The Cross-Shaped World Text: Galatians 6:11-16
Introduction: Two Religions, Two Boasts
We come now to the end of Paul's fiery letter to the Galatians. He has spent six chapters in a bare-knuckle theological brawl for the soul of the church. And like a skilled lawyer making his closing argument, he grabs the pen from his scribe to write the summation himself, in large, emphatic letters. He wants there to be no mistake. The issue at stake is not a minor point of religious etiquette; it is the very heart of the gospel. It is the difference between two fundamentally opposed religions: the religion of the flesh and the religion of the Spirit; the religion of human achievement and the religion of divine rescue; the religion of boasting in what we do for God and the religion of boasting in what God has done for us.
The Judaizers who had infiltrated the Galatian churches were peddling a gospel-plus. They were saying, "Yes, Jesus is wonderful, but to be truly right with God, you need Jesus plus circumcision. You need grace plus your own effort." They were resume-builders, merit-mongers. Their goal was to make a "good showing in the flesh," to build a reputation, to collect religious merit badges. But Paul sees this for what it is: a complete abandonment of the gospel. It is an attempt to tame the wild scandal of the cross and make it respectable in the eyes of the world.
In these final verses, Paul draws the battle lines with unmistakable clarity. He contrasts the motives, the message, and the master passion of the false teachers with his own. They boast in the flesh, in the mutilation of the body. Paul boasts in the cross, in the execution of his Lord. They are driven by fear of persecution. Paul is driven by the reality of a new creation. They are focused on external rituals. Paul is focused on an internal transformation. This is not a polite disagreement. This is war. And every Christian, in every generation, must choose which side they are on.
The Text
See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand! As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are trying to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk in step with this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
(Galatians 6:11-16 LSB)
The Trademark and the Motive (v. 11-12)
Paul begins his personal sign-off with a visual emphasis.
"See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand!" (Galatians 6:11)
Paul takes the pen himself. This is his apostolic signature, his mark of authenticity. The large letters are not because of poor eyesight, as some have speculated, but for emphasis. He is shouting on the page. He is underlining every word in this final, critical warning. It is as if he is grabbing each of the Galatians by the lapels and saying, "Listen to me! This is what it all comes down to."
And what is the crucial point? He immediately exposes the rotten motives of the Judaizers.
"As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are trying to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ." (Galatians 6:12)
Here is the diagnosis. Their entire ministry is driven by two things: presentation and persecution-avoidance. First, they want to "make a good showing in the flesh." The flesh is the realm of human ability, pedigree, and ritual. They want an impressive spiritual resume. They want to look good to the religious establishment back in Jerusalem. Circumcision was a visible, tangible sign of their "success." They were religious head-hunters, and the foreskins of the Galatians were their trophies.
But the deeper motive is cowardice. They do it "simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ." The cross, in its raw, unvarnished proclamation, is an offense. It is a scandal. Why? Because it declares total human bankruptcy. It tells the religious man that his righteousness is filthy rags. It tells the powerful man that his strength is weakness. It tells the moral man that his good deeds cannot save him. The cross declares that we are so sinful that nothing less than the death of the Son of God could atone for us. This message is profoundly insulting to human pride. The Judaizers wanted to de-fang the cross. By adding circumcision, they were signaling to the Jewish authorities, "See? We're not so radical. We still respect the old ways. We're keeping the traditions." It was a cowardly compromise designed to make Christianity palatable and to avoid the social, political, and physical cost of following a crucified Messiah.
The Hypocrisy of Legalism (v. 13)
Paul then exposes their hypocrisy with a brilliant thrust of logic.
"For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh." (Galatians 6:13)
This is the fatal flaw of all legalistic systems. The legalist is never actually concerned with keeping the whole law. That is impossible, as Paul has already argued. The legalist cherry-picks the laws he can appear to keep, the external ones, while ignoring the deeper demands of the heart. These men were not zealous for the glory of God or the holiness of His law. They were zealous for their own glory. Their goal was not righteousness, but reputation.
They wanted the Galatians circumcised "so that they may boast in your flesh." This is the essence of a works-based religion. It is about control and vicarious achievement. They could parade the Galatian converts before the Jerusalem council and say, "Look what we did. Look how many Gentiles we brought under the authority of the Law." The Galatians' bodies were to become billboards for the Judaizers' ministry success. It was not about the Galatians' salvation; it was about the Judaizers' validation.
The One True Boast (v. 14)
After demolishing the boast of the legalists, Paul erects his own in stark contrast.
"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14)
This is one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture. Paul's "may it never be" is the strongest possible rejection of the fleshly boast. His one and only boast is the cross. Think about the radical nature of this. The cross was an instrument of shameful, agonizing execution, reserved by the Romans for the lowest criminals. To boast in the cross was like boasting in the electric chair. It was to glory in shame, to find honor in degradation, to locate one's ultimate worth in an act of bloody execution.
Why? Because on that cross, the great exchange took place. God treated Jesus as if He had lived our sinful life, so that He might treat us as if we had lived Jesus's perfect life. The cross is the ultimate symbol of our helplessness and God's all-sufficient grace. To boast in the cross is to boast in the fact that you brought nothing to your salvation but the sin that made it necessary. It is the end of all self-congratulation.
And this cross has a world-altering effect: "through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." The "world" here is the kosmos, the entire system of human existence in rebellion against God, with its values, its ambitions, its threats, and its allurements. The cross creates a mutual death. When Paul looks at the world, he sees a corpse. Its threats are empty, its praises are hollow, its temptations have lost their power. And when the world looks at Paul, it sees a dead man. He doesn't play by its rules anymore. He is animated by a different life. This double crucifixion is the secret to true Christian freedom. You are no longer a slave to the fear of man or the praise of man because you are dead to that whole system.
The Only Thing That Counts (v. 15-16)
Paul now states the positive principle that governs the new life in Christ.
"For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." (Galatians 6:15)
This is the bottom line. In the old world, the world of the flesh, the fundamental distinction was between Jew and Gentile, marked by circumcision. Paul says this distinction is now obsolete. It is nothing. It has been superseded by a far more radical reality. The only thing that matters now is whether you are a "new creation."
God is not in the business of renovating the old Adam. He is not interested in helping you turn over a new leaf. He is in the business of resurrection. He makes us entirely new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The old categories, the old identities, the old sources of pride are all wiped away. The question is no longer, "Are you circumcised?" The question is, "Have you been born again?"
Paul concludes with a blessing on all who embrace this new reality.
"And those who will walk in step with this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God." (Galatians 6:16)
The "rule" or kanon is the principle he just stated: salvation is by grace through faith, resulting in a new creation. This is the measuring rod of authentic Christianity. For all who "walk in step" with this truth, who order their lives according to this gospel, Paul pronounces a blessing of "peace and mercy."
And then he adds a crucial, clarifying phrase: "and upon the Israel of God." Who is this Israel? It is not the unbelieving, ethnic nation of Israel who were persecuting the church. The conjunction "and" here is best understood as explanatory, meaning "that is" or "even." The peace and mercy are for those who walk by the rule of the new creation, that is, upon the true Israel of God. The Israel of God is the church, the community of the new creation, composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have been united in Christ by faith. True Israel is not defined by fleshly descent from Abraham, but by spiritual descent through the faith of Abraham. This is Paul's final, decisive blow to the Judaizers. The church has not replaced Israel; the church is the fulfillment of Israel, the true seed of Abraham, the people of the new covenant.