were called
The Greek word for "called" (καλέω, kaleō) implies a divine invitation or summons. This calling is not merely an invitation but a powerful, effectual call that brings about a change in the believer's life. It is a reminder that their freedom is not self-generated but is a result of God's gracious initiative. This calling is rooted in God's sovereign purpose and plan for His people, emphasizing that their freedom is part of a divine vocation.

to freedom
The concept of "freedom" (ἐλευθερία, eleutheria) in this context is not a license for self-indulgence but liberation from the bondage of the law and sin. Historically, the Greco-Roman world understood freedom as the absence of slavery, but Paul redefines it as the ability to live in accordance with God's will. This freedom is a central theme in Galatians, contrasting the legalistic bondage that some were advocating. It is a freedom that empowers believers to live righteously and in alignment with the Spirit.

but do not use your freedom
Here, Paul introduces a cautionary note. The freedom believers have in Christ is not to be misused. The Greek construction (μὴ, mē) indicates a strong prohibition. This warning reflects the potential danger of misinterpreting Christian liberty as a license for moral laxity. Paul is aware of the human tendency to exploit freedom for selfish purposes, and he seeks to redirect the Galatians' understanding towards a more responsible and loving expression of their liberty.

as an opportunity for the flesh
The term "opportunity" (ἀφορμή, aphormē) suggests a base of operations or a starting point for action. "Flesh" (σάρξ, sarx) in Pauline theology often refers to the sinful nature or human inclinations apart from God's Spirit. Paul warns against using freedom as a launching pad for indulging sinful desires. This phrase serves as a reminder that Christian freedom is not an excuse for moral compromise but a call to live by the Spirit.

Rather, serve one another
The word "serve" (δουλεύω, douleuō) is derived from the term for a bondservant or slave. This is a paradoxical statement, as Paul calls believers to use their freedom to become servants to one another. This service is not out of compulsion but a voluntary act of love. It reflects the servanthood of Christ, who, though free, chose to serve humanity. This call to service is a radical departure from the self-centered use of freedom and aligns with the Christian ethic of humility and love.

in love
"Love" (ἀγάπη, agapē) is the highest form of love in the New Testament, characterized by selflessness and sacrifice. It is the love that God has for humanity and that believers are called to emulate. This love is the guiding principle for Christian conduct and the fulfillment of the law (Galatians 5:14). Serving one another in love is the true expression of Christian freedom, as it reflects the heart of the gospel and the character of Christ. This love is not merely an emotion but an active commitment to the well-being of others, demonstrating the transformative power of the Spirit in the believer's life.

(13) For.--This connecting particle supplies the reason for the Apostle's severe treatment of the Judaisers.

An occasion to the flesh.--Do not, under the name "liberty," give way to sensual excesses. This was the especial danger of the Gentile churches, such as Corinth, from which, as we have seen, the Apostle may have been writing. Galatia, too, was a Gentile church; and though it was for the present subject rather to Judaising influences, the character of the people was fickle, and St. Paul may have thought it well to hint a caution in this direction.

Serve.--There is a stress upon this word. The Apostle had been dissuading the Galatians from submitting to other forms of servitude. This one he will permit them.

(1) free from condemnation and conscience of guiltiness;

(2) free from pupil-age to a ceremonial institute of positive, carnal ordinances, and from bondage to a letter-Law;

(3) free, as consciously his children, knit to him by his adopting Spirit, which makes us partakers of his nature. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh (μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῆς σαρκός); only, no freedom which shall be an occasion to the flesh! or, only, make not your freedom into an occasion for the flesh. The noun ἐλευθερίαν, being in the accusative, cannot be taken as simply a resumption of the ἐλευθερίᾳ immediately before. In his eagerness to at once bar the antinomian's abuse of the gospel, the apostle omits the verb which should account for this accusative; and the result is a sentence which may be taken as grouping with various passages in classical Greek authors, being in fact quite a natural way of speaking in any language; such as in Demosthenes, ' Philippians,' 1. p. 45, "No ten thousand mercenaries for me! (μή μοι μυριόυς... ξένους);" Sophocles, ' Ant.,' 573, "No more loiterings! but... (μὴ τριβὰς ἔτ ἀλλά...); "Aristophanes, ' Ach.,' 326, "No false pretences for me, but... (μή μοι πρόφασιν ἀλλά...)." In such cases it simply weakens the vivacity of the style, if we supply any verb. The alternative rendering supplies δῶτε, which is in fact found in two uncial manuscripts, F, G, or ἀποχρήσησθε, proposed by OEcumenius. In the former way of construing we have in thought to supply a second τὴν after ἐλευθερίαν, as in 1 Corinthians 10:18, Βλέπετε τὸν Ἰσραὴλ κατὰ σάρκα: 2 Corinthians 7:7; Colossians 1:8; Ephesians 2:15. The preposition εἰς is need as Romans 11:9; 1 Corinthians 14:22, etc. The sense of the noun ἀφορμή, starting-point, is well illustrated by its use, in the military language of Greece, for a "basis of operations" (cf. Romans 7:8, 11; 2 Corinthians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:14). Reflection at once shows us that a "freedom" which allows a man to obey the behests of his lower nature is only by a false use of the term capable of being grouped with that freedom wherewith Christ makes us free. It adopts out of the latter the single element of emancipation from ceremonial law and letter-Law, and lets go altogether the concomitant notions of spiritual emancipation which are of its very essence. Such an emancipation hands its victim clean over to the thraldom of sin (John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:18, 19). St. Peter, in his First Epistle, addressed to a large group of Churches founded by St. Paul, including those of Galatia, has a number of passages which apparently take up sentiments and even expressions found in St. Paul's writings (see 1 Peter 5:12), as it were, ratifying them; and possibly he has an eye to the present verse when he writes (1 Peter 2:16), "as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bond-servants of God." "The flesh" is not to have its own way, but is to own the mastery of the Spirit. But by love serve one another (ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις); but through love be in bondage to one another; i.e. let love make you bondservants to one another. The verb δουλεύω also means "do acts of bond-service,' as Ephesians 6:7 and 1 Timothy 6:2. This sense is included in the "being in bondage ' here spoken cf. In the present posture of affairs in these Churches, the apostle sees occasion for selecting just here one particular branch of Christian goodness to enforce upon their observance. Presently after (vers. 16-20 he enlarges the field of view; though even there still giving much prominence to the vices of malignity and to the benignant virtues. Just now he has his eye especially on the evils of contentiousness (ver. 15), and upon love as their corrective. We may suppose such evils were now especially rife amongst the Galatians, whose natural character, commonly described as quarrelsome, was apparently evincing itself in connection with the disputes which the teaching and yet more the outward action of the Judaizers were giving rise to. In fact, a loving temper of mind, along with other benefits, is recommended also by this, that it guards Churches from corrupting innovations in doctrine and Church practice; checking our self-will and our obtrusive vanity, it leads us to avoid giving uneasiness to others by thrusting upon them new notions or new modes of conduct, and makes it our ambition to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The pattern set by our Lord (John 13:15), both in washing his disciples' feet and indeed in his whole incarnate life (Philippians 2:7), was grandly imitated by the apostle himself (1 Corinthians 9:19-22), who in outward things habitually sacrificed the pride of independence and self-assertion, and the pride of apparent self-consistency, in his devotion to the spiritual welfare of men. He here preaches just what he himself practised.

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