TEXT [Commentary]

  D.   Paul’s Pastoral Concern for the Galatians (4:8-20)

8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters,[*] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

17 Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

NOTES

4:8 so-called gods that do not even exist. The expression phusei mē ousin [TG5449/3361, ZG5882G/3590] (are not by nature) may be related to Gr. philosophical concepts of reality. Paul denied that the gods fit the category of reality.

4:9 now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you). The Gnostics made knowledge (gnōsis) the basis for their theories of salvation (see Borchert 1974:79-93; 1996:76-80).

4:10 trying to earn favor with God. This statement is not based in the Gr. text, but the NLT supplies the full import of Paul’s sparse statement here. The issue was not simply that certain days were observed but that the Galatians continued to seek God’s favor by these works.

4:12 Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do . . . for I have become like you. The NLT rendering fills in the very brief Pauline shorthand that involves a plea for the Gentiles to remain in their law-free state. “Dear brothers and sisters” is a generic rendering of the Greek adelphoi [TG80, ZG81] (brothers) because the emphasis is on Paul’s pastoral concern for the entire community.

Longenecker thinks that this verse begins a major section that goes through 6:10. He titles it very generally as a “Request Section,” or a section of exhortations (Longenecker 1990:184-186).

4:13 sick. Lit., “through the infirmity of the flesh” or “in the weakness of the flesh.” The context, involving Paul’s recollection of his earlier time with the Galatians, seems to favor the NLT rendering here.

4:16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Most scholars, concurring with the KJV, RSV, and NIV, have viewed this sentence as a rhetorical question. I was formerly of that opinion, but having participated in the work of the NLT, I am now convinced that hoste [TG5620, ZG6063] (so, so that) does not introduce a question here (cf. Burton 1921:244-245; Longenecker 1990:193). Rather, it is a firm castigation of the Galatians: “So! I have become your enemy because I tell the truth!”

4:18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right. The Gr. is in the form of a maxim (Burton 1921:247) and should read something like, “to be zealous in good is always good.”

4:19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again . . . until Christ is fully developed in your lives. Some mss (א2 A C D1 0278 33 M) read teknia [TG5040, ZG5448] (little children) here rather than tekna [TG5043, ZG5451] (children), as in NA27 and UBS4 (following א* B D* F G 1739). The change to teknia probably shows the influence of John’s phraseology (cf. 13:33; 1 John 2:1, 12, 28, but nowhere else in Paul). The sense, however, is not much different, and so the NLT reads, “my dear children.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

Throughout this section, Paul’s pastoral heart is evident, whether in commending the Galatians for the initial kindness they showed him when they received him during a time of illness, or in scolding them for turning away and following after the deceptive teachers who wooed them. That they accepted such teachings and turned again to slavish ways was very troubling to Paul, and he was genuinely pained by the actions of those who once honored him and his ministry. In the midst of his stern critique of the Galatians’ departure from the truth, Paul continued to show his pastoral heart (see esp. 4:11-12). At the same time, whenever Paul spoke of something being “in vain” (using the term eikē [TG1500, ZG1632] in 3:4, 4:11, or kenos [TG2756, ZG3031] in 2:2), readers should understand that he was absolutely serious, because he was dealing with crucial matters of Christian life and thought (cf. Rom 13:4; 1 Cor 15:2, 10, 14, 58; 2 Cor 6:11; Phil 2:16; 1 Thess 3:5).

Paul began his critique of the Galatians’ problem by reminding them that they had been enslaved to paganism—worshiping nonexistent gods or idols like those described in Romans 1:19-23. Although Paul did not recognize idols as real deities, he realized that their worshipers became enslaved in the process of worshiping them. Paul asked the Galatians how they could now turn away from the living God—and not for the hope of freedom, but to be enslaved again! The Greek present tense of epistrephete [TG1994, ZG2188] (turn to, turn back) in such a religious context implies that they were presently “apostatizing” from God (4:9). They were turning away from God by going back to the stoicheia [TG4747, ZG5122] (powers, principles) mentioned in 4:3. For Paul, these elements included all facets of the pre-Christian way of life—from reliance on the law (cf. Col 2:20-23) to pagan trust in idols. Paul regarded these elements as completely powerless and deficient. Jews would hardly have placed the law in the same category as idols, but Paul made it quite clear in Romans 1–3 that the way of the Jews was just as ineffectual in gaining acceptance with God as pagan efforts.

Paul confronted them directly with their practice of observing the calendar (4:10), which undoubtedly was modeled in some way on scrupulous Jewish observances (cf. Betz 1979:217; cf. also George 1994:317-318 for similar church patterns). Paul no longer followed the Jewish rules for which he was once a fervent advocate (cf. 1:14). Instead, he found a new liberty that enabled him to identify with the Gentiles he had formerly despised. Paul was distressed that his labor for the Galatians might have been in vain, so he begged them to become as he was—free from the law and free in Christ. He felt no threat from their legalistic position, but he was concerned for their condition. They were on the verge of reversing all that he had done when he was first among them.

Reminiscing about the time that he labored among them, he recalled how well they had received him, even in his weak physical condition, which was probably due to illness. Bruce (1982:208-209) posits three possibilities concerning this illness: (1) malaria, contracted in the marshy areas of Pamphylia; (2) epilepsy, against which spitting (exeptusate [TG1609, ZG1746]; 4:14) was used to prevent spreading the effects of the evil eye; or (3) some vision-related problem. The reference to the Galatians’ former willingness to pluck out their eyes (4:15) has prompted certain scholars to think that Paul’s problem was near blindness. This theory is usually supported with reference to his writing with large letters (cf. 6:11), but the idea remains speculation. Paul’s statement in 4:15 is actually a testimony of the Galatians’ former kindness to Paul. Willingness to give one’s eyes for another was regarded as the height of a self-giving spirit (apart from sacrificial death) since sight was so highly prized and blindness was regarded as a living death. A classic example of this is found in Samson’s story. The worst possible fate the Philistines could envision for Samson was to make him a blind slave (Judg 16:21).

Whatever Paul’s illness was, he had pondered the possibility of being rejected (exouthenēsate [TG1848, ZG2024]) and spat upon (exeptusate; see 4:14). Sick people were often rejected in the ancient world (see, for example, some of the stories of Jesus in Luke 16:19-23; John 5:2-7; 9:1-2). It would have been tempting for the Galatians to simply reject Paul because of his appearance or physical condition, but they had given Paul hospitality, the memory of which he described in glowing terms. He likened it to the reception worthy of an angel or even of Christ. But the blessed joy of that earlier period had passed (4:16). Paul could not help but wonder why they had exchanged their former enthusiastic acceptance of him and of freedom in the gospel for the slavery of legalism. Consequently, he exhibited some “tough love” in an effort to unshackle them again.

Paul’s criticism of the Galatians provides a twofold model for how constructive criticism can operate within the Christian community. On the one hand, Paul was extremely honest with the Galatian converts. He reminded them of their former way of life—that they once were pagans who did not know the living God but had since been touched with divine, transforming power. Paul insisted that their return to worship practices focused on human effort was useless and, in fact, a rejection of his ministry of grace to them. Accordingly, he charged them with changing their loyalties and abandoning their former high regard for him and for the gospel.

On the other hand, we see that—in spite of his obvious frustration with the straying Galatians—Paul’s harshest criticisms were reserved for the undermining work of his insidious opponents. Galatians 4:16-17 forms a transition from Paul’s pastoral concern for the Galatians to his castigation of the methods and purposes of the false teachers who distorted the truth and led the Galatians into error. Paul denied credence to the false teachers by refusing to mention them by name, but his readers certainly knew to whom he was referring. Paul condemned the false teachers’ zeal in currying the Galatians’ favor; they were deceptive and did not act in the interests of the Galatian church. The scheming false teachers established tight fellowship boundaries around the Galatians so that they could shut out the people that they wanted to exclude. Whether it was Paul or other Gentiles is not actually stated in the Greek, but the NLT rendering implies that the boundaries were set against Paul.

Having made his critique, Paul once again revealed the gentle side of his pastoral heart. He reminded the Galatians that they were his babies and that he longed for them to mature. While some may find it strange that Paul used feminine imagery to portray his concern for the Galatians, this pattern was not a problem for Paul. He elsewhere referred to himself as a gentle, nursing mother (1 Thess 2:7) and, in the same context, as a caring father (1 Thess 2:11). Paul’s pastoral heart ached for the Galatians to become Christ-formed people—that is, people transformed into the image of Christ (cf. Rom 8:29).

Paul’s attitude towards the Galatians pulsates with patient kindness, the goal of which was restoration rather than long-term condemnation. He concludes his pastoral words at 4:20 with an emotionally charged desire to be present so that they could really sense the change in his tone and recognize that his concern for them was genuine. That Paul was frustrated by the situation is very evident; accordingly, he continues his attempts at bringing understanding to his deviating children in the next section. His pattern of dealing with problems in the community by means of both a stern critique and gentle grace should be emulated in the church today.