Summary of Galatians 4:21-5:1

Paul says that if they really want to be under the law, they should notice what the law, the Old Testament, says. In it they can see that Abraham had two sons, one from Hagar, the slave woman, one from Sara, the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born in the normal course of nature; but the son of Sara came only by way of a divine intervention. In allegory, the women stand for two covenants -- Hagar stands for the covenant of Sinai, which enslaves. Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which corresponds in the allegory to the earthly Jerusalem, which is in slavery to the law. But there is a Jerusalem above -- for which Sara stands. It is free, and it is our mother. Hence Isaiah (54:1) exhorts the sterile woman to break forth and shout for joy, for the deserted woman has more children than the woman who has a husband.

So Christians are like Isaac, son of Sara, who was born by divine promise. But just as in Abraham's day, the son of the slave woman persecuted the son born according to the spirit, so it is the same in Paul's day. But Scripture reports the words of Sara to Abraham: (Gen 21:10) "Cast out the slave woman and her son." That son will not inherit along with the son of the free woman.

Christians, then, are not the children of the slave woman, but of the free woman, with Christ's freedom. So they should stand firm, and not put themselves under slavery again.

Summary of Galatians 5:2-12

Paul insists strongly that if a person is circumcised, Christ will do him no good. Such a one is under obligation to the whole law. One who seeks justification by the law has been severed from Christ, has left the regime of grace for that of the law. But Christians, by the Spirit, await the hope of righteousness on the basis of faith, not law. For those who are in Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters -- what does matter is faith that works through love.

The Galatians were running well -- but who blocked them to keep them from obeying the truth? Their conviction does not come from God who called them. Rather, a few Judaizers, like a little yeast, can work through the whole mass. But Paul is confident in the Lord that they will agree. Whoever is the source of the trouble, will be judged.

If some claim that Paul too preaches circumcision -- then why do they persecute him? For in that case he has left the regime of the Cross, and gone over to the regime of the law. Paul wishes that those who are disturbing the Galatians would cut themselves off.

Comments on 5:2-12

When he says if you are circumcised, Christ will do you no good, Paul of course means if it is done as a religious rite indicating obligation to keep the Mosaic law. He does not refer to it as a mere surgical procedure, so often done today.

When he adds that one who is circumcised, as a religious rite, must do the whole law -- Paul is probably after the Judaizers who may not have demanded all practices, only some of them.

But if someone is circumcised as a religious rite, he has left the regime of justification by faith, and gone to the regime in which one tries to be justified by keeping the law -- which is impossible, for the law cannot save. Paul says to such a one, "You have been severed from Christ" -- playing on the fact that Jewish circumcision did involve some severing of flesh.

Then he adds that neither being circumcised nor its lack is enough for salvation -- what is enough is faith that acts in love.

When he says, "If I still preach circumcision -- why should Judaizers oppose me?," we suspect some of them had pointed to the fact that he had Timothy circumcised, as we see in Acts 16:3. Paul did that not as a religious rite, of course, but only as a means of avoiding trouble with the Judaizers. Still, one could ask: Is Paul inconsistent here? For as we saw in Galatians 2:14, he reproached Peter for stopping his eating with gentiles -- a thing Peter had done before (we commented on that case earlier).

In the last verse of this section (verse 12), Paul uses some earthy language, when he says he wishes that those Judaizers who are disturbing the Galatians would "cut themselves off." There are several meanings on which he is playing -- cutting off flesh in circumcision, cutting self off from the Galatian community and getting out of the way, and also a jab in comparison with the priests of Cybele, well known in Galatia. They would dance about the altar, get into a frenzy, then cut themselves with their knives, and if they went to an even greater frenzy, some of them would castrate themselves. Of course Paul does not want them to do that. He is enjoying making a strong dig at them.

Summary of Galatians 5:13-25

Paul now finds he needs to warn them. Even though they are called in freedom from the law, they must not take that to mean they can do whatever their fleshy side happens to want. They should serve one another in love, for in doing that, they are actually fulfilling the whole law. Otherwise, if they bite at one another -- they might even eat one another up!

Therefore he tells them to live following the lead of the Spirit -- then they will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Flesh and Spirit have opposite desires. As a result, in weakness, people too often do not do the things they really want to do.²⁵

Those who follow the lead of the Spirit are not under the law.

If one gives rein to what the flesh wants, he will fall into many evils: sexual looseness, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, bickering, jealousies, angry outbursts, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and similar things. He has already told them, and now he repeats it -- that they who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Following the Spirit brings the opposite kinds of fruits: love, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, fidelity, mildness, chastity. There is no law to forbid these things. Those who belong to Christ, instead of letting the flesh rule them, have crucified the flesh.

So if we live by the Spirit, we should follow where the Spirit leads.

Comments on 5:13-25

Paul got himself into much trouble by preaching "You are free from the law." We can imagine the reaction of libertines: "Is that so? Let's go and live it up!" Of course Paul did not mean to give license for just anything. So he tries to answer here. First, he says this should not be an occasion for the flesh. Rather, they should follow the Spirit, or love. If they do, they will not, as a matter of fact, be breaking the moral law.

But, while that is true, it is not so easy to see every implication, every detail of what love would call for. So Paul adds two lists. If you follow the Spirit of Christ, you will produce good fruits, which he enumerates. But if you follow the flesh instead, you will do evil works, which he lists. (We notice the special touch: he speaks of works of the flesh, but fruits of the Spirit).

But there is a clear implication here of what we saw earlier, namely: As to salvation, you cannot earn it (by keeping the law) but you can "blow it," lose it, by violating the law. So there really is an obligatory law. Hence Pope John Paul II said: "Although St. Paul . . . teaches that justification is not obtained by the works of the Law . . . he does not thereby exclude the binding force of the Decalogue."²⁶

Paul tries to make the same point in a different way, by giving the two checklists. If one follows the Spirit, the Spirit never leads to any violation of the law -- rather, the opposite.

We notice that Paul says that those who do such things -- the works of the flesh -- will not inherit the kingdom of God. We spoke of this above. Children inherit because the parents are good, not because the children are good or have earned it. Yet they could earn punishment. Again, as to salvation: You cannot earn it, but you can blow it.