Galatians 5

Galatians 5:2

I your known apostle, that have been, and taught the faith among you, pronounce to you positively, that if you depend on circumcision and legal observances for justification, Christ will stand you in no stead.

Galatians 5:3

For by laying upon himself a necessity of circumcision, and expecting justification by that, he absolutely obliges himself to perfect obedience, without which the law cannot justify any, ch. iii. 10.

Galatians 5:4

All that run this way of the Judaizers must know that Christ is become uneffectual to them: if you expect to be justified by legal performances, ye have disclaimed all title to the gospel: see note [a] Heb. xiii.

[a] become of no effect] Καταργείται, ἀποπάνεται, saith Phavorinus; the word signifies, according to the notion of ἀργός, whence it is compounded, frustration, annulation, evacuation, abolition; and so it is applied to the law, νόμος καταργείται, the law is annulled. In a sense not far from thence it is used Rom. vii. 2, when it is said, that the husband being dead, the wife καταργείται ἀπὸ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός, is discharged from the law of the husband, that is, receives no benefit from, nor owes any obedience or observance to the matrimonial contract. So here κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ye are discharged from Christ, as when a servant is from the master, or as a wife from the husband, discharged from the advantages as well as burdens, ye receive no benefit or virtue from Christ, or the second covenant (all one with Christ) shall profit you nothing, ver. 2; and ἐξεπίσαστε, in the end of this verse, ye have fallen from, disclaimed all right or title to the gospel, or second covenant, that of grace.

Galatians 5:5

For we, according to the gospel, and the promise made to Abraham, expect to be justified without legal performances, only by faith or evangelical obedience.

Galatians 5:6

For now under the gospel it is not material whether a man be circumcised or no, all that is required to our justification is faith; not all that is called by that name, but such as is made perfect by addition of those duties which we owe to God and our brethren.

[b] worketh] It is not amiss in this place to set down the particular notion of ἐνεργεῖσθαι in the New Testament. And to that purpose the first thing to be observed will be, that there is no kind of necessity or reason to render it in an active sense, but rather in a passive, throughout these books. So Rom. vii. 5, the motions of sin ἐνεργεῖτο ἐν μέλεσιν, were wrought, or consummate, or perfected in our members, that is, the motions and inclinations were brought to act and habit. So 2 Cor. i. 6. σωτηρίας τῆς ἐνεργουμένης ἐν ὑπομονῇ, salvation which is perfected or consummate by patient enduring. So 2 Cor. iv. 12. θάνατος ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνεργεῖται, &c., death is wrought in us, as it appears by the context, εἰς θάνατον παραδιδόμεθα, we are delivered to death, ver. 11. So Ephes. iii. 20. κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ὑμῖν, according to the power which is wrought in or among you, parallel to Col. i. 29. κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοί, according to the force, or act, or virtue which is wrought in me. So 2 Thess. ii. 13. of the word of God, ὃς καὶ ἐνεργεῖται ἐν ὑμῖν, which is wrought in you, preached unto you, and obtained its end (or perfection) to which it was designed, among you believers. So 2 Thess. ii. 7, the mystery of iniquity ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται, is made or wrought, or (as in the present tense) is in fieri, agitur, saith Castellio, agreeably to that of Hesychius, ἐνεργεῖται, κατασκευάζεται, is prepared to enter, to disclose itself to the world. And so here πίστις δι’ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη, faith perfected by charity; so the Syriac reads it, and so Tertullian, Perficitur per charitatem fides, contra Marcion. l. 5, directly parallel to

Galatians 5:7

Ye began well in receiving the gospel, as I preached it to you; who hath caused you not to continue in that course?

Galatians 5:8

This new doctrine of the necessity of Judaical observances is not taught you by God, or by him (whether myself or any others) who brought you to the faith.

Galatians 5:9

It comes from a few false teachers among you, that have infected you with this sour false doctrine of Judaizing, which will spoil all your Christianity, vv. 2. 4.

Galatians 5:10

And I hope it will not extend far, for I am confident of you in respect of the faith planted among you, that you will not be carried away with these errors; but the teachers of this doctrine, whosoever they are, or of what quality soever, shall suffer and be censured for it.

Galatians 5:11

Some of your teachers, it seems, have told you, that I am for the urging of circumcision upon Christians, and that I have done so in some places: but I pray do you guess of the truth of this suggestion, by the persecutions which I suffer, which generally fall upon me among the Jews, for my affirming the Mosaical law to be abolished, and would not fall upon me if I pressed the observation of the Mosaical law in this particular of so great importance. The great exception that the Jews have against my preaching and others believing me, is the abolition of the Mosaical law, and the removing of that one exception would be the appeasing of the wrath of the Jews, who probably would oppose it no longer; but this, you see, is not done, for the Jews are still as great opposers of Christianity, (where it is preached by me,) and of me for preaching it, and of others that so receive it from me, as ever they were.

Galatians 5:12

Thus unreasonable are their pretensions that would seduce you from your constancy, and are content to say any thing, though never so false and improbable, to that purpose: all that I have to say of them is, I wish they were excommunicated, turned out from among you, that thus endeavour to pervert you.

[c; cut off] Ἀποκόπτεσθαι here, and in the canons of the ancient councils ἐκκόπτεσθαι, καθαιρεῖσθαι, ἀφορίζεσθαι, are all expressions of ex-communication of the highest degree, answerable to the shamatha among the Jews, (see note [d] on 1 Cor. xvi,) and consequently here the ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται, I would they were cut off, is an expression of a menace or threatening of excommunication, an apostolical denunciation, that they that do not mend this seditious schismatical humour shall be cut off: or if the ὄφελον be but a wish, it is then because he discerned so much of the obstinacy of the evil humour, that he thought this would not be likely to cure, but exasperate it, or because he saw his authority contemned among them. As for that other notion of ἀποκόπτεσθαι which St. Hierome and others seem to refer to, in relation to the matter of these men’s disturbance, viz. that about circumcision, which they would impose upon all Christians, Si putant sibi hoc prodesse, non solum circumcidantur, sed etiam abscindantur, it is somewhat too light to be affixed to the words of the apostle.

Galatians 5:13

Christ hath freed you believers from the rigour of the law, that is, both from the necessity of Mosaical observances, and of perfect exact obedience under the penalty of the curse: only do not you make an uncharitable or a carnal use of this liberty, either to contemn and scandalize those that dare not use this liberty, Rom. xiv. 1, or to fall into acts of sin, and to think your Christian liberty will excuse you; but by charity behave yourselves toward all your brethren in this matter of legal ceremonies as may be most for their advantages.

Galatians 5:14

For this is indeed the sum of that law which ye pretend so much to vindicate, endeavouring the good of all others as much as ye can, or as you would your own, and not permitting your zeal to set you on designs of malice, and defaming of others.

Galatians 5:15

But if you be so uncharitable as to calumniate and defame one another, this will break out in a while, as in other places it doth already, to open feuds, persecuting and mischieving your fellow Christians. ⁹ But I, Ἐγώ δέ.

Christ, ἔρα— ¹⁰ Is the offence of the cross (the King’s MS. adds τοῦ Χριστοῦ) of

unsettle you, ἀναστατοῦντες.

Galatians 5:16

My advice therefore is, that you order your actions according to the gospel rule, and do not those things which are most acceptable to the senses, most agreeable to your carnal or worldly ends.

Galatians 5:17

For this is certain, that he that will serve God must do many things contrary to his sensual or secular ends: for there being two desires in you, the one proceeding from the carnal, the other from the rational spiritual faculty or reason instructed by the gospel, and these being so opposite one to the other, that whatsoever one liketh the other disliketh, it follows, that whatsoever you do in compliance with the one, you do in opposition to the other, and so that you do not will or choose with both wills, rational and sensual, whatsoever you will or choose, but one of these still resisteth the other.

Galatians 5:18

That then which is your duty, is, to follow the duct of the Spirit; and if so, if you follow the gospel rule in despite of all the temptations of the flesh, whether lusts of the flesh or fear of persecution for the gospel, to the contrary, then you are neither obliged to the Mosaical performances, nor to the perfect exact obedience, without which the law allows no justification.

Galatians 5:19

Whereas on the other side, the actions that the flesh is most apt to betray one to, and which you have most need to be admonished of, are such as every man knows to be such, and which yet your present false teachers do industriously infuse into you: such are breaking the bands of wedlock, nay, making marriage absolutely a work of the devil, that that persuasion may bring after it all manner of unlawful lusts (see note [a] 1 Cor. v.), which marriage might prevent,

Galatians 5:20

The sensual villainies committed in the idol worships, (see note [i] 1 Cor. v.) to which the Gnostics would bring you back, and so likewise sorceries, and then all the sorts of uncharitableness, hating or maligning of others, &c.

[d] witchcraft] Among the practices of the Gnostics, φαρμακεῖαι, sorceries, are here justly reckoned, (see note [a] on ch. iii, and Rev. ix. 21, and ch. xxi. 8, and xxii. 15.) And the grounds of that are clear, not only by the founder of them, Simon, who was a magician, but also by Menander his successor, who was such also; see Euseb. l. 3. c. κγ’. Εἰς ἄκρον τῆς γοητείας οὐκ ἔλαττον τοῦ διδασκάλου προελθῶν, μείζοσιν ἐπιδαψιλεύεται τερατολογίαις, “He was not inferior to his master in magic, but more vainly profuse in his portentous undertakings,” and assuming to himself to be sent for the saving or delivering of men from the invisible αἴωνες or angels, ἄγγελοι κοσμοποιοί, as he calls them, taught that no man could escape out of their power but he that was brought up in the μαγικὴ ἐμπειρία, magical skill, and by the baptism by him delivered to them, of which they that were vouchsafed to partake he promised them eternal life here in this world, without any danger of death or old age. Of this Irenæus hath spoken at large, and Justin Martyr hath given this account of it See 2 Tim. iii. 7, 8.

Galatians 5:21

And at length envying either the quiet or the innocence of all that will not do as they do, and so falling into all acts of riotous and bloody malice against them, together with drunkenness and night revels, &c.; all which are of a most dangerous and desperate nature, and will certainly deprive and

¹² fulfil not, μὴ τελέσητε. ¹³ do not, μὴ ποιῆτε.

Galatians 5:26

But Sarah, which denotes the state of the gospel, that new city which Christ hath brought from heaven with him (see note [b] Rev. xxi.), of which all we Christians are free-men or citizens, she is a freewoman, and signifies that we Christians, Gentiles as well as Jews, are free from the Mosaical rites, &c., and that we may be justified without them.

Galatians 5:27

According to that prophecy, Isa. liv. 1, Rejoice &c. the meaning of which is, that the gospel covenant, which when Christ was here on earth had few children, few that were brought forth by it, after his death, upon the preaching of the gospel by the apostles to the Gentiles, had many more than among the Jews in his lifetime.

Galatians 5:28

But, my brethren, as Isaac was born only by strength of God’s promise, not by any ordinary means, Abraham and Sarah being beyond age, so are the children of God received to be such, and justified only by the promise of God, (that is, through the strength of that promise to Abraham and covenant in Christ, that all faithful, obedient, persevering believers should be justified,) without any Mosaical performances.

Galatians 5:29

But as Ismael then, who was born by the strength of nature, persecuted him that was born by the strength of God’s promise only, viz. Isaac, so now it comes to pass; they that depend on the law for justification, persecute them that depend only on God’s promise, that are persuaded that through faith, without legal performances, they shall be justified.

Galatians 5:30

To these therefore is applicable that which follows in the story, that Ismael is to be cast out, and none but Isaac to inherit: they that depend on the law for justification never attain to it, but they that depend on the sole promise of God, and accordingly expect to be justified upon performance of sincere evangelical obedience, without necessity of legal performances, they only shall be heirs of this mercy.

Galatians 5:31

And so all this belongs to us who are Christians, and consequently are not obliged to the Mosaical performances, but justified by the gospel way without them.

CHAP. V.

STAND fast therefore in the liberty ¹ wherewith 1. From all this the conclusion is of exhortation to you and all Christians, that ye retain the freedom from being obliged to the Mosaical law, which Christ