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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 5:9

Verse 9 9.A little leaven. This refers, I think, to doctrine, not to men. It guards them against the mischievous consequences which arise from corruption of doctrine, and warns them not to consider it, as is commonly done, to be a matter attended by little or no danger. Satan’s stratagem is, that he does not attempt an avowed destruction of the whole gospel, but he taints its purity by introducing false and corrupt opinions. Many persons are thus led to overlook the seriousness of the injury... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:2-12

Falling from grace. Paul in the present section exposes the legal and ceremonial spirit as a tall from the moral magnificence of grace. It has been well said that "it is harder to abolish forms than to change opinions. Ceremonies stand long after the thought which they express has fled, as a dead king may sit on his throne stiff and stark in his golden mantle, and no one come near enough to see that the light is gone out of his eyes and the will departed from the hand that still clutches... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:2-12

Circumcision. I. PAUL SOLEMNLY PUTS BEFORE THE GALATIANS THE TRUE STATE OF THE CASE . "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing." Commencing with an arresting word, he introduces his own name with all the solemnity of oath-taking, witness-bearing. "Behold, I Paul say unto you." What the weight of his testimony is directed against, is their submitting to circumcision. This was what the Judaizing teachers were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:7

Ye did run well ( ἐτρέχετε καλῶς ); full well ye were running. "To run" is a favourite figure with St. Paul, drawn from the foot-races of the Isthmian Games or other public games common throughout the Roman empire, and applied above ( Galatians 2:2 ) to his own course of apostolic service, but here, as in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ; 2 Timothy 4:17 ; and Philippians 3:14 , in a wider reference to the course of general Christian obedience. In Philippians 3:5 , Philippians 3:6 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:7

Hindered. I. PAST ATTAINMENTS DO NOT DISPENSE WITH THE NECESSITY OF PRESENT PROGRESS . "Ye did run well." So far, so good. That was a matter el thankfulness. But it would count for nothing sgainst the unworthiness of a slackened pace. Old laurels wither. Every day has its new duties. We must not waste to-day in congratulating ourselves on the success of yesterday. The tide is against us; to rest on the oars is to be swept back. No nation can prosper on its past... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:7-9

The sudden swerve of the Galatians from the truth. They had been making a hopeful progress in the truth, when they suddenly started aside through the influence of the Judaists, to the deep sorrow and unfeigned astonishment of the apostle. Mark— I. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A GOOD RACE . "Ye did run well." An old divine says, "To run in religion is well, to run well is better, and to accomplish the race is the best of all." It is well in its beginning; so it was emphatically in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:7-12

In these verses the language is remarkably curt and disjointed. Their style seems to betoken, either the mind of the writer musing in painful embarrassment, uncertain how best to grapple with the case before him through imperfect knowledge of the circumstances ("Who did hinder you?" ); or , possibly, the painful effort which it cost the apostle to "write with his own hand." In Galatians 5:13 he at length takes up a line of thought which he is able to follow on with fulness and fluency. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:8

This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you ( ἡ πεισμονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς ); this persuasion , or the mind to hearken to this doctrine, is not from him that calleth you. The exact force of the word πεισμονή , which so far as has been noted does not occur in any earlier writer, is disputed. We may group it with ἐπιλησμονή , forgetfulness; φεισμονή (sparinguess), clemency; πλησμονή , fulness, satiety; which are likewise verbal nouns formed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:9

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ( μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα ζυμοῖ ); a little leaven leaveneth the whole kneading. This proverb is cited again in precisely the same words in 1 Corinthians 5:6 , with the words prefixed, "know ye not that." In both passages the leaven is an element of evil, and so also in Matthew 16:11 ; but our Lord applied it also to an element of good, which was to penetrate (apparently) the whole mass of humanity ( Matthew 13:33 ). What has... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:9

Leaven. A familiar proverb applied in the present instance to doctrinal errors, introduced by a small party of Judaizers, but tending to spread through the whole community of Galatian Christians. The proverb is useful, however, as a caution against the spreading of evil generally. I. THE PRINCIPLE . Evil is like leaven. 1. It has a life of its own. Leaven is the yeast-plant. We must not neglect evil with contempt as an inert dead thing. A low and horrible kind of life infests... read more

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