How is the whole law fulfilled in loving the neighbour?

Explanation:

Paul says that the whole law is fulfilled in the command to love your neighbour as yourself. It is important to note that Paul says that law is fulfilled by loving your neighbour. That is because he distinguishes between doing and fulfilling the law.^2,3,4 For example, in Galatians 3:10 he says that those who rely on the works of the law are cursed because cursed is everyone who does not do the whole law. Further, in Galatians 3:12 Paul says that the law is not by faith, but those who live by the law do the law. Similarly, in Romans 10:5 Paul says the righteousness that comes from the law has to do with doing the law.⁵

On the other hand, Paul also discusses the notion of fulfilling the law. He says that the one who loves his neighbour fulfills the law (Galatians 5:14). In Romans 8:4 he says that the requirements of the law are fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit. And in Romans 13:8 he explains that the one who loves fulfills the law. So there is a difference between doing the law and fulfilling it. So what is the significance of this difference in the context of Galatians 5:14?

We know from Galatians 5:3 that the one who gets circumcised is bound to keep or do the whole law. Thus, the one who gets circumcised commits to a list of laws that must be kept in order to be justified before God. On the other hand, those who love their neighbours fulfill the whole law. In other words, the result of circumcision is the requirement to obey a set of precepts, while the result of loving one’s neighbour is the fulfillment of the whole law.⁶

Counterargument:

While it might be that there is a difference between doing and fulfilling in Paul’s writing, the difference is because Paul has a special salvation-historical meaning in mind when he uses the term fulfilling. Oftentimes New Testament writes use the term fulfill to indicate that the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Christ. For example, in Matthew 5:17, Jesus says that he came to fulfill the law, and in Mark 1:15 he explains that the time is fulfilled because the kingdom is at hand. Thus, the verb to fulfill has a special salvation-historical meaning with eschatological significance. With this in mind, we should take Paul to mean not that loving one’s neighbour fulfills the love command, but instead, because the law has been fulfilled, the love command results.⁷

Response to counterargument:

There are two problems with this counterargument. First, the verb for to fulfill is used approximately eighty-eight times in the New Testament, and in many instances, it does not carry a salvation-historical meaning. The fact is, the verb behind to fulfill is a fairly common and flexible Greek verb that is used to denote a variety of things. This means that one must determine the meaning of the verb from the context in which it is being used.

Second, this counterargument wants us to paraphrase Paul in the following way: The whole law has been fulfilled, so love your neighbour as yourself. The problem with this paraphrase is that it does not do just to the grammar of Galatians 5:14. Paul does not say the whole law has been fulfilled. Rather, he says, The whole law is/has been fulfilled in one word, and what follows is the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. The grammar commits us to the notion that loving one’s neighbour is what does the fulfilling of the law. Thus, Paul does not say the law was fulfilled, therefore love your neighbour. Rather, he says, by loving your neighbour you fulfill the law.

Explanation:

Paul says, The whole law is fulfilled in one word, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The quote is a replica of the Septuagint version of Leviticus 19:18. To understand what Paul means, we do well to notice that Paul opens Galatians 5:14 with the conjunction for. This conjunction indicates that what Paul says in Galatians 5:14 connects with his previous comment in Galatians 5:13.^8,9 That is where he explains to the Galatians that they were called to freedom in Christ (not enslavement to the law), and that they should use their freedom to serve one another in love. And what is the result of the Galatians serving one another in love? The result is that they will fulfill the whole law, for the law is fulfilled in one word: Love your neighbor as yourself.¹⁰

Counterargument:

Paul has just explained that if the Galatians desire to get circumcised they are required to uphold the whole law (Galatians 5:3). The problem of course is that because no one can uphold the whole law, commitment to the law brings one under a curse (Galatians 3:10). So why would Paul now suggest that the Galatians ought to love one another in order to fulfill the whole law? This seems like contradictory advice.¹¹

Response to counterargument:

Paul is not saying that the Galatians ought to commit to the law, including loving one’s neighbour as oneself. Rather, Paul is saying that when one loves one’s neighbour, the law has been fulfilled. Paul does not encourage the Galatians to follow the law, but he encourages them to respond to Christ’s love by loving their neighbours. For by loving their neighbours, the requirements of the law are fulfilled.¹²

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. The possible weakness of this view is whether it makes too much of the distinction between doing and fulfilling in Paul’s writings. If the distinction is legitimate, then there is a strong case for this interpretation, but if it can be shown that Paul means roughly the same thing when he talks about doing and fulfilling the law, then this interpretation loses some support.

Explanation:

When Paul says that the whole law is fulfilled, the verb used is in the perfect passive form. The perfect form indicates that the action of the verb was accomplished in the past with ongoing effect. The object of the verb is the law, so Paul is saying that in the past, the law has been fulfilled. This leads us to ask, Who in the past fulfilled the law? Of course, the answer is Jesus Christ. We know this from Matthew 5:17 where Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So the perfect passive indicates that Jesus fulfilled the law, and the result of Jesus fulfilling the law is the command to love one’s neighbour.¹³

Counterargument:

There are at least two problems with this view. First, the perfect tense is not always used to denote an action that has been completed in the past with ongoing results. There are occasions when the perfect is applied such that the action should be understood as taking place in the present.¹⁴ Still, even if it is the case that Paul means to retain the force of the perfect tense, Paul may simply mean that those in Galatia who have begun to love their neighbours have already fulfilled the law. In other words, by loving your neighbour in the past, you have fulfilled the law, so stop thinking you need to get circumcised or follow other Jewish traditions.

Second, Paul does not say that the whole law has been fulfilled by Christ. Rather, he says that the whole law has been fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, Paul is saying that the whole law is fulfilled when you love your neighbour. He does not seem to be saying that the whole law is fulfilled by Jesus Christ, therefore love your neighbour.

Explanation:

We want to know what Paul means when he says that the whole law is fulfilled. Most likely Paul means that Jesus fulfilled the law through his teachings and sacrificial death on the cross.¹⁵ We can deduce this because in Galatians 6:2 Paul instructs the Galatians to love one another and so fulfill the law of Christ. Thus, Christ fulfills the law, and by loving one another, the Galatians fulfill the law of Christ.

Counterargument:

The problem with this view is that it does not explain how fulfilling the law of Christ entails the fact that Christ fulfilled the law. In other words, there are other ways to explain the terminology Paul uses in Galatians 6:2 without committing to the notion that when Paul says the whole law has been fulfilled, he has in mind that Christ fulfilled it. For example, Paul might equate loving one another, which is a command from the Old Testament (Leviticus 18:19), with the law of Christ. The theme of law is sprinkled throughout the letter to the Galatians, as Paul contrasts the works of the law with faith in Christ. In sticking with the theme of law, Paul says, You want to uphold the law? Fine, uphold the law of Christ, which means, love one another.

So there are other explanations for what Paul means by the phrase law of Christ in Galatians 6:2, and these do not entail that Paul has Christ fulfilling the law in Galatians 5:14. Are there other reasons for objecting to the idea that when Paul says the whole law is fulfilled he means that Jesus fulfilled the whole law? In fact, there are, because Paul specifically says that the law has been fulfilled in one word, before quoting from Leviticus 19:18. In other words, Paul does not say that the law has been fulfilled by Jesus, but that it has been fulfilled in the word, Love your neighbor as yourself.

The problem with this view is that it goes against the natural meaning of the passage in order to preserve a desired theological theme. It is true that Jesus fulfills the law, and that because Jesus fulfills the law God sends his Holy Spirit so that we can love our neighbour. Still, when we interpret a verse, we want to identify what the original author intends to say, and in this case, Paul specifically says that the law is fulfilled, not by Christ, but by the one word.

Explanation:

When Paul says that the law is fulfilled by the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself, he aligns himself with certain sects of Judaism. In other words, Paul is not arguing for the Galatians to abandon the Mosaic law, but to prioritize it in the right way. We can deduce this because there were other Jewish teachers who also said that the whole law could be summarized with the command to love one’s neighbour.¹⁶ For example, Hillel was a first-century Jewish teacher who explained that whatever is hateful for someone to do to you, you should not do to your neighbour.¹⁷ Also, Rabbi Akiba, who lived during the second century said that Leviticus 19:18 is the greatest general principle in the Torah.¹⁸ Paul aligns with this tradition and makes a similar point. The Judaizers in Galatia emphasize that the fulfilment of the law is found in Jewish nationalism, which includes circumcision. Circumcision marked a person as a Jew who was separate from Gentiles. Paul explains that circumcision is not the mark of a child of God, but rather, loving one’s neighbour as oneself.¹⁹

Counterargument:

That Leviticus 18:19 fulfills the law does not mean that Paul’s primary aim is to fight against Jewish nationalism. Rather, throughout the letter he has been concerned to oppose the notion that one is justified by the works of the law, rather than faith in Christ (Galatians 2:15–16; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:2–3; Galatians 3:11; Galatians 3:23). Paul has argued that one is not justified by the works of the law, because one who would be justified by the law must uphold the whole law, and this is not possible (Galatians 4:3). And because it’s not possible to uphold the whole law, anyone who would be justified by the law is under a curse (Galatians 3:10). Further, the law cannot make anyone righteous (Galatians 3:21), because it imprisons (Galatians 3:23) and acts as a custodian until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:24). But now that Christ has come, the Gentiles are sons of God through faith (Galatians 3:26). So, Paul explains, do not get yourself circumcised, but instead, love one another, for by so doing the law is fulfilled. To show that Jewish nationalism was Paul’s problem, one would have to show that his opposition to Jewish nationalism is stronger than his opposition to being justified by works of the law rather than faith. Since there is strong evidence for the fact that Paul opposes the notion of justification by works of the law, and no strong reasons offered for thinking he opposes Jewish nationalism, we must conclude that the above argument fails.

Explanation:

When Paul says that the command to love one’s neighbour fulfills the whole law, his point is not to throw out the law entirely, but to reemphasize it so as to exclude Jewish nationalism. We can deduce this because Galatians 5:14 is not the only passage where Paul directs his audience to uphold the law. For example, in Romans 13:9 Paul explains that all the commandments, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery,” and so on, are fulfilled in the one command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. Thus, like the Judaizers, Paul was interested in maintaining the whole law.²⁰ Still, the Judaizers had gone wrong for focusing on Jewish ethic markers such as circumcision, so Paul tries to reorient their thinking in terms of how to prioritize the law.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it takes a verse from its context and asserts Paul’s meaning without offering any arguments. The fact is, Romans 13:9 is not about Paul’s desire to keep the whole Mosaic law, but his desire for the Romans to love one another by the power of the Spirit, through which the law is fulfilled. In other words, when we read Romans 13:9 in context we can see that Paul’s point is the same there as it is in Galatians 5:14.

Paul explains in Romans 13:8 that no one is to owe anyone anything except to love one another, for love is the fulfillment of the law. He then goes on to explain that the commandments are summarized in the one law, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When Paul says that by loving one another the law is fulfilled, he is not saying that one ought to uphold the entire Mosaic law. Rather, he is saying that when one loves his neighbour, the entire Mosaic law is fulfilled. How is it that the law is fulfilled by those who love their neighbour? Paul explains in Romans 8:3–4 that God sent Christ into the flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, so that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled by those who live by the Spirit. In other words, those who place their faith in Christ and live according to the Spirit will love their neighbours and thereby fulfill the law.

The problem with this view is that it imports a theme that is not prominent in Paul’s writing. The argument that Paul is concerned with Jewish nationalism misses his larger theological purpose. He was confronted by the risen Christ. His entire worldview was transformed by the Hoy Spirit. He understands that salvation is through faith and he works hard to promote the gospel wherever he travels. His opponents in Galatia might have been worried about Jewish nationalism, but he was not. Rather, he is concerned with doing justice to the fact that Christ became a curse to release us from the power of sin and the confinement of the law.