"For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise" (Gal 4:22, 23).
‘Now we - Who believe, whether Jews or Gentiles, are children of the promise - Not born in a natural way, but by the supernatural power of God, and as such we are heirs of the promise made to believing Abraham (Wesley’s notes). In Paul’s letter to the Galatian Church he said that, ‘Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise’ (Gal 4:28). His message here is that, unlike Ishmael who was born in the ordinary way of procreation by a young slave mother, Isaac’s birth was as a result of God’s promise to Abraham, and everything about it was supernatural. The two main lessons being considered in this study are the manner and consequences of Isaac’s supernatural birth and it’s relation to the new birth and life of a Christian.
Isaac’s birth was a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 18:10; Genesis 21:1-2; Hebrews 11:11-12). At the age of ninety it was scientifically impossible for Sarah to have a child. Similarly, deliverance from sin is humanly impossible; the Christian conversion comes as a result of a supernatural encounter with the God. Salvation is only enabled and finalized by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Satan, the prince of this world has bound and blinded the world and it takes the power of the Holy Spirit for anyone to be saved and delivered from that bondage of sin and death (2 Cor 4:4).
Secondly, another important lesson in this study is the blessings that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. As the promised child, Isaac was the legal heir of the blessings of Abraham. On the contrary, Abraham prayed to God for Ishmael to be blessed (Gen 17:18). Ishmael, ‘the son of the slave was in a humble and inferior condition from his very birth. There was no special promise attending him. He was born into a state of inferiority and servitude which attended him through his whole life. Isaac, however, was met with promises as soon as he was born, and was under the benefit of those promises as long as he lived’ (Barnes).
As a Christian you are in the order of Isaac, and all the blessings of Abraham are legally yours. Remember, God promised Abraham both physical and spiritual descendants (Gen 22:17, Romans 9:6-9). As a Gentile believer you are a spiritual descendant of Abraham. The fact of the matter is you are not an ordinary person, you are a child of promise. In an attempt to describe our new status in Christ, Paul said in Gal 4:9 that, we know God and then corrected himself that we are Known by God. Clearly this means that Christians don’t only know God but more importantly we are known by God. You are on God’s agenda. You are an heir of the father and Joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).
Today, be loosed from any slave mentality and embrace your sonship in Christ. You are a child of promise and the blessings of Abraham fulfilled in Christ are all yours. Stop living with a carnal identity. You may have been born into an earthly family with many negative trends, but be reminded of your spiritual identity in Christ, you belong to a new family now. YOU ARE A CHILD OF PROMISE, and God’s blessings to you are ‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen 12:2, 3) The next lesson is, ‘the blessings of Abraham’.
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