“Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Paul completes the fruit with meekness and self-control, adding the revolutionary claim: 'kata tōn toioutōn ouk estin nomos' (against such things there is no law), i.e., the law is unnecessary where Spirit-fruit abounds; virtue driven by the Spirit transcends law's restrictive function.
Church Fathers on Galatians 5:23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” He says not, “the work of the Spirit,” but, “the fruit of the Spirit.” Is the soul, however, superfluous? The flesh and the Spirit are mentioned, but where is the soul? Is he discoursing of beings without a soul? For if the things of the flesh be evil, and those of the Spirit good, the soul must be superfluous. By no means, for the mastery of the passions belongs to her, and concerns her; and being placed amid vice and…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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