Galatians

Friday, 27 May 2016

But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! Galatians 5:15

Paul now uses metaphors to show the inevitable result of divisions and strife. He says that “if you bite and devour one another” it can only lead to serious harm. The idea here is in contrast to the loving and serving of the previous two verses.

People who stab one another over minor theological issues might be compared to those who “bite” at one another. Those who utterly destroy others over their theological variances could be compared to those who “devour” one another. The word translated as “bite” gives the idea of serious harm; that of “devour” gives the idea of complete ruination, where even no remains are left behind.

To avoid these harmful battles among the brethren, Paul admonishes them to “beware lest you be consumed by one another!” Just as wild animals bite and devour, they continue to do so until there is nothing left. At this point, they move on to find their next prey. If the Galatians cannot serve in love, they will inevitably come to a point where they are completely devoured. The congregation will be destroyed, and the joy of Christ will no longer be proclaimed.

All of this starts with the first bite. A little theological quibbling over disputable matters generally explodes into complete ruin because pride steps in and refuses to relent. And how common this has become, especially on social media where people don’t even have to face one another. It has become the standard of many to simply shoot out arrogant and harmful words in order to show how theologically adept they are. And this usually occurs by those who actually know very little and who argue over matters they haven’t fully thought through.

Life application: What value is there in tearing apart another person who has devoted their time to carefully analyzing and then preparing a commentary on a passage of Scripture? If you disagree on a point of doctrine, is it truly necessary to attack them over it? Instead, a simple comment about your own position should suffice to show what you believe.

Lord God, how easy it is to attack another Christian over a point of doctrine that we may disagree on. And yet, are we sure that we can defend our own position when we disagree? If not, then what purpose does it serve to attack and bite those we may simply have a misunderstanding with? Help us to be settled in our own doctrine first. Then we can defend what we believe in love rather than attacking in pride. Amen.

Thursday, 26 May 2016

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment is, He responded –

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27

Paul’s words now echo that sentiment, but deal with the issue at hand, which is relations with one’s neighbor. Therefore, he cites that part as pertinent to the situation which the Galatians were facing. If one is to serve in love, then everything else will fall into its proper place. We do not serve the law; it is fulfilled in Christ. We serve, rather, one another in love. This is what is given to bind us together and to keep us from the very thing which had been forced upon them by the Judaizers. These false teachers wanted to control, not serve. They wanted deeds of the flesh, not love of the heart. These things are contrary to what is expected of saved believers in Christ.

Paul expands on the thought of this verse in Romans 13:8-10. There, he goes from the general proposition of this verse to the accomplishment of the action –

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Life application: If one is not acting in love, then it is not of God. Anyone can make an offering to a church, but unless there is love behind the offering, it is a vain and self-serving gift. The same holds true with any action between us and God and us and our fellow man. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

Lord God, help our hearts to be open and responsive to the needs of others. Grant us the ability to love the unlovable, and also to devote ourselves to helping others in prayer, gifts of our energy, and in tears shed with them in their times of trouble. Help our efforts to not be simply self-serving, but to be without any strings attached. Surely, if love is behind our actions, You will be pleased with this. And so help us in this, to Your glory. Amen.

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13

The word “For” is given as a justification for the immensely strong words of the previous verse. He had said that those who were into cutting the flesh should go ahead and emasculate themselves. “For” now explains that harshness. Unlike those Judaizers who stood against the gospel, Paul is speaking to the Galatians as “brethren.” They were saved by Christ and stood in a completely different relation to Him than those false teachers. As they are his brothers, they “have been called to liberty.”

The circumcising of the flesh is identification with the people of Israel and, more especially, a willingness to adhere to the rites and customs of that people who were bound to the law. In the coming of Christ, that law was now fulfilled, but those of Israel who had rejected Him spent their time not honoring God through Christ, but by boasting in the flesh. Paul has noted that this is bondage. The Galatians however were free from this bondage and set at liberty by Christ. They were no longer under the power of sin, but are freedmen in Christ.

Because of this position they hold, he next admonishes them by saying, “…only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh.” What is very easy to do when one has no law to guide them is to fall into the lowest levels of depravity. This was seen with the Corinthians. For example the man referenced in 1 Corinthians 5 had fallen into sexual immorality which was “such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles.” Paul warns them of this. Freedom in Christ is not license to sin. Rather, he gives them a contrast to hold to by saying, “…but through love serve one another.”

The word “serve” carries stress in this clause. As freedmen, they were not to serve the flesh, but rather they were to take on another form of servitude; they were to “serve one another.” Paul will explain the basis for this in his words to come, but for now we must consider the contrast which has been presented. Christians are freed from the constraints of the law, but they are, in essence, obligated to the service of one another. They are freed from sin’s penalty, but they are obligated to freedom’s standards and expectations. This may sound contradictory, but he clearly shows that with Christ’s freedom come such expectations and responsibilities.

Life application: In Christ, we are given great freedoms, but with this also come great responsibilities. If we are to be faithful to this calling, we should continually talk to the Lord, asking for His guidance and assistance in our walk. On our own, we are prone to wander, but by keeping close to Him and to His word, we will be in a much better position to handle the trials and temptations which are sure to come our way.

Lord God, how easy it is to wander from Your straight path. Our hearts are geared towards taking every crooked road we set our eyes upon. Surely this is why Your word asks us to “Fix our eyes on Jesus.” Help us in this Lord. Set Him as the desire of our hearts, the lamp for the stepping of our feet, and the constant stream of thought which flows through our minds. Keep us from our natural tendencies, and help us to follow the higher, spiritual ones that You instill in us. And we’ll be sure to praise You as we go! Amen.

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! Galatians 5:12

The words of Paul here are as strong and direct as any which he writes anywhere else. They are also overflowing with irony. The words, “I could wish that those who trouble you” are written about the Judaizers who he has been speaking about all along. They are those who have insisted that the Galatians insert deeds of the law into their theology. As the benchmark for this corrupt teaching, Paul has used the rite of circumcision. It is the physically identifying factor of those who were under the law. Without it, then that person wasn’t even considered as Israel, much less an obedient Israelite.

The word “trouble” (Greek: anastatoó) is an especially strong word which comes from a root meaning “driven from one’s home.” They were turning the Galatians doctrine upside down and driving them from the sure foundation of Christ. For this, Paul says that he wishes they would “even cut themselves off.” The word is apokoptó and is found just six times in the New Testament. All six involve the actual cutting away of something, including body parts.

His reference here turns on the idea of the circumcision of which he has been speaking. In essence, he is saying that they shouldn’t just stop at their foreskin, but that they should go ahead and emasculate themselves. The intent here is to show the utterly ludicrous nature of being circumcised in order to please God over and above what Christ had already done. “Gee, if you can make God happy by being circumcised, then keep on cutting. Maybe he will be more pleased with additional mutilation of the flesh.” It is both ironic and sarcastic.

Versions such as the KJV, which apply this to the person as a whole, entirely miss what Paul is saying. They use “cut off” in the sense of the false teachers being “cut off from the Galatians.” This is not the intent of the passage at all. Other scholars see the intent as “being cut off from God.” Again, this is incorrect. Paul’s words hinge on the surrounding context, all of which is dealing with the rite of circumcision. A similar thought is found in his words of Philippians 3:2 –

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!”

In that verse, he uses a term for “mutilation” which refers to the false circumcision of such depraved people.

Life application: Circumcision is of the heart. It doesn’t matter how much of your body you cut away, only reliance on Christ can bring us to a right standing with God. Put away your reliance on deeds of the flesh! Be reconciled to God through the work of Christ alone.

I have a victory in Jesus which is complete! I have a hope of eternal life so sweet. Every deed of the law, for me Christ did meet. And the work of the devil, Christ did defeat. Thank You, O God, for what my Lord did for me! There is no fear here. Nothing can ever separate me from Your goodness because I am in Christ – forgiven and free. Hallelujah to Christ my Lord! Amen.

Monday, 23 May 2016

And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. Galatians 5:11

There is an emphasis here intended to bring in a stark contrast to the false teachers with the words “And I.” This is immediately followed up with “brethren.” He is speaking to them as saved believers and those that he was in fellowship with. His contrast is to show them that he has their best interests in mind. If this is so, then those he is contrasting himself with do not. He is their brother in right doctrine; they are their enemy in false doctrine.

His next words, “…if I still preach circumcision,” are taken by some that he once proclaimed that circumcision was a necessary part of the faith and that he had now changed his position on this matter. This is unlikely for several reasons. First, the book of Acts shows no such change in position. Secondly, he was instructed by Christ on his doctrine and Christ does not change. Third, though he circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3), it was for a special reason and not out of compulsion or as a necessary doctrine. There is no reason at all to assume that Paul ever proclaimed the necessity of circumcision in regards to salvation.

Rather, those who saw that he had circumcised Timothy may have thought he was setting a precedent for all others he preached to. Or, they may have seen that he lived as an observant Jew in order to win those under the law (1 Corinthians 9:20). It may also be that his early teachings before becoming a Christian concerning the law were being recalled by those who knew him then. Or, it might be that the false teachers may have simply maligned Paul by stating he once proclaimed circumcision, but now did not. Whatever is the case, the record supports Paul’s doctrine of salvation by grace through faith – apart from circumcision – during all of his time as a believer in Christ.

In support of this, he asks “…if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution?” Vincent’s Word Studies notes that the first use of the word “still” refers to the time before his conversion. He then notes that the second “still” which is given “is not temporal but logical.” One thing logically follows after another, but in this case the logic was skewed. Where could the Jews and the false teachers find fault in him and persecute him if he were teaching that circumcision (and thus adherence to the Law of Moses) was necessary? The answer is that they couldn’t. But they did, thus confirming his stand against such things. As Charles Ellicott states, “The two things are alternatives. If one is taught there is no need for the other.”

And this is exactly what his final point is. “If I were not being persecuted, ‘Then the offence of the cross has ceased.'” His gospel presentation was that only the merits of the work of Christ, culminating in the cross of Calvary, were sufficient to save a person’s soul. This was an offense to those who held that adherence to the Law of Moses was necessary. They were depending on their own works, under the law, to establish their righteousness before God. But the gospel says that God has rejected that approach. To the Jews, and to those who feel that their deeds can please God more than the cross, this is the highest of offenses. It takes away their feelings of pride, and it takes away their ability to boast before God.

For Paul to change his mind about the all-sufficient nature of the work of Christ, and to claim that adherence to the law was necessary, would then take away any need to persecute him. But his persecution in this regard continued. Thus, it proved that he was being misrepresented concerning circumcision. Rather, he held completely and solely to the merits of Christ as a means of being justified before God.

Life application: The law is fulfilled in Christ. The law is nailed to the cross of Christ. The law is annulled through the work of Christ. If you can’t understand this, then you may need to take remedial English. The Bible is rather clear on these things.

Lord God, surely we are prone to stray from Your chosen path for us. We fall in to temptation and we fall into sin. How miserable we are in Your presence without the shed blood of Christ to cover our failings. But… but how great You are that through His atoning Sacrifice our faults are covered, our wanderings are corrected, and we shall stand in Your presence pure and undefiled; acceptable to You because of the work of Another. Thank You for this marvelous assurance! Amen.