Bible Studies

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 27

by Clifford Tate 
09/12/15
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Paul Exhorts the Galatians to Share one another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1-5 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. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. KJV

Paul ended the previous chapter with an exhortation to these Galatians and to us today to refuse and reject the position or posture in thinking one’s self of more importance to the Body of Christ than another, which would produce a boastful or bragging attitude and lead only to envy and strife (Galatians 5:15 & Galatians 5:26). The cause of this turmoil had been aroused by the Judaizing teachers who thought of themselves in this manner, comparing themselves to themselves and not to our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:12-18). Paul wants to see such attitudes in these Galatians and in us today eliminated, exterminated, and extinguished completely knowing that the Christian life is not a competition between believers, but instead it is to be an intimate, loving, and caring family that hurts when one family member hurts and rejoices when one family member is joyful as Paul wrote in this manner to the Roman believers, “Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief]. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] {and} give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself {or} be wise in your own conceits.” (Romans 12:15-16).

With all of that in mind, Paul exhorts these Galatians and us today to share the burdens of other believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul declares that when a member of Christ Body is surprised by the onslaught of sin in their lives and weighed down by moral failing, then those who are spiritual or in other words fully yielded to the Holy Spirit’s leading should step up and restore such a burdened brother or sister. The English word restore Paul uses is translated by the Greek word katartizo which means to repair, fit, adjust, or mend by putting together what is torn or broken. Paul has in mind here with this word the idea of a Doctor who would set the broken bone in a person’s arm or leg so that the bone would heal properly. The broken bone would picture the moral failure in the believer’s life and the setting of the bone would picture the “spirit of meekness” exhibited by another brother or sister “in Christ” that is not overtaken by this particular fault, trespass, or sin as Paul wrote in this manner to brother Timothy, “And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone {and} mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled {and} suitable teacher, patient {and} forbearing {and} willing to suffer wrong. He must correct his opponents with courtesy {and} gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it], And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God’s] will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

The “spirit of meekness” also implies it to be done by the one who is spiritual with gentleness and humility understanding that they are likewise not immune to becoming overtaken or surprised by the same sin heeding the words of this same Apostle when he wrote this to the Corinthian believers, “Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin].” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Paul declares to them and to us that when this action is taken by a spiritual believer in this manner the “law of Christ” will be fulfilled and that law of His is exactly this as He said to the early disciples with these words, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35). Love for our Lord Jesus Christ must translate, transform, and transfer into love for who He Loves and that is all of His redeemed blood bought children. This love for “one another” will motivate us to desire the best for “one another”, not to hurt “one another”, but to restore “one another” when any one member of the Body is overtaken by a burden (1 Corinthians 12:26). This English word burden Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word baros which means a weight or a load; it has the idea of someone carrying a heavy cargo up a steep hill with no help to make it to the top requiring frequent stops to rest making the journey long and hard to bear or endure.

The Judaizing teachers wanted to place on these Galatians the “burdens” of the Mosaic Law (Matthew 23:4), but the “burdens” Paul refers to here are the moral frailties, failures, and flaws that each one of us has, but Christ’ “law of love” worked out in His Body will respond to these as needed to mend and fit the disjointed member back into his or her place in the Body of Christ giving all the Glory to our Lord Jesus. Paul declares that it is the man or woman who does not think highly of themselves that is “walking in the Spirit” and able to sympathize with the weaknesses of others in the Body of Christ (Philippians 2:3). The man or woman who thinks they are something is foolish and this was exactly the attitude of the Judaizing teachers regarding themselves and this is why Paul warns these Galatians and us today against any such haughty mind set. The person that has the idea that they are endowed by our Lord Jesus Christ with some spiritual superiority is absurd and bears the fruit of self-conceit and vanity again reaffirming Paul’s warning in Galatians 5:26.

The responsibility of each of the Galatians and each of us today is to look at ourselves comparing ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ and not to “one another” and by doing this on a daily basis each person should clearly see all of their moral failings in the light of His Perfection and full obedience to God the Father, for which of us can say these words about our lives as did our Lord Jesus when He said, “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” (John 8:29). Instead of thinking to highly of ourselves we should seek a clean and clear conscience before God the Father regarding what we endeavor to do for His Glory (whatever that may be) and in so doing individually we will not seek the approval of others, but only God’s approval of us (including our motives). This is extremely critical because each of these Galatians individually and each of us today individually will stand before the “Judgement Seat of Christ” and all of our deeds done through our bodies (including the motives) will lay open and naked before Him, thus signifying that we must bear up under our own moral weaknesses with grit and determination to fight and make war with our own faults because our Lord Jesus will reward us accordingly and with complete and pure truth (Romans 14:10-13 & 2 Corinthians 5:10).

My own Personal Note: In every letter written by the Apostle Paul, you will always find him praying for the saints to come to know how much each one of us are loved by our Heavenly Father, along with knowing all that we have “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:18-23 & Ephesians 3:14-21), but you will also always find him exhorting individual believers to seek and desire only good for their fellow brothers and sisters “in Christ” and warning against all manner of division, strife, envy, jealousy, anger, wrath, etc. toward “one another” (Ephesians 4:31 & Philippians 2:1-18). This was the motivation of the Apostle Paul and it should be ours as well.

“If we must certainly be called to an account hereafter, surely we ought to be often calling ourselves to an account here, to see whether or no we are such as God will own and approve then: and, as this is our duty, so if it were more our practice we should entertain more becoming thoughts both of ourselves and our fellow-Christians, and instead of bearing hard upon one another, on account of any mistakes or failings we may be guilty of, we should be more ready to fulfil that law of Christ by which we must be judged in bearing one another’s burdens.” Matthew Henry

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…