Again Paul turns his attention to his readers, addressing them as my brothers (see the remarks on 1.11). You is emphatic, accenting the difference between the Galatians and those referred to in verse 12.
Paul asserts that the Galatians were called to be free. The implicit agent is either God or Christ, but in accordance with Pauline usage, God would seem to be a better choice. Called to be free may be rendered in some languages as “called to no longer be slaves.” As in Gal. 5.8, the verb call may be equivalent in some languages to “urge” or “strongly invite.”
It seems that Paul pauses abruptly and adds a warning against the abuse of freedom in order to avoid any misunderstanding on the part of his readers: Do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Actually, Paul does not use a verb with the noun freedom (literally, “not this freedom” et cetera), but the objective form of the noun indicates that a verb is understood, and Good News Translation supplies become (compare Phillips “be careful that freedom does not become”). Other verbs are supplied in other translations (Revised Standard Version “do not use your freedom”; New English Bible “do not turn your freedom”; Jerusalem Bible “be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening”). In some languages one cannot speak of freedom as doing or becoming anything. However, the circumstance of being free may be related to what follows in this verse, and so one may translate “But because you are free in this way, do not think that you can now let yourselves be controlled by what your bodies desire,” or “… what you desire in your bodies.”
The word translated excuse is used only by Paul among New Testament writers. It was originally a military term meaning “a base of operations.” In this verse it means primarily “occasion” or “opportunity to do something.” In some languages become an excuse may be rendered as “become your reason for,” or “become the way in which you justify.”
The word translated physical desires is “flesh.” This is a difficult word to translate, simply because it is used to refer to many things. A literal translation (as in Revised Standard Version and New American Bible) should be ruled out, since it would not depict what Paul is talking about. In the light of verses 14 and 15, the Good News Translation rendering seems to be justified. However, many commentators take the position that “flesh” here has the same meaning as in verse 16 (where Good News Translation renders it human nature). It refers to that aspect of the human self which refuses to acknowledge God and which leads to the doing of evil instead of good. This is reflected in some translations (for example, Phillips, New English Bible “your lower nature”).
Letting your physical desires control you may be rendered as “permitting yourselves to be ruled by what your bodies desire,” “letting yourselves obey whatever your bodies tell you to do,” or “… urge you to do.”
The last part of the verse is an alternative to the abuse of freedom. Here the Galatians are exhorted to engage in mutual service.
As in Gal. 5.6, love is either God’s love for man as shown in Jesus Christ or the believers’ love for one another. If the former, a proper translation would be “let God’s love make you serve one another,” or “because God loves you, you should serve one another”; but note verse 14, which focuses on love for others. Such love defines the quality or the motivation of the service rendered (Knox “serving one another in a spirit of charity”; New American Bible “out of love, place yourselves at one another’s service”). One may also translate “because you love one another, help one another,” or “show your love for one another by helping one another.” (For a discussion of “love,” see under 2.20.)
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .