Flesh Or Spirit

Walk By the Spirit

This means to live in submission to the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of putting to death sin and living in the life God has for you.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what [a]benefit were you then [b]deriving [c]from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you [d]derive your [e]benefit, [f]resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

AS followers of Jesus Christ we have been freed from the power of sin in our lives. Change is possible and necessary for us to be conformed into the image of Christ. Simply put, this means that just because you were brought up this way, doesn’t mean you have to stay this way. Or because of what happen to me, I can’t help myself. Theses are excuses for living in the flesh. The Bible teaches the Holy Spirit has power to change you. The question is do you want to change. The Holy Spirit will not force himself against your will. When you are ready you can walk in the Spirit.

You will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

This is the simple process of replacing what is sinful in your life with what is righteous.

for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

When we are walking in the Spirit, not only will we stop doing the things that are sinful, but we will begin to walk in acts of righteousness. I believe the principle here is that if we try to straighten ourselves out by ourselves without the power of the Holy Spirit, then we will fall again into sin bu this time it will come with regret and despair.

It is a matter of what you let master you. Is it the Spirit or the flesh.

The Spirit and the flesh are in opposition to one another

This works in two ways. Number one, The flesh will entice you to satisfy your sinful desire and the Spirit will convict you that it is wrong. You must make a choice to put to death the deeds of the flesh. These things are things that bring temporary pleasure or happiness, but in the end they end up making you feel guilty and unsatisfied.

Number two, The Spirit will prompt you to do something good and the flesh will say you don’t have time right now. You can do it later. We all know what happens when we say we will do it later. It never gets done.

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. This is because the Spirit will never lead you into sin.

Deeds Of the Flesh

The deeds of the flesh affect 4 areas of our life. Physical, Spiritual, Relational, and Behavioral.

Physical

The there deeds of the flesh that affect our physical body are immorality, impurity and sensuality

immorality - (porneia) Any sexual activity outside of God ordained marriage.

Impurity - (akatharsia) It means the pus of an unclean wound. The meaning is that unclean desire that keeps you unfit to come before God

Sensuality - (aselgeia) Readiness for any pleasure. This gives the idea that one can participate in any and every sexual activity without boudary.

What we see here in the flesh is the action, the desire, and the degree. This sin is most prevalent in the world today. The insatiable fleshly desire for this sin has affected so many innocent people.

Spiritual

The deeds of the flesh that affect us spiritually are idolatry and sorcery

The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians The Evil Things (Galatians 5:16–21)

Idolatry: this means the worship of gods which human hands have made. It is the sin in which material things have taken the place of God.

Witchcraft: this literally means the use of drugs. It can mean the healing use of drugs by a doctor; but it can also mean poisoning, and it came to be especially connected with the use of drugs for sorcery, of which the ancient world was full.

Idolatry - (eidololatria) the worship of false gods. These do not have to be carved images. They can be things like money, power, or popularity.

Sorcery - (pharmakeia) use of drugs. Drugs were used to get people to a higher spiritual state. This is a false god and is demon based.

When you dabble in these deeds of the flesh, you become desensitized to the Holy Spirit

Relational

Enmity -the idea is that of the individual who is characteristically hostile to other people; it is the precise opposite of the virtue of the love of Christians for one another and for all people.

Strife - originally, this word had mainly to do with the rivalry for prizes. It can even be used in a good sense in that connection, but much more commonly it means the rivalry which has resulted in quarrelling and wrangling.

Jealousy - this word (zelos, from which our word zeal comes) was originally a good word. It meant emulation, the desire to attain to nobility when we see it. But it degenerated; it came to mean the desire to have what someone else has, wrong desire for what is not ours.

Outburst of Anger - the word Paul uses means bursts of temper. It describes not an anger which lasts but anger which flares up and then dies.

Disputes (Self Seeking) - describes the person who wants office, not from any motives of service, but for what can be got out of it.

Dissension - literally the word means a standing apart. After one of his great victories, the British Admiral Lord Nelson attributed it to the fact that he had the happiness to command ‘a band of brothers’. Dissension describes a society in which the very opposite is the case, where the members fly apart instead of coming together.

Factions - this might be described as clearly focused disagreement. The word is hairesis, from which comes our word heresy. Hairesis was originally not a bad word at all. It comes from a root which means to choose, and it was used for a philosopher’s school of followers or for any group of people who shared a common belief. The tragedy of life is that people who hold different views very often end up by disliking not each other’s views but each other. It should be possible to hold different views and yet remain friends.

Envy - this word (phthonos) is a mean word. The Greek dramatist Euripides called it ‘the greatest of all diseases’. The essence of it is that it does not describe the spirit which desires, nobly or ignobly, to have what someone else has; it describes the spirit which grudges the fact that the other person has these things at all. It does not so much want the things for itself; it merely wants to take them from the other. The Stoics defined it as ‘grief at someone else’s good’. The fourth-century Church father Basil the Great called it ‘grief at your neighbour’s good fortune’. It is the quality not so much of the jealous but rather of the embittered mind

William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 57-58.

These deeds of the flesh destroy relationships

Behavioral

William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 57–58.

These deeds of the flesh are obvious behavioral issues that lead to addiction.

Drunkenness - in the ancient world, this was not a common vice. The Greeks drank more wine than they did milk; even children drank wine. But they drank it in the proportion of three parts of water to two of wine. Both Greeks and Christians would have condemned drunkenness as a thing which turned people into animals.

Carousing - this word (komos) has an interesting history. A komos was a group of friends who accompanied a victor of the games after his victory. They danced and laughed and sang his praises. It also described the devotees of Bacchus, god of wine. It describes what in England in the early decades of the nineteenth century would have been called a rout. It means unrestrained revelry, enjoyment that has degenerated and is out of control.

William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 58–59.

Those that practice these deeds of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. Please understand that I am not saying that if you have committed one of these deeds of the flesh that you cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The key word is “practice”. A person that practices the deeds of the flesh give indication that they have not recieved the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

Fruit of the Spirit

A person that is indwelt with the Holy Spirit will have these characteristics abundantly manifested in their lives.

9 Fruits of the Spirit

Love- (Agape)the Christian word, means unconquerable benevolence. It means that, no matter what people may do to us by way of insult or injury or humiliation, we will never seek anything else but their highest good. It is therefore a feeling of the mind as much as of the heart; it concerns the will as much as the emotions. It describes the deliberate effort—which we can make only with the help of God—never to seek anything but the best even for those who seek the worst for us.

Joy-(Chara) When Christ becomes your satisfaction.

Peace - (eirene) Knowing that God has complete control over every aspect of your life. Good times and difficult ones are all from God and are meant for our ultimate good.

Patience -(makrothmia) Being slow tempered toward others. Just the way God is with us. How much patience does God give to us? We should do the same toward others.

Kindness / Goodness (Chrestotes)That which brings the ultimate good to others. This could be by charitable means, but could also come from correction.

Faithfulness - Being reliable. Being a friend that goes through difficult and good times with someone. This is what the Lord does with us!

Gentleness - (Praotes) balanced temperament. This person is not hot-tempered or apathetic. This person has controlled concern.

Self-control (egkratia) The spirit that has overcome and controls its desires and its love of pleasure. This allows them t be better servants of others.

Every one of these characteristics are the characteristics of God. Since He dwells within us, we have the capability to exhibit and live by these fruits

This is why Paul says if we live by the Spirit let us walk by the Spirit.