Galatians 6:17 Commentary and Bible Study

In their departure from the truth, the Galatians have not considered the effect this will have on the apostle. Like children who take their parents for granted and create all manner of problems by their bad behaviour, so the Galatians have caused much worry and heartache for Paul, and necessitated urgent steps for their recovery. They underestimated how great was his parental love towards them in the Lord and the pain that this current situation had produced in him, and they have deprived him of the reward of joy to which he was entitled, having won them for Christ. The feelings of a parent are often hidden from a rebellious child who lacks the maturity to see the effect of what they do. He probably had to change his plans and was engaged in much prayer for them. It was not a pleasant task for him to have to deal in detail with the error of these teachers for he would have preferred to be teaching them the positive wonders of salvation.They had troubled Paul by deserting the truth of Christ which they had once understood and loved. This hurt him in a way that he did not deserve. Of course, the majority of the time he suffered such things in silence as part of the ministry that Christ had called him to, for the Lord had said, ‘I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake’ (Acts 9:16). But it was right that the Galatians be reminded of the suffering they were responsible for, and be corrected about their immature and unthinking response. Paul felt compelled out of love for the Galatians to mount this rescue operation. While he ought to have been helped on his way by them to preach in new areas where the gospel had not yet gone, he was instead having to go over the same ground again and suffer the disappointment of seeing them stumble and ready to fall. He was not immune to feelings of discouragement, but he brought all things to God and he dealt with this disappointment by faith and prayer. He believed God would bring good out of this situation and so he has done. Without the backsliding of the Galatians this epistle would never have been written and the church would have lacked the warnings and doctrines found here which it needs so much.Paul adds a further reason why he should not be troubled. He had suffered for Christ’s sake as few others had, and he had scars to prove it. These are not scars in his hands and feet in emulation of the wounds Christ suffered on the cross, as some have foolishly imagined, but they are the scars from the beatings, the stoning, and the molestations of the crowds which he had suffered for the sake of Jesus Christ whom he served. We ought to honour highly any who are willing to suffer for Christ in this way. We ought to honour all believers but especially those who love Christ much, for if we love him we also love those who love him. This was especially relevant to the Galatians, for Paul had received some of these marks in the process of bringing the gospel to them.