The Letters · New Testament
Galatians 6
Galatians 6: burdens, sowing and the marks Paul carries
General context
Paul gives instructions for a community. Those who are spiritual should restore someone caught in a fault gently, watching themselves in case they are tempted too. They should carry one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ, and anyone who thinks himself to be something when he is nothing is fooling himself. Each should test his own work, find his satisfaction there rather than in comparison, and bear his own burden. Those taught in the word should share good things with the one who teaches. He warns that God is not mocked and states the rule plainly: what a man sows he reaps, corruption from the flesh and life everlasting from the Spirit. He urges them not to grow weary of doing good, promises a harvest in due season for those who do not faint, and tells them to do good to everyone, especially to the household of faith. Then he points to his own handwriting and turns back to the dispute. The people pressing circumcision, he says, want a good appearance in the flesh and want to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ; they do not keep the law themselves but want something to boast about in the readers' bodies. His own boast is only the cross, through which the world is crucified to him and he to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts, he repeats, but a new creature. He pronounces peace and mercy on those who walk by this rule and on the Israel of God, asks that no one trouble him further because he bears the marks of the Lord Jesus in his body, and ends with a blessing of grace.
Cited passages: Galatians 6:1, Galatians 6:2, Galatians 6:3, Galatians 6:4, Galatians 6:5, Galatians 6:6, Galatians 6:7, Galatians 6:8, Galatians 6:9, Galatians 6:10, Galatians 6:11, Galatians 6:12, Galatians 6:13, Galatians 6:14, Galatians 6:15, Galatians 6:16, Galatians 6:17, Galatians 6:18
Galatians 6 (KJV)
1Brethren, 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.
2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
4But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5For every man shall bear his own burden.
6Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
7Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
11Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
12As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
13For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
15For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
17From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
18Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Printed after this letter in the King James Version: Unto the Galatians written from Rome.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The chapter records that part of the letter is in Paul's own handwriting, Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand, but it does not say how much of it, and it names no one who wrote the rest. The opponents are described by motive rather than by name: they desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they want to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ, and they do not themselves keep the law. Two phrases are left unexplained. The Israel of God appears once and is not defined, and the marks of the Lord Jesus that Paul says he bears in his body are not described. No scripture is quoted in this chapter, and no place, date or companion is named. After the closing Amen the source prints one further line, Unto the Galatians written from Rome, which stands in the final verse rather than as a heading; Rome is named nowhere in the body of the letter.
Cited passages: Galatians 6:11, Galatians 6:12, Galatians 6:13, Galatians 6:16, Galatians 6:17, Galatians 6:18
Literary context
After five chapters of sustained argument the writing breaks into short maxims, most of them one sentence long. Two of them sit three verses apart and pull opposite ways: Bear ye one another's burdens, and then every man shall bear his own burden. The letter does not reconcile them. The note about handwriting works as a structural marker, ending the general instruction and returning the letter to its quarrel for the last seven verses. The ending mirrors the beginning. The letter opened by refusing human approval, and it closes by accusing others of seeking it, glory in your flesh against glory in the cross. The final image is physical and unexplained, marks carried in a body, which puts the argument back where chapter one put it, on Paul himself.
Cited passages: Galatians 6:1, Galatians 6:2, Galatians 6:5, Galatians 6:7, Galatians 6:11, Galatians 6:12, Galatians 6:13, Galatians 6:14, Galatians 6:17
Key moments
- Restore in meekness (Galatians 6:1). Those who are spiritual are told how to handle someone caught in a fault.
- Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). Carrying each other's loads is called fulfilling the law of Christ.
- Every man his own burden (Galatians 6:5). Three verses later each person is told to carry his own.
- Sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7). Paul states the rule that a man reaps what he sows.
- Mine own hand (Galatians 6:11). Paul points to his own handwriting on the page.
- Glory only in the cross (Galatians 6:14). He sets his boast against the boast he says his opponents want.
- The marks in his body (Galatians 6:17). He asks to be left alone because he bears the marks of the Lord Jesus.
For reflection
The chapter tells readers to carry each other's burdens and, three verses later, that every man shall bear his own burden. Which of the two is harder for you to accept from the people around you?
