“You have become discharged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Galatians 5:4
In Galatians 5:3 Paul says, “And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” In other words, if you make one mistake, if you break one law, you are guilty of breaking the whole law (James 2:10). What does it mean that you have become discharged from Christ? You are not discharged from Christ in the sense that you lose salvation, or that you lose His indwelling in your spirit. But you have temporarily been separated from the benefit of having a present supply of grace from Him to change you. You have been separated because of what you are looking at and what you are oriented to. You are about to be discharged from Christ if you are looking at the law, expecting it to change you and perfect you before God.
The Christian life is not about changing and perfecting yourself. It is about coming to the Son the way you are, under the new covenant, by the blood. This gives Him the opportunity to come in as the Spirit to write on your heart and mind. By the blood of the covenant you keep coming to Him in a direct way, just as you are.
To fall from grace means you have fallen out of the supply that comes from enjoying Christ. In Galatians 5:5 Paul reminds the believers of the proper way to relate to the law: “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” It is as if he was saying, “Do you want to know how we do it? For we through the Spirit stay in the waiting room.” This is like a father remaining in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting and expecting the baby to be born. The Spirit is our waiting room for Christ to be brought forth in us.