Walk by the Spirit

Introduction

I. Walk by the Spirit (5:16–18).

A. We must continually walk by the Spirit (5:16a).

B. We must walk by the Spirit to conquer the flesh (5:16b).

C. We must walk by the Spirit because the battle is intense (5:17).

D. We must walk by the Spirit to be free from the law (5:18).

II. Observe the Obvious (5:19–23).

A. The works of the flesh (5:19–21)

B. The fruit of the Spirit (5:22–23)

III. Remember the Good News (5:24–26).

A. Believers belong to Christ Jesus (5:24).

B. Believers possess the Spirit (5:25–26).

Gal 5:16-18 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

In the previous passage we looked at how Paul called the Galatians to freedom. They were called to manifest their freedom in Christ through loving service to others (vv. 13–15). In Galatians 5:16–25 Paul builds on this idea to explain how such freedom and progress can only come through the power of the Spirit. The Galatians were drifting into a works-based, flesh-driven faith, but Paul calls them to a life of liberty in Christ and Spirit-filled fruitfulness.

The passage basically divides into three main parts.

First, in verses 16–18 Paul describes the need to walk by the Spirit.

Second, in verses 19–23 he highlights the evidences of a life lived in the flesh versus a life lived in the Spirit.

Third, in verse 24 Paul says that those who truly “belong to Christ” have put to death the desires of the flesh, giving them power to deal with the remaining effects of the flesh.

Walk by the Spirit (5:16–18).

A. We must continually walk by the Spirit (5:16a).

Gal 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Amplified - But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).

Walking means we take one step at a time, moment by moment, for there is not one moment when our flesh is not seeking to carry out its sinful desires! This is why it is so critical to be careful to not grieve (Eph 4:30+) or quench (1 Th 5:19+) the Holy Spirit, for in so not we short-circuit His power in our lives! But walking is not just fighting off the negative (the lusts of the flesh), but it is also growing in the positive (growing more like Christ). Paul explains how the Spirit does this in Second Corinthians writing "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.." (2 Cor 3:18+) Paul is saying that as we behold the Lord's glory (and His glory is most clearly seen in His Word) and we walk in obedience (even this obedience enabled by His Spirit) to His revealed will (in His Word), the Holy Spirit does a miraculous internal work on our hearts, progressively changing us into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to the next. That's a simple summary description of how every believer should be living their Christian life! We don't grow in Christ-likeness by seeking to keep a list of rules which we will never be able to keep and which ultimately results in frustration and futility in our Christian walk. Remember that everything that God desires to carry out in and through us begins on the inside, not on the outside, which is where legalism seeks to work. So walk by the Spirit, not a set of rules you or someone else has made up to make you more holy! Only by the Spirit will you gain victory over sin on a practical, daily basis.

There is no making deals with the flesh

Three reasons why we must walk in the Spirit

First, because of God’s impossible standard,

Second, because of the formidable nature of our flesh, and

thirdly, because of the relentless operation of Satan(ED: cf Eph 6:11+, 2Cor 2:11+, 1Pe 5:8-9+). Satan tweaks and turns the system to assault the flesh, which is the beachhead on which he lands his temptations.

The New Testament often uses the word ‘walk’ as a picture of the Christian’s total way of life:

We were buried therefore with [Christ] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2).

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6–7).

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it (2 John 6).

B. We must walk by the Spirit to conquer the flesh (5:16b).

Gal 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Illustration

THE TROUBLE WITHIN I see another law in my members, . . . bringing me into captivity to the law of sin. – Romans 7:23

A monk who had a quick temper was known to “pass the buck” for his fits of anger – always blaming his fellow monastery residents. So he decided to move to a place of absolute solitude in a desert, thinking that if he got away from the others he could be victorious. One morning he accidentally knocked over a pitcher of water. A few minutes later he bumped it again, and once more it fell on its side and spilled its contents. Losing his temper, the monk picked up the pitcher and hurled it to the ground. As it broke into smithereens, the truth hit him: he couldn’t blame others for his flareups. The real trouble was within him. How true of all of us! The apostle Paul was keenly aware of the outworking of sin in his life. He cried, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). But he was confident of final victory, for he answered his own question, saying, “I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25). We can triumph over “the law of sin” right now, because Jesus “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) through His death on the cross. All who believe in Him are given new life. As we endeavor to do God’s will, with the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit, we increasingly overcome the trouble within. – R.W.D. (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved

We can makes the observation that "Along with many others in the New Testament, these two verses (Galatians 5:17-18) make it obvious that walking by the Spirit is not simply a matter of passive surrender. The Spirit-led life is a life of conflict, because it is in constant combat with the old ways of the flesh that continue to tempt and seduce the believer.

“and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh

The phrase “and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” is a promise. Those who yield to the Spirit daily have the promise that they will not gratify their fallen human nature. We should see that there is no neutral ground here.

In Romans 7:14–25 Paul illustrates the intensity of the battle. The mighty apostle did not treat this battle lightly. We will fight with the flesh until the coming of Christ. It is an intense, ongoing war.

Paul alluded to the “present evil age” in 1:4. Building on this, he says that the flesh is against the Spirit and vice versa, and that these two are “opposed” to each other. In verse 16 Paul explains this battle; in verse 17 he stresses the intensity of it. Part of the problem with fighting the flesh is a casual attitude toward sin that the enemy wants us to have. Paul is telling us that the Christian life is a war. Therefore, to conquer the flesh, one must see the seriousness of this battle and resolve to walk by the Spirit.

Flesh (4561) see discussion of sarx - The "flesh" is our mind, will and emotions acting independently of God and in defiance against Him! Someone has called it that "anti-God" energy within each of us. And remember that even as we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pe 3:18), the flesh is not dissipated, destroyed, or rendered inactive! In short the flesh is not remediable in any way. The upshot is that we will never become so Christ-like in this short life that we outgrow our desperate, daily need for the Holy Spirit! Sadly, I have discovered that many of God's saints have a very "fuzzy" understanding of the Spirit and their need to rely on Him daily to live this Christian life.

Spiritual growth is hampered

It is imperative for our spiritual growth that we grasp the fact that the old nature is not removed or reformed at regeneration. Failure to understand this elementary fact frequently plunges the new convert into needless bewilderment and even despair of his standing before God when, after a peaceful period of triumph and fellowship with Jesus, he stumbles into the old sins and faults he fancied had been vanquished forever. With older Christians this error often operates to effect quite different results. Persuaded that they cannot sin, adherents of the heresy of sinless perfection will deny that those practices are sinful which the Word of GOD plainly denounces as sinful. He who thinks he has reached perfection is the victim of an illusion indicating that he is desperately in need of a new pair of glasses to forestall threatening blindness

C. We must walk by the Spirit because the battle is intense (5:17).

Gal 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

Paul alluded to the “present evil age” in 1:4. Building on this, he says that the flesh is against the Spirit and vice versa, and that these two are “opposed” to each other. In verse 16 Paul explains this battle; in verse 17 he stresses the intensity of it.

You face the world’s temptations, Satan’s temptations, and the flesh’s temptations

Do you recognize what kind of war you are in?

You face the world’s temptations, Satan’s temptations, and the flesh’s temptations. Do not allow yourself to take a complacent posture in the Christian life. Do not imagine that you are somehow absolved from this fight, or assume that the flesh will not entice you.

The law stirs up the flesh, and grace is operates through the Spirit. To live for yourself is to walk after the flesh. To live for God is to walk after the Spirit. To be dominated by the flesh is to be dominated by the devil. To be dominated by the devil. To be dominated by the Spirit is to be controlled by God. It is in the areas of our lives where we feel fully capable to move out on our own that the flesh gets a stronghold. It is those areas where we feel that we can make it on our own that we feel to lose Christ in that area would not affect us. It is in those areas where we are not dependent that we are vulnerable. All that the flesh needs to move into action is to be placed before God on a basis of performance or the fulfillment of certain legal requirements. This is where so few Christians seem to understand that our Christian life is not by our flesh dong anything, but Christ living through us. The Holy Spirit in all of His power is forming the life of Christ within each of us

D. We must walk by the Spirit to be free from the law (5:18).

Gal 5:18 “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

But if you are led by the Spirit - In simple terms we are to yield to the Spirit and allow Him to lead us in our daily life. We are not to place ourselves under (subject to) the Law, which is what Paul has been saying throughout the book and especially in Galatians 5. Freedom is found in Christ alone and is enabled by His Spirit. It is not found in the Law. Note that the verb are led is passive voice which implies that the action occurs on us from a Source without. And yet while it is passive voice, that does not mean we are to be passive participants. In fact we have the choice to yield to His guidance so it is better seen as as a passive/active relationship. The Spirit of course takes the initiative for this is the pattern of God's grace. God takes the initiative and in this case His Spirit guides us and leads us. However we must actively choose to stand with Him against the flesh and follow His direction.

Paul makes sure that we understand if we live under the LAW

Paul already described in this letter that living under the law leads to being

“under a curse” (3:10),

“under sin’s power” (3:22),

“under a guardian” (3:25),

“in slavery under the elemental forces of the world” (4:3),

and in need of redemption

A New life that is walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit

Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

Rom 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

How does God lead us?

"how does He give this, leading this direction? How does He guide us?

He always leads according to the principles of the word of God. The leading of the Spirit does not take place in a vacuum.

He is the divine author of scripture, of the Law, of the gospels, of all 66 books of the Bible. So His leading is always according to that and is never against - It occurs in the heart and mind of the believer. And confirmed by the assembly of the saints.

He works upon our mind and upon our will, first by renewing our minds in regeneration, and then renewing through progressive sanctification. He does that principally through the reading and teaching of the Word for Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Ro 10:17)

He enlightens us about the goodness of God and the wickedness of sin and creates within us a desire to oppose indwelling sin at the same time giving us the power to oppose that sin, and enabling us to do that gladly, joyfully in obedience to God's commands.

He enables us to do that (supernaturally), because that mindset is not natural within any of us

A New life that is walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit

Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

Rom 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Therefore, the point is that life in the Spirit brings a whole new way of life. This verse does not mean that you have freedom to sin, but a freedom from sin. You have new desires and new power to please God by bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Do not live under the crushing weight of the law, but live by the dynamic power of the Spirit.