Galatians 5:13-26
SS Lesson for 08/06/2023
Devotional Scriptures: Rom 6:17-22
Our text is from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, written to address a controversy among churches founded on his first missionary journey. He wrote in response to some people’s belief that Christians of Gentile background had to obey stipulations in the Law of Moses in order to belong to God’s people (Galatians 1:6; 5:2-6; see Acts 15:1-5). But Paul pointed out that faith in Jesus, not the completion of the works of law, is the true identifier of God’s people (Galatians 2:15-16; 3:1-6). God gave the Israelites the Law of Moses to guide them until he brought the fulfillment of his promises (3:23-25). That fulfillment was Jesus. His death and resurrection made it possible for people of every nation to be welcomed into God’s family. Works of law in general (3:10-12) and circumcision in particular (5:2-6) had not resulted in the people living as God called them to live: fully devoted to him in holiness. But in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, there was freedom and empowerment to do so.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 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.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road — the desert road — that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 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.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
1 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Characteristics of the Spiritual Life
Whether one may hold the different orthodox positions of Wesley or John Owen, who are at theological polarities, the spiritual life can be enhanced by understanding what leads to godliness in men’s lives.
(1) The results of the spiritual life are often more evident than the reasons for it. Notice in Galatians 5 Paul says, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, but the fruit of the Spirit is …” It is easy to look at the results of spirituality rather than figure out the reasons behind it. This is so because of the nature of the Spirit. The results of the spiritual life are manifestations of the Spirit and are called the fruit of the Spirit. Remember in John 3 when Jesus met with Nicodemus and He said that the Spirit of God’s work in men is like the wind? The wind is not visible, but the results which it creates are. The Spirit is self-effacing. The Spirit is not concerned about the limelight. Thus the Spirit is evident by His fruits, rather than by His actual, visible presence. Consequently, the results of the spiritual life are more evident than the reasons. This is why the fruit of the spiritual life is emphasized. Hence our Lord said, “By their fruit you shall know them.”
(2) There are no formulas for the spiritual life. Did you notice that in Galatians 5 there are no formulas or methods for living the spiritual life? Paul only commands us to “walk in the Spirit.” Now for a methodist (in the generic sense), for one who is always method orientated, for one who wants steps and outlines and procedures, this is the most frustrating revelation of all. The spiritual life ultimately cannot be cranked out by following formulas, because formulas are antithetically opposed to “walking in the Spirit.” Since “walking in the Spirit” is dependence upon God, each Christian’s walk with the Lord is unique because it is personal. The standards of Scripture are not abrogated by this fact.
Let us examine some of the characteristics exhibited in the lives of spiritual believers whether they be Wesleyan or Reformed. Let me tell you that some of these areas ought be evident in our lives as well.
(1) A heart for God. More than anything else it is apparent to me that those who are truly spiritual have a heart for God. David is an illustration of an Old Testament saint who had a heart for God. David was “a man after God’s own heart.” Even when David sinned he responded to God’s corrective Word rather than rationalizing his behavior. Paul is an example of a New Testament saint who had a heart for God. He had a preoccupation with Jesus Christ. Thus he says in Philippians 3, “that I may know Him.”
(2) An intimacy with God. Intimacy is something that can hardly be defined. It is characterized by a comfortableness with God. This intimacy can be sensed in the prayers of some. Some prayers are seemingly a “to whom it may concern,” or like a mimeographed version of a letter. Such letters come in the mail and while all the information is there, something’s missing. Sometimes I get a letter in the mail addressed to “Robert T. Deffinbaugh” (my name is “Robert L. Deffinbaugh”). The phone directory has my name wrong so I know precisely where they obtained my name. I lack all sense of intimacy and interest in such a letter, because they know me only from a book. Intimacy with God manifests itself in honesty with God. The Psalmist is honest when he approaches God. Instead of mouthing the same old platitude, he speaks his mind. He tells God all while the rest of us put on a pious garb. When there is intimacy with God you are aware that God knows you better than you know yourself. So why fake it with God? Open yourself up to God and tell Him your inner thoughts, emotions, and needs.
(3) A hunger and a thirst after righteousness. In my last message I said it is wrong to pursue other people’s esteem or estimation of us as spiritual. Furthermore, our own estimation of our spiritual condition may be misleading. Let us pursue God in all of His holiness. Let us not seek to obtain people’s “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” on our spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount, those who seek God and who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed.
(4) A grasp of the gospel. Many people think the gospel is like an illness; hopefully it is something that will pass. This can be illustrated with respect to the Lord’s Supper. There may be a tendency to say, “Why do we repeat this week after week?” This question arises because of a misunderstanding of the gospel. Those who really know God have a depth of understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work. Paul began Galatians 1 with his own conversion experience because at that point God radically changed his life. The gospel he received transformed his life and everything that he did. From that point on, all that Paul taught was vitally related to the gospel: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, and the centrality of the cross of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the focus of Paul’s teaching and action, and it is central to all those who truly know God. They never get over the gospel! The gospel is not only the basis of entrance into the spiritual life; it is the basis of the spiritual life. That is why Paul says in Galatians 5:24: “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh.” This is not teaching mortification of the flesh, though other passages may; it is saying when you were saved the flesh was put to death. Consequently Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit (regeneration), let us also walk by the Spirit.” If we have been converted, born again by the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Paul states in Colossians, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” The gospel is the ground of everything we do. It is not only the basis of our salvation; it is the basis of our sanctification.
(5) A consciousness of conflict. Evangelical Christians today do not have a consciousness of the inner warfare described in Galatians 5. The charismatics also lack this consciousness, although they are to be commended for their awareness of the Ephesians 6 warfare. It is easier to say, “Satan and the demons are at work in the world,” than to say, “The flesh is at work in here! The problem is me!” This is the inner war that Paul describes as the conflict in Galatians 5.
(6) A recognition of imperfection. It is interesting that Wesley never claimed perfection as he taught it. He said, “The spirituality of which I speak in principle, I have never attained to.”118 Great and godly men have always been overcome with a sense of their own sin and failure. I am excited about the book Loving God by Charles Colson. However, it focuses on the initial commitment to obedience, and many of us need to start there. But after that initial commitment to love and to serve God, whatever the cost, no matter how pure and how holy that commitment may have been, the enactment will have problems. That is the nature of the results of the inner conflict. Packer says, “I never preached a sermon but what I could have done better. I never preached a sermon but what there were motives of impurity in my own heart.”119 I want to give you an illustration from my own life this past week. It was late as I drove into the parking lot to pick up my daughter at Braum’s where she works. One car had its headlights shining on another car, which was locked with the keys inside. My daughter got in my car as I walked over where the police were trying to open the car door with a professional lock-picking tool. Although this tool is available at our local parts store, I don’t need it; I always use a clothes hanger. The police tried numerous times, but they were unable to open the door. At this point I had an uncontrollable desire to get in that car. I drove to a nearby friend’s house and borrowed a pair of needle-nose pliers and a clothes hanger. On returning, I took command of the situation, and pushing the police aside, I displayed my expertise at breaking into locked cars. Five minutes later the car was open, and the party was on their way. Now I must tell you that I’m not even sure this deed started with spiritual motivation. I love the challenge of breaking into locked cars! On another occasion a AAA wrecker came to rescue a car that was mistakenly locked. After an hour the dispatcher sent the wrecker home with his professional tools. The car was a GM with a slide lock, so there was no handle to hook onto and pull up. That job took me a little longer, but it was especially satisfying. As a matter of fact, the other day (as long as I am confessing, I might as well tell it all), I was at the gas station, and the attendant had locked his keys in the office. I reached through the cash drawer with a long wire, fished his keys off the table at the back, and he gave me $3 worth of gas. I want to tell you that I received more pleasure than just three bucks! My point in these illustrations is that I do not think I even started to open these cars with any spiritual intention. I had a special sense of prideful pleasure when I told the police officer, “Step aside, sonny, and let a professional do this!” Often things we start that seem to be well motivated are corrupted by the flesh because of the war within. What we begin well, we don’t necessarily end well. The reality of life is that even if one whole act may possibly have been done spiritually, and without sin, a moment’s reflection on it later will corrupt it. This is why legalism will never sanctify. Once aware of the war within, and the fact that the flesh is always twisting and corrupting the mind, the intellect, the emotions, or the will, then we remove all hope of ever doing anything totally right.
(7) A realization that the spiritual life is humanly impossible. The spiritual life is similar to “walking on water.” It is absolutely impossible! In the gospel account Peter walked on the water but he began to sink as we see from the text that he obviously took his eyes off the Lord upon seeing the fearful wind and waves. Imagine, however, that Peter was not fearful but proud, or imagine that I attempted to walk on water. I would get out of the boat and tentatively test the water to see how well it supported me. As I was able to walk I would become more confident. I might then glance back to the others in the boat, thinking to myself that they were not as spiritual as I, perhaps even saying: “Hey, this is easy! Why don’t you come on out?” Pride would eventually overtake me with the thought, “Why, this isn’t bad; I should have done this sooner”—just as a big wave knocked me off my feet! Remember Peter’s experience was during a storm when the waves would have been moving quite roughly. The water supported him, but as the waves moved they could trip him; it probably was not easy. Similarly in the spiritual life, aggressive concentration is required even with God’s enablement, and we must realize that without divine enablement the spiritual life is impossible.
(8) A desire for selflessness and service. Those who are spiritual in biblical terms are selfless and are concerned about service, a subject discussed in the last message which I will not concentrate on here. Those who are truly spiritual have genuine humility. They understand the nature of grace, which excludes pride, because grace is always undeserved.
(9) A sense of a broader community. In Corinth the carnal Christians said, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas.” To the Corinthian the company of the committed was rather small. Note the old saying: “I’m not so sure about anybody but you and me, and I’m not even too sure about you.” The mentality of self-centeredness is proud and elitist. Those who are truly spiritual are sensitive to a broader group of believers in Christ. J. I. Packer makes this point well. Having a sensitivity to the working of God in the lives of others and a willingness to recognize God’s presence even when there are some doctrinal differences are characteristics of the spiritual believer. Packer emphasizes this in regard to Wesley, an Armenian:
I give the final word to Charles Wesley, the supreme poet of Christian experience. Here he expresses to perfection the prayerful state of mind of those in whom the Spirit is working holiness; and if it strikes us that one or two of his phrases suggest doctrinal misconceptions, we should tell ourselves that just as there is a time for making an issue of such things, so also there is a time for letting them pass.120
Packer says, “I don’t agree with Wesley’s theology, but I want to tell you that I think the Spirit of God is at work in the man and I accept it, and I accept him.” Those who walk in the Spirit sense the Spirit’s work in others, as well as in themselves. They respond to the Spirit, while they may reject the other’s theology. There is a broader perception of the body of Christ in those who are spiritual. This perception also affects a believer’s devotion to certain teachers. In Corinth the carnal Christians identified themselves with only one teacher. Those who are sensitive to the Spirit’s work in others are willing to be taught by anyone in whom the Spirit of God dwells and who speaks according to the truth of Scripture. Their teachers are many, not few. There is also a sense in which there is a willingness to learn from a variety of people. For instance Packer could learn from Wesley, although he differs from him in many regards. While we need to be willing to learn from teachers and others we also need to rely upon the Spirit’s work in teaching us individually. I fear that in this day in which we stress discipleship, there is an undue, inordinate sense of reliance upon other people which I think is not good. While we do need other people, let us beware of an undue reliance upon them rather than a self-sufficiency that comes in Christ.
(10) A sense of anticipation and urgency. Those who are genuinely spiritual believe the days before the Lord returns are few. Expectation and urgency characterize such believer’s lives. They focus on spiritual activity. All through the Scriptures, Old and New, men’s actions were based on promise, and promise called for activity. God has promised to provide for our needs! God has promised to empower us! God has given us the vision, and that is why activity is necessary. Paul says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12c-13). God is the One who is working in us, so we should humbly give ourselves to that work.
(11) A passion for the Word of God. I read this week a pamphlet by Martin Luther and was impressed once again by the Reformation principle, sole Scripture, Scriptures only. Now I understand the context in which they formed this principle. The Roman Catholic Church is a highly authoritarian system where members are told what to believe; believe the church. However, the principle is valid. We need to have a dependence upon the Word of God and an insatiable appetite for it. Those who are spiritual spend much time in the Scriptures seeking God’s Word.
(Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/war-without-and-war-within%E2%80%94part-2-galatians-513-26)
Paul begins and ends his vice list with the commonly named pagan vices but devotes most of his attention in the middle to matters of hostility and disunity. He is driving home a point to Galatian church members that needs to be heard through the ages: When we divide the body of Christ for self-serving reasons, we serve the flesh. We might tend to minimize such acts by pointing to the blatant evils of the ungodly world around us, but our selfish hostility is just as evil. We paganize ourselves when we refuse to love one another. Do you want a kingdom life, the life that God always intended for his people? Then let the Holy Spirit bear his fruit.