Galatians - Chapter 5

Freedom, Spirit, & Flesh

“… Christ hath made us free…” means that the salvation provided by God has been accomplished and that a complete change of the allegiance in the heart of the believer has come.

No longer bound to that which held us before, sin, the law, and death, Christians are set in the service of God and have been liberated into that service.

This freedom brings with it enormous responsibilities. Once liberated, believers are now both responsible and accountable for the use of that freedom. They now must answer to the Lord, one who is not mocked. 

On one hand, our own burdens and to a degree the burdens of others must be borne in love, and at the same time those who are now freed must account for their own conduct

Paul addresses the first part of this important chapter to a number of groups:

5:2-4 The importance of the decision facing some of the Galatians who may be considering circumcision.

5:5-6 The situation of other believers who in Christ await the completion of God’s plan and seem to find the issue of circumcision not relevant.

5:7-10a Paul’s expression of confidence in the Galatians that they will finally resist the approach of the agitators.

5:10b-12 Paul’s hope that these agitators will receive proper judgement.

NOTE:  Paul’s use of the phrase “you have fallen away from grace” (5:4) in no way advises salvation has been lost. It means that by certain actions, lax in prayer, lax in worship, being hypocritical, believers can find themselves in loss of favor by the Lord. Let us recall that in all the times the Jews turned away from God and suffered captivity, and when they actually returned to worship of idols in the wilderness, they remained His chosen people.

NOTE: In verse 11 Paul uses a very strange and new phrase, “the offence  of the cross” and he explains this phrase very well in 1 Cor 1:22-25, calling it a “stumbling block” as he teaches that to the Jew, the idea of a crucified Messiah was a contradiction in that from the days of Moses, the Jews believed their Messiah would arrive as a strong and mighty leader who would deliver Israel physically, not dying a shameful death and by that death atoning sufficiently for all the sins of all men for all time.

The cross was sufficient for all but effective for some (the saved).

For Paul, the means of this death was its power as God uses its low and shame filled method to bring salvation through the once and never again needed sacrifice and by that sacrifice opened the door to the age of grace.

As Paul concludes this chapter he returns to his theme:

5:13-15 Freedom means the loving service of neighbors.

5:16-26 The Spirit is the means and the power for the life of freedom in Christ.

Note: In verse 13 Paul finally states his clear message when he teaches us:

“… brethren, ye have been called unto liberty…”. It is important that while the gift of grace is free and not of any works of our own, we must accept that we are called unto His service as we are made free from the law or other prior constraints. Loving service to others is the proper exercise of the freedom we have from conversion onward.

In verses 22-26 we see that the fruit of the Spirit is a clear command to walk by the spirit, not by the flesh. Remember Romans 8:1, eternal security to those who are in Christ AND who walk by the spirit, not after the flesh.

The coming of the Spirit involves warfare, and humans are the battlefield on which this contest rages (5:17). These two powers (flesh & Spirit) are opposed to each other. We are not merely the stage for the battle because we are the ones being fought over. What is at stake is spiritual freedom, assured by the Spirit but challenged by the flesh. The part we play in this matter is neither neutral or passive. At times we allow ourselves to be deluded into thinking that the flesh, which is temporary and perishing, can provide something more than corruption. Paul does not hesitate to confront his readers with the command to walk by the Spirit.

The struggle Paul describes here is in line with his view that the present evil age from which Christ has delivered His people still must be reckoned with. Its rulers are doomed to pass away into eternity and therefore cannot either delay or diminish the purposes of God (Romans 8:38). Sometimes the conflict grows fierce but the final conclusion is not uncertain

(1st Cor 15:24).

It is the Holy Spirit who brings the Lord’s love which make for well being and peace as we follow His guidance.