This is the last of our Lessons on “one anothering” each other. Biblical “duties” each Christian owes his or her brother or sister in Christ!
And today Galatians 6:2 is our Text. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Helping our Christian friend carry some heavy load thrust upon him or her!
And verse 2, of course, hinges on verse 1, its predecessor. “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.” Galatians 6:1
Perhaps “bearing one another’s burdens” and “restoring one another” are similar in meaning, in Paul’s mind and heart as he wrote to the Galatians, a distinct possibility.
Here is Galatians 6:1 with some parentheses inserted, to help define the words. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken (prolambano = “caught off guard”) in a fault (paraptoma = a falling down, as if in a mud hole), ye which are spiritual (filled with the Holy Spirit, thus mature), restore (katartizo = to set a broken bone) such an one in the spirit of meekness (parotes = gentleness, lowliness, not a “better-than-thou” attitude); considering (skopeo = looking carefully, as if through a scope) thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
Yes, doing all this would certainly be bearing the burdens of someone else.
But back to our Text verse now. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
The verb “to bear” (to carry a load) is written in the imperative mood, a command. As have been so many of the one-to-another verses we’ve studied.
This verb “bastazo” also can mean “to remove” a load! Taking it away, if possible!
And the noun “burdens” is “baros,” usually indicating a very HEAVY load.
Two people carrying a load make that thing much more manageable!
Notice the noun “burdens” is plural! More than one? Yes, often that is the case, don’t you agree? (“When it rains, it pours!” … that sort of thing.) Jesus was tempted by the Devil three times in a row, in quick succession! Job’s trials came in a rat-a-tat-tat fashion, machine-gun like! One after another, suddenly, many “burdens!”
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Thus, by bearing those burdens … we fulfil (bring to the top, round out perfectly) the law of Christ! In other words, bearing burdens … is exactly what Jesus would have done had He been in our shoes!
The law of Christ is based on love, anyway.
Should we Christians so help each other … so minister to each other … so emulate our Lord … our Churches would be absolutely transformed!
And the blight of too many “defections,” people getting discouraged and falling by the wayside … would decline significantly. If not altogether cease.
Wow!
I’ve enjoyed these days (twenty-something) studying the “one to another” verses of the New Testament. I pray you have as well. What challenges they present us!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell