Galatians 5:17

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Galatians 5:16-26

(16-26) To follow the guidance of the Spirit is to obtain a double release: on the one hand, from the evil appetites and passions of the flesh or of sense—which is the direct antithesis to the Spirit—and on the other hand, from the dominion of the Law. It is easy to tell which has the upper hand—the flesh or the Spirit. The flesh is known by a long catalogue of sins, the Spirit by a like catalogue of Christian graces, the mere mention of which is enough to show that the Law has no power over... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Galatians 5:17

(17) For the flesh . . .—In this verse we have brought out most distinctly the antithesis between the flesh and the Spirit, which is one of the root ideas in the psychology of St. Paul. It does not amount to dualism, for the body, as such, is not regarded as evil. There is nothing to show that St. Paul considered matter in itself evil. But the body becomes the seat of evil; from it arise those carnal impulses which are the origin of sin. And it is the body, looked at in this light, which is... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Galatians 5:1-26

Christian Liberty Galatians 5:1 What is 'liberty?' Obedience to oneself; obedience to a law which is written in a man's own heart. If I obey myself, and myself is not a right self, it is, indeed, 'liberty,' but, being a bad liberty, it becomes 'licentiousness'. If I obey a law outside me, and the law within me is opposed to that outer law which I obey, the act I do may be quite right, and the only right one, but my obedience is not 'liberty,' it is compulsion; it is bondage. Liberty is when... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Galatians 5:16-26

Chapter 23CHRIST’S SPIRIT AND HUMAN FLESH.Galatians 5:16-26LOVE is the guard of Christian freedom. The Holy Spirit is its guide. These principles accomplish what the law could never do. It withheld liberty, and yet did not give purity. The Spirit of love and of sonship bestows both, establishing a happy, ordered freedom, the liberty of the sons of God.From the first of these two factors of Christian ethics the Apostle passes in Galatians 5:16 to the second. He conducts us from the consequence... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Galatians 5:1-26

III. THE WALK OF THE JUSTIFIED BELIEVER, AS NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE CHAPTER 5 1. Stand fast! Be not entangled! (Galatians 5:1-6 ) 2. Exhortations and the law of love. (Galatians 5:7-15 ) 3. Flesh and Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-21 ) 4. The Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-26 ) The first exhortation is to maintain, by faith, the liberty which is found in Christ, to stand fast in that liberty where with Christ has made the believer free and not to be entangled again with the... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Galatians 5:17

5:17 For the {i} flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.(i) For the flesh dwells even in the regenerated man, but the Spirit reigns, even though not without great strife, as is largely set forth in Romans 7:1-25 . read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 5:1-26

LIBERTY TO BE PRACTICED (vs.1-6) Chapter 4 dealt with the perfect freedom introduced by God Himself through Christ, freedom given to all who have been redeemed by His precious blood, freedom from the bondage of law in all its forms. It is not, however, freedom to walk in our own ways according to our own wills (for that is really bondage), but freedom from fear of judgment, freedom from the Law as a rule of life, freedom to walk with God in the blessedness of intimate communion with His own... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Galatians 5:1-26

PRACTICAL APPLICATION In applying the doctrine Paul urges his readers to stand fast in the liberty of Christ (Galatians 5:1-12 ), but in doing so not to abuse that liberty (Galatians 5:13 to Galatians 6:10 ). He mentions four ways in which it may be abused: 1. Uncharitableness (Galatians 5:13-15 ) 2. Uncleanness (Galatians 5:16-25 ) 3. Pride (Galatians 5:26 to Galatians 6:5 ) 4. Selfishness (Galatians 6:6-10 ) The first-mentioned warning or exhortation speaks for itself. They were to cease... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Galatians 5:16-18

(16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. The Apostle hath very blessedly shown, within the compass of those few verses, what in all the other parts of his writing, when discoursing on the same subject, he hath most... read more

George Haydock

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - Galatians 5:17

So that you [1] do not the things that you would. He does not say, so that you cannot do, as others falsely translate; as if men were under an absolute necessity of sinning, or doing ill; which is also contradictory to the foregoing words, walk by the spirit, and you will not accomplish the works of the flesh. (Witham) --- Here some suppose, says St. Augustine, that the apostle denieth that we have free liberty of will: not understanding that this is said to them, if they will not hold fast... read more

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