Useful Bible Studies > Galatians Commentary > chapter 4

The love of a Christian leader

Galatians 4:12-20

Paul and the Christians in Galatia once loved each other

A leader in a church should love the people that he teaches. And they should love him. That happened in Galatia. Paul writes about the weakness that he felt there. He had many troubles while he taught God’s good news in Galatia. But the Christians in Galatia loved him. And they did everything possible to help him.

Paul still loved the Christians in Galatia. He was sad when people told him about their wrong ideas. These troubles seemed to cause him pain. That pain felt like a mother’s pain while she is giving birth. Paul felt like a parent who loves his children. And Paul thought that the Christians in Galatia were like his children. He was the first person to tell them about Christ. The result of Paul’s work there was that they became children of God.

The Christians in Galatia had changed

But the Christians in Galatia had changed. They did not still feel that love for Paul. And now other people wanted their love. These people were the people who were teaching them to obey the *Jewish rules. And these people were not teaching these things because of love. They taught because they wanted to rule other people’s lives.

Next part: A lesson about two sons of Abraham

See the word list for explanation of words with a *

 

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© 2015, Keith Simons.