Galatians to Genesis

Let’s start from the beginning! There are many lessons we can learn from Abraham, but this revelation blew my mind! To set the scene, we are looking at the book of Galatians.

It discusses the law and faith. Let’s take a look at this verse:

“So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith.”

Galatians 3:24-26

Let’s look at the meaning of the law. In the Old Testament, there are so many laws, but I’ve always believed these were created by God to protect us, even before I came across this Bible verse. The word “guardian” means “a person who protects or defends something.” If you’ve ever tried reading Leviticus, you might wonder, "How can I have fun?"

But now that we are justified through faith, it is so freeing. Not only do we have Jesus Christ as our guardian, but we also don’t have to live under the law. Yes, we still have to obey God’s commandments, but we no longer need to make perfect sacrifices to be made right before God. We are free from earning salvation, as it is given by faith.

“Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?”

Galatians 3:2 ESV

Later on in Galatians, it goes back to Abraham. What really shocked me was that God started with a promise, not with a law. The fact that Abraham wasn’t a perfect man is surprising, but in the first sentence to Abraham, God says, “Be blameless in My sight,” and God also changed his name from Abram to Abraham.

“Abram means ‘exalted father,’ and Abraham means ‘father of a multitude.’

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless.’”

Genesis 17:1 ESV

Now that we’ve set the scene, yes, there’s so much to take in, and there are many different avenues I could have taken us down.

But going back to Galatians, I was shocked when I read this verse:

“But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.’ So, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.”

Galatians 4:30-31 ESV

There’s something significant about this. When Abraham chose not to trust God, he chose one of his slaves to have a baby. Her name was Hagar.

From reading the verse above, it explains God’s promise that we are from a “free woman,” and where it says, “not children of the slave,” it implies that we were already born into freedom, through an act of obedience and faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

And just a quick side note: one of the first names for God in the Old Testament was “God Who Sees Me.” This was spoken to Hagar, and God did not abandon her.

Genesis 16:13

“Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees,’ for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’”

God has so much redemption and grace; it’s wild how it all threads throughout the Bible. There might be a part two as there is still so much to unpack! But to conclude my thoughts, God has already called us blameless. He started out with a promise, not laws, and the laws were there to guide us while we were waiting for Jesus.