mh_parser/vol_split/48 - Galatians/Chapter 5.xml

<div2 id="Gal.vi" n="vi" next="Gal.vii" prev="Gal.v" progress="56.68%" title="Chapter V">
<h2 id="Gal.vi-p0.1">G A L A T I A N S.</h2>
<h3 id="Gal.vi-p0.2">CHAP. V.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gal.vi-p1">In this chapter the apostle comes to make
application of his foregoing discourse. He begins it with a general
caution, or exhortation (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.1" parsed="|Gal|5|1|0|0" passage="Ga 5:1">ver.
1</scripRef>), which he afterwards enforces by several
considerations, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.2-Gal.5.12" parsed="|Gal|5|2|5|12" passage="Ga 5:2-12">ver. 2-12</scripRef>.
He then presses them to serious practical godliness, which would be
the best antidote against the snares of their false teachers;
particularly, I. That they should not strive with one another,
<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13-Gal.5.15" parsed="|Gal|5|13|5|15" passage="Ga 5:13-15">ver. 13-15</scripRef>. II. That they
would strive against sin, where he shows, 1. That there is in every
one a struggle between flesh and spirit, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.17" parsed="|Gal|5|17|0|0" passage="Ga 5:17">ver. 17</scripRef>. 2. That it is our duty and interest,
in this struggle, to side with the better part, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.16 Bible:Gal.5.18" parsed="|Gal|5|16|0|0;|Gal|5|18|0|0" passage="Ga 5:16,18">ver. 16, 18</scripRef>. 3. 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, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.19-Gal.5.24" parsed="|Gal|5|19|5|24" passage="Ga 5:19-24">ver. 19-24</scripRef>. And then concludes the
chapter with a caution against pride and envy.</p>
<scripCom id="Gal.vi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5" parsed="|Gal|5|0|0|0" passage="Ga 5" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gal.vi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.1-Gal.5.12" parsed="|Gal|5|1|5|12" passage="Ga 5:1-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.5.1-Gal.5.12">
<h4 id="Gal.vi-p1.9">Exhortation to Stedfastness; Persuasives to
Stedfastness. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.vi-p1.10">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.vi-p2">1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage.   2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.   3 For I
testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor
to do the whole law.   4 Christ is become of no effect unto
you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from
grace.   5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith.   6 For in Jesus Christ neither
circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith
which worketh by love.   7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you
that ye should not obey the truth?   8 This persuasion
<i>cometh</i> not of him that calleth you.   9 A little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump.   10 I have confidence in you
through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he
that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.  
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet
suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.  
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p3">In the former part of this chapter the
apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the judaizing
teachers, who endeavoured to bring them back under the bondage of
the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely
shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were
to the spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general
inference or application of all that discourse. Since it appeared
by what had been said that we can be justified only by faith in
Jesus Christ, and not by the righteousness of the law, and that the
law of Moses was no longer in force, nor Christians under any
obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have them to
<i>stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage.</i> Here
observe, 1. Under the gospel we are enfranchised, we are brought
into a state of liberty, wherein we are freed from the yoke of the
ceremonial law and from the curse of the moral law; so that we are
no longer tied to the observance of the one, nor tied up to the
rigour of the other, which curses every one that continues not in
all things written therein to do them, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.3.10" parsed="|Gal|3|10|0|0" passage="Ga 3:10"><i>ch.</i> iii. 10</scripRef>. 2. We owe this liberty to
Jesus Christ. It is he who <i>has made us free;</i> by his merits
he has satisfied the demands of the broken law, and by his
authority as a king he has discharged us from the obligation of
those carnal ordinances which were imposed on the Jews. And, 3. It
is therefore our duty to <i>stand fast in this liberty,</i>
constantly and faithfully to adhere to the gospel and to the
liberty of it, and not to suffer ourselves, upon any consideration,
<i>to be again entangled in the yoke of bondage,</i> nor persuaded
to return back to the law of Moses. This is the general caution or
exhortation, which in the <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13-Gal.5.26" parsed="|Gal|5|13|5|26" passage="Ga 5:13-26">following
verses</scripRef> the apostle enforces by several reasons or
arguments. As,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p4">I. That their submitting to circumcision,
and depending on the works of the law for righteousness, were an
implicit contradiction of their faith as Christians and a
forfeiture of all their advantages by Jesus Christ, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.2-Gal.5.4" parsed="|Gal|5|2|5|4" passage="Ga 5:2-4"><i>v.</i> 2-4</scripRef>. And here we may
observe, 1. With what solemnity the apostle asserts and declares
this: <i>Behold, I Paul say unto you</i> (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.2" parsed="|Gal|5|2|0|0" passage="Ga 5:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), and he repeats it (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.3" parsed="|Gal|5|3|0|0" passage="Ga 5:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), <i>I testify unto
you;</i> as it he had said, "I, who have proved myself an apostle
of Christ, and to have received my authority and instructions from
him, do declare, and am ready to pawn my credit and reputation upon
it, <i>that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you
nothing,</i> &amp;c.," wherein he shows that what he was now saying
was not only a matter of great importance, but what might be most
assuredly depended on. He was so far from being a preacher of
circumcision (as some might report him to be) that he looked upon
it as a matter of the greatest consequence that they did not submit
to it. 2. What it is which he so solemnly, and with so much
assurance, declares; it is that, <i>if they were circumcised,
Christ would profit them nothing,</i> &amp;c. We are not to suppose
that it is mere circumcision which the apostle is here speaking of,
or that it was his design to say that none who are circumcised
could have any benefit by Christ; for all the Old-Testament saints
had been circumcised, and he himself had consented to the
circumcising of Timothy. But he is to be understood as speaking of
circumcision in the sense in which the judaizing teachers imposed
it, who taught <i>that except they were circumcised, and kept the
law of Moses, they could not be saved,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.15.1" parsed="|Acts|15|1|0|0" passage="Ac 15:1">Acts xv. 1</scripRef>. That this is his meaning appears
from <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.4" parsed="|Gal|5|4|0|0" passage="Ga 5:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>, where he
expresses the same thing by their being <i>justified by the
law,</i> or seeking justification by the works of it. Now in this
case, if they submitted to circumcision in this sense, he declares
that <i>Christ would profit them nothing, that they were debtors to
do the whole law,</i> that <i>Christ had become of no effect to
them,</i> and that <i>they were fallen from grace.</i> From all
these expressions it appears that thereby they renounced that way
of justification which God had established; yea, that they laid
themselves under an impossibility of being justified in his sight,
for they became debtors to do the whole law, which required such an
obedience as they were not capable of performing, and denounced a
curse against those who failed in it, and therefore condemned, but
could not justify them; and, consequently, that having thus
revolted from Christ, and built their hopes upon the law, Christ
would profit them nothing, nor be of any effect to them. Thus, as
by being circumcised they renounced their Christianity, so they cut
themselves off from all advantage by Christ; and therefore there
was the greatest reason why they should stedfastly adhere to that
doctrine which they had embraced, and not suffer themselves to be
brought under this yoke of bondage. Note, (1.) Though Jesus Christ
is able to save to the uttermost, yet there are multitudes whom he
will profit nothing. (2.) All those who seek to be justified by the
law do thereby render Christ of no effect to them. By building
their hopes on the works of the law, they forfeit all their hopes
from him; for he will not be the Saviour of any who will not own
and rely upon him as their only Saviour.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p5">II. To persuade them to stedfastness in the
doctrine and liberty of the gospel, he sets before them his own
example, and that of other Jews who had embraced the Christian
religion, and acquaints them what their hopes were, namely, That
<i>through the Spirit they were waiting for the hope of
righteousness by faith.</i> Though they were Jews by nature, and
had been bred up under the law, yet being, through the Spirit,
brought to the knowledge of Christ, they had renounced all
dependence on the works of the law, and looked for justification
and salvation only by faith in him; and therefore it must needs be
the greatest folly in those who had never been under the law to
suffer themselves to be brought into subjection to it, and to found
their hopes upon the works of it. Here we may observe, 1. What it
is that Christians are waiting for: it is <i>the hope of
righteousness,</i> by which we are chiefly to understand the
happiness of the other world. This is called the hope of
Christians, as it is the great object of their hope, which they are
above every thing else desiring and pursuing; and the hope of
righteousness, as their hopes of it are founded on righteousness,
not their own, but that of our Lord Jesus: for, though a life of
righteousness is the way that leads to this happiness, yet it is
the righteousness of Christ alone which has procured it for us, and
on account of which we can expect to be brought to the possession
of it. 2. How they hope to obtain this happiness, namely, by faith,
that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, not by the works of the law, or
any thing they can do to deserve it, but only by faith, receiving
and relying upon him as the Lord our righteousness. It is in this
way only that they expect either to be entitled to it here or
possessed of it hereafter. And, 3. Whence it is that they are thus
waiting for the hope of righteousness: it is <i>through the
Spirit.</i> Herein they act under the direction and influence of
the Holy Spirit; it is under his conduct, and by his assistance,
that they are both persuaded and enabled to believe on Christ, and
to look for the hope of righteousness through him. When the apostle
thus represents the case of Christians, it is implied that if they
expected to be justified and saved in any other way they were
likely to meet with a disappointment, and therefore that they were
greatly concerned to adhere to the doctrine of the gospel which
they had embraced.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p6">III. He argues from the nature and design
of the Christian institution, which was to abolish the difference
between Jew and Gentile, and to establish faith in Christ as the
way of our acceptance with God. He tells them (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.6" parsed="|Gal|5|6|0|0" passage="Ga 5:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>) that <i>in Christ Jesus,</i> or
under the gospel dispensation, <i>neither circumcision availeth any
thing nor uncircumcision.</i> Though, while the legal state lasted,
there was a difference put between Jew and Greek, between those who
were and those who were not circumcised, the former being admitted
to those privileges of the church of God from which the other were
excluded, yet it was otherwise in the gospel state: Christ, who is
<i>the end of the law,</i> having come, now it was neither here nor
there whether a man were circumcised or uncircumcised; he was
neither the better for the one nor the worse for the other, nor
would either the one or the other recommend him to God; and
therefore as their judaizing teachers were very unreasonable in
imposing circumcision upon them, and obliging them to observe the
law of Moses, so they must needs be very unwise in submitting to
them herein. But, though he assures them that neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision would avail to their acceptance with God, yet he
informs them what would do so, and that is <i>faith, which worketh
by love:</i> such a faith in Christ as discovers itself to be true
and genuine by a sincere love to God and our neighbour. If they had
this, it mattered not whether they were circumcised or
uncircumcised, but with out it nothing else would stand them in any
stead. Note, 1. No external privileges nor profession will avail to
our acceptance with God, without a sincere faith in our Lord Jesus.
2. Faith, where it is true, is a working grace: it works by love,
love to God and love to our brethren; and faith, thus working by
love, is all in all in our Christianity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p7">IV. To recover them from their
backslidings, and engage them to greater stedfastness for the
future, he puts them in mind of their good beginnings, and calls
upon them to consider whence it was that they were so much altered
from what they had been, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.7" parsed="|Gal|5|7|0|0" passage="Ga 5:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p8">1. He tells them that <i>they did run
well;</i> at their first setting out in Christianity they had
behaved themselves very commendably, they had readily embraced the
Christian religion, and discovered a becoming zeal in the ways and
work of it; as in their baptism they were devoted to God, and had
declared themselves the disciples of Christ, so their behaviour was
agreeable to their character and profession. Note, (1.) The life of
a Christian is a race, wherein he must run, and hold on, if he
would obtain the prize. (2.) It is not enough that we run in this
race, by a profession of Christianity, but we must run well, by
living up to that profession. Thus these Christians had done for
awhile, but they had been obstructed in their progress, and were
either turned out of the way or at least made to flag and falter in
it. Therefore,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p9">2. He asks them, and calls upon them to ask
themselves, <i>Who did hinder you?</i> How came it to pass that
they did not hold on in the way wherein they had begun to run so
well? He very well knew who they were, and what it was that
hindered them; but he would have them to put the question to
themselves, and seriously consider whether they had any good reason
to hearken to those who gave them this disturbance, and whether
what they offered was sufficient to justify them in their present
conduct. Note, (1.) Many who set out fair in religion, and run well
for awhile—run within the bounds appointed for the race, and run
with zeal and alacrity too—are yet by some means or other hindered
in their progress, or turned out of the way. (2.) It concerns those
who have run well, but now begin either to turn out of the way or
to tire in it, to enquire what it is that hinders them. Young
converts must expect that Satan will be laying stumbling blocks in
their way, and doing all he can to divert them from the course they
are in; but, whenever they find themselves in danger of being
turned out of it, they would do well to consider who it is that
hinders them. Whoever they were that hindered these Christians, the
apostle tells them that by hearkening to them they were kept from
<i>obeying the truth,</i> and were thereby in danger of losing the
benefit of what they had done in religion. The gospel which he had
preached to them, and which they had embraced and professed, he
assures them was the truth; it was therein only that the true way
of justification and salvation was fully discovered, and, in order
to their enjoying the advantage of it, it was necessary that they
should obey it, that they should firmly adhere to it, and continue
to govern their lives and hopes according to the directions of it.
If therefore they should suffer themselves to be drawn away from it
they must needs be guilty of the greatest weakness and folly. Note,
[1.] The truth is not only to be believed, but to be obeyed, to be
received not only in the light of it, but in the love and power of
it. [2.] Those do not rightly obey the truth, who do not stedfastly
adhere to it. [3.] There is the same reason for our obeying the
truth that there was for our embracing it: and therefore those act
very unreasonably who, when they have begun to run well in the
Christian race, suffer themselves to be hindered, so as not to
persevere in it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p10">V. He argues for their stedfastness in the
faith and liberty of the gospel from the ill rise of that
persuasion whereby they were drawn away from it (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.8" parsed="|Gal|5|8|0|0" passage="Ga 5:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>This persuasion,</i> says he,
<i>cometh not of him that calleth you.</i> The opinion or
persuasion of which the apostle here speaks was no doubt that of
the necessity of their being circumcised, and keeping the law of
Moses, or of their mixing the works of the law with faith in Christ
in the business of justification. This was what the judaizing
teachers endeavoured to impose upon them, and what they had too
easily fallen into. To convince them of their folly herein, he
tells them that this persuasion did not come of him that called
them, that is, either of God, by whose authority the gospel had
been preached to them and they had been called into the fellowship
of it, or of the apostle himself, who had been employed as the
instrument of calling them hereunto. It could not come from God,
for it was contrary to that way of justification and salvation
which he had established; nor could they have received it from Paul
himself; for, whatever some might pretend, he had all along been an
opposer and not a preacher of circumcision, and, if in any instance
he had submitted to it for the sake of peace, yet he had never
pressed the use of it upon Christians, much less imposed it upon
them as necessary to salvation. Since then this persuasion did not
come of him that had called them, he leaves them to judge whence it
must arise, and sufficiently intimates that it could be owing to
none but Satan and his instruments, who by this means were
endeavouring to overthrow their faith and obstruct the progress of
the gospel, and therefore that the Galatians had every reason to
reject it, and to continue stedfast in the truth which they had
before embraced. Note, 1. In order to our judging aright of the
different persuasions in religion which there are among Christians,
it concerns us to enquire whether they come of him that calleth us,
whether or no they are founded upon the authority of Christ and his
apostles. 2. If, upon enquiry, they appear to have no such
foundation, how forward soever others may be to impose them upon
us, we should by no means submit to them, but reject them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p11">VI. The danger there was of the spreading
of this infection, and the ill influence it might have upon others,
are a further argument which the apostle urges against their
complying with their false teachers in what they would impose on
them. It is possible that, to extenuate their fault, they might be
ready to say that there were but few of those teachers among them
who endeavoured to draw them into this persuasion and practice, or
that they were only some smaller matters wherein they complied with
them—that though they submitted to be circumcised, and to observe
some few rites of the Jewish laws, yet they had by no means
renounced their Christianity and gone over to Judaism. Or, suppose
their complying thus far was as faulty as he could represent it,
yet perhaps they might further say that there were but few among
them who had done so, and therefore he needed not be so much
concerned about it. Now, to obviate such pretences as these, and to
convince them that there was more danger in it than they were aware
of, he tells them (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.9" parsed="|Gal|5|9|0|0" passage="Ga 5:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>) that <i>a little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump</i>—that the whole lump of Christianity may be tainted and
corrupted by one such erroneous principle, or that the whole lump
of the Christian society may be infected by one member of it, and
therefore that they were greatly concerned not to yield in this
single instance, or, if any had done so, to endeavour by all proper
methods to purge out the infection from among them. Note, It is
dangerous for Christian churches to encourage those among them who
entertain, especially who set themselves to propagate, destructive
errors. This was the case here. The doctrine which the false
teachers were industrious to spread, and which some in these
churches had been drawn into, was subversive of Christianity
itself, as the apostle had before shown; and therefore, though the
number either of the one or the other of these might be but small,
yet, considering the fatal tendency of it and the corruption of
human nature, whereby others were too much disposed to be infected
with it, he would not have them on that account to be easy and
unconcerned, but remember that <i>a little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump.</i> If these were indulged the contagion might soon
spread further and wider; and, if they suffered themselves to be
imposed upon in this instance, it might soon issue in the utter
ruin of the truth and liberty of the gospel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p12">VII. That he might conciliate the greater
regard to what he had said, he expresses the hopes he had
concerning them (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.10" parsed="|Gal|5|10|0|0" passage="Ga 5:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>): <i>I have confidence in you,</i> says he,
<i>through the Lord, that you will be none otherwise minded.</i>
Though he had many fears and doubts about them (which was the
occasion of his using so much plainness and freedom with them), yet
he hoped that through the blessing of God upon what he had written
they might be brought to be of the same mind with him, and to own
and abide by that truth and that liberty of the gospel which he had
preached to them, and was now endeavouring to confirm them in.
Herein he teaches us that we ought to hope the best even of those
concerning whom we have cause to fear the worst. That they might be
the less offended at the reproofs he had given them for their
unstedfastness in the faith, he lays the blame of it more upon
others than themselves; for he adds, <i>But he that troubleth you
shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.</i> He was sensible that
there were <i>some that troubled them, and would pervert the gospel
of Christ</i> (as <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.7" parsed="|Gal|1|7|0|0" passage="Ga 1:7"><i>ch.</i> i.
7</scripRef>), and possibly he may point to some one particular man
who was more busy and forward than others, and might be the chief
instrument of the disorder that was among them; and to this he
imputes their defection or inconstancy more than to any thing in
themselves. This may give us occasion to observe that, in reproving
sin and error, we should always distinguish between the leaders and
the led, such as set themselves to draw others thereinto and such
as are drawn aside by them. Thus the apostle softens and alleviates
the fault of these Christians, even while he is reproving them,
that he might the better persuade them to return to, and stand fast
in, the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free: but as for him
or those that troubled them, whoever he or they were, he declares
they <i>should bear their judgment,</i> he did not doubt but God
would deal with them according to their deserts, and out of his
just indignation against them, as enemies of Christ and his church,
he wishes that <i>they were even cut off</i>—not cut off from
Christ and all hopes of salvation by him, but cut off by the
censures of the church, which ought to witness against those
teachers who thus corrupted the purity of the gospel. Those,
whether ministers or others, who set themselves to overthrow the
faith of the gospel, and disturb the peace of Christians, do
thereby forfeit the privileges of Christian communion and deserve
to be cut off from them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p13">VIII. To dissuade these Christians from
hearkening to their judaizing teachers, and to recover them from
the ill impressions they had made upon them, he represents them as
men who had used very base and disingenuous methods to compass
their designs, for they had misrepresented him, that they might the
more easily gain their ends upon them. That which they were
endeavouring was to bring them to submit to circumcision, and to
mix Judaism with their Christianity; and, the better to accomplish
this design, they had given out among them that Paul himself was a
preacher of circumcision: for when he says (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.11" parsed="|Gal|5|11|0|0" passage="Ga 5:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), <i>And I brethren, if I yet
preach circumcision,</i> it plainly appears that they had reported
him to have done so, and that they had made use of this as an
argument to prevail with the Galatians to submit to it. It is
probable that they grounded this report upon his having circumcised
Timothy, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.3" parsed="|Acts|16|3|0|0" passage="Ac 16:3">Acts xvi. 3</scripRef>. But,
though for good reasons he had yielded to circumcision in that
instance, yet that he was a preacher of it, and especially in that
sense wherein they imposed it, he utterly denies. To prove the
injustice of that charge upon him, he offers such arguments as, if
they would allow themselves to consider, could not fail to convince
them of it. 1. If he would have preached circumcision, he might
have avoided persecution. If I yet preach circumcision, says he,
<i>why do I yet suffer persecution?</i> It was evident, and they
could not but be sensible of it, that he was hated and persecuted
by the Jews; but what account could be given of this their
behaviour towards him, if he had so far symbolized with them as to
preach up circumcision, and the observance of the law of Moses, as
necessary to salvation? This was the great point they were
contending for; and, if he had fallen in with them herein, instead
of being exposed to their rage he might have been received into
their favour. When therefore he was suffering persecution from
them, this was a plain evidence that he had not complied with them;
yea, that he was so far from preaching the doctrine he was charged
with, that, rather than do so, he was willing to expose himself to
the greatest hazards. 2. If he had yielded to the Jews herein,
<i>then would the offence of the cross have ceased.</i> They would
not have taken so much offence against the doctrine of Christianity
as they did, nor would he and others have been exposed to so much
suffering on the account of it as they were. He informs us
(<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.1.23" parsed="|1Cor|1|23|0|0" passage="1Co 1:23">1 Cor. i. 23</scripRef>) that the
preaching of the cross of Christ (or the doctrine of justification
and salvation only by faith in Christ crucified) <i>was to the Jews
a stumbling-block.</i> That which they were most offended at in
Christianity was, that thereby circumcision, and the whole frame of
the legal administration, were set aside, as no longer in force.
This raised their greatest outcries against it, and stirred them up
to oppose and persecute the professors of it. Now if Paul and
others could have given into this opinion, that circumcision was
still to be retained, and the observance of the law of Moses joined
with faith in Christ as necessary to salvation, then their offence
against it would have been in a great measure removed, and they
might have avoided the sufferings they underwent for the sake of
it. But though others, and particularly those who were so forward
to asperse him as a preacher of this doctrine, could easily come
into it, yet so could not he. He rather chose to hazard his ease
and credit, yea his very life itself, than thus to corrupt the
truth and give up the liberty of the gospel. Hence it was that the
Jews continued to be so much offended against Christianity, and
against him as the preacher of it. Thus the apostle clears himself
from the unjust reproach which his enemies had cast upon him, and
at the same time shows how little regard was due to those men who
could treat him in such an injurious manner, and how much reason he
had to wish that they were even cut off.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.vi-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13-Gal.5.26" parsed="|Gal|5|13|5|26" passage="Ga 5:13-26" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.5.13-Gal.5.26">
<h4 id="Gal.vi-p13.5">Practical Godliness Enforced; Works of the
Flesh and of the Spirit; The Fruits of the Spirit. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.vi-p13.6">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.vi-p14">13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto
liberty; only <i>use</i> not liberty for an occasion to the flesh,
but by love serve one another.   14 For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, <i>even</i> in this; Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.   15 But if ye bite and devour one
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.  
16 <i>This</i> I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh.   17 For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that
ye would.   18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not
under the law.   19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are <i>these;</i> Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness,   20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,   21 Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I
tell you before, as I have also told <i>you</i> in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,   23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.   24 And they that
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and
lusts.   25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
Spirit.   26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking
one another, envying one another.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p15">In the latter part of this chapter the
apostle comes to exhort these Christians to serious practical
godliness, as the best antidote against the snares of the false
teachers. Two things especially he presses upon them:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p16">I. That they should not strive with one
another, but love one another. He tells them (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13" parsed="|Gal|5|13|0|0" passage="Ga 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>) that <i>they had been called
unto liberty,</i> and he would have them to stand fast in the
liberty wherewith Christ had made them free; but yet he would have
them be very careful that they did not <i>use this liberty as an
occasion to the flesh</i>—that they did not thence take occasion
to indulge themselves in any corrupt affections and practices, and
particularly such as might create distance and disaffection, and be
the ground of quarrels and contentions among them: but, on the
contrary, he would have them <i>by love to serve one another,</i>
to maintain that mutual love and affection which, notwithstanding
any minor differences there might be among them, would dispose them
to all those offices of respect and kindness to each other which
the Christian religion obliged them to. Note, 1. The liberty we
enjoy as Christians is not a licentious liberty: though Christ has
redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet he has not freed us from
the obligation of it; the gospel is a <i>doctrine according to
godliness</i> (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.3" parsed="|1Tim|6|3|0|0" passage="1Ti 6:3">1 Tim. vi.
3</scripRef>), and is so far from giving the least countenance to
sin that it lays us under the strongest obligations to avoid and
subdue it. 2. 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. To this
the apostle endeavours to persuade these Christians, and there are
two considerations which he sets before them for this purpose:—
(1.) <i>That all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.14" parsed="|Gal|5|14|0|0" passage="Ga 5:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Love is the sum of the whole
law; as love to God comprises the duties of the first table, so
love to our neighbour those of the second. The apostle takes notice
of the latter here, because he is speaking of their behaviour
towards one another; and, when he makes use of this as an argument
to persuade them to mutual love, he intimates both that this would
be a good evidence of their sincerity in religion and also the most
likely means of rooting out those dissensions and divisions that
were among them. It will appear that we are the disciples of Christ
indeed when we have love one to another (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:John.13.35" parsed="|John|13|35|0|0" passage="Joh 13:35">John xiii. 35</scripRef>); and, where this temper is
kept up, if it do not wholly extinguish those unhappy discords that
are among Christians, yet at least it will so far accommodate them
that the fatal consequences of them will be prevented. (2.) The sad
and dangerous tendency of a contrary behaviour (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.15" parsed="|Gal|5|15|0|0" passage="Ga 5:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>But,</i> says he, if instead
of serving one another in love, and therein fulfilling the law of
God, <i>you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not
consumed one of another.</i> If, instead of acting like men and
Christians, they would behave themselves more like brute beasts, in
tearing and rending one another, they could expect nothing as the
consequence of it, but that they would be consumed one of another;
and therefore they had the greatest reason not to indulge
themselves in such quarrels and animosities. Note, Mutual strifes
among brethren, if persisted in, are likely to prove a common ruin;
those that devour one another are in a fair way to be consumed one
of another. Christian churches cannot be ruined but by their own
hands; but if Christians, who should be helps to one another and a
joy one to another, be as brute beasts, biting and devouring each
other, what can be expected but that the God of love should deny
his grace to them, and the Spirit of love should depart from them,
and that the evil spirit, who seeks the destruction of them all,
should prevail?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p17">II. That they should all strive against
sin; and happy would it be for the church if Christians would let
all their quarrels be swallowed up of this, even a quarrel against
sin—if, instead of biting and devouring one another on account of
their different opinions, they would all set themselves against sin
in themselves and the places where they live. This is what we are
chiefly concerned to fight against, and that which above every
thing else we should make it our business to oppose and suppress.
To excite Christians hereunto, and to assist them herein, the
apostle shows,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p18">1. That there is in every one a struggle
between the flesh and the spirit (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.17" parsed="|Gal|5|17|0|0" passage="Ga 5:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>The flesh</i> (the corrupt
and carnal part of us) <i>lusts</i> (strives and struggles with
strength and vigour) <i>against the spirit:</i> it opposes all the
motions of the Spirit, and resists every thing that is spiritual.
On the other hand, <i>the spirit</i> (the renewed part of us)
strives <i>against the flesh,</i> and opposes the will and desire
of it: and hence it comes to pass <i>that we cannot do the things
that we would.</i> As the principle of grace in us will not suffer
us to do all the evil which our corrupt nature would prompt us to,
so neither can we do all the good that we would, by reason of the
oppositions we meet with from that corrupt and carnal principle.
Even as in a natural man there is something of this struggle (the
convictions of his conscience and the corruption of his own heart
strive with one another; his convictions would suppress his
corruptions, and his corruptions silence his convictions), so in a
renewed man, where there is something of a good principle, there is
a struggle between the old nature and the new nature, the
remainders of sin and the beginnings of grace; and this Christians
must expect will be their exercise as long as they continue in this
world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p19">2. That it is our duty and interest in this
struggle to side with the better part, to side with our convictions
against our corruptions and with our graces against our lusts. This
the apostle represents as our duty, and directs us to the most
effectual means of success in it. If it should be asked, What
course must we take that the better interest may get the better? he
gives us this one general rule, which, if duly observed, would be
the most sovereign remedy against the prevalence of corruption; and
that is to walk in the Spirit (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.16" parsed="|Gal|5|16|0|0" passage="Ga 5:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>This I say, then, Walk in
the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.</i> By
the <i>Spirit</i> here may be meant either the Holy Spirit himself,
who condescends to dwell in the hearts of those whom he has renewed
and sanctified, to guide and assist them in the way of their duty,
or that gracious principle which he implants in the souls of his
people and which lusts against the flesh, as that corrupt principle
which still remains in them does against it. Accordingly the duty
here recommended to us is that we set ourselves to act under the
guidance and influence of the blessed Spirit, and agreeably to the
motions and tendency of the new nature in us; and, if this be our
care in the ordinary course and tenour of our lives, we may depend
upon it that, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and
oppositions of our corrupt nature, we shall be kept from fulfilling
it in the lusts thereof; so that though it remain in us, yet it
shall not obtain a dominion over us. Note, The best antidote
against the poison of sin is to walk in the Spirit, to be much in
conversing with spiritual things, to mind the things of the soul,
which is the spiritual part of man, more than those of the body,
which is his carnal part, to commit ourselves to the guidance of
the word, wherein the Holy Spirit makes known the will of God
concerning us, and in the way of our duty to act in a dependence on
his aids and influences. And, as this would be the best means of
preserving them from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, so it would
be a good evidence that they were Christians indeed; for, says the
apostle (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.18" parsed="|Gal|5|18|0|0" passage="Ga 5:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>),
<i>If you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.</i> As
if he had said, "You must expect a struggle between flesh and
spirit as long as you are in the world, that the flesh will be
lusting against the spirit as well as the spirit against the flesh;
but if, in the prevailing bent and tenour of your lives, you be
<i>led by the Spirit,</i>—if you act under the guidance and
government of the Holy Spirit and of that spiritual nature and
disposition he has wrought in you,—if you make the word of God
your rule and the grace of God your principle,—it will hence
appear that you are not under the law, not under the condemning,
though you are still under the commanding, power of it; for
<i>there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit;</i> and <i>as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God,</i>" <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.1-Rom.8.14" parsed="|Rom|8|1|8|14" passage="Ro 8:1-14">Rom. viii.
1-14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p20">3. The apostle specifies the works of the
flesh, which must be watched against and mortified, and the fruits
of the Spirit, which must be cherished and brought forth (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.19" parsed="|Gal|5|19|0|0" passage="Ga 5:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>, &amp;c.); and by
specifying particulars he further illustrates what he is here upon.
(1.) He begins with <i>the works of the flesh,</i> which, as they
are many, so they are manifest. It is past dispute that the things
he here speaks of are the works of the flesh, or the product of
corrupt and depraved nature; most of them are condemned by the
light of nature itself, and all of them by the light of scripture.
The particulars he specifies are of various sorts; some are sins
against the seventh commandment, such as <i>adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness,</i> by which are meant not only the
gross acts of these sins, but all such thoughts, and words, and
actions, as have a tendency towards the great transgression. Some
are sins against the first and second commandments, as
<i>idolatry</i> and <i>witchcraft.</i> Others are sins against our
neighbour, and contrary to the royal law of brotherly love, such as
<i>hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,</i> which too often
occasion <i>seditions, heresies, envyings,</i> and sometimes break
out into <i>murders,</i> not only of the names and reputation, but
even of the very lives, of our fellow-creatures. Others are sins
against ourselves, such as <i>drunkenness and revellings;</i> and
he concludes the catalogue with an <i>et cetera,</i> and gives fair
warning to all to take care of them, as they hope to see the face
of God with comfort. Of these and <i>such like,</i> says he, <i>I
tell you before, as I have also told you in times past,</i> that
<i>those who do such things,</i> how much soever they may flatter
themselves with vain hopes, <i>shall not inherit the kingdom of
God.</i> These are sins which will undoubtedly shut men out of
heaven. The world of spirits can never be comfortable to those who
plunge themselves in the filth of the flesh; nor will the righteous
and holy God ever admit such into his favour and presence, unless
they be first <i>washed and sanctified, and justified in the name
of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.6.11" parsed="|1Cor|6|11|0|0" passage="1Co 6:11">1 Cor. vi. 11</scripRef>. (2.) He specifies the
fruits of the Spirit, or the renewed nature, which as Christians we
are concerned to bring forth, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.22-Gal.5.23" parsed="|Gal|5|22|5|23" passage="Ga 5:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>. And here we may observe
that as sin is called <i>the work of the flesh,</i> because the
flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves and excites
men to it, so grace is said to be <i>the fruit of the Spirit,</i>
because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from
the root: and whereas before the apostle had chiefly specified
those works of the flesh which were not only hurtful to men
themselves but tended to make them so to one another, so here he
chiefly takes notice of those fruits of the Spirit which had a
tendency to make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as
easy to themselves; and this was very suitable to the caution or
exhortation he had before given (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13" parsed="|Gal|5|13|0|0" passage="Ga 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), that they should <i>not use
their liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one
another.</i> He particularly recommends to us, <i>love,</i> to God
especially, and to one another for his sake,—<i>joy,</i> by which
may be understood cheerfulness in conversation with our friends, or
rather a constant delight in God,—<i>peace,</i> with God and
conscience, or a peaceableness of temper and behaviour towards
others,—<i>long-suffering,</i> patience to defer anger, and a
contentedness to bear injuries,—<i>gentleness,</i> such a
sweetness of temper, and especially towards our inferiors, as
disposes us to be affable and courteous, and easy to be entreated
when any have wronged us,—<i>goodness</i> (kindness, beneficence),
which shows itself in a readiness to do good to all as we have
opportunity,—<i>faith,</i> fidelity, justice, and honesty, in what
we profess and promise to others,—<i>meekness,</i> wherewith to
govern our passions and resentments, so as not to be easily
provoked, and, when we are so, to be soon pacified,—and
<i>temperance,</i> in meat and drink, and other enjoyments of life,
so as not to be excessive and immoderate in the use of them.
Concerning these things, or those in whom these fruits of the
Spirit are found, the apostle says, <i>There is no law against
them,</i> to condemn and punish them. Yea, hence it appears that
they are not under the law, but under grace; for these fruits of
the Spirit, in whomsoever they are found, plainly show that such
are <i>led by the Spirit,</i> and consequently that they are not
<i>under the law,</i> as <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.18" parsed="|Gal|5|18|0|0" passage="Ga 5:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>. And as, by specifying these works of the flesh and
fruits of the Spirit, the apostle directs us both what we are to
avoid and oppose and what we are to cherish and cultivate, so
(<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.24" parsed="|Gal|5|24|0|0" passage="Ga 5:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>) he informs us
that this is the sincere care and endeavour of all real Christians:
<i>And those that are Christ's,</i> says he (those who are
Christians indeed, not only in show and profession, but in
sincerity and truth), <i>have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.</i> As in their baptism they were obliged
hereunto (for, being baptized into Christ, they were baptized into
his death, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Rom.6.3" parsed="|Rom|6|3|0|0" passage="Ro 6:3">Rom. vi. 3</scripRef>), so
they are now sincerely employing themselves herein, and, in
conformity to their Lord and head, are endeavouring to die unto
sin, as he had died for it. They have not yet obtained a complete
victory over it; they have still flesh as well as Spirit in them,
and that has its affections and lusts, which continue to give them
no little disturbance, but as it does not now <i>reign in their
mortal bodies, so as that they obey it in the lusts thereof</i>
(<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Rom.6.12" parsed="|Rom|6|12|0|0" passage="Ro 6:12">Rom. vi. 12</scripRef>), so they are
seeking the utter ruin and destruction of it, and to put it to the
same shameful and ignominious, though lingering death, which our
Lord Jesus underwent for our sakes. Note, If we should approve
ourselves to be Christ's, such as are united to him and interested
in him, we must make it our constant care and business to crucify
the flesh with its corrupt affections and lusts. Christ will never
own those as his who yield themselves the servants of sin. But
though the apostle here only mentions the crucifying of the flesh
with the affections and lusts, as the care and character of real
Christians, yet, no doubt, it is also implied that, on the other
hand, we should show forth those fruits of the Spirit which he had
just before been specifying; this is no less our duty than that,
nor is it less necessary to evidence our sincerity in religion. It
is not enough that we cease to do evil, but we must learn to do
well. Our Christianity obliges us not only to die unto sin, but to
live unto righteousness; not only to oppose the works of the flesh,
but to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit too. If therefore we
would make it appear that we do indeed belong to Christ, this must
be our sincere care and endeavour as well as the other; and that it
was the design of the apostle to represent both the one and the
other of these as our duty, and as necessary to support our
character as Christians, may be gathered from what follows
(<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.9" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.25" parsed="|Gal|5|25|0|0" passage="Ga 5:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), where he
adds, <i>If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
Spirit;</i> that is, "If we profess to have received the Spirit of
Christ, or that we are renewed in the Spirit of Christ, or that we
are renewed in the spirit of our minds, and endued with a principle
of spiritual life, let us make it appear by the proper fruits of
the Spirit in our lives." He had before told us that the Spirit of
Christ is a privilege bestowed on all the children of God,
<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.10" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.6" parsed="|Gal|4|6|0|0" passage="Ga 4:6"><i>ch.</i> iv. 6</scripRef>. "Now," says
he, "if we profess to be of this number, and as such to have
obtained this privilege, let us show it by a temper and behaviour
agreeable hereunto; let us evidence our good principles by good
practices." Our conversation will always be answerable to the
principle which we are under the guidance and government of: as
<i>those that are after the flesh do mind the things of the
flesh,</i> so <i>those that are after the Spirit do mind the things
of the Spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p20.11" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.5" parsed="|Rom|8|5|0|0" passage="Ro 8:5">Rom. viii.
5</scripRef>. If therefore we would have it appear that we are
Christ's, and that we are partakers of his Spirit, it must be by
our <i>walking not after the flesh, but after the spirit.</i> We
must set ourselves in good earnest both to mortify the deeds of the
body, and to walk in newness of life.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.vi-p21">4. The apostle concludes this chapter with
a caution against pride and envy, <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.26" parsed="|Gal|5|26|0|0" passage="Ga 5:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. He had before been exhorting
these Christians <i>by love to serve one another</i> (<scripRef id="Gal.vi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.13" parsed="|Gal|5|13|0|0" passage="Ga 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), and had put them in
mind of what would be the consequence if, instead of that, they did
<i>bite and devour one another,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.vi-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.15" parsed="|Gal|5|15|0|0" passage="Ga 5:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Now, as a means of engaging them
to the one and preserving them from the other of these, he here
cautions them against being desirous of vain-glory, or giving way
to an undue affectation of the esteem and applause of men, because
this, if it were indulged, would certainly lead them to provoke one
another and to envy one another. As far as this temper prevails
among Christians, they will be ready to slight and despise those
whom they look upon as inferior to them, and to be put out of
humour if they are denied that respect which they think is their
due from them, and they will also be apt to envy those by whom
their reputation is in any danger of being lessened: and thus a
foundation is laid for those quarrels and contentions which, as
they are inconsistent with that love which Christians ought to
maintain towards each other, so they are greatly prejudicial to the
honour and interest of religion itself. This therefore the apostle
would have us by all means to watch against. Note, (1.) The glory
which comes from men is vain-glory, which, instead of being
desirous of, we should be dead to. (2.) An undue regard to the
approbation and applause of men is one great ground of the unhappy
strifes and contentions that exist among Christians.</p>
</div></div2>