Galatians 6:17-18

In closing, Paul appealed to his readers to end the controversy in Galatia that had caused him so much trouble and distraction as Christ’s bond-slave. He cited the scars he had received as the target of persecution, in contrast to circumcision, as his final proof of his devotion to Christ (cf. Deuteronomy 15:17). He may have received some of these scars when the people of Lystra stoned him during his preaching tour of Galatia (Acts 14:19-20; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:25). Paul was not a "people pleaser."

"If a thing costs us nothing men will value it at nothing." [Note: Barclay, p. 11.]

"These genuine and honorable marks in the body contrast strikingly with the ritualistic and now meaningless mark (circumcision) the legalizers wished to impose on the Galatians." [Note: Boice, p. 508.]

". . . Paul’s readers immediately would have identified the branding of the flesh with slavery, for slaves in the ancient world frequently were marked with the insignia of their master as a badge of identification." [Note: George, p. 442.]

Paul finally appealed for God’s grace to be the portion of the Galatians (cf. Galatians 1:3). "Your spirit" means "you." As in no other of his epistles, he bid farewell by referring to his readers tenderly as "brethren."

Whereas this epistle began very solemnly and harshly (Galatians 1:6-9), Paul’s tone mellowed as he proceeded (e.g., Galatians 4:19). It ends on an uncommonly loving note (cf. Philemon 1:25; Philippians 4:23).