The Word Made Fresh
1Christ has given us freedom, and we are free! Stand up tall and don’t allow yourselves to behave again like slaves.
2Listen, I’m telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will mean nothing to you. 2Again, I say to every man among you, if you let yourself be circumcised you are committed to be obedient to the entire law. If you want to be judged by the law, you separate yourself from Christ and have fallen from grace. 5It is by faith that we await the hope of righteousness through the Spirit. 6In Christ Jesus, being circumcised or uncircumcised means nothing. The only thing that matters is the faith that love makes effective.
7You were doing so well! Who has kept you from being obedient to the truth? 8Certainly not the one who has called you! 9A bit of yeast leavens the whole loaf, 10and the Lord gives me confidence that you won’t think otherwise. But whoever is making you confused will be penalized. 11Why do you think I’m still being persecuted if I’m still preaching that you should be circumcised? If that were so, the offense of the cross has been erased. 12I wish those who have troubled you would castrate themselves.
13You were called to freedom, people! But don’t use your freedom as an excuse for being self-indulgent. Instead, you should act as each other’s servants. 14The whole law can be summed up in a single commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you attack one another, make sure you’re not killing each other!
16I say you should live by the Spirit, and not try to please the desires of the flesh. 17The flesh has desires that are against the Spirit and what the Spirit wants is against what the flesh wants. Flesh and Spirit are the opposite of each other and that keeps you from doing whatever you wish. 18But if you allow yourself to be led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19It is obvious what the flesh wishes: adultery, sinful desires, license to misbehave, 20idol worship, witchcraft, hatred, struggles, jealousy, anger, arguments, disagreements, enmity, factions, 21ill feelings towards others, drunkenness, hostility, and other such things. I warn you again; those who practice such things cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
22On the other hand, the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. There are no laws against these things. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the desires and passions of the flesh. 25If we are to live by the Spirit, then we must be guided by the Spirit. 26We can’t be self-centered, competing with each other and being jealous of one another.
Commentary
1: Christ has set us free from the onerous requirements of the law.
2-6: Paul’s argument is that it is not possible to be justified by the law, but only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. His conclusion, that circumcision voids the grace of God, is nonetheless a bit unconvincing.
7-12: Nevertheless, he pronounces doom on those who are trying to persuade the Galatians that circumcision is necessary for their salvation. He carries their argument to the extreme; if cutting off a little flesh is good, why not go all out and castrate themselves? (I wonder if he meant that as a joke.)
13-15: The freedom to which we are called in Christ is not unbridled freedom, however. It is freedom to be servants to each other through love.
16-21: It is interesting that Paul, though insisting on freedom from the law in terms of circumcision, should be so interested in cataloguing all the ways in which our failure to abide by the restrictions of the law in terms of behavior should lead to our condemnation. But he is not talking about circumcision here; he is returning to his theme of the separation of flesh and spirit which he began in chapter 3. Living according to the flesh leads to the kinds of corruption listed here.
22-26: Living according to the spirit, on the other hand, leads to the attitudes listed here.
Takeaway
We don’t get to heaven because we are perfect. We get to heaven because we have faith. We believe. We try to live as God wants us to live. We fail, and try again. God is patient and kind, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.