by John Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)
November 16, 2013
The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians
Tom Lowe
Chapter III.C.1.b: Because of their Loss of Joy (4:12-20)
Galatians 4.12-20 (KJV)
12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
Commentary
12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
Although he was a man of strong convictions and many conflicts, Paul had a genius for developing deep and lasting friendships. Between him and his spiritual children there was always shared feelings and reactions in times of suffering and victory (2 Cor. 1.3-11).
“Be as I am” is better translated become as I am. In Galatians 2.19-20 , Paul told them the kind of man he is, and now he asks them to be like that. He has a right to expect this because he too has relinquished all his special privileges as a member of God’s chosen people, and has put himself on the same level as the Gentiles in respect to the grace of God (Gal. 2.15, 16 ). Through faith in Christ he and they had taken their place on common ground which required them to give up all reliance upon the Law as a way of salvation. The Galatians had been listening to false teachers, and they were looking upon Paul as an enemy because he told them the truth. Paul is saying, “We are all on the same plane. We are all believers, and we are all in the body of Christ. In view of this we ought to be very polite to one another.” He challenged the Galatians, “Become like me, for I became like you,” that is, “Become free of the Law as I am, for after my conversion I became like the Gentiles, no longer living under the Law.” Paul had been a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, trusting in his own righteousness to save him (Phil. 3.4-6 ). But when he came to Christ, he abandoned all efforts to save himself, trusting wholly in God’s grace (Phil. 3.7-9 ). He urged the Galatians to follow his example and avoid the legalism of the Judaizers. The irony is that the Galatians were putting themselves under the Law after their conversions.
Paul was a wonderful spiritual father; he knew how to balance rebuke with love. The apostle desires that they would be of one mind with him with respect to
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