5:16 “But I say” signals the beginning of a new section that will explain in more detail the paragraph immediately preceding (vv. 13–15; cf. 4:1). How is it possible to avoid using freedom from the law as an opportunity for the flesh and, instead, to love others (5:13)? This occurs as believers “walk by the Spirit.” “Walking” is a common metaphor describing one’s approach to life (e.g., 2 Kings 20:3; Arrian, Discourses of Epictetus 1.18.20). Here, then, Paul urges believers to walk in God’s Spirit, who is powerfully present among them not only to show that they belong to God’s people (Gal. 3:1–5) and are God’s children (4:6) but also to help them live in the way God created them to live (cf. 5:5).

5:17 The Galatians need to “walk by the Spirit” (v. 16) because (“for”) every believer both lives in the flesh (2:20) and has received the Spirit (3:2, 5; 4:6; 5:5), and the flesh and the Spirit oppose each other. The ESV’s “to keep you from doing” may give the impression that the purpose of the conflict is to keep believers from doing what they want to do. Although this represents the most common meaning of the Greek construction (hina + the subjunctive mood), the same construction sometimes refers to the result of an action, and that is probably its meaning here.83 The result of the opposition between the flesh and the Spirit is that doing the right thing, which at the deepest level is what believers want to do, is often a struggle for them. This is what makes necessary Paul’s admonitions to walk in, and keep in step with, the Spirit (vv. 16, 25; cf. Rom. 8:1–14).

5:18 The Spirit has freed believers from sin’s use of the law for keeping them in bondage to sin (3:23). The hopeless struggle of the wretched man in Romans 7:13–25 no longer characterizes their lives. They can (although they will not always) resist the temptation to sin (cf. Rom. 8:1–14).

5:19–21 Part of the problem in Galatia was the definition of sin. The false teachers probably taught that table fellowship between Jews and Gentiles was sinful for Jews (2:12–13) and that a Gentile who was attracted to Judaism but neglected circumcision was sinning (cf. Josephus, Antiquities 20.44–45). To clarify the definition of sin, Paul says that it is “evident,” probably meaning that what constitutes sin is widely recognized across cultures (cf. 5:23; Rom. 1:32).84

He then includes a vice list of fifteen sins. His list can be divided into four parts: sexual sins (“sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality”), religious sins (“idolatry, sorcery”), social sins (“enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy”), and sins of excess (“drunkenness, orgies”). The representative nature of the list is clear from its concluding phrase, “and things like these.”

A person moving down the road marked by these signposts is walking not in the Spirit but in the flesh, and that road ends at a place outside of the kingdom of God. The notion of “inheriting” God’s kingdom is reminiscent of Paul’s argument that the Galatian Christians are God’s adopted sons and heirs of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherit the earth (3:25–4:7). To live in the unloving and socially vicious ways Paul has just described reveals that one has not received the Spirit, is not God’s child, and will not inherit God’s kingdom.

5:22–24 In contrast to (“but”) such “works” (v. 19) stands the Spirit’s “fruit.” “Fruit” here indicates what is useful and beneficial, such as a harvest (e.g., Mark 4:7–8). In modern English, the first three qualities (“love, joy, peace”) are often associated with feelings of well-being. The parallel between the “works” of the flesh and the “fruit” of the Spirit, however, suggests that Paul has active virtues in mind.85 “Love” benefits others (cf. Gal. 5:5–6, 13–14). “Joy” takes place in the midst of suffering (cf. Col. 1:11). “Peace” prevails rather than “fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions” (cf. Gal 5:20). “Patience,” “kindness,” “goodness,” “faithfulness,” and “gentleness” are all displayed when the natural, fleshly response would be harshness, retaliation, and giving up (2 Cor. 6:6; Col. 3:12–13; 2 Tim. 2:25; 4:7).

The Greek term translated “self-control” (enkrateia) appears only here in Paul’s letters (the ESV renders different Greek terms as “self-control” in the Pastorals at 1 Tim. 2:9, 15; 2 Tim. 1:7; cf. 3:3), but it is a virtue that undergirds all the others. It serves as a reminder that although these qualities are Spirit-empowered, the believer is not passive in cultivating them.

Paul’s concluding statement that “against such things there is no law” asserts that these are widely valued virtues. One does not have to become Jewish by adopting the whole Mosaic law in order to appreciate and understand them.

5:24 Union with the crucified Christ (cf. 2:19–20) stands in contrast to the Mosaic law as a means of conquering the evil impulses of the flesh (5:23). Those who believe the good news that God has rescued them from sin through the death of Christ not only are released from the law’s curse on the disobedient (3:13; 4:5) but also enjoy lives reoriented toward God. Paul describes this reorientation metaphorically as the crucifixion of one’s former way of life with Christ (2:19–20; cf. 6:14; Rom. 6:6), and here he makes clear that this involves turning away from the “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19–21) and instead bearing “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–23).

5:25 Paul closes the section by returning to the thought with which he began: the need to “walk” (v. 16) or “live by the Spirit.” The metaphor of “keeping in step” (Gk. stoicheō) with the Spirit may simply vary the concept of walking in verse 16, or Paul may intend to communicate the idea of following the lead of the Spirit, just as in Romans 4:12 those who believe the gospel “walk [stoicheō] in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had.” In either case, keeping in step with the Spirit is a matter not of merely doing whatever one feels is right but of following the Spirit’s lead in living the way Paul has just described in Galatians 5:22–23.

5:26 Just as verse 25 returns to the thought of verse 16, so here Paul returns to the thought of verse 15, at the end of the previous section (vv. 2–15). Both this sentence and verse 15 probably refer to one of the effects of the false teaching among the Galatian churches.

The terms “conceited” (Gk. kenodoxos), “provoking” (prokaleō) and “envying” (phthoneō) describe the behavior of a braggart who picks fights with other people out of envy. The satirist and cultural critic Lucian of Samosata, writing about a century after Paul but still well within his cultural world, used the terms “provoke” and “envy” together in his dialogue Symposium, or the Lapiths to satirize the pride and hypocrisy of philosophers. The setting is a wedding banquet with a number of philosophers among the guests, and in one scene a Cynic philosopher starts “envying” (phthoneō) a jester’s ability to hold everyone’s attention and “provokes” (prokaleō) him into a fight.

It is easy to imagine the same atmosphere of divisive, self-important competition breaking out during the theological debates that must have taken place when the false teachers came to Galatia. Paul says here that this sort of pride leading to envy and dissension is precisely the opposite of walking in step with the Spirit and bearing the Spirit’s fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (vv. 22–23).

6:1 The term “brothers” at the beginning of the sentence signals the start of a new paragraph (cf. 3:15) that describes more specifically than 5:22–23 the kind of behavior that contrasts with the competitive, aggressive behavior of 5:26. The competitive, aggressive person would take full advantage of the failings of others to promote him- or herself, but Paul casts a very different vision of Christian community here.

The passive-voice verb translated “caught” (Gk. prolēmphthē) leaves the implied subject of the action unclear. Does Paul envision other Christians catching a person in some transgression, or transgression itself catching that person? It seems more in line with the spirit of Paul’s main point to read this as transgression itself catching someone. His warning that helpers of this needy person should guard themselves against transgression seems to confirm this reading.86 Paul personifies transgression as the chief actor in both clauses.

Matthew and Mark use the term here translated “restore” (Gk. katartizō) to describe fishermen’s putting their nets back in order (Matt. 4:21; Mark 1:19).87 Paul envisions, then, those who are walking in step with the Spirit in the Christian community working hard to help the erring brother or sister to become a fully functioning, useful member of the community once again (cf. 2 Cor. 2:5–8; 2 Tim. 2:24–26).

6:2 This effort at restoration is an example of bearing the burdens of others. It takes patience, time, and emotional investment to mend the spiritual condition of those who have fallen into sin, and so Paul refers to the work of restoration as bearing the burdens of another person (cf. 2 Cor. 11:28–29; cf. 1 Cor. 9:19–23; 10:31–11:1). He also refers to it as fulfilling the “law of Christ,” a phrase pointing back to Paul’s summary of the law as the command to love one’s neighbor (Gal. 5:14). This summary likewise reflects Christ’s teaching on the essence of the Mosaic law (Mark 12:31; cf. Matt. 22:39).

6:3 Paul turns back to the arrogant attitude he described in 5:26 to explain why (“for”) Christians should lovingly support one another in the way he has just described. Christians must do so because it stands against the deceptive idea, so valued in the Greco-Roman world, that one’s importance comes from the ability to dominate others, receive honor from the wider society, and commend one’s self (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12). If believers have suffered with Christ the shameful death of the cross and live only insofar as they believe in Christ (Gal. 2:20; cf. 5:24), then the world’s aggressive methods of gaining honor and power have been crucified to them, and they to the world (6:14b). Their only boast can be in the cross of Christ (6:14a; cf. Phil. 1:21a).

6:4 As the wider context of this statement indicates, Paul is not encouraging people to boast about themselves rather than about others. Such an idea would contradict the emphasis in 5:26 on avoiding conceit and envy and would deviate widely from Paul’s admonitions elsewhere to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3) and to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10). Rather Paul uses the preposition standing behind the ESV’s “in” (Gk. eis) to mean “with respect to,” and his emphasis falls on basing one’s confidence about oneself on a sober, truthful assessment of one’s “work.”

6:5 The future tense (“will . . . bear”) points to the last judgment (cf. 5:10) as the reason why (“for”) each person should be concerned about himself rather than about boastful comparisons of himself to others. The train of thought in 6:3–5 is similar to that of Romans 14:10–12. There Paul urges the Roman Christians not to sit in judgment on one another or despise each other, for “each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

6:6 In the Greek text, Paul indicates a slight shift in subject with a word (de) that translators sometimes render “nevertheless” (NIV) or “now” (NET), but which most translations, including the ESV, do not render at all. Paul has been talking in verses 3–5 primarily about one’s mindset or attitude, but now he will shift back to the importance of practicing good deeds (cf. vv. 1–2).

His term for teaching (katēcheō), which he uses twice in this admonition, appears elsewhere in ancient literature with the meaning “inform” on some topic (e.g., Josephus, The Life 366). In Paul’s letters, however, the term always refers to Jewish or Christian instruction (Rom. 2:18; 1 Cor. 14:19). Paul’s admonition has to do with material support, as the language of sharing, sowing, and reaping in the context shows (cf. Gal. 6:7–9; Rom. 12:13; 15:27; 1 Cor. 9:11; 2 Cor. 9:12–14; Phil. 4:15–17).88 Students or their families typically supported their teachers in antiquity, and Paul was in favor of church leaders’ receiving support from their churches (1 Cor. 9:4–12; 1 Tim. 5:17–18), so there is nothing surprising about this instruction. Paul probably emphasizes this precept here because of the need for careful attention to orthodox Christian teaching in a setting in which false teaching has done so much spiritual damage.

6:7 Paul uses the command “Do not be deceived” in other places for important warnings against sins so serious that committing them reveals one to be on a path away from the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10) or to have “no knowledge of God” (1 Cor. 15:33–34). His use of this phrase here reveals a deep concern for the Galatians to pay careful attention to securing orthodox Christian instructors who will help them recover their theological footing and stay on the right path. The imagery of sowing and reaping probably refers to the material support of orthodox teachers (1 Cor. 9:11; 2 Cor. 9:6, 10), something that will take time and effort for the Galatians to secure but, considering what is at stake (Gal. 6:8), is well worth the effort.

6:8 The term translated “corruption” refers most basically to “dissolution, deterioration,” the tendency every material object has to wear out and fall apart. Paul uses the term in eschatological contexts in which he is concerned with the contrast between the unredeemed, unrestored world in rebellion against God and the bright future of immortal existence God has prepared for his people (Rom. 8:21; 1 Cor. 15:42, 50). Here he seems to say that it is possible to use one’s resources either for purposes that are not eternal and will one day no longer exist or for God’s life-giving and eternal purposes, such as supporting orthodox teaching in one’s Christian assembly.

6:9 Paul now broadens the principle of sowing and reaping to “doing good.” A “good” (Gk. kalos) work is the product of effort at producing something fitting, useful, and beautiful. What is “good” is widely recognized as good, by believer and unbeliever alike (Rom. 12:17; 2 Cor. 8:21; 1 Tim. 3:7; 5:25).89 The effort involved in producing something like this, and in constantly choosing to work at what is good whenever the opportunity arises (Gal. 6:10), involves an inner commitment Paul encourages the Galatians not to lose. The verb translated “grow weary” (enkakeō) can mean “lose heart” in the face of difficulty (Eph. 3:13; 2 Cor. 4:16), and the verb “give up” (eklyō) brings to mind depleted strength or simply “giving out.”90

6:10 The ESV uses the English term “good” here and in verse 9 to translate two different Greek words (kalos and agathos). Here Paul uses a term (agathos) that often carries the connotation of “beneficial” or “helpful” (cf. Eph. 4:29).91 Believers should invest their time, energy, and money in helping both the wider society and other believers.

The expression “household of faith” implies that the faith of believers in the true gospel makes them into a family. This is a theme Paul has emphasized throughout the letter, not only with his frequent use of the expression “brothers [and sisters]” to address the Galatian Christians (Gal. 1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18) but also with his lengthy argument that believers are the children of Abraham and the adopted children of God (3:6–4:31).