Galatians 4.16-20
“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.”
Paul told the truth to the Galatians; the false teachers did not. One of the strategies utilized by the Judaizers was to “make much of you,” which was actually for the purpose “that you make much of them.” In other words, the false teachers flattered the Galatians, so that the Galatians would flatter and praise the false teachers. This is so often the case with false teachers: they want their followers to be dependent on them.
The reality of this strategy is that the false teachers wanted “to shut you out,” meaning they wanted to shut the Galatian Christians off from the truth of the gospel. The Judaizers wanted the Galatians enslaved to the Law and dependent on the false teachers.
Paul had no problem with appropriate praise and admiration, and says as much: “It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose.” However, the praise and admiration being given to the Judaizers was not appropriate. The message of the Judaizers was wrong, and so was their motive. The Galatians were being deceived and led astray, and it concerned Paul to his very core. Indeed, it anguished him so much that he described the pain he felt for them as “the anguish of childbirth.”
The distress that Paul felt was because he longed for the Galatian Christians to grow to maturity in Christ, and he was deeply disturbed that they were being led astray by the Judaizers. He uses the metaphor of children and childbirth, because the Galatians were his spiritual children.
From Paul’s perspective, it’s as if time had been reversed and he is reliving the struggle and agony of giving birth to them spiritually. Every parent knows the challenges and discomforts of raising little children; but this situation is different. It is more like the pain of giving birth.
His anguish is “until Christ be formed in you.” When the truth of the gospel burns brightly in your heart and you feel the deep desire for the spiritual growth of your Christian friends, then you will also feel the pain if they drift away from the truth and descend into disobedience.
Paul expressed his desire to be with the Galatians in person. He wished he could take a more gentle tone with them. But the situation called for the serious tone that Paul was using, and his anguish was real. The Galatians were in grave spiritual danger and Paul knew it. And he felt it.
