Albert Barnes Commentary Galatians 5:5

"For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness." — Galatians 5:5 (ASV)

For we. We who are Christians. It is a characteristic of the true Christian.

Through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit. We expect salvation only by His aid.

Wait for. That is, we expect salvation in this way. The main idea is not that of waiting as if the thing were delayed; it is that of expecting.

The sense is that true Christians have no other hope of salvation than by faith in the Lord Jesus. It is not by their own works, nor is it by any conformity to the law.

The object of Paul is to show them the true nature of the Christian hope of eternal life and to recall them from dependence on their conformity to the law.

The hope of righteousness. The hope of justification. They had no other hope of justification than by faith in the Redeemer.