English: Map of the Letters of Galatia (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In
the first entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on Galatians, I
discussed introductory matters concerning the founding of the churches to the
Galatians, the situation when Paul wrote to them, when the letter might have
been written and the type of letters which Paul wrote, based on the common
Greco-Roman letters of his day. In
the second post, I considered the basic content and breakdown of a Pauline
letter. I noted the major sections of the formal letter structure and, in the
context of each section, outlined the theological and ethical (as well as
other) concerns of Paul, including some Greek words which will be examined more
fully as we continue with the commentary. In
the third entry, I looked at the salutation, which is long for Paul’s
corpus (only Romans 1:1-7 is longer) and briefly commented on the lack of a
Thanksgiving, the only letter of Paul’s which does not have one. The
fourth entry discussed the opening of the body of the letter, a significant
part of the letter especially in light of the absence of a Thanksgiving. In
the fifth entry, I examined the beginning of the opening of the body of the
letter, in which Paul describes his background in Judaism and I placed this in the
context of Judaism in the Hellenistic period. In the
sixth post in the online commentary, I continued to look at Paul’s
biographical sketch of his life, this concerning his earliest life as a
Christian. In
the seventh post, I examined what Paul says about his subsequent visit to
Jerusalem to see the apostles and the Church in Jerusalem.
In the eighth entry, Paul confronts Cephas about his hypocrisy in
Antioch.
The
ninth blog post started to examine the theological argument in one of
Paul’s most important and complex theological letters. In
the tenth entry, Paul makes an emotional appeal to the Galatians based on
their past religious experiences and their relationship with Paul. In
the eleventh chapter in the series, Paul began to examine Abraham in light
of his faith. The
twelfth blog post continued Paul’s examination of Abraham, but also claims
that Christ “redeemed” his followers from the “curse” of the Law. In
the thirteenth study in the Galatians online commentary, we looked at Paul’s
claim that God’s promises were to Abraham and his “offspring,” with a twist on
the meaning of “offspring.” The
fourteenth entry examined Paul’s question, in light of his claims about the
law, as to why God gave the law. The
fifteenth chapter in this commentary examines the function of the law,
while the
sixteenth post studied how the members of the Church are heirs to the
promise.
In
the seventeenth entry, I observed what it means to be an heir in Paul’s
theological scenario. And in the
eighteenth installment, Paul transitions back to his relationship with the
Galatians, but before he concentrates on this in full, he returns to the issue
of the stoicheia, commonly known as
the four cosmic powers, earth, air,
water and fire. In the nineteenth blog post, Paul relies on his personal relations with
the Galatians to draw them to his point of view. In the twentieth entry, Paul speaks of an allegory of Hagar and
Sarah. The twenty-first chapter in the series, finds Paul speaking against circumcision. In
the twenty-second blog post, I examined how Paul begins to reflect on the
practical, ethical implications for the Christian life. In the twenty-third
entry, found below, I examine how the fruits of the Spirit are to impact the
social or communal life of the Galatians.
4. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians
d) Body of the Letter (1:13-6:10):
v) Ethical Exhortation (5:13-6:10): Social
Implications of Freedom in Christ (6:1-10)
1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the
Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you
yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing
think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own
work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause
for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads. 6 Those who are taught the
word must share in all good things with their teacher. 7 Do not be deceived;
God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own
flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit,
you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing
what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. 10 So
then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and
especially for those of the family of faith. (NRSV)
The title of this
entry, Social Implications of Freedom in
Christ, is somewhat misleading, as Paul understands that all of our
behaviors should impact brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as people
outside of the Church, in a positive, life-giving manner. He does not set aside
the personal ethical implications of the life in Christ from the social
implications of life in Christ. I am making this distinction to differentiate Paul’s
description of how the
fruits of the Spirit should be operative in individual Christian lives from
the impact these fruits should have within the community of the Church when
engaged with one’s brothers and sisters (and outside the Church when engaged
with all others). Indeed, Paul’s purpose in this section is to create a
community ethic which lives out the love of neighbor which
Paul has written about in Galatians 5:14.
The first note that
Paul offers is that those who sin ought to be restored in gentleness. He
writes, “My friends {adelphoi,
brothers and sisters}, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have
received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take
care that you yourselves are not tempted” (Galatians 6:1). The first question
is who are those “who have received the Spirit”? Does the Greek phrase hoi pneumatikoi speak of particular
members of the Galatians community who are mature and spiritual (see 1
Corinthians 3:1; Philippians 3:15) or does it refer to everyone within the
community? Michael Gorman argues that “those addressed in v.1 (hoi pneumatikoi) are probably all the Galatians by virtue of their
being recipients of the Spirit” (Apostle
of the Crucified Lord, 220), but given the fact that Paul has warned the
Galatians in chapter 5 that those who do not have the Spirit will not inherit
the Kingdom of God, and the fact that we do have examples throughout Paul’s
letters of mature and infant followers of Christ, I think that Paul wants the
mature Christians to act as examples of imitation for the Galatians who have
strayed and to encourage them back onto the path.
What Paul means by these
mature Christians not succumbing to temptation themselves could have a range of
possibilities. It should be noted that although this phrase is translated by
the NRSV as plural, it is actually in the singular, leading to a literal
translation such as “(each person) looking to yourself, so that you will not be
tempted.” It seems to me that the temptation might emerge from a number of
sources: being drawn in by the very sin(s) one is correcting; using the
opportunity for correction as a temptation to one of the works of the flesh (angers,
quarrels, dissension, etc.); or even falling sway to the temptation of
superiority and smugness.
The Galatians are to
“bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2). Certainly restoring someone to the Church, which is the goal
of correction, is a way of bearing “one another's burdens,” but it is also a
form of love of neighbor or another way to describe love of neighbor. Many
scholars have wondered if, then, the “law of Christ” is more than love of
neighbor or if it refers to some sort of law, with a set of regulations. In
light of Galatians 5:14, and the use of “fulfill” there and here, I think Paul’s
“law of Christ” is the law of love. He might be using the term nomos ironically here for those
interlopers who want the Galatians to follow the nomos of Moses, but I do not think Paul could intend a set code of
law, other than the law of love or a sense of Christ’s model of love as a law
to be imitated.
The reason why I
think the possible temptations of Galatians 6:1 might have to do with
superiority and smugness is that Paul goes on to say that “if those who are
nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their
own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a
cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads” (Galatians 6:3-5). Even if
there are those who have the spiritual maturity to correct brothers and sisters
in a spirit of gentleness, or strong enough to help bear someone else’s
burdens, this should not distract from the weaknesses and burdens we all have.
So, Paul is not contradicting himself here when he argues that “all must carry
their own loads,” for even when we have help, we still have our own burdens.[1] To
bear someone else’s burden does not relieve us of our own spiritual journey or
development. We all have our own work to
do, says Paul, and that is what must be tested.
For biblical scholars,
however, there is no question that the best verse in Galatians is found next,
that “those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their
teacher” (Galatians 6:6). What does it mean? And why does it occur here? The
Greek is as follows: Κοινωνείτω δὲ ὁ κατηχούμενος τὸν λόγον τῷ κατηχοῦντι ἐν πᾶσιν
ἀγαθοῖς. The words used for teaching and teacher (“the one who teaches”) are
forms of katêcheô, from which we
derive “catechesis” and “catechism.” It seems unlikely that Paul has in mind
himself here, but instead those who have the role within the community as
teachers of the Gospel and Scripture. “All good things” (en pasin agathois) must reflect financial support of the teacher
from the material goods of the Church. I think that this verse occurs here
because this is a practical manifestation of love of neighbor or bearing one another’s
burdens. It is also possible that in light of the interlopers in the community
the actual support of the teacher left behind by Paul (or chosen by Paul from
within the community) has ceased. Paul wants to rectify this practical
oversight among the Galatians, if my reconstruction is correct.
Paul ends this
section with warnings and encouragement, based on how one lives out the
Christian life: are the Galatians being guided by the Spirit, showing evidence
of the fruits of the Spirit, or are they living in the flesh, bearing witness
to the works of the flesh? Paul’s warning
comes first: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you
sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but
if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit”
(Galatians 6:7-8). When Paul speaks of sowing to the Spirit, not the flesh
(6:8), eschatological concerns seem to come to the fore here for the first time
in the letter. This is what is at stake for the Galatians: eternal life. How
they behave has implications for their inheritance of the kingdom of God.
Paul continues his
eschatological overtones in the next verses of encouragement, where he writes, “So
let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time,
if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for
the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians
6:9-10). When Paul says, “For we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give
up,” he again stresses the positive outcome of living the Christian life, but
also that it is a life in which one must persist and persevere (“if we do not
give up”) to attain eternal life. It is a practical task Paul leaves for the
Galatians: “work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of
faith.” Paul does see a special call on fellow believers to care for one
another, but the care of all people is a part of the task of living out the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is, in fact, the law of Christ.
Next entry, the final entry finds Paul bringing his letter
to an end.
John W. Martens
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This entry is cross-posted at America Magazine The Good Word
[1] Joseph
Fitzmyer, S.J. in the NJBC Galatians (789)
does not believe the “burden” (baros)
of Galatians 6:2 is the same as the “load” (phortion)
of Galatians 6:5, though both verses use the same verb (bastazô) for “carry.” He believes that the “load” are everyday responsibilities
while the “burden” is something different (though he does not detail what). I
dislike disagreeing with Fitzmyer, because he is usually right!, but I think
Paul has in mind here self-correction as a means of balancing fraternal correction
which could lead to a sense of spiritual superiority.
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