Freedom in Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.(A) Stand firm,(B) then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.(C)

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,(D) Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.(E) You who are trying to be justified by the law(F) have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.(G) For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.(H) For in Christ Jesus(I) neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.(J) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.(K)

You were running a good race.(L) Who cut in on you(M) to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.(N) “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”(O) 10 I am confident(P) in the Lord that you will take no other view.(Q) The one who is throwing you into confusion,(R) whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?(S) In that case the offense(T) of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators,(U) I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.(V) But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a];(W) rather, serve one another(X) humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](Y) 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit,(Z) and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.(AA) 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.(AB) They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want.(AC) 18 But if you are led by the Spirit,(AD) you are not under the law.(AE)

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,(AF) impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.(AG) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.(AH)

22 But the fruit(AI) of the Spirit is love,(AJ) joy, peace,(AK) forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.(AL) Against such things there is no law.(AM) 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh(AN) with its passions and desires.(AO) 25 Since we live by the Spirit,(AP) let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,(AQ) provoking and envying each other.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
  2. Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
  3. Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

Christ Has Set Us Free

For (A)freedom Christ has (B)set us free; (C)stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to (D)a yoke of (E)slavery.

Look: I, Paul, say to you that (F)if you accept circumcision, (G)Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that (H)he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are (I)severed from Christ, (J)you who would be justified[a] by the law; (K)you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly (L)wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus (M)neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but (N)only faith working through love.

(O)You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying (P)the truth? This persuasion is not from (Q)him who calls you. (R)A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 (S)I have confidence in the Lord that you will (T)take no other view, and (U)the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,[b] still preach[c] circumcision, (V)why am I still being persecuted? In that case (W)the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish (X)those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. (Y)Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love (Z)serve one another. 14 For (AA)the whole law is fulfilled in one word: (AB)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you (AC)bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, (AD)walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify (AE)the desires of the flesh. 17 For (AF)the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, (AG)to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are (AH)led by the Spirit, (AI)you are not under the law. 19 Now (AJ)the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, (AK)divisions, 21 envy,[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that (AL)those who do[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But (AM)the fruit of the Spirit is (AN)love, joy, peace, patience, (AO)kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 (AP)gentleness, (AQ)self-control; (AR)against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (AS)have crucified the flesh with its (AT)passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, (AU)let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 (AV)Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 5:4 Or counted righteous
  2. Galatians 5:11 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 13
  3. Galatians 5:11 Greek proclaim
  4. Galatians 5:21 Some manuscripts add murder
  5. Galatians 5:21 Or make a practice of doing

The Life of Freedom

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

2-3 I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.

4-6 I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

7-10 You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.

11-12 As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn’t matter one way or the other. Why don’t these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

13-15 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

* * *

19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

Christ Gives Freedom

Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again.

I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised. If you do, you must obey the whole Law. And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his gift of undeserved grace. But the Spirit makes us sure God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.

You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. (A) A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, 10 but you belong to the Lord. This makes me certain you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.

11 My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised. 12 I wish everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!

13 My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. 14 (B) All the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. 15 But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.

God's Spirit and Our Own Desires

16 If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. 17 (C) The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. 18 But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you.

19 People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. 20 They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are 21 envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom.

22 God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. 25 God's Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. 26 But don't be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are.