UNTIL CHRIST IS FORMED IN YOU

GALATIANS 4:12-20

AUGUST 9, 1998

 

We have in our text one of the most personal of Paul's notes to any group. Here the Apostle opens his heart. We see the pathos and consternation of the man of God who had spiritually labored among the Galatians, only to find that they may have abandoned the gospel for that which cannot save. But he does not give up! As a true witness of Christ, he keeps pressing the gospel 'until Christ is formed in you'. 

 

While the tone of this passage shifts somewhat from the weighty theological to that of pastoral tenderness, we have within it significant insights for the Christian involved in the concern of souls. Can such a witness be satisfied at a mere decision or profession of Christ? The goal of a Christian witness can only be satisfied by Christ being formed in those who claim to believe. 

 

Every believer has the privilege and the duty of being a witness of the gospel of Christ to others. Perhaps we struggle with this privilege, not knowing how we are to go about it or what we are seeking to accomplish. I believe we can be strengthened in our own witness for Christ by seeing how the Apostle Paul sought the true conversion of his friends in Galatia. Let us learn from the faithful witness of Paul; and let us become such faithful witnesses until Christ is formed in those whom we seek after for Jesus' sake.  

 

1.  Maintain a passion for others to know Christ as you know Him: "become as I am." 

 

When Paul first visited Galatia, he did not come as an arrogant, 'I'm-better-than-you' legalist, who had no sensitivity to the Gentile culture. He did not come to them as a Jew but as a Christian.  He said, "for I also have become as you are."  We find a great principle that is to be operative in missions and in our evangelistic endeavors. As Christians, we are to show the compassion of Jesus Christ to all men, rather than some type of stereo-typical arrogance that characterizes many religious people. As Stott expressed it:

...in seeking to win other people for Christ, our end is to make them like us, while the means to that end is to make ourselves like them. If they are to become one with us in Christian conviction and experience, we must first become one with them in Christian compassion [Message of Galatians, 113]. 

 

e.g, Hudson Taylor in China in contrast to the other British missionaries... 

 

I Corinthians 9:20-22 shows Paul's practice at this point. 

 

Practically speaking, we are to build relationships with unbelievers; we cannot expect an unbeliever to act like a believer until he is converted; our place is not to reform his morals but to confront him with the claims of Jesus Christ; we are to be involved in their lives without compromising Christian character or integrity. 

 

Paul's passion for the Galatians, as well as others, to know Christ was found in his declaration, "I beg of you, brethren, become as I am."  Though he continues calling them brethren, his confidence in their salvation has been crushed, for he says later, "I am perplexed about you" (v. 20). He treats them tenderly, yet firmly; with love, yet in no way compromising the truth of the gospel and Christian reality. 

 

Was Paul seeking clones? Of course not! But he was seeking those who would know Jesus Christ savingly as he did; those who were justified by faith alone through Jesus Christ and Him crucified; those who did not cling to the law or some form of works for salvation. 

 

e.g., Acts 26:29, to King Agrippa, "I would to God that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains." 

 

Is this not a critical element in our Christian witness? Do we present the gospel as those who are fully satisfied with the gospel and its effects? Do we know such delight in Christ that we want others to share that same delight? 

 

Perhaps one of our greatest hindrances in Christian witness is a cold heart; a sterile Christianity that lacks the joy and fulness of God's Spirit. 

 

Christian witness is not to be done with coldness but with fire and passion. The passion and authority of the apostle was so recognized in Galatia that they 'received him as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself'. He certainly spoke with apostolic authority in his Christian witness. But he also spoke with the authority of a transformed life; as one delivered from the kingdom of darkness and delivered into the Kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13). He spoke as one who understood in experience that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). 

 

Practically, the Christian witness must be one who gives himself in devotion to Christ; he must be one who lingers in the time of worship; who knows the joy of Christ's presence in prayer; who is strengthened daily by the truths of the Word; who trusts in the strength of the Lord; who seeks to live in holiness before the Lord. 

 

Your walk with Christ cannot be divorced from your witness of Christ to others. There is a certain authority in hearing a person speak, in whom "Christ is formed" as opposed to one who gives no evidence of Christ being in him.  

 

2.  Recognize the providence of God in our Christian witness: "it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time." 

 

vv. 13-15 show Paul's reflections upon the time of his visit to Galatia and how he was nobly received by these people so that they gave rapt attention to his preaching. They treated him with the greatest respect and care. He commends them for this and reminds them of this, particularly as it contrasts with their present treatment of him--and their rejection of the gospel of grace. 

 

What was his bodily illness? Numerous theories have been proposed: 

 

1. Some ancient commentators said it was a problem of lust that afflicted Paul; but the context of this being a bodily condition which was recognizable in Paul's appearance mitigates against this. And if this is the same "infirmity" which Paul mentions in II Corinthians 12, his 'thorn in the flesh,' it would be strange that he could "glory in my infirmity" if it was a problem of lust. 

 

2.  Martin Luther proposes that it was Paul's physical trials, his persecutions, his being beaten with rods, whipped by the cat-of-nine-tails, shipwrecked, etc. Perhaps there is something to this, but I still believe the context would point to some type of disease which caused him to be physically affected and even disfigured to a degree. 

 

3.  Others propose that Paul had epilepsy due to the phrase 'you did not...loathe,' which originally meant, 'you did not spit out'. The belief was common that demons caused epilepsy and they could be exorcised or contained by spitting them out [George, NAC, 323]. 

 

4.  Another view is that Paul had some type of ophthalmia, due to the expression in v. 15 of 'plucked out your eyes and given them to me'. Support for this is also found in Paul speaking of writing in "large letters" in 6:11. 

 

5.  Most of the commentators I read suggest that Paul had a case of malaria which he contracted in the swampy areas of Pamphylia so that he sought the higher terrain of the Galatian region to counteract its effects and recuperate. If so, then Paul came to them when he was subdued with malarial fever, ravaged to some degree by the disease so that it was evident he had a "bodily condition." 

 

Whatever the problem, it became a providential instrument to bring him to the Galatians so that they might receive the gospel of truth in Christ.  This is where we see the great practicality of understanding the providence of God. We are not walking accidents. Circumstances of life are not left to chance. There is a Divine Mover who "orders the steps of a righteous man" so that He puts us into situations to establish the gospel. 

 

e.g., Adoniram Judson intended to carry the gospel to India; but due to immigration restrictions, he had to take "temporary" refuge in Burma.  He stayed and had a God-honored ministry in that land. 

 

Consider in our times of Christian witness. It seems that the most profitable times are not always when we have scheduled to witness but when by seeming "accidents" we encounter someone and present to them the gospel of Christ. Let us learn that the providence of God is ruling our lives and in that providence, He is moving His messengers into all parts of the world to carry the gospel message (e.g., Acts 8:4ff).  

 

3.  At all costs, tell the truth of the gospel: "Have I therefore become your enemy by telling you the truth?" 

 

There was quite a contrast in how Paul was first received in Galatia and how they were now treating him. They loved his preaching and teaching in those early days. They "received [him] as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself." Could a Christian witness ask for a better reception? I think not! But now all of this had changed. They were offended at what Paul said. They were resistant to the purity of the gospel message and sought to embrace a false gospel. No longer was Paul their friend and spiritual mentor. Now they considered him their enemy.  But why? Simply because he told them the truth. 

 

What had Paul been teaching them?  He taught that it was Christ Jesus "who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age" (Gal. 1:4). He taught that any gospel other than that which he had preached to them was a false gospel (1:6-9). He let them know that any attempts to a justification by means of legalism was damnable. cf. Gal. 2:16; 3:9-14; 4:4-7. 

 

Paul could have had more "decisions" if he had adjusted his message to accommodate the whims of the hearers. But he would not do this!  He was not interested in mere decisions, but in seeing Christ formed in the hearers through faith alone. 

 

e.g., it is astounding that some of the leading church growth writers today are recommending that in preaching we leave out doctrine, we stay away from exposition of the Scriptures, we not address sin, etc.  cf. Rom. 1:16-17; I Thess. 2:13  

 

4.  Deal with the stumbling blocks to conversion: "but they wish to shut you out." 

 

How far do we go with addressing error and stumbling blocks to truth? If we take a look at the epistles, we will find that much of their content addresses the errors facing the congregations which they wrote. We certainly have a precedent for this.  Also, we can study the sermons of the book of Acts and find that some of them also exposed error, e.g., Acts 17. 

 

v. 17 shows that the Judaizers were trying to curry the favor of the Galatians through much flattery and stroking of egos. Why?  To convert them to Christ?  Absolutely not! But to seduce them to their false gospel! They were trying to draw disciples to themselves. They wanted to have followers. 

 

Here is the rule of thumb in our witness: if a person to whom we are witnessing is being entangled in error, then address the error from the Word of God. Do not hesitate to do this. Do not make it a personality issue or a cultural issue but a Bible issue.  Let the Scripture speak to it, so that "the word implanted" might work to the saving of their souls (James 1:21). 

 

e.g., legalists, baptismal regenerationists, denials of Christ's deity, etc.  

 

5.  Labor steadfastly until Christ is formed in the convert: "until Christ is formed in you" 

 

Paul was not satisfied with decisions or outward professions, as is so common in our own day. We see this by the glowing reports that show up in our denominational and Christian publications of crusades with "10,000 decisions for Christ," or so-called revival meetings with "300 public decisions."  What happens after two weeks or two months with these people? Those who have researched this point out that the vast majority never "stick". 

 

e.g., several years ago with the "I Found It" campaign put on by Campus Crusade and others, there were claims of millions of salvation decisions. Researchers analyzed these decisions and found that there was no appreciable gain to churches due to this multi-million dollar, media-oriented evangelistic campaign.  

 

What should be the goal of our witness? cf. v. 19, "until Christ is formed in you." 

 

Paul uses the imagery of motherhood and says that he is in labor again. His first labor with the Galatians had evidently, to his "perplexity," ended in a miscarriage. Now he does not give up. He labors with them again in the truth of the gospel, not being satisfied that they were in the faith "until Christ is formed in you." The external professions meant nothing. The baptism meant nothing. The acknowledgments to Paul in the early days meant nothing. Unless the character of Jesus Christ was evident in their lives, then their profession had no credibility. 

 

Paul suggests nothing about humoring them with the so-called 'carnal Christian state', a condition developed to accommodate the decisionism and weak-gospel preaching of this century. If this had been 1998, then the Galatians might have been put on the "inactive membership role" of most churches. The men would have been listed on the deacon nomination forms. The men and women would have been put on committees. But Paul says that he is perplexed about them; perplexed because he does not know if they are truly born of God! Until Christ is formed in them, until His character is evident in their lives, then his gospel work is not finished. 

 

cf. I John for characteristics of those who are born of God.  

 

Conclusion 

 

My brethren, we do have "a story to tell to the nations" concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us tell the whole truth concerning the gospel. Let us not be satisfied to manipulate people into a decision that means nothing to them for eternity. Let us depend upon the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to birth men, women and young people into the family of God, to deliver them from the slavery of sin and bring them into the joys of sonship.

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