Notes on Galatians, "Walk in the Spirit," CFM for Sept. 23 - 29

About Galations

• Galatians is an interesting book, written likely in A.D. 57 during Paul's third missionary journey.  It has a lot of similarities with Romans and many of the issues it goes over are covered more in depth in Romans.  "The Roman province of Galatia is now in central Turkey. Galatia had a strong Jewish population (Acts 15:1; 16:3). Perhaps this is why some Galatians wanted all Christian converts to adopt circumcision and live all the Mosaic laws (613 written and 10,000 oral laws). Biblical scholars’ opinions range in their estimates of how many Jews in Galatia converted to Christianity—from as high as 1/5 to as low as 1/100" (Lynne Wilson)
• It is Paul's angriest letter. Although all of the letters we have covered so far from Paul contain rebuke, they all start with at least a little bit of commendation, praise and encouragement. This one starts right in with Paul's frustration and rebuke. Then he describes an incident where he and Peter clashed.  Later in the letter he says that he wishes those that are trying to get the Galatians to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses would castrate themselves (Galatians 5:12). The KJV translation obscures the crude meaning of the original, but the Greek is pretty clear. Don't you love that Paul is a real person? Seeing his rashness gives me hope for myself.  Again, it's good to remember we are only catching one side of a conversation and seeing one brief part of the conversation.  There could have been other letters, even some of apology or milder in tone, but we are limited to what we have.



From John W. Welch

• The main conflict in the letter is that what Josephus and others called "Judaizers" are teaching that the Christian converts needed to be circumcized and follow the law of Moses.  Some speculate that this could have been before the Jerusalem conference that settled that in part, but most seem to think it came after.

Opening Address and Rebuke, Galatians 1:1-9

• In verse one Paul points out that he was an apostle not of men but of Jesus Christ. The word Apostle mean someone who is sent, like a king's emmisary, and the way I read this is that Paul is pointing out that it is Christ who is sent him not other men. Later in the letter, Paul defends his spiritual experiences, so it sounds like people are casting doubt on those and on his supposed authority and conversion. 
• In verse 6 he marvels that they are so soon removed from the grace of Christ into another gospel. He points out that what they think is another gospel is really a perversion (v 7), or a false substitute. What kinds of false substitutes are we confronted with today?
• Paul goes on to tell them that even if Paul himself or a supposed angel from heaven tells them differently, they should not depart from the original gospel he preached of Jesus Christ.  This could have been simply rhetorical, but I think it shows us that Paul did not consider himself infallible -- he knew that it was possible for even he himself to fall away from the truth.  If an Apostle with Paul's experiences was humble enough to recognize that he could make mistakes or fall away in the future, what steps do we need to take to guard our testimony?  
• Of these verses, President Harold B. Lee said, "“Today those warnings are just as applicable as they were in that day in which they were given.
  
  “There are some as wolves among us. By that, I mean some who profess membership in this church who are not sparing the flock. And among our own membership, men are arising speaking perverse things. Now perverse means diverting from the right or correct, and being obstinate in the wrong, willfully, in order to draw the weak and unwary members of the Church away after them.
  
  “And as the apostle Paul said, it is likewise a marvel to us today, as it was in that day, that some members are so soon removed from those who taught them the gospel and are removed from the true teachings of the gospel of Christ” (New Testament Student Manual)

Paul's Time as a Persecutor, Galatians 1:10-24

• Paul emphasizes again in verse 9 that he isn't an apostle/messenger of men but of Christ.  It's hard to guess exactly what the criticisms of Paul were, but he makes it a point to say that after his conversion, he spent three years in Arabia and then only saw Peter and James the Lord's half brother in Jerusalem and that he's not lying on this point.  Perhaps the Judaizers were claiming he hadn't really had the vision he claimed but had instead colluded with the early Apostles in some way -- perhaps they are spreading rumors that Paul's conversion wasn't sincere but that the Apostles fed him all the doctrine he taught, so therefore these false teachers are really the correct ones.  But again, it's not clear why these points were in dispute.
• I understand that scholar Margaret Barker speculates that Paul's time in Arabia could have had a connection to the Magi and to things he could gain there about the earliest temple traditions.  This article from a Catholic blogger outlines some of this speculation and quotes Barker as saying, "Justin, a native of Palestine writing in the mid-second century, said the magi came from Arabia, but his voice has been largely unheard, and the magi are invariably linked to Persia. . . . Exactly what Justin meant by ‘Arabia’, however, is not known. Herod was an Arabian but he came from Edom, and Josephus said that Petra was the capital of Arabia. It was not today’s Arabia. After his conversion, Paul went to Arabia (Gal. 1.17), and his visit may help to identify the magi. He came back better informed about his new faith and able to explain that Christianity was rooted in something older than the law of Moses. Who instructed him? Paul went on to teach that Christianity antedated the Sinai covenant, and was based on righteousness through faith. Abraham was the great example, and his true heirs were righteous through faith. The righteous have proved to be a significant group in the nativity story (Luke 1.17, 75; Matt. 1.19), and Abraham and his heirs were important for Zechariah and his son John (Luke 1.73; Matt. 3.9)"

Paul's Journey to Jerusalem After His Conversion, Galatians 2:1-10

• Paul says he didn't go back up to Jerusalem again for another fourteen years.  This time he took Titus with him, a model Greek convert.  This was a wise move on Paul's part, as it showed those in authority a model convert who had not been circumcised.  It reminded those deliberating that the decisions they made were about real people.  Titus was not "compelled to be circumcised" (v. 3) despite the "false brethren" that were stirring up contention about the subject.
• It was at this time Paul and Barnabus were given "the right hands of fellowship" from Peter, James and John (who he calls "the pillars") to go up to the heathen, or the Gentiles. (v. 9)  I'm not sure what is meant by the "right hand of fellowship," but it seems to have involved some kind of formal recognition that Paul and Barnabas were authorized to do the missionary work they then embarked on.

Paul Confronts Peter, Galatians 2:11-14

• As we've covered in the past, there is question about whether when Paul says he is an apostle, he is talking about the general sense of someone who is sent, like an emmisary or a missionary, or whether he had membership in the Twelve at some point.  I lean towards the latter view, but there are some who believe that things like this clash between Paul and Peter make the first more likely.
• "After a meeting in Jerusalem (see Galatians 2:1), Peter visited the Saints in Antioch (in Pisidia), where Paul was staying. While there, Peter began to dine with the Gentile Saints, but he stopped doing so when a group of Jewish Christians arrived from Jerusalem. He feared that the visitors would find his association with the Gentile Saints offensive (see Galatians 2:12). In many cultures of the ancient world, including the Jewish culture, dining with others affirmed a bond of fellowship and loyalty (see Mark 2:15–16; Acts 10:28). To some Jewish Christians, the cultural tradition of maintaining separation from Gentiles was more important than the Christian bond they shared with Gentile Saints. This was unacceptable to Paul. He taught that among the followers of Christ, there was to be “neither Jew nor Greek, … for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Paul felt that Peter’s withdrawal from the Gentile Saints implied that they could not enjoy fellowship with Church members like Peter unless they lived “as do the Jews” (Galatians 2:14).

It is important to remember that we have only Paul’s account of this confrontation and that Paul acknowledged that Peter’s ministry was primarily to the Jews (see Galatians 2:7–8).

“In defense of the chief Apostle, however, one should recall that Peter was the leader of a relatively small church that was composed of two emotionally fragile factions; the situation was delicate. The Jewish Christians, on the one hand, did not appreciate the reluctance of some Gentiles to submit to the regulations of the Mosaic law, especially circumcision. Paul and his followers, on the other hand, were not worried about offending the feelings of the Jewish Christians who still held fast to the traditions of the law of Moses. Peter the prophet, naturally, loved and was concerned about both Jewish and Gentile members of the Church.

“It was a no-win situation for Peter. If he continued eating with the Gentiles, he would offend the visiting group of Jewish Christians. If he departed, he would offend Paul and the Gentile Christians in Antioch. No compromise was possible. Either way, he was going to hurt some feelings. Maybe Peter felt that an offended Paul would still remain true, while an offended group of Jewish Christians would potentially influence many others to dissent or leave the young church” (Frank F. Judd Jr., “The Jerusalem Conference: The First Council of the Christian Church,” Religious Educator, vol. 12, no. 1 [2011], 67; rsc.byu.edu).

Conspicuously absent from Galatians 2 is any reference to the Jerusalem conference held in A.D. 49 (see Acts 15). Paul was a participant in that conference, and he later shared the decision of that conference with those to whom he ministered (see Acts 15:30; 16:4). Since Paul made no mention of the conference or the letters describing the decision to take the gospel to the Gentiles, some experts believe that the experience described in Galatians 2:11–21 occurred prior to the Jerusalem conference." (New Testament Student Manual)
•  Lynne Wilson says of this incident, "Evidently, Paul retold his view of the story because earlier the Judaizers used it to give the impression that Peter agreed with them. The story intentionally comes after Paul has 959 Page listed several examples where he honored Peter as a pillar and apostle, when they worked in harmony on difficult issues, and when he even spent over two weeks as Peter’s house guest. With that as background, Paul shares the story of a dinner party in Antioch, when he got frustrated with Peter. Paul was upset because Peter’s behavior seemed inconsistent with the harmony they had curated at the Jerusalem Council. However, the dinner incident described in this verse “is instructive in showing two strong leaders agreeing on a principle that came by revelation, but applying it with different timing.”8 We do not get to hear Peter’s side of the story, but it sounds as if Peter felt at home with the Antioch saints, because Antioch history claims that he settled there after his Jerusalem imprisonment."

Made Righteous Through Faith, Galatians 2:15-21

• It's important to remember that Paul is talking about the "works of the law of Moses" when he discusses works.  Like in Romans, where some take verses out of context to say that we are saved no matter what we do, "Galatians 2:16 has sometimes been misunderstood to mean that salvation results only from our faith in Jesus Christ and that works of righteousness are not necessary for salvation. It is important to understand this verse in context. Here, and in most places in Paul’s writings, the word works does not refer generally to good deeds or efforts to live the gospel—our obedience. Each time the word works appears in Paul’s discussion in Galatians 2–3, it is part of the phrase “works of the law,” meaning the observances of the law of Moses, such as the rite of circumcision, dietary restrictions, or holy days (see the commentary for Romans 3:27–31). So Paul’s meaning is that the works of the law of Moses are not necessary for our salvation."  
• Further evidence that Paul didn't mean that works didn't matter is his emphasis throughout on living the gospel, loving your neighbor, and his words at the end of this epistle saying that idolaters, fornicators, murderers and others will not enter into the kingdom of God.  (Galations 5:21).
• Let me be clear that we do believe that the grace of Christ is what saves, not our works.  However, our actions do matter.  As Dallin H. Oaks, has said, "“The Apostle Paul wrote that we should ‘work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling.’ (Phil. 2:12.) Could that familiar expression mean that the sum total of our own righteousness will win us salvation and exaltation? Could some of us believe that our heavenly parentage and our divine destiny allow us to pass through mortality and attain eternal life solely on our own merits?
  
  “On the basis of what I have heard, I believe that some of us, some of the time, say things that can create that impression. We can forget that keeping the commandments, which is necessary, is not sufficient. As Nephi said, we must labor diligently to persuade everyone ‘to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.’ (2 Ne. 25:23.) …“… After all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from the effect of our sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ” (“What Think Ye of Christ?” Ensign, Nov. 1988, 66–67)."(New Testament Student Manual)
• Paul says that he is "crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  (v. 20).  Later in the letter, he will talk again about the importance of being a new creature or creation in Christ.  How do we let Christ live in us and put away our old sinful nature?  
• Paul points out that if the law of Moses was sufficient for one to be made righteous or justified (held not guilty), then there was no purpose to Christ's death or their gospel.  This seems to be at the heart of the conflict between Paul and those who are leading the Galatians astray.  They are perverting the gospel by requiring the law of Moses to be observed and putting it as the means of salvation instead of Christ.  Paul, as a former Pharisee, gave up a false dependence on law when he was converted to the gospel and he wants the saints to do the same.

Abraham Believed, Galatians 3:1-14

• As in Romans, Paul points out that Abraham had the covenant long before the law of Moses.  If the law was so important, he asks then what about Abraham?  How could he be righteous and  justified without it?  Abraham's example and covenant was to embrace both Jew and Gentile, so the law of Moses could not be sufficient.
• Of verses 10-13, the student manual points out, "Some Jews believed that Jesus could not be the Messiah because he had been crucified or, in other words, hung on a tree (see Galatians 3:13; Acts 5:30; 10:39; 1 Peter 2:24). They referred to a passage in Deuteronomy stating that a criminal who was put to death by being hung on a tree was “accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22–23). According to this way of thinking, Jesus had to be regarded as cursed by God. But Paul showed another way of looking at the concept of being “cursed” as applied to the Savior. He explained that Jesus willingly took our sins upon Himself in order to perform the work of redemption, thus becoming “cursed” in our place: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13). (New Testament Student Manual)

Why the Law?, Galatians 3:15-29

• Paul outlines the purpose of the law.  Verse 16 is a bit confusing in the KJV, but if you substitute "descendent" and "descendents" in the place of "seed" and "seeds," as other translations do, it makes it more clear that Paul was pointing out that Abraham was given the promise of Christ as the mediator for all his descendents.  "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the [descendent] should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." (v. 19).  The JST for these verses brings up the additional point that as Moses was the mediator of the old covenant, or law of Moses, so Jesus Chrsit is the mediator of the new covenant.  "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (v. 24)  The law of Moses was not sufficient in itself, but acted as a teacher or "guardian" (Wayment translation) to bring us to Christ.  Because Christ has come, the people have graduated from being under the schoolmaster to being ready to put on Christ.
• Of verse 27, "In the phrase “put on Christ,” the verb translated as “put on” comes from the Greek word enduō, which means “to endow.” The Greek word means to clothe oneself and in this phrase means to symbolically “put on” the attributes and enabling power of Jesus Christ (see also Ephesians 4:22, 24; 6:11; Colossians 3:9–12). Similarly, when faithful members of the Church receive their temple “endowment,” they covenant to take upon themselves the attributes of a Christlike life."  (New Testament Student Manual)
• Jew, Greek, bond, free, male, female are all one in Christ and if that is so, then we are all Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise. (v. 28-29).  It's worth pointing out this was revolutionary!  Slaves and masters are equal and are to be unified in Christ?  People of different races and genders are brought to a unified whole?  This was a big change for most of the people.

Heirs of God, Galatians 4:1-7

• The first part of chapter four forms the center point, or climax, of the chiastic organization of the book of Galatians:

From John W. Welch

• In this chapter, Paul continues his talk about being heirs of Abraham and growing up with the law/schoolmaster.  This analogy, of heirs and servants being the same until the heir comes of age, makes more sense if you understand the culture of the time.  Lynne Wilson explains, "One of the Greek words for child, also meant “servant or slave/pais” (Lk 2:43, 7:7; 8:51; 12:45; 15:26; etc.). At this time in many Judaic-Greco-Roman families, children and servants did similar work. Each had to stand up in the presence of their master or father “to greet him, and perhaps even to bow down before him. He [the child or slave] could not stand or sit in his place, speak in his presence, contradict him, or respond sharply to him. This was the way of the Torah.” Children were to “give [their fathers] food and drink, to clothe and cover him, to help him in and out when he grew old, and to wash his face, hands and feet.” As ninety percent of Jews living in Palestine at the time lived and worked in farming or fishing villages, children and slaves were needed to help. . . Up to the age of 12, a Jewish father had full control over his children, acting as both their master and father. Not until Jewish children reached 12.5 years could they receive their succession and rights as his heir (although usually an inheritance was not received until the death of the parents). Roman Laws also had a time frame when sons could become heirs. Paul speaks figuratively in this verse about “guardians,” possibly to reflect himself as one who had helped with their conversion, or covenant making with the Lord. He continues to build an analogy based on the servitude of the Mosaic Law versus the inheritance of everlasting life through Christ.""
• Once a child reaches his maturity, he is no longer a servant but an heir.  This is like putting away the law now that we have Christ and his new covenant. " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (v. 4-5) I love that the scripture points out that Christ was born of a woman and under the law.  Christ himself was circumcised and lived the law of Moses in his lifetime.  He rejected the additional oral laws and traditions, but he kept the law of Moses.

How Can You Turn Back?, Galatians 4:8-11

• Under Paul's analogy, the people who turn away from the gospel of Christ as he taught it are like those who have become heirs desiring to go back to being children.  "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (v. 9)

Paul's Personal Appeal, Galatians 4:12-20

• Paul asks the saints to be like him, presumably in putting away a strict adherence to law and tradition in favor of being reborn in Christ.  Then he speaks of how, despite his physical weakness and infirmity, the people once accepted him "as an angel of God."  They loved him so much they didn't despise him because of his infirmity in the flesh.  On the contrary, "Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me."  (v. 15).  
• He appeals to this love and charity in telling them that he is not their enemy because he speaks the truth.  Isn't it interesting that the truth can be so hard to hear for many of us? Wouldn't we all prefer someone to tell us how wonderful we are than hear hard truths about areas we need to improve in?  Are we willing to stand up when necessary and speak the truth, even when others might view us as enemies because of it?  I love the story President Dallin H. Oaks told last conference, "Some decisions are choices between doing something or doing nothing. I heard an example of this kind of choice at a stake conference in the United States many years ago.
  
  The setting was a beautiful college campus. A crowd of young students was seated on the grass. The speaker who described this circumstance said they were watching a handsome tree squirrel with a large, bushy tail playing around the base of a beautiful hardwood tree. Sometimes it was on the ground, sometimes up and down and around the trunk. But why would that familiar sight attract a crowd of students?
  
  Stretched out prone on the grass nearby was an Irish setter. He was the object of the students’ interest, and the squirrel was the object of his. Each time the squirrel was momentarily out of sight circling the tree, the setter would quietly creep forward a few inches and then resume his apparently indifferent posture. This was what held the students’ interest. Silent and immobile, their eyes were riveted on the event whose outcome was increasingly obvious.
  
  Finally, the setter was close enough to bound at the squirrel and catch it in his mouth. A gasp of horror arose, and the crowd of students surged forward and wrested the little animal away from the dog, but it was too late. The squirrel was dead.
  
  Anyone in that crowd could have warned the squirrel at any time by waving his or her arms or crying out, but none did. They just watched while the inevitable outcome got closer and closer. No one asked, “Where will this lead?” When the predictable occurred, all rushed to prevent the outcome, but it was too late. Tearful regret was all they could offer.
  
  That true story is a parable of sorts. It applies to things we see in our own lives and in lives and circumstances around us. As we see threats creeping up on persons or things we love, we have the choice of speaking or acting or remaining silent. It is well to ask ourselves, “Where will this lead?” Where the consequences are immediate and serious, we cannot afford to do nothing. We must sound appropriate warnings or support appropriate preventive efforts while there is still time."
• As a sidenote, I have noticed that one of the habits of our culture is our quickness to take offense and the accompanying unwillingness to say anything that might possibly be considered offensive.  Sometimes the latter can be good, particularly if we are saying something self-serving, rude, or unkind.  But does it also keep us from warning someone from a future danger?  From telling them gently that dropping out of college or marrying that person or going to that party isn't the best choice?  I've noticed that other cultures are more open and willing to talk more frankly.  In Brazil, for example, it's not taboo to talk about someone's weight.  It's just part of the normal conversation.  "Hey, you've gotten fat since the last time I saw you!" isn't an insult, it's just an observation.
• Paul finishes out this section by telling them of his love and concern. He calls them his "little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"  He compares himself to a mother in labor, only in his case he is trying to bring them into a second birth with Christ.

Hagar and Sarah, Galatians 4:21-5:1

• The way Paul interprets the Old Testament can be jarring to our modern ears but is consistent with the way educated Jews would re-interpret scripture in a way to illustrate a point.  It doesn't necessarily mean that God intended Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah to be read the way Paul does; it is just Paul trying to draw a parallel between the scriptures and the point he is trying to make.  
• The chart below is from the New Testament Student Manual and outlines Paul's symbolic interpretation.
• Abraham’s Two Wives and Sons: Symbols of the Old and New Covenants

  Hagar (Agar) and Ishmael	Sarah and Isaac
  Hagar, a bondwoman (servant), bore a son, Ishmael, naturally—described by Paul as “after the flesh” (Galatians 4:22–23).	Sarah, a freewoman, bore a son, Isaac, miraculously—a son of “promise” (Galatians 4:22–23).
  Paul used Hagar and Ishmael as symbols for the law of Moses, which was received on Mount Sinai, and for the earthly city of Jerusalem. The law of Moses led to bondage, and Jerusalem was in bondage to the Romans (see Galatians 4:24–25).	Paul used Sarah and Isaac as symbols for the freedom of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the heavenly city of Jerusalem, which is free from bondage (see Galatians 4:24–26).
  Jews under the old covenant—the law of Moses—are children of bondage. They continually persecute the Christians, just as Hagar and Ishmael persecuted Sarah and Isaac (see Galatians 4:24, 29).	Christians who embrace the new covenant—the gospel of Jesus Christ—are freed from the bondage of Mosaic rituals and are heirs to the promises made to Abraham (see Galatians 4:24, 30–31).

Circumcision, Galatians 5:2-12

• Paul warns against those who want to circumcize his converts, "again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." (v. 4-5). He appears to be telling them that they might think it doesn't really matter whether they give in and become circumcised, but that it is only the first step to the Judaizers.  They will continue and try to make them follow the whole law.  By embracing this, they are in danger of rejecting Christ.  He wants them to reject the law of Moses completely, not with half-measures.  Just as a tiny bit of leaven works its way in a loaf, (v. 9) so a little bit of corruption could spoil their entire salvation.  It sounds as if the people were trying to please men by being circumcized (the leaven) and also live a pure (unleavened) life.  We don't have this particular manifestation of that problem today, but how do we try to accommodate other teachings or untruths alongside those of the Savior?  Elder D. Todd Christofferson says, "To come to Zion, it is not enough for you or me to be somewhat less wicked than others. We are to become not only good but holy men and women. Recalling Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s phrase, let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon (see Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], 47)."
• From C. S. Lewis, “‘Christ says, “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. … Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”’ (Mere Christianity, New York: Collier Books, 1960, p. 167)(quoted in the New Testament Student Manual)
• In verse 6, Paul says that faith works by love.  I love this quote that was in my New Testament study guide and can be found in this address by Robert F. Orton, "The Apostle Paul taught that faith, which is the first principle of the gospel, works by love (see Gal. 5:6). What a valuable doctrine to understand! Love is the driving force behind faith. Just as a fire at home on a cold winter night makes it warm, so love of God and neighbor gives us faith, with which anything is possible."  Paul will continue talking about love in just a bit.
• Paul says they started out well in the race, but something has hindered them (v. 7).  He wants them to reject the persuasion that has hindered them because it is "not of him that calleth you."  How can we recognize the persuasions and arguments that would take us away from the race?
• It seems that some might be teaching that Paul himself encourages circumcision, which might be why he makes an emphasis on Titus not being circumcized earlier.  Here, here he denies teaching any such thing.  He's being persecuted for giving up the law of Moses.  Why would he also be teaching circumcision?  (v. 11)
• And in verse 12, we have that lovely remark that I mentioned at the beginning.  The KJV says simply that "I would they were even cut off which trouble you."  But that isn't what Paul says.  He says he wishes that the agitators would castrate themselves.  In the words of Hales Swift, 
  "Paul is suggesting that the those advocating for circumcising Gentile Christians should take it a step farther and emasculate themselves in one of the most cringe-worthy moments in all of scripture." 
• It is worth noting that our current aversion to talking about some of the more sensitive areas of the body is modern and that other cultures and places didn't have such a taboo and wouldn't have been nearly as squeamish about talking about this kind of thing.  Even so, you can see how upset and frustrated Paul is.

Serve One Another Through Love, Galatians 5:13-26

• Paul says that "all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (v. 14).  He also says that if we nip and eat at one another, that will lead to being "consumed one of another."  It's so true that the little contentions, if allowed to fester, can consume us with grudges, hatred, anger, and irritation.  Later, he says the people shouldn't be "conceited, compteting against one another, envying one another" (v. 26, Wayment translation).  The way we treat one another matters.
• Instead of givinRg in to those little things, we should "walk in the Spirit" (v. 16) and not give in to the lusts of the flesh.  Those who think Paul says that works don't matter should study this section, as he goes on to write about all the actions that will keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."  (v. 19-21)
• In contrast, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

Bear One Another's Burden, Galatians 6:1-10

• Verse one tells the people to go to the rescue of those who are "overtaken in a fault," but be mindful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  
• "Bear one another's burden's, and so fulfill the law of Christ."  I love this verse!  We need to help one another, but also be self-reliant where our own burdens are concerned (v. 5), working towards the harvest, because we reap what we sow (v. 7)
• Elder Oaks spoke about these verses and the law of the harvest, "As we look about us, we see many who are practicing deception. We hear of prominent officials who have lied about their secret acts. We learn of honored sports heroes who have lied about gambling on the outcome of their games or using drugs to enhance their performance. We see less well-known persons engaging in evil acts in secret they would never do in public. Perhaps they think no one will ever know. But God always knows. And He has repeatedly warned that the time will come when “[our] iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and [our] secret acts shall be revealed” (D&C 1:3; see also Morm. 5:8; D&C 38:7).

“Be not deceived,” the Apostle Paul taught. “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For 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” (Gal. 6:7–8).

In other words, if we indulge in drugs or pornography or other evils that the Apostle called sowing to the flesh, eternal law dictates that we harvest corruption rather than life eternal. That is the justice of God, and mercy cannot rob justice. If an eternal law is broken, the punishment affixed to that law must be suffered. Some of this can be satisfied by the Savior’s Atonement, but the merciful cleansing of a soiled sinner comes only after repentance (see Alma 42:22–25), which for some sins is a prolonged and painful process. Otherwise, “he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption” (Alma 34:16).

Fortunately, repentance is possible. For the most serious sins we need to confess to our bishop and seek his loving help. For other sins it may be sufficient for us to confess to the Lord and to whomever we have wronged. Most lying is of this sort. If you have deceived someone, resolve now to stop carrying the burden. Make it right and get on with your life.
• My favorite verse from this week is verse 9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."  We should not "grow tired" of doing good, but look for opportunities to serve.  The small things are the big things.  As Elder Oaks says, "Another seemingly small and simple thing is being civil and cheerful in our personal interactions.
  
  None of these desirable small and simple things will lift us to great things unless they are practiced consistently and continuously. President Brigham Young was reported as saying: “Our lives are made up of little, simple circumstances that amount to a great deal when they are brought together, and sum up the whole life of the man or woman.”
  
  We are surrounded by media influences and cultural deteriorations that will carry us downstream in our values if we are not continually resisting. To move upstream toward our eternal goal, we must constantly keep paddling. It helps if we are part of a team that is paddling together, like a rowing crew in action. To extend that example even further, the cultural currents are so strong that if we ever stop paddling, we will be carried downstream toward a destination we do not seek but which becomes inevitable if we do not constantly try to move forward."  

Final Encouragement, Galatians 6:11-18

• Paul now writes the rest of the letter in his own hand, in large letters.  This could be another clue to his having an eye ailment or vision problem as his thorn in the flesh, or it could simply be that he wasn't very practiced at writing.  Using scribes at that time was quite common.
• Paul takes a few more jabs at the Judaizers, pointing out that they only want to circumcize the people to avoid persecution (v. 12).  Not only that, but they don't even keep the law themselves (v. 13).
• It isn't whether one is circumcised or not that matters, but what one has become.  Are we a "new creation?" (v. 15)
• Paul says he bears in his "body the marks of the Lord Jesus."  From Lynne Wilson, "Paul refers to “marks” or in Greek stigmata, which originally meant scar and came from the branding irons of slavery. A person was identified as a slave if they had scars on his or her back. Paul reported in 2 Corinthians 11:24, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.” So he and the Lord shared welts on their back for a period of time. The marks may also have come from being stoned; the broken bones may have been from his beating with a rod—all of which came because of his valiant missionary service. The negative connotations have led to our word, “stigma.” Paul uses this to show faithfulness in the face of persecution. He received a lot of persecution in Galatia (stoning, Acts 14:5,19; 13:50; etc.)."

Video for the Week:

Note:  I'm indebted to Thomas Wayment for most of my section divisions and headings on this post and others.  If you haven't checked out his New Testament translation, it is well worth it!