Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Galatians

For freedom Christ has set us free. 5:13-18

[Seed logo] Introduction
      From 5:13-6:10 Paul gets into the practicalities of the Christian life. Now, In our passage for study, Paul makes the point that when we keep in step with the Spirit (live under grace rather than law), we live in love, and love fulfills the law.

The passage
      v13. The gospel calls us to freedom from the subjugation and curse of the law. Yet, the freedom we possess in Christ carries the obligation of love. Paul, having exposed the need for believers not to subject themselves again to the law as a means of maintaining or progressing their standing before God (nomism), now reminds his readers that the Christian life has moral implications, realized through renewal by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. We must be free from not only nomism, but also antinomism (a freedom that gratifies the "desires of the flesh").
      v14. Paul goes on to make the point that the law of God is "fulfilled" (better than NIV "summed up") in love. Although a believer is free from the law's right to condemn sin, to hold us to our sin, we are still bound to apply its divine guidance, and this guidance is fulfilled in mutual service through love. The very substance of the law is love. Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18b to make this point. The law directs us to care for others with the same energy with which we care for ourselves. On the one hand, through our identification with Jesus, we have actually kept the law as far as God is concerned, and on the other hand, through the compelling love of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, we begin to be the loving person we are already in Christ. So, mutual love fulfills the law.
      v15. The opposite of mutual service through love is a congregation acting like a pack of wild animals, "biting and devouring each other". Such behavior results when believers use the freedom they have in Christ as an opportunity for the free expression of their sinful nature.
      v16. Paul now explains how the goal of freedom, namely, mutual service through love (community, fellowship, unity, oneness), is achieved. "Live by the Spirit", says Paul (RSV "walk", meaning conduct our life under the influence of the Spirit). Here we have the secret of successful Christian living. By detaching ourselves from the demands of the law and cooperating with the inward dynamic of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, we find that we are no longer driven by the dynamic of the sinful nature.
      v17. Within the believer there is a continual conflict between the sinful nature (flesh), and the Spirit. The conflict is such, that we are forced to take sides. This is the point Paul is making in the second half of the verse. The Spirit does not overrule the flesh, but then, neither does the flesh overrule the Spirit. As a consequence, we are not forced to follow the leading of the sinful nature.
      v18. Our freedom to follow the leading of the Spirit is assured because we are no longer under the curse of the law. The prime purpose of the law was to expose sin, to make sin more sinful. As a consequence, those who sought to maintain their standing before God by restraining their sin, or improve that standing by promoting holiness, and this through obedience to the law, found their sinful nature empowered and their rebellion magnified. Yet now, in Christ, the believer has found God's approval apart from the law, and therefore, the sinful nature no longer rules our lives.

Living for Christ
      A question asked by all believers is, "how can I live a holy life?" How can I be the person I am already in Christ? Sanctification is a state of holiness, which, in the renewing power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, we seek to realize in our daily life; albeit, always imperfectly. But the question is, how do we live this life?
      The pietist way (pharisaism, nomism) is the way of law faithfulness. The pietist believes that indwelling sin is suppressed by means of an attention to God's moral law. Thus, by means of law-obedience we progress our sanctification. Paul argues that this way leads only to rebellion because the law ends up provoking our sinful nature, and thus, inevitably we find ourselves outside God's grace.
      The libertine way assumes that our present behavior has no bearing on the perfection we already possess in Christ (the heresy of perfectionism). We are therefore free to do as we wish. Paul argues that this leads to a life of rebellion which also places us outside God's grace.
      Christ sets us free, not to again enslave ourselves to the law, nor to use our freedom to indulge the sinful flesh, but he sets us free to enjoy the gift of life - his life. At the center is the joy of restored relationships, of community bonded in love. To overcome the sinful nature and witness renewal in relationships, we must simply turn from the law to the leading of the Spirit. By this means we disempower the flesh and begin to live a life honouring to Christ.
      Cooperating with the leading of the Spirit is the way we proceed in the Christian life. The character of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, his love, impels us forward, 2Cor.5:14-15. That is, we possess within a mystical inward impelling toward Christ-like behavior, an impelling which effectively counters the impelling of the sinful nature. We therefore find that we are free to choose to honour self, or to honour Christ. It is important that we nurture the inward impelling of Christ's love in our heart. First, we must give shape to this grace of God through the study of his Word. Second, we must empower this shape through the prayer of faith. It is by this means that we image Christ.

Discussion
      Discuss the following statement. "A knowledge of Christ's forgiveness of humanity in the cross is better able to promote forgiveness in the Christian life than a demand for the good work of forgiveness."


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
      In his letter to the Galatians, Paul the apostle seeks to deal with a major heresy known today as sanctification by obedience - nomism, sometimes called pietism. This heresy was promoted by members of the circumcision party, Jewish believers who taught that obedience to the Mosaic law was the means by which a believer both maintained and progressed their standing in the sight of God. It was assumed that submission to the law achieves this end by controlling indwelling sin; the "law is the divinely-given means of aiding our inclination for good to overcome our inclination for evil", Fung. Paul argues the opposite; he says that submission to the law only prompts the sinful nature (flesh) to further rebellion. This was the prime function of the law for Israel, a function ordained by God. The law functioned to expose the people's sinfulness, inculcate the law's curse, bring down divine judgment, and thus drive them to God for mercy. With the coming of Christ, this function of the law came to an end. See notes for Galatians 3:23-29. For a Christian, to place themselves again "under the law" is to promote their sinful nature and thus move into a cycle of rebellion which inevitably undermines their standing in Christ.
      The law also functioned to guide the covenant life of the people of Israel and of course, for those who were the children of faith, those who possessed a faith like Abraham's. To such, the law was a delight, a gift from God. Paul, of course, does not speak against this function of the law, but rather sees it fulfilled in the law of love realized through the indwelling compelling of the Spirit. Walking by the Spirit is the way for Christian living, a way which is apart from both nomism and antinomism. Once a believer feels free to follow the leading of the Spirit, rather than be bound by the demands of the law, they find themselves no longer controlled by the powerful dynamic of the sinful nature. We are then free to honour Christ in our lives and this we do, albeit imperfectly.

v13
      uJmeiV "you" - "You brother", not the members of the circumcision party, v12.
      eklhqhte (kalew) aor. pas. "were called" - call, summon, invite. "Called" carries many theological overtones which are not necessarily intended by the context. "Invite" is to be preferred.
      ep eleuqeria/ (a) dat. "to be free" - for freedom. "No longer enslaved", expressed as the purpose of the calling by the dative. Negatively expressed, freedom is not to be used as an "opportunity for the flesh" - for the "sinful nature". Positively expressed, freedom should be used as an opportunity for service to the brotherhood through love (caring compassion).
      monon mh "but do not use your [freedom]" - only not [freedom]. The phrase contains an ellipsis in that the noun "freedom" is obviously the object of a missing imperative verb. There are numerous possibilities eg.: "be careful that freedom does not become ...." Phillips; The goal of freedom is mutual service through love.
      aformhn (h) "indulge" - occasion, pretext, excuse, opportunity... reason for. Using our freedom as an "opportunity" for the flesh seems best in the context and also fits with the military use of the word; "base of operations."
      sarki (sarx sarkoV) "flesh" - "That self-regarding element in human nature which has been corrupted at the source, with its appetites and propensities, and which if unchecked produces the 'works of the flesh'", Burce, cf. v6, ie. "human nature." Some commentators lean more toward the meaning "evil intent", "bodily desires", "physical desires", even the action itself, "works of the flesh", and this because the context, particularly v15, seems to move in this direction.
      dia thV agaphV "in love" - through love. The preposition, followed by the genitive, gives the sense of either "serving one another": i] "through love" (as an agent), or ii] "by means of love" (as an instrument). The love intended here is most likely the same as v6b where faith expresses itself through love - loving kindness, compassion. The definite article probably serves to cue this fact, therefore, love is the agent of our serving one another. There are again other possibilities, namely that the love referred to here is either God's love for us, or our love for God, both of which would take an instrumental sense, enabling us to serve one another.

v14
      oJ paV nomoV "the entire law" - all law. The position of the article may imply that the Torah is not intended as in v3, but rather, in a general sense, namely, the divine principles and intentions that lie behind all human laws.
      en eJni logw/ "in a single command" - in one word. "Commandment" is better than a "divine word / truth".
      peplhrwtai (plhrow) perf. pas. "is summed up" - has been filled up, fulfilled, completed. The meaning is either that the "law" is "summarized" in the law of love, or is "completed (made perfect, stands fulfilled)" in the law of love. "Stands fulfilled" seems best in that the whole law rests on the principle of love, so therefore, the person who loves fulfills the law's requirements.
      ton plhsion adv. "neighbor" - near. A substantive adverbial phrase functioning as a noun, object of "love". Like the lawyer in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we may ask "who is my neighbor?" For Paul, the neighbor is our brother and sister in Christ. We may think Jesus has answered otherwise, but Jesus didn't actually answer the lawyer's question. The lawyer didn't think he had a problem loving his neighbor, he just wasn't sure how far his loving had to extend. The parable underlines the impossible demand of love. The lawyer's real problem lay in his inability to "go thou and do likewise", which, of course, is the conclusion intended by the command.
      wJV seauton "as yourself" - "As you love yourself", ie. the golden rule, cf. Matt.7:12.

v15
      ei + ind. "if" - Introducing a 1st class condition where the condition stated in the "if" clause is assumed to be true.
      daknete (daknw) "biting" - bite (as with a snake). "Hurting each other", "snapping", NEB.
      katesqiete (katesqiw) "devouring" - devour, gulp down (as with a wild animal). "Harming each other", "tearing to pieces", NEB.
      blepete (blepw) imp. "watch out" - look. "Look, I need to warn you.. / you need to beware.."
      analwqhte (analow) aor. pas. subj. "you will be destroyed" - [lest] you are destroyed, consumed (as with fire) [by one another]. Paul's warning to the Galatian church is that if they keep fighting with each other over the issue of law and grace they will inevitably destroy the church.

v16
      legw de "so I say" - but I say. "The point that I am making is this...."
      peripateite (peripatew) pres. imp. "live" - walk about. "Walk", as in walk/travel the way/pathway, is being used in a moral sense, "conduct oneself", therefore "live". The present tense indicates an ongoing action (durative). "Continue to walk".
      pneumati (pneuma atoV) dat. "by the Spirit" - spirit. "Holy Spirit" is obviously intended, but it could be argued that we should live "by our spiritual self", "our conscience." The dative "by the Spirit", with the imperative "live", may be taken to mean either: "allow the Spirit to guide", "allow the Spirit to direct your lives", TEV, or "live in accordance with the Spirit's guidance." The first option is best. It is faith in the operation of the indwelling Spirit of Christ that enables/empowers a believer to love as Christ loves. No law can compel such love. Again, we see that the Christian life is all about receiving rather than doing.
      ou mh teleshte (telew) aor. subj. "you will not gratify" - by no means could you finish, complete, fulfill, gratify. A subjunctive of emphatic negation; the double negative with the subjunctive, carries an emphatic future sense, with the "not" underlined. Note the NRSV "do not gratify the desires of the flesh". The phrase is not a command (an imperative), but a promise. Given that believers do often gratify the flesh, the NRSV can be commended for its honesty at least. The promise is not a "higher life" proof text; a promise of perfection for those who "live by the Spirit". In fact, the sentence is surely an ellipsis. "Live by the Spirit" (follow the leading of the Spirit) stands against "observe the law" (following the demands of the law). Because we are no longer under the law (under the authority of the law to expose sin and enact the law's curse), our sinful nature is no longer empowered by the law, and so we are free from the control of our sinful nature. As a consequence, we "will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature", ie. we will not be / are not bound to fulfill the demands of the flesh. We are now free to honour Christ, although there will still be many times when we don't. The promise is one of orientation, not perfection. Note also how the NEB has rendered the sentence as conditional: "If you walk ..... you will not fulfill ....."
      epiqumian (a) "the desires" - lusts, desires, passions. The word does not necessarily indicate evil desire, but in the New Testament it usually does.
      sarkoV (sarx koV) gen. "of the sinful nature" - of flesh. cf. v13.

v17
      gar "for" - Paul now explains why, if we are led by the spirit, we will not gratify the desires of our flesh (sinful nature), the reason being ("for") is that the flesh and the spirit are opposed.
      epiqumei (epiqumew) "[the sinful nature] desires" - [the flesh] desires. Selfish human passions.
      kata + gen. "what is contrary" - against. The flesh/Spirit is at war with / opposed to the Spirit/flesh
      antikeitai (antikeimai) "[they are] in conflict" - [for these things] oppose [each other]. What are in conflict, humans and the Spirit, the flesh (the sinful nature) and the Spirit, our sinful desires and the Spirit's desires, or our sinful deeds and what the Spirit wills? In a board sense, flesh and Spirit are at war.
      iJna + subj. "so that" - Possibly a consecutive clause (the result of the war is ....), but more likely a final clause (the purpose of the war is ....).
      poihte (poiew) subj "you [do not] do [what you want]" - [not whatever you will, these things] you do. "You do not do / cannot do, what you want to do." Those who choose "cannot do" conclude that the war between the flesh and the Spirit either confines the flesh, enabling the believer to do what the Spirit wants, or confines the Spirit, frustrating the believer so that they don't do what the Spirit wants. Romans 7:7-25 is an important source text for both arguments. Yet, it is more likely that the war simple gives us the freedom to do either, that is, to follow the leading of the flesh, or the Spirit. "The flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with each other, so that we are not forced to do what the sinful nature wills us to do; ....." The use of "you" is interesting. Is this not Paul's experience as well as the Galatians? Of course it is!

v18
      de "but" - The NIV takes this conjunction as adversive (but), but an untranslated connective would be better, indicating that the argument continues. It is often argued that this verse summarizes the chapter, but it is more likely an epexegetic conditional clause, further explaining the sense of 17b, in which case there should be a semicolon after "want". A believer is guided throughout life by the Holy Spirit, but also guided by the sinful nature (flesh), but since we are not under the law, such that the sinful nature is empowered, we are fee to choose between the guidance of the flesh, or the guidance of the Spirit.
      ei "if" - Introducing a simple conditional sentence with the verbs in the protasis and the apodosis in the indicative mood. "If (given we are led by the Spirit) then it is also true (that we are not under law)".
      agesqe (agw) pres. pas. "[if] you are led [by the Spirit]" - you are being led. Parallel in meaning to walking by the Spirit, living by the Spirit, following the leading of the Spirit. Bruce sees the Spirit's leading as active, such that it empowers resistance to the leading of the flesh and conforms to the likeness of Christ, cf. 2Cor.3:17. This is probably going a bit too far. Paul's point is that we are free to choose either the flesh or the Spirit, not that we are empowered to choose the Spirit over the flesh. If Bruce is correct, I missed out on the empowering!
      uJpo + acc. "[you are not] under [the law]" - under. Not under the law in the sense of not being confined by the law, such that the sinful nature is empowered toward rebellion. The law confines us when we enact its role to hold us to our sin and as a consequence place ourselves again under its curse. This we do when we seek to maintain or progress our standing before God by means of obedience to the law. When used this way, the law stirs rebellion; it makes sin more sinful and so accentuates our state of loss. Yet, if we have found the way to stand approved before God, the way by grace through faith, then we are no longer confined by the law, and so the sinful nature is no longer empowered, it is then we are free to choose the leading of the Spirit. Note that other meanings are suggested, but are not likely, eg. the NRSV reads "subject", a word slightly off the game and can be expanded to mean: "as a believer, you are not subject to (do not need to obey) all the Old Testament laws."


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