Paul has led the Galatian believers to understand the historical and theological background for the crisis in their churches and given them general principles about life in the Spirit. Now he spells out specific responsibilities for those who are led by the Spirit so that they can rebuild their broken relationships.

Paul has led the Galatian believers to understand the historical and theological background for the crisis in their churches and given them general principles about life in the Spirit.

So far Paul has led the Galatian believers to understand the historical and theological background for the crisis in their churches and given them general principles about life in the Spirit. Now he spells out specific responsibilities for those who are led by the Spirit so that they can rebuild their broken relationships.

The responsibilities of those who are spiritual (v. 1) are directly related to the problem of division in the Galatian churches. We have already noted that when Paul describes the problem in the churches, he speaks of “biting and devouring each other” (5:15) and “provoking and envying each other” (5:26). The false teachers’ campaign to force all the Gentile believers to become Jews would have divided the churches into hostile groups: the Jewish Christians who zealously campaigned for the necessity of circumcision and observance of the Mosaic law, the Gentile believers who zealously pursued the goal of living like Jews, and the Gentile believers who were not willing or able to live by the Mosaic law. Paul’s list of responsibilities in this section shows how those who are truly led by the Spirit can bring healing and unity in their divided churches. The responsibilities include both the believers’ corporate responsibilities to one another and the individual believer’s personal accountability before God. Our public care for one another must be matched by integrity in our private walk before God. Note how corporate responsibilities and individual accountability are woven together in this section:

The word šeqer indicates something false, or deliberately misleading. In the NT the idea of leading astray is conveyed in the Gk. planáō and cognates; apátē and related words often imply seduction

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (6:1)* The first responsibility of those who are spiritual is the restoration of one who has sinned. Paul’s conditional clause, if someone is caught in a sin, is framed in such a way as to point to the high probability that members of the church will sin.

But Paul wants to show that the occasion of sin is the opportunity for Spirit-led people to display the fruit of the Spirit in order to bring healing to the sinner and unity in the church.

When a person sins, other people are hurt; other people are victims of that sin. But we must remember that sinners themselves are also in some sense victims of sin. Abusers have also been abused. They have been overtaken, ambushed and seized by sin.

Paul appeals to those who are spiritual to help the one who is caught in a sin. The spiritual are not some elite leadership group of spiritual giants. All the way through the letter Paul has been emphasizing that all of his converts in Galatia have received the Spirit

Paul uses the same verb to express his desire that the divided church in Corinth “be perfectly united.” The church had been broken and torn by divisions; it needed to be reset as a physician would reset broken bones and mended as a fisherman would repair torn nets.

Galatians 6:1 the verb restore calls for spiritual therapy so that a broken member of the body can once again work properly and perform its vital functions for the benefit of the whole body.

As long as any member of the body is broken, the whole body suffers. If the broken member of the body is amputated, the whole body suffers the loss. What is needed is restoration. The goal is the recovery of Christian brothers and sisters who have sinned so that the whole body will be healthy and productive again.

The exact methods of restoration are not described by Paul. They will vary according to the individual circumstances. But Paul does specify the manner of restoration: restore him gently. Literally, he says, restore “in a spirit of gentleness.” “Gentleness” is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (5:23).

Gentleness is not weakness; it is great strength under control.

When gentle Christians see someone caught in a sin, they do not react with violent emotions or with arrogance. Even when sinful actions are scandalous and harmful, the emotions of the gentle person are under control, and the will of the gentle person is devoted to loving the sinner all the way to total recovery. Only the Holy Spirit can empower a person to respond in such a “spirit of gentleness.”

So Paul moves from his command for restoration in the plural form, addressed to all, to a command for self-examination in the singular form, addressed to each individual. Corporate responsibility must be undergirded by the personal integrity of each individual before God. But watch yourself, Paul commands.

Close observation of the inner life is necessary because everyone is vulnerable to temptation: you also may be tempted.

Awareness of my own vulnerability to moral failure not only puts me on guard against temptation but also enables me to respond with a spirit of gentleness to someone trapped in sin. The specific temptation in view here seems to be the temptation to react with arrogance and anger to the sin of the offender.

At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up

9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we* do not give up.