Text -- Galatians 5:10-26 (NET)

5:10 I am confident in the Lord that you will accept no other view. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 5:11 Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 5:12 I wish those agitators would go so far as to castrate themselves!

Practice Love

5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another. 5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” 5:15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. 5:16 But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 5:21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Gal 5:10

Whosoever he be ( hostis ean ēi ).

Indefinite relative clause with ean and subjunctive. It seems unlikely that Paul knew precisely who the leader was. In Gal 1:6 he uses the plural of the same verb tarassō and see also anastatountes in Gal 5:12.

Robertson: Gal 5:11

Why am I still persecuted? ( ti eti diōkomai̇ ).

Some of the Judaizers even circulated the slander that Paul preached circumcision in order to ruin his influence.

Robertson: Gal 5:12

I would ( ophelon ).

Would that, used as conjunction in wishes. See 1Co 4:8; note on 2Co 11:1. Here a wish about the future with future indicative.

Robertson: Gal 5:12

They which unsettle you ( hoi anastatountes humas ).

Late verb from anastatos , driven from one’ s abode, and in papyri in this sense as well as in sense of upsetting or disturbing one’ s mind (boy’ s letter) as here. In Act 17:6; Act 21:38 we have it in sense of making a commotion.

Robertson: Gal 5:12

Cut themselves off ( apokopsontai ).

Future middle of apokoptō , old word to cut off as in Act 27:32, here to mutilate.

Robertson: Gal 5:13

Ye were called for freedom ( ep' eleutheriāi eklēthēte ).

The same point as in Gal 5:1 made plainer by the use of ep' (on the basis of, for the purpose of). See note on 1Th 4:7 for this use of epi .

Robertson: Gal 5:13

Only use not ( monon mē ).

No word for "use"in the Greek. Probably supply trepete or strephete , "turn not your liberty into an occasion for the flesh"(eis aphormēn tēi sarki ), as a spring board for license. On aphormē , see note on 2Co 5:12. Liberty so easily turns to license.

Robertson: Gal 5:14

Even in this ( en tōi ).

Just the article with en , "in the,"but it points at the quotation from Lev 19:18. Jews (Luk 10:29) confined "neighbour"(plēsion ) to Jews. Paul uses here a striking paradox by urging obedience to the law against which he has been arguing, but this is the moral law as proof of the new love and life. See also Rom 13:8, precisely as Jesus did (Mat 22:40).

Robertson: Gal 5:15

If ye bite and devour one another ( ei allēlous daknete kai katesthiete ).

Condition of first class assumed as true. Two common and old verbs often used together of wild animals, or like cats and dogs.

Robertson: Gal 5:15

That ye be not consumed one of another ( mē hup' allēlōn analōthēte ).

Negative final clause with first aorist passive subjunctive of analiskō , old word to consume or spend. In N.T. only here and Luk 9:54. There is a famous story of two snakes that grabbed each other by the tail and each swallowed the other.

Robertson: Gal 5:16

Ye shall not fulfil ( ou mē telesēte ).

Rather, "Ye will not fulfil."Strong double negative with aorist active subjunctive.

Robertson: Gal 5:16

The lust of the flesh ( epithumian sarkos ).

Bad sense here as usual in Paul, but not so in 1Th 2:17; Phi 1:23. The word is just craving or longing (from epi , thumos , yearning after).

Robertson: Gal 5:17

Lusteth against ( epithumei kata ).

Like a tug of war. This use of sarx as opposed to the Spirit (Holy Spirit) personifies sarx . Lightfoot argues that epithumei cannot be used with the Spirit and so some other verb must be supplied for it. But that is wholly needless, for the verb, like epithumia , does not mean evil desire, but simply to long for. Christ and Satan long for the possession of the city of Man Soul as Bunyan shows.

Robertson: Gal 5:17

Are contrary the one to the other ( allēlois antikeitai ).

Are lined up in conflict, face to face (anti̇ ), a spiritual duel (cf. Christ’ s temptations), with dative case of personal interest (allēlois ).

Robertson: Gal 5:17

That ye may not do ( hina mē poiēte ).

"That ye may not keep on doing"(present active subjunctive of poieō ).

Robertson: Gal 5:17

That ye would ( ha ean thelēte ).

"Whatever ye wish"(indefinite relative with ean and present subjunctive).

Robertson: Gal 5:18

Under the law ( hupo nomon ).

Instead of "under the flesh"as one might expect. See Gal 3:2-6 for contrast between law and spirit. The flesh made the law weak (Rom 8:3; Heb 9:10, Heb 9:13). They are one and the same in result. See same idea in Rom 8:14. Note present tense of agesthe (if you are continually led by the Spirit). See Gal 5:23.

Robertson: Gal 5:19

Manifest ( phanera ).

Opposed to "hidden"(krupta ). Ancient writers were fond of lists of vices and virtues. Cf. Stalker’ s sermons on The Seven Cardinal Virtues and The Seven Deadly Sins. There are more than seven in this deadly list in Gal 5:19-21. He makes the two lists in explanation of the conflict in Gal 5:17 to emphasize the command in Gal 5:13. There are four groups in Paul’ s list of manifest vices:

Robertson: Gal 5:19

(1)    Sensual sins like fornication (porneia , prostitution, harlotry), uncleanness (akatharsia , moral impurity), lasciviousness (aselgeia , wantonness), sexual vice of all kinds prevailed in heathenism. @@(2)    Idolatry (eidōlatreia , worship of idols) and witchcraft (pharmakeia from pharmakon , a drug, the ministering of drugs), but the sorcerers monopolized the word for a while in their magical arts and used it in connection with idolatry. In N.T. only here and Rev 18:23. See note on Act 19:19 perierga , curious arts. @@(3)    Personal relations expressed by eight words, all old words, sins of the spirit, like enmities (exthrai , personal animosities), strife (eris , rivalry, discord), jealousies (zēlos or zēloi , MSS. vary, our very word), wraths (thumoi , stirring emotions, then explosions), factions (eritheiai , from erithos , day labourer for hire, worker in wool, party spirit), divisions (dichostasiai , splits in two, dicha and stasis ), heresies (haireseis , the very word, but really choosings from haireomai , preferences), envyings (phthonoi , feelings of ill-will). Surely a lively list. @@(4)    Drunkenness (methai , old word and plural, drunken excesses, in N.T. only here and Luk 21:34; Rom 13:13), revellings (kōmoi , old word also for drinking parties like those in honour of Bacchus, in N.T. only here and Rom 13:13; 1Pe 4:3). @@And such like ( kai ta homoia toutois ).

And the things like these (associative instrumental toutois after homoia , like). It is not meant to be exhaustive, but it is representative.

Robertson: Gal 5:21

Forewarn ( prolegō )

- did forewarn (proeipon ). Paul repeats his warning given while with them. He did his duty then. Gentile churches were peculiarly subject to these sins. But who is not in danger from them?

Robertson: Gal 5:21

Practise ( prassontes ).

Prassō is the verb for habitual practice (our very word, in fact), not poieō for occasional doing. The habit of these sins is proof that one is not in the Kingdom of God and will not inherit it.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

The fruit of the Spirit ( ho karpos tou pneumatos ).

Paul changes the figure from works (erga ) in Gal 5:19 to fruit as the normal out-cropping of the Holy Spirit in us. It is a beautiful tree of fruit that Paul pictures here with nine luscious fruits on it:

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Love ( agapē ).

Late, almost Biblical word. First as in 1Co 13:1-13, which see for discussion as superior to philia and erōs .

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Joy ( chara ).

Old word. See note on 1Th 1:6.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Peace ( eirēnē ).

See note on 1Th 1:1.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Long-suffering ( makrothumia ).

See 2Co 6:6.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Kindness ( chrēstotēs ).

See 2Co 6:6.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Goodness ( agathōsunē ).

See note on 2Th 1:11.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Faithfulness ( pistis ).

Same word as "faith."See Mat 23:23; 1Co 13:7, 1Co 13:13.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Meekness ( prautēs ).

See 1Co 4:21; note on 2Co 10:1.

Robertson: Gal 5:22

Temperance ( egkrateia ).

See Act 24:25. Old word from egkratēs , one holding control or holding in. In N.T. only in these passages and 2Pe 1:6. Paul has a better list than the four cardinal virtues of the Stoics (temperance, prudence, fortitude, justice), though they are included with better notes struck. Temperance is alike, but kindness is better than justice, long-suffering than fortitude, love than prudence.

Robertson: Gal 5:24

Crucified the flesh ( tēn sarka estaurōsan ).

Definite event, first aorist active indicative of stauroō as in Gal 2:19 (mystical union with Christ). Paul uses sarx here in the same sense as in Gal 5:16, Gal 5:17, Gal 5:19, "the force in men that makes for evil"(Burton).

Robertson: Gal 5:24

With ( sun ).

"Together with,"emphasizing "the completeness of the extermination of this evil force"and the guarantee of victory over one’ s passions and dispositions toward evil.

Robertson: Gal 5:25

By the Spirit let us also walk ( pneumati kai stoichōmen ).

Present subjunctive (volitive) of stoicheō , "Let us also go on walking by the Spirit."Let us make our steps by the help and guidance of the Spirit.

Robertson: Gal 5:26

Let us not be ( mē ginōmetha ).

Present middle subjunctive (volitive), "Let us cease becoming vainglorious"(kenodoxoi ), late word only here in N.T. (kenos , doxa ). Once in Epictetus in same sense.

Robertson: Gal 5:26

Provoking one another ( allēlous prokaloumenoi ).

Old word prokaleō , to call forth, to challenge to combat. Only here in N.T. and in bad sense. The word for "provoke"in Heb 10:24 is paroxusmon (our "paroxysm").

Robertson: Gal 5:26

Envying ( phthonountes ).

Old verb from phthonos . Only here in N.T.

Vincent: Gal 5:10

In the Lord

Const. with I have confidence .

Vincent: Gal 5:10

Will be - minded ( φρονήσετε )

The word denotes a general disposition of the mind rather than a specific act of thought directed at a given point. Comp. Phi 3:15, Phi 3:19; Phi 4:2; Rom 8:5; Rom 11:20; 1Co 13:11 : and φρόνημα mind , Rom 8:6, Rom 8:7, Rom 8:27. In Class. often with εὖ well , καλῶς honorably , ὀρθῶς rightly , κακῶς mischievously . Τά τινος φρονεῖν is to be of one's party .

Vincent: Gal 5:10

He that troubleth ( ὁ αράσσων )

Comp. Gal 1:7. Not with reference to any particular individual, as Peter or James (Lipsius), but generally, of any possible person, " whoever he may be." The verb is used by Paul only in this Epistle, and refers to disturbance of faith or unity.

Vincent: Gal 5:11

And I

In sharp contrast with the disturber.

Vincent: Gal 5:11

If I yet preach circumcision ( εἰ περιτομὴν ἔτι κηρύσσω )

Commonly explained as an allusion to a charge circulated by the Judaisers that Paul preached or sanctioned the circumcision of Gentile converts in churches outside of Galatia, as, for example, in the case of Timothy, Act 16:3. But it is quite unlikely that any such charge was circulated. The Judaisers would not have founded such a charge on an individual case or two, like Timothy's, especially in the face of the notorious fact that Paul, in Jerusalem and Antioch, had contested the demand for the circumcision of Gentile Christians; and Paul's question, " Why do I suffer persecution?" would have been pertinent only on the assumption that he was charged with habitually . not occasionally , preaching circumcision. Had the Judaisers actually circulated such a charge, Paul would have been compelled to meet it in a far more direct and thorough manner than he does here. He would have been likely to formulate the charge, and to deal incisively with the inconsistency in his preaching which it involved. The course of his thought is as follows: " He that troubleth you by preaching circumcision shall bear his judgment; but I am not a disturber - not your enemy (Gal 4:16), for I do not preach circumcision; and the proof of this is that I am persecuted. If I preached circumcision, there would be no offense, and therefore no disturbance; for the cross would cease to be an offense, if, in addition to the cross, I preached just what the Judaisers assert, the necessity of circumcision."

Vincent: Gal 5:11

Yet ( ἔπι )

As in the time before my conversion. The second ἔπι is not temporal but logical, as Rom 3:7; Rom 9:19. What further ground is there for persecuting me?

Vincent: Gal 5:11

Then ( ἄρα )

As a consequence of my preaching circumcision.

Vincent: Gal 5:11

The offense of the cross ( τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ σταυροῦ )

Comp. 1Co 1:23. For offense , see on offend , Mat 5:29.

Vincent: Gal 5:11

Ceased ( κατήργηται )

Lit. been done away or brought to nought . See on Gal 5:4. If Paul had preached circumcision as necessary to salvation, the preaching of the cross would have ceased to be an offense, because, along with the cross, Paul would have preached what the Judaisers demanded, that the Mosaic law should still be binding on Christians. The Judaisers would have accepted the cross with circumcision, but not the cross instead of circumcision. The Judaisers thus exposed themselves to no persecution in accepting Christ. They covered the offense of the cross, and conciliated unbelieving Jews by maintaining that the law was binding upon Christians. See Gal 6:12.

Vincent: Gal 5:12

They were cut off ( ἀποκόψονται )

More correctly, would cut themselves off . Perhaps the severest expression in Paul's Epistles. It turns on the practice of circumcision. Paul says in effect: " These people are disturbing you by insisting on circumcision. I would that they would make thorough work of it in their own case, and, instead of merely amputating the foreskin, would castrate themselves, as heathen priests do. Perhaps that would be even a more powerful help to salvation." With this passage should be compared Phi 3:2, Phi 3:3, also aimed at the Judaisers: " Beware of the concision " (τὴν κατατομήν ), the word directing attention to the fact that these persons had no right to claim circumcision in the true sense. Unaccompanied by faith, love, and obedience, circumcision was no more than physical mutilation. They belonged in the category of those referred to in Lev 21:5. Comp. Paul's words on the true circumcision, Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29; Phi 3:3; Col 2:11.

Vincent: Gal 5:12

Which trouble ( ἀναστατοῦντες )

Only here in Paul, and twice elsewhere, Act 17:6; Act 21:38. o lxx. Stronger than ταράσσειν disturb . Rather to upset or overthrow . The usual phrase in Class. is ἀνάστατον ποιεῖν to make an upset . Used of driving out from home, ruining a city or country. See on madest an uproar , Act 21:38. Rev. unsettle is too weak.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

For ( γὰρ )

Well may I speak thus strongly of those who thus overthrow your whole polity and enslave you, for ye are called for freedom.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

Unto liberty ( ἐπ ' ἐλευθερίᾳ )

Better, for freedom . See on unto uncleanness , 1Th 4:7. Ἑπὶ marks the intention.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

Only ( μόνον )

For a similar use of the word, qualifying or limiting a general statement, comp. 1Co 7:39; Gal 2:10; Phi 1:27; 2Th 2:7.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

Use not liberty ( τὴν ἐλευθερίαν )

Use is not in the Greek. We may supply hold or make or turn .

Vincent: Gal 5:13

Occasion ( ἀφορμὴν )

See on Rom 7:8. Almost exclusively in Paul.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

To the flesh ( τῃ σαρκί )

See on Rom 7:5. The flesh here represents lovelessness and selfishness. Christian freedom is not to be abused for selfish ends. Paul treats this subject at length in 1Co 8:1-13; 1Co 12:25, 1Co 12:26. Individual liberty is subject to the law of love and mutual service. Comp. 1Pe 2:16.

Vincent: Gal 5:13

By love ( διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης )

Or through love, through which faith works (Gal 5:6).

Vincent: Gal 5:14

All the law ( ὁ πᾶς νόμος )

More correctly, the whole law . Comp. Mat 22:40.

Vincent: Gal 5:14

Is fulfilled ( πεπλήρωται )

Has been fulfilled. Comp. Rom 13:8. The meaning is not embraced in , or summed up in , but complied with . In Rom 13:9, ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται is summed up , is to be distinguished from πλήρωμα hath fulfilled (Rom 13:8) and πλήρωμα fulfillment (Rom 13:10). The difference is between statement and accomplishment. See on do the law , Gal 5:3.

Vincent: Gal 5:15

Bite and devour ( δάκνετε καὶ κατεσθίετε )

Strong expressions of partisan hatred exerting itself for mutual injury. Δάκνειν to bite , N.T.o . In lxx metaphorically, Mic 3:5; Hab 2:7. For κατεσθίειν devour , comp. Mat 23:13; 2Co 11:20; Rev 11:5.

Vincent: Gal 5:15

Be consumed ( ἀναλωθῆτε )

Rare in N.T. See Luk 9:54. Partisan strife will be fatal to the Christian community as a whole. The organic life of the body will be destroyed by its own members.

Vincent: Gal 5:16

Walk ( περιπατεῖτε )

Frequent in a metaphorical sense for habitual conduct. See Mar 7:5; Joh 8:12; Act 21:21; Rom 6:4; Rom 8:4; 1Co 3:3; Phi 3:18. Never by Paul in the literal sense.

Vincent: Gal 5:16

In the Spirit ( πνεύματι )

Rather, by the Spirit, as the rule of action. Comp. Gal 6:16; Phi 3:16; Rom 4:12.

Vincent: Gal 5:16

Fulfill ( τελέσητε )

Bring to fulfillment in action. See on do the law , Gal 5:3.

Vincent: Gal 5:16

The lust ( ἐπιθυμίαν )

Frequent in Paul, and usually in a bad sense; but see Phi 1:23; 1Th 2:17, and comp. Luk 22:15. The phrase lust or lusts of the flesh occurs also Eph 2:3; 2Pe 2:18; 1Jo 2:16. It means, not the mere sensual desire of the physical nature, but the desire which is peculiar to human nature without the divine Spirit.

Vincent: Gal 5:17

Are contrary ( ἀντίκειται )

The verb means to lie opposite to ; hence to oppose , withstand . The sentence these - to the other is not parenthetical.

Vincent: Gal 5:17

So that ( ἵνα )

Connect with these are contrary , etc. Ἵνα does not express result , but purpose , to the end that , - the purpose of the two contending desires. The intent of each principle in opposing the other is to prevent man's doing what the other principle moves him to do.

Vincent: Gal 5:17

Cannot do ( μὴ ποιῆτε )

A mistake, growing out of the misinterpretation of ἵνα noted above. Rather, each works to the end that ye may not do , etc.

Vincent: Gal 5:17

The things that ye would ( ἃ ἐὰν θέλητε )

The things which you will to do under the influence of either of the two contending principles. There is a mutual conflict of two powers. If one wills to do good, he is opposed by the flesh: if to do evil, by the Spirit.

Vincent: Gal 5:18

The question is, which of these two powers shall prevail. If the Spirit, then you are free men, no longer under the law. Comp. Rom 6:11, Rom 6:14.

Under the law ( ὑπὸ νόμον )

The Mosaic law. We might have expected, from what precedes, under the flesh . But the law and the flesh are in the same category. Circumcision was a requirement of the law, and was a work of the flesh. The ordinances of the law were ordinances of the flesh (Heb 9:10, Heb 9:13); the law was weak through the flesh (Rom 8:3). See especially, Gal 3:2-6. In Phi 3:3 ff. Paul explains his grounds for confidence in the flesh as his legal righteousness. The whole legal economy was an economy of the flesh as distinguished from the Spirit.

Vincent: Gal 5:19

Manifest

You have a clearly defined standard by which to decide whether you are led by the Spirit or by the flesh. Each exhibits its peculiar works or fruits.

Vincent: Gal 5:19

Adultery ( μοιχεία )

To be dropped from the text.

Vincent: Gal 5:19

Uncleanness ( ἀκαθαρσία )

See on 1Th 2:3.

Vincent: Gal 5:19

Lasciviousness ( ἀσελγεια )

See on Mar 7:22.

Vincent: Gal 5:20

Witchcraft ( φαρμακία )

Or sorcery. Elsewhere only Rev 18:23. From φάρμακον a drug . In lxx, see Exo 7:11; Wisd. 12:4; Isa 47:9. Comp. Act 19:19, περίεργα curious arts , note.

Vincent: Gal 5:20

Wrath ( θυμοί )

Lit. wraths . See on Joh 3:36.

Vincent: Gal 5:20

Strife ( ἐριθίαι )

More correctly, factions . From ἔριθος a hired servant . Ἑριθία is, primarily, labor for hire (see Tob. 2:11), and is applied to those who serve in official positions for hire or for other selfish purposes, and, in order to gain their ends, promote party spirit or faction.

Vincent: Gal 5:20

Seditions ( διχοστασίαι )

Better, divisions . Only here and Rom 16:17. Once in lxx, 1 Macc. 3:29.

Vincent: Gal 5:20

Heresies ( αἱρέσεις )

In Paul only here and 1Co 11:19. See on 2Pe 2:1. Parties , into which divisions crystallize.

Vincent: Gal 5:21

Murders

Omit from the text.

Vincent: Gal 5:21

Revelings ( κῶμοι )

Comp. Rom 13:13; 1Pe 4:3. In both passages coupled with drunkenness as here. See on 1Pe 4:3.

Vincent: Gal 5:21

I tell you before ( προλέγω )

Better beforehand , or as Rev. I forewarn you . Po . Comp. 2Co 13:2; 1Th 3:4.

Vincent: Gal 5:21

The kingdom of God

See on Luk 6:20.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

The fruit of the Spirit ( ὁ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματος )

The phrase N.T.o . Fruit , metaphorical, frequent in N.T., as Mat 3:8; Mat 7:16; Joh 4:36; Joh 15:8; Rom 1:13; Rom 6:21, etc. We find fruit of light (Eph 5:9); of righteousness (Phi 1:11); of labor (Phi 1:22); of the lips (Heb 13:15). Almost always of a good result.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Love ( ἀγάπη )

Comp. love of the Spirit , Rom 15:30. In Class. φιλεῖν is the most general designation of love , denoting an inner inclination to persons or things, and standing opposed to μισεῖν or ἐχθαίρειν to hate . It occasionally acquires from the context a sensual flavor, as Hom. Od . xviii. 325; Hdt. iv. 176, thus running into the sense of ἐρᾶν which denotes sensual love. It is love to persons and things growing out of intercourse and amenities or attractive qualities. Στέργειν (not in N.T., lxx, Sir. 27:17) expresses a deep, quiet, appropriating, natural love, as distinguished from that which is called out by circumstances. Unlike φιλεῖν , it has a distinct moral significance, and is not applied to base inclinations opposed to a genuine manly nature. It is the word for love to parents, wife, children, king or country, as one's own. Aristotle ( Nic . ix. 7, 3) speaks of poets as loving (στέργοντες ) their own poems as their children. See also Eurip. Med . 87. Ἁγαπᾶν is to love out of an intelligent estimate of the object of love. It answers to Lat. diligere , or Germ. schatzen to prize . It is not passionate and sensual as ἐρᾶν . It is not, like φιλεῖν , attachment to a person independently of his quality and created by close intercourse. It is less sentiment than consideration . While φιλεῖν contemplates the person , ἀγαπᾶν contemplates the attributes and character , and gives an account of its inclination. Ἁγαπᾶν is really the weaker expression for love, as that term is conventionally used. It is judicial rather than affectionate. Even in classical usage, however, the distinction between ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν is often very subtle, and well-nigh impossible to express.

In N.T. ἐπιθυμαῖν to desire or lust is used instead of ἐρᾶν . In lxx ἀγαπᾶν is far more common than φιλεῖν . Φιλεῖν occurs only 16 times in the sense of love , and 16 times in the sense of kiss ; while ἀγαπᾶν is found nearly 300 times. It is used with a wide range, of the love of parent for child, of man for God, of God for man, of love to one's neighbor and to the stranger, of husband for wife, of love for God's house, and for mercy and truth; but also of the love of Samson for Delilah, of Hosea for his adulterous wife, of Amnon's love for Tamar, of Solomon's love for strange women, of loving a woman for her beauty. Also of loving vanity, unrighteousness, devouring words, cursing, death, silver.

The noun ἀγάπη , o Class., was apparently created by the lxx, although it is found there only 19 times. It first comes into habitual use in Christian writings. In N.T. it is, practically, the only noun for love, although compound nouns expressing peculiar phases of love, as brotherly love, love of money, love of children, etc., are formed with φίλος , as φιλαδελφία, φιλαργυρία, φιλανθρωπία . Both verbs, φιλεῖν and ἀγαπᾶν occur, but ἀγαπᾶν more frequently. The attempt to carry out consistently the classical distinction between these two must be abandoned. Both are used of the love of parents and children, of the love of God for Christ, of Christ for men, of God for men, of men for Christ and of men for men. The love of man for God and of husband for wife, only ἀγαπᾶν . The distinction is rather between ἀγαπᾶν and ἐπιθυμεῖν than between ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν . Love, in this passage, is that fruit of the Spirit which dominates all the others. See Gal 5:13, Gal 5:14. Comp. 1Co 13:1-13; 1Jo 2:5, 1Jo 2:9-11; 1Jo 3:11, 1Jo 3:14-16; 1Jo 4:7-11, 1Jo 4:16-21; 1Jo 5:1-3.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Joy ( χαρά )

Comp. joy of the Holy Ghost , 1Th 1:6, and see Rom 5:2; Rom 14:17; Rom 15:13; 2Co 6:10; Phi 1:25; Phi 4:4; 1Pe 1:8; 1Jo 1:4.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Peace ( εἰρήνη )

See on 1Th 1:1. Here of mutual peace rather than peace with God.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Long suffering ( μακροθυμία )

See on be patient , Jam 5:7, and comp. Rom 2:4; 2Co 6:6; Eph 4:2; Col 1:11.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Gentleness ( χρηστότης )

See on good , Rom 3:12; see on easy , Mat 11:30; see on gracious , 1Pe 2:3. Better, kindness ; a kindness which is useful or serviceable .

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Goodness ( ἀγαθωσύνη )

Po . See on Rom 3:12.

Vincent: Gal 5:22

Faith ( πίστις )

Trustfulness.

Vincent: Gal 5:23

Meekness ( πραΰ̀της )

See on meek , Mat 5:5.

Vincent: Gal 5:23

Temperance ( ἐγκράτεια )

Only here by Paul. He alone uses ἐγκρατεύεσθαι to have continency , 1Co 7:9; 1Co 9:25. See on is temperate , 1Co 9:25. The word means self-control , holding in hand the passions and desires. So Xen. Mem . i. 2, 1, of Socrates, who was ἐγκρατεστατος most temperate as to sexual pleasures and pleasures of the appetite.

Vincent: Gal 5:23

Such ( τοιούτων )

Such things , not persons .

Vincent: Gal 5:23

There is no law ( οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος )

Against such virtues there is no law to condemn them. The law can bring no charge against them. Comp. 1Ti 1:9,1Ti 1:10.

Vincent: Gal 5:24

They that are Christ's ( οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ )

The best texts add Ἱησοῦ they that are of Christ Jesus . Belong to him. The exact phrase only here. But see 1Co 1:12; 1Co 3:23; 1Co 15:23; 2Co 10:7, Gal 3:29.

Vincent: Gal 5:24

Have crucified the flesh ( τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν )

The phrase only here. Comp. Gal 2:20; Gal 6:14; Rom 6:6. The line of thought as regards death to sin is the same as in Rom 6:2-7, Rom 6:11; as regards death to the law, the same as in Rom 7:1-6.

Vincent: Gal 5:24

Affections ( παθήμασιν )

Better, passions . Often sufferings, as Rom 8:18; 2Co 1:5, 2Co 1:6, 2Co 1:7; Phi 3:10; Heb 2:9. Often of Christ's sufferings. Comp. passions of sins , Rom 7:5 (see on motions ). o lxx, where we find πάθος in both senses, but mostly sufferings . Πάθος also in N.T., but rarely and Po . See Rom 1:26; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:5 : always of evil desires.

Vincent: Gal 5:25

Lipsius makes this verse the beginning of ch. 6. Weizsäcker begins that chapter with Gal 5:26. There seems to be no sufficient reason. Gal 5:25 is connected naturally with the immediately preceding line of thought. " Such being your principle of life, adapt your conduct (walk) to it." The hortatory form of Gal 5:26, and its contents, fall in naturally with the exhortation to walk by the Spirit, and with the reference to biting and devouring , Gal 5:15, and envyings , Gal 5:21. The connection of the opening of ch. 6 with the close of ch. 5 is not so manifest; and the address brethren and the change to the second person (Gal 6:1) seem to indicate a new section.

In the Spirit ( πνεύματι )

Better, by the Spirit, the dative being instrumental as Gal 5:16.

Vincent: Gal 5:25

Walk ( στοιχῶμεν )

A different word from that in Gal 5:16. Only in Paul, except Act 21:24. From στοίχος a row . Hence, to walk in line ; to march in battle order (Xen. Cyr . vi. 3, 34). Συνστοιχεῖ answereth to , Gal 4:25 (note). See also on στοιχεία elements , Gal 4:3. Paul uses it very graphically, of falling into line with Abraham's faith, Rom 4:12.

Vincent: Gal 5:26

Desirous of vainglory ( κενόδοξοι )

N.T.o . Better, vainglorious . The noun κενοδοξία vainglory only Phi 2:3. In lxx see Wisd. 14:14; 4 Macc. 2:15; 8:18. Originally, vain opinion , error . Ignatius, Magn . xi., speaks of falling into ἄγκιστρα τῆς κενοδοξίας the hooks or clutches of error. Δόξα has not the sense of opinion in N.T., but that of reputation , glory . This compound means having a vain conceit of possessing a rightful claim to honor . Suidas defines any vain thinking about one's self . It implies a contrast with the state of mind which seeks the glory of God. The modes in which vainglory may show itself are pointed out in the two following participles, provoking and envying .

Vincent: Gal 5:26

Provoking ( προκαλούμενοι )

N.T.o . lxx, only 2 Macc. 8:11. Lit. calling forth , challenging , and so stirring up strife. Very common in Class.

Wesley: Gal 5:10

After ye have read this.

Wesley: Gal 5:10

Than I am, and ye were.

Wesley: Gal 5:10

It seems to have been one person chiefly who endeavoured to seduce them.

Wesley: Gal 5:10

A heavy burden, already hanging over his head.

Wesley: Gal 5:11

As that troubler seems to have affirmed, probably taking occasion from his having circumcised Timothy.

Wesley: Gal 5:11

The grand reason why the Jews were so offended at his preaching Christ crucified, and so bitterly persecuted him for it, was, that it implied the abolition of the law. Yet St. Paul did not condemn the conforming, out of condescension to the weakness of any one, even to the ceremonial law; but he did absolutely condemn those who taught it as necessary to justification.

Wesley: Gal 5:12

From your communion; cast out of your church, that thus trouble you.

Wesley: Gal 5:13

From sin and misery, as well as from the ceremonial law.

Wesley: Gal 5:13

Take not occasion from hence to gratify corrupt nature.

Wesley: Gal 5:13

And hereby show that Christ has made you free.

Wesley: Gal 5:14

inasmuch as none can do this without loving God, 1Jo 4:12; and the love of God and man includes all perfection. Lev 19:18.

Wesley: Gal 5:15

On the contrary, in consequence of the divisions which those troublers have occasioned among you, ye bite one another by evil speaking.

Wesley: Gal 5:15

By railing and clamour.

Wesley: Gal 5:15

By bitterness, strife, and contention, our health and strength, both of body and soul, are consumed, as well as our substance and reputation.

Wesley: Gal 5:16

He now explains what he proposed, Gal 5:13.

Wesley: Gal 5:16

Follow his guidance in all things.

Wesley: Gal 5:16

In anything.

Wesley: Gal 5:16

Of corrupt nature.

Wesley: Gal 5:17

Nature desires what is quite contrary to the Spirit of God.

Wesley: Gal 5:17

- But the Holy Spirit on his part opposes your evil nature.

Wesley: Gal 5:17

The flesh and the Spirit; there can be no agreement between them.

Wesley: Gal 5:17

- That, being thus strengthened by the Spirit, ye may not fulfil the desire of the flesh, as otherwise ye would do.

Wesley: Gal 5:18

Of liberty and love, into all holiness.

Wesley: Gal 5:18

Not under the curse or bondage of it; not under the guilt or the power of sin.

Wesley: Gal 5:19

By which that inward principle is discovered.

Wesley: Gal 5:19

Plain and undeniable. Works are mentioned in the plural because they are distinct from, and often inconsistent with, each other. But "the fruit of the Spirit" is mentioned in the singular, Gal 5:22, as being all consistent and connected together.

Wesley: Gal 5:19

He enumerates those "works of the flesh" to which the Galatians were most inclined; and those parts of "the fruit of the Spirit" of which they stood in the greatest need.

Wesley: Gal 5:19

The Greek word means anything inward or outward that is contrary to chastity, and yet short of actual uncleanness.

Wesley: Gal 5:20

That this means witchcraft, strictly speaking, (not poisoning,) appears from its being joined with the worship of devil - gods, and not with murder. This is frequently and solemnly forbidden in the Old Testament. To deny therefore that there is, or ever was, any such thing, is, by plain consequence, to deny the authority both of the Old and New Testament.

Wesley: Gal 5:20

In domestic or civil matters. Heresies are divisions in religious communities.

Wesley: Gal 5:21

Luxurious entertainments. Some of the works here mentioned are wrought principally, if not entirely, in the mind; and yet they are called "works of the flesh." Hence it is clear, the apostle does not by "the flesh" mean the body, or sensual appetites and inclinations only, but the corruption of human nature, as it spreads through all the powers of the soul, as well as all the members of the body.

Wesley: Gal 5:21

Before the event, I forewarn you.

Wesley: Gal 5:22

The root of all the rest.

Wesley: Gal 5:22

Toward all men; ignorant and wicked men in particular.

Wesley: Gal 5:22

The Greek word means all that is benign, soft, winning, tender, either in temper or behaviour.

Wesley: Gal 5:23

Holding all the affections and passions in even balance.

Wesley: Gal 5:24

True believers in him.

Wesley: Gal 5:24

Nailed it, as it were, to a cross whence it has no power to break loose, but is continually weaker and weaker.

Wesley: Gal 5:24

All its evil passions, appetites, and inclinations.

Wesley: Gal 5:25

If we are indeed raised from the dead, and are alive to God, by the operation of his Spirit.

Wesley: Gal 5:25

Let us follow his guidance, in all our tempers, thoughts, words, and actions.

Wesley: Gal 5:26

Of the praise or esteem of men. They who do not carefully and closely follow the Spirit, easily slide into this: the natural effects of which are, provoking to envy them that are beneath us, and envying them that are above us.

JFB: Gal 5:10

Greek, "I (emphatical: 'I on my part') have confidence in the Lord with regard to you (2Th 3:4), that ye will be none otherwise minded" (than what by this Epistle I desire you to be, Phi 3:15).

JFB: Gal 5:10

(Gal 1:7; Act 15:24; Jos 7:25; 1Ki 18:17-18). Some one, probably, was prominent among the seducers, though the denunciation applies to them all (Gal 1:7; Gal 4:17).

JFB: Gal 5:10

As a heavy burden.

JFB: Gal 5:10

His due and inevitable judgment from God. Paul distinguishes the case of the seduced, who were misled through thoughtlessness, and who, now that they are set right by him, he confidently hopes, in God's goodness, will return to the right way, from that of the seducer who is doomed to judgment.

JFB: Gal 5:10

Whether great (Gal 1:8) or small.

JFB: Gal 5:11

Translate, "If I am still preaching (as I did before conversion) circumcision, why am I still persecuted?" The Judaizing troubler of the Galatians had said, "Paul himself preaches circumcision," as is shown by his having circumcised Timothy (Act 16:3; compare also Act 20:6; Act 21:24). Paul replies by anticipation of their objection, As regards myself, the fact that I am still persecuted by the Jews shows plainly that I do not preach circumcision; for it is just because I preach Christ crucified, and not the Mosaic law, as the sole ground of justification, that they persecute me. If for conciliation he lived as a Jew among the Jews, it was in accordance with his principle enunciated (1Co 7:18, 1Co 7:20; 1Co 9:20). Circumcision, or uncircumcision, are things indifferent in themselves: their lawfulness or unlawfulness depends on the animus of him who uses them. The Gentile Galatians' animus in circumcision could only be their supposition that it influenced favorably their standing before God. Paul's living as a Gentile among Gentiles, plainly showed that, if he lived as a Jew among Jews, it was not that he thought it meritorious before God, but as a matter indifferent, wherein he might lawfully conform as a Jew by birth to those with whom he was, in order to put no needless stumbling-block to the Gospel in the way of his countrymen.

JFB: Gal 5:11

Presuming that I did so, "then," in that case, "the offense of (stumbling-block, 1Co 1:23 occasioned to the Jews by) the cross has become done away." Thus the Jews' accusation against Stephen was not that he preached Christ crucified, but that "he spake blasphemous words against this holy place and the law." They would, in some measure, have borne the former, if he had mixed with it justification in part by circumcision and the law, and if he had, through the medium of Christianity, brought converts to Judaism. But if justification in any degree depended on legal ordinances, Christ's crucifixion in that degree was unnecessary, and could profit nothing (Gal 5:2, Gal 5:4). Worldly Wiseman, of the town of Carnal Policy, turns Christian out of the narrow way of the Cross, to the house of Legality. But the way to it was up a mountain, which, as Christian advanced, threatened to fall on him and crush him, amidst flashes of lightning from the mountain [BUNYAN, Pilgrim's Progress] (Heb 12:18-21).

JFB: Gal 5:12

Translate, as the Greek is different from Gal 5:10, "they who are unsettling you."

JFB: Gal 5:12

Even as they desire your foreskin to be cut off and cast away by circumcision, so would that they were even cut off from your communion, being worthless as a castaway foreskin (Gal 1:7-8; compare Phi 3:2). The fathers, JEROME, AMBROSE, AUGUSTINE, and CHRYSOSTOM, explain it, "Would that they would even cut themselves off," that is, cut off not merely the foreskin, but the whole member: if circumcision be not enough for them, then let them have excision also; an outburst hardly suitable to the gravity of an apostle. But Gal 5:9-10 plainly point to excommunication as the judgment threatened against the troublers: and danger of the bad "leaven" spreading, as the reason for it.

JFB: Gal 5:13

The "ye" is emphatical, from its position in the Greek, "Ye brethren"; as opposed to those legalists "who trouble you."

JFB: Gal 5:13

The Greek expresses, "on a footing of liberty." The state or condition in which ye have been called to salvation, is one of liberty. Gospel liberty consists in three things, freedom from the Mosaic yoke, from sin, and from slavish fear.

JFB: Gal 5:13

Translate, "Only turn not your liberty into an occasion for the flesh." Do not give the flesh the handle or pretext (Rom 7:8, "occasion") for its indulgence which it eagerly seeks for; do not let it make Christian "liberty" its pretext for indulgence (Gal 5:16-17; 1Pe 2:16; 2Pe 2:19; Jud 1:4).

JFB: Gal 5:13

Greek, "Be servants (be in bondage) to one another." If ye must be servants, then be servants to one another in love. While free as to legalism, be bound by Love (the article in the Greek personifies love in the abstract) to serve one another (1Co 9:19). Here he hints at their unloving strifes springing out of lust of power. "For the lust of power is the mother of heresies" [CHRYSOSTOM].

JFB: Gal 5:14

Greek, "the whole law," namely, the Mosaic law. Love to God is presupposed as the root from which love to our neighbor springs; and it is in this tense the latter precept (so "word" means here) is said to be the fulfilling of "all the law" (Lev 19:18). Love is "the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2; Mat 7:12; Mat 22:39-40; Rom 13:9-10).

JFB: Gal 5:14

Not as received text "is being fulfilled," but as the oldest manuscripts read, "has been fulfilled"; and so "receives its full perfection," as rudimentary teachings are fulfilled by the more perfect doctrine. The law only united Israelites together: the Gospel unites all men, and that in relation to God [GROTIUS].

JFB: Gal 5:15

Backbite the character.

JFB: Gal 5:15

The substance by injuring, extortion, &c. (Hab 1:13; Mat 23:14; 2Co 11:20).

JFB: Gal 5:15

Strength of soul, health of body, character, and resources, are all consumed by broils [BENGEL].

JFB: Gal 5:16

Repeating in other words, and explaining the sentiment in Gal 5:13, What I mean is this."

JFB: Gal 5:16

Greek, "By (the rule of) the (Holy) Spirit." Compare Gal 5:16-18, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:25; Gal 6:1-8, with Rom 7:22; Rom 8:11. The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat.

JFB: Gal 5:16

The natural man, out of which flow the evils specified (Gal 5:19-21). The spirit and the flesh mutually exclude one another. It is promised, not that we should have no evil lusts, but that we should "not fulfil" them. If the spirit that is in us can be at ease under sin, it is not a spirit that comes from the Holy Spirit. The gentle dove trembles at the sight even of a hawk's feather.

JFB: Gal 5:17

The reason why walking by the Spirit will exclude fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, namely, their mutual contrariety.

JFB: Gal 5:17

Not "lusteth," but "tendeth (or some such word is to be supplied) against the flesh."

JFB: Gal 5:17

The Spirit strives against the flesh and its evil influence; the flesh against the Spirit and His good influence, so that neither the one nor the other can be fully carried out into action. "But" (Gal 5:18) where "the Spirit" prevails, the issue of the struggle no longer continues doubtful (Rom 7:15-20) [BENGEL]. The Greek is, "that ye may not do the things that ye would." "The flesh and Spirit are contrary one to the other," so that you must distinguish what proceeds from the Spirit, and what from the flesh; and you must not fulfil what you desire according to the carnal self, but what the Spirit within you desires [NEANDER]. But the antithesis of Gal 5:18 ("But," &c.), where the conflict is decided, shows, I think, that here Gal 5:17 contemplates the inability both for fully accomplishing the good we "would," owing to the opposition of the flesh, and for doing the evil our flesh would desire, owing to the opposition of the Spirit in the awakened man (such as the Galatians are assumed to be), until we yield ourselves wholly by the Spirit to "walk by the Spirit" (Gal 5:16, Gal 5:18).

JFB: Gal 5:18

"If ye are led (give yourselves up to be led) by (Greek) the Spirit, ye are not under the law." For ye are not working the works of the flesh (Gal 5:16, Gal 5:19-21) which bring one "under the law" (Rom 8:2, Rom 8:14). The "Spirit makes free from the law of sin and death" (Gal 5:23). The law is made for a fleshly man, and for the works of the flesh (1Ti 1:9), "not for a righteous man" (Rom 6:14-15).

JFB: Gal 5:19-23

Confirming Gal 5:18, by showing the contrariety between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

JFB: Gal 5:19-23

The hidden fleshly principle betrays itself palpably by its works, so that these are not hard to discover, and leave no doubt that they come not from the Spirit.

JFB: Gal 5:19-23

Greek, "such as," for instance.

JFB: Gal 5:19-23

Omitted in the oldest manuscripts.

JFB: Gal 5:19-23

Rather, "wantonness" petulance, capricious insolence; it may display itself in "lasciviousness," but not necessarily or constantly so (Mar 7:21-22, where it is not associated with fleshly lusts) [TRENCH]. "Works" (in the plural) are attributed to the "flesh," because they are divided, and often at variance with one another, and even when taken each one by itself, betray their fleshly origin. But the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:23) is singular, because, however manifold the results, they form one harmonious whole. The results of the flesh are not dignified by the name "fruit"; they are but works (Eph 5:9, Eph 5:11). He enumerates those fleshly "works" (committed against our neighbor, against God, and against ourselves) to which the Galatians were most prone (the Celts have always been prone to disputations and internal strifes): and those manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit most needed by them (Gal 5:13, Gal 5:15). This passage shows that "the flesh" does not mean merely sensuality, as opposed to spirituality: for "divisions" in the catalogue here do not flow from sensuality. The identification of "the natural (Greek, 'animal-souled') man," with the "carnal" or fleshly man (1Co 2:14), shows that "the flesh" expresses human nature as estranged from God. TRENCH observes, as a proof of our fallen state, how much richer is every vocabulary in words for sins, than in those for graces. Paul enumerates seventeen "works of the flesh," only nine manifestations of "the fruit of the Spirit" (compare Eph 4:31).

JFB: Gal 5:20

Sorcery; prevalent in Asia (Act 19:19; compare Rev. 21).

JFB: Gal 5:20

Greek, "hatreds."

JFB: Gal 5:20

Greek, "strife"; singular in the oldest manuscripts.

JFB: Gal 5:20

In the oldest manuscripts, singular--"emulation," or rather, "jealousy"; for the sake of one's own advantage. "Envyings" (Gal 5:21) are even without advantage to the person himself [BENGEL].

JFB: Gal 5:20

Greek, plural, "passionate outbreaks" [ALFORD].

JFB: Gal 5:20

Rather as Greek, "factions," "cabals"; derived from a Greek root, meaning "a worker for hire": hence, unworthy means for compassing ends, factious practices.

JFB: Gal 5:20

"dissensions," as to secular matters.

JFB: Gal 5:20

As to sacred things (see on 1Co 11:19). Self-constituted parties; from a Greek root, to choose. A schism is a more recent split in a congregation from a difference of opinion. Heresy is a schism become inveterate [AUGUSTINE, Con. Crescon. Don., 2,7].

JFB: Gal 5:21

Namely, before the event.

JFB: Gal 5:21

When I was with you.

JFB: Gal 5:21

Who, though maintaining justification by the law, are careless about keeping the law (Rom 2:21-23).

JFB: Gal 5:21

(1Co 6:9-10; Eph 5:5).

JFB: Gal 5:22

The leader of the band of graces (1Co 13:1-13).

JFB: Gal 5:22

Greek, "benignity," conciliatory to others; whereas "goodness," though ready to do good, has not such suavity of manner [JEROME]. ALFORD translates, "kindness."

JFB: Gal 5:22

"faithfulness"; opposed to "heresies" [BENGEL]. ALFORD refers to 1Co 13:7, "Believeth all things": faith in the widest sense, toward God and man. "Trustfulness" [CONYBEARE and HOWSON].

JFB: Gal 5:23

The Greek root implies self-restraint as to one's desires and lusts.

JFB: Gal 5:23

Not persons, but things, as in Gal 5:21.

JFB: Gal 5:23

Confirming Gal 5:18, "Not under the law" (1Ti 1:9-10). The law itself commands love (Gal 5:14); so far is it from being "against such."

JFB: Gal 5:24

The oldest manuscripts read, "They that are of Christ Jesus"; they that belong to Christ Jesus; being "led by (His) Spirit" (Gal 5:18).

JFB: Gal 5:24

They nailed it to the cross once for all when they became Christ's, on believing and being baptized (Rom 6:3-4): they keep it now in a state of crucifixion (Rom 6:6): so that the Spirit can produce in them, comparatively uninterrupted by it, "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22). "Man, by faith, is dead to the former standing point of a sinful life, and rises to a new life (Gal 5:25) of communion with Christ (Col 3:3). The act by which they have crucified the flesh with its lust, is already accomplished ideally in principle. But the practice, or outward conformation of the life, must harmonize with the tendency given to the inward life" (Gal 5:25) [NEANDER]. We are to be executioners, dealing cruelly with the body of sin, which has caused the acting of all cruelties on Christ's body.

JFB: Gal 5:24

Translate, "with its passions." Thus they are dead to the law's condemning power, which is only for the fleshly, and their lusts (Gal 5:23).

JFB: Gal 5:25

Rather, as Greek, "If we live (see on Gal 5:24) BY the Spirit, let us also walk (Gal 5:16; Gal 6:16) BY the Spirit." Let our life in practice correspond to the ideal inner principle of our spiritual life, namely, our standing by faith as dead to, and severed from, sin, and the condemnation of the law. "Life by (or 'in') the Spirit" is not an occasional influence of the Spirit, but an abiding state, wherein we are continually alive, though sometimes sleeping and inactive.

JFB: Gal 5:26

Greek, "Let us not BECOME." While not asserting that the Galatians are "vainglorious" now, he says they are liable to become so.

JFB: Gal 5:26

An effect of "vaingloriousness" on the stronger: as "envying" is its effect on the weaker. A danger common both to the orthodox and Judaizing Galatians.

Clarke: Gal 5:10

I have confidence in you - I now feel a persuasion from the Lord that I shall not be permitted to expostulate with you in vain; that ye will be none otherwise minded - that ye will be aware of the danger to which ye are exposed, that ye will retreat in time, and recover the grace which ye have lost

Clarke: Gal 5:10

But he that troubleth you - The false teacher, who sowed doubtful disputations among you, and thus has troubled the repose of the whole Church, shall bear his judgment - shall meet with the punishment he deserves, for having sown his tares among God’ s wheat.

Clarke: Gal 5:11

If I yet preach circumcision - it is very likely that some of the false apostles, hearing of Paul’ s having circumcised Timothy, Act 16:3, which must have been done about this time, reported him as being an advocate for circumcision, and by this means endeavored to sanction their own doctrine. To this the apostle replies: Were it so, that I am a friend to this measure, is it likely that I should suffer persecution from the Jews? But I am every where persecuted by them, and I am persecuted because I am known to be an enemy to circumcision; were I a friend to this doctrine, the offense of the cross - preaching salvation only through the sacrifice of Christ, would soon cease; because, to be consistent with myself, if I preached the necessity of circumcision I must soon cease to preach Christ crucified, and then the Jews would be no longer my enemies.

Clarke: Gal 5:12

I would they were even cut off which trouble you - This saying has puzzled many, and different interpretations of the place have been proposed by learned men

At first sight it seems as if the apostle was praying for the destruction of the false teachers who had perverted the Churches of Galatia. Mr. Wakefield thought οφελον αποκοψονται might be translated, I wish that they were made to weep; and in his translation of the New Testament the passage stands thus: "I wish that they who are unsettling you may lament it."I believe the apostle never meant any such thing. As the persons who were breeding all this confusion in the Churches of Galatia were members of that Church, the apostle appears to me to be simply expressing his desire that they might be cut off or excommunicated from the Church. Kypke has given an abundance of examples where the word is used to signify amputating; cutting off from society, office, etc.; excluding. In opposition to the notion of excommunication, it might be asked: "Why should the apostle wish these to be excommunicated when it was his own office to do it?"To this it may be answered: The apostle’ s authority was greatly weakened among that people by the influence of the false teachers, so that in all probability he could exercise no ecclesiastical function; he could therefore only express his wish. And the whole passage is so parallel to that, 1Co 5:6, 1Co 5:7, that I think there can be no reasonable doubt of the apostle’ s meaning: Let those who are unsettling the Church of Christ in your district be excommunicated; this is my wish, that they should no longer have any place among you."

Clarke: Gal 5:13

Ye have been called unto liberty - A total freedom from all the burthensome rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law. Only use not that liberty for an occasion to the flesh. By flesh, here, we may understand all the unrenewed desires and propensities of the mind; whatsoever is not under the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. Your liberty is from that which would oppress the spirit; not from that which would lay restraints on the flesh. The Gospel proclaims liberty from the ceremonial law: but binds you still faster under the moral law. To be freed from the ceremonial law is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law is Antinomianism

Clarke: Gal 5:13

By love serve one another - Having that faith which worketh by love, serve each other to the uttermost of your power: δουλευετε, serve each other, when necessary, as slaves serve their masters. Several excellent MSS. and versions, instead of δια της αγαπης, by love, have τῃ αγαπῃ του Πνευματος, in the love of the Spirit serve one another.

Clarke: Gal 5:14

For all the law - Which respects our duty to our fellows, is fulfilled - is comprehended, in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. See the notes on Mat 19:19, and Rom 13:9 (note).

Clarke: Gal 5:15

If ye bite and devour one another - These Churches seem to have been in a state of great distraction; there were continual altercations among them. They had fallen from the grace of the Gospel; and, as Christ no longer dwelt in their hearts by faith, pride, anger, ill-will, and all unkind and uncharitable tempers, took possession of their souls, and they were in consequence alternately destroying each other. Nothing is so destructive to the peace of man, and to the peace of the soul, as religious disputes; where they prevail, religion in general has little place.

Clarke: Gal 5:16

Walk in the Spirit - Get back that Spirit of God which you have grieved and lost; take up that spiritual religion which you have abandoned

Clarke: Gal 5:16

Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh - If the Spirit of God dwell in and rule your heart, the whole carnal mind will be destroyed; and then, not only carnal ordinances will be abandoned, but also the works and propensities of the flesh.

Clarke: Gal 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit - God still continues to strive with you, notwithstanding your apostasy, showing you whence you have fallen, and exciting you to return to him; but your own obstinacy renders all ineffectual; and through the influence of these different principles, you are kept in a state of self-opposition and self-distraction, so that you cannot do the things that ye would. You are convinced of what is right, and ye wish to do it; but, having abandoned the Gospel and the grace of Christ, the law and its ordinances which ye have chosen in their place afford you no power to conquer your evil propensities. It was on this ground that the apostle exhorted them, Gal 5:16, to walk in the Spirit, that they might not fulfill the lust of the flesh; as without the grace of God they could do nothing. Who can suppose that he speaks this of adult Christians?

Clarke: Gal 5:18

But, if ye be led of the Spirit - If ye receive again the Gospel and the grace of Christ, and permit yourselves to be influenced by the Holy Spirit whom you are now grieving, ye are not under the law - ye will not feel those evil propensities which now disgrace and torment you; but they must prevail while you are not under the influence of the grace and Spirit of Christ.

Clarke: Gal 5:19

Now the works of the flesh are manifest - By flesh we are to understand the evil and fallen state of the soul, no longer under the guidance of God’ s Spirit and right reason, but under the animal passions; and they are even rendered more irregular and turbulent by the influence of sin; so that man is in a worse state than the brute: and so all-commanding is this evil nature that it leads men into all kinds of crimes; and among them the following, which are manifest - known to all, and most prevalent; and, though these are most solemnly forbidden by your law, the observance of its ordinances gives no power to overcome them, and provides no pardon for the guilt and condemnation produced by them

Clarke: Gal 5:19

Adultery - Μοιχεια· Illicit connection with a married person. This word is wanting in this place in the best MSS., versions, and fathers; the next term often comprehending both

Clarke: Gal 5:19

Fornication - Πορνεια· Illicit connection between single or unmarried persons; yet often signifying adultery also

Clarke: Gal 5:19

Uncleanness - Ακαθαπσια· Whatever is opposite to purity; probably meaning here, as in Rom 1:24; 2Co 12:21, unnatural practices; sodomy, bestiality

Clarke: Gal 5:19

Lasciviousness - Ασελγεια· Whatever is contrary to chastity; all lewdness.

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Idolatry - Worshipping of idols; frequenting idol festivals; all the rites of Bacchus, Venus, Priapus, etc., which were common among the Gentiles

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Witchcraft - Φαρμακεια, from φαρμακον a drug or poison; because in all spells and enchantments, whether true or false, drugs were employed. As a drug, φαρμακον, might either be the means of removing an evil, or inflicting one, etymologists have derived it from φερον ακος, bringing ease, or φερον αχος, bringing pain. So spells and incantations were used sometimes for the restoration of the health; at others, for the destruction of an enemy. Sometimes, these φαρμακα were used to procure love; at other times, to produce hatred

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Hatred - Εχθραι· Aversions and antipathies, when opposed to brotherly love and kindness

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Variance - Ερεις· Contentions, where the principle of hatred proceeds to open acts; hence contests, altercations, lawsuits, and disputes in general

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Emulations - Ζηλοι· Envies or emulations; that is strife to excel at the expense of another; lowering others to set up one’ s self; unholy zeal, fervently adopting a bad cause, or supporting a good one by cruel means. Inquisitions, pretending to support true religion by torturing and burning alive those who both profess and practice it

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Wrath - Θυμοι· Turbulent passions, disturbing the harmony of the mind, and producing domestic and civil broils and disquietudes

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Strife - Επιθειαι· Disputations, janglings, logomachics, or strife about words

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Seditions - Διχοστασιαι· Divisions into separate factions; parties, whether in the Church or state

Clarke: Gal 5:20

Heresies - Αἱρεσεις· Factions; parties in the Church separating from communion with each other, and setting up altar against altar. The word, which is harmless in itself, is here used in a bad sense. In stead of αἱρεσεις the Slavonic has σκανδαλα, scandals, offenses or stumbling-blocks.

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Envyings - Φθονοι· "Pain felt, and malignity conceived, at the sight of excellence or happiness."A passion the most base and the least curable of all that disgrace or degrade the fallen soul. See on Rom 13:13 (note

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Murders - Φονοι· Similarity of sound to the preceding seems to have suggested the word in this association; it is wanting in several MSS. Murder signifies the destruction of human life; and as he who hates his brother in his heart is ready to take away his life, so he is called a murderer. After all the casuistry of man, it does not appear that the right of taking away a human life on any pretense, except for the crime of murder belongs to any but the Maker and Judge of all men

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Drunkenness - Μεθαι· Taking more wine or any kind of inebriating liquor than is necessary for health; whatever unfits for public, domestic, or spiritual duties; even the cares of the world, when they intoxicate the mind. See on Rom 13:13 (note)

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Revellings - Κωμοι· Lascivious feastings, with obscene songs, music, etc. See on Rom 13:13 (note)

Clarke: Gal 5:21

And such like - Και τα ὁμοια τουτοις· All that proceeds from the evil passions of a fallen spirit, besides those above specified; and all that the law of God specifies and condemns

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Of the which I tell you before - When I first preached the Gospel to you

Clarke: Gal 5:21

As I have also told you in time past - When I paid my second visit to you; for the apostle did visit them twice. See Act 16:6; Act 18:23; and see preface

Clarke: Gal 5:21

Shall not inherit - They are not children of God, and therefore cannot inherit the kingdom which belongs only to the children of the Divine family.

Clarke: Gal 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit - Both flesh - the sinful dispositions of the human heart and spirit - the changed or purified state of the soul, by the grace and Spirit of God, are represented by the apostle as trees, one yielding good the other bad fruit; the productions of each being according to the nature of the tree, as the tree is according to the nature of the seed from which it sprung. The bad seed produced a bad tree, yielding all manner of bad fruit; the good seed produced a good tree, bringing forth fruits of the most excellent kind. The tree of the flesh, with all its bad fruits, we have already seen; the tree of the Spirit, with its good fruits, we shall now see

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Love - Αγαπη· An intense desire to please God, and to do good to mankind; the very soul and spirit of all true religion; the fulfilling of the law, and what gives energy to faith itself. See Gal 5:6

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Joy - Χαρα· The exultation that arises from a sense of God’ s mercy communicated to the soul in the pardon of its iniquities, and the prospect of that eternal glory of which it has the foretaste in the pardon of sin. See Rom 5:2

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Peace - Ειρηνη· The calm, quiet, and order, which take place in the justified soul, instead of the doubts, fears, alarms, and dreadful forebodings, which every true penitent less or more feels, and must feel till the assurance of pardon brings peace and satisfaction to the mind. Peace is the first sensible fruit of the pardon of sin. See Rom 5:1, and the notes there

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Long-suffering - Μακροθυμια· Long-mindedness, bearing with the frailties and provocations of others, from the consideration that God has borne long with ours; and that, if he had not, we should have been speedily consumed: bearing up also through all the troubles and difficulties of life without murmuring or repining; submitting cheerfully to every dispensation of God’ s providence, and thus deriving benefit from every occurrence

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Gentleness - Χρηστοτης· Benignity, affability; a very rare grace, often wanting in many who have a considerable share of Christian excellence. A good education and polished manners, when brought under the influence of the grace of God, will bring out this grace with great effect

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Goodness - Αγαθωσυνη· The perpetual desire and sincere study, not only to abstain from every appearance of evil, but to do good to the bodies and souls of men to the utmost of our ability. But all this must spring from a good heart - a heart purified by the Spirit of God; and then, the tree being made good, the fruit must be good also

Clarke: Gal 5:22

Faith - Πιστις, here used for fidelity - punctuality in performing promises, conscientious carefulness in preserving what is committed to our trust, in restoring it to its proper owner, in transacting the business confided to us, neither betraying the secret of our friend, nor disappointing the confidence of our employer.

Clarke: Gal 5:23

Meekness - Πραοτης· Mildness, indulgence toward the weak and erring, patient suffering of injuries without feeling a spirit of revenge, an even balance of all tempers and passions, the entire opposite to anger

Clarke: Gal 5:23

Temperance - Εγκρατεια· Continence, self-government, or moderation, principally with regard to sensual or animal appetites. Moderation in eating, drinking, sleeping, etc

Several very respectable MSS., as D*EFG, with the Vulgate, most copies of the Itala and several of the fathers, add ἁγνεια, chastity. This we are sure cannot be separated from the genuine Christian character, though it may be included in the word εγκρατεια, continence or moderation, immediately preceding

Clarke: Gal 5:23

Against such there is no law - Those, whose lives are adorned by the above virtues, cannot be condemned by any law, for the whole purpose and design of the moral law of God is fulfilled in those who have the Spirit of God, producing in their hearts and lives the preceding fruits.

Clarke: Gal 5:24

And they that are Christ’ s - All genuine Christians have crucified the flesh - are so far from obeying its dictates and acting under its influence, that they have crucified their sensual appetites; they have nailed them to the cross of Christ, where they have expired with him; hence, says St. Paul, Rom 6:6, our old man - the flesh, with its affections and lusts, is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. By which we see that God has fully designed to save all who believe in Christ from all sin, whether outward or inward, with all the affections, παθημασι, irregular passions, and lusts, επιθυμιαις, disorderly wishes and desires. All that a man may feel contrary to love and purity; and all that he may desire contrary to moderation and that self-denial peculiar to the Christian character.

Clarke: Gal 5:25

If we live in the Spirit - If we profess to believe a spiritual religion, let us walk in the Spirit - let us show in our lives and conversation that the Spirit of God dwells in us.

Clarke: Gal 5:26

Let us not be desirous of vain glory - Κενοδοξοι· Let us not be vain glorious - boasting of our attainments; vaunting ourselves to be superior to others; or seeking honor from those things which do not possess moral good; in birth, riches, eloquence, etc., etc

Clarke: Gal 5:26

Provoking one another - What this may refer to we cannot tell; whether to the Judaizing teachers, endeavoring to set themselves up beyond the apostle, and their attempts to lessen him in the people’ s eyes, that they might secure to themselves the public confidence, and thus destroy St. Paul’ s influence in the Galatian Churches; or whether to some other matter in the internal economy of the Church, we know not. But the exhortation is necessary for every Christian, and for every Christian Church. He who professes to seek the honor that comes from God, should not be desirous of vain glory. He who desires to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, should not provoke another. He who knows that he never deserved any gift or blessing from God should not envy another those blessings which the Divine goodness may have thought proper to bestow upon him. May not God do what he will with his own? If Christians in general would be content with the honor that comes from God, if they would take heed to give no provocations to their fellow Christians, if they would cease from envying those on whom either God or man bestows honors or advantages, we should soon have a happier and more perfect state of the Christian Church than we now see. Christianity requires us to esteem each other better than ourselves, or in honor to prefer one another. Had not such a disposition been necessary to the Christian character, and to the peace and perfection of the Church of Christ, it would not have been so strongly recommended. But who lays this to heart, or even thinks that this is indispensably necessary to his salvation? Where this disposition lives not, there are both the seed and fruit of the flesh. Evil tempers are the bane of religion and totally contrary to Christianity.

Calvin: Gal 5:10

10.I have confidence in you. All his fierceness is again directed against the false apostles. To them the evil is traced, and on them the punishment is threatened. Good hopes are expressed regarding the Galatians, that they will quickly and readily return to a sincere belief. It gives us courage to learn that good hopes are entertained about us; for we reckon it shameful to disappoint those whose feelings towards us are kind and friendly. But to bring back the Galatians to the pure doctrine of faith, from which they had turned aside, was the work of God. The apostle says that he has confidence in them, ἐν Κυρίῳ, through the Lord, by which he reminds them that repentance is a heavenly gift, and that they must ask it from God.

He that troubleth you ⁸⁶ The sentiment which he had just delivered is confirmed by thus indirectly imputing the greater part of the blame to those impostors by whom the Galatians had been deceived. From the punishment denounced against them, the Galatians are very nearly exempted. Let all who introduce confusion into churches, who break the unity of faith, who destroy their harmony, lend an ear to this; and if they have any right feeling, let them tremble at this word. God declares, by the mouth of Paul, that none “through whom such offenses come” (Luk 17:1) will pass unpunished. The phrase, whosoever he be, is emphatic; for the high sounding language of the false apostles had terrified the ignorant multitude. It became necessary for Paul to defend his doctrine with corresponding warmth and energy, and not to spare any one who dared to raise his voice against it, however eminent or however distinguished.

Calvin: Gal 5:11

11.And I, brethren. This argument, is drawn from the final cause. “It would be completely in my power,” he says, “to avoid the displeasure of men, and every kind of danger and persecution, were I only to mix ceremonies with Christ. The earnestness with which I oppose them is not on my own account, nor for my own advantage.” But does it therefore follow that his doctrine is true? I answer, proper feelings and pure conscience, when manifested by a teacher, have no small share in obtaining confidence. Besides, it cannot be believed that any man would be so mad as to take measures, of his own accord, for bringing distress upon himself. Lastly, he throws upon his adversaries the suspicion, that, in preaching circumcision, they were more disposed to consult their own ease than to be faithful in the service of Christ. In short, Paul was at the farthest remove from ambition, covetousness, or regard to personal interest, since he despised favor and applause, and exposed himself to the persecutions and fury of the multitude rather than swerve a hair’s-breadth from the purity of the gospel.

Then is the offense of the cross ceased. Willingly does Paul, in speaking of the gospel, call it the cross, or the preaching of the cross, when he wishes to bring its poor, simple style, into contrast with the “great swelling words” (Jud 1:16) of human wisdom or righteousness. For the Jews, puffed up with an ill-founded confidence in their righteousness, and the Greeks, with a foolish belief of their wisdom, despised the meanness of the gospel. When therefore he says that now, If the preaching of circumcision be admitted, the offense of the cross will no longer exist, he means that the gospel will meet with no annoyance from the Jews, but will be taught with their entire concurrence. And why? Because they will no longer take offense at a pretended and spurious gospel, gathered out of Moses and out of Christ, but will look with greater indulgence on that mixture which will leave them in possession of their former superiority.

Calvin: Gal 5:12

12.Would that they were even cut off. His indignation proceeds still farther, and he prays for destruction on those impostors by whom the Galatians had been deceived. The word, “cut off,” appears to be employed in allusion to the circumcision which they pressed. “They tear the church for the sake of circumcision: I wish they were entirely cut off.” Chrysostom favors this opinion. But how can such an imprecation be reconciled with the mildness of an apostle, who ought to wish that all should be saved, and that not a single person should perish? So far as men are concerned, I admit the force of this argument; for it is the will of God that we should seek the salvation of all men without exception, as Christ suffered for the sins of the whole world. But devout minds are sometimes carried beyond the consideration of men, and led to fix their eye on the glory of God, and the kingdom of Christ. The glory of God, which is in itself more excellent than the salvation of men, ought to receive from us a higher degree of esteem and regard. Believers earnestly desirous that the glory of God should be promoted, forget men, and forget the world, and would rather choose that the whole world should perish, than that the smallest portion of the glory of God should be withdrawn.

Let us remember, however, that such a prayer as this proceeds from leaving men wholly out of view, and fixing our attention on God alone. Paul cannot be accused of cruelty, as if he were opposed to the law of love. Besides, if a single man or a few persons be brought into comparison, how immensely must the church preponderate! It is a cruel kind of mercy which prefers a single man to the whole church. “On one side, I see the flock of God in danger; on the other, I see a wolf “seeking,” like Satan, “whom he may devour.” (1Pe 5:8.) Ought not my care of the church to swallow up all my thoughts, and lead me to desire that its salvation should be purchased by the destruction of the wolf? And yet I would not wish that a single individual should perish in this way; but my love of the church and my anxiety about her interests carry me away into a sort of ecstasy, so that I can think of nothing else.” With such zeal as this, every true pastor of the church will burn. The Greek word translated “who trouble you,” signifies to remove from a certain rank or station. By using the wordκαὶ, even, he expresses more strongly his desire that the impostors should not merely be degraded, but entirely separated and cut off. ⁸⁷

Calvin: Gal 5:13

13.Ye have been called to liberty. He now proceeds to show in what way liberty must be used. In the course of expounding the First Epistle to the Corinthians, we have pointed out that liberty is one thing, and that the use of it is another thing. Liberty lies in the conscience, and looks to God; the use of it lies in outward matters, and deals not with God only, but with men. Having exhorted the Galatians to suffer no diminution of their liberty, he now enjoins them to be moderate in the use of it, and lays down as a rule for the lawful use, that it shall not be turned into pretext or occasion for licentiousness. Liberty is not granted to the flesh, which ought rather to be held captive under the yoke, but is a spiritual benefit, which none but pious minds are capable of enjoying.

But by love. The method here explained of restraining liberty from breaking out into wide and licentious abuse is, to have it regulated by love. Let us always remember that the present question is not, in what manner we are free before God, but in what manner we may use our liberty in our intercourse with men. A good conscience submits to no slavery; but to practice outward slavery, or to abstain from the use of liberty, is attended by no danger. In a word, if “by love we serve one another,” we shall always have regard to edification, so that we shall not grow wanton, but use the grace of God for his honor and the salvation of our neighbors.

Calvin: Gal 5:14

14.For all the law. There is a contrast in this verse, though not plainly stated, yet evidently to be understood, between Paul’s exhortation and the doctrine of the false apostles. While they insisted on ceremonies alone, Paul takes a passing glance of the actual duties and exercises of Christians. The present commendation of love is intended to inform the Galatians, that love forms the chief part of Christian perfection. But we must inquire in to the reason why all the precepts of the law are included under love. The law consists of two tables, the first of which instructs us concerning the worship of God and the duties of piety, and the second instructs us concerning the love of our neighbor; for it is ridiculous to make a part the same with the whole. Some avoid this difficulty by reminding us that the first table contains nothing more than to love God with our whole heart. But Paul makes express mention of love to our neighbor, and therefore a more satisfactory solution must be sought.

Piety to God, I acknowledge, ranks higher than love of the brethren; and therefore the observance of the first table is more valuable in the sight of God than the observance of the second. But as God himself is invisible, so piety is a thing hidden from the eyes of men; and, though the manifestation of it was the purpose for which ceremonies were appointed, they are not certain proofs of its existence. It frequently happens, that none are more zealous and regular in observing ceremonies than hypocrites. God therefore chooses to make trial of our love to himself by that love of our brother, which he enjoins us to cultivate. This is the reason why, not here only, but in the Epistle to the Romans, (Rom 8:8,) love is called “the fulfilling of the law;” not that it excels, but that it proves the worship of God to be real. God, I have said, is invisible; but he represents himself to us in the brethren, and in their persons demands what is due to himself. Love to men springs only from the fear and love of God; and therefore we need not wonder if, by a figure of speech, in which a part is taken for the whole, the effect include under it the cause of which it is the sign. But it would be wrong in any person to attempt to separate our love of God from our love of men.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor. He who loves will render to every man his right, will do injury or harm to no man, will do good, as far as lies in his power, to all; for what else is included in the whole of the second table? This, too, is the argument employed by Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom 13:10.) The word, neighbor, includes all men living; for we are linked together by a common nature, as Isaiah reminds us, “that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh” (Isa 58:7.) The image of God ought to be particularly regarded as a sacred bond of union; but, for that very reason, no distinction is here made between friend and foe, nor can the wickedness of men set aside the right of nature.

“ Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself ”. The love which men naturally cherish toward themselves ought to regulate our love of our neighbor. All the doctors of the Sorbonne ⁸⁸ are in the habit of arguing that, as the rule is superior to what it directs, the love of ourselves must always hold the first rank. This is not to interpret, but to subvert our Lord’s words. They are asses, and have not even a spark of the love of their neighhour; for if the love of ourselves were the rule, it would follow that it is proper and holy, and is the object of the divine approbation. But we shall never love our neighbors with sincerity, according to our Lord’s intention, till we have corrected the love of ourselves. The two affections are opposite and contradictory; for the love of ourselves leads us to neglect and despise others, — produces cruelty, covetousness, violence, deceit, and all kindred vices, — drives us to impatience, and arms us with the desire of revenge. Our Lord therefore enjoins that it be changed into the love of our neighbor.

Calvin: Gal 5:15

15.But if ye bite and devour one another. From the nature of the subject, as well as from the language employed, we may conjecture that the Galatians had disputes among themselves; for they differed about doctrine. The apostle now demonstrates, from the result, how destructive such proceedings in the church must ultimately prove to be. False doctrine was probably a judgment from heaven upon their ambition, pride, and other offenses. This may be concluded from what frequently happens in the divine dispensations, as well as from an express declaration by the hand of Moses.

“Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.” (Deu 13:3.)

By biting and devouring ⁸⁹ he means, I think, slanders, accusations, reproaches, and every other kind of offensive language, as well as acts of injustice arising either from fraud or violence. And what is the end of them? To be consumed, while the tendency of brotherly love is to produce mutual protection and kindness. I wish we could always remember, when the devil tempts us to disputes, that the disagreement of members within the church can lead to nothing else than the ruin and consumption of the whole body. How distressing, how mad is it, that we, who are members of the same body, should be leagued together, of our own accord, for mutual destruction!

Calvin: Gal 5:16

16.This I say then. Now follows the remedy. The ruin of the church is no light evil, and whatever threatens it must be opposed with the most determined resistance. But how is this to be accomplished? By not permitting the flesh to rule in us, and by yielding ourselves to the direction of the Spirit of God. The Galatians are indirectly told, that they are carnal, destitute of the Spirit of God, and that the life which they lead is unworthy of Christians; for whence did their violent conduct towards each other proceed, but from their being guided by the lust of the flesh? This, he tells them, is an evidence that they do not walk according to the Spirit.

Ye shall not fulfill. We ought to mark the word fulfill; by which he means, that, though the sons of God, so long as they groan under the burden of the flesh, are liable to commit sin, they are not its subjects or slaves, but make habitual opposition to its power. The spiritual man may be frequently assaulted by the lusts of the flesh, but fulfill them, — he does not permit them to reign over him. — On this subject, it will be proper to consult Rom 8:0

Calvin: Gal 5:17

17.For the flesh lusteth. The spiritual life maintained without a struggle. We are here informed of the nature of the difficulty, which arises from our natural inclinations being opposed to the Spirit. The word flesh, as we had occasion to observe, in expounding the Epistle to the Romans, denotes the nature of man; for the limited application of it, which the sophists make to the lower senses, as they are called, is refuted by various passages; and the contrast between the two words puts an end to all doubt. The Spirit denotes the renewed nature, or the grace of regeneration; and what else does the flesh mean, but “the old man?” (Rom 6:6 Eph 4:22 Col 3:9.) Disobedience and rebellion against the Spirit of God pervade the whole nature of man. If we would obey the Spirit, we must labor, and fight, and apply our utmost energy; and we must begin with self-denial. The compliment paid by our Lord to the natural inclinations of men, amounts to this, — that there is no greater agreement between them and righteousness, than between fire and water. Where, then, shall we find a drop of goodness in man’s free will? unless we pronounce that to be good which is contrary to the Spirit of God;

“because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
(Rom 8:7.)

All the thoughts of the flesh are acts of enmity against God.

So that ye cannot do the things that ye would. This refers, unquestionably, to the regenerate. Carnal men have no battle with depraved lusts, no proper desire to attain to the righteousness of God. Paul is addressing believers. The things that ye would must mean, not our natural inclinations, but the holy affections which God bestows upon us by his grace. Paul therefore declares, that believers, so long as they are in this life, whatever may be the earnestness of their endeavors, do not obtain such a measure of success as to serve God in a perfect manner. The highest result does not correspond to their wishes and desires. I must again refer the reader, for a more extended view of my sentiments on this subject, to the Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans, (See Calvin on Rom 7:15.)

Calvin: Gal 5:18

18.But if ye be led by the Spirit. In the way of the Lord believers are apt to stumble. But let them not be discouraged, because they are unable to satisfy the demands of the law. Let them listen to the consolatory declaration of the apostle, which is also found in other parts of his writings, (Rom 6:14,) ye are not under the law. Hence it follows, that the performance of their duties is not rejected on account of their present defects, but is accepted in the sight of God, as if it had been in every respect perfect and complete. Paul is still pursuing the controversy about freedom. The Spirit is elsewhere (Rom 8:15) denominated by him, “the Spirit of adoption;” and when the Spirit makes men free, he emancipates them from the yoke of the law. As if he had said, “Is it your desire instantly to terminate the controversies in which you are now engaged? Walk according to the Spirit. You will then be free from the dominion of the law, which will act only in the capacity of a kind adviser, and will no longer lay a restraint upon your consciences.” Besides, when the condemnation of the law is removed, freedom from ceremonies follows as a necessary consequence; for ceremonies mark the condition of a slave.

Calvin: Gal 5:19

19.Now the works of the flesh are manifest. To obey the spirit and to oppose the flesh, are two great objects which have been set before Christians, and for the attainment of which they have been urged to make the most strenuous exertions. In accordance with these views, he now draws a picture both of the flesh and of the spirit. If men knew themselves, they would not need this inspired declaration, for they are nothing but flesh; but such is the hypocrisy belonging to our natural state, we never perceive our depravity till the tree has been fully made known by its fruits. (Mat 7:16; Luk 6:44.)

The apostle therefore now points out to us those sins against which we must fight, in order that we may not live according to the flesh. He does not indeed enumerate them all, and so he himself states at the conclusion of the list; but from those brought forward, the character of the remainder may be easily ascertained. Adultery and fornication are placed first, and next follows uncleanness, which extends to every species of unchastity. Lasciviousness appears to be a subsidiary term, for the Greek wordασέλγεια, which is thus translated, is applied to those who lead wanton and dissolute lives. These four denote sins forbidden by the seventh commandment. The next mentioned is idolatry, which is here employed as a general term for services grossly superstitious and openly practiced.

Seven classes which immediately follow, are closely allied, and another two are afterwards added. Anger and hatred differ chiefly in this, that anger is short, and hatred is lasting. Emulations and envyings are the occasions of hatred; and the following distinction between them is stated by Aristotle, in his second book on Rhetoric: — He who emulates is grieved that another should excel him, not because the virtue or worth of that person, in itself considered, gives him uneasiness, but because he would wish to be superior. The envious man has no desire to excel, but is grieved at the excellence of other men. None, therefore, he tells us, but low and mean persons indulge in envy, while emulation dwells in lofty and heroic minds. Paul declares both to be diseases of the flesh. From anger and hatred arise variance, strife, seditions; and he even traces the consequences so far as to mention murders and witchcraft ⁹⁰ By revellings, ⁹¹ he means a dissolute life, and every kind of intemperance in the gratification of the palate. It deserves notice, that heresies are enumerated among the works of the flesh; for it shows clearly that the word flesh is not confined, as the sophists imagine, to sensuality. What produces heresies but ambition, which deals not with the lower senses, but with the highest faculties of the mind? He says that these works are manifest, so that no man may think that he will gain anything by evading the question; ⁹² for what avails it to deny that the flesh reigns in us, if the fruit betrays the quality of the tree?

Calvin: Gal 5:21

21.Of which I tell you before. By this awful threatening he intended not only to alarm the Galatians, but likewise to glance indirectly at the false apostles, who had laid aside the far more valuable instruction, and spent their time in disputing about ceremonies. He instructs us, by his example, to press those exhortations and threatenings, agreeably to the words of the prophet,

“Cry aloud, spare not; proclaim to my people their sins.”
(Isa 58:1)

What can be conceived more dreadful than that men should walk after the flesh, and shut themselves out from the kingdom of God? Who will dare to treat lightly the “abominable things which God hates?” (Jer 44:4.)

But in this way, we shall be told, all are cut off from the hope of salvation; for who is there that is not chargeable with some of those sins? I reply, Paul does not threaten that all who have sinned, but that all who remain impenitent, shall be excluded from the kingdom of God. The saints themselves often fall into grievous sins, but they return to the path of righteousness, “that which they do they allow not,” (Rom 7:15,) and therefore they are not included in this catalogue. All threatenings of the judgments of God call us to repentance. They are accompanied by a promise that those who repent will obtain forgiveness; but if we continue obstinate, they remain as a testimony from heaven against us.

They who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. The wordκληρονομεῖν signifies to possess by hereditary right; for by no right but that of adoption, as we have seen in other passages, do we obtain eternal life.

Calvin: Gal 5:22

22.But the fruit ⁹³ of the Spirit. In the former part of the description he condemned the whole nature of man as producing nothing but evil and worthless fruits. He now informs us that all virtues, all proper and well regulated affections, proceed from the Spirit, that is, from the grace of God, and the renewed nature which we derive from Christ. As if he had said, “Nothing but what is evil comes from man; nothing good comes but from the Holy Spirit.” There have often appeared in unrenewed men remarkable instances of gentleness, integrity, temperance, and generosity; but it is certain that all were but specious disguises. Curius and Fabrieius were distinguished for courage, Cato for temperance, Scipio for kindness and generosity, Fabius for patience; but it was only in the sight of men, and as members of civil society, that they were so distinguished. In the sight of God nothing is pure but what proceeds from the fountain of all purity.

Joy does not here, I think, denote that “joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17,) of which he speaks elsewhere, but that cheerful behavior towards our fellow-men which is the opposite of moroseness. Faith means truth, and is contrasted with cunning, deceit, and falsehood, as peace is with quarrels and contentions. Long-suffering is gentleness of mind, which disposes us to take everything in good part, and not to be easily offended. The other terms require no explanation, for the dispositions of the mind must be learned from the outward conduct.

But if spiritual men are known by their works, what judgment, it will be asked, shall we form of wicked men and idolaters, who exhibited an illustrious resemblance of all the virtues? for it is evident from their works that they were spiritual. I reply, as all the works of the flesh do not appear openly in a carnal man, but his carnaltry is discovered by one or another vice, so a single virtue will not entitle us to conclude that a man is spiritual. Sometimes it will be made evident, by other vices, that sin reigns in him; and this observation may be easily applied to all the cases which I have enumerated.

Calvin: Gal 5:23

23.Against such there is no law. Some understand these words as meaning simply that the law is not directed against good works, “from evil manners have sprung good laws.” But Paul’s real meaning is deeper and less obvious; namely, that, where the Spirit reigns, the law has no longer any dominion. By moulding our hearts to his own righteousness, the Lord delivers us from the severity of the law, so that our intercourse with himself is not regulated by its covenant, nor our consciences bound by its sentence of condemnation. Yet the law continues to teach and exhort, and thus performs its own office; but our subjection to it is withdrawn by the Spirit of adoption. He thus ridicules the false apostles, who, while they enforced subjection to the law, were not less eager to release themselves from its yoke. The only way, he tells us, in which this is accomplished, is, when the Spirit of God obtains dominion, from which we are led to conclude that they had no proper regard to spiritual righteousness.

Calvin: Gal 5:24

24.And they that are Christ’s. He adds this, in order to show that all Christians have renounced the flesh, and therefore enjoy freedom. While he makes this statement, the apostle reminds the Galatians what true Christianity is, so far as relates to the life, and thus guards them against a false profession of Christianity. The word crucified is employed to point out that the mortification of the flesh is the effect of the cross of Christ. This work does not belong to man. By the grace of Christ

“we have been planted together in the likeness of his death” (Rom 6:5,)

that we no longer might live unto ourselves. If we are buried with Christ, by true self-denial, and by the destruction of the old man, we shall then enjoy the privilege of the sons of God. The flesh is not yet indeed entirely destroyed; but it has no right to exercise dominion, and ought to yield to the Spirit. The flesh and its lusts are a figure of speech of exactly the same import with the tree and its fruits. The flesh itself is the depravity of corrupt nature, from which all evil actions proceed. (Mat 15:19; Mar 7:21.) Hence it follows, that the members of Christ have cause to complain, if they are still held to be in bondage to the law, from which all who have been regenerated by his Spirit are set free.

Calvin: Gal 5:25

25.If we live in the Spirit According to his usual custom, the apostle draws from the doctrine a practical exhortation. The death of the flesh is the life of the Spirit. If the Spirit of God lives in us, let him govern our actions. There will always be many persons daring enough to make a false boast of living in the Spirit, but the apostle challenges them to a proof of the fact. As the soul does not remain idle in the body, but gives motion and rigour to every member and part, so the Spirit of God cannot dwell in us without manifesting himself by the outward effects. By the life is here meant the inward power, and by the walk the outward actions. The metaphorical use of the word walk, which frequently occurs, describes works as evidences of the spiritual life.

Calvin: Gal 5:26

26.Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, The special exhortations which were addressed to the Galatians were not more necessary for them than they are adapted to our own time. Of many evils existing in society at large, and particularly in the church, ambition is the mother. Paul therefore directs us to guard against it, for the vain-glory (κενοδοξία) of which he speaks is nothing else than ambition, ( filimia,) or the desire of honor, by which every one desires to excel all others. The heathen philosophers do not condemn every desire of glory; but among Christians, whoever is desirous of glory departs from true glory, and therefore is justly charged with idle and foolish ambition. It is not lawful for us to glow but in God alone. Every other kind of glorying is pure vanity. Mutual provocations and envyings are the daughters of ambition. He who aspires to the highest rank must of necessity envy all others, and disrespectful, biting, stinging language is the unavoidable consequence.

Defender: Gal 5:12

The verb "cut off" actually means "mutilate" or "castrate." The insistence of the Judaizers that the Gentile Christians be circumcised so disturbed Paul that he compared it to the practice of castration that some worshippers of a pagan goddess followed. Also, with bitter irony, he suggested that the Judaizers regress all the way into paganism instead of Judaism if they were going to trouble these new Christians in this way."

Defender: Gal 5:13

There is an occasional danger in the misuse of the doctrine of grace - anti-nomianism (against law). Christian liberty might be so abused as to become libertinism, or license, and Paul warned against that as well. In fact, the introduction of legalism would tend to split a church, with some anti-legalists going to the extreme of becoming anti-nomians, deliberately sinning "that grace may abound," an idea from which Paul recoils in horror (Rom 6:1, Rom 6:2)."

Defender: Gal 5:14

See also Christ's affirmation of this truth in Mat 22:39. The love which fulfills the law is not erotic love but unselfish love, Christian charity - Greek, agape (Lev 19:18)."

Defender: Gal 5:16

The Christian "walk" is synonymous with the daily Christian way of living (compare Joh 8:12; Col 2:6). We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are new creations in Christ, so we do not need the threatened penalties of the law to constrain us to refrain from sin. "The love of Christ constraineth us" (2Co 5:14), and a conscious commitment to the leading of the indwelling Spirit by God's Word will enable us to live in a way pleasing to Him who has saved us, not to yield to fleshly lusts."

Defender: Gal 5:19

The apostle here lists seventeen typical sins of the "flesh." The list is typical, not exhaustive, as he adds the phrase "and the like" to cover the rest. These include sexual sins, religious sins, moral sins, violent sins, mental sins - everything which violates the laws of God and man. It seems anomalous that teaching that salvation depends on obedience to the works of the law would actually lead to law-breaking, but it often does just that. Our sinful human nature somehow makes that which is prohibited more desirable."

Defender: Gal 5:20

"Variance" means "intense dissensions;" "emulations" means "bitter jealousies;" "seditions" means "factious divisions.""

Defender: Gal 5:21

Those who "do" such things - that is, "habitually do" such things - thereby indicate they are not really led by the Spirit and therefore not really saved."

Defender: Gal 5:22

Note that "fruit" is singular. There are not nine different fruits of the Spirit but rather one ninefold fruit of the Spirit. These attributes should characterize all who walk in the Spirit because He produces that fruit in their lives. In fact, this listing seems to practically define the nature of Christ. Christians, therefore, do not need the constraints of the law to make them possess these characteristics (Gal 5:23), for they are the fruit borne by the indwelling Spirit.

Defender: Gal 5:22

It is noteworthy that the power of the Spirit, as promised in Act 1:8, is best manifest in the fruit of the Spirit. Consider the following:

(1) "Love:" "God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2Ti 1:7).

(2) "Joy" and (3) "Peace:" "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Rom 15:13).

(4) "Longsuffering:" "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness" (Col 1:11).

(5) "Gentleness" (literally "kindness"): "... by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, ... by the power of God" (2Co 6:6, 2Co 6:7).

(6) "Goodness:" "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Eph 5:9).

(7) "Faith" (or better, "faithfulness"): "That he would grant you ... to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, ... according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph 3:16, Eph 3:17, Eph 3:20).

(8) "Meekness:" "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2Co 12:9).

(9) "Temperance" (or "self-control"): "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, ... and of a sound mind" (2Ti 1:7)."

TSK: Gal 5:10

confidence : Gal 4:11, Gal 4:20; 2Co 1:15, 2Co 2:3, 2Co 7:16, 2Co 8:22; 2Th 3:4; Phm 1:21

but : Gal 1:7, Gal 2:4, Gal 3:1, Gal 4:17, Gal 6:12, Gal 6:13, Gal 6:17; Act 15:1, Act 15:2, Act 15:24; 1Jo 2:18-26

bear : Gal 5:12; 1Co 5:5; 2Co 2:6, 2Co 10:2, 2Co 10:6, 2Co 13:10; 1Ti 1:20

whosoever : Gal 2:6; 2Co 5:16

TSK: Gal 5:11

if : Gal 2:3; Act 16:3

why : Gal 4:29, Gal 6:12, Gal 6:17; Act 21:21, Act 21:28, Act 22:21, Act 22:22, Act 23:13, Act 23:14; 1Co 15:30; 2Co 11:23-26

the offence : Isa 8:14; Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33; 1Co 1:18, 1Co 1:23; 1Pe 2:8, 1Pe 2:9

TSK: Gal 5:12

cut : Gal 5:10, Gal 1:8, Gal 1:9; Gen 17:14; Exo 12:15, Exo 30:33; Lev 22:3; Jos 7:12, Jos 7:25; Joh 9:34; Act 5:5, Act 5:9; 1Co 5:13; Tit 3:10

trouble : Act 15:1, Act 15:2, Act 15:24

TSK: Gal 5:13

ye : Gal 5:1, Gal 4:5-7, Gal 4:22-31; Isa 61:1; Luk 4:18; Joh 8:32-36; Rom 6:18-22

only : 1Co 8:9; 1Pe 2:16; 2Pe 2:19; Jud 1:4, Jud 1:10-12

but : Gal 5:14, Gal 5:22, Gal 6:2; Mar 10:43-45; Joh 13:14, Joh 13:15; Act 20:35; Rom 15:1, Rom 15:2; 1Co 9:19; 1Co 13:4-7; 2Co 4:5, 2Co 12:15; 1Th 1:3; Jam 2:15-17; 1Jo 3:16-19

TSK: Gal 5:14

all : Mat 7:12, Mat 19:18, Mat 19:19, Mat 22:39, Mat 22:40; Rom 13:8-10; Jam 2:8-11

Thou : Lev 19:18, Lev 19:34; Mar 12:31, Mar 12:33; Luk 10:27-37; 1Ti 1:5

TSK: Gal 5:15

Gal 5:26; 2Sa 2:26, 2Sa 2:27; Isa 9:20,Isa 9:21, Isa 11:5-9, Isa 11:13; 1Co 3:3, 1Co 6:6-8; 2Co 11:20; 2Co 12:20; Jam 3:14-18, Jam 4:1-3

TSK: Gal 5:16

I say : Gal 3:17; 1Co 7:29

Walk : Gal 5:25, Gal 6:8; Rom 8:1, Rom 8:4, Rom 8:5, Rom 8:12-14; 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 4:6; Jud 1:19-21

and : Gal 5:19-21; Rom 6:12, Rom 13:13, Rom 13:14; 2Co 7:1; Eph 2:3; Col 2:11, Col 3:5-10; 1Pe 1:14, 1Pe 2:11, 1Pe 4:1-4; 1Jo 2:15, 1Jo 2:16

ye shall not fulfil : or, fulfil not

TSK: Gal 5:17

the flesh : Psa 19:12, Psa 19:13, Psa 51:1-5, Psa 51:10-12, Psa 65:3, Psa 119:5, Psa 119:20,Psa 119:24, Psa 119:25, Psa 119:32, Psa 119:35, Psa 119:40,Psa 119:133, Psa 119:159; Psa 119:176; Ecc 7:20; Isa 6:5; Mat 16:17, Mat 16:23, Mat 26:41; Joh 3:6; Rom 7:18, Rom 7:21-25, Rom 8:5, Rom 8:6, Rom 8:13; Jam 4:5, Jam 4:6

and these : Gal 3:21; Mat 12:30; Rom 7:7, Rom 7:8, Rom 7:10-14, Rom 8:5-8

so : Psa 119:4-6, Psa 130:3; Mat 5:6; Luk 22:33, Luk 22:46, Luk 22:54-61; Rom 7:15-23; Phi 3:12-16; Jam 3:2; 1Jo 1:8-10

TSK: Gal 5:18

if : Gal 5:16, Gal 5:25, Gal 4:6; Psa 25:4, Psa 25:5, Psa 25:8, Psa 25:9, Psa 143:8-10; Pro 8:20; Isa 48:16-18; Eze 36:27; Joh 16:13; Rom 8:12, Rom 8:14; 2Ti 1:7; 1Jo 2:20-27

ye are : Gal 4:5; Rom 6:14, Rom 6:15

TSK: Gal 5:19

the works : Gal 5:13, Gal 5:17, Gal 6:8; Psa 17:4; Joh 3:6; Rom 7:5, Rom 7:18, Rom 7:25, Rom 8:3, Rom 8:5, Rom 8:9, Rom 8:13; 1Co 3:3; 1Pe 4:2

Adultery : Eze 22:6-13; Mat 15:18, Mat 15:19; Mar 7:21-23; Rom 1:21-32; 1Co 6:9, 1Co 6:10; 2Co 12:20,2Co 12:21; Eph 4:17-19, Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-8; 1Ti 1:9, 1Ti 1:10; Tit 3:3; Jam 3:14, Jam 3:15; 1Pe 4:3, 1Pe 4:4; Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15

TSK: Gal 5:20

witchcraft : Eze 22:18; Deu 18:10; 1Sa 15:23; 1Ch 10:13, 1Ch 10:14; 2Ch 33:6; Act 8:9-11; Act 16:16-19

heresies : 2Co 11:19; Tit 3:10; 2Pe 2:1

TSK: Gal 5:21

drunkenness : Deu 21:20; Luk 21:34; Rom 13:13; 1Co 5:11, 1Co 6:10; Eph 5:18; 1Th 5:7

revellings : 1Pe 4:3

that they : Isa 3:11; Rom 2:8, Rom 2:9, Rom 8:13; 1Co 6:9, 1Co 6:10; Eph 5:5, Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; Rev 21:27; Rev 22:15

inherit : Mat 25:34; 1Co 6:10, 1Co 15:50; Eph 5:5

TSK: Gal 5:22

the fruit : Gal 5:16-18; Psa 1:3, Psa 92:14; Hos 14:8; Mat 12:33; Luk 8:14, Luk 8:15, Luk 13:9; Joh 15:2, Joh 15:5, Joh 15:16; Rom 6:22, Rom 7:4; Eph 5:9; Phi 1:11; Col 1:10

love : Gal 5:13; Rom 5:2-5, Rom 12:9-18, Rom 15:3; 1Co 13:4-7; Eph 4:23-32, Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2; Phi 4:4-9; Col 3:12-17; 1Th 1:3-10, 1Th 5:10-22; Tit 2:2-12; Jam 3:17, Jam 3:18; 1Pe 1:8, 1Pe 1:22; 2Pe 1:5-8; 1Jo 4:7-16

goodness : Rom 15:14

faith : 1Co 13:7, 1Co 13:13; 2Th 3:2; 1Ti 3:11, 1Ti 4:12; 1Pe 5:12

TSK: Gal 5:23

temperance : Act 24:25; 1Co 9:25; Tit 1:8, Tit 2:2

against : 1Ti 1:9

TSK: Gal 5:24

they : Gal 3:29; Rom 8:9; 1Co 3:23, 1Co 15:23; 2Co 10:7

crucified : Gal 5:16-18, Gal 5:20, Gal 6:14; Rom 6:6, Rom 8:13, Rom 13:14; 1Pe 2:11

affections : or, passions

TSK: Gal 5:25

we : Joh 6:63; Rom 8:2, Rom 8:10; 1Co 15:45; 2Co 3:6; 1Pe 4:6; Rev 11:11

let : Gal 5:16; Rom 8:4, Rom 8:5

TSK: Gal 5:26

desirous : Luk 14:10; 1Co 3:7; Phi 2:1-3; Jam 4:16

provoking : Gal 5:15; Jam 3:14-16; 1Pe 5:5

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Gal 5:10

I have confidence in you ... - Though they had been led astray, and had embraced many false opinions, yet, on the whole, Paul had confidence in their piety, and believed they would yet return and embrace the truth.

That ye will be none otherwise minded - That is, than you have been taught by me; or than I think and teach on the subject. Paul doubtless means to say, that he had full confidence that they would embrace the views which he was inculcating on the subject of justification, and he makes this remark in order to modify the severity of his tone of reprehension, and to show that, notwithstanding all he had said, he had confidence still in their piety. He believed that they would coincide with him in his opinion, alike on the general subject of justification, and in regard to the cause of their alienation from the truth. He, therefore, gently insinuates that it was not to be traced to themselves that they had departed from the truth, but to the "little leaven"that had leavened the mass; and he adds, that whoever had done this, should be held to be responsible for it.

But he that troubleth you - By leading you into error.

Shall bear his judgment - Shall be responsible for it, and will receive proper treatment from you. He gently states this general principle, which is so obvious; states that he does not believe that the defection is to be traced to themselves; and designs to prepare their minds for a proposition which he intends to submit Gal 5:12, that the offending person or persons should be disowned and cut off.

Whosoever he be - "I do not know who he is. I mention no names; accuse no one by name; and advise no severe measures against any particular individual. I state only the obvious principle that every man should bear his own burden, and be held responsible for what he has done - no matter who he is."

Barnes: Gal 5:11

And I, brethren - Paul here proceeds to vindicate himself from giving countenance to the doctrines which they had advanced there. It is evident that the false teachers in Galatia appealed to Paul himself, and alleged that he insisted on the necessity of circumcision, and that they were teaching no more than he taught. On what they founded this is unknown. It may have been mere slander; or it may have arisen from the fact that he had circumcised Timothy Act 16:3, and, possibly, that he may have encouraged circumcision in some other similar cases. Or it may have been inferred from the fact (which was undoubtedly true) that Paul in general complied with the customs of the Jews when he was with them. But his conduct and example had been greatly perverted. He had never enjoined circumcision as necessary to salvation; and had never complied with Jewish customs where there was danger that it would be understood that he regarded them as at all indispensable, or as furnishing a ground of acceptance with God.

If I yet preach circumcision - If I preach it as necessary to salvation; or if I enjoin it on those who are converted to Christianity.

Why do I yet suffer persecution? - That is, from the Jews. "Why do they oppose me? Circumcision is the special badge of the Jewish religion; it implies all the rest (see Gal 5:2); and if I preach the necessity of that, it would satisfy the Jews, and save me from persecution. They would never persecute one who did that as they do me; and the fact that I am thus persecuted by them is full demonstration that I am not regarded as preaching the necessity of circumcision."It is remarkable that Paul does not expressly deny the charge. The reason may be, that his own word would be called in question, or that it might require much explanation to show why he had recommended circumcision in any case, as in the case of Timothy; Act 16:3. But the fact that he was persecuted by the Jews settled the question, and showed that he did not preach the necessity of circumcision in any such sense as to satisfy them, or in any such sense as was claimed by the false teachers in Galatia. In regard to the fact that Paul was persecuted by the Jews; see Act 14:1-2, Act 14:19; Act 17:4-5, Act 17:13; compare Paley, Hora Paulina, Galat. no. v.

Then is the offence of the cross ceased - "For if I should preach the necessity of circumcision, as is alleged, the offence of the cross of Christ would be removed. The necessity of depending on the merits of the sacrifice made on the cross would be taken away, since then people could be saved by conformity to the laws of Moses. The very thing that I have so much insisted on, and that has been such a stumbling-block to the Jews (see the note at 1Co 1:23), that conformity to their rites was of no avail, and that they must be saved only by the merits of a crucified Saviour, would be done away with."Paul means that if this had been done, he would have saved himself from giving offence, and from the evils of persecution. He would have preached that people could be saved by conformity to Jewish rites, and that would have saved him from all the persecutions which he had endured in consequence of preaching the necessity of salvation by the cross.

Barnes: Gal 5:12

I would they were even cut off - That is, as I understand it, from the communion of the church. So far am I, says Paul, from agreeing with them, and preaching the necessity of circumcision as they do, that I sincerely wish they were excluded from the church as unworthy a place among the children of God. For a very singular and monstrous interpretation of this passage, though adopted by Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Jerome, Grotius, Rosenmuller, Koppe, and others, the learned reader may consult Koppe on this verse. To my amazement, I find that this interpretation has also been adopted by Robinson in his Lexicon, on the word ἀποκόπτω apokoptō . I will state the opinion in the words of Koppe. " Non modo circumcidant se, sed, si velint, etiam mutilant se - ipsa genitalia resecent ."The simple meaning is, I think, that Paul wished that the authors of these errors and disturbances were excluded from the church.

Which trouble you - Who pervert the true doctrines of salvation, and who thus introduce error into the church. Error always sooner or later causes trouble; compare the note at 1Co 5:7.

Barnes: Gal 5:13

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty - Freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies; see the notes at Gal 3:28; Gal 4:9, note, Gal 4:21-31, note. The meaning here is, that Paul wished the false teachers removed because true Christians had been called unto liberty, and they were abridging and destroying that liberty. They were not in subjection to the Law of Moses, or to anything else that savored of bondage. They were free; free from the servitude of sin, and free from subjection to expensive and burdensome rites and customs. They were to remember this as a great and settled principle; and so vital a truth was this, and so important that it should be maintained, and so great the evil of forgetting it, that Paul says he earnestly wishes Gal 5:12 that all who would reduce them to that state of servitude were cut off from the Christian church.

Only use not liberty ... - The word use here introduced by our translators, obscures the sense. The idea is, "You are called to liberty, but it is not liberty for an occasion to the flesh. It is not freedom from virtuous restraints, and from the laws of God. It is liberty from the servitude of sin, and religious rites and ceremonies, not freedom from the necessary restraints of virtue."It was necessary to give this caution, because:

(1) There was a strong tendency in all converts from paganism to relapse again into their former habits. Licentiousness abounded, and where they had been addicted to it before their conversion, and where they were surrounded by it on every hand, they were in constant danger of falling into it again. A bare and naked declaration, therefore, that they had been called to liberty, to freedom from restraint, might have been misunderstood, and some might have supposed that they were free from all restraints.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 t is needful to guard the doctrine from abuse at all times. There has been a strong tendency, as the history of the church has shown, to abuse the doctrine of grace. The doctrine that Christians are "free;"that there is liberty to them from restraint, has been perverted always by Antinomians, and been made the occasion of their indulging freely in sin. And the result has shown that nothing was more important than to guard the doctrine of Christian liberty, and to show exactly what Christians are freed from, and what laws are still binding on them. Paul is, therefore, at great pains to show that the doctrines which he had maintained did not lead to licentiousness, and did not allow the indulgence of sinful and corrupt passions.

An occasion - As allowing indulgence to the flesh, or as a furtherance or help to corrupt passions; see the word explained in the notes at Rom 7:8.

To the flesh - The word flesh is often used in the writings of Paul to denote corrupt and gross passions and affections; see the notes at Rom 7:18; Rom 8:1, note.

But by love serve one another - By the proper manifestation of love one to another strive to promote each other’ s welfare. To do this will not be inconsistent with the freedom of the gospel. When there is love there is no servitude. Duty is pleasant, and offices of kindness agreeable. Paul does not consider them as freed from all law and all restraint; but they are to be governed by the law of love. They were not to feel that they were so free that they might lawfully give indulgence to the desires of the flesh, but they were to regard themselves as under the law to love one another; and thus they would fulfil the law of Christian freedom.

Barnes: Gal 5:14

For all the law is fulfilled ... - That is, this expresses the substance of the whole law; it embraces and comprises all. The apostle of course here alludes to the Law in regard to our duty to our fellow-men, since that was the point which he particularly enforces. He is saying that this law would counteract all the evil workings of the flesh, and if this were fulfilled, all our duty to others would be discharged. A similar sentiment he has expressed in Rom 13:8-10; see the notes at that passage. The turn here in the discussion is worthy of particular notice. With great skill he changes the subject from a doctrinal argument to a strain of practical remark, and furnishes most important lessons for the right mode of overcoming our corrupt and sensual passions, and discharging our duty to others.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor ... - See this explained in the note at Mat 19:19.

Barnes: Gal 5:15

But if ye bite - The word used here ( δάκνω daknō ), means, properly, to bite, to sting; and here seems to be used in the sense of contending and striving - a metaphor not improbably taken from dogs and wild beasts.

And devour one another - As wild beasts do. The sense is, "if you contend with each other;"and the reference is, probably, to the strifes which would arise between the two parties in the churches - the Jewish and the Gentile converts.

Take heed that ye be not consumed ... - As wild beasts contend sometimes until both are slain. Thus, the idea is, in their contentions they would destroy the spirituality and happiness of each other; their characters would be ruined; and the church be overthrown. The readiest way to destroy the spirituality of a church, and to annihilate the influence of religion, is to excite a spirit of contention.

Barnes: Gal 5:16

This I say then - This is the true rule about overcoming the propensities of your carnal natures, and of avoiding the evils of strife and contention.

Walk - The Christian life is often represented as a journey, and the word walk, in the scripture, is often equivalent to live; Mar 7:5. See the notes at Rom 4:12; Rom 6:4, note; Rom 8:1, note.

In the Spirit - Live under the influences of the Holy Spirit; admit those influences fully into your hearts. Do not resist him, but yield to all his suggestions; see the note at Rom 8:1. What the Holy Spirit would produce, Paul states in Gal 5:22-23. If a man would yield his heart to those influences, he would be able to overcome all his carnal propensities; and it is because he resists that Spirit, that he is ever overcome by the corrupt passions of his nature. Never was a better, a safer, or a more easy rule given to overcome our corrupt and sensual desires than that here furnished; compare notes, Rom 8:1-13.

And ye shall not fulfil ... - Margin, "Fulfil not"- as if it were a command. So Tyndale renders it. But the more common interpretation, as it is the more significant, is that adopted by our translators. Thus, it is not merely a command, it is the statement of an important and deeply interesting truth - that the only way to overcome the corrupt desires and propensities of our nature, is by submitting to the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is not by philosophy; it is not by mere resolutions to resist them; it is not by the force of education and laws; it is only by admitting into our souls the influence of religion, and yielding ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. If we live under the influences of that Spirit, we need not fear the power of the sensual and corrupt propensities of our nature.

Barnes: Gal 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit - The inclinations and desires of the flesh are contrary to those of the Spirit. They draw us away in an opposite direction, and while the Spirit of God would lead us one way, our carnal nature would lead us another, and thus produce the painful controversy which exists in our minds. The word "Spirit"here refers to the Spirit of God, and to his influences on the heart.

And these are contrary ... - They are opposite in their nature. They never can harmonize; see Rom 8:6-7; compare below Gal 5:19-23. The contrariety Paul has illustrated by showing what each produces; and they are as opposite as adultery, wrath, strife, murders, drunkenness, etc., are to love, joy, goodness, gentleness, and temperance.

So that ye cannot do the things that ye would - See this sentiment illustrated in the notes at Rom 7:15-19. The expression "cannot do"is stronger by far than the original, and it is doubted whether the original will bear this interpretation. The literal translation would be, "Lest what ye will, those things ye should do"( ἵνα μὴ ὥ ἄν θέλητε , ταῦτα ποιῆτε hina mē hō an thelēte , tauta poiēte ). It is rendered by Doddridge, "So that ye do not the things that ye would."By Locke, "You do not the things that you propose to yourselves;"and Locke remarks on the passage, "Ours is the only translation that I knew which renders it cannot."The Vulgate and the Syriac give a literal translation of the Greek, "So that you do not what you would."This is undoubtedly the true rendering; and, in the original, there is no declaration about the possibility or the impossibility, the ability or the inability to do these things.

It is simply a statement of a fact, as it is in Rom 7:15, Rom 7:19. That statement is, that in the mind of a renewed man there is a contrariety in the two influences which bear on his soul - the Spirit of God inclining him in one direction, and the lusts of the flesh in another; that one of these influences is so great as in fact to restrain and control the mind, and prevent its doing what it would otherwise do; that when there is an inclination in one direction, there is a controlling and overpowering influence in another, producing a conflict, which prevents it, and which finally checks and restrains the mind. There is no reason for interpreting this, moreover, as seems always to be the case, of the overpowering tendency in the mind to evil, as if it taught that the Christian was desirous of doing good, but could not, on account of his indwelling corruption. So far as the language of Paul or the fact is concerned, it may be understood of just the opposite, and may mean, that such are the restraints and influences of the Holy Spirit on the heart, that the Christian does not the evil which he otherwise would, and to which his corrupt nature inclines him.

He (Paul) is exhorting them Gal 5:16 to walk in the Spirit, and assures them that thus they would not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. To encourage them to this, he reminds them that there were contrary principles in their minds, the influences of the Spirit of God, and a carnal and downward tendency of the flesh. These are contrary one to the other; and such are, in fact, the influences of the Spirit on the mind, that the Christian does not do the things which he otherwise would. So understood, or understood in any fair interpretation of the original, it makes no assertion about the ability or inability of man to do right or wrong. It affirms as a fact, that where these opposite principles exist, a man does not do the things which otherwise he would do. If a man could not do otherwise than he actually does, he would not be to blame. Whether a Christian could not resist the influences of the Holy Spirit, and yield to the corrupt desires of the flesh; or whether he could not overcome these evil propensities and do right always, are points on which the apostle here makes no affirmation. His is the statement of a mere fact, that where these counteracting propensities exist in the mind, there is a conflict, and that the man does not do what he otherwise would do.

Barnes: Gal 5:18

But if ye be led of the Spirit - If you submit to the teachings and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Ye are not under the law - You are under a different dispensation - the dispensation of the Spirit. You are free from the restraints and control of the Mosaic law, and are under the control of the Spirit of God.

Barnes: Gal 5:19

Now the works of the flesh - What the flesh, or what corrupt and unrenewed human nature produces.

Are manifest - Plain, well-known. The world is full of illustrations of what corrupt human nature produces, and as to the existence and nature of those works, no one can be ignorant. It is evident here that the word σὰρξ sarx , "flesh,"is used to denote corrupt human nature, and not merely the body; since many of the vices here enumerated are the passions of the mind or the soul, rather than of the body. Such are "wrath,""strife,""heresies,""envyings,"etc., which cannot be said to have their seat in the body. If the word, therefore, is used to denote human nature, the passage furnishes a sad commentary on its tendency, and on the character of man. It is closely parallel to the declaration of the Saviour in Mat 15:19. Of the nature of most of these sins, or works of the flesh, it is unnecessary to offer any comment. They are not so rare as not to be well known, and the meaning of the words requires little exposition. In regard to the existence of these vices as the result of human nature, the notes at Rom. 1 may be examined; or a single glance at the history of the past, or at the present condition of the pagan and a large part of the Christian world, would furnish an ample and a painful demonstration.

Barnes: Gal 5:20

Witchcraft - Pretending to witchcraft. The apostle does not vouch for the actual existence of witchcraft; but he says that what was known as such was a proof of the corrupt nature of man, and was one of the fruits of it. No one can doubt it. It was a system of imposture and falsehood throughout; and nothing is a better demonstration of the depravity of the human heart than an extended and systematized attempt to impose on mankind. The word which is used here ( φαρμακεία pharmakeia , whence our word "pharmacy,"from φάρμακον pharmakon , a medicine, poison, magic potion) means, properly, the preparing and giving of medicine. Then it means also poisoning, and also magic art, or enchantment; because in savage nations pharmacy or medicine consisted much in magical incantations. Thence it means sorcery or enchantment, and it is so used uniformly in the New Testament. It is used only in Gal 5:20; Rev 9:21; Rev 18:23; Rev 21:8. Some have supposed that it means poisoning here, a crime often practiced; but the more correct interpretation is, to refer it to the black art, or to pretensions to witchcraft, and the numerous delusions which have grown out of it, as a striking illustration of the corrupt and depraved nature of man.

Hatred - Greek: "hatreds,"in the plural. Antipathies, and lack of love, producing contentions and strifes.

Variance - Contentions; see the note at Rom 1:29.

Emulations - ( ζήλοι zēloi ). In a bad sense, meaning heart-burning, or jealousy, or perhaps inordinate ambition. The sense is ardor or zeal in a bad cause, leading to strife, etc.

Wrath - This also is plural in the Greek ( θυμοὶ thumoi ), meaning passions, "bursts of anger;"see the note at 2Co 12:20.

Strife - Also plural in the Greek; see the note at 2Co 12:20

Seditions - See the note at Rom 16:17.

Heresies - See the note at Act 5:17; 1Co 11:19.

Barnes: Gal 5:21

Envyings - see the note at 2Co 12:20.

Revellings - 2Co 12:20, note; Rom 13:13, note.

And such like - This class of evils, without attempting to specify all.

Of which I tell you before - In regard to which I forewarn you.

As I have also told you in time past - When he was with them.

Shall not inherit the kingdom of God - Cannot possibly be saved; see the notes at 1Co 6:9-11. In regard to this passage, we may remark:

(1) That it furnishes the most striking and unanswerable proof of human depravity. Paul represents these things as "the works of the flesh,"the works of the unrenewed nature of man. They are such as human nature, when left to itself, everywhere produces. The world shows that such is the fact; and we cannot but ask, is a nature producing this to be regarded as pure? Is man an unfallen being? Can he save himself? Does he need no Saviour?

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 his passage is full of fearful admonition to those who indulge in any or all of these vices. Paul, inspired of God, has solemnly declared, that such cannot be saved. They cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven as they are. Nor is it desirable that they should. What would heaven be if filled up with adulterers, and fornicators, and idolaters, with the proud and envious, and with murderers, and drunkards? To call such a place heaven, would be an abuse of the word. No one could wish to dwell there; and such people cannot enter into heaven.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he human heart must be changed, or man cannot be saved. This follows of course. If such is its tendency, then there is a necessity for such a change as that in regeneration, in order that man may be happy and be saved.

\caps1 (4) w\caps0 e should rejoice that such people cannot, with their present characters, be admitted to heaven. We should rejoice that there is one world where these vices are unknown, a world of perfect and eternal purity. When we look at the earth; when we see how these vices prevail; when we reflect that every land is polluted, and that we cannot traverse a continent or an island, visit a nook or corner of the earth, dwell in any city or town, where these vices do not exist, O how refreshing and invigorating is it to look forward to a pure heaven! How cheering the thought that there is one world where these vices are unknown; one world, all whose ample plains may be traversed, and the note of blasphemy shall never fall on the ear; one world, where virtue shall be safe from the arts of the seducer; one world where we may forever dwell, and not one reeling and staggering drunkard shall ever be seen; where there shall be not one family in want and tears from the vice of its unfaithful head! With what joy should we look forward to that world! With what ardor should we pant that it may be our own!

Barnes: Gal 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit - That which the Holy Spirit produces. It is not without design, evidently, that the apostle uses the word "Spirit"here, as denoting that these things do not flow from our own nature. The vices above enumerated are the proper "works"or result of the operations of the human heart; the virtues which he enumerates are produced by a foreign influence - the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul does not trace them to our own hearts, even when renewed. He says that they are to be regarded as the proper result of the Spirit’ s operations on the soul.

Is love - To God and to human beings. Probably the latter here is particularly intended, as the fruits of the Spirit are placed in contradistinction from those vices which lead to strifes among people. On the meaning of the word love, see the notes at 1Co 13:1; and for an illustration of its operations and effects, see the notes at that whole chapter.

Joy - In the love of God; in the evidences of pardon; in communion with the Redeemer, and in his service; in the duties of religion, in trial, and in the hope of heaven; see the notes at Rom 5:2; compare 1Pe 1:8.

Peace - As the result of reconciliation with God; see the notes at Rom 5:1.

Long-suffering - In affliction and trial, and when injured by others; see the note at 1Co 13:4.

Gentleness - The same word which is translated "kindness"in 2Co 6:6; see the note at that place. The word means goodness, kindness, benignity; and is opposed to a harsh, crabbed, crooked temper. It is a disposition to be pleased; it is mildness of temper, calmness of spirit, an unruffled disposition, and a disposition to treat all with urbanity and politeness. This is one of the regular effects of the Spirit’ s operations on the heart. Religion makes no one crabby, and morose, and sour. It sweetens the temper; corrects an irritable disposition; makes the heart kind; disposes us to make all around us as happy as possible. This is true politeness; a kind of politeness which can far better be learned in the school of Christ than in that of Chesterfield; by the study of the New Testament than under the direction of the dancing-master.

Goodness - See the note at Rom 15:14. Here the word seems to be used in the sense of beneficence, or a disposition to do good to others. The sense is, that a Christian must be a good man.

Faith - On the meaning of the word faith, see the note at Mar 16:16. The word here may be used in the sense of fidelity, and may denote that the Christian will be a faithful man, a man faithful to his word and promises; a man who can be trusted or confided in. It is probable that the word is used in this sense because the object of the apostle is not to speak of the feelings which we have toward God so much as to illustrate the influences of the Spirit in directing and controlling our feelings toward people. True religion makes a man faithful. The Christian is faithful as a man; faithful as a neighbor, friend, father, husband, son. He is faithful to his contracts; faithful to his promises. No man can be a Christian who is not thus faithful, and all pretensions to being under the influences of the Spirit when such fidelity does not exist, are deceitful and vain.

Barnes: Gal 5:23

Meekness - See the note at Mat 5:5.

Temperance - The word used here, ( ἐγκράτεια egkrateia ), means properly "self-control, continence."It is derived from ἐν en and κράτος kratos , "strength,"and has reference to the power or ascendancy which we have over exciting and evil passions of all kinds. It denotes the self-rule which a man has over the evil propensities of his nature. Our word temperance we use now in a much more limited sense, as referring mainly to abstinence from intoxicating drinks. But the word here used is employed in a much more extended signification. It includes the dominion over all evil propensities, and may denote continence, chastity, self-government, moderation in regard to all indulgences as well as abstinence from intoxicating drinks. See the word explained in the notes at Act 24:25. The sense here is, that the influences of the Holy Spirit on the heart make a man moderate in all indulgences; teach him to restrain his passions, and to govern himself; to control his evil propensities, and to subdue all inordinate affection.

The Christian will not only abstain from intoxicating drinks, but from all exciting passions; he will be temperate in his manner of living, and in the government of his temper. This may be applied to temperance properly so called with us; but it should not be limited to that. A Christian must be a temperate man; and if the effect of his religion is not to produce this, it is false and vain. Abstinence from intoxicating drinks, as well as from all improper excitement, is demanded by the very genius of his religion, and on this subject there is no danger of drawing the cords too close. No one was ever injured by the strictest temperance, by total abstinence from ardent spirits, and from wine as a beverage; no man is certainly safe who does not abstain; no man, it is believed, can be in a proper frame of mind for religious duties who indulges in the habitual use of intoxicating drinks. Nothing does more scandal to religion than such indulgences; and, other things being equal, he is the most under the influence of the Spirit of God who is the most thoroughly a person of temperance.

Against such there is no law - That is, there is no law to condemn such persons. These are not the things which the Law denounces. These, therefore, are the true freemen; free from the condemning sentence of the Law, and free in the service of God. Law condemns sin; and they who evince the spirit here referred to are free from its denunciations.

Barnes: Gal 5:24

And they that are Christ’ s - All who are true Christians.

Have crucified the flesh - The corrupt passions of the soul have been put to death; that is, destroyed. They are as though they were dead, and have no power over us; see the note at Gal 2:20.

With the affections - Margin, "Passions."All corrupt desires.

And lusts - See the note at Rom 1:24.

Barnes: Gal 5:25

If we live in the Spirit - See the note at Gal 5:16. The sense of this verse probably is, "We who are Christians profess to be under the influences of the Holy Spirit. By his influences and agency is our spiritual life. We profess not to be under the dominion of the flesh; not to be controlled by its appetites and desires. Let us then act in this manner, and as if we believed this. Let us yield ourselves to his influences, and show that we are controlled by that Spirit."It is an earnest exhortation to Christians to yield wholly to the agency of the Holy Spirit on their hearts, and to submit to his guidance; see Rom 8:5, note9, note.

Barnes: Gal 5:26

Let us not be desirous of vainglory - The word used here ( κενόδοξοι kenodoxoi ) means "proud"or "vain"of empty advantages, as of birth, property, eloquence, or learning. The reference here is probably to the paltry competitions which arose on account of these supposed advantages. It is possible that this might have been one cause of the difficulties existing in the churches of Galatia, and the apostle is anxious wholly to check and remove it. The Jews prided themselves on their birth, and people are everywhere prone to overvalue the supposed advantages of birth and blood. The doctrines of Paul are, that on great and most vital respects people are on a level; that these things contribute nothing to salvation (notes, Gal 3:28); and that Christians should esteem them of little importance, and that they should not be suffered to interfere with their fellowship, or to mar their harmony and peace.

Provoking one another - The sense is, that they who are desirous of vainglory, do provoke one another. They provoke those whom they regard as inferiors by a haughty carriage and a contemptuous manner toward them. They look upon them often with contempt; pass them by with disdain; treat them as beneath their notice; and this provokes on the other hand hard feeling, and hatred. and a disposition to take revenge. When people regard themselves as equal in their great and vital interests; when they feel that they are fellow-heirs of the grace of life; when they feel that they belong to one great family, and are in their great interests on a level; deriving no advantage from birth and blood; on a level as descendants of the same apostate father; as being themselves sinners; on a level at the foot of the cross, at the communion table, on beds of sickness, in the grave, and at the bar of God; when they feel this, then the consequences here referred to will be avoided. There will be no haughty carriage such as to provoke opposition; and on the other hand there will be no envy on account of the superior rank of others.

Envying one another - On account of their superior wealth, rank, talent, learning. The true way to cure envy is to make people feel that in their great and important interests they are on a level. Their great interests are beyond the grave. The distinctions of this life are temporary, and are comparative trifles. Soon all will be on a level in the grave, and at the bar of God and in heaven. Wealth, and honor, and rank do not avail there. The poorest man will wear as bright a crown as the rich; the man of most humble birth will be admitted as near the throne as he who can boast the longest line of illustrious ancestors. Why should a man who is soon to wear a "crown incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away,"envy him who has a ducal coronet here, or a royal diadem - baubles that are soon to be laid aside forever? Why should he, though poor here, who is soon to inherit the treasures of heaven where "moth and rust do not corrupt,"envy him who can walk over a few acres as his own, or who has accumulated a glittering pile of dust, soon to be left forever?

Why should he who is soon to wear the robes of salvation, made "white in the blood of the Lamb,"envy him who is "clothed in purple and fine linen,"or who can adorn himself and his family in the most gorgeous attire which art and skill can make, soon to give place to the winding-sheet; soon to be succeeded by the simple garb which the most humble wears in the grave? If men feel that their great interests are beyond the tomb: that in the important matter of salvation they are on a level; that soon they are to be undistinguished beneath the clods of the valley, how unimportant comparatively would it seem to adorn their bodies, to advance their name and rank and to improve their estates! The rich and the great would cease to look down with contempt on those of more humble rank, and the poor would cease to envy those above them, for they are soon to be their equals in the grave; their equals, perhaps their superiors in heaven!

Poole: Gal 5:10

I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: the apostle (according to his usual method) sweeteneth his sharp reproof of this church for their deviations from the faith of the gospel, with a declaration of his good opinion of them; declaring that he had a confidence in them, that through the grace of God they would be reduced to the truth, or kept from wandering from it, and that in matters of faith they would be all of the same mind.

But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be and for those who endeavoured to seduce and pervert them, God should reward them according to their works. He seems to aim at some particular false teacher, (whose name he concealeth), who gave this church this trouble.

Poole: Gal 5:11

It should seem by what the apostle saith in this verse, that some of these false teachers had quoted the apostle for them, as if he himself had preached circumcision; possibly taking advantage from his circumcising Timothy, not distinguishing between what was done by Paul as of liberty, and to avoid the offence of the Jews, and what they pressed as necessary to be done (besides believing in Christ) for justification. Now, (saith the apostle),

if I yet preach up circumision as necessary to be observed,

why do I yet suffer persecution? Why am I then persecuted by the Jews, as one apostatized from their religion?

Then is the offence of the cross ceased: by the cross, he eihter means the cross of Christ; then the sense is: It is my opposing the observance of their law, that more offendeth them than my preaching of Christ crucified. Or else he meaneth the afflictions which he suffered for the sake of Christ and the gospel; (in which sense the term is used, Mat 16:24 Luk 9:23 14:22 ); then the sense is, that all sufferings for the owning and preaching of Christ are at an end; let us but yield the Jews that point, (that Christians are obliged to the observance of the law of Moses), the great quarrel between them and us is at an end; but their daily persecuting of me is a sufficient demonstration that I do not preach up circumcision.

Poole: Gal 5:12

I wish that God would some way or other put an end to these that trouble you. This Paul speaketh not out of hatred to their persons, but out of a zeal to the glory of God, and a just indignation against these men, who had so much hindered the salvation of the members of this church. And it is not improbable that the apostle here spake by the Spirit of prophecy, as knowing God would cut them off; so that his and the like imprecations of holy men in Scripture are not to be drawn into precedents, or made matters for our imitation, unless we had the same discerning of spirits which they had, or the same Spirit of prophecy and revelations from God as to future things. But how far it is lawful or unlawful for ordinary persons, whether ministers or private Christians, to pray against God’ s or his church’ s enemies, is a question for the arguing which this place is too narrow.

Poole: Gal 5:13

Ye have been called unto liberty a liberty from the covenant of the law, and the curse of the law, as Gal 3:13 ; from servile fear, as Luk 1:74 ; and from sin, Rom 6:7 .

Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh but you must take heed that you do not abuse this liberty by making it an occasion for sin, so as from thence to conclude, that you may give your flesh more liberty in obeying the lusts of it: you must not think, that the gospel hath set you at liberty from the obedience of the law; the gospel liberty to which you are called, doth not set you free from the duty of love, either to God or men. Therefore

by love serve one another Our Christian liberty neither freeth us from the serving of God, nor from our mutual serving each other by love, according to Rom 8:8 : Owe no man any thing, but to love one another.

Poole: Gal 5:14

The whole will of God, containing our duty towards men, is reducible to this one thing, love; for whatsoever God hath commanded us to do towards men, is but a brauch from this root, and must flow from love as its principle. Or, the whole will of God concerning man is fulfilled in this one thing of love; where love to God is not excluded, but supposed, as the root of our love to our neighbour; for our neighbour is to be loved for God. Thus Rom 8:8 : He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law: and 1Jo 4:20 , the apostle proveth, that a man cannot love God unless he loveth his brother: and 1Ti 1:5 : The end of the commandment is charity. Yet what the papists would conclude from hence, (viz. that it is possible for a man to fulfil the law because it is possible for him to love his neighbour), doth by no means follow; for the apostle 1Ti 1:5telleth us, this love must proceed out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Mr. Calvin observeth well, that the apostle here mentioneth love to men as the fulfilling of the law, in opposition to the false teachers; who made the fulfilling of the law to lie in the observance of the ceremonies of the law, whereas the great thing which the law of God requireth is love, out of a pure heart, good conscience, and faith unfeigned. So that he who believeth with a faith unfeigned, and, out of that principle, with a pure heart and a good conscience, loveth his neighbour as himself, shall be by God accounted to have fulfilled the law; for love is the end of the law.

Poole: Gal 5:15

This lets us know, that there were great contentions and divisions amongst the members of this church, whether (which is probable) occasioned by their differences in and about the doctrine of justification, or upon other accounts, we are not told; but upon whatever account they were raised, they were contrary to that serving one another in love, to which the apostle had exhorted them. Nor did they terminate in a mere dislike of and displacency to each other, but broke out into overt acts, more becoming dogs than Christians, and therefore it is expressed under the notion of biting and devouring. The issue of which, the apostle prophesieth would be a consuming one another; they being actions that had a natural tendency to this end.

Poole: Gal 5:16

Walk in the Spirit the apostle having, Gal 5:13 , cautioned them against turning the grace of God into wantonness, by using their liberty as an occasion to the flesh; here he directeth them to the best means for the avoiding thereof, viz.

walking in the Spirit Where by Spirit he doth not mean our own spirits, or the guide and conduct of our own reason; for the term Spirit, set (as here) in opposition to the flesh, is in no place of Scripture understood of any other than the Holy Spirit of God, which dwelleth in and influenceth believers, guiding them both by a rule from without, (which is the word of God, given by its inspiration), and by its inward motions and operations. Walking, signifieth the directing of their whole conversations. The phrases

in the Spirit and after the Spirit, Rom 8:1 , seem to be of the same import, uuless the alteration of the preposition signifieth, that Christians are not only to look to the word of God dictated by the Holy Spirit as their rule, and to listen to its dictates, but also to look up to the Holy Spirit for its strength and assistance; and implieth a promise of such assistance. The sense is: Let your whole conversation be according to the external rule of the gospel, and the more inward motions, directions, and inclinations of the Spirit of Christ, dwelling and working in you, and moving you to the obedience of that word.

And ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh this doing, though the flesh be yet in you, and you will find the lustings and warrings of it, yet you shall not fulfil the sinful desires and lustings of it; that is, sin, though it be in you, shall not be in dominion in you; it shall not reign in your mortal bodies: Rom 6:12 : Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Poole: Gal 5:17

By the flesh and

the Spirit we cannot so much understand the sensitive and rational appetite; for these two appetites are not so contrary, but that in many things they agree well enough; and we are enemies not only in our sensitive part, to spiritual things, but en th dianoia , in our mind and rational part also, Col 1:21 . And some of the works of the flesh, which are afterward mentioned, Gal 5:19-21 , (such as idolatry, heresies, & c.), cannot be referred to the sensitive part. But by these terms are either to be understood the unregenerate part of man; or rather, that carnal concupiscence which we derived from Adam, and is seated in our rational as well as sensitive appetite; which opposeth itself to the Divine rule, and to the dictates and motions of the Spirit of God.

The flesh lusteth against the Spirit this concupiscence moveth strongly against the directions of the Spirit.

And the Spirit against the flesh and the Holy Spirit of God, dwelling in the saints, moveth us potently against the propensions and inclinations of the flesh.

And these are contrary the one to the other for they are two contrary principles, and work contrarily in their motions and inclinations.

So that ye cannot do the things that ye would so that even the best of God’ s people cannot at all times do either what they should do, (according to the precept of the word), or what they would do, according to the bent of their regenerate part.

Poole: Gal 5:18

To be led of the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit, are the same thing; and differ only as the cause and the effect. To be

under the law is to be under the curse of it, or coaction of it, and an obligation to the performance of the ceremonial law. The reason is, because the Spirit is a Spirit of adoption and liberty; and where it is, it teacheth to serve the Lord without fear from a principle of freedom and ingenuity.

Poole: Gal 5:19

The works of the flesh the products of the natural inclinations and propensions in the heart of man.

Are manifest, which are these he saith, these are manifest, the filthiness of them appears by the light of nature, by the checks of conscience men meet with for them; or else, it is manifest that these actions are not from the Spirit of God, (because of their contrariety to the Divine rule), but are from the corrupt part of man. These (he saith) are adultery, or the defiling of our neighbour’ s bed; fornication, which is the uncleanness of single persons each with other; and all other species of uncleanness, or unclean conjunctions: lasciviousness; whatsoever wanton carriage, gestures, or behaviour lead to these acts.

Poole: Gal 5:20

Idolatry either the worshipping of the creature for God, or the worshipping of God in and by the creature, as by images, &c.

Witchcraft the product of compacts with the devil; by virtue of which, the persons so contracting are assisted by the power of evil spirits to produce effects beside the ordinary course and order of nature, and for the most part mischievous to others. And not these gross crimes only are the fruits of the flesh, but also abiding

hatred of our brethren in our hearts, enmities to others, as the word signifieth. The result of which are,

variance men’ s quarrellings and contendings one with another for little or no cause:

emulations people’ s endeavouring to hinder others of such good things as they see them desirous of:

wrath heats and immoderate passions of men one against another:

strife a continual readiness and proneness to quarrelling:

seditions dividing into parties, which in the state is called sedition, in the church, schism:

heresies that is, differing and false opinions in the grand doctrine of religion.

Poole: Gal 5:21

Envyings repinings at that good which is enjoyed by our brethren:

murders unjust taking away the lives of others, with any actions tending or subservient thereunto: drunkenness; immoderate drinkings:

revellings, and such like immoderate eatings; all abuses of the creatures of God beyond necessity, or a moderate delight.

Of the which I tell you before I tell you of it before the day of judgment comes, when you will find that which I tell you to be truth.

As I have also told you in time past as you know I have in my preaching to you in times past told you.

That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God that they who ordinarily do these things, and do not only live in such practices, but die without repentance for them, shall never be saved: see 1Co 6:9,10 Re 21:7,8 .

Poole: Gal 5:22

The fruit of the Spirit those habits which the Holy Spirit of God produceth in those in whom it dwelleth and worketh, with those acts which flow from them, as naturally as the tree produceth its fruit, are,

love to God, and to our neighbours:

joy the soul’ s satisfaction in its union with God, as the greatest and highest good; with an actual rejoicing in Christ, and in what is for his honour and glory, called a rejoicing in the truth, 1Co 13:6 ; and in the good of our brethren, Rom 12:15 :

peace quietude of conscience, or peace with God, (of which peace of conscience is a copy), and a peaceable disposition towards men, opposed to strife, variance, emulations, &c.:

long-suffering opposed to a hastiness to revenge, and inclining us patiently to bear injuries:

gentleness sweetness and kindness of temper, by which we accommodate ourselves, and become mutually useful to each other:

goodness a disposition in us to hurt none, but to do all the good we can to all:

faith by faith seemeth here to be meant, truth in words, faithfulness in promises, and in dealings one with another.

Poole: Gal 5:23

Meekness forbearance of passion, rash anger, and hastiness of spirit:

temperance a sober use of meats, drinks, apparel, or any thing wherein our senses are delighted. Many of these are moral virtues, and such as some have attained to by moral discipline, the cultivating of their natures by education, and moral philosophy: yet they are also the fruits of the Spirit of God; such as it doth always work in the souls wherein it dwelleth (though in different measures and degrees): only the moral man thus comporteth himself from principles of reason, showing him the beauty and comeliness of such a conversation, and aims no Ligher in it, than a happiness of converse in this life, his own honour and reputation. But the spiritual man, doing the same things, aimeth at a higher end (the glorifying of God, and saving his own soul); and doth these things from a fear of God, out of love to him, and out of faith, as seeing in them the will of God.

Against such (saith the apostle) there is no law ; no law to accuse or to condemn them; for these are things which the law commandeth to be done, and are acts of obedience to the law. So as those who do these things are led by the Spirit, and are not under the condemning power or curse of the law.

Poole: Gal 5:24

They that are Christ’ s those who are ingrafted into Christ by faith, united to him, and so his members;

have crucified the flesh by virtue of a power derived from the cross of Christ, have got their unregenerate part in a great measure mortified;

with the affections and lusts with the inordinate desires, affections, and passions of it: not that they have wholly put off these, (they are men still), but the inordinateness of them is corrected, mortified, and subdued.

Poole: Gal 5:25

If we live in the Spirit if (as we profess) there is a union between the Holy Spirit of God and us, so as that Holy Spirit is to its the principle of our life, and we live more from him than from any principle in ourselves;

let us also walk in the Spirit let us manage all our conversation according to the guidance and direction of the same Spirit. Operations naturally follow the principle of life from which they proceed, so that as those who only live in the flesh, walk in and after the flesh, and its inclination; so those who live in the Spirit ought to produce, and will produce, effects suitable to the cause of them, and the principle from which they flow.

Poole: Gal 5:26

Let us not be desirous of vain-glory: ambition or vain-glory is a natural corruption, disposing us to boast and commend ourselves, and to seek the honour and applause of men.

Provoking one another this is an effect of the former, disposing us, out of hope of victory, to challenge others to a contest with us. Or it may be understood of provoking others by injuries and wrongs done them; which is contrary to the duty of love.

Envying one another not repining at the good of others; either desiring their portion, or being troubled that they fare so well. Possibly this verse might more properly have been made the first of the next chapter, (as Luther maketh it), where the apostle goeth on, pressing further spiritual duties common to all Christians.

PBC: Gal 5:22

See WebbSr: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Ga 5:22 " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"

It is very comforting to us if we can see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If we see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives we can be assured that we have been given spiritual life by this same precious Holy Spirit!

Look at the Beatitudes in Mt 5:3-12. Those with these characteristics are pronounced " blessed" by our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we enjoy the gospel? Does it come with power to us? Then, according to Paul in 1Th 1:4-5, we can be assured that we are in the number of God’s elect family. The wonderful epistle of 1 John {1Jo 1:1-5:21} abounds in evidences that identify God’s children. In fact, this book was specifically written that God’s people might gain assurance.

490

Haydock: Gal 5:13

An occasion to the flesh; i.e. that you abuse not, by a vicious life, that Christian liberty which Christ hath purchased for you, but be united in the spirit of charity. (Witham)

Haydock: Gal 5:14

All the law, as far as it regards our duty to our neighbour, is contained in this text of the apostle; he says the same in his epistle to the Romans, Chap. xiii. He that loves his neighbour has fulfilled the law.

Haydock: Gal 5:17

So that you [1] do not the things that you would. He does not say, so that you cannot do, as others falsely translate; as if men were under an absolute necessity of sinning, or doing ill; which is also contradictory to the foregoing words, walk by the spirit, and you will not accomplish the works of the flesh. (Witham) ---

Here some suppose, says St. Augustine, that the apostle denieth that we have free liberty of will: not understanding that this is said to them, if they will not hold fast the grace of faith conceived, by which only they can walk in the spirit, and not accomplish the lusts of the flesh. (St. Augustine, in chap. v. Gal.)

Ver 19-21. Uncleanness, immodesty, luxury. In the Greek there are but two vices named; luxury is not mentioned; and, perhaps, the Latin interpreter put two words to explain one Greek word. (Witham) ---

St. Augustine here sheweth that there are other damnable sins besides infidelity.

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Ita ut non quæcunque vultis, illa faciatis; Greek: ina me a an thelete tauta poiete. Dr. Wells, in his correction to the Protestant translation, leaves out cannot.

====================

Haydock: Gal 5:22

The fruit of the Spirit is charity, &c. There are numbered twelve of these fruits in the Latin, though but nine in the Greek text, in St. John Chrysostom; St. Jerome; St. Augustine, tract. lxxxvii. in Joan. p. 756. The difference may again happen by the Latin interpreter using two words to express one Greek word. It is observed, that longanimity and patience are in a manner the same; so are benignity and goodness; and so may be here continency and chastity. (Witham)

Gill: Gal 5:10

I have confidence in you through the Lord,.... Though the apostle had said many things which carried in them the appearance of roughness and severity, yet he still entertained hopes of them that they were not so far gone, but that they might be brought back again; and he here expresses his confidence of it. This confidence in them is not of faith, for no trust is to be put in men; no, not in the best; but of charity, or love, which hopes all things, and believes all things; and which proceeded upon a thorough persuasion he had, that there was some good thing in them; and therefore was confident, that he that had begun the good work would perform it, and not suffer them to be carried away finally and totally with the error of the wicked: and this confidence he had "through the Lord"; either through the Spirit of the Lord, whose office it is to lead into all truth, as it is in Jesus; and who had suggested this to the apostle, and possessed him of this confidence; so that it was not a conjecture and fancy of his, but an intimation from the Spirit of the Lord: or through the Lord Jesus Christ, or "in the Lord", Christ, as the phrase may be rendered; that is, on account of their being in Christ, which the apostle hoped and believed; where they were safe and secure from a final and total seduction; he was confident, that whatever they might seem to be now, things would take a different turn in time:

that you will be none otherwise minded; than he was, and they formerly were, when the Gospel was first preached to them, and embraced by them; and particularly in the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ which was the doctrine then called in question, and in debate:

but he that troubleth you; he seems to have respect to some particular person, who was the principal of the false teachers, and most famous for his learning, knowledge, gifts, and abilities; and who had done, and was likely to do, the most mischief among them; and was a troubler of God's Israel, and of the pure waters of the sanctuary; he unsettled their minds, and caused them to halt between two, Moses and Christ, law and Gospel, and the doctrines of justification by works, and by the righteousness of Christ; the one being what gave true solid peace and comfort, the other introduced confusion, distress, and fears: the apostle threatens him, and declares that he

shall bear his judgment; or condemnation, or damnation, his punishment in this, or the other world; for the judgment, or condemnation, of such that bring in damnable harasses, and pernicious errors, lingereth not, will not be long delayed; and their damnation slumbereth not, but in a little time will seize upon them; when as they have rejected Christ as a sin bearing and atoning Saviour, and his righteousness as the justifying one, they will, agreeably to their own doctrine, be left to bear their punishment themselves, which will be intolerable, and to all eternity; nor shall any escape it,

whosoever he be; though ever so knowing and learned, and let his parts and abilities be what they will; or he be ever so famous among men, and cried up as a most excellent preacher.

Gill: Gal 5:11

And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,.... The apostle was traduced by the false teachers, as a preacher of circumcision himself in some places; and this they did partly to show him to be a variable and inconsistent man, who preached one doctrine in one place, and another in another place, and so not to be attended to; and partly with others, to draw them into their scheme upon his authority: what might give them the handle, or at least what they improved to this purpose, might be his circumcising of Timothy; but though he did this as a thing indifferent, and for the sake of the Jews, to make them easy; yet he never preached it after his conversion, and much less as necessary to justification and salvation, as these men did. This calumny he refutes by putting the following question or questions;

why do I yet suffer persecution? as is clear he did, for being against it, and preaching it down; great part of the persecutions the apostle endured was from the Jews, and that on account of his teaching them everywhere, that were among the Gentiles, to forsake Moses, and that they should not circumcise their children, and walk after the customs of their nation; a clear point this, that he did not preach it; had he, persecution from this quarter would not have followed him; and he could have done it with a good conscience, he must act a very weak part in suffering persecution on that account. The Arabic version gives the words a very different turn, and yet furnishes an answer to the calumny; "why do I persecute him that uses it?" that is, if I am a preacher of it, why am I so warm and violent an opposer of those that submit to it? these things are so opposite that there is no reconciling them; to the same purpose is the Ethiopic version: "then is the offence of the cross ceased". The last mentioned version reads it, "the cross of Christ"; and so the Alexandrian copy; meaning not the cross of affliction, reproach, and persecution, which Christ has enjoined every follower of his to take up and bear for his sake, and is offensive to the carnal man; nor the cross on which he suffered, or the sufferings of the cross; but the doctrine of salvation by a crucified Christ, which was an offence and a stumblingblock to the Jews; now if the apostle had preached circumcision as necessary to salvation, the other doctrine must have been dropped, and consequently the offence taken at it must have ceased, whereas it was not. The Syriac version reads by way of question, "is the offence of the cross ceased?" no it is not, a plain case then is, that the apostle did not preach circumcision, but only a crucified Christ, as necessary to salvation. Moreover, the Jews that believed would not have been so offended as they were at his preaching, had he preached the one as well the other; their offence was not that he preached Christ crucified, but that he preached, that, by the cross of Christ, circumcision and the other rituals of the ceremonial law were now abolished.

Gill: Gal 5:12

I would they were even cut off which trouble you. These words are a solemn wish of the apostle's with respect to the false teachers, or an imprecation of the judgment of God upon them; that they might be cut off out of the land of the living by the immediate hand of God, that they might do no more mischief to the churches of Christ: this he said not out of hatred to their persons, but from a concern for the glory of God, and the good of his people. The word here used answers to the Hebrew word קפח, and which is often made use of by the Jews in solemn imprecations; we read ^o of a righteous man, מקפח את בניו, "that cut off his children": the gloss upon it is,

"he used to say, when he made any imprecation, אקפח את בני, "may I cut off my children";''

that is, may they die, may they be cut off by the hand of God, and I bury them;

"says R. Tarphon ^p, may my children be "cut off", if these books of heretics come into my hands, that I will burn them;''

and says the same Rabbi ^q may I "cut off" my children, or may my children be cut off, if this sentence or constitution is cut off, or should perish. There is another use of this word, which may have a place here, for it sometimes signifies to confute a person, or refute his notion ^r.

"It is a tradition of the Rabbius, that after the departure of R. Meir, R. Judah said to his disciples, let not the disciples of R. Meir come in hither, for they are contentious; and not to learn the law do they come, but לקפחני בהלכות, "to cut me off"; (i.e. as the gloss says, to show how sharp they are that none can stand against them;) to confute and overcome me, by their sentences, or constitutions.''

So the apostle here might wish that the mouths of these false teachers were stopped, their notions refuted, that they might give them no more trouble; to which agrees the Arabic version; "they that trouble you I wish they were dumb"; or that their mouths were stopped, as such vain talkers should be; see Tit 1:10 or the sense of the apostle is, that it was his will and desire that these men should be cut off from the communion of the church; with which views he mentions the proverbial expression in Gal 5:9 with which compare 1Co 5:6 or that they would cut themselves off, by withdrawing from them, going out from among them, and leaving them as these men sometimes did.

Gill: Gal 5:13

For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty,.... He calls them "brethren", to testify his affection to them, and to put them in mind of their relation to one another, which required mutual love, a thing he is about to press them to; he asserts that they were "called" not merely externally, but internally, by the effectual grace of God, out of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law, unto the liberty of the Gospel and of the grace of God; that liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, Gal 5:1 this he said in a judgment of charity, hoping well of them:

only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh; corrupt nature, which in unregenerate men takes encouragement from, and makes an ill use of the best of things, as the mercy and patience of God; and not only takes an occasion by the law, forbidding sin to work and stir up all manner of concupiscence; but also by the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, such as eternal election, free justification, &c. which though the source and fountain, the barrier and security, of all true and real holiness, are improved and abused by wicked minds, under the influence and instigation of Satan, to vile purposes; and though regenerate persons are not in the flesh, and do not live after it, yet that is in them, and there is a proneness in them to sin; and Satan is watching all opportunities and advantages against them; so that there is need for such a caution as this, that they do not misuse their Christian liberty by indulging the flesh and the lusts of it, which is apt to take an occasion to cherish its lusts, and especially when given: Christ's free men should not do so, for that is to disgrace the doctrine of Christian liberty, to enthral themselves in, bondage instead of using their liberty aright, and to give the enemy occasion to blaspheme: the doctrine of Christian liberty may bc abused, or used as an occasion to the flesh, and to fulfil the lusts of it; when under a pretence thereof men think themselves exempt from obedience to the civil magistrate, which is using this liberty as a cloak of maliciousness; or that they are free from obedience to the law of God, as a rule of walk and conversation; or from subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel; or when they use the creatures God has given them the free use of without thankfulness, and in an immoderate manner; and when they make things indifferent which are not, or use indifferent things to the prejudice of others; and their liberty becomes a stumblingblock to weak Christians, which the apostle seems greatly to regard here; since he adds,

but by love serve one another: the Vulgate Latin version reads, "by the love of the Spirit": and so some copies; Gospel liberty and the service of the saints are not at all inconsistent; as it becomes them to love one another, as the new command of Christ, their profession of religion, and their relation to each other, require, so they should show their love by their service; as by praying one with and for another, by bearing each other's burdens, sympathizing with and communicating to each other in things temporal and spiritual; in forbearing with and forgiving one another; by admonishing each other when there is occasion for it, in a meek, tender, and brotherly way; by instructing and building up one another on their most holy faith, and by stirring up one another to all the duties of religion, private and public.

Gill: Gal 5:14

For all the law is fulfilled in one word,.... Not the ceremonial law, to which acts of mercy, kindness, and love are opposed, and from which they are distinguished; but the law of the decalogue given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and by him to the people of the Jews; and intends either only the second table of it, since only love to the neighbour is mentioned; or else the whole of it, both tables, since it is said, "all the law"; which by Christ is reduced to two heads, love to God, and love to the neighbour; and though the former is not here expressed, it is implied as a cause in the effect, for the love of God is the cause, and so the evidence of love to the neighbour; nor can there be the one without the other. The two tables of the law consist of עשרת הדברים, "ten words"; as the ^s Jews commonly call them, and we the decalogue, and yet they are fulfilled in one; that is, they are to be brought into such a compendium, reduced to such an head; or as the apostle in a parallel place says, they may briefly be comprehended in this saying, Rom 13:9. The Jews make the commandments of the law to be a very large number indeed, but at last reduce them to one, as the apostle here does,

"six hundred and thirteen commandments (they say ^t) were given to Moses----David came and reduced them to eleven, Psalm xv, Isaiah came and reduced them to six, Isa 33:15 Micah came and reduced them to three, Mic 6:8 Isaiah came and reduced them to two, Isa 56:1, Amos came and reduced them to one, Amo 5:4 but this being objected to, it is observed that Habakkuk came, וחעמידן על אחת, "and reduced them to one", Hab 2:4 that is faith, as here the apostle reduces them to love:''

even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: these words are taken out of Lev 19:18 and which R. Akiba says ^u, agreeably with the apostle, whose contemporary he was, is כלל גדול בתורה, "the grand general rule in the law"; or the grand comprehensive of the law: the object of love, the "neighbour", signifies not only, as there the Jews explain it, those of their own people, or proselytes to their religion; but all sorts of men, whether in a natural, civil, or spiritual relation; and whether those that do us good or do us ill, friends or enemies: the measure or rule of love is, "as thyself"; and designs not an equality of affection, but a likeness of effects; that is, to do the same kind acts of love to others, one would choose to have done to ourselves: and this is the fulfilling of the law; that is, so far as a man loves aright, so far he fulfils the law; not that he does it perfectly, for man in his fallen state is unable to do that, for the law is exceeding broad, and reaches to thoughts, desires, and inclinations, as well as to words and deeds; and besides, love said to be the fulfilling of it, is imperfect; hence then there can be no justification by works of charity, nor by any services of men, which at best are imperfect; nor are they done in their own strength, and without the grace of God; nor is there any that can be said to have fulfilled the law perfectly but Christ, and to him must we look for a justifying righteousness. These words contain a reason engaging to love one another, and to do all kind of offices of love to each other; since it is a main and principal thing contained in the law, and to which that may be reduced.

Gill: Gal 5:15

But if ye bite and devour one another,.... Another reason inducing to love is taken from the pernicious consequences of a contrary spirit and conduct. The allusion is to beasts of prey falling upon and devouring one another: for wolves or dogs to worry sheep is not strange; but for sheep to distress one another is unnatural. The apostle does not say, if grievous wolves should enter in among you and not spare the flock; but suggests if they themselves should act the part of wolves to one another; having reference to their controversies about the law and circumcision, and the necessity thereof to justification and salvation; which were managed with great heat and bitterness, occasioned great contentions, and threatened them with divisions, parties, and factions; and were attended with envy and malice, with reproachful words, biting sarcasms, scandalous invectives, and injurious actions, which must be of bad consequence: hence he adds,

take heed that ye be not consumed one of another; that is, either beware lest each other's particular peace and comfort be destroyed, which is oftentimes done this way, though a person's state and condition God-ward may be safe; or lest their church state should be destroyed and come to nothing, since love is the cement of it, which being loosened, threatens a dissolution; for as no civil community, either public or private, divided against itself, can stand long, so no religious one; and for want of love the Lord threatens to remove, and sometimes does remove, the candlestick out of its place.

Gill: Gal 5:16

This I say then, walk in the Spirit,.... The advice the apostle thinks fit to give, and which he would have observed, is, to "walk in the Spirit", that is, either after the Spirit of God; making the word inspired by him the rule of behaviour, which as it is the standard of faith, so of practice, and is the lamp unto our feet, and the light unto our path; taking him himself for a guide, who not only guides into all truth, but in the way of holiness and righteousness unto the land of uprightness; and depending upon his grace and strength for assistance throughout the whole of our walk and conversation: or in the exercise of the graces of the Spirit of God; as in the exercise of faith upon the person and grace of Christ, of which the Spirit is the author; and in love to God, Christ, and one another, which is a fruit of the Spirit; and in humility, lowliness of mind, meekness and condescension; all which is to walk in the Spirit, or spiritually, and strengthens the argument for love the apostle is upon: and this he encourages to by observing,

and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh; he does not say there shall be no flesh, nor any lust of the flesh in them if they walk spiritually; or that the flesh should not act and operate in them; or that they should do no sinful action; all which is only true of Christ; and the contrary is to be found and observed in all true Christians, though ever so spiritual; but that they should not fulfil or perfect the lust of the flesh; should not give up themselves entirely to the power and dictates of the flesh, so as to be under it and at its command, and be obedient servants and slaves unto it; for, in this sense only, such that are spiritual do not, commit sin, they do not make a trade of it, it is not their constant employ or course of conversation.

Gill: Gal 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,.... By "flesh" is meant, not the carnal or literal sense of the Scripture, which is Origen's gloss, as militating against the spiritual sense of it; nor the sensual part of man rebelling against his rational powers; but the corruption of nature, which still is in regenerate persons: and is so called because it is propagated by carnal generation; has for its object carnal things; its lusts and works are fleshly; and though it has its seat in the heart, it shows itself in the flesh or members of the body, which are yielded as instruments of unrighteousness; and it makes and denominates men carnal, even believers themselves so far as it prevails: by "the Spirit" is meant the internal principle of grace in a regenerate man, and is so called from the author of it, the Spirit of God, whose name it bears, because it is his workmanship; and from the seat and subject of it, the soul or spirit of man; and from the nature of it, it is spiritual, a new heart and a new Spirit; its objects are spiritual, and it minds, savours, and delights in spiritual things: and the meaning of the lusting of the one against the other, for it is reciprocal, hence it follows,

and the Spirit against the flesh, is that the one wills, chooses, desires, and affects what is contrary to the other; so the flesh, or the old man, the carnal I, in regenerate persons, wills, chooses, desires, and loves carnal things, which are contrary to the Spirit or principle of grace in the soul; and on the other hand, the Spirit or the new man, the spiritual I, wills, chooses, desire, approves, and loves spiritual things, such as are contrary to corrupt nature; and this sense is strengthened by the Oriental versions. The Syriac version reads, "for the flesh desires that" דנכא, "which hurts", or is contrary to "the Spirit"; and "the Spirit desires that which hurts", or is contrary to the "flesh"; and much in the same way the Arabic version renders it, "for the flesh desires that which militates against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires that which militates against the flesh"; to which the Ethiopic version agrees, reading it thus, "for the flesh desires what the Spirit would not, and the Spirit desires what the flesh would not"; the reason whereof is suggested in the next clause:

and these are contrary the one to the other; as light and darkness, fire and water, or any two opposites can be thought to be; they are contrary in their nature, actings, and effects; there is not only a repugnancy to each other, but a continued war, conflict, and combat, is maintained between them; the flesh is the law in the members or force of sin, which wars against the spirit, the law in the mind, or the force and power of the principle of grace; these are the company of two armies, to be seen in the Shulamite, fighting one against the other. So the Jews say ^w of the good imagination, and of the evil one, by which they mean the same as here, that they are like Abraham and Lot; and that

"though they are brethren, joined in one body, זה לזה הם אויבים, "they are enemies to one another";''

hence it follows,

so that ye cannot do the good that ye would which may be understood both of evil things and of good things. The former seems to be chiefly the apostle's sense; since the whole of this text is a reason given why those who walk spiritually shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, because they have a powerful governing principle in them, the Spirit, or grace; which though the flesh lusts against, and opposes itself unto, yet that also rises up against the flesh, and often hinders it from doing the works and lusts of it. There is in regenerate men a propensity and inclination to sin, a carnal I, that wills and desires sin, and wishes for an opportunity to do it, which when it offers, the flesh strongly solicits to it; but the Spirit, or the internal principle of grace, opposes the motion; and like another Joseph says, how can I commit this great wickedness and sin against a God of so much love and grace? it is a voice behind and even in a believer, which, when he is tempted to turn to the right hand or the left, says, this is the way, walk in it, and will not suffer him to go into crooked paths with the workers of iniquity; and so sin cannot have the dominion over him, because he is under grace as a reigning principle; and the old man cannot do the evil things he would, being under the restraints of mighty grace. This is the apostle's principal sense, and best suits with his reasoning in the context; but inasmuch as the lusting and opposition of these two principles are mutual and reciprocal, the other sense may also be taken in; as that oftentimes, by reason of the prevalence of corrupt nature, and power of indwelling sin, a regenerate man does the evil he would not, and cannot do the good he would; for he would always do good and nothing else, and even as the angels do it in heaven; but he cannot, because of this opposite principle, the flesh.

Gill: Gal 5:18

But if ye be led by the Spirit,.... That is, of God, who is the guide and leader of his people. It is a metaphor taken from the leading of persons that are blind; as such are before conversion, and whom the Spirit of God leads in ways they knew not, and in paths they had not known: or from the leading of children, and teaching them to go; so the Spirit leads regenerate persons, and teaches them to walk by faith in Christ. This act of leading supposes life in the persons led, for dead men cannot be led; the Spirit is first a Spirit of life from Christ before he is a leader; and also it supposes some strength, though a good deal of weakness; were there no spiritual strength derived from Christ, they could not be led; and if there was no weakness, there would be no need of leading; it is an instance of powerful and efficacious grace upon them, yet not contrary to their wills, though they are led, they are not forced; they go freely, being led, as there is good reason for it; for the Spirit of God always leads for their profit and advantage, and for the spiritual delight, pleasure, and comfort of their souls; he leads out of the ways of sin, and so of ruin and destruction, and from Mount Sinai, and all dependence on a legal and moral righteousness; he leads to Christ, to his person, for shelter, safety, and salvation, to his blood, for pardon and cleansing, to his righteousness, for justification, and to his fulness, for every supply of grace; he leads into the presence of God, and to his house and ordinances; he leads into the covenant of grace, to the blessings, promises, and Mediator of it; he leads into all truth as it is in Jesus, in the ways of faith and truth, and in the paths of righteousness and holiness, and always in a right way, though sometimes in a rough one, to the city of their habitation; he leads from one degree of grace to another, and at last to glory: all which he does gradually; he leads by little and little into a man's sinfulness, and to see his interest in Christ, and by degrees into the doctrines of the Gospel, and the everlasting love of the three Persons; and proportionally to the strength he gives, and as they are able to bear: now such persons as these have nothing to fear from the law of God:

ye are not under the law; such are not only delivered from the law in fact, but in their own apprehensions; they have the comfortable knowledge and experience of it; the law is no terrifying law to them; it works no wrath in them; they are delivered from the spirit of bondage to fear, by the Spirit of God, by whom they are led; nor are they under it, nor do they need it as a pressing forcing law to duty; they delight in it, and cheerfully serve it, being constrained by love, and not awed by fear; nor are its accusations and charges regarded, or to be regarded, by such who are led by the Spirit to Christ, the end of the law for righteousness; and they are entirely freed from its curse and condemnation, though they are under it, and desire to be under it, as held forth by Christ the King of saints; and, under the Spirit's influence and guidance, yield a cheerful and evangelical obedience to it.

Gill: Gal 5:19

Now the works of the flesh are manifest,.... By "flesh" is meant corrupt nature, as before, and by the works of it, not only external acts of sin, but inward lusts; for such are here mentioned among its works, as "hatred", "wrath", "envyings", &c. and both external and internal acts are so called, because they spring from the flesh, or corrupt nature, and are what that urges and solicits to, and are wrought thereby, and are what denominate and show men to be carnal: these are said to be "manifest"; not that they are all, and always publicly done, and are open to the sight of men; for they are works of darkness, and often done in secret, though they are always manifest to God the searcher of hearts, and will be brought to light in the day of judgment; but they are known to be sins in some measure by the light of nature, and especially by the law of God; and a clear case it is, that they are contrary to the Spirit, both to the Spirit of God, and to the principle of grace he forms in the heart; and that such who live in the commission of them are not led by him, nor are under the influence of his grace:

which are these; though all are not mentioned, only some of the chief, by which judgment may be made of the rest:

adultery; this is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, and in the Alexandrian copy; it is a defilement of the marriage bed, and is the sin of uncleanness committed by two persons, one of which at least is in a married state, is condemned by the law of God and light of nature:

fornication; which though by many of the Gentiles was reckoned no sin, or a very small one, stands here among the works of the flesh, that are manifest and to be avoided; it is the sin of uncleanness committed by persons in a single state;

uncleanness, it is a general name for all unchastity, in thought, word, or action; and may here design more especially all unnatural lusts, as

sodomy, self-pollution, &c.

lasciviousness; or wantonness, all lustful dalliance, everything that leads on to acts of uncleanness, or attends them, as impure words, filthy gestures, and the like.

Gill: Gal 5:20

Idolatry,.... Which some understand of covetousness, which is so called; but rather it means the worshipping of other gods, or of graven images:

witchcraft; any real or pretended league and association with the devil, seeking to converse with familiar spirits, to gain unlawful knowledge, or to do hurt to fellow creatures; which, as it is doing honour to Satan, detracts from the glory of God, and rightly follows idolatry; conjuration, soothsaying, necromancy, and all kind of magic are included and condemned hereby:

hatred: internal hatred of any man's person, even of our very enemies, is forbidden; in the original text it is "enmities": as the carnal mind is nothing else but enmity against God and Christ, against law and Gospel, and all good men, and everything that is good:

variance, or "contentions"; fighting and quarrelling, by words scandalous and reproachful, what we commonly call scolding:

emulations or "zeals"; not good, but bad: a boiling and rising up of the spirits and passions, at the honour and happiness of another:

wrath or "wraths" violent emotions of the mind, moving to revenge, and seeking the hurt and mischief of others:

strife or "strifes"; perpetual contradictions and cavilings, either expressed by words, or working in the mind; for this strife may be in a man's heart, according to Jam 3:14

seditions or "divisions": schisms and factions, dissensions in things domestic, civil, and religious:

heresies; bad principles and tenets, relating to doctrine, which are subversive of the fundamentals of the Gospel and the Christian religion; and are the produce of a man's own invention, and the matter of his choice, without any foundation in the word of God; and these are works of the flesh, for they spring from a corrupt and carnal mind, and are propagated with carnal views, as popular applause, worldly advantage, and indulging the lusts of the flesh.

Gill: Gal 5:21

Envyings..... Uneasy distressing tortures of the mind, grieving at the good of others, that any should be in an equal, or in a better condition than themselves:

murders, destroying of men's lives, which is often the consequence of the above evils:

drunkenness; excess in drinking of wine or strong drink, whereby the stomach is overcharged, the mind is intoxicated, and the body enfeebled and unable to perform its office; this is often the source of many, or all of the works of the flesh before mentioned:

revellings; excess in feed, nocturnal riotings in eating, drinking, dancing, singing, chambering and wantonness. The Syriac version renders it, זמרא, "lascivious singing"; and the Arabic version, "songs" which are a part of the nightly revels: and such like which are of the same nature and kind; so the apostle shuts up the account, it being too tedious to give an enumeration of all the works of the flesh; nor was it necessary, judgment may be made of the rest by these; nor might it be so proper, since the carnal heart is but the more pleased with, and irritated by, the mention of evil things:

of the which I tell you before: before the judge comes and the awful judgment proceeds, when these will all be made manifest, and every man will be judged according to his works: this the apostle did, as putting them in mind of the evil nature of these things, and assuring them of the bad consequences that would follow, if grace prevented not:

as I have also told you in time past; when he first preached among them, and warned them to flee from the wrath to come; he then laid before them the evil nature of these things, the dreadful effects of them, and showed that there was no salvation from them, but by Christ:

and that they which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God; by which is meant the heavenly glory, called a "kingdom", because of the grandeur and magnificence of that state; and "of God", because it is of his preparing and giving, what he calls his own to by his grace, and puts them into the possession of and where he reigns and will reign for ever, and show forth the glory of his majesty: this is possessed in way of inheritance, which shows it to be a bequest of our heavenly Father's, a free grace gift of his, and not to be obtained by the works of the law, or merits of men; but what belongs, and is peculiar to the children of God, who are so by adopting grace: now they that do such works of the flesh as before enumerated; that is, that live in the commission of these things, whose whole lives are employed in such work, living and dying in such a state, without repentance towards God and faith in Christ, shall never enjoy eternal life and happiness; though such who have done these things, being brought to a sense of them, and to the blood and righteousness of Christ for pardon and justification, for life and salvation; such, notwithstanding the works of the flesh done by them, shall, through the free grace of God, and the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, inherit the kingdom and glory of God.

Gill: Gal 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit,.... Not of nature or man's free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit, Gal 5:17 or rather of the Holy Spirit, as the Ethiopic version reads it; the graces of which are called "fruit", and not "works", as the actions of the flesh are; because they are owing to divine influence efficacy, and bounty, as the fruits of the earth are, to which the allusion is; and not to a man's self, to the power and principles of nature; and because they arise from a seed, either the incorruptible seed of internal grace, which seminally contains all graces in it, or the blessed Spirit, who is the seed that remains in believers; and because they are in the exercise of them acceptable unto God through Christ, and are grateful and delightful to Christ himself, being "his pleasant fruits"; which as they come from him, as the author of them, they are exercised on him as the object of them, under the influence of the Spirit; and because they are profitable to them that are possessed of them, seeing the promise of this life and that which is to come is annexed to them; and the good works which are done in consequence of them are profitable to men: once more, as the works of the flesh are the unfruitful works of darkness, and make men so, and therefore cannot be called fruit properly; these, as they are fruits, and are rightly and properly so called, so they make men fruitful, and to abound in divine things, and are as follow:

Love. This the apostle begins with, it being the fulfilling of the law, the bond of perfectness, and without which a profession of religion is insignificant; it may be understood of love to God, of which every man's heart is destitute, being enmity against God, until regenerated by the Spirit of God; when he sheds abroad the love of God in the heart, and which is the ground and reason of any man's truly loving God: and also of love to Christ, which the natural man feels nothing of till the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Christ, opens his eyes to see the loveliness of his person, the suitableness of his grace, righteousness, and fulness, and the necessity of looking to him for life and salvation; and likewise of love to the saints, which a carnal man is a stranger to, until he is renewed by the Holy Ghost, who in regenerating him teaches him to love the brethren; and which is the evidence of his having passed from death to life, through the mighty power of his grace. Moreover, love to the house and worship of God, to the truths and ordinances of the Gospel, all which men have naturally an aversion to, may be included in this first fruit of the Spirit: the next follows, which is

joy, even that which is in the Holy Ghost, and has him for its author. The object of it is God, not as an absolute God, but as a covenant God and Father in Christ; as the God of salvation, as clothing with the robe of his Son's righteousness, and as pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, full atonement being made by the sacrifice of Christ; who also is the object of this joy in his person, fulness, righteousness, offices, relations, and when beheld, embraced, and enjoyed in a way of communion. This joy, likewise, which is the produce of the Spirit, lies in spiritual things, and arises from an apprehension or good hope of interest in them, as justification, pardon, peace, adoption, and eternal glory; and is peculiar to such who have the Spirit, for a stranger intermeddles not with this joy, nor can he form any judgment of it, and is even unspeakable by the believer himself. Moreover, joy in the good of others, of fellow creatures and fellow Christians, in their outward and inward prosperity, in their temporal, spiritual, and eternal good, which, as it is a grace of the Spirit, may well enough be thought to be at least part of the sense of the word here; since it follows upon, and is joined with love, and stands between that and

peace, which is another fruit of the Spirit: and designs peace with God in a man's own conscience, produced there by the Spirit of God, in consequence of peace being made by the blood of Christ; and that through the application of the blood of Christ for pardon, and of his righteousness for justification to the soul of a sensible sinner by the blessed Spirit, the effect of which is peace, quietness, and tranquillity of mind; also peace with men, with the saints, and with all others; for such who are under a work of the Spirit of God, and are influenced and led by him, seek after the things which make for peace and edification among the brethren, and are desirous if possible to live peaceably with all men: hence appears another grace in them,

longsuffering; which intends not so much a patient waiting for good things to come, for more grace, and for glory, through the Spirit; but a patient bearing and enduring of present evils with joyfulness, being strengthened by the Spirit with all might, according to his glorious power; being slow to anger, ready to forgive injuries, put up with affronts, and bear with, and forbear one another: and which is usually accompanied with gentleness, humanity, affability, courteousness, shown both in words, gestures, and actions; in imitation of the gentleness of Christ, and agreeably to that wisdom, that heavenly doctrine of the Gospel, which, among other things, is said to be gentle, and easy to be entreated. To which is added

goodness; and what else can come from the good Spirit of God, the author of the good work of grace upon the soul? and which disposes it to acts of goodness unto men, in a natural, civil, moral, spiritual, and evangelic way, for the benefit both of soul and body; and which must here be understood, and which is well pleasing to God when done in the exercise of the following grace,

faith; for though fidelity, both in words and actions, which is very ornamental to the Gospel, and a profession of religion may be meant; yet faith in Christ is not to be excluded, as it is generally by interpreters; for this is not of a man's self, nor have all men it: it is a gift of God, the operation of his power, and the work of his Spirit, whence he is styled the spirit of faith; and which therefore must have a place among his fruits; and which lies and shows itself in believing in Christ for salvation, in embracing the doctrines of the Gospel, and making a profession of them, which is called the profession of faith; all which, when right, comes from the Spirit of God.

Gill: Gal 5:23

Meekness,.... Humility and lowliness of mind, of which Christ is an eminent example and pattern; and which the Holy Spirit from him transcribes into the heart of a regenerate person; and lies in having mean thoughts of himself, in walking humbly with God, acknowledging every favour, being thankful for every blessing, and depending on his grace, and in behaving with modesty and humility among men. The last of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned is

temperance, or "continence"; and designs both chastity and sobriety, and particularly moderation in eating and drinking. It may be observed, that these fruits of the Spirit are opposed to the works of the flesh. So love is opposed to hatred; joy to emulations and envying; peace to variance, strife, and seditions; longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and meekness, to wrath and murders; faith to idolatry, witchcraft, and heresies; and temperance to adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, drunkenness, and revellings.

Against such there is no law; meaning, against such fruits, graces, and good things; these being perfectly agreeable to the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, and spiritual; and are so far from being forbidden by it, that they are highly esteemed and approved of by it: or against persons that are possessed of such fruits; for these appear to be in the spirit, and to be led by the Spirit; and therefore are not under the law, and have nothing to fear from it, as a terrifying, accusing, cursing, and condemning law. The works of the flesh, and they that are of the flesh, are such that come under the notice and lash of the law; and not the fruits of the Spirit, and they that are after the Spirit, as such are who partake of his fruit.

Gill: Gal 5:24

And they that are Christ's,.... Not all as yet that are secretly so, who are chosen in him, and by him, are given by the Father to him in covenant, and whom he has purchased by his blood, and considers as his people, his sheep, and his children, though as yet they are not called by his grace; of these, as yet, what follows cannot be said, and therefore must mean such as are openly Christ's, whom he has laid hold on as his own in the effectual calling, who have his Spirit as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, who have truly believed in Christ, and have given up themselves unto him.

have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts: by the flesh is meant, not the natural body to be macerated and afflicted with fastings, watchings, &c. but the corruption of nature, the old man and carnal heart. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "their own flesh"; and so do the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; their concern lying with their own, and not with the corruptions, affections, and lusts of others. By "the affections and lusts" are intended, not the natural affections and passions of the soul, and the desires of it; but its vile and inordinate affections, its corrupt inclinations, evil desires, and deceitful lusts; all which are "crucified" first "with Christ", as the Arabic version reads; see Rom 6:6 and which are so abolished, done away, and destroyed, by the sacrifice of Christ, that the damning power of them over his people is entirely gone. And in consequence of this crucifixion of the body of sin, with Christ upon the cross, when he finished and made an end of it, sin, with its passions and lusts, is crucified by the Spirit of God in regeneration and sanctification; so that it loses its governing power, and has not the dominion it had before: not but that the flesh, or corrupt nature, with its evil affections, and carnal lusts, are still in being, and are alive; as a person fastened to a cross may be alive, though he cannot act and move as before, being under restraints, so the old man, though crucified, and under the restraints of mighty grace, and cannot reign and govern as before, yet is alive, and acts, and operates, and oftentimes has great sway and influence; but whereas he is deprived of his reigning power, he is said to be crucified: and though this act is ascribed to them that are Christ's, yet not as done by them in their own strength, who are not able to grapple with one corruption, but as under the influence of the grace of Christ, and through the power of his Spirit; see Rom 8:13.

Gill: Gal 5:25

If we live in the Spirit,.... Or "by the Spirit", as all do that are spiritually alive. Sin has not only brought on men a corporeal death, and made them liable to an eternal one, but has also induced upon them a spiritual or moral death; they are dead in trespasses and sin, nor can they quicken themselves, nor can any creature give them life; not the ministers of the word, nor the angels in heaven, only the blessed Spirit is the spirit of life from Christ; who entering into them, frees them from the law of sin and death, and implants a principle of spiritual life in them, whereby they live a life of faith on Christ, of holiness from him, and communion with him: and this the apostle makes use of, as an argument with believers to walk after the Spirit,

let us also walk in the Spirit: or "by the Spirit"; by his help and assistance, according to the rule of his word, and under his influence and direction as a guide, to which he had before advised in Gal 5:18.

Gill: Gal 5:26

Let us not be desirous of vain glory,.... Ambitious of being thought wiser, and richer, and more valuable than others; of having the preeminence in the management of all affairs, and of having honour, esteem, and popular applause from men: this may well be called vain glory, since it is only in outward things, as wisdom, riches, strength, and honour, and not in God the giver of them, and who can easily take them away; and therefore is but for a time, and is quickly gone, and lies only in the opinion and breath of men.

Provoking one another; not to good works, which would be right, but to anger and wrath, which is contrary to Christian charity, or true love; which, as it is not easily provoked, so neither will it provoke others to evil things. The Syriac version renders it by

מקלין, "slighting", or "despising one another"; and the Arabic version, "insulting one another"; vices to which men, and even Christian brethren in the same communion, are too prone.

Envying one another; their gifts and abilities, natural and spiritual; their rank and station in the world, or in the church. These were sins the Galatians very probably were subject to; and where they prevail, there is confusion, and every evil work, and are therefore to be watched and guarded against.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gal 5:10

¹ tn The verb translated “I am confident” (πέποιθα, pepoiqa) comes from the same root in Greek as the words translated “obey” (πείθεσθαι, peiqesqai) in v. 7 and “persuasion” (πεισμονή, peismonh) in v. 8.

² tn Grk “that you will think nothing otherwise.”

³ tn Or “is stirring you up”; Grk “is troubling you.” In context Paul is referring to the confusion and turmoil caused by those who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law.

⁴ tn Or “will suffer condemnation” (L&N 90.80); Grk “will bear his judgment.” The translation “must pay the penalty” is given as an explanatory gloss on the phrase by BDAG 171 s.v. βαστάζω 2.b.β.

NET Notes: Gal 5:11

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

² sn That is, if Paul still teaches observance of the Mosaic law (preaches circumcision), why is he still being persecuted by his opponents, who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law?

³ sn The offense of the cross refers to the offense to Jews caused by preaching Christ crucified.

⁴ tn Or “nullified.”

NET Notes: Gal 5:12

¹ tn Grk “the ones who are upsetting you.” The same verb is used in Acts 21:38 to refer to a person who incited a revolt. Paul could be alluding indirectly to the fact that his opponents are inciting the Galatians to rebel against his teaching with regard to circumcision and the law.

² tn Grk “would even.”

³ tn Or “make eunuchs of themselves”; Grk “cut themselves off.” This statement is rhetorical hyperbole on Paul’s part. It does strongly suggest, however, that Paul’s adversaries in this case (“those agitators”) were men. Some interpreters (notably Erasmus and the Reformers) have attempted to soften the meaning to a figurative “separate themselves” (meaning the opponents would withdraw from fellowship) but such an understanding dramatically weakens the rhetorical force of Paul’s argument. Although it has been argued that such an act of emasculation would be unthinkable for Paul, it must be noted that Paul’s statement is one of biting sarcasm, obviously not meant to be taken literally. See further G. Stählin, TDNT 3:853-55.

NET Notes: Gal 5:13

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

² tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

³ tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27).

NET Notes: Gal 5:14

¹ tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.”

² sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

NET Notes: Gal 5:15

¹ tn That is, “if you are harming and exploiting one another.” Paul’s metaphors are retained in most modern translations, but it is possible to see the meanings of δάκνω and κατεσθίω (daknw and katesqiw, L&N 20.26 and 88.145) as figurative extensions of the literal meanings of these terms and to translate them accordingly. The present tenses here are translated as customary presents (“continually…”).

² tn Or “destroyed.”

NET Notes: Gal 5:16

¹ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

² tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

NET Notes: Gal 5:17

¹ tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

NET Notes: Gal 5:19

¹ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

² tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

NET Notes: Gal 5:20

¹ tn Or “witchcraft.”

² tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

³ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

⁴ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

NET Notes: Gal 5:21

¹ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

² tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

³ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

NET Notes: Gal 5:22

¹ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

² sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

³ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

NET Notes: Gal 5:23

¹ tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

NET Notes: Gal 5:24

¹ tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

² tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

³ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

NET Notes: Gal 5:25

¹ tn Or “let us also follow,” “let us also walk by.”

NET Notes: Gal 5:26

¹ tn Or “falsely proud.”

² tn Or “irritating.” BDAG 871 s.v. προκαλέω has “provoke, challenge τινά someone.”

³ tn Or “another, envying one another.”

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:10

^{( 9 )} I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

^{( 9 )} He moderates the former reprehension, casting the fault upon the false apostles, against whom he denounces the horrible judgment of God.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:11

^{( 10 )} And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

^{( 10 )} He wishes them to consider that he seeks not his own profit in this matter, seeing that he could avoid the hatred of men if he would join Judaism with Christianity.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:12

^{( 11 )} I would they were even cut off which ^{( g )} trouble you.

^{( 11 )} An example of a true pastor inflamed with the zeal of God's glory, and love for his flock.

^{( g )} For those that preach the Law cause men's consciences to always tremble.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:13

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; ^{( 12 )} only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

^{( 12 )} The third part of this epistle, showing that the right use of Christian liberty consists of this, that being delivered and set at liberty from the slavery of sin and the flesh, and being obedient to the Spirit, we should through love help each other to mature in their salvation.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:14

^{( 13 )} For ^{( h )} all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

^{( 13 )} He sets forth the love of our neighbour, as a mark unto which all Christians ought to refer all their actions, and to that he cites the testimony of the Law.

^{( h )} This particle "all" must be limited to the second table of the ten commandments.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:15

^{( 14 )} But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

^{( 14 )} An exhortation to the duties of charity, by the profit that follows from it, because no men proved worse for themselves than they that hate one another.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:16

^{( 15 )} [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

^{( 15 )} He acknowledges the great weakness of the godly, because they are but in part regenerated: but he exhorts them to remember that they are endued with the Spirit of God, who has delivered them from the slavery of sin, and so from the Law, inasmuch as it is the power of sin, so that they should not give themselves to lusts.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:17

For the ^{( i )} flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

^{( i )} For the flesh dwells even in the regenerated man, but the Spirit reigns, even though not without great strife, as is largely set forth in (Rom. 7:1-25).

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:19

^{( 16 )} Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

^{( 16 )} He sets out that particularly of which he spoke generally, reckoning up some principal effects of the flesh, and opposing them to the fruits of the Spirit, that no man may pretend ignorance.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:22

But the ^{( k )} fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

^{( k )} Therefore they are not the fruits of free will, but only as far forth as our will is made free by grace.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:23

Meekness, temperance: ^{( 17 )} against such there is no law.

^{( 17 )} Lest that any man should object that Paul plays the deceiver, as one who urging the Spirit urges nothing but that which the Law commands, he shows that he requires not that literal and outward obedience, but spiritual, which proceeds not from the Law but from the Spirit of Christ, who gives us new birth, and must and ought to be the ruler and guider of our life.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:25

If we ^{( l )} live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

^{( l )} If we are indeed endued with the quickening Spirit, who causes us to die to sin, and live to God, let us show it in our deeds, that is, by holiness of life.

Geneva Bible: Gal 5:26

^{( 18 )} Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

^{( 18 )} He adds special exhortations according as he knew the Galatians to be subject to different vices: and first of all he warns them to take heed of ambition, which vice has two fellows, backbiting and envy. And out of these two many contentions necessarily arise.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Gal 5:1-26

1 He wills them to stand in their liberty,

3 and not to observe circumcision;

13 but rather love, which is the sum of the law.

19 He reckons up the works of the flesh,

22 and the fruits of the Spirit,

25 and exhorts to walk in the Spirit.

Combined Bible: Gal 5:10

color="#000000"> 10. l have confidence in you through the Lord.  

  

"I have taught, admonished, and reproved you enough. I hope the best for you."  

  

The question occurs to us whether Paul did well to trust the Galatians. Does not Holy Writ forbid us to trust in men? Faith trusts in God and is never wrong. Charity trusts in men and is often wrong. This charitable trust in man is necessary to life. Without it life would be impossible in the world. What kind of life would ours be if nobody could trust anybody else? True Christians are more ready to believe in men than the children of this world. Such charitable confidence is the fruit of the Spirit. Paul had such trust in the Galatians although they had forsaken his doctrine. He trusts them "through the Lord," insofar as they were in Christ and Christ in them. Once they had forsaken Christ altogether, the Apostle will trust the Galatians no longer.  

  

VERSE 10. That ye will be none otherwise minded.  

  

"Not minded otherwise than I have taught you. In other words, I have confidence that you will accept no doctrine that is contrary to the one you have learned from me."  

  

VERSE 10. But be that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.  

  

Paul assumes the role of a judge and condemns the false apostles as troublers of the Galatians. He wants to frighten the Galatians with his severe judgments of the false apostles into avoiding false doctrine like a contagious disease. We can hear him say to the Galatians: "Why do you give these pestilent fellows a hearing in the first place? They only trouble you. The doctrine they bring causes your conscience only trouble."  

  

The clause, "whosoever he be," seems to indicate that the false apostles in outward appearance at least were very good and devout men. It may be that among them was some outstanding disciple of the apostles, a man of fame and authority. The Apostle must have been faced by this very situation, otherwise his vehemence would have been uncalled for. No doubt many of the Galatians were taken back with the vehemency of the Apostle. They perhaps thought: why should he be so stubborn in such small matters? Why is he so quick to pronounce damnation upon his brethren in the ministry?  

  

I cannot say it often enough, that we must carefully differentiate between doctrine and life. Doctrine is a piece of heaven, life is a piece of earth. Life is sin, error, uncleanness, misery, and charity must forbear, believe, hope, and suffer all things. Forgiveness of sins must be continuous so that sin and error may not be defended and sustained. But with doctrine there must be no error, no need of pardon. There can be no comparison between doctrine and life. The least little point of doctrine is of greater importance than heaven and earth. Therefore we cannot allow the least jot of doctrine to be corrupted. We may overlook the offenses and errors of life, for we daily sin much. Even the saints sin, as they themselves confess in the Lord's Prayer and in the Creed. But our doctrine, God be praised, is pure, because all the articles of our faith are grounded on the Holy Scriptures.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:11

color="#000000"> 11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased.  

  

In his great desire to recall the Galatians, Paul draws himself into the argument. He says: "Because I refuse to recognize circumcision as a factor in our salvation, I have brought upon myself the hatred and persecution of my whole nation. If I were to acknowledge circumcision the Jews would cease to persecute me; in fact they would love and praise me. But because I preach the Gospel of Christ and the righteousness of faith I must suffer persecution. The false apostles know how to avoid the Cross and the deadly hatred of the Jewish nation. They preach circumcision and thus retain the favor of the Jews. If they had their way they would ignore all differences in doctrine and preserve unity at all cost. But their unionistic dreams cannot be realized without loss to the pure doctrine of the Cross. It would be too bad if the offense of the Cross were to cease." To the Corinthians he expressed the same conviction: "Christ sent me. . .to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." ( 1Co 1:17 .)  

  

Here someone may be tempted to call the Christians crazy. Deliberately to court danger by preaching and confessing the truth, and thus to bring upon ourselves the hatred and enmity of the whole world, is this not madness? But Paul does not mind the enmity of the world. It made him all the bolder to confess Christ. The enmity of the world in his estimation augurs well for the success and growth of the Church, which fares best in times of persecution. When the offense of the Cross ceases, when the rage of the enemies of the Cross abates, when everything is quiet, it is a sign that the devil is the door-keeper of the Church and that the pure doctrine of God's Word has been lost.  

  

Saint Bernard observed that the Church is in best shape when Satan assaults it on every side by trickery and violence; and in worst shape when it is at peace. In support of his statement he quotes the passage from the song of Hezekiah: "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness." Paul looks with suspicion upon any doctrine that does not provoke antagonism.  

  

Persecution always follows on the heels of the Word of God as the Psalmist experienced. "I believe, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted." ( Psa 116:10 .) The Christians are accused and slandered without mercy. Murderers and thieves receive better treatment than Christians. The world regards true Christians as the worst offenders, for whom no punishment can be too severe. The world hates the Christians with amazing brutality, and without compunction commits them to the most shameful death, congratulating itself that it has rendered God and the cause of peace a distinct service by ridding the world of the undesired presence of these Christians. We are not to let such treatment cause us to falter in our adherence to Christ. As long as we experience such persecutions we know all is well with the Gospel.  

  

Jesus held out the same comfort to His disciples in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven." The Church must not come short of this joy. I would not want to be at peace with the pope, the bishops, the princes, and the sectarians, unless they consent to our doctrine. Unity with them would be an unmistakable sign that we have lost the true doctrine. Briefly, as long as the Church proclaims the doctrine she must suffer persecution, because the Gospel declares the mercy and glory of God. This in turn stirs up the devil, because the Gospel shows him up for what he is, the devil, and not God. Therefore as long as the Gospel holds sway persecution plays the accompaniment, or else there is something the matter with the devil. When he is hit you will know it by the havoc he raises everywhere.  

  

So do not be surprised or offended when hell breaks loose. Look upon it as a happy indication that all is well with the Gospel of the Cross. God forbid that the offense of the Cross should ever be removed. This would be the case if we were to preach what the prince of this world and his followers would be only too glad to hear, the righteousness of works. You would never know the devil could be so gentle, the world so sweet, the Pope so gracious, and the princes so charming. But because we seek the advantage and honor of Christ, they persecute us all around.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:12

color="#000000"> 12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.  

  

It hardly seems befitting an apostle, not only to denounce the false apostles as troublers of the Church, and to consign them to the devil, but also to wish that they were utterly cut off--what else would you call it but plain cursing? Paul, I suppose, is alluding to the rite of circumcision. As if he were saying to the Galatians: "The false apostles compel you to cut off the foreskin of your flesh. Well, I wish they themselves were utterly cut off by the roots."  

  

We had better answer at once the question, whether it is right for Christians to curse. Certainly not always, nor for every little cause. But when things have come to such a pass that God and His Word are openly blasphemed, then we must say: "Blessed be God and His Word, and cursed be everything that is contrary to God and His Word, even though it should be an apostle, or an angel from heaven."  

  

This goes to show again how much importance Paul attached to the least points of Christian doctrine, that he dared to curse the false apostles, evidently men of great popularity and influence. What right, then, have we to make little of doctrine? No matter how nonessential a point of doctrine may seem, if slighted it may prove the gradual disintegration of the truths of our salvation.  

  

Let us do everything to advance the glory and authority of God's Word. Every tittle of it is greater than heaven and earth. Christian charity and unity have nothing to do with the Word of God. We are bold to curse and condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God, "for a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."  

  

Paul does right to curse these troublers of the Galatians, wishing that they were cut off and rooted out of the Church of God and that their doctrine might perish forever. Such cursing is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thus Peter cursed Simon the sorcerer, "Thy money perish with thee." Many instances of this holy cursing are recorded in the sacred Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, e.g., "Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell." ( Psa 55:15 .)  

  

THE DOCTRINE OF GOOD WORKS  

  

Now come all kinds of admonitions and precepts. It was the custom of the apostles that after they had taught faith and instructed the conscience they followed it up with admonitions unto good works, that the believers might manifest the duties of love toward each other. In order to avoid the appearance as if Christianity militated against good works or opposed civil government, the Apostle also urges us to give ourselves unto good works, to lead an honest life, and to keep faith and love with one another. This will give the lie to the accusations of the world that we Christians are the enemies of decency and of public peace. The fact is we Christians know better what constitutes a truly good work than all the philosophers and legislators of the world because we link believing with doing.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:13

color="#000000"> 13. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  

  

In other words: "You have gained liberty through Christ, i.e., You are above all laws as far as conscience is concerned. You are saved. Christ is your liberty and life. Therefore law, sin, and death may not hurt you or drive you to despair. This is the constitution of your priceless liberty. Now take care that you do not use your wonderful liberty for an occasion of the flesh."  

  

Satan likes to turn this liberty which Christ has gotten for us into licentiousness. Already the Apostle Jude complained in his day: "There are certain men crept in unawares. . .turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness." ( Jud 1:4 .) The flesh reasons: "If we are without the law, we may as well indulge ourselves. Why do good, why give alms, why suffer evil when there is no law to force us to do so?"  

  

This attitude is common enough. People talk about Christian liberty and then go and cater to the desires of covetousness, pleasure, pride, envy, and other vices. Nobody wants to fulfill his duties. Nobody wants to help out a brother in distress. This sort of thing makes me so impatient at times that I wish the swine who trampled precious pearls under foot were back once again under the tyranny of the Pope. You cannot wake up the people of Gomorrah with the gospel of peace.  

  

Even we creatures of the world do not perform our duties as zealously in the light of the Gospel as we did before in the darkness of ignorance, because the surer we are of the liberty purchased for us by Christ, the more we neglect the Word, prayer, well-doing, and suffering. If Satan were not continually molesting us with trials, with the persecution of our enemies, and the ingratitude of our brethren, we would become so careless and indifferent to all good works that in time we would lose our faith in Christ, resign the ministry of the Word, and look for an easier life. Many of our ministers are beginning to do that very thing. They complain about the ministry, they maintain they cannot live on their salaries, they whimper about the miserable treatment they receive at the hand of those whom they delivered from the servitude of the law by the preaching of the Gospel. These ministers desert our poor and maligned Christ, involve themselves in the affairs of the world, seek advantages for themselves and not for Christ. With what results they shall presently find out.  

  

Since the devil lies in ambush for those in particular who hate the world, and seeks to deprive us of our liberty of the spirit or to brutalize it into the liberty of the flesh, we plead with our brethren after the manner of Paul, that they may never use this liberty of the spirit purchased for us by Christ as an excuse for carnal living, or as Peter expresses it, 1Pe 2:16 , "for a cloak of maliciousness."  

  

In order that Christians may not abuse their liberty the Apostle encumbers them with the rule of mutual love that they should serve each other in love. Let everybody perform the duties of his station and vocation diligently and help his neighbor to the limit of his capacity.  

  

Christians are glad to hear and obey this teaching of love. When others hear about this Christian liberty of ours they at once infer, "If I am free, I may do what I like. If salvation is not a matter of doing why should we do anything for the poor?" In this crude manner they turn the liberty of the spirit into wantonness and licentiousness. We want them to know, however, that if they use their lives and possessions after their own pleasure, if they do not help the poor, if they cheat their fellow-men in business and snatch and scrape by hook and by crook everything they can lay their hands on, we want to tell them that they are not free, no matter how much they think they are, but they are the dirty slaves of the devil, and are seven times worse than they ever were as the slaves of the Pope.  

  

As for us, we are obliged to preach the Gospel which offers to all men liberty from the Law, sin, death, and God's wrath. We have no right to conceal or revoke this liberty proclaimed by the Gospel. And so we cannot do anything with the swine who dive headlong into the filth of licentiousness. We do what we can, we diligently admonish them to love and to help their fellow-men. If our admonitions bear no fruit, we leave them to God, who will in His own good time take care of these disrespecters of His goodness. In the meanwhile we comfort ourselves with the thought that our labors are not lost upon the true believers. They appreciate this spiritual liberty and stand ready to serve others in love and, though their number is small, the satisfaction they give us far outweighs the discouragement which we receive at the hands of the large number of those who misuse this liberty.  

  

Paul cannot possibly be misunderstood for he says: "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty." In order that nobody might mistake the liberty of which he speaks for the liberty of the flesh, the Apostle adds the explanatory note, "only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." Paul now explains at the hand of the Ten Commandments what it means to serve one another in love.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:14

color="#000000"> 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  

  

It is customary with Paul to lay the doctrinal foundation first and then to build on it the gold, silver, and gems of good deeds. Now there is no other foundation than Jesus Christ. Upon this foundation the Apostle erects the structure of good works which he defines in this one sentence: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."  

  

In adding such precepts of love the Apostle embarrasses the false apostles very much, as if he were saying to the Galatians: "I have described to you what spiritual life is. Now I will also teach you what truly good works are. I am doing this in order that you may understand that the silly ceremonies of which the false apostles make so much are far inferior to the works of Christian love." This is the hall-mark of all false teachers, that they not only pervert the pure doctrine but also fail in doing good. Their foundation vitiated, they can only build wood, hay, and stubble. Oddly enough, the false apostles who were such earnest champions of good works never required the work of charity, such as Christian love and the practical charity of a helpful tongue, hand, and heart. Their only requirement was that circumcision, days, months, years, and times should be observed. They could not think of any other good works.  

  

The Apostle exhorts all Christians to practice good works after they have embraced the pure doctrine of faith, because even though they have been justified they still have the old flesh to refrain them from doing good. Therefore it becomes necessary that sincere preachers cultivate the doctrine of good works as diligently as the doctrine of faith, for Satan is a deadly enemy of both. Nevertheless faith must come first because without faith it is impossible to know what a God-pleasing deed is.  

  

Let nobody think that he knows all about this commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." It sounds short and easy, but show me the man who can teach, learn, and do this commandment perfectly. None of us heed, or urge, or practice this commandment properly. Though the conscience hurts when we fail to fulfill this commandment in every respect we are not overwhelmed by our failure to bear our neighbor sincere and brotherly love.  

  

The words, "for all the law is fulfilled in one word," entail a criticism of the Galatians. "You are so taken up by your superstitions and ceremonies that serve no good purpose, that you neglect the most important thing, love." St. Jerome says: "We wear our bodies out with watching, fasting, and labor and neglect charity, the queen of all good works." Look at the monks, who meticulously fast, watch, etc. To skip the least requirement of their order would be a crime of the first magnitude. At the same time they blithely ignored the duties of charity and hated each other to death. That is no sin, they think.  

  

The Old Testament is replete with examples that indicate how much God prizes charity. When David and his companions had no food with which to still their hunger they ate the showbread which lay-people were forbidden to eat. Christ's disciples broke the Sabbath law when they plucked the ears of corn. Christ himself broke the Sabbath (as the Jews claimed) by healing the sick on the Sabbath. These incidents indicate that love ought to be given consideration above all laws and ceremonies.  

  

VERSE 14. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word.  

  

We can imagine the Apostle saying to the Galatians: "Why do you get so worked up over ceremonies, meats, days, places, and such things? Leave off this foolishness and listen to me. The whole Law is comprehended in this one sentence, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' God is not particularly interested in ceremonies, nor has He any use for them. The one thing He requires of you is that you believe in Christ whom He hath sent. If in addition to faith, which comes first as the most acceptable service unto God, you want to add laws, then you want to know that all laws are comprehended in this short commandment, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' "  

  

Paul knows how to explain the law of God. He condenses all the laws of Moses into one brief sentence. Reason takes offense at the brevity with which Paul treats the Law. Therefore reason looks down upon the doctrine of faith and its truly good works. To serve one another in love, i.e., to instruct the erring, to comfort the afflicted, to raise the fallen, to help one's neighbor in every possible way, to bear with his infirmities, to endure hardships, toil, ingratitude in the Church and in the world, and on the other hand to obey government, to honor one's parents, to be patient at home with a nagging wife and an unruly family, these things are not at all regarded as good works. The fact is, they are such excellent works that the world cannot possibly estimate them at their true value.  

  

It is tersely spoken: "Love thy neighbour as thyself." But what more needs to be said? You cannot find a better or nearer example than your own. If you want to know how you ought to love your neighbor, ask yourself how much you love yourself. If you were to get into trouble or danger, you would be glad to have the love and help of all men. You do not need any book of instructions to teach you how to love your neighbor. All you have to do is to look into your own heart, and it will tell you how you ought to love your neighbor as yourself.  

  

My neighbor is every person, especially those who need my help, as Christ explained in the tenth chapter of Luke. Even if a person has done me some wrong, or has hurt me in any way, he is still a human being with flesh and blood. As long as a person remains a human being, so long is he to be an object of our love.  

  

Paul therefore urges his Galatians and, incidentally, all believers to serve each other in love. "You Galatians do not have to accept circumcision. If you are so anxious to do good works, I will tell you in one word how you can fulfill all laws. 'By love serve one another.' You will never lack people to whom you may do good. The world is full of people who need your help."  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:15

color="#000000"> 15. But if ye bite and devour one another take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.  

  

When faith in Christ is overthrown peace and unity come to an end in the church. Diverse opinions and dissensions about doctrine and life spring up, and one member bites and devours the other, i.e., they condemn each other until they are consumed. To this the Scriptures and the experience of all times bear witness. The many sects at present have come into being because one sect condemns the other. When the unity of the spirit has been lost there can be no agreement in doctrine or life. New errors must appear without measure and without end.  

  

For the avoidance of discord Paul lays down the principle: "Let every person do his duty in the station of life into which God has called him. No person is to vaunt himself above others or find fault with the efforts of others while lauding his own. Let everybody serve in love."  

  

It is not an easy matter to teach faith without works, and still to require works. Unless the ministers of Christ are wise in handling the mysteries of God and rightly divide the word, faith and good works may easily be confused. Both the doctrine of faith and the doctrine of good works must be diligently taught, and yet in such a way that both the doctrines stay within their God-given sphere. If we teach only words, as our opponents do, we shall lose the faith. If we only teach faith people will come to think that good works are superfluous.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:16

color="#000000"> 16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  

  

"I have not forgotten what I told you about faith in the first part of my letter. Because I exhort you to mutual love you are not to think that I have gone back on my teaching of justification by faith alone. I am still of the same opinion. To remove every possibility for misunderstanding I have added this explanatory note: 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.'"  

  

With this verse Paul explains how he wants this sentence to be understood: By love serve one another. When I bid you to love one another, this is what I mean and require, 'Walk in the Spirit.' I know very well you will not fulfill the Law, because you are sinners as long as you live. Nevertheless, you should endeavor to walk in the spirit, i.e., fight against the flesh and follow the leads of the Holy Ghost."  

  

It is quite apparent that Paul had not forgotten the doctrine of justification, for in bidding the Galatians to walk in the Spirit he at the same time denies that good works can justify. "When I speak of the fulfilling of the Law I do not mean to say that you are justified by the Law. All I mean to say is that you should take the Spirit for your guide and resist the flesh. That is the most you shall ever be able to do. Obey the Spirit and fight against the flesh."  

  

VERSE 16. And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  

  

The lust of the flesh is not altogether extinct in us. It rises up again and again and wrestles with the Spirit. No flesh, not even that of the true believer, is so completely under the influence of the Spirit that it will not bite or devour, or at least neglect, the commandment of love. At the slightest provocation it flares up, demands to be revenged, and hates a neighbor like an enemy, or at least does not love him as much as he ought to be loved.  

  

Therefore the Apostle establishes this rule of love for the believers. Serve one another in love. Bear the infirmities of your brother. Forgive one another. Without such bearing and forbearing, giving and forgiving, there can be no unity because to give and to take offense are unavoidably human.  

  

Whenever you are angry with your brother for any cause, repress your violent emotions through the Spirit. Bear with his weakness and love him. He does not cease to be your neighbor or brother because he offended you. On the contrary, he now more than ever before requires your loving attention.  

  

The scholastics take the lust of the flesh to mean carnal lust. True, believers too are tempted with carnal lust. Even the married are not immune to carnal lusts. Men set little value upon that which they have and covet what they have not, as the poet says:  

  

"The things most forbidden we always desire, And things most denied we seek to acquire."  

  

I do not deny that the lust of the flesh includes carnal lust. But it takes in more. It takes in all the corrupt desires with which the believers are more or less infected, as pride, hatred, covetousness, impatience. Later on Paul enumerates among the works of the flesh even idolatry and heresy. The apostle's meaning is clear. "I want you to love one another. But you do not do it. In fact you cannot do it, because of your flesh. Hence we cannot be justified by deeds of love. Do not for a moment think that I am reversing myself on my stand concerning faith. Faith and hope must continue. By faith we are justified, by hope we endure to the end. In addition we serve each other in love because true faith is not idle. Our love, however, is faulty. In bidding you to walk in the Spirit I indicate to you that our love is not sufficient to justify us. Neither do I demand that you should get rid of the flesh, but that you should control and subdue it."  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:17

color="#000000"> 17. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.  

  

When Paul declares that "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," he means to say that we are not to think, speak or do the things to which the flesh incites us. "I know," he says, "that the flesh courts sin. The thing for you to do is to resist the flesh by the Spirit. But if you abandon the leadership of the Spirit for that of the flesh, you are going to fulfill the lust of the flesh and die in your sins."  

  

VERSE 17. And these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  

  

These two leaders, the flesh and the Spirit, are bitter opponents. Of this opposition the Apostle writes in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans: "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into the captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  

  

The scholastics are at a loss to understand this confession of Paul and feel obliged to save his honor. That the chosen vessel of Christ should have had the law of sin in his members seems to them incredible and absurd. They circumvent the plain-spoken statement of the Apostle by saying that he was speaking for the wicked. But the wicked never complain of inner conflicts, or of the captivity of sin. Sin has its unrestricted way with them. This is Paul's very own complaint and the identical complaint of all believers.  

  

Paul never denied that he felt the lust of the flesh. It is likely that at times he felt even the stirrings of carnal lust, but there is no doubt that he quickly suppressed them. And if at any time he felt angry or impatient, he resisted these feelings by the Spirit. We are not going to stand by idly and see such a comforting statement as this explained away. The scholastics, monks, and others of their ilk fought only against carnal lust and were proud of a victory which they never obtained. In the meanwhile they harbored within their breasts pride, hatred, disdain, self-trust, contempt of the Word of God, disloyalty, blasphemy, and other lusts of the flesh. Against these sins they never fought because they never took them for sins.  

  

Christ alone can supply us with perfect righteousness. Therefore we must always believe and always hope in Christ. "Whosoever believeth shall not be ashamed." ( Rom 9:33 .)  

  

Do not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if you cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the Spirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is impossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not fulfill its demands.  

  

When I was a monk I thought I was lost forever whenever I felt an evil emotion, carnal lust, wrath, hatred, or envy. I tried to quiet my conscience in many ways, but it did not work, because lust would always come back and give me no rest. I told myself: "You have permitted this and that sin, envy, impatience, and the like. Your joining this holy order has been in vain, and all your good works are good for nothing." If at that time I had understood this passage, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," I could have spared myself many a day of self- torment. I would have said to myself: "Martin, you will never be without sin, for you have flesh. Despair not, but resist the flesh."  

  

I remember how Doctor Staupitz used to say to me: "I have promised God a thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my promise. From now on I am not going to make any more vows. Experience has taught me that I cannot keep them. Unless God is merciful to me for Christ's sake and grants unto me a blessed departure, I shall not be able to stand before Him." His was a God-pleasing despair. No true believer trusts in his own righteousness, but says with David, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." ( Psa 143:2 ) Again, "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" ( Psa 130:3 .)  

  

No man is to despair of salvation just because he is aware of the lust of the flesh. Let him be aware of it so long as he does not yield to it. The passion of lust, wrath, and other vices may shake him, but they are not to get him down. Sin may assail him, but he is not to welcome it. Yes, the better Christian a man is, the more he will experience the heat of the conflict. This explains the many expressions of regret in the Psalms and in the entire Bible.  

  

Everybody is to determine his peculiar weakness and guard against it. Watch and wrestle in spirit against your weakness. Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at least you ought to fight against it.  

  

According to this description a saint is not one who is made of wood and never feels any lusts or desires of the flesh. A true saint confesses his righteousness and prays that his sins may be forgiven. The whole Church prays for the forgiveness of sins and confesses that it believes in the forgiveness of sins. If our antagonists would read the Scriptures they would soon discover that they cannot judge rightly of anything, either of sin or of holiness.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:18

color="#000000"> 18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.  

  

Here someone may object: "How come we are not under the law? You yourself say, Paul, that we have the flesh which wars against the Spirit, and brings us into subjection."  

  

But Paul says not to let it trouble us. As long as we are led by the Spirit, and are willing to obey the Spirit who resists the flesh, we are not under the Law. True believers are not under the Law. The Law cannot condemn them although they feel sin and confess it.  

  

Great then is the power of the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, the Law cannot condemn the believer though he commits real sin. For Christ in whom we believe is our righteousness. He is without sin, and the Law cannot accuse Him. As long as we cling to Him we are led by the Spirit and are free from the Law. Even as he teaches good works, the Apostle does not lose sight of the doctrine of justification, but shows at every turn that it is impossible for us to be justified by works.  

  

The words, "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," are replete with comfort. It happens at times that anger, hatred, impatience, carnal desire, fear, sorrow, or some other lust of the flesh so overwhelms a man that he cannot shake them off, though he try ever so hard. What should he do? Should he despair? God forbid. Let him say to himself: "My flesh seems to be on a warpath against the Spirit again. Go to it, flesh, and rage all you want to. But you are not going to have your way. I follow the leading of the Spirit."  

  

When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:19

color="#000000"> 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.  

  

Paul is saying: "That none of you may hide behind the plea of ignorance I will enumerate first the works of the flesh, and then also the works of the Spirit."  

  

There were many hypocrites among the Galatians, as there are also among us, who pretend to be Christians and talk much about the Spirit, but they walk not according to the Spirit; rather according to the flesh. Paul is out to show them that they are not as holy as they like to have others think they are.  

  

Every period of life has its own peculiar temptations. Not one true believer whom the flesh does not again and again incite to impatience, anger, pride. But it is one thing to be tempted by the flesh, and another thing to yield to the flesh, to do its bidding without fear or remorse, and to continue in sin.  

  

Christians also fall and perform the lusts of the flesh. David fell horribly into adultery. Peter also fell grievously when he denied Christ. However great these sins were, they were not committed to spite God, but from weakness. When their sins were brought to their attention these men did not obstinately continue in their sin, but repented. Those who sin through weakness are not denied pardon as long as they rise again and cease to sin. There is nothing worse than to continue in sin. If they do not repent, but obstinately continue to fulfill the desires of the flesh, it is a sure sign that they are not sincere.  

  

No person is free from temptations. Some are tempted in one way, others in another way. One person is more easily tempted to bitterness and sorrow of spirit, blasphemy, distrust, and despair. Another is more easily tempted to carnal lust, anger, envy, covetousness. But no matter to which sins we are disposed, we are to walk in the Spirit and resist the flesh. Those who are Christ's own crucify their flesh.  

  

Some of the old saints labored so hard to attain perfection that they lost the capacity to feel anything. When I was a monk I often wished I could see a saint. I pictured him as living in the wilderness, abstaining from meat and drink and living on roots and herbs and cold water. This weird conception of those awesome saints I had gained out of the books of the scholastics and church fathers. But we know now from the Scriptures who the true saints are. Not those who live a single life, or make a fetish of days, meats, clothes, and such things. The true saints are those who believe that they are justified by the death of Christ. Whenever Paul writes to the Christians here and there he calls them the holy children and heirs of God. All who believe in Christ, whether male or female, bond or free, are saints; not in view of their own works, but in view of the merits of God which they appropriate by faith. Their holiness is a gift and not their own personal achievement.  

  

Ministers of the Gospel, public officials, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., are true saints when they take Christ for their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and when they fulfill the duties of their several vocations according to the standard of God's Word and repress the lust and desires of the flesh by the Spirit. Not everybody can resist temptations with equal facilities. Imperfections are bound to show up. But this does not prevent them from being holy. Their unintentional lapses are forgiven if they pull themselves together by faith in Christ. God forbid that we should sit in hasty judgment on those who are weak in faith and life, as long as they love the Word of God and make use of the supper of the Lord.  

  

I thank God that He has permitted me to see (what as a monk I so earnestly desired to see) not one but many saints, whole multitudes of true saints. Not the kind of saints the papists admire, but the kind of saints Christ wants. I am sure I am one of Christ's true saints. I am baptized. I believe that Christ my Lord has redeemed me from all my sins, and invested me with His own eternal righteousness and holiness. To hide in caves and dens, to have a bony body, to wear the hair long in the mistaken idea that such departures from normalcy will obtain some special regard in heaven is not the holy life. A holy life is to be baptized and to believe in Christ, and to subdue the flesh with the Spirit.  

  

To feel the lusts of the flesh is not without profit to us. It prevents us from being vain and from being puffed up with the wicked opinion of our own work-righteousness. The monks were so inflated with the opinion of their own righteousness, they thought they had so much holiness that they could afford to sell some of it to others, although their own hearts convinced them of unholiness. The Christian feels the unholy condition of his heart, and it makes him feel so low that he cannot trust in his good works. He therefore goes to Christ to find perfect righteousness. This keeps a Christian humble.  

  

VERSES 19, 20. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornification, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft ...  

  

Paul does not enumerate all the works of the flesh, but only certain ones. First, he mentions various kinds of carnal lusts, as adultery, fornication, wantonness, etc. But carnal lust is not the only work of the flesh, and so he counts among the works of the flesh also idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, and the like. These terms are so familiar that they do not require lengthy explanations.  

  

IDOLATRY  

  

The best religion, the most fervent devotion without Christ is plain idolatry. It has been considered a holy act when the monks in their cells meditate upon God and His works, and in a religious frenzy kneel down to pray and to weep for joy. Yet Paul calls it simply idolatry. Every religion which worships God in ignorance or neglect of His Word and will is idolatry.  

  

They may think about God, Christ, and heavenly things, but they do it after their own fashion and not after the Word of God. They have an idea that their clothing, their mode of living, and their conduct are holy and pleasing to Christ. They not only expect to pacify Christ by the strictness of their life, but also expect to be rewarded by Him for their good deeds. Hence their best "spiritual" thoughts are wicked thoughts. Any worship of God, any religion without Christ is idolatry. In Christ alone is God well pleased.  

  

I have said before that the works of the flesh are manifest. But idolatry puts on such a good front and acts so spiritual that the sham of it is recognized only by true believers.  

  

WITCHCRAFT  

  

This sin was very common before the light of the Gospel appeared. When I was a child there were many witches and sorcerers around who "bewitched" cattle, and people, particularly children, and did much harm. But now that the Gospel is here you do not hear so much about it because the Gospel drives the devil away. Now he bewitches people in a worse way with spiritual sorcery.  

  

Witchcraft is a brand of idolatry. As witches used to bewitch cattle and men, so idolaters, i.e., all the self-righteous, go around to bewitch God and to make Him out as one who justifies men not by grace through faith in Christ but by the works of men's own choosing. They bewitch and deceive themselves. If they continue in their wicked thoughts of God they will die in their idolatry.  

  

SECTS  

  

Under sects Paul here understands heresies. Heresies have always been found in the church. What unity of faith can exist among all the different monks and the different orders? None whatever. There is no unity of spirit, no agreement of minds, but great dissension in the papacy. There is no conformity in doctrine, faith, and life. On the other hand, among evangelical Christians the Word, faith, religion, sacraments, service, Christ, God, heart, and mind are common to all. This unity is not disturbed by outward differences of station or of occupation.  

  

DRUNKENESS, GLUTTONY  

  

Paul does not say that eating and drinking are works of the flesh, but intemperance in eating and drinking, which is a common vice nowadays, is a work of the flesh. Those who are given to excess are to know that they are not spiritual but carnal. Sentence is pronounced upon them that they shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Paul desires that Christians avoid drunkenness and gluttony, that they live temperate and sober lives, in order that the body may not grow soft and sensual.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:20

color="#000000"> notes on vs 19

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:21

color="#000000"> 21. Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  

  

This is a hard saying, but very necessary for those false Christians and hypocrites who speak much about the Gospel, about faith, and the Spirit, yet live after the flesh. But this hard sentence is directed chiefly at the heretics who are large with their own self-importance, that they may be frightened into taking up the fight of the Spirit against the flesh.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:22

color="#000000"> 22, 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.  

  

The Apostle does not speak of the works of the Spirit as he spoke of the works of the flesh, but he attaches to these Christian virtues a better name. He calls them the fruits of the Spirit.  

  

LOVE  

  

It would have been enough to mention only the single fruit of love, for love embraces all the fruits of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul attributes to love all the fruits of the Spirit: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind," etc. Here he lets love stand by itself among other fruits of the Spirit to remind the Christians to love one another, "in honor preferring one another," to esteem others more than themselves because they have Christ and the Holy Ghost within them.  

  

JOY  

  

Joy means sweet thoughts of Christ, melodious hymns and psalms, praises and thanksgiving, with which Christians instruct, inspire, and refresh themselves. God does not like doubt and dejection. He hates dreary doctrine, gloomy and melancholy thought. God likes cheerful hearts. He did not send His Son to fill us with sadness, but to gladden our hearts. For this reason the prophets, apostles, and Christ Himself urge, yes, command us to rejoice and be glad. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee." ( Zec 9:9 .) In the Psalms we are repeatedly told to be "joyful in the Lord." Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord always." Christ says: "Rejoice, for your names are written in heaven."  

  

PEACE  

  

Peace towards God and men. Christians are to be peaceful and quiet. Not argumentative, not hateful, but thoughtful and patient. There can be no peace without longsuffering, and therefore Paul lists this virtue next.  

  

LONGSUFFERING  

  

Longsuffering is that quality which enables a person to bear adversity, injury, reproach, and makes them patient to wait for the improvement of those who have done him wrong. When the devil finds that he cannot overcome certain persons by force he tries to overcome them in the long run. He knows that we are weak and cannot stand anything long. Therefore he repeats his temptation time and again until he succeeds. To withstand his continued assaults we must be longsuffering and patiently wait for the devil to get tired of his game.  

  

GENTLENESS  

  

Gentleness in conduct and life. True followers of the Gospel must not be sharp and bitter, but gentle, mild, courteous, and soft-spoken, which should encourage others to seek their company. Gentleness can overlook other people's faults and cover them up. Gentleness is always glad to give in to others. Gentleness can get along with forward and difficult persons, according to the old pagan saying: "You must know the manners of your friends, but you must not hate them." Such a gentle person was our Savior Jesus Christ, as the Gospel portrays Him. Of Peter it is recorded that he wept whenever he remembered the sweet gentleness of Christ in His daily contact with people. Gentleness is an excellent virtue and very useful in every walk of life.  

  

GOODNESS  

  

A person is good when he is willing to help others in their need.  

  

FAITH  

  

In listing faith among the fruits of the Spirit, Paul obviously does not mean faith in Christ, but faith in men. Such faith is not suspicious of people but believes the best. Naturally the possessor of such faith will be deceived, but he lets it pass. He is ready to believe all men, but he will not trust all men. Where this virtue is lacking men are suspicious, forward, and wayward and will believe nothing nor yield to anybody. No matter how well a person says or does anything, they will find fault with it, and if you do not humor them you can never please them. It is quite impossible to get along with them. Such faith in people therefore, is quite necessary. What kind of life would this be if one person could not believe another person?  

  

MEEKNESS  

  

A person is meek when he is not quick to get angry. Many things occur in daily life to provoke a person's anger, but the Christian gets over his anger by meekness.  

  

TEMPERANCE  

  

Christians are to lead sober and chaste lives. They should not be adulterers, fornicators, or sensualists. They should not be quarrelers or drunkards. In the first and second chapters of the Epistle to Titus, the Apostle admonishes bishops, young women, and married folks to be chaste and pure.  

  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:23

color="#000000"> 23. Against such there is no law.  

  

There is a law, of course, but it does not apply to those who bear these fruits of the Spirit. The Law is not given for the righteous man. A true Christian conducts himself in such a way that he does not need any law to warn or to restrain him. He obeys the Law without compulsion. The Law does not concern him. As far as he is concerned there would not have to be any Law.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:24

color="#000000"> 24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  

  

True believers are no hypocrites. They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts. Inasmuch as they have not altogether put off the sinful flesh they are inclined to sin. They do not fear or love God as they should. They are likely to be provoked to anger, to envy, to impatience, to carnal lust, and other emotions. But they will not do the things to which the flesh incites them. They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts by fasting and exercise and, above all, by a walk in the Spirit.  

  

To resist the flesh in this manner is to nail it to the Cross. Although the flesh is still alive it cannot very well act upon its desires because it is bound and nailed to the Cross.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:25

color="#000000"> 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  

  

A little while ago the Apostle had condemned those who are envious and start heresies and schisms. As if he had forgotten that he had already berated them, the Apostle once more reproves those who provoke and envy others. Was not one reference to them sufficient? He repeats his admonition in order to emphasize the viciousness of pride that had caused all the trouble in the churches of Galatia, and has always caused the Church of Christ no end of difficulties. In his Epistle to Titus the Apostle states that a vainglorious man should not be ordained as a minister, for pride, as St. Augustine points out, is the mother of all heresies.  

  

Now vainglory has always been a common poison in the world. There is no village too small to contain someone who wants to be considered wiser or better than the rest. Those who have been bitten by pride usually stand upon the reputation for learning and wisdom. Vainglory is not nearly so bad in a private person or even in an official as it is in a minister.  

  

When the poison of vainglory gets into the Church you have no idea what havoc it can cause. You may argue about knowledge, art, money, countries, and the like without doing particular harm. But you cannot quarrel about salvation or damnation, about eternal life and eternal death without grave damage to the Church. No wonder Paul exhorts all ministers of the Word to guard against this poison. He writes: "If we live in the Spirit." Where the Spirit is, men gain new attitudes. Where formerly they were vainglorious, spiteful and envious, they now become humble, gentle and patient. Such men seek not their own glory, but the glory of God. They do not provoke each other to wrath or envy, but prefer others to themselves.  

  

As dangerous to the Church as this abominable pride is, yet there is nothing more common. The trouble with the ministers of Satan is that they look upon the ministry as a stepping-stone to fame and glory, and right there you have the seed for all sorts of dissensions.  

  

Because Paul knew that the vainglory of the false Apostles had caused the churches of Galatia endless trouble, he makes it his business to suppress this abominable vice. In his absence the false apostles went to work in Galatia. They pretended that they had been on intimate terms with the apostles, while Paul had never seen Christ in person or had much contact with the rest of the apostles. Because of this they delivered him, rejected his doctrine, and boosted their own. In this way they troubled the Galatians and caused quarrels among them until they provoked and envied each other; which goes to show that neither the false apostles nor the Galatians walked after the Spirit, but after the flesh.  

  

The Gospel is not there for us to aggrandize ourselves. The Gospel is to aggrandize Christ and the mercy of God. It holds out to men eternal gifts that are not gifts of our own manufacture. What right have we to receive praise and glory for gifts that are not of our own making?  

  

No wonder that God in His special grace subjects the ministers of the Gospel to all kinds of afflictions, otherwise they could not cope with this ugly beast called vainglory. If no persecution, no cross, or reproach trailed the doctrine of the Gospel, but only praise and reputation, the ministers of the Gospel would choke with pride. Paul had the Spirit of Christ. Nevertheless there was given unto him the messenger of Satan to buffet him in order that he should not come to exalt himself, because of the grandeur of his revelations. St. Augustine's opinion is well taken: "If a minister of the Gospel is praised, he is in danger; if he is despised, he is also in danger."  

  

The ministers of the Gospel should be men who are not too easily affected by praise or criticism, but simply speak out the benefit and the glory of Christ and seek the salvation of souls.  

  

Whenever you are being praised, remember it is not you who is being praised but Christ, to whom all praise belongs. When you preach the Word of God in its purity and also live accordingly, it is not your own doing, but God's doing. And when people praise you, they really mean to praise God in you. When you understand this--and you should because "what hast thou that thou didst not receive?"--you will not flatter yourself on the one hand and on the other hand you will not carry yourself with the thought of resigning from the ministry when you are insulted, reproached, or persecuted.  

  

It is really kind of God to send so much infamy, reproach, hatred, and cursing our way to keep us from getting proud of the gifts of God in us. We need a millstone around our neck to keep us humble. There are a few on our side who love and revere us for the ministry of the Word, but for every one of these there are a hundred on the other side who hate and persecute us.  

  

The Lord is our glory. Such gifts as we possess we acknowledge to be the gifts of God, given to us for the good of the Church of Christ. Therefore we are not proud because of them. We know that more is required of them to whom much is given, than of such to whom little is given. We also know that God is no respecter of persons. A plain factory hand who does his work faithfully pleases God just as much as a minister of the Word.  

  

Combined Bible: Gal 5:26

color="#000000"> 26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory.  

  

To desire vainglory is to desire lies, because when one person praises another he tells lies. What is there in anybody to praise? But it is different when the ministry is praised. We should not only desire people to praise the ministry of the Gospel but also do our utmost to make the ministry worthy of praise because this will make the ministry more effective. Paul warns the Romans not to bring Christianity into disrepute. "Let not then your good be evil spoken of." ( Rom 14:16 .) He also begged the Corinthians to "give no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed." ( 1Co 6:3 .) When people praise our ministry they are not praising our persons, but God.  

  

VERSE 26. Provoking one another, envying one another.  

  

Such is the ill effect of vainglory. Those who teach errors provoke others. When others disapprove and reject the doctrine the teachers of errors get angry in turn, and then you have strife and trouble. The sectarians hate us furiously because we will not approve their errors. We did not attack them directly. We merely called attention to certain abuses in the Church. They did not like it and became sore at us, because it hurt their pride. They wish to be the lone rulers of the church.  

  

Maclaren: Gal 5:16

Walk In The Spirit'

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.'--Gal. 5:16.

WE are not to suppose that the Apostle here uses the familiar contrast of spirit and flesh to express simply different elements of human nature. Without entering here on questions for which a sermon is scarcely a suitable vehicle of discussion, it may be sufficient for our present purpose to say that, as usually, when employing this antithesis the Apostle means by Spirit the divine, the Spirit of God, which he triumphed in proclaiming to be the gift of every believing soul. The other member of the contrast, flesh,' is similarly not to be taken as equivalent to body, but rather as meaning the whole human nature considered as apart from God and kindred with earth and earthly things. The flesh, in its narrower sense, is no doubt a predominant part of this whole, but there is much in it besides the material organisation. The, ethics of Christianity suffered much harm and were degraded into a false and slavish asceticism for long centuries, by monastic misunderstandings of what Paul meant by the flesh, but he himself was too clear-sighted and too high-toned to give his adhesion to the superficial notion that the body is the seat and source of sin. We need look no further than the catalogue of the works of the flesh' which immediately follows our text, for, although it begins with gross sins of a purely fleshly kind, it passes on to such as hatred, emulations, wrath, and suchlike. Many of these works of the envyings flesh are such as an angel with an evil heart could do, whether he had a body or not. It seems therefore right to say that the one member of the contrast is the divine Spirit of holiness, and the other is man as he is, without the life-giving influence of the Spirit of God. In Paul's thought the idea of the flesh always included the idea of sin, and the desires of the flesh were to him not merely rebellious, sensuous passion, but the sinful desires of godless human nature, however refined, and as some would say, spiritual' these might be. We do not need to inquire more minutely as to the meaning of the Apostle's terms, but may safely take them as, on the one hand, referring to the divine Spirit which imparts life and holiness, and on the other hand, to human nature severed from God, and distracted by evil desires because wrenched away from Him.

The text is Paul's battle-cry, which he opposed to the Judaising disturbers in Galatia. They said Do this and that; labour at a round of observances; live by rule. Paul said, No! That is of no use; you will make nothing of such-an attempt nor will ever conquer evil so. Live by the spirit and you will not need a hard outward law, nor will you be in bondage to the works of the flesh.' That feud in the Galatian churches was the earliest battle which Christianity had to fight between two eternal tendencies of thought--the conception of religion as consisting in outward obedience to a law, and consequently as made up of a series of painful efforts to keep it, and the conception of religion as being first the implanting of a new, divine life, and needing only to be nourished and cared for in order to drive forth evils from the heart, and so to show itself living. The difference goes very far and very deep, and these two views of what religion is have each their adherents to-day. The Apostle throws the whole weight of his authority into the one scale, and emphatically declares this as the one secret of victory, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.'

I. What It Is To Walk In The Spirit.

The thought which is but touched upon here is set forth more largely, and if we may so say, profoundly, in the Epistle to the (Romans 8.). There, to walk after the flesh, is substantially the same as to be carnally minded, and that mind of the flesh' is regarded as being by fatal necessity not subject to the law of God,' and consequently as in itself, with regard to future consequences, to be death) The fleshly mind which is thus in rebellion against the law of God is sure to issue in desires of the flesh,' just as when the pressure is taken off, some ebullient liquid will bubble. They that are after the flesh of course will mind the things of the flesh. The vehement desires which we cherish when we are separated from God and which we call sins, are graver as a symptom than even they are in themselves, for they show which way the wind blows, and are tell-tales that betray the true direction of our nature, If we were not after the flesh we should not mind the things of the flesh. The one expression points to the deep-seated nature, the other to the superficial actions to which it gives rise.

And the same duality belongs to the life of those who are after the Spirit.' To walk,' of course, means to carry on the practical life, and the Spirit is hero thought of not so much perhaps as the path on which we are to travel, but rather as the norm and direction by which we are to travel on life's common way. Just as the desires of the flesh were certain to be done by those who in their deepest selves belonged to the flesh, so every soul which has received the unspeakable gift of newness of life through the Spirit of God will have the impulses to mind and do the things of the Spirit. If we live in the Spirit we shall also--and let us also--walk in the Spirit.

But let us make no mistakes, or think that our text in its great commandment and radiant hope has any word of cheer to those who have not received into their hearts, in however feeble a manner and minute a measure, the Spirit of the Son. The first question for us all is, have we received the Holy Ghost?--and the answer to that question is the answer to the other, have we accepted Christ? It is through Him and through faith in Him that that supreme gift of a living spirit is bestowed. And only when our spirits bear witness with that Spirit that we are the children of God, have we a right to look upon the text as pointing our duty and stimulating our hope. If our practical life is to be directed by the Spirit of God, He must enter into our spirits, and we shall not be in Him but in the measure that He is in us. <Nor will our spirits be life because of righteousness unless He dwells in us and casts forth the works of the flesh. There will be no practical direction of our lives by the Spirit of God unless we make conscience of cultivating the reception of His life-giving and cleansing influences, and unless we have inward communion with our inward guide, intimate and frank, prolonged and submissive. If we are for ever allowing the light of our inward godliness to be blown about by gusts, or to show in our inmost hearts but a faint and flickering spark, how can we expect that it will shine safe direction on our outward path?

II. Such Walking In The Spirit Conquers The Flesh.

We all know it as a familiar experience that the surest way to conquer any strong desire or emotion is to bring some other into operation. To concentrate attention on any overmastering thought or purpose, even if our object is to destroy it, is but too apt to strengthen it. And so to fix our minds on our own desires of the flesh, even though we may be honestly wishing to suppress them, is a sure way to invest them with new force, therefore the wise counsels of sages and moralists are, for the most part, destined to lead those who listen to them astray: Many a man has, in good faith, set himself to conquer his own evil lusts and has found that the nett result of his struggles has been to make the lusts more conspicuous and correspondingly more powerful. The Apostle knows a better way, which he has proved to his own experience, and now, with full confidence and triumph, presses upon his hearers. He would have them give up the monotonous and hopeless fight against the flesh and bring another ally into the field. His chief exhortation is a positive, not a negative one. It is vain to try to tie up men with restrictions and prohibitions, which when their desires are stirred will be burst like Samson's bonds. But if once the positive exhortation here is obeyed, then it will surely make short work of the desires and passions which otherwise men, for the most part, do not wish to get rid of, and never do throw off by any other method.

We have pointed out that in our text to walk in the Spirit means to regulate the practical life by the Spirit of God, and that the desires of the flesh' mean the desires of the whole human nature apart from God. But even if we take the contrasted terms in their lower and commonly adopted sense, the text is true and useful cultivated mind habituated to lofty ideas, and quick to feel the nobility of spiritual' pursuits and possessions, will have no taste for the gross delights of sense, and will recoil with disgust from the indulgences in animal natures wallow. But while this is which more true, it by no means exhausts the great principle laid down here. We must take the contrasted terms in their fullest meaning if we would arrive at it. The spiritual life derived from Jesus Christ and lodged in the human spirit has to be guarded, cherished and made dominant, and then it will drive out the old. If the Spirit which is life because of righteousness is allowed free course in a human spirit, it will send forth its powers into the body which is' dead because of sin,' will regulate its desires, and if needful will suppress them. And it is wiser and more blessed to rely on this overflowing influence than to attempt the hopeless task of coercing these desires by our own efforts.

If we walk in the Spirit, we shall thereby acquire new tastes and desires of a higher kind which will destroy the lower. They to whom manna is sweet as angel's food find that they have lost their relish for the strong-smelling and rank-flavoured Egyptian leeks and garlic. A guest at a king's table will not care to enter a smoky hovel and will not be hungry for the food to be found there. If we are still dependent on the desires of the flesh we are still but children, and if we are walking in the Spirit we have outgrown our childish toys. The enjoyment of the gifts which the Spirit gives deadens temptation and robs many things that were very precious of their lustre.

We may also illustrate the great principle of our text by considering that when we have found our supreme object there is no inducement to wander further in the search after delights. Desires are confessions of discontent, and though the absolute satisfaction of all our nature is not granted to us here, there is so much of blessedness given and so many of our most clamant desires fully met in the gift of life in Christ, that we may well be free from the prickings of desires which sting men into earnest seeking after often unreal good. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,' and surely if we have these we may well leave the world its troubled delights and felicities. Christ's joy remains in us and our joy is full. The world desires because it does not possess. When a deeper well is sunk, a shallower one is pretty sure to give out. If we walk in the Spirit we go down to the deepest water-holding stratum, and all the surface wells will run dry.

Further, we may note, that this walking in the Spirit brings into our lives the mightiest motives of holy living and so puts a bridle on the necks and a bit in the mouths of our untamed desires. Holding fellowship with the divine Indweller and giving the reins into His strong hand, we receive from Him the spirit of adoption and learn that if we are children then are we heirs. Is there any motive that will so surely still the desires of the flesh and of the mind as the blessed thought that God is ours and we His? Surely their feet should never stumble or stray, who are aware of the Spirit of the Son bearing witness with their spirit that they are the children of God. Surely the measure in which we realise this will be the measure in which the desires of the flesh will be whipped back to their kennels, and cease to disturb us with their barks.

The whole question here as between Paul and his opponents just comes to this; if a field is covered with filth, whether is it better to set to work on it with wheelbarrows and shovels, or to turn a river on it which will bear away all the foulness? The true way to change the fauna and flora of a country is to change the level, and as the height increases they change themselves. If we desire to have the noxious creatures expelled from ourselves, we must not so much labour at their expulsion as see to the elevation of our own personal being and then we shall succeed. That is what Paul says, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.'

III. Such A Life Is Not Freed From The Necessity Of Struggle.

The highest condition, of course, would be that we had only to grow, not to fight. It will come some day that all evil shall drop away, and that to walk in the Spirit will need no effort, but that time has not come yet. So in addition to all that we have been saying in this sermon, we must further say that Paul's exhortation has always to be coupled with the other to fight the good fight. (The highest word for our earthly lives is not victory' but contest.') We shall not walk in the Spirit without many a struggle to keep ourselves within that charmed atmosphere. The promise of our text is not that we shall not feel, but that we shall not fulfil, the desires of the flesh.

Now this is very commonplace and threadbare teaching, but it is none the less important, and is especially needful to be strongly emphasised when we have been speaking as we have just been doing. It is a historical fact, illustrated over and over again since Paul wrote, and not without illustration to-day, that there is constant danger of lax morality infecting Christian life under pretence of lofty spirituality. So it must ever be insisted upon that the test of a true walking in the Spirit is that we are thereby fitted to fight against the desires of the flesh. When we have the life of the Spirit within us, it will show itself as Paul has said in another place by the righteousness of the law being fulfilled in us, and by our' mortifying the deeds of the body.' The gift of the Spirit does not take us out of the ranks of the combatants, but teaches us to fight, and arms us with its own sword for the conflict. There will be abundant opportunities of courage in attacking the sin that doth so easily beset us and in resisting temptations which come to us by reason of our own imperfect sanctification. But there is all the difference between fighting at our own hand and fighting with the help of God's Spirit, and there is all the difference between fighting with the help of an unseen ally in heaven and fighting with a Spirit within us who helpeth our infirmities and Himself makes us able to contend, and sure, if we keep true to Him, to be more than conquerors through Him that loveth us.

Such a conflict is a gift and a joy. It is hard but it is blessed, because it is an expression of our truest love; it comes from our deepest will; it is full of hope and of assured victory. How different is the painful, often defeated and monotonous attempt to suppress our nature by main force, and to tread a mill-horse round! The joyous freedom and buoyant hope taught us in the gospel way of salvation have been cramped and confined and all their glories veiled as by a mass of cobwebs spun beneath a golden roof, but our text sweeps away the foul obstruction. Let us learn the one condition of victorious conflict, the one means of subduing our natural humanity and its distracting desires, and let nothing rob us of the conviction that this is God's way of making men like angels. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.

Maclaren: Gal 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness. faith, 23. Meekness, temperance'--Gal. 5:22-23.

THE fruit of the Spirit,' says Paul, not the fruits, as we might more naturally have expected, and as the phrase is most often quoted; all this rich variety of graces, of conduct and character, is thought of as one. The individual members are not isolated graces, but all connected, springing from one root and constituting an organic whole. There is further to be noted that the Apostle designates the results of the Spirit as fruit, in strong and intentional contrast with the results of the flesh, the grim catalogue of which precedes the radiant list in our text. The works of the flesh have no such unity, and are not worthy of being called fruit. They are not what a man ought to bring forth, and when the great Husbandman comes, He finds no fruit there, however full of activity the life has been. We have then here an ideal of the noblest Christian character, and a distinct and profound teaching as to how to attain it. I venture to take the whole of this list for my text, because the very beauty of each element in it depends on its being but part of a whole, and because there are important lessons to be gathered from the grouping.

I. The Threefold Elements Of Character Here.

It is perhaps not too artificial to point out that we have here three triads of which the first describes the life of the Spirit in its deepest secret; the second, the same life in its manifestations to men; and the third, that life in relation to the difficulties of the world, and of ourselves.

The first of these three triads includes love, joy, and peace, and it is not putting too great a strain on the words to point out that the source of all three lies in the Christian relation to God. They regard nothing but God and our relation to Him; they would be all the same if there were no other men in the world, or if there were no world. We cannot call them duties or virtues; they are simply the results of communion with God--the certain manifestations of the better life of the Spirit. Love, of course, heads the list, as the foundation and moving principle of all the rest. It is the instinctive act of the higher life and is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. It is the life sap which rises through the tree and gives form to all the clusters. The remaining two members of this triad are plainly consequences of the first. Joy is not so much an act or a grace of character as an emotion poured into men's lives, because in their hearts abides love to God. Jesus Christ pledged Himself to impart His joy to remain in us, with the issue that our joy should be full. There is only one source of permanent joy which takes possession of and fills all the corners and crannies of the heart, and that is a love towards God equally abiding and all-pervasive. We have all known joys so perturbed, fragmentary and fleeting, that it is hard to distinguish them from sorrows, but there is no need that joys should be like green fruit, hard and savourless and ready to drop from the tree. If God is' the gladness of our joy,' and all our delights come from communion with Him, our joy will never pass and will fill the whole round of our spirits as the sea laves every shore.

Peace will be built upon love and joy, if our hearts are ever turning to God and ever blessed with the inter-communion of love between Him and us. What can be strong enough to disturb the tranquillity that fills the soul independent of all externals? However long and close may be the siege, the well in the castle courtyard will be full. True peace comes not from the absence of trouble but from the presence of God, and will be deep and passing all understanding in the exact measure in which we live in, and partake of, the love of God.

The second triad is long-suffering, kindness, goodness. All these three obviously refer to the spiritual life in its manifestations to men. The first of them, long-suffering--describes the attitude of patient endurance towards inflictors of injury or enemies, if we come forth from the blessed fellowship with God, where love, joy, and peace reign unbroken, and are met with a cold gust of indifference or with an icy wind of hate. The reality of our happy communion and the depth of our love will be tested by the patience of our long-suffering. Love suffereth long, is not easily provoked, is not soon angry. He has little reason to suppose that the love of God is shed abroad in his heart, or that the Spirit of God is bringing forth fruit in him, who has not got beyond the stage of repaying hate with hate, and scorn with scorn. Any fool can answer a fool according to his folly, but it takes a wise and a good man to overcome evil with good, and to love them that hate; and yet how certainly the fires of mutual antagonism would go out if there were only one to pile on the fuel! It takes two. to make a quarrel, and no man living under the influence of the Spirit of God can be one of such a pair.

The second and third members of this triad--kindness, goodness, slide very naturally into one another. They do not only require the negative virtue of not retaliating, but express the Christian attitude towards all of meeting them, whatever their attitude, with good. It is possible that kindness here expresses the inward disposition and goodness, the habitual actions in which that disposition shows itself. If that be the distinction between them, the former would answer to benevolence and the latter to beneficence. These three graces include all that Paul presents as Christian duty to our fellows. The results of the life of the Spirit are to pass beyond ourselves and to influence our whole conduct. We are not to live only as mainly for the spiritual enjoyments of fellowship with God. The true field of religion is in moving amongst men, and the true basis of all service of men is fore and fellowship with God.

The third triad--faithfulness, meekness, temperance--seems to point to the world in which the Christian life is to be lived as a scene of difficulties and oppositions. The rendering of the Revised Version is to be preferred to that of the Authorised in the first of the three, for it is not faith in its theological sense to which the Apostle is here referring. Possibly, however, the meaning may be trustfulness just as in 1 Corinthians 13. it is given as a characteristic of love that it believeth all things.' More probably, however, the meaning is faithfulness, and Paul's thought is that the Christian life is to manifest itself in the faithful discharge of all duties and the honest handling of all things committed to it. Meekness even more distinctly contemplates a condition of things which is contrary to the Christian life, and points to a submissiveness of spirit which does not lift itself up against oppositions, but bends like a reed before the storm. Paul preached meekness and practised it, but Paul could flash into strong opposition and with a resonant ring in his voice could say To whom we gave place by subjection, No! not for an hour. The last member of the triad--temperance--points to the difficulties which the spiritual life is apt to meet with in the natural passions and desires, and insists upon the fact that conflict and rigid and habitual self-control are sure to be marks of that life.

II. The Unity Of The Fruit.

We have already pointed out the Apostle s remarkable use of the word fruit' here, by which he indicates that all the results of the life of the Spirit in the human spirit are to be regarded as a whole that has a natural growth. The foundation of all is of course that love which is the fulfilling of the law. It scarcely needs to be pointed out how love brings forth both the other elements of the first triad, but it is no less important to note that it and its two companions naturally lead on to the relations to men which make up the second triad. It is, however, worth while to dwell on that fact because there are many temptations for Christian people to separate between them. The two tables of the law are not seldom written so far apart that their unity ceases to be noted. There are many good people whose notions of religious duties are shut up in churches or chapels and limited to singing and praying, reading the Bible and listening to sermons, and who, even while they are doing good service in common life, do not feel that it is as much a religious duty to suppress the wish to retaliate as it is to sit in the sunshine of God's love and to feel Christ's joy and peace filling the heart. On the other hand many loud voices, some of them with great force of words and influence on the popular mind, are never wearied of preaching that Christianity is worn out as a social impulse, and that the service of man has nothing to do with the love of God. As plainly Paul's first triad naturally leads to his third. When the spiritual life has realised its deepest secret it will be strong to manifest itself as vigorous in reference to the difficulties of life. When that heart is blessed in its own settled love, abounding joy and untroubled peace, faithfulness and submission will both be possible and self-control will not be hard.

III. The Culture Of The Tree Which Secures The Fruit.

Can we suppose that the Apostle here is going back in thought to our Lord's profound teaching that every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit? The obvious felicity of that metaphor often conceals for us the drastic force of its teaching, it regards all a man's conduct as but the outcome of his character, and brushes aside as trifling all attempts at altering products, whilst the producer remains unaltered. Whether Paul was hero alluding to a known saying of Jesus or no, he was insisting upon the very centre of Christian ethics, that a man must first be good in order to do good Our Lord's words seemed to make an impossible demand--Make the tree good '--as the only way of securing good fruit, and it was in accordance with the whole cast of the Sermon on the Mount that the means of realising that demand was left unexpressed. But Paul stood on this side of Pentecost, and what was necessarily veiled in Christ's earlier utterances stood forth a revealed and blessed certainty to him. He had not to say Make the tree good' and be silent as to how that process was to be effected; to him the message had been committed, The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity.' There is bug one way by which a corrupt tree can be made good, and that is by grafting into the wild briar stock a layer' from the rose. The Apostle had a double message to proclaim, and the one part was built upon the other. He had first to preach--and this day has first to believe that God has sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin--and then he had to proclaim that, through that mission, it became possible that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who' walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.' The beginning, then, of all true goodness is to be sought in receiving into our corrupt natures the uncorrupted germs of the higher life, and it is only in the measure in which that Spirit of God moves in our spirits and, like the sap in the vine, permeates every branch and tendril, that fruit to eternal life will grow. Christian graces are the products of the indwelling divine life, and nothing else will succeed in producing them. All the preachings of moralists and all the struggles after self-improvement are reduced to impotence and vanity by the stern, curt sentence' a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Surely it should come to us all as a true gospel when we feel ourselves foiled by our own evil nature in our attempts to be better, that the first thing we have to do is not to labour at either of the two impossible tasks of the making our bad selves good, or of the getting good fruits from bad selves, but to open our spirits through faith in Jesus for the entrance into us of His Spirit which will change our corruption into incorruption, and cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. Shall we not seek to become recipient of that new life, and having received it, should we not give diligence that it may in us produce all its natural effects?

These fruits, though they are the direct results of the indwelling Spirit and will never be produced without its presence, are none the less truly dependent upon our manner of receiving that Spirit and on our faithfulness and diligence in the use of its gifts. It is, alas! sadly too true, and matter of tragically common experience that instead of' trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord' heavy with ruddy clusters, there are but dwarfed and scrubby bushes which have scarcely life enough to keep up a little show of green leaves and bring no fruit to perfection. Would that so-called Christian people would more earnestly and searchingly ask themselves why it is that, with such possibilities offered to them, their actual attainments should be so small. They have a power which is able to do for them exceeding abundantly above all that they can ask or "think, and its actual effects on them are well on this side of both their petitions and their conceptions. There need be no difficulty in answering the question why our Christian lives do not correspond more closely to-the Spirit that inspires them. The plain answer is that we have not cultivated, used, and obeyed Him. The Lord of the vineyard would less often have to ask Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?' if we listened more obediently to the pathetic command which surely should touch a grateful heart--Grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

IV. How This Is The Only Worthy Fruit.

We have already pointed out that the Apostle in the preceding context varies his terms, and catalogues the actions that come from the godless self as works, whilst those which are the outcome of the Spirit are fruit. The distinction thus drawn is twofold. Multiplicity is contrasted with unity and fruit with works. The deeds of the flesh have no consistency except that of evil; they are at variance with themselves--a huddled mob without regularity or order; and they are works indeed, but so disproportionate to the nature of the doer and his obligations that they do not deserve to be called fruit. It is not to attach too much importance to an accidental form of speech to insist upon this distinction as intended to be drawn, and as suggesting to us very solemn thoughts about many apparently very active lives. The man who lives to God truly lives; the busiest life which is not rooted in Him and directed towards Him has so far missed its aim as to have brought forth no good fruit, and therefore to have incurred the sentence that it is cut down and cast into the fire. There is a very remarkable expression in Scripture. The unfruitful works of darkness,' which admits the busy occupation and energy of the doers and denies that all that struggling and striving comes to anything. Done in the dark, they seemed to have some significance, when the light comes in they vanish. It is for us to determine whether our lives shall be works of the flesh, full, perhaps, of a time of sound and fury,' but signifying nothing,' or whether they shall be fruits of the Spirit, which we who have gathered shall eat in the courts of His holiness.' They will be so if, living in the Spirit, we walk in the Spirit, but if we' sow to the flesh' we shall have a harder husbandry and a bitterer harvest when .of the flesh we reap corruption,' and hear the awful and unanswerable question,' What fruit had ye then of those things whereof ye are now ashamed?'

MHCC: Gal 5:7-12

The life of a Christian is a race, wherein he must run, and hold on, if he would obtain the prize. It is not enough that we profess Christianity, but we must run well, by living up to that profession. Many who set out fairly in religion, are hindered in their progress, or turn out of the way. It concerns those who begin to turn out of the way, or to tire in it, seriously to inquire what hinders them. The opinion or persuasion, Gal 5:8, was, no doubt, that of mixing the works of the law with faith in Christ in justification. The apostle leaves them to judge whence it must arise, but sufficiently shows that it could be owing to none but Satan. It is dangerous for Christian churches to encourage those who follow, but especially who spread, destructive errors. And in reproving sin and error, we should always distinguish between the leaders and the led. The Jews were offended, because Christ was preached as the only salvation for sinners. If Paul and others would have admitted that the observance of the law of Moses was to be joined with faith in Christ, as necessary to salvation, then believers might have avoided many of the sufferings they underwent. The first beginnings of such leaven should be opposed. And assuredly those who persist in disturbing the church of Christ must bear their judgment.

MHCC: Gal 5:13-15

The gospel is a doctrine according to godliness, 1Ti 6:3, and is so far from giving the least countenance to sin, that it lays us under the strongest obligation to avoid and subdue it. The apostle urges that all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. If Christians, who should help one another, and rejoice one another, quarrel, what can be expected but that the God of love should deny his grace, that the Spirit of love should depart, and the evil spirit, who seeks their destruction, should prevail? Happy would it be, if Christians, instead of biting and devouring one another on account of different opinions, would set themselves against sin in themselves, and in the places where they live.

MHCC: Gal 5:16-26

If it be our care to act under the guidance and power of the blessed Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the corrupt nature which remains in us, it shall not have dominion over us. Believers are engaged in a conflict, in which they earnestly desire that grace may obtain full and speedy victory. And those who desire thus to give themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit, are not under the law as a covenant of works, nor exposed to its awful curse. Their hatred of sin, and desires after holiness, show that they have a part in the salvation of the gospel. The works of the flesh are many and manifest. And these sins will shut men out of heaven. Yet what numbers, calling themselves Christians, live in these, and say they hope for heaven! The fruits of the Spirit, or of the renewed nature, which we are to do, are named. And as the apostle had chiefly named works of the flesh, not only hurtful to men themselves, but tending to make them so to one another, so here he chiefly notices the fruits of the Spirit, which tend to make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as to make them happy. The fruits of the Spirit plainly show, that such are led by the Spirit. By describing the works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit, we are told what to avoid and oppose, and what we are to cherish and cultivate; and this is the sincere care and endeavour of all real Christians. Sin does not now reign in their mortal bodies, so that they obey it, Rom 6:12, for they seek to destroy it. Christ never will own those who yield themselves up to be the servants of sin. And it is not enough that we cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. Our conversation will always be answerable to the principle which guides and governs us, Rom 8:5. We must set ourselves in earnest to mortify the deeds of the body, and to walk in newness of life. Not being desirous of vain-glory, or unduly wishing for the esteem and applause of men, not provoking or envying one another, but seeking to bring forth more abundantly those good fruits, which are, through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.

Matthew Henry: Gal 5:1-12

In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to bring them back under the bondage of the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were to the spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general inference or application of all that discourse. Since it appeared by what had been said that we can be justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the righteousness of the law, and that the law of Moses was no longer in force, nor Christians under any obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage. Here observe, 1. Under the gospel we are enfranchised, we are brought into a state of liberty, wherein we are freed from the yoke of the ceremonial law and from the curse of the moral law; so that we are no longer tied to the observance of the one, nor tied up to the rigour of the other, which curses every one that continues not in all things written therein to do them, Gal 3:10. 2. We owe this liberty to Jesus Christ. It is he who has made us free; by his merits he has satisfied the demands of the broken law, and by his authority as a king he has discharged us from the obligation of those carnal ordinances which were imposed on the Jews. And, 3. It is therefore our duty to stand fast in this liberty, constantly and faithfully to adhere to the gospel and to the liberty of it, and not to suffer ourselves, upon any consideration, to be again entangled in the yoke of bondage, nor persuaded to return back to the law of Moses. This is the general caution or exhortation, which in the following verses the apostle enforces by several reasons or arguments. As,

I. That their submitting to circumcision, and depending on the works of the law for righteousness, were an implicit contradiction of their faith as Christians and a forfeiture of all their advantages by Jesus Christ, Gal 5:2-4. And here we may observe, 1. With what solemnity the apostle asserts and declares this: Behold, I Paul say unto you (Gal 5:2), and he repeats it (Gal 5:3), I testify unto you; as it he had said, "I, who have proved myself an apostle of Christ, and to have received my authority and instructions from him, do declare, and am ready to pawn my credit and reputation upon it, that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing, etc.,"wherein he shows that what he was now saying was not only a matter of great importance, but what might be most assuredly depended on. He was so far from being a preacher of circumcision (as some might report him to be) that he looked upon it as a matter of the greatest consequence that they did not submit to it. 2. What it is which he so solemnly, and with so much assurance, declares; it is that, if they were circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing, etc. We are not to suppose that it is mere circumcision which the apostle is here speaking of, or that it was his design to say that none who are circumcised could have any benefit by Christ; for all the Old Testament saints had been circumcised, and he himself had consented to the circumcising of Timothy. But he is to be understood as speaking of circumcision in the sense in which the judaizing teachers imposed it, who taught that except they were circumcised, and kept the law of Moses, they could not be saved, Act 15:1. That this is his meaning appears from Gal 5:4, where he expresses the same thing by their being justified by the law, or seeking justification by the works of it. Now in this case, if they submitted to circumcision in this sense, he declares that Christ would profit them nothing, that they were debtors to do the whole law, that Christ had become of no effect to them, and that they were fallen from grace. From all these expressions it appears that thereby they renounced that way of justification which God had established; yea, that they laid themselves under an impossibility of being justified in his sight, for they became debtors to do the whole law, which required such an obedience as they were not capable of performing, and denounced a curse against those who failed in it, and therefore condemned, but could not justify them; and, consequently, that having thus revolted from Christ, and built their hopes upon the law, Christ would profit them nothing, nor be of any effect to them. Thus, as by being circumcised they renounced their Christianity, so they cut themselves off from all advantage by Christ; and therefore there was the greatest reason why they should stedfastly adhere to that doctrine which they had embraced, and not suffer themselves to be brought under this yoke of bondage. Note, (1.) Though Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost, yet there are multitudes whom he will profit nothing. (2.) All those who seek to be justified by the law do thereby render Christ of no effect to them. By building their hopes on the works of the law, they forfeit all their hopes from him; for he will not be the Saviour of any who will not own and rely upon him as their only Saviour.

II. To persuade them to stedfastness in the doctrine and liberty of the gospel, he sets before them his own example, and that of other Jews who had embraced the Christian religion, and acquaints them what their hopes were, namely, That through the Spirit they were waiting for the hope of righteousness by faith. Though they were Jews by nature, and had been bred up under the law, yet being, through the Spirit, brought to the knowledge of Christ, they had renounced all dependence on the works of the law, and looked for justification and salvation only by faith in him; and therefore it must needs be the greatest folly in those who had never been under the law to suffer themselves to be brought into subjection to it, and to found their hopes upon the works of it. Here we may observe, 1. What it is that Christians are waiting for: it is the hope of righteousness, by which we are chiefly to understand the happiness of the other world. This is called the hope of Christians, as it is the great object of their hope, which they are above every thing else desiring and pursuing; and the hope of righteousness, as their hopes of it are founded on righteousness, not their own, but that of our Lord Jesus: for, though a life of righteousness is the way that leads to this happiness, yet it is the righteousness of Christ alone which has procured it for us, and on account of which we can expect to be brought to the possession of it. 2. How they hope to obtain this happiness, namely, by faith, that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, not by the works of the law, or any thing they can do to deserve it, but only by faith, receiving and relying upon him as the Lord our righteousness. It is in this way only that they expect either to be entitled to it here or possessed of it hereafter. And, 3. Whence it is that they are thus waiting for the hope of righteousness: it is through the Spirit. Herein they act under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit; it is under his conduct, and by his assistance, that they are both persuaded and enabled to believe on Christ, and to look for the hope of righteousness through him. When the apostle thus represents the case of Christians, it is implied that if they expected to be justified and saved in any other way they were likely to meet with a disappointment, and therefore that they were greatly concerned to adhere to the doctrine of the gospel which they had embraced.

III. He argues from the nature and design of the Christian institution, which was to abolish the difference between Jew and Gentile, and to establish faith in Christ as the way of our acceptance with God. He tells them (Gal 5:6) that in Christ Jesus, or under the gospel dispensation, neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision. Though, while the legal state lasted, there was a difference put between Jew and Greek, between those who were and those who were not circumcised, the former being admitted to those privileges of the church of God from which the other were excluded, yet it was otherwise in the gospel state: Christ, who is the end of the law, having come, now it was neither here nor there whether a man were circumcised or uncircumcised; he was neither the better for the one nor the worse for the other, nor would either the one or the other recommend him to God; and therefore as their judaizing teachers were very unreasonable in imposing circumcision upon them, and obliging them to observe the law of Moses, so they must needs be very unwise in submitting to them herein. But, though he assures them that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision would avail to their acceptance with God, yet he informs them what would do so, and that is faith, which worketh by love: such a faith in Christ as discovers itself to be true and genuine by a sincere love to God and our neighbour. If they had this, it mattered not whether they were circumcised or uncircumcised, but without it nothing else would stand them in any stead. Note, 1. No external privileges nor profession will avail to our acceptance with God, without a sincere faith in our Lord Jesus. 2. Faith, where it is true, is a working grace: it works by love, love to God and love to our brethren; and faith, thus working by love, is all in all in our Christianity.

IV. To recover them from their backslidings, and engage them to greater stedfastness for the future, he puts them in mind of their good beginnings, and calls upon them to consider whence it was that they were so much altered from what they had been, Gal 5:7.

1. He tells them that they did run well; at their first setting out in Christianity they had behaved themselves very commendably, they had readily embraced the Christian religion, and discovered a becoming zeal in the ways and work of it; as in their baptism they were devoted to God, and had declared themselves the disciples of Christ, so their behaviour was agreeable to their character and profession. Note, (1.) The life of a Christian is a race, wherein he must run, and hold on, if he would obtain the prize. (2.) It is not enough that we run in this race, by a profession of Christianity, but we must run well, by living up to that profession. Thus these Christians had done for awhile, but they had been obstructed in their progress, and were either turned out of the way or at least made to flag and falter in it. Therefore,

2. He asks them, and calls upon them to ask themselves, Who did hinder you? How came it to pass that they did not hold on in the way wherein they had begun to run so well? He very well knew who they were, and what it was that hindered them; but he would have them to put the question to themselves, and seriously consider whether they had any good reason to hearken to those who gave them this disturbance, and whether what they offered was sufficient to justify them in their present conduct. Note, (1.) Many who set out fair in religion, and run well for awhile - run within the bounds appointed for the race, and run with zeal and alacrity too-are yet by some means or other hindered in their progress, or turned out of the way. (2.) It concerns those who have run well, but now begin either to turn out of the way or to tire in it, to enquire what it is that hinders them. Young converts must expect that Satan will be laying stumbling blocks in their way, and doing all he can to divert them from the course they are in; but, whenever they find themselves in danger of being turned out of it, they would do well to consider who it is that hinders them. Whoever they were that hindered these Christians, the apostle tells them that by hearkening to them they were kept from obeying the truth, and were thereby in danger of losing the benefit of what they had done in religion. The gospel which he had preached to them, and which they had embraced and professed, he assures them was the truth; it was therein only that the true way of justification and salvation was fully discovered, and, in order to their enjoying the advantage of it, it was necessary that they should obey it, that they should firmly adhere to it, and continue to govern their lives and hopes according to the directions of it. If therefore they should suffer themselves to be drawn away from it they must needs be guilty of the greatest weakness and folly. Note, [1.] The truth is not only to be believed, but to be obeyed, to be received not only in the light of it, but in the love and power of it. [2.] Those do not rightly obey the truth, who do not stedfastly adhere to it. [3.] There is the same reason for our obeying the truth that there was for our embracing it: and therefore those act very unreasonably who, when they have begun to run well in the Christian race, suffer themselves to be hindered, so as not to persevere in it.

V. He argues for their stedfastness in the faith and liberty of the gospel from the ill rise of that persuasion whereby they were drawn away from it (Gal 5:8): This persuasion, says he, cometh not of him that calleth you. The opinion or persuasion of which the apostle here speaks was no doubt that of the necessity of their being circumcised, and keeping the law of Moses, or of their mixing the works of the law with faith in Christ in the business of justification. This was what the judaizing teachers endeavoured to impose upon them, and what they had too easily fallen into. To convince them of their folly herein, he tells them that this persuasion did not come of him that called them, that is, either of God, by whose authority the gospel had been preached to them and they had been called into the fellowship of it, or of the apostle himself, who had been employed as the instrument of calling them hereunto. It could not come from God, for it was contrary to that way of justification and salvation which he had established; nor could they have received it from Paul himself; for, whatever some might pretend, he had all along been an opposer and not a preacher of circumcision, and, if in any instance he had submitted to it for the sake of peace, yet he had never pressed the use of it upon Christians, much less imposed it upon them as necessary to salvation. Since then this persuasion did not come of him that had called them, he leaves them to judge whence it must arise, and sufficiently intimates that it could be owing to none but Satan and his instruments, who by this means were endeavouring to overthrow their faith and obstruct the progress of the gospel, and therefore that the Galatians had every reason to reject it, and to continue stedfast in the truth which they had before embraced. Note, 1. In order to our judging aright of the different persuasions in religion which there are among Christians, it concerns us to enquire whether they come of him that calleth us, whether or no they are founded upon the authority of Christ and his apostles. 2. If, upon enquiry, they appear to have no such foundation, how forward soever others may be to impose them upon us, we should by no means submit to them, but reject them.

VI. The danger there was of the spreading of this infection, and the ill influence it might have upon others, are a further argument which the apostle urges against their complying with their false teachers in what they would impose on them. It is possible that, to extenuate their fault, they might be ready to say that there were but few of those teachers among them who endeavoured to draw them into this persuasion and practice, or that they were only some smaller matters wherein they complied with them - that though they submitted to be circumcised, and to observe some few rites of the Jewish laws, yet they had by no means renounced their Christianity and gone over to Judaism. Or, suppose their complying thus far was as faulty as he could represent it, yet perhaps they might further say that there were but few among them who had done so, and therefore he needed not be so much concerned about it. Now, to obviate such pretences as these, and to convince them that there was more danger in it than they were aware of, he tells them (Gal 5:9) that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump - that the whole lump of Christianity may be tainted and corrupted by one such erroneous principle, or that the whole lump of the Christian society may be infected by one member of it, and therefore that they were greatly concerned not to yield in this single instance, or, if any had done so, to endeavour by all proper methods to purge out the infection from among them. Note, It is dangerous for Christian churches to encourage those among them who entertain, especially who set themselves to propagate, destructive errors. This was the case here. The doctrine which the false teachers were industrious to spread, and which some in these churches had been drawn into, was subversive of Christianity itself, as the apostle had before shown; and therefore, though the number either of the one or the other of these might be but small, yet, considering the fatal tendency of it and the corruption of human nature, whereby others were too much disposed to be infected with it, he would not have them on that account to be easy and unconcerned, but remember that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. If these were indulged the contagion might soon spread further and wider; and, if they suffered themselves to be imposed upon in this instance, it might soon issue in the utter ruin of the truth and liberty of the gospel.

VII. That he might conciliate the greater regard to what he had said, he expresses the hopes he had concerning them (Gal 5:10): I have confidence in you, says he, through the Lord, that you will be none otherwise minded. Though he had many fears and doubts about them (which was the occasion of his using so much plainness and freedom with them), yet he hoped that through the blessing of God upon what he had written they might be brought to be of the same mind with him, and to own and abide by that truth and that liberty of the gospel which he had preached to them, and was now endeavouring to confirm them in. Herein he teaches us that we ought to hope the best even of those concerning whom we have cause to fear the worst. That they might be the less offended at the reproofs he had given them for their unstedfastness in the faith, he lays the blame of it more upon others than themselves; for he adds, But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. He was sensible that there were some that troubled them, and would pervert the gospel of Christ (as Gal 1:7), and possibly he may point to some one particular man who was more busy and forward than others, and might be the chief instrument of the disorder that was among them; and to this he imputes their defection or inconstancy more than to any thing in themselves. This may give us occasion to observe that, in reproving sin and error, we should always distinguish between the leaders and the led, such as set themselves to draw others thereinto and such as are drawn aside by them. Thus the apostle softens and alleviates the fault of these Christians, even while he is reproving them, that he might the better persuade them to return to, and stand fast in, the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free: but as for him or those that troubled them, whoever he or they were, he declares they should bear their judgment, he did not doubt but God would deal with them according to their deserts, and out of his just indignation against them, as enemies of Christ and his church, he wishes that they were even cut off - not cut off from Christ and all hopes of salvation by him, but cut off by the censures of the church, which ought to witness against those teachers who thus corrupted the purity of the gospel. Those, whether ministers or others, who set themselves to overthrow the faith of the gospel, and disturb the peace of Christians, do thereby forfeit the privileges of Christian communion and deserve to be cut off from them.

VIII. To dissuade these Christians from hearkening to their judaizing teachers, and to recover them from the ill impressions they had made upon them, he represents them as men who had used very base and disingenuous methods to compass their designs, for they had misrepresented him, that they might the more easily gain their ends upon them. That which they were endeavouring was to bring them to submit to circumcision, and to mix Judaism with their Christianity; and, the better to accomplish this design, they had given out among them that Paul himself was a preacher of circumcision: for when he says (Gal 5:11), And I brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, it plainly appears that they had reported him to have done so, and that they had made use of this as an argument to prevail with the Galatians to submit to it. It is probable that they grounded this report upon his having circumcised Timothy, Act 16:3. But, though for good reasons he had yielded to circumcision in that instance, yet that he was a preacher of it, and especially in that sense wherein they imposed it, he utterly denies. To prove the injustice of that charge upon him, he offers such arguments as, if they would allow themselves to consider, could not fail to convince them of it. 1. If he would have preached circumcision, he might have avoided persecution. If I yet preach circumcision, says he, why do I yet suffer persecution? It was evident, and they could not but be sensible of it, that he was hated and persecuted by the Jews; but what account could be given of this their behaviour towards him, if he had so far symbolized with them as to preach up circumcision, and the observance of the law of Moses, as necessary to salvation? This was the great point they were contending for; and, if he had fallen in with them herein, instead of being exposed to their rage he might have been received into their favour. When therefore he was suffering persecution from them, this was a plain evidence that he had not complied with them; yea, that he was so far from preaching the doctrine he was charged with, that, rather than do so, he was willing to expose himself to the greatest hazards. 2. If he had yielded to the Jews herein, then would the offence of the cross have ceased. They would not have taken so much offence against the doctrine of Christianity as they did, nor would he and others have been exposed to so much suffering on the account of it as they were. He informs us (1Co 1:23) that the preaching of the cross of Christ (or the doctrine of justification and salvation only by faith in Christ crucified) was to the Jews a stumbling-block. That which they were most offended at in Christianity was, that thereby circumcision, and the whole frame of the legal administration, were set aside, as no longer in force. This raised their greatest outcries against it, and stirred them up to oppose and persecute the professors of it. Now if Paul and others could have given into this opinion, that circumcision was still to be retained, and the observance of the law of Moses joined with faith in Christ as necessary to salvation, then their offence against it would have been in a great measure removed, and they might have avoided the sufferings they underwent for the sake of it. But though others, and particularly those who were so forward to asperse him as a preacher of this doctrine, could easily come into it, yet so could not he. He rather chose to hazard his ease and credit, yea his very life itself, than thus to corrupt the truth and give up the liberty of the gospel. Hence it was that the Jews continued to be so much offended against Christianity, and against him as the preacher of it. Thus the apostle clears himself from the unjust reproach which his enemies had cast upon him, and at the same time shows how little regard was due to those men who could treat him in such an injurious manner, and how much reason he had to wish that they were even cut off.

Matthew Henry: Gal 5:13-26

In the latter part of this chapter the apostle comes to exhort these Christians to serious practical godliness, as the best antidote against the snares of the false teachers. Two things especially he presses upon them: -

I. That they should not strive with one another, but love one another. He tells them (Gal 5:13) that they had been called unto liberty, and he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free; but yet he would have them be very careful that they did not use this liberty as an occasion to the flesh - that they did not thence take occasion to indulge themselves in any corrupt affections and practices, and particularly such as might create distance and disaffection, and be the ground of quarrels and contentions among them: but, on the contrary, he would have them by love to serve one another, to maintain that mutual love and affection which, notwithstanding any minor differences there might be among them, would dispose them to all those offices of respect and kindness to each other which the Christian religion obliged them to. Note, 1. The liberty we enjoy as Christians is not a licentious liberty: though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet he has not freed us from the obligation of it; the gospel is a doctrine according to godliness (1Ti 6:3), and is so far from giving the least countenance to sin that it lays us under the strongest obligations to avoid and subdue it. 2. Though we ought to stand fast in our Christian liberty, yet we should not insist upon it to the breach of Christian charity; we should not use it as an occasion of strife and contention with our fellow Christians, who may be differently minded from us, but should always maintain such a temper towards each other as may dispose us by love to serve one another. To this the apostle endeavours to persuade these Christians, and there are two considerations which he sets before them for this purpose: - (1.) That all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, Gal 5:14. Love is the sum of the whole law; as love to God comprises the duties of the first table, so love to our neighbour those of the second. The apostle takes notice of the latter here, because he is speaking of their behaviour towards one another; and, when he makes use of this as an argument to persuade them to mutual love, he intimates both that this would be a good evidence of their sincerity in religion and also the most likely means of rooting out those dissensions and divisions that were among them. It will appear that we are the disciples of Christ indeed when we have love one to another (Joh 13:35); and, where this temper is kept up, if it do not wholly extinguish those unhappy discords that are among Christians, yet at least it will so far accommodate them that the fatal consequences of them will be prevented. (2.) The sad and dangerous tendency of a contrary behaviour (Gal 5:15): But, says he, if instead of serving one another in love, and therein fulfilling the law of God, you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. If, instead of acting like men and Christians, they would behave themselves more like brute beasts, in tearing and rending one another, they could expect nothing as the consequence of it, but that they would be consumed one of another; and therefore they had the greatest reason not to indulge themselves in such quarrels and animosities. Note, Mutual strifes among brethren, if persisted in, are likely to prove a common ruin; those that devour one another are in a fair way to be consumed one of another. Christian churches cannot be ruined but by their own hands; but if Christians, who should be helps to one another and a joy one to another, be as brute beasts, biting and devouring each other, what can be expected but that the God of love should deny his grace to them, and the Spirit of love should depart from them, and that the evil spirit, who seeks the destruction of them all, should prevail?

II. That they should all strive against sin; and happy would it be for the church if Christians would let all their quarrels be swallowed up of this, even a quarrel against sin-if, instead of biting and devouring one another on account of their different opinions, they would all set themselves against sin in themselves and the places where they live. This is what we are chiefly concerned to fight against, and that which above every thing else we should make it our business to oppose and suppress. To excite Christians hereunto, and to assist them herein, the apostle shows,

1. That there is in every one a struggle between the flesh and the spirit (Gal 5:17): The flesh (the corrupt and carnal part of us) lusts (strives and struggles with strength and vigour) against the spirit: it opposes all the motions of the Spirit, and resists every thing that is spiritual. On the other hand, the spirit (the renewed part of us) strives against the flesh, and opposes the will and desire of it: and hence it comes to pass that we cannot do the things that we would. As the principle of grace in us will not suffer us to do all the evil which our corrupt nature would prompt us to, so neither can we do all the good that we would, by reason of the oppositions we meet with from that corrupt and carnal principle. Even as in a natural man there is something of this struggle (the convictions of his conscience and the corruption of his own heart strive with one another; his convictions would suppress his corruptions, and his corruptions silence his convictions), so in a renewed man, where there is something of a good principle, there is a struggle between the old nature and the new nature, the remainders of sin and the beginnings of grace; and this Christians must expect will be their exercise as long as they continue in this world.

2. That it is our duty and interest in this struggle to side with the better part, to side with our convictions against our corruptions and with our graces against our lusts. This the apostle represents as our duty, and directs us to the most effectual means of success in it. If it should be asked, What course must we take that the better interest may get the better? he gives us this one general rule, which, if duly observed, would be the most sovereign remedy against the prevalence of corruption; and that is to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16): This I say, then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. By the Spirit here may be meant either the Holy Spirit himself, who condescends to dwell in the hearts of those whom he has renewed and sanctified, to guide and assist them in the way of their duty, or that gracious principle which he implants in the souls of his people and which lusts against the flesh, as that corrupt principle which still remains in them does against it. Accordingly the duty here recommended to us is that we set ourselves to act under the guidance and influence of the blessed Spirit, and agreeably to the motions and tendency of the new nature in us; and, if this be our care in the ordinary course and tenour of our lives, we may depend upon it that, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of our corrupt nature, we shall be kept from fulfilling it in the lusts thereof; so that though it remain in us, yet it shall not obtain a dominion over us. Note, The best antidote against the poison of sin is to walk in the Spirit, to be much in conversing with spiritual things, to mind the things of the soul, which is the spiritual part of man, more than those of the body, which is his carnal part, to commit ourselves to the guidance of the word, wherein the Holy Spirit makes known the will of God concerning us, and in the way of our duty to act in a dependence on his aids and influences. And, as this would be the best means of preserving them from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, so it would be a good evidence that they were Christians indeed; for, says the apostle (Gal 5:18), If you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. As if he had said, "You must expect a struggle between flesh and spirit as long as you are in the world, that the flesh will be lusting against the spirit as well as the spirit against the flesh; but if, in the prevailing bent and tenour of your lives, you be led by the Spirit, - if you act under the guidance and government of the Holy Spirit and of that spiritual nature and disposition he has wrought in you, - if you make the word of God your rule and the grace of God your principle, - it will hence appear that you are not under the law, not under the condemning, though you are still under the commanding, power of it; for there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; and as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, "Rom 8:1-14.

3. The apostle specifies the works of the flesh, which must be watched against and mortified, and the fruits of the Spirit, which must be cherished and brought forth (Gal 5:19, etc.); and by specifying particulars he further illustrates what he is here upon. (1.) He begins with the works of the flesh, which, as they are many, so they are manifest. It is past dispute that the things he here speaks of are the works of the flesh, or the product of corrupt and depraved nature; most of them are condemned by the light of nature itself, and all of them by the light of scripture. The particulars he specifies are of various sorts; some are sins against the seventh commandment, such as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, by which are meant not only the gross acts of these sins, but all such thoughts, and words, and actions, as have a tendency towards the great transgression. Some are sins against the first and second commandments, as idolatry and witchcraft. Others are sins against our neighbour, and contrary to the royal law of brotherly love, such as hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, which too often occasion seditions, heresies, envyings, and sometimes break out into murders, not only of the names and reputation, but even of the very lives, of our fellow-creatures. Others are sins against ourselves, such as drunkenness and revellings; and he concludes the catalogue with an et cetera, and gives fair warning to all to take care of them, as they hope to see the face of God with comfort. Of these and such like, says he, I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that those who do such things, how much soever they may flatter themselves with vain hopes, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. These are sins which will undoubtedly shut men out of heaven. The world of spirits can never be comfortable to those who plunge themselves in the filth of the flesh; nor will the righteous and holy God ever admit such into his favour and presence, unless they be first washed and sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, 1Co 6:11. (2.) He specifies the fruits of the Spirit, or the renewed nature, which as Christians we are concerned to bring forth, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23. And here we may observe that as sin is called the work of the flesh, because the flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves and excites men to it, so grace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit, because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from the root: and whereas before the apostle had chiefly specified those works of the flesh which were not only hurtful to men themselves but tended to make them so to one another, so here he chiefly takes notice of those fruits of the Spirit which had a tendency to make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as easy to themselves; and this was very suitable to the caution or exhortation he had before given (Gal 5:13), that they should not use their liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. He particularly recommends to us, love, to God especially, and to one another for his sake, - joy, by which may be understood cheerfulness in conversation with our friends, or rather a constant delight in God, - peace, with God and conscience, or a peaceableness of temper and behaviour towards others, - long-suffering, patience to defer anger, and a contentedness to bear injuries, - gentleness, such a sweetness of temper, and especially towards our inferiors, as disposes us to be affable and courteous, and easy to be entreated when any have wronged us, - goodness (kindness, beneficence), which shows itself in a readiness to do good to all as we have opportunity, - faith, fidelity, justice, and honesty, in what we profess and promise to others, - meekness, wherewith to govern our passions and resentments, so as not to be easily provoked, and, when we are so, to be soon pacified, - and temperance, in meat and drink, and other enjoyments of life, so as not to be excessive and immoderate in the use of them. Concerning these things, or those in whom these fruits of the Spirit are found, the apostle says, There is no law against them, to condemn and punish them. Yea, hence it appears that they are not under the law, but under grace; for these fruits of the Spirit, in whomsoever they are found, plainly show that such are led by the Spirit, and consequently that they are not under the law, as Gal 5:18. And as, by specifying these works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit, the apostle directs us both what we are to avoid and oppose and what we are to cherish and cultivate, so (Gal 5:24) he informs us that this is the sincere care and endeavour of all real Christians: And those that are Christ's, says he (those who are Christians indeed, not only in show and profession, but in sincerity and truth), have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. As in their baptism they were obliged hereunto (for, being baptized into Christ, they were baptized into his death, Rom 6:3), so they are now sincerely employing themselves herein, and, in conformity to their Lord and head, are endeavouring to die unto sin, as he had died for it. They have not yet obtained a complete victory over it; they have still flesh as well as Spirit in them, and that has its affections and lusts, which continue to give them no little disturbance, but as it does not now reign in their mortal bodies, so as that they obey it in the lusts thereof (Rom 6:12), so they are seeking the utter ruin and destruction of it, and to put it to the same shameful and ignominious, though lingering death, which our Lord Jesus underwent for our sakes. Note, If we should approve ourselves to be Christ's, such as are united to him and interested in him, we must make it our constant care and business to crucify the flesh with its corrupt affections and lusts. Christ will never own those as his who yield themselves the servants of sin. But though the apostle here only mentions the crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts, as the care and character of real Christians, yet, no doubt, it is also implied that, on the other hand, we should show forth those fruits of the Spirit which he had just before been specifying; this is no less our duty than that, nor is it less necessary to evidence our sincerity in religion. It is not enough that we cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. Our Christianity obliges us not only to die unto sin, but to live unto righteousness; not only to oppose the works of the flesh, but to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit too. If therefore we would make it appear that we do indeed belong to Christ, this must be our sincere care and endeavour as well as the other; and that it was the design of the apostle to represent both the one and the other of these as our duty, and as necessary to support our character as Christians, may be gathered from what follows (Gal 5:25), where he adds, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit; that is, "If we profess to have received the Spirit of Christ, or that we are renewed in the Spirit of Christ, or that we are renewed in the spirit of our minds, and endued with a principle of spiritual life, let us make it appear by the proper fruits of the Spirit in our lives."He had before told us that the Spirit of Christ is a privilege bestowed on all the children of God, Gal 4:6. "Now,"says he, "if we profess to be of this number, and as such to have obtained this privilege, let us show it by a temper and behaviour agreeable hereunto; let us evidence our good principles by good practices."Our conversation will always be answerable to the principle which we are under the guidance and government of: as those that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, so those that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit, Rom 8:5. If therefore we would have it appear that we are Christ's, and that we are partakers of his Spirit, it must be by our walking not after the flesh, but after the spirit. We must set ourselves in good earnest both to mortify the deeds of the body, and to walk in newness of life.

4. The apostle concludes this chapter with a caution against pride and envy, Gal 5:26. He had before been exhorting these Christians by love to serve one another (Gal 5:13), and had put them in mind of what would be the consequence if, instead of that, they did bite and devour one another, Gal 5:15. Now, as a means of engaging them to the one and preserving them from the other of these, he here cautions them against being desirous of vain-glory, or giving way to an undue affectation of the esteem and applause of men, because this, if it were indulged, would certainly lead them to provoke one another and to envy one another. As far as this temper prevails among Christians, they will be ready to slight and despise those whom they look upon as inferior to them, and to be put out of humour if they are denied that respect which they think is their due from them, and they will also be apt to envy those by whom their reputation is in any danger of being lessened: and thus a foundation is laid for those quarrels and contentions which, as they are inconsistent with that love which Christians ought to maintain towards each other, so they are greatly prejudicial to the honour and interest of religion itself. This therefore the apostle would have us by all means to watch against. Note, (1.) The glory which comes from men is vain-glory, which, instead of being desirous of, we should be dead to. (2.) An undue regard to the approbation and applause of men is one great ground of the unhappy strifes and contentions that exist among Christians.

Barclay: Gal 5:1-12

It was Paul's position that the way of grace and the way of law were mutually exclusive. The way of law makes salvation dependent on human achievement; the man who takes the way of grace simply casts himself and his sin upon the mercy of God. Paul went on to argue that if you accepted circumcision, that is to say, if you accepted one part of the law, logically you had to accept the whole law.

Suppose a man desires to become a naturalized subject of a country and carefully carries out all the rules and regulations of that country as they affect naturalization. He cannot stop there but is bound to accept all the other rules and regulations as well. So Paul argued that if a man were circumcised he had put himself under an obligation to the whole law to which circumcision was the introduction; and, if he took that way, he had automatically turned his back on the way of grace, and, as far as he was concerned, Christ might never have died.

To Paul all that mattered was faith which works through love. That is just another way of saying that the essence of Christianity is not law but a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. The Christian's faith is founded not on a book but on a person; its dynamic is not obedience to any law but love to Jesus Christ.

Once, the Galatians had known that, but now they were turning back to the law. "A little leaven," said Paul, "leavens the whole lump." For the Jew leaven nearly always stood for evil influence. What Paul is saying is, "This legalistic movement may not have gone very far yet, but you must root it out before it destroys your whole religion."

Paul ends with a very blunt saying. Galatia was near Phrygia and the great worship of that part of the world was of Cybele. It was the practice that priests and really devout worshippers of Cybele mutilated themselves by castration. Paul says, "If you go on in this way, of which circumcision is the beginning, you might as well end up by castrating yourselves like these heathen priests." It is a grim illustration at which a polite society raises its eyebrows, but it would be intensely real to the Galatians who knew all about the priests of Cybele.

Barclay: Gal 5:13-15

With this paragraph Paul's letter changes its emphasis. Up to this point it has been theological; now it becomes intensely ethical. Paul had a characteristically practical mind. Even when he has been scaling the highest heights of thought he always ends a letter on a practical note. To him a theology was not the slightest use unless it could be lived out. In Romans he wrote one of the world's great theological treatises, and then, quite suddenly, in Rom 12 the theology came down to earth and issued in the most practical advice. Vincent Taylor once said, "The test of a good theologian is, can he write a tract?" That is to say, after his flights of thought can he reduce it all to something that the ordinary man can understand and do? Paul always triumphantly satisfies that test, just as here the whole matter is brought to the acid test of daily living.

His theology always ran one danger. When he declared that the end of the reign of law had come and that the reign of grace had arrived, it was always possible for someone to say, "That, then, means that I can do what I like; all the restraints are lifted and I can follow my inclinations wherever they lead me. Law is gone and grace ensures forgiveness anyway." But to the end of the day there remained for Paul two obligations. (i) One he does not mention here but it is implicit in all his thinking. It is the obligation to God. If God loved us like that then the love of Christ constrains us. I cannot soil a life which God paid for with his own life. (ii) There is the obligation to our fellow men. We are free, but our freedom loves its neighbour as itself.

The names of the different forms of government are suggestive. Monarchy is government by one, and began in the interests of efficiency, for government by committees has always had its drawbacks. Oligarchy means government by the few and can be justified by arguing that only the few are fit to govern. Aristocracy means government by the best, but best is left to be defined. Plutocracy means government by the wealthy and is justified by the claim that those who have the biggest stake in the country have a logical right to rule it. Democracy means government of the people, by the people, for the people. Christianity is the only true democracy, because in a Christian state everyone would think as much of his neighbour as he does of himself. Christian freedom is not licence, for the simple but tremendous reason that the Christian is not a man who has become free to sin, but a man, who, by the grace of God, has become free not to sin.

Paul adds a grim bit of advice. "Unless," he says, "you solve the problem of living together you will make life impossible." Selfishness in the end does not exalt a man; it destroys him.

Barclay: Gal 5:16-21

No man was ever more conscious of the tension in human nature than Paul. As the soldier in Studdert Kennedy's poem said;

I'm a man and a man's a mixture

Right down from his very birth;

For part of him comes from heaven,

And part of him comes from earth.

For Paul it was essential that Christian freedom should mean not freedom to indulge the lower side of human nature, but freedom to walk in the life of the Spirit. He gives us a catalogue of evil things. Every word he uses has a picture behind it.

Fornication; it has been said, and said truly, that the one completely new virtue Christianity brought into the world was chastity. Christianity came into a world where sexual immorality was not only condoned, but was regarded as essential to the ordinary working of life.

Impurity; the word that Paul uses (akatharsia, 167 is interesting. It can be used for the pus of an unclean wound, for a tree that has never been pruned, for material which has never been sifted. In its positive form (katharos (2513), an adjective meaning pure) it is commonly used in housing contracts to describe a house that is left clean and in good condition. But its most suggestive use is that katharos (2513) is used of that ceremonial cleanness which entitles a man to approach his gods. Impurity, then, is that which makes a man unfit to come before God, the soiling of life with the things which separate us from him.

Wantonness; this word (aselgeia, 766) is translated licentiousness in the Revised Standard Version (Mar 7:22; 2Co 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19; 1Pe 4:3; Jd 1:4 ; Rom 13:13and 2Pe 2:18). It has been defined as "readiness for any pleasure." The man who practises it has been said to know no restraint, but to do whatever caprice and wanton insolence may suggest. Josephus ascribed it to Jezebel when she built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. The idea is that of a man who is so far gone in desire that he has ceased to care what people say or think.

Idolatry; this means the worship of gods which the hands of men have made. It is the sin in which material things have taken the place of God.

Witchcraft; this literally means the use of drugs. It can mean the beneficent use of drugs by a doctor; but it can also mean poisoning, and it came to be very specially connected with the use of drugs for sorcery, of which the ancient world was full.

Enmity; the idea is that of the man who is characteristically hostile to his fellow men; it is the precise opposite of the Christian virtue of love for the brethren and for all men.

Strife; originally this word had mainly to do with the rivalry for prizes. It can even be used in a good sense in that connection, but much more commonly it means the rivalry which has found its outcome in quarrellings and wrangling.

Jealousy; this word (zelos, 2205, from which our word zeal comes) was originally a good word. It meant emulation, the desire to attain to nobility when we see it. But it degenerated; came to mean the desire to have what someone else has, wrong desire for what is not for us.

Uncontrolled temper ; the word Paul uses means bursts of temper. It describes not an anger which lasts but anger which flames out and then dies.

Self-seeking; this word has a very illuminating history. It is eritheia (2052) and originally meant the work of a hired labourer (erithos). So it came to mean work done for pay. It went on to mean canvassing for political or public office, and it describes the man who wants office, not from any motives of service. but for what he can get out of it.

Dissension; literally the word means a standing apart. After one of his great victories Nelson attributed it to the fact that he had the happiness to command a band of brothers. Dissension describes a society in which the very opposite is the case, where the members fly apart instead of coming together.

Heretical division; this might be described as crystallized dissension. The word is hairesis (139), from which comes our word heresy. Hairesis was not originally a bad word at all. It comes from a root which means to choose, and it was used for a philosopher's school of followers or for any band of people who shared a common belief. The tragedy of life is that people who hold different views very often finish up by disliking, not each others' views, but each other. It should be possible to differ with a man and yet remain friends.

Envy; this word (phthonos, 5355), is a mean word. Euripides called it "the greatest of all diseases among men." The essence of it is that it does not describe the spirit which desires, nobly or ignobly, to have what someone else has: it describes the spirit which grudges the fact that the other person has these things at all. It does not so much want the things for itself; it merely wants to take them from the other. The Stoics defined it as "grief at someone else's good." Basil called it "grief at your neighbours good fortune." It is the quality, not so much of the jealous, but rather of the embittered mind.

Drunkenness; in the ancient world this was not a common vice. The Greeks drank more wine than they did milk; even children drank wine. But they drank it in the proportion of three parts of water to two of wine. Greek and Christian alike would have condemned drunkenness as a thing which turned a man into a beast.

Carousing; this word (komos) has an interesting history. A komos was a band of friends who accompanied a victor of the games after his victory. They danced and laughed and sang his praises. It also described the bands of the devotees of Bacchus, god of wine. It describes what in regency England would have been called a rout. It means unrestrained revelry. enjoyment that has degenerated into licence.

When we get to the root meaning of these words, we see that life has not changed so very much.

Barclay: Gal 5:22-26

As in the previous verses Paul set out the evil things characteristic of the flesh, so now he sets out the lovely things which are the fruit of the Spirit. Again it is worth while to look at each word separately.

Love; the New Testament word for love is agape (26). This is not a word which classical Greek uses commonly. In Greek there are four words for love. (a) Eros (compare 2037) means the love of a man for a maid; it is the love which has passion in it. It is never used in the New Testament at all. (b) Philia (5373) is the warm love which we feel for our nearest and our dearest; it is a thing of the heart. © Storge (compare 794) rather means affection and is specially used of the love of parents and children. (d) Agape (26), the Christian word, means unconquerable benevolence. It means that no matter what a man may do to us by way of insult or injury or humiliation we will never seek anything else but his highest good. It is therefore a feeling of the mind as much as of the heart; it concerns the will as much as the emotions. It describes the deliberate effort--which we can make only with the help of God--never to seek anything but the best even for those who seek the worst for us.

Joy; the Greek is chara (5479), and the characteristic of this word is that it most often describes that joy which has a basis in religion (compare Psa 30:11; Rom 14:17; Rom 15:13; Phi 1:4; Phi 1:25). It is not the joy that comes from earthly things, still less from triumphing over someone else in competition. It is a joy whose foundation is God.

Peace; in contemporary colloquial Greek this word (eirene, 1515) had two interesting usages. It was used of the serenity which a country enjoyed under the just and beneficent government of a good emperor; and it was used of the good order of a town or village. Villages had an official who was called the superintendent of the village's eirene (1515), the keeper of the public peace. Usually in the New Testament eirene (1515) stands for the Hebrew shalowm (07965) and means not just freedom from trouble but everything that makes for a man's highest good. Here it means that tranquillity of heart which derives from the all-pervading consciousness that our times are in the hands of God. It is interesting to note that Chara and Eirene both became very common Christian names in the Church.

Makrothumia (3115); this is a great word. The writer of First Maccabees (1Macc 8:4) says that it was by makrothumia (3115) that the Romans became masters of the world, and by that he means the Roman persistence which would never make peace with an enemy even in defeat, a kind of conquering patience. Generally speaking the word is not used of patience in regard to things or events but in regard to people. Chrysostom said that it is the grace of the man who could revenge himself and does not, the man who is slow to wrath. The most illuminating thing about it is that it is commonly used in the New Testament of the attitude of God towards men (Rom 2:4; Rom 9:22; 1Ti 1:16; 1Pe 3:20). If God had been a man, he would have wiped out this world long ago; but he has that patience which bears with all our sinning and will not cast us off. In our dealings with our fellow men we must reproduce this loving, forbearing, forgiving, patient attitude of God towards ourselves.

Kindness and goodness are closely connected words. For kindness the word is chrestotes (5544). It, too, is commonly translated goodness. The Rheims version of 2Co 6:6translates it sweetness. It is a lovely word. Plutarch says that it has a far wider place than justice. Old wine is called chrestos (5543), mellow. Christ's yoke is called chrestos (5543) (Mat 11:30), that is, it does not chafe. The whole idea of the word is a goodness which is kind. The word Paul uses for goodness (agathosune, 19) is a peculiarly Bible word and does not occur in secular Greek (Rom 15:14; Eph 5:9; 2Th 1:11). It is the widest word for goodness; it is defined as "virtue equipped at every point." What is the difference? Agathosune (19) might, and could, rebuke and discipline; chrestotes (5544) can only help. Trench says that Jesus showed agathosune (19) when he cleansed the Temple and drove out those who were making it a bazaar; but he showed chrestotes (5544) when he was kind to the sinning woman who anointed his feet. The Christian needs that goodness which at one and the same time can be kind and strong.

Fidelity; this word (pistis, 4102) is common in secular Greek for trustworthiness. It is the characteristic of the man who is reliable.

Gentleness; praotes (4236) is the most untranslatable of words. In the New Testament it has three main meanings. (a) It means being submissive to the will of God (Mat 5:5; Mat 11:29; Mat 21:5). (b) It means being teachable, being not too proud to learn (Jam 1:21). © Most often of all it means being considerate (1Co 4:21; 2Co 10:1; Eph 4:2). Aristotle defined praotes (4236) as the mean between excessive anger and excessive angerlessness, the quality of the man who is always angry at the right time and never at the wrong time. What throws most light on its meaning is that the adjective praus (4239) is used of an animal that has been tamed and brought under control; and so the word speaks of that self-control which Christ alone can give.

Self-control; the word is egkrateia (1466) which Plato uses of self-mastery. It is the spirit which has mastered its desires and its love of pleasure. It is used of the athlete's discipline of his body (1Co 9:25) and of the Christian's mastery of sex (1Co 7:9). Secular Greek uses it of the virtue of an Emperor who never lets his private interests influence the government of his people. It is the virtue which makes a man so master of himself that he is fit to be the servant of others.

It was Paul's belief and experience that the Christian died with Christ and rose again to a life, new and clean, in which the evil things of the old self were gone and the lovely things of the Spirit had come to fruition.

Constable: Gal 5:1--6:11

IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING 5:1--6:10

Paul moved next from theology (chs. 3-4) to ethics, from doctrine to exhortation.

Constable: Gal 5:1-26

A. Balance in the Christian life ch. 5

Having ruled out the Mosaic Law as a regulatory standard for Christian behavior, Paul proceeded to explain how God does lead us. He did this by first discussing two extremes and then the proper middle road. The indwelling Holy Spirit now lead us, but we must be careful to follow His leading.

Constable: Gal 5:1-12

1. Living without the Law 5:1-12

The apostle warned his readers not to think that they could satisfy the demands of the Mosaic Law by obeying only a few of its commands. Only complete compliance satisfies its demands.

5:1 Paul's readers were in danger of returning to slavery, not to the slavery of their heathen sins as before but to the slavery of the Mosaic Law. The false teachers were evidently telling them that they needed to submit to circumcision to be truly acceptable to God.

"Before plunging into this third section of his letter, Paul interjects a verse that is at once a summary of all that has gone before and a transition to what follows. It is, in fact, the key verse of the entire Epistle. Because of the nature of the true gospel and of the work of Christ on his behalf, the believer is now to turn away from anything that smacks of legalism and instead rest in Christ's triumphant work for him and live in the power of Christ's Spirit. . . . The appeal is for an obstinate perseverance in freedom as the only proper response to an attempt to bring Christians once more under legalism."¹⁶¹

In what sense has God liberated Christians from the "yoke of slavery" (v. 1) that is the Mosaic Law (cf. Rom. 10:4; 2 Cor. 3:7-11; Heb. 7:12; Gal. 3:24)?

Calvin and many reformed theologians have answered this question this way. They have said the ceremonial laws (e.g., animal sacrifices, dietary restrictions, feast days, etc.) are no longer binding on us because of the death of Christ. Nevertheless the moral laws (the Ten Commandments) are still binding. God has done away with the moral laws only in the sense that they no longer condemn us (Rom. 8:11).¹⁶² The problem with this explanation is that it makes a distinction between two parts of the Law that the text does not make. The text simply states that Christ is the end of "the Law" (Rom. 10:4), not the ceremonial part of the Law. Furthermore if the Ten Commandments are all still binding on us, why have Christians throughout history (Acts 20:7; cf. 1 Cor. 16:2) met to worship on Sunday rather than on the Sabbath? Some reformed theologians, following Calvin, believe that God abolished Sabbath worship along with the ceremonial laws.¹⁶³ This seems somewhat inconsistent. Others, following the Westminster Confession, regard Sunday worship as a continuation of Sabbath worship.¹⁶⁴ Nevertheless it is, of course, very different.

Dispensational theologians have suggested another answer to this question that to me seems more consistent with what Scripture says. They say that God did away with the Mosaic Law completely, both the ceremonial and the moral parts. He terminated it as a code and has replaced it with a new code, "the Law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). Some commandments in the Law of Christ are the same as those in the Law of Moses (e.g., nine of the Ten Commandments, excluding the command to observe the Sabbath day). God-given codes of laws that governed people's behavior existed before God gave the Law of Moses (e.g., Gen. 1:28-30; 2:16-17; 3:14-19; 9:1-17). God incorporated some specific commands from these former codes into the Law of Christ even though they were not part of the Law of Moses (e.g., 1 Tim. 4:3; cf. Gen. 9:3). He also incorporated nine of the Ten Commandments from the Mosaic Code.

"May this procedure not be likened to the various codes in a household with growing children? At different stages of maturity new codes are instituted, but some of the same commandments appear often. To say that the former code is done away and all its commandments is no contradiction. It is as natural as growing up. So it is with the Mosaic Law and the law of Christ."¹⁶⁵

"The yoke' was used in current Jewish parlance in an honorable sense for the obligation to keep the law of Moses, and the Judaizers may well have urged the Galatians to take the yoke of the law' upon themselves. But Paul bluntly points out that the ordinances of the law as demanded by the Judaizers constitute a slave's yoke, so that he uses the word in the bad sense of an imposed burden, like slavery (cf. Acts 15:10; 1 Tim. 6:1)."¹⁶⁶

5:2 Paul now began to attack the Judaizers' teaching about circumcision. Insistence on circumcision was a central feature of the false gospel that the Judaizers were promoting. It was the practice around which the whole controversy swirled.

5:3-4 The Galatians would be obligating themselves to obey the whole Mosaic Code if they allowed the false teachers to circumcise them.¹⁶⁷ Their confidence in circumcision would reveal confidence in their own ability to earn salvation by obeying the Law. This legal approach to salvation would separate them from Christ since what He did was provide salvation as a gift. They would fall away from the grace method of salvation if they chose the law method.¹⁶⁸ In view of the many scriptural promises that God never withdraws His gift of salvation, verse 4 cannot mean the readers had lost their salvation (e.g., John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:47; 10:28-29; et al.).

The legalists appear to have been claiming that circumcision was a necessary step in the process by which people become acceptable to God. These steps from their viewpoint were faith in Christ, reception of the Spirit, and circumcision of the flesh. Paul argued that anyone who submits to circumcision to gain acceptance with God really believes in salvation by law-keeping. If one believes in law-keeping for salvation, he must keep the whole Law, not just the requirement of circumcision. That is impossible for sinners to do. Rather than gaining acceptance with God circumcision would be what separated him from Christ.

5:5-6 Paul's approach, and the one he tried to persuade the Galatians to adopt, was simply to trust God to deliver all that we anticipate in the future because we are now righteous (justified).¹⁶⁹ This hope includes our ultimate glorification (cf. Rom. 8:18-25; 1 Pet. 1:3-4, 13). We do not work for this, but we wait for it.¹⁷⁰ God does not care if a Christian has a circumcised body or not. What does matter is that we trust God because we love Him. Note that in these verses Paul united the three basic Christian virtues: faith, hope, and love. The Holy Spirit makes all three possible.

"We must guard against the misunderstanding current especially in Catholic theology (though Protestantism is far from exempt) that only faith made perfect in love leads to justification. This represents a serious distortion of the relationship between faith, love, and justification. In speaking of justification Paul never talks of faith and love, but only of faith as receiving. Love is not therefore an additional prerequisite for receiving salvation, nor is it properly an essential trait of faith; on the contrary, faith animates the love in which it works."¹⁷¹

5:7-10 The false teachers had bumped Paul's readers as they ran the Christian race. God had not led the ones who interfered with them to do so. The "leaven" in Paul's proverb (v. 9) could refer to the error in the church, the leading false teacher in their midst (the bad apple in the barrel, cf. v. 10), and the single requirement of circumcision already mentioned (vv. 2-3). Paul was confident that the Galatians would side with him and that they or God would judge the false teacher or teachers. "Whoever he is" may allude to the high standing of the false teacher in the Galatians' minds rather than expressing Paul's ignorance about his identity.¹⁷²

5:11 Evidently some people were saying Paul advocated circumcision. He may have preached it before his Damascus road conversion, but since then he had stopped. Probably Paul meant that the accusation of his critics that he preached circumcision when it suited him was not true (cf. 1 Cor. 7:18).¹⁷³ Paul thought it wise for some Christians, such as Timothy, to undergo circumcision for the sake of effective ministry (Acts 16:3). However, he did not teach that it was necessary for salvation.

Paul's point here was that if he taught circumcision was necessary for salvation the Judaizers would not have persecuted him. If people need circumcision, they do not need the cross of Christ. The legalists opposed Paul's preaching of the Cross because it implied that people are unable to please God themselves.

"The skandalon [stumbling block] of the cross, for Jews (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23), lay in the curse which it involved for one who was hanged on it (cf. 3:13). That one who died such a death should be proclaimed as Lord and Christ was intolerable. In the eyes of Gentiles the idea that salvation depended on one who had neither the wit nor the power to save himself from so disreputable a death was the height of folly. But there is a more general skandalon attached to the cross, one of which Paul is probably thinking here: it cuts the ground from under every thought of personal achievement or merit where God's salvation is in view. To be shut up to receiving salvation from the crucified one, if it is to be received at all, is an affront to all notions of proper self-pride and self-help--and for many people this remains a major stumbling-block in the gospel of Christ crucified. If I myself can make some small contribution, something even so small as the acceptance of circumcision, then my self-esteem is uninjured."¹⁷⁴

Paul's gospel was a stumbling block for two reasons: it presented a crucified Messiah and it advocated a way of salvation apart from circumcision and the Law.

5:12 The Judaizers had gone too far with circumcision. Paul's wish that the Judaizers who were so keen on circumcision would mutilate (i.e., castrate) themselves reflects his deep feelings about the seriousness of their heresy. If God granted Paul's wish, they could not produce converts, figuratively speaking. Priests of the Cybele cult in nearby Phrygia practiced castration.¹⁷⁵ Paul regarded his legalistic rivals as no better than pagan priests.

". . . for Paul to compare the ancient Jewish rite of circumcision to pagan practices even in this way is startling. For one thing, it puts the efforts of the Judaizers to have the Gentiles circumcised on the same level as abhorred pagan practices. For another, it links their desire for circumcision to that which even in Judaism disbarred one from the congregation of the Lord (Deut 23:1)."¹⁷⁶

Thus Paul's desire for the false teachers seems to have been that they would cut themselves off from the company of believers.¹⁷⁷

"Most often Galatians is viewed as the great document of justification by faith. What Christians all too often fail to realize is that in reality it is a document that sets out a Christ-centered lifestyle--one that stands in opposition to both nomism and libertinism. Sadly, though applauding justification by faith, Christians frequently renounce their freedom in Christ by espousing either nomism or libertinism, and sometimes (like the Galatians) both. So Paul's letter to the Galatians, though directly relevant to the Galatian situation, speaks also to our situation today."¹⁷⁸

Constable: Gal 5:13-15

2. Living without license 5:13-15

Paul urged his readers to live unbound to the Law of Moses (5:1-12). He also warned them against using their liberty as a license to sin to prevent them from overreacting.

"The theme of love . . . informs all of Paul's exhortations vis-à-vis the Galatians' libertine tendencies . . .

"Yet undergirding all of Paul's admonitions regarding love and service is the reality of life lived by the Spirit,' with references to the Spirit being more frequent in 5:13-6:10 than references to either love or service."¹⁷⁹

5:13-14 The "flesh" is the sinful human nature that every person, saved or unsaved, possesses. It is possible to conclude that since it is unnecessary to keep the Law to be saved, it is unnecessary to pay attention to the Law for any reason. However, Paul was not urging his converts to burn their Old Testaments. The Law has values, as he previously pointed out, one of which is to reveal how to express love for God and other people. Really the whole Law is a revelation of how to love (Lev. 19:18; cf. Mark 12:28-31). Under grace we are free to fulfill the Law by loving one another. For the Christian the Mosaic Law has revelatory value (2 Tim. 3:16-17) even though it does not have regulatory value, controlling our behavior.¹⁸⁰

If his readers insisted on living in slavery, Paul wished they would enslave themselves to love of one another. If they wanted to live under law, let it be the law of Christ (6:2) impelled by the indwelling Spirit rather than by an external code.

There is no external entity that can enable us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but the Holy Spirit can produce that love within us.

In what sense does Leviticus 19:18 fulfill the whole Mosaic Law?

"There is a play on two meanings of the Greek word peplerotai, translated summed up' [NIV, or fulfilled, NASB]. On the one hand, it refers to the fact that the law can aptly be summarized by the words of Leviticus 19:18. This idea was a commonplace of rabbinic opinion and Jesus endorsed it in Matthew 22:39 and Luke 10:25-28. On the other hand, the word can also mean fulfilled' (as in Rom 13:8), and in this sense Paul is suggesting that it is actually out of the new life of love made possible within the Christian community through the Spirit that the law finds fulfillment."¹⁸¹

". . . the primary meaning is not that we must properly love ourselves before we can love others (although this is true in itself), but that we are to love our neighbor with the same spontaneity and alacrity with which we love ourselves.¹⁸²

5:15 Apparently the believers who advocated grace and the believers who advocated law bitterly opposed one another in the Galatian churches. Paul cautioned both sides to love one another or they would consume each other. That would not be a good example of Christian love. This is the only sin Paul warned the Galatians to avoid. They were better off spiritually than some other congregations to which he wrote, or possibly he did not want to deal with other needs of theirs in this letter.

Constable: Gal 5:16-26

3. Living by the Holy Spirit 5:16-26

Paul previously told his readers that they should not live either under the Mosaic Law or licentiously. Here he gave positive direction and explained what the leading of the Holy Spirit means. He did this so his readers would know how to live to the glory of God as Christians.

Constable: Gal 5:16-18

The promise of victory 5:16-18

5:16 Walking by the Spirit means living moment by moment submissively trusting in the Holy Spirit rather than in self.

"Walk by the Spirit' means let your conduct be directed by the Spirit.'"¹⁸³

"To walk by the Spirit' means to be under the constant, moment-by-moment direction, control, and guidance of the Spirit."¹⁸⁴

"Walking is a metaphor used from time to time in Scripture to denote spiritual progress. People in the first century could not travel as fast as we do, with our cars, planes, trains and the like, but even so, for them as for us, walking was the slowest way of going places. But even though walking was slow and unspectacular, walking meant progress. If anyone kept walking, she or he would certainly cover the ground and eventually reach the destination. So for the apostle walking was an apt metaphor. If any believer was walking, that believer was going somewhere."¹⁸⁵

We could translate the Greek present tense imperative "Keep on walking." To the extent that we do this we will not at all (Gr. ou me, the strongest negative) carry out our fleshly desires. This is a promise.

This does not mean that one must be constantly thinking about his or her dependence on Him to be walking in the Spirit. It is, of course, impossible to be thinking about this all the time. Nevertheless we should be trusting in Him all the time. The more we think about our dependence on Him the more consistent we will be in trusting in Him and in walking by the Spirit.

"The contrary way of living is to fulfil the lust of the flesh. The flesh is the physical part of our being and stands accordingly for that which is opposed to our spirit as well as to the divine Spirit. Our flesh is characterized by lust, which stands for the strong, but sometimes evil, desires that are associated with bodily living."¹⁸⁶

This is one of the most important and helpful verses on Christian living in the Bible.

5:17 This verse does not present two natures fighting each other inside the Christian. The conflicting entities are God's Holy Spirit within the believer and the believer's sinful human nature (cf. 3:3; 4:29; 5:16, 18, 22, 25; Rom. 8:4-6, 9, 13). We experience conflict whether we side with the Spirit against the flesh or with the flesh against the Spirit. The "things that you please" may be good or evil. It is impossible for us to remain neutral; we either follow one or the other. Note, too, that we cannot blame Satan and his demons for all the conflicts we experience. Our own sinful nature is responsible for many of them.

"So long as we remain in this present life, we never outgrow or transcend the spiritual conflict Paul was describing in this passage. There is no spiritual technique or second blessing that can propel the believer onto a higher plane of Christian living where this battle must no longer be fought."¹⁸⁷

The conflict described in this verse and in verses 16-23 is not the same as that presented in Romans 7:13-24. The opponents of the sinful nature are different. In Galatians it is the Holy Spirit, but in Romans it is the whole regenerated individual. The condition of the believer is also different. In Galatians Paul saw him as under law or grace, but in Romans he viewed him as under law only. Furthermore, the results of the conflict are different. In Galatians there may be defeat or victory, but in Romans defeat is inevitable. Finally the nature of the conflict is different. In Galatians it is normal Christian experience, but in Romans it is abnormal.¹⁸⁸

The Christian's Conflicts
	Galatians 5:16-23	Romans 7:13-24
Opponent of flesh	The Holy Spirit	The reborn person
Condition of believer	Under law or grace	Under law
Result of conflict	Defeat or victory	Defeat
Nature of conflict	Normal Christian experience	Abnormal Christian experience

5:18 If we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the Law. This statement is a first class condition in the Greek text indicating that the writer assumed the statement was true for the sake of his argument. Other information about what he said determines whether it is really true. In this case Paul seems to have believed that the Holy Spirit does indeed lead every Christian (cf. vv. 24-26). The question is, will we follow His leading and walk after the Spirit (v. 16) or will we walk after the flesh? The "if" in this sentence has the force of "since." However, we should not conclude that the Spirit forces us to do God's will. He does not lead us so strongly.

The Holy Spirit leads us to do the moral will of God. He does this primarily through Scripture by helping us understand the will of God as He has revealed it there. Furthermore He motivates us to do what we know to be right, and He provides the power for us to obey God (Phil. 2:13). We can overcome the flesh by siding with the Spirit.

"Walking by the Spirit, the antidote to nomism [living by the law] of every kind, calls for resolution and staying power, as is made plain by Paul's frequent use of athletic metaphor for the Christian life."¹⁸⁹

"Being led by the Spirit does not imply passivity but rather the need to allow oneself to be led. Responding to the Spirit is described by three mutually interpreting words in vv. 16, 18, and 25--'walk' (RSV), led,' and live.'"¹⁹⁰

We might have expected Paul to write that since we are led by the Spirit we are not "under the flesh," but instead we read "under the law." His point was that the Christian cannot overcome the desires of the flesh by remaining under the law. The Judaizers were advocating submission to the law as the way to overcome the flesh, but Paul advocated submission to the Spirit.

Constable: Gal 5:19-21

The works of the flesh 5:19-21

The deeds of the sinful human nature are as evident as fruit on a tree. Behavior normally demonstrates nature. Paul identified five categories of sins here.

Constable: Gal 5:19

Sexual sins (v. 19)

Immorality, fornication (Gr. porneia, all types of forbidden sexual relationships)¹⁹¹

Impurity, uncleanness (Gr. akatharsia, all moral uncleanness in thought, word, and deed)

Sensuality, licentiousness, indecency debauchery, lasciviousness (Gr. aselgeia, the open, shameless display of these sins)

Constable: Gal 5:20

Religious sins (v. 20)

Idolatry (Gr. eidololatria, worship of anything but God and the practices associated with that worship)

Sorcery, witchcraft (Gr. pharmakeia, attempts to aid the powers of evil and the practices associated with that)

Constable: Gal 5:20-21

Societal sins (vv. 20-21)

Enmities, quarrels, hatred (Gr. echthrai, hostilities)

Strife, discord, variance (Gr. eris, antagonism)

Jealousy, envy, emulation (Gr. zelos, self-centered animosity)

Outbursts of anger, fits of rage, wrath (Gr. thymoi, temper eruptions)

Disputes, strife, factions selfishness, selfish ambition (Gr. eritheiai, putting others down to get ahead)

Dissensions, divisions, seditions (Gr. dichostasiai, disputes over issues or personalities)

Factions, heresies, party spirit (Gr. haireseis, divisions over issues or personalities)

Envyings, jealousies (Gr. phthonoi, wrong desires to have another's possessions)

Constable: Gal 5:21

Intemperate sins (v. 21)

Drunkenness, drinking bouts (Gr. methai, excessive use of intoxicants)

Carousings, revellings, orgies (Gr. komoi, parties involving excessive eating and drinking)

Constable: Gal 5:21

Other sins (v. 21)

Things like these (similar violations of God's moral will)

"The common feature in this catalogue of vices seems to reside not in the precise ways in which these fifteen items manifest themselves but in the self-centeredness or egocentricity that underlies all of them.¹⁹²

Paul warned his readers here, as he had when he was with them, that people who practice such sins will not inherit the kingdom of God (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 5:5). The use of the term "inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 21) is in keeping with Paul's emphasis in this letter (e.g., 4:1-7; et al.). There are two important views as to what this exclusion involves.

Most interpreters understand Paul's words here to mean that people who practice these types of sins are not the kind of individuals who will inherit the kingdom (i.e., they are unbelievers).¹⁹³ Some who hold this view concede that these vices may mark some Christians, but Paul mentioned the fate of these sinners so the Galatian Christians would avoid these vices. Others who hold this view believe that no genuine Christian would practice these sins.

The second view is that Paul meant that Christians who practice these vices will have less inheritance (reward) in the kingdom than Christians who do not practice them.¹⁹⁴

I favor the first view. Paul seems to have been contrasting unbelievers whose lives typically bear the marks of these vices with believers whose lives typically manifest the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23). He said that those who practice these vices will not inherit the kingdom to warn his Christian readers away from them. I do not believe the Scriptures teach that genuine Christians are incapable of committing these sins (cf. Rom. 13:13). However, I believe that there will be differences in rewards for believers depending on our faithfulness to God (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

Constable: Gal 5:22-23

The fruit of the Spirit 5:22-23

Paul identified the behavior that results when we rebel against the Holy Spirit's leadership and follow the dictates of our sinful nature (cf. v. 17). He next listed the behavior characteristics that become evident when we allow the Spirit to control us rather than the flesh.

Note that he called what issues from our sinful human nature "deeds" or "acts" (v.19), but he called what issues from the Holy Spirit "fruit" (v. 22). This contrast is consistent with Paul's emphasis throughout the epistle. He repeatedly contrasted working and trusting. "Fruit" is singular suggesting the unified Christ-like character that the Holy Spirit produces. This fruit comes in nine delicious flavors. Both deeds and fruit are the behavior manifestations of the driving forces within the Christian: his or her sinful human nature and the Holy Spirit.

Constable: Gal 5:22

Mental or God-ward qualities (v. 22)

Love (Gr. agape, self-sacrificing affection for others)

Joy (Gr. chara, deep-seated gladness regardless of circumstances)

Peace (Gr. eirene, inner quietness and repose regardless of circumstances)

Constable: Gal 5:22

Interpersonal or other-ward qualities (v. 22)

Patience (Gr. makrothymia, forbearance even under provocation)

Kindness (Gr. chrestotes, benevolence and graciousness)

Goodness (Gr. agathosyne, constructive action reaching out to others)

Constable: Gal 5:22-23

General or self-ward qualities (vv. 22-23)

Faithfulness (Gr. pistis, reliability, trustworthiness)

Gentleness (Gr. praytes, acquiescence to authority and consideration of others)

Self-control (Gr. enkrateia, ability to master oneself)

"Again, it appears that Paul is not so concerned with precisely how each of these matters works out in practice, but with the underlying orientation of selfless and outgoing concern for others. For in commitment to God through Jesus Christ one discovers a new orientation for life--an orientation that reflects the selfless and outgoing love of God himself."¹⁹⁵

There are laws against the deeds of the flesh because they are destructive, but there are none against the fruit of the Spirit because it is edifying (cf. Rom. 8:1).¹⁹⁶

". . . the law is not against those who walk by the Spirit because in principle they are fulfilling the law (verse 14)."¹⁹⁷

Personality Traits for Meaningful Ministry¹⁹⁸

This past June [1985], Rick Rood attended a conference on Student Development in Theological Education held in Deerfield, Illinois. At the conference John L. Davis, of the North Central Career Development Center, New Brighton, Minnesota, spoke of nine "personal and social formation characteristics." His staff identified these as being significant for the practice of ministry. . . .

1. Ego-strength or inner resiliency to cope with personal and professional stress; sense of self-worth.

2. Integrity about one's inner being; a willingness to . . . share selectively and appropriately about one's regrets, fears, needs, aspirations, and visions.

3. Discriminatingly assertive; self-starting; resourceful, energetic, poised, interdependent; even some degree of entrepreneurship.

4. Inquisitiveness; openness to learning; avoidance of rigidity.

5. Healthy skepticism; evidence of questioning, probing, doubting.

6. Presence of joy, humor, hope.

7. Patience; long endurance.

8. Adaptability; willingness to come to terms with role expectations in ministry without violating one's inner conscience.

9. Demonstration of a collegial attitude and behavior; avoidance of an authoritative or laissez-faire approach to leadership; leadership sometimes described as participating and/or consultative.

Sounds almost like the fruit of the Spirit, doesn't it?

Constable: Gal 5:24-26

The provision for victory 5:24-26

5:24 The Christian has crucified the flesh in the sense that when he or she trusted Christ God broke the domination of his or her sinful nature. While we still have a sinful human nature, it does not control us as it did before we trusted in Christ (cf. Rom. 6:6-7). Paul said we, not God, have crucified it. We did this when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior (cf. 2:20). Therefore it is inconsistent for us to return to the flesh. "Passions" (Gr. pathemata, cf. Rom. 7:5) are the outward expression of inner "desires" (Gr. epithymiai, cf. v. 16). In another sense we need to continually crucify the flesh by choosing to yield to the Spirit (vv. 16, 18, 25; Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5).

5:25 Now since (or "if," another first class condition in Greek that here states a condition true to reality) God has given us new life, we should do something. We should walk ("keep in step," NIV, as soldiers do when they march) daily by (with) the Spirit (i.e., in dependence on Him). He is God's provision for us to live victoriously. The Holy Spirit leads every Christian, but not all choose to walk by the Spirit (i.e., follow His leading).¹⁹⁹

"Stated simply, the flesh is the individual behaving independently of the Spirit."²⁰⁰

Living by the Spirit is similar to walking by the Spirit. The former term looks at the Spirit as the source and sustaining power of the believer's spiritual life whereas the latter one views Him as the regulative principle in his or her conduct.²⁰¹

5:26 This last verse seems to be an application of this principle to the specific Galatian situation.

"This is a very instructive verse because it shows that our conduct to others is determined by our opinion of ourselves."²⁰²

"To be conceited' is to boast of things that are insignificant and lacking in true worth, whether the boaster actually has them or only imagines that he has them or desires to have them."²⁰³

Liberty lies between legalism and license. That balance is central in chapter 5. The key to being fruitful as a Christian is being submissive to the Holy Spirit, following His leading, walking in dependence on Him (cf. John 15:4-5).

College: Gal 5:1-26

GALATIANS 5

III. APPLICATION:

LIVING FOR FREEDOM (5:1-6:18)

A. FREEDOM OR A YOKE? (5:1-6)

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Paul is concerned that the Galatian Christians not return to any form of slavery to "the weak and miserable principles" (4:9) they formerly served. What good is it to be set free, if one then reverts to being a slave? To be set free "for freedom" emphasizes the permanency of the new status.

Deissmann records that the phrase "for freedom" was extremely well known, found in numerous documents for the freeing of slaves. The procedure called for a slave to save up enough money, and then to have the local temple use that money to buy him from the owner. The slave was then the property of the god, and no man could lay any claim against him. On the wall of the temple it would be recorded that "for freedom" the god had purchased the slave. An inscription on the wall at Delphi dating back to 200-199 B.C. illustrates this:

Date. Apollo the Pythian bought from Sosibius of Amphissa, for freedom , a female slave, whose name is Nicaea, by race a Roman, with a price of three minae of silver and a half-mina. Former seller according to the law: Eumnastus of Amphissa. The price he hath received. The purchase, however, Nicaea hath committed unto Apollo, for freedom .

An alternative translation of the dative th/' ejleuqeriva/ (tç eleutheria ) is "with freedom." Bruce favors this understanding of the text, explaining the freedom as the liberty held out in the gospel. "It is with this liberty that Christ has liberated his people." Even if this translation is accepted, however, verse 13 is specifically "for freedom," and the symbolism of the freed slave would apply there.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Paul frequently tells his readers to "stand," especially in the face of adversity. The Philippians, for instance, were to "stand firm" as they contended together for the faith of the gospel (1:27) and the Ephesians were to "stand their ground" when the day of evil came (6:13).

It is a tragedy of the modern church that sometimes people who are purchased out of slavery to sin turn right around and volunteer themselves to another form of slavery - being dominated by cult overlords. This "out of the frying pan, into the fire" predicament of the Galatians is highlighted by Paul's use of the word "again" in reference to their yoke of bondage.

In the immediate context of the Galatian situation, the false teachers who held out the new yoke of slavery were the advocates of the law. It was especially appropriate for Paul to use the term "yoke" in this connection, for the rabbis had frequently chosen to call the obligation to keep the law of Moses "the yoke of the law."

5:2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you

Having established his apostolic authority in chapters 1 and 2, Paul reminds his readers who it is that makes the pronouncement. The Greek could be translated literally, "Behold! I myself, Paul, I say to you. . . ." It is not some obscure teacher who speaks, or just another insignificant opinion to which they listen. It is Paul an apostle, the only apostle whom they know firsthand, who gives the full weight of his personal endorsement to the proposition which follows.

that if you let yourselves be circumcised,

The present tense of the verb indicates that Paul is not making any attempt to exclude from God's family someone who was circumcised at some time in the past. It is the present reliance on being circumcised that is the fault. To the church at large Paul says, "If you go on having yourselves circumcised," you are relying on a false premise. This dependence on circumcision must stop!

Christ will be of no value to you at all.

Christ will "profit nothing" to those whose trust is in their own work of keeping laws such as circumcision. It is not merely a matter of adding an innocuous "extra" to the gospel; it is a matter of changing it to no gospel at all (1:6-7). Why is this? It is because the whole issue of faith and trust is at stake. To have faith in Jesus Christ is to trust his sacrifice to be adequate in God's eyes to save the sinner. To believe that his sacrifice is in any way deficient is not to trust - not to believe.

When my son was a little boy I took him shopping to buy a gift for his mother. After selecting a colorful sweater, he and I went to pay the clerk. He stuffed his little hands down into his jeans pockets and came up with two crumpled dollar bills. He did the best he could, but then I had to make up the difference. For the legalist, there was a time when God's little Son went to the cross to buy us all salvation from sin. He stretched out his hands, shed his blood, and did the best he could. But since his sacrifice was too small, the legalist reasons, we must now make up the difference, earning "points" to get into God's favor by keeping his laws. Paul would vigorously object. To trust Christ, as aided by myself, is not really to trust Christ at all!

5:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised

Paul is emphatic here as he "solemnly testifies again" to the truth of the doctrine he has just established. The men who go on getting themselves circumcised (present tense as in the previous verse) are abandoning Christ. Surprisingly, verses 2 and 3 are the first direct references to circumcision since chapter two. The ritual had come to be the focal point of what the Judaizers were trying to impose upon the Gentile Christians, and all the earlier arguments against the Law also stand against circumcision.

that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Those who have no real trust in Christ's sacrifice and add circumcision are taking on more than they realize. In the law of Moses circumcision represented membership in the covenant people and acceptance of the covenant obligations. Circumcision ushered a Gentile into the covenant of law (e.g. Gen 17:27). If the Gentile Christian men in Galatia solemnly took on the necessity of circumcision as a ritual obligation, they were by the same act pledging their allegiance to the whole law.

The law of Moses was never presented as a legal smorgasbord from which its followers could make their selections according to personal preference. As Paul has already developed in 3:10 (based on Deut 27:26), the law pronounced a curse on those who did not uphold all the commands, all the time. And should the Galatians attempt to keep all the law, succeeding even as well as Paul himself had (Phil 3:6), they would still find no salvation there (Ps 143:2, as developed in Gal 2:16).

5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ;

The Greek says literally "you who are justifying yourselves by law." But they were like the men at Babel who were "building a tower to reach heaven" (Gen 11:1-9). Although they did not know it, what they were doing could not be successfully done. And worse, their attempt to do it was the ultimate insult to God. (The NIV "trying to be justified" is an interpretive translation, but seems to be a fair and correct interpretation.)

Submitting to circumcision has been seen to produce two tragic results: making the sacrifice of Christ worthless (v. 2) and putting the person squarely under the demands of the law (v. 3). Paul now elaborates on the first result, showing that such a person has made himself "alienated from Christ" and has "fallen away from grace." To be "alienated" (kathrghvqhte , katçrgçthçte ) meant that a relationship was nullified. Compare the use of the same word in Rom 7:2-6, where death has nullified a woman's former relation with her husband and has canceled any ongoing obligation to the law which had governed that marriage. By their circumcision, then, the Galatians were not only cutting off a piece of their anatomy, they were also cutting off Christ! (Cf. the RSV translation "severed from Christ.")

you have fallen away from grace.

How different from the glad declaration to the Romans about "this grace in which we now stand" (Rom 5:2)! The Galatians who were "building their tower to heaven" had jettisoned God's grace as inadequate and unnecessary.

Paul uses a slightly different word for "fall away" (ejkpivptw , ekpiptô ) than the word used in Heb 6:6 (parapivptw , parapiptô ). Both words were found in everyday language, and display this interesting difference. The word in Galatians was a technical term in nautical language, meaning "to drift off course." The word in Hebrews is often found with the meaning "lost." While a boat that is "off course" will not reach its destination unless it make a correction, a boat that is "lost" has no basis on which to make corrections. This would seem to indicate that the predicament of the Galatians was correctable, while in Hebrews it is "impossible" (Heb 6:4).

In the perennial arguments over whether it is possible for a Christian to "fall away from grace," this verse is a sword that cuts both ways. On the one hand, it clearly is possible for a Christian who has believed and received the Holy Spirit (3:2) to be later misled and be "alienated from Christ" and "fall away from grace." On the other hand, it must be noted that the way such people fall away is not by inadequate attention to keeping all God's rules, but by inadequate reliance upon grace. While modern-day Calvinists are defeated by the first slice of this verse, modern-day legalists are defeated by the second.

5:5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

It is "by faith" that the peril of apostasy is avoided. "Falling away" is not avoided by deciding it could never happen (Calvinists) nor by trying harder to earn a safer place in God's favor (legalists). Paul and those who like Isaac are children of promise do not place their trust in their own deeds of righteousness. Instead, they place their hope in God and eagerly await a righteousness "not of their own, not based on law" (Phil 3:9). Legalists, on the other hand, think they can nail down their claim on salvation by works, thereby leaving nothing to shaky, unstable things like faith, hope, and trust.

The verb translated "eagerly await" (ajpekdecovmeqa , apekdechometha ) has an interesting group of direct objects in the New Testament. Christians eagerly await a Savior (Phil 3:20), Christ (Heb 9:28), adoption and redemption (Rom 8:23), and the revealing of the sons of God (Rom 8:19).

The Spirit of God helps to keep this hope alive. Christians are able to "rejoice in hope" (Rom 5:2), and this hope "does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Rom 5:5).

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.

Shocking as it may have seemed to people depending on the law for access into God's favor, circumcision just didn't matter anymore. To be circumcised - or to refuse to be circumcised - was now a matter of indifference with God. To the veteran legalist it was unthinkable that something as important as circumcision simply didn't matter to God. Either a man must be circumcised, or a man must not! How could God say it didn't matter, that either way was fine?

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

It must not be overlooked that Paul does not say that the circumcision of the old covenant has been replaced by baptism in the new covenant. Rather, for the Christian the new counterpart of circumcision is faith. Baptism, of course, is conjoined with faith as a person puts on Christ (3:27), but the central focus of the new covenant is on the inner man.

"Faith is viewed as the root, love as the fruit," notes Bruce. "The faith by which believers are justified is the faith which operates through love." Faith becomes operative, expressing itself or working (Greek ejnergoumevnh , energoumenç , "energizing itself") through love. This truth goes a long way toward resolving the conflict Martin Luther noted between Paul and James. For James, faith that has no works is dead and useless (James 2:26). For Paul, faith must also be a working faith. Neither would accept an idle faith; neither would suppose that a man can earn his salvation by meritorious works. "Justification by faith and life in the Spirit are like two sides of one coin; neither is present without the other."

B. THE YEAST OF THE AGITATORS (5:7-12)

⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." ¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. ¹¹ Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹² As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

5:7 You were running a good race.

The athletic metaphor was a favorite way of speaking for Paul. He spoke of his own ministry as "running my race" (2:2), and also used the imagery of athletic competition in Acts 20:24; 1 Cor 9:26; and 2 Tim 4:7. Now the figure is applied to the Galatians. Like runners in a marathon they had been running well when Paul had last seen them. They were headed in the right direction and making good progress. At that point Paul had every right to think they would finish in victory.

Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

The original usage of "cut in" (ejnevkoyen , enekopsen ) was to chop up a road before an advancing army to impede their progress. Later the word seems to have been used also in an athletic context, as one runner might "cut in on" another runner, making that runner break stride and even fall.

"Obeying" (peivqesqai , peithesthai ) first means to be "persuaded" by something, then to act in accordance with it. Thus the truth of the gospel (2:5, 14) is not merely to be believed; it is also to be obeyed.

5:8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

The persuasion (peismonhv , peismonç ) is closely tied to the obeying, being derived from the same Greek root. This is the only use of the noun form in the New Testament.

5:9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."

This saying, as punctuated by the NIV, appears to have been a common proverb of the time. Paul also used it in 1 Cor 5:6, in that place referring to the practice of removing all leaven from a house in preparation for Passover. Jesus referred to leaven both in a positive sense (Matt 13:33 = Luke 13:21), and in a negative sense (Matt 16:6 = Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1). It is in the negative sense that Paul uses the imagery here.

5:10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.

Paul's confidence was not so much in the intelligence of the Galatians as in the faithfulness of the Lord and his gospel. Similar confidence was expressed by Paul in Rom 14:14; Phil 2:24; and 2 Thess 3:4. To "take no other view" (oujdeΙn a[llo fronhvsete , ouden allo phronçsete ) did not mean that they would agree in every detail, but that they would have the same outlook or attitude in the way they saw things.

The optimism of this verse stands in sharp contrast to the condemnation of verse four. This probably indicates that the Galatian converts were still wavering in their views. Although they were currently heading down a path toward destruction, Paul had confidence they would even yet come back to the truth. It is with this perspective that Paul repeatedly calls them "brothers," as in the next verse.

The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.

"The one" is used here in a generic sense, with broad reference to any and all those who are teaching false doctrine. Paul elsewhere depicts such troublemakers in the plural (1:7 "some people are throwing you into confusion"; 5:12 "those agitators"; and 6:12-13 "that they may boast"). These people will pay the penalty (literally, "bear the judgment"), when they answer to God for their perversion. When Paul says "whoever he may be," he may be indicating that he does not know the identity of the Judaizers. More likely, however, Paul is fearlessly proclaiming that neither he nor God will be afraid to condemn these people for their error.

5:11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

While it is well known that Paul had formerly been zealous to preach circumcision, it is surprising that anyone would have thought that he was still doing so. But somehow it had been reported that Paul still urged circumcision, at least in some circumstances, so Paul found it necessary to answer the charge they had heard. The word "if" (eij , ei ) is frequently used when the speaker does not accept the statement as factual, but acknowledges that others have alleged it to be so (as when Jesus said, "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons . . ." ). We do not know when or why Paul was accused of still preaching circumcision. Perhaps it grew out of the fact that he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3) in Lystra, a city of southern Galatia where the event would have become common knowledge to other Galatians. Or it may be, as suggested by Howard, that Paul's opponents were genuinely unaware of his position, since it had only recently (and privately) been presented (Gal 2:2). Paul's sense of exasperation with the false teachers, however, seems to exclude the possibility of a sincere misunderstanding on their part.

At best Paul must have seemed inconsistent to his opponents; at worse he must have seemed a complete traitor. His apparent inconsistency in circumcising Timothy but not Titus, however, reflects the state of the entire Jewish wing of the church until A.D. 70. They continued to go to the temple to pray (Acts 3:1; 5:12), they avoided unclean foods (Acts 10:14), and thirty years after Pentecost many thousands of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were still "zealous for the law" (Acts 21:20). But while they retained some of the features of Judaism, the Christians were not just a slight variation of the Jews. The intense persecution they faced - and Paul more than them all - proved that their doctrine was not the Jewish faith.

In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

The "offense" (skavndalon , skandalon ) of the cross was the "curse" brought down upon the one who hung there (Gal 3:13). Jesus' substitution was unacceptable to lawkeeping Jews, for it left them nothing by which they could earn at least part of their own salvation. If there could have been a kind of Christianity that included circumcision and excluded the cross, there would have been no conflict. Neither would there have been salvation.

5:12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

The "agitators" (ajnastatou'nte" , anastatountes ) now have a stronger name than before, when they had been called those who cause "trouble" (1:7, 5:10). The word of this verse is found in only two other places in the N.T., in Acts 17:6 where the Christians are accused of "turning the world upside down" (KJV), and in Acts 21:38 where an Egyptian had "started an insurrection" and led a revolt against the government.

Paul's emotional outburst against the agitators is quite understandable. The Galatians were his own children in the faith, and these intruders were about to cost his children their salvation! If they prized so highly the ritual of clipping away the foreskin, why not go further and cut off the genitals completely? The Galatians had, in fact, witnessed such a perversion in a local religion devoted to the goddess Cybele. Men who wished to serve Cybele as her priests would work themselves into a frenzy with dancing and wine, then take a knife and castrate themselves. Normal people (and God as well, Deut 23:1) would instinctively see this as horribly inappropriate. A Roman emperor of a later century also serves as an ugly illustration of what Paul is saying. Elagabalus, emperor A.D. 218-222, brought a Syrian idol to Rome and had himself circumcised in her honor. "He had planned, indeed, to cut off his genitals altogether."

C. THE ESSENCE OF LAW AND LOVE (5:13-15)

¹³ You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; ^a rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴ The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ^{b 15} If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

^a 13 Or the flesh ; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24 ^b 14 Lev. 19:18

5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free.

The Galatians were called by God's grace (1:6) and they were free. Like Isaac, they were born to be free. Like all believers, the truth in Jesus Christ had set them free (John 8:32). This verse to the Galatian believers is pivotal, and it accomplishes two things: (1) it authorizes believers to lay claim to their freedom, and (2) it challenges believers to use their freedom responsibly.

But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;

There is always the danger that people freed from one tyrant will fall prey to another. New Christians, who realize that their spiritual freedom has delivered them from bondage to law, may foolishly rush into a new servitude - bondage to their own flesh. (The NIV, regularly avoiding of the word "flesh," as the text literally says, supplies an acceptable alternative in the term "sinful nature.") People who spend their lives trying to satisfy every fleshly appetite find out this phony freedom is even worse than bondage to rules. This later predicament has not yet been the problem of the Galatians, but Paul knows the new danger they might well face in this opposite direction.

rather, serve one another in love.

The irony of true freedom is that it is found in servitude. When Paul says, "serve one another" he uses a word normally employed in the context of slavery (Greek douleuvete , douleuete ). The person who is set free from both slavery to law and slavery to self will find true freedom as the slave of Christ, an eager servant of the community of believers. Perhaps the key that makes this third kind of "slavery" to be real freedom lies in the qualifying phrase "in love." Just as real faith expresses itself through love (5:6), the joy of a Christian's freedom is discovered to rest upon love. Just as the old law brought bondage and death, the new "law of Christ" (6:2) introduces the believer into an exciting new community where people are free to love each other and serve each other's needs.

This verse encapsulates the whole message of Galatians:

1. You are free from the law (1:1-5:12).

2. Your freedom must not lead to carnality (5:14-21).

3. Your freedom must change your life (5:22-6:18).

5:14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

It is unfortunate that most people would sum up the spirit and intention of God's laws as "Thou shalt not." This fosters a spirit of legalism which sees life as a minefield, where we must always be careful not to step wrongly. What God would really rather see us do is rush from opportunity to opportunity, always eager to serve others. Law builds fences around what we must not do; love builds bridges to new places of service.

Careful students of the Old Testament had preceded Paul in seeing "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18) as "the whole of the law." Jesus, of course, summed up the requirements of the law and the prophets in this way (Matt 22:40). Hillel said, "What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor; that is the whole law, everything else is commentary; go and learn it." Paul himself repeated the concept in Rom 13:9.

This verse focuses on man's entire ethical and moral duty, but in the context of his relationships to "one another" (v. 13). For this reason the verse omits the first half of Jesus' great summary of law ("Love God"), presupposing it from all that has been said thus far in the epistle.

5:15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other,

The NIV correctly catches the flavor of the Greek conditional sentence here. Paul does not set up a future hazard to be avoided; he warns of a present condition ("keep on biting") which must be halted. The Galatian churches were racked by civil war, not least of all over the very issue of law vs. grace. Personal attacks on each other were making the church look like ravenous jackals and blood-thirsty sharks.

watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

It is characteristic of legalism to tear down rather than build up. When the crusade of the self-righteous reaches its ultimate end, the community of believers is decimated and finally annihilated (Greek ajnalivskw , analiskô , "to be totally eaten, to be consumed by fire").

D. THE ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE (5:16-21)

¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. ¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit,

"Here's what I mean," says Paul. Rather than the old bondage to law, and rather than the bondage to self that will ultimately cut off and destroy everybody else, the true path to freedom is to live (literally, "walk") with the Spirit. While this is the sole use of "walk" in Galatians, Paul uses it thirty times in his other epistles as a favorite way to describe the Christian life. It shows action, direction, a goal, and in this verse a companion Guide along the way.

The Spirit of God, as an indwelling presence, must increasingly guide our lives, "because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom 8:14). While the will of the Spirit is disclosed in Scripture, we must resist the temptation to turn Scripture - even the New Testament part of it - into a codebook or manual of laws. The Spirit described in this context is a living reality, not a retired author. The Spirit was sent by God into our hearts, not onto our library shelves. His coming into their community was accompanied by miracles (3:5) and changed lives (5:16-18).

and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

The person who "walks" by the Spirit will not (Greek ouj mhv , ou mç , "by no means, definitely not") fulfill the desires of the flesh. While the fleshly desires have their appropriate times and places for gratification, to give way completely to fleshly desires is ultimate suicide. For instance, an empty stomach will crave food even if the food belongs to someone else. An attractive woman may attract one's attention regardless of whether she is one's own wife or some other man's wife. When these "neutral" appetites of the flesh are given the opportunity to overrun the bounds of what is right and appropriate, they become expressions of what the NIV terms "sinful nature." While the NIV term may have an undue flavor of Calvinism's "depravity" about it, we still must admit to at least a fatal "bent toward sinning" where our spirit must overrule our flesh.

5:17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit,

The flesh has its desires. These desires (food, sex, leisure, etc.) are not so much the opposite of what the Spirit wants for us; rather, they are indifferent to what the Spirit wants. The flesh is not so much determined to have what is evil; it is simply oblivious to what is right. Right or wrong, the flesh wants what it wants.

When people give their flesh the right to rule in their lives, they will only occasionally and accidentally do what God wants for them. The selfish life, then, cannot be a spiritual life. The flesh says, "Gratify yourself!" The Spirit says, "Love others."

and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.

We have said that the flesh is, for the most part, demanding what the Spirit forbids. Likewise, what the Spirit demands is, for the most part, what the flesh resists. The flesh is not opposed to an occasional act of selfless love or service, but the total lifestyle demanded by the Spirit is out of the question!

They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

In this conflict the flesh and the Spirit are set in opposite positions (Greek ajntivkeitai , antikeitai ) like two armies entrenched for battle. This is the same inner turmoil so vividly depicted by Paul in Rom 7:14-25. Trapped in a body of death which has no concern for right and wrong, Paul decries his wretched state.

5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The solution for the wretched predicament, here as in Rom 7, is not for people just to try harder to resist their own carnal desires. Freedom comes in ways previously unsuspected: Jesus delivers from guilt (Rom 8:1) and the Spirit begins installing a new set of desires (Gal 5:22-23) which we have limitless permission to pursue. The law could condemn our misbehaviors, but was powerless to change them in any permanent way. We who are being led walk the path that increasingly leads to the final and total escape from our lifelong plight.

But how does the Spirit lead us? The surest way, of course, is through the precepts and principles of Scripture, the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17). But is this all? Has the Spirit retired from the field of battle, while Satan is still alive and well? Consider the access the devil has to tempt, prod, suggest, and urge us to do evil. Is there no corresponding action by the Spirit? Paul has affirmed that it is "God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil 2:13). While this inner prompting must be constantly measured against what we know of the Spirit's will expressed in Scripture, perhaps we would do well to discipline ourselves to be more sensitive to divine impulses.

5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:

It is well and good to speak in broad generalities about good and evil, about Spirit and flesh. But there is a practical necessity to be specific, to present enough itemized examples to make the broad principles plain. The actions the "sinful nature" causes men to do are self-evident; at least they are to those with the luxury of living long enough to evaluate the fruit grown on carnal trees. For those who need to know now what things are clearly wrong in God's eyes, Paul enumerates this list of fifteen specifics.

Notice that the list of fifteen can be divided into four natural groups:

Personal immorality (#1-3)

Attempts to control the supernatural (#4-5)

Selfishness (#6-13)

Drunken carousing (#14-15)

These fifteen sinful actions obviously do not exhaust the list of possibilities, nor are they necessarily even the worst sins. They are quite adequate, however, to illustrate the tenor of the sinful nature Paul is discussing. [Within a few centuries after Paul certain zealous scribes apparently "improved" his list by adding adultery (v. 19) and murders (v. 21). Indeed, how could any "respectable" list of sins fail to include them? The KJV retains these additions, but they are not at all necessary to make Paul's point clear.]

sexual immorality,

"Sexual immorality" (porneiva , porneia ) originally meant to have sexual relations with prostitutes (povrnai , pornai , from a verb meaning "to sell"), but later grew to include any form of sex outside of marriage. Promiscuity was rampant in the Graeco-Roman world in Paul's time. It was so common, Bruce notes, that "except when carried to excess, it was not regarded as specially reprehensible." With only a bit of exaggeration Seneca concluded that "chastity is simply a proof of ugliness." From incest in the Roman imperial family, to homosexuality in Greek society, to casual adultery and fornication in the streets of villages, sexual life was "a lawless chaos." It is no doubt significant that the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15:29) found it necessary to require specifically that the Gentile churches "abstain . . . from sexual immorality."

William Barclay even suggests that "chastity was the one completely new virtue which Christianity introduced into the pagan world." Society had come to accept sexual immorality as routine, philosophy had concluded that the physical body was naturally evil and its actions of little importance, and religion had embraced prostitution in its ritual. It is significant, then, that Paul's list of "acts of the sinful nature" should begin with "sexual immorality."

impurity

"Impurity" (ajkaqarsiva , akatharsia ) is a moral uncleanness that is broader that sexual immorality. While it includes sexual sin, it comes from a wider LXX usage where "unclean" could refer to anything that made a person unfit to go to the temple and appear before God. In a medical sense Hippocrates used this word to describe the pus and crusty impurities that gather around an infected sore or wound. What is "impure" is filthy and repulsive, especially to God.

and debauchery;

"Debauchery" (ajsevlgeia , aselgeia ) is the total disregard for all decency. It is the broadest of the three terms used thus far, and also the strongest. Debauchery is the blatant impudence of a Roman soldier who publicly urinated on the temple grounds at Jerusalem. It is the shameless wantonness of Jezebel as she built a shrine to Baal. It is the final state of the person who no longer cares about either public censure or divine wrath.

5:20 idolatry

Idolatry and witchcraft are linked to form the next grouping of the acts of sinful nature. Idolatry is the worship of a graven image or any other substitute for the true God. While the Jews had been mostly cured of worshiping idols during their captivity, the rest of the Graeco-Roman world was, as Paul observed in Athens, "quite superstitious" (Acts 17:22). The ancient world was flooded with idols of stone, wood, or precious metal, meant to localize and visualize the gods they represented. The people were not so primitive as to think the object itself was a god; rather, it was thought somehow to put them in touch with a god. It was only after the fact that the object itself took on an aura of reverence.

William Barclay makes this important observation about ancient idolatry: "The essence of idolatry is the desire to get. A man sets up an idol and worships it because he desires to get something out of God. To put it bluntly, he believes that by his sacrifices and his gifts and his worship, he can persuade, or even bribe, God into giving him what he desires." This is why Paul could say in another context, "greed is idolatry" (Col 3:5).

and witchcraft;

"Witchcraft" (farmakeiva , pharmakeia ) began as the attempt to use drugs and potions to harm one's enemies. (Ironically, on the positive side, it was out of this dabbling in drugs that modern medical science and the pharmaceutical industry originated.) By the time of Paul the word had come to include magic, incantations, drugs, and all the occult means by which men attempt to manipulate the dark powers of the supernatural world. Thus witchcraft and idolatry, alike in their condemnation by God (Deut 18:10-12), were also alike in their motive: the attempt to use the power of the unseen world for one's own selfish purposes.

hatred,

The next eight terms can be grouped together as sins of the conceited ego, sin spelled with a big "I". They have in common an inordinate self-love and a callous disregard for the well-being of others. They show what can happen when the instinct for self-preservation runs amok and "sinful nature" is not controlled by the Spirit.

Hatred (e[cqrai , echthrai ) is a plural word, perhaps best reflected by our word "hostilities." It is the spirit that looks with evil suspicion on anyone of a different race, tongue, nation, or creed. It is the "attitude of heart and mind that puts up barriers and draws the sword," but Christ has broken down the barrier (Eph 2:14) and has taught us to love those who are "hostile" (Matt 5:44).

discord,

"Discord" (e[ri" , eris ) or strife is the open outcome of inner hatred, the previous work of the flesh. Paul uses the word in eight other places in his epistles, and it is noteworthy that half of those eight passages describe strife in the church (1 Cor 1:11; 3:3; 2 Cor 12:20; Phil 1:15). The cure for discord in the church - or in any other community relationship - is humility, meekness, patience, and forbearance (Eph 4:2-3). Notice that these attitudes are the precise opposite of the "big I" sins of selfishness in this group.

jealousy,

"Jealousy" (zh'lo" , zçlos , from zevw , zeô "to boil, to be hot") is a word whose meaning hinges on the company it keeps. In a favorable setting it is often translated as "zeal" (cf. Gal 4:17). The word was used frequently of God ("the zeal of the LORD" in Isa 9:7) and his loyal servants (Elijah in 1 Kings 19:10, 14). "Zeal" for his father's house consumed Jesus (John 2:17, quoting Ps 69:9). But zçlos also has its dark side, when things boil out of control and the motive for the burning emotion is selfish. Then we translate the word as "jealousy." A more exact focus on this word will be seen when it is contrasted in v. 21 with the word "envy."

fits of rage,

"Fits of rage" (qumoiv , thymoi , plural of qumov" , thymos ) is another term which could have a much more noble meaning in another context. Plato saw thymos as the spirited element or vital force of the human soul, which needs to be controlled by intelligent reasoning. " Thymos is a great quality," Barclay notes, "but thymos needs a strong leash." When this spirited force is unleashed in the hands of man's sinful nature, all manner of evil results. In the N.T. the word is often used as a loose synonym for anger (ojrghv , orgç ), but with this occasional distinction: orgç is the "abiding and settled habit of mind," while thymos is the "turbulent agitation . . . the more passionate, and at the same time more temporary."

The "fits of wrath" that so easily get out of control in fallen men, then, are what we also call "losing your temper." Emotions flame up suddenly, "like fire in straw, quickly blazing up." If they also quickly die down, we often excuse ourselves, relieved that our pent-up rage has been released. We would do well to take more careful note of the burns and scars suffered by those around us.

selfish ambition,

"Selfish ambition" (ejriqei'ai , eritheiai , plural of ejriqeiva , eritheia ) is derived from the word for a hireling, someone who does something only for the pay (cf. Tobit 2:11). Crooked politicians, who serve in office only for what they can get out of it, are a good example of this. In Aristotle eritheia is the kind of self-seeking election intrigue that causes governments to fall, merely to satisfy the political cravings of the politician. Perhaps the most vivid use of this word, however, is found in another of Paul's own epistles. When he was imprisoned in Rome awaiting a possible sentence of death from Nero, certain preachers were scheming to stir up even more trouble against Paul. They were jealous of Paul's stature, and acting out of "selfish ambition," they wanted to see him punished for his success (Phil 1:17).

dissensions,

"Dissensions" (dicostasivai , dichostasiai , plural of dicostasiva , dichostasia ) means literally "dividing and standing apart." In Rom 16:17 Paul warned against "those who cause divisions ( dichostasiai ) and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned." Divisions or dissensions in the form of denominationalism have cruelly splintered the body of Christ. Moreover, the insidious nature of dissensions is such that it is always the other person who is in the wrong. In every one of the hundreds of divisions and sects in Christendom the loyalists say, "We are right. You are wrong. That's why we must separate from you." This is a product of the sinful nature, not the Spirit.

factions

"Factions" (aiJrevsei" , haireseis , plural of ai{resi" , hairesis ) comes from a verb meaning "to choose." Originally it was the process of choosing up sides over an issue; later it came to mean the troublesome issue itself. In this later sense the word entered the English language as "heresy" (thus the KJV translation). But for Paul the original sense of the word still obtained. When God's people divide into "sects" or factions around a particular issue or a notable champion of that issue, they are following the urging of their sinful nature. As Paul illustrated in 1 Cor 1:12 the fundamental problem is not choosing the wrong teacher or the wrong side of an issue; the problem is in choosing up sides over the issue in the first place.

5:21 and envy;

"Envy" (fqovnoi , phthonoi , plural of fqovno" , phthonos ) is the most sinister form of jealousy. It is not inspired to noble ambition by the success of others, nor even to simple jealousy and coveting. It is "pain at another's good," the base feeling of those who are "pained at their friend's successes." While the earlier word for "jealousy" is sometimes found in a positive sense, "envy" is always bad. God takes no pleasure in the downfall of his enemies (Ezek 18:32), but many a child of God has nursed a secret joy at some woe befalling his brother.

Within these last eight expressions of the sin of the "big I," it is worth noting the sequential relationship of the last four. The whole problem of divisions within Christ's church comes from the prideful "selfish ambition" of a few, who prefer to "stand apart" and create their own loyal "faction." These people look with undisguised "envy" at everybody else's sect, watching with glee whenever those others meet with misfortune.

drunkenness,

"Drunkenness" (mevqai , methai , plural of mevqh , methç ) is excessive indulgence in wine and strong drink. While wine was an everyday drink in the Mediterranean world, even pagan Romans and Greeks normally diluted the wine with water to avoid intoxication. A common ratio was one part wine to three parts water. Anything as strong as a 1:1 ratio was called "strong wine." The Jews had an especially keen sense of the evil of drunkenness, knowing that it disabled that very part of a man that was created most in the image of God. Bruce notes that "as gluttony is excessive indulgence in food, so methç is excessive indulgence in wine (and strong drink): both forms of excess are vices, but drunkenness is the more perilous because it weakens people's rational and moral control over their words and actions."

orgies,

"Orgies" (kw'moi , kômoi , plural of kw'mo" , kômos ) originally referred to the celebrations held by a winning athlete and his friends. Their joyful procession through the streets would be followed by a banquet and wine-drinking party. The celebration often ended in inebriation, and by the time of the N.T. the word usually carried the negative overtone of the English word "orgy." The only other use of the word in the N.T. is Rom 13:13, where Paul urged the readers to use their freedom wisely: "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies (kômoi ) and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." Barclay describes it as "a lustful excess in physical and sexual pleasure which is offensive to God and to man alike."

and the like.

This list of fifteen acts of the sinful nature could be multiplied a hundred fold. They do, however, stand as representative of all the rest. Barclay notes this "grim fact" about the works of the flesh:

Without exception, everyone of them is a perversion of something which is in itself good. Immorality, impurity, licentiousness are perversions of the sexual instinct which is in itself a lovely thing and a part of love. Idolatry is a perversion of worship, and was begun as an aid to worship. Sorcery is a perversion of the use of healing drugs in medicine. Envy, jealousy and strife are perversions of that noble ambition and desire to do well which can be a spur to greatness. Enmity and anger are a perversion of that righteous indignation without which the passion for goodness cannot exist. Dissension and the party spirit are a perversion of the devotion to principle which can produce the martyr. Drunkenness and carousing are the perversion of the happy joy of social fellowship and of the things which men can happily and legitimately enjoy. Nowhere is there better illustrated the power of evil to take beauty and to twist it into ugliness, to take the finest things and to make them an avenue for sin. The awfulness of the power of sin lies precisely in its ability to take the raw material of potential goodness and turn it into the material of evil.

It is also important to observe that most of these "works of the flesh" are not what we would normally call "carnal" actions. The preponderance of sins that expose a selfish spirit tells us something of God's ideas about sin.

I warn you, as I did before,

"I am telling you in advance," Paul says, so that the readers would not have to learn the hard way what things are not profitable for Christians. It is really a kindness, and not a burden, for God to reveal what actions and attitudes bear bitter fruit.

that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Those who "live like this" are those who "continue practicing" (present tense participle of pravssw , prassô ) such things. While God readily forgives the sinner for all such sins in his past, the sinner must not glibly think God will automatically forgive the same ongoing sins in his future. The Christian may never find immunity to these sins while still on earth, but he must never relent in the struggle to subdue the flesh by the Spirit.

The "kingdom of God" is both a present reality and a future inheritance in N.T. writings. Jesus opened his ministry by saying, "The time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near" (Mark 1:15). When Peter exercised his "keys to the kingdom" and preached the gospel at Pentecost, much of the promised kingdom became a reality (Matt 16:19; Acts 2:16-42). As Given Blakely has noted, Christians have "a conscious participation" in the work of the kingdom as they become "laborers together with God" (1 Cor 3:9).

In the future sense, however, the final realization of the kingdom is yet to come. Bruce suggests there may be a distinction between the present kingdom of Christ (1 Cor 15:25) and the future kingdom of God, when Christ will "hand over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power" (1 Cor 15:24). We must be cautious in drawing this distinction, however, because as Bruce further notes, in Eph 5:5 "the kingdom of Christ and of God" is one and the same kingdom.

E. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (5:22-26)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit

Fruit, or "harvest" (karpov" , karpos ), is what something naturally produces. When a tree is rotten it naturally produces rotten fruit (Matt 7:17). But when the indwelling Spirit of God himself begins to express his mighty power in the inner being of believers, good things begin to happen. The nature of God himself begins to manifest itself in our lives.

is love,

The primary Christian virtue is love. God is love; Christ Jesus is his great demonstration of love. When Christ dwells in our hearts we begin to fathom how great that love is (Eph 3:17-18). But it is difficult to speak clearly about love in the English language, where "love" has been so overworked and abused. The Greek language of Paul's day, on the other hand, had several words for love. "Erw" (erôs ) was a passionate love that was often tainted by the lust for carnal gratification. This kind of love always tries to use the object of love to fulfill its own hunger for excitement and emotional intoxication. Filiva ( philia ) was the broad love of both friendship and romance, the highest secular Greek word for love. This love was less selfish than mere carnal sexuality, and could be a rather noble attraction to someone or something that had lovable qualities. But as early as Aristotle it was noted that "when the loved one's beauty fades, the philia sometimes fades too." Storghv (storgç ) was a more narrow term, reserved for family love that is confined to the family circle. This love resisted embracing outsiders. The fourth term, ajgavph (agapç ), became almost exclusively the Christian word for love.

For people familiar with agapç in the New Testament, it is startling to discover that this great word is "almost completely lacking in pre-biblical Greek." A verb form (ajgapavw , agapaô ) was used occasionally by the Greeks, but they found in it "nothing of the power or magic of erôs and little of the warmth of philia ." Thus, at the end of the Greek classical period the language had a word for love that had been little used as a verb, and as a noun not at all. Agapç began to be important when the LXX translators transcribed the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Their use of agapç set the stage for N.T. usage, where this fresh, unsoiled word could be used to describe the love of God. It was not that agapç was such a noble word in the 1st century; it was that it was employed to tell about such a noble God.

From the N.T., then, we learn that agapç is a love that is chosen by the will of the lover, not the loveliness of the one loved. It is a love that is freely given without counting the cost nor calculating one's own profit. It goes deeper than mere emotion, lasts longer than mere attractiveness, and reaches wider than mere bloodline. The word that had been neglected as "colorless" was eagerly seized by Scripture because it was pure. Unlike all other loves, the quality of agapç is not diluted as the circle of love expands.

In a way, all nine elements of the fruit of the Spirit are merely expressions of the first - love. Joy and peace are the heart and soul of love. Love is patient, kind, and good to others. Love is dependable, gentle, and the basis of self-control. Love not only heads the list; it also sums up the list.

joy,

The Christian life is a life of joy (carav , chara ). It is founded on faith in Jesus, whose life on earth began as "good news of great joy for all people" (Luke 2:10). It is climaxed in his victory over death, an event so great it initially caused even his disciples to "disbelieve for joy" (Luke 24:41). The theme of joy is underscored by the 59 uses of "joy" and the 74 uses of "rejoice" in the N.T.

Unlike the jaded pleasures of the world, the joy of the N.T. is a spontaneous, radiant, happy response to life. It has a bright, clean air about it. The joy that is produced by the Spirit does not depend on circumstances; it triumphs over circumstances. On the night before his death Jesus spoke of joy to his disciples, "that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11).

peace,

The ancient world was divided over peace (eijrhvnh , eirçnç ). Greek philosophers had their idea of pursuing peace, but the Hebrew prophets had quite another. The philosophers said peace could come only with the elimination of desire, the death of emotion, the cessation of caring, and the complete absence of depending on anyone else for happiness. Peace was too often a negative thing, a void, a bland tranquility. But for the Hebrew mind peace was a positive thing; it was having all that was needed for a happy, satisfying life. For instance, when Joseph asked his brothers about their father's well-being (Gen 43:27), his literal question was, "Is it shalom with your aged father?" He was not asking, "Is your father staying out of trouble?"; he meant, "Does your father have all that he needs for his highest good?"

The N.T. promise of peace was proclaimed by the angels' chorus of peace on earth (Luke 2:14). All those who follow the Prince of Peace could expect to be freed from the inner turmoil of guilt and despair, for his righteousness becomes their own. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). Unlike the Galatian legalists, those who trust in Jesus come to know both the "God of peace" and "the peace of God" (Phil 4:7, 9). Those who trust in their own works can never be sure they have done enough.

patience,

"Patience" (makroqumiva , makrothymia ) means literally "long-tempered," as opposed to "short-tempered." It refers to what we might call "staying power," to endure hard events and obnoxious people. While the word was not frequently used in classical literature, it has a rich history in the LXX. "A man's wisdom gives him patience" (Prov 19:11), with which he can calm a quarrel (Prov 15:18) or persuade a ruler (Prov 25:15). More importantly, patience makes a man like God, who is "righteous and strong and long-tempered" (Ps 7:12, LXX). One of the great truths about God is that he is "slow to anger" (makroqumov" , makrothymos ), repeated by Moses (Exod 34:6), David (Ps 103:8), Joel (2:13), Jonah (4:2), Nahum (1:3), and Nehemiah (9:17). Peter assures us that "the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish" (2 Pet 3:9). Patience is the even temper that comes from a big heart. It is not the "grit your teeth" kind of angry endurance; it is loving tolerance in spite of people's weakness and failure. Love is patient (1 Cor 13:4) and so must Christians be (Eph 4:2).

kindness,

The one-dimensional English word "kindness" fails to capture the depth of meaning of this fifth virtue (Greek crhstovth" , chrçstotçs ) in the fruit of the Spirit. The word derives from a verb meaning "to take into use" and has the basic sense of "excellent," "serviceable," or "useful." It refers to something that is well suited for its purpose, such as a "worker" bee, an "orderly" house, or "healthy and tasty" food. When the word was applied to people it meant they were "worthy," "decent," "honest." When a person is all that he is supposed to be - when a human is humane - he is decent, reliable, gentle, and kind. All of this is included in what our Bible calls "kindness." It is not just a sweet disposition: it is a serving, productive trait as well.

Like all the fruit of the Spirit, kindness is a fundamental character trait of God. The Psalmist rejoiced, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is kind (crhstov" , chrçstos ), his love endures forever" (Ps 106:1). In the N.T. it is always Paul who speaks of the kindness of God, a kindness that is manifested in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:7) and leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4). "When the kindness . . . of God our Savior appeared, he saved us" (Titus 3:4). The person who inherits this trait from his Father will be gracious, kind, and decent - and will be active in meeting people's needs.

goodness,

"Goodness" (ajgaqwsuvnh , agathôsynç ) overlaps kindness in much of its meaning. The tree that is "good" is productive (Matt 7:17); land that is "good" is fertile (Luke 8:8); a "good" employer is generous with his workers (Matt 20:15). This sense of productive generosity is very similar to the useful helpfulness of "kindness." Barclay goes so far as to say that "the primary idea of agathôsynç is generosity," especially the kind of generosity which gives a man what he never could have earned.

The earlier commentators, however, found a more distinctive difference between kindness and goodness. "In this it differs," said Jerome, "because goodness is able to be more stern or harsh, with the severe wrinkled brow of death; to do well and to perform because it is required." Trench quotes St. Basil to the effect that goodness is used more in the context of doing righteousness. Trench goes on to say, "A man might display his agathôsynç his zeal for goodness and truth, in rebuking, correcting, chastising," as when Christ drove the buyers and sellers from the temple, or when he pronounced woes against the scribes and Pharisees. This was the domain of goodness. Kindness, on the other hand, was what Christ showed to the sinful woman who wept at his feet (Luke 7:37).

If the words are taken with the distinction maintained by the earlier commentators, kindness and goodness balance each other nicely. Kindness alone might be too ready to forgive failure; goodness alone might be too ready to condemn. Working together, as the virtues are found in the life of Christ, the divine balance is achieved.

faithfulness,

While the Greek pivsti" ( pistis ) is most often translated as "faith," the act of trusting or believing God, in this context most versions translate it as "faithfulness," the virtue of being trustworthy and dependable. The reason for understanding the word this way is the company in which it is found in this passage. The other eight virtues are ethical qualities, and it is more likely that "faith/faithfulness" should be an ethical quality as well.

The person who is becoming a partaker of the divine nature will be faithful and loyal, someone on whom people can depend. God himself is totally trustworthy (Rom 3:3) and requires this virtue in those who serve him (1 Cor 4:2). Dependability must be exercised toward both men and God. Those who serve God by serving men can expect to be rewarded as "good and faithful servants" (Matt 25:21). Those who have been faithful in very little will be given the opportunity to be faithful in much (Luke 16:10).

5:23 gentleness

The KJV translation of this word (Greek prau?th" , prautçs ) as "meek" has led many people to an unfortunate misunderstanding of this virtue. Paul meant "the fruit of power," but the English word "meekness" depicts someone who is weak and wimpy. Paul's concept was a person who has strength under control; "meekness" implies a weak person who acts timidly because he cannot help himself. If we switch from "meek" to "gentle" we have improved the situation, but we still have not caught the real force of the word.

The Greeks used this word to describe strong animals that were brought under control. Thus, Xenophon said that horses that work together are more likely to "stand quietly" together; Aristotle spoke of the "easy-tempered and easily domesticated" elephant; and Plato described a mighty and strong beast which could be tamed and fed by a man who learned how to handle it. Barclay says the best illustration is the watchdog "who is bravely hostile to strangers and gently friendly with familiars whom he knows and loves."

The use of prautçs in Scripture follows this pattern of strength brought under control. Only two individuals are described by this word in Scripture: Moses in the O.T. (Num 12:3) and Jesus three times in the N.T. (Matt 11:29; Matt 21:5; 2 Cor 10:1). Both display the obedient response to the reins of a good horse, the gentle strength of an elephant, the ferocious courage of a watchdog to guard his master's property. Their "meekness" was not weakness; it was a heart surrendered to God, a teachable spirit, a gentle strength.

and self-control.

The KJV "temperance" has again misled many modern readers, who are familiar with the English word primarily in the sense

of avoiding drunkenness. Paul's original term (Greek ejgkravteia , enkrateia ) referred to the "holding in" of desire. Plato said enkrateia "is the ordering or controlling of certain pleasures and desires . . . implied in the saying of 'a man being his own master.'" In his idealized State, "temperance and self-mastery truly express the rule of the better part over the worse." Aristotle's treatise on ethics describes the self-controlled man as "ready to abide by the result of his calculations," while the man without self-control is ready to abandon them. Felix, who needed to be lectured by Paul on righteousness and self-control (Acts 24:25), is a ready reminder that the philosophers' goal for perfect men was not always achieved.

What shall we make of the fact that even pagans admire the virtues on our list, and a limited degree of attainment can be found in their lives? Or put another way, how can the fruit of the Spirit be found in the life of a person who does not have the Spirit? The answer lies in the fact that all men are created in the image of God, and even fallen men have some vestiges of the original image. It should not surprise us to meet an unbeliever who is kind, or a pagan who is joyful. All people have certain remnants of their Father's nature in their personal temperament. However, what the Christian continually seeks to attain through the indwelling Spirit is nothing less than the restoration of the total divine nature, the finishing of the new creation.

The perfect example of the complete "harvest of the Spirit" can be found in Jesus Christ, in whom the Spirit was given without measure (John 3:34). It is a rewarding adventure to read the life of Jesus in the four Gospels, carefully observing how many times he demonstrated each Spiritual grace.

Against such things there is no law.

Christians are free to express this part of their new nature with joyful abandon. The Spirit, who strengthens the inner being (Eph 3:16), unleashes an unimaginable potential for growth in grace. But are these nine graces something we do, or things the Spirit does for us? The answer must be a combination of the two. While the Spirit originates and empowers these graces, each one is also elsewhere commanded in the N.T. Scriptures:

Love - "A new command I give you: Love one another"

(John 13:34).

Joy - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

(Phil 4:4).

Peace - "Live in peace" (2 Cor 13:11).

Patience - "Be patient, bearing with one another in love"

(Eph 4:2).

Kindness - "Be kind and compassionate to one another

(Eph 4:32).

Goodness - "Let us do good to all people" (Gal 6:10).

Faithfulness - "Be faithful, even to the point of death" (Rev 2:10).

Gentleness - "Be completely humble and gentle" (Eph 4:2).

Self-control - "Make every effort to add . . . self-control"

(2 Pet 1:5-6).

But the command alone could never produce the fruit. Laws can forbid some things and demand others, but law cannot produce love, joy, peace, and the rest. S. H. Hooke has well said, "A vine does not produce grapes by Act of Parliament; they are the fruit of the vine's own life; so the conduct which conforms to the standard of the Kingdom is not produced by any demand, not even God's, but it is the fruit of that divine nature which God gives as the result of what he has done in and by Christ."

5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature

Like Paul, every believer in Christ can point back to Calvary and say, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). But Christ's followers must also frequently be reminded, "you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:3). Because the Christian has been united with Christ through baptism into his death, the Christian must live a new life (Rom 6:3-7) with the heart and mind set on things above (Col 3:1-2).

It is the cross of Christ by which the believer has made this clean break with the past. The cross exposes the awful ugliness of sin, provides the cleansing from its otherwise permanent stain, and supplies the power to motivate the Christian to keep reaching above the fleshly level of living. The cross, Paul's sole object of boasting (Gal 6:14), has triumphed where the law had failed.

with its passions and desires.

"Passions" comes from a word (pavqhma , pathçma ) that is more often translated "sufferings" or "misfortunes." In this sense it describes the inner lusts that drive a man, without completely leaving behind the notion that man is an unfortunate victim of the situation. The "desires" (ejpiqumiva , epithymia ) are the specific expressions of the inner passions. Both words carry a strong sexual overtone, but neither word is exclusively restricted to sexual excess.

5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

The NIV is not entirely consistent in its translation of the Greek ei as "since" in this verse, but as "if" in verse 18. The word can be understood as "since," indicating that the speaker believes the condition to be an actual fact, but it is better to translate it "if" and let the context determine the reality of the condition. By keeping the more literal "if" as the translation, we understand Paul as not just telling the Galatians they are alive by the Spirit, but challenging them to answer back to him whether they are. And if they claim to live by the Spirit, let them prove it by keeping in step with the Spirit.

Perhaps it is best to let individual readers decide the reality of the condition in their own lives. Am I made alive by God's Spirit? Would I be hopelessly dead without him? Is the Spirit my source of being, the very ground of my existence? If so, then shouldn't I stay close to my "life-support system"? Shouldn't I keep in step with (literally, "get in line with") the Spirit, so that his direction becomes my direction and his ways become my ways? As Calvin wrote, "The death of the flesh is the life of the Spirit. If God's Spirit lives in us, let Him govern all our actions." Our outward actions should match our inward power. That is what it really means to be "spiritual."

5:26 Let us not become conceited,

The conceit of which Paul speaks is the "empty glory" (kenovdoxo" , kenodoxos ) of boasting when there is nothing to boast about. If the Spirit has supplied both the power and the pattern for our living, why should we pretend we have accomplished something? There is an irony in the double temptation Christians face in this kind of boasting. The legalist tries to boast in his lawkeeping, while those who have escaped legalism often feel smug about their superior freedom. It is hard to decide whether Paul was looking back to their past or ahead to their future when he warned the Galatians against this kind of arrogance.

provoking and envying each other.

The kind of conceit Paul warns against is further described by two of its common traits: provoking and envying. Provoking (Greek prokalevomai , prokaleomai , used only here in the N.T.) is literally "calling beforehand," challenging an opponent to combat. Many a theological debate has been fueled by such an expression of inward conceit. Envying (fqonevw , phthoneô ) is the verbal form of envy, the act of the sinful nature listed in 5:21. It is the mean spirit that begrudges someone else's success and rejoices at his failure.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: Gal 5:10

I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. [The apostle here expresses his confidence that they will take the same view of the situation that he does, and avoid the contaminating influence of the minority by disciplining it or its ringleader, no matter who he may be.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:11

But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block of the cross been done away. [It is evident that in this verse Paul defends himself against the charge of having taught the necessity of circumcision by having circumcised Timothy. His answer is that false brethren might misconstrue his act for the purpose of founding false teaching upon it, but that the Jews, the real parties in interest, placed a truer construction upon the act, for they still continued to persecute him as an enemy to circumcision. If Paul had preached circumcision, the stumbling-block of the cross would have been done away. Paul taught that the whole Jewish system of ordinances perished at the cross, and that on the cross Jesus made the one and only atonement for sin. Such teaching was a stumbling-block to the Jews. Had Paul rejected the doctrine of the cross and preached circumcision, as these Judaizers contended that he did when they wished to countenance their errors with his authority, he would have been a hero among the Jews.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:12

I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision. [If those who trouble you insist on mutilating themselves, I wish they would go further and cut themselves entirely off from the church. Having fully established the liberty of the gospel, the apostle now turns to correct any false antinomian theories which might have arisen out of a misconception of his words. Liberty is permissible, but not license. The liberty of a son is infinitely larger than that of a ward, and yet the son is not wholly without restraint.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:13

For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.

McGarvey: Gal 5:14

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

McGarvey: Gal 5:15

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. [Do not think because you are free that you are therefore free to do evil. As a contrast to the spirit of liberty which is indeed yours, I counsel you to become servants one to another, not because the law commands you, but because love constrains you. For ye are indeed under the law of love, and that whole law is summed up in one sentence, which is this: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." But if, instead of having the spirit of love, which becomes men, ye be animated with the spirit of wild beasts, which, in their hasty rancor, bite each other, and, in their settled, inveterate malice, gnaw at and devour each other, take heed that your conduct does not result in your being consumed one of another.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:16

But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

McGarvey: Gal 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would . [The Christian is under the guidance of the Spirit, and the Spirit continually prompts him to imitate the Father who has adopted him, and the Christ who has died for him. Now, any one who submits himself to the guidance of the Spirit, will not yield to those lusts of the flesh which he knows are displeasing to God. But he will be tempted to yield to those lusts, for there is an inner conflict forever waged within him in which the flesh contends with the Spirit, and the Spirit with the flesh, each desiring to constrain the man to fulfill its will. And thus it comes about that ye may not do things that ye would, for there are two wills within you, and one or other of them must be subdued and disappointed.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:18

But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. [By as much as the Spirit triumphs within us, by that much are we freed from feeling the presence of the law. So long as we have two wills we are sensible of conflict, and so of the restraint of law, but when our nature is merged in the will of the Spirit, so that there is but one will within us, then we lose all consciousness of restraint. We attain to that true rule of liberty which Augustine condenses in the saying: "Love God, and do what you please." God himself leads the life of perfect righteousness, yet God can never be said to be under law. He knows no law but his own choice, but his choice is ever righteousness because of the perfect holiness of his character. So the Christian should strive to bring his own will into such perfect accord with the will of the Spirit that he does not feel the constraint of law resting upon him.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:19

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

McGarvey: Gal 5:20

idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,

McGarvey: Gal 5:21

envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [These sins are too well known to need analysis or comment. It is startling to find "factions, divisions, parties," in so black a list, and coupled with so clear a declaration that these sins exclude the perpetrator of them from the kingdom of God. Verily all professing Christians would do well to take heed to what the Bible designates as sins, and not trust too much to their own fallible sentiment and judgment in such matters.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness

McGarvey: Gal 5:23

meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. [Contrast between light and darkness is no more definite and distinct than that between these two catalogues which represent carnal and spiritual desires. All those who do these works of God, find no law of God interfering with them in the exercise of their labors.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:24

And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof . [All those who have been baptized with Christ have been symbolically united with him in his crucifixion and death (Rom 6:2-6). In Christ, therefore, they have crucified the flesh with its passions, and so have consented to cut themselves off from the indulgence of the same.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:25

If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. [If we have been born and live in the Spirit, let us manifest that fact by our daily life, abstaining from evil. The especial evils mentioned in the last verse were probably very common among the Galatians.]

McGarvey: Gal 5:26

Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

Lapide: Gal 5:1-26

CHAPTER 5

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. S. Paul proceeds to urge the Galatians not to submit to the yoke of the Old Law, lest they be deprived of the fruits of Christ's righteousness, since in Him neither circumcision nor uncircumcision will avail anything, but only faith which worketh by love.

ii. He invites them (ver. 13) to Christian liberty, and shows that it is based on charity, which causes him to pass from the dogmatic to the ethical portion of the Epistle.

iii. He points out (ver. 17) how the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and then he enumerates the works of each respectively.

Ver. 1.— Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. You once served idols and devils: why do you now wish to serve the shadows and burdensome ceremonies of the Mosaic law? The Greek for entangled is rendered by the Vulgate contained, by Vatablus implicated, by Erasmus ensnared. The Judaisers, says S. Paul, are enticing you to their law as into a net, in which, if you are once entangled, you will be unable to escape from its legal windings and toils.

Ver. 2.— If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. If you trust to circumcision as necessary to salvation, Christ and His religion will be of no avail to you; but you seem to be putting your trust in this under the tuition of the Judaisers, although you were Gentiles, and baptized as such. Why do you tack on circumcision to baptism now? There can be no other reason for this proceeding except your belief that baptism by itself is insufficient, and needs to be supplemented by circumcision. Certainly you have not the Jews' pretext that they use circumcision in deference to their law. This may be good excuse for them; it is none for you.

Ver. 3.— I testify. He who is circumcised thereby proclaims his allegiance to the Jewish Church, its laws and its obligations, just as one who is baptized does with regard to the Christian Church. The Apostle is seeking to dissuade the Galatians by a reason drawn from the burdensome character of the yoke of the Mosaic law.

Ver. 4. — Christ is become of no effect unto you. You are outside the redemption wrought by Christ, deprived of His merits, and void of His grace.

Whosoever of you are justified by the law. Who seek for righteousness from circumcision and other legal rites. By distrusting the grace of Christ and preferring the law, you have treated Christ with ingratitude, and in consequence He has withdrawn His grace from you. The Galatians, says S. Paul, were once filled with the grace of Christ, like a well with water; but they have now emptied it all out, and so lost the fruits of His Passion. Or, to put it in another way, Christ has emptied His Church of them, because of their want of faith. [ Note.— The Vulgate rendering here is evacuati estis.]

Vatablus [as A.V.] interprets the term to mean that Christ had become of no effect, His labour had been thrown away, His Passion made fruitless by the withdrawal of His grace. The very name of Christian was no longer due to them, and should be dropped; or if they wished to retain it, they must say farewell to the law. Cf. a similar expression in Rom 7:6.

Ver. 5. — For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. This is to prove that the Judaisers, in seeking to be justified by the law, are no longer Christians; for we, he says, who are Christians indeed look for the promised righteousness, not from the law, but from the Spirit, through faith in Christ.

It is faith which excites hope, and so causes a man to pray for that grace by which we are justified. Some take the hope of righteousness here for eternal glory, which we hope to obtain through righteousness. Others, and better, take it to be that righteousness which we all pray and sigh for, which the Jews seek through their law, and Christians from Christ.

Ver. 6. — For in Christ Jesus, &c. In the Church neither Judaism nor Gentilism is of any avail towards the life of holiness and bliss. Judaism is depreciated here by being classed with Gentilism. The only effectual power is faith—not a faith that is barren of works, but that which worketh by love, and manifests itself in works of charity. Such a faith was that of the Magdalene when she bathed Christ's feet with her tears. But a faith which shows no works of charity is, as Anselm says, the faith, not of Christians, but of devils. The Protestants who attribute justification to faith alone should remark this. Our brother Campian, the martyr of England, when in prison and disputing with the Lutherans, refuted them by this syllogism: That faith which avails before God to justify is, as the Apostle testifies, a faith which worketh by love; therefore it is obvious that it is united to charity. But the justifying faith of the Lutherans is not a faith that worketh by love, for it is, they say, alone, and hence is not accompanied by charity; therefore, the faith which they lay down is not a faith that justifies before God. To say, then, that faith is alone, and that such a faith justifies, is a contradiction. If faith is to justify, it must be accompanied by charity; and when it is so accompanied it is no longer alone.

It should be remarked that faith does not work by means of charity as an efficient cause works by its instrument, but in the way that beat in the form of fire kindles wood. Faith through charity does good works, by performing acts of charity towards God and our neighbour, and by determining, the nature of acts of other virtues. For charity is not an essential but an accidental form, which gives to faith and all good works their life, validity, and merit, in due relation to their ultimate end. It gives to faith and all other virtues (1.) their character of virtue. Where charity is, vice cannot be; but virtue reigns enthroned as queen by charity, which ennobles also every act, so that the man under its sway may be called absolutely virtuous, righteous, and holy. (2.) Charity also gives the acts of virtue their dignity and power of winning merit, for it makes a man the friend and son of God, and so dignifies his works that God promises them eternal rewards. (3.) Charity also determines the relation of the various acts of virtue to their ultimate end, inasmuch as it directs to God the whole man, and all that he does, says, or thinks. So S. Thomas.

The Greek word for worketh denotes internal efficacy, hidden power. Faith informed by charity, having charity as its soul, by its inward and spiritual power, worketh the living works of virtue.

Ver. 7. — Ye did run well. In the teaching of Christ, as in an arena a runner strives to win the appointed prize.

Who did hinder you? Or, as S. Anselm renders it, Who did bewitch you, to start aside from your Christian course, and to run after Judaism?

Ver. 8. — This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. The counsel given you by the Jews, that the ceremonies of the law are necessary to salvation, cometh not from God the Father, who hath called you through Christ, but from the devil and his angels. So Anselm.

Ver. 9 . — A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. A little leaven communicates its bitterness to the whole mass of meal. This is a maxim describing the way that a vicious part spoils the whole, and of course is capable of general application. In 1Co 5:6 it is applied to the fornicator who was corrupting the whole Corinthian Church, and here it is applied to the Judaisers, who are being dealt with throughout this chapter, and declares that they are corrupting the whole of the Galatian Church. Jerome says: " Arius in Alexandria was but a single spark, but not being at once extinguished, he grew to a flame, and devastated the whole world. For their word eateth the body as a canker, and the rot in a single sheep infects the whole flock."

The maxim may be yet more fitly applied to the doctrine itself of the Judaisers, in the sense that a single error in the faith, such as that about the necessity of the law, overturns the whole faith. Chrysostom and Theophylact apply it, yet more particularly, to circumcision, the receipt of which acts like leaven, and corrupts the whole lump. Their application is supported by the fact that the Apostle, in vers. 2, 4, and 6, is treating of circumcision, and declares that he who is circumcised is debtor to the whole law. The Judaisers, however, seem to have persuaded the Galatians that circumcision was not a matter of great moment, and to have passed lightly over the onerous character of the burdens to which those who were circumcised subjected themselves. On the contrary, Paul here lays bare their artifice, and declares circumcision to denote a profession of the whole of the Jewish law, and to be a corruption of Christianity as a whole, on the ground that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Ver. 10.— I have confidence in you. I trust the Lord to stablish you in the faith you have received, and to save you from believing aught save what I have taught you, and from following these new teachers and their novel doctrines.

But he that troubleth you. He who is stirring up this strife, and tending the whole Church, shall bear the punishment which God in His wrath shall inflict on those who teach heresy. By metonymy, judgment is put for punishment.

Ver. 11 . — And I, brethren, if I yet preach. This is a reply to the calumny of the Judaisers, that Paul Judaised among the Jews, and opposed Judaism among the Gentiles. He asks, if this be so, why the Jews should so persecute him, and implies that the real reason is that he publicly opposes them, and condemns circumcision, so as to establish the Gospel.

Then is the offence of the cross ceased. If what they say of me is true, then they are not offended at the Cross which I preach, for they themselves wish to seem Christians, provided only that the Mosaic law may be taken into partnership with the Cross. Nay, the stricter Jews, whose only concern is for Judaism, oppose the preaching of the Cross only because it overturns their law, so much so that they would cease to persecute me if I would combine the law and the Cross. But since, as a matter of fact, they are offended at my preaching, it is obvious that I openly preach the abolition of the law by the Gospel, and the sole sufficiency of the Cross for salvation.

Ver. 12.— I would that they were even cut off which trouble you. Cut off from the Church and your fellowship, lest they corrupt the whole. Cf. 1Co 5:3. This is the obvious meaning, and one befitting the dignity of an apostolic writer. However, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Jerome, Augustine, and others understand it of the total deprivation of the organ to which circumcision is applied, so as to bring it more closely within the scope of the whole passage, in which circumcision is the main topic.

It may be asked how the Apostle can rightly imprecate a curse on the Judaisers, since this is opposed to charity, and is a mark of impatience and of a revengeful temper. " So detestable," says Jerome, " is the act of castration, that whoever inflicts it on a man against his will, or on himself, ought to be accounted infamous."

1. Jerome replies that the Apostle said this as a man and in passion; but God forbid that an Apostle, and one especially who was moved by the Holy Spirit, should so speak. Accordingly, Jerome gives another answer, according to which, like Peter to Simon Magus (Act 8:20), and Elisha to the children who mocked him (2Ki 2:24), he spoke, not in anger, but partly in zeal for righteousness, partly in love, and entreated that they might be punished through their sin, i.e., through circumcision, and so, when punished, be purged of their shame.

2. Chrysostom and Theophylact say that the Apostle is not imprecating a curse, but speaking jestingly, as much as to say, If they insist on it, let them be not only circumcised, but wholly cut off.

3. S. Augustine and Anselm think that there is no curse here but a blessing, as if he were to say, Would that the Jews would become spiritual eunuchs by chastity for the kingdom of heaven's sake, and cease to preach Jewish circumcision, fixing their thoughts instead on heavenly things, and on the law of Christ, as the way to attain them. Of these three explanations the second of Jerome's is the best.

Origen castrated himself to prevent the motions of lust disturbing his chastity, but, as Chrysostom rightly says, wrongly; for this is not taught by the Apostle, nor is it the members of the body but our vices that are to be cut off, otherwise it would be lawful to destroy our eyes, ears, and tongue. Moreover, castration does not destroy lust, but sometimes increases it, as S. Basil says in his treatise on Virginity. Cf. Ecclus. 20:2, and Ecclus 30:21.

Which trouble you. Who would rob you of your evangelical liberty.

Ver. 13.— Ye have been called unto liberty. Liberty from the burden of so many useless ceremonies of the law. Christian liberty throughout the Epistle is contrasted with Jewish slavery.

It is obvious, therefore, how grossly the Protestants pervert the Apostle's words, when they argue from this that Christians are free from all positive law, and owe no obedience to prelates, to magistrates, or to parents. This is contrary to the law of nature and the Decalogue, subversive of all civil government, of all ecclesiastical order, of all human society. There has never been a nation, however barbarous, without its magistrates and laws, nor without them could the peace be kept, nor any nation continue, as all nations have clearly seen. If once men are persuaded that the civil or the ecclesiastical law does not oblige in conscience, but only as its sanctions constrain our fears, they will violate the law without any scruple, whenever they think it safe to do so. Accordingly, Christ, Paul, and the Apostles in general frequently order Christians to obey Cæsar and other unbelieving magistrates, not only for wrath's sake, but also for conscience's sake. Cf. Rom. 13.

It may be objected that at all events, by parity of reasoning, Christians, since they live under a law of liberty, ought to be free from subjection to so many canons and rules, the burden of which is equal to that imposed by the older law. I answer that no just comparison can be drawn—(1.) Because the laws of the Church, so far as they concern the laity, are much fewer in number, and are all reducible to the five precepts of the Church. The canons, it is true, which deal with the clergy, are more numerous, but no one is obliged by them unless he, of his own tree will, chooses to become a clerk. Moreover, it is the duty of the Pope and the Bishops to see that the number of canons and censures be reduced rather than added to. Many men of unquestioned piety are anxious lest too heavy a burden of rules be laid on the clergy, and so become a snare to them. (2.) Because the older laws were more burdensome and more difficult of observance, as may be seen in the number of sacrifices and lustrations. (3.) Because they were shadows of the laws of the New Testament. These latter, therefore, as being of easier observance, succeed to the former; and, surely, it is better to serve the reality than to serve shadows. (4.) The older laws were unable to excite internal piety, and could only keep the people from idolatry, as the Fathers lay down unanimously; but the laws of the Church are ordained for the special purpose of exciting piety, as is clearly shown by the laws about fasting, hearing Mass, confessing, and communicating.

Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh. Do not (as the Protestants in our time are doing) use your freedom from Jewish ceremonies as an excuse for rushing into the lusts of the flesh. Do not let the flesh take what the Jew has been forced to give up.

But by love serve one another. As Chrysostom says: " Having removed one yoke, he, lest they should wax wanton, imposes another, the yoke of charity, so much the more strong as it is more light and pleasant." Do not, says the Apostle, serve ceremonies, nor yet the flesh; I would have you free from both, and subject to one another through the spirit of love. The love of the Spirit is opposed to that love of the flesh so much boasted of by Adamites and other obscene sectaries.

1. The Apostle, as Chrysostom says, here cuts at the root of the evil, viz., the heresy and schism which induced some of the Galatians to try and draw others away to Judaism, and declares it to be pride and the love of power. He then applies the remedy, viz., charity.

" Since you have been torn asunder, while you were trying to get the mastery one over the other, now serve one another and return to unity. As fire melts wax, so does love more readily disperse all pride and arrogance " (Chrysostom in loco ).

2. Chrysostom does not here say love one another, but serve one another, because charity makes men servants, not by compulsion, but by glad choice, even to the extent of performing the meanest services for the poor and the afflicted. This holy and free service is not bondage, but a noble freedom, to be sought for by all Christians.

3. From the liberty of the law and the liberty of the flesh the Apostle now passes, by an easy transition, to the second part of the Epistle. From doctrine he proceeds to morals, with the view of improving the conduct of the Galatians.

Ver. 14. — For all the law is fulfilled in one word. That is, the whole law so far as it concerns our neighbour, or according to what was said in the preceding verse, as we serve one another. Cf. Rom 13:8. S. Augustine ( de Trin. lib. viii.), S. Thomas, Anselm, however, say that the whole law rests on the love of God or of our neighbour, but that the latter presupposes the former, inasmuch as our neighbour is to be loved for the sake of God. Therefore he who loves his neighbour both fulfils the law, which says, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and also loves God and fulfils the law, which says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.

Ver. 15.— But if ye bite and devour one another. Beware, if you attack one another with calumnies, lest you be mutually consumed. Two men calumniating and enviously pursuing each other are like two dogs fighting, and biting each other. They consume each other, nay, they devour themselves. Well said the poet: " Than envy nothing is more just, for it forthwith bites and tortures its author." And therefore: " Than envy not even Sicilian tyrants have found a greater torment." See my notes on Phi 1:18, where I enumerate the properties of envy. Wisely and piously said S. Augustine ( Sent. 179): " To a religious man it ought to be little not to excite enmities, or to excite them only by awkward speech; he ought to strive to extinguish them by seasonable discourse."

Ver. 16.— I say then, Walk in the Spirit. The summary, the one aim of the whole of this Epistle, is this: Walk not in the law, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The root of all your trouble is want of the Spirit: if you had Him, you would shut out as well the legal as the carnal life.

To walk in the Spirit is to order our whole life after the impulse of the Spirit, who inspired us to works of piety, to prayer, faith, charity, and works of mercy. This Spirit the Apostles received abundantly at Pentecost, as did the first Christians, and they added to the gift they then received by loyally following His workings, by labouring and suffering everything, if only they might bring others to Christ, by fiery charity and burning zeal. Whither has fled that Spirit now? Lord Jesus, kindle in us that fire which Thou camest to send on earth, and which Thou didst will to burn vehemently.

Ver. 17.— The flesh lusteth against the Spirit. From this the Manichæans inferred that man has two souls—one spiritual, which is good and the gift of a good god, and another carnal, which is evil and the gift of an evil god. Some philosophers, too, hold that man has two souls—one sensational, by which he feels, eats, and generates as do the beasts; and another rational, by which he reasons and understands as do the angels; and they depend for this conclusion on the contrary appetites and mental operations found in the same individual.

1. But it is certain that in man there is but one soul, and that a rational one, but which also in a special degree embraces vegetative and sensational powers. Hence, as man has in him both sets of powers, it is no wonder if he experiences contrary appetites, carrying him to diverse objects, and exciting him to action when they are present. In its powers the soul of man is twofold or rather threefold.

2. The word flesh stands by metonymy for that concupiscence which is in the flesh, impressing on it its own ideas and desires.

3. This concupiscence resides not only in the sensitive appetite, but also in the rational, as S. Augustine points out ( Conf. viii. 5); for as in the domain of desire, it excites the appetites of hunger and procreation, in the domain of self-protective instinct the passions of envy and hatred, so in the domain of reason it arouses the desire to excel and the spirit of curiosity. All our mental powers are infected by the leaven of original sin, but they are described as the flesh, because the desires of the flesh are those that are most frequently and most violently aroused, and so are the principal part of our desires, and give their name to the whole. Hence the Apostle uses the phrase "works of the flesh," i.e., of concupiscence, not only for fornication, drunkenness, and revellings, which are strictly fleshly sins, but also for such things as the service of idols and envy, which are strictly sins of the rational part of our nature.

4. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, because it lusteth for carnal things, and the Spirit against the flesh, because it desires spiritual goods. This warfare is carried on within between the flesh and the Spirit; their forces are marshalled by the Apostle when he says, on the one side, The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, &c., and on the other, But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy, &c. Prudentius gives a vivid description of this warfare in his Psychomachia, and S. Augustine in his "Confessions" (viii. 11). Cassian ( Collat. iv . 11) describes it as follows: " The flesh delights in lust and lasciviousness; the spirit can hardly be brought to acknowledge the existence of these natural desires. The flesh seeks for sleep and food; the spirit is so engaged in fasting and watching that with difficulty it brings itself to consent to the necessities of nature. The flesh would abound in this world's goods; the spirit is content with the slenderest provision of daily bread. The flesh loves the baths, and troops of flatterers; the spirit rejoices in squalor, and in the silence of the desert. The flesh is fed on honours and praises; the spirit joys in the persecutions and injuries inflicted on it." See to the motives of grace and of nature depicted by Thomas à Kempis in his "Imitation of Christ" (lib. iii. c. 59), in his own simple but vigorous style.

The Abbot Pamenius, in his "Lives of the Fathers" (vii. 27), rightly describes concupiscence as an evil will, a devil attacking us; or, as Abbot Achilles in the same passage puts it, as a handle of the devil.

Augustine at one time thought that this warfare was waged in a sinner under the law, not in one living under grace; but he afterwards modified this opinion ( Retract. i. 24). It is beyond question that it is found in the Saints, nay, is the more fierce in proportion as they strive to live more spiritually. Accordingly, S. Augustine says ( Serm. 43 de Verbis Domini ): " The Spirit lusteth against the flesh in good men, not in evil men, who have not the spirit of God for the flesh to lust against."

Again, commenting on Psa 76:2. (A.V.), S. Augustine says: " You have to meet an attack not only from the wiles of the devil, but also from within yourself—against your bad habits, against your old evil life, which is ever drawing you to its wonted courses. On the other hand you are held back by the new life, while you still belong to the old. Hence you are lifted up by the joy of the new, you are weighed down by the burden of the old. The war is against yourself; but just where it is irksome to yourself it is pleasing to God, and where it is pleasing to God you gain power to conquer, for He is with you who overcometh all things. Hear what the Apostle saith: 'With my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.' How with the mind? Because your evil life is hateful to you. How with the flesh? Bemuse you are beset by evil suggestions and delights. But from union with God comes victory. In part you go before; in part you follow after. Betake yourself to Him who will lift you up. Being weighed down with the burden of the old man, cry aloud and say: '0 wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from the body of this death, from the burden which is weighing me down'—for the body which is corrupted weigheth down the soul. But why is this warfare permitted to last so long, even till all evil lusts are swallowed up? It is that you may understand that the punishment is in yourself. Your scourge is in yourself, and proceeds from yourself, and therefore your quarrel is against yourself. This is the penalty imposed on any one who rebels against God, that as he would not have peace with God he shall have war within himself. But do you hold your members bound against your evil lusts. If anger, for example, is roused, remain close to God and hold your hand. It will not do more than rise if it finds no weapons. The attack is on the side of anger; the arms, however, are with you; let the attacking force find no arms, and he will soon learn not to rise if he finds that his rising is to no purpose." Cf. my comments on Rom. vii. in fine.

These are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. You would wish to be free from the feelings of lust, anger, and gluttony, so as not to be hindered from charity, temperance, chastity, and prayer; and yet you are not free, nor can be free in this life. Or, on the other hand, you would wish to do cheerfully heroic deeds of virtue, but often you cannot, because the flesh is contrary. Anselm well says: " Your lusts do not allow you to do what you wish; do not permit them to do what they wish, and then neither you nor they will attain your ends. Although lusts rise in you, yet they are not consummated if you withhold your consent. In the same way, though there may be in you good works of the Spirit, yet they are not consummated either, because you cannot do them cheerfully and perfectly, while you have the pain of resisting your lusts."

Ver. 18 . — But if ye are led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. This anticipates a possible objection of the Galatians that they had apparently only exchanged one yoke for another heavier one, under which they had constantly to fight a tedious and irksome battle. The Apostle replies to this that if they were led by the Spirit they were not the slaves of concupiscence but its masters, and so were not under the law, inasmuch as they kept its provisions not from fear, but by spontaneously doing what it bade, and restraining the motions of concupiscence forbidden by it.

The Galatians were not, says S. Paul, under the law as a compelling force, still less under it as accusing and condemning, but they were under it as binding the conscience. Even so, however, they kept the law of their own accord, and so might be said to be outside the law, or above the law; not under it, but rather under the Spirit. This is why, after enumerating the fruits of the Spirit, he adds, Against such there is no law.

Ver. 19 . — The works of the flesh are manifest. The works that spring from the flesh, i.e., from concupiscence, as I said in the note to ver. 17.

Fornication. On the works of the flesh in detail, see Jerome, Anselm, and S. Thomas.

Uncleanness. Effeminacy. The effeminate are guilty of mutual pollution, contrary to the instincts of nature.

Lasciviousness. Any wanton, and, according to Jerome, extraordinary form of lust. He adds: " The works of the married even, if not done with delicacy and modesty, as in the sight of God, and if merely for the procreation of children, come under the Apostle's description of uncleanness and lasciviousness." This, of course, must be understood of mortal sin; cf., e.g., the act of matrimony is performed otherwise than nature dictates, or if its consummation is purposely prevented; for then both are guilty of mortal sin, excluding them from the Kingdom of heaven. Otherwise lust in the married is only venial.

Ver. 20.— Wrath. Anger is the desire for revenge, and is a deadly sin when a bitter revenge is sought, or an object on which to bestow the angry feelings. It is venial only when it is instinctive, or when it aims at some slight revenge. The Apostle, therefore, is dealing here with the various sins enumerated in their highest and extremest form, for it is then only that they exclude from the Kingdom of heaven (ver. 21).

Heresies. Acts of private judgment against the teaching of the Church. These evince great temerity and presumption.

Ver. 21 . — Revellings. This seems to teach that immoderate indulgence in the pleasures of the table is a mortal sin, as it excludes from the Kingdom of heaven. On this I remark that some Theologians hold from this verse that gluttony and lust are mortal sins, not only if they impair the use of reason, but if they be excessive. They rely on the case of the rich man in the parable, who was condemned, not because he was a drunkard, but because he fared sumptuously every day; on the words of Isaiah (Isa 5:22), where woe, i.e., eternal damnation, is threatened against those who are mighty to drink strong drink; on the fact that excess in eating may be more than bestial; and they ask why should gluttony, so degrading to reason as it is, not be a mortal sin, if pollution is.

But the common opinion of doctors is in favour of a milder view, viz., that excess in eating is not a deadly sin, except when it seriously impairs the health, or causes some disease; or when a man eats with the object of vomiting, so as to commence again—and even this some hold to be not a deadly sin.

1. Note that revelings represents the Greek word κω̃μοι, which stands for the lascivious words and actions of drunkards, for obscene songs, dances, and kisses. Hence Bacchus is called Comus, and κωμάζειν is to revel, or to be wanton. Cf. notes to Rom 13:13.

2. If the word is to be understood of banquetings, then it must be also understood of them in their most extreme and finished form, when men sit at table till they are overcome with excess. Cf. Isa 28:8. As in the preceding words the Apostle subjoins variance to wrath, and heresies to seditions, and murders to envyings, so here he subjoins revellings to drunkenness, the second member in each case showing what the first tends to end in. Cf. Pro 23:20.

1. As to the opinions referred to above, I remark as follows. ( a ) to fare sumptuously is by itself a venial sin, and becomes mortal only when it leads to vomiting and similar excesses. ( b ) It also becomes a mortal sinner per accidens, i.e., when it is united to drunkenness, lust, slander, cruelty, and contempt for the poor. This last was the sin of Dives.

2. The denunciation of Isa 5:22 is directed against those who mix their drinks so as to make them more intoxicating, and who make a point of making themselves and their guests drunken, and think their hospitality disgraced if they fail in this.

3. Undoubtedly gluttony is a base thing in itself, but so are all our bodily functions; but they are not entirely contrary to right reason, unless indeed they deprive reason of its power to act. The case is different with aberrations of the generative powers. The act of copulation is ordained for a special end, and in its proper method. To defeat this, or to elude the end, is to go contrary to the workings of God, and is therefore a deadly sin.

Ver. 22.— But the fruit of the Spirit is love. The works of the Spirit are opposed to the works of the flesh, i.e., those works which are performed through the influence of the Holy Spirit, by which we merit that kingdom from which the works of the flesh exclude those who do them.

Observe that these fruits are different dispositions, or rather acts, of the different virtues—the acts that the virtues beget in the soul, such as joy and peace. Observe, too, that the Apostle does not give a complete catalogue of all these fruits, but only of the more conspicuous ones, and of such as are opposed to the works of the flesh just specified. And in the third place, notice that the first fruit of the Spirit is charity, it being the parent of all the rest.

Joy. The joy which springs from a clear conscience, one free from guilt and from mental disturbances. A contented mind is a perpetual feast. Cyprian (lib. de Disciplinâ et Bono Pudicitiæ ) says " The greatest pleasure is to have conquered pleasure; and there is no greater victory than that that is obtained over our lusts." On the other hand, the fruit of concupiscence is grief and sorrow. As Chrysostom says ( Hom. 13 in Acts ), " impure pleasure is like that obtained by a scrofulous man when he scratches himself. For to this pleasure, so short-lived, there succeeds a more enduring pain.":

Peace. The peace, says Jerome, enjoyed by the mind that is free from all passions. The pure mind, undisturbed by fear of punishments, or remorse for past sins, is in friendship with God, enjoys a wonderful calmness, and inspires its tranquillity into others, so that, as much as possible, it lives at peace with all men. This is a peace that passeth all understanding (Phi 4:7); and even if holy living brought no other reward than this, it yet would be quite sufficient of itself to stir us up to endure all sufferings, and undergo all labours.

Longsuffering. To have peace with ourselves and with others, we have need of patience to bear cheerfully every ill, especially those arising from the rough, haughty, or peevish tempers of others.

Gentleness. A man may be good and generous, and yet lack that courtesy and gentleness in word and deed which is one token of holiness. Cf. Wisd. 7:22. Hence the common people are wont to gauge a man's holiness by his gentle courtesy, and to suffer themselves to be guided in their actions by one who shows this fruit of the Spirit.

Goodness. A disposition to do kindnesses to others, goodness being much the same as beneficence. Jerome says that Zeno defines this latter thus: " Goodness is a virtue which does good to others, or a virtue from which usefulness to others springs, or a disposition which makes a man the benefactor of his fellows." This is an evident token of the Holy Spirit, and was most manifest in Christ. Cf. Act 10:38: If you have His Spirit, do harm to no one, do good to all.

Meekness. One, says Anselm, that is tractable, versatile, not self-opinionated; as opposed to one who is headstrong, who will bear no yoke, who is prompt to revenge an injury, and give blow for blow.

Faith. This, says Jerome, is a theological virtue, opposed to heresy, which makes us believe all that we ought to believe, even when opposed to nature, sense, and reason. But this faith is not so much a fruit of spiritual grace as its root and beginning. Accordingly, Anselm's explanation is better, who says that faith is loyal adherence to our promises, as opposed to dishonesty and lying. As the Holy Spirit is :steadfast, certain, sure [Wisd. vii. 23], He makes His followers, like Himself, faithful and true. Or, thirdly, faith here may be taken for the disposition to believe what others say, for the spirit that is free from suspicion and distrust, for that charity which believeth all things, for the candid, open, and receptive mind.

Modesty. Modesty is the virtue which imposes a mode or rule to all external actions, and controls our speech, laughter, sport. It proceeds from the inward power we have to control our passions. Ambrose ( 0ffic. i. 18) says. " According to our external actions the hidden man of the heart is judged. From them he is declared to be light, or boastful, or heady, or earnest, or firm, or pure, or of good judgment. " Cf. also Ecclus. 19:27. Hence S. Augustine's counsel ( Reg. 3): " In all your actions let there be nothing to offend the eyes of any one, but only what becometh holiness."

Temperance. Abstinence, says Vatablus, from food and drink, or, as Anselm says, continence, i.e., abstinence from lust. Continence differs from chastity, as war differs from peace. Hence continence is in the militant stage, and is but chastity inchoate. But it would be better to take temperance, with Aristotle, as a general virtuous habit of the soul, restraining man from all lusts and passions.  S. Jerome says: " Temperance has to do not only with sexual appetite, but also with food and drink, with anger, and menial disturbance, and the love of detraction. There is this difference between modesty and temperance, that the former is found in the perfect, of whom the Saviour says, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,' just as He says of Himself', 'Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart.' But temperance is found in those that are in the way of virtue, who have not yet arrived at the goal; in whose minds impure thought and desires arise, but only to be checked; whose souls are polluted, but not overcome; in whom act does not follow evil suggestion. It is not enough, however, that the desires should be under the power of temperance; it must rule also over the three other emotions of sorrow, joy, and fear."

N.B.— The Greek MSS. here are imperfect, and want the word for modesty, and hence give only nine fruits of the Spirit, in which they are followed by Augustine and Jerome. On these fruits of the Spirit, see the remarks of S. Thomas in the Secunda Secundæ, of his Summa, where he deals with them in detail.

Against such there is no law. There is no law to condemn those who show these fruits of the Spirit, and accordingly those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law, as was said in ver. 18.

Ver. 24. — They that are Christ's, &c. This sets out the preceding antithesis between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit. Two armies are ranged in battle array; but Christ's soldier crucifies his flesh with its affections and lusts, and not only these, but by fastings, hair-shirts, labours, and penances, he crucifies the corrupt flesh itself, as being the seed-ground of lust. So Anselm; but it is, better to take flesh, not properly, but as standing for the concupiscence residing in the flesh, as in ver. 17. Those who are led by the Spirit of Christ have crucified their lust, their corrupt nature with its vicious tendencies and actual vices. " They have subdued it," says S. Augustine, " out of that holy fear which abideth for ever, which makes us afraid of offending Him whom we love with all our heart and soul and mind."

Note that concupiscence here is, as it were, a soul: its affections are its faculties; its lusts are its acts. Christians crucify these, i.e., crush them with such pain as that endured by Christ when He was crucified. This they do ( a ) by the fear of hell and of God; ( b ) by reason, and a constant will, and a firm purpose of pleasing God; ( c ) by a vigilant watch over their eyes and their senses; ( d ) by prayer; and ( e ) by fastings, watchings, and other acts of austerity.

Ver. 25 . — If we live in the Spirit. Ifwe have this inward life of grace, let us live outwardly as the Spirit dictates. The Greek word used here denotes to follow a settled plan or order. Cf. notes to chap iv. 25. But according to Chrysostom and Theophylact, it is an exhortation to follow the rule of the Spirit of Christ, and not deviate into the ways of Judaism.

Ver. 26 . — Let us not be desirous of vain-glory. Whoever seeks the praises of men seeks a vain thing. He pursues a bubble, swollen by wind, but void of all substance. The only true and lasting glory which alone can satisfy the mind, is with God.  S. Jerome says: " They are desirous of solid glory who seek the approval of God, and that praise which is due to virtue."

Provoking one another. To broils, lawsuits, and other contests. The thirst for praise and eminence gives birth to these rivalries and to envy: while Pompey will not brook an equal, nor Caesar a superior.

Commentary -- Other

Evidence: Gal 5:11

The cross will cause offense to the proud and self-righteous—those whose understanding is darkened. To those who understand their need of grace (the humble), it is a tree of life.

Evidence: Gal 5:14

QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS

" I believe I will go to heaven because I live by the Golden Rule."

Much of the world knows the Golden Rule simply as " do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (see Luk 6:31 ). According to this verse, if we can live by this rule and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, we fulfill the Law. Ask those who claim to do this if they have ever lied, stolen, hated, or looked with lust. If they have broken any of these Commandments, then they haven’t loved those they have lied to, stolen from, etc. This will show them that they have violated the Golden Rule. They are under God’s wrath ( Joh 3:36 ), desperately needing the Savior's cleansing blood.

Evidence: Gal 5:16

Ten Ways to Break the Stronghold of Pornography

1) Would you ever take pornography to church and look at it during worship? You may as well, because God is just as present in your bedroom as He is in the church building.

2) Face the fact that you may not be saved. Examine yourself to ensure that Christ is living in you ( 2Co 13:5 ). See Rom 6:11-22 ; Rom 8:1-14 ; Eph 5:3-8 .

3) Realize that when you give yourself to pornography, you are committing adultery ( Mat 5:27-28 ).

4) Grasp the serious nature of your sin. Jesus said that it would be better for you to be blind and go to heaven, than for your eye to cause you to sin and end up in hell ( Mat 5:29 ).

5) Those who profess to be Christians yet give themselves to pornographic material evidently lack the fear of God ( Pro 16:6 ). Cultivate the fear of God by reading Pro 2:1-5 .

6) Read Psa 51:1-19 and make it your own prayer.

7) Memorize Jam 1:14-15 and 1Co 10:13 . Follow Jesus' example ( Mat 4:3-11 ) and quote the Word of God when you are tempted (see Eph 6:12-20 ).

8) Make no provision for your flesh ( Rom 13:14 ; 1Pe 2:11 ). Get rid of every access to pornographic material-the Internet, printed literature, TV, videos, and movies. Stop feeding the fire.

9) Guard your heart with all diligence ( Pro 4:23 ). Don't let the demonic realm have access to your thought-life. If you give yourself to it, you will become its slave ( Rom 6:16 ). Read the Bible daily, without fail. As you submit to God, the devil will flee ( Jam 4:7-8 ).

10) The next time temptation comes, do fifty push-ups, then fifty sit-ups. If you are still burning, repeat the process (see 1Co 9:27 ).

Evidence: Gal 5:19

Men will often deceive themselves by believing that the Ten Commandments condemn only adultery, leaving them free to have sex outside the bonds of marriage. However, the Law condemns all unlawful sex. 1Ti 1:8-10 tells us that the Law was also made for fornicators (whoremongers).

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Galatians (Book Introduction)

The Epistle To The Galatians

Probable Date a.d. 56 Or 57

By Way of Introduction

It is a pity that we are not able to visualize more clearly the time and place of writing this powerful polemic against the Judaizers who were trying to draw away from the evangelical gospel the churches of Galatia. The data are not clear as in the Thessalonian and Corinthian Epistles. There are many things that can be said, but few are decisive. One is that the Epistle was written about seventeen years after Paul’s conversion, adding the three years of Gal_1:18 and the fourteen of Gal_2:1, though not insisting on the full number in either case. Unfortunately we do not know the precise year of his conversion. It was somewhere between a.d. 31 and 36. Another thing that is clear is that the Epistle was written after the Conference in Jerusalem over the Judaizing controversy to which Paul refers in Gal_2:1-10 and after the subsequent visit of Peter to Antioch (Gal_2:11-14). The natural interpretation of Acts 15:1-33 is to understand it as the historical narrative of the public meetings of which Paul gives an inside view in Gal_2:1-10. Not all scholars agree to this view, but the weight of the argument is for it. If so, that rules out the contention of Ramsay and others that Galatians is the earliest of Paul’s Epistles. It was written then after that Conference which took place about a.d. 49. It seems clear also that it was written after the Epistles to the Thessalonians (a.d. 50-51) which were sent from Corinth.

Did Paul mean by Galatia the Roman province as he usually does or does he make an ethnographic use of the term and mean the real Celts of North Galatia? Luke uses geographical terms in either sense. Certainly Paul preached in South Galatia in his first mission tour. See note on Act_16:6 for the discussion about the language there as bearing on his going into North Galatia. By " the churches of Galatia" Paul can mean the whole of Galatia or either South or North Galatia. The various items mentioned, like the illness that led to his preaching (Gal_4:13), " the first time" or " formerly" (Gal_4:13), " so quickly" (Gal_1:6), are not conclusive as to time or place. If Paul means only the South Galatian Churches (Pisidia, Lycaonia, Phrygia), then the Epistle, even if two visits had been made, could come some time after the second tour of Act_16:1. The place could be Philippi, Corinth, Ephesus, Antioch. Even so room must be made for the seventeen years after his conversion plus the interval thereafter (some twenty years in all). If Paul includes North Galatia, the time would be more easily handled (the twenty years required from a.d. 31 to 36 to a.d. 51 to 57) and the place could be Ephesus, Philippi, or Corinth. Special treatises on the date of Galatians have been written by Askwith (1899), Round (1906), Steinmann (1908), Weber (1900)

Lightfoot held that the similarity of Galatians to Romans (written from Corinth spring of a.d. 56 or 57) naturally argues for the same general period and place. It is a possible hypothesis that, when Paul reached Corinth late autumn or early winter of A.D. 55 or 56 (Act_20:1.), he received alarming reports of the damage wrought by the Judaizers in Galatia. He had won his fight against them in Corinth (I and II Corinthians). So now he hurls this thunderbolt at them from Corinth and later, in a calmer mood, sends the fuller discussion to the church in Rome. This hypothesis is adopted here, but with full recognition of the fact that it is only hypothesis. The language and the topics and the treatment are the same that we find in Romans. Galatians thus fits in precisely between II Corinthians and Romans. It is a flaming torch in the Judaizing controversy. This Epistle was the battle cry of Martin Luther in the Reformation. Today it has served as a bulwark against the wild criticism that has sought to remove the Pauline Epistles from the realm of historical study. Paul is all ablaze in this Epistle with indignation as he faces the men who are undermining his work in Galatia.

JFB: Galatians (Book Introduction)

THE internal and external evidence for Paul's authorship is conclusive. The style is characteristically Pauline. The superscription, and allusions to the apostle of the Gentiles in the first person, throughout the Epistle, establish the same truth (Gal 1:1, Gal 1:13-24; Gal 2:1-14). His authorship is also upheld by the unanimous testimony of the ancient Church: compare IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,2] (Gal 3:19); POLYCARP [Epistle to the Philippians, 3] quotes Gal 4:26; Gal 6:7; JUSTIN MARTYR, or whoever wrote the Discourse to the Greeks, alludes to Gal 4:12; Gal 5:20.

The Epistle was written "TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA" (Gal 1:2), a district of Asia Minor, bordering on Phrygia, Pontus, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Paphlagonia. The inhabitants (Gallo-græci, contracted into Galati, another form of the name Celts) were Gauls in origin, the latter having overrun Asia Minor after they had pillaged Delphi, about 280 B.C. and at last permanently settled in the central parts, thence called Gallo-græcia or Galatia. Their character, as shown in this Epistle, is in entire consonance with that ascribed to the Gallic race by all writers. Cæsar [Commentaries on the Gallic War, 4,5], "The infirmity of the Gauls is that they are fickle in their resolves and fond of change, and not to be trusted." So Thierry (quoted by ALFORD), "Frank, impetuous, impressible, eminently intelligent, but at the same time extremely changeable, inconstant, fond of show, perpetually quarrelling, the fruit of excessive vanity." They received Paul at first with all joy and kindness; but soon wavered in their allegiance to the Gospel and to him, and hearkened as eagerly now to Judaizing teachers as they had before to him (Gal 4:14-16). The apostle himself had been the first preacher among them (Act 16:6; Gal 1:8; Gal 4:13; see on Gal 4:13; "on account of infirmity of flesh I preached unto you at the first": implying that sickness detained him among them); and had then probably founded churches, which at his subsequent visit he "strengthened" in the faith (Act 18:23). His first visit was about A.D. 51, during his second missionary journey. JOSEPHUS [Antiquities, 16.62] testifies that many Jews resided in Ancyra in Galatia. Among these and their brethren, doubtless, as elsewhere, he began his preaching. And though subsequently the majority in the Galatian churches were Gentiles (Gal 4:8-9), yet these were soon infected by Judaizing teachers, and almost suffered themselves to be persuaded to undergo circumcision (Gal 1:6; Gal 3:1, Gal 3:3; Gal 5:2-3; Gal 6:12-13). Accustomed as the Galatians had been, when heathen, to the mystic worship of Cybele (prevalent in the neighboring region of Phrygia), and the theosophistic doctrines connected with that worship, they were the more readily led to believe that the full privileges of Christianity could only be attained through an elaborate system of ceremonial symbolism (Gal 4:9-11; Gal 5:7-12). They even gave ear to the insinuation that Paul himself observed the law among the Jews, though he persuaded the Gentiles to renounce it, and that his motive was to keep his converts in a subordinate state, excluded from the full privileges of Christianity, which were enjoyed by the circumcised alone (Gal 5:11, Gal 4:16, compare with Gal 2:17); and that in "becoming all things to all men," he was an interested flatterer (Gal 1:10), aiming at forming a party for himself: moreover, that he falsely represented himself as an apostle divinely commissioned by Christ, whereas he was but a messenger sent by the Twelve and the Church at Jerusalem, and that his teaching was now at variance with that of Peter and James, "pillars" of the Church, and therefore ought not to be accepted.

His PURPOSE, then, in writing this Epistle was: (1) to defend his apostolic authority (Gal 1:11-19; Gal 2:1-14); (2) to counteract the evil influence of the Judaizers in Galatia (Gal. 3:1-4:31), and to show that their doctrine destroyed the very essence of Christianity, by lowering its spirituality to an outward ceremonial system; (3) to give exhortation for the strengthening of Galatian believers in faith towards Christ, and in the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:1-6:18). He had already, face to face, testified against the Judaizing teachers (Gal 1:9; Gal 4:16; Act 18:23); and now that he has heard of the continued and increasing prevalence of the evil, he writes with his own hand (Gal 6:11 : a labor which he usually delegated to an amanuensis) this Epistle to oppose it. The sketch he gives in it of his apostolic career confirms and expands the account in Acts and shows his independence of human authority, however exalted. His protest against Peter in Gal 2:14-21, disproves the figment, not merely of papal, but even of that apostle's supremacy; and shows that Peter, save when specially inspired, was fallible like other men.

There is much in common between this Epistle and that to the Romans on the subject of justification by faith only, and not by the law. But the Epistle to the Romans handles the subject in a didactic and logical mode, without any special reference; this Epistle, in a controversial manner, and with special reference to the Judaizers in Galatia.

The STYLE combines the two extremes, sternness. (Gal. 1:1-24; Gal 3:1-5) and tenderness (Gal 4:19-20), the characteristics of a man of strong emotions, and both alike well suited for acting on an impressible people such as the Galatians were. The beginning is abrupt, as was suited to the urgency of the question and the greatness of the danger. A tone of sadness, too, is apparent, such as might be expected in the letter of a warm-hearted teacher who had just learned that those whom he loved were forsaking his teachings for those of perverters of the truth, as well as giving ear to calumnies against himself.

The TIME OF WRITING was after the visit to Jerusalem recorded in Act 15:1, &c.; that is, A.D. 50, if that visit be, as seems probable, identical with that in Gal 2:1. Further, as Gal 1:9 ("as we said before"), and Gal 4:16 ("Have [ALFORD] I become your enemy?" namely, at my second visit, whereas I was welcomed by you at my first visit), refer to his second visit (Act 18:23), this Epistle must have been written after the date of that visit (the autumn of A.D. 54). Gal 4:13, "Ye know how . . . I preached . . . at the first" (Greek, "at the former time"), implies that Paul, at the time of writing, had been twice in Galatia; and Gal 1:6, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed," implies that he wrote not long after having left Galatia for the second time; probably in the early part of his residence at Ephesus (Act 18:23; Act 19:1, &c., from A.D. 54, the autumn, to A.D. 57, Pentecost) [ALFORD]. CONYBEARE and HOWSON, from the similarity between this Epistle and that to the Romans, the same line of argument in both occupying the writer's mind, think it was not written till his stay at Corinth (Act 20:2-3), during the winter of 57-58, whence he wrote his Epistle to the Romans; and certainly, in the theory of the earlier writing of it from Ephesus, it does seem unlikely that the two Epistles to the Corinthians, so dissimilar, should intervene between those so similar as the Epistles to the Galatians and Romans; or that the Epistle to the Galatians should intervene between the second to the Thessalonians and the first to the Corinthians. The decision between the two theories rests on the words, "so soon." If these be not considered inconsistent with little more than three years having elapsed since his second visit to Galatia, the argument, from the similarity to the Epistle to the Romans, seems to me conclusive. This to the Galatians seems written on the urgency of the occasion, tidings having reached him at Corinth from Ephesus of the Judaizing of many of his Galatian converts, in an admonitory and controversial tone, to maintain the great principles of Christian liberty and justification by faith only; that to the Romans is a more deliberate and systematic exposition of the same central truths of theology, subsequently drawn up in writing to a Church with which he was personally unacquainted. See on Gal 1:6, for BIRKS'S view. PALEY [Horæ Paulinæ] well remarks how perfectly adapted the conduct of the argument is to the historical circumstances under which the Epistle was written! Thus, that to the Galatians, a Church which Paul had founded, he puts mainly upon authority; that to the Romans, to whom he was not personally known, entirely upon argument.

JFB: Galatians (Outline)

• SUPERSCRIPTION. GREETINGS. THE CAUSE OF HIS WRITING IS THEIR SPEEDY FALLING AWAY FROM THE GOSPEL HE TAUGHT. DEFENSE OF HIS TEACHING: HIS APOSTOLIC CALL INDEPENDENT OF MAN. (Gal. 1:1-24)
• HIS CO-ORDINATE AUTHORITY AS APOSTLE OF THE CIRCUMCISION RECOGNIZED BY THE APOSTLES. PROVED BY HIS REBUKING PETER FOR TEMPORIZING AT ANTIOCH: HIS REASONING AS TO THE INCONSISTENCY OF JUDAIZING WITH JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. (Gal. 2:1-21) Translate, "After fourteen years"; namely, from Paul's conversion inclusive [ALFORD]. In the fourteenth year from his conversion [BIRKS]. The same visit to Jerusalem as in Act 15:1-4 (A.D. 50), when the council of the apostles and Church decided that Gentile Christians need not be circumcised. His omitting allusion to that decree is; (1) Because his design here is to show the Galatians his own independent apostolic authority, whence he was not likely to support himself by their decision. Thus we see that general councils are not above apostles. (2) Because he argues the point upon principle, not authoritative decisions. (3) The decree did not go the length of the position maintained here: the council did not impose Mosaic ordinances; the apostle maintains that the Mosaic institution itself is at an end. (4) The Galatians were Judaizing, not because the Jewish law was imposed by authority of the Church as necessary to Christianity, but because they thought it necessary to be observed by those who aspired to higher perfection (Gal 3:3; Gal 4:21). The decree would not at all disprove their view, and therefore would have been useless to quote. Paul meets them by a far more direct confutation, "Christ is of no effect unto you whosoever are justified by the law" (Gal 5:4), [PALEY].
• REPROOF OF THE GALATIANS FOR ABANDONING FAITH FOR LEGALISM. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH VINDICATED: THE LAW SHOWN TO BE SUBSEQUENT TO THE PROMISE: BELIEVERS ARE THE SPIRITUAL SEED OF ABRAHAM, WHO WAS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING US TO CHRIST, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD BY FAITH. (Gal. 3:1-29)
• THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED: ILLUSTRATION OF OUR SUBJECTION TO THE LAW ONLY TILL CHRIST CAME, FROM THE SUBJECTION OF AN HEIR TO HIS GUARDIAN TILL HE IS OF AGE. PETER'S GOOD WILL TO THE GALATIANS SHOULD LEAD THEM TO THE SAME GOOD WILL TO HIM AS THEY HAD AT FIRST SHOWN. THEIR DESIRE TO BE UNDER THE LAW SHOWN BY THE ALLEGORY OF ISAAC AND ISHMAEL TO BE INCONSISTENT WITH THEIR GOSPEL LIBERTY. (Gal. 4:1-31) The fact of God's sending His Son to redeem us who were under the law (Gal 4:4), and sending the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (Gal 4:6), confirms the conclusion (Gal 3:29) that we are "heirs according to the promise."
• PERORATION. EXHORTATION TO STAND FAST IN THE GOSPEL LIBERTY, JUST SET FORTH, AND NOT TO BE LED BY JUDAIZERS INTO CIRCUMCISION, OR LAW JUSTIFICATION: YET THOUGH FREE, TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER BY LOVE: TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT, BEARING THE FRUIT THEREOF, NOT IN THE WORKS OF THE FLESH. (Gal. 5:1-26) The oldest manuscripts read, "in liberty (so ALFORD, MOBERLEY, HUMPHRY, and ELLICOTT. But as there is no Greek for 'in,' as there is in translating in 1Co 16:13; Phi 1:27; Phi 4:1, I prefer 'It is FOR freedom that') Christ hath made us free (not in, or for, a state of bondage). Stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage" (namely, the law, Gal 4:24; Act 15:10). On "again," see on Gal 4:9.
• EXHORTATIONS CONTINUED; TO FORBEARANCE AND HUMILITY; LIBERALITY TO TEACHERS AND IN GENERAL. POSTSCRIPT AND BENEDICTION. (Gal. 6:1-18)

TSK: Galatians (Book Introduction)

The Galatians, or Gallograecians, were the descendants of Gauls, who migrated from their own country, and after a series of disasters, got possession of a large district in Asia Minor, from them called Galatia (Pausanias, Attic. c. iv). They are mentioned by historians as a tall and valiant people, who went nearly naked, and used for arms only a buckler and sword; and the impetuosity of their attack is said to have been irresistible. Their religion, before their conversion was extremely corrupt and superstitious; they are said to have worshipped the mother of the gods, under the name of Adgistis; and to have offered human sacrifices of the prisoners they took in war. Though they spoke the Greek language in common with almost all the inhabitants of Asia Minor, yet it appears from Jerome that they retained their original Gaulish language even as late as the fifth century. Christianity appears to have been first planted in these regions by St. Paul himself (Gal 1:6; Gal 4:13); who visited the churches at least twice in that country (Act 16:6; Act 18:23). It is evident that this epistle was written soon after their reception of the gospel, as he complains of their speedy apostasy from his doctrine (Gal 1:6); and as there is no notice of his second journey into that country, it has been supposed, with much probability, that it was written soon after his first, and consequently about ad 52 or 53. It appears that soon after the Apostle had left them, some Judaizing teachers intruded themselves into the churches; drawing them off from the true gospel, to depend on ceremonial observances, and to the vain endeavour of " establishing their own righteousness." It was in order to oppose this false gospel that St. Paul addressed the Galatians, and after saluting the churches of Galatia, and establishing his apostolic commission against the attacks of the false teachers, he reproves them for departing from that gospel which he had preached to them, and confirmed by the gift of the Holy Ghost - proves that justification is by faith alone, and not by the deeds of the law, from the example of Abraham, the testimony of Scripture, the curse of the law, the redemption of Christ, and the Abrahamic covenant, which the law could not disannul - shows the use of the law in connection with the covenant of grace; concludes that all believers are delivered from the law, and made the spiritual seed of Abraham by faith in Christ; illustrates his inference by God’s treatment of the Jewish church, which he put under the law, as a father puts a minor under a guardian; shows the weakness and folly of the Galatians in subjecting themselves to the law, and that by submitting themselves to circumcision they become subject to the whole law, and would forfeit the benefits of the covenant of grace; gives them various instructions and exhortations for their Christian conduct, and particularly concerning the right use of their Christian freedom; and concludes with a brief summary of the topics discussed, and by commending them to the grace of Christ.

TSK: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Gal 5:1, He wills them to stand in their liberty, Gal 5:3, and not to observe circumcision; Gal 5:13, but rather love, which is the sum of the law; Gal 5:19, He reckons up the works of the flesh, Gal 5:22. and the fruits of the Spirit, Gal 5:25. and exhorts to walk in the Spirit.

Poole: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 5

MHCC: Galatians (Book Introduction)

The churches in Galatia were formed partly of converted Jews, and partly of Gentile converts, as was generally the case. St. Paul asserts his apostolic character and the doctrines he taught, that he might confirm the Galatian churches in the faith of Christ, especially with respect to the important point of justification by faith alone. Thus the subject is mainly the same as that which is discussed in the epistle to the Romans, that is, justification by faith alone. In this epistle, however, attention is particularly directed to the point, that men are justified by faith without the works of the law of Moses. Of the importance of the doctrines prominently set forth in this epistle, Luther thus speaks: " We have to fear as the greatest and nearest danger, lest Satan take from us this doctrine of faith, and bring into the church again the doctrine of works and of men's traditions. Wherefore it is very necessary that this doctrine be kept in continual practice and public exercise, both of reading and hearing. If this doctrine be lost, then is also the doctrine of truth, life and salvation, lost and gone."

MHCC: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

(Gal 5:1-12) An earnest exhortation to stand fast in the liberty of the gospel.

(Gal 5:13-15) To take heed of indulging a sinful temper.

(Gal 5:16-26) And to walk in the Spirit, and not to fulfil the lusts of the flesh: the works of both are described.

Matthew Henry: Galatians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians

This epistle of Paul is directed not to the church or churches of a single city, as some others are, but of a country or province, for so Galatia was. It is very probable that these Galatians were first converted to the Christian faith by his ministry; or, if he was not the instrument of planting, yet at least he had been employed in watering these churches, as is evident from this epistle itself, and also from Act 18:23, where we find him going over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. While he was with them, they had expressed the greatest esteem and affection both for his person and ministry; but he had not been long absent from them before some judaizing teachers got in among them, by whose arts and insinuations they were soon drawn into a meaner opinion both of the one and of the other. That which these false teachers chiefly aimed at was to draw them off from the truth as it is in Jesus, particularly in the great doctrine of justification, which they grossly perverted, by asserting the necessity of joining the observance of the law of Moses with faith in Christ in order to it: and, the better to accomplish this their design, they did all they could to lessen the character and reputation of the apostle, and to raise up their own on the ruins of his, representing him as one who, if he was to be owned as an apostle, yet was much inferior to others, and particularly who deserved not such a regard as Peter, James, and John, whose followers, it is likely, they pretended to be: and in both these attempts they had but too great success. This was the occasion of his writing this epistle, wherein he expresses his great concern that they had suffered themselves to be so soon turned aside from the faith of the gospel, vindicates his own character and authority as an apostle against the aspersions of his enemies, showing that his mission and doctrine were both divine, and that he was not, upon any account, behind the very chief of the apostles, 2Co 11:5. He then sets himself to assert and maintain the great gospel doctrine of justification by faith without the works of the law, and to obviate some difficulties that might be apt to arise in their minds concerning it: and, having established this important doctrine, he exhorts them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, cautions them against the abuse of this liberty, gives them several very needful counsels and directions and then concludes the epistle by giving them a just description of those false teachers by whom they had been ensnared, and, on the contrary, of his own temper and behaviour. In all this his great scope and design were to recover those who had been perverted, to settle those who might be wavering, and to confirm such among them as had kept their integrity.

Matthew Henry: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter the apostle comes to make application of his foregoing discourse. He begins it with a general caution, or exhortation (Gal 5:1), which he afterwards enforces by several considerations (Gal 5:2-12). He then presses them to serious practical godliness, which would be the best antidote against the snares of their false teachers; particularly, I. That they should not strive with one another (Gal 5:13-15). II. That they would strive against sin, where he shows, 1. That there is in every one a struggle between flesh and spirit (Gal 5:17). 2. That it is our duty and interest, in this struggle, to side with the better part (Gal 5:16, Gal 5:18). 3. He specifies the works of the flesh, which must be watched against and mortified, and the fruits of the Spirit, which must be brought forth and cherished, and shows of what importance it is that they be so (Gal 5:19-24). And then concludes the chapter with a caution against pride and envy.

Barclay: Galatians (Book Introduction)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227.) It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last forever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was

in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey

money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things are going fine

with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let

me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that

I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because

of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my

heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends.

I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My

military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health.

Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo,

Galloniuson." (G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri,

36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who will Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col 2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation.... He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added his own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end.) In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me" (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 ).

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

Paul Under Attack

Someone has likened the letter to the Galatians to a sword flashing in a great swordsmanhand. Both Paul and his gospel were under attack. If that attack had succeeded, Christianity might have become just another Jewish sect, might have become a thing dependent upon circumcision and on keeping the law, instead of being a thing of grace. It is strange to think that, if Paulopponents had had their way, the gospel might have been kept for Jews and we might never have had the chance to know the love of Christ.

PaulApostleship Attacked

It is impossible for a man to possess a vivid personality and a strong character like Paul and not encounter opposition; and equally impossible for a man to lead such a revolution in religious thought as he did and not be attacked. The first attack was on his apostleship. There were many to say that he was no apostle at all.

From their own point of view they were right. In Act_1:21-22 we have the basic definition of an apostle. Judas the traitor had committed suicide; it was necessary to fill the blank made in the apostolic band. They define the man to be chosen as one who must be "one of these men who were with us during all the time our Lord went in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John, until the day he was taken from us" and "a witness of the Resurrection." To be an apostle a man must have companied with Jesus during his earthly life and have witnessed his Resurrection. That qualification Paul obviously did not fulfil. Further, not so very long ago he had been the arch-persecutor of the Christian Church.

In Gal_1:1 Paul answers that. Proudly he insists that his apostleship is from no human source and that no human hand ordained him to that office, but that he received his call direct from God. Others might have the qualifications demanded when the first blank in the apostolic band was filled; but he had a unique qualification--he had met Christ face to face on the Damascus Road.

Independence And Agreement

Further, Paul insists that for his message he was dependent on no man. That is why in Gal 1-2 he carefully details his visits to Jerusalem. He is insisting that he is not preaching some second-hand message which he received from a man; he is preaching a message which he received direct from Christ. But Paul was no anarchist. He insisted that, although his message was received in entire independence, it yet had received the full approval of those who were the acknowledged leaders of the Christian Church (Gal_2:6-10 ). The gospel he preached came direct from God to him; but it was a gospel in full agreement with the faith delivered to the Church.

The Judaizers

But that gospel was under attack as well. It was a struggle which had to come and a battle which had to be fought. There were Jews who had accepted Christianity; but they believed that all Godpromises and gifts were for Jews alone and that no Gentile could be admitted to these precious privileges. They therefore believed that Christianity was for Jews and Jews alone. If Christianity was Godgreatest gift to men, that was all the more reason that none but Jews should be allowed to enjoy it. In a way that was inevitable. There was a type of Jew who arrogantly believed in the idea of the chosen people. He could say the most terrible things--"God loves only Israel of all the nations he has made." "God will judge Israel with one measure and the Gentiles with another." "The best of the snakes crush; the best of the Gentiles kill." "God created the Gentiles to be fuel for the fires of Hell." This was the spirit which made the law lay it down that it was illegal to help a Gentile mother in her sorest hour, for that would only be to bring another Gentile into the world. When this type of Jew saw Paul bringing the gospel to the despised Gentile, he was appalled and infuriated.

The Law

There was a way out of this. If a Gentile wished to become a Christian, let him become a Jew first. What did that mean? It meant that he must be circumcised and take the whole burden of the law upon him. That, for Paul, was the opposite of all that Christianity meant. It meant that a mansalvation was dependent on his ability to keep the law and could be won by his own unaided efforts; whereas, to Paul salvation was entirely a thing of grace. He believed that no man could ever earn the favour of God. All he could do was accept the love God offered him by making an act of faith and flinging himself on his mercy. The Jew would go to God saying, "Look! Here is my circumcision. Here are my works. Give me the salvation I have earned." Paul would say:

"Not the labours of my hands

Can fulfil thy lawdemands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears for ever flow,

All for sin could not atone:

Thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to thy Cross I cling;

Naked, come to thee for dress;

Helpless, look to thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die."

For him the essential thing was, not what a man could do for God, but what God had done for him.

"But," the Jews argued, "the greatest thing in our national life is the law. God gave that law to Moses and on it our very lives depend." Paul replied, "Wait one moment. Who is the founder of our nation? To whom were the greatest of Godpromises given?" Of course, the answer is Abraham. "Now," went on Paul, "how was it that Abraham gained the favour of God? He could not have gained it by keeping the law because he lived four hundred and thirty years before the law was given to Moses. He gained it by an act of faith. When God told him to leave his people and go out, Abraham made a sublime act of faith and went, trusting everything to him. It was faith that saved Abraham, not law; and," Paul continues, "it is faith that must save every man, not deeds of the law. The real son of Abraham is not a man racially descended from him but one who, no matter his race, makes the same surrender of faith to God."

The Law And Grace

If all this be true, one very serious question arises--what then is the place of the law? It cannot be denied that it was given by God; does this emphasis on grace simply wipe it out?

The law has its own place in the scheme of things. First, it tells men what sin is. If there is no law, a man cannot break it and there can be no such thing as sin. Second, and most important, the law really drives a man to the grace of God. The trouble about the law is that because we are sinful men we can never keep it perfectly. Its effect, therefore, is to show a man his weakness and to drive him to a despair in which he sees that there is nothing left but to throw himself on the mercy and the love of God. The law convinces us of our own insufficiency and in the end compels us to admit that the only thing which can save us is the grace of God. In other words the law is an essential stage on the way to that grace.

In this epistle Paulgreat theme is the glory of the grace of God and the necessity of realizing that we can never save ourselves.

FURTHER READING

Galatians

E. D. Burton, Galatians (ICC; G)

G. S. Duncan, The Epistle to the Galatians (MC; E)

D. Guthrie, Galatians (NCB; E)

J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle to the Galatians (MmC; G)

Abbreviations

ICC : International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

E: English Text G: Greek Text

Barclay: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

The Personal Relationship (Gal_5:1-12)

Christian Freedom (Gal_5:13-15)

The Evil Things (Gal_5:16-21)

The Lovely Things (Gal_5:22-26)

Constable: Galatians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical Background

"The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Galatians is that the letter was written by Paul, the Christian apostle whose ministry is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles."¹

The Apostle Paul directed this epistle to the churches of Galatia (1:2), and he called its recipients Galatians (3:1). However who these people were and where they lived are problems that have proved difficult to pinpoint.

The traditional opinion held that the recipients lived in the geographical district known as Galatia located in the northern part of the Roman province called Galatia in Asia Minor.² This view holds that Paul founded these churches on his second missionary journey after the Spirit forbade him to preach in the province of Asia (Acts 16:6). Paul could have written this epistle then during his third journey either from Ephesus about 54 A.D. or from Corinth about 57 A.D. The main arguments for this "North Galatian theory" are as follows. The popular use of the term "Galatians" usually signified people in this area. Second, Luke normally referred to geographical districts rather than Roman provinces in Acts. Third, there is some similarity between the Galatians as Paul referred to them in this epistle and the Gallic inhabitants of northern Galatia. Fourth, Paul travelled through this region during his second journey (Acts 16:6-8).

The more popular view today maintains that Paul wrote to the churches located in the Roman province of Galatia that he founded on his first missionary journey (cf. Acts 13:38-39, 46, 48; 14:3, 8-10).³ The arguments for this "South Galatian theory" are as follows. Acts 16:6 and 18:23 offer no support to the theory that Paul made a trip to the northern part of provincial Galatia. Second, there is no specific information about the northern Galatian churches in Acts. Third, the geographic isolation of the North Galatia district makes a visit by Paul improbable. Fourth, Paul usually referred to provincial titles in his writings. Fifth, the name "Galatians" was appropriate for the southern area. Sixth, the mention of Barnabas in Galatians 2 suggests that the Galatians had met him. Seventh, the absence of a North Galatian representative in the collection delegation referred to in 1 Corinthians 16:1 implies that it was not an evangelized area. Eighth, the influence of the Judaizers was extensive in South Galatia.

If Paul wrote this epistle to the churches of South Galatia, he probably did so at one of two times. If Paul's visit referred to in Galatians 4:13 is the same one described in Acts 16:6, he must have written this epistle after the Jerusalem Council (i.e., in or after 49 A.D.). Nevertheless it seems more likely that Galatians 4:13 refers to the visit described in Acts 14:21, so Paul must have written before the Jerusalem Council (i.e., before or in 49 A.D.). Assuming the earlier date Paul probably wrote Galatians from Antioch of Syria shortly after his first missionary journey and before the Jerusalem Council.⁴ Another less likely possibility is that he wrote it from Ephesus during his third missionary journey.⁵

The dating of the epistle affects the occasion for writing. Assuming the South Galatian theory and an early date of writing, Paul wrote mainly to stem the tide of Judaizing heresy to which he referred throughout the letter. He mentioned people who opposed him in every chapter (1:6-7; 2:4-5; 3:1; 4:17; 5:7-12; 6:12-13).

The identity of the Judaizers is also important. Their method included discrediting Paul. The first two chapters of Galatians especially deal with criticisms leveled against him personally. His critics appear to have been Jews who claimed to be Christians and who wanted Christians to submit to the authority of the Mosaic Law and its institutions. They probably came from Jerusalem and evidently had a wide influence (cf. Acts 15). One man seems to have been their spokesman (3:1; 5:7, 10) though there were several Judaizers in Galatia as the many references to "them" and "they" scattered throughout the epistle suggest.⁶

Message⁷

Probably the most distinctive impression one receives from this epistle is its severity. Paul wrote it with strong emotion, but he never let his emotions fog his argument. His dominant concern was for truth and its bearing on life.

Compared with the Corinthian correspondence Galatians is also corrective. However the tone is very different. There is no mention here of the readers' standing in Christ or any commendation of them.

The introduction is rather cold and prosaic with no mention of thankfulness. Paul begins at once to marvel at the Galatians' apostasy (1:6-9; cf. 3:1-5; 4:8-11). Even tender sentiments seem to rise from a very troubled heart (4:19-20). Obviously that of which Paul wrote in this letter was of utmost importance to him.

He was not dealing with behavior, as in Corinthians, so much as belief, which is foundational to behavior.

Galatians has been called the Manifesto of Christian Liberty. It explains that liberty: its nature, its laws, and its enemies. This little letter has at various times through history called God's people out of the bondage of legalism back into the liberty of freedom. Luther loved it so much he called it his wife.

The greatest value of this letter is not found in its denunciations but in its enunciations. We must not be so impressed with the fiery rhetoric and dramatic actions of Paul that we fail to understand the reasons underlying what he said and did.

Galatians' central teaching is a proclamation concerning liberty. It is a germinal form of the Epistle to the Romans, which Paul wrote 8 years later in 57 A.D.

Three sentences will state its major revelations.

First, the root of every Christian's Christianity is God's supply of His Holy Spirit to that person (3:5, 14). One receives new life by receiving the Holy Spirit by faith at conversion. Nothing other than faith is necessary for salvation. To affirm that one must be circumcised or baptized to receive life is to proclaim the worst of heresies. New life comes by faith alone. What makes Christians different is God indwelling us.

Second, the culture (medium) in which every Christian's Christianity grows is the desires of God's Spirit who indwells us (5:17). When a Christian has life by faith he or she is free from all other bondage: that of the flesh, and that of rites and ceremonies. (By "flesh" I mean our sinful human nature.) He has power to master the flesh, and he has found life apart from rites and ceremonies, so he is free from these. However, his liberty is not license to sin. God's Spirit enables the Christian to obey. Circumcision or baptism does not make anyone able to obey God. We can only obey God in the power of God's Spirit. In short, we are free to obey God, not to disobey Him, when the Spirit dwells within us. God's life in us bears fruit if we cooperate with Him. But if we conflict with Him it does not.

Third, the fruit that every Christian produces is the evidence of God's Spirit triumphing over his flesh (5:22). The essence of this fruit is love. The works of the flesh are the fruit of a religion that does not have the life-giving Spirit indwelling its members (i.e., ritualism). Fruit issues from life; works issue from ritualism.

The Galatians upset Paul exceedingly because whenever we add anything to faith for salvation inevitably we neglect faith. If we make something beside faith supreme, we establish a rite (e.g., baptism). When we establish a rite, practice of the rite becomes the message of religion and we divorce morality from religion. There is no motivation for righteous living. This is one difference between Christianity and all other religions. All other religions have rites, ceremonies, and creeds, but no life. Consequently there is no vital connection in these religions between belief and morality. We see that all kinds of sin result from the tragedy of adding something to the one responsibility of faith (e.g., Roman Catholicism).

Galatians is not only a proclamation, it is also a protest.

It protests against preachers of another gospel (1:8-9). These words of Paul are not only a curse, they are a statement of fact. One who preaches another gospel substitutes falsehood (which issues finally in the works of the flesh) for the truth (which issues finally in the fruit of the Spirit). Get the gospel straight before you finish your study of Galatians.

Galatians also protests against the receivers of another gospel (5:4). To add to faith is to trust ceremony, which is to deny Christ, which is to be cut off from Christ, which is to fall from grace. Ceremonies such as baptism and the Lord's Supper have a proper place in Christianity, but to make them necessary for justification is to deny Christ. A person is justified only when he or she says sincerely, "Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling."

Galatians also protests against those who practice the deeds of the flesh, which result from a false gospel (5:21). They will not inherit God's kingdom. Their reward will be less than it would be if they did not practice the deeds of the flesh.

This letter warns us against adding any rite or ceremony or observance to faith to obtain God's acceptance. Such a practice cuts off those who rely on the ritual from Christ. Dr. William Culbertson used to say, "It is very hard to tell when the accretions to faith make faith invalid." We all struggle with this difficulty in our evangelism.

It also warns us against changing horses in midstream. That is, it warns us against trusting in faith for justification, but then concluding that the only way to be sanctified is to observe rites, ceremonies, or other observances. Having begun salvation by the Spirit we will not attain God's goal for us by the flesh. The life of the Spirit must remain the law of the Christian.

We may compare the Christian life to a three-stage Saturn rocket.

Here is another way to think of salvation. We can chart it showing the relationships of justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification is solely an act of God that takes a moment. Sanctification is a joint enterprise between God and the Christian that takes a lifetime. Glorification is another act of God alone that takes only a moment.

I would summarize the message of the book as follows. Salvation is by God's grace through faith plus nothing. We will deal with these issues more in detail in our study of the book.

Outline⁸

I. Introduction 1:1-10

A. Salutation 1:1-5

B. Denunciation 1:6-10

II. Personal defense of Paul's gospel 1:11-2:21

A. Independence from other apostles 1:11-24

1. The source of Paul's gospel 1:11-17

2. The events of Paul's early ministry 1:18-24

B. Interdependence with other apostles 2:1-10

C. Correction of another apostle 2:11-21

III. Theological affirmation of salvation by faith 3:1-4:31

A. Vindication of the doctrine ch. 3

1. The experiential argument 3:1-5

2. The Scriptural argument 3:6-14

3. The logical argument 3:15-29

B. Clarification of the doctrine ch. 4

1. The domestic illustration 4:1-11

2. The historical illustration 4:12-20

3. The biblical illustration 4:21-31

IV. Practical application to Christian living 5:1-6:10

A. Balance in the Christian life ch. 5

1. Living without the Law 5:1-12

2. Living without license 5:13-15

3. Living by the Holy Spirit 5:16-26

B. Responsibilities of the Christian life 6:1-10

1. Toward sinning Christians 6:1

2. Toward burdened Christians 6:2-5

3. Toward teachers 6:6-9

4. Toward all people 6:10

V. Conclusion 6:11-18

Constable: Galatians

Galatians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Galatians (Book Introduction)

THE

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE GALATIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The Galatians, soon after St. Paul had preached the gospel to them, were seduced by some false teachers, who had been Jews, and who were for obliging all Christians, even those who had been Gentiles, to observe circumcision, and the other ceremonies of the Mosaical law. In this epistle he refutes the pernicious doctrine of those teachers, and also their calumny against his mission and apostleship. The subject matter of this epistle is much the same as of that to the Romans. It was written at Ephesus, about twenty-three years after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner) --- The Galatians were originally Gauls, who under their leader, Baennus, spread themselves over Greece, and at length passed over into Asia Minor, where they settled between Cappadocia and Phrygia, in the province afterwards called from them Galatia. It seems that St. Peter preached first in those parts; but it was only to the Jews, as my be gathered from the inscription of his first epistle, which he addresses to the Jews of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. But St. Paul was the first that preached to the Gentile inhabitants of this province. When he first preached to them, he was received as an angel from heaven, or rather, as Christ himself: he visited them oftener than once, and the Church he there formed was very considerable. It was the Jewish converts of Galatia (who, as we have before mentioned, were the spiritual children of St. Peter) that caused those troubles which gave rise to this epistle. They strongly advocated the legal observances; and making a handle of the high pre-eminence of St. Peter, they decried St. Paul, even calling in question his apostleship. They taught the necessity of circumcision, and other Mosaic rites, which the apostles then in part retained. Thus divisions were raised in this infant Church. On these accounts the apostle warmly asserts his apostleship, as being called by Christ himself. He shews that his doctrine was that of the other apostles, who, in the council of Jerusalem, four years before, testified their exemption from the legal observances. He teaches, that it is not by the law, but by faith, that the blessings of salvation are imparted to them. After establishing these more important parts of the epistle, he gives them instruction on various heads. The Greek subscription to this epistle informs us, that it was written from Rome. St. Jerome says, he wrote it when in chains. Theodoret says, it was the first epistle that St. Paul wrote from Rome. This opinion has probably been adopted from a mistaken interpretation of the text: I bear the marks of the wounds of Christ in my body. By these marks they understand chains, whilst the text equally applies to the mortifications and self-denials of a Christian. The contrary opinion is, that this epistle was written from Ephesus in the year of Christ 55. This is the more probable opinion, and is maintained by St. Gregory the Great, Ludovicus, Capellanus, Estius, Usher, Pearson, and many others. The authority of the Greek copies, in assigning the places whence the letters were written, has been long rejected by the learned. We find no such information in the more ancient Greek manuscripts of St. Germanus and Clermont, &c. (Calmet)

====================

Gill: Galatians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS

The persons to whom this epistle is written were not such who made up a single church only, in some certain town or city, but were such of which several churches consisted, in a region or country called Galatia, as is evident from Gal 1:2 and the members of these churches seem to be chiefly, if not altogether Jews, since the apostle includes them with himself; as having been under the law, under tutors and governors, and in bondage under the elements of the world, and to whom the law had been a schoolmaster, though now they were no longer under it as such, Gal 3:23 or however, though some of them might have been originally Gentiles, yet, previous to their conversion, had become proselytes to the Jews, and now were returning to Judaism again, as appears from Gal 4:8. When and from whence this epistle was written, is not very clear and manifest: some have thought, that it was written about the time of the writing of the epistle to the Romans, and upon a like occasion; but if it was written about that time, it could not he written from Rome, as the subscription to this epistle attests, since it is certain, that when the apostle wrote his epistle to the Romans, he had never, as yet, been at Rome. Beza is of opinion, that it was written from Antioch, between the return of Paul and Barnabas thither from their first journey, and the troubles which broke out in that church, Act 14:28. But to this it is reasonably objected, that it is questionable whether there were so early any churches in Galatia at all; and if there were, it does not seem that the defection from the faith, complained of in this epistle, as yet had took place in any of the churches; for it was after this date that the troubles upon this head arose at Antioch, which seems to have been the first place, and the church there the first church the judaizing teachers practised at and upon. Some Latin exemplars testify that it was written from Ephesus; of which opinion was Erasmus; but as Dr. Lightfoot observes, the same reason is against this as the former, seeing the corruption that was got into this church was then but beginning, when the apostle was at Ephesus: it seems therefore most likely, that it was written from Rome, as the subscription in the Greek copies affirms; and which is strengthened by the Syriac and Arabic versions, seeing it seems to have been written after the apostle had made the collections, in several places, for the poor saints at Jerusalem, Gal 2:10 and when the apostasy from the faith had got to a great pitch; nor is it any objection that there is no express mention made of his bonds in it, as there is in those epistles of his, which were written from Rome; since, when he wrote this, he might have been delivered from them, as some have thought he was after his first defence; and besides, he does take notice of the marks of the Lord Jesus he bore in his body, Gal 6:17. Dr. Lightfoot places the writing of this epistle in the year and in the "fifth" of Nero; some place it in 55, and others in 58. That there were churches in Galatia very early, is certain from Act 18:23 but by whom they were planted is not so evident; very likely by the apostle, since, it is certain, both from this epistle, that he was personally in this country, and preached the Gospel here, Gal 4:13 and from Act 16:6 and if he was not the instrument of the conversion of the first of them, which laid the foundation of a Gospel church state, yet it is certain, that he was useful in strengthening the disciples and brethren throughout this country, Act 18:23. But after his departure from them, the false teachers got among them, and insinuated, that he was no apostle, at least that he was inferior to Peter, James, and John, the ministers of the circumcision; and these seduced many of the members of the churches in this place, drawing them off from the evangelical doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, persuading them that the observation of the ceremonial law, particularly circumcision, was necessary to their acceptance with God, and justification in his sight: wherefore the occasion and design of this epistle were to vindicate the character of the apostle as such; to establish the true doctrine of justification by faith, in opposition to the works of the law; to recover those who were carried away with the other doctrines; to exhort the saints to stand fast in the liberty of Christ, and to various other duties of religion; and to give a true description of the false teachers, and their views, that so they might beware of them, and of their principles.

Gill: Galatians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS 5

In this chapter the apostle exhorts to stand fast in Christian liberty, and warns against the abuse of it; and directs to shun various vices, and encourages, to the exercise of several graces, and the observance of several duties; and concludes with a caution against vain glory, provocation to wrath, and envy: and whereas, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, he had made it appear that the believers under the Gospel dispensation were free from the bondage of the law, he begins this with an exhortation to continue steadfastly in the liberty of the Gospel; and the rather, since it was what Christ obtained for them, and bestowed on them; and to take care, that they were not again brought under the bondage of the ceremonial law, particularly the yoke of Circumcision, Gal 5:1, and dissuades from submitting to it, by observing, that it tended to make Christ unprofitable to them, Gal 5:2, and that it laid them under an obligation to keep the whole law, Gal 5:3, and that it made Christ wholly useless to them; and that such who sought for justification by obedience to the ceremonial law were apostates from the Gospel of the grace of God, Gal 5:4, as also by showing, that it was contrary to the general faith and expectation of the saints, who were looking for and expecting eternal glory and happiness, not by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Gal 5:5, nor were circumcision or uncircumcision of any avail, but the true faith in Christ, which shows itself by love to him and to his people, Gal 5:6, and likewise by reminding them how well they set out at their first conversion, and proceeded; nor had they any to hinder them from obeying the truth, and therefore it was shameful in them to go back to the beggarly elements they had first relinquished, Gal 5:7, nor was the present opinion they had imbibed, of God that called them, or what they received when first effectually called by grace, but what had been since taken up, Gal 5:8, and whereas it might be objected, that it was only in a single article concerning the ceremonial law, and which was, embraced only by a few persons, and therefore not to be regarded, the apostle puts them in mind of a proverb, that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and therefore not to be connived at, Gal 5:9, however, a little to mitigate the sharpness of his reproof, he expresses his good opinion and confidence of them, that upon a mature consideration of things, they would not be otherwise minded than they formerly had been, or he now was; and lays the blame of all upon the false teacher, or teachers, that troubled them, and who should bear their own judgment or condemnation, Gal 5:10, and whereas it was insinuated, that the apostle himself had preached up circumcision as necessary to salvation, he removes this calumny by observing, that were it true, he would not suffer persecution as he did, nor would the Jews be offended at his preaching as they were, Gal 5:11, and then out of zeal for the glory of God, and hearty affection to the Galatians, he wishes those false teachers that troubled them with their pernicious doctrines were cut off either by the Lord, or from the church, Gal 5:12, and next he directs to the right use of Christian liberty, to which they were called; and cautions against the abuse of it; that they should not use it as an occasion to the flesh, but, on the contrary, serve one another in love, Gal 5:13 giving this as a reason, because love is the fulfilling of the law, Gal 5:14, whereas a contrary spirit and conduct are attended with pernicious consequences, even the destruction of each other, Gal 5:15, and therefore advises them to walk in the Spirit, whose fruit is love, and then they would not fulfil the lust of the flesh, Gal 5:16, for these two, flesh and Spirit, are contrary the one to the other, and the Spirit hinders the performance of the lusts of the flesh, Gal 5:17, besides, such who give up themselves to the conduct of the Spirit, and are led thereby, are not under the law, the bondage of it, nor liable to its curse, Gal 5:18, and having made mention both of flesh and Spirit, he takes notice of the works and fruits of the one, and of the other, by which they are known; and as for the works of the flesh he observes, that they are manifest, and gives an enumeration of them in "seventeen" particulars; and to deter from them declares, that whoever lives in the commission of them, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, Gal 5:19, and as for the fruits of the Spirit, these are also well known by spiritual men, "nine" of which are particularly mentioned, and against which there is no law, Gal 5:22, and from the whole concludes, that such as are true believers in Christ, and are led by his Spirit, and have the fruits of it, have the flesh with its affections and lusts crucified, Gal 5:24, and ends the chapter with some exhortations to walk in the Spirit, and not be ambitious of worldly honour, nor provoke one another to wrath, nor envy each other's happiness, Gal 5:25.

College: Galatians (Book Introduction)

FOREWORD

Since the earliest days of the concept of a commentary series jointly authored by church of Christ and Christian church scholars, I have eagerly anticipated the College Press NIV Bible Commentary. The dream of Don DeWelt was to bring brothers back together in a project honoring our common devotion to Scripture. Exegesis of the text should know no party line, but should interpret fairly and honestly what God said. Participating as a writer in this series is an honor and a challenge.

Having taught Galatians and Ephesians for twenty years in the Bible college classroom, I know that many good commentaries already exist. All the books that have been written provide a wonderful platform on which to build. No quantity of footnotes could adequately reflect my gratitude for the research of great scholars of the past.

I especially want to express my thanks to my family and my co-workers in Christ for the support and inspiration they have given me. Experience is teaching me that no member of the Lord's body functions well alone. In addition, I feel gratitude to a host of zealous students who have brought their enthusiasm and fresh insights to the halls of Ozark Christian College. Learning from students is one of the best ways to learn!

Out of my study of Galatians and Ephesians, I have learned to love the Lord and his people. Viewing God's children as my dear brothers and sisters is a rich blessing. Especially dear to me are the precious saints of God whose love has reached beyond the sectarian lines. Yearning to taste the freedom for which Christ has set us free, they have dared to love with God's own love. Out of their sincere faith and unfeigned love, it is possible to catch a glimpse of heaven. Until the family is reunited around the throne, may God bless you.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

INTRODUCTION

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1). This freedom rings out in every page of Galatians, Paul's great "Magna Charta of the Christian faith." This epistle is our charter of Christian freedom, our declaration of independence from slavery

to the law.

Throughout the history of the church the message of Galatians has been needed to free men from chains of false doctrine. When the early Judaizers tried to bind men to the old commandments from Sinai, Galatians set them free. When the apostate church of the Dark Ages tried to bind men to a papal system of salvation by penance and works, Galatians set them free. When modern legalists try to bind us to a joyless religion of superior "rightness," Galatians sets us free.

Martin Luther was moved by Galatians to sound the reveille of the Reformation. He said, "The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle; I have betrothed myself to it: it is my wife." His commentary on Galatians cost him more labor, and was more highly esteemed by him, than any of his other works. For Luther, as for every age, the simple gospel of the message of Galatians was a mighty weapon in the arsenal of freedom.

THE WRITER

No epistle can lay more claim to being a genuine product of the hand of Paul than can Galatians. As Kümmel says, "That Galatians is a genuine, authentic Epistle is indisputable." Paul claims to be the author (1:1 and 5:2), and the early church accepted this claim without reservation. The style and message are clearly Pauline. "His mind, character, and accents are to be seen in every paragraph."

THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

While the authorship is beyond dispute, there is considerable controversy regarding the recipients of this letter. They are called "the churches in Galatia," but just what is meant by this?

During the third century B.C. some barbarian people of Celtic origin migrated to the inner plateau of Asia Minor and established a kingdom there. Since some of the Celtic people were known in France as the Gauls, these people in Asia Minor were distinguished as the "Gallo-Graecians," from which the name "Galatians" comes.Their realm was centered around Ancyra (the modern capital of Turkey) in the northern highlands area.

After the Romans conquered this territory, it was combined in 25 B.C. into a large province containing the districts to the south, Lycaonia and Isauria, as well as parts of Pisidia and Phrygia. The newly created province was called Galatia, and included the cities known to us from Paul's missionary journeys - Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra.

When Paul spoke of "Galatia," did he refer to ethnic Galatia (the tribal area limited to the north), or did he refer to political Galatia (the province which also included the districts to the south)? The traditional view, still shown on most Bible maps, is the "north Galatian theory." The view favored by most commentaries today is the "south Galatian theory."

The North Galatian Theory

If this view is correct, then Paul must have visited Galatia on the second missionary journey (Acts 16:6, although without preaching) and started churches there on the third missionary journey (Acts 18:23). However, Acts says nothing of the cities there, nor of Paul's preaching.

Possible arguments to support the "North Galatian theory" include the following:

1. "Galatia" meant a place inhabited specifically by the Gauls.

2. In Acts, Antioch is called "Pisidian," while Lystra and Derbe are cities of Lycaonia.

3. The Phrygians would have objected to being called Galatians, since it would remind them of their subjection to Rome.

4. Paul could not have addressed Lycaonians or Pisidians as "O foolish Galatians."

5. The fickle nature of the recipients suits the Gallic people.

6. "The region of Phrygia and Galatia" (Acts 16:6) appears to mean that Galatia was quite distinct from Phrygia.

7. There is no mention in Galatians that Paul experienced strong opposition when he preached there.

The South Galatian Theory

In the 1880s and 1890s William Ramsay did extensive archaeological work in Asia Minor. His careful research not only proved that Luke was an accurate historian; it also laid the foundation for the "south Galatian theory." This is the view favored in this commentary.

If this view is correct, then Paul visited cities of Galatia on all three of his missionary journeys. These were among the first churches he started. The cities would include Pisidian Antioch and Iconium (where Paul met resistance from the Jews), and Lystra (where Paul was first welcomed, and then stoned).

Possible arguments to support the "south Galatian theory" include the following:

1. If Galatia does not include the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, then we know absolutely nothing about the churches which were so important in Paul's life and to which such an important epistle was sent.

2. The expression "the region of Phrygia and Galatia" (Acts 16:6) is best understood as the area through which Paul would go when he left Lystra and Iconium, "the Phrygio-Galatian" territory.

3. Paul normally uses Roman imperial names for the provinces, and the Roman "Galatia" included the south.

4. "Galatians" was the only word available that would include the people of all four cities (just as "British" includes people who are Welsh, Scottish, and English).

5. "The Galatian churches" participated in the collection for the saints in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1), and Paul's assistants included

two South Galatians - Gaius of Derbe and Timothy of Lystra (Acts 20:4).

6. The northern area was not on the common trade routes, and it is unlikely that Paul would have made a difficult journey to reach such an out-of-the-way place "because of an illness" (Gal 4:13).

7. Judaizers are known to have followed Paul through the cities of the south.

8. Paul's words "you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God" (4:14) could be connected with his reception at Lystra, where they wanted to worship him and Barnabas.

9. The early church developed along the great trade routes, and these went through the south parts of Galatia, not the north.

10. Barnabas is mentioned three times (2:1, 9, 13), as though he is known to the readers, and he accompanied Paul only on the journey that went to the cities of the south.

THE DATE AND PLACE OF WRITING

The date and place of writing are somewhat dependent on the choice of north or south Galatia as the destination. If the "north Galatian theory" is correct, the epistle could not have been written until after Paul arrived in Ephesus on the third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-24). This would produce a date no earlier than A.D. 52-55. Lightfoot proposed that the letter was written from Corinth, perhaps A.D. 56-57.

If one is convinced that the "south Galatian theory" is correct, a much wider range of dates is possible. Galatians could have been written as early as A.D. 48, even before the Jerusalem Conference.However, as our discussion of Gal 2:1-10 will show, it is more likely that the Jerusalem Conference had already taken place when Paul wrote the letter. This would move the probable date to A.D. 50 or later. It is likely that Galatians stands among the first of Paul's epistles.

The decision about the date and place of writing does not affect the interpretation of Galatians; in fact, the reverse is true. The exegesis of the text determines the decision about date and place. One cannot say, "Paul wrote at such and such a date; therefore, the text means this." Our decision about date and place comes from indications in the text itself (Gal 1:6 "so quickly deserting"; 2:1 "fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem"; 2:11 "when Peter came to Antioch"; 4:13 "because of an illness I first preached to you"; 4:20 "I wish I could be with you now.") What we know for certain about Paul's circumstances we will learn from the text.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barclay, William. Flesh and Spirit . Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962.

. The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians . Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958.

. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians . Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1959.

. New Testament Words . London: SCM Press, 1964.

Bartchy, S. Scott. First Century Slavery and 1 Corinthians 7:21 . Atlanta: Scholar's Press, 1973.

Barrett, C. K. "The Allegory of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar in the Argument of Galatians," Rechtfertigung: Festschrift fur Ernst Käsemann . Tübingen/Gottingen, 1976.

Barth, Markus. Romans . Oxford: University Press, 1980 (reprint).

Bauckham, R. J. "Barnabas in Galatians." Journal for the Study of the New Testament , Issue 2 (1979) 61-70.

Bauer, Walter; William F. Arndt; and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . 2nd ed. Rev. by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Blakely, Given. What the Bible Says About the Kingdom of God . Joplin: College Press, 1988.

Blass, F.; A. Debrunner; and Robert W. Funk. A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.

Boice, James Montgomery. Galatians . The Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976.

Brandenburger, Egon. "Cross," Dictionary of New Testament Theology (1975) I:391-403.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Galatians (NIGTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Büchsel, Friedrich. "ajllhgorevw," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1964) I:260-263.

Bundrick, David R. "TA STOICHEIA TOU KOSMOU," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 34 (Sept 1991) 353-364.

Burton, E. D. The Epistle to the Galatians (ICC). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1921.

Carson, D. A.; Douglas J. Moo; and Leon Morris. An Introduction to the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

Calvin, John. Commentary on Galatians . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961 (reprint).

Cullmann, Oskar. "Pevtro", Khfa'"," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1968) VI:100-112.

Dana, H. E. and Julius R. Mantey. A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament . New York: Macmillan, 1955.

Deissmann, Adolph. Light from the Ancient East (Eng. Trans.). New York: Harper, 1927.

DeVries, C. E. "Paul's 'Cutting' Remarks about a Race: Galatians 5:1-12," Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation: Studies in Honor of Merrill C. Tenney . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975.

Duncan, George S. The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians (MNTC). London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1934.

Fairweather, William. The Background of the Epistles . Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1935.

Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians (NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Green, Michael. The Empty Cross of Jesus . Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1984.

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Hauck, Friedrich and Siegfried Schulz. "pornhv," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1968) VI:579-595.

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Jewett, Robert. "Agitators and the Galatian Congregation," New Testament Studies 17 (1970-1971) 198-212.

Johnson, Robert L. The Letter of Paul to the Galatians (LWC). Austin: R. B. Sweet, 1969.

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Pinnock, Clark H. Truth on Fire: The Message of Galatians . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972.

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Sampley, J. Paul. "'Before God, I do not lie' (Gal 1:20): Paul's Self-Defence in the Light of Roman Legal Praxis." New Testament Studies 23 (1977) 477-482.

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Strelan, J. G. "Burden-Bearing and the Law of Christ: A Re-examination of Galatians 6:2," Journal of Biblical Literature 94 (1975) 266-276.

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

BAGD Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker Greek Lexicon (2nd. ed.)

BDF Blass-Debrunner-Funk Greek Grammar

CT Christianity Today

ExpT Expository Times

DNTT Dictionary of the New Testament, by Colin Brown

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JSNT Journal of Studies for the New Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

KJV King James Version

LSJ Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek Lexicon

LXX Septuagint

NEB New English Bible

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RSV Revised Standard Version

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. by

Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

TrinJ Trinity Journal

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: Galatians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. AUTHORITY: The Apostolic Gospel - 1:1-2:21

A. Greeting - 1:1-5

B. Paul's Astonishment - 1:6-10

C. Paul's Call by God - 1:11-17

D. Paul's Brief Meeting with Leaders - 1:18-24

E. Showdown: Conference in Jerusalem - 2:1-5

F. Apostolic Agreement - 2:6-10

G. Showdown: Conflict in Antioch - 2:11-14

H. Apostolic Conclusion - 2:15-21

II. ARGUMENTS: Law Vs. Faith - 3:1-4:31

A. Argument One: Receiving the Spirit - 3:1-5

B. Argument Two: Abraham - 3:6-9

C. Argument Three: The Curse - 3:10-14

D. Argument Four: A Human Covenant - 3:15-22

E. Argument Five: The Child-Keeper - 3:23-4:7

1. The Job of the Child-Keeper - 3:23-25

2. The Benefits for the Children - 3:26-29

3. The Full Rights of the Children - 4:1-7

4. The Folly of Turning Back - 4:8-11

F. Argument Six: Paul's Personal Plea - 4:12-20

1. Paul's Former Welcome - 4:12-16

2. Paul's Present Pains - 4:17-20

G. Argument Seven: Allegory of Hagar & Sarah - 4:21-31

III. APPLICATION: Living for Freedom - 5:1-6:18

A. Freedom or a Yoke? - 5:1-6

B. The Yeast of the Agitators - 5:7-12

C. The Essence of Law and Love - 5:13-15

D. The Acts of the Sinful Nature - 5:16-21

E. The Fruit of the Spirit - 5:22-26

F. The Law of Christ - 6:1-6

G. The Harvest of the Spirit - 6:7-10

H. Paul's Own Conclusion - 6:11-18

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV