Gálatas 4

Gálatas 4

MacDonald comments - This verse might mean that Paul was puzzled as to the true status of the Galatians. Their defection from the truth had left him with doubts. He would like to be able to change his tone and speak with certainty and conviction about them. Or perhaps he was perplexed as to their reaction to his Letter. He would rather be speaking with them in person. Then he could better express himself by changing the tone of his voice. If they were receptive to his rebukes, he could be tender. If, however, they were haughty and rebellious, he could be stern. As it was, he was perplexed about them; he could not tell what their reaction to his message would be. (See context Believer's Bible Commentary) Vine on I am perplexed - Apostle though he was, Paul was not exempt from the trials that attend the servants of Christ, and this was equally true of external experiences, persecutions and the like, and of experiences of the mind and heart, perplexities included; see 2 Corinthians 11:28. He who lives by faith, 2:20, must walk by faith, 2 Corinthians 5:7, and he who walks and serves by faith knows, indeed, that the end is sure, but knows not the intermediate steps. Information concerning the future of any particular believer, or of any particular church, was not vouchsafed to the apostle. There was always room for fear of the worst to stimulate him to fresh labors, see 1 Thessalonians 3:5, 10, always room for hope of the best to give him confidence that those labors would not be in vain; see 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24, and cp. Philippians 1:6, 7.