Thinking about what we want to accomplish with this blog and podcast, I would have to say sharing God’s word and clarifying misunderstandings. The three of us approach Scripture a little differently due to our life experiences. My prayer is that one of the three of us will be used by the Holy Spirit to plant a seed. As we analyze the hot topics of the day, ultimately our greatest desire is that we honor and glorify God.
So, this week’s topic is based on Galatians 6:2 and whether the universal church is fulfilling Paul’s instructions to, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”[1] We will begin by examining the original Greek giving us a better understanding of Paul’s instruction and then we will answer the question presented.
The word βαστάζετε (bastazete) that the NASB translates as “bear” is a second person present active plural imperative of the root word βαστάζω (bastazō). It is usually translated “to pick up,” “to carry,” or “to bear,” but “in all [of these] senses with [a] suggestion of a burden involved.”[2] It can also be rarely translated as “to steal,” or “pilfer” as John used it in John 12:6 to describe Judas stealing from the money box.[3] The present tense of the word is meant to indicate an action “repeatedly” or “continuously” occurring.[4] Here in Galatians 6:2, βαστάζετε as an imperative, makes the word a command leaving no other option but to treat it as such.[5]
Another word that is important to understand in this verse is the Greek word βάρη (barē)translated “burdens.” In this case the word is defined as the “experience of something that is particularly oppressive, [a] burden.”[6] So, my translation of the verse is, “You all must pick up, carry and bear continuously one another’s oppressive burdens, and thus you all fulfill the law of Christ.”
Paul’s command here to the Christian is to help each other when life is more than a brother or sister can handle. However, it is also a call to help those who are faltering in their relationship with Christ and the body of Christ. This is Paul building on his instruction regarding sinners in verse 1.[7] This second part involves church discipline which I do not have the space to discuss in this observation.
Paul only goes a few verses before we find a different form of the root word βαστάζω. In verse 6:5 Paul uses the word βαστάσει (bastasei), which is the third person future active singular indicative of the root word. So, this leads me to the question, is Paul contradicting himself when he writes, “For each one will bear his own load?”[8] Is this verse saying that we are each to carry our own loads with no one else’s help? The use of this form of the word is a predictive command for the future, which is why we see the English word “will” used in this verse.[9] If each person is to bear his own load, what kind of load is it that we are to bear?
The Greek word φορτίον (phortion) translated as “load” by the NASB in verse 5 can be translated as “load” or “burden.” Paul uses this word to differentiate between the types of burdens between verses 2 and 5. φορτίον is “used to designate the pack usually carried by a marching soldier. It is the “burden” Jesus assigns to His followers (cf. Matt. 11:30).” [10] This is not the oppressive burden as seen in verse 2.
After examination, the verses do not contradict each other. In verse 2 the burden that Paul is referencing, is one that is more than one person can bear. In verse 5 the burdens Paul are referencing “are certain Christian responsibilities or burdens each believer must bear which cannot be shared with others. Jesus assured His disciples that such burdens were light.”[11] One example of a load, are things done in body for which the person will give account before the bema seat of Christ. A second is the calling to which God has called the person. It is examples like these to which a person is personally responsible to bear their own load.[12]
Now is the universal church being obedient to Paul’s instruction? I will have to say yes, and no. God uses broken people and broken churches for His glory. We simply must allow Him to use us and His church for His glory. That can be seen through individual Christians, Christian organizations and individual churches that are obedient to Paul’s instruction. However, there are many individuals and churches that put God in a box and limit the church’s reach by human abilities and resources. I personally think that we can always do more and do it better. We simply need to trust that God will provide the means to help our fellow brothers and sisters along as we do not block the way.
In Christ,
Don
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ga 6:2.
[2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 171.
[3] Friedrich Büchsel, “Βαστάζω,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 596.
[4] Daniel B. Wallace, The Basics of New Testament Syntax: An Intermediate Greek Grammar (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 223.
[5] Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 415.
[6] Arndt, AG-ELNTOECL, 167.
[7] Douglas J. Moo, Galatians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 376.
[8] NASB95, Ga 6:5.
[9] Wallace, TBNTS:AIGG, 197 – 244.
[10] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 609–610.
[11] Campbell, TBKC:AES, 609–610.
[12] John F. MacArthur Jr., Galatians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983), 181–182.