For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
Parallel Translations
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For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
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For in Christ Iesu nether circucision avayleth eny thinge at all nor vncircumcision: but a new creature.
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For in Christ Iesus neither circumcision auaileth any thing, nor vncircumcision, but a newe creature.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Galatians 6:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
- Colossians 3:10-11 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.
- Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
- Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
- 1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
- Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- Revelation 21:5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Martin Luther 1535 · Public Domain VERSE 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth…
VERSE 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Since circumcision and uncircumcision are contrary matters we would expect the Apostle to say that one or the other might accomplish some good. But he denies that either of them do any good. Both are of no value because in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avail anything.
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Reason fails to understand this, "for the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." (1Co 2:14.) It therefore seeks righteousness in externals. However, we learn from the Word of God that there is nothing under the sun that can make us righteous before God and a new creature except Christ Jesus.
A new creature is one in whom the image of God has been renewed. Such a creature cannot be brought into life by good works, but by Christ alone. Good works may improve the outward appearance, but they cannot produce a new creature. A new creature is the work of the Holy Ghost, who imbues our hearts with faith, love, and other Christian virtues, grants us the strength to subdue the flesh and to reject the righteousness of the world.
Martin Luther — Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), English translation by Theodore Graebner (Zondervan, 1939) — public domain (U.S. copyright not renewed). Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 15. For in Christ Jesus. The reason why he…
15. For in Christ Jesus. The reason why he is crucified to the world, and the world to him, is, that in Christ, to whom he is spiritually united, nothing but a new creature is of any avail. Everything else must be dismissed, must perish. I refer to those things which hinder the renewing of the Spirit. “If any man be in Christ” says he, “let him be a new creature.” (2 Corinthians 5:17.) That is, if any man wishes to be considered as belonging to the kingdom of Christ, let him be created anew by the Spirit of God; let him not live any longer to himself or to the world, but let him be raised up to “newness of life.” (Romans 6:4.) His reasons for concluding that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any importance, have been already considered. The truth of the gospel swallows up, and brings to nought, all the shadows of the law.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any…
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Ver. 15. For in Christ Jesus] That is, in the kingdom of Christ.
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But a new creature] Either a new man, or no man.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Under the gospel state as settled by Christ, with…
Under the gospel state as settled by Christ, with reference to salvation, it is of no moment whether a man be a Jew or a Gentile; but whether a man be regenerated or not, and be renewed by the Holy Ghost, so as old things with him be passed away, and all things be become new. He had said the same, Gal 3:28; 5:6. See also 2Co 5:17. Under the law, indeed, there was something in circumcision, as it was God’s covenant in the flesh to that people to whom he gave it, and the uncircumcised were strangers to the covenants of promise, and aliens to the church of God; but under the gospel, circumcision and uncircumcision are of no significancy; God neither regardeth any for the former, nor rejecteth any for the latter, he only looketh at the heart and inward man, whether that be renewed and sanctified, yea or no.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here the apostle subjoins a reason why he gloried…
Here the apostle subjoins a reason why he gloried only in the cross of Christ, and not in those carnal ordinances and fleshly privileges of circumcision, &c. which the false apostles so much gloried in: namely, because circumcision, nor uncircumcision, neither the presence of that ordinance, nor the want of it, availeth any thing, as to our acceptance with Christ, and interest in him: but the new creature is all in all; a circumcised heart, not a circumcised foreskin, a renewed nature, a divine temper of mind, rendering us like to Christ; this will enable us to love him, and qualify us for living with him now in Christ Jesus.
That is, now under the Christian dispensation, under the economy of the gospel, neither the presence nor absence of this outward badge of circumcision will avail any thing to our justification before God: but that which was signified by circumcision, is the thing that pleased God; namely, the renovation of our nature, and becoming new creatures both in heart and life.
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Learn hence, That according to the terms of the gospel covenant, or Christian religion, nothing will avail to our acceptance with God, but the real renovation of our hearts and lives: Neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And as many as walk according to this rule,....…
And as many as walk according to this rule,.... Or canon; meaning not the canon of the Scriptures in general, which is the perfect rule, and only standard of faith and practice; according to which we are to walk, believe, and act; but either the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, the subject of this epistle, the truth the apostle had been explaining, vindicating, and confirming; and which to depart from, is going out of the way of truth; and an abiding by it, is walking in it; and is a good rule and standard, by which to distinguish between truth and error; for whatever is contrary to that article of faith cannot be true: or else the rule delivered in the preceding verse, declaring circumcision and uncircumcision to be of no avail in salvation, but a new creature; and to walk according to this rule, is to renounce all trust in, and dependence upon any outward things; to believe alone in Christ, for righteousness and life; to live by faith upon him, and to walk in newness of life, under the influences of his Spirit and grace:
peace be on them, and mercy. This is the apostle's godly wish, unfeigned desire, and hearty prayer for all such persons, be they who they will; Jews or Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised: by peace he means, a view of their peace with God, made by the blood of Christ; peace in their own consciences, which passes all understanding, and arises from a comfortable sense of justification by the righteousness of Christ, of pardon by his blood, and atonement by his sacrifice; and which is enjoyed in a way of believing; and also peace with one another, among themselves as brethren, which is a very desirable blessing: in short, it includes all prosperity and happiness, inward and outward, temporal, spiritual, and eternal: and by "mercy", he designs the love and grace of God, to sinful miserable creatures in themselves, which is the spring and fountain of all peace and prosperity; and which is displayed in the covenant of grace, and all the blessings of it; in the mission and incarnation of Christ, and redemption by him; in regeneration, forgiveness of sin, and complete salvation; and intends a fresh discovery, manifestation, and application of the mercy of God to his children; who often stand in need thereof, being distressed with the guilt of sin, or are under desertions or afflictive providences, at which time to have mercy showed them, is exceeding suitable and agreeable: when the apostle wishes these to be "on" them, it signifies that these blessings come from above, as every good gift does; that they descend as a cloud, and rest upon them, and abide with them, refreshing, comforting, and protecting them: he adds,
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and upon the Israel of God; which is a further description of the persons, for whom he prays for these blessings; and is not to be understood by way of distinction from them, but as an amplification of their character; and as pointing out the Israel, by way of emphasis, the Israel, or Israelites indeed, the spiritual Israel, as distinct from Israel according to the flesh; see Co1 10:18. The "Israel of God", or as the Arabic version reads it, "Israel the propriety of God"; which he has a right unto, and a claim upon; who are chosen by him, Israel his elect; who are redeemed by him, out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; who are called by his grace, and are styled Israel his called; who are justified in his Son, and by his righteousness; and for whose sake he is exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, to give them repentance and remission of sin; and who are, or will be saved by him, with an everlasting salvation; and is a name that includes all God's elect, whether Jews or Gentiles: though it may have a particular respect to such of the Israelites, or Jews, God had foreknown and reserved for himself; and who believed in Christ, and walked as new creatures, without confidence in the flesh. The Jews themselves own, that strangers, or proselytes, shall be called by the name of Israel; so they (b) explain Isa 44:5, latter part.
(b) Jarchi & Abarbinel in Isa. xliv. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain For neither circumcision is anything, nor uncircumcision - Neither…
For neither circumcision is anything, nor uncircumcision - Neither of these is of any account. But a new creation - Whereby all things in us become new.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 15. In Christ Jesus] Under the dispensation of…
Verse 15. In Christ Jesus] Under the dispensation of the Gospel, of which he is head and supreme, neither circumcision- nothing that the Jew can boast of, nothing that the Gentile can call excellent, availeth any thing-can in the least contribute to the salvation of the soul.
But a new creature.] αλλα καινη κτισις. But a new creation; not a new creature merely, (for this might be restrained to any new power or faculty,) but a total renewal of the whole man, of all the powers and passions of the soul; and as creation could not be effected but by the power of the Almighty, so this change cannot be effected but by the same energy; no circumcision can do this; only the power that made the man at first can new make him. 1Co 7:19, and on "2Co 5:17".
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gal 6:15-16. For in Christ Jesus — (See on…
Gal 6:15-16. For in Christ Jesus — (See on Gal 5:6,) neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision — To prove that we are accepted of God, and possessed of genuine religion; but a new creature — Or, a new creation, described 2Co 5:17, where see the note, as also on Gal 5:6; where the same true and vital religion is termed, faith which worketh by love, implying the renovation of the whole man, by the power of the Divine Spirit, and producing universal, constant, and persevering obedience to God, or the keeping his commandments; which (1Co 7:19) is opposed to circumcision and uncircumcision, as here a new creation, and Gal 5:6, faith working by love, is opposed to these things. Compare these passages, and the notes on them, with each other. As many as walk according to this rule — 1st, Glorying only in the cross of Christ; 2d, Being crucified to the world; 3d, Created anew; peace be on them — That peace, which is the fruit of justification and a new creation, Rom 5:1. And mercy —
The source of that peace, and of every blessing enjoyed by fallen and sinful man, temporal or spiritual; and upon the Israel of God — That is, the church of God, which consists of those, and only those, of every nation and kindred, tongue and people, who walk by this rule.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For in Christ Jesus - In his religion; see…
For in Christ Jesus - In his religion; see the note at Gal 5:6.
But a new creature - The fact that a man is created anew, or born again, constitutes the real difference between him and other people. This is what Christ requires; this is the distinction which he designs to make. It is not by conformity to certain rites and customs that a man is to be accepted; it is not by elevated rank, or by wealth, or beauty, or blood; it is not by the color of the complexion; but the grand inquiry is, whether a man is born again, and is in fact a new creature in Christ Jesus; see the note at 2Co 5:17, for an explanation of the phrase “a new creature.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain But a new creature; but to be born anew,…
But a new creature; but to be born anew, to receive the spiritual life of grace. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain availeth--The oldest manuscripts read, "is" (compare Gal 5:6). Not…
availeth--The oldest manuscripts read, "is" (compare Gal 5:6). Not only are they of no avail, but they are nothing. So far are they from being matter for "glorying," that they are "nothing." But Christ's cross is "all in all," as a subject for glorying, in "the new creature" (Eph 2:10, Eph 2:15-16).
new creature-- (Co2 5:17). A transformation by the renewal of the mind (Rom 12:2).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 15. I make the cross all; for circumcision is…
15. I make the cross all; for circumcision is nothing, just as uncircumcision is. Uncircumcision is no condition of salvation, but a new creature, or, rather, creation; a renovation through Christ.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. See note on ch. Gal_5:6. There the all-important…
15. See note on ch. Gal_5:6. There the all-important thing is ‘faith working by love’; here ‘a new creature’; in 1Co_7:19, ‘the keeping of God’s commandments’. All these are essential—the being circumcised or not is in itself a matter of indifference. Why? Because the latter is an outward rite. It may be nothing more. But faith, regeneration, obedience—these are spiritual—and they are everything.
The words ‘in Christ Jesus’ are omitted in R.V., and for ‘availeth’ we have ‘is’. The change, for which there is ample authority, does not affect the sense.
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a new creature] The word so rendered here and in 2Co_5:17 originally had the abstract sense of ‘creation’, ‘the act of creating’—and from that, the concrete, ‘that which is created’, including the individual, and so = ‘creature’. It is to be observed that the same word is used of the calling into being of the material universe which is here (and elsewhere) used of the change which is produced in the individual soul by the operation of the Holy Ghost, when a man is brought out of a state of nature into a state of grace. Compare Mar_10:6; Mar_13:19; Rom_1:20 : and especially Rev_4:11 with Eph_2:10; Eph_4:24.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) In Christ Jesus.—These words are omitted by the…
(15) In Christ Jesus.—These words are omitted by the Vatican MS. and by the best editors. They would seem to have come in from the parallel passage in Gal_5:6.
Neither circumcision . . .—We have had almost the same words in Gal_5:6 and in 1Co_7:19. It is interesting to note the different ways in which the sentence is completed:—
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Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, butFaith which worketh by love (Gal_5:6).A new creature (Gal_6:15). Keeping the commandments of God (1Co_7:19).The first is an analytical statement of the process which takes place in the Christian; the second is the state resulting from that process; the last is the visible sign and expression of the presence of that state.
A new creature.—The Greek may mean either the “act of new creation” or the “person newly created.” The Authorised version apparently takes it in the latter sense, which perhaps is to be preferred.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor…
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (oute ga ti estin oute ajkrobustia ajlla kainhsiv); for neither is circumcision anything, nor un-circumcision, but a new creature (or, creation). The reading of the Textus Receptus, followed in our Authorized Version, is this: ejn ga ti ijscuei oute ajkrobustia ajlla kainhsiv. But by almost all recent editors this reading is replaced by the one given above. That estin is the true reading, and not ijscuei, all are agreed in thinking; ijscuei being regarded as a correction imported from Gal_5:6. The evidence for the rejection of ejn Cristw jIhsou, which is found in all the uncial manuscripts except the Vatican, is by no means equally decisive. The presence of those word sei Gal_5:6, where they are very suitable to the context, has with great probability been supposed to explain their being also found here, being introduced, like ijscu from the former passage, by the copyists; but here the qualification made by them is not so certainly required. The apostle felt it to be not merely true relatively, that is, for those "in Christ Jesus," but, since Christ died on a cross, true absolutely, that for salvation neither circumcision was aught, nor uncircumcision, but only a new creature. For the discussion of the terms of the aphorism as here stated, as compared with its form in Gal_5:6 and in 1Co_7:19, the reader is referred to the notes on Gal_5:6. The words kainhsiv may mean either "a new creature," or "a new act of creation making a man a new creature." It is hardly admissible to take ktisiv as "creation" in a collective sense, as in Rom_8:19; though this may, perhaps, be its meaning in 2Co_5:17, "If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation," that is (perhaps) he finds himself, as it were, in a new heaven and a new earth. Christians as such are elsewhere described by the apostle as the product of God"s creative hand; thus in hma, Eph_2:10, "For we are his workmanship (poi) created (ktisqentev) in Christ Jesus for good works." As "begotten again" (noi), (1Pe_1:23, ajnagegennhme) or "born anew", (ntev Joh_3:3, gennhqe anwqen) subjects of a "regeneration", (paliggenesia Tit_3:5) they must, of course, be the products of a new act of creation. in 2Co_5:14-18 the sentence, "If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation," or "he is a new creature," lies embedded in a passage which describes in language of remarkable intenseness the transforming influence of Christ"s death, wherever by faith it has been fully grasped. That passage, occurring as it does in an Epistle written nearly at the same time as the Epistle to the Galatians, leaves no doubt as to the ideas which in the apostle"s mind cluster round the term" new creation," mentioned, here too as in effect there, in close connection with the cross of Christ, his sole supreme glory. It points to the state of a sinner consciously reconciled to God by the death of Christ, and finding himself thus translated into the midst of new perceptions, new joys, new habits of life. new expectations. "The old things are passed away guilt, the overmastering power of sin, laborious effort after goodness frustrated after all and ineffectual, the servile routine of a dead unquickening ceremonialism: "behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself through Christ." The phrase, "a new creature," appears to have been used by the Jews to describe the change resulting in the case of a heathen becoming a proselyte. That was no doubt a great change; but far greater seemed to the apostle to be the transformation in the case of one translated from the bondage and darkness of the "letter" into the "newness of the Spirit". (Rom_7:6) lie had himself experienced how marvellously great as well as how blessed the transition was; and he has described it in glowing terms also in Eph_1:17-23; Eph_2:1-10. In the present passage the particle "for" seems to point back, not exclusively to ver. 14, but to the general tenor of the whole passage in vers. 12-14, as rebuking that great ado about circumcision which the innovators referred to were making in the Galatian Churches, thereby diverting the minds of those that listened to them from the Christian"s true business. This sense of the particle may seem somewhat loose; but it suits well the rapid, decisive, summarizing strain with which the apostle is now closing up his letter. The supreme concern, he means, for every one who wishes to be a member of God"s kingdom is that he shall realize in his own experience the "new creation;" alike in the freedom and joy of adoption which appertains thereto (ch. 4.), and also in that walking of the Spirit which includes the crucifixion of the flesh. (Gal_5:16-25) On this point we may compare Eph_4:23, 21 and Rom_12:2.
The fundamental fact in Christian life.
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This is regeneration. The Jew might find it in circumcision; the Gentile, in liberty; but "in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" Consider
I THAT CHRIST OBLITERATES THE MOST HIGHLY VALUED DISTINCTIONS,
1. In him the old separating distinctions are no longer in force. They have ceased to be. Jews and Gentiles are made one in Christ. They are fellow-citizens, of the same body, of the household of God. (Eph_2:19) They are made "one new man.
2. In him the old separating distinctions have lost all their value. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision ever availed anything for justification. The Jew might be ready enough to concede the point as to uncircumcision, but he would be offended to hear that his circumcision availed nothing. The sentence of the apostle cuts up by the roots all the ritualism of the Churches. Eating of meats, celibacy, holidays, are nothing; we are no better for abstaining nor are we the worse for eating.
II THAT THE FUNDAMENTAL FACT IN CHRISTIANITY IS REGENERATION.
1. This constitutes it an entirely spiritual system, in which the outer isnothing, the inward is everything. It is not a mere change of opinion, or of party, or of outward life. It is not of "blood; men may be noble by birth, but they cannot be holy by birth; "not of the will of man," as many a godly father knows by bitter experience as he mourns over the waywardness of ungodly children.
2. The new life originates in Christ. "If any man be in Christ, he is a newcreature". (2Co_5:17) The spiritual renewal springs from union with Christ. It is "not of the will of man," for man cannot change his own heart. Christ is our very Life. (Gal_2:20)
3. It is a new life; for it has new thoughts, new desires, new principles, newaffections, and stands in everlasting relation to the new name, the new song, the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth. The new birth, in a word, has ushered the believer into a new world.
A new creature.
I EXTERNAL RELIGION COUNTS FOR NOTHING. "For neither is circumcision anything. " Religion is wholly in the soul.
1. No rite has any value in itself. Nothing done to the body is of any religious account whatever. Neither is anything done by the body. A rite may be a symbol, and as such a means of grace; but St. Paul plainly teaches that it has no magical efficacy.
2. Ecclesiastical position is in itself of no importance. Circumcision was the seal of membership in the Jewish Church. Yet it was nothing. We may be members of the strictest sect, or we may hold high rank in the most august Church. But before God this is just nothing.
3. Doctrinal orthodoxy counts for nothing. Not that truth is unimportant. But the mere intellectual grasp of theological ideas leaves us where it finds us; and therefore if we go no further it is of no consequence whether those ideas are true or false. Conversely, to dispense with rites, to be in no Church, or to be unorthodox, is no condemnation. Neither, however, is it a merit, as some extravagant admirers of the idea of heresy strangely assert. If circumcision is not anything, neither is uncircumcision.
II THE ONE ESSENTIAL IS TO BECOME A NEW CREATURE. This great truth implies two others.
1. In religious matters the important question is as to what we are. It matters not what is done to us or what we hold. All of importance is in our own life and character. If we are not true and pure and self-sacrificing, if we have not the Spirit of Christ, all our orthodoxy, Church status, and ritual observances are an empty mockery. If we are thus Christ-like, any further question is irrelevant. The sole essential is then safe.
2. In our sinful condition we are not like Christ, but are so radically unlikehim as to need a complete, new creation before we can be in a right condition. The requisite change is so thorough that no ordinary religious influences will accomplish it. Circumcision is nothing, because what we want is nothing less than the crucifixion and death of the whole old life and the creation of an entirely new life. When this change has been accomplished, however, it is the evidence of its own sufficiency. It is impertinent to raise little questions of rites, etc., when the new man bears in each lineament of his countenance, in the very tone of his conversation, and in the bearing of his whole life, the princely character of a son of God.
III THE CHRISTIAN IS A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST. What circumcision symbolizes faith effects. (Gal_5:6) "By their fruits ye shall know them." The gospel of faith proves its claims by the results that it works. Nothing else can make men new creatures. The gospel can do this. For those, then, who are still in the old life of sin here is a warning and an encouragement.
1. A warning. Renewal is necessary.
2. An encouragement. Renewal is possible.
No painful rites have to be observed, no difficult doctrines comprehended, no strict Church entered. All that is wanted is union with Christ in faith. The way is simple and clear; it is not easy and painless, for it is by being crucified with Christ. But it issues in a glorious new life. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor…
Gal_6:15
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
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A new creature
I. What the apostle here means by the new creature. It is not a mere reformation, but a creation--not a partial, but a complete, entire, and radical change. This new creation is of God. It is--
1. Divine in its origin. Its commencement, its progress, its consummation, belong to God.
2. God has various methods in effecting this change. Here we might mention the afflictive dispensations of Providence; the admonitions and expostulations of friends.
3. It is a total and universal change. It is complete in its purpose.
II. In what ways this important change is discovered and manifested. It is the new world of grace, springing into existence with all its rich furniture, and increasing in beauty. The subject of this glorious change is led to the adoption--
1. Of new views. No new faculties are bestowed. There is what is called the eye of the mind, which is the faculty by which the mind views the objects presented to its notice.
2. In the new creation there is a change in the affections. These, it is true, existed before, but now they flow in a new channel, and are directed to other objects.
3. In the new creation new principles are implanted. The new creature is governed by the principles of the Christian religion. Love and gratitude to God, and benevolence to mankind at large. The principles of the new creature are gathered from his relation to eternity.
4. In the new creation there will be a new and holy life. There the change will be visible. By their fruits ye shall know them (see Eze_36:25-27; 1Jn_3:9-10). (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
The recreation of the soul
This world was created beautiful, and holy, and good. To understand, therefore, in any degree what this moral creation of holiness and God-life is, we must study the characteristics of the first material creation of this world. And that must be in a great degree its type and model. Now the first thing which we may notice in the creation of our system, as recorded in Genesis, is that the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity were all separately and collectively engaged. As then the first creation was the work of each Person in the blessed Trinity, so we are led to believe and feel sure that the moral and spiritual creation of any one soul must be by the whole Trinity. If we may say it reverentially, and venture into those deep mysteries, the Father wills, and plans, and ordains; the Son executes; the Holy Ghost applies and appropriates the restoration, the re-formation of the body and soul. Therefore in Trinity you receive it. Another feature which we may observe in primeval creation is that it was gradual and progressive. Six days it took, which some understand to be six years of time. First the inanimate, then the animate, then the rational, then the spiritual and immortal. Just so we must expect it to be in that new creation for which we look. We must, therefore, have patience. It is a gradual, a slow process. But, remember, it is a sure one. The selfish man will be full of sympathy and energy in good work with all around him. He who thought himself the first will be content always to be the last. The miser will be the generous man. He who seldom had God in his thoughts, and perhaps really never said a prayer, will be in constant communion with God, either silent or expressed. Where the world was once, holy things will be. Heaven and earth will change their places,--heaven being the substance, and earth the shadow. A new creature will testify to a new creation, and the Creator will be glorified. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The new creature
The particle but, in the front of my text, is exclusive and restrictive; it excludes everything in the world from pretending to avail anything, from being believed to do us any good. The substance of all the apostles discourse, and the groundwork of mine, shall be this one aphorism--Nothing is efficaciously available to salvation but a renewed, regenerated heart.
I. It is observable, that our state of nature and sin is in Scripture expressed ordinarily by old age, the natural sinful man; that is, all our natural affections that are born and grow up with us, are called the old man, as if, since Adams fall, we were decrepit and feeble, and aged as soon as born; as a child begotten by a man in a consumption never comes to the strength of a man, is always weak, and crazy, and puling, hath all the imperfections and corporal infirmities of age before he is out of his infancy. Now, the new principle, by which not the man, but the new man, the Christian lives, is, in a word, the Spirit of God; which unites itself to the regenerate heart, so that now he is said to be a godly man, a spiritual man, from the God, from the Spirit; as before a living reasonable man, from the soul, from the reason that informed and ruled in him; which is noted by that distinction in Scripture betwixt the regenerate and unregenerate, expressed by a natural, or animal, and a spiritual man.
1. Whence comes the new creature? From above. Since Christs ascension, the Holy Ghost, of all the Persons in the Trinity, is most frequently employed in the work of descending from heaven; and that by way of mission from the Father and the Son, according to the promise of Christ, The Comforter whom I will send from the Father.
2. Where does the new creature lodge? In the heart of man, in the whole soul, ruling and guiding it in all its actions, enabling it to understand and will spiritually. As the soul of man sees in the eye, hears in the ear, understands in the brain, chooses and desires in the heart; and, being but one soul, yet works in every room, every shop of the body, in a several trade, as it were, and is accordingly called a seeing, a hearing, a willing, or understanding soul; thus doth the habit of grace, seated in the whole, express and evidence itself peculiarly in every act of it, and is called by as several names as the reasonable soul hath distinct acts or objects. In the understanding it is, first, spiritual wisdom, and discretion in holy things; opposite to which is νοῦς ἀδόκιμος, an unapproving, as well as unapproved or reprobate mind, and frequently in Scripture spiritual blindness. Then, as a branch of this, it is belief or assent to the truth of the promises, and the like. In the practical judgment it is spiritual prudence in ordering all our holy knowledge to holy practice; in the will it is a regular choice of whatsoever may prove available to salvation, a holy love of the end, and embracing of the means with courage and zeal. Lastly, in the outward man, it is an ordering of all our actions to a blessed conformity with a sanctified soul. In brief, it is one principle within us doth everything that is holy--believes, repents, hopes, loves, obeys. And, consequently, is effectually in every part of body and soul, sanctifying it to work spiritually, as a holy instrument of a Divine invisible cause; that is, the Holy Ghost that is in us and throughout us.
3. When does this new principle enter? It comes into the heart in a threefold condition.
(1) As a harbinger, it comes to fit and prepare us for itself; trims up, and sweeps, and sweetens the soul, that it may be readier to entertain Him when He comes to reside; and this He does by skirmishing with our corruptions before He comes to give them a pitched battle; He brandishes a flaming sword about our ears, and, as by a flash of lightning, gives us a sense of a dismal, hideous state, and so somewhat restrains us from excess and fury--first, by a momentary remorse, then by a more lasting, yet not purifiying flame, the spirit of bondage.
(2) When the Spirit comes a guest to lodge with us, then He is said to enter; but, till by actions and frequent obliging works He makes Himself known to His neighbours, as long as He keeps His chamber, till He declare Himself to be there, so long He remains a private, secret guest. And that is called the introduction of the form, that makes a man to be truly regenerate, when the seed is sown in his heart, when the habit is infused; and that is done sometimes discernibly, sometimes not discernibly, but seldom, as when Saul was called in the midst of his madness, he was certainly able to tell a man the very minute of his change, of his being made a new creature.
(3) The third condition in which this Spirit comes into our hearts is as an inhabitant, or housekeeper. The Spirit, saith Austin, first is in us, then dwells in us: before it dwells it helps us to believe; when it dwells it helps, and perfects, and improves our faith, and accomplishes it with all other concomitant graces.
II. And for the necessity of renewedness of heart; to demonstrate that, I will only crave of you to grant me that the performance of any one duty towards God is necessary, and then it will prove itself; for it is certain no duty to God can be performed without it. For it is not a fair outside, a slight performance, a bare work done, that is accepted by God: if it were, Cain would deserve as much thanks for his sacrifice as his brother Abel; for in the outside of them there was no difference, unless perhaps on Cains side, that he was forwardest in the duty, and offered first. But it is the inside of the action, the marrow and bowels of it, that God judges by. Be the bulk and skin of the work never so large and beautiful to the eye, if it come not from a sanctified, renewed, gracious heart, it will find no acceptance, but that in the prophet, Who hath required it at your hands? In brief, the fairest part of a natural man, that which is least counterfeit, his desire and good affections to spiritual things (which we call favourably, natural desires of spiritual obedience), these, I say, are but false desires, false affections.
1. They have no solidity or permanency in the will, are only fluid and transitory; some slight sudden wishes, tempests and storms of a troubled mind, soon blown over; the least temptation will be sure to do it. They are like those wavering prayers without any stay of faith; like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
2. That being which they have is counterfeit; they are not that which they are taken for. We are wont to say that acts are distinguished by their objects: he sees truly which judges the thing to be that that it is. It is true, indeed, that another man sees that he takes blue for green, but he does not see truly; so also he only willeth a good thing that wills that in it which is truly good. Now the natural man, when he is said to choose spiritual things, as heaven, happiness, and the like, desires not a spiritual but a carnal thing: in desiring heaven, he desires somewhat that would free him from misery in happiness, a natural or moral good, that would be acceptable to any creature under heaven: and so a Turk will desire paradise, and that very impatiently, in hope that he shall have his fill of lust there. (Dr. Hammond.)
The new creature
I. Let us examine what is implied in a new creature. Four explanatory questions may, be asked upon this subject.
1. In what sense is a Christian a new creature? Is it a physical or a moral one? It is only a moral one. New faculties are not given him; but his faculties have new qualities and applications. Compare Paul after his conversion with Paul before his conversion: his body and soul, his learning and abilities, and the ardour of his disposition, continued the same; and yet, was there ever a being so different?
2. How far does this change extend? A new creed, or a new denomination, does not make a man a new creature. The new creation is not a change from vicious to virtuous only; but from natural to spiritual, from earthly to heavenly, from walking by sight to walking by faith.
3. Is this work produced instantaneously, or is it gradually advanced to perfection? Scripture describes Christians as going from strength to strength: as renewed day by day: as changed into the same image, from glory to glory.
4. Who is the Author of this new creation? Creation is a work of omnipotence, and belongs exclusively to God.
II. Observe what is to be inferred from its unrivalled importance. And, if in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature, this should regulate your inquiries--your prayers--your praise--your esteem, and your zeal. (W. Jay.)
The family title
The great difference between the bulk of professors and real Christians is this, the former are patched, and mended, and decorated, and ornamented, and transformed; nay, not transformed, but rather changed, or metamorphosed into the appearance of something that they are not. Will you bear with a familiar simile before I enter immediately on my text? Suppose that in some of our Sunday Schools the children had a doll that they had nursed and dressed very prettily, after their own fashion, and some one had beaten it, and bruised it, and torn its dress, and then painted it again, and put it on a new dress, they could not say it was a new doll, it would only be a mended one. This is just the character of religion in our day--it has no new life. What, then, does avail? A new creature.
I. The title of a real Christian. A new creature--a new creation--the workmanship of God. The prominent characteristic of this new creature is spirituality. It is the reigning principle, and it will manifest itself wherever he goes, whatever he does.
II. The household which all such new creatures constitute. The living Church of the living God. The Temple of Jehovah. The Body of Christ.
III. Their employments and their destiny. Now if God has made you a new creature, the first end and employment He has in view, is the glory of His own name. Ye are not your own, says the apostle, but ye are bought with a price--wherefore, glorify God in your bodies, and in your spirits, which are Gods. Again, Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God, giving thanks to His name. Look again, for a moment, at the very salvation of the soul itself. More ought to be said and taught about the perfections of Deity being glorified when I get home, than the mere fact of my escaping hell and getting into rest. The latter is glorious to me, but the former is glorious to Him. Moreover, among the employments, and the end of Gods new creation, is the obtaining of spiritual blessings. Are you, a new creature, employed thus in Gods vineyard? Then do you ask how every day is employed for such a purpose? One thing more, and I close--the destiny. I dwell upon that with especial delight, and it fires my soul with sacred joy. What is it? Why just to dwell with my God. I do not want any other explanation. I know I must enter heaven to understand it. (Joseph Irons, D. D.)
New creation alters the whole man
A new creature does not mean that one clothes himself differently, and puts on a different air from before; but it means the renewal of the mind which is brought about by the Holy Ghost. From that there follows an alteration of the outer life. For where the heart through the gospel obtains a new light, there it never fails that the outward senses also are altered. The ears have there no longer pleasure in hearing human dreams and fools tidings, but Gods Word alone. The mouth no longer boasts of a mans own works and righteousness, but of Gods compassion in Christ Jesus. This, then, is an alteration, which consists not in words, but in work and in power. (Luther.)
Source and result of new creation
This spiritual renewal springs out of living union to Christ, and it is everything. For it re-enstamps the image of God on the soul, and restores it to its pristine felicity and fellowship. It is not external--neither a change of opinion, party, or outer life. Nor is it a change in the essence or organization of the soul, but in its inner being--in its springs of thought and feeling, in its powers and motives--by the Spirit of God and the influence of the truth (2Co_5:17). This creation is new--new in its themes of thought, in its susceptibilities of enjoyment, and in its spheres of energy; it finds itself in a new world, into which it is ushered by a new birth. (John Eadie, D. D.)
A new creature.
Re-creation not merely reformation
There is such a thing as what we call reformation. This necessarily presupposes the indulgence in some bad habit, or the following in some wicked course of life. When it is said a man has reformed, it is well understood that he has abandoned his previous evil habits, and become a different man. And you may suppose this reformation to be so complete and radical, that the man may be regarded as being a new creature as touching all his relations to human society. He will, if he is thoroughly reformed, be a different husband, a different father, a different friend, a different member of society; and his influence, in all these relationships of life, will be for good. In this sense we understand what reformation is. He may be all this without becoming a religious man. He may be all this, and yet remain an absolute stranger to the renewing power of that Divine grace which alone constitutes him a Christian, and places him in a condition of safety before God. If we were to trace the origin of this reformation, we should see that it sprang from some prudential policy; we should see that the man had been influenced by the power of external relationships, or that such influences were brought to bear upon him, that he was enabled to realize the terrible end to which the course of life he was pursuing must inevitably lead. Or he may have felt the growing effects of these vicious habits, and that they were taking away even the power of self-indulgence, and the capacity for relishing forbidden pleasures. And so he changes his course of life. But that does not constitute him a religious man. Many mistake reformation for reformation, a new creation; but there is a great difference between the two. The change of which we have spoken does not constitute a man a new creature. It merely affects his relations with his fellow-men; it does not produce the slightest change in his relationship to God. He is no safer in his virtue than he was in his viciousness. If he is to be saved, he must be made a partaker of Gods renewing grace. (Wm. Y. Rooker, M. A.)
The non-essential and the necessary in genuine Christianity
I. The non-essential.
1. No ritualism is of any avail.
(1) Not even the most ancient.
(2) Not even the most Divine.
(3) Not even the most significant.
2. Not that ritualism is to be wholly condemned; but that it is of minor importance.
3. The same applies to the isms of men. Neither Catholicism nor Protestantism, Conformity nor Nonconformity, availeth anything. Christianity is
(1) independent;
(2) older;
(3) greater;
(4) sublimer than all denominations.
II. The necessary.
1. Unless a man is a new creation it matters not
(1) what theology he accepts.
(2) What ceremonial he observes.
(3) What church he attends.
2. Every man who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation.
(1) He has a new life, new loves, aims, hopes, fears.
(2) He has a new sphere.
(a) He is no longer materialistic but spiritual.
(b) Even the material in him is full of spiritual significance.
(c) He walks after the Spirit.
(d) His citizenship is in heaven. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The new creation
is--
I. Gods work and therefore--
1. Complete as being by the activity of the undivided Trinity,
(1) The Father (2Co_4:6).
(2) The Son (Eph_2:6).
(3) The Holy Ghost (2Co_3:18).
2. Present (Joh_11:25-26).
3. Glorious.
II. Effected by union with christ.
1. This is not--
(1) Membership in any ecclesiastical society.
(2) The mystic sprinkling of water.
(3) To be attained or tested by ritualistic performances or theological beliefs.
2. But by faith in Christ Jesus (Gal_3:26).
III. Not perfect, but is the beginning of a new life which is to grow to perfection. (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)
I. Negatively.
1. It is not a common work, but a creation.
2. No innovating humour.
3. Not the restraint of the old man, but something new.
4. Not moral virtue, and what we call good nature.
5. Not outward conformity to the law of God, but something inward.
6. Not a partial change of the inward man.
II. Positively.
1. A new mind--
(1) New apprehensions.
(2) New judgments and assents.
(3) New valuations.
(4) New designs.
(5) New inventions.
(6) New reasonings and thoughts.
(7) New consultations.
2. A new will.
(1) New inclinations.
(2) New intentions.
(3) New elections.
(4) New determinations.
3. A new heart, affections, etc. (D. Clarkson, B.D.)
I. The efficient cause of it--God (Eph_2:10).
II. The act--creation (2Co_5:17).
III. The effect.
1. New qualities (2Co_4:17; Col_3:10; Eph_4:23-24).
2. Gracious qualities.
(1) Not the natural endowments or moral qualifications, but
(2) Divine, and hence holy (Eph_4:24; Col_3:10).
IV. The subject--the whole soul, not one part or faculty (1Th_5:23). (D. Clarkson, B. D.)
New creations
I. Christ himself, a new Person: His Being and character were unique.
II. The world, by Christs advent: a new era: new thoughts, hopes, aspirations, possibilities, institutions, for the race.
III. The christian: the new man through Christs crucifixion: a new heart, view, purpose, interest, and attainment in life. (Dean Stanley.)
The Christian a new creature
There is a churchyard where the passenger who reads the inscriptions on the tombs, that stand up amid the long rank grass beneath the shadow of waving elms and an old gray steeple, will find one to surprise him; which, though quaint in form, I doubt not is true in substance. Here no angel flying through the heavens sounds a trumpet; no figure of old Time, with bald head, shoulders a scythe or shakes an hour-glass; no crossbones rudely carved, nor sextons spade, nor grinning skull, give point to the trite Memento Mori. Stranger still, the monument which is raised to the memory and virtues of one person bears the date of more than one birth: with long years between, it says, speaking in name of the dead, I was born the first time on such a day, and born the second time on such another day of another year. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Conversion more than restraint
A vicious horse is none the better tempered because the kicking straps prevent his dashing the carriage to atoms; and so a man is none the better really because the restraints of custom and providence may prevent his following that course of life which he would prefer. Poor fallen human nature behind the bars of laws, and in the cage of fear of punishment, is none the less a sad creature; should its Master unlock the door we should soon see what it would be and do. A young leopard which had been domesticated, and treated as a pet, licked its masters hand while he slept, and it so happened that it drew blood from a recent wound; the first taste of blood transformed the gentle creature into a raging wild beast; yet it wrought no real change, it only awakened the natural ferocity which had always been there. A change of nature is required for our salvation--mere restraints are of small value. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Chapter 29
Chapter 29
RITUAL NOTHING: CHARACTER EVERYTHING.
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Gal_6:15-16
VERSE 14 (Gal_6:14) comprehends the whole theology of the Epistle, and Gal_6:15 brings to a head its practical and ethical teaching. This apothegm is one of the landmarks of religious history. It ranks in importance with Christs great saying: "God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him, must worship in spirit and truth". {Joh_4:21-24} These sentences of Jesus and of Paul taken together mark the dividing line between the Old and the New Economy. They declare the nature of the absolute religion, from the Divine and human side respectively. Gods pure spiritual being is affirmed by Jesus Christ to be henceforth the norm of religious worship. The exclusive sacredness of Jerusalem, or of Gerizim, had therefore passed away. On the other hand, and regarding religion from its psychological side, as matter of experience and attainment, it is set forth by our Apostle as an inward life, a spiritual condition, dependent on no outward form or performance whatsoever. Pauls principle is a consequence of that declared by his Master.
If "God is a Spirit," to be known and approached as such, ceremonial at once loses its predominance; it sinks into the accidental, the merely provisional and perishing element of religion. Faith is no longer bound to material conditions; it passes inward to its proper seat in the spirit of man. And the dictum that "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision nothing," {Gal_5:6; 1Co_7:19} becomes a watchword of Christian theology.
This Pauline axiom is advanced to justify the confession of the Apostle made in Gal_6:14; it supports the protest of Gal_6:12-14 against the devotees of circumcision, who professed faith in Christ but were ashamed of His cross. "That Judaic rite in which you glory," he says, "is nothing. Ritual qualifications and disqualifications are abolished. Life in the Spirit, the new creation that begins with faith in Christ crucified-that is everything." The boasts of the Judaisers were therefore folly: they rested on "nothing." The Apostles glorying alone was valid; the new world of "the kingdom of God," with its "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," was there to justify it.
1. For neither is circumcision anything.-Judaism is abolished at a stroke! With it circumcision was everything. "The circumcision" and "the people of God" were in Israelitish phrase terms synonymous. "Uncircumcision" embraced all that was heathenish, outcast, and unclean.
The Mosaic polity made the status of its subjects, their relation to the Divine covenant, to depend on this initiatory rite. "Circumcised the eighth day," the child came under the rule and guardianship of the sacred Law. In virtue of this mark stamped upon his body, he was ipso facto a member of the congregation of the Lord, bound to all its duties, so far as his age permitted, and partner in all its privileges. The constitution of Mosaism-its ordinances of worship, its ethical discipline, its methods of administration, and the type of character which it formed in the Jewish nation-rested on this fundamental sacrament, and took its complexion therefrom.
The Judaists necessary therefore made it their first object to enforce circumcision. If they secured this, they could carry everything; and the complete Judaising of Gentile Christianity was only a question of time. This foundation laid, the entire system of legal obligation could be reared upon. {Gal_5:3} To resist the imposition of this yoke was for the Pauline Churches a matter of life and death. They could not afford to "yield by subjection-no, not for an hour." The Apostle stands forth as the champion of their freedom, and casts all Jewish pretensions to the winds when he says, "Neither is circumcision anything."
This absolute way of putting the matter must have provoked the orthodox Jew to the last degree. The privileges and ancestral glories of his birth, the truth of God in His covenants and revelations to the fathers, were to his mind wrapped up in this ordinance, and belonged of right to "the Circumcision." To say that circumcision is nothing seemed to him as good as saying that the Law and the Prophets were nothing, that Israel had no pre-eminence over the Gentiles, no right to claim "the God of Abraham" as her God.
Hence the bitterness with which the Apostle was persecuted by his fellow-countrymen, and the credence given, even by orthodox Jewish Christians, to the charge that he "taught to the Jews apostasy from Moses". {Act_21:21} In truth Paul did nothing of the kind, as James of Jerusalem very well knew. But a sentence like this, torn from its context, and repeated amongst Jewish communities, naturally gave rise to such imputations.
In his subsequent Epistle to the Romans the Apostle is at pains to correct erroneous inferences drawn from this and similar sayings of his concerning the Law. He shows that circumcision, in its historical import, was of the highest value. "What is the advantage of the Jew? What the benefit of circumcision? Much every way," he acknowledges. "Chiefly in that to them were entrusted the oracles of God". {Rom_3:1-2} And again: "Who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the lawgiving, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom is the Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever". {Rom_9:4-5} Eloquently has Paul vindicated himself from the reproach of indifference to the ancient faith. Never did he love his Jewish kindred more fervently, nor entertain a stronger confidence in their Divine calling than at the moment when in that Epistle he pronounced the reprobation that ensued on their rejecting the gospel of Christ. Lie repeats in the fullest terms the claims which Jesus Himself was careful to assert, in declaring the extinction of Judaism as a local and tribal religion, that "Salvation is of the Jews". {Joh_4:21-24} In the Divine order of history it is still "to the Jew first." But natural relationship to the stock of Abraham has in itself no spiritual virtue; "circumcision of the flesh" is worthless, except as the symbol of a cleansed and consecrated heart. The possession of this outward token of Gods covenant with Israel, and the hereditary blessings it conferred, brought with them a higher responsibility, involving heavier punishment in case of unfaithfulness. {Rom_2:17-29; Rom_3:1-8} This teaching is pertinent to the case of children of Christian families, to those formally attached to the Church by their baptism in infancy and by attendance on her public rites. These things certainly have "much advantage every way." And yet in themselves, without a corresponding inner regeneration, without a true death unto sin and life unto righteousness, these also are nothing. The limiting phrase "in Christ Jesus" is no doubt a copyists addition to the text, supplied from Gal_5:6; but the qualification is in the Apostles mind, and is virtually given by the context. No ceremony is of the essence of Christianity. No outward rite by itself makes a Christian. We are "joined to the Lord" in "one Spirit." This is the vital tie.
Nor is uncircumcision anything. This is the counterbalancing assertion, and it makes still clearer the bearing of the former saying. Paul is not contending against Judaism in any anti-Judaic spirit. He is not for setting up Gentile in the place of Jewish customs in the Church; he excludes both impartially. Neither, he declares, have any place "in Christ Jesus," and amongst the things that accompany salvation. Paul has no desire to humiliate the Jewish section of the Church; but only to protect the Gentiles from its aggressions. He lays His hand on both parties and by this evenly balanced declaration restrains each of them from encroaching on the other. "Was any one called circumcised?" he writes to Corinth: "let him not renounce his circumcision. Hath any one been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised." The two states alike are "nothing" from the Christian standpoint. The essential thing is "keeping the commandments of God" 1Co_7:18-19.
Christian Gentiles retained in some instances, doubtless, their former antipathy to Jewish practices. And while many of the Galatians were inclined to Legalism, others cherished an extreme repugnance to its usages. The pretensions of the Legalists were calculated to excite in the minds of enlightened Gentile believers a feeling of contempt, which led them to retort on Jewish pride with language of ridicule. Anti-Judaists would be found arguing that circumcision was a degradation, the brand of a servile condition; and that its possessor must not presume to rank with the free sons of God. In their opinion, uncircumcision was to be preferred and had "much advantage every way." Amongst Pauls immediate followers there may have been some who, like Marcion in the second century, would fain be more Pauline than the Apostle himself, and replied to Jewish intolerance with an anti-legal intolerance of their own. To this party it was needful to say, "Neither is uncircumcision anything."
The pagan in his turn has nothing for which to boast over the man of Israel. This is the caution which the Apostle urges on his Gentile readers so earnestly in Rom_11:13-24. He reminds them that they owe an immense debt of gratitude to the ancient people of God. Wild branches grafted into the stock of Abraham, they were "partaking of the root and fatness" of the old "olive-tree." If the "natural branches" had been "broken off through unbelief," much more might they. It became them "not to be high-minded but to fear." So Paul seeks to protect Israel after the flesh, in its rejection and sorrowful exile from the fold of Christ, against Gentile insolence. Alas! that his protection has been so little availing. The Christian persecutions of the Jews are a dark blot on the Churchs record.
The enemies of bigotry and narrowness too often imbibe the same spirit. When others treat us with contempt, we are apt to pay them back in their own coin. They unchurch us because we cannot pronounce their shibboleths; they refuse to see in our communion the signs of Christs indwelling. It requires our best charity in that case to appreciate their excellences and the fruit of the Spirit manifest in them. "I am of Cephas," say they; and we answer with the challenge, "I of Paul." Sectarianism is denounced in a sectarian spirit. The enemies of form and ceremony make a religion of their Anti-ritualism. Church controversies are proverbially bitter; the love which "hopeth and believeth all things," under their influence suffers a sad eclipse. On both sides let us be on our guard. The spirit of partisanship is not confined to the assertors of Church prerogative. An obstinate and uncharitable pride has been known to spring up in the breasts of the defenders of liberty, in those who deem themselves the exponents of pure spiritual religion. "Thus I trample on the pride of Plato," said the Cynic, as he trod on the philosophers sumptuous carpets; and Plato justly retorted, "You do it with greater pride."
The Apostle would fain lift his readers above the level of this legalist contention. He bids them dismiss their profitless debates respecting the import of circumcision, the observance of Jewish feasts and Sabbaths. These debates were a mischief in themselves, destroying the Churchs peace and distracting mens minds from the spiritual aims of the Gospel; they were fatal to the dignity and elevation of the Christian life. When men allow themselves to be absorbed by questions of this kind, and become Circumcisionist or Uncircumcisionist partisans, eager Ritualists or Anti-ritualists, they lose the sense of proportion in matters of faith and the poise of a conscientious and charitable judgment. These controversies preeminently "minister questions" to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers, instead of furthering "the dispensation of God, which is in faith." {1Ti_1:4} They disturb the City of God with intestine strife, while the enemy thunders at the gates. Could we only let such disputes alone, and leave them to perish by inanition! So Paul would have the Galatians do; he tells them that the great Mosaic rite is no longer worth defending or attacking. The best thing is to forget it.
2. What then has the Apostle to put in the place of ritual, as the matter of cardinal importance and chief study in the Church of Christ? He presents to view a new creation.
It is something new that he desiderates. Mosaism was effete. The questions arising out of it were dying, or dead. The old method of revelation which dealt with Jew and Gentile as different religious species, and conserved Divine truth by a process of exclusion and prohibition, had served its purpose. "The middle wall of partition was broken down." The age of faith and freedom had come, the dispensation of grace and of the Spirit. The Legalists minimised. They practically ignored the significance of Calvary. Race-distinctions and caste-privileges were out of keeping with such a religion as Christianity. The new creed set up a new order of life, which left behind it the discussions of rabbinism and the formularies of the legal schools as survivals of bygone centuries.
The novelty of the religion of the gospel was most conspicuous in the new type of character that it created. The faith of the cross claims to have produced not a new style of ritual, a new system of government, but new men. By this product it must be judged. The Christian is the "new creature" which it begets.
Whatever Christianity has accomplished in the outer world-the various forms of worship and social life in which it is embodied, the changed order of thought and of civilisation which it is building up-is the result of its influence over the hearts of individual men. Christ, above all other teachers, addressed Himself directly to the heart, whence proceed the issues of life. There His gospel establishes its seat. The Christian is the man with a "new heart." The prophets of the Old Testament looked forward to this as the essential blessing of religion, promised for the Messianic times. {Heb_8:8-13} Through them the Holy Spirit uttered His protest against the mechanical legalism to which the religion of the temple and the priesthood was already tending. But this witness had fallen on deaf ears; and when Christ proclaimed, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing," when He said, "The things that defile a man come out of his heart," he preached revolutionary doctrine. It is the same principle that the Apostle vindicates. The religion of Christ has to do in the first place with the individual man, and in mart with his heart.
What then, we further ask, is the character of this hidden man of the heart, "created anew in, Christ Jesus"? Our Epistle has given us the answer. In him "faith working by love" takes the place of circumcision and uncircumcision-that is, of Jewish and Gentile ceremonies and moralities, powerless alike to save. {Gal_5:6} Love comes forward to guarantee the "fulfilling of the. law," whose fulfilment legal sanctions failed to secure. {Gal_5:14} And the Spirit of Christ assumes His sovereignty in this work of new creation, calling into being His array of inward graces to. supersede the works of the condemned flesh that no longer rules in the nature of Gods redeemed sons. {Gal_5:16-24}
The Legalists, notwithstanding their idolatry of the law, did not keep it. So the Apostle has said, without fear of contradiction (Gal_6:13). But the men of the Spirit, actuated by a power above law, in point of fact do keep it, and "laws righteousness is fulfilled" in them. {Rom_8:3-4} This was a new thing in the earth. Never had the law of God been so fulfilled, in its essentials, as it was by the Church of the Crucified. Here were men who truly "loved God with all their soul and strength, and their neighbour as themselves." From Love the highest down to Temperance the humblest, all "the fruit of the. Spirit" in its clustered perfection flourished in their lives. Jewish discipline and Pagan culture were both put to shame by this "new creation" of moral virtue. These graces were produced not in select instances of individuals favoured by nature, in souls disposed to goodness, or after generations of Christian discipline; but in multitudes of men of every grade of life-Jews and Greeks, slaves and freemen, wise and unwise-in those who had been steeped in infamous vices, but were now "washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
Such regenerated men were the credentials of Pauls gospel. As he looked on his Corinthian converts, drawn out of the very sin of heathen corruption, he could say, "The seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord." The like answer Christianity has still to give to its questioners. If it ever ceases to render this answer, its day is over; and all the strength of its historical and philosophical evidences will not avail it. The Gospel is "Gods power unto salvation"-or it is nothing!
Such is Pauls canon, as he calls it in Gal_6:16 -the rule which applies to the faith and practice of every Christian man, to the pretensions of all theological and ecclesiastical systems. The true Christianity, the true churchmanship, is that which turns bad men into good, which transforms the slaves of sin into the sons of God. A true faith is a saving faith. The "new creation" is the sign of the Creators presence. It is God "who quickeneth the dead". {Rom_4:17}
When the Apostle exalts character at the expense of ceremonial, he does this in a spirit the very opposite of religious indifference. His maxim is far removed from that expressed in. the famous couplet of Pope:
"For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; His cant be wrong whose life is in the right."
The gospel of Christ is above all things a mode of faith. The "new creature" is a son of God, seeking to be like God. His conception of the Divine character and of his own relationship thereto governs his whole life. His "life is in the right," because his heart is right with God. All attempts to divorce morality from religion, to build up society on a secular and nonreligious basis, are indeed foredoomed to failure. The experience of mankind is against them. As a nations religion has been, so its morals. The ethical standard in its rise or fall, if at some interval of time, yet invariably, follows the advance or decline of spiritual faith. For practical purposes, and for society at large, religion supplies the mainspring of ethics. Creed is in the long run the determinant of character. The question with the Apostle is not in the least whether religion is vital to morals; but whether this or that formality is vital to religion.
One cannot help wondering how Paul would have applied his canon to the Church questions of our own day. Would he perchance have said, "Episcopacy is nothing, and Presbyterianism is nothing; -but keeping the commandments of God"? Or might he have interposed in another direction, to testify that "Church Establishments are nothing, and Disestablishment is nothing; charity is the one thing needful?" Nay, can we even be bold enough to imagine the Apostle declaring, "Neither Baptism availeth anything, nor the Lords Supper availeth anything, -apart from the faith that works by love"? His rule at any rate conveys an admonition to us when we magnify questions of Church ordinance and push them to the front, at the cost of the weightier matters of our common faith. Are there not multitudes of Romanists on the one hand who have, as we believe, perverted sacraments, and Quakers on the other hand who have no sacraments, but who have, notwithstanding, a penitent, humble, loving faith in Jesus Christ? And their faith saves them: who will doubt it? Although faith must ordinarily suffer, and does in our judgment manifestly suffer, when deprived of these appointed and most precious means of its expression and nourishment. But what authority have we to forbid to such believers a place in, the Body of Christ, in the brotherhood of redeemed souls, and to refuse them the right hand of fellowship, "who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we"? "It is the Spirit that beareth witness": who is he that gainsayeth? Grace is more than the means of grace.
"And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be on them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." Here is an Apostolic benediction for every loyal Church. The "walk" that the Apostle approves is the measured, even pace, the steady march of the redeemed host of Israel. On all who are thus minded, who are prepared to make spiritual perfection the goal of their endeavours for themselves and for the Church, Paul. invokes Gods peace and mercy.
Peace is followed by the mercy which guards and restores it. Mercy heals backslidings and multiplies pardons. She loves to bind up a broken heart, or a rent and distracted Church. Like the pillar of fire and cloud in the wilderness, this twofold blessing rests day and night upon the tents of Israel. Through all their pilgrimage it attends the children of Abraham, who follow in the steps of their fathers faith.
With this tender supplication Paul brings his warnings and dissuasives to an end. For the betrayers of the cross he has stern indignation and alarms of judgment. Towards his children in the faith nothing but peace and mercy remains in his heart. As an evening calm shuts In a tempestuous day, so this blessing concludes the Epistle so full of strife and agitation. We catch in it once more the chime of the old benediction, which through all storm and peril ever rings in ears attuned to its note: Peace shall be upon Israel. {Psa_125:5}
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 15–18. In Christ Jesus. See note on 5:6. Circumcision…
15–18. In Christ Jesus. See note on 5:6. Circumcision in itself is a matter of indifference. To be a new creature, neither Jew nor Gentile, but a child of God is essential.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a…
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature . [I glory in this cross of death from which I have been born again, a new creature in Christ, because, in this new dispensation of Christ's, former things have lost their value. As a Jew I once held myself superior to Gentiles, and despised them ; and had I been of the Gentiles I would, no doubt, have looked at things from their standpoint, and so I should have looked with contempt upon the Jews; but in Christ I have died to all this worldly pride, for in his dispensation there is no advantage or profit in the circumcision which makes a Jew, or the lack of it which makes a Gentile. The whole profit lies in being born again from either of these states ( Joh_3:3 ) so as to become a child of grace, a recipient of justification, an heir of God.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6:15 The Galatians had missed the point of the…
6:15 The Galatians had missed the point of the Good News, that a new creation has come in Christ by the Spirit, not by human effort (cp. 2 Cor 5:16-17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.