You know that it was because of an illnessPaul's reference to an illness provides insight into the personal challenges he faced during his missionary journeys. This phrase suggests that his initial visit to the Galatians was unplanned, possibly due to a health issue that required him to stay in the region. The nature of the illness is not specified, but it highlights Paul's vulnerability and humanity. This aligns with
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, where Paul speaks of a "thorn in the flesh," which some scholars suggest could be a chronic ailment. The mention of illness also underscores the providence of God, using Paul's weakness to further the spread of the Gospel.
that I first preached the gospel to you.
Paul's preaching to the Galatians marks the beginning of their exposure to the Christian message. The phrase indicates that despite his illness, Paul was committed to his mission of spreading the Gospel. This reflects the urgency and importance of his message, as seen inRomans 1:16, where Paul declares he is not ashamed of the Gospel. The Galatians' initial reception of the Gospel is significant, as it laid the foundation for the church in that region. This also connects toActs 13-14, which details Paul's missionary activities in Galatia, emphasizing the transformative power of the Gospel despite human frailty.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Paul the ApostleThe author of the letter to the Galatians, who is recounting his initial visit to the region due to an illness.
2.
GalatiansThe recipients of the letter, the churches in the region of Galatia, who first heard the gospel from Paul.
3.
Paul's IllnessA significant event that led to Paul preaching in Galatia, highlighting God's providence in using circumstances for His purposes.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Our WeaknessGod can use our weaknesses and challenges to accomplish His purposes. Paul's illness, which might have seemed like a hindrance, became an opportunity for the gospel to be preached in Galatia.
Providence in Unexpected CircumstancesWe should remain open to how God might use unexpected or difficult circumstances in our lives for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom.
The Importance of ObedienceDespite his illness, Paul was obedient to God's call to preach the gospel. We are called to be faithful in our mission, regardless of personal challenges.
The Role of Suffering in MinistrySuffering can be a powerful tool in ministry, drawing us closer to God and making our testimony more relatable to others.
Lists and Questions
Top 10 Lessons from Galatians 4
What is the timeline of Paul's life events?
When will the fullness of time occur?
If Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) was a genuine physical ailment, why isn’t there concrete historical or medical evidence of it?
Who was Adoniram Judson, the missionary to Burma?(13)
Through infirmity of the flesh.--Rather,
because (or,
on account)
of infirmity of flesh--
i.e., some bodily weakness or ill-health. We should gather from this that St. Paul was detained in Galatia accidentally by illness, and that this led to his preaching the gospel there.
At the first.--The first time; on my first visit. This would be the one mentioned inActs 16:6, in distinction from that referred to inActs 18:23. (SeeIntroduction.)
Verse 13. -
Ye know (
οἴδατε δέ);
and ye know. The apostle very often uses the verb
οἵδαμεν, or
οἴδατε, conjoined with either
δέ,
γάρ, or
καθώς, when recalling some circumstance of personal history (
1 Corinthians 16:15;
Philippians 4:15;
1 Thessalonians 2:1, 2, 5, 11;
1 Thessalonians 4:4;
2 Timothy 1:15) or to introduce the statement of a doctrine as one which would be at once recognized as certain or familiar (
Romans 2:2;
Romans 3:19;
Romans 8:28;
1 Timothy 1:8;
2 Thessalonians 2:6). The phrase as so used is equivalent to "We [or, 'you'] do not need to be told," etc.; and with
δὲ is simply a formula introducing such a reminiscence, this conjunction having in such cases head versative force, but being simply the
δὲ of transition (meta-batic); equivalent to "now" or "and," or not needing to be represented at all in translation; so that the Authorized Version is perfectly justified in omitting it in the present instance. The phrase may be taken as meaning "And you will well remember." If the apostle had intended to introduce a statement strongly adversative to the last preceding sentence, he would probably have written
ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον (ch. 2:7) or some such phrase.
How through infirmity of theflesh Ipreached the gospel unto you (
ὅτι δἰἀσθένειαν τῆς σαρκὸς εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖνthat because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you. "An infirmity of the flesh;" that is, a bodily illness. The noun
ἀσθένεια is used for "illness" in
John 11:4;
Acts 28:9;
1 Timothy 5:23;
Matthew 8:17. It also denotes a nervous disablement, as
Luke 13:11, 12;
John 5:5. The verb
ἀσθενέω is the common word for "being sick," as
Luke 4:40;
Luke 7:10;
John 11:3, etc. It is possible that the apostle meant to say that the Galatians might not unnaturally have thought themselves treated slightingly in that his remaining among them so long was owing to illness and not to his own choice; but that yet, for all that, they had shown themselves most eager in welcoming their involuntary visitor. The words, however, do not require to be thus construed, and in all probability intend no more than to bring back to their remembrance the disorder under which he was then suffering. The illness would seem to have been of a nature to make his personal appearance in some way unsightly, and even repulsive; for the
ἐξεπτύσατε, spat out, of the next verse suggests even the latter idea. Evidently this disorder, as also the one noted in
2 Corinthians 12:7, 8, did not disqualify him for ministerial work altogether. He adverts to the circumstance, as making it yet more remarkable and more grateful to his feelings, that, notwithstanding the disagreeable aspect which in some way his disorder presented to those about him, they had cherished his presence among them with so much kindness as they did and also with such reverential respect. How it was that his illness brought about this protracted stay, whether it was that he fell ill while journeying through the country so as to be unable to pursue his way to his ulterior destination, or whether the remarkable healthiness of the climate either first attracted him thither or detained him there for convalescence (see Bishop Lightfoot, 'Galatians,' p. 10, note 2, for the character of the climate at Angora, the ancient Ancyra), it is impossible for us to determine. It is noticeable that St. Chrysostom's comments on the passage appear to show that he considered the apostle to be simply stating the circumstances
under which and not those
in consequence of which he preached the gospel to them; and so also OEcumenius and Theophylact paraphrase
δἰ ἀσθένειν by
μετὰἀσθενείας, suggesting the conjecture that they and St. Chrysostom understood the words as equivalent to "during a period of infirmity of the flesh." But this gives to
διὰ with an accusative a sense which, to say the least, is not a common one. Is this illness of body to be connected with the affliction, most probably a bodily affliction, mentioned in
2 Corinthians 12:7, 8, "the stake in the flesh"? This latter affliction has been discussed very fully by Dean Stanley and Meyer on the Corinthians, by Bishop Lightfoot in his commentary on the Galatians, and by Dr. Farrar in his ' Life of St. Paul.' It appears to have first befallen the apostle after the "revelations" accorded to him fourteen years before he wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which he is supposed to have done in the autumn of A.D. . This would bring us back to about A.D. . The apostle's first visit to Galatia, according to Bishop Lightfoot, p. 22, took place about A.D. . When we consider that no doubt many of those wearing labours and hardships, interspersed with frequent suffering of gross personal outrage, recounted in
2 Corinthians 11:23-27, had been undergone in the eight first of those fourteen years (the stoning at Lystra certainly had), it must seem very precarious to conjecture that the malady here referred to was a recurrence of just that particular disorder experienced eight years before. How many other ailments might not the apostle have been subject to, amid the cruel allotment of suffering and hardship which prevailingly marked his course! It is quite as probable, to say the least, that he may then have been suffering in health or in limb from some assault of personal violence recently undergone. St. Luke gives no particulars whatever of this portion of St. Paul's journey, which is only just mentioned in
Acts 16:6. The apostle visited Corinth for the first time not many months after this first sojourn in Galatia; and it is interesting to observe that he speaks of his having then ministered to them in "feebleness" (
ἀσθενείᾳ,
1 Corinthians 2:3), in a manner strongly suggestive of bodily weakness.
At the first (
τὸ πρότερον);
the first time - an expression plainly implying that there had been a subsequent sojourn. Respecting this latter visit, all we know is what we have so cursorily stated in
Acts 18:23; unless, perchance, we may be able to draw some inferences relating to it from what we read in this Epistle itself. Chronologers are pretty well agreed in placing the commencement of this third apostolical journey about three years after the commencement of the second.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
You knowΟἴδατε(Oidate)Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1492:To know, remember, appreciate.thatὅτι(hoti)Conjunction
Strong's 3754:Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.it was because ofδι’(di’)Preposition
Strong's 1223:A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.an illnessἀσθένειαν(astheneian)Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 769:From asthenes; feebleness; by implication, malady; morally, frailty.[that] I first preached the gospelεὐηγγελισάμην(euēngelisamēn)Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2097:From eu and aggelos; to announce good news especially the gospel.to you.ὑμῖν(hymin)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.
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NT Letters: Galatians 4:13 But you know that because of weakness (Gal. Ga) 
