Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Galatians Chapter 5
Metaphysically Interpreting Galatians 5:1
5:1For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
Metaphysically Interpreting Galatians 5:2-15
5:2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. 5:3Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 5:4Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. 5:5For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love.
5:7Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth? 5:8This persuasion came not of him that calleth you. 5:9A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 5:10I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. 5:11But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block of the cross been done away. 5:12I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision.
5:13For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. 5:14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 5:15But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
August 22, 1943: Gal. 5:13,14
How does the divine law as perceived by Moses compare with the law of Christ? The Mosaic law is largely negative in from, as is evidenced by “Thou shall not” often repeated. The law of Christ is affirmative: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor”.
Metaphysically Interpreting Galatians 5:16-21
5:16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 5:17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. 5:18But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 5:19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 5:20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 5:21envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
November 3, 1946: Gal. 5:13-18
To what vital truth should everyone hold fast? To the truth that life is of spiritual origin and is spiritual in essence.
How can a truth be recognized as fundamental? Whatever promotes purity of life and ideals is fundamental and is to be held fast at all cost.
What freedom ends by making us "servants on to another"? Spiritual freedom, which causes us to love others and serve their interests forgetting the interests of the personal self.
Metaphysically Interpreting Galatians 5:22-26
5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. 5:24And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. 5:25If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. 5:26Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.
September 30, 1906: Gal. 5:15-26
All that we find in the world without, we can also find within ourselves. We have been taught from our youth up of the dangers of intemperance, and it is almost a relief to have the subject changed to another battle-ground - the thought-realm within our own minds and bodies.
It is a fact of observation and experience that all the forces manifest in the world, originate in the unseen and invisible atmosphere. Out of apparent vacuity comes electricity, the mightiest force we know anything about. Out of that same invisibility comes the power that moves the body of man. We call it mind, but it is also force. It has the power and intelligence, in addition to many other qualities.
All of this proves that there is a world of potentiality all around us that we have not apprehended. This is especially true of our own faculties. We are trying to avoid temptations without, when the greatest source of danger may be within our own minds. “Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” There is no danger whatever of anyone being tempted if desire is lacking. It is the lust of the flesh that leads man to do those things which he ought not to do. And what is the remedy? “Walk by Spirit.” This will take away the prime cause of temptation and fortify us against all the wiles of the world. So there is no necessity of warring against the devil, nor fearing evil in all its alluring forms, if we are walking by the Spirit.
When man searches his own soul and finds the source of all his weakness, he is desirous of attaining mastery. Then is set up a protest by the fleshly appetites and they oppose the pure thought force that is sent into their midst by the Spirit. Contention is rife for a season and things seem to be worse than ever before. This is termed by some metaphysicians “chemicalization,” meaning that it is similar to the action of opposing chemicals. It is the war of true thoughts and error thoughts in consciousness, and all we have to do is to take sides with the Truth - that is, “walk by the Spirit,” and the right will prevail.
It is found that nervousness is a reaction in the nervous system, following excessive mental of physical exercise. Artificial stimulation is sure to bring depletion, under the physical law. this is the law of cause and effect, which pertains to the material world. But there dis a higher causing power that that obtained from food energy - which is called Spirit. This is what Paul refers to, “If ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
The works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit are so palpable that it is superfluous to rehearse them. No one contends that a good, pure life does not bring forth good fruits in mind and body, but where the lusts of the flesh have apparently been stronger than the Spirit, man has cried out for help and here it is. Affirm the power of the Spirit within your mind and body as a dominating mind-force, and you will “walk by the Spirit,” and be freed from the temptations of the flesh.
UNITY magazine.
August 16, 1923: Gal. 5:13-24
What is the character of the freedom referred to in verse 13 of our lesson for today? In the preceding verses of this chapter Paul argues for freedom through Christ from the bondage of rites and ceremonies, especially for freedom from circumcision. In Galatians 5:6 he says: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working though love.”
In verse 13 it is written: “Only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.” Explain. Rites, ceremonies, and laws for the conduct of Christians are necessary for discipline and, faithfully followed, hold sense consciousness in check. When the liberty of Christ is revealed and one discerns that it is no longer necessary for him to be bound to the observance of the church ritual, he is likely to go to the other extreme, letting license instead of the higher wisdom of Christ, lead him.
What rule of thought does Paul give to fulfill the whole law of righteousness? Paul gives the Golden Rule which Jesus taught through in a slightly different form: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.”
What metaphysical law is involved in the statement in verse 15: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another”? One who practices backbiting - secretly smirching the reputation of another - drives away his own good and causes a mental reaction that exterminates his own good thoughts.
What do we mean by the expression, “to walk by the Spirit”? To walk by the Spirit is to think love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self control.
Paul gives us a long list of the works of the mind of the flesh. Do we have bodily evidences of such thoughts? Yes. Uncleanness, lasciviousness, enmities, strifes, wrath, factions, divisions of the mind have their reactions in the flesh body. They bear the names of a thousand and one diseases; their consummation is death.
How shall we escape the law of sin and of death? The law of the Spirit, as given by Christ Jesus is the law of love. “Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
[Not dated]: Gal 5:13-25
In today’s lesson Paul speaks of freedom from the law. To what law does he refer? Many of the Galatian followers of Christ were Jews, who believed that their salvation depended upon their observing the rites of the Jewish religion, especially the rite of circumcision. In this lesson Paul was expounding his favorite text, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Real Christians do not live under manmade law but under grace. A higher mental and spiritual atmosphere envelops the whole life activity of those who put on Christ. All religious and natural laws, by reason of their inherent inefficiency, cease to affect the life of him who enters into the love of God, which is also called grace.
When a Christian rises into spiritual consciousness and feels his freedom, are his fleshly longings dissolved at once? No. Those who are developing Christ consciousness have to overcome fleshly desires. However, instead of blindly submitting to the desires of the flesh, or of making their overcoming ability “an occasion to the flesh,” they life up the “Son of man”, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.”
Paul taught that he who adopts a certain element of grace can free himself from the bondage of sin and from all hampering laws. What is this universal solvent? Love, when raised to universal expression, as described by Paul in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, proves itself sufficient to replace all manmade restrictions and rules of action. Verse 14 of today’s lesson sets forth the foregoing idea, in these words: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.”
How do we “walk by the Spirit”? We walk by the Spirit when we think and act with the one idea uppermost in our minds that we are striving do do the will of God.
Should we cultivate the thought that there is strife between Spirit and flesh? No. We should not build up a thought of strife anywhere, especially not in our own thought world. Jesus said, “Agree with thine adversary.” Animal trainers say that it is very much easier to love animals into obedience than to ship them into obedience. For the same reason a Christian metaphysician trains his animal nature to obey him through love. Firmness is necessary to such training, but resentment is not, nor is the fear of punishment.
How may we determine whether we re thinking through flesh consciousness or through spiritual consciousness? The answer to this question may be found in the Scripture text of today’s lesson: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, division, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings.”
What is the fruit of the Spirit? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.”
November 11, 1934: Gal. 5:13-26
Is preparedness for war the logical way to peace among nations? No, the logical approach to peace lies in thinking of the things that make for peace, and in working towards a better understanding of these things, rather than, in external defenses agains fear.
Did the World War accomplish its mission? On the contrary, absolute dictatorships have been established in several of the countries involved in it.
Why do we find it profitable to study ourselves in connection with the subject of peace? Because each of us finds within himself all that is found in the external world, and because we can understand our own reactions more accurately than those of other persons it is well to study ourselves in order to learn how to establish peace in ourselves and our world.
Where do all the forces in the world have their origin? All forces originate in God. Electricity, mind power, and all other evidences of force come out of this invisible Source.
“Walk by the Spirit.” What is the meaning of this command, and in what way does obeying it help us? To walk by the Spirit is to be governed by the right motives, and to follow the ideals of right and truth in all that we do. When we are guided by high motives we find all desire to yield to lower impulses dropping away from us. To walk by the Spirit is to fortify ourselves against every form of worldliness.
Is self-analysis an aid to peace? It is for man individually, and it would be for nations if they would practice it. When man searches his soul and understands the source of his weakness, he is led to the desire for self-mastery.
Explain why things seem to grow worse instead of better for the one who decides to fight the good fight. The one who undertakes to uproot old, established habits of the sense mind and to implant a higher spiritual habit, encounters the protest of the sense nature, and the battle is joined. Faithful persistence in the right course will bring him success.
Has nervousness any connection with the failure to know peace? The who who is not at peace with himself is subject to nervousness. The Christ Spirit of peace equalizes the action and reaction of the nerves and harmonizes all the forces of man.
What is a sure way to freedom from inharmony? Through keeping the law of love we realize freedom individually and collectively.
October 31, 1937: Gal. 5:16-24
How do we escape being disinherited of our divine birthright? We gain the riches that are rightfully ours through immersing ourselves in consciousness of the one life, devoting ourselves to thoughts and acts in harmony with that life and using our I AM power to justify our claim to diving sonship.
March 7, 1943: Gal. 5:19-21
What works should we learn to do habitually? Those which express the spirit that emanates the inner life of Truth and devotion to the highest.
December 17, 1944: Gal. 5:22-26
What proofs (fruits) of the Spirit are available to us as individuals? Expressions of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. Who ever exhibits these qualities in his daily living possesses and is possessed by the Spirit in the measure in which he expresses them.
Is the Spirit thus easily recognizable? It is recognizable instantly by those who knows its manifestations. There is no mystery or uncertainly about its indwelling.
Can we “live by the Spirit” yet and “walk” by it? A person can allow his feelings alone to absorb his faculties, remaining either too indolent or too different to express them clearly or fully. The Spirit is quenched by this subserviences to the opinions of others or by spiritual laziness. The Spirit is not a mood to be enjoyed selfishly; it is a motivating principle or power.
Is the person who has entered into spiritual consciousness in danger of losing his gains through selfishness? If not guarded against, the personal self may indulge in spiritual pride, so that its possessor grows vain of his accomplishments and development (vainglorious), feels fitted to urge his faith upon others, or perhaps conscious of his shortcomings, envied those who have advanced further than he has yet been able to do.
Transcribed by Tracie Louise on 12-04-2013
