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Don’t Consume One Another
Galatians 5:12–15
Christians understand that those in the world do not submit to God’s authority or live by His standards (cf. 1 Cor. 5:10). As sad as it is, we are not surprised when non-Christians participate in sin, whereas non-Christians do not understand the holy life Christians attempt to lead (cf. 1 Pet. 4:4). In Christ, the Christian has chosen a new way of life and submitted to a better standard than the world (Eph. 4:17–32). How disconcerting it is, then, when Christians act like the world.
Paul addressed such a situation in his letter to the churches of Galatia. In this particular case, a group of Jewish Christians emerged, attempting to force Gentile Christians to submit to the Old Covenant practice of circumcision. These Judaizing teachers went so far as to suggest the Gentiles weren’t really Christians unless and until they were circumcised (cf. Gal. 1:6–7; 4:17; 5:2). In Galatians 5:12, Paul releases an explicit condemnation of the Judaizers’ behavior: I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
Paul follows this condemnation with a reminder of the way Christians ought to interact with one another (vv. 13–14). Christians should serve one another; this is the true fulfillment of the Old Law, truer than the obsolete practice of circumcision. The apostle then lays out the logical outcome for the Galatian Christians should they persist in their factious teaching, “if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (v. 15).
God’s people don’t wrestle with issues like circumcision in the 21st century. But sometimes, to our shame, we do bite and devour one another in other ways. We should not be surprised when non-Christians cut each other down, gossip and spread rumors, stab one another in the back, or make passive- aggressive comments to each other. On the other hand, when Christians participate in these activities, we are like the dog that returns to his vomit (cf. Prov. 26:11). We slip back into the dead ways of the world, for which we were condemned and for which Christ paid the price. As James so aptly put it, “My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (Jas. 3:10).
Dear Christian, let us take heed of Paul’s instructions in Gal. 5:13–14, lest we devour one another. When we are angry, frustrated, or disappointed with a brother or sister, let us love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us pause and reflect on what it means to treat others the way we would like to be treated. Then, let us take it one step further, and “through love serve one another.” Christians ought to treat one another better than those in the world do. Remember the words of the Savior in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Clay Leonard
