COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS
LESSON NUMBER 47
Gal 5:5 “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”(Gal 5:5-6)
THE CRITICALITY OF FAITH
INTRODUCTION
The criticality of faith is seen throughout this book. Special emphasis is placed upon it, for a system of law – any law – minimizes the necessity and effectiveness of faith. Few, if any, sectarian approaches to salvation affirm that faith is not necessary. However, no deviation from the truth of the Gospel accentuates faith, showing it to be sufficient to address all facets of godly life and preparation for eternity. The Galatians had been subverted by being distracted to circumcision. Strong Scriptural arguments were no doubt introduced to buttress this delusion. Prior to the giving of the Law and the establishment of the Old Covenant, God told Abraham, “This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised . . . He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from His people; he hath broken My covenant.” (Gen 17:10,13,14). Reasoning upon this, a seemingly powerful argument can be made for those in Christ to be circumcised, seeing they are children of Abraham (Gal 3:7), and are counted as his “seed” (Gal 3:29). However, the thing that was conveniently overlooked by these Judaizers was that in Christ neither the lineage nor the sign of the covenant is in the flesh. In the covenant with Abraham, the expression “everlasting” emphasized that as long as the covenant was in the flesh, the sign of it was in force. Now, however, those who are in Christ are “not in the flesh”(Rom 8:9). Their identify with both Abraham and God does not have to do with their flesh, or blood line. Under the Old Covenant, one’s fleshly pedigree was critical. In Christ, it is absolutely inconsequential. Not a single child of God is so identified because of fleshly lineage – whether by parents or through fleshly identity with Abraham. Now Paul will confirm that faith separates us from the flesh, moving us to a higher identity than can possibly be found through Adam, a fleshly association with Abraham, Moses, or even sectarian associations.
THROUGH THE SPIRIT
Gal 5:5a “For we through the Spirit . . .” Other versions read, “by the power of the Spirit,” BBE “by the Spirit,” CSB “in our spiritual nature,” GWN “we who are led by the Spirit,” NJB “we who live by the Spirit,” NLT “in the Spirit,” TNT “by the help of the Holy Spirit,” LIVING ”[not relying on the Law but] through the [Holy] Spirit’s [help],” AMPLIFIED “the Spirit makes us,” CEV “the power of God's Spirit,” GNB and “with the Spirit.” MESSAGE
Those who lead men back under Law present spiritual life as somehow incomplete – something that requires some additional doing. For those who led the Galatians astray, that something was circumcision. For others it is the Sabbath day, a church name, a humanly devised method of accountability or a procedural template for daily life. That there is something missing in believers cannot be denied, and it is properly addressed in this remarkable text.
In this text Paul is fine-tuning the manner in which spiritual life is described. Although we are a “new creation” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:10), even that new creation is not self-dependent. The “new man” is “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:24), he is not sufficient of himself. The “new man” is a dependent creation, not an self-governing one. It is true that we are “complete in Christ” (Col 2:10), but that does not mean we have fully apprehended that for which we have been apprehended (Phil 3:12-13). Our completeness in Christ has more to do with appropriation that with a present condition. That is, there is nothing God requires of us that can be found outside of Christ.
When we speak about who we are in Christ Jesus, and what we possess, we must be as precise as possible, not leaving the impression that the work in us is finished, or that we have arrived at our appointed destination. This expression – “through the Spirit” – furnishes a vital key to the formation of proper words concerning our state in Christ Jesus.
For example, being “in the Spirit posits that “the Spirit of God” is dwelling in you (Rom 8:9). This is more than the statement of a theological position. Already Paul has reminded the Galatians, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal 4:6). That fact establishes that something remains to be done in us that cannot be accomplished independently of the Holy Spirit. Should men choose to quench or grieve the Spirit of God by relying on other things, they have placed themselves in jeopardy. “Other things” include circumcision, human ordinances, inordinate dependence upon men, the wisdom of men, routines that promise more than they can deliver, etc.
Just as with the dry bones of Ezekiel’s valley, life may appear to be orderly, like the scattered bones coming together and forming complete skeletons. Flesh, sinews, and skin may make it appear as though the people were restored. However, until the spirit of life entered into them, they were still dead, even though they had the appearance of being alive (Ezek 37:8-10). So it is with the Holy Spirit. It is His power that enables us, and His direction that leads us forth in the conquest of the flesh.
The presence of the Spirit presumes that He is doing something, for no member of the Godhead is ever depicted as being idle, asleep, or inactive. Ponder the things that are accomplished through the Holy Spirit. The mortification of the deeds of the body is owing to His empowerment and leadership (Rom 8:13-14). It is He who has washed, sanctified, and justified us experientially – that is, He is the One who has produced those conditions in us (1 Cor 6:11). The Spirit enables us to confidently say that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor 12:3). Until He does this, any purported confession is nothing more than empty words. All spiritual gifts are given and administered by Him (1 Cor 12:4-11). The upward change that is wrought in us is accomplished by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:18). We live according to the measure that we are in the Spirit (Gal 5:25). God dwells in us collectively through the Spirit (Eph 2:22). Effective prayer and supplication is “in the Spirit” (Eph 6:8). Worship is “in the Spirit” (Phil 3:3). Acceptable expressions are “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23). We “abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:13). It is the Holy Spirit who strengthens us in order that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith (Eph 3:17). A pure conscience bears witness to us in the Holy Spirit (Rom 9:1). “Righteousness, and peace, and joy” are “in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). The Holy Spirit enables us to “keep” what God has committed to us (2 Tim 1:14).
Concerning the heresy that had been swallowed by the Galatians, the circumcision of the flesh has nothing whatsoever to do with the Holy Spirit – and it never did. This is true of all humanly devised requirements, ordinances, and procedures. They are all nothing more than a valley of lifeless and scattered dry bones. Whatever may be said of circumcision, and every other kind of outward requirements invented by men, they do not require the work of the Holy Spirit. Further, if men say the Holy Spirit will empower their procedures, they have not told the truth. The Spirit carries out God’s revealed objectives, and is wholly devoted to Christ, who is governing the affairs of the Kingdom. If we are doing anything successfully that has to do with salvation, we are doing it “through the Spirit,” who is the heavenly Comforter through whom God works.
THE HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
5:5b “ . . . wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Other versions read, “eagerly wait,” NKJV “are waiting,” NASB “the righteousness for which we hope,” NIV “confidently expect our hope of attaining righteousness to be fulfilled,” CJB “await,” DARBY “wait expectantly,” NET “anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God [our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us] to hope.” AMPLIFIED
WAIT. The words “wait for” are translated from a single Greek word – avpekdeco,meqa. The lexical meaning of the word is “assiduously [perseveringly] and patiently to wait for,” THAYER “expect, (eagerly) await, look for; absolutely wait patiently,” FRIBERG “await expectantly,” UBS “to look forward eagerly, to await expectantly.” LOUW-NIDA This is a waiting that is expectant, eager, consistent, and patient. There is no doubt in it, no question, and no lack of assurance. There is an spiritual excitement in this anticipation, for it is based upon the promise of God. This is the kind of waiting that knows time will not obviate the thing for which the person is waiting. It will eventually come to pass if they do not waver in their anticipation of it.
This expression also carries the idea of an anticipated goal that has not yet been reached. Nor, indeed, can it be reached while we remain in the body and in this world. The salvation of God, then, is thorough, but it is not yet complete. There is an uncompleted work that must be finished. The saved are involved in a “good work” that has “begun,” and will be performed by the Lord “until the day of Jesus Christ,” when He shall be revealed from heaven (Phil 1:6). It is the completion of the work for which we are eagerly waiting.
THE HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. As long as we are in this world, this word of Jesus remains inj tact: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness . . .” (Matt 6:33). This is the righteousness to which Jesus referred when He declared, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt 5:6).
At this time, we have obtained righteousness in at least two ways. First, it has been imputed to is in an act referred to as being “made righteous” (Rom 5:17; Rom 4:22-23). Second, this righteousness is actually the trait of the new man, which is “created in righteousness” (Eph 4:24). This is a very real “new man” who has very real righteousness. The complicating factor is that we also have an unrighteous component in our persons, and it “cannot inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50). We are being “made the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21), a process that has not yet been completed. Nor, indeed, will it be until our bodies are redeemed in the resurrection of the dead (Rom 8:23; Eph 1:14).
The righteousness for which we eagerly wait is described as “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:27). The purpose of God choosing us in Christ is that we might ultimately be “without blame before Him” (Eph 1:4). That begins now with an “inner man” that is “strengthened with might by His Spirit” (Eph 3:16), and an inward man that “is renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16). However, because of the mitigating presence of an “outward man” that is perishing (2 Cor 4:16), the godly confess that they find in themselves “another law . . . warring against the law” of their minds.” It is like they are tied to a rotting body that is still in the death throes, thrashing about to stay alive. As long as they are in this condition they truthfully confess, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:12).
It is at this point that the deceived teachers among the Galatians presented their seditious doctrine. They offered improvement in status by means of circumcision. To the Colossians, such teachers were offering betterment by means of “meat . . . in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Col 2:16). They offered improvement “through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col 2:8). By so doing, such men move people away from God, away from Christ, and away from grace – notwithstanding all of their pretentious claims. “The hope of righteousness” stands for all forms of improvement, accenting the eternal, and including advancement and growth while we remain in this present evil world.
BY FAITH. Circumcision does not provoke the saints to eagerly anticipate the hope of righteousness. Neither does the observance of feasts, days, or months. A multi-step program cannot do it, nor can the adoption of a special creed. It is only “by faith” that men can eagerly and expectantly patiently wait for the hope of righteousness. Men cannot offer a means of becoming better, or having a stronger longing to be better. It simply is not possible, and that is by Divine design. The point is that any improvement, whether by growth now, or by final change then, can only be realized by faith. There is absolutely no sense in which spiritual betterment can be realized independently of faith – and Law makes no room for faith at all (Gal 3:12). If a person’s confidence of spiritual betterment is anchored to what he does, it will be dashed to the ground. In its essence, faith does not rest upon what men do, but in the One who has saved them.
FAITH WHICH WORKETH BY LOVE
5:6 "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
FOR. Other verslons read “because,” BBE “since,” NJB and “For [if we are].” AMPLIFIED The technical meaning of the word translated “for” is “a conjunction, which according to its composition, ge, and a;ra (equivalent to avr), is properly a particle of affirmation and conclusion, denoting truly therefore, verily as the case stands.” THAYER and “giving grounds for a conclusion, exhortation, or warning.” FRIBERG In other words, Paul now gives the reason WHY the saved are waiting for the hope of righteousness through faith, as opposed to seeking a more acceptable condition through works.
IN JESUS CHRIST. This is a most critical expression. Whatever benefits we seek, whether now or in the world to come, can only be appropriated “in Jesus Christ.” This is a very real circumstance, for “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor 6:17). Redemption is “in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). There is no condemnation to “them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). We are “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:2). God has put us “in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:30). God causes us to triumph “in Christ” (2 Cor 2:14). The veil of obscurity is “done away in Christ” (2 Cor 3:14). If any person is “in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor 5:17). God has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). In salvation, we are “created in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:10). The saved are addressed as those who have been “baptized into Christ” – and the point there is not HOW a person was baptized (although that is addressed elsewhere), what words accompanied his baptism, or who baptized him (Gal 3:27).
This is a status that is unknown to those who live under a system of Law. To all such people, where they ARE is not the point, and the ultimate aim is not where they are going. By saying “in Jesus Christ” Paul has lifted the whole matter or righteousness out of the arena of philosophy and humanly devised traditions. Whatever is concocted by men is excluded by the phrase “in Jesus Christ.” All flesh is debarred from the sanctified realm of Jesus Christ.
CIRCUMCISION AND UNCIRCUMCISION. Other versions read, “neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised,” CJB “whether we are circumcised or not.” GWN If, in Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal 3:28), then anything that makes a person uniquely a Jew or Gentile can give no advantage to those in Christ.
AVAILETH ANYTHING. Other versions read, “means anything,” NASB “has any value,” NIV “counts for anything,” NRSV “of no profit,” BBE “matters,” CJB “has any force,” DARBY“carries any weight,” NET “can effect anything,”NJB and “there is no benefit,” NLT “worth.” TNT
Given the fact that we are not yet perfect, and that we are waiting for the hope of righteousness, let it be clear that there is nothing – absolutely nothing – outside of Christ that can give us any advantage, or cause us to realize the slightest spiritual gain.
There is nothing in the Jewish economy that can give an advantage to someone in Christ Jesus – whether it is the Law, the Psalms, the Proverbs, or pure Jewish tradition. Any Scriptural contribution owes its advantage to the Person of Christ, who is Himself the testimony of all prophecy (Rev 19:10). The Old Covenant Scriptures have no power to produce life in themselves. It is Christ alone who gives them weight and worth. In this posture, Moses and the Prophets have a confirming ministry, not a creative one. Jesus was referring to this when He upbraided the Jewish leaders for searching the Scriptures, yet not coming to Him (John 5:39-40). They make men “wise unto salvation,” but cannot themselves bring salvation (2 Tim 3:15). Nor are they invested with “power unto salvation.” That is a prerogative that belongs to the Gospel of Christ alone (Rom 1:16).
Equally true, there is nothing in the Gentile world that can enhance spiritual life. All of the valid and effective resources are “in Jesus Christ,” and in Him alone.
FAITH WHICH WORKS BY LOVE. Other versions read, “faith working through love,” NKJV “faith expressing itself through love,” NIV “faith that worketh by charity,” DOUAY “faith that is perfected by love,” MRD “but faith which by love is mighty in operation,” TNT “is spurred on to action by love,” WILLIAMS and “faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.” AMPLIFIED
Does this refer to man’s love, or the love of God? I will affirm the latter. It is “the love of Christ” that constrains us (2 Cor 2:14). The Holy Spirit pours out the love of God into our hearts (Rom 5:5), the cognition of which fuels faith. I doubt that it can be substantiated that the love that comes from men causes their faith to work. Yet, that is what many teach. To be even more specific, it is when men see in fuller measure that Christ loved them and gave Himself for them, that their faith is strengthened, and their expressions of love become more sure. The text does not say faith “works love,” although that is technically true. It says faith “works BY love.” The whole principle of Law, however, does not accentuate the love of God. Rather, its emphasis is on DOING (Lev 18:5). Ponder the possibility of what you do causing faith to work. The absurdity of such a postulate should become apparent. In Christ, it is in the power of faith that we “do” (2 Pet 1:5-10).