Monday, July 6, 2009

Liberty in Christ

Galatians 5:1 NASB
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1 KJV
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1 NLT
So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1 NIV
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.
Galatians 5:1 Wuest
For this aforementioned freedom Christ set you free. Keep on standing firm therefore and stop being subject again to a yoke of bondage.

The beginning of this chapter seems to sum up Paul's arguments he gives in chapter 4.
Let's sum up the points Paul makes for believers.
Who set us free?
Why did He set us free?
What do we need to do now?
To what do we need to avoid being subject?

The KJV uses "liberty" for "freedom." If you look up "liberty" for Gal. 5:1 in Strong's, you find #G1657. If you look it up, you find that this word in the Greek is "eleutheria," and it comes from "eleutheros," which means "unrestrained (to go at pleasure), i.e. (as a citizen) not a slave (whether freeborn or manumitted), or (generally) exempt (from obligation or liability).
My NASB version has some cross references for this verse that also deal with "liberty." If you have time, read some or all of them and think about this liberty that we have in Christ.
John 8:31-32, 36; Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:17; and Galatians 2:4, 5:13

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