Galatians 5: 22 23 Fruit Of The Spirit

Target year level: Year Five

Scripture text

Introduction

In the Christian Scriptures there are thirteen letters that are attributed to Paul, but only seven are considered genuine: Galatians is one of these.

The Galatians were a people with Celtic origins living in the Roman Province of Galatia in Asia Minor (present day Turkey). In his letter, Paul is robustly defending his own understanding and presentation of Christian doctrine against opponents in the Galatian Church who wish to impose Jewish practices on gentileChristians. The major theme in the letter is Christian freedom: Christians are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, rather than by observance of the Law of Moses.

World behind the text

Galatia was a Roman province in central Asia Minor. It had been settled by immigrant Celts around 270 BCE and retained features of Celtic culture and language in Paul's day. Acts (16:6, 18:23) records Paul as travelling to the region of Galatia and Phrygia. The churches of Galatia seem to have been composed, for the most part, of converts from pagan religions, that is gentiles. Some Jewish Christians in the Galatian churches were causing confusion by proposing an alternative teaching to Paul’s, emphasising salvation through the Law of Moses. These Judaizers, as they were called, claimed that gentile Christians could not be the true People of God unless they observed at least some traditional Jewish practices, particularly circumcision and the celebration of Jewish feasts. Also, the Judaizers appear to have questioned Paul's legitimacy and authority as an authentic apostle.

For further information, see the Teacher Background on Paul's Letter to the Galatians: Context and Message. See also the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Galatians.

World of the text

In this passage, Paul compares a list of virtues to the list of vices from the previous verse. Paul calls the virtues the ‘fruit of the Spirit,’ indicating that they are divine gifts. Also, the virtues indicate the attitudes, values and good deeds that characterise authentic Christian life, which is not governed by the strictures of the Law of Moses, but is liberated by the free gifts (grace) from God in the Spirit. Elsewhere in the letter (5:16, 25) Paul urges the Galatians to ‘live by the Spirit.’

For further information, see the Teacher Background on Paul's Letter to the Galatians: Imagery and Symbolism.

World in front of the text

For contemporary Christians, what does it mean ‘to live by the Spirit’? Probably much the same as it meant for the Galatians: Paul’s list of virtues is as relevant today as it was then. First in the list is love and Paul identifies this virtue as the core value for Christian living: love is the animating principle of faith (5:6), and loving concern for others is the most important commandment (5:14).

Living by the Spirit means making the welfare of others the first priority. This is a liberating way to live because it means that one is free from exclusive preoccupation with one’s own concerns and desires. A person cannot do this on their own; they need the gifts of the Spirit in order to be free from the natural tendency to be self-absorbed.