Galatians 5:16-21
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,* fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,* drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (NKJV)
Every child of God experiences that "war", that titanic struggle between the" flesh" (living according to the old ways of the Natural Man) and the (Holy) Spirit. (living according to the Principles of God) The only you can live successfully submissive to the "New Man" in Christ Jesus is you must conquer the flesh and walk in the Spirit of God. In this passage, Paul declares, this is the only “effective way” to rise above the lustful desires of the flesh.
When a person walk in the flesh (lives and acts in a carnal mindset), the Bible says that the carnal mindset is enmity (at odds) with the mindset of God. The ways of God and the mindset of God are totally opposite to the ways and mindset of man. When a person is said to be "walking in the spirit", that person is declaring through the change in their lifestyle that the Holy Ghost has taken control of their mind and they have voluntarily yielded to the will of God. It means they have given the Holy Spirit a “clear” pathway within them that allows Him to guide our minds and teach us how to live in and by the truth of God. Jesus said in John 14:26: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you". (KJV)
Paul admonishes us in Philippians 2: 5 to have the same mind operate inside of us that operated inside Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ operated in the Spirit of God the Father. Jesus while here on earth was able to totally submit himself to the will The Father and carry out the complete plan of salvation that they put in place before the foundation of the world. Jesus’ whole life here on earth epitomizes the walk (lifestyle and livelihood) that every person will (in varying degrees) portray when they allow the Holy Spirit to control their lives, as opposed to yielding to their own carnal mindset.
Why must we "Crucify The Flesh" (Yield totally to the will of God)
There are 4 reasons why we must “crucify” the flesh on a daily basis:
Our flesh (carnal mind) fights everyday for dominance. The Spirit (the Will of God)and the flesh (Our will) are constantly at war and are embattled within us. Without the Holy Ghost constantly guiding, teaching, empowering, fighting for us and filling us, we would easily succumb to the works of the flesh.(lust of the flesh and eyes, and the pride of life) We would lean to our own understanding and do things the way we feel they should be done. We would be guilty of having a zeal of God, but not according to His righteousness . Being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about establishing our own human righteousness, being non submissive to God, we would expose the world to "works' done in our flesh ignorance and corrupted state. The following is important for a person to know about the flesh (carnal mindset) and how living our lives this way will completely alienate us for the will and way of God.
Can a Christian commit the "works or acts" of the flesh"?.
Galatians 5:19-21 gives us the following list of "actions or works" of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,* fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,* drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The "naked" truth is Christians can and often do commit works and acts of the flesh. There are many reasons why this is true. I've listed a few of them that Paul addressed:
First, these "acts and works" of the flesh will always occur in some way when we continually walk in the “flesh” (carnal mindset) and not in the “Spirit” of God.
In Galatians 5: 16, we are strongly admonished to “walk” in the spirit, because by doing so, we will not fulfill the works of the flesh. Anytime a person chooses to live their lives contrary to the leadership of the Holy Ghost, they are already “walking” in carnality. It is in the carnal mind that we live and act based upon our feelings and not by our faith in the actions of God. Sin is in our Old nature because it was passed down the bloodline to us by Adam. The “New birth and nature” we receive from God enables us to “walk” in the newness of our life of salvation. In the sanctification process, we ultimately are able to bring our bodies into subjection (under control) as we mature in Christ.
Second, when you read each letter that Paul wrote to each church. Paul addressed sins that were occurring within the church as a whole and in some cases, singled out the guilty people, contending that the church should have rebuked them and corrected the error within the church body.
For an example, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church concerning the many sins constantly committed among the body. From the 1st chapter to the conclusion of the 15th chapter, Paul addressed a multiplicity of sins that were being done by members of the Corinthian Christians who had confessed salvation in Jesus Christ, yet continued living carnally and not under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Within this Corinthian church, the “sins” that occurred within that body of believers were categorized in 4 categories: sexual immorality, religious, (error in doctrines and practices), social influence both in the community as well as the community’s influence upon the church, and immoral and unmoral living.
In another example, writing to the Church at Rome in Romans 7:15- 17a, Paul shared with the church at Rome his personal dilemma of ongoing struggles within himself between the flesh and the Spirit. Listen to what he said about himself: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If then I do that I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more that I do it but sin that dwells in me. I know that in me that is my flesh dwells no good thing”. Paul admitted that there were times in his Christian walk when he violated God’s mandate concerning living and conduct. Paul reminds us that there is “another law” within us as Christians that allows us to renounce our sinful nature and be reconciled to God through the mercy of God.
D. According to Romans 8: 5- 13, we are told that as we live in this world, even though we have been saved and set free from the bondage of sin, our old nature is still within us and can (if we yield to it) pull us back into a carnal mindset. When we live at odds with God, we will through carnality do those things that God is not pleased with. This is to say that we have a constant struggle to “mortify or kill” the flesh mind on a daily basis. Because we are not nor have not reached perfection in the eyes of God in relation to him and the world we live in, the Holy Ghost constantly and daily works on us to resist the power of sin and systematically eradicate the presence of sin in and within our lives. Outside the “union” we have with Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there is no way that we can’t be guilty of those acts listed in Galatians 5: 19- 21.
- Citing Galatians 5: 22- 26, discuss how the believer is to walk bearing God’s nature.
God’s very nature is contained in the 9 fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5: 22- 23.
When believers live, act, think, and present themselves both publicly and privately, they should “bear” these attributes of God. The fruit of the Spirit is the very nature of God. These fruits are eternal in nature, and it will be through these attributes that any works we do for God will be justified. By these fruits, we are said to live and act in the grace of God. We obtain our freedom from sin’s bondage by walking in the Spirit of God and not by continuing to sin even though the grace of God abounds where sin is. Now, having the fruit of the Spirit abounding within our being, we must walk bearing the nature of God in the following ways:- As a believer the bible says that we are to “crucify” the flesh. The reason for this is because Paul reminds us that we have already been crucified with Jesus Christ It is Christ living inside of us that allows us to live and walk in the Spirit. Every day, we should yield our will in favor to God’s will for us. This means that we are to “die” daily. Romans
Chapter 8 says to us that we are not condemned any longer when we walk after the Spirit of God and cease to in the flesh. By walking in the Spirit of God, we give God a clear path in the process of sanctification (cleansing us from the worldly mindset) thereby making it easier for us to be obedient to God’s way and will. - As believers, we are to have a consistent walk in honoring our responsibilities and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This means our character and conduct will daily exemplify the way we ought to behave that best reflect the character of God as God’s attributes blossoms within us. We will bridle our tongue. We will maintain “self control” pertaining to sexual matters. We will present ourselves publicly as “living testimonies” to the fact that God can change a person’s personality and character. We won’t conform to the sinful ways of this current world. We’ll have “fevering” prayer lives. We will watch over each other in brotherly love. We will aid each other in sickness and in distress. We will cultivate “Christian” sympathy in courtesy and in our speech. We will be slow to take offense and where there is indeed an offense, regardless of the offender, we will always be ready to reconcile every matter. We will possess and show real love toward God ant toward our fellow man
- As believers, we will walk free from selfishness. In verse 26, it means that we are not to become boastful of neither our gifts nor our spiritual maturity. We are not to become what I call “super saints”. We are to avoid becoming heady, high -minded, and conceited or “stuck” on ourselves. Conceit breeds self centeredness and a desire to seek the “high things” that brings more attention upon the servant rather than the service the servant renders. Selfishness causes a person to glorify themselves and seek social popularity rather than to glorify God. The bible tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, rather, that we esteem others more than we esteem even ourselves. These kinds of behaviors tend to foster jealousy among our fellow laborers of the gospel. We are here to minister to, not to be catered to. We are not to seek the praises of other men but, we are to lift up Jesus so that men will praise him and serve him. Finally, we are not to be envious or jealous of each other’s gifts, positions or spiritual maturity. We are to grow in the grace of God and let God mature us at the pace he has for us. We are to remember that the race is not given to the swift, neither to the strongest, but to everyone that will endure this race to the end.
- As a believer the bible says that we are to “crucify” the flesh. The reason for this is because Paul reminds us that we have already been crucified with Jesus Christ It is Christ living inside of us that allows us to live and walk in the Spirit. Every day, we should yield our will in favor to God’s will for us. This means that we are to “die” daily. Romans
- Galatians 6: 1-5 details how to help fallen and hurting believers. Discuss this in full and make sure you expound verse 3 and how it affects you.
In helping fallen and hurting believers,
- It is very important that the person that making the attempt at helping first be “spiritual” themselves, a person living by and walking in the spirit of God. In the time of hurt and crisis, Satan is attempting to cause the fallen and hurting member to denounce their relationship with God and return to a life of darkness permanently. The spiritual person must be humble and gentile in their approach of the fallen believer. considering themselves on a least these 2 fronts:
- It is very important that the person that making the attempt at helping first be “spiritual” themselves, a person living by and walking in the spirit of God. In the time of hurt and crisis, Satan is attempting to cause the fallen and hurting member to denounce their relationship with God and return to a life of darkness permanently. The spiritual person must be humble and gentile in their approach of the fallen believer. considering themselves on a least these 2 fronts:
- The “fallen” or “backslidden” person in the past was and could be in the future you. There was a time in the “spiritual” person’s life when they too were in a fallen or backslidden state. Somebody came to their rescue with a listening ear and an understanding spirit. We too must do the same. We may have matured as believers, yet none of us has of yet reached the state of perfection.
- The fallen or backslidden person, just like those whom they may be attempting to help would not and does not want to be judged. Rather, they want somebody to be understanding, compassionate, yet at the same time truthful in what they will have to say or do in their efforts to render the right kind of help.
- We should bear one another’s burden. The Church’s covenant tells us that we are to watch over each other in the state of brotherly love. We’re also supposed to remember each other in prayer and aid each other in sickness and distress. Jesus gave us the best illustration of this in the parable of the Good Samaritan. We may or may not be able to identify directly with the particular problem, but all of us can identify with the fact that we all have to face adversities and deal with seeking aid because we do have a problem. Jesus reminded us in the scriptures that we are our brother’s keeper and we owe it to God and to that person to help where we can.
- We are to give our best service to him. We are to derive some personal satisfaction for doing a job well done. The satisfaction we obtained will in some way keep us from comparing ourselves against the workings of others. We must also guard against getting the “big head” when we do a job well. We must never forget that if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side and working those works through our physical being while guiding our minds in instructing us while we worked those works, we are nothing.1Corinthians chapter 13 reminds us that if we failed to show love (agape) toward all who we help, then we like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. Not only that but we are in reality nothing.
- We have a responsibility to all believers. Giving aid to someone who has fallen from grace is not an option. As spiritual believers and leaders, those believers whom have fallen away in some ways look for us to come to their rescue. The 3rd verse reminds us that we should never think that rendering aid to a fallen comrade is “beneath” us, that is, something that somebody else should be doing and not us. We are truly our brother’s keeper.
- Discuss strengthening your commitment to your teacher as stated in Galatians 6: 6- 10. Place emphasis on why you should do “good” to a true Bible teacher.
Paul emphasizes to us in verse 6 that there is a “comrade” relationship between the true Bible teacher and the student that sits under their teachings. There are several ways we show that kind of support.
- Our attendance is a great show of commitment. We sit under their teachings on a regular basis and we benefit from each lesson. This says we agree with what is being taught. Also along this line of commitment, we should encourage others to come and hear the Word of God as it is truly being taught. Additionally, we must share the knowledge we’ve gain from the biblical lessons shared by our instructor.
- We are to verbally and financially uphold the true teacher, thus expressing our support and commitment. In 1 Corinthians 9: 1- 14, Paul reminded the Corinthian church they had an obligation to support any true teacher of the Word of God financially, showing personal respect. The true teacher of God is often persecuted and openly disrespected by both members within the local church and preachers who don’t agree with the sound truth of real biblical teachings. If we believe the biblical truth as it’s plainly taught, we must show our teachers in a tangible way we respect what they do and admire the dedication they show in taking the time to teach the Word of God truthfully in the midst of so much opposition within the church. God’s minister should never have to beg for support in any area of his personal ministry. If they’ve shown dedication to us in the church at large, we ought to do all we can to let him know that we believe in God’s endorsement of him and we will take care of his financial needs, we will lend a helping hand wherever we can as well as openly show public and private respect.
- We need to remember that when we fail to do our sacred duty to care for the minister of God, we are mocking God! Jesus, speaking in behalf of the ministry once said that when we fail to minister to others (render aid) we are failing to minister to him as well. This would include the minister and true teacher of God. Paul, in continuing the thought concerning mocking God said that we will reap the same thing we sowed in proportion to the manner in which we sow; sparingly or bountifully. The reaping aspect tends to weigh upon how God may respond in our time of need towards us. God rewards righteousness and pays “wages” for our sinfulness. If we sow to our flesh, we will reap corruption either here or in the world to come but, if we sow to the spirit we will reap life everlasting. When we “sow” into the ministry of our minister and true teacher, we should sow good seeds into their life thereby reaping a good harvest from the Lord for our faithfulness and dedication towards the true teacher and minister.
- Because the teacher perseveres in the midst of fierce opposition and we too are persevering as well under their leadership and training, we are to do all we can to remain faithful and uphold them no matter how long we have to. The day will come when we will receive our full rewards for all we did in the way of support as well as ministering on the laboring field ourselves. Overall, we are to do all we can to help all of those are truly teaching the Word and we are to show them the kind of respect that they truly deserve.
- Our attendance is a great show of commitment. We sit under their teachings on a regular basis and we benefit from each lesson. This says we agree with what is being taught. Also along this line of commitment, we should encourage others to come and hear the Word of God as it is truly being taught. Additionally, we must share the knowledge we’ve gain from the biblical lessons shared by our instructor.
The Book of Galatians can be divided into three sections. The first 2 chapters is a defense of Paul's apostleship and the gospel message. Paul had evangelized the churches of Galatia, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and had firmly established a church base in Galatia. As soon as he left the region, the Galatians Christians were falling away from the gospel he had taught them, Judaizers infiltrated the churches in Galatia soon after Paul's departure preaching a Gnostic doctrine, persuading members of the church that Paul was teaching them wrong and the gospel presented by Paul was insufficient for salvation. Paul taught that faith in Jesus alone was all anyone needed to be saved and reconciled back into the good graces of God, defending the faith and launching a counterclaim against the Gnostic teachings of the Judaizers. The Judaizers also viciously attacked his ministry and personal character, claiming that his ministry wasn’t authentic and he was a charlatan. Paul responded defending his conversion to Christ; the approval of his apostleship by the leaders of the church at Jerusalem. Paul said that the gospel that he preached and taught to the Galatians was not his own words of interpretation of the scriptures, nor did the gospel message originate from him but the gospel came through the Holy Ghost and "through the revelation of Jesus Christ". Paul charged that those who presumed to change the gospel message were meddling with the very plan of God
Chapters 3 and 4 address the questions surrounding the way of salvation. Paul responded to the questions and counter argument by using logic (3:15-20), quotations from the Old Testament (3:7-14), metaphors (4:1-6), his personal God given authority, (4:12-20), and through allegories. (4:21-31) Paul, in his counter argument, rebutted that salvation doesn’t come by obeying the Mosaic law, but comes by receiving the grace of God by faith.
Chapters 5 and 6 of Galatians express the rewards of saving faith. Paul lets us know that the result of justification by grace through faith is spiritual freedom. Paul appealed to the Galatians to stand fast in their new found freedom in Christ, and not get "entangled again with a yoke of bondage they experienced with the Mosaic Law. Paul said that the Christian is free to love (5:1-15) and the Holy Spirit will produce fruit such as love, joy, and peace-in the life of the believer (5:22-23). Paul then explains that their freedom in Christ does not give them a license to sin but gives them greater opportunity to love one another. He further explains to them that this freedom doesn’t exempt them from life’s struggles either. In fact, Paul declared it may help intensify the titanic struggle that will take place between the flesh and the Spirit, reminding them that their lower nature has been crucified with Christ.
Paul concludes by summing up the main points of the letter (6:11-16), along with a closing admonition that he bore the marks of Jesus in his body (6:17), and, along with that a blessing (6:18).