Galatians: A Study of Christian Freedom
Lesson 16: The Conflict! Galatians 5:16-18
Living in a community governed by the law of love should be paradise on earth, shouldn't it? Okay, maybe, not so much. As a liberated Christian aspiring to be like Christ, you should know one spiritual victory after another, shouldn’t you? Ok, maybe that’s someone else.
One of the realities of the Christian life is that we are in the midst of conflict and the conflict Paul discusses in these verses takes place on the battlefield of our hearts. Let’s examine what he says.
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
The structure of this sentence could be misleading. Paul is not directing the Galatians to do two things. He is saying that if we “live by the Spirit,” we naturally won’t “gratify the desires of the flesh.”
So, in his opening words about this conflict, he tells us how to win. We’ll come back to that later. For now, let’s take a closer look at the combatants.
17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
So, who are the two combatants in this conflict? You are! But it’s not as if you have a dual personality.
Paul is saying there is a you under the direction of “the flesh” and there is a you under the direction of “the Spirit.”
We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us
What does Paul mean by “the flesh?” We need to know because it is a key category Paul uses to describe us. While Paul uses “flesh” to describe the human body, that is not what he has in mind here or in verse 13. And sometimes he uses “flesh” to describe human effort (3:3). Again, this is not what he has in mind here.
“Flesh” as Paul uses it here refers to unredeemed human nature, human nature in resolute opposition to the positive influence of God. It carries the idea of what is “merely human.” It is our rebellious human nature that insists on its own way as opposed to God’s way.
John Piper says the flesh is…
the old ego that is self-reliant and does not delight to yield to any authority or depend on any mercy. It craves the sensation of self-generated power and loves the praise of men...in its conservative form it produces legalism -- keeping rules by its own power for its own glory…[in its liberal form] the flesh … produces grossly immoral attitudes and acts…. The flesh is the proud and unsubmissive root of depravity in every human heart which exalts itself subtly through proud, self-reliant morality, or flaunts itself blatantly through self-assertive, authority-despising immorality.
According to William Barclay, when Paul uses “flesh” as he does here in Galatians
He really means human nature in all its weakness and he means human in its vulnerability to sin. He means that part of man which gives sin its bridgehead. He means sinful human nature, apart from Christ, everything that attaches a man to the world instead of to God. To live according to the flesh is to live a life dominated by the dictates and desires of sinful human nature instead of a life dominated by the dictates and the love of God.
The flesh is that which tempts us to say, “God. We don’t need God.” Listen to Isaac Asimov’s arrogant indifference to one of the most significant questions we humans ever consider. He wrote, “Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time.”
The poet William Earnest Henley knew physical suffering and loss from his early years. As a consequence, he often shifted back and forth from atheism to theism (or at least the hope there might be a God). During one of his periods of disbelief he wrote the poem for which he is best known. He knew a level of physical suffering that keeps me from judging him. Yet, whether he intended it or not, some people who never knew the suffering Henley knew have used his words to proclaim their “fleshly” independence from God. Listen…
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
The flesh is that which is broken about us, desperately needs to be fixed, and which we cannot fix on our own. Ironically, we are so broken that we often fail to see we are broken. Our brokenness seems normal. Yet, sometimes some of us begin to suspect that something is terribly wrong. Compare it to that moment in the old “B-movies” when someone notices that all the jungle birds have stopped making noise. In such moments we may try to overcome the flesh on our own.
In Jesus’ words, we become a house divided against ourselves. We use the apparatus of legalism to try to control what won’t be controlled. The experience of colossal failure only confirms the mess we are in.
Our Ally
In contrast to the notion of life directed by “the flesh,” Paul introduces life in the Spirit.
Once again, let me try to make clear what he is not saying. Notice, this is “Spirit” with a capital “S.” One popular translation renders the verse his way, “What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants.” This makes it sound like Paul is discussion some kind of inward, psychological struggle between two sides of human nature. When Paul uses “flesh” and “Spirit” he isn’t talking about a conflict between the bad you and the good you. This conflict would not be taking place if you had not been touched by a Power outside yourself.
So, Paul is letting us know that we Christians are not on our own in this conflict; we have an Ally, the Holy Spirit. This is very important to remember. We need the Spirit. In fact, we can’t hope to live as Christians without the Spirit.
As I said, this conflict is, to a degree, between you and you. If God left the you who wanted to conform to God’s will on your own to fight you the rebellious and unsubmissive, the you who might really want to be a good Christian will lose. If, with the best of intentions, you try to defeat the flesh on your own, you will lose. It would be like sending the Worthingway Middle School Cardinals up against the Buckeyes. Actually, in this case, the Cards would have a better chance. Trying to subdue our rebellious nature without the Spirit’s help has led to the gross practices of self-flagellation, near-suicidal fasting, and other excesses recorded in the Medieval monasteries. Remember, Paul’s shocked question in chapter three: “How can you be so stupid? After you started with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish up with your own human effort?”
With the coming of the Spirit, the whole game-plan changed. We don’t have to depend on our own human effort; in our lives we have the one Jesus called the Helper. As the Complete Jewish Bible translates verse 18: “if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.”
Paul and the other New Testament writers use several metaphors—figures of speech—to describe the believer’s relationship to the Spirit. Believers are said to be “in the Spirit,” “filled with the Spirit,” “baptized with the Spirit;” and, here, “walking with the Spirit.” While each of these word-pictures has its own lesson to teach, they all underscore one great truth. God Almighty has committed himself to be intimately involved in the lives of his people.
This is a remarkable comment on the character of the Triune God.
The word-picture Paul uses in this passage is suggestive. It is usually translated as “walk in the Spirit” or “live in the Spirit.” The verb Paul uses is literally “to walk about;” we get the word peripatetic from it. It can mean to wander, especially with someone. The Bible uses the image of walking to suggest a way of life. In fact, the word Paul uses can mean just that. Taken together, we can say that Paul is telling the Galatians and us: “Wherever you may find yourself, be sure you are influenced by the Spirit.” We might think of it as a sustained pilgrimage with the Spirit as our Companion. This companionship is the key to victory in this conflict.
That’s important because the outcome of the conflict determines the character of our life and witness. Paul will spell out the details when he writes of “the works of the flesh and “the fruit of the Spirit.”
We’ll look at these later but for now, it’s important to remember that we are not passive in this issue. We must determine to “walk with the Spirit” as we “continue to follow the truth.” To use the phrase Paul used writing the Thessalonians, we must endeavor not to “quench the Spirit,” that is to resist his influence. To do so would impede his efforts to lead us to live free. We should continue walking with the Spirit, resisting the prideful temptation to think we can reach our destination by walking alone.
Let me speak to that by referring to a device the wandering missionary Paul could have only dreamed about, the GPS. Most phones and many newer cars have them.
If you’re not familiar, here’s how it works. Supposer you need to find the nearest Starbucks or find the way to Aunt Lucy’s new house. You tap your request into the GPS and things start happening.
The GPS uses the Global Positioning System to determine where you are, then it uses GIS (Geographical Information System) data to tell you how to get to your pricey coffee or your kiss on the cheek.
When we “walk with the Spirit,” the Spirit knows where we are—our spiritual condition, our needs, our fears. But here I think Paul would stress that when we “walk with the Spirit,” the Spirit can direct us to where we want to go, to greater conformity to God’s will, as he mentioned in verse 5.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah painted a rich picture of the new age of the Messiah (Christ). The Messiah, who would give the Spirit, would initiate an age where there would be no need for spiritual confusion. The God-Appointed Teacher would be there to guide. Listen to Isaiah 30:21 (The Voice), “Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: ‘Go this way. This is your path; this is how you should go whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or to the left.”
There is something else you need to understand. Your GPS does not discriminate, does not pass judgment. If you ask your GPS to take you to the nearest health club with a running track, it will take you to the nearest health club with a running track. If you ask your GPS to take you to the nearest Krispy Kreme Donut shop, it will take you to those chocolate iced delights. It just does what you ask. Not the Spirit. If you ask the Spirit to tell you how to get your neighbor’s wife away from him, the Spirit will remain silent—or chastise you. If you ask the Spirit to tell you how to embezzle a hundred grand from your employer without being caught, the Spirit will remain silent. But, if you ask the Spirit how you can get to the place where you can best influence your children toward faith, if you ask the Spirit how you can get to the place where you can best honor God at work, you will hear the Spirit’s voice.
But how? I think there are three ways Christians throughout the centuries have heard the Spirit’s voice. First, and most important, we hear the Spirit’s voice through the Bible. Read it and learn how to dig out its gold. Second, we hear the Spirit’s voice through a community of those committed to “obeying the truth.” This is why the church is important to you, the right church. Third, we hear the Spirit’ voice through inner promptings. I mention this last because it is the most potentially dangerous. If those inner promptings are from the Spirit, they will never contradict the Scripture and seldom contradict the community’s counsel. Remember that.
The GPS is a remarkable device but sometimes we get distracted and don’t listen. We go past a turn or even take a wrong turn. Then we hear that sometimes impatient voice say, “Recalculating.”
Sometimes we ignore the Spirit’s voice; we listen, instead, to the voice of the flesh. The conviction and self-disappointment we feel may be God’s loving voice saying, “Let’s recalculate and get back on the right road.”
[18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ]
Discussed in lesson elsewhere.
