GALATIANS 5:1.
"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
In this verse, Paul exhorts the Galatians to maintain Christian freedom. This exhortation is a declaration of Christian freedom. It is linked to the teaching in the first part of the last chapter ( Gal. 4:7), that they are no longer slaves but are sons of God through faith in Christ, and the illustration of this teaching by the allegory in the previous section. The basis of this exhortation is Christ's death and resurrection. Christ has set us free from death, from sin, from the law and from the curse of the law. "For freedom Christ has set free." It was with reference to freedom that Christ set us free; that is, Christ did not set us free to be enslaved again. Paul implies that Christ did not intend that those He set free were to return to the slavery of the law. This reminds us of Jesus' statement in John 8:36: "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." This is the basis of the following exhortation. This exhortation has a positive and a negative part: stand fast in freedom and refuse to be enslaved again.
GALATIANS 5:2-12.
2. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision,
Christ will be of no benefit to you.
3. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision,
that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be
justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope
of righteousness.
6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
have any strength, but faith working through love.
7. You were running well; who hindered you
so that you are not to be persuaded by the truth?
8. This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.
10. I am persuaded in regard to you in the Lord,
that you will think no other way;
but the one who is disturbing you shall bear his judgment,
whoever he is.
11. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision,
why am I still persecuted?
Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.
12. I would that those who are troubling you
would even mutilate themselves.
5:2. "Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision,Paul now turns to the dangers to Christian freedom. He dramatically calls their attention to this danger: "Behold, I, Paul, say to you." Then he states the danger. Circumcision is the danger; not just the act of circumcision, but what it had come to mean as part of Jewish legalistic teaching. Circumcision was the first step to earning salvation by the works of the law. Thus Christ would be of no benefit to them.
Christ will be of no benefit to you."
5:3. "And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision,Now Paul gives the other side of the danger of circumcision. They would be obligated to keep the whole law. They could not pick and choose what part they wanted to keep; they would be debtors to do the whole law. What this means is that they have lost all their freedom and now were enslaved to the law; the law would now have complete control of their lives. As James says, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" (James 2:10). The failure to do one thing brings the curse of law. One transgression of the law and they would loose their supposed salvation by the law. This is what receiving circumcision would mean.
that he is a debtor to do the whole law."
5:4. "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to beIn this verse, Paul amplifies further his statement in verse two. All who would be justified (saved) by the law, are severed from Christ. The Greek word, katargeo, translated "severed" means "to make idle, inactive, inoperative." With the preposition apo it means "to be separated, discharged or loosed from." Salvation by the law means to be separated from Christ. It implies that there is no middle ground between salvation by the law and salvation by grace through faith; it is either one or the other; the two cannot be mixed. Paul states another result of one trying to be justified by law: they have fallen from grace. Salvation by Christ is salvation by the grace of God. To be separated from Christ is to fall from grace. The works of the law and grace of God are incompatible; salvation is either earned by the works of the law or is a gift of the grace of God. As Paul will say later in his letter to the Romans, "Now to the one who works, his reward is not reckoned according to grace [as a gift], but as his due [he has earned it]" (Rom. 4:4). "And if it is by grace, it is no longer of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace" (Rom. 11:6). Receiving circumcision meant that one was attempting to be justified by the law and that meant the loss of Christ and of the grace of God.
justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
5:5. "For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hopePaul now turns to the advantages of the freedom in Christ. In this and the next verse he shows what it means to be in Christ. He explains that through the Spirit by faith we eagerly expect the hope of righteousness. In contrast to the works of the law, that is, the righteousness of the law, Paul speaks of the Spirit of God who works through faith in the believer to eagerly expect the hope of righteousness. The righteousness here hoped for is the righteousness of faith which will be consummated and fully realized when Christ comes for those who eagerly expect Him. This hope is not something which might happen but that which will happen. For it is grounded in the will of God and the promise of God.
of righteousness."
5:6. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcisionPaul continues to show the advantages of the freedom in Christ. He explains that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision has any strength nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love. Paul is saying that circumcision and uncircumcision do not have any strength. The Greek verb, ischuo, which is here translated "to have strength," means "to be strong" in body, hence "to be powerful, have power, prevail." In contrast to the physical weakness of the physical ritual, faith has energy, working through love. The Greek verb, energeo, which is translated "working," means "to work in," hence "to be in action, to operate." Our English word, "energy," comes from this Greek word. Faith in Jesus Christ is not just intellectual belief but it is a trust in God and His love; it receives His love and in turn gives that love to others. As the apostle John says, "We love because he first loved us" (I John 4:19).
have any strength, but faith working through love."
5:7. "You were running well; who hindered youIn the rest of the verses of this section (vv. 7-12), Paul focuses on the person or persons who are troubling the Galatians. These persons as well as their teachings were a danger to Christian freedom. In this verse, Paul uses the figure of a foot race. He has used this metaphor previously in this letter ( Gal. 2:2) and will use it in later letters (I Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 3:13-14; II Tim. 4:7). Paul observes that the Galatians were running well. He asks them who hindered or obstructed them. The Greek word, enkopto, which is translated "hinder" is a military term referring to setting up an obstacle or breaking up a road. Here it refers to a runner "cutting in" on another runner causing him to stumble. The result of this hindrance was that the Galatians were not persuaded of the truth. The leader of the Jewish legalists was impeding their progress in the Christian faith by persuading them not to be persuaded by the truth, that is, the truth of the gospel of the grace of God.
so that you are not to be persuaded by the truth?"
5:8. "This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you."The leader of the Jewish legalists had persuaded the Galatians not to be persuaded by the truth of the gospel that Paul had preached. Paul tells them that persuasion did not come from Him who called them. The God who called them to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God was not now persuading them to turn to the works of the law to complete the work that He had begun by His Spirit.
5:9. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough."In this verse, Paul introduces a proverb which he use again in his first letter to the Corinthians (I Cor. 5:6). By this proverb, Paul warns the Galatians that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. He may be referring to the false doctrine of Jewish legalists; observing the law in a few points would lead to observing the whole law. Or he may be referring to the influence of the Jewish legalists; once they are accepted into the Christian fellowship they could affect the whole fellowship. The latter is more probable, since he is speaking in these verses of the leader of the Jewish legalists. Paul is implying by this proverb that the leaven should be eradicated from their midst before it spreads widely.
5:10. "I am persuaded in regard to you in the Lord,In this verse, Paul indicates his confidence in the Galatians because his confidence is really in the Lord, who is able to make his arguments persuasive to them. Paul expects them to think no other way than he has indicated in this letter: that they will eradicate the Jewish legalism from their midst. Paul is indirectly calling for the Galatians to act without commanding them to do so. And that the person or persons that they remove from their fellowship should accept their decision.
that you will think no other way;
but the one who is disturbing you shall bear his judgment,
whoever he is."
5:11. "But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision,Paul now contrasts himself with the leader of the Jewish legalists. Apparently Paul was being accused of preaching circumcision and the law. Paul's toleration of Jewish practices made it appear that Paul was preaching circumcision. He does not here try to answer that accusation with another theological argument but simply confutes it with a question: how is it that he is still enduring persecution the Jewish legalists if he is still preaching circumcision? If he were preaching circumcision, then the stumbling block of the cross would be removed. On the contrary, Paul was not preaching circumcision but Christ crucified; the offense or stumbling block of the cross thus remained (See I Cor. 1:18,22-23).
why am I still persecuted?
Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished."
5:12. "I would that those who are troubling youPaul ends this section with a great outburst against those were troubling the Galatian believers. The Greek word, anastatoo, which is translated "trouble," means "to stir up, excite, unsettle." It implies riotous and seditious conduct (Acts 17:6; 21:38). It is a strong word and Paul reacts strongly to those are upsetting the Galatian believers. He says that he wishes they mutilate themselves. The Greek verb, apokopto, which is translated here "mutilate," means "to cut off." The Greek verb is in the middle voice, "to cut themselves off." Some commentators see here a reference to circumcision and that Paul is expressing the wish that they complete the process of circumcision and castrate themselves.
would even mutilate themselves."
GALATIANS 5:13-15.
13. For you were called to freedom, brethren;
only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.
14. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15. But if you bite and devour one another,
take care lest you be destroyed by one another.
5:13. "For you were called to freedom, brethren;Paul reminds his readers, whom he addresses again as "brethren," that they were called to freedom. He reminds them of their call to freedom in order to exhort them concerning the use of that freedom. He says that the purpose of the freedom was negatively not to provide an opportunity for the flesh, but positively to serve one another through love. Christ has set us free to love.
only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another."
5:14. "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,Paul now explains that the law is fulfilled in one word, love. He quotes the command of the law to love your neighbor as yourself from the Old Testament Scriptures (Lev. 19:18). Legalism depersonalizes the law into obedience to rules and laws, treating the command to love as just another command that must be obeyed and not as the way one should act in personal relationships to other persons.
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
5:15. "But if you bite and devour one another,In this verse, Paul deals with one of the results of legalism: strife and the results of the strife: destroying one another. Legalism puts people in competition with each other; they put down each other in order to enhance their own position.
take care lest you be destroyed by one another."
GALATIANS 5:16-25.
16. But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not at all complete the desires of the flesh.
17. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit,
and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh;
for these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you would.
18. But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under law.
19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, some of which are:
immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness;
20. idolatry, sorcery; enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,
rivalries, dissensions, factions,
21. envy; drunkenness, orgies, and things like these,
of which I forewarn you as I previously said,
that those who practice such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God.
5:16. "But I say, walk by the Spirit,In this verse, Paul exhorts his readers to walk by the Spirit. The Greek verb, peripateo, which is translated "walk," means "to walk about," hence means "to conduct oneself, to behave." The Greek word, pneuma, translated "Spirit" is in the dative case and is not accompanied by a preposition. As such it could be an instrumental dative, a locative dative, or dative of reference. The latter is more probable. Walk with reference to the Spirit; that is, with the Spirit as the criterion of the walk. This implies the negative exhortation: do not walk by the flesh. What does it mean to walk by the flesh? To walk by the flesh is to walk by the law. The results of walking by the Spirit is not to complete or fulfill the desires of the flesh. The law cannot control the desires of the flesh. Walking by the Spirit stops the fulfillment or completion of the desires of the flesh. The Greek verb, teleo, which is translated "fulfill," means "to bring to end, finish," hence "to execute, perform, fulfill." If one does not walk by Spirit, but walk by the flesh, the desires of the flesh will be executed, performed, completed. The Greek word, epithumia, which is translated "desire," means "being excited about," hence "an intense longing, impulse, or desire." It is not necessarily evil or bad. Many times it is used in a good sense (Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:23; I Thess. 2:17). Here Paul uses it in an evil sense as that which is opposed to the Spirit of God.
and you will not at all complete the desires of the flesh."
5:17. "For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit,In this verse, Paul contrasts the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other. The flesh desires contrary to the Spirit and Spirit contrary to the flesh. The result of this opposition is that one does not do what he wishes. Paul is not talking about the believer's struggle between the two natures, the old nature and the new nature. The believer does not have two natures; he has only one nature, human nature, by which he may choose to be either bad or good. Neither here nor in Romans 7 is Paul speaking of the struggle between the higher good nature and the lower evil nature. In Romans 7:14-24, Paul is describing the struggle of a Christian who is under the law to live by the law. The good is the law (Rom. 7:16), not the new nature. The man under law does not do the good, the law. He wants to do the good but he does the opposite, evil (Rom. 7:18-20). The evil is what he does that he does not want to do. But since he wants to do the good and he does not do it, he concludes then that it is not he that is doing the evil but sin which dwells in himself. Thus he objectifies the evil. The man under law is doing the evil but he is not accepting it as his own. Here in this verse in Galatians Paul speaks of a different opposition; the opposition between the flesh and the Spirit. In these verses, the flesh is man attempting to walk by the law; that is, attempting to earn or merit by the works of the law righteousness or right relationship with God. As such he is seeking to please God or seeking rewards from God by the works of the law. Paul sets this man over against the Spirit. These are opposed to each other and the result is that one may not do what he wants to do; that is, he does not do either what the flesh desires or what the Spirit desires.
and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh;
for these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you would."
5:18. "But if you are led by the Spirit,Paul in this verse gives the way out of the dilemma in the previous verse. The opposition between the flesh and the Spirit is caused by the law. Under the law, the flesh cannot accomplish its desires and the Spirit cannot accomplish His desires. But if one walks by the Spirit and not by the law, that is, by the flesh, he is led by the Spirit and not under the law.
you are not under law."
5:19. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, some of which are:In this verse and the next two verses, Paul gives a list of the works of the flesh. These works of the flesh are the things that a man under law does. This is a partial list as Paul indicates: "some of which are" (v. 19) and "and things like these" (v. 21). These works of the flesh or sins may be grouped as follows: three sexual sins, two religious sins, eight interpersonal sins, and two social sins. The three sins listed in this verse are sexual sins: immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness.
immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness;"
5:20. "idolatry, sorcery; enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,The first two sins listed in this verse are religious sins: idolatry, sorcery. Then there are listed seven interpersonal sins: enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, rivalries, dissension, factions. The eighth interpersonal sin (envy) is given at the beginning of the next verse.
rivalries, dissension, factions,"
5:21. "envy; drunkenness, orgies, and things like these,The first sin listed in this verse is the last of the eight interpersonal sins. Then there are listed two social sins: drunkenness, orgies. Paul completes his list of the works of the flesh with a warning: "Those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." He had given this warning before when he was with them. This warning implies that those who will inherit the kingdom of God will not practice these sins.
of which I forewarn you as I previously said,
that those who practice such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God."
GALATIANS 5:22-23.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23. gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.
5:22. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,In this verse and the next verse, Paul gives a list of the nine virtues that he calls the fruit of the Spirit. The singular form of the word "fruit" suggest that the nine virtues are a unity, like a bunch of grapes rather than separate pieces of fruit. When the fruit of the Spirit is present in a Christian, they are all present. These nine virtues are usually grouped into three groups of three each. The first group is inward and God-ward: love, joy, peace. The second group is interpersonal: patience, kindness, goodness. The third group is personal: faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The last two of this third group is given at the beginning of the next verse.
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"
5:23. "gentleness, self-control;This verse starts with the last two virtues in the third group. The verse ends with a clause which not only says there is no law prohibiting this fruit of the Spirit but also implies that the fruit of Spirit has nothing to do with the law. The law cannot produce this fruit; it is produced by the Spirit.
against such things there is no law."
GALATIANS 5:24-25 (26).
24. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
26. Let us not become boastful, provoking one another,
envying one another.
5:24. "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucifiedPaul now refers to the basis for walking by the Spirit. The death of Christ and our participation in it is the negative basis. The believer has not only died with Christ to the law but also to sin (Rom. 6:1-14).
the flesh with its passions and desires."
5:25. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."Now Paul here refers to the positive basis for walking by the Spirit. The resurrection of Christ and our participation in it is the positive basis. The believer not only shares in Christ's death but in His resurrection. It is by the Spirit he shares in the resurrection; he lives by the Spirit. On the basis of his participation in the resurrection of Christ by the Spirit, Paul exhorts his readers to walk by the Spirit. The Greek verb, stoicheo, which is translated "walk," means "to be in rows" (of waves, plants, etc. as well as men), "to walk in a line" (especially of marching in file to battle). Hence it means "to walk by a rule." Here it is not an impersonal law or rule but the Spirit of God. The believer is to walk in step and according to the Spirit as his guide and the orderer of his life.
5:26. "Let us not become boastful, provoking one another,This verse should probably be part of the next section. Some take it as transitional. It specifies one aspect of walking in step with the Spirit and it indicates one kind of trespass in which one might be overtaken ( Gal. 6:1). Paul here shows his great tact: he does not accuse them of being vainglorious. He implies that this sin is not yet present among them, even though it may very well have been. The Greek word, kenodoxos, which is translated "boastful," means literally "empty glory." It could be translated "groundless conceit." There is here an implied reference to divisions and factions among the Galatians. The persons being addressed here may be the leaders of these factions. Two effects of this boasting are expressed in the last two phrases of this verse: (a) it provokes one another and (b) it causes them to envy one another. The Greek verb, prokaleo, which is translated "to provoke," means literally "to call forth." Boasting calls forth boasting in another and where one does not have something to boast of, it causes envy of another.
envying one another."