Galatians 5:14 (ASV)

Passage

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Nearby Context

Galatians 5:12 I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision.

Galatians 5:13 For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only [use] not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Galatians 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whole", "fulfilled", "word", "even", "thou", "shalt", "love", and "neighbor". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whole" and "fulfilled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "For ye brethren were called for freedom..." into verse 15's "But if ye bite and devour one...", so "whole" and "fulfilled" belong inside that flow. In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whole" and "fulfilled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.