Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 5:5

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

The essence of that message of the Gospel is now brought forward in the last full statement of the principle of justification by faith in this letter. Up to this point Paul has been talking only of the Galatians (cf. the pronoun “you”), warning them about what they seemed to be doing. Now he changes to “we,” emphasizing something like this: “But, on the other hand, we Christians do not choose legalism; rather, we wait in faith through the Spirit for the full realization of God’s righteousness.” Each phrase in this verse is important and has already been defined. “By faith”: this key word stands in contrast to human effort, as all should be aware from the arguments of chs. 3–4. “We eagerly await”: Christians wait for the full realization of their salvation. They do not work for it; they wait for it. “Through the Spirit”: this is a reminder of the electing grace of God in salvation. “The righteousness for which we hope”: this does not refer to that imputed righteousness the believer has in the present through faith in Christ’s death, but rather (in line with the ethical section to follow) to that actual righteousness in which believers grow and to which they will be perfectly conformed in glory. In the Bible, “hope” (GK 1827 & 1828) refers to that which, though certain, is not yet fully realized.