Thomas Aquinas Commentary Galatians 4:12

"I beseech you, brethren, become as I [am], for I also [am become] as ye [are]. Ye did me no wrong:" — Galatians 4:12 (ASV)

After rebuking the Galatians, the Apostle shows here that he did not do so out of hatred.

1. He shows that he has no true cause of hatred toward them.
2. He shows that he has no supposed cause (verse 16).
3. He tells them precisely why he rebuked them (verse 19).

Regarding the first point, he does two things:

1. He shows that he has no reason for hating them.
2. On the contrary, he shows that he has a reason for loving them (verse 13).

Concerning the first point, it should be noted that it is customary for a good pastor, when correcting his people, to mix gentleness with severity so that they are not discouraged by excessive harshness. For it is written in Luke 10 that the Samaritan, in caring for the wounded man, poured in oil and wine. On the other hand, it is written of evil pastors in Ezekiel 34:4: “You ruled over them with vigor.”

Therefore, as a good leader, the Apostle shows that he does not rebuke them in a spirit of hatred, for his words are gentle in three respects:

1. In the charitable name he uses, for he says, Brethren, and as the Psalm says, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalms 132:1).
2. In his pleading language, when he says, I implore you, for “The poor will speak with supplications” (Proverbs 18:28).
3. In freeing them from blame, for he says, You have not injured me at all, and I am not the type of person who hates those who do not offend me.

Second, he shows that he has a reason to love them when he says, you know how through weakness of the flesh I preached the gospel to you at the first. Here he touches on three things that usually cause people to love one another. The first is the mutual help of fellowship, which is also a cause for love to be strengthened among people, according to Luke 22:28: “But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one upon me.”

Regarding this, he says, And you know how through weakness of the flesh I preached the gospel to you at the first. In this, he does two things:

1. He recalls the tribulation he suffered among them.
2. He shows how they stood by him (verse 13).

Therefore, regarding the first point, he says: I say that You have not injured me at all; rather, you came to my aid. For you know, that is, you are able to recall, that I preached the gospel to you previously through weakness of the flesh. This means it was with weakness and affliction in my flesh, or with the many tribulations I suffered from the Jews who are of my own flesh and who persecuted me. As Paul says elsewhere, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3), and “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

And although this weakness might have been a reason to scorn me and a cause of temptation for you—according to Zechariah 13:7, “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered”—nevertheless, your trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject. For it is written, “Do not despise a man for his appearance” , and as the Lord says in Luke 10:16, “He who despises you despises Me.” Neither did you reject me or my teaching, but you were willing to share my tribulations. As Isaiah says, “Woe to you who plunder, will you not be plundered?” (Isaiah 33:1).

The second thing that strengthens love among people is mutual love and affection for one another, according to Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love me.” Regarding this, he says, but you received me as an angel of God. This means you received me with the honor given to a messenger announcing God’s words, as it is written: “When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). For this reason, preachers are called angels: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 2:7).

And not only did you receive me as an angel, but even as Christ Jesus—that is, as though Christ Himself had come. Indeed, Christ had come to them in Paul and spoke in him, according to 2 Corinthians 13:3: “Do you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me?” And as Christ said, “He who receives you receives Me” (Matthew 10:40).

But Paul then rebukes them for their change of heart, asking, Where is then the blessedness you spoke of? It is as if he is saying: “Did people not consider you blessed for honoring me and accepting my preaching?” As Job asks, “Where is your fear, your confidence, your hope, and the integrity of your ways?” (Job 4:6).

The third thing that strengthens love is doing good for one another. Regarding this, Paul says, For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. The phrase “if possible” means if it had been just to do so (for that which is just is what can be done) or if it had been to the advantage of the Church. It is as if to say: You loved me so much that you would have given me not only your material possessions but your very eyes.

Then, when he asks, Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?, he addresses the supposed cause of hatred. He considers this from two perspectives:

1. The cause on the part of the Apostle.
2. The cause on the part of the false brethren (verse 17).

He says, therefore: If you have done so much good for me, should you believe that I have become your enemy because I tell you the truth? The word “enemy” here can be interpreted in two ways. In one sense, it can mean that Paul hates them. In this case, the question “have I become your enemy?” means “do I hate you?” What follows, “because I tell you the truth,” could then be taken as an indication of hatred, even though telling the truth at the proper time and place is a sign of love.

Alternatively, the word “enemy” can be taken in a passive sense, meaning that he is hated by them. In that case, “have I become your enemy?” is interpreted as “do you hate me?” This would be “because I tell you the truth,” making truth-telling the cause of their hatred. For people who tell the truth are hated by the wicked, since truth creates hatred: “They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly” (Amos 5:10).

On the other hand, it is said in Proverbs 28:23: “He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.” I answer that the solution to this can be gathered from what is said in Proverbs 9:8: “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.”

For if the one who is corrected loves the corrector, it is a sign of virtue; conversely, if he should hate him, it is a sign of malice. Since a person naturally hates what is contrary to what he loves, then if you hate someone who corrects you for doing evil, it is obvious that you love the evil. But if you love the corrector, you indicate that you hate sin.

At first, when people are corrected, they are often attached to their sins—which is why a sinner’s first reaction is to hate the one correcting him. But after the correction, he puts aside his attachment to sin and comes to love the one who corrected him. Therefore, the passage from Proverbs expressly says that afterward he will find favor with him.

Then, when Paul says, They are zealous for you, but not well, he states another supposed cause of their alienation, this time on the part of the false brethren. First, he states their motive, and second, he refutes it (verse 18).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that, as has been said before, certain false brethren converted from Judaism went throughout the churches of the Gentiles, preaching the observance of the Law. Because Paul opposed them, they slandered him. They did this not so much for the sake of the Gentiles’ salvation as to get rid of Paul. Hence the Apostle says, They are zealous for you, meaning they jealously guard you (whom they love not with a love of friendship but of self-interest) and do not allow you to associate with us.

For jealousy is a zeal that arises from any kind of love and cannot bear to share what is loved. But their love for the Galatians was not good. First, they did not love them for their benefit but for their own gain. This is obvious from the fact that they wanted to keep the Apostle away from them, as he was opposed to their own advantage. Second, this was a source of harm to the Gentiles, for the false brethren sought an advantage from them by which the Gentiles themselves would suffer harm.

For these reasons, he says, They are zealous for you, but not well, because they are not interested in your welfare. This is obvious, because they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them—that is, so that you might accept no one but them. As it is written, “Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways” (Proverbs 3:31), and, “Do not let your heart envy sinners” (Proverbs 23:17).

But Paul rejects this when he says, But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always. It is as if he is saying: You ought not to be zealous for them and their teaching, but you should be zealous for a good teacher—that is, for me and those like me. As Peter writes, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” (1 Peter 3:13). But because there can be evil even in a good teacher, Paul adds that one should be zealous for the good teacher, yet only in a good thing—that is, in that which is good. As he says elsewhere, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Now, although the Apostle speaks of himself (according to a gloss) when he says to be zealous for the good, he adds in a good thing because, as he says elsewhere, “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this” (1 Corinthians 4:4). And because some are zealous for a good teacher only in his presence, he adds, always, and not only when I am present with you. Zeal for what is good, if it continues even when the teacher is absent, is an indication that it comes from a love and fear of God, who sees all. As it is written, “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God” (Colossians 3:22).