A Little Leaven

 Greetings.

Today, we will continue our examination of Galatians 5.  We have just seen how circumcision and uncircumcision do not really matter.  What does matter, however, is faith, at work through love.  That is where we left off.  Paul continues in verses 7-10: 

7 You were running so well. Who is now keeping you from being obedient to the truth? 8 Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you. 9 A little leaven ferments the whole batch. 10 However, when it comes to you, I am convinced, in the Lord, that you have no other mindset about this. But those who have been throwing you into confusion, whoever they are, will have to pay the penalty.

Paul tells the Galatian churches that they had started off really well, but now someone is holding them back from obeying the truth. We have seen similar statements before.  In Gal 3:1-5, asks them, “Who has cast a spell on you? Was it not before your own eyes that Jesus Christ was clearly proclaimed to be crucified?”  to remind them of those early days, when they were enjoying their freedom in Christ as brand new disciples.  

The first question is, “who?”  “Who has cast a spell on you?” (Gal. 3) and “Who is now keeping you from being obedient to the truth?” (Gal. 5)  They all knew the answer.  So, a implied second question could be, “Why are listening to those guys?  They are trying to take you away from grace and truth, and bring you to a type of religion that God did not intend.”

Verse 8 backs up my implied question. “That kind of persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.”  Jesus has never used the strongarm tactics that these men are using. These men undoubtedly spoke from a place of impressive zeal, but does not mean that what they were saying was correct and true.  Their misguided zeal is actually hindering the Galatians from growing in their knowledge of God and taking away their freedom in Christ. 

Paul follows in verse 9, “A little leaven ferments the whole batch.”  According to Douglas Moo, this was a commonly used phrase that Paul uses in 1 Cor. 5:6, as well. In the Bible, leaven, sometimes translated as ‘yeast,’ usually, but not always, means something negative.  Jesus in Matthew 16, compared the teaching of the Pharisees to leaven and told his disciples to beware of it.  However, in Matthew 13:33, Jesus compares his kingdom to leaven, so, leaven is not necessarily bad, but here in Galatians 5, it is. 

What both Jesus and Paul are talking about is leaven ability to quietly work throughout the whole batch.  That can be good or bad depending on what is being created.  

Paul’s point, just like Jesus’s point in Matt. 16, is that the legalistic spirit of the Pharisees and these false teachers work quietly and in an insidious way that spoils everything.  The Pharisees had taken Judaism far from what God had intended, all while looking very righteous.  These Judaizing teachers were doing the same thing.  

Then, in verse 10, Paul shifts gears in what he is saying.  He expresses a confidence in the Galatians that we haven't seen too much of previously.  He says that he is convinced that they will have the correct mindset about all of this, and lays the responsibility of the false gospel squarely on those who brought it to them.  This confidence in them is a far cry from “Oh, you foolish Galatians," that we had seen ealier in chapter 3. After putting forth a vigorous argument against the false teachings, he is expressing confidence that they will ultimately do the right thing.  

Paul expresses confidence in the Galatians, but he is not so kind to those who have been stirring them up and leading astray.  Regarding them, he says that they, whoever they are, will “pay the penalty.” Well, we know who “they” are, and so did the Galatians.  They are the Judaizing teachers that have come in and presented a false gospel to the Galatians.  These men, according to Paul, will face punishment for their false teaching. Perhaps this is why James warned teachers in James 3:1.  Since, those who teach a law-based legalistic gospel will pay the penalty for it, we have to get this teaching of the gospel of grace right.  

What Really Matters

Hello everyone.

Today's post will be focused on Galatians 5:6, and what really matters.  Here is my translation: "For in Jesus, the Messiah, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, has the power to do anything.  Instead, real power comes from faith, at work through love."

Paul explains in verse 6, that neither being circumcised nor remaining uncircumcised actually mean anything.  

In the Greek, Paul uses the phrase, τι ἰσχύει (ti ischuei). τι can have many meanings, but the one that fits the context here best is 'any.'   ἰσχύει means 'strength or power."  So, Paul saying that in Jesus neither of them have any real strength or power.  David deSilva explains that this phrase would indicate that neither option has the power to accomplish anything.  (deSilva, 107.) In other words, we are not made righteous by being circumcised, and we are not made righteous by not being circumcised.  Circumcision, (and uncircumcision) have no bearing on whether we are considered righteous or not.  

In Acts 16, Paul had Timothy circumcised.  But in Galatians 2, he mentions that Titus had declined to be circumcised, and Paul clearly supported Titus in this.  So, clearly Paul could clearly go either way on the subject. But, why have Timothy circumcised? 

To be sure, Paul did not have Timothy circumcised for the purpose of fulfilling any kind of righteousness. It was not a matter of salvation. Paul wanted to take Timothy along on his journey, and in order to relate to the Jews, Paul had him circumcised.  I would think that Timothy could have, like Titus, also declined, but he did not. 

Well, if circumcision has no real meaning or power, what does?  According to Paul, the only thing that has meaning or power is "faith, at work through love."

So, what I do (circumcision) does not matter, and what I do not do (uncircumcision) does not matter.  What does matter then?  Paul tells us that what really matters is whether or not I really trust God.  Do I have faith?  And is that faith expressing itself through love?  Love for God and love for others.  (After all, what are the two greatest commands?  Both are commands to love.) 

Thomas Schreiner makes an interesting point here.  He says, “Love, then, is not the basis of justification but the fruit of faith, the result of faith.”  (Schreiner, 317.)  We love because of our faith.  Later, we see that love is indeed a fruit of the Spirit.  The Spirit produces love in us, as we are faithful.  

        David daSilva, Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas, 2014. 
          Thomas Schreiner, Galatians, Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010.  

The Origins of Righteousness

Hey everyone.

We will continue our examination of Galatians 5, looking at verses 2-5.  In verse 1 we saw that Jesus has set us free, so then, we should never allow ourselves to be tied to yoke of slavery again.  Paul continues that thought: 

2 Let me be clear! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I bear witness once again, that every one of you that submits to circumcision becomes under obligation to keep the entirety of the law. 4 Those of you who are intent on being made righteous through law-keeping, you set Christ aside, and you lose out on grace. 5 Instead, through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly await the hope of righteousness.

In verse 2, Paul starts with the attention getter, Ἴδε (Ide), which is often translated as “behold.”  He wants to make sure that they understand what he is about to say, since we seldom say 'behold' and we see that is trying to grab their attention, I translated it as, “Let me be clear.”  He follows that with “I, Paul, am telling you.”  He is placing a strong emphasis on the statement that he is about to make.  He says, “if you allow yourselves to be circumcised then Christ will be of no benefit to you.”  

His point:  If they are somehow earning their salvation through works, then they are no longer saved through faith, and Christ has no value to them, because their own works, not Jesus, is saving them.  

That is why he continues in verse 3 that if they submit to circumcision, then they have to keep the whole law.  They have forfeited salvation by grace through faith, and are now trying to earn their salvation.  Paul understands that keeping the whole law as a means of salvation is impossible to do.  

Note:  There are things that we can have a difference of opinion on.  This is not one of them.  We are saved by grace through faith, not through any action that we might perform to somehow earn that salvation.  

A quick summary of what going on here: On one hand the Judaizing teachers were telling the Galatians that circumcision was necessary for salvation.  Paul was telling them that grace, not circumcision, was their means to salvation. So, to those who were considering going under the knife, Paul tells them that if they do this, then they become obligated to obey the whole law, not just circumcision.  If they choose to go with the old law and circumcision, then they must obey all of it perfectly.   

In verse 4, Paul continues his line of thinking.  If they continue down this path, submit to circumcision and choose to obey the old law, then, as they seek to be justified by the law, they separate themselves from Christ and they lose out on his grace.  Paul offers two warnings about what happens if they give in to these teachers and allow themselves to be circumcised: 

1st warning:  κατηργήθητε (katērgēthēte) has numerous different meanings, including “make powerless, invalidate, waste, abolish, wipe out and set aside.”  In my own translation, I went with “set aside.”  They would be choosing to set Christ and his grace aside. 

2nd warning. Ἐξεπέσατε (exepesate) - It is usually translated as 'fallen away.'  It also can have numerous different meanings, including “fall, drift off course, fail, weaken, lose.”  With the context here, “lose” seemed the most appropriate.  If the Galatians were going to rely on their obedience to the law, then they lose out on the grace of God. 

Back in Paul said in 3:10-11, “For those who base their righteousness on works of the Law are under a curse.  It is written, “Those who fail to obey all that is written in the book of the law are under a curse.” It is obvious that the Law does not make anyone righteous before God, instead, “the righteous will live by faith.” In those two verses he drew from OT passages (Deut. 27:26, and Hab. 2:4) to make his point that it is actually impossible for us to truly obey all of the law.  Paul has been making the point that the Law doesn’t make us righteous, but rather our righteousness comes from our faith.  

He has circled back to this in 5:4.  Those who are intent on basing their righteousness on obedience to the Law are under a curse because it is impossible to do, and now they have set Christ and grace aside.  

In verse 5 Paul gives us an alternative to obeying all of the law as mentioned in verse 4. Instead of gaining righteousness through keeping the law, we await the hope of righteousness through the Spirit and faith.  

In 5 the pronouns change.  He has been saying ‘you,’ but in verse 5 it becomes ‘we.’  ‘You have set Christ aside.’  ‘You lose out on grace.’ and then ‘we await the hope of righteousness.’  

Paul has repeatedly presented two different ways of thinking.  One is legalistic and self-reliant, and the other is grace-filled and God-reliant.  He has made very clear arguments that the second one is far better than the first, and while the Galatians have been busy flirting with the first option, Paul and those with him remain with the second, far superior option. 

So, we cannot make ourselves righteous.  Righteousness, according to verse 5 needs two things:  1) it comes through the Spirit, and 2) it comes through our faith.

  

Free!

Hello everyone.

In our study of Galatians, we have finished chapter 4 and are now ready to dive into chapter 5.  Today we will talk about verse 1.  "It is for freedom, that Christ has set us free. We should stand firm then, and never again submit ourselves to the yoke of slavery." 

 Galatians 5:1 serves as a conclusion to the previous section, and an introduction to what is coming in the next section.  So, it acts as a bridge from one point to the next and at the same time sums up much of what he has been saying, along with a short statement about Jesus' redemptive work.  Jesus did not die on the Cross so that we would be enslaved again.  Jesus came so that we could enjoy freedom. 

By Galatians 5, Paul has spent a considerable amount of time establishing that we are free.  The whole Abraham, Sarah and Hagar argument was used to establish Christ’s followers as children of freedom, not slavery.  

So, as Paul moves on from the Abraham allegory, he states that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free (5:1), and they should not allow anyone subject them to slavery again.  This is what Paul has been saying to the Galatians for at least the last few verses of chapter 4, but honestly this has been the message since the beginning of this letter.  Legalism is slavery, and grace is freedom. 

The message of the agitators, with its intense focus on obedience to the law, works against grace and freedom. It is likely that the Judaizing teachers were stressing the point that real discipleship would involve circumcision and a commitment to the Old Law, but Paul argued the opposite, and claimed that a return to the Old Law was submitting again to slavery.  

The Point: religious legalism binds, and cannot set us free.  In my own experience, it creates a system in which I can never measure up to, and therefore, I am constantly discouraged. It doesn’t feel free.  But, again, Jesus didn’t die so that people would be bound all over again, and feel guilty all the time.  Jesus died to set people free.   

What does this freedom that Jesus has given us mean?  What are we free from? John Stott describes this freedom like this, “ What Christ has done in liberating us…is not so much to set us free from the bondage of sin as to set our conscience free from the guilt of sin.”  (Stott, 132.)  A little later, he says, “we are to enjoy the glorious freedom of conscience which Christ brought us by His forgiveness.  We must not lapse into the idea that we have to win our acceptance with God by our own obedience.” (Stott, 132.) 

I have learned a few things about this from reading David Benner’s book Surrender to Love. Benner ties genuine freedom to truly understanding God’s love.  He says, “Created from love and for love, humans…spurned God’s love in favor of what was perceived to be freedom.  The result, of course, was disastrous.  Liberty was instantly replaced by bondage, intimacy by alienation.”  (Benner, 27.)  

Benner is saying this within the context of the Creation, and Adam and Eve’s sin.  They chose that perceived freedom over God’s love, just as we have at various times in our life, chosen sin over God’s love.  The principle remains, even for the deeply religious.  When we make our relationship with God about our obedience, rather than God' s overwhelming love, we are trying to earn our way, and we lose the freedom that God had intended for us to have.  

Benner says something a little later on that helps me keep perspective: “The fact that I am deeply loved by God is increasingly the core of my identity, what I know about myself with most confidence.  Such a conviction is, I am convinced, the foundation of any significant Christian Spiritual growth."  

That is the thing that I am seeing here.  Paul is not down on obedience.  Neither should we be.  But, we should be obedient because we understand God’s love, not the other way around.  God’s love is not conditional upon our obedience.  He will love whether we are obedient or not.  Therefore, we don’t trust in our own obedience, we need to trust in His love.  I, certainly, will fail to measure up, (you likely will too), but that doesn’t negate God's love.  We don’t have to live in guilt all the time, and understanding that is liberating.  

Benner says:  “He offers us something we could never deserve - forgiveness of our sins and his embrace of love.  What makes grace so amazing is that it and it alone can free us from our fears and make us truly whole and free.  Surrender to God’s love offers us the possibility of freedom from guilt, from effort to earn God’s approval, and freedom to genuinely love God and others as the Father loves us.” (Benner, 47.) 

In the second half of verse 1, Paul again compares what the Judaizers are offering to slavery. He says that the Galatians should never allow themselves to be taken back to a state of slavery, but that is exactly what they are doing by submitting to the teachings of these agitators, particularly their teachings on circumcision.  

At this point, in his commentary, Stott asks why Paul is making such a big deal about these guys submitting to circumcision.  Stott answers his own question, pointing out that it is not the act of circumcision itself.   The problem is the doctrinal implications that arise from it.  The false teachers were advocating circumcision as necessary for salvation.  (Acts 15:1) Circumcision here becomes a symbol for “a particular type of religion, namely salvation by good works, in obedience to the law.” (Stott, 133.) 

If salvation comes through obedience, then it does not come by faith, through grace. That idea is something we have to remember.  Of course, we should be obedient, but it is not the obedience that sets us free, it is acceptance of God's grace. 

Children of Freedom

 Greetings everyone 

We will finish up chapter 4 today, as Paul concludes his Abrahamic argument for The Promise and Grace, and against the Law.  Here is my translation of verses 28-31: 

28 But you, brothers and sisters, just like Isaac, are children of the promise.  29 But, just as it was then, the one born of the flesh persecuted the one born of the Spirit. That is how it is now, too. 30 What does it say in the Scriptures? “Drive out the slave and her son, because the son of the slave will not inherit alongside the son born to freedom.” 31 So, brothers and sisters, we are not children of slavery, but children of freedom. 

He concludes his argument regarding freedom in Christ, sandwiching his conclusion between two statements that they were ‘children of the Promise”, in both verses 28 and 31. In verse 28, we are compared to Isaac.  Like him, we are children of the Promise.  We are not born into the slavery of the Law.  This is the message Paul has been presenting to the Galatians.  We, followers of Jesus, are of the Promise, and not the Law.

Paul, then, makes a comparison, without naming either one, between the Judaizing teachers and Ishmael.  In Genesis 21, the teenaged Ishamel mocks the infant Isaac, and ultimately is cast out, along with his mother, for it.  The Judaizing teachers are Ishmael in the comparison, persecuting true disciples.  According to Paul, Ishmael and the Judaizing teachers, and their brand of Christianity are those born of the flesh, while Isaac and true disciples of Jesus are those born of the Spirit.  

Back in Genesis, Sarah is very direct to Abraham, as she says in Genesis 21:10 (NIV), “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”  God backs Sarah up on this.  Isaac, not Ishamel, was the child of the Promise. The implication from Paul here is, “Get rid of these teachers, and their false gospel. They do not share in the Promise with you.” 

Paul wraps up this the discussion of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishamael and Isaac with a reminder of which side of this argument they belonged on.  They were children of freedom, not slavery. They needed to live like it, and not spend their lives bound up by the Law. Likewise, we are children of the Promise, and we are not destined to be bound up by legalistic righteousness.  The plan for us is to be free in Christ, 

Allegory

Greetings everyone.

It's New Year's Day 2026.  I hope the new year finds you well. We will continue to examine Galatians 4 today, looking at verses 21-27, where Paul uses the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar as an allegory to further make his point:  

21 Tell me this, those of you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 

22 It is written that Abraham had two sons, one from a slave woman and another from a free woman. 23 The one born to the slave was born of the flesh, but the one born to the free woman was born out of a promise.  24 This is an allegory.  These women represent the two covenants. One comes from Mount Sanai, and bears children into slavery.  This is Hagar. 25 So, Hagar is Mount Sanai in Arabia, and she corresponds to Jerusalem, as it is now, for she is enslaved along with her children.  26 But the Jerusalem that is from above is free, and she is our mother. 

27 As it is written, 

       Rejoice, those who are barren, and cannot give birth. 

          Lift your voices and shout, those without labor pains.

       Because the barren woman will have more children than the woman who has a husband. 

Paul, in verse 21, specifically addresses those who desire to be under the Law. He asks those who choose to live that way, whether they truly hear the law.  Do they really understand what the Law is saying to them?  It is an implied “No,” because if they really understood the Law, they would be happy that its time had passed and they were now able to under a new and better covenant.  

To make his point, Paul goes to the source material of his detractors, the Old Testament.  He starts to explain the Old Testament story of Abraham and his two sons, as an allegory for their present situation, telling us in verse 24 that they serve as an allegory for the two covenants.  

Allegory, in case you have forgotten, is a story that uses symbols to convey a hidden meaning.

Here is the allegory: 

• Abraham has two sons, by two different women.  
• One woman is a slave, Hagar. The other is a free woman. (Although not mentioned specifically by name, in Paul’s text, we know that the free woman is Sarah.)
• Hagar gives birth to Ishamel.  She represents the Law, the old covenant and slavery. So, Ishamel is the child of slavery. 
• Sarah gives birth to Isaac.  She represents the promise, the new covenant and freedom.  Isaac is the child of freedom. 

Douglas Moo makes the point that earlier in Galatians Paul had been concerned with paternity, showing that those who by faith in Christ are the children of Abraham, but "In this passage, Paul’s concern is with maternity, and the argument proceeds by oppositions: believers are the children of the free woman, and not the children of the slave woman.” (Moo, 298.)

The link between Hagar, the slave, and the law given at Mount Sinai is not an obvious one, but does explain that he is speaking allegorically.  Paul makes a second not-so-obvious connection, connecting Hagar to the Jerusalem of that day.  His reference connects Judaism to slavery, so it is likely that Paul’s reference to Hagar and current Jerusalem refers to his antagonists, the Judaizing teachers.  They are the children of slavery.  

In his allegory, Paul discusses two Jerusalems, the current Jerusalem, which, again, he equates to slavery and the new Jerusalem that is from above.  It is heavenly. This new Jerusalem, Paul says, is free. 

This allegory makes clear distinctions and they are represented by Hagar and Sarah.  On one side you have Hagar, slavery, Mount Sinai, the Law, obedience, legalistic righteousness, the Judaizing teachers, contemporary Jerusalem and Earth. On the other side you have Sarah, freedom, the Cross, the Promise, faith, grace, true Christianity, Jerusalem from above, and Heaven. 

God is not down on Hagar.  He speaks to her and protects in Genesis 21.  However, the Sarah side (Grace) of the argument is so far superior to the Hagar side of the argument, that choosing to live under the Hagar side (the Law) is pure nonsense. Paul has been furthering this same argument since the beginning of the letter when he compared the Gospel of Grace with the other gospel, which really is no gospel at all. 

Paul ends verse with the phrase ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν (estin mētēr hēmōn), which is translated “(she) is your mother.” Paul is hitting this point from every possible angle.  Grace is better than obedience.  The Promise is better than the Law.  Freedom is better than slavery, and as followers of Christ, and recipients of His grace, freedom (Sarah, new Jerusalem) is our mother, and slavery (Hagar, old Jerusalem) is not.  Why would anyone choose slavery over freedom?  

Paul wraps this thought up by quoting Isaiah 54:1.  “Because the barren woman will have more children than the woman who has a husband.”  Moo says, “Paul’s gospel-oriented reading of Isa. 54:1…convinces him that Sarah represents the new age…Hagar, on the other hand, must therefore represent the old age, with its outmoded and futile focus on doing the Law.” (Moo, 307-308.) Paul has been contrasting the free woman, Sarah, with the slave woman, Hagar, and it appears that in verse 27 is equating Sarah with the barren woman, and Hagar with the one who has a husband.  Sarah, barren until her old age, gave birth to a son, and ultimately, a nation.  

 

Forming Christ

 Greetings.

We continue looking at Galatians today, looking at verses 19 and 20. It seems like an abrupt switch to a different topic.  He has been talking about the misplaced zeal of the Jewish agitators that have infiltrated the ranks of the Galatian churches, and now, suddenly he is talking about how badly he wants to see Christ formed in them.  Here is my translation: 

19 My children, I am again suffering pains like childbirth, until Christ is formed in you.  20 How I wish I could be there with you and change my tone, because I am seriously perplexed about you. 

He compared his desire to see Christ formed in them with a woman in labor pain.  This establishes an intensity of feeling for his Galatian brothers and sisters that they would be like Jesus.  This statement comes directly after Paul states that the zeal of the agitators is not for good.  Then he compares himself to a mother.  What kind of zeal could be better than that?  Paul’s zeal for them is like a mother’s concern for her children.  

Notice that Paul uses the word ‘again.’  He is again suffering pains for them like childbirth.  This is not the first time that he has suffered for them.  One would assume that he is referring to the initial conversion of the people in Galatia.  

Galatians 4:19 is where we get the term 'Spiritual Formation': to have Christ formed in us.  It reminds me of Colossians 1:27, “ God wants the riches of the glory of this mystery made known among the nations: that Christ is in us, the hope of glory.”  In Colossians, Paul talks about a mystery that had been kept hidden for generations that was now being revealed.  That mystery - Jesus living in us.  

Having Christ formed in us is one of the greatest things we could possibly hope for.  We have done nothing to deserve such glory, but still we can have it.  Paul is praying diligently that Christ will fill the brothers and sisters in Galatia. 

The fact that Paul is praying so diligently for Christ to be formed in them, would imply that Christ is not currently being formed in them through their obedience to the old law.  I think Paul has spent a lot of time establishing this.  They are moving in the wrong direction, and Christ will not be formed in them if their focus is obedience to the Law.  

Paul's point: we don’t become like Jesus through our own obedience, we become like him through our faith.  This often runs counter to the way we think. We tend to think that it is about our own effort.  The whole idea of spiritual formation, however, is about how the Holy Spirit forms Christ in us.  No amount of obedience, no matter how strict, can form Christ in us.  Grace and faith save us, and obedience to the Law does not. Paul has presented this argument from numerous different angles in his letter. That is not to say that obedience is bad.  No, obedience is good.  But, we have to understand that our obedience is prompted by faith, and we are not saved by it. 

In verse 20, Paul expressed his concern for them, still taking the tone of a mother.  Paul states that he wished that he could be there in person and therefore change his tone.  In person, he could express a more parental tone instead of just sounding alarms about how badly they are going astray.  

Ἀποροῦμαι (aporoumai) He uses this word to express his concern.  It is often translated as ‘perplexed.’  Paul is very perplexed by their thinking, and has expressed his puzzlement repeatedly in this letter.  Why is he so perplexed?  Paul's sincere desire is to see Christ formed in them, but the path that they are currently on, does not lead there.  He is trying to get them back on track, holding to righteousness based on faith and God's grace, a righteousness that would see Christ being formed in them.