Galatians 5:16-18 (ESV)

2. Galatians 5:16-18 (ESV) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

3. 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.

4. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

5. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16, ESV

6. Contrast Instead of devouring one another they are to “walk in the Spirit” To “walk” is another way of saying live this way, or have this lifestyle Also, in the greek there is a continuous nuance They are not only to walk in the Spirit, but continue walking in the Spirit The second half of the verse shows that to walk in the Spirit is not to walk in the flesh Flesh means sinful lifestyles There may also be an attack on the agitators, since we know Philo claimed circumcision, “cuts off the pleasure and all passion” (in Moo, 353) Paul, however, recognizes that it is only by the Spirit that such passions can be overcome

7. 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. Galatians 5:17, ESV

8. The Flesh and the Spirit We see two desires, the first is the desires of the flesh These are the desires of sin (the desires of following the Old Man see Romans 6) Antithetical/against the flesh are the desires of the Spirit The Spirit leads us into holiness, better into the image of God which we were originally created The flesh leads us away from this image This shows us the state of the Christian The Christian is a battleground within between the flesh and the Spirit While sin is no longer the reigning king of the Christian it still has influence This influence is antithetical to the New Life brought by the Spirit

9. Doing What You Want The final clause has the most debate surround it A fairly literal Greek translation would be, “(In order that/so that) whatever you might want, these things you are not doing.” Where is the emphasis for things we want to do? First: The things you want to do are good things The flesh keeps us from doing good things we want to do The problem is that Paul does not specify that they are “Good” things, but instead is neutral… “things you want to do”

10. Doing What You Want (2) Second: The things you want to do are desires of the flesh (bad things) Because of the battle within us the Spirit keeps us from doing the bad things we want to do The problem is the same with the first interpretation…it’s neutral not indicating either good or evil Though it could be unbridled things (living whatever lifestyle you want) Yet, why is that the Spirit becomes the focus? So far both flesh and Spirit have been discussed equally, so why assume that the Spirit keeps us from doing what we want?

11. Doing What You Want (3) Third: What you want to do is literally what you want to either do good or evil Because of the battle within us we lose our autonomy…either we live for the Spirit or the Flesh (no middle ground) The only way to overcome the flesh, then, is by the power of the Spirit When we walk by the Spirit we gain true victory This view allows the neutral “what you want to do” while also keeping the antithetical nature between flesh and Spirit Moo notes two problems with this (353-356) First: Does Paul really want to take away all human autonomy? Second: Does it fit with verse 16 where we find a guarantee to overcome if we are in the Spirit?

12. Doing What You Want (4) Which interpretation makes most sense withincontext of Galatians Most scholars, if reluctantly, fall into the final interpretation Every action we have is either for the Spirit or for the flesh This reminds us of the seriousness of the battle within us Likewise it does not negate human willingness Instead, it reminds us that our wills will be led by either sin or the Spirit

13. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:18, ESV

14. Not Under the Law Paul here gives us hope While there is a battle within us, there is confirmation that the Spirit can/will overcome To be “led by the Spirit” means a continual lifestyle (not being led as we understand it in prayer groups) To be under the Law has been seen previously (3:10, 3:23, 4:4-5, 4:21) It reminds us that to be under the Law would be to be under the powers that held them previously (see chapter 4) The basic belief that one can be justified by human efforts (which is antithetical to the Gospel Paul proclaims)

15. Not Under the Law (2) Paul is reminding them that if they are led by the Spirit they are no longer under the Law They do not need to follow the Law in order to be justified This goes against the agitators who claim that they must follow the Law in order to attain justification Hence, Paul is reminding them that when they live according to the Spirit they are no longer under the Law

16. Main Point There is a battle raging within the Christian between the flesh and the Spirit To gratify one is to not gratify the other We have hope that the one who lives according to the Spirit is one who is justified before God (not because of their works in the Spirit, but because the Spirit Himself testifies that they are already justified/Galatians 3)

17. Application Points All at War There are two opposing forces at war within the Christian The victor of that war shows us the lifestyle of the Christian Either we will live out the desires of the Spirit, or we will live out the desires of the flesh Let’s consider the alternative What about the person who is not a Christian? They do not live at war within themselves because they are slaves to sin (see Romans 1-3, Ephesians 2, Galatians 3-5) There is no war because the Spirit does not reside in them

18. Application Points All at War (2) If we can imagine a crown it would be on the head of the desires of the flesh This is the reality of every individual unless the Spirit of God comes upon them To contrast this is the believer The crown is not given to the believer, but to the Spirit, the Spirit becomes the reigning influence in the believer Living this lifestyle does not justify us, but is evidence that we already are justified before God by His grace

19. Application Points All at War (3) Before the Spirit comes and gives us life we live the desires of the flesh in death After the Spirit, however, we have a different influence and that is the Spirit This reminds us that our wills are influenced by two separate entities There is not a third choice, it is either the Spirit or the flesh But, we also recognize we will never gain perfection in this life No matter how much good we do, we will always stumble in sin

20. Application Points All at War (4) Where is our hope? How many of the 10 commandments have you broken in your life?If you’re like me you probably can not count them all! It’s even worse when we take the teachings of Jesus into consideration If we’ve even lusted after someone we have committed adultery with them in our hearts (this is just as bad to God {see Matthew 5}) The same can be said for murder Jesus says that if you hate someone it is as though you’ve murdered them in your heart (again Matthew 5) Therefore it is a sin and we are in judgment because of it

21. Application Points All at War (5) Now the question is, how many of you have committed these sins even after conversion? Again, if we’re honest, we would all raise our hands So what’s the point in conversion? We all admit to being sinners both before and after conversion Where is our hope? It is true we cannot obtain perfection in this life, we will always be winning and losing battles within ourselves Yet, we are not without hope or peace, instead we have hope and peace in the one whom we’ve placed our faith and that is Jesus Christ

22. Application Points All at War (6) We hope every day that…the Spirit is stronger than the flesh We are a people who have hope in the power of the Spirit to persevere us unto the end When we die this hope continues, because we know the one in whom we’ve placed our faith In this we find our peace with God Himself While it is hard to grasp when we battle within ourselves, when we stop and consider it we are no longer at war with God Even if we do sin, God still loves us as His children if we are found in Christ Jesus (see Romans 5-8)

23. Application Points All at War (7) When we consider this peace it gives us greater peace within us Consider the options We are either at peace with God, and have war within ourselves Or we are peace with ourselves, but at war with God Which peace really gives the greater peace? Our greatest peace is not found from ourselves, but from our relationship with God

24. Application Points All at War (8) The more peace we find from God, the less dreadful this war will appear A war where we see growth, love, and a sense of peace every time we get our hands in the battle An encouragement: face the war with renewed vigor! Every Christian fights in this war, allowing us encouragement from one another and empathy toward our struggling brothers and sisters Don’t be discouraged when you lose a battle, instead get up, dust yourself off, and keep going Fight the good internal fight, knowing that if we are found in Jesus not a single battle is in vain

25. Application Points Justification by Faith The concept of justification by faith is seen within these verses This comes from the final verse which informs us if we are found in the Spirit then we are not under the Law This does not mean the Law has no purpose, but that it does not provide us with any more or less justification God alone is the one who justifies We cannot grasp justification on our own Instead, being dead in sin, we are in need of God to justify us

26. Application Points Justification by Faith (2) This is what God does through the Gospel, we are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone This ties into the verse by reminding us that those who are in the Spirit have been justified already (yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever) The good news of this is that we can stop trying to gain justification on our own The fight is worth fighting, why? Because God loved us before we loved Him This love should cause us to desire and obey Him (see earlier in Galatians 5) not for justification, but because of love

27. Application Points Justification by Faith (3) Last week we saw how love is the foundation It is this love which we find our justification through Christ Jesus God first loved us, and continues to love us despite our struggles This is what motivates us to live obediently To let the Spirit lead our lives for the glory of God We are not justified by our works we are justified by the work of Christ This will give us our greatest peace, and give us strength to fight the flesh

28. Application Points Justification by Faith (4) Though this point is being hammered on and on there is a reason for it This is what makes the Gospel so unique We can’t do it, God can, and He has, through Jesus Christ We can let go, and know that Jesus is enough

29. Application Points The Gospel Without the Gospel we would still be in sinwithout redemption Yet we have hope through the Gospel It begins with our origins, we are created in the image of God Like God, we are able to reason, love, know, be known, know morality, know truth, and have personhood Few other worldviews define humanity in such a way

30. Application Points The Gospel (2) Yet, like God, we are able to choose We were/are able to choose God and life or sin and death Humanity chose, and continues to choose, sin over God We are under condemnation for our sins Our relationships with God, ourselves, the world, and each other are broken We continue to accrue a greater and greater moral guilt before our God This is our darkness, yet God did not leave us in the darkness without hope Instead He sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, die, and rise again in space, time, history, and flesh In this way we are redeemed from our sins

31. Application Points The Gospel (3) That is required of us is obedience in two things The first is repentance, we are to turn away from sin, and turn to God being led by His Spirit The second is faith in Christ, knowing we are not saved by our works but by His work For those who do not repent and place their faith in Jesus there is only judgment To go before God with nothing but our merits is to go before judgment

32. Application Points The Gospel (4) For those who do repent and do place their faith in Jesus there is salvation There is salvation from sin, from the powers of darkness, from the necessity to be justified on our own, from the judgment of God This salvation brings peace with God When eschatological judgment occurs, those who are in Christ will receive the Kingdom of God, a kingdom which lasts forever