Galatians 5:2-3 2Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
This statement seems a bit extreme in its implications. Paul is trying to get the Galatians to see the seriousness of forsaking their faith and reliance upon the grace of God in Christ. The way he expresses v. 2 and other verses in this chapter show how seriously he takes this. The opening of this verse is a bit awkward, as Paul attempts to get the readers’ attention. Basically, he is telling them to pay attention. He is giving an important statement and wants them to look carefully at it. By giving his name here, he shows that he is putting himself into this as well. This is not theory. This is essential doctrine.
His key point is that circumcision represents a whole way of life that is against the way of life of Christ. Circumcision represents the way of the flesh, the way of seeking to please God out of human effort. This is the same way of sin that deceives the flesh into doing things opposite of God’s will for us. The actions that come from sinful flesh lead to the same result as trying to be righteous by one’s own efforts. By accepting circumcision, the Galatians were alienating themselves from God’s grace and trying to be justified by God by human effort, which is impossible.
Verse 3 gives a further clue how Paul could make such a statement. He sees circumcision as representative of the whole law. A person who is circumcised essential makes one a Jew and part of the old covenant community. That person is then obligated to keep the Jewish law. This is the old system, which had been distorted by the Jews over the centuries. It was a departure from what God intended for the law, which was to point to the need for grace and then serve as the guide to holy living. The Jews had changed this to make the law as the means for righteousness before God. In Christ, the law is freedom from this distortion and once again can become the guide for holiness. As Paul will say in a few verses, the law is summarized in love. Everything else written in the law is a reflection of this core principle. Paul is arguing as one from within the old covenant community of Israel. He is calling the Galatians to see that God has a new word, even greater, that is the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham. Why go back to a system that failed and was never even intended to make one righteous? God has provided a new way that actually fulfills the old way.
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