Be as I Am Galatians 4:12 - Equipped for Battle

Paul the apostle has been dismayed at why the church members in Galatia would divert from the grace of God toward the teaching of Judaizers who told them the law of God must be applied to their lives as well. Since Paul was a Jew and of the sect of the Pharisees, he could share with them from a standpoint of identification to the adherence to the law. He has called them to remember from where they came when they received Jesus Christ's fulfillment of the law, and in chapter four and verse twelve he calls upon them to use him as an example. He wrote:

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I [am]; for I [am] as you [are]: you have not injured me at all.

Paul begins by calling them, “Brethren” which denotes their value to him. Paul loved the people of Galatia, and his writing such a long letter concerning these things shows this.

Paul adds, “I beseech you” or “I beg you, implore you, ask you intently” what he is about to declare - “be as I am;...” Paul uses himself as an example of how to be toward the law of God. Paul knew the law better than most, and his ability to keep it came up short. Paul too relied upon the grace of God for his salvation. He could not keep the law, and only the gospel of grace could save him. Paul became the prime example of the futility of anyone attempting to keep the law of God perfectly. Only Jesus did that, and Paul received Jesus as his personal Savior.

Paul continues, “for I am as you are:”. In other words, Paul could identify with the church members. He was like them, knew them, and because he did , he became an awesome minister to them. The law of God could not be kept before Jesus Christ, and Paul's need for Jesus was just as necessary as everyone else.

Paul concludes, “you have not injured me at all.” Though there was not an initial difficulty with Paul among the Galatian church members, there was now. Some of them were offended by the imploring of Paul to forsake the ways of the Judaizers. As we have stated before, the truth is more difficult to keep in place than falsehood. The Galatians were attaching themselves to these false teachers and teachings, and rather than hear the wisdom of Paul who possessed the greatest knowledge and experience among them, they gravitated toward the lie. Paul desired for them to know that at this point he suffered no injury from them. Paul will continue his imploring in the next verse, but our study there will have to wait until tomorrow.

Next time Paul will show his concern over working in vain, so read ahead, and let us join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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