Galatians 6:1

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted.

In the first half verse, we find another subjunctive verb and our first imperative verb. This subjunctive, however, is not used as an exhortation; it is representing a future contingency, a possible event that might occur, and Paul will show us how to respond to it using an imperative, a stronger exhortation than he used in the previous verse.

Paul is not content to warn us against being empty-headed. Following the Spirit is never just a question of avoiding obstacles. Following the Spirit means we are going somewhere. Granted, He is calling us to a land that He will show us, not yet but in good time. Granted He is calling us to go through a wilderness, but safety in the wilderness is not just a matter of avoiding a pit of vipers or quicksand or starvation. We are not threading our way through dangers to stay in the wilderness; we are heading for the Promised Land. So empty-headedness is a pitfall to avoid, but let’s get our eyes back on the goal. Assuming we are not as empty-headed as we might be, what other dangers might the wilderness hold? It is clear that if Paul exhorts us against allowing a critical spirit to grow up in us, that there will be occasions that are prime opportunities for just such a critical, empty-headed spirit to grow up. One of those opportunities is when someone is caught in some transgression.

Chances are we continue thinking in a muddled way, if only out of habit. Having just been exhorted to not be critical of each other and not to undermine each other, we will automatically begin thinking, “But what if the brother or sister really needs correcting? What if someone is failing to follow the Spirit; or worse, what if they are doing something really dangerous, something that will do serious damage to another?” This is not at all a theoretical question. We already considered it briefly a few pages before. There are abusive husbands within the Church, there are abusive parents, there are alcoholics and drug addicts and people who cannot handle one kind of temptation or another. There are many ways in which a fellow Christian’s behavior may compel us to intervene, not on our own behalf but on behalf of another. How do we go about interfering in someone’s life without stepping across the boundary of love that we owe them, without taking over the Spirit’s monopoly on leading? And when do we know that a situation is critical enough to justify intervention? But above all, how can we interfere in someone’s life without becoming empty-headed?

Consider the most common, but entirely wrong, answer: “Anything we do to correct the brother, to stop him from any sin, to get him back into the path of righteousness, is a form of love for the welfare of his soul, and therefore what we ought to do.” Unfortunately, the ESV translation and many others encourage us to think wrongly by saying “any transgression”. Transgression has to do with the Law, or so we automatically think; we could think of transgressing the Spirit’s leading, but our habits of thought are too ingrained. And so we justify the most odious works of the flesh as virtue, as love. The error of this approach is made plain because of the assumption it is based on: it assumes that the fallen brother is no longer capable of being led by the Spirit, that the Spirit has quit His work. But that our brother has fallen into (in our opinion) an entrapment of the flesh in no way cancels out the Spirit’s presence or power in him to turn him to good. In short, we are never called to try to substitute for the Spirit in a brother or sister‘s life.

The conjunctions that get us into this verse are ἐὰν καὶ. ἐὰν followed by a subjunctive verb – which is the case here – casts more uncertainty on the likelihood of the event actually happening, usually due to remarks that have already been made. In such a case the uncertainty they express is best brought out by translating them “even if”. Perhaps because this is the beginning of a new chapter, all the English versions I consulted translate the two words simply as “if”, as if this verse were introducing a new point rather than continuing what had just been said. This is not, by any means, an impossibility, but it is unlikely. This verse actually continues closely the idea of the previous verse. Paul is anticipating his Galatian readers asking the same question I just posed: “But what if the brother is doing something really bad and needs to be stopped? Shouldn’t we call him out then?” To which Paul replies, “No. Even if he is doing something really bad, don’t call him out.”

What then? Just let him do his own thing? No, but Paul’s answer is more nuanced and delicate than we typically allow such an answer to be. Before we get to Paul’s answer, the first point to get out of this is that in Paul’s view, it will seldom be necessary to intervene in another person’s life. Not never, but seldom. The fact of the Spirit’s active presence in our brother’s life is such a huge fact that it is no surprise our intervention is seldom necessary. The fact of the Spirit’s active presence in our brother’s life is the fundamental fact that controls how Paul thinks about the issue. It is with great reluctance that Paul comes to the grudging admission that sometimes it will be appropriate for us to come alongside the brother as a junior partner with the Holy Spirit. But we should proceed cautiously to see how Paul would have us do it.

First, what kind of intervention may be necessary or desirable, and when? The word translated “transgression” is παραπτώματι. This could be translated as “sin”, but because of the wider context of being led by the Spirit, of walking in the Spirit, of following the Spirit, I would prefer to translate it as “false step” or “stumbling”. Whatever the translation, the word clearly signifies some failure to follow the leading of the Spirit as the person is conducting his life. Next the word προλημφθῆ, “caught”, is a form of the compound προ+λαμβάνω, the προ- meaning that the action of the main verb occurred in the past. There is a broad range of possible meanings which, in the passive voice, could be “is seized beforehand”, “is preferred”, “is anticipated”, “is pre-judged”, or “is repeated from the beginning”. Commonly English versions take off from “is seized beforehand” and assume it is the ones doing the intervening who are also doing the seizing. Thus common translations are “is caught” or “is discovered”.

But the assumption that we, like the police or the supervisor or the spiritual enforcer, have caught someone doing something he or she shouldn’t, is inconsistent with the thrust of Paul’s argument. It suggests, to too many of us, that we are meant to be on the lookout for infractions, as our duty. A better translation, and one in line with Paul’s thought, is that the brother has been caught by the flesh, not that he has been caught by us. It is not that we, like the police, are closing in on a miscreant whom we have discovered. It is that we, like the emergency rescue crew, are rushing to the aid of a hapless person who has crashed his car into a tree. It is he who has been caught by a stumble, not he who has been caught by us vigilant citizens trying to detect and correct stumblers.

It is a form of conceit, of empty-headedness, to take upon ourselves the duty to monitor the spiritual progress of our brothers or sisters. For one thing, if we spend our energy making sure they do not slip up, then we are not spending our energy making sure that we are not slipping up. Translating the verse so as to make us the catchers rather than the flesh that is the catcher, undercuts what Paul said in the previous verse. Translating the verse as English translations usually do implies that it is our duty to catch people in sin rather than go to their rescue when they are caught by it. Translating the verse as English translations usually do makes us all into hall monitors at some prep school of the Spirit, ready to interfere if our roving eyes spot some infraction.

The preposition is ἐν, which could be translated “in” if we work from the presuppositions I mentioned above. But it equally well can be translated “by” or even “under the power of” and either of those choices would make the verse more nearly in line with Paul’s thought. Taking this all together I am suggesting an alternative translation which takes the full meaning of all the words into account, which fits the context of Paul’s argument, and which is more in keeping with the freedom we have in Christ Jesus: “Brothers, even if any person is trapped by some false step …”. Putting it like this removes us from the duty to keep an eye on neighbor lest he do wrong. Putting it like this removes our brother from the status of sinner in need of correction to the status of brother in trouble and in need of grace. Our brothers and sisters will occasionally stumble. When we see them fall, it should cause us to be concerned for their trouble and not fill us with the conceit of those who haven’t stumbled. We also will occasionally stumble. When our brothers and sisters see us fall, how do we want them to respond? In gentleness and compassion as fellow stumblers? Or in the conceit of those don’t permit stumbling?

Moreover, it is not those who see a brother stumble who are qualified to respond, or who are automatically called by the Spirit to help him. The Christian First Response Team are those who have been trained by following the Spirit to respond; it is “those who are spiritual”. To be spiritual, in this context, means to be equipped, to have ready to hand the fruit of the Spirit – especially gentleness – which is the only proper way to respond. Paul makes specific the aspect of the Spirit’s fruit that is necessary to qualify you to help your fallen brother, and that means it is particularly important to be gentle in such a circumstance. This is Paul’s first letter but that doesn’t mean he was wet behind the ears spiritually. This is the first thing he had to say on the topic of church discipline as an apostle.

When the topic of church discipline comes up, most people go immediately to I Corinthians 5 for Paul’s instructions. It is bad exegetical practice to use the specific situation in the Corinthian church to determine the interpretation of formal teaching. Rather, good logic insists that the principles that are taught formally should be the guides to interpreting specific practice. The events described in I Corinthians 5 must be understood in the light of Galatians 6:1 and not the reverse. Over and above anything he says to the Corinthians, the foundation of church discipline is that the fruit of the Spirit must govern every aspect of the process, and especially the fruit of gentleness.

At no point does the Spirit invite us to a form of church discipline that will allow us to judge another, to call another out, to punish another, to act in any way toward another that does not gently and carefully nurture him back into health. Watch out that you do not take such an approach or you in turn will be surprised at the false step you have taken by doing it, a step into an abyss. It is not following the Spirit for you to do any other thing than what the Spirit does in you all the time. When you mis-step and no one else notices, does the Spirit call you out? Does She speak to you harshly? Does She drag your failure before the Church, into public view, to humiliate you and teach you a lesson? No, it is men acting in the flesh who do that.

Now we must examine the word “restore”, which is καταρτίζετε. This is the first of the six imperative verbs in this section, the first of the six “commands”. Paul is not merely exhorting here. Using the imperative mood means that he is insisting on a particular response, that he is emphasizing how very important this response is. This is your job, he says. This is what you owe one another. This is what the Spirit will lead you do. This is the love that faith works through. This is one of the only things that counts for anything. To do otherwise is to stumble yourself in a more damaging way than the brother you would have restored. The same word, καταρτίζετε, was used in the gospels to describe the disciples mending their nets. It means “adjust” or “put in order” or “fit in place”; it is used for supplying a need or for equipping the saints. The emphasis is on helping the person, in giving them what they need to get back on track. It is not, so far as I know, used to mean the setting of a broken bone, but the idea is similar.

But this is not a word that is commonly associated with discipline; more to the point, it is not a word commonly associated with punishment. Perhaps that is why this passage is seldom mentioned in discussions of church discipline. We think of church discipline as punitive when it is actually supposed to be restorative, medicinal, therapeutic. It is the working of the flesh and the mindset of Law that makes us think in terms of punishment. Punishment or discipline of a “wrongdoer” quickly becomes the empty-headedness Paul just warned about. Those who administer the discipline assume a position of power over the fallen brother – whether they mean to or not – and the conceit that is ready to hand in the flesh is right there to establish control of its domain.

We’ll continue by summarizing what we have so far in this passage: “Let’s not become people who are stingy with the credit we give each other, criticizing one another, begrudging others the respect that is due them. Brothers, if anyone is trapped by any false step, those who are spiritually ready should restore him in the spirit of gentleness.” The second half of 6:1 is not a separate sentence, as the ESV makes it. The verb is σκοπῶν, a present participle; it is telling us more about how to go about restoring a brother who has stumbled. First of all gently, but second of all carefully. It is no simple matter, restoring a fallen brother; it takes all the tools the fruit of the Spirit gives you. And it is also a dangerous task. It is a task similar to shoveling the ice off of your neighbor’s sidewalk. It is a good thing to do for him, but remember it is slippery out there.

But the word, σκοπῶν, does not always imply that caution is necessary. It means to keep a close eye on a person, either because he may hurt you, or because you could learn something from him if you are observant. In Romans 16:17 Paul says to keep a close eye on those who spread dissension so you can avoid them. In Philippians 3:17 he says to keep a close eye on those who follow his own example so that you can learn from them. In Philippians 2:4 he says to keep a close eye, not only on your own welfare, but also on the welfare of your neighbors. In this particular passage, Paul seems to be making the same point Jesus made in Luke 11:35, which I quote here in its context: “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful (σκοπεῖ) lest the light in you be darkness.”

The point both in Luke and in this verse of Galatians is the problem of seeing. How we see another person, how we see God, can do much harm to us and it can do much good in us. To see our brother in an untruthful way is as if our eyes let in only darkness and the darkness filled us. But to see our brother as he really is, a person who belongs to God and who is in need of the debt of love we owe him, is as if our eyes opened to light and the light filled us. Keep a close eye on your eyes, in other words. Watch out how you are watching your brother. Be sure you are looking at him in the same way the Spirit is looking at him, and not according to the empty-headed conceit that Paul has warned us against.

But Paul has switched from plural to singular here. Those who restore him should be gentle and you singular should watch out. Why? Since English no longer regularly distinguishes between singular and plural “you”, it is not easy for our translations to show what is happening. Nonetheless, Greek does make the distinction in a clear way and we must assume Paul means something by switching. I believe it was a way to heighten the emphasis. He was talking in some generality before. You spiritual people, restore the one who has stumbled, restore him gently; and while you are doing it, each of you should be keeping a close watch on your own heart. To be a spiritual person does not mean to be above stumbling, to be immune to getting caught in some web woven by the flesh to entrap you as well. If the flesh has a victim already, the flesh will use that victim as a lure to bring in the careless into a trap. Don’t any of you be careless.

The restoration of a fallen brother is dangerous business. If anything, it can be more dangerous for you who help restore him than it is for him to be fallen. Only spiritual people – people who are doing well, at that moment, following the Spirit, who are not unusually vulnerable to the influence of the flesh, people who understand the trap the flesh set for this victim – only those people should proceed to help with the brother’s restoration. And even if you are spiritual in this sense, and go to his aid, you must take care that you are following the Spirit particularly in His gentleness. Even if you suppose yourself to be spiritual, you too can be taken unawares by a false step, and the false step here is the one in which you judge your brother as a failure for his stumbling, in which you despise your brother for his weakness, in which you hold yourself as better in God’s sight because you didn’t stumble. In such cases you end up stumbling and falling on top of your brother and his injury is made worse. Therefore proceed with caution, keeping watch on yourself lest you too be tempted, being especially careful to closely follow the Spirit into the most treacherous landscape of all: intervening in a brother’s life. Keep your wits about you to stay out of the realm of the empty-headed and the conceited.

Be discerning of your own heart, as Paul said; keep watch on yourself. Are you vulnerable, at this point, to this temptation of the flesh, the temptation to bias or prejudice against your brother, the φθόνοι? Don’t be conceited and think you are strong when you are not. Let’s not call each other out. Let’s not undermine each other. Keep watch on your own weakness and if you can’t help restore the fallen brother with gentleness, without undermining him, then back off and search for someone better prepared for the situation. The Spirit is always there with your fallen brother; if you can’t help, She can and She can bring someone else as well. You are not indispensable in any situation because the Indispensable One is already there. Your priority should be keeping watch on yourself, guarding yourself so that there will not be two fallen brothers rather than one.

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Tags: beware of temptation, Bible study, caught in transgression, Galatians, keep watch, Paul, restoration, spirit of gentleness, the spiritual man

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