As Paul brought the Galatian letter to a close, he again emphasized some of the great issues discussed throughout the epistle. The conclusion contains both a summary and final statement of the issues the apostle felt so strongly about. Paul concludes his epistle to the Galatians by contrasting the improper motives of the legalists with his proper motives.
After dictating a letter, it was Paul’s custom to take the pen and write his own farewell. His standard signature was, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (1 Thes. 5:28; 2 Thes. 3:17–18). But Paul is so concerned that the Galatians get the message of this letter, that he takes the pen and writes an entire concluding paragraph with his own hand.
Why did Paul write this paragraph, and why did he use such large letters? The Holy Spirit inspired him to add these closing words to give one more contrast between the legalists and the Spirit-led Christians, to show that the Spirit-led believer lives for the glory of God, not the praise of man.
Paul does not have anything good to say about the legalist. He describes them in four ways: (1) they are arrogant boasters (v. 12a, 13b); (2) they are compromisers (v. 12b); (3) they are persuaders (v. 12a); and (4) they are hypocrites (v. 13).
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12 All who want 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. 13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And all who will follow this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- For those who walk in this new creation, peace and mercy will be upon them and the grace of Jesus will be with them.
- What counts is God changing us from the inside out. The message of the Judaizers was powerless to change hearts. What changes hearts is faith in Christ for both salvation and spiritual growth
- Mature Christians minister out of pure motives of love.
CLOSER LOOK:
Verse 11: At this point Paul took over from his scribe and wrote the rest of the letter himself, a practice he often followed (cf. 1 Cor. 16:21; Col. 4:18; 2 Thes. 3:17). The “large letters” he used probably did not refer to the length of the epistle as some have suggested but to the size of the letters he inscribed.[1] It may be that Paul wrote the conclusion in capital letters after the rest of the epistle was penned mostly in lowercase letters. While it has often been suggested that he did so because he was afflicted with weak eyesight, it is more likely, given the tone of the letter, that the apostle sought in this way to give a final emphatic thrust to his message.[2] In common (Koine) Greek quotation marks were not used. So emphasis was conveyed by enlarging the letters of the words written. Paul personally picks up the pen and writes with large letters to emphasize his concluding words and to validate that the letter was genuine.
Verses 12–13: The fear of others may have been a significant motive of the Judaizers. They may have been trying to accommodate the gospel to the Jews to avoid persecution by them. By including the law, they made the converted Jews happy. In contrast, by preaching the grace message which excluded the law, Paul had experienced harsh persecution at the hands of the Jews. The Judaizers who insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation (cf. Acts 15:1), in summary, (1) were only people-pleasers (cf. Gal. 1:10) seeking to “make a good showing in the flesh;” (2) were afraid of persecution (6:12b); (3) wanted to boast about the number of Galatians they hoped to win over to circumcision as a religious and merit-earning rite (v. 13). Other than being circumcised, some of the Judaizers did not try to keep the law, but they wanted new converts to Christianity also to be circumcised because it made them look good to the other legalists. They bragged about the number of converts who were also circumcised. The legalists knew the offense of the Cross would be softened if they openly proclaimed justification by faith and works (i.e., circumcision) and if they could claim conversions to that position in Galatia.
Verse 14: The contrast is vivid as Paul had pure motives and declared his boasting to be only “in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul’s motive was to brag, not about himself or his merits, but about the cross of our Lord Christ. For the Judaizers the Cross was an object of shame; for Paul it was the object of glorying. They gloried in the flesh; he gloried in the Christ. The “Cross” speaks of the atonement of Christ with which Paul was identified (cf. 2:20) and by which the world was crucified to Paul and he to the world. The world system with all its enticements, fleshly displays, and religions of human effort was cast aside by Paul. He looked at the world as if it were on a cross—and the world looked at Paul as though he were on a cross.[3] This means Paul considered the world as good as dead and he as good as dead to the world.
Verse 15: In view of the Cross of Christ and a believer’s new position with respect to the world, no outward religious symbol or lack of it means anything as a way of salvation (cf. 5:6). The only thing that matters is to be a part of the “new creation” by the new birth (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). It is easy to get caught up in the externals (of circumcision or uncircumcision). Paul says that in all reality, the externals are meaningless. What counts is a new creation produced by a new spiritual birth (compare 2 Cor. 5:17). What counts is God changing us from the inside out. The message of the Judaizers was powerless to change hearts. What changes hearts is faith in Christ for both salvation and spiritual growth.
Verse 16: “Peace and mercy” from God are available to those who walk according to “this rule,” that is, according to the message of salvation by grace through faith alone. This blessing is pronounced on believing Galatians and on believing Jews. While some believe that “Israel of God” is the church, the evidence does not support such a conclusion. First, the repetition of the preposition (“upon” or “to”) indicates two groups are in view. Second, all the 65 other occurrences of the term “Israel” in the New Testament refer to Jews.[4] It would thus be strange for Paul to use “Israel” here to mean Gentile Christians. Third, Paul elsewhere referred to two kinds of Israelites—believing Jews and unbelieving Jews (cf. Rom. 9:6). Lest it be thought that Paul is anti-Semitic, he demonstrated by means of this benediction his deep love and concern for true Israel, that is, Jews who had come to Christ.
Verses 14-16 Aside:
Paul keeps coming back to the cross (Gal. 2:20–21; 3:13; 4:5; 5:11, 24; 6:12). The Judaizers boasted in circumcision; but Paul boasted in a crucified and risen Savior. He gloried in the Cross. 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 Christ and glorying in it. Why would Paul glory in the Cross?
First, Paul knew the Person of the Cross. Jesus Christ is mentioned at least forty-five times in the Galatian letter, which means that one third of the verses contain some reference to Him. The person of Jesus Christ captivated Paul, and it was Christ who made the Cross glorious to him. The legalists did not glory in the cross of Christ because they did not glory in Christ. They did not really know the Person of the Cross.
Second, Paul knew the power of the Cross. The cross in that day was the ultimate example of weakness and shame. Yet Saul of Tarsus experienced the power of the Cross and became Paul the apostle. The cross ceased to be a stumbling block to him and became, instead, the very foundation stone of his message: “Christ died for our sins.” For Paul, the Cross meant liberty: from self (Gal. 2:20), the flesh (Gal. 5:24), and the world (Gal. 6:14). In the death and resurrection of Christ the power of God is released to give believers deliverance and victory. Third, Paul knew the purpose of the Cross. It was to bring into the world a new creation.
Verse 17: Paul’s calling as an apostle and the message he preached had been challenged by the Judaizers. He asked for an end to such “trouble,” and he offered as a final proof to his critics “the marks of Jesus” on his body. These “marks” (stigmata; scars and other evidence of persecution) meant signs of ownership such as were branded on slaves and cattle. Paul referred to the scars on his body, which were caused by persecution for Christ’s sake (cf. 1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 4:10–11; 6:5, 9; 11:24–25), because they demonstrated he was a slave of Christ and not just a people-pleaser (opposed to the legalists). Paul had often been beaten for the sake of Christ, even in Galatia itself (Acts 14:19). Some of those who would be reading this letter would recall how Paul had nearly died to get the message of the gospel to them. Paul’s stonings and beatings as an apostle of the message of grace are his final proof that he is a true apostle. These markings are his signs that he was a slave of Christ and not of the law. These physical scars were Paul’s final credentials of authenticity. These signs of ownership indicated that his motive was to please God regardless of the consequences. Paul would rather fight for truth and grace than switch to falsehood and the law
Verse 18: Paul’s final word of benediction is noteworthy. 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 our Lord Jesus Christ” 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 and sisters (or brethren). Throughout all the division and suspicion, Paul still ends with affection by calling them brothers and sisters and sets a remarkable example for us today when we are dealing with those who might have a different opinion. How could the Galatians fail to respond in obedience to the persuasive and ultimately tender appeal found in this letter?
Chapter 6 conclusion:
The law was powerless to change lives. It focused on the externals. The grace of Christ is powerful because it changes us from the inside out. Every person struggles with selfishness. We get preoccupied with our finances, our families, our loneliness, our time crunches, and our aches and pains. Yet all around us are people sharing the same problems. They are so overcome by difficulties that often they are emotionally and spiritually down. Grace frees us and empowers us by the Holy Spirit to reach out to them and to turn their heart light on through simple expressions of love. They simply need us to love them in word and deed.
Grace always demonstrates itself in care and concern for others. When the legalistic Pharisees asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment, He told them the greatest commandment was to love God and others (Matt. 22:34–40). Paul reiterates the preeminence of love in his famous love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13. Loving the lovely is so much easier than loving the unlovely. It’s much easier when it costs nothing. But Galatians teaches that God gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to love others. When we are a “new creation” in Christ (Gal. 6:15), we have the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16–26) to move away from our own self-centeredness and to think of others. The goal is to go from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness to ministry-centeredness. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can love and serve others.
Chapter 6 Learnings:
- Love is bighearted not bigheaded.
- Legalism condemns while grace restores.
- You impress others with what you know. You impact others with how you love.
- Conceit is deceit. The one who boasts the loudest is usually in the deepest fog.
- Life is like a boomerang; what you throw is what returns to you. Sow in the Spirit
- You harvest spiritually, mentally, relationally, and physically in direct proportion to what you plant. There are no miracle crops.
- Not only our deeds, but also our motives, are important.
- Spiritual change is an inside job begun with the new birth and sustained by a new power—the Holy Spirit.
- Scars for Christ here on earth produce stars from Christ there in heaven.
- Put yourself in others’ shoes before you judge them harshly for sin.
- Put yourself in others’ shoes to understand their material needs. We cannot help everyone, but we must be sensitive to the Lord’s leading.
[1] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 610.
[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 610.
[3] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 610.
[4] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 610.