Commentary on Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians Timothy Titus and Philemon John Calvin
CHAPTER 5
as a sacred bond of union; but, for that very reason, no distinction is here made between friend and foe, nor can the wickedness of men set aside the right of nature.
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself''. The love which men naturally cherish toward themselves ought to regulate our love of our neighbor. All the doctors of the Sorbonne 101 are in the habit of arguing that, as the rule is superior to what it directs, the love of ourselves must always hold the first rank. This is not to interpret, but to subvert our Lord's words. They are asses, and have not even a spark of the love of their neighhour; for if the love of ourselves were the rule, it would follow that it is proper and holy, and is the object of the divine approbation. But we shall never love our neighbors with sincerity, according to our Lord's intention, till we have corrected the love of ourselves. The two affections are opposite and contradictory; for the love of ourselves leads us to neglect and despise others, --- produces cruelty, covetousness, violence, deceit, and all kindred vices, --- drives us to impatience, and arms us with the desire of revenge. Our Lord therefore enjoins that it be changed into the love of our neighbor.
15. But if ye bite and devour one another. From the nature of the subject, as well as from the language employed, we may conjecture that the Galatians had disputes among themselves; for they differed about doctrine. The apostle now demonstrates, from the result, how destructive such proceedings in the church must ultimately prove to be. False doctrine was probably a judgment from heaven upon their ambition, pride, and other offenses. This may be concluded from what frequently happens in the divine dispensations, as well as from an express declaration by the hand of Moses.
shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.'' (Deuteronomy 13:3.)
By biting and devouring 102 he means, I think, slanders, accusations, re-
101The College of the Sorbonne, in Paris, takes its name from Robert de Serbonne, who founded it in the middle of the thirteenth century. Its reputation for theological learning, philosophy, classical literature, and all that formerly constituted a liberal education, was deservedly high. In the Doctors of the Sorbonne the Reformation found powerful adversaries. The very name of this university, to which the greatest scholars in Europe were accustomed to pay deference, would be regarded by the multitude with blind veneration. If such men as Calvin, Beza, Melanchthon, and Luther, were prepared by talents and acquirements of the first order to brave the terrors of that name, they must have frequently lamented its influence on many of their hearers. Yet our author meets undaunted this formidable array, and enters the field with the full assurance of victory. Despising, as we naturally do, the weak superstitions and absurd tenets held by the Church of Rome, we are apt to underrate our obligations to the early champions of the Reformed faith, who encountered, with success, those veteran warriors, and 'contended earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.' (Jude 1:3.)" — Ed.
102{Ταῖς} {λέξεσι} {δὲ} {ἐμφαντικῶς} {ἐχρήσατο}· {Οὐ} {γὰρ} {εἶπε} {δάκνετε}, {μόνον} {ὅπερ} {ἐστὶ} {φυμονμένου} {ἀλλὰ} {καὶ} {κατεσθίετε} {ὅπερ} {ἔστιν} {ἐμμένοντος} {τὣ} {πονηρίᾳ}· {ὁ} {μὲν} {γὰρ} {δάκνων} {ὀργὢς} {ἐπλήρωσε} {πάθος} {ὁ} {δὲ} {κατεσθίων} {θηριωδίας} {ἐσχάτης} {παρέσχεν} {ἀπόδειξιν}·. ``These words are used by him emphatically; for he did not merely say `Bite,' which denotes an angry person, but likewise, `Devour,' which denotes one who persists in wickedness. He who `bites' has exhausted his angry passion, but he who `devours' has given a demonstration of extreme cruelty.'' --- Chrysostom.