Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

4:12 as I am. Paul is free from following Mosaic ceremonial regulations, and living by faith in Christ. as you are. Paul had become like the Gentiles in that he did not live under the Jewish law when ministering to them.

4:13 because of a bodily ailment . . . I preached the gospel to you. The exact nature of this illness is not known. "Because" apparently means that Paul was detained in Galatia by this illness and therefore took the opportunity to preach to them.

4:15 the blessing you felt. This probably refers to the sense of joy and divine approval the Galatians had when they believed Paul's gospel preaching and received the Holy Spirit (cf. 3:2).

4:17 The false teachers have been flattering the Galatians, but only to receive flattery back. to shut you out. They want to form an exclusive club of people who observe Jewish ceremonial laws, keeping out any who will not give in to their demands.

4:18 Paul's tribute to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:2-9) is an example of what he means by to be made much of for a good purpose.

4:19-20 Though Paul chastises the Galatians for being "foolish" (3:1, 3), he nonetheless has deep emotional feelings of anguish for them--because they, like little children, have not been growing but need almost to be delivered again, and Paul's feelings about them are as agonizing as birth pangs.