Scripture:
Galatians 5:16-24 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.
Observation:
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. The reason is that it gives us a stark contrast between what the flesh does and what the spirit does. I know I just wrote about this a few days ago, but I feel like this is one of those passages you can go back to over and over and never really drive out all the wisdom. So what does it mean to keep in step with the spirit? Let’s take a look. There are two lists given by Paul, and I believe that is not by mistake. He is speaking to the Galatians, who have been confused by someone coming in and preaching about circumcision as a means of salvation. Paul argues that it will never work. Circumcision is outward and only changes the body, not the heart. That being said, let’s take a look at the acts of the flesh. The list is not complete. It’s a partial list at the end. It says, “and things like these.” So we know that this list is right off the top of Paul’s mind. However, it paints a great picture of what it looks like to be a slave to the flesh. The list is all self-motivated. It has to do with what I want and not anything about others. So, by looking at the list of fleshly things, the behaviors are selfish and self-centered. Now on to the fruit of the Spirit. Let’s make sure we know how that list starts. It starts with love. There is a reason for that love is not self-motivated it thinks of others first. All the rest of the fruit stems from it. I could honestly stay right here for the next few hours just talking about this one aspect of Spirit-filled fruit. Because it’s where it all starts. So I have to say this, and we will move on to the application. Paul gives us a list so we can check ourselves. So we can see how our walk with Jesus is going.
Application:
In order to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, we need to know what that looks like. If everything we do is based on what we can get out of it. Our walk needs to be adjusted. Because we are walking according to the flesh. We need to be focusing on others. Love is outward first, and if we truly love. We will consider others more important. Letting the Holy Spirit be seen in how we present our hearts if we love others, we will be peaceful and full of joy. The Bible gives so many examples of what love does. first, Corinthians 13 tells us that love is not self-seeking. In other areas, it says love covers sin. Man, I’m telling you love is the answer. It doesn’t lie but rejoices with the truth. So if we are looking at what it means to be in step with the fruit of the Spirit, and we know that the fruit of the Spirit starts with love, and we know that love is outward. It’s easy to see that if we are focused on self, we are focused on flesh, and if we are focused on others, we are focused on the spirit. Let us lay ourselves down and pick up love. My life is not my own. HE paid for it in full. The least I can do is try to love like HE did.
Prayer:
Father, you are so amazing. I know you are going to use the words spoken in this SOAP this morning to change lives. I pray that you send your Holy Spirit forth right now to prepare the hearts of those who will take the time to read it. I pray that they don’t just give it a quick glance but that they look deeply into the fruit that their life is produced and pluck out the weeds. Help us to see that love is where it all starts. It is the root of the fruit. We want others to see you in who you have made us to be, and honestly, you know how to love. Help us to love like you do. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.