Galatians 5:16 -26: A Review and Exegesis

Section 1: Epistle to the Galatians in Review

St. Paul's letter to the Galatians is considered by many writers to be one of his most controversial works.  Indeed, one section of Galatians that has elicited much discussion over the centuries is the meaning of GA 5:16-26.  This paper will take a much closer at this section and attempt to place it in a larger historical and textual context.  This paper will be broken into two sections. The first section will discuss certain key background details as to the text's origins.  These details include its authorship, date, location and audience.  The second section will conduct an exegesis on the text in question.  

The text of the Galatians was Paul's letter to the community of Christians living in Galatia, a region in 1st century A.D. Asia Minor.  The exact date of the text is still disputed.  There are authorities who place it around AD 49.  Others place it several years later around AD 57 or 58.  It is believed to have been written after the second or third visit of Paul to this region.  However, this information is also in some dispute as well.  In the commentaries to the Jerusalem Bible, it's argued that the work should be treated in consonance with the Book of Romans.  Jones argues that both texts were written around the same period and that Romans more fully fleshes out themes that were first developed in Galatians.  It should be noted that the dating of Romans, which is also in some dispute, is sometimes placed around AD 55-57.    

According to Acts of the Apostles, Paul was originally Saul of Tarsus and Jew.  As a member of the Pharisees he also persecuted Christians.  However Paul experienced an epiphany on a trip to Damascus and converted to Christianity.  This event may have taken place in the period 33-36 AD.  Paul's conversion is a formative one for the then new religion.  This is because Paul chose to become the Apostle to the Gentiles.  Together with St. Peter he is credited with helping to build the ancient Christian Church in Rome.  His death does not have many details and what details that exist are also disputed.  

Biblical researchers report that the precise location of Galatia is somewhat disputed.  Some place the region in central Asia Minor where Gallic tribes settled.  However, others place Galatia in the southern region of Asia Minor.  The churches founded at Galatia included Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.  These congregations were founded by Paul himself.  The membership of these congregations consisted mostly of non-Jews.  Therefore he took a particular personal interest in any changes in practice at these locations.  

The ethnic issues in Paul’s apostolic work are crucial to the development of the Christian Church.  This is because Paul taught that the Church was given to everyone, Jew and non-Jew. The theme of ethnic identity also appears to be a factor in the dispute addressed in Galatians.   That is, the observance of the Mosaic Law is one of those cultural practices that sets Jews apart from other groups.  Its continued observance by non-Jewish Christians can be considered a form of assimilation into the Jewish culture.  But as will be seen below Paul disputed that observance of the Mosaic Law was a condition of conversion to the new faith. 

As noted above, the audience of Galatians was the community of Christians living in a region that included both Jewish and non-Jewish adherents of the new faith.  The nature of the dispute concerned certain observances of the traditional Mosaic Law.  It’s believed that the Apostle Peter had visited with the Galatian community following Paul and disputed his teaching.  Paul taught the Galatians that the Mosaic Law no longer needed to be observed.  In Paul's view the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ inaugurated a new dispensation in human history.  This new dispensation rendered the observed of the law unnecessary.  

However, Peter disagreed with this interpretation.  For Peter, the observance of the Law was inseparable from the observance of the Christian faith.  For Paul, Christ's sacrifice meant all Christians were spiritual descendants of Abraham.  This new inheritance included an obligation to observe the Mosaic Law as an expression of conversion to the new faith.  This observance was also intended as a good faith indication that the conversion to Christianity carried some real significance in terms of lifestyle.  

Thus Pete's teaching created some confusion in the community at Galatians.  It led to an angry retort from Paul in the form of his letter.  Bartlett  points out that Paul's tone in the epistle is quite argumentative. For Paul observing the Mosaic Law was not only unnecessary it was also dangerous.  Paul argued that the Law was intended for humanity at a time when it was too immature to fully appreciate the blessings offered by God.  But with the resurrection of the crucified Christ, this Law was no longer incumbent upon humanity.  In fact, observance of the Law carried the risk of a curse.  This curse would be invoked if only portions of the law were observed and not others.  But as long as individuals accept the faith of Christ's sacrifice  - as a work of eternal salvation for all humanity - it was no longer necessary to observe the Law.  The acceptance of this essential truth imparted the Spirit to the believers.  This Spirit is the true source for the morality that humanity needs and not the observance of the Law. Indeed, many writers have interpreted Paul's rejection of the Law on the grounds that its observance was done to curry favor with the Lord.  It was thus not observed for its own sake and on the proper merits.  Thus the faith of Christ liberated or freed humanity from slavery to the Law.  

Paul is often specific about certain elements of the Law that appeared to be at issue in Galatia.  This included circumcision, dietary requirements and observance of certain fasts and feasts.  All of these observances are markers of Jewish identity.   But for Paul conversion to the new faith had little to do with the observances of traditional Judaism. Ukwuegbu (2008, 540) also concurs these markers of Jewish identity may also involve the superficial observances but not the substances of the faith.  Indeed, Paul was concerned with libertines who observed the law but continued live in self-indulgence.   But he was also concerned that adherents understand what the Spirit has wrought.  Ethnic, class and even gender differences were no longer of significance.  This is according to certain interpretations of Galatians. There was only one unified humanity under the faith of, or perhaps in, Christ.  

This all leads to a crucial question for Paul. That is, how does anyone obtain and define a righteous, moral life without observance of the Law? Paul's response is that the Spirit is the guide.  He then goes on to point out that the commandment to love thy neighbor is fulfilled in Christ's resurrection.  Thus with love one does the good works necessary to build the kingdom of God. But the good works are not to curry favor with the Lord.  The good works are an expression of the Spirit working within each individual who accepts the faith of the sacrifice of the risen Christ.  

Section 2: Exegesis on Epistle to the Galatians

Introduction

This section will provide the exegesis focusing on the selected text in question.  The text to be exegeted is GA 5:16-26.  The selected text will be subjected to context analysis, literary structure analysis, major themes analysis, and an analysis of the text's theological or interpretive significance.  There will be a final conclusion to sum up the paper.

Before continuing, it's seems pertinent to include the text of the passage in question next.  The text is from the Jerusalem Bible version.  The text reads: Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions.  If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you.  When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and similar things.  I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, truthfulness, gentleness and self-control.  There can be no law against things like that, of course.  You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires. 

The internal and external context analysis

As noted above, Galatians was written in response to a larger conflict between the Jewish and non-Jewish Christian communities.  This conflict centered on whether adherence to Christianity also made following the Mosaic Law obligatory.  It was found that Peter was teaching converts in Galatia and other locations that adherence to the Law was mandatory.  But this was in direct contradiction to the teachings of Paul.  Thus the broader external conflict is between two factions or interpretations.  These differences concern the meaning of Christian practice and the sacrifice of Jesus.  

Upon discovering this conflict, Paul wrote Galatians to further drive home his point that had been presented during at least two previous visits to the region.  He taught that the Spirit will guide the faithful into right moral behavior.   This was the Grace given by God as a gift - not a reward - to those who accepted Christ's sacrifice as an act of liberation from the Law.  It was also an act of forgiveness stemming from the curse of the Adamic creation. Christ is the father of a new creation and his "descendants" - children of God in the spiritual sense - were no longer cursed.  

Analysis of literary structure

The epistle to the Galatians is broken into three sub-sections.  The first section is the gospel of grace defense which covers chapters one and two.  The second section is the gospel of grace explained which covers chapters three and four.  The third and final section is the gospel of grace applied, which covers chapters  five and six.  

For the first sub-section of Galatians, Paul sets out the narratio of Paul's argument.   This argument is advanced as a lawyer would appeal to a jury and it relies on the audience's awareness of certain facts in the case.  This narration concludes with the formulation of the author's main argument.  This argument is that Jews who live as Gentiles can't force Gentiles to live like Jews.   His defense is that of reconciliation between Jews and non-Jews.  It is also that Christ's work has liberated humanity to the point that ethnic divisions don't matter.  

For the second sub-section, Paul lays out his argument that justification is by faith.  Justification is not founded on the performance of rites, ceremonies and observations of dietary requirements.  For the third sub-section, Paul exhorts his followers to live by the Spirit and not the Flesh.  He lays out lists of behaviors given to the flesh and then lists those given to the Spirit.  He notes that those who live by the Spirit will naturally exhibit behaviors associated with strong character.  These can be seen in detail in the quote above.  Still it’s notable that he contrasts the Flesh side with fornication, gross indecency and bad temper.  The Spirit side is associated with joy, peace and patience.  These are all good qualities on which to build a strong world community.  

It should be noted that some writers consider the tone of chapters five and six so different from the rest of the text that its Pauline authorship was questioned.   However, even though a difference in tone is often acknowledged, the consensus has settled on Pauline authorship.  Indeed, the final two chapters of Galatians are sometimes referred to as a paraenesis.   A paraenesis is a Greek word which is defined as an exhortation, advise, or counsel. Matera argues that the final two chapters of Galatians are a culmination of his argument and not an afterthought or appendix.   Matera argues that there is no disconnect between Paul's moral exhorting and the justification by faith without the performance of the stipulations Mosaic Law.   

Analysis of major themes

Based on the discussion above, there are three main themes in the epistle to the Galatians.  The three themes are the status of non-Jews (or Gentiles) in the Christian faith; by what authority can Paul proclaim that the Mosaic Law is no longer in force, and what is the status of the Law in the Christian dispensation.  This sub-section will briefly discuss each of these themes.  

The first theme is the status of non-Jews in the Christian Church.  This theme can also be restated as whether non-Jews must observe the Judaic legal tradition upon adopting the Christian faith.  The argument proposed by Peter at both Antioch and to the Galatians, is that upon adopting the Christian faith, non-Jewish adherents must also adopt the Judaic legal tradition.  This argument is based on the view that Christian converts become in some sense sons of Abraham.  This means that the Mosaic tradition is as incumbent upon non-Jewish Christians as it would be on Jews.  It also appears that the observance of the Jewish legal tradition was of some considerable importance to Jewish Christians of the period.  

However, Paul's counter-argument is that Christ has ushered in a new creation.  The view that non-Jewish Christians are sons of Abraham is meant only as an allegory.  In fact, all Christians actually become children of God through acceptance of the sacrifice of his only Son.  Indeed it is the salvation of all humanity through the sacrifice of Christ that is God's gift to the world. The observance of the law is not what defines Christian morality.  Christian morality is defined by the acceptance of Christ's sacrifice and the grace that is imparted with it.  

The second theme is: by what authority can Paul proclaim that the Mosaic Law is no longer in force?  As noted above, the observance of the Law is crucial to Jewish Christians and to Jews in general.  However, it doesn't define membership in or adherence to, the Christian faith and community.  Paul proclaims his authority with reference to his calling to service to God.  But also by his recalling the sacrifice of Christ, which he argues all the members of the Galatian community were witnessed.  The meaning of this sacrifice, as providing the Grace of God to all humanity, is what gives Paul the authority to reject adherence to the Mosaic Law.  It is also notable that Paul rejects the notion that observance of the Law is equivalent to morality or ethical living.  Indeed, one can observe the Law and still live a life that is patently immoral.  

This naturally leads to the question: what purpose did the Law serve in the first place? For Paul this was all part of God's plan.  God decided that, in the time of Abraham, humanity was not ready for salvation.  So in place of his Grace he provided the Law.  The Law was to remain in force for the duration of the Mosaic dispensation until such time that God decreed that humanity was worthy.  This time of maturity came with the sacrifice of Christ.  One can compare this Plan with the issue of inheritance.  When an individual is below a certain age, his parents may set aside some income for him.  But this income is only to be made available when the individual reaches a mature age.   When this maturity arrives the inheritance is then made available.  Thus in God's plan humanity was too immature to receive his Gift until the time of Christ.  

The third and final main theme is the status of the Law in the new Christian dispensation.  Again for Paul, the emphasis on the Law is simply missing the point.  The Law is not the source of morality that Jewish Christians believe it to be.  Paul seems to be responding to a pattern of behavior in his time that he found troubling.   That is, many adherents were under the mistaken notion that by simply performing the outward mechanics of the Law they were fulfilling their obligations as to righteousness.  But for Paul the only individuals who would inherit the kingdom of God were those that allowed the Spirit to work through them to perform good works.  These good works, as enumerated in the quote above, refer to the type of proper behavior that is a requirement for a just, fair and equitable society.  Indeed, as Paul argues, the slave and the slave owner would no longer have any differences in the Christian dispensation. All would be equal and all the benefits of the world would be shared by all the members of the Christian community.  So for Paul, circumcision was not one of the prerequisites to righteousness.  Instead, love or the love commandment as Paul calls it, is the most crucial prerequisite.  

Analysis of theological or interpretative significance

The significant facet of Paul's theology is the delineation of the Christian faith as a new religion.  This new tradition is completely different from the Judaism practiced before it.  The underlying differences in this new faith are the belief and acceptance of Christ's sacrifice.  The salvation that God gives to man is impossible without the acceptance of the sacrificial act.  However, once this salvation is accepted it makes an adherent receptive to the Spirit.  It is the Spirit that guides the believer into acts of kindness, morality and ethnical behavior.  This does not come from the Law.  Nor does love come from the Law and love is crucial for building God's kingdom.  

The other crucial difference is the rejection of the Mosaic Law as a basis for morality or ethical behavior in the Christian community.  However, Paul acknowledges that it was never an adequate basis for  a truly moral society.  This is because individuals often paid mere lip service to the Law and deviated from its purpose in actual practice.  

Finally, another reason for the considerable controversy between Jews and non-Jewish Christians is that the Deity referred to in Christian teaching is identical to the God of Israel.  Therefore, when Paul refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael and Jesus, it is the same God that is worshipped by Jews and Christians alike.  This likely is the source of considerable conflict when interpreting the meaning of Galatians, and other New Testament Scriptures as well.  It raises the question of how the God of Israel could have changed from the God who protected his chosen people to one who now gave his blessings of salvation to all of humanity.  For Paul the answer is that God always had a plan in mind for mankind.  This plan included a special, but only temporary, role for Israel.  For a time this meant that Israel was the chosen vessel of God's messages to the world.  But this is now no longer the case as his message is broadcast through the entire world through his only Son. 

Conclusion

The Epistle to the Galatians is undoubtedly one of the most controversial texts of the New Testament. It is also one of the most difficult to interpret because its meaning is so contentious.  This is because the conclusions it implicates are so revolutionary.  Galatians is no more or less than a document that overthrows an existing spiritual and legal tradition and then substitutes a new one in its place.  This is likely why the authorship of the document, either in whole or in part, has been challenged throughout the centuries. At the same time, the interpretation of Galatians leads one to an understanding of Christ and the kingdom of God that is quite felicitous when fully comprehended.  Paul is articulating a blue print for a world in which the agency of the Spirit can create human perfection.  This is a world that generations of secularists and religionists of many denominations have striven in vain to create.  This world involves ethical and moral perfection leading to a world without war, class division, hate or suffering.  But it is a world that can only come to be through the agency of God working through the Spirit.  Humanity can and must make uphold the love commandment.  If this can happen Paul foresees a model of spiritual and earthly success that is achievable by people if they would only chose it to be.

Bibliography

Bartlett, David. L. "Preaching to the Galatians." Interpretation, (2000): 279. 

Cox, Roger A. "Intro to the Book of Galatians." Boisechurchofchrist.org, n.d. Accessed Aug. 2013. http://www.boisechurchofchrist.org/Bible_Studies/pdf_files/Galatians/Intro.pdf.  

Jones, Alexander, ed. The Jerusalem Bible. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966.

Matera, Frank.  "Galatians in Perspective: Cutting a New Path through Old Territory." Interpretation, (2000): 233.

Paraenesis. Theopedia.com, . n.d. Accessed Aug. 2013. http://www.theopedia.com/Paraenesis

Ukwuegbu, Bernard O. "Paraenesis, Identity-defining Norms, or Both? Galatians 5:13–6:10 in the Light of Social Identity Theory." Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 70(2008): 538.

Wright, N.T. "The Letter to the Galatians: Exegesis and Theology."  In Between Two Horizons: Spanning New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology, edited by Joel B. Green and Max Turner, 205-236. Grand Rapids, MI: Erdmans, 2000. Accessed Aug. 2013. http://ntwrightpage.com/wright_galatians_exegesis_theology.htm.