| Teacher: Rusty Kennedy Series: Galatians |
Rusty's Notes
- Pizza dough
Galatians 5:1-15
1 Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
- Summary of Chapter 3 & 4
- Yoke – Oxen, slaves & interpretation of law.
- Yoke – Control by someone or something over your behavior.
- The unsaved person wears a yoke of sin (Lam. 1:14)
- The religious legalist wears the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1)
- The Christian who depends on God’s grace wears the liberating yoke of Christ.[1]
2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace.
- According to Acts 15:1–2 (1 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!” 2 But after Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, the church arranged for Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this controversy.), the Judaizers believed that acceptance of this ancient Jewish ritual was absolutely necessary for salvation and incorporation into the people of God.[2]
- Paul was strongly opposed to the Judaistic theology which insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation.[3]
- His point is that anyone who insists on living under the law fails to trust in Christ.[4]
- Paul is saying that you cannot mix Law and grace.
- If you choose to live by 1 law you choose to live by all the Law… rather than to live by only grace.
- 99% grace and 1% law = bondage to all Law.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
- “Hope of righteousness” – Glorification concerning our behavior.
- Hope “of righteousness” – Glorification of those who are already in the state of righteousness.
- It has to filter with all 66 books.
- Abraham was credited righteousness.
- The Church was made righteous.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.
- This enables us to contrast the two ways of life.
- When you live by grace, you depend on the power of the Spirit; but under Law, you must depend on yourself and your own efforts.
- The efforts of the flesh can never accomplish what faith can accomplish through the Spirit.
- And faith works through love—love for God and love for others. Unfortunately, flesh does not manufacture love.
- Too often it produces selfishness and rivalry (see Gal. 5:15).[5]
- In 2 verses, Paul incorporated faith, hope & love.
7 You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth?
- Mike Rodgers was running well
- But someone posted lane restrictions
- They became disqualified.
- Still Olympians… you just competed and came away disappointed.
8 This persuasion did not come from the One who called you. 9 A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough.
- The process of leaven (yeast)
- Matthew 13:33 – “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through all of it.”
10 I have confidence in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!
- Paul actually wants them to cut themselves off from the Christian community.
- Become impotent and unable to produce new converts.
13 For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
- We are prone to go to extremes.
- One believer interprets liberty as license and thinks he can do whatever he wants to do.
- Another believer, seeing this error, goes to an opposite extreme and imposes Law on everybody.
- Somewhere between license on the one hand and legalism on the other hand is true Christian liberty.[6]
- Anytime you want negative things to occur to someone, we call that “walking by your flesh.”
- Paul, is saying, “It’s not about you… look around.”
14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. [7]
- Wild animals in a deadly fight—to warn the Galatians that attacking one another ultimately will destroy their community.[8]
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 713). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 356). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 605). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:2). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 715). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 717). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 5:1–15). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:15). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 717). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Galatians 5:1-15
1 Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
- Summary of Chapter 3 & 4
- Yoke – Oxen, slaves & interpretation of law.
- Yoke – Control by someone or something over your behavior.
- The unsaved person wears a yoke of sin (Lam. 1:14)
- The religious legalist wears the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1)
- The Christian who depends on God’s grace wears the liberating yoke of Christ.[1]
2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace.
- According to Acts 15:1–2 (1 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!” 2 But after Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, the church arranged for Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this controversy.), the Judaizers believed that acceptance of this ancient Jewish ritual was absolutely necessary for salvation and incorporation into the people of God.[2]
- Paul was strongly opposed to the Judaistic theology which insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation.[3]
- His point is that anyone who insists on living under the law fails to trust in Christ.[4]
- Paul is saying that you cannot mix Law and grace.
- If you choose to live by 1 law you choose to live by all the Law… rather than to live by only grace.
- 99% grace and 1% law = bondage to all Law.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
- “Hope of righteousness” – Glorification concerning our behavior.
- Hope “of righteousness” – Glorification of those who are already in the state of righteousness.
- It has to filter with all 66 books.
- Abraham was credited righteousness.
- The Church was made righteous.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.
- This enables us to contrast the two ways of life.
- When you live by grace, you depend on the power of the Spirit; but under Law, you must depend on yourself and your own efforts.
- The efforts of the flesh can never accomplish what faith can accomplish through the Spirit.
- And faith works through love—love for God and love for others. Unfortunately, flesh does not manufacture love.
- Too often it produces selfishness and rivalry (see Gal. 5:15).[5]
- In 2 verses, Paul incorporated faith, hope & love.
7 You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth?
- Mike Rodgers was running well
- But someone posted lane restrictions
- They became disqualified.
- Still Olympians… you just competed and came away disappointed.
8 This persuasion did not come from the One who called you. 9 A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough.
- The process of leaven (yeast)
- Matthew 13:33 – “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through all of it.”
10 I have confidence in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!
- Paul actually wants them to cut themselves off from the Christian community.
- Become impotent and unable to produce new converts.
13 For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
- We are prone to go to extremes.
- One believer interprets liberty as license and thinks he can do whatever he wants to do.
- Another believer, seeing this error, goes to an opposite extreme and imposes Law on everybody.
- Somewhere between license on the one hand and legalism on the other hand is true Christian liberty.[6]
- Anytime you want negative things to occur to someone, we call that “walking by your flesh.”
- Paul, is saying, “It’s not about you… look around.”
14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. [7]
- Wild animals in a deadly fight—to warn the Galatians that attacking one another ultimately will destroy their community.[8]
- How you “feel” vs what the Spirit leads you to do in love.
- The key word, of course, is love. The formula looks something like this:
- liberty + love = service to others
- liberty − love = license (slavery to sin)[9]
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 713). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 356). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 605). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:2). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 715). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 717). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 5:1–15). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:15). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 717). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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