Galatians 6:1 – “A Different Man”

Once again, here’s my fairly literal translation of this verse:

¹And, brothers, if a man is overtaken by some transgression, you the spiritual ones restore such a one in a spirit of humility, watching yourself, [that] you are not also tempted.

Ah, back to my study of Galatians. This book has so profoundly altered my understanding of grace and faith and the law and even my view of God and the Scriptures and what it means to live out my faith. Exciting. This is precisely why I study the Bible – I want to get my “truth” straight from God Himself. I want to know Him. I want Him to challenge my presuppositions and paradigms, to expose the inconsistencies and errors, and keep on feeding me what I would call “mid-course corrections.” I love to sit under good teaching and I greatly appreciate all the men who have recorded their thoughts down through the ages. They are often (probably usually) the tools God uses to point me to His truth. But that said, still, I want to see it for myself in the very words (yea, letters) of God’s Holy Word. And so I study on …

Galatians chapter 6 has beckoned me to study for a long time now. Chapters 1 through 5 are intensely doctrinal specifically addressing the whole matter of Spirit vs. Law, then, upon casual reading, it seems like chapter 6 is just a sort of potpourri of unrelated, even arbitrary practical thoughts. I didn’t find it immediately obvious how they were connected to chapters 1 through 5, and, as is often the case in the Bible, they don’t seem to have any relationship to each other.

On the other hand, I suspected that in fact the admonitions in chapter 6 are intimately related to what he has been saying throughout the book. This would be intriguing, since the truths in chapters 1 through 5 are such bombshells – wouldn’t it be great if he drew some salient practical applications in the last chapter? This was Paul’s pattern in Romans, teaching profound truth in chapters 1 through 11, then winding up the book with five chapters of awesome practical implications. Chapters 1 through 5 have so profoundly changed my view of so many things, I find my heart longing for a session of practical ways to integrate these truths into my life. I hope chapter 6 turns out to be exactly that, rather than just a collection of arbitrary thoughts to close the book.

Wading into verse 1, I think, in fact, I will find this chapter to be directly what perhaps Paul would see as the most immediately salient and practical implications of everything he has been teaching the Galatians.

In chapter 5, Paul just got done exposing the works of the flesh as opposed to the fruit of the Spirit. He concluded those thoughts by admonishing us to “keep in step with the Spirit” and then not to be “conceited and provoking one another.” Now he says, “Brothers, if a man is overtaken by some transgression …”

I would suggest this is very salient and practical. Paul is specifically addressing a church group. He is addressing a church group that is particularly having “issues.” He has at least twice warned them against internal strife (5:15 and 26). And his very first practical application is addressing the question of how do you handle it, within your church, when you think others are “wrong?” For anyone who has been in church for any length of time at all, we know this is a very real question. As soon as I realize someone sees things “differently” one can feel the hackles go up and the fangs and claws begin to emerge. And, yes, that even includes the color of the carpet.

What Paul is saying is this is exactly a place where all he’s been teaching comes to bear. NOW is time to keep in step with the Spirit and not just let the flesh drive our response -- when I realize I think another believer is “wrong.” And that is precisely the problem in “churches.”  That is why they fight like cats and dogs and split over every little difference. They may simply not have lain hold of the enormity of Spirit indwelling, or, more likely, their legalism has blinded them to it. When life is all about “the rules,” then it makes everyone’s religion all about guarding “the rules” (as they see them), and people become implacable, impatient, and mean-spirited.

I have lamented before how it took only 10 years for a Protestant to be martyred by Protestants. In 1527, just 10 years after Martin Luther posted his 93 theses, Felix Manz was executed by drowning because he held a “different” view of baptism. Sounds like no one read Galatians 6:1. I don’t know where the Spirit was that day, but He certainly wasn’t being allowed to guide the hearts of men who should have known better.

At any rate, enough of the negative. This verse clearly teaches us that Spirit living changes how we address ourselves to other believers we think are somehow in the wrong. Many others have commented on this verse and I have little to add (except to logically connect it with the preceding text). Just to hit some of the highlights, Paul says to see them as people “overtaken by a fault.” The phrase is subject to some variety of interpretation, but assuming this is correct, it is saying to see them not as resolute trespassers but rather as someone who has inadvertently fallen into the error. They’re not an enemy combatant but rather a fellow believer who has gotten mixed up. Under Spirit control, one is deeply aware of how easily we ourselves are deceived, so it isn’t that much of a stretch to address them “in a spirit of meekness.” Under the Spirit of grace, we of course would desire to restore them or could we even say redeem them? We all know plenty about redemption! (when we’re in the Spirit, that is).

Then he adds, “watching yourself that you are not tempted.” It is interesting that Paul here leaves the plural of “brothers” and switches his address to the singular. This is no accident either as he uses the substantive singular pronoun “you,” which I underlined in the text, along with personal pronoun “yourself.” Obviously, in the business of correction, even if others are involved, people need to be accountable individually for the spirit of their contributions. This again could be translated and understood a lot of ways.

It could mean that, even in the process of correcting someone else, we are vulnerable to falling into their same sins. That is a very real threat. I know that many times I’ve been involved with restoring men who’ve been adulterous. Quite frankly, it didn’t do me any good to hear the details of their escapades. Those are some images and memories I wish I could erase from my mind but, unfortunately I heard them and they’re here to stay. I can definitely see where too much of that and a man could end up himself falling into adultery or perhaps a lot of other sins as well.

“Lest you also are tempted” could also be referring not to their sin but to the temptation to be judgmental and harsh and over-bearing. They may have fallen into this or that, but it is just as offensive to our redeeming God for us to correct them in a spirit that crushes them rather than restores. Sin is sin.

Regardless, the point, I think is that real Spirit living means I am all too aware of my own failure and weakness. On the other hand, I know how much sin hurts and I don’t wish to see anyone trapped in it. When I think someone else is “wrong” a gracious redemptive humble spirit is far better prepared to show them love than the cruel heart controlled by the flesh.

God help me as I go through my day to let the Spirit guide my heart and my mouth, even when I think someone else is wrong. To be honest, we’re talking a miracle here – but that is precisely why we are Spirit-indwelt. He doesn’t just stand by to help – He is in our very heart, ready to empower us to live out the image of God in our fallen world. May we give Him that heart and may we truly be different.