Galatians 5:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

NIV: gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

NASB: gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

CSB: gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

NLT: gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

KJV: Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

NKJV: gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

To compare a life devoted to serving self with a life lived in the power of God's Spirit, Paul has made two lists. The first list (Galatians 5:19–21) showed the sinful lifestyles resulting from a worldly "me first" attitude. Such lifestyles are completely natural for human beings, but they are not beneficial. Paul's second is what grows naturally from those supernaturally led by the Spirit of God. Only those who are God's, by faith in Christ, have the opportunity to live this way. Those who do are marked by the characteristics of the "fruit of the Spirit," as listed beginning in the previous verse. Paul concludes his list of those characteristics here with two more: gentleness and self-control.

Gentleness is not to be misunderstood as weakness or a willingness to let others always have their way. Instead, this is the supernatural ability in the Spirit's power not to demand control or be extreme in our responses. Rather, we can submit to God's control over whatever situation we are in. The Greek word used here is prautēs, which implies someone humble and tranquil, not frail or fragile.

The final characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, from the original word enkrateia. This is an important inclusion, since it helps prove that God does not intend His Spirit to overcome our will and possess us, turning us into robotic servants. In the context of our relationship with Christ, self-control is the supernatural ability to submit our will to His leading in our lives. A Spirit-controlled person is always in full control of his or her own mind, body, and words. This contrasts with Paul's condemnation of sins such as sensuality and impurity, from verses 19 and 20.

Galatians 5:16–26 focuses on how God's Spirit gives those in Christ the power to serve others in love. We must allow the Holy Spirit to lead, however. When we don't, our selfishness will lead us into all kinds of sinful lifestyles. When we live by the Spirit, on the other hand, we gain more than just being able not to live in sin. What comes out of us are a collection of powerful, positive characteristics.

Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.

Galatians 3—4 focused on theology. Galatians 5—6 focus on how Christians should live in response to those truths. In short, we must resist being dragged away from the freedom we have in Christ to follow the law. We must also resist wasting our freedom on serving our sinful desires instead of serving others in love. We can do this by the power of God's Spirit with us. When we give Him the lead, powerful, positive characteristics show up in us. Galatians 6 will show how to use those characteristics to serve each other.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.