Galatians Chapter 6 Series

Galatians Chapter 6: *This may need to be trimmed or summarized.

Gal. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (KJV)

6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual [that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit] are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. (Amplified)

Brethren, if a man be overtaken - ?a? p????f??? If he be surprised, seized on without warning, suddenly invaded, taken before he is aware: (Adam Clarke)

Paul knew the problems that arise in any Christian society. The best of men slip up. The word Paul uses (paraptoma= lapse, slip, false step) does not mean a deliberate sin; but a slip as might come to a man on an icy road or a dangerous path. Now, the danger of those who are really trying to live the Christian life is that they are apt to judge the sins of others hardly. There is an element of hardness in many a good man. There are many good people to whom you could not go and sob out a story of failure and defeat; they would be bleakly unsympathetic. But Paul says that, if a man does make a slip, the real Christian duty is to get him on his feet again. The word he uses for to correct is used for executing a repair and also for the work of a surgeon in removing some growth from a man's body or in setting a broken limb. The whole atmosphere of the word lays the stress not on punishment but on cure; the correction is thought of not as a penalty but as an amendment. And Paul goes on to say that when we see a man fall into a fault we do well to say, "There but for the grace of God go I.'" (William Barclay)

Gal. 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

6:2 Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].

A. Carry one another’s burdens—After this example of bearing a burden with specific conditions, Gal 6:2 appeals to all believers to bear the burdens of one another. The burdens that are meant here are all sorts of afflictions and struggles that can make life so difficult. The Lord Jesus was and is the great ‘burden Bearer’. On Him we may cast all our care (1Pet 5:7). But God in His wisdom has invented ways for us to help each other to carry one another's burden so that we in this way will learn to appreciate and experience more of the fellowship we have as brothers and sisters. We can notice the power of a local church amongst other things by the way the believers sympathize with each other when there are troubles and try to lighten the burden. (King)

B. Bear ye one another's burdens - Have sympathy; feel for each other; and consider the case of a distressed brother as your own. (Adam Clarke)

C. So fulfill the law of Christ -- By bearing one another's burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. The purpose of this law is that we see that the life of the Lord Jesus was focused on the will of the Father for the sake of others. In a way Paul is saying here to the Galatians: ‘Well, if you insist on having a law, here you have one; start with this one.’ Christ never did anything for Himself. (King)

Gal. 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something [special] when [in fact] he is nothing [special except in his own eyes], he deceives himself.

If a man think himself to be something - i.e. To be a proper Christian man; when he is nothing; being destitute of that charity which beareth, hopeth, and endureth all things. See 1 Corinthians 13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal”. Those who suppose themselves to excel all others in piety, understanding, etc., while they are harsh, censorious, and overbearing, prove that they have not the charity that thinketh no evil; and in the sight of God are only as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. There are no people more censorious or uncharitable than those among some religious people who pretend to more light and a deeper communion with God. They are generally carried away with a sort of sublime, high sounding phraseology, which seems to argue a wonderfully deep acquaintance with Divine things; stripped of this, many of them are like Samson without his hair. (Clarke)