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Galatians 6:1-5
Paul has gotten down to the reality of what the Galatians experience was, in attempting to live by the Law,
as the false teachers had instructed them. Instead of the Galatians controlling their flesh as they hoped,
they found that trying to live by the Law just served as a means for their flesh to find expression in acts of
sin against one another.
The assemblies were marked with division and conflict. Those who perceived themselves as advancing in
their successfulness with keeping the Law lorded it over the others. Those who were struggling more with
sin found themselves filled with envy. Instead of encouraging one another, the believers in the assemblies
were competing with one another. It was a far cry from the standard for Christ Ones that Paul laid out in
his letter: to serve one another through love.
Having pointed out the disparity between what the Galatian believers were hoping to achieve, and what
they were really doing, Paul then told them the one and only way to deal with the flesh.
Those who have truly believed into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death (Rm 6:3). When Jesus
died, He took the whole creation of Adam into death with Him, so that the body of death the flesh might
be done away with (Rm 6:6).
Those who believe enter into union with Christ in His death, crucifying the flesh with its passions and
desires (Gal 5:24) a one-time act, in believing into Jesus. They are now part of a whole new creation in
Christ Jesus.
So crucifying the flesh is a one-time act, and it is also a one-way process for the believer, the flesh is
dead. Its as if you have burned your bridge behind you, to your old way of life the self-life.
So all that remains is for the believer to count on the fact that the flesh is dead; to reckon himself to be dead
indeed to the sin, but alive to God (Rm 6:11) to trust in what God has done for us, in Christ. And as the
believer does so, he is free to now walk in the newness of life (Rm 6:4) to walk in the Spirit and as he
does, he will not fulfill the lust of his flesh because its dead, and hes counting on that, through faith.
Paul then presented a contrast between the works of the flesh, and the fruit of the Spirit, mapping out for
the Galatian believers where the Lord had brought them from, and where they now had the potential to go.
And how would they get there? By walking in the Spirit.
As the believers followed the lead of the Holy Spirit in their lives, having their minds renewed with Gods
thinking, the character of Christ would develop in them. Thats the character of Love, with all of its
multicolored facets that Paul described, the glorious fruit of the Spirits work in the believer.
The fruit of the Spirit are all attributes of the inner man; how will they be seen, in the believer? They will
be worked out, through the members of his body, in righteous actions. Righteous character always
produces righteous works; and its the only way to produce righteous works. Far from needing any external
law to control their flesh, those who walk in the Spirit will always walk in perfect righteousness.
Having begun in the Spirit, Paul was now encouraging all the believers in Galatia to simply continue in
Him; to walk in the Spirit, collectively (Gal 5:25); to conduct themselves in Him, in their day-to-day lives.
If they broke rank, so that they were not collectively walking in the Spirit, Christ could no longer be seen in
them; their testimony to Him would be lost. And the world around them needed that testimony.

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Having laid out how to walk, Paul would now encourage the believers to begin doing so in two key areas
which were critical for the revitalization of the collective life in the Galatian assemblies.
The first, which we will see in the first 5 verses of chapter 6, concerns the unity of the brethren. This will
bring healing to the Body of Christ, in Galatia. The second, in the next 5 verses, pertains to the
nourishment of the collective. This is for the health of the Body. If the Galatian believers will walk in the
Spirit, these two corrective actions will restore the vitality of their assemblies.
Well look at verses 1-5 this week, and the rest next week.
Lets read through the passage first.
[Read Galatians 6:1-5]
Lets return to the beginning.
v. 1-2 Paul is continuing to address the brethren here; those who had truly believed into Jesus as their Lord.
Having just laid out how believers can not sin, Paul is now addressing what happens if they do sin. Is that
contradictory? No because sin is a choice.
Paul has made it plain that whats natural to one who has become a Christ One is to walk in the Spirit; but
they can still choose not to; and if they do, then what? They will fulfill the lust of their flesh whatever
that might be.
How does a believer stop walking in the Spirit? He stops believing God. Then, its as if the believer
breathed life back into that body of flesh thats unnatural. Or, as if he rebuilt that bridge to the self-life
that he had burnt down thats ludicrous.
But the believer can do it, cant he? Yes. Then he returns to living according to the flesh, as he did in his
former manner of life, when he was led, not by the Spirit, but by the lusts and desires of his flesh, as taken
in through his bodily senses, and he does what? He sins.
The idea that Paul is bringing out here is that this is a lapse from the norm. It is as if the believer was
forcibly laid hold of by sin, before he was able to reflect. This shows the terrible, captivating power of sin.
Of course, the believer has chosen to sin; he is responsible for it; but there is a power in temptations, that
extends to our flesh; thats how were drawn away and enticed (James 1:14).
Now, sin no longer characterizes the life of the one whom Christ has delivered; but he may still be
overtaken by sin upon occasion. That occasion comes when he stops believing God. To walk in the Spirit
requires faith.
Paul wrote of the man that was overtaken in any trespass; he was snared in his weakness; he stumbled into
sin. This does not pertain to the one who deliberately sins by habitual choice; who is still completely under
the power of sin.
Such a one is still a rebel; he is still in his sins a sinner, his life characterized by sin. He has not placed
his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Spirit to his spirit (Titus 3:5). He habitually sins, because he is still in the flesh, and is still a slave to its
lusts and desires.

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So Paul is speaking of a believer who lapses into sin. Has he lost his salvation? No; that is impossible; it is
the gift of God (Eph 2:8). Has he ceased to be a member of the Body of Christ? No; Christ added him to
the church (Acts 2:47); nothing can undo that. But in lapsing into sin, he has lapsed out of fellowship with
the Lord, and the members of His Body.
Now, the emphasis in what Paul wrote here is not on the one sinning, nor on his sin, but on the manner in
which the one who has sinned is treated by those who are spiritual. Who would they be? Those who are
walking in the Spirit; they are the spiritual ones. Paul is addressing them collectively.
Remember that we learned in the last chapter that those who believe are to collectively walk in the Spirit
(Gal 5:25), together keeping in step with him, in obedience to Him, like soldiers in a row. Why? So that
Christ can be seen, through His Body.
Paul is calling on those who are still in line, walking in the Spirit, to take action regarding the one who has
fallen off course. Are they to shoot him? No. Trample him? No. Leave him behind? No. Paul is saying
You you spiritual ones restore your brother in a spirit of gentleness. They are to help their brother up
and help him to get back into line.
And how are they to do this? In a spirit of gentleness. Thats the word meekness, that we learned about
last week one of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists in this letter. Remember that meekness is that quality
of character which reflects submission and humility, without contending for oneself in any way.
The spiritual ones are to submit themselves to the Spirits leading; to have no thought for themselves not
any thought of their own concerning their brother, or his sin. They are to help that brother up for he has
an upward call (Phil 3:14), and he must reset his mind on the things above, and not on the things on the
earth (Col 3:2).
And they are to help their brother get back in line; for only then can Christ be seen, through the members of
His Body. The spiritual ones must say just what the Spirit leads them to say, exhorting the erring brother
just as they are shown, in meekness and humility, in order to encourage him to continue in his walk in the
Spirit his walk, with his brothers in Christ. This is faith working through Love (Gal 5:6).
Now, we might ask, why did Paul single this issue out in his letter to these Galatian assemblies? Because in
trying to control their flesh through the keeping of the Law, the Galatians were tearing one another apart
(Gal 5:15, 26). The legalistic Jews and proselytes, following the lead of the false teachers, were
undoubtedly trying to whip the lawless Gentiles into shape, and the result was nothing but discord, because
none of it was done in love.
What Paul is saying is, listen to the Spirit follow His leading be compassionate with a brother who had
a lapse of weakness; dont condemn him. Why shouldnt they? Paul says, considering yourself, lest you
also be tempted. Because they are just as likely to lapse into sin and would they want to be condemned
for it?
There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:1). We are to judge one another,
in the Body of Christ that is, help one another to see when we are sinning but our condemnation was
left behind at the cross. We need to see it as God sees it.
The Greek word for restore means to bring something back to its original condition. Its literal meaning is
to mend or repair; it is used of setting a broken bone, or in repairing a dislocated limb.

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As long as any part of a body is broken, the whole body suffers the loss. The Spirit works through the
sound members of the Body of Christ so that a member who has been broken by sin can once again fulfill
his part in the Body. Then the whole Body can be healthy and productive again, perfectly reflecting the
glory of Christ.
This word for restore is also used in the gospels for mending nets. The Body of Christ, with its gospel
message of reconciliation, is like a net its many members woven together by the Spirit, which the Lord
casts into the sea of humanity to bring willing souls into His kingdom.
How effective is that net when there are holes in it? In order to fulfill the purpose the Lord has given to all
of us, we must mend the net, restoring those who have sinned, so that together we will be effective in His
hands.
Paul likens restoring a brother who has sinned to bearing his burden. Is Paul saying we are to bear his sin?
No Jesus bore all of our sins on the cross (1 Pet 2:24) the sins of the whole world (Jn 1:29).
The word burden here means a heavy weight. Its referring, not to our sin, but to our propensity to sin;
our failures, in the weakness of our flesh. When one has manifested such weakness, those who are strong
should have compassion on him, knowing they are equally subject to such weaknesses.
In another letter, Paul wrote, Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Cor 10:12). The point
is, in a heartbeat, the one who sins could be you. Paul is saying, humble yourself; have compassion on
your brother; help him bear his failure.
When a heavy burden is shared, it is made lighter; it becomes bearable. When a Christ One has sinned, he
may become discouraged; his brothers should provide encouraging counsel. He may be inclined to tear
himself down; his brothers need to build him up with the true comfort of the Word of God.
When a Christ One has lost sight of the goal, his brothers need to lift him up, so he can see the goal once
more. Prayer is one way they can lift their brother up. And once that brother has a change of heart, and has
his eyes back on the goal, he will be ready to move on; to walk once again out of failure, and back into
victory, overcoming, in the Spirit.
Paul wrote that when the Galatians bear one anothers burdens in this way, they will fulfill the Law of
Christ. What is the Law of Christ? Simply put, it is the royal law of Love (James 2:8).
Jesus said, This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 15:12). Jesus
had extended the precept, You shall love your neighbor as yourself to the members of His Body, one for
another.
The precept to love ones neighbor was originally given in the Law of Moses (Lev 19:18). Jesus taught this
precept, following the one to love the Lord wholeheartedly, indicating that these fulfilled all the Law and
the Prophets (Mt 22:37-39). Paul also brought this precept out earlier in this letter (Gal 5:14).
How do you love your brother, in the Body of Christ, as yourself? You do so with the love of God, which
gives them what they need as I have loved you.

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What does a sinning brother need? Compassion; forgiveness; encouragement. And so the Law of Christ
the royal law of love is kept in this situation, by those who restore their brothers in a spirit of meekness.
And even the Law of Moses is fulfilled, and always is fulfilled, when believers love with the love of Christ.
Here is a Law that everyone can keep as they continue to walk in the Spirit.
There is one remaining thing to be considered in restoring a brother who has sinned. What if he is choosing
not to be restored; that is, what if he doesnt repent?
Jesus Himself addressed this issue. Turn to Matthew chapter 18.
Jesus was speaking to His disciples; this did not necessarily mean his believing disciples, but those who
were being drawn to Him, and were taking in what He said; followers, some of whom would ultimately
reject Him (Jn 6:66).
This was predominantly a Jewish audience. They had been questioning Jesus about who would be greatest
in the kingdom of heaven; His answer to them reflected that not all would even enter the kingdom of
heaven; that, to do so, a man must humble himself, and simply believe, with child-like faith.
Jesus spoke of how sin would prohibit men from entering into the kingdom of heaven, but that it was the
Fathers desire that all should enter. Then Jesus told them how they were to deal with issues of sin, in their
collective body. The term church is used in this passage. It simply means a called-out assembly, in the
Greek; in this case, it is speaking of the local synagogue, the assembly of the Jews.
[Matthew 18:15-17]
v. 15 This is basically along the same line as what Paul was telling the Galatians. In this case, the matter is
between two individuals. If the sinning brother repents, he is restored as a brother in the assembly even
though the matter was only known between the two of them.
v. 16 If the brother will not repent, the matter is opened up to others within the assembly, but in as limited a
fashion as possible, so as not to expose the brother.
v. 17 If the brother still will not repent, the matter is opened up to the entire assembly, to try to persuade
the brother of his sin. Notice how much effort they are to expend to restore this sinning brother! Now, if
the brother continues to refuse to repent, the assembly is to treat him as they would a Gentile or a tax
collector. These were two categories of persons that the Jews considered to be lawless sinners; they were
hated and shunned by the collective of the Jews.
The sinning brother had demonstrated by his lack of repentance that he was a rebel, and therefore not a true
son of the kingdom of God; he had cut himself off from the people of God.
Now, Jesus had put this in terms that the Jews of His day would understand. They thought of themselves as
sons of the kingdom by virtue of being sons of Abraham; and they thought their keeping of the Law (as
much as they did so) made them righteous, and therefore fit to enter the kingdom of heaven. The point that
Jesus was making was that continued, habitual sin will result in a Jew being excluded from the
synagogue, from the nation, from the kingdom of God.
What Jesus brought out was not particular to the Jewish nation. Sin separates a man from God. A Christ
One who repents of his sin has agreed with God concerning it, and can be restored to fellowship.

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But if a man will not repent, and continues in his sin, it is most likely that he is not truly a Christ One; he
just professed to be, or deceived himself into thinking that he was. Such a one must be excluded from the
body of believers, until such time as he is willing to repent and come to Jesus. This discipline is not harsh,
but necessary, in order for the sinner to see himself for who he truly is, and repent, as well as for the local
assemblies to be like-minded and pure.
Several of Pauls letters bear out this essential discipline in the assemblies. Were just going to look at just
one example of this in Pauls first retained letter to the church in Corinth. Turn to first Corinthians chapter
5. Paul was admonishing the believers for allowing a flagrant sinner to remain in their assembly.
[1 Corinthians chapter 5:1-5, 9-13]
v. 1 Obviously, this is an ongoing affair, for the report to have reached Paul, and the way he speaks of it.
v. 2 The believers in Corinth should have been grieved by this sin, but they were not; they were ignoring it,
as so many churches do today. Paul says they were puffed up that is, arrogant. Apparently, pride kept
them from dealing with this flagrant sinner. Perhaps he was one of their more illustrious members; perhaps
the Corinthians didnt want to acknowledge that they had any flaws. In any event, pride was causing them
to fall into sin, collectively.
v. 3-5 Through the Holy Spirit, Paul recognizes that he is as good as present in person with the
Corinthians, so as to judge this matter, for the Spirit has enlightened him as to how to judge it. His
judgment is for them to deliver the man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
What this means is that the man was to be excluded from fellowship in the local assembly. Having been
put out by the Body of Christ, this man would go back to making his home in the world in Satans
system, with all of its temptations, so readily available. The man would destroy his own flesh, in a sense,
as he fulfilled his lusts and desires without restraint.
But in permitting this through his exclusion from the assembly, the man would then have the opportunity to
see himself for what he truly is not a member of Christs Body, but a sinner, in need of a Savior. By
removing all restraint, this man would have his only chance at being saved.
Skip down to verse 9.
v. 9-10 Apparently, in a previous letter, Paul wrote to this assembly that they were not to associate with
sexually immoral people, meaning in their fellowship, as a Body. Paul didnt mean they were not to
associate with sinners at all obviously that would be impossible.
v. 11 Paul is clarifying the matter they are not to associate themselves in any way with anyone named a
brother who sins as a way of life. Notice how Paul says, named a brother, distinguishing such a one from
the true brothers.
v. 12-13 Paul is telling them that those who are inside their assemblies should be judged, and that they are
the ones who should be doing it. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit, they should be restoring any
brother who lapses into sin, but repents. And they should be putting out of their assemblies those who
habitually sin, such as this sexually immoral man, who calls himself a brother.

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Other examples of church discipline can be found in Romans 16:17-18, and 2 Thes 3:6-15. In both cases, it
can be seen that those who were to be excluded from the fellowship were either false teachers or habitual
sinners, neither of whom had truly placed their faith in the Lord.
[Return to Galatians 6]
As mentioned before, Pauls emphasis in this letter was not on the one who sinned, but on the other
members of the Body, and their response to him.
The Galatian assemblies had been torn apart by their contention over the Law. This led to division. Paul
knew that the solution to that division was the unity of the Spirit, which would come through loving one
another beginning with restoring of those who had sinned, in love. This would be the beginning of
healing for these assemblies in Galatia.
Further healing would come when each believer began to view himself in the right light.
v. 3 Now this does relate to the previous verses; the word for means it is a clarification or explanation of
what was said before. Anyone thinks himself to be something first relates back to verse 26 of chapter 5.
These were the members of the Galatian assemblies who were conceited in the Greek, this word means
that they were void of real worth, but wanted to be admired by others; they were boasters.
I mentioned previously that this would pertain especially to the Jewish brethren who had been persuaded by
the false teachers to take up the Law again. These brethren, who knew the Law, would tend to lord it over
their Gentile brethren which provoked them, and caused discord.
In thinking themselves to be something, these brethren would be inclined to take a hard line with those who
sinned in the assemblies. But were they something? Maybe in their own eyes. Maybe in the eyes of their
false teachers. But in the Lords eyes, they were nothing.
Remember the picture of the Vine and the branches abide in Me for without Me, you can do nothing
(Jn 15:5). Here were these brethren, doing the works of the Law to perfect themselves, utterly apart from
their Lord. Those were nothing works. And that was where these conceited brethren were getting their
worth so that made them nothing, in the Lords eyes, as well.
This was a reality check. These brethren had deceived themselves. They were puffed up with pride. But if
they would allow the Spirit to prick their self-inflated concept of themselves with His sharp sword (Heb
4:12), they could agree with Him concerning their sin and be restored to the Body, as well.
v. 4 This verse presents a contrast to verse 3. The brethren who thought themselves to be something
became that way because they compared themselves to those who were lapsing into sin. They thought
themselves spiritually superior, imagining that they were able to keep the Law, whereas their brethren could
not. The truth was that they broke the Law on at least two points on their failure to love (Lev 19:18), and
on their lack of humility (Prov 3:34).
The problem is that they were comparing their efforts to those of others, instead of examining their work
themselves. The word examine here means to put to the proof; to test something. It means to examine for
the purpose of determining the true worth of something, like a jeweler examining a stone under a
magnifying glass in very bright light to determine its value.

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James spoke of a similar process of testing in his letter; in his case, a testing of what was of the heart. Turn
to James chapter 1.
James was the brother of Jesus and the leader of the assembly in Jerusalem. He wrote to those Jewish
believers who had been scattered abroad out of Jerusalem by the persecution of the church.
These displaced brethren tended to settle into Jewish enclaves found in Damascus, Antioch and Cyprus, for
example. It is likely that this letter was circulated to the various assemblies that formed. As always, there
would have been a mixture of those Jews who truly believed into Jesus, and those who merely professed to
believe.
James encouraged the brethren not to be deceived about themselves (James 1:16). For those who still
sinned as a way of life, James encouraged them to turn from sin, and to receive with meekness the
implanted Word, into their hearts, and be saved (James 1:21).
Well begin in verse 22.
[James 1:22-25] James lays out two types of men; those who are deceived, and those who are not. Those
who are deceived hear the Word of God, but dont do what it says.
James likens the Word of God here to a mirror. Even a glance in that mirror will reflect the first aspect of
the gospel to the man. James says the man sees his himself in that mirror; what exactly does he see? His
natural face the face of a sinner.
The man observes himself, but doesnt continue to look; instead, he goes away, and immediately forgets
what it is that he saw there. That man is deceived. He saw that he was a sinner, but he put it right out of
his mind. He did not become a doer of the Word, by obeying the truth. Had he looked in the mirror longer,
he would have seen the Savior.
The other man is not deceived. He looked into the mirror, which reflected the perfect law of liberty to him
thats the gospel of grace, which frees men from sin and death. This man did not go away, and forget
what he saw; he kept on looking; he continued in the truth.
What was it that was reflected to this man? The same thing the other man saw; but this man kept on
looking, until his Savior took shape for him there. This man obeyed the truth; he agreed with God that he
was a sinner, in need of a Savior; that he could not be saved by his own self-righteous works, but only by
the work of Jesus on his behalf. He became not only a hearer of the word, but a doer of it.
Notice that James changes what he says from doer of the Word (v. 22) to doer of the work (v. 25). This is
the one and only good work a man can do; to obey the truth, by believing into Jesus as his Lord. The Lord
will bless this man with salvation.
[Return to Galatians 6]
Now, James was writing about all men examining their own hearts, so that they wont be deceived. They
do so in light of the Word of God. What is it that men are examining here? Their own work. This has to
do with believers.

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Now, how can they examine their work? They must compare it to the gold standard again, its the Word
of God. But to understand how their work measures up, they must also have light bright light. The light
of the Holy Spirit shows the believer how his work measures up if it is of God, or of himself.
Now, if it is of God, the believer will have cause for rejoicing. In submitting to the Holy Spirit, the Lord has
produced a work of eternal value through the believer like fine gold.
Of course, if the work is of himself, the believer will just have a produced a work apart from Jesus a dead,
nothing work, that must be burned up in the end (1 Cor 3:15); a loss for the believer, but something he can
learn from for the future.
When Paul says that the believer will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another, he is not
referring to believers who rejoice in the joys and victories of other believers. Paul himself records doing
this, concerning his converts, many times; he was elated by their triumphs of faith.
Rather, Paul is speaking of those puffed-up brethren whose images of themselves became inflated as they
compared themselves to those who were lapsing into sin; in a sense, they were rejoicing over the failure of
others, thinking it showed themselves in a particularly good light. That is a great deception.
Paul was exhorting these brethren to stop comparing themselves to other believers, and to let the Lord
examine their hearts, instead. Then they will rightly rejoice in what the Lord has done, in them and through
them and not in what they have accomplished compared to someone else. This is borne out in the next
verse.
v. 5 Now, this may sound contradictory. In verse 2, Paul had said that the Galatians needed to bear one
anothers burdens. But here in verse 5, Paul says that each one shall bear his own load. In fact, Paul uses
two different Greek words regarding what is borne, to bring out two different concepts.
In verse 2, Paul is talking about members of the Body consoling one another in their failures, which are
heavy burdens that it is helpful to share. But in verse 5, the idea is not a heavy burden, but more of a
personal pack. This refers to the responsibilities that the Lord gives us, in our lives.
The Lord equips us with certain abilities, and gives us certain work to do, as believers. We are responsible
to give account to Him of how we used the opportunities and abilities He gave to us, to serve Him. The
parable of the talents shows this very well; each of the servants was responsible to the Master alone for
what he earned with what he had been given (Mt 25:14-30). None were compared to the others; the issue
was always between Master and servant alone.
Paul had written earlier in this letter that the only thing of any value is faith working through love. As each
believer in Galatia examined his own heart, the Holy Spirit would show if his works stood that test.
Were their works done in faith, through love? If they were, they could rejoice. They were walking in the
Spirit; therefore, the Lord could work through them, to restore the brethren in the assemblies who had
lapsed into sin.
Such brethren would include those legalists, who has lapsed into the sin of pride. Their legalistic efforts
would not have borne up under the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. But if they were willing to see their sin by
the light of Gods thinking, they too could be restored in the spirit of meekness.

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10

If the believers in Galatia were willing to hear and do what the Spirit said through Pauls letter, the
divisions in their assemblies would be healed. Then the unity of the Spirit would prevail in Galatia in the
bond of peace (Eph 4:3).
Next time, well see how Paul then gave to the Galatian believers some further instructions for nurturing
the health and well-being of their assemblies.
In three weeks: continue reading Galatians to the end.