“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,”
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you — Paul's maternal metaphor positions his apostolic labor as redemptive suffering ('odino' — birth pangs), with the goal being 'Christos morphoō' (Christ formed in them), a phrase suggesting the inward crystallization of Christ's character through faith and Spirit-inhabitation.
Church Fathers on Galatians 4:19
“My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you.” Observe his perplexity and perturbation, “Brethren, I beseech you:” “My little children, of whom I am again in travail:” He resembles a mother trembling for her children. “Until Christ be formed in you.” Behold his paternal tenderness, behold this despondency worthy of an Apostle. Observe what a wail he utters, far more piercing than of a woman in travail — You have defaced the likeness, you…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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