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Welcome back!
Last Week’s Work
COMPARISONS
This time, my study focused on two main contrasts:
Freedom of faith in Christ with the Spirit vs. slavery to the law (vv1-6; 13-18):
I discovered that belief in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for all sin means we don’t have to depend on obedience to the law (for example, circumcision requirements) to be considered sin-free and acceptable to God. Our faith alone is enough. That faith also brings our Helper, the Holy Spirit, into the picture to enable us to understand God’s Word and do His will. Under the law, though, God requires higher behavior standards than any human can reach. Nothing we do will be enough to save ourselves from sin and death.
Listed works of the flesh vs. listed fruit of the Spirit (vv19-23):
Works are the result of human effort. Since the fall of mankind, though, works can never be good enough to please God. And fruit is part of the natural reproduction process, ultimately successful only when God chooses, irrespective of human effort. As I looked at the two lists, it occurred to me so many of the works seem to be corruptions of the fruit. Isn’t that fitting of human attempts to appropriate God’s sovereignty? Where positive, beautiful things make up the fruit of the Spirit, the works of the flesh describe warped, destructive versions of the same.
CAUSES/MOTIVATIONS
How did the Spirit work with you as you examined causes in this text? I felt Him emphasizing the connections in verse 1 (which were a little challenging in the ESV, huh?) and verses 4-6. Here’s how I worked through them:
Verse 1
Action: Christ has set us free
Connector: for (because)
Reason: freedom
Christ set you free for freedom’s sake. This relates to Paul’s argument in Galatians 4:21-31 that the Galatians inherited freedom through Abraham and Sarah.
Reason: Christ has set us free
Connector: therefore (because Christ has set us free)
Action: stand firm and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery
Remember, with therefore, the reason comes first. Paul says they should stand firm and not submit to slavery [to the law] because Christ had set them free. Paul wanted them to fully benefit from the freedom that faith in Jesus brings.
Verses 4-6
Action: You who would be justified by the law are severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (v4)
Connector: for (because)
Reason: through the Spirit, by faith, we… eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness (v5).
Those who embrace the law have fallen away from grace because mankind can’t obey the law well enough to obtain the necessary righteousness. It only comes through the Spirit and by faith in Christ.
Action: through the Spirit, by faith, we … wait for the hope of righteousness (v5)
Connector: for (because)
Reason: in Jesus, [the law (i.e., circumcision) doesn’t count]; only faith working through love counts for anything (v6). We wait for righteousness by faith through the Spirit because faith working through love is the only thing that gets us there.
CONDITIONS/METHODS
In this exercise, the Spirit drew my attention to repetition I didn’t even notice before:
- Through love in verse 6 (how the Spirit and our faith work to bring about the hope of righteousness) and verse 13 (how Paul wanted the Galatians to serve each other). In other words, the Spirit, Christian love, and faith work together for our righteousness, so we don’t need to earn it by keeping every jot and tittle of the law.
- With that in mind, Paul advises them to walk by the Spirit and avoid the works of the flesh (v16). He also says being led by the Spirit frees them from the law (v18); and if we live by the Spirit, we should keep in step with the Spirit.
Dig-In Challenges
This week, I’ll start refining my understanding of this passage:
- PRAY. Of course!
- REFINE my understanding of this text by skimming Galatians to determine which of the following types of writing appears most often there: instruction, law, letter, narrative, poetry, or prophecy. Then I’ll reread chapter 5 to see what (if any) other types are in use. I’ll note the types I find and from that determine whether the text should be interpreted literally.
- REFINE: Next, I’ll research the book’s historical context by referencing an introduction to the book of Galatians. Many bound Bibles have an intro section immediately before Galatians 1, but I’m going to use the ESV online intro to Galatians. This reference, written by Bible publishers, provides historical details like who wrote the book, to whom, and when. It often also contains a summary of the book’s content. If you’re working along with me, note any relevant or interesting facts you uncover in your review of these materials. Based on what you discover about writing type and in the introduction, should Galatians 5 be interpreted literally?
- REFINE: Last, I’ll be looking up the meaning of a few words and phrases from my focus verse using an interlinear Bible tool. I like Biblehub.com’s Greek tool for this research. To use it, follow the link above. You can scroll to the verse(s) you want to examine by clicking the blue arrow to the right of the verse citation (“Galatians 5:9”) for higher-numbered verses or the arrow to the left to view verses 1 through 8. Once you locate the verse, click the number in the Strong’s column that corresponds to the English word or phrase you’re researching. Note anything the Spirit highlights for you in the information provided.
I encourage you to use these tools and dig as much as you can this week. I pray the Spirit will bless your efforts, my friend!