The Two-Hundred-Thirty-Ninth (Galatians Part 12)

It’s our last week of studying Galatians!  I hope this study has been a blessing for you.  We’re going to finish with a look at the last chapter, focusing on the first half since the rest is essentially Paul’s final blessings and a quick recapitulation of his message.

There are some pretty interesting things in the first half of this chapter, and they start with the very first verse (Galatians 6:1).  Many translations present this statement by Paul as exhorting the reader to gently restore a person spiritually when they are caught in a sin.  While that is generally good advice, depending on the person being restored and the situation in general, it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of Paul’s thought in that verse as well as the follow on verses.

After telling the reader to restore a person gently, or in a spirit of gentleness, Paul warns that the person doing the restoring needs to be careful not to be tempted to sin.  It seems there are two possible reasons for him to say this, and they hinge on what sin Paul is suggesting this person would be tempted to commit.  If Paul was talking about the sin that the individual being restored is committing, then Paul is warning that the person restoring, even though they clearly knew the sin was wrong because otherwise they would feel no need to restore, could possibly fall into the same temptation.  However, if Paul was talking about the sin of boasting, which he goes on to talk about a couple verses later, it would make sense that despite identifying the sin a person committed and restoring someone from it, a person could fall into a different sin and he was warning against that one, boasting.

Now, you may think that’s an argument to accept that Paul was talking about the sin of boasting, but here’s why that option doesn’t quite make sense.  First, Paul doesn’t immediately talk about boasting after this warning.  In the next verse, he talks about carrying each other’s burdens, which he says is fulfilling the law of Yeshua.  Only after that statement does Paul then start to talk about thinking highly of one’s self in what seems like the start of a new thought.  

Another thing that makes it less likely Paul is talking about being tempted to boast is because when Paul gave the warning, he warned against also being tempted.  In general, this type of language suggests a reference to something previous vice something after.  In other words, it doesn’t really make sense for someone to say “if someone is caught in [adultery], you should restore him gently, but be careful or you might also be tempted [to boast].”  You see how when we add some specific sins this interpretation doesn’t really add up?  

So, we have to interpret Paul’s warning to mean that the person doing the restoration could fall into the same sin as the person being restored.  Now we’re back to the problem we saw previously where somehow a person that identified a sinful behavior and took action to restore a person from it essentially did a 180 degree turn and was then tempted to commit that same sin.  The reason that doesn’t make sense is because Paul is not talking about a person who was caught in a sin like most translations state.  He was talking about a person that was caught about to commit a sin, whether in situ physically or through pre-meditated thought.

The key to this interpretation is the Greek word from which “caught” was translated.  The word is prolambano, and it comes from the word pro, which means before, and lambano, which means to take or receive.  This word only exists in three New Testament verses, including this one, and in both other verses it is referring to something happening beforehand, not in the middle of, as is suggested by the common translation of this particular verse.

The first occurrence is when Yeshua was anointed by Mary (Mark 14:8).  This is the well-known scene where Yeshua was visiting a home in Bethany, and Mary took very expensive perfume and anointed Yeshua with it (John 12:1-8).  It’s also the place we find that Judas Iscariot seemed to have more of a love for money than of being a disciple of Yeshua.  In any case, Mark uses the word prolambano when quoting Yeshua as saying Mary anointed Him “in advance” or “beforehand.”

The other occurrence is what Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:21).  He chastises the church for how they have their meals together.  Specifically, he calls them out for each person eating “before” making sure everyone has something to eat or drink.  He’s making a point of showing how selfish they act by getting their fill without thinking of others first.

So, the chances that Paul, in his letter to the churches of Galatia, is talking about catching someone in the act of a sin are low, in my opinion.  It’s more likely that he’s talking about catching someone before they’re going to commit a sin.  When we look at it that way, it makes perfect sense that the person doing the catching could be tempted to commit the same sin as the one being caught.  Especially if they’re the only two around or if they’re the only ones that know about it!    

This interpretation is reinforced through Paul’s next statement.  Talking about carrying each other’s burdens would otherwise seem a little out of place if you don’t think about it in terms of a person about to commit a sin (Galatians 6:2).  Paul’s talking about two believers here, and while it’s certainly possible, I don’t think he was talking about a believer gently restoring a believer that’s a habitual sinner.  I believe he was talking about someone who was contemplating committing a sin, and in that case it’s clear that there is some burden that believer is carrying that it causing them to consider committing that sin.  

In order to gently restore someone to the path of Yeshua, we must either have a relationship with that person or come into a relationship with that person.  If we don’t, there’s no confidence that the person will see the right path and agree to go down it, or at least if they do, it won’t be for any significant length of time.  You have to have that personal connection, otherwise there’s no motivation to get on the right path and stay on it.  And in developing and having that personal connection, we will certainly become aware of a person’s burdens and have an opportunity to carry them with that person.

If you needed one more reason to agree to this interpretation of the verse, perhaps it will help to look at the Greek word translated to restore.  The word is katartizo, and it comes from kata, which means according to, and artizo, which means to adjust.  By using this word, Paul is saying that the person “restoring” is actually adjusting the person, not fixing what they’ve already done.  A believer contemplating committing a sin simply needs an adjustment to put them back on the right path.  They know the right answer, but based on the challenges they’re facing, burdens they’re carrying, they feel as though their only option is the sin that they’re contemplating.  And remember, we learned last week that the Greek word for gentleness means strong courage.  What better way is there to set a believer with burdens back on track than to show them how to have strong courage through their hardship?!

Moving on to the rest of the first half of this chapter, we already touched on the next portion which is where Paul transitions to talking about making sure we don’t boast.  He starts by attempting to humble the reader, saying that if someone thinks they’re something when they’re nothing they’re deceiving themselves (Galatians 6:3).  He says this not to make it sound like anyone is anything important or even to put the Galatians down in some way, but to point out that no one is anyone of importance, so no one should think of themselves that way and in that way they will remain humble.  

In the next couple verses, Paul goes on to say a believer should test his or her work, carrying their own load (Galatians 6:4-5).  There’s just a couple words to call out in these verses to gain a better understanding of what Paul is saying.  First, when Paul says we need to test our work, the word he uses in Greek means to examine, or to discern.  Essentially, he is saying we need to take a hard look at what we do in order to determine if we are justified in taking credit for it or not.  

Again, Paul is not saying that there should be anything we should boast in.  His point is that when we properly examine what we do, what we’ll find is that it’s not us that does anything.  It’s all from the Holy Spirit.  He says everyone should bear his own load, and that’s the other word to pick out of these verses.  In the King James, it’s translated to burden which makes it sound like a bad thing, but the Greek word is different here and it is the same one used when talking about a ship’s cargo (Acts 27:10).  

In other words, Paul is talking about something someone is meant to carry, not something that needs to be unburdened.  His very next statement is talking about sharing in the good works with our instructor (Galatians 6:6), and what he’s talking about there is giving credit to the Holy Spirit.  He started the letter by talking about being given the gospel by Yeshua Himself (Galatians 1:12), and he just finished talking about walking in the spirit, so clearly he’s not talking about sharing in good works with a flesh and blood scripture teacher.

The next couple of verses emphasizes this fact because Paul talks about sowing and reaping in the flesh versus in the Spirit (Galatians 6:7-8).  If you don’t look at this in context, you might think Paul is talking randomly about the works of the flesh and fruits of the spirit again, but what he’s saying is that by taking credit for something YHWH is doing you are not only mocking Him but you’re pleasing your flesh.  Being humble and taking no credit is how we please the Spirit.  As a note, sometimes it’s hard to determine whether our personal spirit is being discussed or the Holy Spirit because the same Greek word is used and there is no capitalization in the original writings.  In this case, the context of receiving eternal life from the Spirit clues us in to the fact that this is referring to the Holy Spirit.  

In the close of the first half of this chapter, Paul is talking about not growing weary in doing good to everyone, not just believers (Galatians 6:9-10).  He promises there will be a harvest “in due time,” and the message here is that believers are running a marathon vice a sprint.  They were back then and we certainly are today.  It’s hard sometimes to remember that though, with all the excitement, anticipation, and desire for the return of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua!  We can’t let ourselves burn out too quickly.

As stated previously, the remaining portion of Paul’s letter is a summary of what he talked about and some blessings on the readers and followers of what he wrote.  So, rather than go verse by verse we’ll just do a recap of what we learned over the last few weeks with one small deviation.  It’s worth looking at one particular word before we summarize.

The word is stigmata, and out of all of scripture it occurs only once in one verse here in this letter.  Despite this, it became quite popular not only in a particular group of Christians but also in mainstream society through a movie that came out in 1999.  I have not seen that movie, but the fact is that what people have associated with specific wounds Yeshua sustained through His crucifixion is not what Paul was referring to.  

Paul is simply referring to the persecution, of all kinds, including physical, which he received as a result of speaking the truth in the gospel of Yeshua.  He was not saying that he had holes in his hands, feet and side, although he was beaten with rods and even stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19).  

And now, to summarize what we learned by going through Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia!  Overall, Paul was writing to them because a group of believers, that were formerly Pharisees, had convinced them they were required to follow the Law given to Moses by YHWH.  Paul asserted the authority of his message by pointing out that he received it not from man but from Yeshua.  He then talked about how believers are not under the Law, in that the Law is not how we obtain righteousness.  We are made righteous through our faith, and he used the account of Hagar and Sarah to illustrate the difference between being a slave to sin and having freedom in Yeshua.  And last week we looked at his discussion of the contrast between the acts of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit.

We hope you have learned something in this study and we hope you have a great week!  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!

-Rob and Sara Gene