November 25

Galatians 4-6 (biblegateway.com)

Walking in Freedom by the Spirit

After establishing that believers are justified by faith alone and not by works of the law, Paul continues his letter by explaining what it means to live as children of God—free from bondage, filled with the Spirit, and walking in newness of life. Galatians 4–6 completes Paul’s passionate defense of Christian liberty and the life of grace.

Galatians 4 — From Slavery to Sonship: Heirs of God Through Christ

Paul continues his defense of salvation by grace, contrasting bondage under the law with the freedom of sonship in Christ. He shows that believers are no longer slaves but sons and heirs of God, adopted through the redeeming work of His Son. Yet he laments that the Galatians, having been set free, are turning back to spiritual slavery.

He begins with an illustration: as long as the heir is a child, he differs little from a slave, though he owns everything (v. 1). He is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father (v. 2). In the same way, before Christ came, God’s people were enslaved to the basic principles of the world (v. 3). The law functioned as a temporary guardian until maturity, the coming of Christ, would bring true freedom.

“But when the fullness of time comes, God sends forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons” (v. 4–5). In this one sentence, Paul summarizes the gospel. At the appointed moment in history, God acts in perfect timing. Christ enters humanity through birth, fully identifying with us, and places Himself under the demands of the law to satisfy it on our behalf. Through His redemption, believers are adopted into God’s family, not as servants who fear, but as sons who belong.

Because believers are sons, God sends the Spirit of His Son into their hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (v. 6). This cry signifies intimacy, not distance. The Spirit confirms the believer’s adoption, assuring us that we are children of God, not slaves. “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (v. 7). Grace transforms position and relationship. The believer moves from duty to devotion, from bondage to inheritance.

Paul then turns to their present danger. “Formerly,” he says, “when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods” (v. 8). Before faith, they served idols and false powers. “But now that you have come to know God, or rather, to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles?” (v. 9). The Galatians are reverting to the same kind of bondage, now under legalism instead of paganism. They observe special days, months, seasons, and years (v. 10). Paul fears that his labor for them may have been in vain (v. 11). To seek righteousness by observances is to trade freedom for chains.

Appealing to them personally, Paul pleads, “Brothers, I beseech you, become as I am, for I also became as you are” (v. 12). Paul is asking them to return to the freedom of grace. He once lived under the strict demands of the law, but when Christ saved him, he laid aside that system as the means of righteousness. When he first preached to the Galatians, he did not insist that they adopt Jewish customs; instead, he lived among them as a Gentile believer, resting entirely on Christ’s finished work. Now he urges them to imitate that same freedom: to leave behind the bondage of legalism and to stand in the grace God has already provided.

Paul reminds them that when he first came to them, they did him no wrong. In fact, he originally preached the gospel to them “because of a bodily illness” (v. 13). What could have been a hindrance became the very circumstance through which God opened a door for ministry. His physical weakness did not repel them; it became the backdrop for the power of the message. They received him with remarkable warmth, “as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself” (v. 14). Their response showed genuine spiritual hunger and deep affection.

But something has changed. Paul asks, “What then has become of your blessedness?” (v. 15). The joy and spiritual vitality they once experienced has faded. At one time, they were so devoted to him that they would have “plucked out their eyes” and given them to him if possible, an expression of intense loyalty and sacrifice. Yet now, because he confronts them with the truth, they treat him as if he were their enemy (v. 16). What changed was not Paul’s love but their perception, shaped by the influence of the false teachers who insisted that true righteousness required obedience to the law.

Paul exposes a serious spiritual reality: legalism always damages relationships. It turns grace-filled affection into suspicion, gratitude into resentment, and unity into division. When believers shift from trusting Christ to trusting their own efforts, they often become defensive, prideful, and resistant to correction. Paul is not rebuking them to win an argument; he is appealing to win back their hearts. His confrontation grows out of love, and his desire is not to shame them but to restore them to the freedom and joy they once knew in Christ.

Paul shifts his attention to the motives of the false teachers, exposing the strategy behind their influence. “They make much of you,” he says, “but for no good purpose” (v. 17). Their flattery is deliberate, not sincere. They court the Galatians’ attention, not because they care for their souls, but because they want to pull them away from the freedom of the gospel into the bondage of law-keeping. Their zeal has an agenda: they want to isolate the Galatians from Paul so that the Galatians will “make much” of them instead. It is spiritual manipulation disguised as devotion.

Paul contrasts this distorted zeal with what biblical shepherding looks like. Genuine spiritual leaders do not compete for followers or use charm to gain influence; they point people to Christ, not to themselves. The false teachers, however, turn attention inward and upward to human authority, not outward toward Christ’s finished work. Paul is reminding the Galatians, and every church, that zeal in itself is not a mark of truth. What matters is whether that zeal leads believers deeper into grace and obedience or deeper into pride and performance.

He tells them, “It is good to be made much of for a good purpose,” meaning that sincere encouragement and godly affirmation have their proper place (v. 18). When believers express genuine care and call one another to pursue Christ more faithfully, such attention strengthens the body. But good motives must shape good zeal. The false teachers’ influence is harmful because it pulls the Galatians away from the gospel rather than toward it. Paul refuses to use the same tactics. He is not flattering them; he is fighting for their freedom in Christ.

Paul’s affection for them shines through in one of the most personal statements in the letter: “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (v. 19). His concern is not about losing followers but about seeing Christ’s character and freedom fully shaped in their lives. Paul already labored for their spiritual birth; now he labors again because they are being drawn away from their true identity in Christ.

He concludes this section with a candid confession: “I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you” (v. 20). Distance amplifies his concern, and written words cannot convey the warmth of his pastoral heart. His perplexity is not anger but grief. How could they turn from the grace they once embraced with joy? His desire is not to scold them but to shepherd them back into freedom, clarity, and stability. Paul’s passion for the Galatians reflects the heart of every faithful pastor: a longing to see Christ formed in His people, a willingness to speak hard truth when needed, and a grief that rises when believers begin drifting from the simplicity and power of the gospel.

Paul now turns to those who desire to live under the law and challenges them with the very Scripture they appeal to. “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?” (v. 21). They cling to the law as a path to righteousness, yet they overlook what the law itself teaches: the story of Abraham shows that God’s promises are received by faith, not earned by human effort. Paul leads them back to Genesis, using the history they already know to expose the futility of their legalism.

He recalls that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman Hagar and one by the free woman Sarah (v. 22). The distinction between the two sons is not merely biological but theological. Ishmael is born “according to the flesh,” the result of human planning, human impatience, and human ability (v. 23). Abraham and Sarah attempted to secure God’s promise through their own strength. By contrast, Isaac is the child “through promise,” born through God’s intervention, at a time when human ability had reached its limits. This contrast becomes the foundation of Paul’s argument: salvation arises from God’s promise and grace, not from human performance.

Paul explains that these two women and their sons function as an allegory for two covenants (v. 24). Hagar represents the covenant from Mount Sinai, corresponding to slavery—first slavery to the law, and then to the condemnation it brings. She also corresponds to the present Jerusalem, where many still pursue righteousness through the law’s demands (v. 25). Though they possess Scripture, temple, and heritage, they remain in bondage when they seek justification by works.

Sarah, however, represents the Jerusalem above, which is free, and this is the mother of all believers (v. 26). She symbolizes the covenant of grace, grounded not in human effort but in God’s faithfulness. Those who belong to Christ are children of promise, not children of slavery. Their identity is rooted in God’s initiative, as He calls, He enables, He justifies, and He forms His people into the likeness of His Son.

To strengthen his point, Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1: “Rejoice, O barren one…” (v. 27). The barren woman, representing Sarah, becomes fruitful not through her own power but through God’s intervention. The prophecy anticipates the expansion of God’s people far beyond Israel’s borders. Just as Sarah’s miraculous motherhood came by promise, so the church’s growth comes by God’s gracious work, not by adherence to the law. Grace creates what human effort cannot.

Paul then applies the analogy directly: believers are “children of promise,” like Isaac (v. 28). But just as Ishmael persecuted Isaac, the son of the flesh, mistreating the son of the Spirit, so now legalists trouble those who live by grace (v. 29). Legalism always resents grace because grace removes human boasting. The pressure the Galatians feel from the false teachers is simply a continuation of this long-standing conflict.

Finally, Paul brings the argument to its decisive conclusion: “Cast out the slave woman and her son” (v. 30). This is not a dismissal of people but of a system. The law cannot inherit the promises; righteousness cannot come through slavery to regulations. The inheritance belongs only to those who are in Christ, the children of promise. Therefore, Paul urges them to embrace their true identity: “So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman” (v. 31). To return to the law for righteousness is to step back into bondage after having been set free.

These passages confront every attempt to rest salvation on human effort. It calls believers to recognize that they belong to the covenant of promise, upheld by God’s faithfulness rather than by human strength. In Christ, they are free, not from obedience but from the burden of earning righteousness. Grace shapes the believer’s life, enabling a faithful response that honors the One who calls His people into the freedom of His sons and daughters.

Galatians 5 — Freedom in Christ and Life in the Spirit

Paul now turns from defending the gospel of grace to calling the Galatians to live faithfully in the freedom Christ has secured. “For freedom Christ has set us free” (v. 1). Freedom is not the absence of moral boundaries; it is liberation from the law as a means of righteousness and from sin’s mastery over the heart. Paul urges them to “stand firm” and refuse a return to the yoke of slavery. To embrace the law as a requirement for justification is not a minor misstep; it is a complete reversal of the gospel’s direction.

Paul warns them that if they accept circumcision as a condition for salvation, Christ will be of no advantage to them (v. 2). To adopt one part of the law as a means of righteousness obligates a person to keep the whole law (v. 3). The choice is stark: either righteousness comes through Christ, or it must be earned through perfect obedience to the law. There is no mixture. To seek justification by the law is to be “severed from Christ” and to fall away from the realm of grace (v. 4). Paul is not describing the loss of salvation but the abandonment of the gospel’s foundation; legalism always moves people away from Christ’s sufficiency.

In contrast, believers who trust Christ are waiting for the hope of righteousness by the Spirit (v. 5). This hope is not uncertain but anticipatory, the final righteousness that God will reveal when Christ returns. In this present life, what counts is not circumcision or uncircumcision but faith working through love (v. 6). Genuine faith expresses itself in a life shaped by love, something the law can command but cannot produce. Only the Spirit empowers that kind of obedience.

Paul reminds the Galatians that they “were running well,” progressing steadily in the life of faith, until someone hindered them from obeying the truth (v. 7). This persuasion does not come from the One who calls them (v. 8). False teaching spreads like yeast, working its way through the whole church if left unchecked (v. 9). Paul expresses confidence that the Lord will guard them, but he also insists that those who trouble them will face judgment (v. 10). The gospel is too precious to tolerate distortion.

Some accuse Paul of still preaching circumcision, but he rejects the charge, pointing out that if he were proclaiming circumcision, he would not still be persecuted (v. 11). The stumbling block is the cross, the declaration that salvation comes not by human performance but by Christ’s sacrifice. Paul’s frustration with the agitators peaks as he says he wishes they would go beyond their demands and “cut themselves off” entirely (v. 12). His language reflects the seriousness of tampering with the gospel.

Paul returns to the heart of Christian living: “You were called to freedom, brothers.” But freedom is not license for the flesh. Instead, believers are to serve one another through love (v. 13). True Christian liberty is the Spirit-empowered ability to love as Christ commands. The whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 14). Legalism produces pride and comparison; the flesh produces selfishness and conflict. If believers “bite and devour” one another, they will destroy their own fellowship (v. 15).

The antidote is simple but profound: “Walk by the Spirit.” If believers walk by the Spirit, they will not gratify the desires of the flesh (v. 16). The flesh and the Spirit are at war within the believer, each pulling in opposite directions (v. 17). Those led by the Spirit are not under the law (v. 18), not because they reject obedience but because the Spirit enables what the law could never produce, a heart inclined to God.

Paul lists the works of the flesh, sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, drunkenness, and the like (v. 19–21). These are not isolated behaviors but the natural outflow of a heart governed by self-interest. Paul warns soberly that those who habitually live in such patterns will not inherit the kingdom of God. The warning is real: the kingdom belongs to those being transformed by grace, not to those who cling to the flesh.

In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is one unified harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (v. 22–23). These qualities are not produced by human discipline alone; they are the Spirit’s work in a heart surrendered to Christ. “Against such things there is no law” because the law was always meant to point toward these virtues. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (v. 24). The old way of life is nailed to the cross; the Spirit now leads and shapes the believer’s steps.

Therefore, Paul concludes, “let us keep in step with the Spirit” (v. 25). A life marked by the Spirit leaves no room for conceit, provocation, or envy (v. 26). Grace frees believers not only from the law’s demands but also from the self-centered impulses that fracture relationships. The path forward is daily dependence on the Spirit who enables love, fosters unity, and forms the character of Christ in His people.

Galatians 5 is a call to live in the freedom Christ provides, not to indulge the flesh but to walk in the Spirit. In this freedom, believers find the power to love, to obey, and to reflect Christ, trusting the Spirit who works within them to produce what the law could command but never supply.

Galatians 6 — Bearing One Another’s Burdens and Sowing to the Spirit

Paul brings his letter to a close by showing how the gospel of grace should shape the daily life of the church. Freedom in Christ is never isolation; it is life lived in community, where believers care for one another with humility and integrity. Grace forms a people who walk with one another, restore one another, and pursue holiness together.

Paul begins with a practical command. If anyone is caught in a transgression, those who are spiritual, that is, those walking in the Spirit, should restore him in a spirit of gentleness (v. 1). The aim is restoration, not condemnation. Grace teaches believers to come alongside the fallen, not with harshness or pride, but with the meekness of Christ. Yet Paul adds a sober warning: “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Those who help others must remember their own weakness, relying on the Spirit rather than assuming spiritual superiority.

He continues, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (v. 2). The law of Christ is the command to love, and the very thing the Spirit enables and the law could never produce. Burdens come in many forms: temptation, sorrow, poverty, responsibility, discouragement. To carry these with and for one another is a defining mark of Christian community. By contrast, those who think themselves something when they are nothing deceive themselves (v. 3). Pride isolates, blinds, and prevents real fellowship. Grace teaches humility.

Paul urges believers to examine their own work, not in comparison with others but in light of God’s call (v. 4). Each person will bear his own load (v. 5). The point is not contradiction but balance: Christians help bear one another’s heavy burdens, yet each remains personally accountable before God. Grace does not eliminate responsibility; it strengthens it.

Those who are taught the Word should share all good things with the one who teaches (v. 6). This is not a command for charity but a recognition that spiritual labor deserves support. The ministry of the Word nourishes the church, and those who receive its blessings respond with generosity.

Paul then gives one of his clearest warnings: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked” (v. 7). Spiritual complacency assumes that choices have no consequence, but Paul exposes that lie. Whatever a person sows, that he will also reap. This is not salvation by works but the moral order God has woven into His world. To sow to the flesh, living for self, indulging sinful desires, reaps corruption. To sow to the Spirit, walking in obedience, responding to grace, reaps eternal life (v. 8). Paul affirms human responsibility within the life of grace: believers must choose daily to walk by the Spirit rather than gratify the flesh.

Because the harvest of righteousness often takes time, Paul encourages perseverance: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (v. 9). Faithfulness is rarely immediate in its reward, but it is always fruitful in the end. Therefore, believers should do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith (v. 10). Christian love extends outward in compassion to the world, but it begins with genuine commitment to the family of God.

Paul closes the letter by writing with his own hand, emphasizing the weight of his final words (v. 11). He returns to the false teachers, exposing their motives. They desire to compel the Galatians to be circumcised in order to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ (v. 12). Legalism often thrives not because people love the law, but because they fear the offense of the cross, a message that humbles human pride. Even those who insist on circumcision do not keep the law themselves; they want to boast in others’ obedience (v. 13). Legalism feeds self-glory, not holiness.

Paul contrasts their pride with his own confession: “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 14). Through the cross, the world has been crucified to him and he to the world. The old order of sin, pride, and self-righteousness holds no power over a heart anchored in Christ. Circumcision or uncircumcision means nothing; what matters is a new creation (v. 15). Salvation is not about external marks but inward transformation by the Spirit’s work.

For all who walk by this rule, those who cling to the gospel of grace, Paul prays for peace and mercy, including to the “Israel of God,” likely referring to the believing community, Jew and Gentile united in Christ (v. 16). He concludes by reminding them of his own suffering for the gospel: “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (v. 17). These scars, received through persecution, testify to his loyalty to Christ, not outward rituals, but genuine devotion.

Paul ends with a benediction: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers” (v. 18). Grace began their salvation, grace sustained their faith, and grace will keep them to the end. The entire letter circles back to this truth: believers live not by law or self-effort but by the enabling grace of Christ, who forms His people into a new creation and teaches them to walk in the freedom of the Spirit.

Galatians 6 reveals what Spirit-led freedom looks like in practice. Believers restore the fallen, bear burdens, sow to the Spirit, and persevere in goodness. Legalism boasts in the flesh; grace boasts in the cross. The gospel calls us to live as new creations, crucified to the world, alive to Christ, and overflowing with love that fulfills His law. In every act of service and every trial endured, the believer walks by grace and reaps eternal reward from the God who never fails.

Conclusion

Galatians 4–6 remind believers that the Christian life is one of freedom, not bondage, and one of Spirit-led living, not self-effort. We are no longer slaves to sin or the law but children of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, called to live in love, holiness, and humility. True freedom is not the right to do whatever we please but the power to do what pleases God.

For believers today, these chapters call us to live by faith, depend on the Spirit daily, and bear His fruit in our relationships and actions. Grace leads to godliness, not complacency. The Spirit empowers what the law could never accomplish. As children of God, we are called to walk in love, serve one another, and persevere in doing good until the day we see Christ. This is the life of liberty and holiness made possible by the cross.