For those shaped by bounded group religiosity, imagine how confusing, even shocking, these words must have been: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything what counts is the new creation” (6:15). In a bounded-church mindset anything of importance gets pulled into line-drawing. When observing someone arguing strongly against circumcision, as Paul has done, a bounded-mentality person would naturally assume that stance against circumcision functions as a line. They would think, “if I want to measure up and be in that person’s group I need to be against circumcision.” So for Paul to say neither matters is baffling. But Paul is not fuzzy, this is not whateverism. He does not say with an indifferent shrug, “circumcision, uncircumcision, whatever.” There is something that matters, it is new creation. Again, as in the previous verses in this section, the issue is not circumcision itself. In this verse Paul is saying, bounded-church lines, whatever their content, are not important, what matters is living out an in-Christ, centered approach. God’s action through Jesus Christ has freed the Galatians from the former and provides the possibility of living together in a totally new way.
Similarly, from the perspective of the honor system of the day to say this marker of distinction and identity does not matter is not just confusing, but unsettling. David Harvey observes, “Difference was the basis of any claim to honour, ‘for if everyone attains equal honour then there is no honour for anyone.’ The hubris common amongst ancient groups was expressly focused on accentuating difference. . . . Whereas the present age is defined by differentiation, Paul’s new creation is a place where the value of the evil age’s binary divisions have been removed” (Harvey 2016, 153, 163). They do not matter. What matters is in fact the opposite. In God’s new creation what matters is to not grasp for status based on differentiation, what matters is to not shame others as inferior because of their ethnicity or social status. What does matter is being in Christ in a church community that does not make distinctions between Greek or Jew, slave or free, male or female, and where all seek the welfare of the others in the church.
This is the last sentence in the body of the letter before Paul’s closing words of blessing. It is as if he is saying, “If you have not already understood, let me make this clear, what counts is not whether you are following one set of rules and distinctions or another, what counts is whether you are rooted in the present evil age or in the new reality created by the cross.” Take note what he does not say. He does not say, “If you have not already understood, let me make this clear, it is incorrect to teach that salvation is by works, the correct teaching is salvation by grace.” The sentence is correct, this teaching is part of new creation reality. But it alone does not come close to having the depth, breadth, or richness of what Paul actually said, nor of capturing the actual problems in Galatia. For this reason, Paul began the letter by writing about freedom from the present evil age and he ends with words of new creation.
New creation through cruciform means. God exercised power and brought change through the cross. A new creation vision is compelling, and we can be tempted to work at it through creating godly rules and enforcing them. The cross displays an alternative way, a non-coercive power. A centered approach is cruciform in two ways. First, it is grounded in God’s action—what God did through the cross. Second, the cross serves as an example. Jesus’ actions on the cross were the opposite of the status-grasping ways of bounded group religiosity.
The above is an excerpt from, Mark D. Baker, Freedom from Religiosity and Judgmentalism: Studies in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (237-240), Kindred Productions, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2023. Used with permission. Explore the riches of Galatians through reading the rest of the book. It includes reflection questions for group discussion. More information on the book here.