God told Abraham to send Ishmael away, saying, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen. 21:12). God never recognized Ishmael as Abraham’s heir, for He regarded Isaac as the unique son. Isaac as the unique son of Abraham was brought forth through God’s grace, not through the natural ability of either Abraham or Sarah. The producing of Isaac was altogether a matter of God’s grace, that is, of God Himself given to His chosen people to produce His many sons. Ishmael, on the contrary, was produced by Abraham’s natural ability and strength.

Let us now consider Galatians 4 in the light of Abraham’s experience in Genesis. In this chapter Paul tells us that Hagar signifies the law symbolized by the earthly Jerusalem and that Sarah signifies grace symbolized by the heavenly Jerusalem. Hence, Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants-the covenant of law and the covenant of grace. The law is a matter of man’s labor with man’s ability to produce something, whereas grace is God given to His chosen people to produce the many sons.

It was not God’s intention to make a covenant of law with Abraham. The covenant of law was something additional; it was not the original covenant. The original covenant God made with Abraham was the covenant of grace. In this covenant there is not the need for man’s ability or effort but the need for God’s grace to produce the many sons. This covenant equals the new testament. This means that the covenant God made with Abraham was actually the new testament. The new testament is, therefore, a continuation of the covenant God made with Abraham. All of Abraham’s genuine descendants, such as Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David, were under this covenant, which is the covenant we are under today. They were not under the covenant of law. Although the covenant of law was given through Moses, he himself was not under that covenant. Rather, in the sight of God, Moses was under the covenant of grace. The covenant of law cannot produce anything for God; this covenant can only bring forth “Ishmaels.”

The new testament is a full continuation of the covenant of grace God made with Abraham to produce sons. The first of the sons produced by this covenant was Abraham himself. Abraham is the father of all those who believe (Rom. 4:11). But this father was the first son produced by the covenant of grace. Other sons in the Old Testament include Jacob, David, and Jeremiah but not Esau.

In Revelation 12:1 there is a vision of the universal bright woman, “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon underneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” This woman is the totality of God’s chosen people. In Genesis 37:9 Joseph in his dream saw the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars, signifying his father, his mother, and his eleven brothers. There the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars plus Joseph himself signified the total composition of God’s people on earth. Based upon the principle of that dream, the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars in Revelation 12:1 must signify the totality of God’s people, which is here symbolized by a woman. This woman is constituted of God’s people from three ages: the age of the patriarchs-the stars; the age of the law-the moon; and the age of grace-the sun. The totality of God’s people first includes the patriarchs as the stars and then the genuine Israelites as the moon and all the believers in Christ as the sun. According to Revelation 12, the universal woman also will produce a son, the man-child (v. 5).

Both Hagar and Sarah brought forth a child. Hagar, who signifies the old covenant, the covenant of law, brought forth an improper child-Ishmael; Sarah, who signifies the new covenant, the covenant of grace, brought forth a proper child-Isaac.

We have seen that Sarah signifies both the Jerusalem from above and the new covenant, the new testament. This indicates that the New Jerusalem is the new covenant. The New Jerusalem is many things, one of which is the new covenant. On the one hand, the New Jerusalem is the new covenant; on the other hand, the new covenant produces the New Jerusalem. This is what the Lord promised to Abraham, and this is what Abraham looked to and waited for.

Hebrews 12:22-24 says, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the universal gathering, and to the church of the firstborn ones who have been enrolled in the heavens, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men who have been made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better than that of Abel.” The woman who is our mother in Galatians 4 is the new covenant. We have been born under the new covenant, and the Jerusalem from above is our mother. This woman is the new covenant and our mother, and our mother is the grace of God. In Hebrews 12 we have come to the church, which is composed of us as believers. Hence, by coming to the church we come to ourselves, for we are the church, and the church is we. We and the church are one. The principle is the same with the New Jerusalem as our mother in Galatians 4. The woman is the sons, and the sons are the mother. Furthermore, the mother is grace, and grace is the mother, because we all have been born of grace and through grace. This mother is also the new covenant, and the new covenant is the mother. Finally, the new covenant is also the holy city, Jerusalem from above.

Eventually, the mother, Jerusalem from above, is one with the Father. The Father is the grace-giver; the grace is the covenant; the covenant is the city, the Jerusalem above, who is our mother; the sons produced by the mother are the components of the mother; and the mother returns to the Father to be one with Him, having come out from the Father and then going back to the Father as the destination.
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