Galatians 5
Galatians 5:4:
Gal 5:4: You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. |
Christ will not be the Saviour of any who will not own and rely upon him as their only Saviour. Let us take heed to the warnings and persuasions of the apostle to steadfastness in the doctrine and liberty of the gospel. All true Christians, being taught by the Holy Spirit, wait for eternal life, the reward of righteousness, and the object of their hope, as the gift of God by faith in Christ; and not for the sake of their own works. The Jewish convert might observe the ceremonies or assert his liberty, the Gentile might disregard them or might attend to them, provided he did not depend upon them. No outward privileges or profession will avail to acceptance with God, without sincere faith in our Lord Jesus. True faith is a working grace; it works by love to God, and to our brethren. May we be of the number of those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The danger of old was not in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and compared with it other things are of small value. --Matthew Henrys
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--Gills Exposition |
Fallen from grace—Ye no longer "stand" in grace (Ro 5:2). Grace and legal righteousness cannot co-exist (Ro 4:4, 5; 11:6). Christ, by circumcision (Lu 2:21), undertook to obey all the law, and fulfil all righteousness for us: any, therefore, that now seeks to fulfil the law for himself in any degree for justifying righteousness, severs himself from the grace which flows from Christ's fulfilment of it, and becomes "a debtor to do the whole law" (Ga 5:3). The decree of the Jerusalem council had said nothing so strong as this; it had merely decided that Gentile Christians were not bound to legal observances. But the Galatians, while not pretending to be so bound, imagined there was an efficacy in them to merit a higher degree of perfection (Ga 3:3). This accounts for Paul not referring to the decree at all. He took much higher ground. See Paley's Horæ Paulinæ. The natural mind loves outward fetters, and is apt to forge them for itself, to stand in lieu of holiness of heart.
--Bob Wilkin |
Galatians 5:6:
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor circumcision; but faith which worketh by love." |
The faith which justifies is the faith which works. Those who say, and do not, are not men of faith. The obedience which is pleasing to God is the fruit of that faith which takes God at His word, and submits to the working of His power, being fully assured that what He has promised He is able to perform. This is the faith which is reckoned for righteousness.
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Galatians 5:20:
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions |
Magic and witchcraft are socially destructive forces whose function it is to strike at the community and to disrupt it. The medieval cults of witches were active in destruction and were aimed at the over throw of Christian order. Because scripture recognizes the deadly consequences of witchcraft, it strikes at it sharply as a murderous force (Ex 22:18. Deut 18, 10, Rev 21:8). Witchcraft murders both indviduals and cultures in a deadly and anti-social force. The so-called “primitive” societies are rather degenerate societies in which envy and witchcraft is triumphed. The triumph of these evils in any culture will mark its decline into barbarism.
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Galatians 5:22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. |
![]() The Greek word translated “fruit” refers to the natural product of a living thing. Paul used “fruit” to help us understand the product of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside every believer. The fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Spirit, not by the Christian. The Greek word is singular, showing that “fruit” is a unified whole, not independent characteristics. As we grow, all the characteristics of Christ will be manifested in our lives.
Yet, like physical fruit needs time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives overnight. Like a successful gardener must battle against weeds to enjoy the sweet fruit they desire, we must constantly work to rid our lives of the “weeds” of our old sin natures that want to choke out the work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to reject those old sinful desires. We can say “no” to sin and accept the “way out” God faithfully provides (1 Corinthians 10:13) by following the Holy Spirit’s leading. As we give the Spirit more control of our lives, He begins to do in and through us what only He can do - to shape us and grow us to look like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). -Kathy Howard |

Only the Holy Spirit can produce His fruit. We cannot fake it. Should we try to do so, it would stick out worse then two sore thumbs. There are three sets of triplets in the fruit of the Spirit. In our hearts, He produces love joy, and peace!! In our relationship and fellowship with others, He produces long suffering, gentleness, and goodness!!! And, in our relationship and fellowship with our Lord, He produces faith, meekness and temperance! -James Crumpton; The Fruit of the Spirit
![]() These are the fruit of the Spirit that are produced by the Spirit. He cultivates them through us, beyond our natural abilities. The Bible says our nature is in direct opposition to the Spirit. We cannot produce love, joy, or any other fruit without Him.
"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17). So, how do we live out the fruit of the Spirit when it doesn’t come naturally? Pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, once said, “Fruit is always the miraculous, the created; it is never the result of willing, but always of growth. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift of God, and only He can produce it.” -Love Worth Finding The Greek word αγαπϵαγαπϵ, describes a type of love which is “self-sacrificial,” devoted to someone… The love that is willing to serve others. This type of love is what makes it possible for believers to commune and be at peace with one another. (See 1 Cor. 13:4-13).
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![]() Growing in the fruit of the Spirit is expected of those who have decided to turn to God. These characteristics aren’t suggestions or possibilities; they are aspects of the mind of God. We are to grow to think and act more like God does, and the fruit of the Spirit helps outline the path of a Christian.
Yet many who claim to be Christian don’t display these fruits very well. It takes more than saying you are a Christian; it takes the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Those who have been baptized and received the Holy Spirit should be demonstrating these traits more every day. In fact, without God’s Spirit, the full spiritual maturity of the fruit of the Spirit cannot be achieved. The human spirit can only achieve these characteristics on the surface level, and more often it produces the works of the flesh Paul describes in Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God -Life Hope & Truth |

When examining the state of the world, and the causes of one’s own sins, many issues seem to stem from impulsive mistakes or angry outbursts. Random acts of violence, foolish and rash decisions, and unhealthy cycles contribute to silly accidents at best, and the ruination of lives and relationships at worst. Many sins and mistakes come from a lack of patience, which is, “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”
How long does it take for someone to lose their temper, storm off, or get exasperated? Being able to accept or tolerate problems allows people to work through issues, facilitate compromise, and prevents inappropriate behavior.
Some people say “patience is a virtue.” While this saying is true, it does not come from the Bible. It comes from a text called “Psychomachia,” written by the poet Prudentis in the fifth century AD. However, the colloquialism is in line with what the Word of God does say about it. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). -Bethany Verrett
How long does it take for someone to lose their temper, storm off, or get exasperated? Being able to accept or tolerate problems allows people to work through issues, facilitate compromise, and prevents inappropriate behavior.
Some people say “patience is a virtue.” While this saying is true, it does not come from the Bible. It comes from a text called “Psychomachia,” written by the poet Prudentis in the fifth century AD. However, the colloquialism is in line with what the Word of God does say about it. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). -Bethany Verrett
![]() The apostle Paul tells us that patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit—in other words, patience is a byproduct of God's work within us. He describes it as "longsuffering" (Galatians 5:22, NKJV), a word that, according to Webster's dictionary, means "long and patient enduring of injury, trouble, or provocation."...............aul makes it clear that not only are we supposed to desire patience, we're to pursue it (1 Timothy 6:11). If you're like me, the thought of pursuing patience doesn't bring forth shouts of joy and excitement!
But when we chase patience, it pleases God. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1-2: "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." --Stormie Omartian; The Power of Patience |
![]() Joy is a fruit of the Spirit’s work in the life of believer. That means that it is something more than an emotion we have in the right circumstances. Our joy, as Christians, is rooted in something much deeper. It’s source is in the work of Christ for our salvation.
Joy doesn’t mean that we go through life with happy-clappy attitudes and smiles plastered on our faces. There is a time for rejoicing and a time for sorrow. It’s appropriate to grieve and cry at times. But in those times, we have not lost our joy. We still have that sense of anticipation. Christ is the only joy that lasts. -Rachel Green Miller |
“Religion can never give this to you. Only Christ can give you deep-down peace.” -J Vernon McGee

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV).
“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8).
“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8).
The fruit of self-control speaks to resisting the ways of the world and living a Godly life. It means that we are living by the Fruit of the Spirit instead of the works of the flesh. It takes self control to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and live by love for others. This doesn’t mean love as the world loves, but the agape love of Jesus. -Bloggers for the Kingdom