Galatians Chapter 5
Chapter five begins with a call to freedom:
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (1).
Paul says this in light of what he has already said, particularly in chapter four. Paul has just finished the Hagar/Sarah analogy, whereby he has taught that we are heirs and receivers of the promise of God, not by our own works, but through faith in God's promise. When he says, “[D]o not submit again to a yoke of slavery,” this should trigger our minds right back to 4:8-9, where Paul exhorts his readers not to turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of this world which previously enslaved them. As we discussed in detail above, these elementary principles are not God's commands given in the Torah, but rather teachings of man that stand against the truth of God’s Word, whether derived from paganism or Judaism.
Paul then returns to the specific topic of circumcision:
Paul then returns to the specific topic of circumcision:
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love (5:2–6).
Recall these important ideas from our extensive discussion of circumcision in chapter two:
With these ideas in mind, let's turn again to the passage at hand. When Paul says, if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you, he is talking about circumcision as a prerequisite to salvation. (Otherwise, he would be in the wrong for having Timothy circumcised in Acts 16). This is clarified in verse four, where he says, “you who would be justified by the law.” Paul is addressing justification by the law, not obedience to the law. He is (quite strongly!) saying that if you rely on your own works as a means of salvation, instead of on the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, then you are cut off from Christ. As he said before, you nullify the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). You will be obligated to obey the whole law perfectly, which no one can do, and without Christ, you will be left under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10). Our hope of righteousness is not dependent on circumcision or uncircumcision—this counts for nothing concerning our salvation (6). Rather, we are saved through the Spirit, by faith (5).
Physical circumcision is supposed to be the outward sign of an inward circumcision, a circumcised heart. It is this inward circumcision that is important. The Judaizers were stressing outward physical circumcision, yet ironically, this was exposing the uncircumcised condition of their hearts. While attempting to earn their salvation through following the law, including compelled circumcision, the Galatians were at the same time acting hurtfully towards each other (15). They were stressing the outward sign (physical circumcision) while ignoring the heart that it was supposed to represent (demonstrated through loving each other). God does not desire circumcised flesh when those who are circumcised are hating each other. This is similar to what David says about sacrifices in Psalm 51:
- The Torah does not require a Gentile to be circumcised before coming into covenant with God (Genesis 15; Deuteronomy 29:14-15; cf. Joshua 5:2).
- Abraham was justified through faith first, then received the sign of the covenant, which is circumcision.
- Circumcision is an outward sign of an internal commitment to God. Without this commitment, the sign is meaningless.
- Some first-century Jewish teachers were requiring (forcing) circumcision as a prerequisite to salvation. This is what the Judaizers were doing with the Galatian believers.
- We know Paul is not anti-circumcision, for he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:1-4).
With these ideas in mind, let's turn again to the passage at hand. When Paul says, if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you, he is talking about circumcision as a prerequisite to salvation. (Otherwise, he would be in the wrong for having Timothy circumcised in Acts 16). This is clarified in verse four, where he says, “you who would be justified by the law.” Paul is addressing justification by the law, not obedience to the law. He is (quite strongly!) saying that if you rely on your own works as a means of salvation, instead of on the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, then you are cut off from Christ. As he said before, you nullify the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). You will be obligated to obey the whole law perfectly, which no one can do, and without Christ, you will be left under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10). Our hope of righteousness is not dependent on circumcision or uncircumcision—this counts for nothing concerning our salvation (6). Rather, we are saved through the Spirit, by faith (5).
Physical circumcision is supposed to be the outward sign of an inward circumcision, a circumcised heart. It is this inward circumcision that is important. The Judaizers were stressing outward physical circumcision, yet ironically, this was exposing the uncircumcised condition of their hearts. While attempting to earn their salvation through following the law, including compelled circumcision, the Galatians were at the same time acting hurtfully towards each other (15). They were stressing the outward sign (physical circumcision) while ignoring the heart that it was supposed to represent (demonstrated through loving each other). God does not desire circumcised flesh when those who are circumcised are hating each other. This is similar to what David says about sacrifices in Psalm 51:
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (16-17).
Many people stop here when reading this Psalm and say, “See! God does not care about the external but only the internal.” Yet the verses that immediately follow indicate differently:
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar (18-19).
According to David, God delights in the external sacrifices of bulls, but only when the sacrifices match the inward sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart. David is not saying God does not delight in the external sign, but rather that God will not delight in it if it is not accompanied by the internal sacrifice. If you read verses 16-17 without considering verses 18-19, you will completely miss this and misinterpret the passage.
Compare this with Jesus' critique of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:
Compare this with Jesus' critique of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others (23, emphasis ours).
The Pharisees stressed what was external and visible to the world, yet their hearts were dead (Matthew 23:27). Jesus does not criticize their tithing; he criticizes their hypocrisy, which is demonstrated through their tithing on the one hand, yet neglecting the more important command to love their neighbors.
David addresses animal sacrifices, Jesus tithing, Paul physical circumcision. What do all these have in common? They are meaningless unless accompanied by a heart that loves God and others. Like the Pharisees, the Judaizers were focusing on circumcision while neglecting the greater command to love each other. Paul seeks to set this straight.
Paul continues with this same theme in verses 13-15:
David addresses animal sacrifices, Jesus tithing, Paul physical circumcision. What do all these have in common? They are meaningless unless accompanied by a heart that loves God and others. Like the Pharisees, the Judaizers were focusing on circumcision while neglecting the greater command to love each other. Paul seeks to set this straight.
Paul continues with this same theme in verses 13-15:
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Some use these verses to support the idea that we no longer need to obey the specifics of the law as long as we love our neighbor as ourselves. Nowhere does Paul say this. Rather, he is stressing “the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23), again showing that what counts is “faith working through love” (5). Love does not replace the law. Love fulfills the law. The law is all about loving God and loving your neighbor (Romans 13:8-10). If you attempt to keep the external details of the law without love, you completely miss the point. Remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1–3).
David might have said, “If I offer animal sacrifices, but have not love, they are meaningless.” Jesus might have said to the Pharisees, “If you tithe, but have not love, your tithe is not accepted.” And Paul to the Galatians could say, “If you circumcise your flesh, but hate your brother, you remain as uncircumcised” (cf. Romans 2:25-29).
In summary, Paul is stressing the following about circumcision:
Paul continues:
In summary, Paul is stressing the following about circumcision:
- Circumcision is not a prerequisite to salvation.
- The Galatians are acting hypocritically by forcing the external sign while neglecting the internal circumcision of the heart demonstrated through love for each other.
Paul continues:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, 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, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:16–24, emphasis ours).
In verse 18, Paul again uses “under the law.” Remember, it is important to understand how Paul uses this phrase (and other similar “under ____” phrases) in Galatians and as a whole, in order to understand his use here. As we discussed in detail in chapters three and four, in Galatians when Paul refers to being under the law, he uses the phrase hupo nomos, addressing those who are in bondage because they seek justification through their own works. Related phrases in Galatians include “under sin,” “under a curse,” and “under a guardian,” similar to the phrase “the law of sin and death” in Romans 8:2.
In this passage, Paul continues to use “under the law” in a similar sense. The desires of the flesh are contrasted with the desires of the Spirit (16-17). Similarly, those who are under the law are contrasted with those who are led by the Spirit (18). Paul is connecting those who gratify the desires of the flesh with those who are under the law. He has already shown that relying on our own works of the flesh leads to bondage; we are not saved through our works (Galatians 4:23-25). Now he goes on to expose exactly what our works of the flesh are: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (19-21). This is so clearly demonstrated through the Galatians actions: while they tried to be justified by their own works of the flesh (physical circumcision), they acted hatefully toward each other. That is what their works of the flesh amounted to! The opposite of what the law teaches: hate.
But, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Your heart is regenerated. You do not rely on your own works of the flesh, and you do not show hate to your neighbor. Instead, you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (22-23). Paul says, “Against such things, there is no law” (23b). The point is that there IS a law against the actions of those who gratify the desires of the flesh; their sinful actions are unlawful. But not so for those who are led by the Spirit. There is no law against their actions because their actions epitomize the law. The fruit of the Spirit is the heart of the law, the law in action. Paul emphasizes this to show that those who think they are righteous because of their works (like circumcision) in actuality break the law. Yet those who are led by the Spirit, fulfill, or obey, the law.
In this passage, Paul continues to use “under the law” in a similar sense. The desires of the flesh are contrasted with the desires of the Spirit (16-17). Similarly, those who are under the law are contrasted with those who are led by the Spirit (18). Paul is connecting those who gratify the desires of the flesh with those who are under the law. He has already shown that relying on our own works of the flesh leads to bondage; we are not saved through our works (Galatians 4:23-25). Now he goes on to expose exactly what our works of the flesh are: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (19-21). This is so clearly demonstrated through the Galatians actions: while they tried to be justified by their own works of the flesh (physical circumcision), they acted hatefully toward each other. That is what their works of the flesh amounted to! The opposite of what the law teaches: hate.
But, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Your heart is regenerated. You do not rely on your own works of the flesh, and you do not show hate to your neighbor. Instead, you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (22-23). Paul says, “Against such things, there is no law” (23b). The point is that there IS a law against the actions of those who gratify the desires of the flesh; their sinful actions are unlawful. But not so for those who are led by the Spirit. There is no law against their actions because their actions epitomize the law. The fruit of the Spirit is the heart of the law, the law in action. Paul emphasizes this to show that those who think they are righteous because of their works (like circumcision) in actuality break the law. Yet those who are led by the Spirit, fulfill, or obey, the law.