Circumcision now voidance of Christ 1 Stand fast, and be not held again under the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man circumcising himself, that he is a debtor to the whole law. 4 You are made void of Christ, you who are justified in the law: you are fallen from grace. 5 For we in spirit, by faith, wait for the hope of justice. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision: but faith that works by charity.
Judgment on seducers 7 You ran well, who has hindered you, that you should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him that calls you. 9 A little leaven corrupts the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord: that you will not be of another mind: but he that troubles you, shall bear the judgment, whosoever he be. 11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the scandal of the cross made void. 12 I would rather they were even cut off, who trouble you.
How Christians should live 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty: only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. (Lev 19:18) 15 But if you bite and devour one another; take heed you be not consumed one of another.
Works of the flesh and spirit compared 16 I say then, walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. 18 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, 20 Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, 21 Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, 23 Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's, have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be made desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying on another.
Commentary on Galatians 5
5:2 However, according to Augustine, the apostles did in very truth observe the works of the Law and had the intention of observing them; because, according to the teaching of the apostles, it was lawful at that time, before grace had become widespread, for converts from Judaism to observe them. Therefore, because Timothy was born of a Jewish mother, the Apostle circumcised him with the intention of observing the Law. But because the Galatians were putting their hope in the legal observances after the spreading of grace, as though without them grace was not sufficient to save them, and they observed them in that frame of mind, for that reason the Apostle declared to them that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
5:3 He who is circumcised thereby proclaims his allegiance to the Jewish Church, its laws and its obligations, just as one who is baptized does with regard to the Christian Church. (Cornelius a Lapide) Thus a man might cut away his foreskin for health's sake, not with the intention of observing legal circumcision. (St. Thomas Aquinas Sum Theo 1.103.4.r1)
5:4 fall from grace: Vatablus interprets the term to mean that Christ had become of no effect, His labour had been thrown away, His Passion made fruitless by the withdrawal of His grace. The very name of Christian was no longer due to them, and should be dropped; or if they wished to retain it, they must say farewell to the law. (Cornelius a Lapide)
5:6 faith that works by love: Here he gives them a hard blow, by showing that this error had crept in because the love of Christ had not been rooted within them. For to believe is not all that is required, but also to abide in love. It is as if he had said, Had you loved Christ as you ought, you would not have deserted to bondage, nor abandoned Him who redeemed you, nor treated with contumely Him who gave you freedom. (St. John Chrysostom)
5:9 Paul says this because the slightest addition to the law of faith corrupts that faith and makes it fruitless and unacceptable. (Ambrosiaster)
5:10 he that troubles you: This may refer to some particular leader among the false teachers, or to the false teachers in general. (Bishop John McEvilly)
5:11 scandal of the cross: The preaching of the cross was a scandal to the Jews because it nullified the Sabbath and circumcision. (Ambroisaster)
5:12 cut off: The Apostle wishes them to be cut off altogether from the Church. (Bishop John McEvilly) However, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Jerome, Augustine, and others |
understand it of the total deprivation of the organ to which circumcision is applied. (Cornelius a Lapide)
5:13 That is, do not suppose that you are entitled to sin on account of your freedom. (St. Bruno)
5:14 The love of our neighbor, although differing in object from the love of God, is still the same virtue with it, because both branches of the virtue have the same motive. (Bishop John McEvilly)
5:16 walk in the spirit: make progress in the Holy Spirit, by acting well. For the Holy Spirit moves and incites hearts to do well. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
5:18 if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law: This can be referred either to the ceremonial or to the moral precepts of the Law. If it is referred to the ceremonial precepts, then it is one thing to observe the Law and another to be under the Law. For to observe the Law is to carry out the works of the Law without putting any hope in them; but to be under the Law is to put one’s hope in the works of the Law... But if it is referred to the moral precepts, then to be under the Law can be taken in two ways: either as to its obliging force, and then all the faithful are under the Law, because it was given to all—hence it is said: I have not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it” (Mt 5:17)—or as to its compelling forces, and then the just are not under the Law, because the movements and breathings of the Holy Spirit in them are their inspiration; for charity inclines to the very things that the Law prescribes. Therefore, because the just have an inward law, they willingly do what the Law commands and are not constrained by it. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
5:21 shall not obtain the kingdom of heaven: Now nothing, except mortal sin, excludes man from the kingdom of God. (St. Thomas Aquinas Sum Theo 2.37.1) Paul did not say ‘they who did such things,’ but ‘those who do such things.’ In other words, those who continue in such activities until the day of their death will not possess eternal life. (Haimo of Auxerre)
5:22-23 These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we also implore today for all Christians, so that in the common and generous service to the Gospel, they may be a sign of God's love for humanity in the world. (Pope Benedict XVI Greeting to His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II)
5:23 such there is no law: Why is the law not necessary for them, not against them? The Law says, ’Do not commit adultery', 'do not kill'. Yet these people not only refrain from committing these things, but also observe chastity. They do not simply refrain from murder, but they even love their enemies. (Haimo of Auxerre) |
Catechism Cross-Reference
5 1454; 5:1 1741, 1748; 5:3 578; 5:6 162, 1814; 5:16-25 2744, 2819; 5:16 2515; 5:17 2515; 5:19-21 1470, 1852; 5:20 2113; 5:22-23 736, 1832; 5:22 1108, 1695, 2345; 5:24 2515, 2543, 2555; 5:25 736, 782, 1695, 2516, 2842, 2848
|