G
A L A T I A N S
CHAP. V.
In
this chapter the apostle comes to make application of his foregoing discourse.
He begins it with a general caution, or exhortation (ver. 1), which he
afterwards enforces by several considerations, ver. 2-12. He then presses them
to serious practical godliness, which would be the best antidote against the
snares of their false teachers; particularly, I. That they should not strive
with one another, ver. 13-15. II. That they would strive against sin, where he
shows, 1. That there is in every one a struggle between flesh and spirit, ver.
17. 2. That it is our duty and interest, in this struggle, to side with the
better part, ver. 16, 18. 3. He specifies the works of the flesh, which must
be watched against and mortified, and the fruits of the Spirit, which must be
brought forth and cherished, and shows of what importance it is that they be
so, ver. 19-24. And then concludes the chapter with a caution against pride
and envy.
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Exhortation
to Stedfastness; Persuasives to Stedfastness.
A. D. 56.
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1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of
bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every
man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by
the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit
wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Jesus Christ
neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which
worketh by love. 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye
should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion cometh not of
him that calleth you. 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump. 10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will
be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment,
whosoever he be. 11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross
ceased. 12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take
heed of the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to bring them back under the
bondage of the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely
shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were to the
spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general inference or
application of all that discourse. Since it appeared by what had been said
that we can be justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the
righteousness of the law, and that the law of Moses was no longer in force,
nor Christians under any obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have
them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and
not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage. Here observe, 1. Under
the gospel we are enfranchised, we are brought into a state of liberty,
wherein we are freed from the yoke of the ceremonial law and from the curse of
the moral law; so that we are no longer tied to the observance of the one, nor
tied up to the rigour of the other, which curses every one that continues not
in all things written therein to do them, ch. iii. 10. 2. We owe this
liberty to Jesus Christ. It is he who has made us free; by his merits
he has satisfied the demands of the broken law, and by his authority as a king
he has discharged us from the obligation of those carnal ordinances which were
imposed on the Jews. And, 3. It is therefore our duty to stand fast in this
liberty, constantly and faithfully to adhere to the gospel and to the
liberty of it, and not to suffer ourselves, upon any consideration, to be
again entangled in the yoke of bondage, nor persuaded to return back to
the law of Moses. This is the general caution or exhortation, which in the
following verses the apostle enforces by several reasons or arguments. As,
I. That their submitting to circumcision, and depending on the works of the
law for righteousness, were an implicit contradiction of their faith as
Christians and a forfeiture of all their advantages by Jesus Christ, v.
2-4. And here we may observe, 1. With what solemnity the apostle asserts and
declares this: Behold, I Paul say unto you (v. 2), and he
repeats it (v. 3), I testify unto you; as it he had said,
"I, who have proved myself an apostle of Christ, and to have received my
authority and instructions from him, do declare, and am ready to pawn my
credit and reputation upon it, that if you be circumcised Christ shall
profit you nothing, &c.," wherein he shows that what he was now
saying was not only a matter of great importance, but what might be most
assuredly depended on. He was so far from being a preacher of circumcision (as
some might report him to be) that he looked upon it as a matter of the
greatest consequence that they did not submit to it. 2. What it is which he so
solemnly, and with so much assurance, declares; it is that, if they were
circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing, &c. We are not to
suppose that it is mere circumcision which the apostle is here speaking of, or
that it was his design to say that none who are circumcised could have any
benefit by Christ; for all the Old-Testament saints had been circumcised, and
he himself had consented to the circumcising of Timothy. But he is to be
understood as speaking of circumcision in the sense in which the judaizing
teachers imposed it, who taught that except they were circumcised, and kept
the law of Moses, they could not be saved, Acts xv. 1. That this is his
meaning appears from v. 4, where he expresses the same thing by their
being justified by the law, or seeking justification by the works of
it. Now in this case, if they submitted to circumcision in this sense, he
declares that Christ would profit them nothing, that they were debtors to
do the whole law, that Christ had become of no effect to them, and
that they were fallen from grace. From all these expressions it appears
that thereby they renounced that way of justification which God had
established; yea, that they laid themselves under an impossibility of being
justified in his sight, for they became debtors to do the whole law, which
required such an obedience as they were not capable of performing, and
denounced a curse against those who failed in it, and therefore condemned, but
could not justify them; and, consequently, that having thus revolted from
Christ, and built their hopes upon the law, Christ would profit them nothing,
nor be of any effect to them. Thus, as by being circumcised they renounced
their Christianity, so they cut themselves off from all advantage by Christ;
and therefore there was the greatest reason why they should stedfastly adhere
to that doctrine which they had embraced, and not suffer themselves to be
brought under this yoke of bondage. Note, (1.) Though Jesus Christ is able to
save to the uttermost, yet there are multitudes whom he will profit nothing.
(2.) All those who seek to be justified by the law do thereby render Christ of
no effect to them. By building their hopes on the works of the law, they
forfeit all their hopes from him; for he will not be the Saviour of any who
will not own and rely upon him as their only Saviour.
II. To persuade them to stedfastness in the doctrine and liberty of the
gospel, he sets before them his own example, and that of other Jews who had
embraced the Christian religion, and acquaints them what their hopes were,
namely, That through the Spirit they were waiting for the hope of
righteousness by faith. Though they were Jews by nature, and had been bred
up under the law, yet being, through the Spirit, brought to the knowledge of
Christ, they had renounced all dependence on the works of the law, and looked
for justification and salvation only by faith in him; and therefore it must
needs be the greatest folly in those who had never been under the law to
suffer themselves to be brought into subjection to it, and to found their
hopes upon the works of it. Here we may observe, 1. What it is that Christians
are waiting for: it is the hope of righteousness, by which we are
chiefly to understand the happiness of the other world. This is called the
hope of Christians, as it is the great object of their hope, which they are
above every thing else desiring and pursuing; and the hope of righteousness,
as their hopes of it are founded on righteousness, not their own, but that of
our Lord Jesus: for, though a life of righteousness is the way that leads to
this happiness, yet it is the righteousness of Christ alone which has procured
it for us, and on account of which we can expect to be brought to the
possession of it. 2. How they hope to obtain this happiness, namely, by faith,
that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, not by the works of the law, or any thing
they can do to deserve it, but only by faith, receiving and relying upon him
as the Lord our righteousness. It is in this way only that they expect either
to be entitled to it here or possessed of it hereafter. And, 3. Whence it is
that they are thus waiting for the hope of righteousness: it is through the
Spirit. Herein they act under the direction and influence of the Holy
Spirit; it is under his conduct, and by his assistance, that they are both
persuaded and enabled to believe on Christ, and to look for the hope of
righteousness through him. When the apostle thus represents the case of
Christians, it is implied that if they expected to be justified and saved in
any other way they were likely to meet with a disappointment, and therefore
that they were greatly concerned to adhere to the doctrine of the gospel which
they had embraced.
III. He argues from the nature and design of the Christian institution, which
was to abolish the difference between Jew and Gentile, and to establish faith
in Christ as the way of our acceptance with God. He tells them (v. 6)
that in Christ Jesus, or under the gospel dispensation, neither
circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision. Though, while the
legal state lasted, there was a difference put between Jew and Greek, between
those who were and those who were not circumcised, the former being admitted
to those privileges of the church of God from which the other were excluded,
yet it was otherwise in the gospel state: Christ, who is the end of the
law, having come, now it was neither here nor there whether a man were
circumcised or uncircumcised; he was neither the better for the one nor the
worse for the other, nor would either the one or the other recommend him to
God; and therefore as their judaizing teachers were very unreasonable in
imposing circumcision upon them, and obliging them to observe the law of
Moses, so they must needs be very unwise in submitting to them herein. But,
though he assures them that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision would
avail to their acceptance with God, yet he informs them what would do so, and
that is faith, which worketh by love: such a faith in Christ as
discovers itself to be true and genuine by a sincere love to God and our
neighbour. If they had this, it mattered not whether they were circumcised or
uncircumcised, but with out it nothing else would stand them in any stead.
Note, 1. No external privileges nor profession will avail to our acceptance
with God, without a sincere faith in our Lord Jesus. 2. Faith, where it is
true, is a working grace: it works by love, love to God and love to our
brethren; and faith, thus working by love, is all in all in our Christianity.
IV. To recover them from their backslidings, and engage them to greater
stedfastness for the future, he puts them in mind of their good beginnings,
and calls upon them to consider whence it was that they were so much altered
from what they had been, v. 7.
1. He tells them that they did run well; at their first setting out in
Christianity they had behaved themselves very commendably, they had readily
embraced the Christian religion, and discovered a becoming zeal in the ways
and work of it; as in their baptism they were devoted to God, and had declared
themselves the disciples of Christ, so their behaviour was agreeable to their
character and profession. Note, (1.) The life of a Christian is a race,
wherein he must run, and hold on, if he would obtain the prize. (2.) It is not
enough that we run in this race, by a profession of Christianity, but we must
run well, by living up to that profession. Thus these Christians had done for
awhile, but they had been obstructed in their progress, and were either turned
out of the way or at least made to flag and falter in it. Therefore,
2. He asks them, and calls upon them to ask themselves, Who did hinder you?
How came it to pass that they did not hold on in the way wherein they had
begun to run so well? He very well knew who they were, and what it was that
hindered them; but he would have them to put the question to themselves, and
seriously consider whether they had any good reason to hearken to those who
gave them this disturbance, and whether what they offered was sufficient to
justify them in their present conduct. Note, (1.) Many who set out fair in
religion, and run well for awhile--run within the bounds appointed for the
race, and run with zeal and alacrity too--are yet by some means or other
hindered in their progress, or turned out of the way. (2.) It concerns those
who have run well, but now begin either to turn out of the way or to tire in
it, to enquire what it is that hinders them. Young converts must expect that
Satan will be laying stumbling blocks in their way, and doing all he can to
divert them from the course they are in; but, whenever they find themselves in
danger of being turned out of it, they would do well to consider who it is
that hinders them. Whoever they were that hindered these Christians, the
apostle tells them that by hearkening to them they were kept from obeying
the truth, and were thereby in danger of losing the benefit of what they
had done in religion. The gospel which he had preached to them, and which they
had embraced and professed, he assures them was the truth; it was therein only
that the true way of justification and salvation was fully discovered, and, in
order to their enjoying the advantage of it, it was necessary that they should
obey it, that they should firmly adhere to it, and continue to govern their
lives and hopes according to the directions of it. If therefore they should
suffer themselves to be drawn away from it they must needs be guilty of the
greatest weakness and folly. Note, [1.] The truth is not only to be believed,
but to be obeyed, to be received not only in the light of it, but in the love
and power of it. [2.] Those do not rightly obey the truth, who do not
stedfastly adhere to it. [3.] There is the same reason for our obeying the
truth that there was for our embracing it: and therefore those act very
unreasonably who, when they have begun to run well in the Christian race,
suffer themselves to be hindered, so as not to persevere in it.
V. He argues for their stedfastness in the faith and liberty of the gospel
from the ill rise of that persuasion whereby they were drawn away from it (v.
8): This persuasion, says he, cometh not of him that calleth you.
The opinion or persuasion of which the apostle here speaks was no doubt that
of the necessity of their being circumcised, and keeping the law of Moses, or
of their mixing the works of the law with faith in Christ in the business of
justification. This was what the judaizing teachers endeavoured to impose upon
them, and what they had too easily fallen into. To convince them of their
folly herein, he tells them that this persuasion did not come of him that
called them, that is, either of God, by whose authority the gospel had been
preached to them and they had been called into the fellowship of it, or of the
apostle himself, who had been employed as the instrument of calling them
hereunto. It could not come from God, for it was contrary to that way of
justification and salvation which he had established; nor could they have
received it from Paul himself; for, whatever some might pretend, he had all
along been an opposer and not a preacher of circumcision, and, if in any
instance he had submitted to it for the sake of peace, yet he had never
pressed the use of it upon Christians, much less imposed it upon them as
necessary to salvation. Since then this persuasion did not come of him that
had called them, he leaves them to judge whence it must arise, and
sufficiently intimates that it could be owing to none but Satan and his
instruments, who by this means were endeavouring to overthrow their faith and
obstruct the progress of the gospel, and therefore that the Galatians had
every reason to reject it, and to continue stedfast in the truth which they
had before embraced. Note, 1. In order to our judging aright of the different
persuasions in religion which there are among Christians, it concerns us to
enquire whether they come of him that calleth us, whether or no they are
founded upon the authority of Christ and his apostles. 2. If, upon enquiry,
they appear to have no such foundation, how forward soever others may be to
impose them upon us, we should by no means submit to them, but reject them.
VI. The danger there was of the spreading of this infection, and the ill
influence it might have upon others, are a further argument which the apostle
urges against their complying with their false teachers in what they would
impose on them. It is possible that, to extenuate their fault, they might be
ready to say that there were but few of those teachers among them who
endeavoured to draw them into this persuasion and practice, or that they were
only some smaller matters wherein they complied with them--that though they
submitted to be circumcised, and to observe some few rites of the Jewish laws,
yet they had by no means renounced their Christianity and gone over to
Judaism. Or, suppose their complying thus far was as faulty as he could
represent it, yet perhaps they might further say that there were but few among
them who had done so, and therefore he needed not be so much concerned about
it. Now, to obviate such pretences as these, and to convince them that there
was more danger in it than they were aware of, he tells them (v. 9)
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump--that the whole lump of
Christianity may be tainted and corrupted by one such erroneous principle, or
that the whole lump of the Christian society may be infected by one member of
it, and therefore that they were greatly concerned not to yield in this single
instance, or, if any had done so, to endeavour by all proper methods to purge
out the infection from among them. Note, It is dangerous for Christian
churches to encourage those among them who entertain, especially who set
themselves to propagate, destructive errors. This was the case here. The
doctrine which the false teachers were industrious to spread, and which some
in these churches had been drawn into, was subversive of Christianity itself,
as the apostle had before shown; and therefore, though the number either of
the one or the other of these might be but small, yet, considering the fatal
tendency of it and the corruption of human nature, whereby others were too
much disposed to be infected with it, he would not have them on that account
to be easy and unconcerned, but remember that a little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump. If these were indulged the contagion might soon spread further
and wider; and, if they suffered themselves to be imposed upon in this
instance, it might soon issue in the utter ruin of the truth and liberty of
the gospel.
VII. That he might conciliate the greater regard to what he had said, he
expresses the hopes he had concerning them (v. 10): I have
confidence in you, says he, through the Lord, that you will be none
otherwise minded. Though he had many fears and doubts about them (which
was the occasion of his using so much plainness and freedom with them), yet he
hoped that through the blessing of God upon what he had written they might be
brought to be of the same mind with him, and to own and abide by that truth
and that liberty of the gospel which he had preached to them, and was now
endeavouring to confirm them in. Herein he teaches us that we ought to hope
the best even of those concerning whom we have cause to fear the worst. That
they might be the less offended at the reproofs he had given them for their
unstedfastness in the faith, he lays the blame of it more upon others than
themselves; for he adds, But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment,
whosoever he be. He was sensible that there were some that troubled
them, and would pervert the gospel of Christ (as ch. i. 7), and
possibly he may point to some one particular man who was more busy and forward
than others, and might be the chief instrument of the disorder that was among
them; and to this he imputes their defection or inconstancy more than to any
thing in themselves. This may give us occasion to observe that, in reproving
sin and error, we should always distinguish between the leaders and the led,
such as set themselves to draw others thereinto and such as are drawn aside by
them. Thus the apostle softens and alleviates the fault of these Christians,
even while he is reproving them, that he might the better persuade them to
return to, and stand fast in, the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free:
but as for him or those that troubled them, whoever he or they were, he
declares they should bear their judgment, he did not doubt but God
would deal with them according to their deserts, and out of his just
indignation against them, as enemies of Christ and his church, he wishes that they
were even cut off--not cut off from Christ and all hopes of salvation by
him, but cut off by the censures of the church, which ought to witness against
those teachers who thus corrupted the purity of the gospel. Those, whether
ministers or others, who set themselves to overthrow the faith of the gospel,
and disturb the peace of Christians, do thereby forfeit the privileges of
Christian communion and deserve to be cut off from them.
VIII. To dissuade these Christians from hearkening to their judaizing
teachers, and to recover them from the ill impressions they had made upon
them, he represents them as men who had used very base and disingenuous
methods to compass their designs, for they had misrepresented him, that they
might the more easily gain their ends upon them. That which they were
endeavouring was to bring them to submit to circumcision, and to mix Judaism
with their Christianity; and, the better to accomplish this design, they had
given out among them that Paul himself was a preacher of circumcision: for
when he says (v. 11), And I brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
it plainly appears that they had reported him to have done so, and that they
had made use of this as an argument to prevail with the Galatians to submit to
it. It is probable that they grounded this report upon his having circumcised
Timothy, Acts xvi. 3. But, though for good reasons he had yielded to
circumcision in that instance, yet that he was a preacher of it, and
especially in that sense wherein they imposed it, he utterly denies. To prove
the injustice of that charge upon him, he offers such arguments as, if they
would allow themselves to consider, could not fail to convince them of it. 1.
If he would have preached circumcision, he might have avoided persecution. If
I yet preach circumcision, says he, why do I yet suffer persecution? It
was evident, and they could not but be sensible of it, that he was hated and
persecuted by the Jews; but what account could be given of this their
behaviour towards him, if he had so far symbolized with them as to preach up
circumcision, and the observance of the law of Moses, as necessary to
salvation? This was the great point they were contending for; and, if he had
fallen in with them herein, instead of being exposed to their rage he might
have been received into their favour. When therefore he was suffering
persecution from them, this was a plain evidence that he had not complied with
them; yea, that he was so far from preaching the doctrine he was charged with,
that, rather than do so, he was willing to expose himself to the greatest
hazards. 2. If he had yielded to the Jews herein, then would the offence of
the cross have ceased. They would not have taken so much offence against
the doctrine of Christianity as they did, nor would he and others have been
exposed to so much suffering on the account of it as they were. He informs us
(1 Cor. i. 23) that the preaching of the cross of Christ (or the doctrine of
justification and salvation only by faith in Christ crucified) was to the
Jews a stumbling-block. That which they were most offended at in
Christianity was, that thereby circumcision, and the whole frame of the legal
administration, were set aside, as no longer in force. This raised their
greatest outcries against it, and stirred them up to oppose and persecute the
professors of it. Now if Paul and others could have given into this opinion,
that circumcision was still to be retained, and the observance of the law of
Moses joined with faith in Christ as necessary to salvation, then their
offence against it would have been in a great measure removed, and they might
have avoided the sufferings they underwent for the sake of it. But though
others, and particularly those who were so forward to asperse him as a
preacher of this doctrine, could easily come into it, yet so could not he. He
rather chose to hazard his ease and credit, yea his very life itself, than
thus to corrupt the truth and give up the liberty of the gospel. Hence it was
that the Jews continued to be so much offended against Christianity, and
against him as the preacher of it. Thus the apostle clears himself from the
unjust reproach which his enemies had cast upon him, and at the same time
shows how little regard was due to those men who could treat him in such an
injurious manner, and how much reason he had to wish that they were even cut
off.
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Practical
Godliness Enforced; Works of the Flesh and of the Spirit;
The Fruits of the Spirit.
A. D. 56.
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13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto
liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love
serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even
in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye
bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of
another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye
shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I
tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with
the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another.
In the latter part of this chapter the apostle comes to exhort these
Christians to serious practical godliness, as the best antidote against the
snares of the false teachers. Two things especially he presses upon them:--
I. That they should not strive with one another, but love one another. He
tells them (v. 13) that they had been called unto liberty, and
he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them
free; but yet he would have them be very careful that they did not use this
liberty as an occasion to the flesh--that they did not thence take
occasion to indulge themselves in any corrupt affections and practices, and
particularly such as might create distance and disaffection, and be the ground
of quarrels and contentions among them: but, on the contrary, he would have
them by love to serve one another, to maintain that mutual love and
affection which, notwithstanding any minor differences there might be among
them, would dispose them to all those offices of respect and kindness to each
other which the Christian religion obliged them to. Note, 1. The liberty we
enjoy as Christians is not a licentious liberty: though Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law, yet he has not freed us from the obligation of it;
the gospel is a doctrine according to godliness (1 Tim. vi. 3), and is
so far from giving the least countenance to sin that it lays us under the
strongest obligations to avoid and subdue it. 2. Though we ought to stand fast
in our Christian liberty, yet we should not insist upon it to the breach of
Christian charity; we should not use it as an occasion of strife and
contention with our fellow Christians, who may be differently minded from us,
but should always maintain such a temper towards each other as may dispose us
by love to serve one another. To this the apostle endeavours to persuade these
Christians, and there are two considerations which he sets before them for
this purpose:-- (1.) That all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, v. 14. Love is the
sum of the whole law; as love to God comprises the duties of the first table,
so love to our neighbour those of the second. The apostle takes notice of the
latter here, because he is speaking of their behaviour towards one another;
and, when he makes use of this as an argument to persuade them to mutual love,
he intimates both that this would be a good evidence of their sincerity in
religion and also the most likely means of rooting out those dissensions and
divisions that were among them. It will appear that we are the disciples of
Christ indeed when we have love one to another (John xiii. 35); and, where
this temper is kept up, if it do not wholly extinguish those unhappy discords
that are among Christians, yet at least it will so far accommodate them that
the fatal consequences of them will be prevented. (2.) The sad and dangerous
tendency of a contrary behaviour (v. 15): But, says he, if
instead of serving one another in love, and therein fulfilling the law of God,
you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of
another. If, instead of acting like men and Christians, they would behave
themselves more like brute beasts, in tearing and rending one another, they
could expect nothing as the consequence of it, but that they would be consumed
one of another; and therefore they had the greatest reason not to indulge
themselves in such quarrels and animosities. Note, Mutual strifes among
brethren, if persisted in, are likely to prove a common ruin; those that
devour one another are in a fair way to be consumed one of another. Christian
churches cannot be ruined but by their own hands; but if Christians, who
should be helps to one another and a joy one to another, be as brute beasts,
biting and devouring each other, what can be expected but that the God of love
should deny his grace to them, and the Spirit of love should depart from them,
and that the evil spirit, who seeks the destruction of them all, should
prevail?
II. That they should all strive against sin; and happy would it be for the
church if Christians would let all their quarrels be swallowed up of this,
even a quarrel against sin--if, instead of biting and devouring one another on
account of their different opinions, they would all set themselves against sin
in themselves and the places where they live. This is what we are chiefly
concerned to fight against, and that which above every thing else we should
make it our business to oppose and suppress. To excite Christians hereunto,
and to assist them herein, the apostle shows,
1. That there is in every one a struggle between the flesh and the spirit (v.
17): The flesh (the corrupt and carnal part of us) lusts
(strives and struggles with strength and vigour) against the spirit: it
opposes all the motions of the Spirit, and resists every thing that is
spiritual. On the other hand, the spirit (the renewed part of us)
strives against the flesh, and opposes the will and desire of it: and
hence it comes to pass that we cannot do the things that we would. As
the principle of grace in us will not suffer us to do all the evil which our
corrupt nature would prompt us to, so neither can we do all the good that we
would, by reason of the oppositions we meet with from that corrupt and carnal
principle. Even as in a natural man there is something of this struggle (the
convictions of his conscience and the corruption of his own heart strive with
one another; his convictions would suppress his corruptions, and his
corruptions silence his convictions), so in a renewed man, where there is
something of a good principle, there is a struggle between the old nature and
the new nature, the remainders of sin and the beginnings of grace; and this
Christians must expect will be their exercise as long as they continue in this
world.
2. That it is our duty and interest in this struggle to side with the better
part, to side with our convictions against our corruptions and with our graces
against our lusts. This the apostle represents as our duty, and directs us to
the most effectual means of success in it. If it should be asked, What course
must we take that the better interest may get the better? he gives us this one
general rule, which, if duly observed, would be the most sovereign remedy
against the prevalence of corruption; and that is to walk in the Spirit (v.
16): This I say, then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh. By the Spirit here may be meant either the Holy
Spirit himself, who condescends to dwell in the hearts of those whom he has
renewed and sanctified, to guide and assist them in the way of their duty, or
that gracious principle which he implants in the souls of his people and which
lusts against the flesh, as that corrupt principle which still remains in them
does against it. Accordingly the duty here recommended to us is that we set
ourselves to act under the guidance and influence of the blessed Spirit, and
agreeably to the motions and tendency of the new nature in us; and, if this be
our care in the ordinary course and tenour of our lives, we may depend upon it
that, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of our
corrupt nature, we shall be kept from fulfilling it in the lusts thereof; so
that though it remain in us, yet it shall not obtain a dominion over us. Note,
The best antidote against the poison of sin is to walk in the Spirit, to be
much in conversing with spiritual things, to mind the things of the soul,
which is the spiritual part of man, more than those of the body, which is his
carnal part, to commit ourselves to the guidance of the word, wherein the Holy
Spirit makes known the will of God concerning us, and in the way of our duty
to act in a dependence on his aids and influences. And, as this would be the
best means of preserving them from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, so it
would be a good evidence that they were Christians indeed; for, says the
apostle (v. 18), If you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law. As if he had said, "You must expect a struggle between flesh and
spirit as long as you are in the world, that the flesh will be lusting against
the spirit as well as the spirit against the flesh; but if, in the prevailing
bent and tenour of your lives, you be led by the Spirit,--if you act
under the guidance and government of the Holy Spirit and of that spiritual
nature and disposition he has wrought in you,--if you make the word of God
your rule and the grace of God your principle,--it will hence appear that you
are not under the law, not under the condemning, though you are still under
the commanding, power of it; for there is now no condemnation to those that
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit;
and as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,"
Rom. viii. 1-14.
3. The apostle specifies the works of the flesh, which must be watched against
and mortified, and the fruits of the Spirit, which must be cherished and
brought forth (v. 19, &c.); and by specifying particulars he
further illustrates what he is here upon. (1.) He begins with the works of
the flesh, which, as they are many, so they are manifest. It is past
dispute that the things he here speaks of are the works of the flesh, or the
product of corrupt and depraved nature; most of them are condemned by the
light of nature itself, and all of them by the light of scripture. The
particulars he specifies are of various sorts; some are sins against the
seventh commandment, such as adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, by which are meant not only the gross acts of these sins,
but all such thoughts, and words, and actions, as have a tendency towards the
great transgression. Some are sins against the first and second commandments,
as idolatry and witchcraft. Others are sins against our
neighbour, and contrary to the royal law of brotherly love, such as hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, which too often occasion seditions,
heresies, envyings, and sometimes break out into murders, not only
of the names and reputation, but even of the very lives, of our
fellow-creatures. Others are sins against ourselves, such as drunkenness
and revellings; and he concludes the catalogue with an et cetera,
and gives fair warning to all to take care of them, as they hope to see the
face of God with comfort. Of these and such like, says he, I tell
you before, as I have also told you in times past, that those who do
such things, how much soever they may flatter themselves with vain hopes, shall
not inherit the kingdom of God. These are sins which will undoubtedly shut
men out of heaven. The world of spirits can never be comfortable to those who
plunge themselves in the filth of the flesh; nor will the righteous and holy
God ever admit such into his favour and presence, unless they be first washed
and sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit
of our God, 1 Cor. vi. 11. (2.) He specifies the fruits of the Spirit, or
the renewed nature, which as Christians we are concerned to bring forth, v.
22, 23. And here we may observe that as sin is called the work of the
flesh, because the flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves
and excites men to it, so grace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit,
because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from the root:
and whereas before the apostle had chiefly specified those works of the flesh
which were not only hurtful to men themselves but tended to make them so to
one another, so here he chiefly takes notice of those fruits of the Spirit
which had a tendency to make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as
easy to themselves; and this was very suitable to the caution or exhortation
he had before given (v. 13), that they should not use their liberty
as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. He
particularly recommends to us, love, to God especially, and to one
another for his sake,--joy, by which may be understood cheerfulness in
conversation with our friends, or rather a constant delight in God,--peace,
with God and conscience, or a peaceableness of temper and behaviour towards
others,--long-suffering, patience to defer anger, and a contentedness
to bear injuries,--gentleness, such a sweetness of temper, and
especially towards our inferiors, as disposes us to be affable and courteous,
and easy to be entreated when any have wronged us,--goodness (kindness,
beneficence), which shows itself in a readiness to do good to all as we have
opportunity,--faith, fidelity, justice, and honesty, in what we profess
and promise to others,--meekness, wherewith to govern our passions and
resentments, so as not to be easily provoked, and, when we are so, to be soon
pacified,--and temperance, in meat and drink, and other enjoyments of
life, so as not to be excessive and immoderate in the use of them. Concerning
these things, or those in whom these fruits of the Spirit are found, the
apostle says, There is no law against them, to condemn and punish them.
Yea, hence it appears that they are not under the law, but under grace; for
these fruits of the Spirit, in whomsoever they are found, plainly show that
such are led by the Spirit, and consequently that they are not under
the law, as v. 18. And as, by specifying these works of the flesh
and fruits of the Spirit, the apostle directs us both what we are to avoid and
oppose and what we are to cherish and cultivate, so (v. 24) he informs
us that this is the sincere care and endeavour of all real Christians: And
those that are Christ's, says he (those who are Christians indeed, not
only in show and profession, but in sincerity and truth), have crucified
the flesh with the affections and lusts. As in their baptism they were
obliged hereunto (for, being baptized into Christ, they were baptized into his
death, Rom. vi. 3), so they are now sincerely employing themselves herein,
and, in conformity to their Lord and head, are endeavouring to die unto sin,
as he had died for it. They have not yet obtained a complete victory over it;
they have still flesh as well as Spirit in them, and that has its affections
and lusts, which continue to give them no little disturbance, but as it does
not now reign in their mortal bodies, so as that they obey it in the lusts
thereof (Rom. vi. 12), so they are seeking the utter ruin and destruction
of it, and to put it to the same shameful and ignominious, though lingering
death, which our Lord Jesus underwent for our sakes. Note, If we should
approve ourselves to be Christ's, such as are united to him and interested in
him, we must make it our constant care and business to crucify the flesh with
its corrupt affections and lusts. Christ will never own those as his who yield
themselves the servants of sin. But though the apostle here only mentions the
crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts, as the care and
character of real Christians, yet, no doubt, it is also implied that, on the
other hand, we should show forth those fruits of the Spirit which he had just
before been specifying; this is no less our duty than that, nor is it less
necessary to evidence our sincerity in religion. It is not enough that we
cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. Our Christianity obliges us
not only to die unto sin, but to live unto righteousness; not only to oppose
the works of the flesh, but to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit too. If
therefore we would make it appear that we do indeed belong to Christ, this
must be our sincere care and endeavour as well as the other; and that it was
the design of the apostle to represent both the one and the other of these as
our duty, and as necessary to support our character as Christians, may be
gathered from what follows (v. 25), where he adds, If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit; that is, "If we profess to
have received the Spirit of Christ, or that we are renewed in the Spirit of
Christ, or that we are renewed in the spirit of our minds, and endued with a
principle of spiritual life, let us make it appear by the proper fruits of the
Spirit in our lives." He had before told us that the Spirit of Christ is
a privilege bestowed on all the children of God, ch. iv. 6.
"Now," says he, "if we profess to be of this number, and as
such to have obtained this privilege, let us show it by a temper and behaviour
agreeable hereunto; let us evidence our good principles by good
practices." Our conversation will always be answerable to the principle
which we are under the guidance and government of: as those that are after
the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, so those that are after the
Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit, Rom. viii. 5. If therefore we
would have it appear that we are Christ's, and that we are partakers of his
Spirit, it must be by our walking not after the flesh, but after the
spirit. We must set ourselves in good earnest both to mortify the deeds of
the body, and to walk in newness of life.
4. The apostle concludes this chapter with a caution against pride and envy, v.
26. He had before been exhorting these Christians by love to serve one
another (v. 13), and had put them in mind of what would be the
consequence if, instead of that, they did bite and devour one another, v.
15. Now, as a means of engaging them to the one and preserving them from the
other of these, he here cautions them against being desirous of vain-glory, or
giving way to an undue affectation of the esteem and applause of men, because
this, if it were indulged, would certainly lead them to provoke one another
and to envy one another. As far as this temper prevails among Christians, they
will be ready to slight and despise those whom they look upon as inferior to
them, and to be put out of humour if they are denied that respect which they
think is their due from them, and they will also be apt to envy those by whom
their reputation is in any danger of being lessened: and thus a foundation is
laid for those quarrels and contentions which, as they are inconsistent with
that love which Christians ought to maintain towards each other, so they are
greatly prejudicial to the honour and interest of religion itself. This
therefore the apostle would have us by all means to watch against. Note, (1.)
The glory which comes from men is vain-glory, which, instead of being desirous
of, we should be dead to. (2.) An undue regard to the approbation and applause
of men is one great ground of the unhappy strifes and contentions that exist
among Christians.
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