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Life in the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:1 – 6:18.

Introduction.  As we conclude our series through Galatians, Paul moves from defending the Gospel of justification by faith alone to showing its transforming power in daily life.  The Galatians had begun well but were being pulled toward a “different gospel” that added Jewish practices and law-keeping as necessary for full acceptance with God.  Paul had already shown that this returns believers to slavery and cancels out grace.  Now he explains what genuine freedom looks like:  Standing firm in Christ’s finished work, walking by the Spirit instead of the flesh, doing good without growing weary, and boasting in nothing but the cross.  These chapters balance warning and encouragement.  They reject both legalism and license, calling the church to Spirit-empowered love, mutual care, and perseverance.

Freedom in Christ.

Hold on to freedom, 5:1 -12.

Paul begins with a powerful declaration:  Christ set us free FOR freedom.  This is spiritual liberty from sin’s condemnation, the Law’s curse, and any system of earning God’s favor.  The command follows immediately:  Stand firm and refuse the yoke of slavery again.  The “yoke” pictures the Law as an unbearable burden.

Returning to circumcision as a requirement would re-enslave Gentile believers who had already been liberated.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. [3] Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. [4] You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  (Galatians 5:2 – 4 | TNIV)

This is probably the sternest apostolic warning in the New Testament.  Submitting to circumcision and Law-keeping for salvation and righteousness makes Christ of no value and obligates a person to keep the whole Law, an impossible standard.  Most gravely, it alienates a person from Christ ands causes them to fall from grace.  Adding works to faith for justification is not a minor supplement; it severs one from the only source of righteousness.  Verse 5 points to the true alternative:  Through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly await the righteousness we already possess in justification and will fully realize in glorification.  Verse 5 summarizes Christian existence in Christ:

But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  (Galatians 5:5 | TNIV)

But genuine faith is never idle – it actively works itself out in self-giving love.

Paul uses the race metaphor:

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?  (Galatians 5:7 | TNIV)

Some interlopers were hindering the Galatians from obeying the truth.  That sneaky way of doing business doesn’t come from God.  A little false teaching mixed in with good, like yeast, will spread through the whole church.  Paul is hopeful, however, that they will hold the right view, while the sneaky false teachers will face judgment.  Verses 11 and 12 reveal the cost of the true Gospel:

Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. [12] As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!  (Galatians 5:11, 12 | TNIV)

If Paul himself still preached circumcision, he wouldn’t be facing any opposition.  But the cross, which he now preached, offends everybody because it strips all human boasting.  The troublemakers wanted to void that offense and the suffering it brings.  Paul’s harsh wish that they “emasculate themselves” is, of course, rhetorical shock, exposing how dangerous their teaching was.

Christians today need to stand firm against every subtle form of legalism that adds any requirements to Christ – traditions, rules, or cultural markers.  We must guard the freedom Christ purchased for us.  We need to ask ourselves:  Is my standing before God resting solely on Him or have I begun relying on something else?  Is my faith actively expressing love?  Our race calls for perseverance and hindrances can be very attractive.  We should be willing to bear the offense of the cross and not compromise the message that sets people free.

The purpose of freedom, 5:13 – 15.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. [14] For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13 – 15 | TNIV)

Freedom isn’t a license for selfish indulgence.  It’s liberation from the Law as a means of justification so we can truly love others.  Paul commands us to use freedom to “serve one another humbly in love.”  The verb “serve” carries the idea of willing slavery to other’s good.  Verse 14 grounds this:  The entire Law is fulfilled in the command to love your neighbor as yourself.  Love isn’t a replacement for the Law’s moral heart but, rather,  its fulfillment through the Spirit.  Verse 15 warns that abusing freedom or nursing legalistic pride leads to biting and devouring one another until the church is destroyed.

Christian freedom exists always for the good of others.  Examine whether you are using liberty to serve in love or indulging the flesh through selfishness or a critical spirit.  Love is the inevitable fruit of genuine faith.  Where division exists, ask whether it stems from a failure to practice freedom-for-love.

Walk in the Spirit.

The Spirit versus the flesh, 5:16 – 21.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (Galatians 5:16 – 21 | TNIV)

“Walk by the Spirit” is present tense, indicating continuous dependence and obedience.  The promise is sure:  Walking by the Spirit literally prevents fulfilling the flesh’s (sinful  nature’s) desires.  Flesh and Spirit are opposed, creating an internal conflict; we can’t simply do what want.  But if led by the Spirit, we are not under the Law’s condemnation or impossible demands.  The Law diagnoses sin but can’t produce righteousness.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

Paul lists a bunch of “acts of the flesh” that isn’t exhaustive, just representative.  Then he adds “live like this,” which indicates a habitual lifestyle, not isolated failures.  Those characterized by these works give evidence they are not led by the Spirit and will not inherit the kingdom.  This calls for sober self-examination.

Every believer feels that flesh-Spirit conflict within.  The question is which we pay attention to and follow.  We should prayerfully examine Paul’s list for lingering patterns.  Walking by the Spirit means saying NO to the flesh and YES to the Spirit’s promptings through the Scripture.  Being led by the Spirit frees us from the Law’s condemnation and empowers real change.

Results of life in the Spirit, 5:22 – 26.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:22 – 26 | TNIV)

The Holy Spirit produces one integrated character in us – “fruit” is singular, described in nine qualities that really reflect the character of Jesus Christ.  They all fulfill and surpass the Law, but they can’t be legislated.  Believers have positionally crucified the flesh with its passions (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), yet must daily reckon it dead.  Because we live by the Spirit, we must “keep in step” (from a Greek military term for “marching in rank”) – daily yielded, obedient dependence.  Conceit, provocation, and envy are fleshly works that destroy community.

The fruit of the Spirit is produced by abiding in Christ and walking in the Spirit, not by self-effort.  If you desire more love or patience, draw near the Source and ask the Spirit to produce it.  Keeping in step requires daily Bible reading, prayer, and responsive obedience.  Where the flesh bites and devours, the Spirit produces kindness and gentleness.

Do good to all.

Life in community, 6:1 – 10.

When one is “caught in a sin,” those walking by the Spirit must restore him gently, coming from a Greek word meaning “to set a bone.”  The goal is restoration, not punishment, and it must be done with meekness because the restorer is also vulnerable.  Verse 2 calls the church to carry one another’s burdens.  Verses 3 – 5 balance this personal responsibility:

If any of you think you are something when you are nothing, you deceive yourselves. [4] Each of you should test your own actions. Then you can take pride in yourself, without comparing yourself to somebody else, [5] for each of you should carry your own load. (Galatians 6:3 – 5 | TNIV)

We should always avoid conceit, examine our own actions, and carry our own daily load while still helping others with their heavy burdens.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. [8] Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  (Galatians 6:7, 8 | TNIV)

These famous verses using an agricultural principle tell us simply that God cannot be mocked and that people reap what they sow.  Sowing to the flesh produces destruction while sowing to the Spirit produces eternal life.  This is evidence of nature and consequences of choices, not salvation by works.  And verses 9 and 10 exhort perseverance:  Don’t get tired of doing good because at the right time we will reap what we’ve sown.

The Spirit-filled church practices gentle restoration, mutual burden-bearing alongside personal accountability, generous support for teachers, and perseverance in good works with an eternal perspective.  The local church should visibly display the fruit of the Spirit through care that prioritizes the family of God while extending outward.

Final thoughts, 6:11 – 18.

In these final verses, Paul takes the pen himself, writing large letters for emphasis or maybe authentication.  The false teachers’ motive was to impress people and avoid persecution from the cross.  But the truth was, even they didn’t practice what they preached!  Paul’s only boast was the cross, through which the world has been crucified to him and he to the world.  Neither circumcision nor its absence matters; the new creation is everything.  Peace and mercy rest on those who walk by this rule – the true Israel of God, the church of all who believe in Christ.  Paul’s scars authenticate his message and suffering for the Gospel.  The letter closes with the benediction that has been its heartbeat:  Grace be with your sprit.

What is your boast today?  Your morality?  Your heritage?  Your bank account?  Or the cross alone?  The Gospel creates a new people whose identity transcends all the old markers.  Suffering for Christ marks belonging to Him.  The final word over the church is always grace.

Conclusion.  This group of verses show that the Gospel defended earlier produces a life of freedom for love, walking by the Spirit, gentle restoration, burden-bearing, perseverance in good, and boasting only in the cross.  Legalism and license are both rejected outright.  Stand firm in the freedom Christ purchased!  Use it to serve God and others in love.