CHAPTER V. _The apostle exhorts the Galatians to stand fast in the liberty_ _of the Gospel, and not by receiving circumcision bring_ _themselves into a yoke of bondage_, 1-4. _Shows the superior excellence of Christianity_, 5, 6. _Mentions their former steadiness, and warns them against the_ _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:2. _IF YE BE CIRCUMCISED_] By circumcision you take on you the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and consequently profess to seek salvation by means of its observances; and therefore Christ can profit you nothing; for, by seeking justification by the _works of the law_, you renou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:3. _HE IS A DEBTOR TO DO THE WHOLE LAW._] Lays himself, by receiving circumcision, under the obligation to fulfil all its precepts, ordinances, c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:4. _CHRIST IS BECOME OF NO EFFECT UNTO YOU_] It is vain for you to attempt to unite the two systems. You must have the law and no Christ, or Christ and no law, for your _justification_. _YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE._] From the _Gospel_. They had been brought into the grace of the Gos... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:5. _FOR WE_, CHRISTIANS, _THROUGH THE SPIRIT_] Through the operation of the Holy Ghost, under this spiritual dispensation of the Gospel, _wait for the hope of righteousness_-expect that which is the object of our hope, on our being _justified_ by faith in Christ. _Righteousness_,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:6. _FOR IN JESUS CHRIST_] By the dispensation of the Gospel all legal observances, as essential to salvation, are done away; and uncircumcision, or the _Gentile state_, contributes as much to salvation as _circumcision_ or the _Jewish state_; they are both equally ineffectual; and... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 7. _YE DID RUN WELL_] Ye once had the faith that worked by love-ye were genuine, active, useful Christians. _WHO DOTH HINDER_] Who prevented you from continuing to obey the truth? Ye could only be turned aside by your own consent. St. Paul here, as in 1 Corinthians 9:24, compares Christianity... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 8. _THIS PERSUASION_] Of the necessity of your being circumcised and obeying the law of Moses, is _not of him that_ _calleth you_. I never preached such a doctrine to you; I called you out of _bondage to liberty_, from a _galling yoke_ to a _cheerful_ _service_. Some translate πεισμονη, _obedi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 9. _A LITTLE LEAVEN LEAVENETH THE WHOLE LUMP._] A proverbial expression, see 1 Corinthians 5:6, very aptly applied to those who receive the smallest tincture of false doctrine, relative to the things essential to salvation, which soon influences the whole conduct, so that the man becomes total... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 10. _I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOU_] I now feel a persuasion from the Lord that I shall not be permitted to expostulate with you in vain; _that ye will be none otherwise minded_ - that ye will be aware of the danger to which ye are exposed, that ye will retreat in time, and recover the grace which... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 11. _IF I YET PREACH CIRCUMCISION_] it is very likely that some of the false apostles, hearing of Paul's having circumcised Timothy, Acts 16:3, which must have been done _about this time_, reported him as being an advocate for circumcision, and by this means endeavoured to sanction their own d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 12. _I WOULD THEY WERE EVEN CUT OFF WHICH TROUBLE YOU._] This saying has puzzled many, and different interpretations of the place have been proposed by learned men. At first sight it seems as if the apostle was praying for the _destruction_ of the false teachers who had perverted the Churche... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 13. _YE HAVE BEEN CALLED UNTO LIBERTY_] A total freedom from all the burthensome rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law. _Only_ use _not that liberty for an occasion to the flesh_. By _flesh,_ here, we may understand all the unrenewed desires and propensities of the mind; whatsoever is not und... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 14. _FOR ALL THE LAW_] Which respects our duty to our fellows, is _fulfilled_-is comprehended, in _one word: Thou shalt_ _love thy neighbour as thyself_. Matthew 19:19, Matthew 19:19, and _"_Romans 13:9_"_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 15. _IF YE BITE AND DEVOUR ONE ANOTHER_] These Churches seem to have been in a state of great distraction; there were continual altercations among them. They had fallen from the grace of the Gospel; and, as Christ no longer dwelt in their hearts by faith, pride, anger, ill-will, and all unkind... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 16. _WALK IN THE SPIRIT_] Get back that Spirit of God which you have grieved and lost; take up that _spiritual_ religion which you have abandoned. _YE SHALL NOT FULFIL THE LUST OF THE FLESH._] If the Spirit of God dwell in and rule your heart, the whole _carnal mind_ will be destroyed; and th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _FOR THE FLESH LUSTETH AGAINST THE SPIRIT_] God still continues to strive with you, notwithstanding your apostasy, showing you whence you have fallen, and exciting you to return to him; but your own obstinacy renders all ineffectual; and through the influence of these different principles... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 18. _BUT, IF YE BE LED OF THE SPIRIT_] If ye receive again the Gospel and the grace of Christ, and permit yourselves to be influenced by the Holy Spirit whom you are now grieving, _ye are_ _not under the law_-ye will not feel those evil propensities which now disgrace and torment you; but they... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 19. _NOW THE WORKS OF THE FLESH ARE MANIFEST_] By _flesh_ we are to understand the evil and fallen state of the soul, no longer under the guidance of God's Spirit and right reason, but under the animal passions; and they are even rendered more irregular and turbulent by the influence of _sin_;... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 20. _IDOLATRY_] Worshipping of idols; frequenting idol festivals; all the rites of Bacchus, Venus, Priapus, c., which were common among the Gentiles. _WITCHCRAFT_] φαρμακεια, from φαρμακον, _a drug_ or _poison_ because in all spells and enchantments, whether true or false, _drugs_ were employ... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 21. _ENVYINGS_] φθονοι. "Pain felt, and malignity conceived, at the sight of excellence or happiness." A passion the most base and the least curable of all that disgrace or degrade the fallen soul. Romans 13:13. _MURDERS_] φονοι. Similarity of _sound_ to the preceding seems to have suggested... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 22. _BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT_] Both _flesh_-the sinful dispositions of the human heart and _spirit_-the changed or purified state of the soul, by the grace and Spirit of God, are represented by the apostle as _trees_, one yielding _good_ the other _bad fruit_; the productions of each being... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 23. _MEEKNESS_] πραοτης. Mildness, indulgence toward the weak and erring, patient suffering of injuries without feeling a spirit of revenge, an even balance of all tempers and passions, the entire opposite to _anger_. _TEMPERANCE_] εγκρατεια. _Continence, self-government_, or _moderation_, pr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 24. _AND THEY THAT ARE CHRIST'S_] All genuine Christians _have crucified the flesh_-are so far from obeying its dictates and acting under its influence, that they have crucified their sensual appetites; they have nailed them to the cross of Christ, where they have expired with him; hence, say... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 25. _IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT_] If we profess to believe a spiritual religion, _let us walk in the Spirit_-let us show in our lives and conversation that the Spirit of God dwells in us.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Galatians 5:26. _LET US NOT BE DESIROUS OF VAIN GLORY_] κενοδοξοι. _Let us not be vain glorious_-boasting of our attainments; vaunting ourselves to be superior to others; or seeking honour from those things which do not possess moral good; in birth, riches, eloquence, c., c. _PROVOKING ONE A... [ Continue Reading ]