The author’s name is “Paul,” and he claims to be “an apostle” of Christ (Gl 1:1). The autobiographical information in the letter is consistent with what is known about the apostle Paul from Acts and his other letters. Theologically, everything in Galatians agrees with Paul’s views elsewhere, notably in Romans.
It is not certain where the Galatian churches were located or when Paul wrote Galatians. The reason is that, during the NT era, the term Galatians was used both ethnically and politically. If “Galatians” is understood ethnically, the founding of the Galatian churches is only implied in the NT. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he “went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia” (Ac 16:6) in north central Asia Minor.
Understood politically, “Galatians” can refer to those living in the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia. That region included the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, where Paul worked to plant churches, as recorded in Acts 13:14–14:23.
The view that Galatians was written to the area where the ethnic Galatians lived is called the “North Galatian” theory. The possible dates of writing related to this understanding range from AD 52 or 53, if shortly after the second missionary journey, to AD 56, if written about the same time as Romans, to which it is similar theologically.
The view that Galatians was sent to churches in the southern portion of the Roman province of Galatia is known as the “South Galatian” theory. Some holding this view date Galatians in the early 50s, but others as early as AD 48 or 49, before the Jerusalem Council, which is usually dated to about AD 49.
The key problem addressed in Galatians is that “the works of the law” of Moses (2:16-17; 3:2; cp. 5:4), notably circumcision (5:2; 6:12-13), were added by some teachers to what was required in being justified before God. This is the same issue that Acts records as the reason why the Jerusalem Council met (Ac 15:1,5), supporting the idea that the existing problem in the Galatian churches was part of the reason for the Jerusalem Council.
If Galatians was written after the Jerusalem Council, it is inconceivable that Paul would not have cited the conclusions of the council, which supported his works-free view of the gospel. This strongly implies that the Jerusalem Council had not yet occurred when Paul wrote Galatians.
There is much about the life and movements of the apostle Paul that is only known—or filled in significantly—from Galatians 1:13–2:14 (and the personal glimpse in 4:13-14). Among these factors are Paul’s sojourn in “Arabia” (1:17) and descriptions of two trips to Jerusalem (1:18-19; 2:1-10). Paul described a confrontation with Peter (2:11-14) that is mentioned nowhere else in the NT.
In the middle third of Galatians, certain aspects of the gospel’s OT background are explained in unique ways. Notable are: (1) the curse related to Jesus being crucified, as cited from Deuteronomy 21:23 (Gl 3:13); (2) Jesus fulfilling the prophecy of the singular physical “seed” of Abraham (3:16; see Gn 22:18); (3) the roles of the law as prison (3:22-23) and guardian (3:24-25) until Christ; and (4) the extended allegory of the slave and free sons of Abraham (4:21-31).
Galatians tells us much about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Christian life. After the Spirit’s role in the ministry of adoption (4:5-6), believers are commanded to “walk by the Spirit” (5:16), be “led by the Spirit” (5:18) and “keep in step with the Spirit” (5:25), as well as “sow to the Spirit” and “reap” the related eternal harvest (6:8). The moment-by-moment outcome of that kind of sensitivity to the ministry of the Holy Spirit is what is meant by “the fruit of the Spirit” (5:22-23).
The book of Galatians follows the typical pattern for a first-century letter, with the exception of the element of thanksgiving: salutation (1:1-5), the main body (1:6–6:15), and a farewell (6:16-18). Contrasting concepts are prominent in the letter: divine revelation vs. human insight, grace vs. law, justification vs. condemnation, Jerusalem vs. Mount Sinai, sonship vs. slavery, the fruit of the Spirit vs. the works of the flesh, and liberty vs. bondage.
There cannot be a greater difference in the world between two things than there is between law and grace. And yet, strange to say, while the things are diametrically opposed and essentially different from each other, the human mind is so depraved and the intellect, even when blessed by the Spirit, has become so turned aside from right judgment, that one of the most difficult things in the world is to discriminate properly between law and grace. He who knows the difference—and always remembers the essential difference between law and grace—has grasped the essence of theology. He is not far from understanding the gospel theme in all its ramifications, its outlets and its branches, who can properly tell the difference between law and grace.
1Paul, an apostle — not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead — 2 and all the brothers who are with me:
To the churches of Galatia.
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord A Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! B 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!
10 For am I now trying to persuade people, C or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. D 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, E and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. A
1:3-4 “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age.” God’s great objective with regard to his people is to deliver them from this present evil age. We are living in this present evil age; and, as Paul called it by that name, we need not alter the phrase, for we cannot help knowing that it is still an evil age. And in it are God’s redeemed and chosen people, by nature part and parcel of that age, equally fallen, equally estranged from God, equally set on mischief, equally certain to go down into the pit of destruction if left to themselves. The objective of Christ is to carve out a people from this great brook of stone; it is his purpose to find his own people who were given to him before the earth was and to deliver them from the bondage and the slavery in which they are found in this Egypt, of which they seem to form a part, though to the eyes of Christ they are always as separate and distinct as the Israelites were when they dwelt in the land of Goshen.
1:15-16 “But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.” Paul’s conversion is generally considered so remarkable for its suddenness and distinctness, and truly it is. Yet, at the same time, it is no exception to the general rule of conversions but is rather a type, or model, or pattern of the way God shows patience to them who are led to believe in him. It appears from the text, however, that there is another part of Paul’s history which deserves our attention as much as the suddenness of his conversion, namely the fact that although he was suddenly converted, yet God had had thoughts of mercy toward him from his birth. God did not begin to work with him when he was on the road to Damascus. That was not the first occasion on which eyes of love had darted upon this chief of sinners, but Paul declares that God had separated him and set him apart, even from his mother’s womb, that he might by and by be called by grace, and have Jesus Christ revealed in him.
A 1:3 Other mss read God our Father and the Lord
B 1:8 Or you, let him be condemned, or you, let him be condemned to hell ; Gk anathema
2Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognized as important (what they B once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism C) — they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James, Cephas, D and John — those recognized as pillars — acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.
11 But when Cephas D came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. E 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas D in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews? ” F
15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, G even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ H and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will I be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter J of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, A I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
2:10 “They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.” Poverty is no virtue. Wealth is no sin. On the other hand, wealth is not morally good, and poverty is not morally evil. Virtue is a plant that depends not upon the atmosphere which surrounds it but upon the hand which waters it and upon the divine grace which sustains it. We draw no support for grace from our circumstances whether they are good or evil. Our circumstances may sometimes militate against the gracious work in our breast, but no position in life is a sustaining cause of the life of grace in the soul. But yet, mark you, God has been pleased, for the most part, to plant his grace in the soil of poverty. He has not chosen many great or many mighty men of this world, but he has chosen “the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him” (Jms 2:5).
2:20 “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul speaks of it as a knowable fact and one he himself knew—that Jesus Christ loved him and gave himself for him. He is not speaking, now, of the love of benevolence that the Lord Jesus Christ has toward all people, or even of that aspect of his work that bears on every creature under heaven. He is thinking of that special love, that grace which had come to him. That is the point around which our thoughts are to gather as we meditate on Paul’s words, “who loved me and gave himself for me.” The apostle knew Christ had loved him and had given himself for him. And we, also, may know it.
C 2:6 Or God is not a respecter of persons ; lit God does not receive the face of man
D 2:9,11,14 Other mss read Peter
F 2:14 Some translations continue the quotation through v. 16 or v. 21.
G 2:16 Or by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ
H 2:16 Or by the faithfulness of Christ
3You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, B before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed C as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? D 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? 4 Did you experience E so much for nothing — if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard — 6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness? F
QUOTE 3:2
We have received the Holy Spirit to help us in our sanctification, but we have obtained no sanctification apart from believing.
7 You know, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons. 8 Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations G will be blessed through you. H 9 Consequently those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith. I
QUOTE 3:7
The works of the law bring no nearness to God.
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed. A 11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. B 12 But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them. C 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. D 14 The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.
15 Brothers and sisters, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes additions to a validated human will. E 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, F who is Christ. 17 My point is this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God G and thus cancel the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise; but God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise.
19 Why then was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions H until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, I so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.
27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
3:2 “I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?” We have received the Holy Spirit to help us in our sanctification, but we have obtained no sanctification apart from believing. If we have reached after sanctification by our own efforts, made in unbelief, we have never succeeded. Unbelief works toward sin and never toward sanctification. Our good works are fruits of sanctification, not causes of it; and if we put the fruit where the root should be, we greatly err. If we have gone out to fight against a temptation in our own strength, have we ever returned a conqueror? It has been written of all other believers, “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb” (Rv 12:11), and this is true of us also. Sanctification does not come to us from self-reliance but as a work of the Spirit received by faith in Christ. Believing in him, he is “wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1Co 1:30).
3:7 “You know, then, that these who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons.” There is no communion with God except by faith, without which we cannot ever please God. The favorites of heaven are in every case people who believe in God. Faith has the golden key of the ivory palaces. Faith opens the secret chambers of communion to those who love her. The works of the law bring no nearness to God. When we are under a sense of backsliding, when we feel unworthy to be called God’s child, when we have erred and strayed from his ways like lost sheep, we must not rush like a madman to the law, for that would be to leap into the fire, but still say, “Lord, I believe in you. As a sinner I trust the sinner’s substitute.”
3:10 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.” The true gospel is no new thing; it is as old as the hills. It was heard in Eden, before man was driven from the garden; and it has since been repeated in sundry ways and in many places, even to this day. Oh, that its antiquity would lead men to venerate it and then to listen to its voice! The gospel blessing which was thus preached to Abraham and to his seed came to him by faith. He was justified by his faith. The blessing, which is the soul of Abraham’s gospel, must come to us in the same way as it did to him, namely by faith. And if we expect to find it in any other way, we will be grievously mistaken.
B 3:1 Other mss add not to obey the truth
D 3:2 Lit hearing with faith, also in v. 5
I 3:9 Or with believing Abraham
E 3:15 Or a human covenant that has been ratified
F 3:16 Gn 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 24:7
G 3:17 Other mss add in Christ
4Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements J of the world. 4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our K hearts, crying, “Abba, L Father! ” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.
8 But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things A that by nature are not gods. 9 But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.
12 I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become like me, for I also became like you. You have not wronged me; 13 you know B that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you. C On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.
15 Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth? 17 They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them. 18 But it is always good to be pursued D in a good manner — and not just when I am with you. 19 My children, I am again suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery — this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
Rejoice, childless woman,
unable to give birth.
Burst into song and shout,
you who are not in labor,
for the children of the desolate woman will be many,
more numerous than those
of the woman who has a husband. E
QUOTE 4:24
There cannot be a greater difference in the world between two things than there is between law and grace.
28 Now you too, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as then the child born as a result of the flesh persecuted the one born as a result of the Spirit, so also now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.” A 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave but of the free woman.
4:6 “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’” This wonderful blessing is ours “because [we] are sons,” and it is filled with marvelous results. Sonship sealed by the indwelling Spirit brings us peace and joy. It leads to nearness to God and fellowship with him. It excites trust, love, and vehement desire and creates in us reverence, obedience, and actual likeness to God—all this and much more because the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us. Oh, matchless mystery! Had it not been revealed, it never would have been imagined, and now that it is revealed, it never would have been believed if it had not become a matter of actual experience to those who are in Christ Jesus.
4:24 “These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants.” There cannot be a greater difference in the world between two things than there is between law and grace. And yet, strange to say, while the things are diametrically opposed and essentially different from each other, the human mind is so depraved and the intellect, even when blessed by the Spirit, has become so turned aside from right judgment, that one of the most difficult things in the world is to discriminate properly between law and grace. He who knows the difference—and always remembers the essential difference between law and grace—has grasped the essence of theology. He is not far from understanding the gospel theme in all its ramifications, its outlets and its branches, who can properly tell the difference between law and grace. They are as opposite as light and darkness and can no more agree than fire and water. Yet people will be perpetually striving to make a compound of them—often ignorantly and sometimes willfully. They seek to blend the two when God has positively kept them separate!
J 4:3 Or spirits, or principles
B 4:12-13 Or 12 Become like I am, because I — inasmuch as you are brothers and sisters — am not requesting anything of you. You wronged me. 13 You know
5For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Take note! I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to do the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth? B 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little leaven C leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!
13 For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity D for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. E 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
16 I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: F sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, G drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things — as I warned you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. H 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
QUOTE 5:22
Believers are not dependent on circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have but from what they are, not from where they are but from whose they are, not from what they enjoy but from what was suffered for them by their Lord.
5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.” All ways of justification by human works and outward forms are set aside by the apostle. In one sentence he closes up every road that is cast up by man and opens up the way of the Lord, even the way of salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Some hope to be saved by ritualism. On the other hand, many are relying on their freedom from all ceremonies and place their reliance upon a sort of antiritualism. The outward—whether decorated or unadorned, fixed or free—touches not the saving point. The only thing which can save us is faith in Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth as a propitiation for sin.
5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy.” Many children of God, even when driven away from the outward means of grace, have, nevertheless, enjoyed such visits of God, such rivers of divine love that they have wondered from where such joy could come. In the wilderness, waters leap forth as do streams in the desert. Believers are not dependent on circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have but from what they are, not from where they are but from whose they are, not from what they enjoy but from what was suffered for them by their Lord. It is a singular joy, then, because it often buds, blossoms, and ripens in wintertime when the fig tree does not blossom and there is no herd in the stall.
6Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, A watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load.
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher. 7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
11 Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting. 12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised — but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh. 14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. 15 For A both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation. 16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God! B
QUOTE 6:14
He seems to take all that he had, all that he did, and all that he was, and put it all away, and come forward with no other theme upon his lips and no greater love in his heart except this—Jesus crucified for the sons of men.
17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
6:2 “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” We should carry one another’s spiritual burdens by helping one another in our soul struggles. There should be real fellowship, and we should converse with one another. We who are joyous might often lend some of our sunbeams to those who are in the dark. And we ought to do so. It would be to our own profit as well as to the profit of others.
6:14 “But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.” Among scholars Paul might have taken an eminent position. Yet, though he must have felt a human delight in the talents which God had given him—and must have known that he possessed them—he still says concerning them, “I will never boast about anything.” He seems to take all that he had, all that he did, and all that he was, and put it all away, and come forward with no other theme upon his lips and no greater love in his heart except this—Jesus crucified for the sons of men. Jesus to be great among the nations. Jesus, the slaughtered Lamb, to be made for people their life from the dead, their salvation from going down into the pit.