Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 5:23

"meekness, self-control; against such there is no law." — Galatians 5:23 (ASV)

“Gentleness” (GK 4559) describes those who are so much in control of themselves that they are always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time—e.g., Moses, who is praised for being the gentlest or meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3). This is the spirit in which discipline must be applied and faults corrected (Galatians 6:1). It is also the virtue for meeting opposition (2 Timothy 2:25) and for giving a Christian witness (1 Peter 3:15–16).

“Self-control” (GK 1602) is the quality that gives victory over sinful desires and is therefore closely related to chastity both in mind and conduct. This quality enables a person to live and walk in this world without getting one’s garments spotted by the world.

These are the qualities of the life that has been claimed by Jesus Christ and is led by the Spirit. “Against such things there is no law” (v.23b). The last clause is most likely an understatement used for rhetorical effect. The law, as Paul has said, was given to restrain evil; but these qualities do not need to be restrained. Hence, no law opposes them. There may also be a sense in which Paul is suggesting that the law cannot be against those who live in this manner because by being so led, they are in principle fulfilling all that the law requires.