John Calvin Commentary Galatians 5:18

"But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law." — Galatians 5:18 (ASV)

But if you are led by the Spirit. In the Lord's way, believers are prone to stumble. But let them not be discouraged because they are unable to satisfy the demands of the law. Let them listen to the apostle's consoling declaration, which is also found in other parts of his writings (Romans 6:14): you are not under the law.

Therefore, it follows that the performance of their duties is not rejected because of their present defects, but is accepted in God’s sight, as if it had been in every respect perfect and complete. Paul is still pursuing the controversy about freedom. The Spirit is elsewhere (Romans 8:15) called by him the Spirit of adoption; and when the Spirit makes people free, he emancipates them from the yoke of the law.

As if he had said, “Is it your desire to immediately end the controversies in which you are now engaged? Walk according to the Spirit. You will then be free from the dominion of the law, which will act only as a kind adviser and will no longer restrain your consciences.” Moreover, when the condemnation of the law is removed, freedom from ceremonies necessarily follows, for ceremonies are a mark of slavery.