I think in this passage we see some of the negative influence that false teachers have on the church.
Since I have talked about the idea of false teachers for the past several devotionals, let’s look at this from a different perspective. Here are a couple of things I noticed:
1. the church doesn’t love like it used to. Paul reflects that they cared from him before, but not as much now. Their compassion has waned. This is a sure sign of problems.
2. Slipping back to past practices that violate Scripture. It can happen to all of us if we aren’t careful. We begin to give tradition and past practice equal status with God’s commands.
3. No joy (verse 15)
4. Inability to spot hypocritical behavior (vs 17). The false teachers were only generous and kind when Paul was around.
Beginning in verse 21 Paul illustrates his point (one more time) by using the two wives of Abraham. One was a slave, who had a child to Abraham apart from God’s provision. That child will never be the basis of the fulfillment of promise. The second child is Isaac, and he is the “child of promise”. It’s through the family tree of Isaac we discover Jesus.
In the Islamic tradition, Ishmael is seen as the child of promise, and Isaac is the outcast. Mohammed is born of the family tree of Ishmael, and in their opinion, he becomes the child of promise.
As we look at these events through the words of Paul, we see two different practices. The first is the law based on the Old Testament, the second is the new covenant based on the sacrifice of Jesus. Every Jew knew that Ishmael wasn’t the child of promise, and equating him with the original law was a good way of showing that it would be ineffective.
Finally, Paul points to heaven and the eternal kingdom there (instead of to Isaac) as the genuine child of promise.
Blessings,
PR