Galatians 5:20 Komentář

In this chapter the apostle comes to make application of his foregoing discourse. He begins it with a general caution, or exhortation (Gal 5:1), which he afterwards enforces by several considerations (Gal 5:2-12). 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 (Gal 5:13-15). II. That they would strive against sin, where he shows, 1. That there is in every one a struggle between flesh and spirit (Gal 5:17). 2. That it is our duty and interest, in this struggle, to side with the better part (Gal 5:16, Gal 5:18). 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 (Gal 5:19-24). And then concludes the chapter with a caution against pride and envy.

INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS 5 In this chapter the apostle exhorts to stand fast in Christian liberty, and warns against the abuse of it; and directs to shun various vices, and encourages, to the exercise of several graces, and the observance of several duties; and concludes with a caution against vain glory, provocation to wrath, and envy: and whereas, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, he had made it appear that the believers under the Gospel dispensation were free from the bondage of the law, he begins this with an exhortation to continue steadfastly in the liberty of the Gospel; and the rather, since it was what Christ obtained for them, and bestowed on them; and to take care, that they were not again brought under the bondage of the ceremonial law, particularly the yoke of Circumcision, Gal 5:1, and dissuades from submitting to it, by observing, that it tended to make Christ unprofitable to them, Gal 5:2, and that it laid them under an obligation to keep the whole law, Gal 5:3, and that it made Christ wholly useless to them; and that such who sought for justification by obedience to the ceremonial law were apostates from the Gospel of the grace of God, Gal 5:4, as also by showing, that it was contrary to the general faith and expectation of the saints, who were looking for and expecting eternal glory and happiness, not by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Gal 5:5, nor were circumcision or uncircumcision of any avail, but the true faith in Christ, which shows itself by love to him and to his people, Gal 5:6, and likewise by reminding them how well they set out at their first conversion, and proceeded; nor had they any to hinder them from obeying the truth, and therefore it was shameful in them to go back to the beggarly elements they had first relinquished, Gal 5:7, nor was the present opinion they had imbibed, of God that called them, or what they received when first effectually called by grace, but what had been since taken up, Gal 5:8, and whereas it might be objected, that it was only in a single article concerning the ceremonial law, and which was, embraced only by a few persons, and therefore not to be regarded, the apostle puts them in mind of a proverb, that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and therefore not to be connived at, Gal 5:9, however, a little to mitigate the sharpness of his reproof, he expresses his good opinion and confidence of them, that upon a mature consideration of things, they would not be otherwise minded than they formerly had been, or he now was; and lays the blame of all upon the false teacher, or teachers, that troubled them, and who should bear their own judgment or condemnation, Gal 5:10, and whereas it was insinuated, that the apostle himself had preached up circumcision as necessary to salvation, he removes this calumny by observing, that were it true, he would not suffer persecution as he did, nor would the Jews be offended at his preaching as they were, Gal 5:11, and then out of zeal for the glory of God, and hearty affection to the Galatians, he wishes those false teachers that troubled them with their pernicious doctrines were cut off either by the Lord, or from the church, Gal 5:12, and next he directs to the right use of Christian liberty, to which they were called; and cautions against the abuse of it; that they should not use it as an occasion to the flesh, but, on the contrary, serve one another in love, Gal 5:13 giving this as a reason, because love is the fulfilling of the law, Gal 5:14, whereas a contrary spirit and conduct are attended with pernicious consequences, even the destruction of each other, Gal 5:15, and therefore advises them to walk in the Spirit, whose fruit is love, and then they would not fulfil the lust of the flesh, Gal 5:16, for these two, flesh and Spirit, are contrary the one to the other, and the Spirit hinders the performance of the lusts of the flesh, Gal 5:17, besides, such who give up themselves to the conduct of the Spirit, and are led thereby, are not under the law, the bondage of it, nor liable to its curse, Gal 5:18, and having made mention both of flesh and Spirit, he takes notice of the works and fruits of the one, and of the other, by which they are known; and as for the works of the flesh he observes, that they are manifest, and gives an enumeration of them in "seventeen" particulars; and to deter from them declares, that whoever lives in the commission of them, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, Gal 5:19, and as for the fruits of the Spirit, these are also well known by spiritual men, "nine" of which are particularly mentioned, and against which there is no law, Gal 5:22, and from the whole concludes, that such as are true believers in Christ, and are led by his Spirit, and have the fruits of it, have the flesh with its affections and lusts crucified, Gal 5:24, and ends the chapter with some exhortations to walk in the Spirit, and not be ambitious of worldly honour, nor provoke one another to wrath, nor envy each other's happiness, Gal 5:25.

Envyings..... Uneasy distressing tortures of the mind, grieving at the good of others, that any should be in an equal, or in a better condition than themselves: murders, destroying of men's lives, which is often the consequence of the above evils: drunkenness; excess in drinking of wine or strong drink, whereby the stomach is overcharged, the mind is intoxicated, and the body enfeebled and unable to perform its office; this is often the source of many, or all of the works of the flesh before mentioned: revellings; excess in feed, nocturnal riotings in eating, drinking, dancing, singing, chambering and wantonness. The Syriac version renders it, "lascivious singing"; and the Arabic version, "songs" which are a part of the nightly revels: and such like which are of the same nature and kind; so the apostle shuts up the account, it being too tedious to give an enumeration of all the works of the flesh; nor was it necessary, judgment may be made of the rest by these; nor might it be so proper, since the carnal heart is but the more pleased with, and irritated by, the mention of evil things: of the which I tell you before: before the judge comes and the awful judgment proceeds, when these will all be made manifest, and every man will be judged according to his works: this the apostle did, as putting them in mind of the evil nature of these things, and assuring them of the bad consequences that would follow, if grace prevented not: as I have also told you in time past; when he first preached among them, and warned them to flee from the wrath to come; he then laid before them the evil nature of these things, the dreadful effects of them, and showed that there was no salvation from them, but by Christ: and that they which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God; by which is meant the heavenly glory, called a "kingdom", because of the grandeur and magnificence of that state; and "of God", because it is of his preparing and giving, what he calls his own to by his grace, and puts them into the possession of and where he reigns and will reign for ever, and show forth the glory of his majesty: this is possessed in way of inheritance, which shows it to be a bequest of our heavenly Father's, a free grace gift of his, and not to be obtained by the works of the law, or merits of men; but what belongs, and is peculiar to the children of God, who are so by adopting grace: now they that do such works of the flesh as before enumerated; that is, that live in the commission of these things, whose whole lives are employed in such work, living and dying in such a state, without repentance towards God and faith in Christ, shall never enjoy eternal life and happiness; though such who have done these things, being brought to a sense of them, and to the blood and righteousness of Christ for pardon and justification, for life and salvation; such, notwithstanding the works of the flesh done by them, shall, through the free grace of God, and the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, inherit the kingdom and glory of God.

Now it is adultery, if one, abandoning the ecclesiastical and true knowledge, and the persuasion respecting God, accedes to false and incongruous opinion, either by deifying any created object, or by making an idol of anything that exists not, so as to overstep, or rather step from, knowledge. And to the Gnostic false opinion is foreign, as the true belongs to him, and is allied with him. Wherefore the noble apostle calls one of the kinds of fornication, idolatry, in following the prophet, who says: "[My people] hath committed fornication with stock and stone. They have said to the stock, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me."

On this point, however, we dwell no longer, since it is the same Paul who, in his Epistle to the Galatians, counts "heresies" among "the sins of the flesh," who also intimates to Titus, that "a man who is a heretic" must be "rejected after the first admonition," on the ground that "he that is such is perverted, and committeth sin, as a self-condemned man.

Answer me now, thou that accusest thine own flesh, and supposest that this is said of it as of an enemy and adversary. Let it be allowed that adultery and fornication proceed, as you assert, from the flesh; yet hatred, variance, emulations, strife, heresies, and witchcraft, these arise merely from a depraved moral choice. And so it is with the others also, for how can they belong to the flesh? you observe that he is not here speaking of the flesh, but of earthly thoughts, which trail upon the ground. Wherefore also he alarms them by saying, that "they which practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." If these things belonged to nature and not to a bad moral choice, his expression, "they practice," is inappropriate, it should be, "they suffer." And why should they be cast out of the kingdom, for rewards and punishments relate not to what proceeds from nature but from choice?

(Verses 19-21.) The works of the flesh are evident, which are: fornication, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now when we explained about the flesh and the spirit earlier, we said there are three possible interpretations: that there are those who are carnal, who are like infants and unable to receive solid food in Christ and the nourishment of mature age; or that there are those who are carnal, who follow only the Jewish way and the literal interpretation of the history; or that, according to the simple sense, flesh and spirit coexist in the makeup of a person, and, according to the difference in substance, they are either the works of the flesh or of the spirit. Now therefore, the works of the flesh which are mentioned here, namely fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, and other things which follow, seem to me to pertain more to the simple understanding of the flesh and spirit than to the flesh of the Law, and to be referred to little ones in Christ, although it is expressed in that place where we translated the word from the tenth of Origen's Stromate word for word, what can also be thought about them. But what he says: But the works of the flesh are evident, or shows that they are known to everyone: because they are inherently known to be evil and to be avoided, to the extent that even those who do them, desire to hide what they do. Certainly, these things are clear only to those who believe in Christ. For many of the pagans boast in their own shame and believe that if they have fulfilled their pleasure, they have achieved some kind of victory over vices. But it is also elegantly stated that He accomplished works in the flesh and fruits in the spirit: for vices end and perish within themselves, while virtues sprout and abound in abundance. And let us not think that the soul has no function if vices are attributed to the flesh and virtues to the spirit. Because the soul (as we have said above) is placed in a certain middle part and is joined to the flesh, and it is said about it: My spirit will not remain in these men, because they are flesh (Gen. VI, 3); or it is united to the spirit and passes into the name of spirit. For he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (I Cor. VI, 17). Therefore, the first work of the flesh is fornication. He clearly stated this in the beginning, so that we do not have doubt about the middle parts. For whatever a man does, is outside the body; but he who commits fornication, sins in his own body. And we are not our own: for we are bought with a price, let us glorify and bear God in our body. In this is a fornicator of greater crime: because he takes away the members of Christ and makes them the members of a harlot. For there shall be two in one flesh. He who is not faithful, nor believes in Christ, makes his members the members of a harlot; he who believes and commits fornication, makes his members the members of a harlot. On the contrary, an unbeliever in fornication either does violence to himself or builds a temple to an idol, I do not know. For indeed, through vices or even the greatest demons are cultivated. This one thing I know: that whoever commits fornication after the faith of Christ violates the temple of God. According to the works of the flesh, it is called uncleanness, and it is followed by lust. For as in the old Law concerning unspeakable crimes that are done in secret, and it is most disgraceful to even mention them (lest both the mouth of the speaker and the ears of the hearers be defiled), the Scripture has generally included them, saying: 'Make the children of Israel be reverent and worthy of respect, free from all uncleanness' (Lev. XV, 31). So in this place, it has named the other extraordinary pleasures, as well as the very works of marriage, if they are not done reverently and with modesty, as if under the eyes of God, so that only to their own children will they serve, uncleanness and lust. Fourth, in the catalog of the works of the flesh, idolatry holds a place. For whoever once allows themselves to indulge in luxury and pleasure does not look towards the Creator. Moreover, all idolatry, revelry, gluttony, catering to the desires of the belly, and those things that lie beneath the belly, are enjoyed. And lest it should happen that sorcery and the practices of evil were not seen as prohibited in the new Testament, they are also mentioned among the works of the flesh. For often it happens that both loving and being loved occurs through the use of magical arts. Enmity, which arises after the infliction of harm, declares who is guilty, as a clear evidence of the crime. For as much as it lies within us, we ought to have no enemies, but rather be at peace with all. However, if by speaking the truth, we earn enemies, it is not so much that we are their enemies, as they are enemies of the truth. For what is said in Genesis to Abraham, 'I will be an enemy to your enemies and I will oppose those who oppose you', should be understood as not so much Abraham being their enemy, but rather they being enemies of Abraham's virtues and religion, through which he worshipped and revered God after trampling upon the idols and having come to know God. Moreover, what is commanded to the people of Israel, that they be enemies with Madian forever, and perpetuate the discord to future generations (Num. XXXI), it is said as if to those who were under the control of a tutor and deserved to be punished in another way: 'You shall have hatred for your enemy' (Matth. V, 43). Or certainly not so much of persons as of manners, there has been a disagreement made: just as God wisely placed enmity between the serpent and the woman, so that their friendship would be useless to man, through which he was cast out of paradise, in the same way in the lives of the Israelites and the Madianites, there is more dissimilarity than that they are two condemned nations. In the seventh place among the works of the flesh, contention holds a certain quasi-sacred and prominent position among the number of vices. However, it is not fitting for the servant of the Lord to engage in quarrels, but rather to be gentle towards all, a teacher, patient, instructing with gentleness even those who argue against him (2 Timothy 2:24-25). After contention, the eighth place is filled by emulation, which is more significantly and notably referred to by the Greek word ζῆλος. Indeed, I do not know who among us lacks that particular evil. For they were jealous, even Joseph's brothers: and Mary, Aaron the prophet of God and priest, were deceived by such a passion against Moses (Gen. XXXVII, Num. XII): to the extent that the one of whom the Scripture narrated, saying: But Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel (Exod. XV. 20), etc., afterwards having been cast out of the camp, she became defiled with the stain of leprosy, and marked out a longer repentance by a seven-day separation (Num. XII). Then anger follows, which does not accomplish the justice of God (James 1), and it is a kind of madness. Between irritability and anger, there is this difference: that the irritable person is always angry, while the angry person is only temporarily provoked. And I do not know who can possess the kingdom of God: for the one who is angry is separated from the kingdom (Matthew 5). Moreover, the quarrels, which the Greeks signify as something different, they call ἐριθείας (since rixa is called μάχη) are prohibited from the kingdom of God. But contention is when someone is always ready to contradict, delights in the anger of others, and engages in quarrels like a woman, provoking the one who disagrees. This is called 'φιλονεικία' among the Greeks. There are also divisions of the flesh: when someone, with the same feeling and opinion, says 'I am of Paul,' 'and I of Apollos,' 'and I of Cephas,' 'and I of Christ' (1 Corinthians 1:12). And this same dissension is found within households: between husband and wife, father and son, brother and brother, master and servant, soldier and comrade, craftsman and fellow craftsman. Sometimes it happens that even in the explanations of Scriptures there arises dissension, from which heresies also, which are now put forth in the work of the flesh, bubble up. For if the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God (Rom. VIII) (but all doctrines of falsehood that are contrary to God are hostile), consequently, heresies are also hostile to God and are attributed to the works of the flesh. Αἵρεσις, however, means choice in Greek: namely, each person chooses for themselves the discipline that they believe is better. Therefore, whoever understands Scripture in a way contrary to the meaning demanded by the Holy Spirit by whom it was written, even though they may not have departed from the Church, they can be called a heretic and they are focused on the works of the flesh, choosing what worsens. Envy follows heresies, which we cannot think is the same as zeal. Because zeal can be understood in a good sense, when someone strives to imitate those things that are better. Envy, however, is tormented by the happiness of others, and it is divided into two passions: either when someone sees himself as something in which he does not want another to be, or when he sees another as better and is upset that he is not like that person. A certain person, skillfully translating a Greek verse, composed an elegiac meter about envy, saying: There is nothing more unjust than envy: it immediately gnaws at the author himself and torments his soul. Blessed Cyprian wrote a very excellent book on Zeal and Envy: whoever reads it will not hesitate to include envy among the works of the flesh. However, there is a difference between an envious person and a person who is envied: the envious person envies someone who is more fortunate. The envied person, on the other hand, is the one who suffers envy from someone else. Intoxication holds the fourteenth place among the works of the flesh. Indeed, the drunken will not inherit the kingdom of God. And the Lord said to the disciples: Take heed, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life (Luke 21:34). Wine confuses a man's senses: his feet stumble, his mind wavers, his desire is kindled. Hence the Apostle cries out: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery (Ephesians 5:18). Everyone has the power to decide for themselves. I follow the Apostle: in wine there is debauchery, in wine there is drunkenness. But drunkenness and excess are counted among the works of the flesh, and he cannot deny it who is overcome by these passions. And though some may criticize me in that book, which I wrote about the preservation of virginity, for saying that young women should avoid wine as if it were poison, I do not regret my opinion. For in that work, wine is more of a curse than a creation of God for us, and we allowed the virgin, who was fervent with the heat of her own youth, the indulgence of drinking a little more so that she would not drink too little and suffer harm. Moreover, we knew that wine is consecrated into the blood of Christ, and it was commanded to Timothy to drink wine. However, drunkenness can occur from both wine and other types of alcoholic beverages that are made in different ways; from which it is also said about the holy ones: He shall not drink wine or strong drink (Luke 1:15). Strong drink is interpreted as drunkenness. And so that no one, not drinking wine, would think that he should drink something else, the cause is excluded; since everything that can cause intoxication is equally removed with wine. The fifteenth, which is also the last, of the works of the flesh, is revelry. For the people ate and drank, and they rose up to play (Exod. XXXII, 6). Drunkenness is always accompanied by debauchery. Indeed, a certain noble and eloquent orator, when describing a person awakened from sleep while intoxicated, said: “Neither awakened could he sleep, nor intoxicated could he stay awake.” With this sentiment, he expressed that in a way, the person was neither alive nor dead. It would be lengthy to repeat all the works of the flesh and to make a list of vices. Therefore, he concluded everything in his speech, saying these and similar things. Oh, if only we could avoid these things as easily as we understand them. I foretell to you, as I have foretold before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Where he had previously said: Sin shall not reign, he said, in your mortal body, to obey its desires (Rom. VI, 12). All these things have sin, in which we have perhaps lingered too much in distinguishing them. Therefore, in the soul in which sin reigns, the kingdom of God cannot reign. For what participation is there between righteousness and iniquity? What communication is there between light and darkness? What agreement is there between Christ and Belial (II Cor. VI, 14, 15)? And we think that we will attain the kingdom of God if we are free from fornication, idolatry, and sorceries. Behold, enmities, strife, anger, quarrels, dissensions, drunkenness, and other things that we consider small, they exclude us from the kingdom of God. It does not matter whether one person or many are excluded from happiness, since they are all similarly excluded. In Latin codices, adultery, impurity, and murder are also written in this catalogue of vices. But it should be known that no more than fifteen acts of the flesh are named, about which we have already discussed.

So that poisoning and sorcery might not appear to be condoned in the New Testament, they are included among the works of the flesh. This happens when people love and are loved through magical arts.

It often happens that dissensions arise in the interpretation of Scripture, from which heresies, here numbered among the works of the flesh, boil over. For if “the wisdom of the flesh is at enmity with God” (and all false doctrines, being repugnant to God, are at enmity), heresies also, being at enmity with God, are consequently included among the works of the flesh.

Now it is clear that idolatry and sorcery and things of that kind belong not to the flesh but to the soul. In fact it is not the flesh that he is condemning but the wayward mind.

"enmities." The unjust. For there are also just enmities, those arising from faithfulness. For he says that if it were possible for you to be at peace with all people, it is clear that there are times when this is not possible. "jealousy." For one must not be jealous, but rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. "rivalries." As in quarrels arising from conflict.

Let those who slander the flesh tell us. Granted that shamelessness and adultery are sins of the body, but how do enmity, heresies, and the like depend on the flesh? Therefore it is clear that all these are the work of a corrupted will. If they were works of the flesh, like our natural properties, how would they deprive us of the Kingdom of God? For punishments and rewards belong not to nature, but to the will. Moreover, if the passions were properties of nature, he would not have said "those who do such things," but "those who suffer them," because action presupposes will. By "enmity" he means unjust enmity. For there is also a righteous hostility, which arises in the name of faith and is directed against all who deviate from the straight path. By jealousy he means another manifestation of it (zelotypia). Because jealousy can also be good, when someone imitates one who does good (is zealous for good). But he excellently placed heresies alongside strife and dissensions, because every heresy arises from envy, and revelries from drunkenness. For revelries are the insolent songs of drunkards. Therefore he first pointed out the causes that produce these things, then what results from them.

Against God he lists two: one of these is that whereby divine worship is hindered by the enemies of God; as to this he says, "idolatry": "Neither become ye idolaters as some of them" (1 Cor 10:7); "For the worship of abominable idols is the cause and beginning and end of all evil" (Wis 14:27). The other is that in which a pact is struck with demons; as to this he says, "witchcrafts", which are performed through magical arts, and are called in Latin veneficia, from venom, because they result in great harm to man: "I would not that you should be made partakers with devils" (1 Cor 10:20); "Without are dogs and sorcerers" (Rev 22:15). Against one's neighbor he enumerates nine, the first of which is "enmity" and the last "murder", because from the former, one comes to the latter. The first, therefore, is animosity in the heart, which is hatred toward one's neighbor: "And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household" (Mt 10:36); hence he says "enmities": from which arise verbal disputes. And so he says, "contentions," which are attacks on the truth with the confidence of shouting: "It is an honor for a man to separate himself from quarrels" (Prov 20:3). The second is "emulation," which consists in contending with another to obtain a same thing; hence he says, "emulations", which arise from contention. The third arises when one is hindered by someone else who is tending to a same thing, so that on this account anger arises against him. Hence he says, "wraths": "The anger of men worketh not the justice of God" (Jam 1:20); "Let not the sun go down on your anger" (Eph 4:26). The fourth is when anger of spirit leads to blows; and with respect to this he says, "quarrels": "Hatred stirs up strifes" (Prov 10:12). The fifth, namely, "dissensions", arise from quarrels: if they concern human matters they are called dissensions: for example, when factions arise in the Church—"Mark them who make dissensions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them" (Rom 16:17)—if they concern divine matters, they are called "sects", i.e., heresies: "They shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them," and "They fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming" (2 Pet. 2:1, 10). From these "envy" follows, when those they vie with prosper: "Envy slayeth the little one" (Job 5:2). And from these follow "murders" in heart and deed: "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (1 Jn 3:15).

The apostle exhorts the Galatians to stand fast in the liberty of the Gospel, and not by receiving circumcision bring themselves into a yoke of bondage, Gal 5:1-4. Shows the superior excellence of Christianity, Gal 5:5, Gal 5:6. Mentions their former steadiness, and warns them against the bad doctrine which was then preached among them, Gal 5:7-9. Expresses his confidence that they will yet return; and shows that he who perverted them shall bear his own punishment, Gal 5:10-12. States that they are called to liberty, and that love is the fulfilling of the law, Gal 5:13, Gal 5:14. Warns them against dissensions, and enumerates the fruits of the flesh, which exclude those who bear them from the kingdom of God, Gal 5:15-21. Enumerates also the fruits of the Spirit, which characterize the disciples of Christ, Gal 5:22-24. Exhorts them to live in the Spirit, and not provoke each other, Gal 5:25, Gal 5:26.

Idolatry - Worshipping of idols; frequenting idol festivals; all the rites of Bacchus, Venus, Priapus, etc., which were common among the Gentiles. Witchcraft - Φαρμακεια, from φαρμακον a drug or poison; because in all spells and enchantments, whether true or false, drugs were employed. As a drug, φαρμακον, might either be the means of removing an evil, or inflicting one, etymologists have derived it from φερον ακος, bringing ease, or φερον αχος, bringing pain. So spells and incantations were used sometimes for the restoration of the health; at others, for the destruction of an enemy. Sometimes, these φαρμακα were used to procure love; at other times, to produce hatred. Hatred - Εχθραι· Aversions and antipathies, when opposed to brotherly love and kindness. Variance - Ερεις· Contentions, where the principle of hatred proceeds to open acts; hence contests, altercations, lawsuits, and disputes in general. Emulations - Ζηλοι· Envies or emulations; that is strife to excel at the expense of another; lowering others to set up one's self; unholy zeal, fervently adopting a bad cause, or supporting a good one by cruel means. Inquisitions, pretending to support true religion by torturing and burning alive those who both profess and practice it. Wrath - Θυμοι· Turbulent passions, disturbing the harmony of the mind, and producing domestic and civil broils and disquietudes. Strife - Επιθειαι· Disputations, janglings, logomachics, or strife about words. Seditions - Διχοστασιαι· Divisions into separate factions; parties, whether in the Church or state. Heresies - Αἱρεσεις· Factions; parties in the Church separating from communion with each other, and setting up altar against altar. The word, which is harmless in itself, is here used in a bad sense. In stead of αἱρεσεις the Slavonic has σκανδαλα, scandals, offenses or stumbling-blocks.

PERORATION. EXHORTATION TO STAND FAST IN THE GOSPEL LIBERTY, JUST SET FORTH, AND NOT TO BE LED BY JUDAIZERS INTO CIRCUMCISION, OR LAW JUSTIFICATION: YET THOUGH FREE, TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER BY LOVE: TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT, BEARING THE FRUIT THEREOF, NOT IN THE WORKS OF THE FLESH. (Gal. 5:1-26) The oldest manuscripts read, "in liberty (so ALFORD, MOBERLEY, HUMPHRY, and ELLICOTT. But as there is no Greek for 'in,' as there is in translating in Co1 16:13; Phi 1:27; Phi 4:1, I prefer 'It is FOR freedom that') Christ hath made us free (not in, or for, a state of bondage). Stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage" (namely, the law, Gal 4:24; Act 15:10). On "again," see on Gal 4:9.

witchcraft--sorcery; prevalent in Asia (Act 19:19; compare Rev. 21). hatred--Greek, "hatreds." variance--Greek, "strife"; singular in the oldest manuscripts. emulations--in the oldest manuscripts, singular--"emulation," or rather, "jealousy"; for the sake of one's own advantage. "Envyings" (Gal 5:21) are even without advantage to the person himself [BENGEL]. wrath--Greek, plural, "passionate outbreaks" [ALFORD]. strife--rather as Greek, "factions," "cabals"; derived from a Greek root, meaning "a worker for hire": hence, unworthy means for compassing ends, factious practices. seditions--"dissensions," as to secular matters. heresies--as to sacred things (see on Co1 11:19). Self-constituted parties; from a Greek root, to choose. A schism is a more recent split in a congregation from a difference of opinion. Heresy is a schism become inveterate [AUGUSTINE, Con. Crescon. Don., 2,7].