35.Now the slave remaineth not in the house always. He adds a comparison, taken from the laws and from political law, to the effect that a slave, though he may have power for a time, yet is not the heir of the house; from which he infers that there is no perfect and durablefreedom, but what is obtained throughthe Son In this manner he accuses the Jews of vanity, because they hold but a mask instead of the reality; for, as to their being Abraham s offspring, they were nothing but a mask. They held a place in the Church of God, but such a place as Ishmael, a slave, rising up against his freeborn brother, usurped for a short time, (Galatians 4:29.) The conclusion is, that all who boast of being Abraham s children have nothing but an empty and deceitful pretense.

Continues after advertising
Continues after advertising