Глава VI

About various special discoveries of Christian love (1–10). Conclusion to the message (11–18) Gal.6:1–10. When converting a sinner to the true path, one must act in a spirit of meekness. You should also take care of your neighbors in their needs and failures, being forgiving of their shortcomings, in view of the fact that each of us also has our own sins. The moral section ends with a new call to do good to people. Gal.6:1. Brethren! If a person falls into any sin, you who are spiritual correct him in the spirit of meekness, each one watching himself, so as not to be tempted. “He will fall” - accidentally, unexpectedly for himself, out of enthusiasm from the outside (προληφθῆ - more precisely: “will be captured”). - “Spiritual” - οι πνευματικοί, i.e. those Christians in whom the Holy Spirit most manifested His power, in whom He became the guiding principle of life, while among the mass of Christians the influence of the flesh is still strong (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-3). These are the people whom the Apostle calls “perfect” (1 Cor. II.6; Phil. III.15), “mighty” (Rom. 15:1). - “So as not to be tempted,” that is, so as not to fall into sin. For a “spiritual” person, a brother’s transgression should, therefore, serve as a warning, remind him of his own weakness, and this memory will force him to treat the sinner more gently... Gal.6:2. Bear one another's burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ. Not only the brother’s sin, but also every burden (“burden”) that is felt by our brothers should also be felt by us, as if oppressing ourselves. Therefore, we must help our brother bear his burden, by which we must understand everything that depresses a person, which he cannot cope with on his own - both his spiritual and material adversities. Such a broad understanding of the word “burdens” is also encouraged by the conclusion of the verse: “in this way fulfill the law of Christ” or Christ’s commandment about love, which actually consists of the essence of the law of Christ (Matthew 22:37 et seq., John 13:34). The Apostle now already sees the fulfillment of the law of Christ from the Galatians, but this fulfillment is still imperfect. It will be perfect only over time (αναπληρώσετε - from αναπληροῦν to fulfill in perfect form, as opposed to πληρουρν to simply fulfill. In Galatians, it is also impossible to state αναπληροῦν, but only πληροῦν). This perfect fulfillment of the law of Christ is only possible when the Galatians always help the brothers to bear their “burdens.” Gal.6:3. For whoever thinks himself to be something when he is nothing deceives himself. The apostle called on Christians to bear one another's burdens. With his last words, he made it clear that everyone has burdens, burdens, awareness of their shortcomings and these very shortcomings. But there are people who think too much about themselves (this is indicated by the expression “counting yourself as something” cf. 1 Cor. 3:18, 10:12, 14:37 and especially 1 Cor. 8:2). Such a person, since he is in fact nothing, only deceives himself, completely confuses himself in thoughts (φρεναπατᾶ), and he is no longer able to properly treat his dejected brother, to serve him. Gal.6:4. Let each one test his own work, and then he will have praise only in himself, and not in another, Instead of enjoying his supposed virtues, a Christian should rather examine his behavior (“his work” or doing). - “Then he will have praise..”. The translation is inaccurate. More precisely: “then he will have reason to boast only in relation to himself, and not in relation to another.” The Apostle has this idea. We often praise ourselves only because we see the unpraiseworthy actions of others. Meanwhile, assessing yourself from such a point of view is wrong. We need to test ourselves, find out all our strengths and abilities and think about whether we have used these abilities as we should. Then it turns out that we have nothing to boast about, that we should rather ask God for forgiveness for having neglected His gifts. Gal.6:5. for each one will bear his own burden. Here is the basis or motivation for self-examination. We need to pay serious attention to our behavior, because each of us will carry the results of our earthly work into another life, before the throne of the Eternal Judge (cf. Rev. 14:13; 2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 5:25 et seq.). At the same time, the Apostle no longer takes the same word to denote the concept of “burden” as he used in Gal.6:2. There is the word τά βάρη, which means any burden, no matter where it comes from and no matter how long it has to be borne. The word φορτίον is placed here, which means the weight that someone loads on themselves or allows to be placed on themselves in order to carry it to a certain goal. Actions that are committed by a person himself here, in earthly life, are such a burden that he himself, and not others, must bear throughout life and beyond (for example, a person often pays for a depraved life with a disease that no one can share with him)... Gal.6:6. Instructed by the word, share every good thing with the one who instructs. Already at that time there were among Christians special teachers of the faith for people who were little aware of it (cf. Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 12:26; Eph. 4:11). Anyone who receives instruction in the word is obliged to reward the teacher with everything good (“every good”), that is, earthly gifts, material goods (cf. 1 Cor. 9:11; Rom. 15:27. Teaching of the 12 Apostles XIII.2; XV et seq.). Gal.6:7. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap: The Judaizers, apparently, rebelled quite a bit against this position of the Apostle and armed the Galatians, allowing themselves to mock (μυκτηρίζεσθαι - in Russian, not exactly: “quarrel” - in the expression: “God cannot be mocked”). Instead of talking about himself, the Apostle speaks about God, that one cannot mock Him, as the Judaizers did, who actually mocked Paul. Thus, the Apostle wants to say that the order that exists in the Church is the will of God Himself. God also makes sure that man always reaps what he sows; here on earth, from a certain seed the same seed is produced. Gal.6:8. He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Now the Apostle is not talking about what is sown, but about the soil into which the seeds are thrown. The difference in the harvest depends on the difference in soil. Whoever throws seeds “into the flesh,” that is, cares about the flesh, will receive only decay from this soil. On the contrary, whoever sows “to the spirit,” on the soil of the spirit, will receive eternal life from the spirit, so the general rule given at the end of Gal. 6:7 also applies here. The Apostle wants to say by this that whoever uses his property only to improve his own well-being (Rom. 13:14), who indifferently passes by the needy brothers, will receive nothing except what the soil on which he uses his property can give, that is, nothing except corruption (cf. Col. 2:22; 2 Pet. 1:4, 2:12, 19). The one who, on the contrary, uses his earthly acquisitions for the good of society, and specifically for spiritual good, will - of course, not from money, but from the Spirit, to whose service he gave himself - receive eternal life (cf. Matt. 6:19-24, 19:21). Gal.6:9. Let us not become weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. “Let us not lose heart” - more precisely: “let us not abandon him.” A person sometimes has to get tired under the burden of the duty he has assumed to do good to his neighbors. But he must quickly shake off the feeling of such fatigue. Gal.6:10. So, as long as we have time, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our faith. A Christian must do good to all people, but still, first of all, to those who are related to him in faith. Gal.6:11–18. At the conclusion of the letter, the Apostle once again utters a bitter complaint against his opponents - the Judaizers - and then declares that for him personally the cross of Christ is the only pride of his life. Gal.6:11. You see how much I wrote to you with my own hand. The apostle wanted the Galatians to imagine his face as clearly as possible (cf. Gal.4:20 and Gal.5:2). Therefore, contrary to his custom of using the services of scribes to whom he dictated messages when writing messages, he now took up the pen himself and wrote a rather large message and, moreover, in very large letters (“how many” - more precisely: “what large letters” πηλίκοις γράμμασιν). Why he wrote in “large letters” is unknown. Maybe he couldn’t see well and his eyes hurt 5, so he couldn’t write small, or maybe in order to give special importance to this message. Gal.6:12. Those who want to boast in the flesh force you to be circumcised only so that you will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ, Gal.6:13. For even those who are circumcised do not keep the law, but they want you to be circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. Paul cannot forget that while he is away from the Galatians, they are being seduced by the Judaizers; in order to warn his readers against them, he says here that these false teachers, who base all their dignity on their carnal Jewish advantages (Rom. 2:28; Eph. 2:11; Phil. 3:3 et seq.), - which have no meaning for the moral and religious life, the sphere of which is the spirit - force the Galatians to be circumcised, in those forms in order to free themselves from the persecution of the unbelieving Jews, for whom the cross Christ was a temptation (Gal.5:11; 1Cor.1:23). The law itself, its internal content, does not matter to such people: they do not comply with its numerous instructions. - “Cutting” . Why does the Apostle use the present tense about the Jews? After all, they were already circumcised a long time ago (cf. Gal. 5:12)? He means by this that circumcision was for them something like a dogma, which they constantly preached: they were people of circumcision (Gal. 2:12). - “Boast in your flesh”, i.e. having circumcised you, they will cite this as proof of their devotion to the law of Moses. And this could be useful to them when the unbelieving Jews began to reproach them for believing in Christ. These people, so to speak, wanted to insure themselves against persecution for their faith in Christ by taking out a patent for “reliability.” Gal.6:14. But I do not want to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Gal.6:15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but there is a new creation. The apostle does not belong to the category of such people seeking the favor of the world. - “But I do not desire” - more precisely: “let this not happen to me”... While they are seeking glory for themselves, trying to put the stamp of Judaism on a larger number of pagans, the Apostle considers the cross of Christ to be the only source of his pride, which at the same time is also his cross: he himself experienced and felt what Christ experienced and suffered on the cross (Gal. 2:19). And just as for Christ His relation to the narrow boundaries of the Jewish nationality ceased with death on the cross, so for Paul, who participates in this death. Through the crucified Jesus, peace came to Paul and Paul died to the world. That the Apostle really died for the world is absolutely true, because now, at the present time, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters: there are only new “creatures” created in Christ for a new, eternal life (cf. 2 Cor. V:17). Gal.6:16. To those who act according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and on the Israel of God. To those who hold the same way of thinking as the Apostle, he sends his blessing. - “And to the Israel of God,” that is, true Israel, which, indeed, can be called the people of God. By this “Israel” it is most natural to mean Christians from Judea, in whom Israel continues its life as the people of God (Rom. 11:1–8, 9:27–29; Phil. 3:3 cf. interpretation by Ephraim the Syrian, Ambrosiastes, who understood this expression exactly this way). Gal.6:17. However, let no one burden me, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body. “However” is more correct: “from the rest” of Israel (τοῦ λοιποῦ) “no one should prepare labor or burden for me.” The apostle does not want the rest of the Israelis, who have recoiled from God, to interfere in his affairs and put obstacles in his way. – “The Ulcers of the Lord Jesus” – according to Tischendorf and other new editions: “The Ulcers of Jesus.” By “sores” (τα στίγματα) we must understand the actual marks on the body made by some kind of cutting instrument or hot iron. According to the ancient general opinion of interpreters, the Apostle so calls the scars remaining on his body from the wounds inflicted on him during the persecution of the Jews (2 Cor. 11:24, 25). He calls them “the stripes of Jesus” because he imagines Christ as the God-man Jesus, subjected to scourging and blows of soldiers at the trial of Pilate (Matt. 27:26, 30; John 19:1, 3), and because he considers his own suffering as participation in the suffering of Jesus (Phil. 3:10: Col. 1:24)... “If someone saw a warrior, bloodied and covered with countless wounds, out of ranks, would he accuse him of cowardice and betrayal, when this one wears evidence of his courage on his very body? “The same way,” he says, “should be judged about me... My wounds provide evidence stronger than words and more extensive than this message” (Chrysostom). Gal.6:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. The apostle said a lot in his letter that was unpleasant for his readers. As if covering with his love all their misdeeds and wanting to show that he is not angry with them, he sends them the same greeting that he usually adds in his messages and calls them “brothers.” Some interpreters find a hint of this in the last. Gal.4:15 You might be interested in: