Scripture:
Galatians 5:16-26 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. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Observation:
Yesterday, we saw a similar passage from Paul in Romans. Today, we see that he is going into a little more detail. Looking at the scripture, we find that Paul has a great contrast. Between what it looks like to walk by the Spirit or walking according to the flesh. Informing us that they look different lays a path in front of us that is very clear and explains the spiritual war we all face daily. Paul makes that clear by saying that the spirit and the flesh are in opposition to each other. Keeping us from doing what we want to do. Romans 7:14-20 Paul gives us an example of what this looks like in his life, saying, ” I find myself doing the very thing I don’t want to do.” Being led by the spirit is his desired position. But it seems in Romans 7, Paul has a clear understanding of the spiritual battle. The flesh is at war with the spirit. The question is, who wins? I believe the contrast laid out is important to see. The first is not a complete list. You can tell because at the beginning of verse 21, it says, “and things like these.” That is the evidence that the list could go on. However, in verse 22, we get a complete list of what the fruit of the Spirit looks like. The importance of this list is just as important as the law. How would we know what sin looked like if we did not have some kind of baseline, or how would we be able to tell what it looked like to be in step with the Spirit unless we know what the fruit of the Spirit looked like?
Application:
The application of this seems easy to explain. The first sign of spirit-led fruit is love, and if we look at the rest of the fruit, we can see that they are all actions that come from that one thing. Don’t get me wrong. I know that there is a war that goes on inside every one of us daily. The flesh wants what feels good, and the spirit wants what is good. So what does it look like to walk by the Spirit? Well, I believe that the spirit is love, and against love, there is no law. What I have noticed in my life is that I have a choice to make in some situations it’s easy to see the right action to take that will show the love of Christ, and in others, it’s a lot harder. But with prayer and careful consideration, the Holy Spirit will always reveal the next step. So sometimes the best course of action is not to react. I want to be spirit-led and Bible-fed. Searching the scriptures for my answers over the last several years has allowed me to see what it means to walk in step with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. At just the right time, HE will bring to mind a scripture that has been planted in my heart. That reveals the best course of action to allow love to shine through. My point is… patience, ironically, that one of the signs that the Holy Spirit is producing fruit in your life. Giving in to the flesh shows that you still tend to feed it at times, and believe me, I know we all have our moments. But the more we starve our flesh and feed our spirit. The easier, it becomes to hear the Holy Spirit when it speaks. It’s not something that happens overnight for most of us. It’s a progressive thing, just like the fruit of the Spirit starts with love. Denying our flesh has to start with something as well. For me, it started with abstaining from drugs, which led to a desire to change other behaviors as well as I progressively denied my flesh. The Holy Spirit started to come more alive in my life, and the other parts of it became more evident. Joy could be seen in the midst of suffering. The more fleshly things that were put to death. Was like putting fertilizer on a plant the Holy Spirit was growing inside of me. Hearing his voice became easier and easier. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a lot of work to do in my life. But I can see how the more flesh I kill, the more prevalent the Holy Spirit becomes, so my suggestion is to start eliminating the acts of the flesh and watch the Holy Spirit start to grow.
Prayer:
Father, we want to thank you for showing us clearly in your word what it looks like to keep in step with your Holy Spirit. We ask that you help us to show that you ate our LORD by the way we treat those you place in our path. Let us stay in step with the Holy Spirit. Treating everyone with the same love that you showed us. We just want to stay in step with you as you lead our lives. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen