epi. Law and its bondage were in direct antagonism to faith and its freedom. Paul uses these two similar words for emphasis. The Expositor's Greek Testament. ᾿αλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις—“but by love be in bondage to,” or “be serving, one another.” A different reading, τῇ ἀγάπῃ τοῦ πνεύματος, is found in D, F, 31, in the Claromontane, Vulgate, Gothic, and Coptic versions; but it is evidently an emendation, or an attempt to express a contrast to σαρκί. that you abuse not, by a vicious life, that Christian liberty which Christ hath purchased for you, but be united in the spirit of charity. The Judaizers emphasized circumcision as a mark of submission to God. The apostle warns that we are not to allow our Christian freedom to become “an opportunity” (literally, “a stronghold”) for the sinful nature—i.e. Translate, 'only turn not your [ teen (Greek #3588)] liberty into an occasion for the flesh.' In his letter to the Roman church, he said: For I don’t know what I am doing. He too gave commandments (“Love God…love your neighbor” Matthew 22:37-40), but he was “full of grace” (John 1:14)—meaning that transgressors who are also believers can expect the blood of Christ to make them whole in God’s sight. Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? BibliographyAlford, Henry. The text here may be read literally: only not the freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. • He emphasized holy lives: “Putting away falsehood” (4:25)—anger (4:26-27)—theft (4:28)—corrupt speech (4:29)—”bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander”—and malice (4:31). But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." I once heard a sermon, the theme of which (repeated again and again) was that God does not love sinners. Or better yet, just study it yourself, the New Testament speaks of many things that we are to do for one another - take time to study this important topic. It suggests giving, even to the point of sacrifice. Translate, 'only turn not your [ teen (Greek #3588)] liberty into an occasion for the flesh.' 338. When he says, If you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing” (v. 2), he is saying that we must choose one or the other, the law or Christ, as our savior. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. Now, that "serve one another" is a phrase that is a study of its own. We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? For one thing, it is transparent. This is a difficult verse, because nearly everyone succumbs to one or more of Paul’s list of vices. XI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), Longenecker, Richard N., Word Biblical Commentary: Galatians, Vol. p. 153; Klotz ad Devar. The special contrast, however, which is here opposed to the general category of the σάρξ, has its ground in the circumstances of the Galatians, and its warrant in what is about to be said of love in Galatians 5:14. In this verse,stoicheo conveys the thought of allowing the Spirit to direct our lives in an orderly, God-approved manner. Galatians 5:13. ἐπʼ ἐλευθερίᾳ. The difference was life-changing. • Rivalries (eritheia) Scheming to serve one’s own selfish interests. If you want an introduction to the thought look for "one another" in my writings (In the book Notes On Lots of Other Things). Of course not! “Let love be the motivation of your life to such a degree that you will serve one another, in a spirit of community!”. In verses 19-21a (printed below) the apostle Paul presents a partial list of “the works of the sinful … For the thought compare Aristides quoted by Wetstein, λυσιτελέστερον μὲν εἶναι δουλεύειν, ἤ κακῶν ἐφόδιον τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἔχειν. The method here explained of restraining liberty from breaking out into wide and licentious abuse is, to have it regulated by love. A more literal translation of the second part of this verse would be: “Watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.”. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (v. 18). Romans 7:8; Romans 7:11; 2 Corinthians 5:12; 2 Corinthians 11:12; 1 Timothy 5:14. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/galatians-5.html. Galatians 5:13. 1832.
Galatians 5:14 Lev. These desires are opposed (antikeitai-present middle indicative) to one another with the result that the believer might not do (poiete-present active subjunctive) the things he wishes to do. As noted above, from very early times, Jews used the word “walk” to speak of the manner in which one conducted one’s life. How often has the word freedom been abused and perverted into its diabolical caricature! Collegial behavior—taking care of each other—builds up churches, families, and businesses. People often recognize phonies, and refuse to believe anything they say. All rights reserved. "Commentary on Galatians 5:13". • Orgies (komos) has to do with drunken revelry, which often leads to sexual immorality. But we would be remiss if we were to ignore the grace of the Old Testament. As stated above, sarx is an ugly-sounding word that depicts an often ugly reality—a focus on bodily indulgence rather than on Godly service. Verses 22-23 present the reader with the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. 5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. In Romans 7:8; Romans 7:11, 2 Corinthians 11:12 it denotes an opening for sin, as it does here.— . For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. A yoke, of course, was the wooden implement used to join two oxen to serve the purpose of their master. Romans 16:8; Romans 16:22; 1 Corinthians 9:19; 1 Peter 2:16; 2 Peter 2:19. The object for which ye were called is liberty. The law (613 commandments) prescribed in great detail exactly what a person could and could not do. He chastened Israel—he punished the Israelites—but he didn’t abandon them or cease to love them. It is the state for which, or for the permanent enjoyment of which, they had been called. If that was the Apostle Paul’s experience, who is immune? • Hatred (echthra) Hatred or hostility. This also corresponds (in opposition to Hofmann’s groundless doubt) to the usage of the Greeks after the prohibitory μή. BibliographyBengel, Johann Albrecht. You shall not make for yourself an idol…. Comp. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/galatians-5.html. • Uncleanness (akatharsia) is uncleanness, to include moral impurity. "Commentary on Galatians 5:13". by love serve one another. 13.Called unto liberty—From the burdensome artificialities of the old system ye are emancipated into a pure and simple heart-deep religion. “The Good News of Christ has called you out from slavery into the freedom which Christ gives!” But do not let. What does Paul tell us is the way to prevent the old sinful nature from accomplishing its desire (see verse 16 printed below?) Let us always remember that the present question is not, in what manner we are free before God, but in what manner we may use our liberty in our intercourse with men. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author, except as provided by U.S.A. copyright laws. 577; Klotz-Devarius, 2.669; Hartung, 2.153. See Romans 7:8. Determine the Structure of the Passage; The structure of this passage may be developed through an awareness of four commands with imperatival force. Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. He must recognize that he now shares in the victory the Lord Jesus won over the sinful nature. "Commentary on Galatians 5:13". “of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (v. 21b; see also 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Instead. For, brothers, you have been called to liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. That is the case in this verse. "The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge". The opposite of self-indulgence. Galatians 5:13. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. Cf. 7 You were running well! Jesus said, “God so loved the world, (Greek: kosmos) “that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The law had occasioned no little disputation among them, was the source out of which had sprung those factious alienations; and yet what is the spirit of that very law? The σάρξ is man's unrenewed nature,-not simply his corporeal organism with its passions and appetites, but his whole nature ethically viewed as under the dominion of sin-sense and selfishness. Galatians 5:13 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Galatians 5:13, NIV: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Do feel free to make copies for friends that might be interested as long as you do not make profit from the copies. This injunction contains an instructive paradox. "Commentary on Galatians 5:13". “Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality (Greek: porneia), uncleanness (akatharsia), lustfulness (aselgeia), idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies (komos), and things like these” (vv. Paul’s liberty offers no man an exemption from the law of right. Galatians 5:13. Romans 8:8; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:12; 2 Corinthians 11:12; 1 Timothy 5:14). And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? BibliographyEllicott, Charles John. Law and its bondage were in direct antagonism to faith and its freedom. However devoted we might be to Christ, passions and lusts still rear their ugly heads now and then. In verse 25, Paul stresses that, if we live (zomen-present active indicative) by the Spirit, we should walk (stoichomen-present active subjunctive-“let us keep in step with”) in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:14, NIV) "Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." The Spirit and the flesh are at war—vying for people’s hearts. but by love serve one another: the Vulgate Latin version reads, "by the love of the Spirit": and so some copies; Gospel liberty and the service of the saints are not at all inconsistent; as it becomes them to love one another, as the new command of Christ, their profession of religion, and their relation to each other, require, so they should show their love by their service; as by praying one with and for another, by bearing each other's burdens, sympathizing with and communicating to each other in things temporal and spiritual; in forbearing with and forgiving one another; by admonishing each other when there is occasion for it, in a meek, tender, and brotherly way; by instructing and building up one another on their most holy faith, and by stirring up one another to all the duties of religion, private and public. App-104. Liberty is the foundation. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sdn/galatians-5.html. "Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament". Note that the word “fruit” (karpos) is a singular noun. Romans 6:18; Romans 6:22; 1 Corinthians 9:19; 1 Peter 2:16; 2 Peter 2:19. The final division comes with verse 26. Romans 8:8; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:12; 2 Corinthians 11:12; 1 Timothy 5:14). Our versions render this unto (for R.V.) τρέπετε or, better, ἔχετε. Those who are led by the Spirit have no need of the law. When approached by a scribe asking, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” Jesus replied that the first two commandments are to love God with all our being—and our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31). поÑледÑÑвий. Comp. "Commentary on Galatians 5:13". He hints at their unloving strifes springing out of lust of power, which 'is the mother of heresies' (Chrysostom). Paul was well-acquainted with the struggle. The dative σαρκί is that of dativus commodi-the flesh taking advantage of the occasion.