Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[1] will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Not Circumcision but a New Creation
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[2] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
We’re looking at verses 1-18 of chapter 6, in which Paul closes the letter to the Galatians with an exhortation to good deeds, keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), not because they are striving to obey the law, but because they are new creations in Christ. Let’s take a look:
1) V1-5 – 1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
Paul expounds on keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), saying that we need to be involved in personal relationships (v1-5) and be financially generous (v6-10). First, walking in the Spirit involves reaching out cautiously to fellow believers who are caught in obvious sin. In v1, we could translate the instruction that “you who are spiritual should restore him gently” in several ways. One alternative would be to say, “If you are spiritual, then you will restore him gently.” Another possibility would be, “This gentle restoration should be done by those who are spiritual.” Any of these translations would be true and consistent with Paul’s context.
However, the emphasis seems to be threefold. First, it falls on the agent of restoration being spiritual, since knowledge, skill, and maturity are required for the gentle restoration of a repentant brother, especially since temptation of the restoring agent may occur. Second, it falls on the act of restoration, since this important task involves confrontation, correction, instruction, and continual encouragement in directing the erring brother back to the right path. And third, it falls on the gentleness, or meekness, of the effort. Calvin says, “We are here taught to correct the faults of brethren in a mild manner, and to consider no rebukes as partaking a religious and Christian character which do not breathe the spirit of meekness... for no man is prepared for chastising a brother till he has succeeded in acquiring a gentle spirit”
In v2, Paul speaks of carry each other’s burdens (Romans 15:1); Calvin says, “We must not indulge or overlook the sins by which our brethren are pressed down, but relieve them, which can only be done by mild and friendly correction.” And this, nothing more than loving friends and enemies as God’s love models, is to be done in order to “fulfill the law of Christ.” John Piper says, “Some of you wonder what you are supposed to do with your life. Here is a vocation that will bring you more satisfaction than if you became a millionaire ten times over: Develop the extraordinary skill for detecting the burdens of others and devote yourself daily to making them lighter. In this way you fulfill the law of Christ (v2).”
But Paul notes, as Vincent Cheung says, “At least two things would hinder someone from becoming involved with other believers in this manner. First, perhaps ‘he thinks he is something when he is nothing’ (v3), but here ‘he deceives himself.’ No one should think so highly of himself as to think that he is above caring for his brothers in the Lord. A second destructive tendency is constant comparison with others, and to draw illegitimate conclusions from his supposed inferiority or superiority to his brothers. No, Paul says he should examine himself against the law of Christ, and not to compare himself to others, but rather to carry their burdens as they have need.”
In v4, keeping in step with the Spirit includes testing yourself by God’s standards, rather than against others. If you think you pass the test, then you have reason to boast – but Paul notes that boasting in Christ and the cross is all he has (v14). The Judaizers were guilty of boasting in themselves, thinking they met God’s standards and helped others to meet God’s standards (v13), but they fell far short (Romans 3:23). In v5, Paul uses the word “load” (phortion), which is a different word than “burden” (baros), used in v2. “Burden” literally means “troubles,” and we are to help each other with our troubles. But “load” implies, as www.BlueLetterBible.org indicates, “The obligations Christ lays upon His followers, and styles a ‘burden’ by way of the contrast to the precepts of the Pharisees, the observance of which was most oppressive.” There is also an implication with this word of “faults of the conscience which oppress the soul.” It is in carrying one’s own load that we must not take pride in, for God is our “instructor” and our success in this endeavor comes by His grace and for His glory. So we help with others’ troubles, even in gentle restoration from sin, but we follow our own obligations to the Lord, remembering that everyone has a unique role to fill in the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.
2) V6-10 – 6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. 7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature [or flesh] will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
V6 marks a transition to the second practical way in which Christians keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We considered personal relationships, and move now to financial generosity. We “who receive instruction in the word must share all good things with” our teachers (Luke 10:7; 1 Corinthians 9:14). And we mustn’t mock God in this regard, for we reap what we sow. If we prioritize the physical, secular, temporal, and present over the spiritual, eternal, and future, then we effectively mock God and reap destruction. Thus the command from Jesus: “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Vincent Cheung notes, “Of course, the principle could – and surely does – refer to our moral habits, as to whether we would walk in the Spirit rather than indulge the desires of the flesh (5:16-26). But here the immediate context concerns whether the Christians extend financial support to those who give them ‘instruction in the word.’ Paul indicates that to withhold such financial support is to mock God. To neglect or abuse his ministers is to hold in contempt the one who has sent them.”
In v10, the emphasis is on the church caring for its ministers, which in turn oftentimes reaps physical and spiritual benefits for believers, with the harvest being spread even to all peoples (1 Thessalonians 3:12). These physical blessings include, as we are encouraged rightly from God’s Word, helping and being helped by fellow believers with the burdens, or troubles, that each of us bears in season. And the spiritual blessings, also as we are taught from God’s Word, include eternal life through sound doctrine and the preaching of the gospel. Failing to care for ministers ultimately shows that we sow to please the flesh and will reap destruction as sound doctrine goes in one ear and out the other. Fellow believers won’t benefit from that, and neither will the world be influenced for Christ, thanks to our hypocrisy.
3) V11-18 – 11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! 12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which [or whom] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. 17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Paul often wrote his own conclusions (1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:17). Here he wrote with large letters – literally, all capitals – and this may show that he struggled with his eyesight (see also Galatians 4:15; scales from Acts 9), but more than likely, Paul wants to show that he is taking what is written very seriously and with great urgency. Regarding v12-15 (see Galatians 2:3; 4:17), non-Christian Jews were likely persecuting the Judaizers for failing to uphold traditional Jewish beliefs even as they acknowledged Christ as Messiah. Thus they felt pressure to uphold traditional Judaism, especially circumcision, even while embracing Christ.
Kim Riddlebarger says, “Paul once again deals with these hypocritical false teachers who were trying to make a good impression outwardly – v12 – but who themselves do not obey the very same law they tell their own converts that they must obey – v13. Warns Paul, they are trying to compel you to be circumcised – deceiving you into taking back upon yourselves the yoke of the law – when the Judaizers not only don’t keep the Law themselves, but that their motivation in deceiving you has to do with escaping persecution because of the stigma attached to the cross. …To remove the offense was to destroy the gospel.”
Once again, just as it was declared by Paul’s amanuensis in Galatians 5:6, Paul declares that his battle is not over circumcision but over the motive for it. “What counts is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:1), Paul says in v15. The Judaizers want to boast in the flesh of their converts; Paul wants to boast in the cross of Christ. Riddlebarger says, “Thus, unlike the Judaizers who were ashamed of the cross, and who denied its saving efficacy, Paul makes clear that it is his desire to boast only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though it is very easy to overlook this point, this is really an amazing assertion. Why would Paul boast about something that many of those Jews and Greeks living in Galatia would have regarded as utterly offensive and outside the bounds of polite conversation? Add to this, the fact of the apostle’s own life-experience and his very impressive background, Paul certainly could have found something to boast about other than a cruel instrument of torture had he so desired. If there was anyone who had reason for boasting about himself, or his own accomplishments it was the apostle Paul. While the Judaizers were boasting about the number of converts that they had made in Galatia, and claiming that their gospel is the antidote to Paul’s supposed antinomianism, Paul’s response is to boast about an instrument of shame.”
Riddlebarger goes on to say, “While the cross may be foolishness to the Greek, and a stumbling block to the Jew, Paul says that the cross ‘is the power of God for those whoare being saved’ (1 Corinthians 1:17-18). Here in Galatians, Paul has already said that ‘Jesus loved us and gave himself for us,’ becoming a curse for us, and in doing so, bore the guilt of our sins in his own body. In doing this, the cross of Christ both reconciles God to us, and us to God. As Paul will later state in Romans 5:10, ‘when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to Him through the death of His son.’ The cross is, therefore, the only means by which God seeks to reconcile sinners unto himself. But this also means that cross will always remain an offence to all those who seek to stand before God and boast about their accomplishments and righteousness, and conformity to external ritual such as circumcision. …The cross turns aside God’s anger towards his people. In Romans 3:25, Paul declares that ‘God, presented Him [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement,’ or better, as a ‘propitiation,’ or a ‘turning aside of God’s anger,’ in regard to our sins. …Christ’s death is also said to be a subsistutionary payment for our sins. For Paul, Christ has ‘died for our sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:3), was ‘delivered over to death for our sins’ (Romans 4:25) and ‘died for us’ (Romans 5:8). Here, then, is the heart of Christ’s work on the cross. …Therefore, Paul desires to boast only in the Cross of Christ, because to boast in anything else, is to imply that men and women can be restored to a right relationship to God by some other means than through the sacrificial death and perfect righteousness of Christ. …Paul also chooses to boast in the cross because the cross of our Lord Jesus is also the pattern for the Christian life, the pattern for those who walk in the Spirit, and who sow to the Spirit, not the flesh.”
Some commentators suggest that it’s as if Paul is saying, “If the world looks upon me as abhorred and excommunicated, I consider the world to be condemned and accursed.” That’s the attitude of shaking your feet as you leave a city that refuses to humble itself in repentance.
Paul ends his epistle to the Galatians with a benediction of peace and mercy. He wants peace and mercy to be for “all who follow this rule.” The rule is that “faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6), that “what counts is a new creation” (v15), is all that matters. And then he adds “even to the Israel of God.” Paul’s intent with this phrase was an additional rebuke of the Judaizers, who considered themselves to be just that. But Paul thinks otherwise, for “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children” (Romans 9:6-7). The Israel of God could be one of two groups. First, it could be the conglomeration of Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ who by grace through faith have the Holy Spirit and make up the singular body of Christ known as the Church; and this is the view I take. Vincent Cheung says, “Those who disregard circumcision or uncircumcision, but rather emphasize faith and a new creation are, of course, those who affirm justification by faith in Christ, or the Christians. In other words, the Church alone is the true Israel of God. The rest, whether Jew or non-Jew, are excluded and assigned to the outer darkness.” Second, those desiring for a distinction to remain between the Church and Israel – namely dispensationalists – suggest that it could mean the fullness of the Jews – the elect of God for whom Paul was so deeply concerned, especially as seen in Romans 9:1-5; 11:12,26,31.
Kim Riddlebarger adds, “For Paul, the true ‘Israel of God,’ refers to those very people who participate in the new creation, namely those who walk in the Spirit, and for whom Christ has died to remove the curse. Thus, it is clear from a statement such as this, that all those who trust in Jesus Christ – whether they be Jew or Gentile – are indeed part of the new creation, which is the true ‘Israel of God.’ This, of course, is a final shot at the Judaizers, who are now regarded as apostates who have fallen from grace, for the true Israel of God is comprised of those who have been crucified with Christ and indwelt by the Spirit of God. And while he is at it, Paul puts them on notice in v17 – ‘let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.’ For the man who is scarred from being nearly stoned to death for preaching the gospel, has seen the strong hand of God deliver him many times before. Paul is afraid of no man, because he fears God!”
Referring to “the marks of Jesus” is most certainly a direct and final attack on the Judaizers, who cherish certain bodily marks – namely circumcision – seemingly proving their union with Christ. On the contrary, the marks Paul bore, as a result of enduring persecution for the sake of Christ, were the genuine proof not only of his union with Christ but also to his slavery to Christ for the sake of the gospel (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1), especially given the fact that the Greek word might better be translated as “brand,” such as in the slave trade or cattle business. Finally, in v18, Paul desires that the grace of Jesus befall the spirits of the Galatians, for that is truly what they need to triumph in their battle with legalism. Calvin concludes, “His prayer is not only that God may bestow upon them His grace in large measure, but that they may have a proper feeling of it in their hearts. Then only is it truly enjoyed by us, when it comes to our spirit. We ought therefore to entreat that God would prepare in our souls a habitation for His grace. Amen.”
Footnotes
- 6:8 Or his flesh, from the flesh
- 6:14 Or whom
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.