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Welcome back! Where in Galatians 5 have you sensed the Spirit leading you to explore? Last week I mentioned why I felt His clear direction to dig deeper into verse 9, so this time, I was only going to discuss the setting of the passage (characters, locations, and timeframes). Except in my studies, I didn’t find any locations or timeframes in the text! That doesn’t mean the Spirit won’t show you something he didn’t reveal to me, though, so if you did find a location or timeframe, I’d love for you to share that at [email protected] or my contact page.

Last Week’s Work

WHO (CHARACTERS)

Here’s what I discovered about the main characters in this passage:

• Christ Jesus (him, the Lord): set us free (v1); accepting circumcision makes Christ of no advantage to you (v2), and it means you are severed from him (v4); in him, only faith working through love counts, circumcision doesn’t (v6); Paul has confidence in the Lord you will take no other view than the truth (v8); those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh (v24).
• Us (we ourselves, one another) [the writer and recipients of this letter]: have been set free by Christ (v1); eagerly await the hope of righteousness (v5); if we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (v25); let’s not become conceited, provoking or envying one another (v26).
• Paul  [the writer]: he says if you accept circumcision, Christ is no advantage to you (v2), he testifies if you accept circumcision, you’re obligated to keep the whole law (v3); he has confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view (v10); If he still preaches circumcision, why is he still persecuted (v11); he wishes those who unsettle you would harm themselves (v12), he says walk in the Spirit and you won’t gratify the desires of the flesh (v16); he repeats a warning to you that those who do the works of the flesh will not inherit God’s kingdom (v21).
• You (brothers, your, yourself) [recipients of the letter]: in addition to statements about you recorded in other bullets here, I noted: you were running well (v7); Paul was confident the one who troubled you would bear the penalty (v10); you were called to freedom, but don’t use it as an opportunity for the flesh (v13); the whole law is fulfilled by loving your neighbor as yourself (v14); if you bite and devour one another, watch out you’re not consumed by each other (v15); the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to each other to keep you from doing what you want to do (v17); if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (v18).
• The Spirit: in addition to statements about the Spirit recorded in the above bullets, I noticed: we wait for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit and by faith (v5); the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (v22).

Dig-In Challenges

Here’s my plan for this week:

1. PRAY the prayer I wrote last week before I study. Then I’ll…
2. MINE: Look for repeated words or phrases in this passage and check for synonyms or pronouns that refer to the same concepts.
3. MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) in the passage.
4. MINE: Note any lists (3 or more similar items) mentioned in Galatians 5.
5. As always, record what the Spirit prompts so we can use it in Steps 4 and 5.

Remember, you can download this printable summary of the DISO process for more specific instructions.

I’ll share what I discover with you next week, so I hope you’ll join me then.

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