Commentary on Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians Timothy Titus and Philemon John Calvin (continued)
Chapter
Galatians 6:1-5
Galatians 6:1-5
1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
1. Fratres, etiamsi praeoccupatus fuerit homo in aliquo lapsu, vos, qui spirituales estis, instaurate ejusmodi hominem spiritu lenitatis; considerans to ipsum, ne tu quoque tenteris.
2. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 2. Alii aliorum onera portate, et sic adimplete legem Christi. 3. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
3. Nam si quis putat se esse aliquid, quum nihil sit, se ipsum decipit. 4. But let every man prove his own worth, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
4. Opus antem suum probet unusquisque; et tunc in se ipso solo gloriam habebit, non antem in alio.
5. For every man shall bear his own burden. 5. Quisque enim proprium onus portabit. 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in any fault 107 Ambition is a serious and alarming evil. But hardly less injury is frequently done by unseasonable and excessive severity, which, under the plausible name of zeal, springs in many instances from pride, and from dislike and contempt of the brethren. Most men seize on the faults of brethren as an occasion of insulting them, and of using reproachful and cruel language. Were the pleasure they take in upbraiding equalled by their desire to produce amendment, they would act in a different manner. Reproof, and often sharp and severe reproof, must be administered to offenders. But while we must not shrink from a faithful testimony against sin, neither must we omit to mix oil with the vinegar.
107"In the original it is {ἔν} {τινι} {παραπτώματι}, `in any fault.' The expression is general, though it seems to refer to those works of the flesh of which he had made mention in the 19th and following verses of the foregoing chapter. `If in any of these faults any person should happen to be overtaken;' the last word seems to denote somewhat of a surprise, by which a man might be drawn into a sin, without any previous deliberate purpose or design; a sin committed through some extraordinary and sudden temptation. The last words of the verse, `lest thou also be tempted,' seem plainly to intimate that this was the apostle's meaning.'' --- Chandler.