The Law Subjects Believers to Bondage
Believers following the Law Lives in Slavery (5:1,2)
The Law Forces Believers to follow it entirely without Considering Personal Liberty (5:3)
The Law detaches Believers from Christ while making them Fall Short of Grace (5:4)
Believers who follow the Law are unable to Obey that which is True (5:7)
The Law makes Believers Unable to Enjoy Offences of the Cross (5:11)
Accepting Christ brings Freedom from Restrictions of the Law to Liberty in Spirit
Christ sets Believers free from Slavery (5:1-4)
Christ Freedom brings Hope of Attaining Righteousness (5:5,6
Christ sets Believers free from those who make Slave (5:7-12)
The law Subjects Believers to Multiple Consequences in addition to Bondage
The law Blocks Believers from Enjoying Christ’s Goodness including Faith and Love (5:5-7)
Believers who follow the Law have Judgement ahead of their Life (5:9, 10)

Introduction

In the passage, the author, Paul, exposes freedom in Christ and shows that it is an advantaged birthright to all Christians. The text indicates that freedom is the central theological idea defining Christian’s life in their walk with God. Gal 5:1-12 does not have appealing formalities since Paul is considering Galatians as foolish people who have taken Christ’s freedom for granted. Paul persuades Galatians to choose gospel teachings alone and abandon the law since it only makes them slaves. The significance of Galatians in Paul’s life makes the textheated rhetoric where Paul compares the benefits of the law and Christ. In the modern days, the law represents theories and Christian rules which they are using to justify their service to God, such as observing church days. Christ is insignificant to such people, and they live in slavery of the law.

Context

Historical Context

Paul is the author of the text,as he claims with more evidence in the writing style. In Gal 5:2, Paul declares that these were his words “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you…” Another evidence through self-declaration is in Gal 1:1-2, “Paul, an apostle…and all the brothers and sisters with me.” The literary style, traditional and theological context, confirms Paul as the author. Galatians starts with greetings, and it is a letter in the conventional Greco-Roman approach similar to other Paul’s letters.[1]Paul was a Jewish lawyer, and the text is proof through its focus on legal advice about the consequences of circumcision according to the law. Audiencesare Galatian churches or church members and who were Paul’s spiritual children, as evident in Gal 4:19, “My dear children, for whom I am again.” The author had aclose link with the Galatians, and that is why he uses harsh words such as “You foolish Galatians!” (Gal 3:1).

At the time of writing, the Galatians were turning away from the Lord by following the law. Galatians were people who believed in God after Paul’s preaching and which was the first successful mission (Gal 4:12,3; Acts 18:1-18). Paul, at the time, intended to eliminate any other type of teaching apart from God’s gospel among Galatians(Gal 1:7, 9). However, some false teachers perhaps did not enjoy Paul’s success in turning most of the Galatians to God, started misleading the followers.[2] Following false teachers, the churches began to wave in faith while going back to previous traditions, including observation of “special days and months and seasons and years” (Gal 4:10). Paul, as a result, writes the Galatians to rebuke those who had abandoned faith in God and started to practice circumcision bringing confusion in Paul’s previous teachings (Gal 1:6). In the text under consideration, Gal 5:1-12, Paul persuades the strayed Galatians through a challenge alongside an encouragement on the source of freedom (Gal 5:1)

Literary Context

Galatians is a letter with a Greco-Roman style used in the first century. There are greetings at the begging, Gal 1:1-5 and an exhortation at the end, Gal 6:16-18. The epistle contains apologetic elements with an autograph in Gal 1:10, Liturgical formulas at the middle, Gal 3: 28, and virtues at the end, Gal 5: 19.However, Berzonobserves that Paul is deliberative through rhetoric, an approach that ancient people used to persuade others on behavior change.[3] Paul is not soft throughout his words, for example, calling the Galatians foolish. He uses an emotional and rational language that reveals the personalization of the text to the Galatians, intending to persuade and enlighten. Paul also organizes the epistle in themes, including the gospel, law, faith, and life in the Spirit.

Immediately before the text under study, Gal 5:1-12, Paul in Gal 4:8-19 is concerned that the Galatians were backsliding with “…miserable principles” (Gal 4:9). Much worry is because the wickedness came after Paul led Galatians into knowing the truth, which made his work look useless. Osborne observes that Paul wanted to cultivate his work, where he had made friends with the Galatians.[4] The relationship between Paul and the Galatians was the acceptance of Christ because that was the only way Galatians could not have persecuted the author.

Content

Law and Bondage of the Believers

Law and slavery

Paul, in verse 1 of the text, Galatians chapter 5, argues that Christ’s work brought freedom. He shows the Galatians that Christ is the way to freedom. Tarazi observes that the verse is a technical approach that Paul deliberately used to persuade Galatians to choose the gospel.[5]The verse emphasis is not on the fact that Christ set believers free, but that His action was for freedom. It means that Those who live in Christ have the freedom to choose what to do without restrictions from any human being. Tarazi brings more light into the freedom in Christ by stating that neither the law nor individual humans who can set themselves free form bondage of sins but Christ.[6] Through Christ’s death, believers get enteral life without limitation due to their former sins (Rom 6:23). This verse was a retaliation to Paul’s initial work in Galatians when they gained knowledge about Christ. He uses the text to contrast with the effects of following the law in verse 2 as a persuasive technique.

In verse 2, Paul makes a conditional clause stating that “if you let yourselves be circumcised,” to show consideration of the current state where Galatians were choosing the law. However, it shows the repercussion that “Christ will be of no value…” to such Galatians. This last part claiming that Christ will have no value takes the reader to the first verse where Paul showed that Christ brings freedom. It means that Christ does not dwell on those who follow the law, and as such, they will have no freedom. Another point is that those in the law enjoy the opposite of those in Christ, which is bondage in sins and God’s wrath r eternal suffering.

The Law through Circumcision Denies Full Liberty

Verse 3 is a warning that those who follow the law will not have a choice to follow it partially but obey the whole law. The text serves as a warning of the consequences of mixing Christ and the law revealing that the law will take the entire course. Paul uses the world circumcised,which is a sign of observing the Mosaic rule to show the magnitude of the problem. Circumcision was a way of connecting the gentiles with the Jewish, Abraham and, his promises where they would be forced to follow the cultic calendar (Gal 4:10). Paul, therefore, shows that following the law would immerse Galatians into the whole set of rules, placing them in bondage. Matera argues that those who do not follow Christ do not experience grace.[7] It means that there is no single joy and freedom in the law where the affected persons suffer in sins and later experience eternal suffering. Ignorance of the impact of circumcision is what Paul is referring to as foolishness in that the Galatians areunaware that the law would not make them enjoy even partial freedom in Christ.

The Law detaches Believers from Christ

In verse 4, Paul adds yet another consequence of Galatians who chooses to add law into their belief in Christ. The verse cautions that those seeking more qualifications of their belief in Christ through the law will lose grace. Galatian Judaizers were taking advantage of Paul’s absence to lie to the Galatians that adding law to their faith would make them more righteous. Paul is in this text explaining to the Galatians that such practices do not increase righteousness but brings slavery because Christ’s grace ceases to exist. The practice of dual subscription to the law and the gospel is what Paul, in the immediate text Gal 4:9 is referring to as miserable principles because they harm followers.Soards and Darrell put it in a different way that the Galatians were not aware that combining the gospel with the lawwould make the former absent and took it as a form of denomination change.[8] Paul, in this verse, is very straight forward to show that Christ and the law are mutually exclusive concepts, and one cannot justify the other. The author assumes that grace means God’s favor in freedom from sins and promises of eternal life.[9]Those who are trying to justify themselves through the law do not depend on God’s grace leading to separation from His kingdom.

The law is a Barrier to doing the Right

Paul, in verse 7, asks Galatians a rhetorical question, “Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Gal 5:7). Through the question, Paul intended to make Galatians realize that their course changed, and that is why he starts with a comment that they “… were running a good race (Gal 5:7). His choice of rhetorical language is to impact the true virtues which the text conveys as he had wanted. The verse is on purpose to show that the law diverted Galatians from doing that which is right before God. Truth has two meanings in this case, including following God’s words and commands and Jesus (John 14:6). Paul, therefore, meant that Galatians had drifted away from doing that which is right and serving Christ. Jerome and Andrew put it that “you used to worship the Father in Spirit and truth…”[10]He showed that the Galatians had stopped believing in the unobservable Christ Jesus, who brought grace and focused on the observable law through images of Mosses. The truth, in this case, is following grace that does not have a physical symbol, and the barrier is the law with psychical justification. The verse, thus, reveals the law as a barrier to doing that which is right in Christ.

The Law is a Barrier to Enjoying General Freedom and that of the Cross

Verse 11 combines it all to show that the law makes one miss both freedom and joy of the cross, which is grace. Paul uses a syllogism “…if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted?” to expose that the law through circumcision does not end suffering or persecution. Persecution was occurring among the Galatians or Jewish who were not paying full allegiance to the law. The cross was a stumbling block to the law and hence persecution of those who worshiped Jesus.Initially, Judaizers lied to the Galatian churches that Paul supported circumcision in his teachings, but the truth was that he preached Christ with evidence in 1 Cor. 1:23.[11] The verse shows that even at instances where one gets circumcised, following the law, there will be no freedom to choosing other principles like worshiping Christ. The law forces people to avoid Christ and follow their tents leading to missed grace and slavery.

Christ brings Liberty in Spirit

Christ sets Believers Free from Slavery

Paul, in the text, does not only show limitations of the law but also benefits which Galatians can get by following Christ. In verse 1,Paul says that the liberty which Galatians enjoyed before they started waving was coming from Christ. It means that Christ is freedom, and those who believe in him becomes free. Verse 2 says that those who have waved away from Christ by following the law no longer enjoy grace. Paul, in verse 3, informed the Galatians that those who were in the Spirit, which is Christ, would have righteousness. Verse 4 is a rhetoric question asking the Galatians about those who made them drift away from the truth. Paul showed that failure to follow Christ made Galatians race a problem as he argues at the beginning that they were running well. The four verses link Christ with freedom. According to Jerome and Andrew, the benefit of Christ is to deliver grace, which no human being, including Moses and Abraham, can offer. It means that Christ makes humans free from the sins they have committed and allows them to choose their own life provided they follow the gospel.

Christ Freedom brings Hope

In verses 5 and 6, Paul contradicts the false teachers by showing that Christ is enough to justify one’s orientation to the gospel, freedom, and, righteousness. Verse 5 says that the Spirit brings faith and hope for righteousness. Spirit comes as a result of believing and accepting Christ. Matera makes it clear that those who defy leadership of the law have the Spirit leading them and giving hope.[12]In verse 6, Paul insists that the idea of circumcision does not affect faith in Christ. It means that Christ is sufficient to pass the Galatians as righteous and hence, free from sins. Osborne comments that the verse argues the Spirit through Christ Jesus “comes to us at conversion as the seal and deposit guaranteeing.”[13]Paul uses this verse to teach and, therefore, persuade Galatians to follow the teachings of the gospel. Paul, thus, shows Galatians that there is no need to use the law to justify their attachment to the gospel, but Christ is sufficient.

Christ sets Believers Free from those who make Slave

Paul, in verses 7 through 12, teaches Galatians about another benefit of following Christ without combining with the law. Verse 7 is a rhetoric question that motivates logical thinking of what made Galatian’s race start waving. In verse 8, the author confidently claims that the one who called Galatians cannot persuade them to follow the law. Verse 10 also insists that those false teachers of the law are making Galatians experience confusion, which is slavery. Another rhetoric question in verse 11,where Paul shows that the law through circumcision delivers Galatians into the hand of its makers. Lastly, in verse 12, Paul mentions the agitators calming their effectiveness in delivering believers to slavery and slave makers. Soards and Darrell argue that Paul uses the verse free from resonatingto appeal to Galatians “based on their positive experience of Christian life…” before the Judaizers.[14] The six verses show the Galatians how they had a good life before the false teacher to justify the value of Christ as a standalone justifier of righteousness. It is persuasion that shows the reality that Christ is sufficient to deliver justification, and the law makes no additional positive impact.

Law and Multiple Consequences far from slavery

The Law Distances Believers from Faith and Love

In his Persuasion mission, Paul exposes Galatians to other consequences that come as a result of following the law. Verse 7 starts by showing Galatians that they had a good race in Christ. It means that there are a series of goodness for those who follow Christ but becomes absent when one chooses the law. Paul, in verse 6, uses the historical context of circumcision and formulaic declaration to show that the law no longer matters but faith. Verse 5 is, on the other hand, more explicit by stating that the Spirit delivers faith in righteousness. It means that there is no faith and justification in the law, contrary to history, but now present in Christ. Soards and Darrell Puts it that Following Christ allows people to have faith when they love God and see the new creation.[15] The two authors show that the law is a barrier to trust since God’s creation is only observable through ideation and not physical symbols of the law. It makes believers trust lawmakers, including Moses, more that God hence misses love, which comes from faith in the unseen God.

Judgment in Following the Law

In verses 9 and 10, Paul shows the culminating impact of those who confuse the Galatians alongside the believers who accept to follow the false teachings. Paul, in verse 9, uses a proverb of the yeast to show that the false teachers contaminate Galatians. It means that such Galatians who accepts the law are evil since yeast was a symbol of evil in the Jewish traditions.[16] Concerning the evil Galatians, Paul, in verse 10, says that those who confuse the Galatians alongside the ones who turn to the law will have a penalty. The penalty he talks about is divine judgment.[17]The divine judgment appears because such people abiding in the law will not experience grace to have forgiveness of their sins through Christ Jesus. As a result, they will be slaves with no righteousness leading to eternal suffering.

Application

The general lesson from the text is that addition of other elements into the complete work and dynamics of the life of Jesus that operate through grace cuts short Christ’s benefits. During the days of Paul, Galatians were justifying themselves through circumcision. However, supplements to Christ’s grace and gospel are many and different. They include belief in a particular denomination, baptism style, speaking in tongues and, other theories in the millennial. Replacing circumcision in Gal 5:2, “if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value…,” then most people have lost the value of Christ and no longer have grace.

Today, believers have contaminated the gospel with laws, for example, on tithes, attending churches a specific number of times and days, among others. Similar to Galatians, they want to justify their belief in Christ through observable symbols. Theyare the people whom Paul is calling foolish because they have blindly followed false teachers in the name of pastors and bishops. They no longer have faith in Christ whom they do not see and hence, misses His grace. The text teaches such people that Christ alone is enough to free people from their sins and crown them with righteousness. It is a redemption text to the people who have followed millennial laws to go back to their initial Belief in Christ.

The text also applies to people who have mixed other laws with Christ and, therefore, lacked freedom. Most churches have laws which restrict people on when they should worship God, what to eat, who to interact with, and other principles. Paul argues that such people are in slavery and have refused to uphold Christ, who brings freedom. Focusing on Christ can deliver such people into finished work of liberty where Jesus offers a self-sufficient Christian life.

Bibliography

Berzon, Todd S. “‘O, Foolish Galatians’: Imagining Pauline Community in Late Antiquity.” Church History 85, no. 3 (September 2016): 435–67.

Drennan, Martin. “David Noel Freedman, The Anchor’Bible Dictionary.” Irish Theological Quarterly 62 (1997): 75-76.

Jerome and Andrew Cain. Commentary on Galatians. The Fathers of the Church, a New Translation. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2010.

Matera, Frank J. “Galatians in Perspective: Cutting a New Path through Old Territory.” Interpretation 54, no. 3 (2000): 233.

Osborne, Grant R. Galatians Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. [N.p.]: Lexham Press, 2017.

Soards, Marion L., and Darrell J. Pursiful. Galatians. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2015.

Tarazi, Paul Nadim. Galatians: A commentary. RSM Press, 1994.

[1]Martin Drennan, “David Noel Freedman, The Anchor’Bible Dictionary,” Irish Theological Quarterly 62 (1997): 75.

[2] Todd Berzon S., “O, Foolish Galatians’: Imagining Pauline Community in Late Antiquity,” Church History 85, no. 3 (September 2016): 454.

[3]Ibid., 441.

[4] Grant Osborne R., Galatians Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. [N.p.]: (Lexham Press, 2017): 96.

[5]Paul, Tarazi Nadim, Galatians: A commentary, (RSM Press, 1994): 265.

[6]Ibid.

[7] Frank Matera J., “Galatians in Perspective: Cutting a New Path through Old Territory,” Interpretation 54, no. 3 (2000): 234.

[8] Marion Soards L., and Darrell J. Pursiful. Galatians. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Macon, (Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2015): 250.

[9]Ibid.

[10] Jerome, and Andrew Cain. Commentary on Galatians. The Fathers of the Church, a New Translation, (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2010): 208.

[11] Osborne, Grant R. Galatians Verse by Verse, 102.

[12] Frank Matera J., “Galatians in Perspective: Cutting a New Path through Old Territory,” 243.

[13] Osborne, Grant R. Galatians Verse by Verse, 95.

[14] Soards, Marion L., and Darrell J. Pursiful. Galatians, 254.

[15] Soards, Marion L., and Darrell J. Pursiful. Galatians, 253.

[16] Osborne, Grant R. Galatians Verse by Verse, 112.

[17]Ibid.

Exegetical Paper, Galatians 5:1-12

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Main Idea and Outline

Outline of the Biblical Text: