Galatians 5

Galatians 5:2-3

Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι, ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει· ᾿μαρτύρομαι δὲ πάλιν παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ περιτεμνομένῳ, ὅτι ὀφειλέτης ἐστὶν

2—6. ‘Let there be no misunderstanding. I Paul myself declare to you that if you submit to circumcision, you forfeit all advantage from Christ. I have said it once, and I repeat it again with a solemn protest. Every man, who is circumcised, by that very act places himself under the law; he binds himself to fulfil every single requirement of the law. You have no part in Christ, you are outcasts from the covenant of grace, you who seek justification in obedience to law. There is a great gulf between you and us. We, the true disciples of Christ, hope to be justified of faith, not of works, in the Spirit, not in the flesh.’

2. At this point St Paul assumes a severer tone in condemning the observance of the law. It is not only a useless imposition, a slavish burden; it is pernicious and fatal in itself.

‘Ἴδε] so to be accented rather than ἴδε. According to the ancient grammarians, the pronunciation of common dialect was ἴδε, λάβε, of the Attic ἴδε, λαβε. See Winer § vi. p. 55 sq.

ἐγὼ Παῦλος] What is the exact force of this? Is it (1) An assertion of authority? ‘I Paul, who received a direct commission from Christ, who have done and suffered so much for the Gospel and for you, who have so strong a claim on your hearing? Or is it rather (2) An indirect refutation of calumnies? ‘I Paul, who have myself preached circumcision forsooth, who say smooth things to please men, who season my doctrine to the tastes of my hearers? For the latter sense, see 2 Cor. x. 1, where the words αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος are used in combating the contemptuous criticism of his enemies; and compare his tone in i. 10 of this epistle; ‘do I now persuade men?’

See also the notes on ii. 3. v. 11, and the introduction, p. 28. For the former sense compare perhaps Ephes. iii. 1. The two ideas are not incompatible: they are equally prominent elsewhere in this epistle, and may both have been present to St Paul’s mind, when he thus asserts himself so strongly.

περιτέμνησθε ‘suffer yourselves to be circumcised’; see the note on περιτεμνομένῳ ver. 3.

3. The argument is this; ‘Circumcision is the seal of the law. He who willingly and deliberately undergoes circumcision, enters upon a compact to fulfil the law. To fulfil it therefore he is bound, and he cannot plead the grace of Christ; for he has entered on another mode of justification.’ μαρτύρομαι δὲ πάλιν] ‘Christ benefit you! nay, I protest again.’ The adversative sense of δί is to be explained by the idea of ὠφελήσει. Πάλιν refers to the preceding λέγω; ‘I have said it, and I repeat it with protestation.’ μαρτύρομαι] ‘I protest,’ i.e. I assert as in the presence of witnesses. The word signifies properly ’to call to witness’; and is never, except perhaps in very late Greek, equivalent to μαρτυρῶ, ‘I hear witness.’ See the notes on 1 Thess. ii. 12. For the dative ἀνθρώπῳ compare Acts xx. 26. This use of the dative is a remnant of the fuller construction μαρτύρισσαί τινὶ τι (Judith vii. 28 μαρτυρόμεθα ὑμῖν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν), the accusative being suppressed and the verb used absolutely without reference to the person of the witness.

περιτεμνομένῳ] ‘who undergoes circumcision,’ as περιτέμνησθε ver. 2, and οἱ περιτεμνομένοι τι 13 (the better reading). In all these cases the present tense is more appropriate than

Galatians 5:4-6

ὅλον τὸν νόμον ποιῆσαι. Ἐκατηργήθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ, οἵτινες ἐν νόμῳ δικαιούσθε, τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε. ἡμεῖς γὰρ πνεύματι ἐκ πίστεως ἐλπίδα δικαιοσύνης ἀπεκδεχόμεθα· Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ [Ἰησοῦ] οὔτε περιτομή the past. It is not the fact of their having been circumcised which St

Paul condemns (for this is indifferent in itself), but the fact of their allowing themselves to be circumcised, being free agents.

4. κατηργήθητε, ἐξεπέσατε] The aorists represent the consequences as instantaneous; ‘Ye are then and there shut out from Christ.’ For similar instances see Joh. xv. 6 ἰὰν μὴ τις μείνῃ ἐν ἐμοί, ἐβλήθη ἔξω ὡς τὸ κλῆμα, Rev. x. 7: comp. Winer § xl. p. 345. κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ] a pregnant expression for κατηργήθητε καὶ ἐχωρίσθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ, ‘Ye are nothing as regards Christ, ye are entirely separate from Him’; as Rom. vii. 2, 6; comp. 2 Cor. xl. 3 φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ἐμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀπλάτητος, Col. ii. 20. οἵτινες δικαιούσθε] ‘all ye who seek your just (faction)’ See on περιπεμνομίνοι, ver. 3.

ἐξεπέσατε] ‘are driven forth, are banished with Hagar your mother’;

see iv. 30 ἐκβάλει τὴν παιδίσκην. The words ἐκπίπτουν and ἐκβάλλουν are correlatives in this sense; e.g. Thucyd. vi. 4 ἐπὶ Σαμίων καὶ ἄλλων Ἰώνων ἐκπίπτουν σὺς δὲ Σαμίους Ἀναξίδιας

Ἐγείνων τύραντος οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἐκβαλῶν κ.τ.λ. For the form ἐξε-

πέσατε see Lubeck Phryn. p. 724,

Winer § xiii. p. 86.

5. ἡμεῖς γὰρ] ‘for we, who are in union with Christ, we who cling to the covenant of grace.’ γὰρ introduces an argument from the opposite, as in iii. 10.

πνεύματε] ‘spiritually,’ or ‘by the Spirit.’ It is almost always difficult and sometimes, as here, impossible to say when πνεῦμα refers directly to the Holy Spirit and when not. From the nature of the case the one sense will run into the other, the spiritual in man, when rightly directed, being a manifestation, an indwelling of the Divine Spirit.

ἐλπίδα] here used in a concrete

sense, ’the thing hoped for’; comp. Col. i. 5 τὴν ἐλπίδα τὴν ἀποκείμενην ὑμῖν, Tit. ii. 13 προσδεχόμενος τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα, Heb. vi. 18; and see the note on ἐπογγελία, iii. 14.

ἀπεκδεχόμεθα] ‘wait eagerly,’ or perhaps ‘patiently’; used especially in speaking of the future redemption; comp. Rom. viii. 19, 23, 25, 1 Cor. i. 7, Phil. iii. 20. Compare the ἀπὸ in ἀποκαραδοκία, and see a paper by C. F. A. Fritzsche in Fritzsch. Opusc. p. 156. 6. γὰρ] explaining the emphatic πνεύματε ἐκ πίστεως which has gone before: ‘By the Spirit, for the dispositions of the flesh, such as circumcision or uncircumcision, are indifferent: from faith, for faith working by love is all powerful in Christ Jesus.’

St Paul had before pronounced a direct and positive condemnation of circumcision. He here indirectly qualifies this condemnation. Circumcision is neither better nor worse than uncircumcision in itself (see especially 1 Cor. vii. 18-20, Gal. vi. 15). The false sentiment which attends it, the glorying in the flesh, makes the difference, and calls down the rebuke.

πίστες κ.τ.λ.] ‘In his stat totus

Christianismus,’ says Bengel.

ἐνεργουμένη] ‘working’; the middle voice according to the general usage of St Paul. The Spirit of God or the Spirit of Evil ἐνεργεί; the human agent or the human mind ἐνεργείται; see the note on 1 Thess. ii. 13. On the other hand ἐνεργείσθαι is never passive in St Paul (as it seems to be taken here by Tertullian adv. Marc. v. 4, ‘di-

Galatians 5:7-8

τι ἰσχύει οὔτε ἀκροβυστία, ἀλλὰ πίστις δι’ ἀγάπη, ἐνεργουμένη.

⁷ Ἐτρέχετε καλῶς· τίς ὑμᾶς ἐνέκοψεν ἀληθεία μὴ πείθεσθαι; ⁸ ἡ πεισμονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς.

cendo per dilectionem perfici’), and therefore this passage does not express the doctrine of ‘fides caritate formata.’

These words δι’ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη bridge over the gulf which seems to separate the language of St Paul and St James. Both assert a principle of practical energy, as opposed to a barren, inactive theory.

Observe in these verses the connexion between the triad of Christian graces. The same sequence—faith, love, hope—underlies St Paul’s language here, which appears on the surface in 1 Thess. i. 3, Col. i. 4, 5. See the note on the former of these two passages

7—11. ‘Ye were running a gallant race. Who has checked you in your mid career? Whence this disloyalty to the truth? Be assured, this change of opinion comes not of God by whom ye are called. The deserters are only few in number? Yes, but the contagion will spread: for what says the proverb? A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Do not mistake me: I do not confound you with them: I confidently hope in Christ that you will be true to your principles. But the ringleader of this sedition—I care not who he is or what rank he holds—shall bear a heavy chastisement. What, brethren? A new charge is brought against me? I preach circumcision forsooth? If so, why do they still persecute me? It is some mistake surely! Nay, we shall work together henceforth! there is no difference between us now! I have ceased to preach the Cross of Christ! The stumblingblock in the way of the Gospel is removed!’

7. Ἐτρέχετε καλῶς! Ἐσ’ ἱεσ’ γυπ-

ning bravely,’ again a reference to St Paul’s favourite metaphor of the stadium. See ii. 2, 1 Cor. ix. 24—27, Phil. iii. 14, 2 Tim. iv. 7.

ἐνέκοψεν] a metaphor derived from military operations. The word signifies ’to break up a road’ (by destroying bridges etc.) so as to render it impassable, and is therefore the opposite of προκόπτεν, ’to clear a way,’ ’to act as pioneer’; comp. Greg. Naz. Or. xiv. 31 (I. p. 279 ed. Ben. ἡ κακίας ἐγκύπτομενης ἀνεπαθείας τῶν πανηχῶν· ἡ ἀρετῆς ὁδοποιουμένης εὐπαθείας τῶν βελτιόνων. Hence it originally took a dative of the person, e.g. Polyb. xxiv. 1. 12, but the metaphor being subsequently lost sight of, the dative was replaced by an accusative, as always in the New Testament, e.g. Acts xxiv. 4, 1 Thess. ii. 18. Compare the passive, Rom. xv. 22, 1 Pet. iii. 7. See the note on φθονούντες, ver. 26.

The testimony in favour of ἐνέκοψεν is overwhelming. Otherwise the received reading ἀνέκοψεν suits the metaphor of the stadium better; for ἀνακόπτεν ’to beat back’ would apply to the ῥαβδοῦχοι (Thuc. v. 50) who kept the course: comp. Lucian Nigr. § 35 (I. p. 77) ἐξέπιπτόν τε καὶ ἀνεκοπτόμην, Polyc. § 5 ἀνακόπτεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν. The word ἐγκόπτεν seems to have given offence to transcribers: in 1 Thess. ii. 18, as here, ἀνακόπτεν stands as a various reading; in Acts xxiv. 4, 1 Pet. iii. 7. ἐκκόπτεν.

8. πεισμονή] with a faint reference to the preceding πείθεσθαι; ‘You have refused to obey the truth, you have rendered another obedience which is not of God.’ πεισμονή (Ignat. Rom. 3. Justin Apol. I. c. 53, p. 17 E; comp. πλησμονή, Col. ii. 23), like the English ‘persuasion,’ may be either active or

Galatians 5:9-11

ἡ μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα ζυμοῖ. ἰς ἐγὼ πέποιθα εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν Κυρίῳ, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε· ὁ δὲ ταράσσων ὑμᾶς βαστάσει τὸ κρίμα, ὅστις ἐὰν ᾖ. ἰς ἐγὼ

passive; ’the act of persuading,’ referring to the false teachers; or ’the state of one persuaded,’ referring to the Galatians themselves. The latter is perhaps simpler.

τοῦ καλοῦντος] i.e. God, as always in St Paul; see Usteri Paul. Lehrbegr. p. 269, and comp. i. 6, 15. The present is preferred here to the aorist, because the stress is laid on the person rather than the act; see the note on 1 Thess. v. 24, and comp. Winer § xlv. p. 444.

9. This proverb is quoted also in 1 Cor. v. 6. Comp. Hosea vii. 4.

Does it apply here (1) To the doctrine? ‘If you begin by observing the law in a few points, you will end by selling yourselves wholly to it’ (comp. v. 3); or (2) To the persons? ‘Though the Judaizers may be but few now, the infection will spread to the whole body.’ The latter is far more probable: for the prominent idea in the context is that of a small and compact body disturbing the peace of the Church; and the metaphor is thus applied also in 1 Cor. v. 7, where again it refers to the contagious example of a few evil-doers.

The leaven of Scripture is always a symbol of evil, with the single exception of the parable (Matt. xiii. 33, Luke xiii. 20, 21), as it is for the most part also in rabbinical writers: see Lightfoot on Matt. xvi. 6 and Schöttgen on 1 Cor. v. 6. Heathen nations also regarded leaven as unholy. Plutarch, Quaest. Rom. 109 (p. 289 e), in answer to the question why the Flamen Dialis was not allowed to touch leaven, explains it, ἡ ζύμη καὶ γέγονεν ἐκ φθορᾶς αὐτῇ καὶ φθείρει τὸ φύραμα μιγνυμένη. See Trench On the Parables, p. 111.

For the expression ζυμοῦν τὸ φύραμα see Exod. xii. 34.

10. ἐγὼ, emphatic, ‘I, who know you so well, who remember your former zeal’: iv. 14, 15.

πέποιθα] still dwelling on the same word, πείθεισθαι πεισμονή; see Winer § lxviii. p. 793 sq.

εἰς ὑμᾶς] ‘in regard to you’; see Winer § xlix. p. 496: comp. 2 Cor. viii. 22 πεποιθήσει πολλῇ τῇ εἰς ὑμᾶς, 2 Cor. ii. 3 πεποιθῶς ἐπὶ πάντας ὑμᾶς ὅτι κ.τ.λ., 2 Thess. iii. 4 πεποιθαμεν ἐν Κυρίῳ ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς οὐκ κ.τ.λ. As in the passage last cited, ἐν Κυρίῳ here denotes not the object of the writer’s confidence, but the sphere in which it is exercised.

οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε] ’none otherwise minded,’ either (1) ’than I bid you,’ for though no direct command immediately precedes these words, there is one implied; or, as seems more probable, (2) ’than ye were before this disorder broke out’; see ἐτρίχετε καλῶς, ver. 7.

ταράσσων] ‘raises seditions, excites tumults among you,’ the metaphor being continued in ἀναστατούντες ver. 12. See the note on i. 7.

βαστάσει] ‘shall bear as a burden; it shall press grievously on him’: see vi. 2, 5.

κρίμα] On the accent of this word, which is κρίμα in classical writers, see Lobeck. Parol. p. 418, Fritzsche Rom. 1. p. 96, Lipnus Gram. Unters. p. 40. Compare the note on στέλοι, ii. 9.

ὅστις ἐὰν ᾖ] i.e. ‘whatever may be his position in the Church, however he may want his personal intercourse with the Lord.’ See 2 Cor. x. 7.

11. At this point the malicious charge of his enemies rises up before the Apostle: ‘Why you do the same thing yourself; you caused Timothy to be circumcised.’ To this he replies: ‘What do I, who have incurred the deadly hatred of the Judaizers, who

Galatians 5:12

δέ, ἀδελφοί, εἰ περιτομὴν ἔτι κηρύσσω, τί ἔτι διάκουσι; ἄρα κατήργηται τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ σταυροῦ· Ὀφελὸν καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑμᾶς. am exposed to continual persecution from them, do I preach circumcision? ἔτι κηρύσσω] For an explanation

of this ἔτι, see the note i. 10. Perhaps however it should be explained rather by the form which the slander of his enemies would take: ‘You still preach circumcision, though you have become a Christian: why should not we continue to do the same?’ τί ἔτι] The second ἔτι is probably argumentative, ’this being the case,’ as in Rom. iii. 7, ix. 19.

ἄρα] ‘so it appears!’ ἄρα introduces a false statement or inference also in 1 Cor. v. 10, xv. 14, 15, 18, 2 Cor. i. 17. It is hero ironical; ‘So I have adopted their mode of justification; I am silent about the Cross of Christ! no one takes offence at my preaching now; all goes on pleasantly enough!’ The σταυρὸς here stands for the atoning death of Christ. The crucifixion of the Messiah was in itself a stumblingblock to the Jews, but preached as the means of atonement, it became doubly so: comp. 1 Cor. i. 23.

σκάνδαλον] almost confined, it would appear, to biblical and ecclesiastical Greek. σκανδάληθων however is a classical word, e.g. Arist. Ach. 687. 12. After this abrupt digression

St Paul returns again to the false brethren: ‘Why do they stop at circumcision?’ he asks indignantly, ‘why do they not mutilate themselves, like your priests of Cybele?’ The severity of the irony may be compared with

2 Cor. xi. 19, ‘Ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.’

Circumcision under the law and to the Jews was the token of a covenant. To the Galatians under the Gospel dispensation it had no such significance. It was merely a bodily mutilation, as such differing rather in degree than in kind from the terrible practices of the heathen priests. Compare Phil. iii. 2, 3 βλέπετε τὴν κατατομὴν ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή, where the same idea appears, clothed in similar language. Ὀφελὸν] Comp. 1 Cor. iv. 8, 2 Cor. xi. 1, in both of which passages the irony is plain. In this construction with the indicative, which appears only in later writers, the original meaning of ὀφελὸν is lost sight of, and it is treated as a mere particle; see Winer § xii. p. 377, A. Buttmann § 159, 10, p. 185.

ἀποκόψονται] will not admit the rendering of the A. V., ‘I would they were even cut off.’ On the other hand the meaning given above is assigned to ἀποκόψονται by all the Greek commentators, I believe, without exception (the Latin fathers, who read ‘abscendantur’ in their text, had more latitude), and seems alone tenable. See for instance ἀποκεντρώνον, Deut. xxiii. 1, and indeed ἀποκόπτονται was the common term for this mutilation. If it seems strange that St Paul should have alluded to such a practice at all, it must be remembered that as this was a recognised form of heathen selfdevotion, it could not possibly be shunned in conversation, and must at times have been mentioned by a Christian preacher. For the juxtaposition of περιτειναιν and ἀποκόπτων see Dion Cassius Ixxix. 11 (quoted by Bentley Crit. Sacr. p. 48), and compare Diod. Sic. iii. 31. The remonstrance is doubly significant as addressed to Galatians, for Pessinus one of their chief towns was the home of the worship of Cybele in honour of whom these mutilations were practised: comp. Justin Apod. i. p. 70 Ἐ ἀποκόπτονται τινες καὶ εἰς μητέρα θίων τὰ μυστήρια ἀναφέροναι. See also [Bardesaues] de Fato § 20, in Cureton’s Spic. Syr. p. 32. Thus by ‘glorying in the flesh’ the Galatians were returning in a very marked way

Galatians 5:13-14

¹³ Ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἐπ’ ἐλευθερία ἐκλήθητε, ἀδελφοί· μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις. ¹⁴ ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ ἀραπώσεις γῶ

to the bondage of their former heathenism. See iv. 9, v. 1.

ἀναστατοῦντες] stronger than τορᾶσοντες; ‘They not only incite you to sedition, but they overthrow the whole framework of your heavenly polity.’ For ἀναστατοῦν, a word unknown to classical writers, who would use ἀναστάτους ποιεῖν instead, see Acts xvii. 6, xxi. 38. ‘Well does he say ἀναστατοῦντες,’ remarks Chrysostom, ‘for abandoning their country and their freedom and their kindred in heaven, they compelled them to seek a foreign and a strange land; banishing them from the heavenly Jerusalem and the tree, and forcing them to wander about as captives and aliens.’

13. This is the justification of the indignant scorn poured on their offence: ‘They are defeating the very purpose of your calling: ye were called not for bondage, but for liberty.’ ἐπ’ ἐλευθερία] For καλεῖν ἐπὶ see 1 Thess. iv. 7: comp. Ephes. ii. 10, and Winer § xviii. p. 492.

μόνον μὴ] Here he suddenly checks himself, to avoid misunderstanding; ‘Liberty and not licence.’ It may be that here, as in the Corinthian Church, a party opposed to the Judaizers had shown a tendency to Antinomian excess. At all events, such an outburst was ever to be dreaded in a body of converted heathens, whether as a protest against or a rebound from the strict formalism which the Judaic party sought to impose on the Church; and in this case the passionate temperament of a Celtic people would increase the Apostle’s uneasiness. Comp. Rom. vi. 1 sq. Phil. iii. 13 sq (notes μόνον μὴ κ.τ.λ.] ‘only turn not your liberty.’ Some was supply δῶτε, which is perhaps a retranslation from ‘detis’ of the Latin versions. For similar instances of ellipsis see the notes ii. 9, 10. The omission of the verb after the prohibitive μὴ is common in animated passages in classical writers: e.g. Arist. Ach. 345 ἀλλὰ μὴ μοι πρόφασιν. See the instances in Jeff’s Gramm. § 897. Comp. Matt. xxvi. 5 μὴ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ.

ἀφορμὴν] The word is peculiar to St Paul among the New Testament writers, occurring Rom. vii. 8, 11, 2 Cor. v. 12, xi. 12 (twice), 1 Tim. v. 14.

διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε] Both ἀγάπης and δουλεύετε are emphatic. St Paul’s meaning may be expressed by a paraphrase thus; ‘Your desire to be in bondage: I too recommend to you a bondage, the subservience of mutual love. Temper your liberty with this bondage, and it will not degenerate into licence.’ A similar contrast between true and false servitude appears in 1 Pet. ii. 16 ὡς ἐλεύθεροι καὶ μὴ ὡς ἐπικάλυμμα ἔχοντες τῆς κακίας τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ἀλλ’ ὡς Θεοῦ δοῦλοι.

14. ‘Ye profess yourselves anxious to fulfil the law; I show you a simple and comprehensive way of fulfilling it.’ See vi. 2. The idea of completeness is brought out by an accumulation of separate expressions, ’the entire law,’ ‘a single precept,’ ‘is fulfilled already.’ ὁ πᾶς νόμος] ’the entire law.’ The idea of totality is expressed more strongly by the exceptional position of the article instead of the more usual order πᾶς ὁ νόμος; comp. 1 Tim. i. 16 τὴν ἅπασαν μακροθυμίαν, Plat. Gorg. p. 470 ἐ ἐν ταύτῳ ἡ πᾶσα εὐδαιμονία ἐστίν, Ignat. Magn. 1 τὴν πᾶσαν ἐπήρειαν.

πεπλήρωται] ‘is summarily fulfilled.’ For the force of the perfect see Winer § xl. p. 341. A. Bittmann p. 172. Tertullian (adc. Marc. p. 4)

Galatians 5:15-17

πλησίον σογ ὡς σεαγτόν. ¹⁵εἰ δὲ ἀλλήλους δάκυετε καὶ κατεσθίετε, βλέπετε μὴ ὑπ’ ἀλλήλου ἀναλωθῆτε. ¹⁶Λέγω δέ, πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε, καὶ ἐπιθυμίαι σαρκύς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε. ¹⁷ἡ γὰρ σάρξ ἐπιθυμεῖ κατὰ hints that Marcion perverted the

meaning of the tense to suit his purpose, ‘si sic vult intelligi adimpleta est, quasi jam non adimplenda. The present πληροῖται in the received text enfeebles the sense. The meaning of πληροῦν here is not to ‘sum up, comprehend,’ but ’to perform, complete,’ as appears from the parallel passage, Rom. xiii. 8 ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἑτερον, νομον πεπλήρωκεν; so that ἐν ἰνί λόγῳ, ‘in one maxim or precept,’ means ‘in the observance of one maxim or precept.’ ἐν τῷ probably neuter, in apposition to the sentence; comp Rom. xiii. 9, 10. See above on iv. 25.

τὸν πλησίον. In the original text

(Lov. xix. 18) the word ’neighbour’ is apparently restricted to the Jewish people: ‘Thou shalt not bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ From the question of the lawyer (Luke x. 29) it may be inferred that the meaning of this term was a common theme for discussion. Our Lord extends and spiritualises its meaning; and in this comprehensive sense, as applying to the universal brotherhood of men, St Paul here uses it. See Tholuck Bergprediot, v. 43.

σακνῶν. The received text has ἑανῶν, which some would retain against the authority of the best kiss on the ground that it was altered by scribes ignorant of this usage of ἑανοῦ for the first and second persons. The case however with respect to the New Testaiment seems to stand thus; that whereas (1) in the plural we always find ἑανοῦν etc., never ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ὑμῶν αὐτῶν etc., as mere reflexives, yet (2) in the singular there is not one decisive instance of ἑανοῦ in the first or second person; the authority of the best kiss being mostly against it. See A. Buttmann p. 99; and for the testimony of the kiss in this text Lov. xix. 18 as quoted in the N. T., Tischndorf on Rom. xiii. 9.

15. βλέπετε κ.τ.λ.] A sort of parenthetic warning: ‘The contest will not end in a victory to either party, such as you crave. It will lead to the common extinction of both.’ St Paul returns to his main subject again in ver. 16. See the introduction, p. 33, note 3. 16—18. ‘This is my command.

Walk by the rule of the Spirit. If you do so, you will not, you cannot, gratify the lusts of the flesh. Between the Spirit and the flesh there is not only no alliance; there is an interminable, deadly feud. (You feel these antagomistic forces working in you: you would fain follow the guidance of your conscience, and you are dragged back by an opposing power.) And if you adopt the rule of the Spirit, you thereby renounce your allegiance to the law. In this passage the Spirit is doubly contrasted, first, with the flesh, and secondly, with the law. The flesh and the law are closely allied: they both move in the same element, in the sphere of outward and material things. The law is not only no safeguard against the flesh, but rather provokes it; and he who would renounce the flesh, must renounce the law also. We have here germs of the ideas more fully developed in the

Epistle to the Romans.

16 πνεύματι the dative of the rule or direction. see the notes v. 25, vi 16. οἱ μὴ τελέσητε] ‘ye shall in no wise fulf!’ A strong form of the future especially frequent in later Greek; see Lobeck Pliny. p. 724.

GAL.

Galatians 5:18

τοῦ πνεύματος, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα κατὰ τῆς σαρκὸς· ταῦτα γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται, ἵνα μή, ἃ ἐὰν θέλητε, ταῦτα ποιῆτε. ¹⁸ εἰ δὲ πνεύματι ἄγεσθε, οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόμον.

17. τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα] ‘but the Spirit strives, fights against the flesh.’ As ἐπιθυμείν cannot apply to the Spirit, some other verb must be supplied in the second clause. Throughout this passage the πνεῦμα is evidently the Divine Spirit; for the human spirit in itself and unaided does not stand in direct antagonism to the flesh. See Müller’s Doctrine of Sin. I. p. 354 sq. ταῦτα γὰρ κ.τ.λ.] A parenthetical clause, suggested by what has gone before, but not bearing on the main argument. It is an appeal to their own consciousness; ‘Have you not evidence of these two opposing principles in your own hearts? How otherwise do you not always obey the dictates of your conscience?’ ἵνα] here seems to denote simply the result, whereas in classical writers it always expresses the purpose. For this late use of the word see the note on 1 Thess. v. 4 ἃ ἐὰν θέλητε] The parallel passage, Rom. vii. 15, 16, determines the meaning of θέλειν here. It denotes the promptings of the conscience; ‘video meliora proloque.’

18. πνεύματι ἄγεσθε] Comp. Rom. viii. 14 ὅσοι γὰρ πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγονται. οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόμον] ‘You have escaped from the dominion of law.’ See on ver. 23. An anonymous writer in Cramer’s Catena p. 81 (where the words are wrongly assigned to Chrysostom) says, οὐ νόμον τῷ ἀπειλοῦντι δοῦλοις, πνεύματι δὲ τῷ ἄγοντι τέκνα Θεοῦ. For νόμος without the article, see iii. 18, iv. 4, 5.

19. ‘Would you ascertain whether you are walking by the Spirit? Then apply the plain practical test.’ ἄτινα] ‘such as are,’ not ᾶ, ‘which are’; the list not being exhaustive, but giving instances only. See on iv. 24.

Though no systematic classification is to be looked for in the catalogue which follows, yet a partial and unconscious arrangement may perhaps be discerned. The sins here mentioned seem to fall into four classes: (1) Sensual passions, ‘fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness’; (2) Unlawful dealings in things spiritual, ‘idolatry, witchcraft’; (3) Violations of brotherly love, ’enmities…murders’; (4) Intemperate excesses, ‘drunkenness, revelations.’ From early habit and constant association a Gentile Church would be peculiarly exposed to sins of the first two classes. The third would be a probable consequence of their religious dissensions, inflaming the excitable temperament of a Celtic people. The fourth seems to be thrown in to give a sort of completeness to the list, though not unfitly addressed to a nation whose Gallic descent perhaps disposed them too easily to these excesses; see the introduction p. 13.

πορνεία κ.τ.λ.] The same three words occur together in a different order 2 Cor. xii. 21. The order here is perhaps the more natural; πορνεία a special form of impurity, ἀκαθαρσία uncleanness in whatever guise, ἀσίλγεια an open and reckless contempt of propriety.

ἀκαθαρσία] Comp. Rom. i. 24. There is no sufficient ground for assigning to this word the sense ‘covetousness’; see the note on 1 Thess. ii. 3.

ἀσίλγεια] ‘icantenness.’ A man may be ἀκάθαρτος and hide his sin; he does not become ἀσίλγῆς until he shocks public decency. In classical Greek the word ἀσίλγεια generally signifies insolence or violence towards another, as it is defined in Bekker’s Anecdot. p. 451, ἡ μετ’ ἐπηρειασμοῦ καὶ θυσσίτητος βία. In the later language, in the New Testament for instance, the prominent

Galatians 5:19-20

¹⁹φανερά δὲ ἐστιν τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκὸς, ἀτινὰ ἐστιν πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, ἀσέλγεια, ²⁰εἰδωλολατρεία, φαρμακεία, ἔχθραι, ἔρις, ξῆλος, θυμοί, ἐριθεῖαι, διχοστασίαι,

20. Ἔχθραι, ἔρις.

idea is sensuality, according to the loose definition in Etym. Magn. ἐτοιμότης πρὸς πᾶσαν ἡδονήν: comp. Polyb. xxxvii. 2 πολλὴ δὲ τις ἀσέλγεια καὶ περὶ τὰς σωματικὰς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῷ συνειξηκολούθει. Thus it has much the same range of meaning as Ἔχθραι.

20. In spiritual things two sins are named; εἰδωλολατρεία the open recognition of false gods, and φαρμακεία the secret tampering with the powers of evil.

φαρμακεία] not ‘poisoning’ here, but ‘sorcery, witchcraft,’ as its association with ‘idolatry’ shows: comp. Rev. xxi. 8 φαρμακεῖς καὶ εἰδωλολάτραις. On the different kinds of φαρμακεία see especially Plato Legg. xi. pp. 932, 933: comp. Philo de Migr. Abr. p. 449 μ ἡ οὐχ ὄρῃς τοὺς ἐπαιοδοὺς καὶ φαρμακευτὰς ἀντισφρατεύοντας τῷ θεῷ λόγῳ, Quod Det. Pot. p. 198 πτοὺς ἐν Αἰγίπτῳ τῷ σώματι σοφιστὰς οὐς φαρμακίας ὀνομάζει, Plato Symp. p. 203 π δεινὸς γῆς καὶ φαρμακεῖς καὶ σοφιστῆς. This is a common sense of φαρμακεῖς, φαρμακεία, in the LXX. It is a striking coincidence, if nothing more, that φαρμακεῖαι were condemned by a very stringent canon of the council held at Ancyra the capital of Galatia (about A.D. 314), see Hefele Conciliæng. 1. p. 209. For the prevalence of γοητεία in Asia Minor see Greg. Naz. Orut. iv. 31 (1. p. 91); comp. 2 Tim. iii. 13.

20, 21. Ἔχθραι κ.τ.λ.] A principle of order may be observed in the enumeration which follows: (1) ἔχθραι, a general expression opposed to ἀγάπη, breaches of charity in feeling or in act; from this point onward the terms are in an ascending scale: (2), (3) ἔρις ‘strife,’ not necessarily implying self-interest; (Ἔχθραι ‘rivalry,’ in which the idea of self-assertion is prominent:

(4), (5) θυμοί ‘wraths,’ a more passionate form of ἔρις; ἐριθεῖαι ‘factionus cabals,’ a stronger development of Ἔχθραι; (6), (7) hostility has reached the point where the contending parties separate; such separation is either temporary (διχοστασίαι ‘divisions’), or permanent (αἰρέσεις ‘sects, heresies’); (8) φθόνοι, a grosser breach of charity than any hitherto mentioned, the wish to deprive another of what he has; (9) φόνοι, the extreme form which hatred can take, the deprivation of life.

The first four words ἔρις Ἔχθραι θυμοί ἐριθεῖαι occur in the same order 2 Cor. xii. 20: comp. Rom. xiii. 13.

(Ἔχθραι) ’emulation, rivalry,’ not necessarily, like φθόνος, in a bad sense, and in fact with classical writers it is generally used otherwise. But as it is the tendency of Christian teaching to exalt the gentler qualities and to depress their opposites, Ἔχθραι falls in the scale of Christian ethics (see Clem. Rom. §§ 4-6), while τακινότης for instance rises.

θυμοί] ‘authorists of wrath.’ On θυμὸς in its relation to ὀργή, as the outward manifestation to the inward feeling, see Trench, N. T. Sym. § xxxvii. p. 123. The plural is frequent even in classical writers: see Lobeck on Soph. A. 716.

ἐριθεῖαι] ‘caballings.’ Derived from ἔριθος, the word signifies properly ‘working for hire’; hence it gets to mean ’the canvassing of hired partizans’ (Suldas, ἐριθεύεσθαι ὁμοίεν ἐστι τῷ δεκάζεσθαι, καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐριθεία εἴρηται ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ μισθοῦ δόσεως) and hence more generally ‘factionousness’; comp. Arist. Polit. v. [viii] 3. μεταβάλλονσι δ’ αἱ πολιτεῖαι καὶ δυο στάσεως διὰ τε τὰς ἐπιθείας ὥσπερ ἐν Ἡραίᾳ’ ἐξ αἱρετῶν γὰρ διὰ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν κληρωτὰς, ὅτι

14-2

Galatians 5:21-22

αἱρέσεις, ²¹φθόνοι, [φόνοι], μέθαι, κώμοι, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις· ἃ προλέγω ὑμῖν καθὼς [καὶ] προεῖπον, ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν. ²²ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη,

ἀροῦντο τοὺς ἐπιθυομένους. Thus it has no connexion with ἥρις, unless indeed both are to be referred ultimately to the same root ἥρω ἥρδω, as is maintained by Lobeck Pathol. p. 365. Comp. Fritzsche Rom. 1. p. 143. For ἐπιθεία following upon ἥλιος see James iii. 14, εἰ δὲ ἥλων πικρὸν ἔχετε καὶ ἐπιθείαν, and ib. ver. 16.

αἱρέσεις] A more aggravated form of Ἐχωστασία, when the divisions have developed into distinct and organized parties: comp. 1 Cor. xi. 18 ἀκούω σχίσματα ἐν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχουν καὶ μέρος τε πιστεύω, ὅτι γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι, and the remarks of Tertullian de Praeser. Haer. § 5, thereon.

21. φθόνοι] On the distinction of ἥλιος the desire to be as well off as another, and φθόνος the desire to deprive another of what he has, see Aristotle Rhet. ii. 9, 10, 11, who says, διὸ καὶ ἐπιτελεῖ ἐστιν ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ἐπιτελεῖν, τὸ δὲ φθονεῖν φιόλων καὶ φιόλων. Compare Trench N. T. Syn. § xxvi. p. 82, and to the references there given add Æsch. Agam. 939 ὁ δ’ ἀφθονητὸς γ’ οὐκ ἐπὶ ἥλιος πέλει, and Thucyd. ii. 64.

φόνοι] is omitted by some editors with a few of the most ancient texts, as an interpolation from Rom. i. 29, where φθόνον φόνον occur together. The fact however of the same alliteration occurring in another epistle written about the same time is rather in its favour, and the omission in some texts may be due to the carelessness of a copyist transcribing words so closely resembling each other. The reading must therefore remain doubtful. Comp. Eur. Troud. 763 φθόνον φόνον τε. For the paronomasia see Winer § lxviii. p. 65.

μέθαι, κωμοί, as Rom. xii. 13; comp.

Dion Cass. lxx. 3 μέθαι τε καὶ κώμοι. ἃ προλέγω π.λ.] For the construction comp. Joh. viii. 54 ὃν ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Θεὸς ὑμῶν ἐστίν.

προεῖπον] probably on the occasion of his second visit. See i. 9, iv. 13, 16, and the introduction p. 25.

βασιλείαν π.λ.] Comp. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, xv. 50.

22. ὁ δὲ καρπός] The Apostle had before mentioned the works of the flesh; he here speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. This change of terms is significant. The flesh is a rank weed which produces no fruit properly so called (comp. Eph. v. 9, 11, Rom. vi. 21); and St Paul’s language here recalls the contrast of the fig and vine with the thorn and the thistle in the parable, Matt. vii. 16 sq.

22, 23. The difficulty of classification in the list which follows is still greater than in the case of the works of the flesh. Nevertheless some sort of order may be observed. The catalogue falls into three groups of three each. The first of these comprises Christian habits of mind in their more general aspect, ’love, joy, peace’; the second gives special qualities affecting a man’s intercourse with his neighbour, ’long-suffering, kindness, beneficence’; while the third, again general in character like the first, exhibits the principles which guide a Christian’s conduct, ‘honesty, gentleness, temperance.’ ἀγάπη π.λ.] The fabric is built up, story upon story. Love is the foundation, joy the superstructure, peace the crown of all.

μακροθυμία π.λ.] This triad is again arranged in an ascending scale; μακροθυμία is passive, ‘patient endurance under injuries inflicted by others’;

Galatians 5:23-24

χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, ²³πραύτης, ἐγκράτεια. κατά τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος. ²⁴οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν σὺν τοῖς παθήμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις.

χρηστάτης, neutral, ‘a kindly disposition towards one’s neighbours’ not necessarily taking a practical form; ἀγαθωσύνη, active, ‘goodness, beneficence’ as an energetic principle. For the first two words compare 1 Cor. xiii. 4 ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμία χρηστεύεται. The second is distinguished from the third as the ἦθος from the ἐνέργεια; χρηστάτης is potential ἀγαθωσύνη, ἀγαθωσύνη is energizing χρηστάτης. They might be translated by ‘benignitas’ and ‘bonitas’ respectively, as Jerome renders them here, or by ‘benevolentia’ and ‘beneficentia.’ Other distinctions which have been given of these words are discussed in Trench’s N. T. Syn. § lxiii. p. 218 sq.

πίστις] seems not to be used here in its theological sense ‘belief in God.’ Its position points rather to the passive meaning of faith, ’trustworthiness, fidelity, honesty,’ as in Matt. xxiii. 23, Tit. ii. 10; comp. Rom. iii. 3. See above, p. 157. Possibly however it may here signify ’trusthiness, reliance,’ in one’s dealings with others; comp. 1 Cor. xiii. 7 ἡ ἀγάπη… πάντα πιστεύει.

23. πραύτης ‘mechness’ is joined with πίστις (used apparently in the same sense as here) in Ecclus. xlv. 4 ἐν πίστις καὶ πραύτης αὐτῶν ἡ γίωσεν (sc. Μωϋσῆν). On the meaning of πραύτης see Trench N. T. Syn. §§ xlii, xliii. p. 140 sq; and on the varying forms πρῶος (-ἔτης), πρῶος (-ἔτης). Lobeck Phryn. p. 403, Lipsius Gram. Unters. p. 7. The forms in v are the best supported in the New Testament: see A. Buttmann pp. 23, 24.

κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων κ.τ.λ.] ‘against such things.’ Law exists for the purpose of restraint, but in the works of the Spirit there is nothing to restrain; comp. 1 Tim. i. 9 εἰδὼς τοῦτο, ὅτι δικαίῳ νόμος οὐ κεῖται, ἀνόμοις δὲ καὶ ἀνυποτάκτοις κ.τ.λ. Thus then the Apostle substantiates the proposition stated in ver. 18, ‘If ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under law.’

24. οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ] ’note they that are of Christ Jesus.’ Several of the Greek fathers strangely connected τοῦ Χριστοῦ with τὴν σάρκα, ’these persons have crucified the flesh of Christ,’ explaining it in various ways; see e.g. Clem. Alox. Fragm. 1015 (Potter). Origen however, who so took it, seems not to have had δ’ in his text, and therefore made οἱ a relative agreeing with τῶν τοιούτων, which he took as masculine. See Jerome’s note here.

Ἰησοῦ] which is struck out in the received text, ought probably to be retained. It is found in several of the oldest texts, and the omission in others is easily accounted for by the unusual order ὁ Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς. This order occurs also in Ephes. iii. 1, 11, Col. ii. 6, but in both passages with some variation of reading.

ἐσταύρωσαν] ‘crucified.’ The aorist is to be explained either (1) By reference to the time of their becoming members of Christ in baptism, as Rom. vi. 6 ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη; or (2) As denoting that the change is complete and decisive, without reference to any distinct point of time; see the note on ver. 4, κατηργήθητε.

τοῖς παθήμασιν κ.τ.λ.] ’the affections and the lusts’; comp. Col. iii. 5, 1 Thess. iv. 5, and see Trench N. T. Syn. § lxxxvii. p. 305. The two words are chiefly distinguished as presenting vice on its passive and its active side respectively. Comp. Joseph. [II] Macc. § 3. At the same time παθήματα perhaps retains something of the meaning which

Galatians 5:25-26

²⁵εἰ ζῶμεν πνεύματι, πνεύματι καὶ στοιχῶμεν. ²⁵μὴ γινώμεθα κενόδοξοι, ἀλλήλους προκαλούμενοι, ἀλλήλους φθονοῦντες.

26. ἀλλήλους φθονοῦντες.

it has in Greek philosophy; and, if so, it is more comprehensive than ἐπιθυμία; see for instance Arist. Eth. Nic. ii. 4 λέγω δὲ πάθη μὲν ἐπιθυμίαν ὀργὴν φύβον θράσος κτλ.

25. ‘You have crucified your old selves: you are dead to the flesh and you live to the Spirit. Therefore conform your conduct to your new life.’ See Gal. ii. 19, 20, and especially Rom. vi. 2—14, where the same thoughts are expanded.

The ’lite to the Spirit,’ of which the Apostle here speaks, is an ideal rather than an actual life: it denotes a state which the Galatians were put in the way of attaining rather than one which they had already attained. Otherwise the injunction ‘walk also by the Spirit’ were superfluous. Comp. Col. iii. 1, Ephes. iv. 30. This is always St Paul’s way of speaking. Members of the Christian brotherhood are in his language the ‘saints,’ the ’elect,’ by virtue of their admission into the Church. It remains for them to make their profession a reality.

εἰ ζῶμεν πνεύματι] ‘If we live to the Spirit.’ The dative here is safest interpreted by the corresponding datives in the parallel passage, Rom. vi. 2, 10, τῇ ὁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθανεῖν, ver. 11 νεκροὺς μὲν τῇ ὁμαρτίᾳ ζῶντας δὲ τῷ Θεῷ; comp. also Rom. xiv. 8, Κυρίῳ ζῶμεν, Κυρίῳ ἀποθνήσκομεν, 2 Cor. v. 15.

πνεύματι καὶ στοιχῶμεν] ’let us also walk by the Spirit.’ The dative with στοιχεῖν, περιπατεῖν, etc., marks the line or direction; as Polyb. xxviii. 5, 6 βουλόμενοι στοιχεῖν τῇ τῆς συγκλήτου προθέσει. Comp. Fritzsche Rom. III. p. 142, and A. Buttmann p. 160. See above v. 16 (with the note), vi. 16.

26. St Paul works round again to the subject of ver. 15, and repeats his warning. It is clear that something had occurred which alarmed him on this point. See the introduction, p. 14.

There is a gradation in the phrases used here. Vainglory provokes contention; contention produces envy.

γινώμεθα] not ὤμεν. This vainglorying was a departure from their spiritual standard.

κενόδοξοι] ‘vainglorious.’ So κενόδοξα, Phil. ii. 3, and occasionally in Polybius and later writers. In Wisd. xiv. 14 κενόδοξα seems to mean rather ‘vain opinion,’ ‘folly.’ προκαλούμενοι] ‘provoking, challenging to combat.’ Both this word and φθονεῖν are ἄπαξ λεγόμενα in the New Testament. In the LXX φθονεῖν occurs once only, Tob. iv. 16; προκαλεῖσθαι never.

ἀλλήλους φθονοῦντες] I have ventured to place the accusative in the text rather than the dative, in deference to a few excellent authorities, though I am not aware of any other example of φθονεῖν with an accusative of the person. It seems to be one out of many instances of the tendency of later Greek to produce uniformity by substituting the more usual case of the object for the less usual; see the note on ἐγκέπτειν ver. 7. Comp. also Heb. viii. 8 μερφόμενοι αὐτοῖς (the correct reading). So too πολεμεῖν takes an accusative, e.g. Ignat. Trall. 4.

VI. 1—5. ‘As brethren, I appeal to you. Act in a brotherly spirit. I have just charged you to shun vainglory, to shun provocation and envy. I ask you now to do more than this. I ask you to be gentle even to those whose guilt is flagrant. Do any of you profess to be spiritually-minded! Then correct the offender in a spirit of tenderness. Correct and reinstate him. Remember your own weakness; reflect that you too may be tempted