Galatians 4:19
Romans 8:29
Ephesians 4:19
Three Related Passaged:
Galatians 4:19
Romans 8:29
Ephesians 4:19
Galatians 4:19
Galatian 4:19 - "My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you"
How is or how doe we form Christ in us?
Our Answer:
Again, we need to turn to context to help with explaining this. The book of Galatians may very well have been the first book Paul wrote. Galatia was a Roman Province in what we today would call central Turkey. It was established by Augustus in about 25 BC with its capital in Ancyra. We know Paul established a congregation in Antioch of Pisidia, Acts 13:14 to 49. From there Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium and from there to Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, Acts 13:51 to 14:7. This all took place during Paul’s First Missionary Journey in about 48, 49 or shortly thereafter. In each place Paul first went to the Jewish synagogue and proclaimed Jesus to both Jews and Greeks. Also, in each place, Jews had a large hand in causing trouble for Paul and Barnabas driving them out of several cities. It seems likely that the book of Galatians was written shortly AFTER Paul returned to Antioch, from which he had departed on his First Missionary Journey, and prior to the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15.
Both Acts 13:43 and Acts 14:1 indicate that many of the new believers were both Jews, natural born and proselytes, and Greeks. A close reading of the book shows that as soon as Paul departed the area some “Judaizers” moved in and began to create trouble for these new Christians in Galatia. The Judaizers claimed that in order to be saved one had to obey the Law of Moses in addition to believing and obeying Jesus. They were attempting to require that new Christian converts be circumcised (Galatians 5:2) and that they observe the feast days of the Jews, Galatians 4:10. These men were spreading false doctrine, and discord and they were scornful of Paul’s apostleship and the gospel he preached which was free of the law.
With this background Paul wrote to the Galatians appealing to them to return to the pure gospel he had preached to them. Paul begins by declaring there is NO OTHER gospel other than which Paul had delivered to them, Galatians 1:6 to 10. Paul then explains and defends his apostleship by pointing out, 1) he was appointed by God (Galatians 1:11 to 24); 2) he was accepted by the apostles (Galatians 2:1 to 10); 3) he opposed Peter to his face (Galatians 2:11 to 14) and in connection with that confrontation with Peter explains Christians are justified by faith not by keeping the law, (Galatians 1:15 to 21).
Next Paul presents the fact to the Galatians that they received NOTHING from the law but what they received, they received by hearing with faith, Galatians 3:1, just as Abraham had (Galatians 3:9). Paul then proceeds to explain in Galatians 3:19 to 22 that the Law was inadequate, and that it was temporary, Galatians 3:23 to 4:7. Then in Galatians 4:8 to 20 we see a personal appeal by Paul to the Galatians because they have returned to spiritual slavery (Galatians 4:8 to 11) and then he expresses his perplexity concerning the behavior of the Galatians in Galatians 4:12 to 20.
In Galatians 4:19 Paul wrote, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you …” Verses 19 and 20 express the heart of Paul: he is laying bear his love, concern, and his longing to be with them in their time of trouble. He begins with an endearing term calling the Galatians “My children” which stands in contrast to Galatians 3:1 where he said, “You foolish Galatians.”
Paul then explains he is “again in labor.” This is a description of a mother in the process of giving birth. Paul had taught these Galatians the gospel through sacrifices, perils, and sufferings: he had been stoned and left for dead, Acts 14:19. Paul and Barnabas had returned to Antioch, no doubt excited and enthused because of their success in Galatia only to hear Judaizers were corrupting their work in their absence. Now, Paul is saying, even though you are my children in the gospel, (see also Philippians 2:20; 1Corinthians 4:17; 1Timothy 1:2, 1Timothy 1:18; 2Timothy 1:2; and Titus 1:4), it is necessary that I give you birth once again because you are falling away from the gospel which you have been taught concerning Jesus.
He then says, this process, this birthing will last “until Christ if formed in you.” This is exactly what the Hebrew writer was saying in Hebrews 5:11 to 6:3.
Hebrews 5:11 – Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. [Just as the Galatians had become dull of hearing the gospel when they accepted the influence of the Judaizing teachers]
Hebrews 5:12 – For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. [These Galatians had been taught the pure word of God by Paul and some had matured to the point that elders were appointed among them, Acts 14:23. YET, they were returning to Judaism and leaving Jesus and the teaching they had receive behind.]
Hebrews 5:13 – For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. [As long as the Galatians progressed no further that the need for the basics of spiritual life, spiritual milk, they would never grow just as a baby will never fully develop if it only receives milk.]
Hebrews 5:14 – But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. [As we mature as Christians, as the Galatians should have matured as Christians, they should have been able to receive more advanced teaching – food as for a growing, maturing physical body – which would further enlighten them concerning good and evil.]
Hebrews 6:1 – Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Hebrews 6:2 – of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Hebrews 6:3 – And this we shall do, if God permits.
Look at what the Hebrew writer does in Hebrews 6:1 to 3. He LISTS specific things that are basic to being a babe in Christ: repentance, faith, washings (baptism), laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead and eternal judgement. The Galatians should already know and understand all this yet they were slipping back into false teaching to the point the in Galatians 5:4 Paul would write, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Paul then is saying in the last part of Galatians 4:19, he is “in labor until Christ is formed in you” that is until, as the Hebrew writer put it until they are capable of going beyond the basic teaching of the gospel and are able to receive solid food. This is what “until Christ is formed in you means:” developing into a full grown, mature Christian who seeks solid food and not the basics.
Romans 8:29
Romans 8:29 - "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren ..."
How do we conform to the image of His son Jesus?
Our Answer:
The is very closely related to the answer we provided concerning Galatians 4:19: in fact, I believe Paul is saying the same thing on two different occasions using different analogies.
In Galatians 4:19 Paul is urging the Galatians to have Christ formed in them. Here, to the Romans he is admonishing them to be conformed to the image of His Son, that is to be exactly like the Son.
The word “image,” carries with it the idea of a statue, a figure, a likeness, or an duplicate. For example, consider 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Colossians 1:15.
2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Colossians 1:15 says, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature …”
The emphasis here is on the equality or Jesus to that of the original, God. Jesus is, “the exact representation of the nature of the Father, Hebrews 1:3 meaning that, as Jesus said in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
Paul is telling the saints in Rome they are to “conform” to the exact likeness of His Son, that is the Son of God, Jesus. This word, “conform,” in the original, is the word from which we get our English word “morph” with a prefix added to it. To morph is “ to change shape or form,” or as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, “To change shape or form, often from one object to another …” or “To transform or undergo dramatic changes.”
Genesis 1:26 and 27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Unfortunately man chose to break that image, to deform that image when he chose to sin rather that to follow God’s word. Jesus came into the world and was the “image of the invisible God” – Colossians 1:15 and 2 Corinthians 4:4, AND He – Jesus – was the “exact representation of His nature,” Hebrews 1:3.
The challenge to every Christians then is to “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:5. Peter said in I Peter 2:21, “ For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps …”
In Ephesians 1:3 & 4 Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”
Finally, I would have you consider:
1Corinthians 4:16 – I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me.
1Corinthians 11:1 – Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Ephesians 5:1 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
1Thessalonians 1:6 – You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
1Thessalonians 2:14 – For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,
Hebrews 6:12 – that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
When Jesus found us, when we:
we were then, Romans 6:4, “raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
We were NOT raised to continue to walk as we had, in sin, but rather in a new life in which we are continually conforming to the image of His Son.
Ephesians 4:13
Ephesians 4:13 - "... until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ."
How doe we attain "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"?
Our Answer:
This is very much like Galatians 4:19 and Romans 8:29.
The complete thought expressed by Paul here begins back in verse 11 and is:
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.
This is part of a larger portion of the book of Ephesians dealing specifically with unity. Chapter 4 begins with plea that the Ephesians walk (live their lives) in a manner worthy of their calling, that is worthy the salvation they have received by the grace of God.
The word translated “entreat” in the NASB 1977 version is translated “implore” by later versions of the NASB. It is translated “beseech” by the ASV and the KJV, “urge” by the NET, “urge” or “I am asking” by the NIV, and “beg” by the NRSV. Most literal translation have either “exhort,” “beseech” or “call.” This word, as it is used here in this context is best explained by two other passages of scripture, Matthew 18:21 to 35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, and Mark 1:40.
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant we read in verse 32 that when the slave who owed his master a HUGE sum of money was called before the master give an account that the slave, according to his master, “entreated” his master to give the slave more time to repay the debt. However, in verse 29, when the unforgiving slave went to one of his fellow slaves who owed him a small amount, that fellow slave, “fell down and began to entreat him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’”
In Mark 1:40 we see a leper approach Jesus: “And a leper came to Him, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Their walk is to be one of humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance in LOVE, verse 2. By doing that Paul says in verse 3 they can accomplish the Christian walk of verse 1: “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Paul then explains beginning in verse 4, there ONE body, and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” [immersion – jrr], and finally “ONE God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all,” verse 4.
In verse 7 Paul explains HOW the Ephesians have attained the calling of verse 1, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.” God DID NOT have to provide man with a way to have his sins forgiven and therefore return to God. Jesus DID NOT have to come to earth, nor was He forced to give his live for man’s salvation. That was all done simply because of God’s love, His grace, and His mercy. Nothing man has ever done, could ever do, or will ever do merits God’s grace: it is totally a gift to man from God.
In verses 8 to 10 Paul explains that is was through the redeeming work of Jesus that man receives gifts, and that is verified by His ascension into heave after His descension into the lower part of the earth.
Then in verse 11 Paul begins to explain the work of various members of the Lord’s body: some are apostles, some are prophets, some are evangelists, and some are pastors and teachers but what ever specific role one has (apostle, prophets, evangelist, pastor or teacher) ALL are for one specific reason, “the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”
The word apostle in verse 11 may very well specifically mean the original apostles because most of them were alive, well, and working when this letter to the Ephesians was written. However, “apostle” may very well mean very simply, “one sent as a messenger or agent, the bearer of a commission, messenger” and in that sense anyone who is spreading the message of Jesus – the gospel – could be considered an apostle. PERSONALLY I think Paul here is speaking of the original apostles appointed by Jesus.
EVERYTHING we do as “apostles,” prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers is to be to equip or fellow saints to work in the service of our LORD and by doing this the body of Christ – the assembly, the called out, the “church,” – is built up.
Then we get to verse 13 and there we see HOW LONG we are to strive to equip the saints and build up the body of Christ: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.”
Therefore, how do we “attain the stature of the fullness of Christ”?
We:
Once we get to that point, then “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” but we speak “the truth in love” and by doing that we “grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.”
All three of these verses then, Galatians 4:19, Romans 8:29, and Ephesians 4:13 are addressing the essential element of following Jesus: we MUST NOT, we CANNOT sit still and be satisfied with where we are: we must continually strive to grow in the knowledge and faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.