He exhorts them to stand to their Christian liberty. Of the fruits of the flesh and of the spirit.

¹ Stand firm, and do not be willing to be again held by the yoke of servitude.

² Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you have been circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

³ For I again testify, about every man circumcising himself, that he is obligated to act according to the entire law.

⁴ You are being emptied of Christ, you who are being justified by the law. You have fallen from grace.

⁵ For in spirit, by faith, we await the hope of justice.

⁶ For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails over anything, but only faith which works through charity.

⁷ You have run well. So what has impeded you, that you would not obey the truth?

⁸ This kind of influence is not from him who is calling you.

⁹ A little leaven corrupts the whole mass.

¹⁰ I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will accept nothing of the kind. However, he who disturbs you shall bear the judgment, whomever he may be.

¹¹ And as for me, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still suffering persecution? For then the scandal of the Cross would be made empty.

¹² And I wish that those who disturb you would be torn away.

¹³ For you, brothers, have been called to liberty. Only you must not make liberty into an occasion for the flesh, but instead, serve one another through the charity of the Spirit.

¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled by one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not consumed by one another!

¹⁶ So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

¹⁷ For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.

¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence,

²⁰ the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions,¹

1. 5:20The word ‘veneficia’ refers to potions used in ancient times, either as poisons against enemies, or as drugs to induce pseudo-spiritual experiences, or as potions used in occult spells. The modern equivalent is illegal or immoral drugs of abuse, used to ‘get high’ or to experience pleasure, but which harm the body and soul like a poison, and which lead one away from God, like idolatry.(Conte)

²¹ envy, murder, inebriation, carousing, and similar things. About these things, I continue to preach to you, as I have preached to you: that those who act in this way shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance,

²³ meekness, faith, modesty, abstinence, chastity. There is no law against such things.

²⁴ For those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, along with its vices and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, we should also walk by the Spirit.

²⁶ Let us not become desirous of empty glory, provoking one another, envying one another.