Galatians 4:19

My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you ...

My little children ... This claiming on Paul's part of the Galatians as his spiritual children has also entered into scholarly efforts to determine the date of Galatians and also the identity of the churches to whom it is addressed, the questions, of course, being related to each other. It is said that "The churches of south Galatia had two founders (Paul and Barnabas), and owed allegiance to Barnabas along with Paul." This is true, of course, but Paul had just written to them of Barnabas' being "drawn away" into accepting the position of the Judaizers (Galatians 2:13), and until that had been resolved, it would have been improper for Paul to have associated himself with Barnabas in this appeal. Over and beyond that, it is not true that Barnabas was the co-founder of those churches, his status in all of Galatia being more that of Paul's assistant than that of a co-leader. The dramatic change had come at Paphos. Furthermore, the pagans calling Barnabas, Jupiter, the king of pagan dieties, and Paul only Mercury, the chief speaker, was merely pagan lack of discernment, basing their judgment upon external appearance only. The Jews of south Galatia, who knew the real power of both Paul and Barnabas, as regards the founding of those churches, tried to kill Paul, not Barnabas. It was therefore altogether all right and proper for Paul to have claimed spiritual fatherhood of those churches, even if the defection of Barnabas had been corrected.

Again in travail ... Two things appear in this: (1) there had been an agony of travail (like that of a woman in childbirth) on Paul's part at the founding of those churches, Acts 13 and Acts 14 giving many of the details of his sorrows and bitter sufferings, and (2) he was going through the same deep anxieties again upon their behalf.

Until Christ be formed in you ... The drifting into Judaism had blurred and distorted the image of Christ in their hearts, and Paul wishes it to be perfectly formed.