Galatians 4:13
13 [de]
Ye know [eido] how [hoti] through [dia] infirmity [astheneia] of the flesh [sarx] I
preached the gospel [euaggelizo] unto you [humin] at the first [proteron]. KJV-Interlinear
13 but you know that it was
because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; NASB
Paul makes a clear statement here in opening this
verse, that, the Galatians knew, or that they are well aware, or otherwise
stated, that this is common knowledge that need not even be restated. You know.
And what is well known, is that Paul taught them
these truths, the last time he was in Galatia, as he states here.
The point of his mentioning his illness at that
time, was to point out that his last visit was memorable, in that he was very
ill during that visit.
The next verse indicates that his illness was
somewhat repulsive, so much so that it would not be easily forgotten.
The point of this whole statement is to make it
very clear that the Galatians had good and truthful and clear instruction, that
his visit was something that could not be easily forgotten, and that their ease
of switching from his teaching, for false teaching, was clearly a flaw and
fault on their part, in rejecting truth and pursuing false teachings.
There would be no room for excuses. I didn’t know. I was fooled.
We were confused. And so forth.
When doctrine is lacking in the soul, then faith is
weak. When faith is weak, then ones
resolve and courage to stand up to the false things of life is limp or
non-existent. Excuses come easy as ones
courage fades in the fog of a weak spiritual life. Being led astray comes easy.
There is only one way to battle spiritual weakness,
and that is by possessing spiritual preparation. And spiritual preparation requires a daily study,
a daily exposure to instruction.
Each individual believer is a soldier on the front
lines of the angelic battlefield. Being
on that frontline, requires one to be on constant alert, never sleeping while
on duty. The soldier who is alert is
always at the ready. A soldier that
falls asleep, dies.
Being at the ready means always being in
fellowship, always engaging in a daily study.
That is spiritual readiness, spiritual alertness. A sleeping believer is one who is lax in his
daily studies, lax in the mandates of God, lax in his habit of confession, failure
in his obligations to self, to others, to God.
Being easily captured by an enemy of false ideas.
