Where Is Then the Blessedness Ye Spake of?

2018-05-12

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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. (Galatians 4:12-20)

Background

At some point before the writing of this letter, the Galatians had harsh words for Paul. They had questioned his authority in the gospel (see Galatians 1-2). When they heard about circumcision from false prophets that had infiltrated their congregation, they had presumed that Paul was holding something back from them.

Through Infirmity of the Flesh

Paul had preached to the Galatians because he had fallen sick while traveling (Galatians 4:13). The people there selflessly helped him. However, because of the legalists that infiltrated them, they fully changed their attitude toward him.

There is endless discussion about whether the “infirmity of the flesh” (Galatians 4:13) is the same as the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Whatever the sickness was, the Galatians helped him until he was doing better, giving him the best of treatment (Galatians 4:14). The inference in Galatians 4:15 suggests that this may have been some sort of disease of the eye. If this is the thorn in the flesh, it could have been related to the great visions he saw per 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. Clearly any connection between these two infirmities is conjecture.

Am I Therefore Become Your Enemy

Did Paul suddenly become their enemy because he exposed their false doctrine (Galatians 4:16)? People are generally friendly. However, when you expose their false religion, they will turn on you and lash out with great vitriol. Jesus Himself said that faith in Him would cause great division (Luke 12:52-53). Whatever reaction they give when you expose the lies of their false religion, you truly are their friend, because you want them to be saved and walk in truth. Paul truly was their friend because he exposed the false doctrine in their midst.

Whoever these false prophets were, they were manipulating them to lead them astray (Galatians 4:17). They were full of zeal, and they would exclude whoever would disagree, making them feel guilty and rejected. These were like the people Paul warned the Macedonians about (Philippians 3:2-3). To have confidence in the flesh is to not have confidence in Christ.

The Galatians were once zealous for truth while Paul was yet with them (Galatians 4:18). Their quick shift to adopt circumcision tells us that they were unstable (James 1:6), “carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14), and likened to King Joash, who served the LORD while Jehoiada was alive, but caving to vile princes once the godly high priest was dead (2 Chronicles 24:2, 17-19). They go with whoever came their way.

I Stand in Doubt of You

Paul seemed to doubt that these believers in Asia were saved, with phrases such as “I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Galatians 4:19) and “I stand in doubt of you” (Galatians 4:20). He wanted to be present with them; some things are best talked through in person (2 John 12; 3 John 13). It is not sure if he ever got their again.

Legalism is a dire situation: When someone denies that salvation is not by grace through faith, the same rejects the only way of salvation, saying that one can save themselves.