Neville Goddard on Galatians 4:12-20 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Galatians 4 in context

Scripture Focus

12Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

13Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

16Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

17They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

18But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

19My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

20I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

Galatians 4:12-20

Biblical Context

Paul asks the Galatians to imitate his life and stay open to truth, recalling how they welcomed him despite infirmities. He longs for Christ to be formed in them and for unity that goes beyond mere external zeal.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within you, the Paul who writes is the I AM speaking. Be as I am is not imitation of a man but a summons to adopt the inner state that knows no separation. The infirmity of the flesh becomes a cue to revise inner limits, not to complain of them. When you welcomed me as an angel of God, you welcomed the inner Christ you already are. The 'blessedness' they spoke of is the felt sense of unity, not worldly approval, and those who zealously affect you act as mirrors testing your fidelity to your assumed state. To be zealously affected in a good thing is to stay fixed in the higher call, not to chase appearances. The travail in birth is the inner labor of consciousness until Christ is formed in you—until your voice shifts because your mind has shifted. I desire to be present with you in awareness, yet the true change occurs as you persist in imagining the formed Christ into your daily life.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Spend 5 minutes assuming the state 'I am formed in Christ within me now' and feel its reality. If doubt arises, revise the scene to confirm unity and allow that feeling to dominate your perception.