Week 12
Chapter 5
Christian Freedom
2 Behold, I, Paul, am speaking to you that if you have yourself circumcised, the Anointed will profit you nothing. 3 Now I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised that he is obligated to perform the whole law. 4 You have ceased to exist apart from the Anointed, all of you who are trying to justify yourselves in the law, you have fallen away from grace. 5 For we, who are in the Spirit by faith, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in the Anointed Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any value, but faith working through love is of value.
7 You were running well. Who cut in front of you in order for you to not be persuaded by the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from the one who is calling you. 9 “A little yeast causes the whole batch of dough to rise.” 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will think of nothing other, but the one who is stirring you up will bear the judgement, whoever he is. 11 But, brothers and sisters, if I am still proclaiming circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Therefore, the stumbling block of the cross has ceased to exist. 12 O that the ones who are trying to upset you would castrate themselves! My Translation
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 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. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! NIV11
Comment
2 Behold, I, Paul, am speaking to you that if you have yourself circumcised, the Anointed will profit you nothing. My Translation
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. NIV11
Paul's words Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν (Look! I, Paul, am speaking to you) tells the Galatians that this is their friend. One who they know. One who spent much time with them when he was with them. The one who they would have dug their own eyes out for. But, he is also warning them, thus the NIV11‘s translation “Mark my words!” Paul says to “Remember what I say!” If you have yourself circumcised, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει (Christ will benefit you nothing!). Paul will go on to say why Christ will benefit nothing.
3 Now I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised that he is obligated to perform the whole law. My Translation
3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. NIV11
Paul declares that if one has himself circumcised, circumcision is not enough. One must keep the whole law in order to accomplish what the Galatians are trying to do. One token of the law won't do. Because the ones who keep the law will do everything in the law. This argument has already been let. Of course the problem is that no one can keep the entire law. It only enslaves people under sin. Therefore, if one is enslaved under the law, then he is also enslaved under sin.
4 You have ceased to exist apart from the Anointed, all of you who are trying to justify yourselves in the law, you have fallen away from grace. My Translation
4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. NIV11
Kαταργέω can mean "to set aside", "to make to no effect", and even "to wipe out". If the Galatians have themselves circumcised, they have fallen away from the grace of God. Thus ceasing to exist in Christ. Christ is the way, not the law. If the Galatians put their faith in themselves that they can keep the law, then they have fallen away from God’s grace.
In God’s grace, salvation was freely given. It can’t be earned. Not by the law, or anything else!
5 For we, who are in the Spirit by faith, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. My Translation
5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. NIV11
"For" is used to explain what has just been said. Interestingly enough, Paul alludes to the return of Jesus. This is Paul's first time in this letter that he refers to the coming of The Lord Jesus. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Paul says
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. NIV11
It is the hope of Jesus coming that keeps the faith. Our righteous truly comes to us when Jesus comes.
In 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, Paul states:
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV11
We will truly be righteous in the end, but by the Spirit, not by the law. The law is the power of sin and sin is the sting of death.
6 For in the Anointed Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any value, but faith working through love is of value. My Translation
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. NIV11
Whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, one circumcised, or one not, it has no effect on that person if they are in Christ Jesus. In other words, it doesn't help a person either way. The only thing that is of value is faith and that faith has to be put into effect by love.
Back in 2:20, Paul talked about that he had put his faith in the son of God who loved him. But here, Paul is introducing that the Galatians need to show their faith that is produced by their love. In verse 22, we will see that love is the first of the fruits of the Spirit. The question, of course, is how can love produce faith or how can faith be expressed through love?
The love for God, the love for Christ, and the love for each other is how. Even the love between Paul and the Galatians is a part. Paul uses this last statement as a setup statement for what he will say in 13-15.
7 You were running well. Who cut in front of you in order for you to not be persuaded by the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from the one who is calling you. 9 “A little yeast causes the whole batch of dough to rise.” My Translation
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” NIV11
Paul uses a race analogy to describe what has happened to the Galatians. Paul uses ἐγκόπτω (to make progress slow or difficult) to add to his analogy of a race. The Galatians were running their race well, but they let someone cut in front of them and thus hindered them from running full speed. Running full speed in Paul’s analogy meant to obey or be persuaded by the truth which was that the law wouldn’t justify anyone.
Paul says ἡ πεισμονὴ (this/the persuasion) did not come from God. God here is the one who presently calls you. This “persuasion” is a play on the infinitive verb that Paul just wrote in verse 7. Paul uses the present tense of τοῦ καλοῦντος (the one who is calling) to demonstrate that God presently and continually is calling the Galatians. In this case, he is calling them back from their recent diversion from the race.
Paul then uses a proverb to demonstrate how a little idea spreads to the entire set of congregations. “A little yeast causes the whole batch of dough to rise” is also used 1 Corinthians 5:6. It suggests that Paul does use this saying as a proverb to state that little things can become big situations. That is what has happened here. A few have come in and turned the Galatians thinking upside down.
10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will think of nothing other, but the one who is stirring you up will bear the judgement, whoever he is. My Translation
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. NIV11
Paul renews his confidence in the Galatians that they will forget the “new persuasion” and stick with what gave them the Spirit to begin with. He then adds a little phrase for the one who has caused all of this mischief. He says that that person will bear the judgement. Normally, Paul’s idea of judgement has to do with the return of Jesus to the earth. During that time, God will pour out his judgements on those who are not believers in Christ. It is interesting that the one who has troubled the Galatians is now facing that very judgement, even though they think themselves to be a Christian. The problem is that they/he has perverted the Gospel. Therefore, a perversion of the Gospel in no Gospel at all. Thus, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω “let him be accursed!” in 1:8-9, comes into its full meaning.
One last thing, Paul has moved from the plural form of οἱ ταράσσοντες ὑμᾶς (the ones who are stirring you up) to the singular form of ὁ ταράσσων ὑμᾶς (the one who is stirring you up). Is Paul referring to the leader of this perversion? Do we have some idea as to whom that person could be? It is still quite possible that Paul is referring to James the leader of the Jerusalem church. Regardless if it is James or not, Paul is pointing at a single individual who has caused all of the confusion.
11 But, brothers and sisters, if I am still proclaiming circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Therefore, the stumbling block of the cross has ceased to exist. 12 O that the ones who are trying to upset you would castrate themselves! My Translation
11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! NIV11
Apparently, Paul had been accused to actually preaching that circumcision was the norm, but that he didn’t teach the whole truth to the Galatians. Paul defends himself by saying that if he actually preached circumcision, then why is he still being persecuted by those who preach circumcision? Paul then states that if what the agitators have said is true, then the scandal/stumbling block/offense of the cross has been done away with. By saying this, Paul is bringing to an end his argument about faith in Jesus verses performing the law. If the Galatians go forward with the law, then Jesus’ redeeming act of the cross means nothing for them.
Paul’s final ending here shows just what he thinks of the agitators. He opens verse 12 with ὄφελον which carries emotion. It means “an expression of a wish that something had taken place or would take place”. In this case, he wishes that they would go the whole way in their circumcision process and castrate themselves. I translate it as “O that the ones who are trying to upset you would castrate themselves!” It is a hard expression, but it drives home how Paul feels about what they have done to the Galatians.
Conclusion
Circumcision and the works of the law will do the Galatians no good. If fact, it will cause them to lose what they have in Christ Jesus. They will and have fallen from God’s grace. God’s salvation is freely given, not earned. If it could be earned, then the law really would have been the way. But the law was not the way. Jesus is the way. Faith in Jesus is the way that God provided for salvation.
Paul has confidence in the Galatians that they will run their race true. But he has unkind words for the ones who have “cut in front of” the Galatians. They/he will face God’s judgement as the scandal of the cross has ceased to exist for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment