Galatians 6

David Lipscomb Commentary On Galatians 6Galatians 6:1 The apostle having vindicated his apostleship, and shown the superiority of the gospel of Christ over the Jewish law, and the ruin that must come to those who turn back from the gospel to the law, and that the blessings of the Spirit are to be found in the gospel and not in the law, then the works of the flesh without the Spirit, and of the fruit of the Spirit; now he tells them how Christians under the guidance of the Spirit of God must conduct themselves toward one another; and in this section how to treat the weak and erring. Brethren,—[This word, describing their mutual relation­ship in the Lord, provides the ground for the exhortation that follows, and is introduced here apparently with the purpose of reminding them that in all their dealings one with the other, of whatever kind, must be ruled by this fundamental fact. Those who were not brethren could not be dealt with by them at all (1 Corinthians 5:12); those who were, however grave the sin, must be dealt with as brethren, in love, or not at all.]even if a man be overtaken in any trespass,—Trespass is used of breach of the law of God, whether that given to Adam (Romans 5:15), or that given through Moses (Romans 5:20), and of laws that regulate human intercourse (Matthew 6:14-15). The same things are here in view as are described as “ the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:17-21); the net is purposely cast very widely. God has so ordered it, that to sin against others or ourselves is to sin against him.ye who are spiritual,—When the fleshly passions and lusts have overcome a man and led him into wrongdoing, those in whom the Spirit rules should restore him. [The spiritual man is one who walks by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:25), and who himself manifests the fruit of the Spirit in his own life. The spiritual state of the soul is normal for the believer, but to this state all believers do not attain, nor when it is attained is it always maintained. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). The spiritual state is reached by a diligent study of the word of God and prayer, and it is maintained by obedience.

Spirituality is not a fixed or absolute condition, for the evidence of true spirituality is: “ Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18).]restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;—To restore is to win from evil, or induce him to turn from the wrong, re­pent of the sin, confess it, and pray to God to forgive it. Such work is not to be lightly undertaken, nor is it even to be under­taken by anyone lacking the qualification of spirituality, for it must be done in gentleness, and there is danger of falling into a sense of superiority—“ I am better than thou” spirit.

But it is to be done in an humble and unpretentious and gentle spirit.looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.—Christians are frequently admonished to be meek and gentle in teaching, correcting, and dealing with others, especially with the erring. Paul says: “ And the Lord’ s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness cor­recting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). There is danger, in the very act of correcting a wrong in another, that the Spirit of the Pharisee, thanking God that he is not as other men, may be excited, which is a great sin. Then we are frequently warned against overconfidence in our­selves: “ Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12). The meek, gentle, sympa­thizing spirit which recognizes the weakness of all will most likely reach the heart of the sinner and bring him to repent­ance.Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’ s burdens,—Here the burden is the sense of weakness and shame, the sense of dishonor done to the name of the Lord Jesus, which is the portion of a believer who has been overtaken in a trespass. It is not uncommon in such case that the rest should hasten to repudiate the fallen brother and dissociate themselves from him, lest the world should suppose they were indifferent about wrongdoing; yet it may be readily discerned that not concern for the name of the Lord, but self-righteousness prompts this course.

Here, in marked contrast to the way of men, is the law of Christ, who was at once jealous for the honor of his Father and meek and lowly in heart. “ Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12), and with this sense of the community of danger let him seek the restoration of his fallen brother (2 Corinthians 11:29). When we see a brother over­taken in any trespass, weak and struggling to rise again, we should with genuine sympathy render him all the assistance possible.

Sympathy with a man is to suffer with and for him.and so fulfil the law of Christ.—To fulfill the law of Christ is to “ love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:39). Help him as you would yourself. Jesus came to bear our burdens and sins, so we must help others.Galatians 6:3 For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.—The one who approaches an erring brother should beware lest through an overconfident spirit he also falls. Within himself he has neither wisdom nor power, but is entirely dependent upon the grace of the Lord alike for his deliverance from sin, and for his maintenance in the way of holiness.Galatians 6:4 But let each man prove his own work,—A man can prove his own work by bringing in the test of God’ s word. Let every word and act be brought to this test. [Nothing is to be taken for granted in the Christian life; the scriptures provide the standard by which the believer is to test alike what he is, what he does, and what he allows. He is to prove himself (1 Corinthians 11:28), not with the hope of any worthiness in himself, but rather to reassure himself that he is in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

He is to find in the needs of the poor saints the oppor­tunity of proving the sincerity of his love. (2 Corinthians 8:8; 1 John 3:17). He is to avoid the way of darkness and to walk in the light and thus to learn by experience what is well-pleas­ing to the Lord as distinguished from his own liking (Ephesians 5:10) and as he increases in love he learns from God to judge all things by a spiritual standard in prospect of the day of all ac­counts when the Lord comes (Philippians 1:10).] and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone,— Let him bring his character and work to the test of God’ s word, then he will have rejoicing in himself, not in an­other. [Self-examination will lead to a true estimate of one­self, ascertained not by comparison with the attainments of others, but with the requirements of the law of Christ.

It may result in humiliation and shame that would lead him to glory, not in himself, but in the mercy and love of God.]and not of his neighbor.—[He will judge his own actions by the word of God, and will find as much ground for boasting as it will give him, and no more. His standard will be absolute and not relative, and the amount of his boasting will be pro­portioned accordingly. He will not seek to excuse himself by dwelling upon his neighbor’ s weaknesses, for his exultation will frequently be turned into self-abatement.]Galatians 6:5 For each man shall bear his own burden.—Every man is accountable to God. As said in verse 2, one may help another out of his difficulties and so assist him in bearing his burdens, but in the end he must give an account for himself. One can­not excuse himself before God because others failed to do their duty to help him. Another can help only as he en­ables one to bear his burdens.Galatians 6:6 But let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.—Those who are taught are under obligations to help the teacher by sharing with him all good things.

The necessity of helping those who teach is frequently taught in the Scriptures. Those earthly things men generally need are designated and are designated “ goods” or “ good things.” (Luke 12:19; Luke 16:25).

In all these, whether money, or food, or clothing, and such necessary things, the taught are to communicate with faithful teachers, share with them, and share with their reward. [This does not exclude spiritual fellowship. The true teacher counts this far more sacred, and has this interest far more at heart than the temporal. He labors for the unity and spiritual development of the church; he strives to secure the mutual sympathy and cooperation of the church in every good word and deed. He must have the sympathy of the whole body in the work or his joy will be little and the success scant indeed. The teaching of the word of God is designed to awaken this sympathetic response, which takes expression in the rendering of whatever help the gifts and means of the taught and the needs for which occasion calls. When the sympathetic union that God requires is maintained between the taught and the teacher, the matter of the temporal support of the teacher comes in as a necessary detail to be generously and prudently arranged, but which will not be felt on either side as a burden or a difficulty.

Everything depends on the fellowship of the Spirit, on the strength of the bond of love that knits together the members of the body of Christ.]Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived;—Do not deceive yourselves with the idea that you sow one thing and reap another. The special aim is to enforce the duty of liberality to the cause of Christ, and to the wants of the poor; but while that is his special ob­ject, he draws the conclusion that such is our duty towards those who teach, and towards the poor, from the universal law governing our whole life here, that what we sow that shall we also reap.

This he lays down as the universal law of God’ s government over us.God is not mocked:—If we should think that we can sow one thing and reap another we would be thinking that we had the power to mock God— that is, defy him by overriding his plans and arrangements.for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.—He who spends his means and time in gratifying the flesh sows to the flesh, and will of it reap corruption. [The present life is the seedtime, and the future the harvest. He who sows grain will reap grain, who sows tares will reap tares; who sows plentifully will reap plentifully; who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Those who keep this great truth constantly before their eyes will redeem every hour and use every opportunity to do as God directs.]Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;—He who spends his time and means in grat­ifying the flesh sows to the flesh and will of it reap corrup­tion. As used here the word corruption applies to the condi­tion of the soul. [But if a corrupted, decayed, putrefied body is a thing to be abhorred, what must be a putrefied, corrupted soul? He who sows the actions and thoughts and money and energies of his life to the flesh shall as his harvest reap a corrupted soul. The process of decay begins already on this side of the grave; and is often made visible by appalling signs.

The bloated face, the restless, vicious eye, the sullen brow indicate what is going on within. The man’ s soul is rotting in his body.

Lust and greed are eating out of him the capacity for good. And if he passes on to the eternal harvest as he is, what can possibly await him but the awful words: “ Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.” ]but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.—To give to those who preach the gospel, to help the sick, the poor, the needy, to use his time, talent, and means according to directions of the word of God is sowing to the Spirit, and the fruit will be life everlasting.Men often deceive themselves, but God is never deceived as to man’ s character or as to his ability or as to the motives that actuate him in anything he does. Self-deception is the most common phase of deception among men. This warning grows out of man’ s tendency to deceive himself. Many while grati­fying the flesh imagine they are following the Spirit. Many preachers preach for money and ease, and imagine that they are preaching to save souls.

Men often build costly houses to gratify their pride and persuade themselves that they are doing it to serve God. Most of life’ s failures come from self-decep­tion.

The divine warning is: “ Be not wise in your own con­ceits.” (Romans 12:16). That is, he is to learn to distrust his own wisdom as folly, that he may learn the wisdom of God; for what the world esteems wise is foolishness with God. All the provisions of human wisdom for the advancement of the church of Christ result in evil, and not in good. The works that human wisdom devise for good bring evil to themselves and to the world. There never was a time when there were so many human helps and so much money expended at home and abroad as at present to hold and convert the people, and yet the churches are growing relatively weaker and are losing ground. Which certainly shows that the Lord has taken the wise men of the churches in their own craftiness. They have thought that they could improve, by their wisdom and craft, on the ways of God, and he has shown them that they bring weakness to the churches and drive men away from God. The church of Christ, which is his temple, is defiled, and it is growing weaker under the addition of these human organizations and helps. They are parasites that sap the life from the church, while for a time seeming to add to its verdure and life. Yet with all these warnings of God in the scriptures con­firmed by the example of the destructive effects of the human inventions, the churches and men claiming to be sensible and to believe in the Bible follow the same path of ruin. This is not an evil omen for the truth. There has drifted into the churches an amount of unbelief in the scriptures. All disposi­tion to bring human organizations into the work and worship of the church comes from a feeling of worldly wisdom which is foolishness with God. It is a manifestation of unbelief, and this must be thrust out of the churches before they can be blessed of God. It is not often that a church organization that starts wrong ever turns. They usually run the path of folly and ruin. Lack of confidence in the appointments of God is lack of faith in God. The introduction of every new society is a new declaration of distrust in God. Be not de­ceived as to these; God is not mocked. When a man or a church turns from God’ s appointed ways to man’ s he turns from God to man. But this falling away is no new experience in the church. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well-doing;—Well-doing is to do the will of God. To obey the will of God and do right in­volves us in fewer difficulties and troubles, but is more diffi­cult, requiring self-denial, more than to gratify the flesh. [This suggests a happy alternative to the selfishness, which is sowing to the flesh, and presents in concrete form the idea un­derlying the metaphor of sowing unto the Spirit. The warn­ing is against discouragement, the tendency to lose hope­fulness.]for in due season we shall reap,—The season is the time of God’ s appointment, and is neither to be hastened nor delayed by the act of any of his creatures. The reference is to the re­lation between the seedtime and harvest; it carries on the idea of sowing. The reaping is related to the sowing, not only in the quality of the seed, but also in regard to the quantity sown. (2 Corinthians 9:6). The reaping may in some cases, but not invari­ably, and then only in a limited way, be anticipated in this life, but the promise will be completely and finally fulfilled only at the coming of the Lord. (Revelation 22:12).if we faint not.—This warning is against the relaxation of the effort.

This requires us to keep our hearts and spirits alive to our responsibility to God, and to keep before us the promise that we shall reap lest we faint and give up before we reach the end.Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity,—[In view of the har­vest and of the fact that the nature of the seed sown, and of the ground in which it is sown, determine the character of the harvest, the present life affords to the believer the one “ due season” for sowing; as the opportunity presents itself, let it be seized and used, for opportunities do not return.]let us work that which is good toward all men,—As the oc­casions to do good come before the believer, he should be ready to take advantage of them. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus teaches that he who is in need, with whom we come in contact, is our neighbor.

In perfect harmony with this Paul gives this instruction— give counsel, sympathy, help of whatever kind is needed. Jesus went about doing good; as his servants we must follow his example.and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.—The believer is debtor to all men to do them good by word and deed. But in Christ he is brought into a new rela­tionship, not indeed to all men, but with those who hold the same faith and share the same salvation, and who owe alle­giance to the same Lord; to these his obligation is empha­sized. He is not, however, to relax his efforts in behalf of all; he is to increase them in behalf of those who are in Christ.Galatians 6:11 See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hands.—At this point the apostle, who usually employed an amanuensis for the writing of his epistles (Romans 16:23), and had doubtless done so in the case of this epistle, also took the pen in hand to authenticate the epistle (1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17) and write the concluding words. [This led him to write larger characters than his amanuensis had employed; the size of the letters would have somewhat the ef­fect of bold-face type in a modern book, and since Paul him­self called attention to it, it would impress not only the one person who might be reading the epistle to a congregation, but the listeners also. Precisely how far he continued to use the large characters we have no certain means of ascertaining, but probably to the close.]Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh,—This gives the key to the character of the Judaizers. Their aim was to get so many Gentiles circumcised, to win prose­lytes through the church to Judaism.

Every Christian brother persuaded to submit himself to this rite was another trophy for them. His circumcision, apart from any moral or spiritual considerations involved in the matter, was of itself enough to fill these proselyters with joy.

They aimed not at the glory of God, nor at the welfare of the Galatian Christians, but solely at securing their own glory and safety. Inevitably their self­ishness must bring its own retribution; they also of the flesh would reap corruption.they compel you to be circumcised;—This suggests the pur­pose in view, but not that success would necessarily attend their efforts. The question as yet undecided was: Would the Judaizers succeed in the Galatian churches where they had failed in the case of Titus? (Galatians 2:3).only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.—They cared nothing for circumcision in itself; their zeal was that they themselves might escape the consequences inseparable from the preaching of the cross, which not only pronounces man the sinner, the lawbreaker, but the religious law-keeper as well. The cross is thus an offense to the Jew and Gentile alike. [The addition of something as a means to, or a condition of, salvation, such as circumcision, to the free unmerited grace of God manifested through faith, has proved the most effective way of avoiding that offense. But to preach a gospel without the cross is to preach what is not a gospel at all.]Galatians 6:13 For not even they who receive circumcision do them­selves keep the law;—He condemns them because they did not even attempt to keep the law. He impugns their sincer­ity; they demanded an acknowledgment of the obligation to keep the law without themselves showing any corresponding zeal in their own ways.

This obvious insincerity could result only in intensified and extended hypocrisy.but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.—They desired them to be circumcised that they might glory in their fleshly adherence to the family of Abraham— converts to the Jewish nation. [There were two reasons for this advocacy which he so strenuously op­posed. The first was they thereby avoided persecution at the hands of the bigoted Jews; the second was that they could boast of their success in proselyting the Gentiles.

Thus we see that the motive which actuated them was not to further their growth in the Christian life, but that they themselves might gain some advantage out of them in the sight of men.][The policy of the Judaizers were dishonorable both in spirit and in aim. They were false to Christ in whom they professed to believe; and to the law which they pretended to keep. They were facing both ways, studying the safest, not the infallible way, anxious in truth to be friends at once with the world and Christ. Their conduct has found many imitators in men who make godliness a way of gain, whose religious course is dictated by considerations of worldly self-interest. A little persecution, or social pressure, is enough to turn them out of the way. They cast off their allegiance to Christ as they change their clothes to suit the fashion.

Business pa­tronage, professional advancement, a tempting family alliance, the entrance into some select and envied circle— such are the things for which loyalty to Christ are bartered, for which men put their souls and children in great peril.]Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,—Christ and him crucified are placed in contrast with the circumcision of the Jewish law, just as faith and the law of Moses are placed in contrast. (Galatians 3:23-25). Before Paul received the gospel and had seen the cross in the light of revelation like other Jews he regarded it with horror.

Its existence covered the cause of Jesus with ignominy. It marked him out as an object of divine abhorrence. But now this disgraceful cross in his eyes is the most glorious thing in the universe; and for this reason he gloried in it because it was the salvation of men. His love for men made him boast of it, no less than his zeal for God. The gospel burning in his heart and on his lips was “ the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16). [He said this by the testimony of his constant experience. It was bringing men from darkness to light, raising them from the degradation of hideous vices and guilty despair, taming the fiercest passions, breaking the strongest chains of evil, driving out of the human hearts the demons of lust and hate.

This message, wherever it went, was saving men, as nothing had done before, as nothing else has done since.]through which the world hath been crucified unto me,—Through the gospel he had lost interest in worldly things. Paul and the world are dead to each other.

The cross stands between them. [He had said: “ I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), and that “ they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof” (Galatians 5:24). The whole world was crucified for Paul when his Lord died upon the cross. The world that slew his Master put an end to itself so far as he was concerned. He can never take pride in it, nor do homage to it any more. It was stripped of its glory, robbed of its power to charm or govern him. The death of shame that old “ evil world” inflicted upon Jesus has in Paul’ s mind reverted to itself; while for the Savior it was changed into a life of heavenly glory and dominion.

Paul’ s life was withdrawn from it, to be “ hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3).]and I unto the world.—[The crucifixion was therefore mu­tual. Saul the Pharisee was a reputable, religious man of the world, recognized by it, alive to it, taking his place in its af­fairs.

But that “ old man” has been crucified with Christ. Paul the Apostle is in the world’ s regard another person alto­gether—“ the filth of the world,” “ the off-scouring of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:13), no better than his crucified Lord and worthy to share his punishment. He is dead— crucified to it. Faith in Jesus Christ placed a chasm, wide as that which sepa­rates the dead and the living, between the apostle and the church of God on the one side and the wicked world on the other. The cross parted two worlds wholly different. He who wants to go back into that other world, the world of self- pleasing and fleshly idolatry, must trample under his feet the cross of Christ to do it.]Galatians 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision,—Being a Jew or Gentile does not affect a man’ s relationship to Christ. [With the Judaizers circumcision was everything. “ The circumcision” and “ the people of God” were synony­mous terms with them.

The Mosaic polity made the status of its subjects, their relation to the divine covenant, to depend on the rite. In virtue of this mark stamped upon their bodies they were members of the congregation of the Lord, bound to all its duties, and partakers in all its privileges.

The constitu­tion of the Mosaic system— its ordinances of worship, its dis­cipline, its methods of administration, and the type of charac­ter which it formed— rested on circumcision and took its com­plexion therefrom. The Judaizers therefore made it their first object to enforce circumcision. If they secured this, they could carry everything; and the complete Judaizing of the Gentile Christians was only a question of time. This founda­tion laid, the entire system of legal obligation could be built upon it. (Galatians 5:3). To resist the imposition of this yoke was for the churches a matter of life and death. They could not af­ford to yield “ in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour.” (Galatians 2:3-5).

Paul stands forth as the champion of their freedom and casts the pretensions of the Judaizers to “ the moles and to the bats,” when he says: “ Neither is circumcision any­thing.” ]but a new creature.—Every man, whether Jew or Gentile, having died to sin, and been raised in Christ, is a new crea­ture. He is changed in faith, in heart, and in life.

He has new ends and new purposes. His whole being is consecrated to the life in Christ Jesus. Paul says: “ We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” “ Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:2-4; Romans 6:11). “ If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.

For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3). This is all ef­fected by obedience to the gospel of Christ.Galatians 6:16 And as many as shall walk by this rule,—This rule is the rule that is to govern the new creature in Christ. [This rule is the principle just stated (verse 15) that everything depends on a new creation in Christ Jesus; and the necessity of abid­ing in the truth and acting in harmony with it, and continue to the end in such a course.]peace be upon them,—Peace with God and with themselves, the precious fruit of being in Christ, which the world can nei­ther give nor take away. (John 14:27).and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.—This expression sums up “ as many as” in a phrase which is closely identified with the whole argument of the epistle: If ye be Christ’ s, then are ye Abraham’ s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

These are the Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, for “ he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Romans 2:29). So that the blessing is in­voked on all who walked according to the rule enunciated, and so, in fact, on the true Israel, not on Israel after the flesh, but the Israel of the promise and of God.Galatians 6:17 Henceforth let no man trouble me;—The Judaizers had troubled him by calling in question his apostolic authority, and by perverting his teaching. He had vindicated these, and set forth the true teaching of God. [He was often oppressed by the care of all the churches, and especially when any of them were rent by factions, or were in danger of being led away from the truth by false teachers. Such conditions im­posed heavy burdens upon him, filled his spirit with anxiety, and would have been insuperable but for the strength which Christ imparted to him. (Philippians 4:13).]for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.—Marks made upon his body when he was scourged, stoned, and drawn out of the city for dead. (Acts 14:19). Of himself he says: “ Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in details oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered ship­wreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in per­ils among false brethren; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and na­kedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). No doubt he had marks and brands upon him made because of his fidelity to Christ.Galatians 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,—He has exalted the spirit as above the body, the flesh, and emphasizes that he prays that God’ s favor may be with their spirit. [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the distinctive blessing of the new covenant.

It is to the Christian the su­preme good of life, including or carrying with it every other spiritual gift. What this grace of God in Christ designs, what it accomplishes in believing hearts, what are the things that contradict it and make it void, Paul has clearly taught in this epistle. Of this life-giving stream the Galatians had already tasted. From this grace they were “ removing” (Galatians 1:6); he hopes and prays that it may abide with them.]brethren.—[This takes the sting out of the severity of the epistle. With all their faults, he loved them still, and the very rebuke was dictated by his deep concern and anxiety for their welfare.]Amen.—So be it, may it be fulfilled. [It was a custom, which passed from the synagogues into the Christian assem­blies, that when he who had read or had offered up a solemn prayer to God, the others in the assembly responded, Amen, thus making the substance of what was uttered their own. (1 Corinthians 14:16).]

Verse 1 Galatians 6In this final chapter of the epistle, Paul reached the glorious climax of the whole letter dealing with the contrast between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ, with so FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST standing as the essence of the total admonition. Without the understanding of this final chapter, much that Paul has written earlier might have appeared incomplete and inconclusive. This writer’s interpretation of this chapter is at variance with the traditional views concerning it which dominate so much of the current literature on Galatians, but it is presented in the conviction that the sheer logic of the view here advocated will commend itself to the discerning student. Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in a trespass, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1) Overtaken in a trespass … The situation here envisioned is not that of some Christian overtaking trespass, but that of the trespass overtaking him! Sin committed impetuously through the sudden and unexpected onset of temptation, actual sin, not a mere “fault,” is to be understood here. The term “trespass” does not entail any “absolution of responsibility”;[1] “Of the guilt, there is no palliation indicated by the word fault or trespass."[2] Despite this certainty regarding the New Testament usage of this word, people still cling to the phantom supposition that there is less blame in it than accrues to “sin.” As Childers said, regarding the Lukan form of the Lord’s prayer, where “sin” is used for “trespass,” “We who believe that Christians do not commit sins and remain Christians sometimes avoid this form of the prayer."[3] A comparison of the two New Testament accounts of the Lord’s prayer, however, shows that Christ used “sin” and “trespass” interchangeably. Thus the simple meaning here is, “If a Christian brother unexpectedly commits some sin, etc.” Ye who are spiritual … is not restricted to ministers, elders, or other special workers in the church but is applicable to all who love the body of the Lord and are zealous for building it up. Obviously, those persons in whom the spiritual life is not dominant would be useless in the endeavor proposed, hence the admonition that “ye who are spiritual” should do it. Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness … Amazingly, the commentators have almost invariably described this verse as “a command to love thy neighbor as thyself’; and of course the Christian love of the brethren is an implied necessity, but it is not here mentioned. This is a flat, unequivocal commandment to go out and restore the sinful, the same being one part, and only one part of the Law of Christ, mentioned a moment later in connection with another part of that same Law of Christ. Looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted … The thought here echoes that of Gal 5:26, showing the coherence and unity of Paul’s continuing message. The deceitful and seductive nature of sin being what it is, the child of the Lord should tread fearfully in the presence of any who have broken the sacred Law, being constantly aware that the same lure of the forbidden which has already trapped a brother might also entangle himself in disobedience. [1] Herman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 212. [2] E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 294. [3] Charles L. Childers, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), Vol. Romans, p. 508. Verse 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.It will be observed that “Law” has been capitalized here, the great pity being that it was not done in the common versions. There is no excuse whatever for writing this word with a capital “L” where the Law of Moses is concerned, as throughout this epistle, and then writing it with a little `T’ where the superior and glorious Law of Christ is involved. Of course, there is a rebellious and sinful design in such an unjustifiable discrimination, that being the unbelievable theological proposition that there is no “Law of Christ”! We are under grace! This verse deals the coup de grace to any such fallacy. See summary of THE LAW OF CHRIST at the end of this chapter.

In the verse before us, two essential elements of that Law have already been mentioned in this chapter, and others will be enumerated in a moment. No. 1 is: “Restore the Backsliders” (Galatians 6:1). No. 2 is “Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Of course, in Galatians 6:5, Paul said, “Each man shall bear his own burden”; but it is still surprising that even a Christian scholar should read this as a “contradiction,” even Ridderbos saying, “It is not necessary to eliminate contradiction."[4] The Greek words from which the translation comes are diverse; one is [@baros], denotes a weight, and is applicable to a spiritual burden; whereas the other is [@fortion], which means “load,” being used in Acts 27:20 of the cargo of a ship, thus something that relates to the purpose of being.[5] Thus, in Galatians 6:2, Paul speaks of Christians bearing each other’s sorrows, due to sins or misfortunes; and in Galatians 6:5, he speaks of every man bearing his own responsibility, fulfilling the purpose of his own responsibility, filling the purpose of his own life. See article, “What to Do with Burdens,” under Galatians 6:5. So fulfill the Law of Christ … It is almost unbelievable that Christian scholarship has so nearly unanimously ignored or misinterpreted LAW OF CHRIST. That Paul meant the Christian duty of helping fellow Christians to be understood as the totality of the Law of Christ is a preposterous error. Of course, such a view is so patently wrong and unreasonable that the rule on burden-sharing is interpreted in a wider frame of reference to mean “Love thy neighbor as thyself’; and that misinterpretation is hailed and saluted as the law of Christ (little “l”)! Note what is alleged: The meaning is that by showing sympathy to others … the Christian will best fulfill that “new commandment” … “the law of love” (John 13:34,1 John 3:23).[6]In such a statement Christ is not being set up over against Moses as a new lawgiver![7]There is a law to which they owe obedience and devotion - the new commandment of Christ … the royal law of love.[8]“The law of Christ,” an uncommon expression, is the law of love.[9]It seems better to take it of the whole moral institution of Christ.[10] (This restriction eliminates the ordinances Christ commanded). (It is) Christ’s law of love.[11]The law of Christ (little “l”) is not a law in the legal sense of the word.[12]To fulfill the law of Christ is to love thy neighbor as thyself.[13] The law of Christ which bids us to love one another.[14]With all due deference to the learning, scholarship and devotion of the advocates of such interpretations, all of them utterly fail to get the point which is that Christians are to obey the Law of Christ (all of it) as distinguished from the Law of Moses. As for the allegation that the “law of Christ is not a law in the legal sense,” there is no way to read “Law of Christ” except in the sense of “God’s Law”; and how could divine law be defined as not being in a legal sense? The very term legal means “pertinent to or conformity to law.” So the proposition means “Christ’s law is not pertinent to law!” Such a notion must be rejected. Moses was the type of Christ, and Christ surpassed Moses, being the Lawgiver for all mankind. Thus Paul’s true meaning in this place must be, “Fulfill the Law of Christ,” in this particular also, that of bearing each other’s burdens! All of the interpretations cited above make bearing burdens to be inclusive of the larger principle of “love thy neighbor”; but the interpretation here makes Law of Christ to mean just what it says: the totality of our blessed Saviour’s teachings. See article, “Law of Christ,” at end of chapter. The total disbelief of many scholars that there is really any such thing as “the Law of Christ” is as incredible as it is unreasonable. That holy Law is mentioned in that terminology in this verse; and the context cites a number of its components such as No. 1 and No. 2, above, and others to be noted below. [4] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 215. [5] Vine’s Greek Dictionary, on “burdens.” [6] William Sanday, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 460. [7] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 213. [8] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 957. [9] John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973), in loco. [10] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 296. [11] James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 201. [12] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles, Galatians (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, n.d.), p. 277. [13] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 285. [14] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 235. Verse 3 For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.This appears to be addressed to any of the “spiritual” in Galatians 6:1 who might consider themselves above “sinners” and thus under no obligation to restore them. Verse 4 But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. For each man shall bear his own burden.Work … here means “practical behavior contrasted with profession."[15] Such a work is here set forth as the basis of one’s “glorying,” a Pauline expression meaning “rejoicing in the hope of salvation.” This is a companion statement to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Standing, as it does, here at the end of Galatians it is the effective and irrefutable denial of the slander that would make Paul’s rejection of the “works” of the Law of Moses as having any connection with salvation, to be in any sense inclusive of the “work of faith” which is required of every Christian (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Hendriksen revealed a shade of meaning accurately in his rendition thus: “Let each one test his own work; then his reason to boast will be in himself alone, and not in (comparing himself) with someone else."[16]WHAT TO DO WITH BURDENSEvery man, rich or poor, old or young, wise or foolish, weak or strong, has some burden to bear. One’s neighbors may not always see it, for some burdens are hidden; and there must be many like the ancient Jewish king who wore sackcloth beneath his royal robes. Some smiling faces mask a burdened heart. The word of God reveals that burdens may be handled in three ways. Some may be shared with others; other burdens must be borne by every man himself (see under Galatians 6:1); and of a third class, the Scriptures command, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord” (Psalms 55:22, English Revised Version margin (1885)). A. Burdens that may be shared with others. There is many a load of life that grows infinitely lighter under the touch of a friendly hand or the sound of an encouraging word. When the storms of life’s deepest emotions have been unloosed by overwhelming experiences, it is the glory of Christians to “rejoice with those that do rejoice, and to weep with those who weep.” Love and toleration for the weak, and loving compassion for the needy, as well as love and appreciation for every soul’s unique and eternal value “in Christ” can ease the burdens of the weary and bless the giver and the receiver alike. B. The burdens one must bear himself. No one may share another’s responsibility. “Every man shall bear his own burden.” “Every one of us must give an account of himself to God” (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:12). Every man must bear the burden of ordering his life after “the sayings of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 7:24-27), upon pain of being either a wise or a foolish builder; and no commentator or preacher ever had the right to bear that burden for him. See Law of Christ at end of chapter. C. The burdens that are too heavy to be borne. Of a third class of burdens, it is said, “Cast thy burdens upon the Lord.” Our sins are such a burden. Our sins we cannot ignore, deny or make restitution for them; only “in Christ” may they be forgiven. Our anxieties are too frustrating and depressing to be borne by mortals. All of them should be cast upon the Lord (Philippians 4:6). Great natural calamities, wars, pestilence, revolutions and countless other things are burdens no mortal can bear. Cast them upon the Lord. [15] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 296. [16] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 234. Verse 6 But let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.Huxtable noted that this exhortation to “liberality toward our teachers is perfectly germane to the preceding topics of sharing one another’s loads, and so carrying our own pack."[17] However, it is germane in another very important relationship. Paul here was enumerating a number of things included in the Law of Christ, not a total summary, of course, but a list of particulars in which he felt the Galatians might need special exhortation. This is No. 3 of a group of things Paul stressed. It means financially support your teachers. Conybeare made the meaning clearer by capitalizing Word,[18] showing that not all teachers are indicated but that teachers of the Word of God are meant. Howard observed that the word here rendered “communicate” is [@koinoneo], meaning to share, or participate, even as a partner.[19] Failure to understand this reference to the Christian duty of giving support of the gospel as pertaining to the Law of Christ led to the somewhat humorous exclamation of Ridderbos that “It is difficult to find the right connection between verse 6 and what precedes …"[20] Of course, it connects with that Law of Christ which none of the commentators can see! [17] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 297. [18] Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles of St Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), p. 492. [19] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary, Galatians (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p. 116. [20] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 216. Verse 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption,’ but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.Soweth unto his flesh … is a reference to living after the lusts of the flesh as Paul had just outlined inGalatians 5:18-21; and sowing to the Spirit is the equivalent of living the kind of life that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). SOWING AND . The principle of sowing and reaping is handed down from the throne of God himself. None can deny it; no skeptic can scoff at it; it was true in the garden of Eden that Adam reaped what he sowed, and it has been true ever since. It is true of every individual, of every saint and sinner, or every hypocrite who thinks he is a saint; it is true of every race, society and nation. It was true of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, France and Germany, and it will be true of the United States of America. It is true in both physical and spiritual creations. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach it. “Whoever perished being innocent?” (Job 4:8); “they have sown the wind and shall reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7); “he who sows injustice will reap calamity” (Proverbs 22:8, RSV). In the New Testament, Paul used this principle to teach Christian giving (2 Corinthians 8-9). “No planting, no harvest” is the law of life. The mandate to the church is “preach the gospel.” It is the executive order of God for every individual. There are no small and big opportunities; all opportunities are BIG with eternal potential. B. Extensions of this principle. The reaping is always more than the sowing. It is inevitably in kind. No man ever sowed to the flesh and reaped eternal life, or the other way around. It is inevitable.

There is no art or device of man that can countermand, avoid, or checkmate this eternal law of God. The sons of Jacob sold their brother; and all of them became slaves in the same land. America sowed the wind (of slavery) and reaped the whirlwind of war. Germany sowed the wind when they listened to the Pied Piper of Munich and reaped the devastation of World War II. Wherever men or nations today obey their own foolish philosophies instead of the word of God they are sowing to the wind; and already the whirlwind gathers dark and threatening upon the horizons of all the troubled earth. It might be almost time to reap the whirlwind. C. There is a good side to this also. Sowing to the Spirit promises certain, inevitable, increased reward in kind. They who have loved and sought the fellowship of Christ in God shall at last enter the eternal fellowship above, where all the problems of earth are solved in the light and bliss of heaven. Verse 9 And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.Be not weary in well doing … This is No. 4, being an undeniable component of the Law of Christ who went about doing good (Matthew 21:15). How could any man imitate Paul as he imitated Christ without doing good? This touches the principal practical business of Christians on earth. It is amazing how little regard some seem to have for it. In due season we shall reap if we faint not … For discussion of fainting, see my Commentary on Hebrews. Hebrews 12:3. Many things can cause Christians to faint, among them being the evil doctrines which undermine and destroy their faith. Verse 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.The badge of Christian behavior is that of positive good toward all on earth. “Work that which is good …” Strange that Paul should have mentioned this, especially if he had been advocating for five chapters that “works” do not have anything to do with salvation! Of course, the meaning in those previous chapters refers to the works of the Law of Moses and not to that class of works which Christians must do. Yes, the word is must! Christ equated salvation with this very principle Paul had in view here, there being the same distinction between “everybody” and “the household of faith” in the great passage from Matthew 25:31-46. Although the Christian must do good and not do evil to all people, there is a special and prior obligation to Christian brothers, as elaborated by Jesus in the passage cited. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these MY …” was the test of receiving or losing eternal life. The savage humanism of the current era which would tie the full resources of the church of God to every social scheme that comes along cannot be justified by a proper respect to what Jesus said there and what Paul said here. Verse 11 See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand.Scholars advocate opposing views on what is meant by this; for certainly, it may be translated otherwise than in English Revised Version (1885). MacKnight rendered it thus: The phrase is rightly translated how large a letter. The first word properly signifies of what size; and the second denotes an epistle, as well as the letters of the alphabet."[21]As in all cases where two translations are possible, the context and other overall consideration must be resorted to. Of pertinence here, it seems, is the opinion of Ramsay, who said, “Those who suppose that a trifling detail, such as the size or shape of Paul’s handwriting, could find room in his mind as he wrote this letter are mistaking his character.[22]I write … is also better rendered as “have written,” thus having, as Dummelow thought, “a reference to the foregoing letter of Galatians."[23]Scholarly objections to this on the basis that after all, Galatians is not as large as Romans, are not valid, as Romans had not been written, nor, for that matter, any of the other Pauline letters. We have followed the opinion of Hendriksen who wrote: “If, of all Paul’s letters that have been preserved, Galatians was the very first one that he wrote, as we have assumed, he could perhaps have written, `See what a big letter I wrote you’[24]Most current scholars go the other way, however, taking an alternate rendition and interpreting it to mean Paul’s eyesight was bad, or his handwriting was characteristically large, thus forming a kind of signature, or even that he was somewhat illiterate! It seems to this student that such guesses have little in their favor. [21] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 206. [22] Wm. M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 466. [23] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 957. [24] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 241. Verse 12 As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.This verse is valuable as showing that this whole chapter still deals with the Moses vs. Christ theme; and that it is not “looking quite away from the Judaic controversy,"[25] as alleged by Ramsay and many others. No, Paul is still on the same subject; and that Judaism vs. Christianity is still his primary concern surfaces again in Galatians 6:15. Only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ … This is Paul’s charge that the Judaizers were insincere hypocrites who cared nothing at all for the Law of Moses (see next verse), but that they were merely striving to accommodate to Jewish opinion for the sake of self-promotion. This was a devastating charge. Even the errors of sincere men may be tolerated and understood, but the pretensions of self-seeking hypocrites can receive nothing except utter contempt. ENDNOTE: [25] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 454. Verse 13 For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves keep the law; but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.Something of the strategy of the Jerusalem hierarchy is detected in these two verses. They evidently had persuaded certain Christians who had become Judaizers to procure, by any practical means, the circumcision of as many of the Gentile converts as possible, leaving out of sight the ultimate amalgamation of all of them as proselytes to Judaism, which they doubtless envisioned as coming at a later phase of the effort. This accounts for the fact that the Judaizers neither kept the Law themselves nor sought to bind any of its more objectionable features upon their followers. The hypocrisy of such a device Paul exposed in this verse. Thus, as Huxtable discerned, those Judaizers were courting favor with the Jewish hierarchy. He said: “Paul meant, It is from no zeal for the Law that they do what they do, for they are at no pains to keep the Law; but only with the object of currying favor with the Jews."[26]ENDNOTE: [26] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 308. Verse 14 But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.Glory, save in the cross … The cross of the Son of God, by the love for men exhibited upon it by the Saviour, by the atonement for sins provided upon its crude beams, by all the hope of the gospel which it symbolizes, is indeed the only grounds of rejoicing and glorying on the part of Christians. Through which … This should not be “through whom”; for Christ does not crucify Christians, nor the world; it is the cross which does so. The world hath been crucified unto me … The cross has crucified the world to Christians in the sense that the hope of the gospel achieved and symbolized thereupon has made the world to be, in the eyes of Christians, crucified by the cross of Christ. And I unto the world … MacKnight has this comment: The cross of Christ crucifies Christians to the world, by inspiring them with such principles and leading them to a course of life which renders them in the eyes of the world as contemptible, and as unfit for their purposes as if they were crucified and dead."[27]ENDNOTE: [27] James MacKnight, op. cit., p. 210. Verse 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.For full discussion of this thought, see under Galatians 5:6. The significance of its recurrence here is that of focusing upon Paul’s main theme continuing right through this chapter and to the very end of it, namely, that of the Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ, forcing the conclusion that “Law of Christ” in Galatians 6:2, is not a mere afterthought with regard to the general rule of “love thy neighbor,” but an emphasis upon that glorious entity, the Law of Jesus Christ, which is antithetical to the Law of Moses, abrogating and replacing it altogether. Verse 16 And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.As many as shall walk by this rule … that is, the Law of Christ, not regarding merely the portions of it stressed in this final chapter, but all of it. Peace … and mercy … The apostolic blessing is invoked upon those who will walk under the Law of Christ, as distinguished from them that desire to cling to the Law of Moses. And upon the Israel of God … It is surprising that any could misunderstand this, as if Paul were, in any manner, invoking a blessing upon racial Jews. “Israel of God,” in the true sense, with Paul, was never racial Israel, but the spiritual Israel. See Romans 2:28-29; Romans 4:13-16 and Romans 9:6-8. This meaning of “spiritual Israel,” of course, included all of every race, including Jews, who accepted Christ. “Israel of God,” according to Wesley, means “the church of God, which consists of all those, and only those, of every nation and kindred, who walk by this rule."[28]This benediction is not addressed to two distinct sets of persons (those who walk by this rule, and upon the Israel of God) but upon the same set of persons addressed in two ways, as if he had said, “Yea, upon the Israel of God.[29][28] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco. [29] William Sanday, op. cit., p. 463. Verse 17 Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.This is doubtless a reference to the scars of such suffering as Paul’s stoning at Lystra, among these very Galatians, on the first tour; and he considered such “marks” as positive and undeniable evidence of the genuineness of his apostleship. Any interpretation of this passage as a statement that nail-prints had appeared in Paul’s hand and feet in some supernatural manifestations of the Stigmata belongs to the Dark Ages. Nothing like that is in the passage. There might be, however, some comparison intended with certain practices among the heathen. “The mark of the pagan god Dionysus was that of an ivy leaf burned into the flesh with a branding iron,"[30] and such a practice widely known to the Galatians might have suggested Paul’s using the term “branded” here; but beyond that, there could have been no connection. As Ramsay eloquently declared, “The marks that branded Paul as a slave of Jesus were the deep cuts of the lictor’s rods of Pisidian Antioch and the stones of Lystra!"[31][30] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 314. [31] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 472. Verse 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.Paul gave no commendation at the beginning of Galatians, and the tone of the whole letter is one of hurt surprise, sorrow and indignation; but in this final word “brethren,” one finds the loving heart of Paul yearning for his beloved converts in Galatia. It is a final word of love and hope for all of them. He had not given them up; they were still brethren. History gives no clue to the manner of their receiving this letter, nor to the continued success or failure of the Galatians; but as McGarvey said: We have no word of history which reveals to us the immediate effect of Paul’s epistle; but the fact that it was preserved argues well that it was favorably received. Due to its vigor and power, it could not have been otherwise than effective.[32]This epistle, along with the Corinthians and Romans, staggered Judaism and restrained it until, smitten by the hand of the Almighty at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, it ceased to trouble the church any more until the times of the apostasy, when its forms and systems were revived, and in modern times when sabbatarians still attempt to bind such things as the sabbath day. THE LAW OF CHRIST1. He that heareth and doeth Christ’s “sayings” shall be saved; he that does not do so shall be lost (Matthew 7:24-29). 2. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that disbelieves shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). 3. “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). 4. Regarding the Lord’s supper: “This do ye until I come” (1 Corinthians 11:24 ff). “Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man ye have no life in you” (John 6:54 ff). 5. Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 18:18-20). 6. Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments and teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). 7. “Abide in me … apart from me ye can do nothing.” “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and cast them into the fire” (John 15:4-6). 8. “Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The manner of keeping this is discussed under Colossians 1:28, which see. 9. What is done to the church, the spiritual body of Christ, is also done to Christ (Acts 9:4 ff). 10. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Etc. This is no more than a few suggestions; but they do not represent human opinion at all, but what Christ said. Let every man ponder this Law. The notion that the apostle Paul set aside all of the words of Christ and substituted a “faith only” way of attaining salvation fails to take account of the fact that Christ is the head of his church, not Paul. Apostle though he was, he was a mortal, the eloquent and holy apostle and most distinguished preacher of all times; but he was the bond-slave of Jesus Christ who gave people the teachings of the New Testament. Those who believe that Paul would have said or done anything to pervert or change the teaching of Christ understand neither Paul nor Christ. A popular superstition is that “The Law of Christ is a positive law, not a negative law.” In the sense of stressing many positive values, of course, it is; but the Law of Christ has many negatives also. Notice just a few of them from the Sermon on the Mount: Swear not at all (Matthew 5:34). Judge not that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1). Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). Be not therefore anxious (Matthew 6:31). Give not that which is holy unto the dogs (Matthew 7:6). In praying use not vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7). And ye shall not be as the hypocrites (Matthew 6:5). Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19). If ye forgive not … neither will your Father forgive you (Matthew 6:15). Everyone that heareth these words of mine and doeth them not … like the foolish man who built his house on the sand … great was the fall thereof (Matthew 7:26-27). The above are merely representative of a vast body of similar teaching in the Magna Carta of the Christian religion, called the Sermon on the Mount. But, is not the Law of Christ a “law of liberty” in comparison with the Law of Moses? To be sure it is. All of the vast ceremonial, with its physical sacrifices, presentations upon certain days, and intricate, elaborate procedures for every conceivable kind of violation - all that is gone. The subjection to priestcraft, which was an inevitable accompaniment of the Old, has been taken away. There is forgiveness of violations under the New, but there was none under the Old. The indwelling of the Spirit of God aids the Christian, but did not aid the worshiper under Judaism.

Not any of the morality, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, chastity, etc., that were required under Moses have been abrogated or relaxed under Christ. The notion that Christianity has a looser moral code than Judaism is ridiculous; and yet that is precisely the understanding some have regarding the wonderful “freedom in Christ.” Such is a fatal delusion. It will be apparent to any who will contemplate it, that if Christ came into the world in order merely to relax the will of God regarding what is or is not righteousness, such an alteration could in no case have required the death of the Son of God. As a matter of truth, the morality of Christ is a higher, stricter and tighter code than Judaism ever was, as specifically elaborated in the Sermon on the Mount. This undeniable truth sends shudders of apprehension through those who see it and draw back and cry, “Impossible! Who can be perfect?

Where is any possible ground of confidence?” THE IN CHRISTDespite the higher level of morality required of Christians, and despite the specific commandments of both a positive and negative nature which abound in Christian doctrine, and despite the fact that no salvation of any kind is promised to them who “obey not the gospel,” there is, nevertheless, the solid ground of absolute trust and confidence “in Christ.” The forgiveness provided in the love of Christ in the New Dispensation is operative on a constant and continual basis, “cleansing us of all unrighteousness”; and two questions only, if they may be honestly answered affirmatively by the human conscience, bestow full and mighty confidence in the Christian. “Am I in Christ?” and “Shall I be found in him?” All of our confidence is not in our own success as to meeting God’s standards, but it is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ENDNOTE: [32] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 288.

“THE EPISTLE TO THE "

Chapter Six

IN THIS CHAPTER

1. To see that liberty in Christ involves responsibility toward others and our own selves

2. To appreciate the principles involved in “sowing” and “reaping”, especially as they relate to the flesh and Spirit

3. To understand the importance of becoming “a new creation” in Christ Jesus

SUMMARY In this final chapter, Paul reveals that liberty in Christ involves responsibilities. Those who are “spiritual” are to restore those overtaken in trespasses, and all are to bear one another’s burden thereby fulfilling the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2). At the same time, each Christian ought to examine himself and seek to bear his own load (Galatians 6:3-5). Further responsibilities involve sharing with those who teach, and not growing weary in doing good to all, especially those of the household of faith. As motivation to do good, Paul reminds them of the principles of “sowing” and “reaping”, particularly as it relates to the flesh and Spirit (Galatians 6:6-10).

Paul’s concluding remarks include an insight into the motivation behind those seeking to compel circumcision. While such people may seek to glory in the flesh, Paul himself will only glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:11-14). Summarizing his whole epistle in one verse, Paul reasserts that circumcision is inconsequential, and that in Christ Jesus becoming a new creation is what really matters (Galatians 6:15). With a plea for no one to trouble him since he bears in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus, Paul closes this epistle with a prayer of peace, mercy, and grace upon those who walk according to his teaching, and upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16-18).

OUTLINE

I. A LIBERTY WITH A SENSE OF (Galatians 6:1-10)

A. IN THE MATTER OF BEARING BURDENS (Galatians 6:1-5)1. Be willing to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-2) a. Those who are spiritual ought to restore those overtaken in a trespass (Galatians 6:1) b. Bearing one another’s burdens fulfills the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) 2. Be willing to bear your own burden (Galatians 6:3-4) a. If one thinks himself to be something when he is not, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3) b. Examine your own work, and bear your own load (Galatians 6:4)

B. IN THE MATTER OF (Galatians 6:6-10)1. Those who are taught should share in all good things with those who teach (Galatians 6:6) 2. Principles governing sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-9) a. What a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7) b. Sow to the flesh, and you reap corruption; sow to the Spirit, and you reap everlasting life (Galatians 6:8) c. Don’t grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9) 3. Where there is opportunity, do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10)

II. REMARKS (Galatians 6:11-18)

A. A FINAL REBUKE OF THOSE WHO WOULD BIND (Galatians 6:11-13)1. The large letters confirm that Paul has written with his own hands (Galatians 6:11) 2. The motivation behind those who compel others to be circumcised (Galatians 6:12-13 b) a. They desire to make a good showing in the flesh (Galatians 6:12 a) b. They do not want to suffer persecution for the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:12 b) c. They wish to glory in your flesh (Galatians 6:13 b) 3. Those who would bind circumcision do not even keep the Law themselves (Galatians 6:13 a)

B. PAUL’S OWN IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST (Galatians 6:14-17)1. God forbid that he might glory in anything other than in the cross of Jesus (Galatians 6:14 a) 2. For by Christ the world has been crucified to him, and he to the world (Galatians 6:14 b) 3. In Christ, circumcision is inconsequential; what matters is a new creation (Galatians 6:15) 4. For those who abide by this same rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) 5. Let no one trouble him, for he bears in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:17)

C. (Galatians 6:18)

1. Directed toward the brethren
2. That the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with their spirit

REVIEW FOR THE CHAPTER

1. What are the main points of this chapter?

• A liberty with a sense of responsibility (Galatians 6:1-10)
• Concluding remarks (Galatians 6:11-18)

2. What should those who are “spiritual” be willing to do? What attitudes should accompany them in what they do? (Galatians 6:1)

• Restore those overtaken in a trespass
• A spirit of gentleness, and a watchful eye for one’s own self

3. How can we fulfill “the law of Christ”? (Galatians 6:2)

• By bearing one another’s burdens

4. What responsibility is placed upon each person? (Galatians 6:4)

• To bear his or her own load

5. What responsibility does the person taught have toward the one who teaches? (Galatians 6:6)

• To share in all good things with him

6. What three principles are given by Paul concerning “sowing” and “reaping”? (Galatians 6:7-9)

• Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap
• Sow to the flesh, and you will of the flesh reap corruption; sow to the Spirit, and you will of the Spirit reap everlasting life
• Don’t grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not lose heart

7. As we have opportunity, what is our responsibility? (Galatians 6:10)

• To do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith

8. What motivation does Paul ascribe to those who would compel circumcision? (Galatians 6:12-13)

• They desire to make a good showing in the flesh
• That they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ
• That they may glory in your flesh

9. What was the inconsistency of those compelling circumcision? (Galatians 6:13)

• They themselves did not keep the Law

10. In what did Paul glory? (Galatians 6:14)

• The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world had been crucified to him, and he to the world

11. In Christ Jesus, what is it that avails anything? (Galatians 6:15)

• A new creation

12. Upon whom did Paul pray for peace and mercy? (Galatians 6:16)

• As many as walk according to the rule that a new creation in Christ is what really matters
• The Israel of God

13. Why did Paul ask that no one trouble him? (Galatians 6:17)

• Because he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus

14. What was Paul’s final benediction to the Galatians? (Galatians 6:18)

• “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

Questions by E.M. Zerr On Galatians 61. In what relation does Paul address his readers? 2. In what might a man be overtaken? 3. Would this be different from deliberate sin? 4. Is this overtaken without hope ? 5. Who are told to restore him ? 6. Must this be one who is sinless in all respects? 7. In what spirit must he approach the other? 8. State the reason given for this approach. 9. Bear what for each other? 10. Are these the burdens of responsibility? 11. What law will be fulfilled by this bearing? 12. In what was such law made known ? 13. When is a man self-deceived ? 14. How much difference between something and nothing 15. What must every man prove? 16. By what must this proving be done? 17. What will the proof then cause? 18. Whose burden of responsibility must each bear? 19. Does one taught owe anything to the teacher? 20. What ia meant by the good things here ? 21. Why advised to be not deceived? 22. How much difference between seed and crop? 23. How many kinds of each? 24. What is the spiritual harvest? 25. How many times will the harvest be? 26. Can one labor and not grow tired ? 27. Why “ not grow weary” if we labor” ? 28. State the inducement for persevering. 29. When will be the “ due season” ? 30. To whom should we do good ? 31. Who are the special objects of our good ? 32. To what extent must we do good to men? 33. Who did the writing in this epistle? 34. What constraint was being put on the Galatians ? 35. For what show was this being done ? 36. What did they hope to avoid by the circumstance? 37. Show in what these perverters were insincere. 38. In what did they wish to glory? 39. What glory does Paul set over against this ? 40. How was the world crucified unto Paul? 41. What avails not in Christ? 42. What two classes are thus equal in Christ? 43. What kind of creature is necessary in Christ? 44. On what walkers is peace pronounced ? 45. Who are the Israel of God” here? 46. What was unnecessary now as to PauPs body? 47. Tell what he bore in it. 48. Whose servant did that prove him to be? 49. How did he receive these brands? 50. Repeat his closing benediction.

Galatians 6:1

Galatians 6:1. The word overtaken is from which Thayer defines at this place as follows: “To take before; to anticipate, to forestall; to take one by forestalling him, i.e. surprise, detect.” The word does not apply to a man who deliberately goes in the direction where he knows he may be tempted. Such a person could not truthfully say he had been “surprised” into doing wrong. The word means a case where a man is brought unexpectedly into contact with a strong temptation and under the “spur of the moment” yields to sin. Spiritual is from which Thayer defines, “One who is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God.” Hence it means any faithful member of the church, not the elders only as is generally thought. It is a duty of every member of the congregation to act in trying to restore the one who has been overtaken.

Restore literally means to mend or repair, which denotes that the man has been damaged by sin, and the effort should be made to repair the damage. Meekness is the same as in chapter 5:23, and the explanation offered there should be applied here. In approaching a brother who has been surprised into sin, the would-be restorer should not have a feeling of self-esteem, as if such a misfortune could “never happen to him”, for he does not know what effect an incident of “surprise” might have on him.

Galatians 6:2

Galatians 6:2. To bear means to take up and carry a load. Burdens is from BAROS which Thayer defines, “heaviness, weight, burden, trouble.” It means the hardships and trials of this life, and Paul instructs Christians to help each other in such experiences. Fulfil the law of Christ. His teaching all through life was that the disciples should love each other, and that would be shown by lending a helping hand in the hardships of human existence.

Galatians 6:3

Galatians 6:3. For carries the thought back to verse 1 where self-esteem is condemned. If a man felt so conceited that he had no fear of being overtaken in a fault, the truth might turn out to be that he would have no backgrounds of character at all, when it came to meeting the tests of life. Such a man is here described as one who thinks himself to be something when he is nothing. The first word is from a neuter pronoun of very indefinite meaning as to degree or amount. The second is properly translated, and means absolutely nothing as far as any claim of any importance is concerned. The difference between something (however small) and nothing is infinite, yet Paul implies that a self-deceived man is that far off from the truth.

Galatians 6:4

Galatians 6:4. One of the common weaknesses of man is to feel justified because he thinks his life compares favorably with that of others. Paul condemns that in 2 Corinthians 10:12, and he is again dealing with that subject here. Prove is from , and in the King James Version it is rendered allow 2 times, approve 3, discern 2, examine 1, like 1, prove 10, try 4. Thayer defines it, “To test, examine, prove, scrutinize; to recognize as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy.” Of course such an examination cannot be made without the use of a proper standard. 1 Peter 4:11 (and many other passages too numerous to cite) shows that the true standard of right and wrong is the word of God. The important thought in this verse is for each man to prove his own work instead of another’s.

Whether he would do better than the man he is supposed to be trying to “restore” is not the issue at stake, for being better than some other brother does not prove that one is what he should be. But if he tests his life by the divine standard of God’s word and finds it in harmony therewith, he will then have the right to rejoice. And that rejoicing will not be because someone else has done his duty, but because he himself alone has measured up to the divine rule.

Galatians 6:5

Galatians 6:5. This verse might seem to contradict verse 2, but they are in perfect agreement for they are speaking of burdens that are altogether different; the word in this verse is from . Thayer explains that the burdens in the Greek word indicated are, “the obligations Christ lays upon his followers,” and it is clear to all that no man can discharge the “obligations” of another. He can help others in the trials and hardships of life, but each man is individually responsible to God. That is the reason he should test his life by the word of God, and not by comparing it with the lives of others.

Galatians 6:6

Galatians 6:6. In 1 Corinthians 9:14 it is said that “they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” No preacher can literally live on the word of God, hence the passage means he is to get his living from those who receive the preaching; such is the meaning of the present verse. To communicate denotes the act of giving, and good things means the things necessary to life. The man who devotes his time to the preaching of the Gospel, should be financially supported by those who get the benefit of the preaching.

Galatians 6:7

Galatians 6:7. Mocked is from , and both Thayer and Robinson define it, “To turn up the nose or sneer at; to mock, deride.” This is the only place where the word is used in the Greek New Testament. The term is used in connection with the thought of a man’s responsibility to God, which will finally require him to answer for his conduct in this life. God has commanded his creatures to follow the proper course; to do that which is spiritual and not that which is dictated by the flesh. Moreover, He has told man that he will reap the kind of harvest that he has been producing. Paul is warning his- readers not to be deceived or misled into thinking he can ignore (snub or by-pass) God and avoid the undesirable consequences of an unrighteous life. God will not suffer any man to “get by” with such an attempt, but will sustain His law already established on the relation of “cause and effect.” On that basis the apostle affirms that a man will reap as he sows, a truth that is taught by nature.

Galatians 6:8

Galatians 6:8. The word to is from Els, and Thayer uses three and a half pages of his lexicon in defining it in its various shades of meaning. However, his Introductory paragraph gives the gen eral meaning of the word as follows: “Into, to, towards, for, among.” We should use the word that is best adapted to the connection in which it is found. When a man sows a field, he does it (or is supposed to) for the purpose of raising a certain kind of crop, hence the word italicized would be the proper one of the definitions for our use here. In temporal matters no man thinks he can sow his field with weeds and expect to raise wheat. Yet in moral and spiritual matters man seems to think he can ignore that law, sow the seeds that are qualified for the production of a fleshly crop, and then gather a spiritual harvest from it.

The apostle warns that it will not be so, but that a man will reap as he has sown. There are only two kinds of seed and hence only two kinds of harvest possible. The fleshly seed will produce corruption which Thayer defines, “the loss of salvation, etrnal misery.” The opposite is life everlasting to be reaped at the harvest which will be at “the end of the world” (Matthew 13:39). The two kinds of seed are described as the kinds of human conduct in verses 19-23 of chapter 5. Every man is sowing just one or the other of these kinds of seed, and he will reap accordingly at the day of judgment.

Galatians 6:9

Galatians 6:9. God never commands that which is impossible, nor forbids that which is unavoidable. Weary does not pertain to the body or material part of our being, for if we exercise ourselves we cannot avoid becoming tired; such a result is beyond our control. The word is from EKKAKEO, and Thayer defines it, “to be weary in anything, to lose courage, flag, faint.” Robinson defines it, “to be fainthearted, to faint.” Hence it is clear the word refers to the mind and not the body. A man may become literally worked down or “worn out” by his toils for the Master, but if he has the proper interest in the work he will never become tired in mind, but will always feel keen and alert in the duty for Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 4:16.) This all agrees with the reasoning of the latter part of our present verse.

Galatians 6:10

Galatians 6:10. Good is from AGATHOS, which has a wide range of meanings, including both material and immaterial subjects. Among the definitions given by Thayer are the following: “Excelling in any respect, distinguished, good; useful, salutary; pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; benevolent, kind, generous.” It is right for the church or an individual Christian to bestow a favor upon those of the world, but where the opportunities are limited, preference must be given to members of the church.

Galatians 6:11

Galatians 6:11. According to several lexicons, the original word for letter has two meanings; first, the size of the characters that make up an alphabet; second, the size or length of a composition formed by the letters. There is nothing in the connection here to indicate that Paul was making any point out of the size of the characters he was using, hence the conclusion is that he uses the second meaning. As a rule the apostle dictated his epistles and then signed them to make them authentic (2 Thessalonians 3:17); but because of his great concern for the interests of the Galatian brethren, he wrote this entire epistle with his own hand. Considering_ the rule of not doing the writing of the body of his letters, it would make the present one comparatively large. Robinson defines the original for the last word as meaning “of dignity.” Strong defines it, “figuratively, in dignity.” Thayer defines it, “how distinguished.”

Galatians 6:12

Galatians 6:12. As many refers to the Judaizers among the disciples. Fair show in the flesh. means they wished to make a favorable impression on the unbelieving Jews who were jealous lest the law of Moses should be neglected. By constraining the Gentile Christians to become circumcised, they thought it would please the unbelieving Jews, and hence they would not be so apt to persecute them (the Judaizers) for their association with the Gentile Christians.

Galatians 6:13

Galatians 6:13. Neither they . . . keep the law. These Judaizers were like the Sabbatarians of our day, who make a great ado about the law and pretend that it is still in force. Yet they spend most of their energy in condemning Christians because they do not “keep the sabbath holy.” The inconsistency of these modern Judaizers is shown in that they violate the very commandment they pretend to observe. (See Exodus 20:8-11.) This forbids working the beasts of service on the sab-bath, yet it is not uncommon to see these pretenders drive their horses to the “sabbath school” on Saturday. This puts such false teachers in the same class with the Judaizers of Paul’s day. They did not keep the law, but wished to induce the Christians to accept cir cumcision, so that they (the Judaizers) could boast about it.

Galatians 6:14

Galatians 6:14. God forbid. There is no word in the original for the name of God, and it has been supplied by the King James translators by way of comment. The American Standard Version renders this as follows: “But far be it from me to glory,” etc. The world is crucified unto me. When crucified is used figuratively, it denotes that something has been killed or put out of action. Paul became dead to the sinful things of the world, and that spiritual state was caused by his devotion to the cross, or the spiritual service made possible by Christ’s death on the tree.

Galatians 6:15

Galatians 6:15. This verse is the same in thought as chapter 5:6; a new creature being equivalent to “faith which work-eth by love”; please see those comments again.

Galatians 6:16

Galatians 6:16. This rule means the one stated in the preceding verse, namely, being a new creature in Christ Jesus. The Israel of God. None but those who believe in Christ Jesus would walk according to the rule mentioned, hence the first consideration is given the Gentiles who have accepted the Gospel. That places the italicized phrase with the believing Jews. The Jews were formerly the people of God before Christ was offered to the world, hence they are referred to here as being the Israel of God in this special sense. (See James 1:1.)

Galatians 6:17

Galatians 6:17. Paul’s apostolic authority had been questioned by some of the Judaizers. They made great claim on the ground of the fleshly mark of circumcision. In that respect they had no advantage over the apostle since he was circumcised also, but he had that mark as a Jew and a lineal descendant of Abraham. However, he was not claiming any special connection with Christ on that account, for the time had come when being in Him did not depend upon whether a man was circumcised or not. (See verse 15.) But Paul had other marks in the flesh that were significant, and that proved his close relationship as a servant (slave) of Christ. Marks is from STIGMA, and Thayer defines it, “a mark pricked in or branded upon the body.” He then gives the following historical information: “According to ancient oriental [eastern] usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to . . . hence the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ’s faithful and approved votary [one devoted], servant, soldier.” If a man was suspected of being a run-away slave, or for any other reason his identity should be questioned, the matter could be settled by unclothing him and looking for the brands.

Paul is making the point that it is unnecessary for any man to trouble about examining him; he freely adimts that he is a servant of Christ, and that the brands could be seen on his body. As in many illustrations, there are some points that are exceptions. In the case of temporal slaves, the brands were stamped on their bodies by their masters, while Paul’s marks were inflicted by the enemies of his Master. Also, Paul was not a run-away slave but was happy to admit his relationship of service to Jesus Christ.

Galatians 6:18

Galatians 6:18. Paul wished that the grace (favor) of Christ would be with the spirit of his brethren; if so, their temporal needs would be supplied also.