2 Corinthians 5
Share
CHAPTER 5
Freedom in Christ (5:1-12)
1 Christ has set us free. He has delivered us from the curse of the law, that is, the death sentence (Galatians 3:13). We were like prisoners in jail waiting to die. Then Christ, by dying in our place, set us free (Romans 7:6). For anyone set free in this way, to try to get back into jail would indeed be crazy! But the Galatians were doing that very thing. Having been set free from the prison house of the law, they were once again putting themselves back under the same bondage. Stand firm, then, says Paul. Do not let this happen!
2 One kind of bondage the Galatians were putting themselves under was circumcision. It is not wrong to be circumcised (see Acts 16:3). But it is wrong to be circumcised thinking thereby to obtain salvation. If we suppose that we can be saved by circumcision or any other works of law, then we make Christ’s work of no account. We are denying Christ. There will no longer be any value in having accepted Christ. If we do not put faith in Christ alone, He will not save us. We are not saved by Christ plus the law; we are saved only by Christ.
3 Paul reminds the Galatians that circumcision by itself has no value. If they are hoping to be saved by the law, then they must keep the whole law, not just part of it. And there are over six hundred different commands and regulations in the Jewish law. To obey every one of these perfectly all the time is impossible (see Galatians 2:15-16; 3:10).
4 Law and grace oppose each other. We cannot mix law and grace together. The Galatians had been justified and saved by grace. But now they had begun to put their trust in the law, in their own work and effort. If they persist in this, they will lose their grace. They will be alienated from Christ, who is their Savior.
There are some people who receive Christ by grace, but after a little while turn away (Mark 4:16-17). They return to their former religion. Those who do this, like the Galatians, have fallen away from grace. Stand firm, says Paul (verse 1). Do not let this happen.
We cannot mix Christianity with other religions. We cannot merely add Christ to the other gods we previously worshiped. Either we place faith in Christ or we place faith in our old religion, but not both. Christ is not one of several roads to heaven; He is the only road (see John 14:6 and comment).
A man cannot walk on two roads at the same time. A man who thinks he can trust Christ for salvation and continue to trust in his old religion is fooling himself. Anyone who tries to do this is not truly believing in Christ. Such a person will not find salvation.24
5 The Jewish teachers in Galatia taught that man becomes righteous by obeying the law. But Paul says that only by faith … through the Spirit can righteousness be acquired—that is, Christ’s righteousness. It is through faith in Christ that we are declared righteous (Romans 5:1-2), and thereby escape condemnation (Romans 8:1).
6 To obtain salvation in Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether one is circumcised or not circumcised. There is no advantage in being circumcised, and no disadvantage in being uncircumcised (Galatians 6:15). We are saved only through faith in Christ.
Here an important question arises: What is faith? Many people say, “I believe, I believe,” but it means nothing (see Matthew 7:21 and comment). Why does it mean nothing? Because their faith is not genuine. Faith must express itself through love, or else it is a false faith (see James 2:14,17 and comment).
When we believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, and through the Spirit God’s love is poured out … into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Love is the first and most important fruit of the Holy Spirit (verse 22). Therefore, true faith always produces in our hearts love for God and for our neighbor. And if love is in our hearts, it must flow out of our life into the lives of others. In other words, we must demonstrate our inward love to our neighbor. Genuine faith is always expressing itself through love.
7 The Christian life is like a race (2 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 12:1). The Galatians had started well. But the false teachers had hindered them. Not only that, the Galatians had even begun running in the wrong direction! They had taken their eyes off Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). The Galatians had stopped obeying the truth of the Gospel. The truth is not only to be believed; it is to be obeyed.
8 Paul says to the Galatians: That kind of persuasion (the false teaching that works of the law are necessary for salvation) does not come from the one who calls you—that is, God.
9 Even a small amount of such false teaching can do immeasurable harm. A little yeast (false teaching) works through the whole batch of dough. It spreads through the whole church (see 1 Corinthians 5:6 and comment).
10 Yet Paul has not given up hope for the Galatians. He has confidence that they will take no other view than his, that they will not turn away from the true Gospel. The false teachers who are throwing [the Galatians] into confusion will pay the penalty—that is, they will be punished by God.
11 Some Galatians were so confused that they had accused Paul of preaching that it was necessary to be circumcised! But if that were true, answers Paul, the Jews would not be persecuting him. Yet the Jews were continually persecuting him; therefore, that accusation must be false.
If Paul preached circumcision, the offense of the cross would be removed. If men could be saved by being circumcised, there would be no need to preach about Christ’s death on the cross. For the Jews, the cross of Christ was an offense, that is, a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23). The Jews scoffingly said, “How can a dead criminal hanging on a cross save us? That’s absurd!” Therefore, they opposed Paul, because he preached that man is saved, not by circumcision, but through faith in the crucified Christ.
Men do not like to hear about the cross. Christ looks down from the cross and says: “Believe in me, and I will save you.” But man replies: “I can save myself. I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m worthy enough. I can keep the law.” And therefore, so saying, man opposes the message of the cross. The cross has become a “stumbling block” for him.
12 Paul has some harsh words for those agitators, the Jewish teachers who were unsettling the Galatians by telling them that they must be circumcised to be saved. Paul says: “Let such teachers not only be circumcised, but let them castrate themselves as well!” In Paul’s time, some people among the pagan nations used to castrate themselves in order to please their gods. Let the false Jewish teachers do likewise!
Life by the Spirit (5:13-26)
13 God created man to be free. Man was made for freedom, not for slavery (John 8:32,36; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1). But, says Paul, do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.25
As Christians we are indeed free. However, we are not free to sin (Romans 6:12,12-14). We are free from bondage to the law, but we are not free to break the law. Even though we are free, our lives must remain holy and perfect (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15-16).
Followers of other religions often accuse Christians of leading loose lives, lives without any law. They accuse Christians of bad behavior, of doing whatever they please without regard for others. And it must be said that all too often such accusations are true! But it should not be so.
We Christians are free, but we do live according to a law. And that is the law of love (see Mark 12:29-31; John 13:34-35 and comments). We are free to serve one another in love. A slave does not serve his master out of love, but rather out of duty and fear. But we, being free, serve one another in love. Only free men can love freely.
We Christians have been set free from sin, but at the same time we have made ourselves slaves to God (Romans 6:22). We have been set free from our old master, the law, which leads us to death; but we have become servants of a new master, Christ, who leads us to life. We used to obey the law because of fear. But now we obey Christ, not because of fear, but because we love Him (John 14:15,21; 1 John 4:18).
14 The Jewish teachers in Galatia should have known all about love. Their own Jewish law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:31; Romans 13:8-9; Galatians 6:2).
A question arises: Is Paul giving us here a new law that we must follow, like the Jewish law? If he is just giving us another law, then we Christians are no different from the Jews.
But this new law of love is not like the old Jewish law, nor is it like the laws and regulations of other religions. In the first place, the Jews and the followers of other religions follow their laws and traditions in order to be saved. But we Christians do not follow the law of love in order to be saved. Rather, it is because we are already saved that we follow it. We are saved through faith in Christ, not because we follow any law. It is not because we follow the rules of the Christian religion that we are saved. We are saved because we follow Christ the Savior. Our salvation is not from a religion, but from a person—Jesus Christ.
The second difference is this: The Jews and those of other religions attempt to follow their laws and traditions in their own strength. But we Christians do not follow the law of love in our own strength. We have received Christ’s Holy Spirit; it is by the Spirit’s power alone that we follow the law of love. Our love does not come from our own nature, but from the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We love others because of the love that has been poured out … into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans5:5).
Yes, Christians indeed must obey the law of love. But through the Holy Spirit God gives us the strength to do so. Everything we do is done through the grace and power of God.
Here another question arises. The law says: Love your neighbor as yourself. What is the meaning of as yourself? Does it mean that we love ourselves and our neighbors equally?
No, it doesn’t mean that. We are to love our neighbor more than we love ourselves. Christ said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Following the example of Jesus Himself, we should be prepared to give even our own lives for the sake of others (John 15:13).
Therefore, the expression as yourself means this: We who are spiritual should love others as much as the natural man loves himself. The natural man loves himself first of all—above others. Therefore, we who are spiritual should love others first of all—above ourselves.
Paul does not mention the first commandment here: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). Every Jew knew that that was the first and greatest commandment. Paul doesn’t even need to mention it. However, we need to remember that if we don’t love God, we certainly won’t be able to love our neighbor. Love for God always comes first.
Yet, on the other hand, we cannot say we love God if we do not love our neighbor. True love for God is always followed by love for our neighbor (1 John 4:20-21). And who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone in need (see Luke 10:25-37). Everyone, therefore, is our neighbor.
15 Where there is no Holy Spirit, there is no love. Where there is no love, men will keep on biting and devouring each other—that is, they will oppose, accuse, and slander each other.
If we accuse and slander each other, our church will be destroyed. Jesus said: “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark3:25). Even if the negative things we say about someone else are true, it will still destroy the church. It is still slander. Slander is anything we say against our brother, whether true or false. If our brother has fallen into error or sin and we are obliged to accuse him, we must first do it to his face privately. We must give him a chance to answer for himself (see Matthew 18:15 and comment). Only after that are we entitled to go to the elders in the church with our complaint (see Matthew 18:16 and comment). But among ourselves, we are never entitled to speak against another brother or sister.
16 We who have received the Holy Spirit must therefore live by the Spirit. We must be led by the Spirit. We must place our sinful nature (our flesh) under the control of the Spirit. If we do this, the Spirit will restrain us from gratifying the desires of the sinful nature. In other words, the Spirit will keep us from falling into sin. But in order to avoid falling into sin, we must continuously submit to the Spirit. We must at all times walk in dependence upon the Spirit.
And finally, if we do not live by the Spirit, if we are not led by the Spirit, we shall not be able to call ourselves sons and daughters of God (see Romans 8:14).
17 Even though we have put our faith in Christ and have received the Holy Spirit, our old sinful nature does not completely die and disappear. Even though it has been placed under the control of the Spirit, it is always present with us. And it always opposes the Spirit. It opposes the new self, the new spiritual life, which we received when we believed.
Therefore, there is continual warfare in our souls, and this warfare lasts until we die. The new spiritual self seeks to do good, but the old sinful self prevents him (Romans 7:18-19).
As long as we live by the Spirit (verse 16), our sinful nature is kept under control. When we live by the Spirit, our sinful nature is crucified; that is, it is made powerless (see Romans 6:6-7,12-14; Galatians 2:20; 5:24 and comments). When we live by the Spirit, we do not need to gratify the desires of the sinful nature by sinning, because the sinful nature has no power over us. We are free from the power of sin. This is the deepest meaning of our freedom in Christ.
However, if we stop living by the Spirit, if we stop depending on the Spirit, immediately our old sinful nature will spring to life and come down from the cross where we had placed it; then, once again, we will come under its control. If this happens, we will lose our freedom and become slaves to sin all over again.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The law here is the Jewish law, which Paul elsewhere calls the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). To be under this law is to be under a curse (Galatians 3:13); it is to be under a death sentence; it is to be under the power of sin. Paul says that if we are led by the Spirit, we no longer need to remain under such a law. Yes, in our soul there is warfare between flesh and Spirit, but we can be victorious in that warfare every day. We do not need to be defeated by sin.
How then do we obtain this victory over sin? We obtain victory by continually letting the Spirit lead us. We do not have to struggle on our own. But we must place ourselves under the control of the Spirit (Romans 8:9). Through the Spirit’s power we shall remain victorious.
The Jews and the followers of other religions believe that by obeying laws and traditions they will be prevented from falling into sin. But this is not true. Laws have no power to keep men from sin. Yes, perhaps laws can keep men from committing some outward sins, but laws cannot keep men from committing inward sins. Laws cannot cleanse men’s hearts from sinful desires. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us can we be victorious over the inner sins of our hearts. And let us remember this: God looks primarily on our hearts, not our outward actions (1 Chronicles 28:9; Jeremiah 17:10; Mark 7:6).
We must ask here: Why do Christians sin so often? They sin because they want to sin. They sin because they decide to sin. When temptation comes, the Spirit says to us: “Come to me.” But we refuse. And at once we fall into sin. And not only do we fall into sin, but something else happens: The Spirit withdraws from us. The Holy Spirit does not want to live in an unholy body. The Spirit is grieved. This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Ephesians: … do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30). Only when we have confessed our sin and repented of it will the Spirit return to us.
Is there anyone among us whose spiritual life is dried up or wilted, who is without spiritual power? If so, let him look into his heart and find there the hidden sin which has caused the Spirit to depart. And let him bring that sin into the light, and then let him turn from it. Because whenever we grow distant from God, the reason is never far to find: It is always because of some hidden (or not so hidden) sin in our heart (see General Article: Revival).
19-21 Now Paul lists some of the sins that separate us from God. Let us look carefully at each of these acts of the sinful nature. Can we recognize any of them in our own lives? (see Romans 1:29-31).
We quickly and easily see sins in other people. But we are not so quick to see the same sins in ourselves. In our own eyes we seem righteous.
But we ought not to look at the sins of others—we should look only at our own. And let us pray that the Holy Spirit will clearly show us all of our hidden sins (Psalm 139:23-24).
Of the fifteen sins mentioned here, eight of them have to do with division and strife among Christians; that is, they have to do with our biting and devouring each other (verse 15).
Within the church there are only two legitimate reasons for opposing a brother or for remaining separate from him. The first is when a brother continues in a public and grievous sin without repenting (1 Corinthians 5:11). The second is when a brother denies that Jesus is God Himself, who has come in the flesh; that is, when a brother does not teach the truth about Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2). If we oppose any brother for reasons other than these two, we shall be guilty of committing one or more of the sins that Paul has mentioned in these verses.
… those who live like this will not inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD. That is, those who commit these sins habitually without repenting will not enter the kingdom of God. From time to time we all fall into some of these sins, and when we do we can quickly repent and ask forgiveness, and God will cleanse us (1 John 1:9). But he who knowingly continues in sin without repenting will not inherit the kingdom of God—that is, he will not be saved.
22-23 Those who live by the Spirit (verse 16) will manifest the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. This fruit will appear in the lives of those who remain in Christ (John 15:4-5). Here in these important verses, Paul tells us what these fruits are.
Let us first remember, however, that the fruits of the Spirit are different from the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are given to various Christians at various times according to the will of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:7-11). But the fruits of the Spirit are to be manifested by all Christians at all times. Both in the church and in our individual lives, the fruits of the Spirit are more important and more essential than the gifts of the Spirit.
The first fruit Paul mentions is love, love for God and love for neighbor (see verses 13-14 and comment).
The second fruit is joy—that is, spiritual joy. This joy continues even in the midst of hardship and suffering. This is the joy that comes to us by God’s grace; it is the joy of our salvation (John 15:11; Philippians 4:4).
The third fruit, peace, is first of all peace with God. We have this peace through faith in Christ (Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7). Having first found peace with God, we then must strive to promote peace with our brothers and sisters in the church (Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3).
The fourth fruit, patience, is endurance in trial and hardship. It also means having sympathy and understanding for our brother. We must be patient with our brother’s weaknesses and sins (Ephesians 4:2). Just as Jesus has been patient with us, let us be patient with each other (1 Timothy 1:16).
Paul next mentions kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Kindness means being merciful and forgiving (Matthew 18:21-22). Goodness means seeking opportunities to do good to all men. Faithfulness means being faithful and reliable.
Then, in verse 23, comes the eighth fruit: gentleness. Gentleness involves being gentle not only in our outward behavior but also in our inward spirit. Inward gentleness is the same as humility. This is the most delicate of the fruits of the Spirit; it easily perishes. The hardest sin for man to overcome is pride, which is the chief enemy of gentleness or humility. We usually don’t even recognize our pride, but it is always present. And if we think we have overcome it, that merely proves we haven’t!
Or perhaps we think we are humble, but then suddenly someone insults us and at once we are hurt and offended. Why? Because of pride. If we had no pride, we would take no offense. Whenever we seek to preserve our honor, we do so because of pride. A humble man, a man with a gentle spirit, does not care about his own honor. He cares only about the honor of Christ.26
We can’t drive out our pride; only the Holy Spirit can do that. Only the Spirit can make us inwardly gentle and humble.27We need to pray continually for humility. But we must also keep in mind that in order to make us humble the Spirit will have to inflict some pain upon our pride. Are we ready to bear the humbling work of the Spirit?
The final fruit of the Spirit is self-control. This means placing our old sinful self under the control of the Spirit. It means refusing to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (verse 16).
How can we tell if the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is fully “ripe”? We can tell by the same means we use to tell if any fruit is ripe: by squeezing it. As long as our circumstances are happy, it is easy to be a Christian. The fruits of the Spirit in our lives may appear to be completely ripe. It is only when trouble comes—when we are “squeezed”—that we can test whether the Spirit’s fruit in us is ripe or not. When abuse, slander, persecution, and other hardships come upon us, how do we react? When our fruit is squeezed, what kind of juice comes out? The bitter juice of hurt or pride? Or the sweet juice of love, joy, patience, humility? Our lives are tested only when we are squeezed.
Let us remember that these nine fruits are produced not by our work and effort, but by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If these fruits are visible in our lives, then we are fulfilling God’s law in our lives. If these fruits are present in our lives, we will be holy and righteous, and no law will be able to condemn us. There is no law which says these fruits are evil. Against such things (these nine fruits of the Spirit) there is no law (verse 23).
24 For the Holy Spirit to fully come into our lives, our sinful nature must be put on the cross. According to Paul’s teaching in Romans, it is our old self (which is under the control of the sinful nature) that is placed on the cross (Romans 6:6). Here, Paul says that our sinful nature itself must be placed on the cross. In one sense, our old self must die. But in another sense, our sinful nature does not die completely. We must continually “crucify” our sinful nature. Daily we must hang our old nature on the cross (Luke 9:23). And we must keep it there!28
Does our old nature enjoy being crucified? Of course, not! It is not a pleasant thing to be hung on a cross. It is not easy to endure. Therefore, it is not easy to live a Christian life. In fact, it is impossible!
But God doesn’t demand that we “live a Christian life.” God only says that we must live by the Spirit (verses 16,25)—one day at a time. We must walk in dependence on the Spirit—one step at a time. It is only by the Spirit that we can lead lives that are pleasing to God.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. If we are under the control of the Spirit, then we should act as if we were! If we are indeed the children of God, then we should act like children of God!
Here an important question arises. We know that as soon as we believe in Christ we are declared righteous in God’s sight. This is completely true. But we also know from experience that our daily behavior is not always righteous. We can explain both of these facts by a simple illustration. We are like fruit ripening on the tree. At first the fruit is green and hard. But gradually, with sun and rain, the fruit becomes ripe. God knows that, just as the fruit will ripen, so we also in the end will become fully ripe. For this reason He can regard us even now as if we were already fully ripe. But in our own eyes, we remain hanging on the tree, parts of us still green and hard.
It is by God’s grace that we began our Christian life. It is by God’s grace, by His rain and sun, that we are ripening—that is, becoming holy and perfect. And it is by God’s grace that the day will come when we shall be fully ripe and perfect, even as Christ is perfect, and we shall enter with joy into His kingdom. Brothers and sisters, let us never stop praising God for the glory of His grace! (Ephesians 1:6).
26 Paul here gives three examples of behavior that is not of the Spirit. First, being conceited means wanting to look good in other people’s eyes. Second, provoking other people means, in this context, putting them down. Third, envying means resenting that others appear better or more fortunate than we. Because of conceit and envy, we seek to provoke others, to put them down. By doing this, we think to elevate ourselves.
But Jesus taught that if we do this, the result will be the opposite of what we had hoped: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). Therefore, let us exalt our brother and sister, and let us humble ourselves.