Galatians 4:8-20: Paul’s Heart for the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20: Paul’s Heart for the Galatians

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and today the next passage we come to is Galatians 4:8-20. It says,

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, your Word is more to be desired than gold and sweeter also than honey. So help us to see its value, taste its sweetness, and experience its power this morning through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. One of the greatest examples of love in this world is the love that parents have for their children. Most parents would do just about anything to help their children and sacrifice just about anything for the well-being of their children. They care more about their children than they do about almost anything else in their lives.  

And so, one of the most difficult things that Christian parents can experience is to see their children grow up and wander away from the Lord and begin to live a lifestyle that’s quite contrary to biblical teaching. Although I haven’t experienced that myself—and pray that I never will—I’ve spoken with many Christians parents who have wayward children and have seen firsthand how difficult that can be. The inner anguish that a Christian parent feels at the thought of their wayward child is quite often beyond what they can even put into words. 

And it’s essentially that same kind of anguish that the Apostle Paul displays in our main passage of Galatians 4:8-20. Paul had started numerous churches across Galatia—which was a region within what we now know as the nation of Turkey. However, after Paul left the region, some false teachers known as Judaizers had come in behind him and were leading the Christians of Galatia away from the true gospel. They were telling the Galatians that it was necessary to keep the rituals and various other requirements of the Old Testament law in order to go to heaven. According to the Judaizers, it’s not enough for people to simply put their trust in Jesus. Instead, in order to be saved and gain entrance into heaven, people also have to obey the Old Testament law. That’s what the Judaizers were claiming. And the worst part is that many of the Galatian Christians were starting to believe them. 

So, Paul writes this letter to the Galatians in order to deal with that situation. And in this particular passage of Galatians 4:8-20, Paul exhibits an inner anguish over the spiritual welfare of the Galatians that resembles the anguish a Christian parent often feels over the welfare of a wayward child. Paul absolutely bares his heart in this passage in a way that he hasn’t done at any point prior to this in the letter. 

So far in Galatians, Paul’s expressed plenty of disappointment and even bewilderment that the professing Christians of Galatia have been so susceptible to the false teaching of the Judaizers. But for the most part, Paul’s focus has been on presenting them with intellectual arguments from the Old Testament supporting the true teaching of the gospel. Yet in this passage, having spent most of the letter up to this point appealing to the minds of his readers, Paul now appeals to their hearts. And laying aside just about all apostolic dignity, he humbly and earnestly pleads with them not to wander away from true gospel teaching.  

And as we’ll see, there’s a lot we can learn from this passage not only about the true gospel but also about meaningful ministry to those we love. So, let’s walk through this passage verse by verse. 

Look with me first at verse 8. Paul writes, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.” Keep in mind that Paul’s writing this to a mixed group of people, consisting both of those who were formerly Jewish and those who were formerly pagan. Yet Paul says that, prior to their conversion, all of them were “enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.” In other words, they were under the power and control of demonic entities that were deceiving them and leading them down a path of religious error. 

Paul then continues in verse 9, “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” So, prior to becoming Christians, Paul says his readers were “slaves” to what he calls “the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world.” 

As we saw a couple of weeks ago, Paul used this same phrase back in verse 3, and it seems to be a reference to the basic instinct that people have of achieving a right standing with God through their own moral accomplishments and religious observances. That seems to be the default mentality just about everyone has—in one way or another. And according to Paul, these religious ideas that revolve around our own accomplishments and achievements are incredibly “elementary” in the sense that they’re lamentably uninformed and woefully insufficient. The rudimentary concept of earning our way into heaven falls far short of the glorious gospel of Christ and the promise of eternal life through faith in him. Yet there was a time, Paul says, when we were “slaves” to these “weak and worthless elementary principles of the world.” 

And he asks the Galatians how they could ever “turn back again” to those “elementary principles.” Now that they’ve discovered the glorious teachings of the true gospel, how could they ever even think of going back to the vastly inferior beliefs of their former ignorance? 

I don’t want to be trite here, but it kind of reminds me of some of the things that I didn’t really think twice about growing up but that now I can’t imagine going back to. For example, back when I was a teenager, I used to have a 13-inch tube TV in my bedroom. And I always sensed it was a little small, but it didn’t really bother me that much. However, now, I can’t imagine trying to watch a rinky-dink 13-inch TV. In addition to that, for those of you who are over 30 years old, who can forget dial-up internet, right? I mean, not only did it make the most obnoxious sound as it was connecting, it would also take several minutes just to load a single webpage. The very thought of going back to something like that just seems unbearable. 

And I think that’s similar to the point Paul’s making in this verse. Now that the Galatians have seen the glories of the gospel of grace, how could they ever go back to their enslavement to the law? You seek, the gospel is the message of us being saved from our sins and from the consequences our sins deserve not by us being good enough or trying hard enough but rather through Jesus. God the Father sent his own Son, Jesus, into this world to rescue us when we were helpless to rescue ourselves. Jesus did this by living a perfect life in our place, dying on the cross in order to suffer the penalty for our sins, and being triumphantly raised from the dead. Because of that, Jesus now stands ready to save everyone who will put their trust in him. So, through his perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, Jesus has already accomplished everything that needed to be accomplished in order to both purchase and secure our salvation. It’s incredible! So, why would anyone who’s received the grace of God in the gospel ever want to go back to the impossible system of trying to be right with God through our own moral efforts? That’s the rhetorical question Paul poses to the Galatians in verse 9. 

He then laments in verses 10-11, 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. This statement about the Galatians observing “days and months and seasons and years” is a reference to them going back to observing the various festivals that were commanded in the Old Testament law. And because the Galatians were apparently starting wonder whether these festivals might just be a requirement for salvation, Paul laments, “I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” 

And that statement marks the beginning of Paul pouring out his heart to his readers and pleading with them not to turn away from the gospel of grace. As I mentioned, having appealed to the minds of his readers for most of the letter, Paul now appeals to their hearts. One commentator writes, “Until this point in the letter, Paul’s approach has been confrontational and impersonal. He has been writing like a scholar or debater, marshaling every possible argument and illustration to get his message across. He has taken the stance of a determined lawyer in court or a learned theologian in the classroom, giving a dispassionate and irrefutable presentation.… But the apostle’s approach changes dramatically in verse 12…. His anger at the Judaizers subsides, and he moves from the purely doctrinal to the more personal. In fact, verses 12-20 are the strongest words of personal affection Paul uses in any of his letters. He does not so much preach or teach as simply pour out his heart in personal exhortation.”

And before we dive into these verses, let me just say that the fact that Paul takes this approach here in pouring out his heart and expressing such deep affection and concern is very significant for our own ministry efforts to others. You may have heard the saying that “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care”—and that’s very true. 

If people are confident that you love them, they’ll be willing to receive just about anything you say to them—assuming, of course, that you say it in the right tone, at the right time, and in the right way. Conversely, if people aren’t convinced that you truly love them and care about them, they’ll likely reject anything you say even if what you’re saying is totally true. And that applies just as much in the workplace and in your family as it does in the church. So, Paul wants the Galatians to know that he genuinely loves them, and that’s why he speaks to them as he does in this passage. 

So, before we go any further, the main idea of this passage is that Paul carries within his heart tremendous pastoral concern for the spiritual welfare of the Galatian Christians. Again, Paul carries within his heart tremendous pastoral concern for the spiritual welfare of the Galatian Christians. 

Just look at the way he begins in verse 12: “Brothers, I entreat you....” Again, notice the tone. Deeply personal and filled with love and affection. Even though someone else besides Paul would have been originally reading these words out loud to the Christians of Galatia, I imagine that, as these words were being read, the Galatians could just about hear within their minds Paul’s own voice pleading with them in this way. 

And the thing Paul entreats them to do is to “become as I am, for I also have become as you are.” In other words, “become as I am” in the sense of being free from the legalistic regulations of the Old Testament law.  “For,” Paul says, “I also have become as you are”—again, in the sense of laying aside adherence to those legalistic regulations. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22, he became all things to all people so that nothing would get in the way of the gospel. 

After that, Paul continues in verses 13-14, 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. So, even though the Galatians could have easily rejected Paul because of his physical ailment, they received him and unexpectedly showed him immense honor as he initially shared the gospel with them. 

Yet Paul asks in verses 15-16, 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 

So, the Galatians used to care deeply for Paul, to such an extent, Paul says, that they would have been willing to gouge out their own eyes and give them to Paul. Some interpreters believe this is an indication that the “bodily ailment” Paul just referred to in the previous verses was some type of disease affecting his eyes. Regardless, Paul’s point is that the Galatians used to love Paul so deeply and esteem him so highly that they would have given up just about anything for him. Yet, Paul asks in verse 16, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

After that, in verse 17, Paul says of the Judaizers, who were spreading false teaching, “They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.” The Judaizers were “making much” of the Galatians in the sense of flattering them. And yet, their flattery was just a form of manipulation. The real intention of the Judaizers was to exalt themselves and probably enrich themselves and certainly attract a following for themselves—even if it meant shutting out the Galatians from eternal life. That’s what Paul means when he says that, “They [the Judaizers] want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.” Essentially, the Judaizers were using the Galatian Christians rather than ministering to them. 

And unfortunately, not much has changed in the past 2,000 years. False teachers today are still trying to use people in order to exalt themselves and enrich themselves and build their own platform. Even if the people who follow them go to hell, false teachers don’t care. They only care about themselves. 

Paul then adds in verse 18, “It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you.” By this, Paul’s referring not to flattery but to sincere commendation. For example, there are numerous instances in Paul’s letters when he “makes much” of a certain group of Christians by publicly commending them for something in order to encourage and challenge other Christians to be more faithful in that area of their lives. 

Then, continuing on into verse 19, Paul refers to the Galatians as “my little children,” which communicates both affection as well as perhaps a bit of annoyance at how spiritually immature the Galatians have shown themselves to be. Paul then describes them as those “for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” 

Now, I’m not sure exactly how Paul knew what “the anguish of childbirth” felt like. I’m not sure I myself would venture to make such a comparison. Perhaps the Holy Spirit simply revealed to Paul what that was like. Nevertheless, Paul compares what he’s going through in his ministry to the Galatians to the “anguish” a mother experiences as she’s giving birth to a baby. 

According to Paul, it’s as if he’s already gone through that painful process once—when he initially led the Galatians to faith—and is now having to go through that spiritual birthing process all over again. I’m sure every mother can agree that one birthing experience per child is quite sufficient. Yet Paul says he’s “again in the anguish of childbirth.” 

Paul then states that he’s committed to continue his ministry “until Christ is formed in you.” And I’m convinced that’s one of the most important statements in this entire passage. The central mark of spiritual growth and maturity for the Christian is Christ being formed within us. And one reason why I believe that’s so critical for us to take careful note of is that, unfortunately, there are a lot of things that many Christians think are key marks of spiritual maturity but that actually aren’t. 

For example, many Christians think that experiencing and practicing the so-called miraculous spiritual gifts are, in themselves, indications of spiritual maturity. They think you must be really mature if you practice those gifts. By contrast, other Christians, many of whom would probably frown on that first group of Christians, think Bible knowledge is the key indictor of spiritual maturity. Yet according to Paul, both of those groups of Christians are wrong. 

Being a mature Christian isn’t about the impressive spiritual gifts you might have or the impressive amount of Bible knowledge you might possess. Instead, Paul says, the key mark of spiritual maturity is how Christlike you are. To what degree has “Christ” been “formed in you”? That’s the central goal we should be striving for. And this isn’t the only verse in the Bible that says that, either. Paul states in Romans 8:29 that God’s “predestined” us “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” We also find similar statements in Romans 13:14, Colossians 2:6, and 2 Corinthians 3:18. 

Of course, I’m not in any way trying to dismiss the importance of Bible knowledge but am simply saying that Bible knowledge, properly understood, isn’t an end in itself but merely a means to an end—and that end is Christlikeness. If your knowledge of the Bible isn’t leading to you becoming more like Jesus and having his heart of love for the people around you and exhibiting his character even when you don’t think anyone else is looking, then your supposed “knowledge” of the Bible isn’t doing you much good. In the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:1, it’s only puffing you up rather than building you up. And it’s causing you to grossly overestimate your spiritual maturity. By contrast, as we see here in verse 19 of our main passage, the proper measure of spiritual maturity is the degree to which Christ is being formed within us. 

Not only that, Paul says, that’s his greatest desire for the Galatians. The thing Paul yearns to see in the Galatians more than anything else is Christ being formed within them. And I’ll just say that that should be the heart of every pastor. You know, many pastors nowadays deeply desire to have a “successful” church. Yet the most accurate measurement of success in a church isn’t the number of people who attend on Sundays or the level of excitement at the church or the array of programs the church offers or the impressiveness of the church’s building or the size of the church’s budget or anything else that people commonly look to as indications of success. Instead, the most accurate measurement of success in a church is the Christlikeness of the people. To what degree is Christ being formed within the people of that church? 

And let me remind you that, just because something’s growing, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Cancer grows—yet, as we all know, the growth of cancer in a person is deadly, not healthy. Similarly, the simple fact that a church is growing means almost nothing when it comes to the health of that church or how much that church is glorifying God. The real question is how Christlike the people of that church are being formed and shaped to be. 

So, that should be the pastor’s primary concern—just as it was Paul’s primary concern for the Galatians. The great pastoral burden that he carried within his heart for them was that Christ would be formed within them. That’s a pretty good summary of what pastoral ministry is all about. In fact, I’d even say it’s the great mandate that God’s given to pastors. The pastor’s job isn’t to “grow the church” numerically but rather to shepherd the people of the church toward Christlikeness. 

Unfortunately, the kinds of qualities that seem to be most often celebrated about many pastors today are usually related to how talented they are, how innovative they are, how relevant they are, how entertaining or enjoyable to listen to they are, or even how controversial they are. Yet, personally, I’d be much more interested in hearing about how faithful they are to the Bible, how committed they are to teaching their people substantive biblical truth, how burdened they are for the spiritual welfare of their people, and how focused they are on shepherding their people toward Christlikeness—so that Christ might be formed in their people. 

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul compares himself to those who are opposing his ministry and states that he’s dealt with 23 … far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 

Think about that last sentence. Paul’s just listed a staggering array of hardships he’s endured, and what does he put as the final item on that list—apparently as the climax of it all? “The daily pressure on [him] of [his] anxiety [or concern] for all the churches.” Let me just say that I don’t think Paul was concerned about their capital campaigns or whether they were hitting all of their metrics or how things were progressing with their 5-year plans. Instead, I’m fairly certain from passages like our main passage in Galatians that the thing Paul was “anxious” and concerned about was the spiritual welfare of the Christians in those churches. That’s what weighed so heavily on his heart and kept him awake at night—that Christ would be formed within them.

Let me say this to those of you who may desire any kind of pastoral ministry in the future: understand that that’s the calling of pastoral ministry. The great mandate God’s given to pastors is to labor for the formation of Christ within their people. If you’re not interested in that, then you need to find a job doing something else. 

In addition, for those who are trying to find a good church to be a part of or who may one day move out of this area and need to find another church or who perhaps have family members that you’re trying to get plugged into a church, all of this is incredibly relevant to your search for a church. The kinds of questions you should be asking about prospective churches aren’t how entertaining or funny the pastor is, how warm and fuzzy his messages make you feel inside, or even how inspirational you find his preaching to be. 

Instead, you need to ask yourself whether the preaching in that church and the overall culture of that church promotes and facilitates Christ being formed within you. Is that church the kind of church that will nourish you with substantive biblical teaching and thereby help you grow as a Christian? That’s the kind of church you should be looking for. 

And finally, I know this probably wasn’t at the forefront of Paul’s mind as he was writing Galatians 4:19, but I feel like I’d be missing something important here if I didn’t at least make some mention of the relevance of this passage for parents. Your greatest priority as a parent should be Christ being formed within your children. This, of course, begins with your children embracing the gospel and then growing in their Christlikeness and eventually moving out of your home as young adults who are committed to pursuing Christlikeness even when they’re not living under your roof any longer. 

So, how are you raising your children? What kinds of things are you teaching them are the most important in their lives? Keep in mind that we teach our kids what we believe to be most important not only by what we say but by the kind of priorities we ourselves establish. And I’ll just say that one of the biggest mistakes a parent can make is prioritizing sports above meaningful and consistent church involvement. I once read that there is a 0.0296% chance that your child will become a professional athlete, yet there’s a 100% chance that your child will stand before Jesus one day. Now, I haven’t actually done the research to verify that that percentage chance of your child becoming a professional athlete is true, but I think we can all understand the point that’s being made. And I’m certain that the percentage chance of your child standing before Jesus one day is accurate. So, the last thing you should want to do is communicate to your kids that sports practice is essential but that church involvement is optional. 

The most important thing you as a parent can do for your children is point them to Jesus and labor to see Christ formed within them. That’s the most valuable gift you could ever give them, the most important lesson you could ever teach them, and the highest ambition you could ever have for them. College is great and sports can be helpful, but there’s only one thing that really matters: is Christ being formed within your children? 

Also, please understand that this isn’t something that can be outsourced to a children’s ministry, a youth group, or a Christian school. It’s something you have to do. Nobody else can do it the way you can. In a certain sense, you’re irreplaceable. And your efforts to teach them don’t have to be anything fancy or elaborate either. The way you structure your efforts to teach your kids about God can be very simple. 

Personally, I simply read a passage of Scripture out loud during dinner time and then spend maybe five minutes or so leading the family in a discussion of that passage—without any preparation, by the way. I just read the passage, think of a few discussion questions while I’m reading it, and then try to use those questions to start a conversation and see where things go. Because, listen: at the end of the day, the biggest determining factor—humanly speaking—of whether your kids embrace Jesus isn’t how rigorous or elaborate your teaching routine is but rather the kind of person you are.