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The Letter to the Galatians

Martin Taylor

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Galatians 5:1-12 Overview

Please don’t go back
Freedom
Versus Circumcision
Through the Spirit
Race to the Finish
Gather Close and Listen Up

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Galatians 5:1-12

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Gal 5:1-12 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

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Galatians 5:1-12

⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Gal 5:1-12 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

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Galatians 5:1-12

⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

Gal 5:1-12 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

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Galatians 5:1-12

¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹² As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Gal 5:1-12 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

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Freedom!

Because of Jesus
You are Free
No racial barrier
No gender barrier
Don’t go back to slavery

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I am not usually one to worry about the Church Calendar. But I went on a conference with Hilary last week and learnt a little about racial justice. I also learnt that today is racial justice Sunday. So it seems appropriate to speak today against the injustice of slavery in all its forms.

We have been freed by Jesus Christ Himself. His death on the cross enabled God to look on us and be pleased. As He rose again on the third day, so we are guaranteed resurrection after death, guaranteed eternal life with Jesus. So, we are no longer slaves. We are no longer subject to the ‘weak and miserable forces’ that once made our lives unpleasant. We have a well of supernatural joy springing up within us, regardless of our circumstances.

Do we live lives that embrace freedom to the full? Sometimes we need permission to live in Freedom. Sometimes we need to be prompted to live in Freedom. Where are you standing today in regard to your Freedom in Christ?

Slavery is always bad. Slavery is always linked to repression, violence, hatred, wounding, depravity. Slavery ingrains attitudes and habits that can be passed on down the generations. But Christians need to understand that Christ has freed them from all of this. Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is essential that we understand this. Once you have given your life to Jesus, you belong to Him and to Him alone. You should not be asking Jesus to share you with old habits; with attitudes passed on down the generations. In Christ, you are Free!

Look back at Gal 3:28. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. There is only one race – the human race. We are all descended from the eight people who were on Noah’s Ark. Whatever colour you happen to be, it came from those eight people. Your colour is something to be proud of. It is not something that makes you inferior (or superior) to someone else!

In Christ, there is neither Male nor Female. We are all descended from Adam. Even Eve. In Jesus, there is no room for bias based on gender.

If you are in Christ, stand tall. Stand up and be counted. Stand firm and make your presence known. Stand for what is right and good. It is not necessary to accept inappropriate behaviour. Never be so afraid that you let such behaviour go unchallenged.

Jewish teachers have referred to the Law as a yoke. However, they would never have described it as a yoke of slavery, so Paul here is using their own words against them by overloading the yoke concept with the slavery concept.

Do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery – in any form! Don’t go back to where you once came from – whether that was 200 years history of oppression or a more recent situation. If you need someone to stand with you, then ask someone here. You don’t have to stand alone.

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Versus Circumcision

Timothy (Acts 16:1-3)
Neither C nor un-C has value

Galatian 5:6

A Gentile being circumcised

De-values Jesus
Must do full Law observance
Is alienated from Jesus
Has fallen from grace

Having looked at the wider issue, let us focus in for a moment on one of the specifics that Paul is concerned about.

Circumcision is the removal of a small piece of skin. Since the times of Abraham and Moses (who lived 400 years apart remember), circumcision has been associated particularly with being Jewish, though it is practised by other groups and separately, for medical reasons. Why was it such a big deal?

It was a big deal because it was linked to Jewish identity. Some early Jewish Christians – fearing persecution from their fellow countrymen, wanted Gentile Christians to be circumcised – so that there would be less persecution handed out. Others would have had religious reasons. After all, it was and is a key Jewish practice. Paul himself would have been circumcised when he was 8 days old. Otherwise, he would never have been allowed to study as a pharisee.

It is not circumcision as a physical event to which Paul objects. In Acts 16:1-3, he has Timothy circumcised (Timothy was a Jew by birth because of his mother. So being circumcised is merely clarifying Timothy’s already-Jewish identity. It is not a requirement for salvation as a Christian). In Gal 5:6 Paul says clearly that neither circumcision nor un-circumcision has any value. Paul’s concern all along is the spiritual implications. If you get circumcised, he says, you are required to do the whole of the Torah.

Nonetheless, the implications of circumcision for Gentile Christians from Galatia are huge. The Greek says that Christ profits them nothing. Paul effectively accuses them of de-valuing Jesus. If you get circumcised, Jesus can give them no benefit, no advantage. They are on their own. Their solitary status is rammed home as Paul makes clear that after circumcision, they must start to obey the entire Law, but in their own strength. No longer can they appeal to Jesus for strength to overcome temptation, or fall on His mercy when they inevitably fail. They have spat in His face like his executioners.

Trying to be justified through the Law, spurning the grace that He has bought at such great cost to Himself, has immediate negative effects. You cut yourself off from, sever yourself from Jesus. You are separated, alienated from Christ. You make yourself unwelcome by your acts.

You have fallen away from grace. Pursuing salvation through ‘doing’ the Law, trying to find righteousness through one’s own effort moves one away from the very salvation that is sought.

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Through the Spirit

You (Y’all) -> We
Enabling faith
Enabling righteousness
Delivering hope
Faith expressed through love

In verses 1-4, Paul mainly uses the second person plural – you have fallen from grace – in what comes across as a more formal, less personal address.

Now in v5, Paul switches to the first person plural and gains an immediate upswing in warmth, in expression of character and care. He applies the personal touch to make his arguments carry more persuasive weight. We eagerly await … This rhetorical device is used by Paul to invite the Galatians to own for themselves the truths he is stating.

He also brings together key emphases of the letter: righteousness, faith and the Spirit. In the earlier part of the letter, in chapter 3:2 and following, Paul emphasizes the experience of the Spirit. Now he signals a shift to focus on the work of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to have faith. It is Holy Spirit that enables us to be righteous in Christ. The Spirit is the means by which that righteousness is attained and maintained.

It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to await eagerly that for which we hope. At the end of the day, circumcision does not matter. What matters is faith. What matters is that such faith is expressed through love. The only thing that matters is faith expressed through love. Love is the expression, the outworking of the faith bestowed by the Spirit.

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Race to the Finish

Picture a foot race
Cut in
‘Persuaded to obey’ v 7, 8, 10
They will be penalised

Whilst not all of us are keen on exercise, most of us recognise the parallel Paul is drawing here. He is painting a picture of a foot race, perhaps a five or ten mile or even a marathon. Well done, Paul is saying. You were doing well. You were motoring. You were getting somewhere. Then there seems to be an unspoken question. What happened? Something went wrong, what was it? He makes it clearer by asking ‘Who cut in on you?’ Paul doesn’t mean ‘who overtook you? Who passed you?’ The implication is that the ‘cutting in’ ruined their previous good running. Again, you don’t need to be a long distance runner to understand the metaphor. Who got in your way? Who tripped you up? Who made you fall in a heap on the ground.

Paul never dignifies his opponents by naming them or describing them in detail. He alludes to them every now and then. Even here there is no real clue given about them – other than they get in the way, are obstructive, prevent folk from obeying the truth. The Greek translated to ‘obey’ carries overtones of obeying due to persuasion. In verse 8, the word translated ‘persuasion’ comes from the same root. So does the word translated ‘confident’ in verse 10. It is hard to translate all 3 consistently using a single English root word. One could make an attempt with ‘persuading you not to follow the truth’, ‘such persuasion is not from God’, and ‘I am persuaded about you that …’ though that approach misses some of the other nuances.

You wouldn’t get that trouble from Jesus says Paul. The One who called you does not work like that. Then he introduces a yeast-metaphor quoting a folk saying (which is also quoted in 1 Cor 5:6). For first century Jews, yeast carried negative overtones. Yeast is worked through the whole of the dough and thus affects every part. The clear message is ‘This persuasion you are trying to obey is going to end badly for all of you.’ A penalty must be paid.

But Paul is still in conciliatory mode towards the Galatians. ‘I am sure/persuaded that you Galatians will pay attention to me.’ Then just in case they aren’t fully convinced he adds ‘They (Paul’s opponents) will pay the price’ They will answer for the trouble they have caused. Essentially, they will come to a bad end.

The phrase ‘whoever it may be’ carries an implication that prominent leaders are involved in asking Gentiles to be circumcised.

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Gather Close and Listen Up

Personal, intimate approach
I get persecuted

Not preaching circumcision

Preaching ‘scandal’ of the cross

Not ‘doing the Torah’

All the effort comes from Jesus
Agitators – get cut off!

Now Paul makes his approach even more personal calling his audience ‘brothers and sisters’, then referring to things from his own past. He is gathering his listeners close around him, making the atmosphere one of intimate sharing.

Verse 11 might seem a little odd if the context of the whole letter is ignored. Paul is responding to reports he has heard about the Galatians, which probably included attempts to reduce Paul’s own influence over the Galatians. It looks here as if Paul is picking out a specific comment from his opposition and using their words to illustrate his own point.

Paul used to be extremely zealous about the Law – he says so clearly in Gal 1:14. In his youth, he would himself have insisted that converts to Judaism must be circumcised. Now, he says I am no longer doing that. If I were still preaching circumcision in the way I once did, they wouldn’t have cause to persecute me. Then he turns the argument around. I am still being persecuted, therefore clearly, I cannot be in favour of circumcision. If I were still preaching circumcision, then the scandal, the offense of the cross would be removed.

And here we come close to Paul’s overall concern about the gospel. In 1 Cor 1:23 Paul declares that Christ crucified is a scandal, an offense to the Jews. Circumcision was being sold to the Galatians as an approach to salvation that relies on ‘doing the Torah’. Paul sees Christ’s death on the cross as bringing in a new way to salvation – through grace and faith. The cross then becomes a scandal, an offense, because it throws away the old reliance on ‘doing the Torah’, depending upon one’s own effort. It puts all the effort on Jesus.

The section ends with the use of a dramatic and ironic, perhaps even sarcastic, picture. Paul wishes that these ‘troublemakers’ or ‘agitators’ would ‘get cut off’. The text doesn’t actually say what should be cut off, though the wording carries some clear overtones, which are brought out by the use of ‘emasculate’ in the NIV.

Such a slip of the knife would, under the Torah, make them subject to Deut 23. Someone damaged in this way would be banned from entering the assembly of the Lord.

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Galatians 5:1-12 Overview

Please don’t go back
Freedom
Versus Circumcision
Through the Spirit
Race to the Finish
Gather Close and Listen Up