Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:11
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.
11. I am afraid of you ] Sad thought, that all the toil which he had undergone on their behalf might prove to have been in vain! The possibility of such a result softens his tone, and as he thinks of his own labours, he will appeal to them by their memory of the past of their reception of him and of his message ‘at the first’.
The thought of having bestowed labour in vain has always been one of the trials of the faithful messenger of God. It was so in the case of Elijah (1Ki 19:10; 1Ki 19:14), of Isaiah, (Isa 53:1). It finds frequent expression in the Epistles of St Paul (1Co 15:14; Gal 2:2; Php 2:16; 1Th 3:5). The assurance given long ago (Isa 55:11) is still needed and still in force.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I am afraid of you … – I have fears respecting you. His fears were that they had no genuine Christian principle. They had been so easily perverted and turned back to the servitude of ceremonies and rites, that he was apprehensive that there could be no real Christian principle in the case. What pastor has not often had such fears of his people, when he sees them turn to the weak and beggarly elements of the world, or when, after having run well, he sees them become the slaves of fashion, or of some habit inconsistent with the simplicity of the gospel?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Gal 4:11
I am afraid of you.
A ministers fears
I. What are those fears?
1. Lest his word should not issue in conversions.
2. Lest the converted members of his flock should not adorn their profession.
3. Lest his converts should apostatise.
II. What is his duty in the presence of these fears?
1. To labour on in spite of them.
(1) They may be groundless,
(2) or if only too well grounded, he is not responsible.
2. Not to allow them to generate despair. The worst sinner may yet be converted and the worst backslider reclaimed.
3. To do all he can, with Gods help, to prevent failure.
III. What are his encouragements in the face of these fears?
1. That he has been working for Gods glory.
2. That God is responsible for results.
3. That in spite of appearances to the contrary Gods word will not return unto Him void.
Conclusion: How sad to be the subject of these fears.
1. Unconverted.
2. Inconsistent.
3. Backsliding.
At one point in Dr. Bangs ministry he became greatly discouraged, and attempted to leave his work. A significant dream relieved him. He thought he was working with a pickaxe, on the top of a basaltic rock. His muscular arm brought down stroke after stroke for hours, but the rock was hardly indented. He said to himself at last, It is useless; I will pick no more. Suddenly a stranger of dignified mien stood by his side, and said, You will pick no more? No. Were you not set to do this task? Yes. Why then abandon it? My work is in vain; I make no impression. Solemnly the stranger replied, What is that to you? Your duty is to pick, whether the rock yields or not. Your work is in your own hands; the result is not. Work on. He resumed his task. The first blow was given with almost superhuman force, and the rock flew into a thousand pieces. He awoke, returned to his work, and a great revival followed. (A. Stevens, LL. D.)
Pain of fruitless labour
Dr. Talmage says, I remember visiting a military prison where they punish men by making them carry cannon-balls from one end of the yard to the other, and the sergeant who accompanied me said: When we made the men carry the balls from this end of the yard to the other to make a pyramid at the other end there was a kind of amusement in it, because they were building up this pyramid; and so we made an alteration, and the man has to carry the ball from this end of the yard to the other and back again, and his toil seems to be so altogether fruitless, that it becomes a double punishment to him. Even so it is a source of bitter pain to an earnest minister to feel that his laborious efforts for the good of his hearers are after all in vain.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. I am afraid of you] I begin now to be seriously alarmed for you, and think you are so thoroughly perverted from the Gospel of Christ, that all my pains and labour in your conversion have been thrown away.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Paul knew that, with reference to himself, he had not laboured in vain; he might say with Isaiah, Isa 49:5; Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorified. He had told the Corinthians, that he knew he should be a sweet savour to God, as well in them that perished as in them that should be saved, 2Co 2:15. But he speaks with reference to them. A faithful minister accounteth his labour lost when he seeth no fruits of it upon the souls of his people. Nor was Paul afraid of this as to the sincerer part of this church, who truly believed, and were justified, but he speaketh this with reference to the whole body of this church. That which he feared, was their falling back from their profession of Christianity to Judaism; as judging the observation of the Jewish days necessary by Divine precept to Christians. Nor doth he speak of the observation of such days, as it was their duty in obedience to the moral law to observe, which commandeth the observation of a seventh day for the weekly sabbath, and gives a liberty for setting apart other days, and the commanding the observation of them, to take notice of and acknowledge God in emergent providences. But he only speaks of days imposed by the ceremonial law, and mens religious observation of them, as being tied to it by a Divine precept, by which they made them a part of worship. We have a liberty to set apart any day for Gods worship, and magistrates have a liberty to set apart particular days for the acknowledgment of God in emergent providences whether of mercy or judgment; but none hath a power to make a day holy, so as that it shall be a sin against God for all to labour therein, much less hath any a liberty to keep Jewish holy-days.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. lestGreek, “lesthaply.” My fear is not for my own sake, but for yours.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I am afraid of you,…. Which shows the danger he apprehended they were in, by taking such large steps from Christianity to Judaism, and expresses the godly jealousy of the apostle over them; intimates he had some hope of them, and in the whole declares his great love and affection for them; for love is a thing full of care and fear:
lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain; in preaching the Gospel among them with so much diligence and constancy, though so many afflictions and pressures lay upon him. Faithful ministers of the word are laborious ones; and such an one was the apostle; and who indeed laboured more abundantly than the rest in all places wherever he came; and such will be concerned, as he was, lest their labours should be in vain, not to themselves, but to the souls of others, whose everlasting good and welfare they are seeking. But how is it that the apostle should fear that his labour in preaching the Gospel would be in vain, and become of no effect through their observance of days, months, times, and years? because that hereby the pure spiritual and evangelic worship of God was corrupted, they bringing into it that which God had removed, and so became guilty of will worship; their Christian liberty was infringed, and they brought into bondage, a deliverance from which the Gospel proclaims; the doctrine of free grace in pardon, justification, and salvation, was made void, they observing these things in order to procure them thereby; and it was virtually and tacitly saying, that Christ was not come in the flesh, which is the main article of the Gospel; for since these things had respect to him, and were to continue no longer than till his coming, to keep on the observation of them, was declaring that he was not come; which is in effect to set aside the whole Gospel, and the ministration of it; so that the apostle might justly fear, that by such a proceeding all his labour, and the pains he had took to preach the Gospel, and salvation by Christ unto them, would be in vain.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
I am afraid of you ( ). He shudders to think of it.
Lest by any means I have bestowed labour upon you in vain ( ). Usual construction after a verb of fearing about what has actually happened ( and the perfect active indicative of , to toil wearily). A fear about the future would be expressed by the subjunctive. Paul fears that the worst has happened.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
I am afraid of you [ ] . Not a felicitous translation, though retained by Rev. Rather, “I am afraid for you or concerning you.” The second uJmav is not attracted into the principal clause so as to read, “I am afraid lest I have bestowed labor,” etc. The two clauses are distinct. I am afraid about you : then the reason for the fear is added, lest I have bestowed, etc.
Upon you [ ] . Lit. into you. The labor, though in vain, had born directly upon its object. See the same phrase Rom 16:6.
In vain [] . Comp. chapter Gal 3:4; 1Co 14:2, and eijv to no purpose, Phi 2:16; 2Co 6:1; Gal 2:2; 1Th 3:5. After all my labor, you may return to Judaism. Luther says : “These words of Paul breathe tears.”
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “I am afraid of you,” (phoboumai humas) “I hold a fear (for) you all,” or I am apprehensive regarding your stability, the direction or course of your drifting; as a father or mother cares for their child, so the true minister of God cares for the new believers, 1Co 10:31.
2) “Lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain,” (me pos eike kekopiaka eis humas) “lest in vain (unfruitfulness) emptiness, for naught I have labored among you all,” a sad thought for a laborer who has given his best, as missionary, pastor, teacher or layman to help others to know and follow Christ, then see them turn back into the world, Gal 5:24; 1Th 3:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
11. Lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. The expression is harsh, and must have filled the Galatians with alarm; for what hope was left to them, if Paul’s labor had been in vain? Some have expressed astonishment that Paul should be so powerfully affected by the observance of days, as almost to designate it a subversion of the whole gospel. But if we carefully weigh the whole, we shall see that there was just reason; and that the false apostles not only attempted to lay the yoke of Jewish bondage on the neck of the church, but filled their minds with wicked superstitions. To bring back Christianity to Judaism, was in itself no light evil; but far more serious mischief was done, when, in opposition to the grace of Christ, they set up holidays as meritorious performances, and pretended that this mode of worship would propitiate the divine favor. When such doctrines were received, the worship of God was corrupted, the grace of Christ made void, and the freedom of conscience oppressed.
Do we wonder that Paul should be afraid that he had labored in vain, that the gospel would henceforth be of no service? And since that very description of impiety is now supported by Popery, what sort of Christ or what sort of gospel does it retain? So far as respects the binding of consciences, they enforce the observance of days with not less severity than was done by Moses. They consider holidays, not less than the false apostles did, to be a part of the worship of God, and even connect with them the diabolical notion of merit. The Papists must therefore be held equally censurable with the false apostles; and with this addition in aggravation, that, while the former proposed to keep those days which had been appointed by the law of God, the latter enjoin days, rashly stamped with their own seal, to be observed as most holy.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
11. I am afraid of you, lest The Greek indicative implies that he assumes that which he fears was an accomplished fact.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘I am afraid of you lest by any means I have bestowed labour on you in vain.’
Having up to this moment shown them that he still sees them as true children of God he now expresses a doubt. Their behaviour makes him wonder whether they really can have known God, for if they had really known God it seems impossible that they could be so foolish and lacking in understanding. It makes him feel that all his efforts for them may have been in vain. It is a doubt intended to make them pause and think. It should make us all pause and think. Are there any of us who once enjoyed freedom in Christ but have now become bogged down in ‘do this, do that’, and are requiring others to do the same?
‘Lest somehow.’ He cannot believe that it is possible, for he knew that the Spirit had been at work, but their folly is giving him real doubts.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gal 4:11. I am afraid of you, &c. There was the greater reason for this apprehension, as the fixing the time for the Jewish feasts depended upon the great Sanhedrim; so that their observing them would bring them into such an intercourse with, and dependence upon that court, as might be greatly to the hazard of their Christianity.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gal 4:11 . , . . .] not attraction (Winer, Usteri, Olshausen, Hilgenfeld, Wieseler, Buttmann), because, if this had been the case, must have been the subject of . . . (Plat. Legg . x. p. 886 A: . Phaedr . p. 232 C, , . Diod. Sic. iv. 40; Thuc. iv. 1. 1; Xen. Anab . iii. 5. 18, vii. 1. 2; Soph. Trach . 547): see the passages in Winer, p. 581 ff. [E. T. 781 f.]; Krger, gramm. Unters . III. p. 162 ff.; Khner, II. p. 611. On the contrary, is to be taken by itself, and . . . as a more precise definition of it: “I am afraid about you, lest perhaps I ,” etc. Comp. Plat. Phaedr . p. 239 D: (are apprehensive about it). Soph. O. R . 767: , . It is not without cause that Paul has added , but in the consciousness that his apprehension had reference not to his own interests (his possibly fruitless labour, taken by itself), but to his readers; they themselves were the object of his anxiety, their deliverance, their salvation. The mode of expression is analogous also in a hostile sense, e.g . Xen. Hell . ii. 3. 18: , . Thuc. iv. 8. Galatians 5 : , .
] without saving result (Gal 4:11 ; 1Co 15:2 ), because ye are in the course of falling away from the life of Christian faith, which through my labours was instituted among you.
] Perfect indicative; for the thought was before the apostle’s mind, that this case had actually occurred. Hermann, ad Eur. Med . 310, Elmsl.; Winer, p. 469 [E. T. 631]; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Phaed . p. 84 E.
] for you; denotes the reference of the toilsome labour which he had undergone to the Galatians. Comp. Rom 16:6
Luther (1524), moreover, aptly remarks on Gal 4:11 : “Lacrymas Pauli haec verba spirant.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2072
MINISTERS LABOURING IN VAIN
Gal 4:11. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
MINISTERS are, in the Scriptures, compared to husbandmen. Now, no one can doubt, for a moment, what the object is of those labours which the husbandman pursues. Whether he prosecute the initiatory work of manuring and plowing his ground, or cast upon it, and harrow in, the seed, every one knows that he looks to the harvest, as the compensation of his toil: and so far as the produce abounds, he considers himself as well repaid; but so far as it fails, he regards himself as having laboured in vain. Thus a faithful minister rests not satisfied with having discharged his duty: he looks for the effects of his labours in the conversion of souls to God, and in the salvation of his fellow-men. If, in these respects, his ministrations are crowned with success, he sees of all his travail, and is satisfied. But if the people to whom he ministers remain in a state of ignorance, or, whilst they profess to have received the Gospel, they walk unworthy of it, he feels constrained to adopt the language of St. Paul, and to say, I am afraid of you, that I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Now I propose to shew you,
I.
When a minister may be said to have laboured amongst his people in vain
This complaint he may justly utter,
1.
When they cleave to the law, as a ground of their hopes
[What is the one great object of ministers, but to bring men to Christ, that through him they may find reconciliation with their offended God? In this view, their ministry is called the ministry of reconciliation. But, in order to effect this great work, they must detach persons altogether from their dependence on the law. Men, by nature, are born under the law: and they invariably look to their obedience to the law as the ground of their hope towards God. But, as it is impossible for fallen man ever to render to the law that perfect obedience which it requires, God has given him a Saviour, through whom he may obtain a perfect righteousness, fully commensurate with all the demands of law and justice. But, in order to his obtaining an interest in this, every other ground of hope must be renounced. He must be saved wholly, either by works or by grace. The two grounds of hope cannot exist together. If a man attempt to blend them together, even in the smallest possible degree, he will fail: the slightest dependence on his works will altogether invalidate the work of Christ, and make void all that he has done for the salvation of men [Note: Gal 5:2; Gal 5:4.]. If, therefore, a person still practise any works of the law, in order to obtain, either in whole or in part, justification by them, all the labour that has ever been bestowed on him will be in vain. St. Paul said to the Galatian converts, Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. And on this he grounded the complaint in our text. The observance of days was not evil in itself: it was only evil, as arguing an affiance in the law, and a consequent departure from the faith of Christ. But this being the proper construction to be put upon it, he regarded it as a dereliction of the Gospel; and therefore expressed his fears, that all the labour he had bestowed on them had been in vain.]
2.
When they depart from the law as the rule of their life
[The law, though set aside by the Gospel as a ground of our hope, remains, in all its pristine force, as a rule of life. It must be obeyed, and obeyed from the heart too, as much as if we were to obtain justification by it: nor is there any other standard by which our lives must be regulated, in order to please and honour God. The Gospel proposes nothing new in respect of morals. It adds to our motives for obedience, and gives us a more complete pattern: but it enjoins nothing beyond the requirements of the law. The law enjoins us to love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves: and beyond that we cannot go. The Gospel informs us, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; and, consequently, all the faith and love which we are taught to exercise towards God, we exercise towards our adorable Emmanuel; and all the love which we manifest to man, we manifest it for Christs sake, and in conformity to the pattern which he has set us: but beyond the demands of the law we cannot go; nor short of those demands are we allowed to stop. If, therefore, we see any one relaxing in his obedience to the law, we declare to him, that faith has not in him its perfect work. His heart must be right with God: he must labour to walk in all things as Christ walked: he must, if not in absolute attainment, yet in desire and endeavour, be holy as God himself is holy, and perfect as his Father which is in heaven is perfect. There must be no sin, though dear as a right eye or useful as a right hand, retained: and if we see a man proposing to himself any lower standard than this, we must, of necessity, stand in doubt of him; and fear, so far as he is concerned, that we have bestowed on him labour in vain [Note: Mar 9:43-47. with Jam 2:10.].]
Let me, then, point out to you,
II.
The awful state of a people that are so circumstanced
Truly,
1.
Their responsibility is great
[It is here taken for granted, that the Gospel has been faithfully preached to them. And I hope this may be said with respect to you, my brethren. Yes; you will bear me witness, that Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth crucified among you, even as it were before your eyes [Note: Gal 3:1.]. Now, our blessed Lord said to his hearers, that if he had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but that now they had no cloak for their sin [Note: Joh 15:22.]. What, then, must I say to you? You well know, that many prophets and kings have in vain desired to hear and see the things which have been made familiar to you; and that, at this moment, many would account themselves blessed, if they could possess the privileges which you enjoy [Note: Luk 10:23-24.]: but you cannot but know also, that on these grounds a proportionable responsibility attaches to you. Yet, is there not reason to fear, that many of you are still so ignorant both of the Law and of the Gospel, as not to understand their respective offices, and not to render to them that peculiar honour which they severally demand? Is there not reason to apprehend, that many have never yet come to Christ, as helpless, hopeless sinners; discarding every other ground of hope, and glorying in him as all their salvation and all their desire? Yet, if you have never been brought to this, O! think how much you have to answer for! If the fate of Chorazin and Bethsaida was made worse than that of Tyre and Sidon, yea, than that of Sodom and Gomorrah, by their abuse of the Gospel, judge, I pray you, what the criminality of those is, who, like you, have slighted all the blessings of salvation, which have been so freely offered, and so fully set before you? Jehovah himself appealed to his people of old: Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard: what could have been done more for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? And wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes [Note: Isa 5:3-4.]? The same appeal I must, in Jehovahs name, make to you also. The various means of grace you have enjoyed in rich abundance; and they must be accounted for as talents which you were bound to improve.]
2.
Their danger is imminent
[It is an awful truth, that the word preached, if it be not a savour of life to those who hear it, proves to them a savour of death unto their death [Note: 2Co 2:16.] In fact, it is sometimes sent, to a people in judgment, rather than in mercy: Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed [Note: Isa 6:9-10.]. No less than six times is that passage quoted in the New Testament, to shew us the immense importance of it, and to put us on our guard, lest it be realized in us. We are warned, that the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is, to be burned [Note: Heb 6:7-8.]. Ah! think how nigh the curse may be! and how tremendous it will be, when it shall fall upon you! You know what was said to the barren fig-tree; Cut it down: why cumbereth it the ground? And you also, though spared for the present, through the intercession of your Lord, must soon expect that doom, if you continue to make no return for all the labour bestowed upon you [Note: Luk 13:6-9.].]
Application
1.
Improve, then, the opportunities which are yet afforded you
[The seed is sown on your hearts: look to it, that it be not taken away by Satan, ere the process of vegetation has taken place at all Beware too, lest, if it spring up, it be not soon withered for want of root; or, if it continue to grow, it be not choked by thorns, so as not to bring forth fruit to perfection. Prepare your hearts, by meditation and prayer, before you come to the house of God: and when you have received the good seed, harrow it in by a repetition of the same process: and bear in mind, that you are to requite the labours of cultivation, by bringing forth fruit, according to the measure of divine grace bestowed upon you [Note: Mat 13:18-23.].]
2.
Look forward to your great account
[It is but a little time, and both you and I must give account of our stewardship: I, of my ministrations; and you, of your improvement of them. If I have omitted to warn you, and you perish through my neglect, woe be unto me; for your blood will be required at my hands [Note: Eze 33:8.]. But if I have been faithful to my high calling, then shall I have the joy of presenting you to God; saying, Here am I, and the children thou hast given me [Note: Isa 8:18.]. O blessed day, if I may have many of you as my joy and crown of rejoicing in that day [Note: 1Th 2:19-20.]! On the other hand, how painful is the thought, that against those who have not improved the opportunities afforded them, I shall appear as a swift witness [Note: Mal 3:5.] and every sermon I have ever delivered will testify against you, to your confusion [Note: Deu 31:21.]. But let us hope that such shall not be the result of our meeting, my beloved brethren: no; let me entreat you to give yourselves unto prayer;for me, that the blessing of God may be upon my labours; and for yourselves, that ye may not receive the grace of God in vain [Note: 2Co 6:1.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Ver. 11. Lest I have bestowed labour ] Gr. , even to lassitude, as a day labourer. Other work folks find their work as they left it; but a minister hath all marred many times between sabbath and sabbath, or if but awhile absent, as Moses was in the mount.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
11 .] There is no attraction in the construction ( . , ), as Winer (comm. in loc.) holds: in that case must be the subject of the next clause (so in Diod. Sic. iv. 40 (Meyer), , ): but . stands alone, and the following clause explains it. So Soph. d. Tyr. 760, . The indicative assumes the fact which deprecates: see reff.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Gal 4:11-20 . DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE APOSTLE AT THE CHANGED FEELING OF HIS CONVERTS; REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST; PATHETIC APPEAL TO OLD AFFECTION; PROTEST AGAINST PRESENT ESTRANGEMENT.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
lost = lest by any means. Greek. me pos.
bestowed, &c, Compare Rom 16:6.
upon. Greek. eis, App-104.
in vain. See Gal 3:4,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
11.] There is no attraction in the construction (. , ), as Winer (comm. in loc.) holds: in that case must be the subject of the next clause (so in Diod. Sic. iv. 40 (Meyer), , ): but . stands alone, and the following clause explains it. So Soph. d. Tyr. 760, . The indicative assumes the fact which deprecates:-see reff.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Gal 4:11. you) I do not fear this for my own sake, but for yours.- ) on you; an emphatic expression.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Gal 4:11
Gal 4:11
I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.-The zeal for these things was an indication of waning faith and interest in the law of Christ, and filled Paul with fear lest the labor he had bestowed on them had failed to bear fruit. Fondness for observing these days was regarded as indicative of indifference to Christ. It is true that those churches which lay most stress on the observance of the days not authorized in the scriptures pay least regard to the observances ordained by God. The churches that observe Easter, and other days ordained by men, pay the least regard to the scriptural observance of the first day of the week. Paul discusses the observance of days in worship to God not especially required by the Scriptures (Rom 15:4-5), and says if a man wishes to observe a day, and is satisfied in his own mind, let him do it; let him have his faith to himself; but he is to do it as an individual, so as not to impose it on others. When a church has a special Easter service or any such service, it imposes its service on every member of the congregation. This Paul clearly condemns. Sometimes things harmless in themselves becomes harmful from the use made of them. Jesus illustrates this by the washing of hands, harmless in itself, but when done as a religious ceremony, Jesus says it is sin. (Mat 15:2). God condemns those whose fear of him is a commandment of men, which has been taught them. (Isa 29:13). Then a service that may be right under some circumstances, when done as a religious service because taught by man, becomes sin. The Christians ought to be careful to do all they do, in the name of the Lord, and only what he commands. When men start out to do those things not required by the scriptures, where will it end? One step leads to another, till the service of God is lost sight of in the multiplicity of human observances. To observe Easter now is to honor the Roman Catholic Church, not Christ; for it, not he, ordained the service.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
am: Gal 4:20, 2Co 11:2, 2Co 11:3, 2Co 12:20, 2Co 12:21
lest: Gal 2:2, Gal 5:2-4, Isa 49:4, Act 16:6, 1Co 15:58, Phi 2:16, 1Th 3:5, 2Jo 1:8
Reciprocal: Lev 26:20 – your strength Psa 127:1 – they labour 2Co 6:1 – beseech 2Co 7:5 – fears Gal 5:10 – confidence Col 1:23 – ye continue 1Th 2:1 – in vain 1Th 5:12 – labour
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gal 4:11. , -I am afraid of you, lest perhaps I have in vain bestowed labour on you. Winer, in his Commentary and in his Gram. 66, 5, a, regards this construction as a species of attraction-that in which the principal clause attracts something from the dependent one; and he is followed by Usteri, Wieseler, Hilgenfeld, and Jatho. But the supposition is not necessary. In such cases the object of the one clause is the subject of the other; but the pronoun is object here in both clauses, and the repetition of it intensifies the meaning, or gives distinct emphasis to the declaration. I am afraid of you is a definite idea, and the reason of the is then stated. The suggested by Turner is not needed, as in such a sense the verb governs the simple accusative-the accusative of equivalent notion. Jelf, 550, b; Khner, 857. Compare Plato, De Leg. x. p. 886, A; Diodor. Sic. 4.10; Soph. OEd. Tyr. 767.
In the perfect , and after , is the idea of enduring labour, and the indicative means that the apprehension expressed by (Winer, 56) is realized-the fear has become a matter of fact. Gayler, p. 317; Klotz-Devarius, vol. 1.129. See under Gal 2:2. So Theodoret, but not Chrysostom, who gives it a different turn-the wreck has not happened, but I see the storm travailing with it. Comp. under Php 1:16, Col 4:17.
In the phrase the preposition implies direction, Rom 16:6, not in vobis as the Vulgate, nor propter vos even, but in vos, upon you, as having been directed to them. Bernhardy, p. 217. His labours had them for their special aim and object.
It must have been a sad thought to the large-hearted apostle that his toils, anxieties, and prayers were proving themselves so far in vain. Surprised was he at the speedy revolution of sentiment, and indignant also toward the false teachers who had been seducing them. It cannot, however, be inferred from after that the apostle is blaming them as if the Judaizers could not have done it without their assistance. However true the sentiment may be, that they were a willing prey to the false teachers, these simple words will not bear it; and the passage in Act 5:26 adduced by Storr in defence is quite different in structure.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Verse 11. Paul’s labors included his preaching the Gospel among the Galatians, in which he induced them to accept Christ and His law as their rule of faith and practice. If the Judaizers should persuade them to take up with the law of Moses, it would make void the work of Paul and thus render his labor in vain.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Gal 4:11. I am apprehensive of you, last haply I have toiled for you in vain. This verse is, as it were, bathed in tears, and betrays the deep and painful solicitude of a faithful pastor for his stray sheep, or a tender father for his erring children. It leads to the affectionate appeal, Gal 4:12 ff.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain. [This paragraph is addressed especially to the Gentile Christians. He reminds them that at the time of their wardship their condition differed from that of the Jews; for, having no true copy of the will or law, they were in the more severe bondage of idolatry. Having come from this low, degraded, poverty-stricken bondage into the joyous estate of sonship, where they knew and were known of God the Father, they should have been more impressed by the contrast even than were the Jews, and so should have been more reluctant to return to bondage again. They, therefore, had less excuse than the Jews, who had not been so far removed from God. The bondage is forcefully described, and the points of description are thus aptly defined by Johnson: “Weak, because they have no spiritual power to strengthen us; beggarly, because they have no rich promise like the gospel; rudiments, because they belong to a rudimentary condition, to an undeveloped state, to the childhood of the race.” In proof of the unquestioned relapse of the Galatians, Paul cites their observance of days, etc., set apart by the terms of the bondage, or law. It is not stated whether these were Sabbaths and festivals of Judaism, or the ritual days of paganism, but as they were observed at the instance and through the urgency of the Judaizers, there can be little doubt that they were the former; and the Jewish calendar corresponds to Paul’s list, for they had Sabbath days, and new moon festivals each month, the great feasts in their seasons, and Sabbatical years. This passage, and that in Colossians (Col 2:16), if taken together, show very clearly that the Christians are not required to keep the Jewish Sabbath, and Paul’s closing words, expressing fear as to the results of his labors, is a forcible warning, indicating that salvation itself may be forfeited by a return to legalism.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
The word translated “afraid” is the Greek term from which we gain our word phobia. Paul is really afraid that he has wasted time on these people – his time taken in giving them the gospel and working with them.
I suspect many pastors know just what Paul was feeling. They go into a church and spend years of their lives laboring and when they leave, the people act as though they haven’t been taught anything.
I assisted in a church, for awhile, where their pastor had just resigned. He had planted the church, he had nurtured the church, and he had invested his life in the church. After he resigned, they called me to interim pastor. After about a year they called a full time pastor that proceeded to split the church in about a year.
That poor man saw his work turned into turmoil – how frustrated he must have been.
I say all this knowing that God is in control, that the pastor may have made mistakes, and that the people may not have been seeking God’s leading in the choosing of a new pastor, but to see all those years of labor thrown into the air must have given him great heartache.