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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Galatians

Chapter 6 

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[Prefatory note: The Authorized (King James) Version, unless otherwise indicated, is employed herein, featured, most notably, in bold type as plenary verses and, at times, as key words and phrases.]

A Survey and Critical Analysis of Galatians 6

6. 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

ye which are spiritual. Paul speaks to those who live and walk in the Spirit (5. 25).

meekness. This is the same word used in 5. 23, one of the fruits of the Spirit, a characteristic of true spirituality, as defined here by Paul.

overtaken in a fault. Paul’s reference to one overburdened by “a fault” probably points to more than ordinary human weakness in the church. He has, in the previous verse (5. 26), spoken out against rivalries and disharmony, all stemming from, Paul claims, not only the works of the flesh, but its rancorous doctrinal expression of the Judaizers. Therefore, the phrase under review in all likelihood is a reference to individuals of the Galatian congregation who have fallen prey to legalism. Paul here instructs the spiritually minded on how to deal with their works-oriented friends.

restore. A "spiritual" one should engage in confrontation, not to extract an apology, but only to seek the righting of his wayward, legalistic brother.

6. 2. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Instead of “provoking of one another” (5. 26), thereby adding to the group disharmony, Paul advises a policy of supporting the weak. All of this is further practical outworking of his teaching on living and walking in the Spirit (5. 25).

the law of Christ. With this simple phrase Paul, in effect, summarizes his grace-oriented position. The law of Moses has been superseded by the law of Christ; it is a law of love directed toward neighbor (5. 14).

6. 3. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

think himself to be something. Paul seems to be saying that an unwillingness to “restore” (6. 1) an offending brother is rooted in a kind of self-delusion; pride may whisper the seductive message, “I would not have done what he did.” This is all wrong-headedness, Paul chides, an exercise in fooling oneself.

6. 4-5. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.

let every man prove his own work. Instead of entertaining unrealistic opinions of oneself, Paul prods, a spiritual person will be humbly proving or testing his own standing in the game of life.

every man shall bear his own burden. An apparent contradiction of a just-mentioned rubric, this phrase delivers more than meets the eye. “The Greek word for burden is different, baros (verse 2) meaning ‘a weight or heavy load’ and phortion (verse 5) being a common term for a man's ‘pack’” (Stott 159). Personal sin weighs one down (verse 2), Paul, the pastor, explains, and we can help one so burdened if we have a mind to. However, there is another kind of burden, one relatively light and common to all mankind, which must be borne by each individual alone.

A summary of verses 1-5: When we are injured by someone, one “overtaken in a fault,” it is very difficult to remain emotionally detached, difficult not to focus on our own pain. If we agree with ourselves to speak to the offending person at all, our natural inclination is to do so only to squeeze an apology, or more, out of him. In any case, we want to focus on him, what he has done. Curiously, however, in these five verses we find the Apostle of Grace admonishing us several times, in several different ways, to think about our reaction to “another,” even though that other is introduced to us as one "overtaken in a fault." In other words, we might ask, "He is the problem, right? So why are we talking about me? Let's talk about him!" Unfortunately for us, we meet little comfort here from Paul. We find him telling us to approach our brother not only "in the spirit of meekness" but also "considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." We are told to help shoulder the heavy "burden" of the brother at fault, the refusal of which implies a harboring of unrealistic evaluations about ourselves, a self-deception.

We might feel, after all this, that finally enough has been said about our part -- but Paul is not ready to relent. He goes on to explain the philosophical underpinnings of our duty. There is a saying, "You cannot become a saint by reciting the sins of others." Humanly, however, we think that we can find vindication in this process, and it is this notion that Paul is addressing here. Without excusing the sins of the offending brother, Paul in effect says to us, “You may feel great pain due to what someone did to you. But if you focus on that pain, it will dominate you and define your life.”

“Let every man prove his own work” means that even while you evaluate, even condemn, what your brother did to you, you must never lose sight of the fact that you, too, share the same human condition; you, too, but for the grace of God, could do the same or worse under sufficient provocation.

"Prove your own work,” teaches that, as you correct your brother, you must be "putting your own deeds to the test," judging your own self a frail human being as well. We have a natural tendency to think that "life will be good if only we could get rid of this situation or that person;" however, this is all illusion, Paul intones. Our future "rejoicing" will result from accepting responsibility for our own lives, from our own reaction to the trouble that befalls everyone of us.

Life is inherently unfair, more or less a disaster for all participants; but, as the saying goes, though we have no control over the direction of the wind, we do have power to adjust our sails. This is why a man will "have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." We will find our victory in life from what we ourselves do -- not from extracting satisfaction from those who have hurt us. This primal responsibility over one's own person and attitude cannot be delegated away, the one "backpack" which every person must carry through life - alone.

6. 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

communicate. There is much debate about the meaning of this verse. Most commentators side with the explanation that Paul, here, lapses into a discussion of money, the material compensation of the ministry by those who are “taught.” The word "communicate" in the Greek generally indicates "fellowship" but sometimes does denote the receiving of material aid (Phil. 4. 15). I think such interpretations, in the present context, are entirely in the wrong.

Paul, who, in a spirit of not wishing to offend new converts, would not even mention to the Thessalonians the subject of financial aid to the Church, would not be very likely to broach the issue of ministerial wages in the super-charged atmosphere of contention that was the Galatian churches! He was far too sensitive to have blundered that way. Talking about money would have played exactly into the propaganda promoted by the opposition: "Paul is no true apostle, but only a heretic, interested soley in a fatter pay-packet."

The “good things” about which Paul speaks are spiritual in nature not material or monetary. If Paul were to suddenly launch into a plea for money, his opponents would be quick to claim that his motives were untoward, a strategy on Paul’s part representing the “height of folly” (Wuest 171). Absolutely.

While it is sometimes “difficult to decide whether this is the final verse of this section or the opening clause of the next,” it may be “best to take it as a ‘bridge verse’” (Cole 175). Accepting this, the message becomes one of Paul, in verses 1 – 5, instructing the Galatians to humbly but firmly confront the Judaizers and their adherents. In verse 6 Paul instructs "the taught" to “communicate” or have close fellowship only with those teachers who teach "good things," the spiritual, grace-message of the gospel. They are to reject the Judaizers and their legalistic message of works.

6. 7, 8. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

soweth [. . .] reap. “Sowing and reaping,” a phrase, then and now, of proverbial status, could presage instruction of simple moralism, general teaching about doing good and avoiding evil. While such a view is not out the question here, I sense that Paul is not about to lay down his arms but continues to hunt for bigger game; he is not ready, I think, to sue for peace against legalism. Paul’s instruction, in chapter 5, on the “works of the flesh,” nicely juxtaposed with discussion about the Judaizers’ heresy, suggests that Paul views the error of the Galatians to be rooted not in ordinary mistake but in a certain measure of wrong-headedness. He tells us that sins such as idolatry, pride and strife, normally thought of as sins of the mind, are in reality engendered by "the flesh," just as any passion-driven misdeed.

Now, in these final summing-up verses, Paul speaks of "sowing to the flesh" and, as such, we should not easily assume this to be mere didactic moralism. The Judaizers’ legalism appealed to desires for independence and self-sufficiency. Excellent virtues in their proper context, these traits, Paul implies here, can become agents of the “flesh,” agents which glorify the individual and not God, all of which will take one far afield of one’s true home, a close spirit-union with Christ and God. “This could only lead, Paul says, to corruption in their lives” (Wuest 173). “Sowing and reaping” speaks of a process, the end of which is not clearly in sight. It takes time to grow a crop. We should not look for the harvest the next day after planting. Nevertheless, we can hear Paul counsel, though the harvest delays, it definitely will come.

6. 9, 10. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

in due season. Verse 9 speaks of a harvest time, a season of reaping. The ancient Greek word employed for “season,” for “time,” here is kairos. It refers not to chronological time, not to clock time, as chronos denoted this. Instead, kairos speaks of psychological time, that is, we might say, “the perfect moment.” It is the “opportune time,” just the “right time” for the purpose at hand. In other words, according to Paul’s reckoning of God’s will and plan, the coming harvest time will occur at the strategic moment of maximum educative impact as per God’s dealings with humankind.

Paul the pastor offers this as encouragement to those walking by the rule of the Spirit, the benefits of which are not always immediately tangible and forthcoming - and as a warning to those “deceived,” those who spurn "sow and reap," those who gleefully cry, “I sinned and nothing happened.” In deference to humanity’s sacred right of choice, God, for the moment, may appear to us as silent; but, continues Paul, it is grave error to interpret such silence as divine non-involvement: God “is not mocked,” there will be a time of harvest. It will be the "right time", "the perfect moment", designed for teaching recalcitrant certain ones.

6. 11. Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

large a letter. Numerous suggestions have been made regarding this phrase; for example, “sprawling untidy letters of an amateur scribe;” “bad eyesight;” however, “most commentators consider that he used large letters [. . .] simply for emphasis [. . .]. Thus it could be translated, 'Notice how heavily I underline these words to you'" (Stott 176).

Having then signaled to us his intention of delivering a summary statement, Paul, in closing, emphasizes these points:

6. 12. As many as desire to make a fair shew of you in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

as many as desire to make a fair shew of you in the flesh. "to make a fair outward and bodily show" (The New English Bible 861); "... make a good impression outwardly" (New International Version 868).

lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. "The Judaizers wished to remain in good standing with the Jewish community [in order] to keep from being persecuted by the rest of Israel [. . .]. [As such] they were attempting to foist circumcision and finally the entire Mosaic economy upon the Gentiles in the Church" (Wuest 178). If the Judaizers knew that salvation could not be earned by human effort, a presumption based upon their own inability to keep the law (verse 13), why "do they still insist upon meritorious works? Paul's answer is: 'their sole object is to escape persecution for the cross of Christ' (NEB)" (Stott 179).

Phillips translates verse 12: “These men who are always urging you to be circumcised -- what are they after? They want to present a pleasing front to the world and they want to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ” (399). While applauding themselves as evangelists and apostles, these imposters, Paul claims, are secretly hostile to Jesus Christ because of the vast implications of that holy name.

From the lips of Paul, here and elsewhere, we learn something of the motives of those who speak against faith in Christ and his cross. If the truth were clearly told, they are quite against personal loyalty to Christ. We begin to infer, based upon Paul’s testimony and the all-too-predictable actions of demagogues everywhere, that they much preferred to speak in terms of loyalty to “Jerusalem headquarters” and “the government of God;” in other words, loyalty to the ministerial hierarchy, which is to say, themselves.

Baptism, for them, became induction into "the Church," the corporate organization, not the spiritual organism, not immersion into an in-Christ relationship.  The “Church,” in their mouths, becomes a code-word for ecclesiastical power-structure; tightly controlled by them, of course. They are calculating politicians, concerned for their own legacy, their own laudations, desiring that their own images -- not Christ's -- should be engraved upon the Church's heart (4. 19). Converts, in their eyes, are notches on their scorecards, trophies on their mantles, shrunken heads dangling from their loincloths, as they strive to “make a fair shew of you in the flesh,” a good outward impression to the uninitiated eye. They measure Church growth by numbers of circumcisions or baptisms or income level, various outward, tangible measures that seem to support their claim to be God’s sole agents upon the earth. All of this elevation for them, they are not shy to suggest, is only fitting, part of their elitist ecclesiastical rank, and in accordance with eternal providence.

the cross of Christ. Why does the cross engender hostility on the part of some?

They resent the humiliation of seeing themselves as God sees them and as they really are. [. . .] They construct a Christianity without the cross, which relies for salvation on their works and not on Jesus Christ's. [. . .] And if [other] preachers preach Christ crucified, they are opposed, ridiculed, persecuted. Why? Because of the wounds which they inflict on men's pride. (Stott 179) 

6. 13. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

“All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don’t keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!” (Peterson 400)

Yes... "highly selective" in the laws they single out for promotion.

glory. Minneapolis pastors, David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen, in their insightful work, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse , make reference to Paul’s assertions here. Then as now, dysfunctional church leaders engage in ecclesiastical power-posturing, seeking their own “glory and affirmation from the religious activity of those they’ve pledged to shepherd".

6. 14. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Paul states unequivocally that he and “the world have parted company" (Stott 180). Accusations, from his critics, of pandering and crowd-pleasing, notwithstanding, he states that he is not in the business of politics.

6. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Having expressed his antipathy toward the ways of the world, its emphasis on things human at the expense of the divine, Paul restates the essence of his argument; indeed, summarizes the message of his entire letter: Nothing external, nothing physical, nothing merely symbolic, accounts for very much when one knows Christ – and in that knowing, one becomes a kind of new creation, forever changed by the experience of His love.

6. 16. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

this rule. The Greek, “kanon, a measuring rod of any kind, and hence, by metaphor, of anything that determines or regulates the actions of men” (Vine 211). Paul would have us understand that the Christian’s inward transformation, a metamorphosis engendered by union with Christ, is the standard by which to evaluate the efficacy of religious practice.

Israel of God. In this closing verse, Paul audaciously hijacks a favorite term of his opponents and claims it for his own. Having already announced that the followers of Jesus are the true offspring of Abraham (3. 29), it is but a short step to bring this logic to full flower by calling the Church the “Israel of God.” With this one simple phrase, but with soaring chutzpah, Paul commandeers for the Church all of the Old Testament promises made to old Israel. He again shows himself, not as anti-law, but keenly interested in demonstrating that the work of Jesus Christ is the proper fulfillment of the Torah.

peace. To those caught up in back-biting ecclesiastical politics (5. 15, 26), Paul the pastor prescribes a healing antidote: true religion, based upon a genuine encounter with the love of Christ, will bring peace and harmony to the Church.

6. 17. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

marks. "The word stigmata was used in secular Greek for the branding of a slave" (Stott 181). Paul the lawyer is finished speaking; he rests his case. Those insisting on further argument he dismisses with a reference to his pain and suffering in the service of his Lord Jesus. He may be implying: “I have not run from persecution as you politicians have (6. 12); you've claimed that I am a fraud, that I am not Christ's apostle - but His marks of ownership on my beaten body tell otherwise." 

6. 18. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Brethren. These “foolish Galatians” (3. 1) remained, in his heart, his brothers and sisters, wayward though they may have been. Now, in closing, he bids them “grace,” a note upon which he both opened his letter and, indeed, based his entire message.