Gal. 4:19

Ben Crick ben.crick at argonet.co.uk
Tue Jun 30 14:07:03 EDT 1998


On Mon 29 Jun 98 (23:28:47), web3943 at charweb.org wrote:
> (Gal 4:19 KJV)  My little children, of whom I travail in birth again 
> until Christ be formed in you,
> 
> Does this refer to gestation - the nine months a baby is in it's
> mother's womb?

 No; it's a metaphor; compare Nicodemus' misunderstanding of Jesus saying
 he must be born again. He did NOT mean enter a second time into his
 mother's womb and be born (John 3:4).

 Paul is labouring, travailing (as a woman in labour) to bring his converts
 whom he has "begotten" in Christ to "new birth", not the natural birth as
 misunderstood by Nicodemus. Paul is afraid that his "foolish bewitched
 Galatian converts" have relapsed into Judaism, and he will have to go
 through another period of "labour" to restore them to their "new born
 (GENNHQHNAI ANWQEN)" status.

 IMHO, that is.
 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
 <ben.crick at argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
 http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm






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