English Standard Version
Galatians 5:18
18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
- New International Version (NIV)But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
Context of Galatians 5:18
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Read all of Galatians 5Galatians 5:18 word by word
εἰ δὲ πνεύματι ἄγεσθε, οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόμον.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 5:18
- Galatians 5:16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- Galatians 4:6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
- Psalms 25:4Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
- Psalms 143:8Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
- Proverbs 8:20I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice,
- Isaiah 48:16Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
- Ezekiel 36:27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
- John 16:13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
- Romans 8:12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
- 2 Timothy 1:7for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
- 1 John 2:20But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
- Galatians 4:5to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
- Romans 6:14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Commentaries on Galatians 5:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18But, if ye be led of the Spirit - If ye receive again the Gospel and the grace of Christ, and permit yourselves to be influenced by the Holy Spirit whom you are now grieving, ye are not under the law - ye will not feel those evil propensities which now disgrace and torment you; but they must prevail while you are not under the influence of the grace and Spirit of Christ.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit - If you submit to the teachings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ye are not under the law - You are under a different dispensation - the dispensation of the Spirit. You are free from the restraints and control of the Mosaic law, and are under the control of the Spirit of God.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-26Verses 16-26 If it be our care to act under the guidance and power of the blessed Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the corrupt nature which remains in us, it shall not have dominion over us. Believers are engaged in a conflict, in which they earnestly desire that grace may obtain full and speedy victory. And those who desire thus to give themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit, are not under the law as a covenant…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18People guided by the Holy Spirit follow the Spirit's authority, not the law. They answer to the Spirit of God, not the law. Paul did not intend to justify breaking civil laws (see Romans 13:1–7; Titus 3:1; compare 1 Peter 2:13–17). He was talking about how to achieve spiritual righteousness before God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. "If ye are led (give yourselves up to be led) by (Greek) the Spirit, ye are not under the law." For ye are not working the works of the flesh (Ga 5:16, 19-21) which bring one "under the law" (Ro 8:2, 14). The "Spirit makes free from the law of sin and death" (Ga 5:23). The law is made for a fleshly man, and for the works of the flesh (1Ti 1:9), "not for a righteous man" (Ro 6:14, 15).Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 5:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Galatians 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries