Galatians 5
- Who wrote it
- Paul
- Who it was for
- The churches of Galatia
- What was happening
- For freedom Christ has set us free: faith working through love, and walking by the Spirit
What’s happening
"Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don't be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." Paul says that if they accept circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to them; every man who gets circumcised is obligated to do the whole law. "You are alienated from Christ, you who would be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace." For through the Spirit, by faith, they eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness; "for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision amounts to anything, but faith working through love." They were running well; who hindered them from obeying the truth? "A little yeast leavens the whole lump." Paul is confident in the Lord that they will take no other view, and the one who is troubling them will bear the judgment, whoever he is. If he is still preaching circumcision, why is he still persecuted? The offense of the cross has then been removed, and he wishes that those who unsettle them would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. "For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don't use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don't consume one another." Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are opposed to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire." If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The works of the flesh are plain: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like, of which Paul warns that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. "If we live by the Spirit, let's also walk by the Spirit. Let's not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Why the setting matters
The word "flesh" (sarx) in Paul does not simply mean the body; here it is the whole self turned in on itself, with desires opposed to God. The list of the works of the flesh includes things we would expect (sexual sins, idolatry) and many that are social: strife, jealousy, rivalries, factions, envy. That fits the situation in Galatia, where the quarrel over circumcision was tearing the community apart, and 5:15 shows that the biting and devouring was already happening. The "fruit" is singular, not "fruits," and Paul presents it as the Spirit's work, not a to-do list. The statement "against such things there is no law" is a quiet way of saying that the law has nothing to condemn in a community living this way. Paul's sharp remark in 5:12 about those who "mutilate themselves" is a sarcastic wordplay on circumcision (the Greek means "cut off"), and may also allude to the priests of the goddess Cybele, who were found in Galatia and castrated themselves. Paul's "yoke of bondage" echoes how Peter described the law in Acts 15:10. The "whole law fulfilled in one word" quotes Leviticus 19:18, which Jesus also named as a great commandment.
Who’s in this chapter
Paul
Urges them to stand firm in freedom and walk by the Spirit.
The believers in Galatia
Called to freedom, and warned against biting one another.
The agitators
The ones "troubling" the Galatians who will bear judgment.
Jesus
Who set us free; the cross is the offense removed by those who insist on circumcision.
Talk it through
- Paul says freedom is not a license for the flesh but a call to serve one another in love. How do freedom and service fit together?
- He says the whole law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor. What does that say about what the law was for?
- Several works of the flesh are relational: strife, jealousy, factions. Why might Paul include those in the list?
- The fruit of the Spirit is singular. What does it say that these qualities are described as one fruit?
Read Galatians 5
World English Bible
1Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. 3Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. 5For we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love. 7You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth? 8This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9A little yeast grows through the whole lump. 10I have confidence toward you in the Lord that you will think no other way. But he who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed. 12I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.
13For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. 26Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources