COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS
LESSON NUMBER 51
Gal 5:13 "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." (Gal 5:13-15)
LIBERTY AND RESPONSIBILITY
INTRODUCTION
Because Law is vastly inferior to grace, and the Old Covenant had a lesser glory than the New Covenant. A preference for Law necessarily brings with it a host of debilitating factors. When a person chooses Law over "by grace through faith," these factors cannot be avoided. There is no form of human wisdom that can work its way through life, placing the greater value on the commandments, and the lesser upon the promises. Even when it comes to the principle of Law, there is a kind of hierarchy. God's Law, for example, is the ONLY one that is "holy," and His commandment is the ONLY one that is "holy and just and good" (Rom 7:12). This being true, all other forms of Law are likewise futile when it comes to salvation - even if they are called the "traditions of man" - religious men (Mk 7:8; Col 2:8). Jesus said that "the commandments of men" voided worship, making it vain (Matt 15:9; Mk 7:7). Paul informed Titus that "Jewish fables, and the commandments of men" "turn" people "from the truth" (Tit 1:14). Therefore, Paul does not go into every individual commandment and tradition of men, but simply singles out the Law of God and its "sign" and "seal." showing that justification and spiritual maturity cannot possibly come by this means. He clearly states that such an approach involves being "removed" from God (Gal 1:5), being "bewitched" falling "from grace" (Gal 5:4), being hindered (Gal 5:7), and buying into a "persuasion" that did not come from God (Gal 4:8). It seems to me that these are conditions that exist in the professed church around the world. A deluge of erroneous thought has battered the walls of the church, and the people at large have not been able to resist it. Unfortunately, they have adopted a form of Christianity that does not require "the whole armor of God" (Eph 6:10-18), or the expert use of the weaponry that is provided for all who are in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 10:4-5). They have stood under the wrong tree and listened to the wrong voices, and it cast them in to a dilemma from which it is most difficult to be extracted. There is no delusion stronger than religious delusion!
YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO LIBERTY
Gal 5:13 "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."
Paul now builds on his expression, "I would they were even cut off which trouble you" (Gal 5:12). He does not express any well-wishes for those who have deceived the Galatians, robbing them of the fellowship of the Lord, grace, and participation in Christ. It is the religion of the Galatians that has put them in this fearful dilemma. It is not drunkenness or some form of ,moral debauchery. They had moved their dependence from Christ to routine, and from the Holy Spirit to circumcision. Their religion gloried in the fleshy, while "true religion" mortifies it.
FOR. This is word that denoted a reality that had been ignored by the Galatians - ignored because of what they had been taught by the Judaizers. Now Paul will show how their thinking has contradicted the very nature of salvation. It has moved them to trust in something never intended to be the object of faith or confidence.
BRETHREN. Paul makes his appeal to the new creation, the new man, or the inward man. The only word God has for the flesh is, "DIE!" To give strong and comforting promises is well nigh impossible if we always address the people as they are in the flesh. This by no means excuses or condones sin, but is an appeal to "whatsoever is born of God" (1 John 5:4). There must be some evidence that such a person exists. Paul has appealed to their beginning to confirm he could speak in such a manner to them.
YE HAVE BEEN CALLED UNTO LIBERTY. Other versions read, "you were called to freedom." NASB "were called to be free," NIV "marked out to be free," BBE and "you have been given freedom." LIVING
Who does not know that being called refers to the work of God? Thus it is written, "He hath called" (Rom 9:24), "God hath called us" (1 Cor 7:15), "God, who called you" (1 Thess 2:12), "He which hath called you is holy" (1 Pet 1:16), and "Him who hath called you" (1 Pet 2:9). However, God has called us TO something - something that is intended to be possessed by faith. Some of the things to which He has called us include, "to be saints" (Rom 1:7), "unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor 1:9), "His Kingdom and glory" (1 Thess 2:12), "into His marvelous light."1 Pet 2:9), "His eternal glory" (1 Pet 5:10), and "to glory and virtue" (2 Pet 1:32). No call originating with man can be said to be to such realities. They are things to be occupied or possessed. They speak of a domain to be inhabited, and in which we are to live.
Where the call of God does not go out, it is not possible to be free in the sense of our text - and that call is always a discreet and focused call. It accounts for why those who answer the call by grace through faith are changed.
There is a widespread imagination that perceives those in Christ still being in bondage, with lives out of control, and sinful proclivities against which they are powerless. This notion is the backbone of most recovery ministries, and is the delusion that drives much of the preaching of our day. But the truth of the matter is that God, through the Gospel (2 Thess 2:14), ALWAYS calls men to liberty, and never to bondage. At the very threshold of His ministry on earth, Jesus affirmed He had been sent to "set at liberty them that are bruised" (Lk 4:18) - to break the moral and spiritual shackles that bound them. There is not a separate program for this, as some allege.
Those who are "called unto liberty" are "free from sin" (Rom 6:18), free from condemnation (Rom 8:1), the condemning Law ()Rom 7:6), and "the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2). There is no need for some other law, principle, or routine to break free from sin, the world, and the devil. The liberty into which God has called us is very real, but we must never attempt t o exploit it.
USE NOT THE LIBERTY FOR AN OCCASION TO THE FLESH. Other versions read, "an opportunity for the flesh," NKJV "to indulge the sinful nature," NIV "an opportunity for self indulgence," NRSV "give the flesh its chance," BBE and "be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness]." AMPLIFIED
In this case, "an occasion to the flesh" would be something that was not "expedient" - something that could lead people to the wrong conclusion (1 Cor 6:12). It could also be something that did not edify (1 Cor 10:23), or something in which the person thought "more highly" of himself that he ought to think (Rom 12:3). In other words "an occasion to the flesh" is something in which personal earthly interests supercede everything else.
BY LOVE SERVE ONE ANOTHER. Other versions read, "through love serve one another," NASB and "through love become slaves to one another." NRSV This is the same as "each" esteeming other "better than themselves" (Phil 2:3). This is submitting to one another, particularly in regard to the various ministries God has set in the body (Eph 5:21). The interests of others is placed above our own. In other words, liberty in Christ does not involve independence from the rest of the body of Christ. It also involves ministering to the body the various gifts that you have received. This runs so counter to the Christian mind-set of our day that scarcely can a person be found who is living in this freedom in a manner that glorifies God.
ALL THE LAW IS FULFILLED IN THIS WORD
5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
We are being exposed to spiritual reasoning, with the reasoning is driven from above, not from beneath. When the Lord said to Israel, "Come, let us reason together" (Isa 1:18), He is the One who set the agenda. This was not a process in which the people told God what they thought, then God told them what He thought. In Israel's case, God spoke to them in the context of their sin, and the appointed means of cleansing them from it. This is a solid pillar of spiritual reasoning. It must be upon the foundation of what God has said and required. Paul does that in this text.
ALL THE LAW. Other versions read, "the whole law," NASB "the entire law," NIV and "For the whole Law [concerning human relationships]." AMPLIFIED Here Paul views the Law in its entirety - a kind of conclusion, particularly from the standpoint of our relation, to men.
IS FULFILLED. Here, "fulfilled" is not synonymous with a summation. This has to do with carrying out the Law - not in a sense of obligation, but out of our love for God and His Law. This us rather speaking of the evidence of doing what the Law demanded. It is not found in adhering to Jewish ceremonies and ordinances - such as circumcision.
This is particularly vital because of the teaching of circumcision, to which the Galatians had been subjected. For them,. Circumcision had been presented as though it trumped all other human conduct. According to this teaching, if a professing Christian was circumcised, that confirmed he had been received by God.
Here "fulfilled" is used by Paul in the same sense that James said: "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" (James 2:22). Where the fruit of faith is not found, the claim to having faith is nullified. In this text, where the evidence of the righteousness of the Law is not found, the law has not been fulfilled - circumcised or not!
IN ONE WORD. Other versions read, "in a single command," NIV and "is complied with in the one precept." AMPLIFIED Again, if this precept is not lived out, it really makes no difference what else a person claims to have done. Law cannot justify a man unless the whole thing is flawlessly and consistently fulfilled, and there is not so much as a single person in Adam's lineage who has done this. Every honest person will acknowledge this is the case.
One might ask, "What if a person truly loves God, yet does not love his neighbor as he should?" The answer to this question is given by John, and reveals why Paul did not here deal with the first table of the Law, and man's responsibility to God. "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20).
THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. Note that the Law is not fulfilled in "And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." (Lev 12:3). Circumcision did not offset moral or spiritual deficiency - and it was an ordinance of God Almighty.
The apostle John also draws attention to the love of God's people, affirming that the one who falls short in this matter does not love God - circumcised or not! "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:17). And again If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20).
What is more, the false teachers had exhibited their disdain for the saints of God by teaching them erroneous views of Divine acceptance. It was not simply that they were wrong, or confused, or had not been taught correctly themselves.
A propensity toward the Law makes a person self-centered, and moves the individual to gloss what is actually said. If you have ever been caught in that snare, you know this is true. There is no preference for Divine activity: calling, justification, sanctification, cleansing, empowering, revealing, leading, etc. Having reduced the requirements of the Law, those who prefer it imagine that they done well if they fulfil the minimal requirements. Thus some rest in their religious heritage, their baptism, or their identity with, what it perceived to be, the true church.
In his letter to the brethren at Rome Paul enlarges on this matter, stating that the Law is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Rom 13:5-10). He enlarges on the fact that love "works no ill to his neighbor." "Therefore," Paul concludes, "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10). It should be apparent that under the Law, loving had more to do with what one did NOT do his neighbor, rather than what he did. The Decalogue, as stated in Exodus 20, contains the word "not" eleven times (Ex 20:4,5,7,10,13-17). Basically, the Law restrained the people, enforcing its demands with the penalty of death.
The false teachers in Galatia had NOT been truly mindful of the brethren. Paul had also been falsely charged, confirming they did not love him. They focused on circumcision because they appeared to be the one thing they could fulfill flawlessly. However, it did not compensate for all the things they did not do, nor did it awaken a love for one's neighbor within.
IF YE BITE AND DEVOUR ONE ANOTHER
5:15 "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another."
Anyone who has ever labored under the Law knows very well that there is a lot of biting and devouring under that economy. This is because a frame of mind exists that moves the pension to believe that if this or that is not committed, the person remains in good standing. However, in our time the professed church has stooped even lower than this, fabricating dogmas that explain sin away, and presenting a God who is not at all impacted negatively by human transgression.
BUT, Other versions read, "if you keep on," NIV "If, however," NRSV "however," NET and "if instead." LIVING The emphasis here is a contrast with having a genuine love for one another. It refers to an environment in which tumult, disagreement, and carnal assumptions were being made.
BITE AND DEVOUR ONE ANOTHER. Other versions read, "snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces," CJB "criticize and attack each other," GWN "are always critical and catty," LIVING "hurting each other and tearing each other apart," IE "perpetually snarling and snapping at one another," WEYMOUTH and "[in partisan strife]." AMPLIFIED
This is the sort of thing that results from division - "another Jesus," "another gospel," and "another spirit" (2 Cor 11:4). Think of what division produced within the church at Corinth. They were not mindful of brethren with a weaker conscience (1 Cor 8:7-12). They sued one another at the law (1 Cor 6:1-8). Some contended there was no resurrection from the dead (1 Cor 15:12-13). Some even questioned that Paul was an apostle (1 Cor 9:1-11).
By stating the people were biting and devouring one another, Paul was unveiling the nature of their religion. Whereas the purpose of the body of Christ is to edify one another, building each other up in the faith, the Galatians had bought into a system that sanctioned them taking from each other, causing spiritual weakness.
This was the same thing James addressed in his epistle. "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work" (James 3:14-16). The people to whom James wrote professed faith, but in their works they denied the Lord (Tit 1:16).
The condition at Galatia is described as one in which they were "desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another" (Gal 5:26). It was a sign of carnality, and not walking in the Spirit (1 Cor 3:3). Again, in Corinth Paul uncovered their condition as one there were "debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults" (2 Cor 12:20). Elsewhere Paul states that this approach to religion is utterly fruitless. He wrote to Timothy, "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes" (2 Tim 2:23). "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain" (Titus 3:9).
This is exactly what takes place when men have a preference for Law - when they emphasize controlling instead of obtaining, refraining instead of apprehending, and when commandments are seen as more productive than promises.
This is not to say that men ought to be lenient toward sin, and it should not be necessary to even make such a statement. It rather informs us that what we ARE is the most critical matter, for that controls what we do. A person who remains enslaved to sin has a far more serious problem that doing the wrong thing.
TAKE HEED. To "take heed" is to beware," NKJV "take care," NASB and "watch out." NIV Paul is dealing with a situation that will, if not arrested, conclude in the next statement.
THAT YE BE NOT CONSUMED OF ONE ANOTHER. Other versions read, "be destroyed by each other," NIV "be eaten up by one another." NJB Speaking of a person of tender conscience, who was not yet informed concerning the scope of salvation, Paul wrote, "Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died" (Rom 14:15). That is, one brother knows that all meats are sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim 4:3-4), and is not unclean of itself (Rom 14:14). The person of weaker conscience may not know this, and therefore when he sees one of the brethren eating meat offered to idols, concludes they are actually worshiping that God (1 Cor 8:9-13).
This is another reason why "the servant of God must not strive," unnecessarily producing an environment of contention (2 Tim 2:24). Let it be clear that the text is not speaking about hardened sinners, and those who make no profession of faith, but instead wallow in transgression like a pig in the mire. This text relates to people who are serious about their religion, yet may be wrong.
Let me again emphasize that pursuing righteousness by means of the Law produced the situation at Galatia - and they were deceived into accepting that message. I am persuaded that many more people are on this road that at first appears. That is all the more reason why a pure Gospel must be preached that puts the accent on Jesus Christ, and speaks of thorough justification from all things, from which the Law of Moses could not free us (Acts 13:39).