Galatians 4:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

NIV: how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

NASB: but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am at a loss about you!

CSB: I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.

NLT: I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

KJV: I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

NKJV: I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

Paul concludes this current line of thought to the Galatians, expressing a sincere wish that he could be with them. He seems to be aware that his tone toward them may being coming across harshly. After all, he has asked if they consider him an enemy now after once honoring him and the message of salvation through faith in Jesus so highly (Galatians 4:16).

He has used strong language about their beginning to follow the law because of the false teaching of the Judaizers. He even called them "foolish" (Galatians 3:1). Of course, Paul's motivation for this approach is loving, and he is right to do so. For anyone to consider rejecting God's grace through faith in Christ in order to be judged by their own ability to keep the law is foolish, indeed!

Here, though, Paul seems concerned that he might put the Galatians off with his harshness, even if he writes to them out of a sincere love. He wishes he could be with them face-to-face so they could see in his eyes how deeply concerned he is for them. He says that he is just honestly perplexed about them. In other words, he doesn't get it! He struggles to understand what has happened to them.

In the following verses, Paul will leave behind his personal appeal to the Galatian Christians. Going forward, he will return to making the case from Scripture about why it is foolish to want to be under the law of Moses, instead of depending on faith in Christ.

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.