Galatians 4 - Be Patient With Me, God's Not Finished With Me Yet!

Galatians 4 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

We see again Paul's heart for the Galatians. Though Paul was one of the greatest missionaries and evangelists of all time, he had the heart of a pastor. The reason he was so upset the Galatians might return to the Law, after first receiving God's grace, was that he knew it was a "dead end street". After having tasted the freedom of the gospel, these false teachers were trying to get them to return to the bondage of the Law. It really shocked Paul that they were even thinking this way. 

In this chapter he points to the fact that these teachers wanted them to observe special days, months, and seasons. 

The false teachers among the Galatians demanded the observance of days and months and seasons and years and other such legalistic matters and acted as if this would lead them into a higher plane of spirituality. Yet all these weak and beggarly elements of legalism did was to bring them into bondage. - Guzik

 “When certain days are represented as holy in themselves, when one day is distinguished from another on religious grounds, when holy days are reckoned a part of divine worship, the days are improperly observed.” (Calvin)

Paul's desire for them to become like Christ is so strong that he compares it to the "pains of childbirth". Of course, he would never know what that felt like but had probably witnessed it. 

“He likens his pain to the pangs of childbirth. He had been in labour over them previously at the time of their conversion, when they were brought to birth; now their backsliding has caused him another confinement. He is in labour again. The first time there had been a miscarriage; this time he longs that Christ will be truly formed in them.” (Stott)

Importantly Paul says, "Until Christ is formed in you!" This is the language of transformation. It is similar to the language Paul uses in Romans 8:29,

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (ESV)

When a Christian is born-again, they are a new creation. The old is gone the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17. But like a newborn baby, they need to grow up and become and adult. In this case, a Christian grows up to become like Christ! Like any growth process, it takes time. It takes patience and grace. Most importantly as we are becoming more mature, we need to be patient with ourselves. 

We should all wear T-Shirts that say, "Be patient with me God's not finished yet!"

Even Paul says he had not yet reached his goal of being fully formed in Christ, but he forgets what it behind him and presses on the goal of the heavenly prize in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Christ is formed in us as we engage in the following disciplines. 

1. Read about Jesus in the four gospels. We should contantly be studying his life, and the activities and behaviors which formed his character. What did he say?  How did He honor His own faither? What was his prayer life like? How did he call and train his disciples? 

2. Spend getting to know Jesus through prayer and other spiritual disciplines. As the old hymn says, "And he talks to me and he walks with me and he tells me I am his own" (In the Garden, C Austin Miles 1912)

3. Worship at an evangelical, bible-believer church hearing God's Word preached and receiving the holy sacrament on a weekly basis. 

4. Be part of a Life Together Group, which does life together, bible study together, prays together, cares together, and has fun together. 

5. Join a discipleship group with  2-3 people who know you personally and who you can be accountable to for your walk with Christ!

This is not an exhaustive list, or meant to be legalistic by any means. These are all scriptural, all things I have experienced personally, and the essentials elements I have create disciples over many years of pastoring. 

Christ begins and ends this good work in you through the Holy Spirit, but it doesn't happen by accident. You need to be intentional in pursuing 1-5. Most of this you can do when you find a good church. The local church has essentially two purposes. One, reach those who are lost with the gospel of Jesus. Two, be a place where "Christ is formed in you." in the context of community, love, and grace.  

As you look at the 5 activities above, which ones do you currently engage in? Which ones could you add? Who do you know well enough who could help you to grow more to be like Christ? 

Jesus, we thank you that your life is worth imitating. We thank you that you came to give us life and life abudantly. We thank you for the grace you give us every day, as we know we don't measure up to your perfect standards. But in our weaknesses, you are strong, and shine forth through us as we surrender our lives and wills to you. Amen.