Galatians 5 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Galatians 5:1-3

A. Find Out:

1. What has Christ done for us? v.1a
   • It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
2. What do we need to do? v.1b
   • Stand firm, then
3. What are we to avoid happening? v.1c
   • do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
4. What was Paul warning them against? v.2a
   • Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,
5. What did he say would result? v.2b
   • Christ will be of no value to you at all.
6. What also would then be required? v.3
   • Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law.

B. Think:

1. What is the Christian’s inheritance?
2. How may we lose that inheritance?
3. In what practical ways do you think that happens today?

C. Comment:

Paul, in these few verses, now moves from generally speaking about the Law to specifically speaking about one aspect of it that was being pressed by the legalistic and religious Jews, circumcision!

Yet before he does that, he makes a bold and general statement: when Christ set us free it was so that we would REMAIN FREE! Immediately he notes that that won’t necessarily happen automatically, we need to STAND FIRM. In other words, we need to take a positive stand and resist anything which would come into our lives and take away that freedom. If we do allow any such thing into our lives, then it will become a burden and a bondage to us, and that wasn’t Christ’s purpose in saving us!

Then he goes on to show something that does just that. Look, says Paul, if you start insisting on circumcision again you are back into the “you must” legalistic rule-keeping mentality which will do you no good at all. If you are going to start keeping one bit of the law for your salvation, you will have to keep it all, and that just brings a sense of failure and defeat. Possibly these few words of Paul need to be spoken loudly to parts of the church of today!

D. Application? 

1. Salvation is not Grace plus anything, it is God’s complete free gift earned by Jesus on the Cross. We cannot add to it!
2. Receive God’s love freely, without trying to earn it in any way.

Passage: Galatians 5:4-6

A. Find Out:

1. What were the Galatians trying to do? v.4a
   • You who are trying to be justified by the law
2. But what had, in fact, happened? v.4b
   • have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
3. How should we wait? v.5a
   • For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith
4. For what should we wait? v.5b
   • the righteousness for which we hope.
5. What has no value? v.6a
   • For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value
6. What is the only thing that counts? v.6b
   • The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

B. Think:

1. What happens when we try to achieve salvation?
2. Why is that so?
3. What, again, is the necessary ingredient for the Christian life?

C. Comment:

First, let us note today the primary criticism that Paul brings: if we try to bring about our acceptance by God by our own activities, we are being self centred (and not God centred) and we push aside the work of Christ on the Cross and make it worthless. In other words, we fall away from the one thing that can save us, the grace of God and replace it with works that cannot be acceptable to God because they are imperfect.

Against the man-made-salvation-by-works, Paul contrasts salvation by grace which allows the Holy Spirit to be released in our lives to lead us and enable us to be righteous in our activities.

Again, against the salvation-by-works Paul declares a salvation that comes by faith. Look he says, circumcision or uncircumcision isn’t really the point. Works, one way or the other, are not the point. Doing or not doing cannot achieve your salvation, it is whether you believe in Christ and his saving work, and are led by the Spirit of God.

THAT is salvation, faith that expresses itself through love for the Lord, love that responds to love, love that allows the Spirit to lead it to do wonderful things. Focusing on the outward (e.g. circumcision) completely misses the point. Trying to be religious misses the point. Have we seen that?

D. Application?

1. Faith when it works produces love works.
2. God’s love received, releases love and faith.

Passage: Galatians 5:7-12

A. Find Out:    

1. What had they been doing? v.7a
   • You were running a good race.
2. What were they now doing? v.7b
   • Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
3. What didn’t cause that? v.8
   • That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
4. What does Paul fear? v.9
   • ‘A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.’
5. What was happening to them? v.10
   • I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.
6. What would preaching circumcision be? v.11
   • Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offence of the cross has been abolished.

B. Think:

1. How in these verses does Paul describe their departure?
2. What warning is given as to how that comes about?
3. What warning does he give to those who bring it?

C. Comment:

At first sight not very exciting verses but as we start to consider them, perhaps, we may begin to observe some important truths. First, the Christian life is a clear-cut observable life which you go into and can leave. It is a life of truth, and you can depart from that (v.7)!

Second, the leaving of truth can be very gradual, starting with something very small which, (v.9) once established, spreads and spreads and takes over the whole life. We need to be aware that when we countenance untruth in our lives it can have the effect of pushing truth from all of our life.

Third, where that departure from the truth is brought about by another person, they will not be allowed to get away with it. Eventually they will pay the price of deception in their own lives. (v.10,12)

Fourth, the Cross destroys all other possible means of salvation. Either they push out the Cross or the Cross pushes them out. Whatever else is preached is an offence to the Cross and opposes it. You cannot have the Cross AND “good-works-salvation”; the Cross ALONE is the means of earning our salvation, Jesus ALONE has earned our freedom. (v.11)

D. Application?

1. If we consciously allow any pretense or untruth in our lives, it will spread and distort our whole lives. Check it out!
2. The Cross ALONE is my means of access to God.

Passage: Galatians 5:13-15

A. Find Out:

1. To what were we called? v.13a
   • You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.
2. What are we NOT to use it for? v.13b
   • But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;
3. How are we to use it? v.13c
   • rather, serve one another humbly in love.
4. How is the Law summed up? v.14
   • For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
5. What does Paul warn against? v.15a
   • If you bite and devour each other,
6. What consequences will that produce? v.15b
   • watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

B. Think:

1. What two ways may we use our freedom?
2. Why is the latter way so important?
3. Why is it so important not to go the former way?

C. Comment:

Yet again in so few verses we get so many important truths. We need to learn to meditate slowly on a few verses rather than skim read many! First, Paul reiterates that our calling is to freedom. We may be taking that for granted in these studies but it is essential that we don’t. Freedom is at the very heart of the purposes of God for us, and it was the very thing these Galatian Christians had thrown away.

Second, Paul says it is possible with the freedom that we have to go the way of self pleasing, and the choice is always ours! The “self-pleasing” may be gratifying physical desires constantly, or satisfying our ego as we defend ourselves and attack others. This, says Paul, will only lead to our destruction.

Third, he points to the correct way of using our freedom, that is by loving one another. The reasons for this are twofold. First if we serve one another in love, we will not give way to self-centredness and will avoid destruction. Second, if we love one another we will actually be fulfilling all of the law in the second half of the ten commandments, and will thus be fully obeying God in respect of other people. We need always to remember we have been saved FROM something (self-centred living) and saved TO something (a life of love).

D. Application?

1. “Self-pleasing” or loving others as Christ did?
2. Self-centred or God-centred?

Passage: Galatians 5:16-18

A. Find Out:

1. How does Paul encourage them to live? v.16a
   • So I say, live by the Spirit
2. What will that do? v.16b
   • nd you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
3. What does sinful nature require? v.17a
   • For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit
4. What does the Spirit require? v.17b
   • and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
5. What effect does this conflict have? v.17c
   • They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
6. When are we not under the Law? v.18
   • But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

B. Think:

1. What internal war does Paul now speak about?
2. How are we to overcome?
3. What do you think that means in practical terms?

C. Comment:

Paul, having spoken earlier (v.13) about the “sinful nature”, now enlarges on that. Earlier versions speak about “the flesh”.   “Flesh” in Scripture can mean a) the physical body of a human being (e.g., John 1:14) or b) the godless human personality that seeks constant self-gratification, which is what we have in this passage.

So, says Paul, the way to overcome this constant self-gratification is to be led by the Spirit, i.e. to allow your life to be led by the Holy Spirit from within you. As you allow Him to lead you, you will find that he will overcome the self-gratifying side of you. But, Paul goes on, be aware that the Spirit and the flesh are at war against each other. ‘Self’ ignores the Spirit and doesn’t care for what God wants, only what it wants. The Holy Spirit wants what God wants and that is always the best for you, but it may not be what the flesh wants.

What you find therefore, is that your Godward desire and the Holy Spirit within you want one thing but the ‘self’ side of you, wanting to just gratify your physical or emotional needs as it sees them, wants the opposite. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and you will know a new freedom which enables you to live righteously without being rule conscious all the time.

D. Application?

1. We need to check: are our lives God-centred and directed or purely satisfying self.
2. The Holy Spirit will lead if we let Him.

Passage: Galatians 5:19-23

A. Find Out:

1. What does Paul say the acts of the sinful nature are? v.19
   • The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
2. How many does he list? v.19-21
   • sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like
3. What is the consequence of living like this? v.21
   • those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God
4. How many fruit of the spirit are listed? v.22,23
   • But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
5. What does he conclude about them? v.23
   • Against such things there is no law.

B. Think:

1. How would you summarize the acts of the sinful nature”?
2. Whose fruit is love, joy etc.?
3. How does fruit grow?

C. Comment:

In these verses we have stark black and white contrasts. Within them, we must remember, Paul is emphasizing the difference between a life that is submitted to the old self-centred sinful nature (or flesh) and one that is submitted to the Holy Spirit. For meditation purposes, perhaps the best way to consider the list of acts of the sinful nature is to say, what sort of life is being experienced by a person who is involved in some or all of these? The answer must be, one of godless chaos, personal stress, upset and pain. People involved in these things so often portray on the outside a life of careless abandon to self but internally they are in deep distress.

Each of the fruit of the Spirit could form a basis for a separate meditation but instead let’s consider the origin of fruit. Fruit comes from a growing plant or tree. That listed is fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit Himself being manifested in our lives. It is not us; it is Him living in us, expressed through us. It is not a case of trying to have more peace, but of allowing Him to rule our lives and express Himself in us and through us. These are things that His presence in us brings when we allow Him to rule in us.

D. Application?

1. The choice is clear: do we live according to OUR own whims or according to the leading of the Spirit of God within us?
2. HE is love, joy, peace etc.

Passage: Galatians 5:24-26

A. Find Out:

1. What have the followers of Jesus done? v.24a
   • Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh
2. How does the sinful nature express itself? v.24b
   • with its passions and desires.
3. How do we live? v.25a
   • since we live by the Spirit
4. What are we to do? v.25b
   • let us keep in step with the Spirit.
5. What are we to avoid becoming? v.26
   • Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

B. Think:

1. What does Paul declare is a PAST reality in our lives?
2. What does he say is a PRESENT reality in our lives?
3. But what responsibility do we still have?

C. Comment:

Observe first what Paul says HAS happened to us: we have crucified the flesh or sinful nature. When and how did that happen? It happened when we came to Christ in repentance and asked Him to be savior and Lord of our lives. If it was a true work of the Holy Spirit, at that moment we laid down our old life and its driving self-centred forces.

Note second that Paul states as a FACT that we live by the Spirit. He doesn’t say, “If you manage to live by the Spirit” for he assumes that the ONLY way to be a Christian is to be led and motivated by the Holy Spirit. It is a fact of the Christian life that He is there seeking to lead us. That brings us to the third point of note: if He is seeking to lead us, we should be seeking to follow. That is our side of it; we are to seek to keep in step with what he is doing in our lives as He teaches and guides us (see John 14:26 & 16:13).

As we do this, fourthly we should note, we are to oppose wrong attitudes creeping in with subsequent wrong actions. The Lord has provided daily guidance for us, and it is now our responsibility to ensure we follow in it, opposing the works of darkness that would seek to come back into our lives.

D. Application?

1. When I was “born again” (John 3:3) I died to the old life of self-rule!
2. The Spirit IS seeking to lead me today. Am I seeking to follow?