4:4 fulness of the time. The many Messianic prophecies and promises in the Old Testament had indeed focused on a time in history when the Savior would come into the world. Note especially the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-26. There were actually a few Jewish men and women who were somehow aware that the time was at hand and who, therefore, “looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:25-26,38).

4:4 made of a woman. This phrase, “made of a woman,” may mean merely that, when God sent Him forth, the Son became part of the human family. There is, however, a strong probability that it refers to His miraculous conception and virgin birth. The word rendered “made” (Greek ginomai) is not the usual word for “born” (gennao), and was never so rendered by the King James scholars. The latter word normally refers to male procreation, although it can also refer to the actual birth process of the mother. Paul deliberately rejected this word meaning “born,” and instead used the standard word for “made,” evidently to emphasize that the human birth of Jesus was unique, different from all other human births. He was to be, in a one-time-only sense, the Seed of the woman, as promised by God in the very beginning (Genesis 3:15), not made from a male seed. In fact, His human body was specially “prepared” by God (Hebrews 10:5), so as to be born without inherent sin or genetic defects form either parent. See notes on Luke 1:31-37.

4:5 redeem. In order to “redeem” those who were under the law (and, therefore, lost sinners) the Son must Himself be “without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18-20). He had been “foreordained before the foundation of the world,” then, finally, was “manifest in these last times.”

4:6 Abba. “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “father” (perhaps more like “papa”). The cry of the Spirit in our hearts is thus, “Abba, Father,” using both an intimate name and a respectful name for one’s father. It was actually the expression used by Jesus as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). See also Romans 8:15.

4:9 known of God. Note that Paul places special emphasis on being “known of God.” God knew us before we knew Him!

4:9 beggarly elements. Before their conversion, the Galatians had been pagans (perhaps some had been Jews, as was true in most of the early churches). If pagans, they had been in bondage to evolutionary pantheistic polytheism, committed to many pagan rituals and sacrifices. If Jews, they had been in bondage to Jewish law and tradition, hoping to earn salvation by the impossible burden of obeying all the laws. No wonder Paul was impatient with their desire to give up liberty in Christ for renewed bondage.

4:13 infirmity of the flesh. This phrase may be the same as the “thorn in the flesh” mentioned to the church at Corinth (II Corinthians 12:7).

4:15 your own eyes. This may suggest that Paul’s physical handicap was some eye disease, possibly opthalmia. Note also Galatians 6:11.

4:24 allegory. When God’s Word is meant to be interpreted allegorically, the text indicates such. Symbolic, figurative, or parabolic language is occasionally used in the Bible, but this is normally clearly evident in the context. When the author does not indicate such language, the safe and proper way to interpret a text is not to interpret it at all, but simply to assume it means exactly what it says and to proceed on that basis. On the other hand, even this allegory is predicated on the actual historicity of the story of Sarah and Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael. In no way does Paul suggest that the events discussed did not really happen. The “spiritualizing” method of interpreting historical narratives (e.g., the Genesis record of creation) to avoid having to accept them as real history, is always unscriptural and dishonoring to God and His Word. In the special case here, both the historical record and the allegorical lesson derived from it must be taken as divinely inspired.

4:24 Agar. Hagar, Sarah’s maid, was the mother of a son sired by Abraham when he and Sarah became impatient in waiting for the promised son, Isaac. In the allegory, Hagar represents the law given at Sinai and the city of Jerusalem, whose “children,” like their mother, are in bondage, under the law (Galatians 4:25).

4:26 Jerusalem which is above. The heavenly Jerusalem is where the Lord Jesus is even now preparing a place for us (John 14:3). It is the “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” for which Abraham was looking as He went out into the “strange country” to which God had led him (Hebrews 11:8-10). In the allegory, Sarah represents that city of freedom in the heavens; thus all her children, with Isaac as the heir of promise representing them, are likewise heirs of the promise and therefore free.

4:27 hath many more children. This quotation is from Isaiah 54:1. In the prophetic context it is a prophecy of the future restoration of Israel and Jerusalem when “the Jerusalem which is above” will actually come to earth as “the holy city, New Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2). In the allegorical context, the barren woman represents Sarah, who in turn represents and begets all the children of promise who are the spiritual heirs of Abraham (Galatians 3:29).

4:29 persecuted. Ishmael, who was fourteen years older than Isaac, no doubt had been hoping (along with his mother Hagar) that he would inherit Abraham’s wealth. Therefore, he viciously mocked little Isaac the day Isaac was weaned (Genesis 21:8-9), and it became obvious that Isaac would be in danger as long as Ishmael and Hagar were a part of the household. Similarly, Paul says, those who trust in salvation by grace through faith alone will be subject to mocking and persecution by those who wish to impose legalistic bondage or pagan philosophy on the church, as long as they are permitted to have an influence there.

4:30 what saith the scripture. The reference, of course, is to Genesis 21:10, the point of the allegory being that the church should not allow false teachers to influence its belief and behavior. This admonition applied directly to the tolerance of Judaizers in the Galatian churches. It could also be applied to the folly of allowing false (i.e., unscriptural) doctrine of any kind to be taught in the church.