“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. — Paul's triumphant declaration establishes Christ's redemptive purpose as eleutheria (freedom), a liberation achieved once-for-all ('apelutherōsen' — freed); yet the imperative follows: believers must 'stēkō' (stand firm, hold the line) against regression into 'zugos doulias' (yoke of slavery), i.e., circumcision and law-observance.
Church Fathers on Galatians 5:1
Have you wrought your own deliverance, that you run back again to the dominion you were under before? It is Another who has redeemed you, it is Another who has paid the ransom for you. Observe in how many ways he leads them away from the error of Judaism; by showing, first, that it was the extreme of folly for those, who had become free instead of slaves, to desire to become slaves instead of free; secondly, that they would be convicted of neglect and ingratitude to their…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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