Galatians 5:16-26
I. Galatians 5:16-18
a. V. 16
i. Beginning in v. 16 Paul explains what he meant in vv. 13-15
ii. There is an inward shift so that God’s will is now an inward principle
1. cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-12)
iii. This is not a negative command to not fulfill the desires of the flesh, but rather is a conditional statement. This is in keeping with the Spirit as opposed to the flesh concept at work.
iv. Walk by the Spirit
1. Contrast with Exodus 16:4; Leviticus 18:4; Jeremiah 44:23; Ezekiel 5:6-7
v. Sin remains present in the Christians life, but it need not reign
b. V. 17
i. Paul bases much of Romans 7-8 on this verse
ii. Speaking of circumcision, Philo says that it is the “excision of pleasure and passions.”
c. V. 18
i. Cf. II Corinthians 3:17-18; Romans 6:14; 8:14-15, 21
II. Galatians 5:19-21
a. V. 19
i. Ethical behavior is on some level obvious- cf. Romans 2:14-16
ii. The list is arranged so as to include not only those things found in the pagan temples (first five and last two), but also those present in their own community of faith (those in the middle)
iii. “Sexual immorality” (Porneia) usually means to traffic with pornai, or harlots, but can also have a broader meaning the misuse of sexual relations.
1. Cf. I Thessalonians 4:3; I Corinthians 6:18
iv. “Impurity”
v. “Sensuality”
1. “It is the act of a character which has lost that which ought to be its greatest defense- its self-respect, and its sense of shame.” – W. Barclay
2. “In nothing did early Christianity so thoroughly revolutionize the ethical standards of the pagan world as in regard to sexual relationships.” – G. S. Duncan
a. Their world was not much different than our own
b. V. 20
i. “Idolatry”- not just graven images or other gods, but anything that takes God’s rightful place
1. Cf. Colossians 3:5; I Corinthians 10:14
ii. “Sorcery” (Pharmakeia)- the use of drugs in black magic
1. . Cf. Exodus 7:11 where the sorcerers in Pharaoh’s court are referred to as pharmakoi
iii. The list that starts here begins with feelings (hostilities), moves to actions (quarrels), and then to results (factions)
iv. “Enmity” (Echthrai)- enmities, hostilities. Jesus told his disciples to love their echthroi (cf. Mt. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35).
1. “If your echthros is hungry, give him bread to eat.” Paul quoting Proverbs 25:21 in Rom. 12:20
v. “Strife”- Paul desires to keep it out of the church (I Corinthians 1:11; 3:3)
vi. “Jealousy” (Zelos)- context determine whether it is good or bad
1. Cf. Galatians 1:14; Romans 13:13; I Corinthians 3:3; II Corinthians 12:20
vii. “Fits of Anger”- Used to describe God’s action in Romans 2:8
1. Prohibited in II Corinthians 12:20; Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8
viii. “Rivalries”
1. cf. Romans 2:8; Philippians 1:17; 2:3; James 3:14; 16
ix. “Dissensions” (Dichostasiai )- the same root where we get our word “dichotomy”. Used also in Romans 16:17 where Paul warns against those who dissensions and stumbling blocks
x. “Divisions” (Aipeseis )- from the Greek word for “choose”, it gives us our word heresy.
1. Cf. II Peter 2:1 and Titus 3:10, and I Corinthians 11:19.
2. Is used to refer to groups within Judaism in Acts, Sadducees (5:17); the Pharisees (15:5; 26:5); the Nazarenes (24:5, 14; 28:22)
c. V. 21
i. “Envy”
1. “The envious are pained by their friends’ successes.” – Socrates
ii. Drinking bouts would have been a regular part of worship during the feasts for Dionysius (Bacchus)
iii. “Drunkenness”
1. In I Corinthians 5:11 and 6:10 it is closely associated with rapacity and verbal abuse.
2. In I Thessalonians 5:7 it weakens vigilance, and in Ephesians 5:18 it leads to dissipation
iv. “Orgies” (Komos)- occurs three times in NT, always in close proximity to drunkenness
1. Cf. Romans 13:13; I Peter 4:3
2. Komos, the revel, was actually made a Greek god, and his rites would have been celebrated in the vicinity of Galatia, and Asia Minor at large
III. Galatians 5:22-24
a. Fruit (singular) of the Spirit vs. Works (plural) of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit is different from the gifts of the Spirit, which may be parceled out individually to individuals
b. The first six mentioned are almost exclusive to the NT, and do not appear with any frequency in contemporary lists
c. V. 22
i. “Love” (Agape)
1. Cf. Romans 5:5; 8:25, 38f.; II Corinthians 5:14f., 18-20
2. Reflection of the nature of God and of Christ
a. cf. Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:1f.; I John 4:16
3. Agape is absent from discussions in classical Greek literature, yet it dominates the discussion of interpersonal relationships in the NT
a. Cf. Galatians 5:6, 13, 14
4. “Christian love springs to life when Christ is incarnated again in a man [or woman] who has given himself [or herself] absolutely to him.” – W. Barclay
ii. “Joy”
1. cf. Romans 5:1-5, 11; 15:13; 14:17
iii. “Peace”- perhaps similar to the Hebrew concept of shalom.
1. Cf. Philippians 4:7; Colossians 3:15
2. God of peace (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20a; II Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; I Thess. 5:23; cf. Heb. 13:20)
3. Cf. John 14:17; and also 15:9-11
iv. “Patience”- could be referred to as being “long-tempered”
1. “Patience” as a quality of God- cf. Ex. 34:6; Ps. 103:8
2. God demonstrates patience in Luke 18:7; Rom. 2:4; 9:22
3. Paul encourages patience in I Cor. 13:4; Eph. 4:2; Col. 1:11; 3:12; I Thess. 5:14
v. “Kindness”- sometimes translated as “good”
1. Cf. Psalm 34:8; 136:1; I Peter 2:3; Romans 2:4; 11:22
2. Cf. Ephesians 4:32; I Corinthians 13:4
vi. “Goodness”- could mean generous
1. See Matthew 20:15, the “good landowner” is thus generous
vii. “Faithfulness”- denotes an ethical quality in keeping with the other fruit of the Spirit
1. Cf. Luke 12:42; 16:10; 19:11-27; Matthew 25:14-30
d. V. 23
i. “Gentleness”-
1. The marriage of strength and meekness. The quality of being gentle not because of necessity, but because of one’s spirit
2. Moses was gentle, cf. Numbers 12:3
3. Jesus was meek, and instructs us to be as well- Matthew 5:5; 11:29
4. Paul instructs us to be gentle- II Corinthians 10:1; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; Titus 3:2
ii. “Self-Control”-
1. Cf. I Corinthians 7:9; 9:25; Titus 1:8
iii. “such things as these”- this is not an exhaustive list
iv. The works of the flesh disrupt community, the fruit of the spirit fosters it
v. We have no need to the law, because the fruit of the Spirit goes beyond, or transcends the law
vi. “A vine does not grow grapes by Act of Parliament; they are the fruit of the vine’s own life; so the conduct which conforms to the standard of the Kingdom is not produced by any demand, not even God’s, but it is the fruit of that divine nature which God gives as the result of what he has done in and by Christ.” – S. H. Hooke
e. V. 24
i. “Christians are described not as the objects by as the agents of this crucifixion.” – W. Barclay
IV. Galatians 5:25-26
a. V. 25
i. Cf. Romans 4:12
ii. The word for “walk” in v. 25 differs from the one in v. 16, implying a more orderly progress, similar to soldiers marching in time
iii. When the Spirit directs our course, we will be in line with other Spirit-led believers
b. V. 26
i. “challenging one another”- only time this word is used in the NT. Reference to the challenging of another to an athletic context, but here is perhaps referring to challenges to theological debates
c. “Man, and hence the Christian, too, lives his natural life ‘in flesh’. But the crucial question is whether ‘in flesh’ only denotes the stage and the possibilities for a man’s life or the determinative norm for it- whether a man’s life ‘in flesh’ is also life ‘according to the flesh’- or again, whether the sphere of the natural-earthly, which is also that of the transitory and perishable, is the world out of which a man thinks he derives his life and by means of which he thinks he maintains it. This self-delusion is not merely an error but sin, because it is a turning away from the Creator, the giver of life, and a turning toward the creation- and to do that is to trust in one’s self as being able to procure life by the use of the earthly and through one’s own strength and accomplishment.” – Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament
