I had an interesting event happen this week that perhaps you can relate to. In performing a martial arts drill I was instructed to hit a pad while an opponent was instructed to push me off balance. All went well until one of the pushes caused me to spin around and at the exact same time another individual bumped into me sending me spinning and twisting backwards. Unfortunately the result is a marked up and sprained ankle.
Besides being a literal pain to move, it continues to change color. In some twisted way (pardon the pun), I was proud of this new marked up ankle for a few minutes. The fascination and boasting quickly ended, because the end result is an ankle that cannot support weight. Should I try to put undue weight on it, it collapses.
The Judaizers of Galatia likewise put all their weight in their works. Their works, like all human effort, cannot bear the weight of divine perfection required for standing before God. Their boast in the flesh (Gal. 6:13) is such a dangerous practice that Paul exposes the folly:
Galatians 6:14 [14]But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (ESV)
But far be it from me /May it never be translates mē genoito, a strong negative that carries the idea of virtual impossibility. He uses it here to tell the Galatians that it was inconceivable for him even to think of boasting in anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The common anthropological assumptions of Greek philosophy and Hellenistic culture, not unlike those of the modern cult of self-esteem, greatly valued all forms of human assertiveness as badges of excellence, strength, and virtue (from the Latin virtus, meaning “manliness” or “worth”). Physical prowess (cf. Augustine’s recollection of how his pagan father Patricius used to take pride in showing off his well-formed adolescent son in the public baths), military feats, oratorical abilities, intellectual acumen, political power, monetary success, social status—all these were things to be proud of and to glory in.
Paul, however, chose something utterly despicable, contemptible, and valueless as the basis of his own boasting—the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For two thousand years the cross has been so variously and beautifully represented in Christian iconography and symbolism that it is almost impossible for us to appreciate the sense of horror and shock that must have greeted the apostolic proclamation of a crucified Redeemer.
Quote: Clarence Jordan helps a little when he paraphrases this verse: “God forbid that I should ever take pride in anything, except in the lynching of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Cotton Patch).
Actually the Latin word crux was regarded as an expression so crude no polite Roman would utter it in public.
In order to get around this difficulty, the Romans devised a euphemistic circumlocution, “Hang him on the unlucky tree” (arbori infelici suspendito) (Bruce, Galatians, 271, quoting Cicero, Pro Rabirio, 13.) The Greeks also found the cross disgusting. While they revered the human body as a thing of utmost beauty, the cross mangled and shamed it. The Jews, as noted in Gal 3:13, considered the cross a curse. (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 6:14)
But what the world regards as too shameful to whisper in polite company, a detestable object used for the brutal execution of the dregs of society, Paul declared to be the proper basis for exultation. In this and in this alone he would make his boast, in life and death, for all time and eternity. (George, Timothy: Galatians. electronic ed. Nashville : Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1994 (Logos Library System; The New American Commentary 30), S. 435)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
Although kauchaomai (to boast) often refers to evil boasting (see, e.g., 1 Cor. 1:29; 3:21; Eph. 2:9), it here carries the idea of good glorying or rejoicing, as it does in Romans 5:2, 3, 11 (“exult”) and Philippians 3:3 (“glory”). By definition, the English word boasting is an expression of pride, which was the furthest thing from Paul’s intent. The Greek term carries the basic meaning of praise, and whether it represents a sin or a virtue depends on whether self or God is being praised.
Quote: John Stott notes that it means “to glory in, trust in, rejoice in, revel in and live for. The object of our boast or glory fills our horizons, engrosses our attention, and absorbs our time and energy. In a word our glory is our obsession (John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Dowers Grove, IL; InterVarsity, 1986. p. 349).
How then does God show the worthlessness of boasting/glorying in anything else but the Cross:
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 [18]For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19]For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."[20]Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21]For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. [22]For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, [23]but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, [24]but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25]For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. [26]For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. [27]But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28]God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29]so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. [30]And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, [31]so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (ESV)
• The praise of the Judaizers was of themselves for their work in subverting some of the Galatians back into Jewish legalism (Gal. 6:13).
• But Paul’s praise, on the other hand, was in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly this does not mean that he gloried in the brutality or suffering of the cross. He was not looking at the cross as a piece of wood on which a criminal died. He was looking at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and glorying in it.
He knew the person, power and purpose of the cross. (Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. Ga 6:14)
Paul gloried in the cross because it was the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross that was the source of his and every believer’s righteousness and acceptance before God and as it specified in Romans 5:1
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV).
Please turn to Philippians 3
It was not that Paul had nothing to boast/glory in from the human point of view. He had considerably more to boast about than the Judaizers (see Gal. 6:13).
Philippians 3:4-6 [4]though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5]circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6]as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
But realizing the worthlessness of those things, he continued,
Philippians 3:7-10 [7]But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8]Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9]and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- [10]that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (ESV)
• Paul could have boasted in his learning, his literary gifts, his power as a preacher, his travels, his evident success as a missionary, the esteem in which he was held by countless believers, his high standing as an apostle, as well as many other things.
• But Paul sought and found joy and satisfaction in Christ (Edgar H. Andrews: Free in Christ. Welwyn Commentary Series. Evangelical Press. 1996. p. 326).
Perhaps you are not satisfied with your life. Your job, marriage or life in general is not satisfying. There is a good reason for this.
God has made us to lack satisfaction in everything but Him. It is therefore foolish to boast in anything except the Lord. But what does that mean, and how can it be done.
In this final message in the book of Galatians, in Galatians 6:14b–16 Paul gives three reasons for boasting only in the cross of Jesus Christ: 1) The cross has the power to free people from the world’s bondage, 2) It has the power to do what the flesh cannot do, and 3) It has the power to bring salvation.
1) THE POWER TO FREE PEOPLE FROM THE WORLD’S BONDAGE: GALATIANS 6:14B
Galatians 6:14b [14](But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ), by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (ESV)
Galatians 6:14-15 are Paul’s Doctrinal Summarization of chapters three and four (Gingrich, Roy E.: The Book of Galatians. Memphis, TN. : Riverside Printing, 2005, S. 36)
The first reason Paul gives for his glorying in the cross is its power to free him from bondage to the world system of evil. The world translates kosmos (the opposite of kaos, from which we get the English chaos) and speaks of an ordered system. Our word cosmetic (derived from kosmos) has the basic meaning of covering up disorder with something that brings order. In the New Testament, kosmos refers to the order of the evil world system ruled by Satan and his agents (see John 12:31; 14:30; 1 Cor. 2:6, 8; Eph. 2:2). The life of a person apart from Jesus Christ is the life of a victim of that system. It is a meaningless life, a life with no hopeful plan, purpose, or reason for being. It is also a life ruled by the flesh, which naturally and inevitably follows the system of evil promoted by the world, whether in gross immorality or simply in day-to-day self-gratification.
Those who attempt to be in good standing with God by what they do (works based righteousness) will never find peace, because they can never be perfect, as God is perfect:
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV).
The righteousness that God expects comes only in justification by faith. Since the word’s way of trying to earn God’s favor is futile, Paul therefore says, the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Please turn to 1 John 5
The phrase the world has been crucified to me also relates to the believer’s spiritual position before God, to the historical fact of his trusting in Christ for salvation and spiritual union with Christ through His death on the cross.
1 John 5:4-5 [4]For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. [5]Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (ESV)
• When a person trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, sin becomes a dead issue, the law becomes a dead issue, and the world becomes a dead issue.
The phrase and I to the world relates to the Christian’s practical living before God.
The perfect tense emphasizes the present, permanent results of this double crucifixion. Crucifixion means a death of shame. The world has no more power over Paul because it is dead as far as he is concerned and Paul is also dead so far as the world is concerned. This was accomplished by means of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was crucified to the world when he was crucified with Christ (2:20-21). The old Saul died and was buried with Christ; the new Paul lives (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2402)
Please turn to Colossians 2
The faithful believer has no more compelling interest in the things of the world, though they still fall prey to its lusts. Just as they have become dead to him, he becomes dead to them. Obviously it makes no sense to associate with a corpse, which is the reason Paul asked the Colossians,
Colossians 2:20-22 [20]If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- [21]"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" [22](referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? (ESV)
Colossians 3:1-3 [3:1]If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2]Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3]For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (ESV)
Quote: When a man is saved, the world says goodbye to him, and he says goodbye to the world. He is spoiled as far as the world is concerned because he is no longer interested in its fleeting pleasures; the world has lost its attraction for him, because he has found One who completely satisfies. (MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 6:14)
Hymn: This verse inspired Isaac Watts to compose one of modern Christendom’s favorite hymns. While preparing for a communion service in 1707, Isaac Watts wrote this deeply moving and very personal expression of gratitude for the amazing love that the death of Christ on the cross revealed. It first appeared in print that same year in Watts’ outstanding collection, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. The hymn was originally titled “Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ.” Noted theologian Matthew Arnold called this the greatest hymn in the English language (Osbeck, Kenneth W.: Amazing Grace : 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Kregel Publications, 1990, S. 106).
Note in particular the beauty of the little-known fourth verse:
When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the tree;
Then am I dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
We should boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ because: 1) The cross has the power to free people from the world’s bondage Galatians 6:14, and
2) THE POWER TO DO WHAT THE FLESH CANNOT DO
Galatians 6:15 [15]For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (ESV)
As Paul recaps the highlights of his epistle in his own handwriting, he repeats the crucial truth of 5:6.
Second, Paul gloried in the cross because of its power to do what the flesh, weakened and corrupted by sin, cannot do. As a Jew, he had done everything he could in his own power to please God; but he discovered that, instead of pleasing God, he was actually persecuting God’s own Son (Acts 9:5).
Circumcision affects only the body, not the soul. A surgical operation can have absolutely no effect on the old nature. Nothing short of death and the creation of a new nature can be effective, and this comes only when one is identified with the crucified, risen Christ (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2402)
Consider the flip side mentioned in uncircumcision. There are those who pride themselves on their uncircumcision. Their whole church service is a revolt against ceremony. This is of no value either (MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 6:15)
Circumcision and uncircumcision together represent the world systems of religion, which is constituted by legalistic Judaism and all the countless forms of cults and paganism. All of those systems rely on the flesh, and consequently none of them is of any value for salvation.
But the power of the cross makes the believer a new creation in Jesus Christ. Because the new creation is all of Christ from start to finish, it excludes any thought of gaining God’s favor through character or works. A life of holiness is produced, not by the observance of ritual, but by yielding to Christ and (having) Him live His life in the believer.
The new creation is not an improvement of or addition to the old, but something entirely different (MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 6:15)
The old life cannot be remodeled, even by God, because there is nothing good in the flesh (Rom. 7:18) on which to build. People need an entirely new life, a new birth, a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17 [17]Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (ESV) (see also Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 7:19; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Please turn to Romans 6
It is important to realize that those who have been born again, who have genuinely repented of their sin and trust in the person and work of Christ alone for eternal life, no longer have a sin nature that dominates them. They are born again and have a new nature that can overcome the dominion of sin through the work of the Holy Spirit in them. That is what the phrase in Galatians 6:15, and 2 Corinthians 5:17 calls the new creation.
Romans 6:5-14 draws out and explains how there is no longer the dominion of sinful nature but of a new creation:
Romans 6:5-14 [5]For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6]We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7]For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8]Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9]We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10]For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11]So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12]Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13]Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [14]For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (ESV)
ILLUSTRATION: London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.
As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.
"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site."
Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. Circumcision, following the external requirements of the law, these are window dressing on a condemned building. All he wants is the site to build.
(http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=48830&page=0.)
We should boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ because: 1) The cross has the power to free people from the world’s bondage Galatians 6:14 2) THE POWER TO DO WHAT THE FLESH CANNOT DO Galatians 6:15 and finally:
3) THE POWER TO BRING SALVATION: GALATIANS 6:16-18
Galatians 6:16-18 [16]And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. [17]From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. [18]The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. (ESV)
Third, Paul gloried in the cross because it has the power to bring salvation to all who walk by this rule. Paul here seems to imply an invitation to the Judaizers and to any others who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior. They did not have to remain lost and alienated from God. Through faith in Christ, they, too, could walk by this rule of the gospel.
Kanōn (rule) has the basic idea of measurement and was often used in the sense of a principle or standard. The rule or standard that God has is His law. This is the standard by which everyone will be judged: Perfection. People can either try to achieve it on their own merits and fail miserably, or have faith in Christ as presented in the Gospel.
To walk by this rule therefore, is to cling to the gospel of divine accomplishment through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and to walk by faith in the power of His Spirit, rather than by sight in the power of the flesh (cf. 5:16–17; 2 Cor. 5:7).
Peace and mercy represent salvation, peace referring to the believer’s new relationship to God and mercy referring to the divine removal of his sins. Peace is the positive side of salvation, the establishing of a new and right relationship to God. Mercy is the negative side, the forgiving of all a believer’s sins, and the setting aside of his judgment.
No matter what their religious convictions or accomplishments, those who are apart from Christ are “hostile toward God” (Rom. 8:7; cf. 5:10) and are “sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). Every unbeliever is at war with God and will find peace only in the cross of Jesus Christ.
Many interpreters, have understood the final καὶ here to mean and upon /that is’ in which case the text reads ‘peace upon them and mercy, that is upon the Israel of God’. In other words, Israel here refers to all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles united in Christ, both the author and his audience, and others (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 452)
The Israel of God is in contrast to the ‘Israel after the flesh’ (1 Cor. 10:18). Those who received the Savior who came through Israel are true Israelites, spiritual descendants of Abraham (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2402)
The true Israel of God, the true descendants of Abraham, are those who have trusted Jesus for their salvation. Those physically born of Abraham are not necessarily his spiritual heirs (Rom 9:6–8). Instead, those who have put on Christ—whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:27–29). Paul could write in similar fashion to the Philippians that it is we Christians who are really the “circumcision,” we who glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3) (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 6:16) In Christ the old separating distinctions are no longer in force. They have ceased to be. Jews and Gentiles are made one in Christ. They are fellow-citizens, of the same body, of the household of God (Eph. 2:19) (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Hrsg.): The Pulpit Commentary: Galatians. Bellingham, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004, S. 323)
Galatians 6:17 provides a final warning, where Paul says, from now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
Verse 17, is Paul’s personal vindication summarizing the content of chapters one and two (Gingrich, Roy E.: The Book of Galatians. Memphis, TN. : Riverside Printing, 2005, S. 36)
Paul’s apostleship, authority, and gospel had all been questioned. He successfully answered all the criticism, and now he says, “Let’s hear no more of such disturbing, distracting attacks.” (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2402)
It is possible he was speaking to some Christians in Galatia who, though genuine believers, were nevertheless being influenced by the perverted gospel of the Judaizers. They not only were helping corrupt the churches but were causing Paul great trouble and heartache.
No doubt many believers in Galatia had witnessed Paul’s receiving some of the marks he bore on his body. The “marks” (stigmata, Gk.) which Paul bore in his body should not be confused with those of the mystics who claimed to have the stigmata of the crucifixion in their own bodies in a later era. The most famous historical example of this phenomenon is Francis of Assisi, who was believed to have had the scars of Christ’s passion supernaturally imposed upon his body near the end of his life, on September 17, 1224 ((Saint Francis of Assisi: Omnibus of Sources, ed. M. A. Habig (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1983), 731.) In all, more than three hundred claims to such stigmatization have been put forth across the centuries. Whether or not we regard these accounts as bona fide reports of actual events, or as attestations of neuropathic bleedings, or, as Luther put it bluntly, “a pure fiction and a joke,” they have little to do with Paul’s use of this word near the end of his Letter to the Galatians (George, Timothy: Galatians. electronic ed. Nashville : Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1994 (Logos Library System; The New American Commentary 30), S. 441)
Ancient society was familiar with branding or tattooing the lowest kind of men with “marks” (στίγματα, stigmata). Prisoners of war, deserters, robbers of temples, and especially runaway slaves were commonly branded with a disfiguring mark on their foreheads and on their hands (Betz, TDNT, VII:657–664.). Decent folks regarded such people as despicable. Paul, however, gladly calls himself the slave of Jesus (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Phil 1:1) and now proudly wears the “marks” of his Lord’s ownership.
What were these marks? In contrast to the needless scar of circumcision worn by others, Paul “carries around in his body the death of Jesus” (2 Cor 4:10). Even with the early dating of the South Galatian destination of this letter, Paul has already been stoned (Acts 14:19) and driven from town to town by angry Jews. At a later point Paul will write that his nearly broken body has been whipped by lashes on five occasions, beaten with rods three times, stoned, shipwrecked, and constantly abused (2 Cor 11:23–25). Every scar was another precious reminder that he belonged to Jesus (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo.: College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 6:17).
The point that Paul is making here in Galatians, is the mere declaration that the cost of his service to Christ can be assessed by anyone who looks at his scars, which are the result of suffering persecutions for the sake of the Savior (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–28) (Believer’s Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 6:17)
• For example, at Lystra he was stoned, dragged out of the city, and left for dead (Acts 14:19).
• He in essence is saying: “Because you know how much my faithfulness to the gospel has cost me,” Paul asked, “let no one cause me trouble.”
• This is a point for our examination. What marks can we see in ourselves in proclaiming the gospel? When you look at a professional fighter, you see the physical results of being in fights. If there are no results that we can see, like misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and the separation of false friends, then perhaps we are not really in the fight. Perhaps we are keeping too comfortable a distance from those who we should engage with the Gospel to see any result.
In his closing benediction of Galatians 6:18 Paul makes a final declaration of grace over law, faith over works, the internal over the external: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
While no greetings or personal salutations dim the solemnity of the epistle, the apostle ended as he began, expressing his heartfelt desire that the grace of God would be their abiding portion (cf. 1:3). And uniquely among all of Paul’s epistles he ends with a reminder of his love for them, calling them brothers (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:611)
Paul had to write some sharp words to the Galatians because they were on the verge of following the wrong teachings of the Judaizers. But the Galatians had not fallen from grace. They had not become the enemy. They were his brothers, and he addresses them as such one last time.
The context has to determine whether to use a capital or lowercase s with the term “spirit.” Here, in writing to the Galatians and speaking of “your spirit,” Paul clearly is referring to the heart and mind, the inner being, of the Galatians.
As his closing prayer, Paul makes a special request. He asks that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ might be with your spirit. In light of the main thrust of this letter, Paul’s prayer for grace is a most appropriate closing request to make for his beloved Galatian brothers. Paul has taken pains to emphasize that salvation comes to people not by their own works but solely by God’s grace. God’s grace, Paul would have us remember, is that quality in the heart and mind of God that makes Him eager and willing to give good gifts—the greatest of which, of course, is eternal salvation.
Since salvation is by grace and rests on God’s promises rather than on humanity’s performance, it is absolutely sure and certain. Hence Paul can end his prayer and his letter with “Amen,” that word of Christian confidence with which every believer says, “This will most certainly happen.” (Panning, Armin J.: Galatians, Ephesians. Milwaukee, Wis. : Northwestern Pub. House, 1997 (The People’s Bible), S. 115)
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from: MacArthur, J. (1996, c1987). Galatians. Includes indexes. (203). Chicago: Moody Press.)
