Until Christ is Formed in You

Scripture — Galatians 4:19 (NSV)

My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.

Devotion

The Apostle Paul uses a variety of metaphors to describe God’s intentions when it comes to the “inner work” God is doing in us. In Romans 8:29, for example, we learn that God predestined us “to be conformed [symmorphos] to the image of his Son.” To put it simply, God wants us to become like Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, “seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, we are being transformed [metamorphoō] into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” This passage speaks of our becoming more and more like Christ, even when it comes to his glory.

In Galatians 4:19, Paul uses similar language but in a different way. As he confronts the immaturity of his Galatian converts, Paul says, “My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed [morphoō] in you.” Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, and Galatians 4:19 use Greek words based on the root morph-, which we know from English words such as “metamorphosis” or, simply, “morph.” The word morphē in Greek meant “form” or “shape.” So the three passages I just mentioned all use similar vocabulary. But, whereas Romans and 2 Corinthians envision us being “morphed” into Christlikeness, Galatians 4:19 envisions Christ being “morphed” in us. What can this mean?

The use of this language in Galatians 4:19 is ironic because the first part of the sentence helps us to interpret the second part. In the first part, Paul says he is “again in the pain of childbirth” as the “mother” so to speak of the Galatian church. Then, with childbirth in mind, Paul speaks of Christ being formed in the Galatians, using Greek language that described the growth of a fetus in its mother. Now, it may seem odd to think of Christ growing inside of us in this way, but we mustn’t be put off by this language, taking it too literally. Christ being formed in us is another way of describing our being formed to be like Christ. We say something rather like this in English when, for example, if a daughter is acting like her mother we say, “Oh, you have so much of your mother in you.” As Christians, we need to have so much of Christ in us.

Notice that Paul speaks of Christ being formed in us. We are not the primary actors here, the primary formers. Rather, Christ’s being formed in us is a work of God through the Holy Spirit. Yet it is a work in which we can participate through how we believe, live, pray, worship, reflect, and serve.

Moreover, it is a work in which we can both give and receive help. Paul speaks of being in labor once again for his Galatian converts, “until Christ is formed in you” (4:19). By so doing he implies that he has both the responsibility and the opportunity to help this happen with his people. Though we may not have an apostle to “mother” us in Christ, we do have pastors, teachers, mentors, counselors, spiritual directors, spouses, parents, and friends. We can learn so much from the godly, wise people in our lives. Moreover, as our inner being becomes more and more like Christ, we can help others in the process of Christ being formed in them.

Banner image by Omurden Cengiz on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Understanding Life in Christ (Galatians 1:6–4:31).

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