You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
Nevertheless
[alla] what [tis] saith [lego] the scripture [graphe]?
Cast out [ekballo] the bondwoman [paidiske] and [kai] her [autos] son [huios]: for [gar] the son [huios] of the
bondwoman [paidiske] shall [kleronomeo] not [ou me] be heir [kleronomeo] with [meta] the son [huios] of the freewoman [eleutheros]. KJV-Interlinear
30 But what
does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son
of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman." NASB
God uses the circumstances of life to help illustrate a spiritual principle.
God did not cause or even perpetuate life's circumstances, but they can often be used to help teach people the differences between the worldly and the spiritual.
This is the devils world and as such there are innumerable disadvantages and unfair situations that people will face in this life.
Heaven is not like that at all.
But one of the most predominant issues in life is, how does one gain Gods attention and a relationship with Him?
In short we have to do things Gods way, which are based on truth, and not on arrogance.
Remember that Satan wanted to be like the most high. Satan rejected Gods plan in preference for his own, which was based on arrogance, which is a sin, which leads only to disaster and the many unfair practices of this world.
Anyone who rejects Gods plan, is in effect pursuing their own plan, and man who cannot know everything, cannot presume to formulate a plan that is perfect in every respect. Thus man has many issues that result in unfair and unequal things in life for everyone.
Life is not fair and life in this world will never be fair.
But with Gods plan, life is fair and everyone has an opportunity to be a winner in a phenomenal way. Not so with the world.
So, the illustration here is between the world and works, versus the spiritual and faith.
This illustration is not whether or not God liked or hated Hagar or her son or the idea of slavery.
The child by Hagar is a plan that was formulated by Abraham. It was his works which rejected Gods plan. That is the error which was not going to be used within Gods plan in order to achieve the line of Christ. The line of Christ was and is, based on faith.
And that is the illustration being pointed out here.
Hagar and her son were based on works or mans plan which were not a part of Gods plan.
Therefore, to send the woman and her son away was not a cruel thing, for God did take care of them after they were sent away.
But the point here is that you must send away from your life, the human works issues that you incorporate within your life, and replace them with your acknowledgement of Gods work, not yours.
And then live by that principle.
Which is to say that you must pursue and function within your spiritual life in accordance with Gods design and procedure for the spiritual life, and not by some method that is convenient or more pleasing to you.
What does that mean?
Well, most folks do not commit to a daily study under instruction, of the Word of God. They presume that they know enough or that they have a better method. They chase their spiritual life through gimmicks, or clichés, or just quoting verses, all of which are there to impress people. They do not impress God. And they do not gain spiritual credit from God, when Gods methods are ignored.
Furthermore, most if not all, people who do these things, generally do not have any consistency within their spiritual functions. They just happen along from day to day or week to week or year to year or holiday to holiday or whatever. Their recognition of God is mere show and nothing more, if at all.
What is the proper method?
Well, first you have to be saved, obviously. So once you have believed in Christ, then that part is fulfilled and done. You do not have to keep on believing in Christ, and believing in Christ, and believing in Christ, like a broken record and going nowhere. Salvation is a one time event and it is permanent. How many times did your mother birth you? Being born again, spiritually speaking, is a single event.
Next, sin is still an issue within your life because you are still of the flesh and you still have functional flaws within you. So, you have to confess to God the Father (not to anyone else) in order to place yourself in fellowship with Him.
Fellowship is a positional concept not a physical place. Confession needs to be done on a regular basis. You are not perfect and therefore you need to clean yourself up so to speak. Daily washing is the typical illustration of this repetitive practice.
Then, once in fellowship, where you need to live your life always or as much as you can possibly do, then you need to engage in a daily bible study.
The Word of God is the food for the soul and the soul needs to eat proper foods in order to remain healthy and grow strong. Bible doctrine is that spiritual food.
And this practice needs to be followed every day of your life. No exceptions.
Next, you need to apply what you learn to your daily life. Namely you learned of confession therefore you do it. You learn honesty and therefore you follow those principles. You learn of prayer and you pray. You learn responsibility and you become responsible. You learn of the principles of patriotism and freedom and liberty and authority and courtesy and charity and on and on and on and you practice them, etc., etc., etc.
And all the while that you are in fellowship and functioning within your spiritual life, then God is building up within your soul, a spiritual complex that serves as the completion of you as a person. You have meaning and purpose and great value, not because of you, but because of what is inside you, namely doctrine.
Your daily study helps keep you focused and on task.
Granted you read, ‘In the beginning,’ ‘baby Jesus,’ ‘Moses and the sea was parted,’ and many more of the bible stories. But too, along the way you learn principles of life, many of which are common sense principles. But more important, the work of God in building you up, is ongoing and happens in the background so to speak, and that is the real growth and development that sets you apart from this world. Unseen and not constructed with human hands, God builds up within you, a spiritual palace, temple, fortress, in your soul. Faith is your muscle, your power, your stability.
Did God hate Hagar? No. God loves everyone. But God loves in accordance with truth. Hagar rejected God and was thus sent away. All unbelievers are eventually sent away permanently. All dysfunctional believers are turned away by being denied blessings.
Did God hate Abraham? No. Granted, Abraham made many mistakes, but Abraham came back to God in faith, Hagar did not, and that is the big difference.
Those who will inherit, are those who abide by Gods will. Those who reject Gods will, presuming to do things their own way, get nothing.
