Who Will Inherit the Kingdom of God | What Galatians 4:28-31 tells us

Topic: Who Will Inherit the Kingdom of God | What Galatians 4:28-31 tells us

Reading: Galatians 4:28-31

28 Now we, 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. 30 But what does the scripture say? “Cast out the slave and her son; for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Introduction and Overview

Have you ever wondered who will inherit the kingdom of God? The scriptures we are looking at today give us a powerful insight into answering that question. And there are many scriptures that speak about this issue throughout the Bible. For example:

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)

32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ (Matthew 25:32-36)

There are many more references as well to those who will inherit the kingdom of God. We see insight and instructions in all of these about who will inherit the kingdom of God. And there is much we need to learn from these and model in our own lives.

But the scripture in Galatians 4:28-31 gives us another important insight. It is not often recognised among the churches, because it is talking about freedom from the law.

In many churches today, and among many Christians, they speak about freedom from the law, but it is clear they do not understand it. Many believe that they are still under the law and that if they break the law they are condemned as sinners. They have not understood that when Jesus came and set us free from the law, we are also no longer under the condemnation of the law. You cannot break a law that you are not under. That is the simple truth of the matter. You have been set free from the law and it no longer controls or has power over your life.

Now, that does not mean you can break the law or do whatever you like. Jesus set us free from the law so that we could learn the ways of righteousness. We are set free from the law, not to allow us to do wrong, but to do what is right so that we please God.

And the important aspect of this freedom from law is what Galatians 4:28-31 is talking about, because it is those who are free who will inherit the kingdom of God.

Key points from reading:

• People are divided into two groups: slaves to the aw and those who are free from the law.
• The free are those who have been born of the Spirit and understand how and why they are set free from the law.
• It is the free rather than the salves of the law who will inherit the kingdom of God.

Discussion:

1. Scripture: Galatians 4:28

• This first verse refers to Isaac who was the second son of Abraham, but the first to his wife, Sarah. God had promised to Abraham that he would have a son by his wife Sarah. It was Isaac who was the promised son. Therefore Paul calls Isaac the son of the promise.
• In the same way, when we come to Christ, we too become children of promise. God has promised that those who come to Christ will inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus inherits the kingdom as the Son of God, and we inherit with Jesus when we enter His resurrection. Through Jesus we become the adopted children of God, and therefore inheritors with Christ.
• And it should be pointed out that in Roman times when these words were written, adoption was not what it is today. An adopted child had more rights than a natural child and they had a full inheritance with the natural born children. An adoption was permanent and could not be reversed. The adopted child could not be sent away or rejected. They were chosen and honoured, just as we are the chosen and honoured adopted children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ.

2. Scripture: Galatians 4:29

• In this world there are Christians and non-Christians. Those who follow Christ are persecuted by those who reject Him. We see this in many parts of this life. There are godless people who wish to remove all aspects and references to God in public life. There are those who attack and denounce Christians and our faith.
• But they will not succeed. We have been warned in scripture that persecutions will come. To be a Christian is to understand that you will suffer persecution. Friends will be cut off. Family will reject you. Non-Christians will hate you without a cause, just as they did to Jesus. In fact it has been recognised that Christians are the most persecuted group of people in the world today. They are rejected and in some places executed and murdered simply because they accept Christ. Many are in peril from governments and other religions because they have chosen to follow Christ.
• Why is this so? Because as a Christian we reject most of what this world stands for. Our aim and desire is to please God, whereas the world seeks to please themselves. Our hope is for salvation in Jesus Christ, whereas the people of the world have no hope. They put their hope in useless things: governments, money, wealth, shallow relationships, new age teachings, and the like.
• These have no value and are doomed to pass away. But we are persecuted because as Christians we reject all of these things. Indeed it is written that it is better to suffer for doing right than it is for doing wrong (1 Peter 3:17). So, for Christians, persecutions are a part of life. But the outcome of our faith is to inherit eternal life and enter the kingdom of God, and that is far better than anything this world has to offer.

3. Scripture: Galatians 4:30

• This scripture is plain and clear. The son of the slave will not inherit with the son of the free woman. The reference was to Isaac and Ishmael, who was Abraham’s son by the Egyptian slave woman, Hagar. Hagar and Ishmael were cast out and did not receive the inheritance. Isaac was the son of promise and he received the inheritance of Abraham.
• But this is also an allegory for us as Christians. In this whole letter to the Galatians, Paul is concerned about their desire to go back under the law. He is concerned that they are seeking the slavery of the law and rejecting the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. And he is making the point that it is those who are free in Christ who will inherit the kingdom of God.
• The slave did not inherit with the son in the case of Ishmael and Isaac. Likewise, the slaves under the law will not inherit with the sons of the promise in Jesus Christ, because the promise to inherit the kingdom belongs to the sons, not the slaves.
• If we want and seek to inherit the kingdom of God, we need to seek and find the freedom offered by and through Jesus Christ. Many think they have it, but hey don’t understand how it works and what it truly means. Jesus tells us to “Seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). If we truly seek to be free, then we need to learn and understand the ways of the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. We need to open our ears, heats, and minds to the truth of Jesus Christ because it is only in His truth that we will be set free. (John 8:32).
• What is important if we are to enter the kingdom of God, is to learn how to worship God in the ways that He seeks. We cannot choose to worship Him according to our ways. Those who are acceptable to God listen to what He wants and teaches us through Jesus Christ, and then do it. To do otherwise is like trying to go to a place you have never been before and ignoring the map. And if you do that, you will not end up where you want to be.

4. Scripture: Galatians 4:31

• As Christians we seek to be the children of promise, not the children of the slave. If we are to exit the ways of the slave, because in truth we were all born under the law, then we must learn the ways of the free. That is, we must learn what Jesus wants and expects from us, and how to worship God as He wants us to do.
• Recall the message of Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well. He told her, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) To be a child of the promise and to be truly free from slavery, we need to learn to worship God in Spirit and truth. This form and process of worship comes from the place of freedom and truth. It reflects the words of Jesus in John 8:32 when He said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
• By contrast those who worship God under the slavery of the law are not worshipping in Spirit and truth. They worship in the ways of the flesh, because the law deals with matters of the flesh. The forms of worship with sacrifices on the altar, rituals, words and prayers learned by rote, paraphernalia, dress codes, robes, buildings, tithing, fasting, religious holidays, and the rest are not part of the spiritual worship. While some of these had their place under the law, in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, they are worthless. God is seeking your spiritual worship, which includes a changed heart, repentance, peace, walking in love and walking in the Spirit. It is a different form of worship and the scripture is telling us that it is those who find this way who will inherit the kingdom of God.

Prayer Points:

• Pray and ask God to help you find the ways of true worship, which is to worship Him in Spirit and truth.
• Pray that you can learn and understand the fullness of righteousness by faith and the freedom that comes through Him, especially that you may be free from sin, and free from the law that brings slavery and bondage.