Serve One Another

Main Idea: Christ has set us free, not to serve ourselves, but to serve one another through love, empowered by His Spirit and His example.   

I. Called to Freedom (5:13)
Romans 6:18, 22, 8:1-4, 1 Peter 2:16  

II. Through Love (5:13-14)
Philippians 2:3-8, Mark 10:43-45, Ezekiel 36:26-27, John 13:1-5, Romans 13:10

III. Serve or Devour (5:15)
Luke 9:56, Ephesians 4:15, Romans 12:21, John 15:4-5, Galatians 5:22, 1 John 4:19, Jude 3   

Summary: Paul says the call in Galatians 5:13-15 is freedom, but not freedom for the flesh. The text frees in order to love, and then turns love into action: through love, serve one another. The gospel does not land in either ditch. Legalism climbs a mountain of rules to reach God. License shrugs and does whatever it wants. The gospel walks a narrow middle, saved by grace alone and made new so that grace works through love. 

Romans 8 declares no condemnation. That verdict is not just legal relief, it is relational freedom. Christ bore condemnation so that his people could walk by the Spirit. Everyone will serve something. The law will enslave and the flesh will enslave. Christ alone frees by making slaves of righteousness. Romans 6 says being set free from sin means becoming slaves of God, a slavery whose fruit is sanctification and whose end is life. 

John Berridge put it well: run John run the law commands, but it lends no feet or hands. The gospel bids fly and lends wings. The Spirit gives what the command requires. So Peter’s call fits here too: live as free people, not using freedom as a cover for evil, but as servants of God. Or as Warren Wiersby put it, liberty minus love equals license. 

Paul presses the motive. Through love, serve one another. The word is stark: be slaves to one another. That is voluntary and costly, but love is the fuel in the tank. When love is the motivation, duty becomes delight. Christ is both the model and the power. Philippians 2 lays out the mind of Christ, counting others more significant. Mark 10 names true greatness as becoming a servant, a slave of all. John 13 shows the towel and basin. The Lord of heaven is not too high to wash dirty feet. 

Then the warning lands. If love does not rule, the flesh will fill the vacuum. Biting and devouring will follow. Christian cannibals will consume the very body they were meant to nourish. The answer is not try harder. The flesh cannot produce what the Spirit requires. The answer is abide. John 15 says fruit comes by remaining in the vine. The life that has been infinitely served by Christ will serve. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 begins with love and spills out as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Christ’s love fuels, his life models, and his Spirit supplies. Freedom is not for hoarding. Freedom is for others. God first, others second, I am third.