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Gálatas 6

ARC · Chapter 6/6

1Irmãos, se algum homem chegar a ser surprehendido n'alguma offensa, vós, que sois espirituaes, encaminhae ao tal com espirito de mansidão; olhando por ti mesmo, para que não sejas tambem tentado.

2Levae as cargas um dos outros, e assim cumprireis a lei de Christo.

3Porque, se alguem cuida ser alguma coisa, não sendo nada, engana-se a si mesmo.

4Mas prove cada um a sua propria obra, e terá gloria só em si mesmo, e não n'outro.

5Porque cada qual levará a sua propria carga.

6E o que é instruido na palavra reparta de todos os seus bens com aquelle que o instrue.

7Não erreis: Deus não se deixa escarnecer; porque tudo o que o homem semear, isso tambem ceifará.

8Porque o que semeia na sua carne, da carne ceifará a corrupção; mas o que semeia no Espirito, do Espirito ceifará a vida eterna.

9E não nos cancemos de fazer bem, porque a seu tempo ceifaremos, se não houvermos desfallecido.

10De sorte que, emquanto temos tempo, façamos bem a todos, mas principalmente aos domesticos da fé.

11Vêde com que grandes lettras vos escrevi por minha mão.

12Todos os que querem mostrar boa apparencia na carne esses vos obrigam a circumcidar-vos, sómente para não serem perseguidos por causa da cruz de Christo.

13Porque nem ainda esses mesmos que se circumcidam guardam a lei, mas querem que vos circumcideis, para se gloriarem na vossa carne.

14Mas longe esteja de mim gloriar-me, a não ser na cruz de nosso Senhor Jesus Christo, por quem o mundo está crucificado para mim e eu para o mundo.

15Porque em Christo Jesus nem a circumcisão nem a incircumcisão tem virtude alguma, mas sim o ser uma nova creatura.

16E a todos quantos andarem conforme esta regra, paz e misericordia sobre elles e sobre o Israel de Deus.

17Quanto ao mais, ninguem me seja molesto; porque trago no meu corpo as marcas do Senhor Jesus.

18A graça de nosso Senhor Jesus Christo seja, irmãos, com o vosso espirito. Amen.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul closes the letter with practical instructions about restoring with gentleness those who fall into sin, bearing one another's burdens, and the principle that each person reaps what they sow. He reaffirms that what truly matters is not circumcision, but being a new creation in Christ.

Explanation

The closing instructions balance personal responsibility with community: each person must examine their own work, but also help 'bear the burdens' of others, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ, which is love. The principle of 'sowing and reaping' (v. 7-8) teaches an enduring spiritual law: investing in the flesh (selfish desires) leads to corruption, while investing in the Spirit produces eternal life, encouraging perseverance in doing good without growing weary. Paul closes by reaffirming the central theme of the entire letter: neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value — what matters is being a 'new creature' in Christ. His personal mention of writing 'with what large letters' by his own hand (v. 11) suggests a vision problem that forced him to use large letters, adding a human, vulnerable touch to the letter's solemn closing.

Fun facts

  • Paul's mention of writing 'with large letters' by his own hand (v. 11) is one of the few biblical hints of a possible physical condition, such as poor eyesight, that would have made his normal handwriting difficult.
  • The phrase 'the marks of the Lord Jesus' (v. 17) likely refers to the physical scars left by the beatings and persecutions Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel, described in more detail in 2 Corinthians 11.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Gálatas 6:1“The spirit of meekness” describes how someone mature in the faith should treat a brother who has fallen into sin: with care to restore, not to humiliate, remembering that anyone could be tempted the same way.
  2. Gálatas 6:2“The law of Christ” is not a new set of rules, but a summary of what Jesus taught. Paul connects it here to bearing one another’s burdens, helping whoever is struggling.
  3. Gálatas 6:3Paul warns against self-deception: whoever thinks they are important without really being so only deceives themselves, an easy trap to fall into precisely when judging others, as in the previous verse.
  4. Gálatas 6:4Paul asks each person to examine their own conduct, not to compare themselves with others and take glory from that, but to have an honest satisfaction based only on their own work.
  5. Gálatas 6:5This verse does not contradict “bear ye one another’s burdens” (6:2): there, “burdens” means loads too heavy to carry alone, which call for mutual help; here, “burden” is the personal responsibility each person must carry themselves, without pushing it onto others.
  6. Gálatas 6:6Paul instructs that whoever is taught in the faith should also share their material goods with the one who teaches them, a practical principle of support for those devoted to instructing the community.
  7. Gálatas 6:7Paul uses a well-known farming image to warn against the idea of fooling God: just as in the field, whatever a person plants in life is exactly what they will reap later.
  8. Gálatas 6:8Paul applies the planting image: investing in one’s own flesh, in selfishness, reaps destruction; investing in the Spirit reaps eternal life, a direct contrast between two possible paths.
  9. Gálatas 6:9Paul encourages perseverance: doing good may seem to bring no return in the moment, but he guarantees the harvest comes at the right time, as long as the person does not give up along the way.
  10. Gálatas 6:10Paul concludes with a practical application: taking every available opportunity to do good to everyone, but with special attention to fellow Christians, the “household of faith.”
  11. Gálatas 6:11Paul usually dictated his letters to a scribe and only signed at the end. Here he points out that he wrote this part “with mine own hand,” in “how large a letter,” perhaps to give more personal weight to what he says, or because of some eyesight problem.
  12. Gálatas 6:12Paul accuses those preaching mandatory circumcision of doing so, in part, to avoid persecution from more traditional Jews: preaching a message only about the cross of the crucified Christ, without requiring the law, drew far more hostility at the time.
  13. Gálatas 6:13Paul accuses the advocates of circumcision of inconsistency: not even they keep the whole law themselves, and they only want the Galatians circumcised so they can boast about having converted them to that practice.
  14. Gálatas 6:14Paul contrasts this search for recognition with his own posture: he only wants to boast in the cross of Christ, something that, for him, put an end once and for all to any value the world could offer.
  15. Gálatas 6:15Paul repeats a summary already used earlier in the letter: neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters anymore; what really counts is being transformed into a new person on the inside.
  16. Gálatas 6:16Paul asks for peace and mercy on whoever follows this principle of the new creation, calling this community, made up of Jews and Gentiles united by faith, “the Israel of God.”
  17. Gálatas 6:17“The marks of the Lord Jesus” refers to the physical scars Paul carried from beatings, stoning, and other mistreatment suffered for preaching the gospel. He uses them as proof of authenticity, in place of the mark of circumcision his opponents valued.
  18. Gálatas 6:18Paul closes the hottest letter he ever wrote with a brief final blessing, wishing that the grace of Christ be with the very spirit of the Galatians he had just rebuked so harshly.

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