Galatians 6:4
Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.
Each one
This phrase emphasizes individual responsibility and accountability. In the Greek, "ἕκαστος" (hekastos) underscores the personal nature of the Christian walk. Each believer is called to examine their own life and actions, rather than comparing themselves to others. This reflects the biblical principle that God deals with us individually, as seen throughout Scripture, where personal faith and obedience are paramount.

should test
The Greek word "δοκιμαζέτω" (dokimazetō) means to examine, prove, or scrutinize. This implies a careful and honest evaluation of one's actions and motives. In the historical context of the early church, believers were encouraged to ensure their works were in line with the teachings of Christ and the apostles. This testing is not for self-condemnation but for growth and alignment with God's will.

his own work
"ἔργον" (ergon) refers to deeds, actions, or labor. The focus here is on personal conduct and the fruits of one's life. In a conservative Christian perspective, this aligns with the teaching that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Believers are called to produce good works as evidence of their faith, reflecting the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Then he will have reason to boast
The Greek word "καύχημα" (kauchēma) can be translated as boasting or rejoicing. This is not a call to prideful boasting but rather a sense of satisfaction and joy in fulfilling God's purpose. In the scriptural context, Paul often contrasts boasting in human achievements with boasting in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). Here, the emphasis is on finding joy in personal faithfulness and obedience.

in himself alone
This phrase highlights the importance of personal integrity and self-assessment. The believer's confidence should come from their relationship with God and their own faithfulness, not from comparing themselves to others. This echoes the biblical teaching that each person will give an account of themselves to God (Romans 14:12).

and not in someone else
The Greek "καὶ οὐκ εἰς τὸν ἕτερον" (kai ouk eis ton heteron) underscores the danger of comparison and reliance on others for validation. In the early church, as today, there was a temptation to measure one's worth by others' standards. Paul warns against this, encouraging believers to focus on their own spiritual journey and relationship with God. This aligns with the conservative Christian view that each person's walk with Christ is unique and should be nurtured independently of others' achievements or failures.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter to the Galatians, addressing the churches in the region of Galatia.

2. Galatian Churches
The recipients of the letter, consisting of early Christian communities in the region of Galatia.

3. Judaizers
A group influencing the Galatian churches, advocating for adherence to Jewish law alongside Christian faith.

4. Christian Believers
The general audience of the letter, encouraged to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

5. The Law
Refers to the Mosaic Law, which is a central theme in the letter as Paul contrasts it with living by faith.
Teaching Points
Personal Accountability
Each believer is responsible for their own spiritual growth and actions. We should focus on our own journey rather than comparing ourselves to others.

Self-Examination
Regularly assess your actions and motives to ensure they align with God's will. This practice helps maintain humility and integrity in your walk with Christ.

Avoiding Comparison
Boasting should be based on personal achievements in faith, not on surpassing others. This fosters a community of encouragement rather than competition.

Spiritual Growth
Testing one's work is a means to spiritual maturity. It encourages believers to strive for excellence in their faith and service.

Boasting in Christ
Ultimately, any reason for boasting should point back to what Christ has done in and through us, not merely our own efforts.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can you practically "test your own work" in your daily life, and what tools or practices can help you in this process?

2. In what ways does comparing yourself to others hinder your spiritual growth, and how can you overcome this tendency?

3. Reflect on a time when you felt the need to boast in your achievements. How can you redirect that boasting to glorify God instead?

4. How does understanding the original Greek word for "test" (dokimazo) deepen your understanding of this verse?

5. How can the principles in Galatians 6:4 be applied to foster a supportive and non-competitive community within your church or small group?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Romans 12:3
Paul advises believers to think of themselves with sober judgment, which aligns with the idea of testing one's own work.

2 Corinthians 13:5
Paul encourages self-examination to ensure faithfulness, similar to testing one's work in Galatians 6:4.

Philippians 2:12-13
The call to work out one's salvation with fear and trembling, emphasizing personal responsibility in faith.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
Discusses the quality of each person's work being tested, which relates to the idea of testing one's own work.

James 1:22-25
Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, which complements the call to test one's work.
Dread of Self-ExaminationArchbishop Seeker.Galatians 6:4
Faithful Self-ExaminationH. G. Salter.Galatians 6:4
Necessity of Self-ExaminationArchbishop Seeker.Galatians 6:4
Self-ExaminationEssex Congregational RemembrancerGalatians 6:4
Self-ProvingR. Cudworth.Galatians 6:4
True and False Standards of CharacterA. Watson, D. D.Galatians 6:4
True Self-ExaminationH. W. Beecher.Galatians 6:4
Urgency of Self-ExaminationC. H. Spurgeon.Galatians 6:4
The Restoration of the ErringR.M. Edgar Galatians 6:1-5
Treatment of a Fallen BrotherR. Finlayson Galatians 6:1-5
People
Galatians, Paul
Places
Galatia
Topics
Actions, Alone, Belongs, Boast, Boasting, Cause, Comparing, Conduct, Examine, Glory, Glorying, Neighbor, Neighbour, Pride, Prove, Reason, Reference, Regard, Rejoicing, Scrutinize, Somebody, Test
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Galatians 6:4

     5473   proof, through testing
     8820   self-confidence
     8832   testing

Galatians 6:3-4

     8340   self-respect

Library
September 19. "In Due Season we Shall Reap if we Faint Not" (Gal. vi. 9).
"In due season we shall reap if we faint not" (Gal. vi. 9). If the least of us could only anticipate the eternal issues that will probably spring from the humblest services of faith, we should only count our sacrifices and labors unspeakable heritages of honor and opportunity, and would cease to speak of trials and sacrifices for God. The smallest grain of faith is a deathless and incorruptible germ, which will yet plant the heavens and cover the earth with harvests of imperishable glory. Lift up
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 20. "Let us not be Weary in Well-Doing" (Gal. vi. 9).
"Let us not be weary in well-doing" (Gal. vi. 9). If Paul could only know the consolation and hope that he has ministered to the countless generations who have marched along the pathway from the cross to the Kingdom above, he would be willing to go through a thousand lives and a thousand deaths such as he endured for the blessing that has followed since his noble head rolled in the dust by the Ostian gate of Rome. And if the least of us could only anticipate the eternal issues that will probably
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Doing Good to All
'As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all. . . .'--GAL. vi. 10. 'As we have therefore'--that points a finger backwards to what has gone before. The Apostle has been exhorting to unwearied well-doing, on the ground of the certain coming of the harvest season. Now, there is a double link of connection between the preceding words and our text; for 'do good' looks back to 'well-doing,' and the word rendered 'opportunity' is the same as that rendered 'season.' So, then, two thoughts
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Owner's Brand
I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.'--GAL. vi. 17. The reference in these words is probably to the cruel custom of branding slaves as we do cattle, with initials or signs, to show their ownership. It is true that in old times criminals, and certain classes of Temple servants, and sometimes soldiers, were also so marked, but it is most in accordance with the Apostle's way of thinking that he here has reference to the first class, and would represent himself as the slave of Jesus Christ,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Burden-Bearing
'Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. . . . 5. For every man shall bear his own burden.'--GAL. vi. 25. The injunction in the former of these verses appears, at first sight, to be inconsistent with the statement in the latter. But Paul has a way of setting side by side two superficially contradictory clauses, in order that attention may be awakened, and that we may make an effort to apprehend the point of reconciliation between them. So, for instance, you remember he puts
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Glory of the Cross
"God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."--GAL. VI. 14. There are at least two reasons, unconnected with Holy Week, why the subject of the Cross of Christ should occupy our attention. 1. The first reason is, that the Cross is commonly recognised as the weak point in our Christianity. It is the object of constant attack on the part of its assailants: and believers are content too often to accept it "on faith," which means that they despair of giving a rational
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis

21ST DAY. A Due Reaping.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "In due season we shall reap, if we faint not."--GAL. vi. 9. A Due Reaping. Believer! all the glory of thy salvation belongs to Jesus,--none to thyself; every jewel in thine eternal crown is His,--purchased by His blood, and polished by His Spirit. The confession of time will be the ascription of all eternity: "By the grace of God I am what I am!" But though "all be of grace," thy God calls thee to personal strenuousness in the work of thy high calling;--to "labour,"
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

Cadman -- a New Day for Missions
S. Parkes Cadman is one of the many immigrant clergymen who have attained to fame in American pulpits. He was born in Shropshire, England, December 18, 1864, and graduated from Richmond College, London University, in 1889. Coming to this country about 1895 he was appointed pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Metropolitan Tabernacle, New York. From this post he was called to Central Congregational Church, Brooklyn, with but one exception the largest Congregational Church in the United States. He has
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume 10

On Mysteries --God Gives them Here in Reality.
It will be objected that, by this way, mysteries will not be made known. It is just the contrary; they are given to the soul in reality. Jesus Christ, to whom it is abandoned, and whom it follows as the Way, whom it hears as the Truth, and who animates it as the Life, impressing Himself upon it, imparts to it His own condition. To bear the conditions of Christ is something far greater than merely to consider those conditions. Paul bore the conditions of Christ on his body. "I bear in my body,"
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Translator's Introductory Notice.
In the remarkable work known as his Retractations, Augustin makes a brief statement on the subject of this treatise on the Harmony of the Evangelists. The sixteenth chapter of the second book of that memorable review of his literary career, contains corrections of certain points on which he believed that he had not been sufficiently accurate in these discussions. In the same passage he informs us that this treatise was undertaken during the years in which he was occupied with his great work on the
Saint Augustine—our lord's sermon on the mount

All that is Born of the Flesh must be Born of the Spirit.
In the former chapter we have shown, from Scripture and from reason, that our Church teaches only the plain truth, when she confesses that: "After Adam's fall, all men, begotten after the common course of nature, are born with sin." As a sinful being the new-born infant is not in the Way of Salvation. By its natural birth, from sinful parents, it is not in the kingdom of God, but in the realm and under the dominion of sin, death and the devil. If left to itself--to the undisturbed development of
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

And to Holy David Indeed it Might More Justly be Said...
22. And to holy David indeed it might more justly be said, that he ought not to have been angry; no, not with one however ungrateful and rendering evil for good; yet if, as man, anger did steal over him, he ought not to have let it so prevail, that he should swear to do a thing which either by giving way to his rage he should do, or by breaking his oath leave undone. But to the other, set as he was amid the libidinous frenzy of the Sodomites, who would dare to say, "Although thy guests in thine own
St. Augustine—Against Lying

On Account Then of These Either Occupations of the Servants of God...
17. On account then of these either occupations of the servants of God, or bodily infirmities, which cannot be altogether wanting, not only doth the Apostle permit the needs of saints to be supplied by good believers, but also most wholesomely exhorteth. For, setting apart that power, which he saith himself had not used, which yet that the faithful must serve unto, he enjoins, saying, "Let him that is catechised in the word, communicate unto him that doth catechise him, in all good things:" [2531]
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Hindrances to Mourning
What shall we do to get our heart into this mourning frame? Do two things. Take heed of those things which will stop these channels of mourning; put yourselves upon the use of all means that will help forward holy mourning. Take heed of those things which will stop the current of tears. There are nine hindrances of mourning. 1 The love of sin. The love of sin is like a stone in the pipe which hinders the current of water. The love of sin makes sin taste sweet and this sweetness in sin bewitches the
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Introductory.
As introductory to the following dissertation, I shall explain and define certain terms that frequently occur in it, especially canon, apocryphal, ecclesiastical, and the like. A right apprehension of these will make the observations advanced respecting the canon and its formation plainer. The words have not been taken in the same sense by all, a fact that obscures their sense. They have been employed more or less vaguely by different writers. Varying ideas have been attached to them. The Greek
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

The Beautiful Hague
When we came to the Hague, though we had heard much of it, we were not disappointed. It is, indeed, beautiful beyond expression. Many of the houses are exceedingly grand and are finely intermixed with water and wood; yet are not too close, but so as to be sufficiently ventilated by the air. Being invited to tea by Madam de Vassenaar (one of the first quality in the Hague), I waited upon her in the afternoon. She received us with that easy openness and affability which is almost peculiar to Christians
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

"Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers of Sodom, Give Ear unto the Law of Our God, Ye People of Gomorrah,"
Isaiah i. 10, 11, &c.--"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah," &c. It is strange to think what mercy is mixed with the most wrath like strokes and threatenings. There is no prophet whose office and commission is only for judgment, nay, to speak the truth, it is mercy that premises threatenings. The entering of the law, both in the commands and curses, is to make sin abound, that grace may superabound, so that both rods and threatenings
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Mysteries
Of Mysteries It may be objected, that, by this method, we shall have no mysteries imprinted on our minds: but it is quite the reverse; for it is the peculiar means of imparting them to the soul. Jesus Christ, to whom we are abandoned, and whom "we follow as the way, whom we hear as the truth, and who animates us as the life" (John xiv. 6) in imprinting Himself on the soul, impresses the characters of His different states; and to bear all the states of Jesus Christ is far more sublime, than merely
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Growth in Grace.
Text--But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.--2 Pet. iii. 18. I MUST conclude this Course of Lectures by giving converts instructions on the subject of growth in grace. I shall pursue the following method: I. What is grace, as the term is here used? II. What the injunction "to grow in grace" does not mean. III. What it does mean. IV. Conditions of growth in grace. V. What is not proof of growth in grace. VI. What is proof of growth in grace. VII How to grow in
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

Princely Service.
NUMB. VII. We learned from Numbers vi, GOD'S requirements of those who desire to take the privileged position of separation to Himself. We found also in the conclusion of the same chapter the overflow of GOD'S love in the rich and comprehensive blessing which so appropriately follows, and forms the connecting link between Nazarite separation and the princely service set forth in Chap. vii,--one of the longest in the Bible, and one full of repetition. We now propose to consider more fully why this
James Hudson Taylor—Separation and Service

Concerted Prayer
"A tourist, in climbing an Alpine summit, finds himself tied by a strong rope to his trusty guide, and to three of his fellow-tourists. As they skirt a perilous precipice he cannot pray, Lord, hold up my goings in a safe path, that my footsteps slip not, but as to my guide and companions, they must look out for themselves.' The only proper prayer in such a case is, Lord, hold up our goings in a safe path; for if one slips all of us may perish.'"--H. Clay Trumbull The pious Quesnel says that "God
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer

Excursus on the Use of the Word "Canon. "
(Bright: Notes on the Canons, pp. 2 and 3.) Kanon, as an ecclesiastical term, has a very interesting history. See Westcott's account of it, On the New Testament Canon, p. 498 ff. The original sense, "a straight rod" or "line," determines all its religious applications, which begin with St. Paul's use of it for a prescribed sphere of apostolic work (2 Cor. x. 13, 15), or a regulative principle of Christian life (Gal. vi. 16). It represents the element of definiteness in Christianity and in the
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

How the Married and the Single are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 28.) Differently to be admonished are those who are bound in wedlock and those who are free from the ties of wedlock. For those who are bound in wedlock are to be admonished that, while they take thought for each other's good, they study, both of them, so to please their consorts as not to displease their Maker; that they so conduct the things that are of this world as still not to omit desiring the things that are of God; that they so rejoice in present good as still, with earnest
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Forms Versus Character
'Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.'--1 COR. vii. 19. 'For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.'--GAL. v. 6. 'For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.'--GAL. vi. 16 (R.V.). The great controversy which embittered so much of Paul's life, and marred so much of his activity, turned upon the question whether a heathen man could come
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Links
Galatians 6:4 NIV
Galatians 6:4 NLT
Galatians 6:4 ESV
Galatians 6:4 NASB
Galatians 6:4 KJV

Galatians 6:4 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Galatians 6:3
Top of Page
Top of Page