What Does Galatians 4:19 Mean?

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, Paul's maternal imagery reveals pastoral heart. "My little children" (teknia mou, τεκνία μου)—term of endearment, literally "little born ones." The diminutive expresses affection and concern for their spiritual immaturity. "Of whom I travail in birth again" (hous palin ōdinō, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω)—I'm experiencing birth pains again. Ōdinō (ὠδίνω) means labor pains, the anguish of childbirth. Paul initially travailed to bring them to spiritual birth through the gospel. Now he agonizes again, fearing he must rebirth them.

"Until Christ be formed in you" (mechris hou morphōthē Christos en hymin, μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν)—until Christ is formed, fashioned, shaped in you. Morphoō (μορφόω) means to form, shape, transform. The goal of gospel ministry isn't mere behavioral modification but Christ-formation—Christ's character and image developing in believers through the Spirit. Their drift toward law threatened this formation. Legalism doesn't form Christ but malforms believers into anxious, proud religionists. Paul's anguish was that his spiritual children were being deformed rather than formed into Christ's image.