<p>4:12 <i>Brothers I urge you to become as I am, for I also have become as you</i>- &quot;As I am&quot; may mean 'One who once believed in the necessary to keep the Jewish laws, but who ditched it'; and &quot;become as you&quot; may mean 'Become effectively a Gentile, saved by faith in the Abrahamic covenant'. This assumes he is writing to a Gentile audience- see on :8. Paul aimed to become as his audience: &quot;to those without law, I became as without law&quot; (1 Cor. 9:21). God in Christ became as us, indeed even in OT times He limited Himself in some ways, to be as we are. And we reflect that spirit by seeking to become as others are, that we might win them to Christ. This means that preaching is infinitely more than holding out a set of doctrinal truths and waiting for some curious passer-by to grasp them from us.</p><p>The way Paul <i>begs</i> us to follow him (e.g. &quot;become as I am&quot;) indicates the degree of confidence he had in acceptance by his Lord, his certainty that his way to the Kingdom was valid (Surely he had been told this by some Divine revelation?). See on Phil. 1:10 and Gal. 4:29 <i>Persecuted him that was born after the Spirit</i>.</p><p>Paul plays powerfully upon the idea of the two selves when he appeals to the Galatians &quot;be as I am; for I am as you are&quot; (Gal. 4:12). At first hearing, this seems nonsensical- how can Paul beseech the Galatians to be like him, if he was already like them? Fact is, their behaviour was unlike him; yet he saw their spiritual selves as being like him. And he asks them to be that spiritual self which he perceived them to have. We likewise need to perceive our difficult brethren as having a spiritual self, which they need to live up to.</p><p><i>You did me no wrong</i>- The aorist means 'To date you did me no wrong- don't do so now by returning to the Law'.</p>