Galatians 6:13
For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
Truth to Learn
Our boasting should be in the Lord, not in anything we have done.
Behind the Words
The word translated “keep” is phulassō, which means “to keep watch” or “to guard.” By implication it means “to obey, observe, or keep” as it is translated in this verse. Here it is written in the present tense, active voice, and indicative mood, implying current, ongoing activity.
As in the last verse, the word translated “desire” is a form of thelō, which refers to more than just a simple desire, it refers to desire that is acted on. Hence, we could translate this as “… they are determined to have you circumcised …”
Once again, we see the word “boast,” which is translated from the Greek word kauchaomai, meaning “to brag or boast.” It shows that these false teachers took pride in each person they were able to “convert” from simple Christian faith to their own form of legalistic religion.
Meaning Explained
Paul now reveals a bit more about these false teachers. In the previous verse we saw that they were using the circumcision of the Galatian believers as a means of making themselves look good to the Jews. Now we see that they were so focused on outward show that they were regularly neglecting to keep the law themselves. They were intent on preaching the necessity of Christians to obey the Law of Moses, but they lost sight of the fact that they, themselves, were not obeying it.
We also see, as Paul has been subtly pointing out throughout this letter, that the motives of these false teachers were not for spiritual victories in which God would get the glory. Instead, they were determined to get the glory themselves. And, they wanted to get this recognition, not through anything spiritual that they had done, but through the undeniable evidence of an act of the flesh, circumcision. It appears that these false teachers became more self-centered and proud with each Christian that they were able to bring back into the bondage of keeping the law.
Compare this with the type of boasting that Paul talked about in his second letter to the Corinthians:
For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. (2Corinthians 1:12)
As we will see in the next verse, Paul considered the boasting of the legalizers to be wrong.
Application
Where is your boasting today? Is it in your own ability to obey a set of church rules? Is it in the fact that you go to church every Sunday and always tithe your ten percent? Is it in the number of people you have witnessed to who have come to faith in Christ?
Or, is your boasting in what God has accomplished for His glory, in spite of all our feeble efforts?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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