GALATIANS 6:11–18
What Counts Is the New Creation
Paul has reached the end of his letter.
He has argued passionately that Gentile Christians do not need to become Jews.
They do not need circumcision.
They do not need to place themselves under the Law of Moses.
They belong to Christ.
Now Paul takes the pen himself and brings the whole argument together.
And once again, he takes us to the cross.
“See What Large Letters I Use”
Paul writes:
“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!” — Galatians 6:11
Paul apparently had been dictating the letter to someone else, as was common in the ancient world.
Now he writes the closing words himself.
Why the large letters?
We don't know.
Some connect them with the possible eye problem mentioned earlier.
That is possible.
But again:
The text doesn't tell us.
So we don't need to pretend that it does.
Why Were They Pushing Circumcision?
Paul now exposes what he believes was motivating the teachers troubling Galatia:
“Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised.” — verse 12
Then Paul gives another reason:
“The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
Circumcision made the message more acceptable in a Jewish setting.
The cross did not.
Paul refused to remove the offense of the cross.
They Didn't Keep the Law Themselves
Paul continues:
“Not even those who are circumcised keep the law.” — verse 13
Yet they wanted the Gentiles circumcised so that they could boast about them.
Their attention was on:
the flesh,
circumcision,
and outward marks.
Paul's attention was somewhere else.
“May I Never Boast Except in the Cross”
Paul writes:
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — verse 14
There is Paul's boast.
Not his Jewish ancestry.
Not his knowledge of the Law.
Not his circumcision.
Not his accomplishments.
The cross.
Think back to Galatians 2:20:
“The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
For Paul, everything comes back to Christ and the cross.
The World Has Been Crucified
Paul continues:
“Through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
The cross changed Paul's relationship with everything else.
The old markers of status no longer determined who he was.
He belonged to Christ.
That is why neither Jewish privilege nor Gentile background could determine a person's standing before God.
Circumcision or Uncircumcision?
Then Paul gives us one of the great summary statements of the letter:
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything.” — verse 15
Notice both sides.
Paul doesn't say:
Uncircumcision is what matters.
That would simply replace one physical distinction with another.
Neither condition gives someone a special standing before God.
Then what does matter?
Paul answers:
“What counts is the new creation.”
What Counts Is the New Creation
That is a remarkable way to finish this argument.
Paul has spent the letter discussing:
Abraham,
the promise,
the Law,
circumcision,
Jew and Gentile,
flesh and Spirit,
slavery and freedom.
And where does he end?
New creation.
God's work in Christ is bigger than repairing the old divisions.
Something new has begun.
People from every background are being made new in Christ.
A New Creation Has Already Begun
Paul does not speak of new creation here merely as something waiting at the end of history.
He tells these Christians that new creation is what matters now.
That fits what he wrote elsewhere:
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
The final renewal of all things is still ahead.
But God's new creation has already begun in the people who belong to Christ.
Christians live between what God has already begun and what He will finally complete.
“Peace and Mercy”
Paul continues:
“Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” — verse 16
This phrase has produced considerable discussion:
“the Israel of God.”
Who does Paul mean?
Some understand it as Jewish Christians specifically.
Others understand it as God's whole people in Christ, Jew and Gentile together.
We should acknowledge that discussion rather than pretend the wording settles every question by itself.
But we should also read it in the context of the entire letter.
Paul has repeatedly said:
Those who have faith are children of Abraham.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed.
Jew and Gentile are one in Christ.
The Jerusalem above is our mother.
And now:
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is what counts.
Whatever conclusion we reach about the precise wording of verse 16 must fit that argument.
Paul's Scars
Paul then says:
“From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” — verse 17
The teachers troubling Galatia wanted a mark in the flesh:
circumcision.
Paul had marks too.
But his marks came from suffering for Christ.
He had paid a physical price for preaching the gospel.
He wasn't defending this message from the safety of an easy life.
He carried its scars.
Paul Ends With Grace
His final words are:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.” — verse 18
How appropriate.
Galatians began with:
“Grace and peace to you.”
And it ends with:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Between those two statements Paul has fought fiercely against anything that would move Christians away from Christ and back under the Law.
He ends where he began.
Grace.
Now Look Back Over the Whole Letter
Paul's argument has taken us on quite a journey.
The gospel came from Christ.
Gentiles did not have to be circumcised.
Peter was wrong when his behavior separated Jew from Gentile.
Abraham was justified by faith.
The promise came before the Law.
The Law was added until Christ came.
The Law served as a guardian until Christ.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed.
Those baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ.
Jew and Gentile are one in Christ.
The Jerusalem above is our mother.
Christ has set us free.
Faith works through love.
Christians are to walk by the Spirit.
And now Paul finishes:
What counts is the new creation.
Where Has Paul's Argument Been Going?
Not backward to Moses.
Not backward to Sinai.
Not backward to circumcision.
Not backward to an earthly distinction between Jew and Gentile.
Paul keeps moving us toward:
Christ.
The cross.
The Spirit.
The promise.
Freedom.
Love.
New creation.
That is the direction of Galatians.
One Final Question
When we began this letter, we asked:
What was being added to the gospel?
Now we know.
Gentile Christians were being pressured to accept circumcision and come under the Law in order to belong fully to God's people.
Paul's answer has filled six chapters.
But we could summarize it very simply:
You already belong to Christ.
And if you belong to Christ:
You are Abraham's seed.
You are an heir of the promise.
You are God's child.
You have received the Spirit.
You are free.
So don't go backward.
Walk by the Spirit.
Live by faith working through love.
Boast in the cross.
Because ultimately:
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”
Read the paragraph.
Follow the argument.
Check the context.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.