what does galatians 5:15 mean

He was not converted first, and then gradually led into that highest degree, but called at once to be an apostle as well as saint in a way that belonged to no one but himself. The Greek says only "brothers," but it is not wrong to assume "sisters" in the same way that mankind includes womankind. "But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me; but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter," etc. "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" Then comes the seed, and the promise is made Yea and Amen in Him all the promises of God. Take heed that ye be not consumed - As wild beasts contend sometimes until both are slain. He specifies the works of the flesh, which must be watched against and mortified, and the fruits of the Spirit, which must be brought forth and cherished, and shows of what importance it is that they be so, ver 19-24. We are free, but our freedom loves its neighbour as itself. If Christ's, they were Abraham's seed already, "and heirs according to the promise;" for Christ, he had shown before, was the one true Seed; and if we are Christ's, we belong to that one true Seed, and therefore are the children of Abraham without circumcision at all. So it was, then, that the apostle presents his own wonderful relation to Christ. (ii) There is the obligation to our fellow men. You couldn't believe the things the Jehovah Witnesses believe, unless you read their screwy attitudes and ideas in their books. Instead of being under a slave, with rigorous and humiliating discipline, there is now the place of a child before his Father; the Christian stands by faith of Jesus in direct relationship to God. Christ is your liberty and life. "Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are." But the moment a Gentile takes the system up, or a Jew presses it on a Gentile, it is nothing but downright heathenism. The writer ( Galatians 1:1-2a ) i. Paul, the Apostle ( Galatians 1: 1 ) ii. 5:13-15 As for you, brothers, it was for freedom that you were called, only you must not use this freedom as a bridgehead through which the worst side of human nature can invade you, but in love you must serve one another; for the whole law stands complete in one word, in the sentence, "You must love your neighbour as yourself." Aristocracy means government by the best, but best is left to be defined. What makes you righteous before God is your faith, which works in love within your heart and life.Now, it is interesting to me how that those who opt for rules, those who opt for laws, those who want to lay down the laws upon the people, or those who want to live under the laws that are laid down upon them, always seem to be striving. If a person is living by right principles, he doesn't need any laws. You do not need it, because the Holy Ghost thus working strengthens you unto love. He does not deny that others preached it; but if so, they preached the same truth. (Romans 3:1-31, Romans 10:1-21) But the act of Peter went to maintain a difference. they are in conflict with f sinful nature each other, so that you do not do what you want. Hence, you see, all exactly suits the gospel as Paul insisted on it. So "stand fast in that liberty wherein Christ has made you free." The writer ( Galatians 1:1-2a ) i. Paul, the Apostle ( Galatians 1: 1 ) ii. Had Paul gone up to present his credentials to the others, he would have lowered, obscured, and done as far as in him lay to destroy the special blessedness and peculiar glory of his apostleship. Here particularly the Christian is guarded against the inroads of legalism. You got to be circumcised." with reproachful words, biting sarcasms, scandalous invectives, Self-seeking; this word has a very illuminating history. There could be but one answer. Thus, going up with Barnabas, he took Titus, a Gentile, along with him; and even so by revelation. And this directly follows his censure of their observance of times and seasons. I wish that those who are upsetting you would get themselves not only circumcised but castrated! God did not intend man to live that way, because man living that way is alienated from God who is a Spirit. And if you do, you will not be fulfilling the desires of your flesh. It was, of course, altogether just and right in itself. Don't seek after it. Verse 15. It is not enough that we cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. Successor to Paul there is none; if so, who and where? Note, (1.) If you want to be a subject in God's kingdom, then you cannot do these things. Arabia was regarded as the land of slaves where the descendants of Hagar dwelt. He speaks of "the grace of Christ." The consequence is, that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God; and this he proves, not only from the promise, but from the prophets. He said, "You've got to be born again." What Does Galatians 5:13 Mean? According to the prince of the power of the air, among whom we all had our manner of living. We invite you to crucify our flesh every day so that we may walk in step with your Spirit. The action of biting and devouring is mutual. But when one is miserable, does not every duty, even where it may be as light as a feather, feel as if it were an iron chain on you? Now, Paul taught righteousness through faith. Thus, it is seen, the truth was established. Those who lived in Jerusalem were too prone to preserve the clothes and the cradle which had their place and use at first, but had no claim to be kept up among the Gentiles. "This persuasion, this ideas that you have, they don't really come from God, from the One who called you. The organic life of the body will be destroyed by its own members. It is interesting to note that Chara and Eirene both became very common Christian names in the Church. There is a work of God's Spirit within his heart, and he is born of the Spirit, and now again has a spirit that is alive and is conscious of God. To put a stop to coveting is to "head other sins off at the pass.". May the truth of God sink into our hearts! "Wherefore then serveth the law? The legal mischief had emanated from Jerusalem: the remedy of grace must be applied by the apostles, elders, and brethren there. That is not what Christian liberty is about. Tender and comprehensive as Christianity is, it is also the most exclusive thing that can be. It seems to have been something which affected his speech too, and exposed him to ridicule and to unfavourable comments where men were carnally-minded. To depart from this was fatal. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female;" all is Christ and only Christ. Though we ought to stand fast in our Christian liberty, yet we should not insist upon it to the breach of Christian charity; we should not use it as an occasion of strife and contention with our fellow Christians, who may be differently minded from us, but should always maintain such a temper towards each other as may dispose us by love to serve one another. "Are ye so foolish? True freedom; true Christianity (5:13-26). If your navigational instruments are one degree off, and you take your heading and you start for Hawaii, by the time you've gone that distance, you'll miss Hawaii by two hundred and forty miles.Oh, by the time you get to Santa Barbara, you won't even notice anything. Paul has in mind the issue of circumcision. Acts 15:1, 5 ). Note, 1. But if you bite -- By an improper use of the tongue. Now Paul said. "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." And we can all see how exactly the phrase falls in with the words of our Lord given in the Acts of the Apostles; for the wonderful truth burst upon the apostle's ear from the beginning, in the Saviour's call to him from heaven. Aristotle defined praotes ( G4236) as the mean between excessive anger and excessive angerlessness, the quality of the man who is always angry at the right time and never at the wrong time. The allusion is to beasts of prey falling upon and devouring one another: for wolves or dogs to worry sheep is not strange; but for sheep to distress one another is unnatural. It is a grim illustration at which a polite society raises its eyebrows, but it would be intensely real to the Galatians who knew all about the priests of Cybele. In our dealings with our fellow men we must reproduce this loving, forbearing, forgiving, patient attitude of God towards ourselves. But what about the Gentiles? And mark the difference. "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; though it be but a man's covenant, yet, if it be confirmed, no man annulleth or addeth thereto." It is liberty and not law that the Christian stands in. Man is only the receiver; and truly, as we know, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." He does not say, that the Gentiles were under that curse, but that Christ bought off us who were in this position from its curse; for in truth, whatever might be our boast, all we (the Jews) got from the law was a curse, not a blessing; and what Christ did for us was to purchase us from that awful plight in which the law could not but put us because we had transgressed. And devour one another - As wild beasts do. Is not this just the law for you! At first sight it seems most extraordinary, if the apostle referred to such a Scripture for the proof of the importance of one seed; because, if there is anything that lies on the surface of the passage, it is the multiplicity of the seed a seed expressly said to exceed all reckoning. After all their vapouring about the law, they were biting and devouring one another. But God has made you alive in Christ Jesus. "Ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." But he proves more when he says that Abraham believed God; it was plainly not a question of law. We shall find he does not forget this elsewhere: he reasons on it in another part of the epistle. Next: Galatians 5:4 Read Galatians 5: 14-17. He who bites has exhausted his angry passion, but he who devours has given a demonstration of extreme cruelty. Chrysostom. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. I. But it degenerated; came to mean the desire to have what someone else has, wrong desire for what is not for us. If, when I got on board a 747 at LAX heading for Honolulu, the captain would say, "Now, folks, we're having a little problem here with our navigation instruments. Galatians 5:1-15 focuses on what those in Christ should do with our freedom in Christ. The word is hairesis ( G139) , from which comes our word heresy. New American Standard Version This seems to have been the reason of their being twelve; and it is to me clear that our Lord establishes this as the true reference and key when He declares that, in the regeneration, the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and they shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Whereas the Holy Ghost by the apostle draws attention to the contrast of "thy seed" (as one) with the numerous seed, with earthly blessing attached to them; whilst to "thy seed " simply, without reference to stars or to sand, no more is annexed than the blessing of Gentiles. By the Spirit of God, we're waiting for that hope of righteousness through faith. So here it is said that God was pleased to reveal His Son in him, that he might preach the good news of Him among the heathen. It's faith which works by love.Now Paul said, Again, you remember he said, "You did start well. Breaking Down the Key Parts of Galatians 5:13 #1 "You, my brothers and sisters," Paul is addressing fellow Christians. There is no depreciating of any soul, but the plain statement of the positive truth, which after all is the best and the humblest way, that most of all magnifies God, and edifies His children. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 5:13-15 The gospel is a doctrine according to godliness, 1Ti 6:3, and is so far from giving the least countenance to sin, that it lays us under the strongest obligation to avoid and subdue it. It might seem entirely despising his brethren. By-and-by will be fulfilled the promised earthly blessing, and power, and glory for Israel like the sand and the stars. I would [wish that] they were even cut off which trouble you ( Galatians 5:12 ). Why this: "Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, and the other by a freewoman." So, they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh. The evil that was gaining ground among the Galatian believers legalism links the soul with the world, and indeed proves it to be evil by giving present credit to the flesh, and association with all the system that is around us now. Verse Meaning Apparently the believers who advocated grace and the believers who advocated law bitterly opposed one another in the Galatian churches. The Christian by the cross of Christ has terminated his connection with flesh, with the world, with the law. Those that walk according to this rule would be saints in general. You see, if I weren't a child of God, He would just let me go. "Because ye are sons." I have confidence in you in the Lord; I am sure that you will take no other view. It was the very reverse of deriving his authority from either. There is nothing that requires more the power of grace; for even the truth itself, if severed from grace, ceases to be the truth. They are ideas that have been planted in your mind by men. And then there's another reference also in Revelation, "but outside or the dogs and adulterers and so forth.". Don't be entangled again with rules, regulations, a yoke of bondage. If it should be asked, What course must we take that the better interest may get the better? devourthe substance by injuring, extortion, &c. (Hab 1:13; Mt 23:14; 2Co 11:20). 2. Not all sins are crimes. For the Jew leaven nearly always stood for evil influence. Then, bringing in the name of Jerusalem, the Spirit leads him to apply the prophecy of Isaiah, which shows that millennial Israel (in their turn abandoning self-righteousness, and made free by God's grace in Christ) will look back and count as their own those now brought in as Christians, and find far more children begotten by the gospel, in the time of their own desolation, than even when they flourished of old, and had ,all that earthly power and glory could give. `` it is not for us crucified the flesh slaves where the descendants of Hagar dwelt I beseech,... Need any laws do not need it, because man living what does galatians 5:15 mean way is alienated God. Made you free. remember he said, `` you did start.... But God has made you alive in Christ should do with our freedom in Christ ''... That what does galatians 5:15 mean is alienated from God, from the one who called you an one in the ;. Is also the most exclusive thing that can be for the Jew leaven always! 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