Galatians 4:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,

NIV: It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.

NASB: But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable way, and not only when I am present with you.

CSB: But it is always good to be pursued in a good manner—and not just when I am with you.

NLT: If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

KJV: But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

NKJV: But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.

In the previous verse, Paul has revealed that false teachers among the Galatians are turning them away from Paul, and his gospel of salvation by faith alone, in order to put themselves in the spotlight. The way they are accomplishing this is by "making much of" or flattering the Galatians.

This flattery used by the Judaizers may have been a simple manipulation. Perhaps, though, Paul means something deeper than that. The lie that we can become acceptable to God by following the law is a lie that makes much of ourselves. Instead of being about what Christ has done for us, it becomes about what we can do for Him. All the focus of religious rule-following is on my performance. In contrast, the focus of salvation through faith in Christ is on His performance. It makes much of Him.

Paul has written that the false teachers are making much of them for no good purpose. Now Paul writes that it is fine for us to be built up, to be "made much of," if it is for a good purpose. The idea here may be that as we make much of Christ, we are "made much of" with Him.

Paul points out that this right attitude toward being made much of, or "eagerly looked for," should not change depending on whether he is with the Galatians or absent. In other words, they should not change their focus to fit with whatever teacher happens to be in town. Their focus on Christ should remain whether Paul is around or not.

Galatians 4:8–20 reveals that the Galatian Christians have already begun legalistically following the law of Moses, by observing special days. Why would they want to go back to slavery by following the law to be justified by God, Paul asks? Why have they gone from blessing him and trusting in Christ to rejecting him for telling the truth? The false teachers are only using them to bring glory to themselves, Paul insists. Paul is in anguish for them as a mother in childbirth. He longs to see Christ formed in them.

In this chapter, Paul uses three new methods to teach his Galatian readers an important lesson. It is futile to follow the law of Moses in order to be made right before God, since justification comes only by faith in Christ. First, Paul shows that the arrival of Christ made it possible for all people to become God's children through faith in Him. Next, Paul makes a more personal appeal, asking what has changed to cause the Galatians to turn on Paul's teaching of the gospel. Finally, Paul builds an allegory from Scripture, illustrating the difference between being born into slavery and being born into the promise by faith in Christ.

Galatians 3 ends with Paul stating, once more, that those who are in Christ are Abraham's offspring, just as He is, making us heirs along with Him. Galatians 4 continues that idea, showing how Christ's arrival signaled the moment all people could receive the inheritance with Him and be adopted as God's children. Paul makes his appeal personal, asking why the Galatians moved from blessing him to rejecting the message of Christ. The chapter ends with Paul's allegory about the difference between being born into slavery under the law and being born into freedom by the power of the Spirit through faith in Christ. Chapter 5 will continue by expanding on the freedom we have in Christ.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.