The New Creation

 Greetings everyone.

This post will close this study of Galatians .  If you, reader, are interested, I plan to study out and examine Romans next. Anyway, here is my translation of the last four verses of Paul's letter to the Galatians. (Gal. 6:15-18):

15 As for circumcision, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision account for anything.  What really matters is a new creation.  16 For those who walk according to this rule will have peace and mercy, and so will the Israel of God. 

17 Moving forward, let no one create problems for me, since I carry the marks of Jesus on my body. 

18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my brothers and sisters. Amen. 

In 6:15 Paul repeats an idea that he stated in 5:6 “ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, has the power to do anything.”  In 5:6, he follows with, “Instead, real power comes from faith, at work through love.”  In Galatians 6;5, he follows with, “ what matters is the new creation.” 

What does Paul mean by 'new creation'? As we embrace Christ we are a new creation.  The old has gone and it has been replaced by something new.  These new selves have their lives Christ (Col. 3:4) and Christ lives in them (Gal. 2:20) by the Holy Spirit.  It is a new life created by God’s grace.  In His grace we by faith, which is at work through love. (Gal. 5:6) 

Paul’s overarching message has been that this new creation has come to by God’s grace, not through strict adherence to the Law.  The work of our new self, (and our salvation, for that matter), has been done by God and not by us. Those who walk according to this rule will have peace and mercy.  Paul uses the word Κανόνι (kanoni), which means ‘rule.’ It is an interesting word choice, as he has been battling teachings of the rule-keepers throughout the letter.    

So, what is the rule that we are to walk by that will bring us peace and mercy?  Based on the context, it would seem that the peace and mercy bringing rule is to be a new creation.  Get rid of the old self, and be created in the image of Christ, filled with the Spirit and full of love and faith, and living in gratitude for His grace. Thomas Schreiner says, “The rule he has in mind is the preeminence of the new creation, which leads to the conclusion that both circumcision and uncircumcision are irrelevant.”  (Schreiner, 380.) 

Paul uses the word to mean ‘obey’ here.  He used the Greek word, Στοιχήσουσιν (stoichēsousin), a participle of the word στοιχέω (stoicheo), which means ‘to walk.’ He could have used ὑπακούετε (hypakouete), which means, ‘you obey’, but he didn’t.  He chose a word that brings with a greater sense of relationship, rather than commandment. 

Paul has recently used  another form of στοιχέω (stoicheo) in 5:25 to tell us to keep in step with the Spirit.  Schriener links these two verses to say, “Those who keep in step with Spirit also keep in step with the new creation.”  (Schreiner, 380.)  The conclusion, then, is that as we stay in step with God’s Holy Spirit, we walk according to the rule of being a new creation. 

In verse 17 Paul says, “Moving forward, let no one create problems for me.”  It is like there is a time stamp here. He uses the word λοιποῦ (loipou), which means “from now on.” From this moment on, Paul would like to put this circumcision question to rest.  He is basically saying to the Galatians, “Now that you are a new creation, quit bothering me with this stuff about the old creation with its rules and regulations.”  

Paul follows that with an explanation for why they should stop bothering him about the whole circumcision question, “since I carry the marks of Jesus on my body.” Paul, born a Jew, had carried  the ‘marks’ of circumcision since infancy, but has been saying throughout the letter that marks are now meaningless.  The only marks that matter now are the marks that he bore because of Jesus.  

Paul undoubtedly carried numerous scars from being persecuted in his service to Jesus.  His opponents did not carry such marks, as they tempered their message in such a way as to avoid persecution.  Paul certainly counted those scars as of greater value than his circumcision.

Paul concludes his letter as he began it, with grace.  In 6:18, he says, “may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”  Paul includes in his final words the word ‘our’.  Jesus was his Lord, but also theirs.  In spite of the whole circumcision argument, Paul still considers them Christians. 

His second-to-last word, right before he says ‘Amen,’ is ἀδελφοί (adelphoi), translated here as ‘brothers and sisters.  Again, in spite of the whole Law and circumcision argument, Paul still considers them brothers and sisters and all part of the family of God.  

He began the letter being sharply critical, but toward the end moves into a hopeful posture, certain that once they really understood the value of faith and grace, and the complete lack of value contained in obedience to the Law and legalistic righteousness, that they would choose the better path, the superior gospel, God’s grace. Let's make sure that we are following the better path, as well. 

Big Letters

Welcome back.

We have been looking at Galatians 6, and today we will start a look at Paul's concluding staements.  He wraps up this letter to the Galatians in verses 11-18.  We will look at the first half of that today.  Here is Galatians 6:11-14:

11 See what big letters I am writing to you with my own hand.  12 Those who desire to look good in the flesh, are compelling you to be circumcised, just so that they are not persecuted for the Cross of Christ. 13 Not even those men who want you to be circumcised are actually able to keep the Law. They want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh. 14   As for me, may I never boast about anything except the Cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, as I have been crucified to the world.  

As he begins his closing remarks, Paul establishes that he is now writing in  his own hand.  Scholars tend to think that up to this point Paul has dictated this letter to someone else.  Now, at the end he handwrites his conclusion.  

In his conclusion, now in his own handwriting, he takes one last shot at convincing the Galatians that they have no need of circumcision.  He refers to his detractors as ‘those who desire to look good in the flesh.”  He has spent a fair amount of time denouncing the flesh, and here, at the end, he is connecting those men to the flesh.  

The Greek Paul usus εὐπροσωπῆσαι (euprosōpēsai) means to make a good showing.  In simple terms, it means good + face.  Paul would know, as a former Pharisee, these men are like the Pharisees, they want to make a good showing.  He goes on to say that they do not want to be persecuted for the Cross of Christ.  It appears that they want to be Christians but without upsetting those of their former faith.  Paul is unconcerned about that. These men are the ones that are compelling the Galatians to be circumcised. They have been telling them that circumcision is necessary for salvation, and trying to force the Law on them.  

Paul makes some quick criticisms of his opponents in verse 12-13, establishing some less-than-flattering motives behind their teachings: 

• As previously mentioned, they are doing this to avoid persecution. 
• They are trying to bind the Law on them, but these men themselves are actually unable to keep the Law.  
• They are really only doing this to make themselves look good.  They want to be able to boast about what they have done in Galatia, how they came in after Paul and set the record on circumcision straight. 

Paul’s discussion of their inability to keep the Law fits with his message in Galatians.  No one, save Jesus Christ, has the ability to fully keep the Law.  Here is a reminder of some of the things he said: 

• Gal. 3:10 - “For those who base their righteousness on works of the Law are under a curse.”
• Gal. 5:3-4 - “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, set Christ aside, and you lose out on grace.”

Paul has held this argument throughout his letter to the Galatians.  We are either saved by fully keeping the Law, or we are saved by God’s mercy and grace.  But, since it is impossible to keep the Law, we are much better off within the system of grace.  Even those pushing the Law here, cannot keep it. 

In verse 13 Paul talks about how his opponents were wanting to boast in the flesh about how they got the Galatians to submit to circumcision.  Paul compares such boasting with himself in verse 14, stating that the only thing he wants to boast about is the Cross of Christ.  

This stands in stark contrast to his detractors. While his opponents would boast of their accomplishments among the Galatians, seeking to look good among fellow Jews, Paul boasted in the Cross.  Later, he would write that he would boast about his weaknesses because God’s grace was sufficient for him.  (2 Cor. 12:9) Paul is not looking to lift himself up, only Jesus and His grace.

As Paul talked about his boasting in the Cross, he adds, “through whom the world has been crucified to me, as I have been crucified to the world.” This phrase calls us back to Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ.  I no longer live, but now Christ lives in me. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me.” 

Paul reminds them that they are crucified with Christ to the world.  Christ lives in them now.  The world is also crucified to them.  Fleshly things like working to please other people should be crucified too.  

Douglas Moo points out that to the modern reader, a statement about boasting in the Cross may not be that unusual, but to 1st Century readers this would be shocking, as crucifixions were known to be “violent and shameful deaths.”  (Moo, 395.)  

Paul’s thread throughout has been that circumcision counts for nothing, and God’s grace given to us through Cross is what matters.  Think about it.  It is the Cross, not the knife, that saves us.  How can the removal of a piece of flesh, usually done during a person’s infancy, matter in comparison to the Cross of Jesus Christ? It can't. It doesn't. 

Be Good, Do Good, God Bless

Hey everyone.

Josh Allen, when he accepted his NFL MVP award, famously said "Be good. Do good.  God bless. Go Bills."  (Famous in Buffalo anyway.)  I borrowed three quarters of Josh Allen's quote for the title of this post, as Paul talks about 'doing what is good' in today's thoughts from Galatians. 

Anyway, we continue our examination of Galatians 6, now looking at verses 9-10.  Here is my translation:  

9 We should never grow tired of doing what is good, because at the proper time, we will reap a harvest, if we don’t give up.  10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, particularly the household of the faithful. 

Paul continues his agricultural analogy (sowing and reaping) that he startined in verse 7, in verse 9.  He syas, “We should never grow tired of doing what is good, because at the proper time, we will reap a harvest, if we don’t give up.” Even though our salvation is not based upon the good that we do, we should still strive to do what is good.  Paul encourages the Galatians to continue to do good even when they are not seeing the benefit.  The harvest will come.  

God has a proper time planned out for the harvest. His ‘proper time’ usually comes later than what we consider to be the ‘proper time.’ This often makes us question God's timing, (or at least that has been my experience.)  But, God knows what he is doing.  As we wait for the 'proper time' we must continue to do what is good.  The harvest will come after the sowing period, sometimes long after.  

If we connect verse 9 to verse 8, as we are talking about a harvest, we can see that continually sowing to the Spirit will lead to a harvest of the fruits of the Spirit, if we do not give up.  

What happens if we do give up?  We don’t see the harvest. Following Jesus is a long game, and sometimes the growth seems to be only incremental, but God does give the harvest if we keep moving forward.

Perhaps Paul is adding this in because there is concern that there would be some who misunderstand Paul’s teachings, and say, “Well, if my salvation is based solely on grace, then I don’t have to do anything.”  In chapter 5, as he was talking about freedom in Christ, he added, in verse 13, that they are not to use their freedom to indulge in the flesh.   He wants to deal with both extremes, the legalistic path, where we work for everything, and the libertine path, where anything and everything is ok. 

Verse 10 begins with Ἄρα οὖν (ara ouv) “So, therefore.” Paul has just stated that  we should never give up on doing good, and will, at the proper time, reap a harvest, “therefore” we should do good to everyone.  

The clause here that ends this thought is that we should do good, especially to the household of the faithful.  This is good and true.  We should take care of each other as a body of believers. That is one of the benefits of being in the body of Christ, the church, we carry each other's burdens.(Galatians 6:2.)

  

We don’t want to lose sight of Paul’s call to be a help to everyone.  The world is full of people in need, and they generally need our help and not our judgment.  The good that we do is to be “as we have opportunity,”  When an opportunity to do good presents itself, we should do it, and again, that good-doing applies to everyone, not just those that might be easier to serve.  

Douglas Moo points out that Paul is using faith as the delineation of a new spiritual family, “the household of the faithful.” He goes on to say, “he has argued throughout Galatians, faith (in Christ) is the fundamental and transforming mark of God’s new covenant people.” (Moo, 389.)  We are set apart as the family of God based on our faith in Jesus. So, let us do good to each other and we will see how God blesses it. 

          Douglas Moo, Galatians, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2013. 

Sowing

Greetings everyone. 

As we continue our expolration of Galatians 6, we will look at verses 7 and 8 today. Using an agricultural analogy, Paul compares life devoted to the flesh with life devoted to the Spirit. Here is what he says: 

7 Don’t be fooled.  God will not be ridiculed.  Each person will harvest what they plant.  8 Those who sow according to their own flesh, will, from that flesh, harvest destruction. On the other hand, those who sow to the Spirit, will by the Spirit, harvest life neverending. 

Paul returns to the discussion of the works of the flesh as compared to the fruits of the Spirit. He starts this comparison by saying “Don’t be fooled.  God will not be ridiculed.”  So, whatever Paul is about to talk about, we run the risk of fooling ourselves and ridiculing God.  I would not want to do either. 

Paul uses the Greek word Μυκτηρίζεται (mykterizetai) which is often translated “to be mocked.” The root word Μυκτήρ (mykter) means nose.  So μυκτηρίζεται literally means ‘to turn one’s nose up at.”  It can also be translated as ‘ridicule’ or ‘treat with contempt.’  God is not going to be ridiculed.  We fool ourselves if we think that we can ridicule God. 

Back to the agricultural analogy, Paul’s next statement is, “Each person will harvest what they plant.”  This is often translated as “A man reaps what he sows,” but this phrase has become so commonplace that I fear that we can miss its meaning.  Farmers don’t sow wheat and harvest beans.  We will harvest what we plant, or sow.  

Paul spent considerable time talking about the flesh vs. The Spirit in chapter 5.  We return to that comparison here in verse 8. We can sow to the flesh, or sow to the Spirit.  Each one harvests something different.  Those who sow to the flesh will ultimately harvest destruction, while those who sow to the Spirit will reap life neverending.

In his comparison Paul uses the word ἑαυτοῦ (heautou) meaning ‘his own’ in reference to the flesh.  We sow to our own flesh. (Even as disciples of Jesus, we are not free from the desires of our own flesh.) On the other side of the comparison, that word ἑαυτοῦ (heautou) is not there.  We do not sow to our own spirit, but to the Holy Spirit.   

Douglas Moo says this, “The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh is central to Paul’s presentation of the Christian life.  The Spirit has taken control of believers (5:18), both enabling and compelling them to an obedience not possible before.” (Moo, 385.) 

We cannot think that we can constantly sow to the flesh and yet reap the rewards of sowing to the Spirit, growing in the fruits of the Spirit and ultimately eternal life.  God will not be ridiculed.  We reap the benefits of the Holy Spirit by sowing to the Spirit.  

Many translations add the word “to please”  or “to satisfy” in verse 8.  “Sowing to please the flesh”, or “Sowing to please the Spirit.” This makes a lot of sense and helps to flesh out Paul’s meaning.  No pun intended.  

David deSilva says in his book on Galatians that the Greek word that we often translate “to sow” σπείρων (speirōn) is a present participle , those who sow, suggesting ‘habitual action, not sporadic deviations.’  (deSilva, 136.)  What does this mean?  We should ask ourselves, “What is my habit, is it sowing to the flesh, or sowing to the Spirit?” 

While sowing here refers to actions of our lives, the ‘reaping’ makes reference to consequences of what we have sown.  

The consequences of sowing to the flesh: φθοράν,(phthoran) possible meanings: deterioration, corruption, depravity, destruction. 

The consequences of sowing to the Spirit: ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (zōēn aiōnion)  ζωὴν means “life.”   αἰώνιον means “without end, eternal.” 

Those are the choices, corruption and destruction, or life neverending. Based on the consequneces that each come with, it seems that the obvious choice would be to sow to the Spirit.  

          David deSilva, Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press, 2014. 
            Douglas Moo, Galatians, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2013. 

What to Brag About

Hey.

We continue our examination of Galatians 6 today, looking at vrses 3-6:

3 If anyone thinks himself to be really something, while actually being nothing special, he deceives himself. 4 Each of you should examine your own work, so that then you can make boasts to yourself, without comparing yourself to other people.  5 So, each of you will carry your own burden.  
6 Those being taught should share all good things with their teacher.   

In verse 3, Paul says, “If anyone thinks himself to be really something, while actually being nothing special, he deceives himself.” Here, we are called to humility.  We must not think more highly of ourselves than we should.  We deceive ourselves if we do.  

So, Galatians 6:3 is a warning to the prideful.  We can start to think that we are really something special.  Paul warns against such thinking. We truly will never be more than hopeless sinners, in need of Jesus - a work in progress.  When we start to think of ourselves as something more than that, we become arrogant and are led astray.  

An inportant part of what Paul is saying here is that when we think of ourselves more highly than we should, we become self-deceived.  David Benner writes, “The human capacity for self-deception is astounding.  This is taught by Scripture (Jer. 17:9) and confirmed by psychology. Some people are highly skilled in deceiving others.  However, their duplicity pales in comparison with the endlessly creative ways in which each and every one of us deceives our self. (Benner, 58.)  

It is very easy for us to deceive ourselves and think of ourselves more highly than we should.  Better that we constantly see ourselves as flawed sinners who are still, nevertheless, deeply loved by God.  If we can hold on to that viewpoint, we will be able to help others. 

It might seem like a disconnect between this verse and one preceding, about carrying one another's burdens.  What does this have to do with carrying someone else’s burdens?  However, the connection is there.  In carrying one another’s burdens there should be no burden that is beneath us.  That would be true humility. (If we think more highly of ourselves than we should, when we are striving to carry another’s burdens, the temptation will be there to be judgmental.)

After being told that we are to keep a proper perspective on ourselves, Paul tells us next that we should take the time to examine our own work. Note that he doesn’t tell us to examine each other’s work.  In fact, we are to look at what we have done without making comparisons to others.  It is not a contest.  We are to look at ourselves and strive to get better each day. 

Paul says in the Greek,”τότε εἰς ἑαυτὸν μόνον τὸ καύχημα ἕξει” (tote eis heauton monon to kauchēma hexei). A word-for-word translation would be “then as to himself alone the something to boast about he will have.” 

Obviously the Greek doesn’t flow the same way that English does.  So what does this mean? It seems thaat the words ἑαυτὸν μόνον, or himself alone, are important here.  We are to examine ourselves, but not so that we can brag about how awesome we are, and any boasting that we may do goes to ourselves alone. 

Within the context of saying that we must not think more highly of ourselves than we should, boasting of any kind, even to ourselves, seems out of place.  That is why it seems to me that Paul is talking about self-comparison.  For example, I might ask myself, “Am I growing spiritually?”  If I can answer positively, then I can boast a little to myself about that, without comparing myself to others.  

Douglas Moo makes an important point here.  Paul is talking about self-assessment, and at this point in his letter, we have to understand that our self-assessment needs to come within the context of God’s standard and His grace. (Moo, 380.) 

Also, Paul has just told us that in carrying each other’s burdens we fulfill the Law of Christ.  Coupling that with verse 4, we see that we please Christ when we love each other, not when we judge each other. 

Verse five seems to go against what Paul has just said.  He has just told them that they should carry one another’s burdens.  Now, in verse 5, he tells them that each one of them should carry their own burdens.  Why would he say such seemingly contradictory statements, back to back? 

We have a responsibility to do both.  We carry our own burdens, and help carry the burdens of others.  Paul has commanded others to help me carry my own burdens, but that does not absolve me from the weight of my own.  I can’t just say, “The church will take care of me,” and then expect it to.

 

In 6:6, Paul says, “Those being taught should share all good things with their teacher.”  According to Moo, there are two trains of thought about what Paul means here.  It is unclear whether the good things to be shared are to be spiritual or physical in nature.  (Moo, 383.)  Moo states that most scholars tend to hold with the latter, that students should materially support their teacher.  All three commentaries that I have been reading took the ‘material support’ view.  While I do support the idea of financial support for ministers and Bible teachers. 

I tend to take a different view here. The Greek words πᾶσιν ἀγαθοῖς. (pasin agathois) mean ‘all good things.”  First, I don’t think that it has to be mutually exclusive, material or spiritual.  “All good things” can include both.  However, if I had to choose, I would think that he is talking about the spiritual.  

          David Benner. The Gift of Being Yourself, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press, 2004. 

          Douglas Moo, Galatians, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2013. 

The Law of Christ

Hello everyone.

Today. we begin the final chapter of the book of Galatians.  We will examine the first two verses: 

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught up in some sin, those among you who are spiritually minded, should restore that person in a spirit of humility.  But, guard yourself so that you are not also enticed to sin. 2 Carry one another’s burdens.  This way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul again addresses the Galatians as ‘brothers and sisters.’  Perhaps it is a reminder that they were all family, and that Christianity is not a contest to see who can be the most devout. In the spirit of family, Paul instructs them to go to those among them that get caught up in a sin, and restore them back into the community. 

Paul gives two qualifications to those who do the restoring:

• They must be spiritual-minded.
• They must be humble, as the restoration is to take place in the spirit of humility.

Note: Πραΰτητος (prautatos) can be translate as gentleness or humility.  Both make a lot of sense here, but to me, humility is the better fit.  Thomas Schreiner says, “A gentle and humble spirit does not provoke one who has sinned but treats that person with dignity, and such gentleness is the fruit of the Spirit.” (Schreiner, 358.) 

Paul also gives the restorer a warning.  He, or she, must be careful thexplanations for the sin that the restorer must guard against:at they do not allow the situation to lead them into sin.  Douglas Moo offers three possible 

• Anger toward the offender. 
• Self-righteousness and pride.
• Being drawn into the same sin. 

To be honest, the first two easily go together in response to the sinner who seeks restoration. One who is self-righteous and prideful can easily come into a situation like this with great anger. So, it makes a lot of sense that Paul would urge them to go into a situation like humbly and gently. 

In verse 2, as Paul continues, he tells them to carry one another’s burdens.  Paul again is offering family, or community input.  The verb βαστάζετε, (bastazete) is an imperative, not a suggestion.  We, as the family of God, are to help each other.  

Is this related to verse 1 and the restoration of the sinner, or does this command apply across the whole community of believers?  The answer to that question is ‘yes.’  

Paul goes on to say that in carrying one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ.  What is the Law of Christ and how do we fulfill it? Based on the context, it seems that Paul is referring to love as the Law of Christ. Jesus is on record for having said that the loving God and loving people are the commands that all of the rest of the Law hangs.  Love is the most important thing.  

Paul has just commanded them to carry one another’s burdens.  Certainly, this is rooted in love.  In 1 Corinthians as Paul is about to define love for us, he first tells that love is the ‘most excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:31.)  It seems that Paul is presenting love as the Law of Christ. 

Paul has spent considerable time in the letter explaining how and why the time of the Law of Moses has passed.  A new era has come, marked by grace, faith, freedom and love.   This era has a new law, the Law of Christ, a law based in love. We fulfill that new law when we take care of each other, and carry each other’s burdens. 

With this verse, some have suggested that carrying one another’s burdens may be connected to the previous verse, where those who are spiritual-minded are called upon to gently restore the sinner.  Is this the burden that we are to carry?  It certainly fits that we should help carry that burden, but certainly this falls within the realm of a universal call to all disciples to carry each other’s burdens. 

It is in building community and family, loving and helping each is what Paul is calling the fulfillment of the law of Christ. 

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Part 4

Greetings.

As we continue Paul's discussion of the Spirit vs. the flesh, we will be wrapping up chapter 5.  Here are verses 24-26: 

24 But those who are in Jesus, the Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  25 If we live by the Spirit, we should therefore, keep in step with the Spirit.  26 Let us make sure that we don’t become conceited, provoking and envying one another. 

In verse 24, Paul says: “But those who are in Jesus, the Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Those who are in Christ no longer live according to the flesh.  The flesh has been crucified with Christ, and the Holy Spirit takes its  place. 

Paul has talked about this idea before.  Think about Gal. 2:20.   “I have been crucified with Christ.  I no longer live, but now Christ lives in me. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me.”  This concept has been a consistent part of Paul’s message.  The old self, the flesh, it is now gone.  God’s Spirit resides in us now.  Our life is in Him, and we are his temples. He enables us to live differently.  What we failed to do under our own power, He has given us the ability to do, and the passions and desires of the flesh no longer have the same effect on us.  

Paul says that we have crucified the flesh with its desires, but we all know that the temptations of the flesh still come.  The important thing to remember here is that these desires no longer rule over us.  

Going back to verse 16: Paul has told us to ‘walk in the Spirit/’ and now in verse 25 he tells us that since we live by the Spirit, we should "keep in step with the Spirit."  We have all of Paul’s comparison of the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit sandwiched between two statements about walking with the Holy Spirit. We choose to walk according to the Spirit or to live according to the flesh.  The flesh will continue to seek those things that satisfy it, while the Spirit offers self-control. 

These statements about walking in the Spirit should give the Galatians guidance. As they are striving to be obedient to the Law, the should ask whether what they are doing is really in step with what the Spirit is doing. He does add a conditional statement in verse 25.  “If we live by the Spirit.”  In other words, if you are going to live by the Law, then go live by the Law, but if you are going to live by the Holy Spirit, quit trying to keep in step with the Law. 

Moo sums up the discussion of the Holy Spirit really well.  (Moo, 371.) I am going to turn his lengthy summation into bullet points:

• The Spirit:
• Transforms the hearts of God’s people. (3:14)
• Produces in us the character traits that please Him (5:22-23a)
• Provides the power to inaugurate the Christian life. (3:3)
• And bring it to completion. (5:5) 
• Leads and guides believers (5:18)
• So, we really should walk by the Spirit. 

We close chapter 5 with a statement about behavior that is not consistent with walking with the Spirit.  “Let us make sure that we don’t become conceited, provoking and envying one another.”  Conceit, envy, provoking others,  those are really works of the flesh, as they damage the community of believers.  They are not in line with the Spirit, or His fruits, (love, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, humility, goodness)  I speculate that Paul added this in here because this was going on among them.  It is certainly a reasonable assumption that the false teachers that had been influencing them were guilty of these things. 

For the Galatians and for us, Keeping in step with the Spirit is a better way to live.  

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Part 3

Hello everyone.

We will pick in verse 22 of Galatians 5, as Paul continues to show the contrast between life devoted to the flesh and life given by the Spirit.  Take a look at Galatians 5:22-23:

22 On the other hand, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility and self-control. No law prohibits things such as these. 

Just like the works of the flesh, this, too, is not an exhaustive list. What is a fruit of the Spirit?  I think that it would be anything that the Spirit produces in us.  Wisdom, for example, seems like a fruit of the Spirit to me, but is not listed here.  In Ephesians 5:17 Paul tells us that God gives us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may know Him better.  So, wisdom and revelation (the ability to know God better) are fruits that the Spirit produces in us, as well. 

Anyway, Paul lists these nine fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. 

Note: πραΰτης, (prautēs) is usually translated as gentleness.  I have translated it as humility. The Lexicon defines it as: "the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance: gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness." The word is translated as gentleness in some places in the New Testament, and humility in others, depending on context. I think either one fits this context.  

Works vs. Fruit.  In Paul’s comparison we see works, something that you do, compared to fruits, something that is produced in you by the Holy Spirit.   In one, it is my own flesh that is at work, and in the other, it is the Holy Spirit that is at work.  So, it is important to realize that I do not produce these things in me, The Holy Spirit does.  I mean, I can be a loving person and not believe in God, but The Spirit will produce more and greater love in me, than I can ever produce on my own. Thomas Schreiner explains it well. "Believers are not called upon to summon up the strength within them, for their new way of life is supernatural, stemming from the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.” (Schreiner, 348-349.) Plus, we understabd that obedience to the Law cannot produce these fruits in us.  In fact, it seems that no matter how hard I work to bear these fruits, I make little headway.  I am relatively powerless on my own.  Better that the Spirit works in me to produce His fruit. 

Just like the works of the flesh, I am not going to go through each word and explain, but do want to talk about the first one on the list: love. 1 John 4:8 tlees us that  'God is love.'  We know from John that God is not only a loving being, He is love.  If any one quality defines Him, it is love.  The first and foremost fruit of the Holy Spirit is love.  Many of the others, patience and kindness for example (1 Cor. 13:4), spring from love.

Continuing that thought.  In Col. 3:12-14 - Paul lists a number of attributes that God’s people possess, including compassion, humility, forgiveness and others, but ends with love, as it “binds them all together in perfect unity.”  Love seems to the centrpiece of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and produce His fruit, we become more like God, making more like love. 

Another thought on love: Jesus tells us that the whole of the Law rests on two commands to love.  (Matt. 22:40.) So, the real intent of the Law was to lead us toward love.  But we understand that the Law does not and cannot really lead us there, because you cannot legislate people’s hearts.  So, the Spirit enables us to fulfill the intent of Law, which is to love. 

A quick thought on self-control: It is interesting that Paul finishes this list with self-control, as he finishes the other with behaviors that are a result of a lack of self control (drunkenness and wild partying.) The Spirit leads to be self-controlled, not out of control.  

Paul discussion here on the fruits of the Holy Spirit is finished with the phrase, “No law prohibits things such as these.”  Paul has spent a major part of his letter to the Galatians talking about the Law.  I think that it is no coincidence that he adds this phrase here.  His point:  'If we are filled with the Spirit, we don’t really need the old law., because we will live a life full of these fruits and would give no one an opportunity to complain.'

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Pat 2

 Greetings.

In my post, we began an examination of Galatians 5: 16-26.  We see a comparison between the Spirit and the flesh, and we notice that they are in stark contrast to each other.  "The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh." (Gal. 5:17)  Today, we will look at what the flesh leads us toward. Here is Galatians 5:19-21: 

19 It is easy to see the works of the flesh.  These include: sexual immorality, moral corruption, indecency, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentiousness, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, sowing discord, divisiveness, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild partying and other things like these.  I am warning you, just as I have warned already, that those who do such things, will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

At the beginning of verse 19, Paul tells us that the works of the flesh are Φανερὰ (phanera) - obvious, evident, easy to see. I like the way that Thomas Schreiner describes it: “Identifying the works of the flesh does not demand extraordinary spiritual discernment. (Schreiner, 345.) It’s true.  One does not have to be some kind of spiritual giant to know that certain things are wrong.   (Later, Paul does not say that the fruits of the Spirit are obvious, but the truth is, they are obvious, as well.)  

Galatians 5:19-21 is not intended to be the exhaustive list of sins.  Paul finishes with “and other things like these,” to let his readers know that there are other ‘obvious’ works of the flesh that he doesn’t call out by name here.  

I am not going to go through each one of these sins and define them and talk about them.  Paul has already told us that they are obvious works of the flesh.  Scholars will often group these works of the flesh, and I will use the groupings as presented by Douglas Moo, and talk briefly about the groupings. (Moo, 358.) 

Sexual sins: sexual immorality, moral corruption, indecency. The Roman world was pretty open regarding sex, much like our modern world is, so Paul is telling his readers that following Christ meant not viewing sexual matters in the way the surrounding society does.  It is obvious that some things are ‘of the flesh,’ and a follower of Jesus would avoid those things.   

Sins of pagan worship - idolatry, sorcery: Schreiner says, “The next two sins are grouped together because they both focus on the refusal to worship the one true God.  The fundamental sin in Pauline theology is the failure to praise and thank God for His goodness and to turn to worship of idols.” (Schreiner, 346.)  While some in the Galatian churches may have come out of a background in which they bowed down to idols, we do understand that idolatry involves anything that we place ahead of the one true God. 

Sins against the community: hatred, contentiousness, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, sowing discord, divisiveness, envy. Jesus said that the second greatest command is to love your neighbor as yourself.  God’s community should be full of love, and these sins obviously betray that kind of community.  Our world looks like this, God’s people do not.  God’s people strive to build a community of love.  Note that a number of these words (contentiousness, discord, divisiveness) involve dividing the community in some way. On the other hand, God desires a community of love. 

Sins of excess and self-indulgence: drunkenness, wild partying. Shortly, self-control will be listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  These last two works of the flesh involve an absence of self-control.  

Paul concludes the list adding ‘and other things like these. Again, he has not given an exhaustive list, and he can’t list every possible sin out there.  So, there are other ‘works of the flesh’ that are just as obvious. 

What does Paul say about people whose lives are characterized by these ‘works of the flesh’?  They will not inherit the kingdom of God. This thought backs up something that Paul has just said in verse 13.  He said, “you were called to be free, but not free to indulge the flesh.”  Living by faith, and walking in freedom in Christ, and not being bound by the Law, must lead to righteous behavior and not the works of the flesh.  Schreiner says it like this:  “Righteousness by faith instead of works of law must not lead to a life of sin.  Those who are justified by God’s grace are also empowered by the Spirit to live in a new way.” (Schreiner, 348.) As people of the Spirit, not the flesh, let us embrace this new way. 

Spirit Vs. Flesh

Hey everyone. 

As we continue through Galatians 5, we see, beginning in verse 16, a comparison between the flesh and the Holy Spirit, and what each produces within us.  This comparison goes on through the end of the chapter. We will start today with a look at verses 16-18 and then a brief overview of what is to follow: 

16 Therefore, I’m telling you, walk in the Spirit, and then you will not be walking in a way that gratifies the desires of your flesh. 17 The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh.  They run counter to each other, keeping you from things that you desire to do. 18 But, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 

Paul now, give us a few words on the Spirit.  In verse 16, he tells us “walk in the Spirit.”  The Greek word used here is Περιπατεῖτε (peripateite). It is an imperative, meaning 'to walk.'  So, we are commanded to walk in the Spirit.  Paul assures us that when we do walk in the Spirit, we will not walk in a way that gratifies our flesh. We are certainly going to walk in one way or the other. 

Moo says this regarding walking in the Spirit.  “The ‘walk’ of the believer is determined by the Spirit, who both directs and empowers Christian living.”  (Moo, 353.) As followers of Jesus, we must be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and trust that He will empower us to follow those promptings.  

Although it isn't mentioned specifically in this passage, this separation of Spirit and flesh comes into view again here.  What is circumcision?  Is it not a separating of flesh?  It was being pushed onto the Galatians as a means of achieving righteousness.  Paul pushes back on that idea.  

Paul's message: Allowing yourself to be circumcised is not going to help you overcome the temptations of the flesh.  The Spirit, however, can.  So, walk in His way.  In verse 18, Paul adds that those who are led by the Spirit, are not bound by the Law. (We have a choice to follow the Spirit or to follow the Law. It will be one or the other. The Judaizing teachers were teaching some kind of Spirit/Law hybrid, that Paul is saying won't work.)  

Anyway, Paul continues with how the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other.  He makes that very clear in verse 17: The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh.”  We will be walking in one or the other, not both. You cannot do Spirit and flesh at the same time. 

We will examine them more thouroughly in subsequent posts, but here is a quick overview of what Paul has to say about Spirit and flesh.  In verse 19 through 23 Paul continues this comparison of the flesh and the Spirit, showing what they produce.  

On one side you have ἔργα τῆς σαρκός (erga tēs sarkos) - the works of the flesh, and on the other you have καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματός (kapros tou Pneumatos) - the fruit of the Spirit. Notice that one is a work and the other is a fruit.  We can produce work, but fruit is produced in us by means of the Holy Spirit at work in us.  

A couple of quick notes before closing: Paul tells us in verse 21, regarding the works of the flesh, that those who do these works will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Freedom in Christ is not a license to indulge our flesh, (v. 13) and live however we want.   

He also tells us in verse 23, regarding the Fruits of the Spirit, that there is no law against such things.  If we are filled with the Spirit and produce His fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, humility and self-control, there is no need for a law, or more specifally, The Law. 

As we dig in to these next few verses over the next couple of posts, I think that you will agree that the way of the Spirit is superior to the way of the flesh. 

One Word Sums Up the Law

 Greetings.

In Galatians 5;1, Paul has told the Galatians that it was for freedom that Christ had set them free.  Then, after a shocking statement of hope that the legalists would emasculate themselves, Paul returns to this concpet of freedom in Christ.  Here are verses 13-15. 

13 Brothers and sisters, you were called to be free, not free to indulge the flesh, but rather free to serve one another in love.  14 For, the entirety of the Law is fulfilled in that one word.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  15 But if you are continually biting and devouring one another, watch out or you may just destroy each other. 

In verse 13, Paul goes back to where chapter 5 starts, freedom in Christ.  In verse 1 he says’ “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.”  Paul qualifies that freedom just a little bit in verse 13. 

Paulmust  know that there are some who will say, “I am free in Christ”, and use that as license for self-indulgence, thinking, “If I am free, then I do whatever I want.”  But, that is not what this freedom means.  We are not given our freedom, just to indulge ourselves. 

Paul uses the word σαρκί (sarki) here.  It means flesh.  Our freedom in Christ does not give us the freedom to indulge our flesh.  That is not what freedom in Christ means. Moo explains, “What freedom is emphatically not, either here or elsewhere in Scripture, is that autonomy, the ‘free to be and do whatever we want’ attitude, which governs much modern thinking.” (Moo, 343.) 

So, then, what are we free to do?  In the second part, Paul says that we are “free to serve one another through love.”  Moo continues, “The freedom that Christ has won for us (v.1) and to which we have been called by God (v.13) is a freedom to be what God originally made us to be…to live in loving, sacrificial service to one another.” (Moo,343.) 

An interesting note here:  The word that I have translated as ‘serve’ is from the Greek δουλεύετε (douleuete).  This word does not come from the Greek word for servant.  It comes from the Greek word for slave.  

We are to serve one another in love. (v.13)  That is how our freedom is to be used.  (This is certainly a better use of our freedom than self-indulgence.)  Then v. 14 offers this as a way of further explanation:  ‘The entirety of the Law is fulfilled in that one word.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”’

Paul is saying that one word sums up the whole of the Law.  That word is ‘Love.”  

Now usually this is translated as ‘the Law is fulfilled in one command ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” But, Paul does not use the Greek word for command here, he uses the word for ‘word.’  Now, I understand why translators go with ‘command’ here, as ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’, is a command and is more than one word. I am not arguing with that translation.  However, I think that by using the Greek word λόγῳ (logō), Paul signifies the importance of that one word: Love. 

Already, here in chapter 5, he has already said that the only thing that matters or has power, is faith expressing itself through love.  

Later, when he lists off the fruits of the Spirit, the first one is love.  This is the attribute that sets God’s people apart.  Love is what drives everything. 

I love what Douglas Moo says about this:  “The reason it is important for believers to act as slaves toward one another in love is because love fulfills the law.”  (Moo, 345.)  

So, circumcision does not fulfill the law.  Love does.  Remembering verse 6, both circumcision and uncircumcision are meaningless without love.  It is the believer who loves who fulfills the law. 

So, circumcision does not fulfill the law.  Love does.  Remembering verse 6, both circumcision and uncircumcision are meaningless without love.  It is the believer who loves who fulfills the law. 

A later, Moo also says, “Paul’s wider concerns to assure the Galatians that their new life in Christ does indeed provide them with the direction (love) and the power (Spirit) that they need to live godly lives. Indeed, it is only with the coming of Christ and the gift of his Spirit that the ‘completion’ of the law has become possible.  But the completion does not take the form of obedience to the many commands of the law.  Rather, it happens as Christians love others - with a love possible only for those who are in Christ and according to the Spirit”  (Moo, 348.) 

Paul has just laid out the need for love more than once, in verses 6 and 14.  Now, in verse 15, he takes the conversation to the opposite extreme.  “But if you are continually biting and devouring one another, watch out or you may just destroy each other.”  Again we see two paths.  One path is faith at work through love, in which all will be built up.  The other path involves the opposite, where they are lnot oving toward each other.  Paul uses the figurative language of eating to express this.  Δάκνετε (daknete)” you bite” and κατεσθίετε (katasthiete) “you devour.” Many scholars believe that Paul is using the imagery of wild animals here.  Animals that would fight ferociously to the point of killing each other.  

Is this how they were treating each other?  It is hard to say, but certainly they were listening to some who were treating Paul this way.  Paul is issuing a clear warning.  Without loving relationships, people get destroyed.  

It is very easy to be critical of others. It is also very easy to hold on to a point so dogmatically that everyone who disagrees with you appears to you to be an idiot. This kind of ‘biting’ isn’t really helpful for anyone, and certainly has no place in God’s church.  

To conclude: Love is better. 

What Did He Say?

Hello.

As we continue on through chapter 5, we come to verses 11 and 12, which I have translated below.  Paul's frustration with his opponenets seems to boil over, and he bluntly says something that is quite surprising.

11 Brothers and sisters, if I still proclaim circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?  In that case, the offense of Cross is completely lost.  12 Oh, if only these agitators would just go ahead and castrate themselves. 

Paul’s meaning in verse 11 is not completely clear.  He asks, “if I still proclaim circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?”  At this point in his argument against circumcision as necessary for salvation, it seems an odd question.  By this point, he has made his stance perfectly clear.  

Some scholars believe that Paul asks this question here because some of his critics are claiming that Paul supports their position on circumcision.  This is possible.  He would be basically saying, “if I support their position, why are they so critical of me?” 

It is important to understand that Paul is not anti-circumcision.  We know that he had Timothy circumcised in Acts 16, but he also supported Titus refusal to be circumcised.  Paul’s problem with what the Galatians are buying into is that he can't support the teaching that circumcision is necessary for salvation.  This point, again, he has made abundantly clear.  Paul is not teaching the typical Jewish view on circumcision. Paul's view: neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has bearing on one’s standing with God. 

In the second part of verse 11, Paul responds to his own question with this statement: “In that case, the revulsion of the Cross is completely lost.”  What I have translated as ‘offense’ comes from the Greek word, σκάνδαλον (skandalon). The Lexicon’s best definition for the context here is: "that which causes offense or revulsion and results in opposition, disapproval or hostility: fault, stain, etc.”  

Paul’s point:  If the message becomes circumcision, then the all the Jesus endured, the torture and grotesqueness of the Cross has become meaningless.

Then, Paul lays his feelings about his detractors out completely in verse 12:  “Oh, that these agitators would just go ahead and castrate themselves.”  Here, he obviously refers to the Judaizing teachers as, Οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες (hoi anastatountes), 'those who are troubling you.'  This can be translated as troublemakers or agitators. 

Clearly in his next statement Paul is taking off the gloves.   Ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται (Ophelon kai apokopsontai) Basically, Paul is saying “I wish they would just go ahead and castrate themselves.”  The Greek word Ὄφελον can be translated as, “I wish” or “if only.”  

The Greek word ἀποκόψονται comes from the verb αποκοπτό (apokoptó). Strong’defines these words as: to amputate, mutilate or castrate.  So, Paul is expressing his disdain for these men and their insistence on circumcision, and takes their argument to the extreme, with these men completely emasculating themselves. 

David deSilva explains it this way: “The verb refers to cutting off significantly more than the foreskin, effectively wishing that those who were so eager to circumcise the Galatian converts would cut off their own members.” (deSilva, 113.)

Paul's words in verse 12 may seem extreme, but they are born out of a frustration that the Judaizing teachers, and now the Galatians, are missing the meaning of second part of verse 11. If we could somehow gain salvation through removing a piece of flesh, then the scandal and torture that Jesus endured on the Cross become meaningless, and Jesus endured it all for nothing. If Paul is right, then the Cross means everything, as our only means of salvation.   

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. 

What Happened?

Hello everyone.

Today we will continue our exegesis of Galatians 4, covering verses 12 through 18.  Here is my translation: 

12 Brothers and sisters, I plead with you, be like I am, as I became like you are, and you did me no wrong.  13 You all know that it was due to illness that I preached the Gospel to you the first time.  14 Even though my illness was challenging for you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God, or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where did such blessings go? I can testify that if you could, you would have plucked your own eyes out and given them to me.  16 Have I become your enemy by speaking the truth to you? 

17 These people have been very zealous for you, but not in the right way.  They wish to drive you away from us, so that you might zealously go after them.  18 It is good to be zealous for what is right all the time, not only when I am present with you. 

In verse 12, Paul gives an imperative to the Galatians, to become like him, as he had become like them.  It is not clear exactly what Paul means by this.  It seems that Paul is talking about how he, as a Jew, has become a lot more like a Gentile, while they, Gentiles, are trying to be more like Jews.  He has been urging them to not do that.  

Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:20-21  “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.”

Paul’s aim was to win people over to the cause of Christ.  Paul strove to relate to all people in order to help them know Jesus Christ.  He urges the Galatians to be more like that.  Their movement toward a rigid legalistic system and obedience to the Law actually doesn't help anyone to know Jesus. 

From here Paul goes on to describe the relationship that he had with them, as he was building the church there.  He tells them that he had only preached among them due to illness, and they apparently took good care of Paul during this time, welcoming him openly, in spite of great challenges.  He states that their love for him was so great that they would have willingly plucked their eyes out for him.  That is real devotion to someone.  So now, he openly wonders, “What has happened?” “Where has the kindness and love that you once showed me gone?”  

The impact of these Judaizing teachers must have been huge.  They were undoubtedly very negative in their assessment of Paul and his message, even though he received directly from God.  Apparently the animosity has grown to a place where Paul wonders out loud, “Have I become your enemy for telling you the truth?” This is a significant turnaround for the members of the Galatian churches, going from someone so loved for whom they would sacrifice their eyeballs, to now, an enemy.  

Paul asks whether he has become their enemy for telling them the truth. What is the truth that Paul has been telling them?  Douglas Moo states it like this, “the gospel is offered freely by grace and is to be accepted and lived out by means of faith.” (Moo, 286.) 

Note: It is interesting that Paul could become their enemy by truth-telling, since his message has been one of grace and faith.  Why would anyone rather hear a message of obedience to the point of allowing yourself to be circumcised as an adult?  It seems that men would be relieved for Paul to say that they didn’t need to go through with circumcision. 

Paul, then, weighs in on his detractors, stating that these teachers are very zealous.  That seems to be the nicest thing Paul has to say about them, and even in that, he states that their zeal is for the wrong reasons.  Paul acknowledges that zeal is a good thing (v. 18), but if it is for the right reason.  These teachers appear to have zeal for the purpose of sowing division here.  They are trying to separate the churches in Galatia from Paul’s influence and bring them under their own control. These agitators have undoubtedly been portraying Paul as their enemy, teaching that Paul is presenting an easy gospel that has big holes in it.  

In reality, we know that they were teaching a false gospel of an earned salvation, and Paul was teaching the true gospel of God's grace, which is not an easy gospel, but certainly a better gospel.