Answer
In Galatians 5:1–15, the apostle Paul addresses the topic of Christian freedom. Jesus Christ came to set His followers free from slavery to sin and the law with all its demands, obligations, and negative consequences (Romans 3:21–26; 6:11–14, 22–23; 10:4; 2 Peter 1:2–4). Freedom in Christ is not a license to sin and indulge our selfish, fleshy desires, but a call to “serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:13–15). Paul stresses the importance of unity in the Christian community, a unity that is threatened when we turn against one another.
One of the key problems in the early church, and one that persists today, was the presence of legalists. These individuals propagated false teachings, suggesting that salvation required adherence to outward religious rituals and laws, such as circumcision (see Galatians 5:2–6, 9–12). The unrest led to division and infighting among the Galatian believers, causing Paul great anguish over their return to spiritual bondage.
Employing graphic imagery, Paul cautioned the Galatians to quit attacking each other. He used two strong verbs to indicate that these Christians were not acting like brothers and sisters in Christ but more like a pack of wild animals biting and devouring one another. In Galatians 5:15, the term translated as “bite” (daknete in Greek) means “to keep on biting, to backbite, to hurt, harm seriously, conceived as cutting off or tearing with the teeth.” The word rendered “devour” (katesthiete in Greek) means “to eat up, eat until it is finished, devour, injure.” If the Galatians did not stop their destructive words and damaging behaviors toward one another, they would eventually tear each other to pieces, utterly destroying their community of faith.
The goal of freedom in Christ—the reason Jesus came to set us free—is to live a life of love: “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6, NLT). This expression of love through our faith in Jesus fulfills the law and brings us closer to the freedom Christ offers.
Paul quoted Leviticus 19:18—“Love your neighbor as yourself”—(cf. Galatians 5:15; Matthew 19:19; 22:39; Romans 13:9; James 2:8) to demonstrate that the law itself maintains love as its chief object for keeping the law. Legalism treats people severely, but the law of love “does no wrong to others” and thus “fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:10, NLT; see also Romans 13:8).
True spiritual freedom manifests through love—serving others, extending grace, and demonstrating humility. Love does not bite and devour a brother or sister in the Lord. It is “patient and kind . . . not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, NLT).
In Galatians 5:16–26, Paul presents the solution—the way out of bondage that leads to Christian freedom for all believers. It is to actively yield our desires to the Holy Spirit and let His power, as Paul emphasizes, “guide [our] lives. Then [we] won’t be doing what [our] sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (verses 16–17, NLT).
As long as we live in these earthly bodies, the battle continues between our fleshly desires and what the Spirit desires. Following outward laws won’t give us victory in this conflict. But if we daily draw on the inner power of the Holy Spirit, we will no longer bite and devour one another. We will understand that we belong to Jesus Christ and “have nailed the passions and desires of [our] sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there” (Galatians 5:24, NLT). As we walk according to the Spirit’s guidance, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (verses 22–23, NLT).
