Galatians 5 v 23b – 26 – Law and the Fruit of the Breath

 ‘…down opposing that of this sort, there is absolutely no law that exists, 24 and those of Jesus the anointed have crucified their own flesh together with the strong emotions and lustful desires. 25 If we are alive by Breath, we should also be walking by Breath, 26 not becoming boastful, provoking one another, envying one another’, (Galatians 5 v 23b - 26).

There is no law in existence, including divine law, that comes down to oppose and condemn practical benevolent love, joy, wholeness, forbearance, useful kindness, goodness, entrustment, mildness and enlightened self-control. By co-working with God and carrying across these qualities from within into their speech and behaviour as a result of the indwelling of the set-apart Breath of God, Christians walk around in the Breath and bring the Messiah to completion, being transformed into his image or likeness. And those that are of Jesus, the anointed of God, by being immersed in union with the Messiah by means of the set-apart Breath, have crucified the flesh. They do not look to their natural, fleshly ability or strength to try to observe the written codes and regulations of Sinai Covenant law as means to obtaining or maintaining divine judicial approval. Nor do they willingly follow or submit to the raw passions, energies and impulses within their fleshly constitution in the way that they did before God brought them forth. 

Paul appeals once again to logical consistency. Christians have not been brought to a position of divine approval by means of their human nature, natural ability, or their attempts to observe the written codes of Sinai Covenant law. They have been brought forth by the work of the set-apart Breath leading them to perceive and entrust the Messiah, immersing them in union with God’s anointed deliverer. So Paul says, ‘Be consistent. If we are brought to Life by means of the set-apart Breath, then we should also be walking around by means of Breath. It is inconsistent for us to turn back to rely on our own ability – our flesh - to observe the injunctions of divine law in order to maintain divine judicial approval’. 

Finally he adds a few more practical considerations. Walking around within the sphere of the set-apart Breath not only means that Christians begin to display the qualities – the fruit – that he has listed over the previous few verses, but also it means that Christian do not do not happily indulge in certain other behaviours. The Breath is in opposition to the flesh, so if Christians are walking in the Breath then they are ‘not becoming boastful, provoking one another, envying one another’, (verse 26). This is a similar point to one that he makes in I Corinthians. There is indeed a desire for excellence in Christians, a desire for godliness, but such an aim must not lead to divisions, schisms, or to Christians boasting or provoking one another. Christians who are ambitious for honour may indeed provoke other Christians, whom they regard as inferiors, by a having a proud and contemptuous manner toward them. They may look on some other Christians with contempt, pass by some other Christians with disdain, as if they are beneath their notice, and this provokes hard feelings and even hatred. This was the problem at Corinth. 

Sometimes the opposite happens. Christians don’t celebrate the good of others, either desiring their portion, or being troubled that they fare so well. Both errors are traceable to one and the same root - the excessive wish to be thought well of by others.

Galatians 5 v 22, 23a - Defining the qualities of the Fruit of the Breath [4] - Goodness, Mildness, Entrustment, Self-control

 ‘But the fruit of the Breath is practical beneficial love, joy, peace, patient forbearance, useful kindness, goodness, entrustment, 23 mildness, self-control…’ (Galatians 5 v 22, 23a).

Paul continues to list the various aspects of the Fruit of the Breath. 

Goodness A disposition to do good to others. The word refers to a very wide description of human goodness, apparently in the sense of active benevolence. It stands in opposition to maliciousness or ‘badness’. 

Entrustment This does not mean that Christians fail to discriminate between what is to be believed and what is to be rejected. Nor that Christians are naively prone to believe falsehood as being the truth, or make no effort to inquire what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong. Rather, Paul means that they have a disposition to put the best construction on someone else’s speech, behaviour and attitude. They entrust that a fellow Christian has good motives and that they intend no injury. In other words, Christians are not walking around with a pessimistic, distrustful, suspicious or accusatory attitude. The word may also be used in the sense of ‘fidelity’, denoting that a Christian will be faithful to his or her word and promises, who can be trusted or confided in. 

Mildness A forbearance of passion, rash anger and hastiness of emotions. Mildness is humble submissiveness to the teachings of Divine revelation, to which this term probably points, and stands in contrast to self-reliant, headstrong impetuosity.

Illuminated self-control The Greek word ‘egkrateia’ implies self-restraint that arises from the perception and persuasion of unseen realities, self-regulation when it comes to the Christian’s fleshly desires and impulses. It has reference to the power that Christians have over all kinds of fleshly impulses and energies. The sense here is that the movement and current of the set-apart Breath within the deep inner core of the Christian helps them to self-moderate and self-regulate indulgent speech and behaviour, to restrain passions, and govern themselves as a result of their enlightened perception and persuasion.

Galatians 5 v 22 - Defining the qualities of the Fruit of the Breath [3] – Forbearance and Useful Kindness

 ‘But the fruit of the Breath is practical beneficial love, joy, peace, patient forbearance, useful kindness,’ (Galatians 5 v 22).

‘Benevolent, practical love is forbearing, usefully kind and gentle’, (I Corinthians 13 v 4a).

In both I Corinthians and Galatians Paul presents two more aspects of the practical beneficial love that Christians show to one another as members of one body bringing forth the Fruit of the Breath.

Forbearance Paul uses the Greek word ‘makrothumeó’, which means the opposite of ‘short-tempered’. It means waiting for a sufficient time so as to avoid premature displays of passion, frustration or retribution that often arise from out of a quick temper, or from intolerant impatience. Forbearance is patient longsuffering, it is enlightened self-restraint that does not hastily retaliate in response to wrongfulness. We all know that we can annoy and irritate ourselves about other people at times, including fellow Christians, especially when we are passionate, eager or ambitious for something or other. Sometimes we consider that fellow Christians are being unfair to us, but having the quality of forbearance means that we do not hastily react against such perceived injustice from fellow Christians. When exercising forbearance, a Christian bringing forth the Fruit of the Breath does not launch into malicious gossip, insults, criticism or arguments with them by way of response.

Gentle useful kindness In Corinthians the Greek word that Paul uses is ‘chrésteuomai’, a verb meaning ‘to be usefully kind, mild and gentle’. In Galatians it is used as a noun. It is not just a kindly attitude or the expression of kindly sentiments, but rather it means to be of useful, suitable or appropriate service in contrast to being burdensome. It is from the adjective ‘chréstos’ which appears seven times in the New Testament. When Christians display love to one another it means that they are courteous and gentle. They have a desire to do good so as to be of practical service and help to fellow Christians, accommodating his or herself to the weaknesses, capacities, manners and circumstances of other Christians in everything that they can. 

I ask again whether we can see these distinctive practical qualities in our own daily life when it comes to our relationship to with fellow Christians. 

Galatians 5 v 22 - Defining the qualities of the Fruit of the Breath [2] – Joy and Peace

 ‘But the fruit of the Breath is practical beneficial love, joy, peace, patient forbearance, useful kindness,’ (Galatians 5 v 22).

The first three qualities of the Fruit of the Breath are love, joy and peace. The source of all three of these lies in the Christian’s relation to God and they are the result of union with the Messiah by means of the Breath. The free gift of the practical, beneficial love of the Messiah is the source of these other aspects of the Fruit of the Breath. Having looked at ‘love’ in the previous section, I now move on to look at these other qualities.

Joy, gladness, delight The objects of this joy, gladness and delight are God the Father and His only-begotten Son. God is the God of deliverance, clothing the Christian with the robe of his Son's righteousness, pardoning their self-forfeiture, with full atonement being made by the sacrifice of the Messiah. The foundation of this joy and delight lies in these spiritual realities, and arises from the Christian’s apprehension and persuasion of their interest in them, resulting in divine judicial approval, pardon, peace, adoption, and eternal praise. This joy and gladness also extends to a joy in fellow Christians as those brought forth by God, and these affections to God, the Messiah and fellow Christians are unique to those who possess the Breath and shared between them.

 

Peace. Meaning ‘wholeness when all essential parts are joined together’. The Breath of God produces wholeness in consequence of the enlightenment and persuasion of the reconciliation being made by the spilt lifeblood of the Messiah. The lifeblood of the Messiah is applied to Christians for the sending away of their self-forfeiture. The set-apart Breath establishes union with the Messiah, applying divine judicial approval to the Christian. The result is peace – wholeness – down from reconciliation with God. This wholeness is once again unique to those who possess the Breath – Christians - and it is shared between them.

Galatians 5 v 22 - Defining practical, beneficial love [1]

 ‘But the fruit of the Breath is practical beneficial love, joy, peace, patient forbearance, useful kindness,’ (Galatians 5 v 22).

Paul famously defines love in I Corinthians 13. He is not talking about sentiment. He is not talking about romantic or poetic notions of love, nor about merely ‘wishing people well’, nor about making expressions of affection of the kind that we see in Valentine’s Day cards, or in marriage ceremonies, or showing superficial cursory displays of affection. Instead, he is talking about practical speech, attitudes and behaviours in day-by-day Christian life. 

The practical love that he is describing is distinctive in that it is - 

Primarily directed toward fellow Christians, and 

Arises from enlightened perception and knowledge that is unveiled by the Breath of God

As John explains in his first letter, ‘outsiders’ or unbelievers do not love the Messiah, nor do they love those who are persuaded of him to the point of obedience. The Messiah and the Gospel are absurd foolishness to unbelievers. They reject and separate themselves away from the spiritual base – the enlightened perception and persuasion of unseen realities – that underpins and provides the exemplars for the practical love that Paul is talking about. Instead, ‘unbelievers’ prefer darkness to light such that their affections are centred on fleshly impulses and sensations. Possession of the love that Paul is talking about – a practical beneficial love that imitates the love of the Messiah and is directed toward fellow Christians – is therefore a distinctive mark of Christian assurance. This is because such love is beyond the ability of unbelievers. It is a primary Fruit of the Breath of God and His Messiah. This practical love ‘identifies with and rejoices in truth’.

‘Benevolent, practical love is forbearing, usefully kind and gentle’, (I Corinthians 13 v 4a).

In I Corinthians 12 v 31 Paul says ‘I show you a way superlatively beyond measure in excellence’. This way of excellence is the way of love, and without it, Paul says that Christians are nothing but a distracting noise. The Greek word that he uses is ‘agape’, which means ‘love’, ‘benevolence’ or ‘good will’. It also contains the aspect of having a preference for these qualities. These are very practical qualities in the Christian’s day-to-day life, so I translate the word as ‘practical beneficial love’. Its fullest meaning is ‘having a preference for practical beneficial love’. 

But the word ‘love’ is still somewhat vague, so Paul defines what he means in more detail. In both Galatians and I Corinthians he presents two over-arching qualities of love – forbearance and useful gentle kindness. 

The ‘love’ that Paul is talking about serves as a distinctive mark that reveals that an individual is selected by God, it is also mark of Christian assurance, because possession and use of this love is beyond the ability of ‘outsiders’. We probably all know of ‘outsiders’ who are forbearing, usefully kind and gentle. It may well be that we know of some ‘outsiders’ who possess forbearance and useful gentle kindness to a greater degree than we do as Christians. So in what way do these qualities constitute a distinctive Fruit of the Breath of God and His Messiah? 

In I Corinthians, Paul’s teaching about ‘love’ is an aspect of the principle of ‘diversity within union in the Messiah’. Christians are diverse members of the one body of the Messiah, and the primary instruction is that Christians show practical beneficial love to one another as members of this body. By contrast, unbelievers reject enlightened persuasion of the unseen realities that underpin and provide exemplars for the practical love that Paul is talking about, preferring darkness to light such that their affections, goals and ambitions lie elsewhere. So the love that Paul is talking about is distinctively Christian. It is beyond the ability of unbelievers in this respect – it is love expressed towards fellow Christians. The qualities of forbearance and useful gentle kindness shown towards Christians constitute distinctive aspects of the Fruit of the Breath of God and His Messiah coming to completion by being displayed toward fellow Christians. ‘If anyone is saying, ‘I love God’ but is hating and detesting his brother, he is a deceiver, because the one not loving his brother whom he sees is not able to love God whom he has not seen. 21 This is the end result of the instruction that we have away from Him - that the one loving God should also be loving his brother. Everyone believing that Jesus is the Messiah of God has been brought forth; and everyone loving the One who brings forth also loves him who is brought forth from out of Him’, (I John 4 v 20, 21; 5 v 1).