Galatians 4:12 - Meaning and Application

Paul wants these Christians to feel ashamed of turning away from the truth of the gospel he had preached to them. So he reminds them of the deep love they once showed him and his ministry, and he asks them to compare that with how they are acting now. Their present conduct did not match the respect they had once professed.

He speaks to them with affection. He calls them brothers, even though he knows their hearts have largely turned away from him. He wants any anger or hurt feelings to be laid aside, and he wants them to feel toward him as he feels toward them. He says they have not wronged him at all. Though he had spoken strongly in correcting them, he was not reacting to a personal insult. His concern came from zeal for the truth and purity of the gospel, and from love for their good.

This is a useful lesson for us. When we correct others, we should make it clear that our words do not come from private hurt or resentment. They should come from sincere concern for God’s honor, for true religion, and for the other person’s real welfare. Reproof is most likely to help when people can see it is given without selfish motives.

Paul also reminds them of their former affection for him, so they will feel the shame of their present attitude. He points back to the hard circumstances under which he first preached to them. He says he preached the gospel to them because of an infirmity of the flesh, meaning some weakness or trouble that affected him physically or in outward appearance. We cannot know for sure what this was, though some think it was persecution, and others think it had to do with his body or speaking style, as in (2 Corinthians 10:10) and (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Whatever that weakness was, it did not lead them to despise him. Instead, they received him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. They welcomed him with great respect, as though God’s messenger himself, or Christ himself, had come to them. Their love for him was so strong that, if it would have helped him, they would have been willing to give him their own eyes.

That shows how changeable people can be. They may move quickly from great respect to deep contempt, and from strong affection to cold dislike. They may later turn against the very people they once would have honored most. For that reason, we should seek to be approved by God. It is a small thing to be judged by human opinion (1 Corinthians 4:3).

Paul then asks them a painful question: Where is the blessedness you spoke of? In other words, where is the joy and satisfaction you once felt in the gospel? They had once been glad to receive the good news and eager to bless him as the one who brought it. Now they had changed so much that they seemed to have little taste for the gospel or respect for him. Those who have left their first love would do well to ask the same question, Where is now the joy they once spoke of? What has become of their delight in God and in the fellowship of his servants?

He asks again in (Galatians 4:16), Am I become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? He is saying, “How have I, who once was your friend and favorite, now become your enemy? Can you give any reason except that I told you the truth and tried to strengthen you in the truth of the gospel? If that is the only reason, then your dislike is deeply unfair.” This is a sad but common thing. People often treat as enemies those who are really their best friends, especially when those friends speak plainly about their soul’s good.

Ministers may sometimes make enemies by faithfully doing their duty, and Paul was in that very position here. Yet they must not stop telling the truth for fear of offending people. And they can rest in the fact that, if others turn against them, it may simply be because they spoke honestly.