Have I now become
This phrase indicates a shift in relationship. The Greek word for "become" is "ginomai," which implies a change of state or condition. Paul is addressing the Galatians with a sense of urgency and personal concern. Historically, Paul had a close relationship with the Galatian church, having been instrumental in their conversion to Christianity. This phrase suggests a lament over the deterioration of that relationship due to his candidness.

your enemy
The term "enemy" in Greek is "echthros," which denotes hostility or opposition. Paul is expressing his bewilderment that his role as a spiritual guide and friend could be perceived as adversarial. In the context of the early church, this reflects the tension between Paul’s teachings and the influence of Judaizers, who were advocating adherence to Jewish law. Paul’s rhetorical question underscores the irony that his commitment to truth could be misconstrued as antagonism.

by telling you
The act of "telling" here is derived from the Greek word "laleo," which means to speak or to communicate. Paul emphasizes the importance of verbal proclamation of the gospel truth. In the historical context, oral communication was the primary means of teaching and spreading the Christian message. Paul’s use of this word highlights his role as a preacher and teacher, whose duty is to convey the truth, regardless of the personal cost.

the truth
The Greek word for "truth" is "aletheia," signifying reality or that which is genuine. In the scriptural context, "truth" refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul preached. Theologically, truth is central to Christian doctrine, representing the revelation of God’s will and the path to salvation. Paul’s insistence on truth reflects his unwavering commitment to the integrity of the gospel message, even when it challenges or convicts his audience.

(16) Your enemy.--"The enemy" was the name by which St. Paul was commonly referred to by the party hostile to him in the next century. It is quite possible that the phrase "your enemy" ought to be placed, as it wore, in inverted commas, and attributed to the Judaising sectaries--"your enemy," as these false teachers call me.

Because I tell you the truth.--It would seem that something had happened upon St. Paul's second visit to Galatia (the visit recorded in Acts 18:23) which had caused a change in their feelings towards him. His plain speaking had given offence.

Verse 16. - Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? [ὥστε ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν;]; so then, am I become your enemy, because I deal with you according to truth? This is a wailing remonstrance against an apprehended incipient state of alienation. "So then," ὥστε (see note on ver. 7), occurs repeatedly before an imperative; as 1 Corinthians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Philippians 2:12; Philippians 4:1; James 1:19; here only before a question. Its consecutive import here lies in the essential identification between their attachment to St. Paul and their allegiance to the pure gospel. If they forsook the gospel, their heart was gone from him. Naturally also their incipient defection from the truth was accompanied by a jealousy on their part hew he would regard them, and by a preparedness to listen to those who spoke of him, as Judaizers everywhere did, with disparagement and dislike. No doubt the accounts which had just reached him of the symptoms showing themselves among them of defection from the gospel, and which prompted the immediate despatch of this Epistle, had informed him also of symptoms of a commencing aversation from himself. The construction of γέγονα with ἀληθεύων is similar to that of γέγονα ἄφρων with καυχώμενος in the Textus Receptus of 2 Corinthians 12:11, which is perfectly good Greek, even though the word καυχώμενος must be removed from the text as not genuine. The verb "I am become" describes the now produced result of the action expressed by the participle ἀληθεύων, "dealing according to truth" - an action which has been continuous to the present hour and is still going on. If the apostle were referring only to something which had taken place at his second visit, he would have probably used different tenses; either, perhaps, ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν ἐγευόμην ἀληθεύων - compare φανῃ... κατεργαζομένη in Romans 7:13 (or with a contemporaneous aorist participle, ἀληθεύσας); or, ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύσας, like εϊναι μοιχαλίδα γενομένην ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ in Romans 7:3. As it stands, "dealing with you according to truth" (ἀλήθεύων ὑμῖν) expresses the apostle's continuous declaration of the gospel, and his never-flinching ins]stance upon the mortal danger of defection from it (see Galatians 1:9, προειρήκαμεν); and "I am become your enemy" points to the result now manifesting itself from this steadfast attitude of his, in consequence of their consciousness of meriting his disapproval. The verb ἀληθεύω occurs only once in the Septuagint - in Genesis 42:16, Αἰ ἀληθεύετε η} οὐ, "Whether there be any truth in you" (Authorized Version and Hebrew); and once besides in the New Testament - in Ephesians 4:15, Ἀληθεύοντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ, where the verb denotes, apparently, not merely being truthful in speech, but the whole habit of addiction both to uprightness and to God's known truth; for we can hardly leave out of our view this latter idea, when we consider how frequently the apostle designates the gospel by the term "the truth" (2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 6:7; 2 Corinthians 13:8; Galatians 3:1; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 12, 13; 1 Timothy 2:4). "Enemy" is either one regarded as adopting a hostile position to them, or one viewed with hostile feeling by them, which latter is its sense in Romans 11:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:15. The above exposition of the import of this verse is confirmed by the consideration that the Epistle affords no trace of the apostle's relations with the Galatian converts having been other than mutually friendly at even his second visit to them. This fact is implied in ver. 12, and Galatians 1:9 furnishes no evidence to the contrary; for those warnings may have been uttered in his first visit as well as in his second, without occasioning or being occasioned by any want of mutual confidence. This view of their mutual relations is confirmed likewise by the feelings of indignant astonishment with which evidently the apostle took up his pen to address them in this letter: the tidings which had just reached him had been a painful surprise to him.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Have I now become
γέγονα (gegona)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

enemy
ἐχθρὸς (echthros)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2190: Hated, hostile; subst: an enemy. From a primary echtho; hateful; usually as a noun, an adversary.

[by] telling you the truth?
ἀληθεύων (alētheuōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 226: To say (speak) truth, do truth, maintain truth (the truth). From alethes; to be true.


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NT Letters: Galatians 4:16 So then have I become your enemy (Gal. Ga)