Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Galatians
Chapter 6: Glory in the Cross
Galatians 6 closes the letter with the marks of a Spirit-led life and a final boast in the cross. Those who walk in the Spirit restore the fallen 'in the spirit of meekness,' and 'bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.' Paul lays down the unbreakable principle of the harvest: 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,' so 'let us not be weary in well doing.' Then he takes the pen in his own hand to close. The false teachers wanted to boast in the Galatians' flesh; Paul will boast in nothing but the cross: 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.' What matters is not circumcision but 'a new creature.' He bears 'in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,' and ends with grace. The chapter shows us burden-bearing love, the law of sowing and reaping, and glorying only in the cross of Christ.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Galatians chapter 6, the final chapter of the epistle. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul calls the church to bear one another's burdens, warns of the harvest of what we sow, and boasts in nothing but the cross of Christ. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Bear One Another's Burdens
Restore the fallen and carry each other's loads.
Whatsoever a Man Soweth
God is not mocked; we reap what we sow.
Save in the Cross
Paul glories in nothing but the cross of Christ.
A New Creature
Not circumcision, but a new creature, is what matters.
Whatsoever a Man Soweth, That Shall He Also Reap (Galatians 6:1-10)
The Spirit-led restore the fallen and bear one another's burdens, sowing to the Spirit and not growing weary in well doing.
Bear Ye One Another's Burdens
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
Word Study
"is not mocked," Greek mukterizo (μυκτηρίζω). The word comes from mukter, the nose, and means to turn up the nose at, to sneer or scoff. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." No one can sneer at God and cheat the harvest. The law of sowing and reaping is as fixed in the moral world as in the field: what a person plants, he will gather. To live for "the flesh" is to sow seed that yields only "corruption"; to live "to the Spirit" is to sow seed that yields "life everlasting." People may imagine they can indulge the flesh and escape the consequences, mocking God with a double life, but they only deceive themselves; the harvest always comes. This is a solemn warning and a great encouragement at once: sin sown will surely be reaped, but so will righteousness. So Paul urges, "let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." God cannot be mukterizo, sneered at; His harvest is certain. Sow to the Spirit, and reap life everlasting.
Explanation
Freedom works itself out in love for the brethren. A believer "overtaken in a fault" is to be restored by the spiritual "in the spirit of meekness," each watching himself lest he fall. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" — yet "every man shall bear his own burden" of responsibility before God. Then the law of the harvest: "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"; sowing to the flesh reaps corruption, sowing to the Spirit reaps life. So "let us not be weary in well doing... do good unto all men, especially... the household of faith."
Gospel Focus
Having called the church to walk in the Spirit, Paul shows what that looks like among brothers and sisters. First, gentleness toward the fallen: "if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." The goal is not to condemn but to "restore," to mend and set right, and it must be done gently, by those who remember their own weakness, "considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Then, mutual burden-bearing: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." The law of Christ is love, and love carries the loads that crush a brother. Yet Paul balances this: while we help carry others' heavy burdens, "every man shall bear his own burden", his own proper responsibility before God, which no one else can carry for him. Pride is the enemy here: "if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself"; better to "prove his own work" than to compare himself with others. Paul adds a word about supporting those who teach the word, "communicate... in all good things." Then he lays down the great law of the harvest: "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Life is a sowing, and the harvest is sure. "He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption", the flesh yields only decay and death, "but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Every choice is a seed; the Spirit-sown life reaps eternal life. So Paul encourages perseverance: "let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." The harvest may be delayed, but it is certain; do not give up. And the field is wide: "as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." The Spirit-led life is a life of gentle restoration, burden- bearing love, tireless well-doing, and steady sowing to the Spirit, in confidence of a certain harvest of life.
Save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:11-18)
Against those who would boast in the flesh, Paul boasts in nothing but the cross, by which he is crucified to the world.
A New Creature
"Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."
Word Study
"cross," Greek stauros (σταυρός). The word means the cross, the instrument of Roman execution, an object of horror and shame in the ancient world. Yet Paul makes it his only boast: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." The world saw the stauros as a symbol of disgrace; Paul saw in it the wisdom and power of God, the place where the Lord Jesus bore our sin and redeemed us. The false teachers wanted to "glory in your flesh," in an outward mark that would win them praise and spare them persecution; Paul renounces every fleshly boast and glories only in the crucified Christ. And the cross has done a double work in him: "by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Through Christ's cross, the world's allure is dead to Paul, and Paul is dead to the world's opinion; the cross has severed him from the old life. This is the heart of the gospel and of Christian boasting: not our achievements, our religion, or our flesh, but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, on which He died for us and to which we are crucified with Him. In that cross alone we glory.
Explanation
Paul seizes the pen for a bold closing "with mine own hand." He exposes the Judaizers' real motive: they push circumcision "lest they should suffer persecution for the cross," and glory in the Galatians' flesh. Over against them he says, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." In Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, "but a new creature." Peace and mercy rest on all who walk by this rule, "the Israel of God"; and Paul bears in his body "the marks of the Lord Jesus," the scars of a true servant against the boasting of the false.
Gospel Focus
Paul takes the pen to write the closing himself, "with mine own hand," in "large" letters, underscoring the weight of his final words. He exposes the false teachers' true motives: they "desire to make a fair shew in the flesh," pushing circumcision to avoid "persecution for the cross of Christ" and "that they may glory in your flesh." Their religion was about appearances and self-protection, and they wanted to boast in how many converts they had marked. Paul's boast is the opposite: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." He renounces every other ground of pride and glories only in the crucified Lord. And that cross has crucified him to the world: "by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." The world's approval and the world's ways are dead to him, and he to them. Then Paul restates the truth of the whole letter: "in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Outward marks and rituals count for nothing; what God works is a new creation, a person made new in Christ. To all who "walk according to this rule", the rule of the cross and the new creation, Paul pronounces "peace... and mercy, and upon the Israel of God", the true people of God, Jew and Gentile, who believe. Then a final, moving word: "let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Paul carried literal scars, from beatings, stonings, and hardships suffered for Christ, the true "marks," over against the mark of circumcision the false teachers prized. His body bore the brand of a slave of Jesus, proof of a life poured out for the gospel. And so the fiery letter ends, as the gospel does, in grace: "Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." From first to last, Galatians is the gospel of grace: not the works of the flesh, but the cross of Christ; not the old life, but a new creature; not our boast, but His. In that cross alone we glory, and by that grace alone we stand.
Chapter 6 in Review
Galatians 6 closes the letter with the marks of the Spirit-led life and the believer's only boast. The spiritual "restore" the fallen "in the spirit of meekness" and "bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." The harvest is sure: "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," so we sow "to the Spirit" and "let us not be weary in well doing." Then Paul renounces every fleshly boast: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." What matters is not circumcision "but a new creature." He bears "in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus," and ends, as the gospel does, in grace: "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
For the Apostolic reader this final chapter shows what the gospel of grace produces and where it ends. Freed by grace and walking in the Spirit, believers live in gentle, burden-bearing love, restoring the fallen and doing good to all, while sowing to the Spirit in confidence of the harvest of eternal life, for God cannot be mocked and His harvest is certain. And the whole life comes to rest on one boast: not our religion, our achievements, or our flesh, but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which we are crucified to the world and made a new creature. The false teachers gloried in marking men's flesh; Paul gloried only in the crucified Lord and bore in his own body the marks of a life spent for Him. So let the cross be your only boast, be a new creature in Christ, walk in the Spirit, sow to the harvest of life, and rest in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the good news Galatians proclaims from beginning to end: grace, the cross, and the new creation, apart from the works of the law. Amen.
- Restore the fallen gently and "bear ye one another's burdens" (6:1-2).
- "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (6:7).
- Sow to the Spirit and "reap life everlasting"; "be not weary in well doing" (6:8-9).
- "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (6:14).
- What matters is not circumcision "but a new creature" (6:15).
- Galatians ends in grace: "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (6:18).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you restore the fallen gently and help bear others' burdens?
- What are you sowing, to the flesh or to the Spirit? What harvest will it bring?
- Is the cross of Christ your only boast, or do you glory in other things?
- Are you a "new creature" in Christ, made new by grace?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Restoring the fallen; bearing burdens; the law of Christ: Galatians 6:1-5; James 5:19-20; Romans 15:1; John 13:34. Sowing and reaping: Galatians 6:6-10; Hosea 8:7; 10:12; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Job 4:8; Romans 8:13. Glorying only in the cross; a new creature: Galatians 6:11-16; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:7-8; Ephesians 2:10. The marks of the Lord Jesus; grace: Galatians 6:17-18; 2 Corinthians 4:10; 11:23-27; Philippians 4:23. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Bear one another's burdens; the law of Christ: Galatians 6:1-6; Romans 15:1; John 13:34.
- Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap: Galatians 6:7-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Romans 8:13.
- Glory only in the cross; a new creature; grace: Galatians 6:11-18; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 2 Corinthians 5:17.