Freedom in Christ
5 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 the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith 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.
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep 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, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 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 abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
Life by the Spirit
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh [In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[Lev. 19:18] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever [Or you do not do what] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh 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. [Related to justification]
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, 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 flesh 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.
NOTES:
5:1–6 Paul begins the exhortations, continuing through Gal
6:10, with an appeal to the Galatians to side with freedom instead of slavery
(Gal 5:1). He reiterates his message of justification or righteousness by faith
instead of law and circumcision (Gal 5:2–5); cf. Gal 2:16; 3:3. Faith, not
circumcision, is what counts (Gal 5:6).
5:1 Freedom: Paul stresses as the conclusion from the
allegory in Gal 4:21–31 this result of Christ’s work for us. It is a principle
previously mentioned (Gal 2:4), the responsible use of which Gal 5:13 will
emphasize.
5:3 Cf. Gal 3:10–12. Just as those who seek to live by the
law must carry out all its contents, so those who have faith and live by
promise must stand firm in their freedom (Gal 5:1, 13).
5:6 Cf. Rom 2:25–26; 1 Cor 7:19; Gal 6:15. The Greek for
faith working through love or “faith expressing itself through love” can also be
rendered as “faith energized by (God’s) love.”
5:7–12 Paul addresses the Galatians directly: with questions
(Gal 5:7, 11), a proverb (Gal 5:9), a statement (Gal 5:8), and biting sarcasm
(Gal 5:12), seeking to persuade the Galatians to break with those trying to add
law and circumcision to Christ as a basis for salvation.
5:7 Running well: as in an athletic contest; cf. Gal 2:2; 1
Cor 9:24–26; Phil 2:16; 3:14.
5:8 The one who called you: see note on Gal 1:6.
5:11 Preaching circumcision: this could refer to Paul’s
pre-Christian period (possibly as a missionary for Judaism); more probably it
arose as a charge from opponents, based perhaps on the story in Acts 16:1–3
that Paul had circumcised Timothy “on account of the Jews.” Unlike the Gentile
Titus in Gal 2:3, Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother. The stumbling block
of the cross: cf. 1 Cor 1:23.
5:12 A sarcastic half-wish that their knife would go beyond
mere circumcision; cf. Phil 3:2 and the note there.
5:13–26 In light of another reminder of the freedom of the
gospel (Gal 5:13; cf. Gal 5:1), Paul elaborates on what believers are called to
do and be: they fulfill the law by love of neighbor (Gal 5:14–15), walking in
the Spirit (Gal 5:16–26), as is illustrated by concrete fruit of the Spirit in
their lives.
5:13 Serve…through love: cf. Gal 5:6.
5:14 Lv 19:18, emphasized by Jesus (Mt 22:39; Lk 10:27); cf.
Rom 13:8–10.
5:16–25 Spirit…flesh: cf. Gal 3:3 and the note on Rom
8:1–13.
5:19–23 Such lists of vices and virtues (cf. Rom 1:29–31; 1
Cor 6:9–10) were common in the ancient world. Paul contrasts works of the flesh
(Gal 5:19) with fruit (not “works”) of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Not law, but the
Spirit, leads to such traits.
5:21 Occasions of envy: after the Greek word phthonoi,
“envies,” some manuscripts add a similar sounding one, phonoi, “murders.”
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