The Grace Commentary – Your free verse-by-verse Bible commentary Galatians 5

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Galatians 5:1

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

(a) Freedom. The original noun (eleutheria), which is translated as liberty in Galatians 2:4, implies the release of slaves. In Christ, you have been set free from your bondage to sin (Rom. 7:14). When Paul visited Galatia, he said “through Christ, everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). The law cannot free you, but Christ has freed you from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).

(b) Christ set us free. Your freedom is God’s gift to you. You were not set free because you were good, or kept the rules, or on account of anything you have done. Freedom is a gift we receive through faith in Jesus.

In Adam we were slaves to sin, but in Christ we are truly free. We are free to love and be loved, to know and be known, and to be who God made us to be. We are free to choose, connect, and create. We are free to live without worry. We are free to approach God without fear. We are free to trust the Lord and walk every day in fellowship with him.

Freedom means you have the power to choose, but it also means risk and responsibility. “What if I choose wrong? What if I fail?” Some fear freedom. They prefer that others decide for them, and this makes them susceptible to the law teachers and manipulators.

The problem is not getting free. Christ took care of that. The challenge is to stay free, and this requires vigilance. Watch what you read, view, and listen to. Stop thinking like a slave and don’t heed those who would deprive you of your liberty. “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Cor. 7:23). Your freedom is worth fighting for.

(d) Be subject. The original verb (enecho) means ensnared, entrapped, or entangled.

(e) Again. The Galatians had been enslaved to the powers of darkness (see Gal. 4:8) before being set free by Christ. But now they were allowing themselves to come into bondage again. “How is it that you turn back?” (Gal. 4:9).

(f) Yoke of slavery. The burdensome demands of the Law of Moses.

In contrast with the light and easy yoke of Jesus (Matt. 11:28–30), the yoke of law is too heavy to bear (Acts 15:10). If your walk with God is characterized by pressure to perform, weariness, and a lack of joy, that is a sign that you are under the wrong yoke.

Galatians 5:2

Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

(a) Behold. “Look. I, Paul the apostle, am telling you.”

(b) Circumcision. “If you seek to be justified by acts of law-keeping such as circumcision” (Gal. 5:4).

The law teachers infiltrating Galatia were subtle. They weren’t trying to introduce the whole body of Jewish law all at once, just the law of circumcision and a few Jewish holidays (Gal. 4:10). Paul warned there would be more law to follow (see next verse).

(c) Christ will be of no benefit to you. There is nothing wrong with being circumcised or not being circumcised (Gal. 5:6). But if you pursue circumcision, or tithing, or church attendance, or any sort of work as a means of getting right with God, you will not reap the benefits of your union with the Lord. You will strive to earn what God has freely provided. Like a woman who is cheating on her husband, you will be pulled in different directions and unable to rest (see Rom. 7:2–3).

Galatians 5:3

And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

(a) I testify again. “I’ve said this before.” Paul would have shared his strong views against circumcision and law-keeping during his visit to Galatia.

(b) Circumcision; siehe vorherigen Vers.

(c) Obligation. The original noun (opheiletēs) is sometimes translated as debtor (Matt. 6:12). To live under law is to be indebted to the law for as long as you live. But the believer, having died to the law, is free from all obligations to the law (Gal. 2:19). All debts and charges against us were nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14).

(d) Keep the whole Law. You can’t pick and choose which laws to obey.

The law is an all or nothing proposition. Neglect one law and you will be judged guilty of breaking all (Gal. 3:10, Jas. 2:10). If you stop at nine red traffic lights but run the tenth, you’re a law breaker. If you visit a dozen jewelry stores, but rob only one, you’ll go to prison. If you get circumcised and break the law, “your circumcision has become uncircumcision” (Rom. 2:25). You have to keep all the law all the time.

The law teachers probably said that Paul was preaching cheap grace. His response is they were preaching cheap law. Cheap law says you only need to keep some of the laws. Cheap law lowers the standard, emptying the law of its power to condemn the proud and self-righteous. Cheap law says, “your best is good enough.” But your best is not good enough. A holy God demands perfection and nothing less. Either you must be perfect or you need a high priest who was perfect on your behalf. Since no one can keep the whole law, those who insist you try are hypocrites (e.g., Gal. 6:13).

Galatians 5:4

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

(a) Severed or cut off. Those who seek to be justified by law (e.g., the cutting of circumcision), cut themselves off from Christ.

To be severed or estranged from Christ does not mean you have lost your salvation. You may let go of Christ, but he will never let go of you. Even when you are faithless, he remains faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). Just as your good works did not join you to the Lord, your bad works cannot separate you. But for as long as you are relying on the flesh instead of the Lord, you will not experience the peace and liberty that grace brings. Trust in your own efforts and you will be anxious and weary, never sure that you’ve done enough.

(b) Justified. Made right with God; see Eintrag for Gal. 2:16.

(c) Justified by law. Again, Paul underscores the point that no one can be justified through their good works or law-keeping (Gal. 2:16, 3:11, 5:4). Justification is a gift that is received by faith (Rom. 3:28, 5:1, Gal. 2:16, 3:8, 24).

(d) You have fallen from grace. To fall from grace is to go back to relying on the flesh (Gal. 3:3). Peter fell from grace when he withdrew from the Gentiles (Gal. 2:12), and the Galatians fell from grace when they heeded the circumcisers (Gal. 4:21). If you think God will bless you if you pray more, give more, or serve more, you are no longer continuing in the grace of God. You are trusting in your own efforts and have fallen from grace.

If you fall from grace you won’t fall out of the kingdom, but you will lose your freedom (Gal. 5:1). Paul never tells the Galatians, “You are losing your salvation.” Instead, he says, “Christ will be of no benefit to you” (Gal. 5:2). You will be like an estranged spouse, still married, but without the benefits of marriage. Your relationship with the Lord will lack intimacy, and you will be fruitless.

Weiterlesen: „What does it mean to fall from grace?”

Galatians 5:5

For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

(a) We… are waiting. We includes the Galatians. Paul has not written off the Galatians as reprobates or backsliders. They have stumbled and fallen from grace, but even in their muddled pursuit of the law they remain God’s children. A confused Christian heading the wrong way is still a precious child of God.

(b) Through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us a hope worth believing in and waiting for.

(d) Waiting. We fully expect and eagerly await (Rom. 8:23, 25). The Christian does not fear the Lord’s return for there is nothing to fear and much to look forward to (1 John 4:17).

(e) The hope of righteousness is that which all believers hope for, namely the restoration of all things that will culminate in the day of redemption and the Lord’s glorious return (Eph. 1:10, 4:30, Tit. 2:13). On that day all wrongs will be put to right, and our bodies will be clothed in immortality (1 Cor. 15:52–53, Php. 3:21). Note that we are not waiting for righteousness (in Christ we are already righteous) but the hope of righteousness and the hope of his calling (Eph. 1:18). The hope of righteousness is synonymous with the hope of his calling (Eph. 1:18). The “one hope” that unites us (Eph. 4:4) is the confident expectation we have regarding the Lord’s return and the eternal and righteous age that will follow.

Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

(a) In Christ Jesus. In spiritual union with the Lord.

In a world of distractions, Paul keeps the main thing the main thing. It does not matter whether you are circumcised or not. What matters is that you are in Christ. See Eintrag for Gal. 3:14.

(b) Circumcision; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:2.

(c) Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. In the early church, circumcision was a divisive subject. Should we? Shouldn’t we? The modern church is similarly divided over issues like tithing, women in ministry, social justice, abortion, political engagement, and the end times. Although these issues are important, the most important thing is that you are a new creation in Christ (Gal. 6:15).

(d) Faith working through love. It is the love of the Father that inspires us to trust him.

Faith is effective when it is grounded in a revelation of God’s unfailing love. Faith that works is a response to the One “who loved me and gave himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Galatians 5:7

You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?

(a) Running. The Christian life is sometimes described as running a race (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:24). If so, it is a race we start at the finish line. In Christ, you have already won.

(b) Running well. Like runners in a race, the Galatians had started well. But the false teachers put stumbling blocks of law in their path causing them to veer off course. They needed to be brought back onto the straight way. The Holy Spirit worked through Paul to bring about that course correction.

(c) Hindered. Impeded or cut in. We might never be tempted towards circumcision or Sabbath-keeping as the Galatians were, but Satan will try anything to distract us from Jesus. We need to pay close attention to what we heard (the gospel of Christ) lest we drift off course (Heb. 2:1).

(d) Obeying the truth. Walking in grace or walking in the spirit (Gal. 5:16).

(e) The truth of the undistorted gospel; see Eintrag for Gal. 2:5.

Galatians 5:8

This persuasion did not come from him who calls you.

(a) Persuasion. Someone persuaded the Galatians to turn away from grace, and it wasn’t the Lord. The Spirit of Grace will never tempt you to rely on yourself and your performance. The message of self-reliance may come wrapped in religious ribbons, but it has a devilish origin.

The Greek words for persuasion (peismonē) and faith (pistis) are both derived from a word (peitho) that means to convince, win over, or persuade. Faith is being persuaded, and to be persuaded is to be convinced. The law teachers convinced the Galatians to get circumcised. As a result, their faith or persuasion shifted from the Lord to the law.

(b) Calls. Through the gospel of the grace of Christ, God calls all of us to himself (1 Cor. 1:24).

Galatians 5:9

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

(a) Leaven represents influence. In context, Paul is referring to the corrupting influence of the law teachers or what Jesus would have called “the leaven of the Pharisees” (Luke 12:1).

(b) The whole lump. Just as one drop of poison can kill, even a little law can do great damage.

Bad teaching can wreck a good church. In Antioch, Paul had seen how the preaching of the law led to arguments and division among the believers (Acts 15:2; Gal. 2:13). There was a danger of something similar happening in Galatia (Gal. 5:15).

Galatians 5:10

I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

(a) I have confidence. “In my spirit I am convinced that you will get back on track.”

What an encouraging affirmation from the Galatians’ spiritual father. When we stumble, we need true friends to come alongside us and reveal the never-giving-up love of our heavenly Father (Gal. 6:1). “You messed up, but I believe in you.” Paul was puzzled as to how the Galatians had ended up in this muddle (Gal. 4:20), but he was confident that the Lord would bring them back on course. The Good Shepherd cares for his sheep.

(b) Adopt no other view. “You will abandon this false gospel and return to the gospel of Christ.”

Jesus said the Pharisees travelled over land and sea to win converts (Matt. 23:15). Could the Pharisees have followed the gospel to Galatia? Were they the agitators who stirred up the Jews of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium? Could it be that Paul, the former Pharisee, knew the identity of the man who was opposing him? If so, he does not name him. “Whoever he is.”

(d) Bear his judgment. He will reap what he sows.

Those who prefer law to grace find themselves condemned by the merciless law (Jas. 2:13). They inflict upon themselves a “greater condemnation” because a graceless life is a wretched one without peace, joy, or hope (see Eintrag for Matt. 23:14).

(e) Judgment. Condemnation. The original noun (krima) is a neutral word that means decision, but in scripture it is almost always used in a negative sense of a condemning verdict (e.g., Luke 20:47, Rom. 2:2).

Galatians 5:11

But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.

(a) Brethren. “My brothers and sisters in Christ;” see Eintrag for Gal. 1:11.

(b) If I still preach circumcision. Evidently some were saying that Paul still preached circumcision. “If that were true, why am I being persecuted?” Paul wasn’t persecuted for preaching the law but for preaching the message of the cross.

(d) Circumcision; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:2.

(e) Stumbling. The self-righteous are offended by the cross. They don’t see their need for it. “Grace is for sinners, not winners like me.” See also the Eintrag for Rom. 9:32.

(f) The cross; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 6:12.

(g) Abolished. Neutralized. If our works made us righteous, there would be no need to preach the “scandalous” message of the cross. If we could make ourselves righteous, Christ died for nothing (Gal. 2:21).

Galatians 5:12

I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.

(a) Those who are troubling you are the law teachers who are distorting the gospel of Christ by preaching circumcision; see Eintrag for Gal. 1:7.

(b) Troubling. The original verb (anastatoō) means to drive out and turn upside down. Law preachers are like tornadoes tearing through church communities leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

The pagan priests of the Anatolian cult of Cybele practiced self-castration and Paul may be alluding to this tradition. “Those circumcisers who think God is impressed with a little body cutting should go the whole way.” It’s a shocking statement to jolt the Galatians from their deception. It reminds us of what Jesus said about cutting off your hand if it causes you to stumble (Matt. 5:30). Neither Jesus nor Paul want us to engage in self-mutilation. Both want us to know that the law demands perfection (Gal. 5:3). If you aspire to live by the law, you need to be prepared to go the whole way.

Galatians 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

(a) Called; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 1:6.

(b) Freedom. Just as Israel was called out of the slave pits of Egypt, we have been called out of the prison of sin. See Eintrag for Gal. 5:1.

Two lies lead to bondage; law and license. The licentious spirit says, “If it feels good, do it,” while the legalistic spirit says, “If it makes you good, do it.” Both leave you enslaved and condemned (Rom. 8:13, 15).

(d) The flesh; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:17.

(e) Through love serve one another. The words love und serve describe the root and the fruit of the new life that is ours in Christ. Knowing we are loved, we can love and serve others (1 Pet. 2:16).

The message of grace sets us free, but if we use our freedom to rebel or put others down, we’ve missed the point of grace. Jesus did not call us out of darkness so that we might win arguments or get puffed up with pride. “I’m walking in grace better than you are.” He freed us so that we might experience God’s love and draw others into the Father’s embrace.

Galatians 5:14

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

(a) The whole Law. The love your neighbor command comes from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18), and is known as the royal law (Jas. 2:8). It’s the king of the commandments because loving others fulfills all the laws (Rom. 13:8–9). Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. He is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other (see next verse) prove that you are unable to keep the law.”

(b) Love your neighbor. How wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of love. We’d rather build fences. To keep the royal law we need the higher Law of Christ. See Eintrag for Gal. 6:2.

Weiterlesen: „Is ‘love your neighbor’ part of the new covenant?“

Galatians 5:15

But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

(a) Bite and devour one another. If you act like wild beasts.

The flesh looks out for itself and will attack others when threatened. Walking after the flesh is the antithesis of loving your neighbor.

(b) Consumed by one another. If you’re not careful, you’ll destroy one another.

Introduce law into any relationship or community, and you are sowing the seeds of destruction. Put law before love, and you will sink your marriage, destroy your family, and split your church. When we put principles ahead of people, discord inevitably follows (Gal. 5:15).

Galatians 5:16

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

(a) Walk. The original word for walk (peripateō) means to “live according to.” We are to walk in love (Eph. 5:2), walk as children of the light (Eph. 5:8), and walk in a manner worthy of God’s calling (Eph. 4:1).

(b) Walk by the spirit. To walk by the spirit means being mindful of spiritual things – what God has said and is now saying, what God has done and is now doing. It is walking by faith (2 Cor. 5:7) as opposed to walking in the flesh. It’s trusting the Lord to lead and guide you (Pro. 3:5). Leaning on the Holy Spirit is how we learn to handle the responsibility of freedom and overcome our fear of failure. Fix your eyes on the Lord and you will never put a foot wrong.

Weiterlesen: „How to walk in the spirit“

Just as our physical bodies connect us to the physical realm, our spirits connect us to the spiritual realm. Just as we have natural senses (sight, smell, hearing, etc.), we have spiritual senses (e.g., intuition).

When Paul refers to the Spirit, he sometimes means the Holy Spirit (e.g., Gal. 3:2, 5, 14) and other times he means your spirit with a lowercase s (e.g., Gal. 6:18). Since the believer’s spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit, there is functionally little difference. “The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him” (1 Cor. 6:17). To walk in the spirit or be led by the Spirit is to draw upon the Holy Spirit through your spirit. To walk after the flesh is to draw from the world through your flesh or natural senses.

(d) The desire of the flesh is to do what seems right in our own eyes. It’s the desire to prove, preserve, and elevate oneself (see next verse).

Notice the order. If you walk in the spirit, you won’t carry out the desire of the flesh. Some people reverse the order. They think if they deny the flesh they are being spiritual. “If I restrain my appetites, I will be holy.” Ironically, this sort of thinking is just as fleshly as the more obvious deeds of the flesh listed below in verses 19–21.

Weiterlesen: „Why do I still sin if I’m saved?“

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

(a) The flesh refers to your old unspiritual self.

In scripture, “the flesh” has multiple meanings. It can refer to our old selves (Gal. 5:24), an earthly mindset (Rom. 8:6), a worldly manner (2 Cor. 1:17), a worldly point of view (2 Cor. 5:16), human standards (John 8:15, 1 Cor. 1:26, 2 Cor. 10:2), human effort (Gal. 3:3), human pedigree (Php. 3:4–5), and human accomplishments (Php. 3:6). In short, the flesh refers to things which are worldly instead of spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1, 3, 2 Cor. 10:4). To walk after the flesh is to live solely from your natural senses and without regard for the spirit.

Sehen Eintrag for the Flesh.

(b) The flesh sets its desire. Our flesh has no interest in spiritual things.

The temptations of the world are manifested in three basic desires of the flesh: wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, and wanting to appear important. In a word, the flesh craves control. With its vision limited to what it can see, the flesh is understandably insecure, anxious, and afraid. The fleshly life is thus a grasping life of self-preservation.

(d) These are in opposition to one another. Your body is the battleground where the old desires of your flesh collide with the new desires of your spirit (Rom. 7:23). Your flesh desires to be self-reliant, but your spirit wants to lean on the Lord.

(e) So that you may not do the things that you please. The conflict between your flesh and your spirit is the reason you do things you don’t want to do. It is why you sometimes feel frustrated and wretched (Rom. 7:24).

Galatians 5:18

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

(a) Led by the spirit. To be led by the spirit is to walk by the spirit (Gal. 5:16). It’s living with total dependence on the Lord and looking to him as our source and supply.

(b) The spirit; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:16.

(c) Not under the law. When you are relying on the Spirit of grace to guide you, you are truly free from the law’s dominion (Gal. 5:23). Since the Spirit will never lead you toward sin, the law can’t touch you. Conversely, if you submit to the law – if you look to the law for guidance on how to live – you are no longer walking in step with the spirit. You are walking by sight rather than faith (see Gal 3:12).

(d) Das Gesetz; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 2:19.

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

(a) The deeds of the flesh are the things we do when we indulge the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). Some of the works of the flesh are obvious (as in this list), while others are subtle (e.g., good works and law-keeping done to earn the favor of God). Paul lists some of the uglier deeds of the flesh to heighten the contrast with the sweet fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).

(b) The flesh; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:17.

(d) As I have forewarned you. “As I explained when I was with you.”

This warning is not for believers who are sons of God. It is for unbelievers who are “in the flesh” and cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).

(e) Those who practice such things do so because they have not been born of the Spirit. When believers occasionally walk in the flesh they are acting contrary to their new nature. But unbelievers walk after the flesh because they don’t know any other way to live.

(f) Inherit the kingdom. In Christ we are heirs of the kingdom (Col. 1:12, Jas. 2:5), heirs of the earth (Matt. 5:5, Rom.4:13), and heirs of all things (John 17:10, Heb. 1:2, Rev. 21:7). Those outside of Christ inherit nothing (Eph. 5:5).

(g) Das Reich Gottes refers to the reign of God (Matt. 6:10). (Kingdom means king’s domain.) It is the superior reality of heaven in contrast with the fallen realms of this world (John 18:36). The kingdom of God is revealed wherever the name of the Lord is exalted. In the present age, the kingdom of God is synonymous with the body of Christ or the church. See Eintrag for Matt. 3:2.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

(a) The fruit of the Spirit are the various expressions of Christ’s life in us.

Spiritual fruit are not traits to manufacture or virtues to practice. No spiritual fruit was ever made by the flesh. “A branch cannot bear fruit by itself” (John 15:4). Fruitfulness is the result of abiding in the Vine (John 15:5). As we rest in Christ, his beautiful character blossoms in our lives. Paul is a good example. In the natural, he was a violent and hate-filled man (Gal. 1:13). But after he encountered the love of God, he became a man motivated by love (2 Cor. 5:14). The hater became a lover. The destroyer of churches became a church planter.

(b) The Spirit; sehen Eintrag for Gal. 5:16.

(c) Love. The agape-love of God is revealed in our lives as we receive and express the Father’s love (1 John 4:11). “Love is from God” (1 John 4:7). Unlike the brittle love of man, the love of God is unconditional and self-sacrificing (Eph. 5:25, 1 John 3:16). It is patient, long-suffering, and hopeful and never fails (1 Cor. 13:4–8).

(d) Joy is the pure and holy delight of knowing we are secure in our Father’s love. In contrast with happiness, which is circumstantial, joy flows from our union with the Lord and is unaffected by external troubles. The supernatural joy of the Lord is a source of strength for the believer (Neh. 8:10).

(e) Peace. True peace is the rest and inner tranquility that results from harmony in our relationships with God and each other (Rom. 5:1, Eph. 2:14). The peace of the Lord is unaffected by external circumstances. The peace of God fortifies our hearts and minds (Php. 4:7).

(f) Patience or long-suffering is the fruit of trusting God. It is the result of knowing our temporary trials and afflictions are preparing us for an eternal glory far beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17).

(g) Kindness is the fruit of receiving the better-than-life lovingkindness of God (Ps. 63:3). Having tasted the sweet kindness of the Lord (1 Pet. 2:3), we are able to show kindness to others.

(h) Goodness is the fruit of experiencing the immeasurable goodness of God. We all desire goodness, but God alone is the source of all that is good and beautiful (Mark 10:18).

(ich) Faithfulness is the fruit of knowing God’s great faithfulness to us (Ps. 36:5). Your heavenly Father can be trusted. Great is his faithfulness (Lam. 3:23)! Because God is faithful, we who bear his Spirit are faithful, dependable, and trustworthy.

Galatians 5:23

gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(a) Gentleness or tenderness. Because the Good Shepherd deals gently with us (Heb. 5:2), we can be gentle with others.

(b) Self-control, or the ability to say no to the lusts of the flesh, is the consequence of saying yes to Jesus (Rom. 6:11). Righteous living is the fruit of resting in our union with the Righteous One.

We need laws to protect society from the destructive works of the flesh. We need no laws to protect us from sacrificial love, divine peace, and Christlike kindness.

Galatians 5:24

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

(a) Those who belong to Christ. Believers; see Eintrag for Gal. 3:29.

(b) Crucified the flesh. Your old self died with Christ.

Since our old selves have been crucified with Christ, we are done with that old way of life (Gal. 6:14). We no longer rely on ourselves or lean on our own limited understanding. Now we rely on the Lord. We no longer offer our bodies as tools for unrighteousness but as tools for righteousness (Rom. 6:13). We consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).

“Have crucified.” Notice the use of the past tense. Don’t ever think “I must crucify the flesh.” You already did. The moment you came to Christ you were included in his death on the cross (Rom. 6:3–4). You can say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). If you stumble or fall from grace, you do not need to be re-crucified. Once will do the trick. Don’t see yourself returning to the cross again and again as you try to get the victory. See yourself seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:6). In him you are more than a conqueror.

(d) Desires. The desires of the flesh include wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, and wanting to appear important; see Eintrag for Gal. 5:17.

Galatians 5:25

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

(a) Live by the Spirit. Let God lead.

Paul contrasts two ways to live. We can walk after the old way of the flesh or the new way of the spirit (Rom. 8:4–5, 7, 13, Gal. 3:3, 5:16, 6:8). We can walk by faith or by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). We can be worldly or spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1, 3, Jude 1:19). We can trust in ourselves or we can trust in the Lord.

(b) Let us also. Those who are born of the Holy Spirit can walk by the spirit.

Unbelievers practice or do the deeds of the flesh because they are in the flesh and are incapable of living any other way (Gal. 5:21). But we who are in the spirit can walk in the spirit. Being free, we can choose. We can sow to the flesh and reap death, or we can walk in the spirit and reap life (Rom. 8:5–6). For this reason we are exhorted to put off the old ways of the flesh and put on the new ways of the spirit (Eph. 4:22–24). We don’t put off and put on to become spiritual, but because we are spiritual.

(c) Walk. The original verb (stoicheō) means to walk closely in step with another (e.g., Rom. 4:12). (The same word is used in Galatians 6:16.) We are to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.

(d) Walk by the spirit. The abundant life of Christ is received by faith and experienced by walking in the spirit; see Eintrag for Gal. 5:16.

Weiterlesen: „Life doesn’t have the last word (when you’re walking in the Spirit)

Galatians 5:26

Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

(a) Boastful. Don’t be arrogant and conceited. Don’t brag about things that don’t matter. Let your boast be in the Lord and all he has done for you (Gal. 6:14).

(b) Challenging one another. Claiming to be superior to others or that our way is better.

It is the nature of the flesh to stir the competitive juices and get us comparing ourselves with others. “I may not be perfect but at least I’m doing better than that guy.” Those who are secure in their Father’s love have no need to compete and compare.

The desires of the flesh lead to three ugly outcomes: wanting our own way we end up challenging one another; wanting everything for ourselves, we end up envying one another; and wanting to appear important, we become boastful and arrogant.

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Galatians 5