The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Message Three
The Allegory of the Two Women
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Gal. 4:24 These things are spoken allegorically, for these women are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bringing forth children unto slavery, which is Hagar.
I. Sarah and Hagar, the wife and the concubine of Abraham, allegorize two covenants, the covenant of promise and the covenant of law—Gen. 16:1-3; Gal. 4:24: (Monday)
A. Sarah, the free woman, signifies the covenant of promise, which correlates with the new covenant—the covenant of grace; her bringing forth of Isaac was by the grace of God, and the product of the promise of grace is Isaac, the seed who fulfills God’s purpose—Gal. 4:23-24; Gen. 17:19; 21:12b.
———————————————————————
B. Hagar, the maidservant, signifies the covenant of law; the covenant of law, symbolized by Hagar, brings God’s chosen people into the slavery and bondage of the law, making them slaves under the law and separating them from the grace of God; Abraham’s bringing forth of Ishmael through Hagar was the result of man’s fleshly effort according to the law, which was rejected by God—Gal. 4:24-25, 30. (Tuesday)
———————————————————————
C. The promise was given in places like Gen. 12:2, 7, and the covenant was made in Gen. 15:7-21; according to God’s intention, the covenant of promise preceded the covenant of law, and God’s original intention is to work Himself into man to accomplish His purpose through man—Gen. 15:4. (Wednesday)
———————————————————————
D. The covenant made in Gen. 15 was confirmed with circumcision in Gen. 17; God revealed Himself to Abraham as the all-sufficient God, the source of grace; the spiritual significance of circumcision is the putting off of the flesh, the self, and the old man through the crucifixion of Christ—Gen. 17:1-14; Col. 2:11, 13a. (Thursday)
———————————————————————
II. We need to look at Gal. 4:21-31 in the light of Abraham’s experience in Genesis: (Friday)
A. Paul tells us that Hagar signifies the law, symbolized by the earthly Jerusalem, and Sarah signifies grace, symbolized by the heavenly Jerusalem—Gal. 4:25-26.
B. Hagar and Sarah represent the two covenants—the covenant of law and the covenant of grace; the law is man’s labor plus man’s ability to produce something, whereas grace is God given to His chosen people to bring forth many sons—Gal. 3:26; 4:6.
C. The original covenant that God made with Abraham was the covenant of grace; this covenant equals the new covenant to bring forth sons, the first among whom being Abraham himself—Gal. 3:8, 26, 29; 4:6.
D. The two kinds of children brought forth by these two covenants have different natures; those born of the covenant of law were born according to the flesh and have no right to partake of God’s promised blessing; those born of the covenant of promise were born according to the Spirit and have the full right—Gal. 4:24, 28-31.
———————————————————————
E. Gal. 4 reveals that the mother of the believers is the Jerusalem above, the New Jerusalem, which is the new covenant of grace signified by Sarah; the new covenant is our mother because she brings us forth as free children, and we have been born under the new covenant—Gal. 4:26, 31; Heb. 12:22-23. (Saturday)
