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.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
In contrast to 2-4, Paul next states the true attitude of faith in 5, 6: 'We (believers) through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith'. This is the real heart, and the true nature, of the Christian religion. And, indeed, it represents a totally different order of existence from the realm of the law and its rites. It is another world (as Paul has already indicated in the illustration of Hagar and Ishmael in 4:20ff). Two things are said here, both emphasising faith: (a) 'We...wait for the hope of righteousness' (5). Believers are saved in hope (cf Romans 8:23-25). It is a sure and certain hope. But it is the consummation alone that will bring us perfect righteousness - cf Romans 8:30, '...them He also glorified'. This is the hope of the Christian. We do not work for it, we wait for it. It will surely come. It is ours now, in the promise! (b) What matters is faith (6). It is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, but faith that is the hallmark of the true Christian position. This statement should be compared with two other similar ones, in 6:15, which speaks of 'a new creature', and 1 Corinthians 7:18, which speaks of 'keeping the commandments of God'. Together, these three statements are a comprehensive definition of true faith and of Christian experience: new creation underlining the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, faith coming to effective expression in love, keeping the commandments of God representing the working of love. The threefold emphasis is one that is worthy of careful and earnest study.