Thomas Aquinas Commentary Galatians 5:18-21

"But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." — Galatians 5:18-21 (ASV)

After showing that through the Spirit we are freed from the desires of the flesh, the Apostle here shows that through the Spirit we are also released from the bondage of the Law.

He proceeds in two steps:

1. He mentions a benefit of the Spirit.
2. He demonstrates this benefit by its effects (verse 19).

He says, therefore, that if you walk in the Spirit, you will not only refrain from carrying out the desires of the flesh, but more than that, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. This happens when you do what the Spirit suggests as your director and guide, rather than what your sensual desires urge. As the psalmist says, Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land (Psalms 142:10)—not by compelling, but by guiding.

Jerome infers from these words that after the coming of Christ, no one who has the Holy Spirit is obligated to observe the Law. However, it should be recognized that the saying, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law, can refer to either the ceremonial or the moral precepts of the Law.

If it refers to the ceremonial precepts, then it is one thing to observe the Law and another to be under the Law. To observe the Law is to carry out its works without placing any hope in them, but to be under the Law is to place one’s hope in its works. In the early Church, some righteous men observed the Law without being under it, since they performed the works of the Law but did not place their hope in them. In this way, even Christ was under the Law: Made under the law (Galatians 4:4). Thus, Jerome’s opinion is excluded.

If, however, the saying refers to the moral precepts, then "to be under the Law" can be understood in two ways. First, regarding its obliging force, all the faithful are under the Law because it was given to all. As it is said, I have not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Second, regarding its compelling force, the just are not under the Law, because the movements and inspirations of the Holy Spirit within them are their guide. Charity inclines them to the very things the Law prescribes.

Therefore, because the just have an inward law, they willingly do what the Law commands and are not constrained by it. In contrast, those who would do evil but are held back by shame or fear of the Law are compelled by it. Accordingly, the just are under the Law in its obliging sense but not its compelling sense, while the unjust are under it in the compelling sense alone. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17), and the law, as a compelling force, is not made for the just man (1 Timothy 1:9).

Then, when he says, the works of the flesh are manifest, he proves his point through certain effects. He proceeds as follows:

1. He mentions the works of the flesh, which are opposed to the Holy Spirit.
2. He shows how the works of the Spirit are not forbidden by the Law (verse 23b).

Regarding the first point, he does two things:

1. He mentions the works of the flesh that are forbidden by the Law.
2. He mentions the works of the Spirit, which are not forbidden by it (verse 22).

Regarding this first point, he again does two things:

1. He enumerates the works of the flesh.
2. He mentions the harm that follows from them (verse 21).

Regarding the enumeration of the works of the flesh, two questions arise. The first concerns the Apostle’s inclusion of things that do not seem to pertain to the flesh, such as idolatry, sects, and rivalries, which he nevertheless calls "works of the flesh."

I answer that, according to Augustine in The City of God (Book 14), one who lives according to the flesh is one who lives according to himself. In this context, "flesh" refers to the whole person. Accordingly, whatever springs from disordered self-love is called a work of the flesh.

Alternatively, a sin can be called "of the flesh" in two ways. First, with respect to its fulfillment; in this sense, only sins fulfilled in carnal pleasure, namely lust and gluttony, are sins of the flesh. Second, with respect to its root; in this sense, all sins are called sins of the flesh, because the soul is so weighed down by the weakness of the flesh (as is written in Wisdom 9:15) that the enfeebled intellect can be easily misled and hindered from operating perfectly. As a consequence, certain vices follow from this, such as heresies, sects, and the like. In this way, it is said that the fomes (the tinder of sin) is the source of all sins.

The second question is this: since the Apostle says that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God, and since no one is excluded from the kingdom except for mortal sin, does it follow that all the sins listed are mortal sins? This seems unlikely, because the list includes many things that are not always mortal sins, such as contentions and rivalries.

I answer that all the sins listed here are mortal in one way or another. Some are mortal according to their genus, such as murder, fornication, and idolatry. Others are mortal with respect to their fulfillment, such as anger, whose fulfillment consists in harm to a neighbor. If one consents to that harm, it is a mortal sin. Similarly, eating is directed toward the pleasure of food, but if one makes such pleasure his ultimate end, he sins mortally. Accordingly, the Apostle does not say "eating" but "revellings." The same principle applies to the other sins of this kind.

A third point concerns the order of the list. It should be recognized that when the Apostle lists various vices in different texts, his intention is not to provide a complete and perfectly ordered enumeration according to formal rules. Instead, he lists those vices that are prevalent and excessive among the people to whom he is writing. Therefore, in these lists, one should look not for completeness but for the reason behind the specific selection and variation.

Having settled these questions, we should next observe that the Apostle lists vices of the flesh concerning things not necessary for life, as well as those concerning things that are necessary. Among the first group, he mentions vices a person commits against himself, then those against God, and finally, those against his neighbor.

There are four vices against the self, which he mentions first because they so obviously spring from the flesh. Two of these pertain to the carnal act of lust. The first is fornication, which is when an unmarried man and an unmarried woman engage in the natural act of lust. The second is uncleanness, which refers to a use contrary to nature: No fornicator or unclean... hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5); They have not done penance for the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness that they have committed (2 Corinthians 12:21).

The other two vices are ordered toward these acts. One is performed outwardly, through touches, looks, kisses, and the like; regarding this, he says immodesty: Who despairing, have given themselves up to immodesty unto the working of all uncleanness (Ephesians 4:19). The other is performed inwardly, through unclean thoughts; regarding this, he says luxury (or wantonness): When they have grown wanton in Christ, they will marry (1 Timothy 5:11).

Against God, he lists two vices. The first is that by which divine worship is hindered by the enemies of God; regarding this, he says idolatry: Neither become ye idolaters as some of them (1 Corinthians 10:7); For the worship of abominable idols is the cause and beginning and end of all evil . The second is that in which a pact is made with demons; regarding this, he says witchcraft, which is performed through magical arts and called veneficia in Latin (from "venom"), because it results in great harm to people: I would not that you should be made partakers with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20); Without are dogs and sorcerers (Revelation 22:15).

Against one’s neighbor, he enumerates nine vices, beginning with enmity and ending with murder, because the former leads to the latter.

1. Enmities, which are animosity in the heart or hatred toward one’s neighbor: And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household (Matthew 10:36).
2. Contentions, which are verbal disputes arising from enmities and are attacks on the truth with the confidence of shouting: It is an honor for a man to separate himself from quarrels (Proverbs 20:3).
3. Emulations, or rivalries, which consist in contending with another to obtain the same thing and arise from contention.
4. Wraths, the anger that arises when one is hindered by someone else pursuing the same thing: The anger of men worketh not the justice of God (James 1:20); Let not the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26).
5. Quarrels, which occur when anger of the spirit leads to blows: Hatred stirs up strifes (Proverbs 10:12).
6. Dissensions, which arise from quarrels. When they concern human matters, they are called dissensions, such as factions in the Church: Mark them who make dissensions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them (Romans 16:17).
7. Sects, which are dissensions concerning divine matters, that is, heresies: They shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them (2 Peter 2:1), and They fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming (2 Peter 2:10).
8. Envy, which follows from these and occurs when those with whom one vies prosper: Envy slayeth the little one (Job 5:2).
9. Murders, which follow from envy and can be in heart or in deed: Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15).

Finally, he mentions two vices that pertain to the necessities of life. One concerns drink; hence he says, drunkenness, meaning continual drunkenness: Take heed lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life (Luke 21:34). The other concerns food, regarding which he says, revellings: Not in rioting and drunkenness (Romans 13:13).