Galatians
Chapter 1
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man,
but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
2 and all the brethren who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins,
that He might deliver us from this present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father,
“Deliver” - rescue
“evil age” - the sinful world.
“John 15:19”
“If you were of the world,
the world would love its own.
yet because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.”
“1 John 2:15-17”
Do not love the world,
or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not
in him. For all that is in the
world; the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not
of the Father but is
of the world. And
the world is passing
away and the lust of it;
but he who does the will
of God abides forever.
5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Only One Gospel
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him
who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
“Different gospel” - false gospel.
“Colossians 2:8”
Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according
to the tradition of men, according to
the basic principles of the world,
and not according to Christ.
“2 Timothy 4:3-4”
For the time will come
when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according
to their own desires, because they
have itching ears, they will heap up
for themselves teachers, and will
turn their ears away from truth,
and be turned aside to fables.
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble
you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel to you than what we have preached to you,
let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again,
if anyone preaches any other gospel to you
than what you have received,
let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men,
I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Call to Apostleship
11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel
which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it,
but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism,
how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many
of my contemporaries in my own nation,
being more exceedingly zealous for the
traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles,
I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia,
and returned again to Damascus.
Contacts at Jerusalem
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you,
indeed, before God, I do not lie.)
21 Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.
23 But they were hearing only,
“He who formerly persecuted us now preaches
the faith which he once tried to destroy.”
24 And they glorified God in me.
Galatians Chapter 2
Defending the Gospel
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem
with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.
2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that
gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately
to those who were of reputation, lest by any
means I might run, or had run, in vain.
3 Yet not even Titus who was with me,
being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in
(who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,
that they might bring us into bondage),
5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour,
that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were,
it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism
to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for
the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the
gospel for the circumcised was to Peter
8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship
to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me
and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should
go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 They desired only that we should remember the poor,
the very thing which I also was eager to do.
No Return to the Law
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch,
I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
12 for before certain men came from James,
he would eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself,
fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him,
so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel,
I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live
in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews,
why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works
of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified
by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for
by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves
also are found sinners, is Christ therefore
a minister of sin? Certainly not!
18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed,
I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
“Romans 6:6-8”
Knowing this, that our old man
was crucified with Him, that
the body of sin might be
done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves
of sin. For he who has died
has been freed from sin. Now
if we died with Christ, we believe
we shall also live with Him.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God;
for if righteousness
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Galatians Chapter 3
Justification by Faith
1 O foolish Galatians!
Who has bewitched you that
you should not obey the truth,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ
was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
2 This only I want to learn from you:
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit,
are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have you suffered so many things
in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you
and works miracles among you,
does He do it by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith?
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness.”
7 Therefore know that only those who
are of faith are sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying,
“In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
9 So then those who are of faith are
blessed with believing Abraham.
The Law Brings a Curse
10 For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse; for it is written,
“Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things
which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight
of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man
who does them shall live by them.”
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us
(for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who hangs on a tree”),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the
Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Changeless Promise
15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men:
Though it is only a
man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed,
no one annuls or adds to it.
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.
He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one,
“And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred
and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was
confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make
the promise of no effect.
18 For if the inheritance is of the law,
it is no longer of promise;
but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Purpose of the Law
19 What purpose then does the law serve?
It was added because of transgressions,
till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;
and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
20 Now a mediator does not mediate
for one only, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not!
For if there had been a law given which could have given life,
truly righteousness would have been by the law.
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin,
that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be
given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came,
we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the
faith which would afterward be revealed.
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come,
we are no longer under a tutor.
“Romans 10:4”
For Christ is
the end of the
law for righteousness
to everyone who believes.
Sons and Heirs
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed
, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians Chapter 4
Sons and Heirs Through Christ
1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not
differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,
2 but is under guardians and stewards until the
time appointed by the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in
bondage under the elements of the world.
“Elements of the world”
Sin, unbelief.
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Fears for the Church
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you
served those which by nature are not gods.
9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known
by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and
beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
10 You observe days and months and seasons and years.
11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
12 Brethren, I urge you to become like me,
for I became like you.
You have not injured me at all.
13 You know that because of physical infirmity
I preached the gospel to you at the first.
14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God,
even as Christ Jesus.
15 What then was the blessing you enjoyed?
For I bear you witness that, if possible,
you would have plucked out your
own eyes and given them to me.
16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17 They zealously court you, but for no good;
yes, they want to exclude you,
that you may be zealous for them.
18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always,
and not only when I am present with you.
19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth
again until Christ is formed in you,
20 I would like to be present with you now and to change
my tone; for I have doubts about you.
Two Covenants
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by
a bondwoman, the other by a free woman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according
to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise,
24 which things are symbolic.
For these are the two covenants:
the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage,
which is Hagar,
25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia,
and corresponds
to Jerusalem which now is,
and is in bondage with her children,
26 but the Jerusalem above is free,
which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren,
you who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
you who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many
more children Than she
who has a husband.”
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac
was, are children of promise.
29 But, as he who was born
according to the flesh then
persecuted him who was born
according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say?
“Cast out the bondwoman and her son,
for the son of the bondwoman
shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.”
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the
bondwoman but of the free.
“Amplified Version, verse 31”
So, brethren, we
(who are born again)
are not children of
a slave woman
(the natural),
but of the free
(the supernatural).
Galatians Chapter 5
Christian Liberty
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has
made us free, and do not be entangled
again with a yoke of bondage.
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become
circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor
to keep the whole law.
4 You have become estranged from Christ,
you who attempt to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for
the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything,
but faith working through love.
Love Fulfills the Law
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
“Leaven”- sin
10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have
no other mind; but he who troubles you
shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision,
why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
12 I could wish that those who trouble
you would even cut themselves off!
“King James Version, verse 12”
I would they were even
cut off which trouble you.
_ _ _
Paul wishes that the false teachers
were cut off from the Galatians
altogether.
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware
lest you be consumed by one another!
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
“Walk in the Spirit”
The sinful flesh, and the selfish
self-life must be treated as dead.
We cannot be filled with the
Holy Spirit and sin at
the same time.
“Romans 6:6-7”
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign
in your mortal body, that
you should obey it in
its lusts.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another,
so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
“Adultery - sex outside marriage.
“Fornication” - sex before marriage.
“Uncleanness” - morally impure, filthy.
“Lewdness” - lustful, obscene.
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
“Idolatry” - devoted to anything but God.
“Sorcery” - magic, witchcraft.
“Hatred” - detestable, loathsome.
“Contentions” - quarreling.
“Jealousies” - wanting what others have.
“Outbursts of wrath” - loud anger, rage.
“Selfish ambitions” - self-centered.
“Dissensions” - angry disagreement.
“Heresies” - false teaching.
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;
of which I tell you beforehand,
just as I also told you in time past,
that those who practice such things
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
“Envy” - displeasure at the success of others.
“Murders” - killing of others.
“Drunkenness” - intoxication.
“Revelries” - living only for pleasure.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
“Galatians 2:20”
I have been crucified with Christ,
it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God , who loved me
and gave himself for me.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
“Romans 8:5”
For those who live
according to the flesh
set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but
those who live according
to the Spirit, the things
of the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians Chapter 6
Bear and Share Burdens
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass,
you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,
considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something,
when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let each one examine his own work,
and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Be Generous and Do Good
6 Let him who is taught the word share in
all good things with him who teaches.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,
but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,
especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Glory Only in the Cross
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh,
these would compel you to be circumcised,
only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law,
but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
14 But God forbid that I should boast except
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
“The world has been crucified to me”
“John 17:6”
“I have manifested Your name
to the men You have given Me
out of the world. They were
Yours, You gave them to
Me, and they have
kept Your word.”
“John 17:16”
“They are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world.”
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcised avails anything, but a new creation.
Blessing and a Plea
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and
mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one trouble me,
for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
18 Brethren, the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.