Galatians 5:7-10

The false teachers had bumped Paul’s readers as they ran the Christian race. God had not led the ones who interfered with them to do so. The "leaven" in Paul’s proverb (Galatians 5:9) could refer to the error in the church, the leading false teacher in their midst (the bad apple in the barrel, cf. Galatians 5:10), and the single requirement of circumcision already mentioned (Galatians 5:2-3). Paul was confident that the Galatians would side with him and that they or God would judge the false teacher or teachers. "Whoever he is" may allude to the high standing of the false teacher in the Galatians’ minds rather than expressing Paul’s ignorance about his identity. [Note: Fung, p. 238.]