Galatians 5:1– For Freedom Christ frees us

For freedom Christ frees us! Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yoke of slavery.

This verse is a conclusion and also an introduction to the last part of the letter. “The freedom” spoken of here is the freedom of which Sarah and Isaac (“the son of the free”) are a representation. They are opposed to Hagar and Ishmael who are types of the bondage of the old covenant (Sinai).

The Galatians had come to know “the freedom with which Christ sets free” through the Gospel that Paul had preached to them. The majority of them had a “heathen” background, but like those who came from Judaism, they too were dominated by religious observances (4:3,9). With the threat of being converted to Judaism now, one would in effect return to the slavery from which they had once been liberated. To religion, which literally means something like: to be bound again.

Paul cannot help but passionately urge his readers to remain standing in the freedom with which Christ sets free. Note: “Christ,” that is the title that belongs to Him who was raised from the dead by God (1:1). It is this fact that marks the boundary between the old and the new covenant. Between slavery and freedom.

Delen: