Galatians 5:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Galatians 5:1-12

In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to bring them back under the bondage of the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were to the spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general inference or application of all that discourse. Since it appeared by what had been said that we can be justified only by faith in... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Galatians 5:1-12

5:1-12 Look now it is I, Paul, who am speaking to you I tell you that if you get yourself circumcised Christ is no good to you. Again I give my word to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is under obligation to keep the whole law. You who seek to get yourselves right with God by means of legalism have got yourself into a position in which you have rendered ineffective all that Christ did for you. You have fallen from grace. For it is by the Spirit and by faith that we eagerly... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Galatians 5:5

For we through the Spirit wait ,.... Who have believed in Christ, Christians in general, and the apostle and the brethren with him in particular; who also were Jews born, and brought up as such; and yet they did not look for, and expect heaven and happiness through circumcision, or any of the works of the law, but through the righteousness of Christ received by faith, under the influence and testimony of the Spirit of God, and therefore much less should Gentiles: for the hope of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 5:5

For we, Christians, through the Spirit - Through the operation of the Holy Ghost, under this spiritual dispensation of the Gospel, wait for the hope of righteousness - expect that which is the object of our hope, on our being justified by faith in Christ. Righteousness, δικαιοσυνη , may here, as in many other places of St. Paul's epistles, mean justification, and the hope of justification, or the hope excited and inspired by it, is the possession of eternal glory; for, says the apostle, ... read more

John Calvin

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

Verse 5 5.For we through the Spirit. He now anticipates an objection that, might readily occur. “Will circumcision then be of no use?” In Jesus Christ, he replies, it availeth nothing. Righteousness, therefore, depends on faith, and is obtained, through the Spirit, without ceremonies. To wait for the hope of righteousness, is to place our confidence in this or that object, or, to decide from what quarter righteousness is to be expected; though the words probably contain the exhortation, “Let us... 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 5:5

For we through the Spirit ( ἡμεῖς γὰρ πνεύματι ); for we for our parts by the Spirit. "We" who abide in Christ, and continue steadfast in the grace into which Christ has brought us; that is, we believers in Christ, as such. Not, "I and those who go along with me," as e.g. in Philippians 3:17 . "By the Spirit." πνεῦμα can hardly here mean, as in Galatians 3:3 , the element of spiritual life; but much more probably the personal Spirit of God, referred to as inspiring and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:5

The blessed prospects involved in the true doctrine of grace. "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." This passage is not to be understood as saying merely that believers have no other hope of justification but by faith in Christ, or that believers wait for the hope of being justified by faith. The righteousness was, in fact, already theirs, and therefore not an object of hope at all. The apostle means that we are enabled by faith, in the power of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 5:5

The hope of righteousness. I. WHAT IT IS . The hope of righteousness appears to be the hope of realizing righteousness, the hope of becoming righteous. In St. Paul's language a hope is not our subjective anticipation, but the thing for which we hope. Such a possession we as Christians anticipate. 1 . Righteousness is a great treasure. It is a worthy object of desire. It is better than any rewards it may entail. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to feel the deepest and... read more

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