Mosaic Law was given to Moses - outside of the promised land - in the land of cursing . . . in the land of Ishmael . . . at Mount Sinai.}
{Two
Jerusalems - 1st - the Legalistic One of the Day
and the 2nd - Based on Grace}
25~~
For [gar] Sinai
is
a mountain in Arabia
and
"stands in the same rank"/"is parallel" [sustoicheo]
with
the Jerusalem which now is
moreover/and
[de]
is
in slavery
in
accompaniment with her "little children" [teknon].
[teknon indicates "relationship" so these are believers
in Jerusalem, just baby believers]
{Note: The physical city of Jerusalem was in bondage to the Mosaic Law, in bondage to religious leaders, and in bondage to the Roman Empire. The believers in Jerusalem were not yet willing to leave behind the ritual of the Mosaic Law and learn to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."}
26~~
Moreover [de]
the
"On High Jerusalem"/
the
"previous Jerusalem"/
the
"previous On High Jerusalem"
[ano Hierousalem]
freeborn
[eleutheros] . . .
which
keeps on being
the
mother [meter]
of
us all [pas].
[Note:
Ano can mean time or location - this could mean the previous
Jerusalem not under slavery. From Revelation we see there will be a
New Jerusalem that is suspended in air. This future city could also
be in view but not with the last part of the sentence. I tend to
think it is the "Jerusalem" on High that preceded all that
is on Earth - God's City in the Third Heaven - from where creation came.]
27a~~For
[gar]
it
stands written
in
the past with the result that it stands written forever
[grapho - perfect passive indicative (Isaiah
54:1)]
"Bearing
absolutely not,
[tikto ouk - present active particle]
receive
inner happiness
[euphraino - passive imperative - an order to rejoice - "euphoria"]
you
barren/'who can not conceive'. [steiros]
27b~~'Travailing
absolutely not'/'Producing absolutely no children'
[odino - present active participle]
'break
forth'/convulse/'tear in pieces'
[rhegnumi - an order - aorist active imperative]
and
[kai]
cry
over and over.
[boao - an order - aorist active imperative]
27c~~For
the desolate/
'woman
neglected by her husband' [eremos]
has
many more 'little children' [polus teknon]
by
far than [mallon]
she
who has an 'honorable man'/'good husband' [aner]."
[anthropos is the word for the generic use for "man"
aner means an honorable man]
28~~Moreover/Now
[de]
we
brethren
according
to the standard of [kata] Isaac
are
the "little children" [teknon]
of
promise. [epaggelia]
29~~
But, in contrast, [alla]
Having
received birth
[gennao - aorist passive participle]
according
to the standard of [kata] the flesh [sarx] . . .
{Ishmael}
kept
on persecuting/harassing [dioko]
him
{Isaac}
according
to the standard of [kata] the Spirit [pneuma]
even
so . . . [it is] now.
[Note: Just as Ishmael persecuted and tormented Isaac - "laughing at the small boy because Isaac means "laughter (Genesis 21:9), still today the legalistic Jews persecute the Grace believers.]
30a~~
But in contrast [alla]
what
says the scripture?
30b~~Cast
out [separate yourself]
[ekballo - to throw a ball out from yourself]
from
the bondwoman
and
[kai] her "adult son" [huios].
30c~~For
[gar]
the
"adult son" [huios]
of
the bondwoman
shall
absolutely not - no way - be heir
[ou me kleronomeo - double negative "ou me" is the strongest
negative in the Greek - ain't NO WAY]
with
the "adult son" [huios]
of
the freeborn [eleutheros].
{Note: Means in you are not in Union with Jesus, you are not going to share in His inheritance as the Son of God. And, if you do not "grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus" you remain a teknon (baby) with no spiritual maturity. Stay away from those who attempt to hinder you from growing in Grace.}
31~~So
then [ara] brethren {family of God}
we
absolutely are not infants/"little children" [teknon]
of
the bondwoman.
31b~~But in contrast [alla] . . . of the freeborn! [eleutheros]
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