Having laid the
foundation through our examination of the second chapter of Galatians, and
specifically, the meal separation that was being fostered by the circumcision
party, we can now move on to the fifth chapter of Galatians, which begins with
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit
again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). To what is Paul referring when he speaks
of slavery? We do not have to wait long to find out, as we read “Look: I,
Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no
advantage to you” (5:2). The thing that brought slavery was fairly
clear.
Before we consider
this issue of slavery, does this not bring us quickly back to the second
chapter, and Peter’s separation of himself from the Gentiles for fear of the
circumcision party? Are we not made to contemplate the rebuilding, based
on the ongoing idea of a need for circumcision and other delineations of
national Israel, of what it was that Christ tore down, as also mentioned in the
second chapter? The things that God had commanded Israel to do as their
end of being faithful to the covenant, which would have made them a light to
the nations, had not been kept. Not keeping to those things had brought
God’s judgment. That judgment, among other things, had taken the form of
subjection to foreign powers, which could easily be thought of as a yoke of
slavery.
Pointing back to his
discourse of the second chapter, Paul once again says “You are severed from
Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace”
(5:4). Holding to the standards of the old covenant, rather than the new
covenant of the Gospel, results in nothing more than being severed from
Christ. Under the old covenant, though there were times in which Israel
had been blessed, cursing was what Israel had achieved. Insisting on old
covenant requirements, such as circumcision and separation and the making of
distinctions based on national boundaries, would only keep one under the curse
of exile, slavery, and judgment, rather than in the grace of God, awaiting “the
hope of righteousness” (5:5b), which was an expectation of God’s faithful
fulfillment of His covenant of renewal and ultimate restoration of His people
and His creation.
Paul goes on, writing
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh” (5:13a). Here, just like in the first
verse, we find that use of the word “freedom,” making it an important facet to
truly understanding Paul as we move forward. In light of all that we have
seen, what should we suppose that Paul means when he talks about opportunities
for the flesh? Well, it seems rather clear, based on the theme of the
letter up to this point, that the opportunities for the flesh, which for Paul
is also a sign of the old age prior to the Christ-event that changed
everything, were somehow connected to the circumcision party, and the
re-institution of the previously torn down marks of Israel, as seen in the
desire to keep separate table fellowship, rather than acknowledge equality with
Gentiles under the principle of the new covenant and the universal Lordship of
Christ. Rather, Paul insists that they should “through love serve one
another” (5:13). This was freedom. The presentation of freedom
should have effectively reminded them of the slavery that resulted from doing
what it was that they were intending to do.
As he observed the
continuance of separation, Paul would say, “This persuasion is not from Him Who
calls you” (5:8). Jew & Gentile were to serve one another through
love. Taking opportunities for the flesh, insisting on an analysis and
verification of circumcision, in the context of the standards of the now old
covenant, was the opposite of the love that was dictated by the Spirit of
Christ. To this line of thinking, Paul adds, “walk by the Spirit, and you
will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh
are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh,
for they are opposed to each other” (5:16-17a).
Clearly, what Christ
demanded, and which He expected to be carried out by the Spirit that would be
gifted to His chosen, covenant people, was not to be found in maintaining
standards and boundaries that would be conductive of separation and
isolation. Israel had done this before, and in so doing, had not been
the light of the world and the reflectors of the glory of God for all
peoples. Doing anything along such lines would, once again, defeat God’s
purposes for the calling out of a distinct, covenant people to be a blessing to
all nations. The movement of the Spirit would be a movement of unity and
the elimination of that which divided, whereas the desires of the flesh, in
this case, would actually serve “to keep you from doing the things you want to
do” (5:17b)
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