Walk In the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-17, 22-26 NKJV
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.
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.
This fifth chapter of Galatians is one of those we could spend some serious time with. And our topic for today is a vital one that does not come to us without some divergence of opinions.
The difference centers around walking in the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. The big question is, which Spirit are we talking about? The born-again recreated human spirit, or the Holy Spirit? Because Paul does not make that distinction, people have debated the answer. Is it the fruit of the born-again human spirit that produces fruit? Or is it the Holy Spirit producing the fruit in our lives? Or what if it's a combination of both?
So here is what we do know. We know that if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust or strong desire of the flesh. And we know that the Spirit and the flesh have opposing desires. Paul says what the flesh produces is evident and gives the list in verses 19-21. It's an extensive list: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Other translations add murders to the list. No need to split hairs about whether or not murders should be included; murder is definitely on the no-go list. With this list, we obtain an entire catalog of things not to do.
Conversely, the fruit of the Spirit is a list of things to do. And we get the sense this is not necessarily an itemized list, but rather, the spirit of how things should be done. Doing things in love, joy, and peace. Doing what we do in kindness and goodness. Exercising self-control. And if we think about it, these fruits of the spirit will look different in me with my personality than they would in you with a different personality. But the essence of the fruit of the Spirit would be seen in both of us. And in both of us, Jesus would be exalted. The challenge with the fruit of the Spirit, whether that is the new creation human spirit or the Holy Spirit, is that walking in the Spirit does not carry the same pressure that the flesh does. Outbursts of anger can rise up in our feelings much stronger than the feelings of love and peace. So we have to crucify the outbursts of anger in order to walk in love and peace. The Holy Spirit is not going to force us to walk in the Spirit. He will not make us walk in love and joy. He will not make us be kind and good. But He will prompt us to go in these directions.
So I have not solved the debate. Fruit of the Holy Spirit or fruit of the human spirit. But I have helped us uncover the things we need to stop doing, crucify. And the things we should start doing, walking in the nine fruits of the Spirit. How do I lean? I lean more toward walking in the Spirit, being the recreated human spirit. But I can certainly see where we need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to do this. I realize I sound like a politician, but I am not waffling; I am pursuing the way of the Spirit. And I am pursuing walking according to the nine outlined fruits. I purpose to walk in the Spirit so that I will not fulfill the desires of my flesh.
Prayer
Lord, help me to walk in the Spirit. To crucify my flesh and walk in a way that is pleasing to You.