After explaining the abstract qualities of a person living for the sinful nature (Gal. 5:19-21) and a person walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), Paul now gives practical examples of living a sacrificial life.
(6:1) “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”
What does Paul mean by “caught” in a sin? The term “caught” (prolambanō) in Greek is similar to the term in English—namely, it can have two different meanings. The term “caught” (prolambanō) could refer to being “caught red-handed” (see NLT) or to being “caught in a trap” or “ensnared” and can’t break free of the sin pattern (see NET). The word can mean either, depending on the context.
OPTION #1. Paul means that the person cannot break free from a sinful habit. To repeat, the word “caught” (prolambanō) could carry this meaning. Indeed, it can also be translated as “overcome” (NLT) or “overtaken.” This understanding focuses on the prefix (pro) to show that “the sinner has been forcibly laid hold of by sin before he was able to reflect,” and this is why Paul urges gentleness (NIDNTT, 3.750).
OPTION #2. Paul means that the person was caught red-handed. Again, the word can mean “to surprise” (TDNT, 4.14), which would imply that the person wasn’t aware that they were caught in the act.[162]
Conclusion. We’re not sure which meaning Paul has in mind. Regardless, Paul’s focus is on what we should do as a consequence. Our response is not to ignore the person, minimize the person, gossip about the person, or condemn the person. Our job is to get our hands dirty and help.
“You who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself.”
A “spiritual” (pneumatikos) person is not a “ghost” or a “spirit.” Paul uses this term to describe those who are walking according to the Spirit (Gal. 5:17, 25) or are led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:18).
“Restore” (katarizō) is a “a medical term used in secular Greek for setting a fractured bone.”[163] This doesn’t refer to restoring your relationship, but rather helping to restore the person himself.
“A spirit of gentleness” refers back to one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
“So that you too will not be tempted.” This refers to humility. Even as we approach a friend who is ensnared in sin, we realize that this could just as easily be us. We know that we were just a few decisions away from becoming ensnared the same sin, or a similar sin. Hence, Paul calls for gentleness and humility. After all, we all struggle with sin, and we should be careful not to have a self-righteous attitude. Such self-righteousness could result in an opportunity for us to have a similar fall. This fits with the overall theme of Galatians: self-righteousness results in more sin—not less.
Postmodern people have difficulties with this verse. For one, they reject objective moral values and duties. Second, they reject close community in favor of modern alienation. And third, they lack the basis for getting involved with someone at a deep level.
Yet, Scripture teaches that when someone is caught in a moral problem, it’s a form of love to help. As Christians, we affirm that right and wrong are real and objective categories, and we have a basis for claiming that “sin” exists. More than this, we have a basis for graciously restoring a person after a fall. While Christian community is messy, the postmodern alternative is far worse: minimizing our problems, ghosting one another, and living alienated lives—never really being known or knowing others.
(6:2) “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
In context, to “bear one another’s burdens” refers to restoring a brother in sin. We can’t bear a burden without feeling a burden. Throughout this entire book, Paul has been writing against an unlawful use of the Law (cf. 1 Tim. 1:8). Now, he writes positively about the Law, but he calls it “the law of Christ.” Instead of a list of moral duties, the main imperative is love.
This implies that we all have burdens, and God will send others to meet these needs (e.g. 2 Cor. 7:5-6). Do you realize that the offer of help from a fellow believer could be God giving you help? By contrast, turning down help from others is turning down help from God. We need to allow others to carry our burdens when we are overwhelmed. George writes, “The myth of self-sufficiency is not a mark of bravery but rather a sign of pride.”[164]
The command is not for us to hold expectations over others, demanding others to carry our burdens. We can make our burdens known, but we can’t demand others to carry them. Instead, Paul’s imperative is for each person to look to carry the burdens of others. This is true biblical love.
When we first come to Christ, we have many burdens. It isn’t surprising to see the Christian community surround us to help carry these. But hopefully, we will not stay in such a spiritual state. We want to get to the point where we can be a love-giver, rather than a love-taker. (See comments on verse 5.)
(6:3) “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
How does this verse connect to the previous verse? Walking in the way of Jesus means to restore others with “gentleness” and avoiding self-righteousness (v.1). It means serving sinful brothers by carrying their burdens (v.2). When we think about a lifestyle of servant love like this, we realize that this is the antithesis of pride. Paul jabs at our pride, reminding us not to “think we are something, when we are nothing.” No one is “such a big deal” that they cannot help a fellow sinner! Elsewhere Paul tells us to think about ourselves with “sober judgment” (Rom. 12:3).
(6:4) “But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.”
Why is he encouraging boasting? Earlier, Paul wrote that we should not “become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:26). We typically boast by comparing ourselves to others, but this is a false comparison (2 Cor. 10:12). Instead of comparing ourselves to others (i.e. legalism), Paul encourages us to make a fair comparison. Each person should “examine his own work” before God, not before others. We should ask: “Is my work proportionate with my own gifts, talents, and opportunities?” We should take our work to the Lord and rejoice in what he has empowered us and led us to do. This is what Paul means when he later writes that he “boasts… in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). Whatever work we’ve done is only possible through the grace of God through Christ. Elsewhere, Paul writes, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).
(6:5) “For each one will bear his own load.”
God has certain works that he wants us each to accomplish (Eph. 2:10), and he has made us stewards of our gifts, talents, and opportunities. We can’t pass this “load” off on another person.
Some see a contradiction between verse 2 and verse 5. In one, Paul commands us to “bear one another’s burdens,” but here we are to “carry our own load.” But there is no contradiction when we realize that Paul uses two different Greek words:
“Burdens” (baros) means an “experience of something that is particularly oppressive” (BDAG). In the Christian community, we move in to help others carry the burdens that they cannot carry themselves.
“Load” (phortion) means “that which constitutes a load for transport” (BDAG). This can be understood as a “‘shoulder pack.”[165] In Christian community, we should give people the dignity to carry what they are able to carry, teaching them responsibility.
Imagine hiking in the woods on a camping trip. One of your big, strong athletic friends winces as he grabs his lower back. Then, he asks you, “Hey buddy, could you carry my book bag and tent on this hike?” You’re happy to help, so you throw his pack on top of yours, hiking three miles to the campsite.
But once you get to the site, you ask the man, “Hey, why did you need me to carry your bag for the whole hike? Did you hurt your back from lifting weights or something?”
The strong athletic man smiles and says, “No, nothing like that… I just didn’t want to carry it… It’s pretty heavy, and I didn’t want my shoulders to feel tense.”
Of course, this would be an outrage. Yet, many people carry loads for others that they are perfectly capable of carrying themselves. We should probably err on the side of helping others, but we should kindly refuse to take on the responsibilities that belong to another. This isn’t loving others. It’s enabling others.
(6:6) “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.”
Why does Paul shift to the subject of financial giving, and how does this relate to the context? Financial giving is a concrete case of bearing someone’s burden (v.2). Christian leaders and teachers cannot afford to lead and teach full-time, while also working at a secular job full-time. This makes Paul’s principle in verse 2 very practical.
(6:7) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
This refers to financial giving.
First, the context of verses 6 and 10 both refer to financial giving. In verse 6, Paul teaches that we should share “good things,” and verse 10 states that we should “do good” things to all people. Both refer to giving our financial resources, and this serves as an inclusio to bookend this section.
Second, Paul uses the proverb of “sowing and reaping” to explicitly refer to money. When writing to the Corinthians about financial giving, he writes, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). He also writes, “If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” (1 Cor. 9:11) Therefore, “sowing” and “reaping” both refer to the giving of money and the gaining of rewards.
(6:8) “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
If Christians spend money on themselves (“the flesh”), it will rot (“reap corruption”). However, if they spend their money on the cause of Christ (“sows to the Spirit”), it will result in eternal life for others (“reap eternal life”). Indeed, the context refers to giving money to Bible teachers so that they can teach. Thus, Paul isn’t focused on the believer gaining or losing eternal life, but for others to gain eternal life. Boice writes, “If congregations refuse to support them and so forfeit good teaching, preferring to spend their money on themselves, the results will be corruption. But if, on the other hand, they support good teachers, a spiritual harvest will result.”[166] Thus, eternal rewards are in view here: either we can use our money in a way that will decay, or in a way that will have eternal ramifications.
(6:9) “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
“Let us not lose heart in doing good.” A lifestyle of sacrificial love can be discouraging at times. The term “lose heart” (enkakōmen) means “to lose one’s motivation in continuing a desirable pattern of conduct or activity, lose enthusiasm, be discouraged” (BDAG). Paul struggled with discouragement like the rest of us, but he modeled how to persevere in faith (2 Cor. 4:1, 16; Eph. 3:13). Much of our battle over discouragement is through prayer (Lk. 18:1).
“For in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” What a profound promise! While we cannot always see “observed results,”[167] we can trust that God will bear fruit through our work if we do not “grow weary.” The term “grow weary” (eklyomenoi) means to “be exhausted in strength, become weary, give out” (BDAG). It is sometimes translated as “fainting” (Mt. 15:32; Mk. 8:3; Heb. 12:5). We might compare this to “giving up.”
Paul had already wrestled with the fact that his work in Galatia may have been “in vain” (Gal. 2:2; 4:11). Thus Cole asks, “Was Paul speaking as much to his own heart as to theirs? Were there times when even he almost ‘lost heart’ and wondered if he could ever win over the stubborn, narrow-minded ‘right wing’ at Jerusalem by these deeds of love?”[168] Boice agrees when he writes, “One cannot help feeling that Paul may be talking to himself as he thinks of the extensive but thus far unrewarding efforts he expended on the churches of Galatia. The change to the first person plural supports this supposition.”[169]
(6:10) “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.” Our time or “opportunity” is going to close at some point. While the window is open, we should make our investment count.
“And especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
Why does Paul prioritize doing good to believers over non-believers? Consider a flight attendant who tells passengers, “In the event of a decompression, an oxygen mask will appear… If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.” Initially, this might sound cruel: Why should we take care of ourselves first? What about the children?! Yet this principle isn’t selfish, but strategic. After all, if we don’t have air flowing to our lungs, we won’t be able to help anyone. Something similar is at play in serving fellow believers as a priority: If the church dries up and atrophies, then there won’t be anyone to serve the non-Christian world.
(6:11) “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.”
Paul typically wrote through an amanuensis (or scribe), who would write his letters for him (Rom. 16:22). Here, Paul writes the conclusion with his own hand—most likely to show its authenticity (cf. 1 Cor. 16:21; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17). George comments, “It was a common convention of Hellenistic letter writing that a secretary or amanuensis would prepare the main body of the letter while the sender would append his signature and perhaps a few closing words of benediction as a way of attesting the contents of the letter and assuring the reader of his full endorsement.”[170]
(6:12) “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
“Good showing” (euprosōpeō) comes from the root words “good” (eu) and “face” (prosōpon). These religious leaders were trying to put on appearances for others.
There must have been considerable religious pressure to conform to old covenant Judaism (e.g. the religious pressure that confronted Peter in Galatians 2:12). The truly brave action was to stick to the truth of the new covenant. These people didn’t care about truth; they cared about avoiding persecution.
(6:13) “For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.”
At the heart of the matter, circumcision was a hypocritical show. The Judaizers couldn’t keep the “whole law” as Paul has been arguing throughout the letter (Gal. 5:3).
Paul wrote earlier that we should boast about how God has empowered and led us into good work before the Lord—not comparing ourselves to others or in front of others (Gal. 6:4). Here, Paul notes that the Judaizers were boasting about how many Gentiles they got circumcised. This is truly a gross display of religiosity (pun intended!).
(6:14) “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.”
Rather than boasting about circumcising Gentile converts, Paul boasted in Jesus Christ and his life-changing Cross. This is the difference between boasting in Christ’s righteousness and boasting in self-righteousness. Paul “chose something utterly despicable, contemptible, and valueless as the basis of his own boasting—the cross of Christ.”[171]
“The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Before Christ changed our identity (Gal. 2:20; 5:24), all we had was what the world thought of us. It isn’t that the world has died or gone away. It’s that we share nothing in common anymore, and now that we’re identified with Christ, we don’t care what the world thinks.
(6:15) “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
We cannot have a “skin deep” solution to spiritual growth. The key to spiritual growth is to recognize that we have a new identity in Christ (i.e. “a new creation”).
(6:16) “And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”
“This rule” (kanon) refers to the truth of Paul’s message. Only those who follow this truth (“walk”) will be gain God’s “peace and mercy.” The others are not agreeing with the truth that Paul has been articulating and defending for six chapters, and they will fall under the judgment of God (Gal. 1:6-9).
Premillennialists and Amillennialists debate this passage. Is Paul including “the Israel of God” with the Gentile believers, or is he showing that these ethnic groups are still separate? See comments on this passage in our article, “Galatians 6:16, Does the church inherit the promises of Israel?”
(6:17) “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.”
Paul didn’t want any more “trouble” or suffering. Indeed, he had “suffered enough already.”[172] He wants these people to experience the “peace and mercy” of God (v.16).
“Brand-marks” (stigmata) refer to the torture Paul suffered. It was the same torture and persecution that the Judaizers avoided (Gal. 6:12). This passage demonstrates that Paul wasn’t self-serving. Why would he take such a beating if he was doing this for selfish reasons? He was persecuted for sticking to the truth; unlike the Judaizers who were avoiding “persecution” (Gal. 6:12). Cole writes, “On that note of peace the battle-scarred veteran ends the tortured letter.”[173]
(6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.”
Paul ends his letter on the subject of the “grace of… Jesus Christ.”
(1) Read verse 2 and verse 5. How do we balance “bearing each other’s burdens” (v.2) with “bearing our own load” (v.5)? When should we encourage a fellow believer to carry their own load, rather than helping them out?
What burdens do you see in those around you? What steps can you take this week to help them carry those burdens? Write these down and make a goal to take these steps this week.
(2) Read verse 10. Why does God elevate giving aid to Christians above non-Christians? How would you respond to someone who said that this is a case of religious bigotry?
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
