Commentary - Galatians 4:12-20

Bird's-eye view

Having laid down the heavy artillery of theological argument, demonstrating that the Galatians' flirtation with the Judaizers is nothing less than a return to slavery, the Apostle Paul now shifts his tone. The argument becomes intensely personal, warm, and affectionate. This is not a detached theological treatise for Paul; the souls of these people are at stake, and he loves them dearly. He reminds them of the deep and beautiful relationship they once shared. When he first came to them, he was physically afflicted, a trial to them, yet they received him as though he were an angel, or even Christ Himself. Their love was so profound they would have given him their own eyes. But now, something has gone terribly wrong. The Judaizers, with their false zeal, have bewitched them and alienated them from their spiritual father. Paul's tone is a mixture of tender pleading, sharp questioning, and the deep anguish of a mother in childbirth, travailing all over again until Christ is truly and securely formed in them. This passage is a master class in pastoral ministry, showing that sound doctrine must be delivered with heartfelt, sacrificial love.

The central issue here is the collision between two kinds of spiritual influence. On the one hand, you have Paul's ministry, which is open, truthful, and born of genuine love, even when it requires speaking hard truths. On the other hand, you have the ministry of the Judaizers, which is flattering, manipulative, and seeks to isolate the Galatians in order to make them dependent. Paul's goal is to see Christ formed in them, making them mature and free. The Judaizers' goal is to get the Galatians to zealously seek them, making them enslaved and dependent. The contrast is a permanent warning to the church to be discerning about the nature of the zeal they see in their leaders and in themselves.

Outline

Context In Galatians

This section marks a significant rhetorical shift in the letter. Chapters 1 and 2 were largely autobiographical, establishing Paul's apostolic authority. Chapter 3 and the first part of Chapter 4 are a dense, doctrinal argument from Scripture, proving that justification is by faith alone, apart from works of the law. Paul has just concluded his argument that to go back to the law is to return to the status of a slave under guardians, when we have been adopted as sons and heirs (Gal 4:1-11). Having established the theological bankruptcy of the Judaizers' position, he now turns to the relational and emotional bankruptcy their teaching is causing. He is not just refuting an error; he is trying to win back his children. This intensely personal appeal sets the stage for the allegorical argument about Sarah and Hagar that follows (Gal 4:21-31), and for the ethical exhortations of chapters 5 and 6. The doctrine is the skeleton, but this passage provides the warm, beating heart of the epistle.

Key Issues

A Truth-Telling Love

Pastoral ministry is not simply the dissemination of correct information. It is the application of God's truth to the lives of real people, people with whom the pastor has a real relationship. When things go sideways, as they had in Galatia, the temptation is to respond in one of two wrong ways. One is to become cold and clinical, simply blasting away with doctrinal arguments without any sense of personal connection or pain. The other is to become sentimental and compromising, valuing the relationship above the truth. Paul shows us the true path. He does not back down one inch from the hard truth he has been preaching. The gospel is non-negotiable. But he delivers this unyielding truth with a pleading, broken heart. He reminds them of their shared history, their former love, his own suffering for them. He is not an enemy lobbing theological grenades from a distance; he is a father, a mother, weeping over his children who are running toward a cliff. This is the pattern for all faithful ministry. We must love the truth enough to speak it plainly, and we must love the people enough to be heartbroken when they turn away from it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

12 I beg of you, brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong.

The appeal begins with tender urgency. "I beg of you, brothers." He is their brother, not a distant authority figure. His plea is to "become as I am." What does he mean? He means to be free from the law, living in the liberty of the gospel, just as he is. And the basis for this appeal is that "I also have become as you are." Paul, a Jew, a former Pharisee, had laid aside all his Jewish distinctives and privileges to become like them, a Gentile, in order to win them to Christ (1 Cor 9:21). He met them where they were, identifying with them completely. He is asking them to return the favor and stand with him in the gospel, rather than siding with the Judaizers who want to build a wall between Jew and Gentile. The final phrase, "You have done me no wrong," is a beautiful touch of pastoral grace. Though they are in the process of grievously wounding him, he sets that aside. He is not arguing out of personal pique or a sense of being wronged. He wants to clear the air so they can hear his real concern, which is for their souls, not his own reputation.

13-14 But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I proclaimed the gospel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.

He takes them back to the beginning of their relationship. His first visit was not part of some grand strategic plan, but was occasioned by an illness. We don't know what this "bodily illness" was, but many have speculated it was a recurring problem with his eyes, given verse 15. Whatever it was, it was a "trial" to them. It was repulsive, something that could have easily provoked contempt or disgust. In the ancient world, a physical ailment was often seen as a sign of divine disfavor. It would have been easy for them to dismiss this sick, unimpressive man. But they did not. In a remarkable display of spiritual discernment, they looked past the unappealing flesh and saw the messenger of God. Their reception was extravagant: they received him as an angel, as a messenger direct from heaven, and even more, as if he were the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They honored the message by honoring the messenger, despite his weakness.

15 Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

Paul now asks the devastating question. "Where has it all gone?" That blessedness, that joy, that deep sense of God's favor that characterized their early days in the faith, has vanished. What happened to it? He backs up his point by testifying to the astonishing depth of their former love. "If possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me." This is likely more than just a figure of speech for extreme devotion. It is very possible that Paul's ailment, his "thorn in the flesh," was a debilitating eye disease. Their love was so great that they would have willingly taken their own healthy eyes and transplanted them into his head if such a thing were possible. This is the height of sacrificial love. And the contrast with their present coldness and suspicion is heartbreaking.

16 So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Here is the crux of the matter. The relationship has changed. They once saw him as an angel of God, and now they are treating him like an enemy. Why? What has he done to cause this? Nothing, except to tell them the truth. The Judaizers have come in with a flattering message, a message that appeals to their pride and their desire for religious performance. Paul has come in with the hard, unyielding truth of the gospel of grace, which humbles man and gives all glory to God. By telling them the truth about their sin and their drift from the gospel, he has become, in their eyes, an adversary. This is a classic pastoral dilemma. The man who tells you what you want to hear will often be loved as a friend, while the man who tells you what you need to hear will often be hated as an enemy.

17 They zealously seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will zealously seek them.

Paul now exposes the motives of the Judaizers. They are full of zeal, but it is a corrupt zeal. "They zealously seek you" means they are courting you, flattering you, paying you a great deal of attention. But their motive is not good ("not commendably"). Their goal is to "shut you out", to exclude you from the true fellowship of the gospel of grace and from your relationship with Paul, your spiritual father. They want to isolate the Galatians. Why? So that the Galatians will then "zealously seek them." It is a manipulative power play. They want to create a co-dependent relationship where they are the indispensable gurus. Their goal is to make disciples for themselves, not for Christ.

18 But it is good always to be zealously sought in a commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you.

Paul is not against zeal or being the object of affection. He affirms that it is a good thing to be courted in an honorable way. He himself had courted them for Christ. The difference lies in the motive and the goal. Good zeal seeks the good of the other person; bad zeal seeks to control them. Then he adds a gentle rebuke: "and not only when I am present with you." Their initial zeal for the gospel was wonderful, but it seems to have been dependent on his physical presence. As soon as he was gone and the false teachers arrived, their zeal wavered and was transferred to these new teachers. True faith and affection must be robust enough to stand firm whether the apostle is there to supervise or not.

19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you,

The apostle's anguish pours out in this verse. He calls them "My children," emphasizing his fatherly love. But then he switches metaphors to one of the most intense forms of human suffering: childbirth. He says he is "again in labor." He went through the labor of evangelism to bring them to birth in Christ the first time. But now, because of their regression, he must go through it all over again. The pain is immense. And what is the goal of this agonizing labor? It is "until Christ is formed in you." This is one of the most profound descriptions of Christian maturity in all of Scripture. It is not about them conforming to a set of rules or rituals. It is about the very character and likeness of Jesus Christ being fully formed within their hearts and lives. The Judaizers wanted to stamp an external pattern of Jewishness on them. Paul is in agony to see the life of Christ formed in them.

20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.

Paul concludes this section with a confession of his own pastoral frustration. Writing a letter is a blunt instrument. He has to be sharp and direct. But he wishes he could be there in person, to see their faces, to read their reactions, and to "change his tone" as the situation required. He could be firm when needed, but also gentle and encouraging. His harshness is born of necessity, not preference. And the reason for all this is that he is simply "perplexed" about them. He cannot understand how they, who had started so well and experienced so much of God's grace, could be so easily led astray. It is the cry of a pastor who loves his people but is baffled by their foolishness. It is a cry that many a faithful pastor has echoed since.

Application

This passage forces us to examine the nature of our own Christian relationships, particularly with our pastors and teachers. Do we love those who tell us the truth, even when it stings? Or do we gravitate toward those who flatter us and tell us what our itching ears want to hear? It is a dangerous thing when a church makes an enemy of a pastor for no other reason than that he was faithful to the Word of God. We must learn to distinguish between the manipulative zeal of the Judaizers and the travailing love of an apostle.

Furthermore, we must all ask what the goal of our Christian life is. Is it to be conformed to an external pattern of behavior, a religious checklist that allows us to feel righteous? That is the religion of the Judaizers, and it is slavery. Or is our goal to have Christ Himself formed in us? This is a much deeper, more organic, and more painful process. It involves labor, suffering, and the stripping away of our self-righteousness. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, and it is often accomplished through the faithful, truth-telling love of a pastor who is willing to go into labor for his people. Let us pray for such pastors, and let us have the grace to receive their ministry, not as from an enemy, but as from an angel of God.