Navigating Toxic Hostility and Vindictiveness
Robert Wurtz II
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A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. (Proverbs 27:3 ESV)
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For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (Galatians 5:14-15)
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Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:26)
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There is a hostility in humankind stemming from Adam, our old man. It first manifested in Cain when he murdered his brother in cold blood and continued in Lamech, who avenged those who crossed him seventy-seven fold (Genesis 4:24). The law limited revenge to eye for eye or tooth for tooth, but this was revenge run amok and evidence that the spirit of disobedience had filled him (Ephesians 2:2). The New Covenant and its promise of life in the Spirit regenerates this Satanic nature. Therefore, vindictiveness has no place in the life of any believer, and when it’s found, it is clear evidence of carnality.
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When a regenerate person who began in the Spirit reverts to the flesh due to backsliding, their doctrine, or resisting the Holy Spirit, they are capable of doing anything that any other unregenerate sinner does. Keep that clear. Paul was deeply concerned that the Galatians were living the Christian life in the flesh, knowing it would lead to dangerous and destructive conflict.
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The Spirit-Filled Life
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Religiosity and legalism are beggars’ substitutes for a Spirit-filled life. You cannot accomplish with rules or traditions what can only be done through the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Knowing this, Paul took the extraordinary step of writing the entire book of Galatians by hand. For his other letters, he used a scribe, adding his own handwriting only at the beginning and the end as a personal salutation and authentication (2 Thessalonians 3:17).
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Paul reminded the Galatians that they had started out in the Spirit and had run well (Galatians 3:3, 5:7), but due to false teaching, they reverted to living in the flesh (Galatians 3:3). Fleshly living is devoid of God’s Spirit—and therefore, devoid of the fruit of the Spirit, especially love and peace. Under these conditions, the works of the flesh manifest and threaten both the saints and the churches. Simply put, individuals risk reverting to the ruthless nature of Cain and Lamech in their dealings with one another.
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Infighting Among the Saints
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For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (Galatians 5:14-15)
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Paul’s concern reaches a fever pitch in the fifth chapter of his handwritten letter, where he cautions against pride and envy—two toxic traits that can easily destroy churches. They follow inevitably when we backslide from a Spirit-filled life into something lesser. Having previously urged them to serve one another out of love—which is only possible through the fullness of the Holy Spirit—Paul warns that the alternative is “biting and devouring” each other through constant infighting. This is Corinthian carnality on steroids. Both Galatia and Corinth became carnal, putting both churches at great risk. One would have lauded their holiness and the other their Spirituality, but both were carnal (fleshly).
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The Greek word for biting is dakno; it is used only here in the New Testament but is used often in the LXX (Greek Old Testament) for vipers biting. It is used here metaphorically to mean to bite, sting, molest, vex, injure, wound the soul, rend with reproaches, thwart, and irritate. To devour is a well travelled Greek word used of the prodigal son using up his inheritance and to plunder or obtain by extortion (2 Cor. 11:20), and of the houses of widows (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47). The outcome of such behavior would be to consume one another, which is a Greek word used three times in the New Testament relating to total fiery destruction.
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Preventing Hostility
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Paul asked the Galatians, “Who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth?” Notice the problem was disobedience. It seemed spiritual and holy, but it was contrary to the word of God. Paul pronounced a curse upon the person who led them astray (Galatians 1:8-9). He knew that it would lead to the same results that the kings of Israel yielded. To prevent this kind of destruction and hostility, Paul highlights a specific root cause: vainglory, which is an ungodly obsession with power, praise, and popularity. John called it worldliness and more specifically the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
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When people are driven by a desire to be seen as superior, it inevitably changes how they treat those around them. Specifically, a proud person will begin to provoke others—meaning their arrogant behavior and demands for respect through personal submission will irritate, insult, and stir up trouble. It manifests when people stop walking in the Spirit.
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Carnality that results in pride creates a dangerous double-edged sword in relationships. Arrogant people tend to slight or dismiss anyone they view as inferior, becoming deeply offended if they aren’t given the submission they think they deserve. This attitude directly provokes conflict because people won’t put up with it for long. At the same time, the prideful person becomes incredibly envious of anyone who might threaten their ambitions, damage their reputation, or overshadow them—viewing someone else’s success as a personal attack. Think about the sheer weight and significance of that arrogance. It is entitlement gone wild. Ultimately, the saints will eventually view these proud individuals as evil, whether they say it out loud or not.
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Ruination of Love
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Ultimately, Paul explains to the Galatians that this fleshly desire for human applause is the foundation for endless arguments and rivalries. These petty fights don’t just ruin the supportive love that should exist within a church; they also damage the church’s credibility and reputation in the outside world. The takeaway is clear: stay in the Spirit or risk chasing after the temporary applause of men in a pointless craving for validation that is one of the quickest ways to provoke others and spark bitter divisions. The carnal man is offended when they can’t control others and will target them because they refuse to feed the carnal person’s ego.
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Matthew Henry once wrote that “rooted malice is as much worse than an easily angered man as coals of juniper are worse than a fire of thorns. Wrath (it is true) is cruel, and does many a barbarous thing, and anger is outrageous; but a secret enmity at the person of another, an envy at his prosperity, and a desire of revenge for some injury or affront, are much more mischievous. One may avoid a sudden, heated rage, as David escaped Saul’s javelin, but when it grows, as Saul’s did, to a settled envy, there is no standing before it; it will pursue; it will overtake. He that grieves at the good of another will be still contriving to do him hurt, and will keep his anger forever.”
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Prevention and Aftermath
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What Matthew Henry wrote is the consequence of turning from walking in the Spirit to a life in the flesh. To prevent this, we must determine to live filled with the Holy Spirit. Not merely speaking in tongues or operating in the gifts of the Spirit. The Corinthians had that, and they were as carnal as anything. When a person walks in the Spirit, they will inevitably bear the fruit of the Spirit described in the letter to the Galatians. When they backslide into carnality, however it happens, the result will be cursed destruction.
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