Sermon: Walk in the Spirit Galatians 5:16-26
Truth Taught- Christians are given the Holy Spirit at salvation and are called to no longer walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Introduction
Last time we saw that the Galatians were being misled to believe that in order to be a Christian they had to observe the entire Law and the sign of their commitment to this new requirement was that the men would need to all be circumcised.
Paul responded to this by telling the Christians that they were the ones who were actually fulfilling the Law through Jesus Christ and that the Judaizers were gravely mistaken in their righteous abilities and their flawed logic seeking to add the Law to their faith when the sacrificial system had been done away with. How could someone go back to that commitment to the Mosaic Law when there were no sacrifices. If they did not accept Jesus’ sacrifice then they themselves would be the sacrifice.
Paul then summed up the entire Law when he told them that as Christians, the Law of God is being lived out as they loved their neighbor and served one another through love. This is what the Law was out to accomplish anyway, and they were already doing it even before these false teachers tripped them up by their extra teachings.
In our text today, He is going to continue by telling the believers that the Law is fulfilled as they walk in the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit is one of Paul’s very much used phrases. By walk, he means Christian behavior or conduct. He means our everyday life. We have been set free from the demands of the Law but the Christian life is not a free for all. We have been set free in order to walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16–26 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
1. Walk By the Spirit (5:16-18)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
To begin with, the Apostle uses three words that if we are to understand this section, we must understand what he means by these three words. What did Paul mean when he used the words walk, Spirit, and flesh?
Walk– he means one’s life focus or the behavior of the person. How they live every day is what he means by the word, walk.
Often at a Baptism the pastor will quote from Romans 6:4
Romans 6:4 (ESV)
4 We were buried therefore with him 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.
To walk in newness of life is to live out your new identity as a child of God. To not live like you used to.
Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
So, to walk or to live as a lost person who is dead in trespasses and sin is to live in accordance with not the Spirit of God but the spirit of the prince of the power of the air. To live a life that is in line with other lost people who are under God’s wrath and lead by Satan.
This figure of speech so often used by Paul comes from the Book of Ezekiel and the promise of the New Covenant.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 (ESV)
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
God was going to do a new thing when the fullness of time came. He is going to take His people and give them faith and a new heart; He’s going to bring them to life spiritually and He will cause them to walk in His statutes and rules, not by means of a long list of do’s and don’ts but by giving them His Spirit so that He causes them to live differently, not as dead people who walked in the realm of Satan but as new creations who by faith walk according to the direction the Holy Spirit leads.
Beloved you are alive in Christ…walk in light of this truth.
Spirit- means the Holy Spirit whom God will give to everyone who believes. The Holy Spirit, takes up residence within us, and will guide us and will cause us to live or walk in the ways of God.
The Spirit will lead us and will manifest Himself in us as a changed person. We don’t live like we used to. We don’t value the things we used to. Talk like we used to or even, think like we used to. He is making us different and will lead us into godliness.
Flesh– Our old nature. It means people who are left to themselves, not born again. Our flesh is who we were before we met Jesus. Our flesh is our weakness in our fallen human nature. To walk in the flesh is to simply rely on your own resources. To do the best you can by yourself without God.
In verses 16-17 we are told that the Spirit and flesh are at odds with each other. They are waging a war within our members. The Spirit is working to cause us to be like Jesus and our flesh is working to keep us as we were while we were lost.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
We, as Christians, are given the Holy Spirit and this is the promise that our salvation is real and will remain throughout all eternity but we are not in the final state yet. Currently, we are living in a fallen world, this present evil age. We are not glorified yet. So, there is a war among our members. The flesh is still a reality.
Paul understood this internal struggle all too well (Romans 7:14-25).
Romans 7:15 (ESV)
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Romans 7:19 (ESV)
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
By the way, denominations who claim that we can completely be sinless in this world are saying they can do something the Apostle Paul could not ever achieve in this life. He was still a sinner even though he had the Holy Spirit residing within him.
Now he explains a wonderful truth and one we should all seek to obey as believers.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The Judaizers desired to place the Galatian Christians under the demands of the Law. Paul tells the Christians that if you are a believer and being led by the Spirit which all believers are, then we are not under the demands of the Law because as we walk in the Spirit, we will fulfill all the Law’s demands.
His point here is that the Law of God cannot counteract our sinful flesh but God giving us His Spirit changes everything. The Spirit can and does counter our flesh and places us in the battle to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh.
The flesh and the Law are parts of the old dispensation. The Law the Old Testament cannot save us. Our flesh was the old us and we cannot save ourselves.
God’s call for us all who claim to be Christians is to no longer walk in the old ways but as children of light, because that is who we are now that God has placed His Spirit within us.
How do we know whether we are walking by the flesh or by the Spirit? God tells us what each looks like.
2. What Walking By the Flesh Looks Like (5:19-21)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Before we get into the exposition, we should understand something. Most of these listed have to do with relating to one another in the Church. It is not so much just you and God. Not sure why we think that so often? These are concerned with community life within the Body of Believers, the Church.
This is not concerned with your internal relationship between you and God but with your relationship with other believers.
Walking in the flesh or here, works of the flesh produce worldly outcomes that are evident. They are obvious to others, again in community.
Paul wanted the Christians to look at the Judaizers who were the false teachers and who were lost. They can sound convincing but just look at their lives…its evident.
Here’s the logic…you can say you’re a Christian a thousand times. You can tell others and even believe it yourself. However, the fact remains that if these types of things are how you live, then you are not what you claim to be. There is also a difference between committing an act of sin verses living in sin. Everyone who is a genuine believer is still very capable of committing sins like these. That’s not what Paul is referring to. He is saying those who do such things as a practice are making their true identity known to others, it is evident.
These things lived on a continual basis show or manifest that a person is not a believer but still walking in the flesh. This person who is not a believer…
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who practice these things are showing the true condition of their heart. As a Christians, sin has lost its hold on us. We are not dominated by sin any more.
Romans 6:14 (ESV)
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
I want to make sure we understand this. There is a difference between practicing sin and falling into sin. All who are Christians still battle sin and beloved we do not win every battle. We will win the war. What He is speaking of is a living out sin continually verses what James tells us,
James 3:2 (ESV)
2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Conversely, Paul is not saying that if you avoid these sins then you’re a Christian or that you become a Christian by not doing these things. We know salvation comes by grace through faith. The reality is that faith is not static but dynamic…working through love and not through our flesh. Faith that just sits there is not real saving faith. Faith that saves will also be a faith that actively loves and serves others.
3. What Walking By the Spirit Looks Like (5:22-26)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Here’s what a Christian looks like.
Again Paul goes back to the Old Testament and uses the metaphor where God compares Israel to a vineyard producing fruit.
Isaiah 5:1–2 (ESV)
5 Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
Israel was not producing righteous fruit. In Christ, we as God’s New Covenant people can produce righteous fruit as the Holy Spirit works within us.
Like the previous list is not exhaustive, neither is this list…things like these.
because we are manifesting the Holy Spirit, itself means we are living in the Last Days. The fact that God has poured out His Spirit upon us as we believe is an eschatological promise fulfilled.
Joel 2:28 (ESV)
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
When one receives the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself and the Christian will begin to show these types of virtues.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The Christian will become one who loves others, is joyful in all circumstances, will experience peace when there should be struggle, patience where maybe before they were impatient, perhaps before they were short with others and selfish, now they are kind. They are good toward others. They are faithful to God and His people. They perhaps were harsh before now they are gentle. Perhaps they had no self-control before but now they have self-control. They regulate their lives according to God’s will.
This is the type of Character God desires His people to have. The only way is first we must be indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Then we must actively live or walk in the Spirit because we are different now.
Conclusion
Notice with me that the ways of the flesh are lived in a community but the individual while living in a community is only really focused on themselves. People to him are used to his advantage. He doesn’t love them because it evident by his actions, he only loves himself and maybe his own family. That what lost people do, what the Judaizers were doing.
I’ve seen people like this within the church setting. They never serve others but they ask others to pray for them. It’s fine if someone wants to serve them. Their mentality is what does the church have to offer me and my family?
When believers walk in the Spirit it is a joy for everyone.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
This person is place in the community of believers and he truly loves others. The Holy Spirit has given him the same love for other believers that God has. He goes out of his way to serve them. He’s not using them to his advantage actually, he is allowing them to use him.
It is a setting like this where the Church shines brightly in a dark and sinful world.
So, here’s the dynamic at work…all who are believers have the Holy Spirit who is manifesting these wonderful virtues in our lives. We all also have our old nature that is still alive and well. This part, the flesh, wants what we want. The flesh is self-centered.
Will we go against the flow of our fallen nature and walk in the Spirit?
Benediction
May you who are led by the Spirit, remember you are not under the law but under grace.
May the Lord of all love cause us to walk by the Spirit and bring about by His goodness and power, the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And you who believe who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
