Galatians 5:9
ESV
A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
NIV
"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."
NASB
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.
CSB
A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough.
NLT
This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!
KJV
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
NKJV
A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
What does Galatians 5:9 mean?
Would Paul's readers think he was making too big of a deal out of the issue of circumcision? Earlier, the Galatians had accepted Paul's teachings (Galatians 5:7). They'd accepted that salvation was by faith alone, before being distracted by a claim that rituals and circumcision were also required (Galatians 2:4). Paul has asked the Galatians who was leading them astray. Paul was making it personal now, suggesting, in essence, that they name names. This man was a false teacher, and his teaching should not be allowed to stand among them.Paul now shares a familiar proverb meant to illustrate his point, and to show that his concern is not overblown. Leaven—or yeast—does not remain isolated in a single spot within a lump of dough. It spreads and becomes part of the entire loaf. In a similar way, false teaching and its consequences are never limited to just a few people in a group. It is either rejected—and removed—or it works its way into the thoughts and practices of the whole group. False ideas are contagious; they spread and take hold.
Paul desperately wants the Galatian believers to identify the false teaching about adding works to faith in Christ, so that they can remove it from among them.
Galatians 5:1–15 focuses on what those in Christ should do with our freedom in Christ. First, we must guard it, especially from those who would pressure us to follow the law. Paul was confident the Galatians would resist the one leading them in the wrong direction. Paul also warns us not to waste our freedom in Christ to selfishly serve ourselves instead of serving each other in love. The entire law is fulfilled in that one word: love. Those who serve themselves, though, will always end up in conflict with each other.
Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.
