Living with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26)

In this set of verses Paul describes some activities of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s people. He says that they are led by the Spirit, that they live by the Spirit, that they walk with the Spirit, and that they show the fruit of the Spirit. Clearly, he is indicating to the Galatians that a failure to realise what the work of the Spirit involved lay at the root of their spiritual problems. He had mentioned this earlier in the letter when he asked them that having begun in the Spirit, did they now expect to continue in the flesh? Here he lists various activities of the flesh and shows that they are contrary to the aims of the Spirit.

The conflict

In these verses Paul describes a conflict between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit. The aim of both the flesh and the Spirit is to prevent people doing what they want to do. In a person led by the Spirit, the flesh works to stop that person doing what he wants to do; in a person led by the flesh, the Spirit works to stop that person doing what he wants to do. The flesh aims to stop conformity to Christ and the Spirit aims to stop conformity to the world.

The flesh is not our physical flesh, although the things Paul mentions as expressions of the flesh are practices that show themselves often in our physical activities. Those actions and attitudes of the flesh were forbidden by the Old Testament law, but the law was powerless to prevent them from taking place. It condemned those who did them, but it could not change those who practiced them.

The problem with living in such a manner is not confined to the time they are practised. In addition, those marked by such a lifestyle show that they do not belong to the children of God. A person’s behaviour always shows where he or she is heading in a spiritual sense. The reality of hell is an awesome one, and Paul here warns the Galatians of that destiny.

What kind of sins are mentioned by Paul? They can be classified as immorality, idolatry, hostility and animosity. Many of the practices that he mentions would have been connected to pagan religions which dominated life in Galatian society. The works of the flesh would not be unusual activities. Instead they would be the everyday life practiced in the cities of Galatia. The works of the flesh that he mentions may have become common in the Galatian churches after they had abandoned the gospel or he may be describing such works in general.

Some of the forbidden sins are obviously wrong. No one who promotes holiness would condone such practices. Yet there are a few of them that need more focus because they are more likely to happen. For example, we are not liable to engage in the immoral rituals of the pagan world, but we could be guilty of enmity and jealousy. It is also the case that some divisions are necessary because of wrong teachings and practices. Sometimes Paul was angry with people when they had done wrong. So we need discernment in how we live.

It is important to note that Paul insists that a Christian does not live in the ways of the flesh. One cannot claim to be a Christian and engage in those actions and attitudes. Instead, there is a marked contrast between a true Christian and a person who lives according to the flesh.

The contrast

Paul affirms that Christians have power that those trying to live according to the law do not possess. The power that they possess is the Holy Spirit. He leads them like a shepherd through life. Moreover, he not only leads them in the sense of showing them what to do, he also lives within them and gives them power in those situations. As Paul says, they live by the Spirit.

Because they are alive, they bear fruit. The change comes because they have been regenerated and possess the life of God in their souls. Their way of life is the outflow of something that exists within them. It is important to see that Paul does not say fruits, but fruit. The fruit is what one would expect. After all, an apple tree produces apples and a pear tree produces pears. Before they bear fruit, a person can predict what kind of fruit will appear.  This leads to the obvious question, What kind of tree is a Christian? The answer is that the character of Christ will appear from within him. This does not mean that a Christian does not express individuality. Instead, the beauty of Jesus expresses itself in all the variety that exists in the person he has made alive.

What word comes to mind when we read the list of fruit mentioned by Paul here. One word might be Wow. One word that would not be used is legalism. The obvious word is Christlikeness. After all, the list is basically a summary of how he lived. Even as the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a summary of the lifestyle of Jesus, so is the list of the fruit of the Spirit.

What features are included in this list? Attempts have been made to divide them into categories. John Stott suggested that the first three describe a believer’s response to God, the second three his response to others, and the third three to himself. William Hendrickson suggestion is more complicated: the first three are basic graces, the second three are social graces, and in the third three, faithfulness is toward God, gentleness is towards others, and self-control is by oneself.

We can say that the first three aspects – love, joy and peace – are feelings or affections. It is also the case that these three are the responses a believer makes toward God. After all, it would be difficult to say that one should be patient with God or kind to God. Yet we can see why one would have love, joy and peace towards God and from God.

It is also possible that Paul lists the items to indicate that the final six come out of the first three. Certainly, one could not have the final six without love, but it is also the case that joy and peace are needed in situations that require patience and gentleness. It is also the case that some of the list can be directed towards the Lord and to his people, such as faithfulness.

Obviously, we can take this list and assess whether someone else is a Christian. Paul makes it clear that here he is describing an average Christian way of life. Yet instead of using it to assess others, we should use it individually to assess ourselves. Maybe we could ask a close friend to give their assessment of how we are doing with regard to this list.

Here is a brief set of comments on the first three aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Love, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, is essential. There will be love to God and love to Christians and love to others. Indeed, there will be love to individual persons in the Trinity, to individuals in the church and to individuals in the world.

Joy. God is the source of joy, so its presence indicates if we are having fellowship with God. A miserable Christian is a contradiction. One cannot spend time with God and remain unhappy. When we spend time with the Trinity, what do they wish to speak about? Do they wish to speak about what they do for us or what we do for them? What they do for us is clearly revealed in their promises. And when we think about their promises, we are filled with delight and joy. This joy can exist alongside disappointments and fears. It is the joy of salvation, and not the joy of providence.

Peace. This is the peace of God which comes to those who have peace with God. It is a sense of comfort, of well-being, and can exist in the most difficult of circumstances. It is not indifference to the surroundings, but it is connected to contentment that comes from knowing pardon, that God is looking after that individual, and is taking them to the place he has promised.

With regard to the other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, they are obvious in their meaning. Patience has to do with circumstances as well as with people and indicates perseverance in expressing kindness and goodness. There is perhaps a hint in this trio of graces that one does not act badly whatever the circumstances. Faithfulness to God needs to be expressed in a gentle and self-controlled manner.

The cause of fruitbearing

How can the fruit of the Spirit be developed and the desires and actions of the flesh be diminished? Paul gives the answer to this important question when he says that ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires’. There are a couple of details in this description that we should observe.

The first is that Paul says that the believers are the ones who deal with the flesh. It is their responsibility to do so. The second is that the method of dealing with the flesh is drastic – Paul likens it to crucifixion. Everyone at that time knew about crucifixion, so they would get the point of the analogy. What aspects of crucifixion depict what Paul has in mind regarding Christian growth? Here are five suggestions.

First, crucifixion usually involved nailing the victim’s limbs to a cross. Maybe Paul is hinting that each aspect of the flesh is to be treated as a limb was, with focus and concentration. Second, crucifixion was always painful, and it will be very sore to rid ourselves of some entrenched sin. Third, crucifixion was a cause of shame as well, which is a reminder that we should be embarrassed by our sins. Fourth, crucifixion was not an instantaneous death because it could take the victim a long time to die, and mortification of sin can take a long time. Fifth, nevertheless, crucifixion did set the person in a definite direction, as does regeneration, and a Christian with divine help will deal with his or her sins so that the fruit of the Spirit will not be hindered in his or her life.

The challenge

Paul closes this section with a challenge, which is that the Galatians are to make spiritual progress. He returns to his previous picture of being led by the Spirit and urges his readers to walk at the same rate, which they can do because they live by the Spirit. The word translated by ‘keep in step’ is a military term; we can see therefore a combination of (1) following a leader and (2) following a leader together with others. Usually, the Spirit leads his people through the same means in order to produce fruit. They are to do this rather than hinder one another by pride and disagreements.

Application

The way to make progress in the Christian life is by the work of the other Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Since his role is essential, we should make it our aim not to grieve him. Rather, we should aim to please him and we do so by using his power to slay progressively the sins in our lives.

The outcome of adjusting the gospel will be the works of the flesh. In Galatia, the believers took their eyes of Jesus, and when they did that they had a different way of looking at one another. Instead of being an attractive group on parade, they had become very unattractive and disorganised, with everyone doing what they felt like doing and not doing what the Holy Spirit wanted them to do. He is interested in producing lovely fruit and he never produces ugly weeds.