A Verse-by-Verse Examination of Galatians
“In the freedom with which Messiah has made us free, stand firm, then, and do not again be held with a yoke of slavery.” (5:1).
What is this freedom? Some will tell you it is the freedom from obedience to Torah, the Word of Yahoweh, which is Satan’s idea of slavery, however, “And having been set free from sin, you became servants of righteousness. I speak as a man, because of the weakness of your flesh. For even as you did present your members as servants of uncleanness, and of lawlessness resulting in lawlessness, so now present your members as servants of righteousness resulting in set-apartness. For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit, therefore, were you having then, over which you are now ashamed? For the end thereof is death. But now, having been set free from sin, and having become servants of Elohim, you have your fruit resulting in set-apartness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the favourable gift of Elohim is everlasting life in Messiah Yahoshuah our Master.” (Romans 6:18-23).
Now some would just quote verse twenty which says, “For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.” Yet, as 1 Peter 2:16 warns, we should not use our freedom as a cloak for evil, rather we ought be servants of Messiah. Paul speaks here concerning, “your members,” but he is speaking to a different crowd, with a different level of faith, and without the idea of circumcision being necessary for salvation.
“So speak and so do as those who are to be judged by a Torah of freedom.” (James 2:12).
“So Yahoshuah said to those Yehudim who believed Him, ‘If you stay in My Word, you are truly My taught ones, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are the seed of Abraham, and have been servants to no one at any time. How do you say, “You shall become free”’? Yahoshuah answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone doing sin is a servant of sin. And the servant does not stay in the house forever—a son stays forever. If, then, the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” (John 8:31-36). Freedom from sin, lawlessness, the breaking of the Torah. Freedom from unknowingly living in disobedience. Freedom from our debts. Freedom to cherish His Word. I yearn for this eternal blessing. Stand firm, and no longer accept the yoke of slavery, rather, embrace freedom in Messiah.
“See, I, Sha’ul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Messiah shall be of no use to you. And I witness again to every man being circumcised that he is a debtor to do the entire Torah.” (5:2-3).
In other words, circumcision is a final step. Same point, but a different way of driving it home. If these new believers became circumcised, they would have done it to appease those who assumed themselves to be very far along in faith, and for salvation obtainable only by perfection. There was a lot of work, or, “Training into Messiah,” these baby believers needed to do before they subjected themselves to the matter at hand. Circumcision does not in itself make the Messiah of no use. If it did, then why did Paul circumcise Timothy? The Messiah being of no use represents the heart’s intent of circumcising oneself to be saved. If that is what it takes to be saved, then why did Yahoshuah die for our sins?
“You who are declared right by Torah have severed yourselves from Messiah, you have fallen from favour. For we, in Spirit, by belief, eagerly wait for the expectation of righteousness. For in Messiah Yahoshuah neither circumcision nor un-circumcision has any strength, but belief working through love.” (5:4-6).
Many believed that they didn’t need the Messiah for salvation because they had the Torah, and they were sons of Abraham. This is what Paul was frequently up against. Paul is pointing out the need for a Saviour! Yahoshuah keeps Torah perfectly. Therefore, He can justify us. Yahoshuah never abolished the Torah as the Torah demonstrates our need for forgiveness. Yahoshuah will save us if we receive Him!
Paul was not against circumcision as he circumcised Timothy. Yet, why on earth did Timothy endure such an act, and why did Paul himself do it? Timothy didn’t get circumcised to witness to Jews, and if you think that, then I recommend reading Galatians. Paul did it to witness to the Jews that he was not against circumcision. “Because of the Jews,” thereby proving to them, and to us, that he was not against circumcision if done for the right reason, which was not as a means to merit salvation. Timothy had his own reasons, like Abraham, who did not circumcise himself prior to being accepted by Yahoweh, or for many years thereafter. Yahoweh’s commandment of circumcision ought to be done, but not at first, and only when Yahoweh calls for it to be done. Once we have accepted the Messiah we need to start circumcising our heart, so that it no longer loves the world, but loves the Redeemer enough to love as He loved.
“You were running well, who held you back from obeying the truth?” (5:7).
Who was holding them back from the Torah, the Truth? As odd as this sounds, the ones who claimed to be “Torah keepers” were. They were zealous, but we need to let our zealousness be for Yahoweh, and then people will see something in us. We would be in a dangerous game if we harped on new believers the harder matters of Torah. Honestly, how many converts are you going to get if one of the first things they have to do is cut the foreskin off their … well, you know. They should have been encouraging their weaker brothers to love Yahoweh with all their heart, soul, and strength, and to love their neighbor as themselves. Not circumcision. Not yet, and not for a long time from the looks of the baby believers. The Torah can be broken many times and be followed again, or done correctly later, like baptism. But not circumcision! It must be done right the first time! This is key.
A baby is to be circumcised on the eighth day. A baby believer who was not circumcised as a child should be circumcised several years later when they have come into manhood, and from a personal choice to obey the Truth of Torah, out of love, and not to boast. One shouldn’t boast on what they give to charity, how loving they are to their wife, or anything save on how much Yahoweh has given, how much He loves us, and on how holy He is and how holy every stroke of His Word will forever be. In this way, you will hold no one, including yourself, back from the Truth.
“Beloved ones, I appeal to you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts which battle against the life, having your behaviour among the gentiles good so that when they speak against you as evil-doers, let them, by observing your good works, esteem Elohim in a day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11-12).
“That persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens all the lump. I trust in you, in the Master, that you shall have no other mind. And he who is troubling you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.” (5:8-10).
Leaven, as we learned in Passover, is a symbol of sin, and just a little sin can spread itself into all the dough, all the people. Yet, what kind of leaven is this? Paul was hoping they would not be led astray by men giving church playground rules, but rather to always know the real Master is Yahoweh. Yahoshuah has no leaven. He doesn’t make up rules or take them away later on. He is the Torah!
“I have sought You with all my heart; let me not stray from Your commands! I have treasured up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalms 119:10-11). Let us, therefore, repent, so that we might hear and do what we have never heard or done before!
Please read Matthew 16:11-12, 15:3.
“And I, brothers, if I still proclaim circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling-block of the stake has been set aside.” (5:11).
I have met many people so caught up in studying what all the alleged rabbis try to teach that they know little of Scripture, and do even less. You cannot learn anything of value from a human who calls themselves a rabbi, as they have not enough humility to learn anything themselves. Thus, what could they show you? If I were to call myself, “The Messiah, the Son of Elohim,” would you listen to what I have to say? No! In the same manner, it is best to avoid instruction from those who take a similar title, that of rabbi. Yet, consider: What is the difference between calling someone a rabbi and calling someone a pastor or father? There is none. It may seem like I am going off subject, but I am not. The Judean sect wanted these new converts to follow made up torah ideas, and, if they had, they would have forfeited the True Torah. No man can serve two masters, after all. Paul fought the good fight. They wanted to be the rabbi / pastor. They wanted to be the master. But there is only One True Rabbi. Paul? No! The Master Yahoshuah.
Salvation is a gift, which cannot be received by stepping on it. Paul preached against stepping on salvation by preaching honest circumcision. Much like I will ever preach the Good News of the Resurrection of the Messiah, but I will never taint this blessed truth with Easter bunnies, the removal of tithe, or telling people that surely Elohim did not say … surely you will not die. Paul still proclaims circumcision, just not the idea of circumcision meriting salvation.
Please read Philippians 3:2-16.
“O that those who disturb you would even cut themselves off!” (5:12).
Some manuscripts say, “castrate themselves,” but I feel this was a misunderstood play on words. To “cast (or cut) themselves off” likely means that Paul wished they would cast the foreskin off their hearts. Plainly, Paul’s desire was for them to come to accept the Truth, the Teachings of the Creator. May each of us cut the foreskin from our heart! Let those who we minister unto see the heart—the heart filled with grace and obedience based on love rather than self-merit—being inwardly circumcised first by the welcomed working of His Spirit.
“For you, brothers, have been called to freedom, only do not use freedom as an occasion for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (5:13).
Well, here is an interesting verse the people who direct me to several passages in Galatians never point out. I am free, but it is not a freedom the way the world would see it. A worldly person would see this as a license to behave in a sinful manner. Sadly, many Christians profess to be worldly as they see it in the same way the world would. The words are clear though. Your freedom does not make Torah void! Rather, lovingly serve one another!
“For the entire Torah is completed in one word, in this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (5:14).
One word, huh? That’s a lot more than one word, and it seems to be missing something. Now where have I read this before? Ah yes, “‘Teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?’ And Yahoshuah said to him, ‘“You shall love Yahoweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great command. And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:36-40). The Messiah says all the Torah and the Prophets hang on the Ten Commandments, for these two are a symbol of just that. They are love indeed. One Word.
I am not sure why Paul would have skipped this. Was it taken out, or was Paul in essence saying, “I am glad you are zealous for Yahoweh and His Torah, but you also need to love one another or the Torah will not be hung properly in your heart.” I feel the Holy Spirit guiding me to that, for what a person misses. that must he be shown.
“And if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” (5:15).
This passage confirms my thoughts on the previous verse. Oh, how true. Bickering and fighting will just lead to more of it. Quarreling will only make you hunger more and more, and thus you will fight evermore. Beware! The hunger is not a need of more fighting, it is a cry, a need, a longing, for a plate of peace and a goblet of love in the hands of friends.
“And I say: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not accomplish the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you desire to do.” (5:16-17).
Many people, including myself to be certain, struggle and fight. We desire this sin or that sin and we desire this virtue and that virtue, and daily, yes, every moment, we are faced with a choice as to which we shall choose. Are we in the Spirit that breathed the Words the prophets spoke, calling people to obey Yahoweh, or are we led by the spirit of evil who has always called people away from the walk of Yahoshuah? Fight the good fight. Do not allow the enemy to use this book to battle you, but use it to battle the enemy! For Yahoweh’s Sword is Yahoweh’s! … While temptations often disguise themselves as our desires.
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Torah.” (5:18).
Well is the Spirit going to lead you to do something against Torah? Like steal. Absolutely not!
“‘See, the days are coming,’ declares Yahoweh, ‘when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Yisra’el and with the house of Yehudah, not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My covenant which they broke, though I was a Husband to them,’ declares Yahoweh.” (Jeremiah 31:31-32).
Even though Yahoweh has been an ever-faithful Husband, His bride has not always kept her end of the covenant. So Yahoweh says He will make a new one with Israel and Judah. No mention of Christianity. But does this do away with the Torah—or does it make His Word well known and desirable? Reading on seems to be in order.
“‘For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’el after those days,’ declares Yahoweh: ‘I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.’” (Jeremiah 31:33).
I have been in tears writing this, but the tears have flown the most right here. “My people.” … To hear His voice call us, “My people.” I pray, yes, I pray, that I will still be able to speak the words in return: “My Elohim!” All praise and glory and honor to You, The First and the Last Bridegroom! My King and my Love.
“‘And no longer shall they teach, each one his neighbour, and each one his brother, saying, “Know Yahoweh,” for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares Yahoweh. ‘For I shall forgive their crookedness, and remember their sin no more.’ Thus said Yahoweh, Who gives the sun for a light by day, and the laws of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, and its waves roar—Yahoweh of Hosts is His Name: ‘If these laws vanish from before Me,’ declares Yahoweh, ‘then the seed of Yisra’el shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.’” (Jeremiah 31:34-36).
Israel is a nation. His Torah remains. As often as people have tried to do away with His Torah they have also tried to do away with His people, and with both attempts they have become the same: defeated.
You’re no longer under the death sentence because of the blood of Messiah, yet the Spirit will still guide you in all ways of the Messiah. Never, ever, forget this, those of you who shall be called, “My people.”
“And the works of the flesh are well known, which are these: adultery, whoring, uncleanness, indecency, idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and the like—of which I forewarn you, even as I also said before, that those who practise such as these shall not inherit the reign of Elohim.” (5:19-21).
Bearing in mind 5:18, can anyone tell me where at in the Torah we are commanded to do any of these works of the flesh? None of this sounds desirable to me. I will tell you this, though: I had in the making a letter to you concerning these verses. I called it, “The Worm of the Flesh.” However, I was never able to bring myself to think on them long enough to write it. Perhaps someday I will, and perhaps not, as indeed, I would rather preach the Light that burns away all darkness.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah.” (5:22-23).
Bearing in mind 5:22-23, can anyone tell me where at in the Torah we are commanded to do any of these? If you answered Genesis to Deuteronomy to Revelations, then congratulations, you’ve been paying attention.
I have already shared with you concerning both these passages in some detail, so I will not delve into this further, save to say the Spirit wrote the Torah, which condemns hatred, and encourages love.
“And those who are of Messiah have impaled the flesh with its passions and the desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (5:24-26).
What was one crowd provoking the other with? What was the other crowd envious of? If you’ve been paying attention at all I am sure you know the answer. Circumcision. Each side, though, was the same thing. They were conceited.
Paul wants us to walk according to the Spirit. The key word is Spirit. Not spirits. Too many today are listening to spirits tell them whatever it is they want to hear. Whatever suits their church doctrine, their home doctrine, their work doctrine, their best friend’s doctrine, and so on and so forth. I say, and I feel Paul says too: Live by the Messiah’s doctrine, by the Teachings of Yahoweh—always; in sorrow, joy, and even in death. Let us forfeit all lies. In all aspects let us live according to the Spirit of Yahoweh!
This chapter really brought out some amazing gifts. The worm of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit, the doctrines of men or the Torah of Yahoweh! Paul preached, and even performed a circumcision, and for no other reason than the right one. I am becoming more and more amazed with this amazing letter. Yahoshuah is Saviour, and we can be saved the moment we come to Him. If we truly take hold of the Hem of this Jew, then we will indeed be led into the fruit of the Spirit and all the Torah, as we walk with Him to the cross. What a blessing! HalleluYah! What a blessing! Now that, my dear brothers … is Good News.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Genesis to Revelations
