Galatians 6:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

NIV: See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

NASB: See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

CSB: Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

NLT: NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

KJV: Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

NKJV: See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

Paul is coming to the end of his letter to the Galatians. It was common in that day to use a scribe, called an amanuensis, to take dictation when writing a letter. This verse is one which seems to indicate this was Paul's practice. As he did with at least three other biblical letters—1 Corinthians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians—he now takes the pen himself to write the last few lines.

Paul calls attention to how large the letters of these last lines are as compared with the presumably smaller handwriting of the rest of the letter. Some scholars speculate that this is because Paul's eyesight was extremely poor. At the same time, Paul might simply have written the end of some of his letters in distinctive large handwriting as evidence that the letter was genuine. He understood himself to be writing with the authority of an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he wanted to minimize the ability of anyone to suggest the letter was a fake.

Galatians 6:11–18 is the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Galatians. He apparently took the pen from his scribe and wrote these words, with his own hand, in oversized letters. This remark is one reason some scholars think Paul might have had a problem with his eyesight. Once again, Paul reveals the motives of false teachers pressuring the Galatians to be circumcised. They are only promoting themselves. Now that Christ has come, circumcision does nothing. The Galatians should trust Christ, instead, to be made into new creations.

Galatians 6 includes instructions for how people who are free in Christ and walking by God's Spirit, should treat each other. Christians should restore those who are caught by sin, and we should bear each other's burdens. Only those who plant the fruit of God's Spirit, by faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Believers should not get tired of doing good for each other! The harvest is coming. Paul concludes the letter, writing in large letters that circumcision means nothing. Only becoming a new creation through faith in Christ matters.

Galatians 5 wrapped up with a focus on what it means to be led by God's Spirit. Galatians 6 starts with describing how Spirit-led Christians serve each other by restoring those caught be sin and bearing each other's burdens. Only those who plant God's Spirit in this life, through faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Paul concludes the letter by writing in big letters that circumcision does not matter, only being made a new creation by faith in Christ matters.

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.

Accessed 5/10/2024 11:09:35 AM