With the doctrinal foundations securely in place and the malicious maneuverings of the troublemakers finally exposed, Paul now turned his attention to specific ethical exhortations, specifically the flesh and spirit (5:13–26) and freedom in service to others (6:1–10). When talking about the gospel of grace and life in the Spirit, this final section of Galatians reminds us of the real struggles we face. The Bible comes as an address to real men and women struggling with issues of life and death, caught in the tension between freedom and burden, salvation and eternal damnation, this present evil age and the future coming kingdom of God.
As we begin to look at our life apart from the law and the freedom in Christ, it is important to summarize Galatians to this point. Up to this point in Galatians, Paul had clearly set forth the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Through the redemption secured by Christ’s death on the cross, believers have been liberated from the law and have been accepted as righteous before God apart from the law. It is true that the law had an indispensable role to play in the history of salvation: it was our guardian to point us to Christ. But we are “no longer” under its protective custody, having entered into our full inheritance as sons and daughters of God. We are not the children of Hagar but of Sarah, descendants not of Ishmael, the son of slavery, but of Isaac, the child of promise.
It is easy to see how such a doctrine could be easily misunderstood and readily exploited to disastrous results. There were in fact two distinctive temptations facing the Galatians. Most of them were Gentiles, former devotees of idolatrous cults and mystery religions. Their coming to Christ had brought a new freedom from such “slavery,” but it also had produced a moral insecurity the Judaizers were eager to exploit. Their message was one of legalism: circumcision was required in order to be saved; Jesus is the New Moses; the works of the law are binding for both Jews and Gentiles.[1]
But the Galatians also faced another temptation that was equally dangerous—unrestrained liberty. This freedom from the law meant release from all moral restraints (antinomian extremism). This kind of distorted understanding was also prevalent in the Corinthian church
Verses 13-15 talk about the law of love and a life apart from license, while verses 16-18 begin the discussion on living according to the Spirit by first looking at the promise of victory over sin.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 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. (ESV)
KEY TAKEAWYS:
- Christ gives the Christian the freedom to love others truly. Another way to say it is the Spirit enables the Christian to fulfill the law of love
- Release from the law and the power to love are results of God’s working in us by His Holy Spirit.
- Paul emphasized that a godly life is not lived under the rules of legalism but is a life led by the Spirit.
CLOSER LOOK:
Verses 13–14: In verse 1 Paul spoke of the Christian’s freedom and warned against the danger of lapsing into slavery. Freedom presents an opposite temptation from legalism. Here Paul again reminded believers of their freedom in Christ and warned against its being converted into license. Specifically, he charged the Galatians not to use their liberty as center for sin to gain a foothold. A person can be tempted to view freedom in Christ as a selfish “opportunity for the flesh,” in other words, an opportunity to do whatever one wants to do. Rather than liberty being used for lust, the real goal should be love. Rather than being in bondage to the Law or to the sinful nature, the Galatians were to serve one another through love. (“Sinful nature” is an appropriate translation of the Greek word sarx, used by Paul in that sense seven times in Gal. 5:13, 16–17 [3 times], 19, 24; 6:8.)[2]
Having discouraged two forms of slavery as burdensome and terrible, he commended another form that was beneficial—a servitude of mutual love. Paul points out that true Christian liberty or freedom is the freedom to serve one another in love. In support, Paul quoted Leviticus 19:18 and stated that “the whole Law” was summarized in this single word to love their neighbors. Jesus affirmed the same truth (Matt. 22:39; Luke 10:25–28). But Paul also wanted to show that Christian love is the “fulfillment” or “the carrying out” of the Law. The apostle developed this point in Romans 13:8–10.
Verse 15: That such love needed to be mutually expressed in the Galatian churches is made clear here. As a result of the progress of the false teachers, the church was divided and engaged in bitter strife. The followers of the legalists and those who remained steadfast were biting and devouring one another. This was far from the biblical ideal of believers living together in a loving unity, and threatened the churches with destruction, that is, the loss of their individual and corporate testimonies.[3] When Christians follow their sinful desires (v. 13), they begin to criticize and contend with each other. Such self-centered behavior is self-defeating. Those who criticize and attack usually end up being consumed in worthless struggles.
Verse 16: Verses 16-18 introduce the contrast between the work of the Spirit and the work of the flesh in the believer’s life. Should “Spirit” be understood as a reference to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit? The flesh is the sinful tendency that dwells in us as a result of the fall. Satan works through the flesh to move us toward sin, whereas God works through our human spirit by His Holy Spirit to produce Christian virtues that please Him. However we understand Spirit or spirit, this does not change the truth of these verses.
The answer to the abuses described in the previous verse is to “walk by the Spirit” (may see “live”). The verb peripateite is a present imperative and is literally translated, “keep on walking.”[4] As a believer walks through life he/she should depend on the indwelling Holy Spirit for guidance and power. But the Spirit does not operate automatically in a believer’s heart. He waits to be depended on. The only consistent way to overcome the sinful desires of our human nature (“the flesh”) is to live step-by-step in the power of the Holy Spirit as He works through our spirit (v. 25). When a Christian does yield to the Spirit’s control, the striking promise is that the believer will not (the double negative ou mē is emphatic) carry out (telesēte, “complete, fulfill” in outward action; may see gratify) the desires “of the flesh” (i.e. sinful nature). Thus, while no believer will ever be entirely free in this life from the evil desires that stem from their fallen human nature, they need not capitulate to them, but may experience victory by the Spirit’s help. Walking each moment by faith in God’s word under the Spirit’s control assures absolute victory over the desires of our sinful nature.
Verse 17: Paul next explained the need for a life that is controlled and energized by the Spirit. The explanation is found in the fact that each Christian has two natures, a sinful nature received at birth, inherited from fallen Adam, and a new nature received at regeneration when said Christian became a participant in the divine nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). The potential of the flesh energized by Satan in the life of the Christian should not be underestimated. Given free rein, the flesh will direct our choices, making us do what we know we should not do. Both natures have desires, the one for evil and the other for holiness. Thus they “are in opposition to one another,” and the result can be that they keep a believer from doing what he/she otherwise would. In other words, the Holy Spirit blocks, when He is allowed to do so, the evil cravings of the flesh.
Note that the Christian cannot simply will to overcome the flesh: “for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal 5:17, ESV). It is this very problem that Paul discusses in Romans: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:15, 19, ESV). Paul is not denying that there is victory. He is simply pointing out that we cannot win this victory in our own strength and by our own will.
This inner conflict between the flesh and the Spirit is very real, but there is considerable disagreement as to its precise meaning. To simplify the disagreements, some believe that “flesh” here refers to a “sinful nature” continuing after salvation, while others view it as simply the physical flesh and its natural tendencies. The former would be for those who hold the view that each believer is a new person, still possessing the fallen human nature, but not having a new nature. Still others focus on “fleshly” or “worldly” habits and patterns that continue after justification. These seem to prefer to define “nature” as capacity, the old nature being that capacity to serve sin and self and the new nature the capacity to serve God and righteousness.[5]
Verse 18: Paul provides a summary where he emphasized that a godly life is not lived under the rules of the Law but is a life “led by the Spirit.” Those who are led by the Holy Spirit exhibit a quality of behavior (5:22, 23) which is above and beyond the requirements of the Mosaic code. It was important for the Galatians to know that just as justification is not possible by works so sanctification cannot be achieved by human effort. This of course does not mean that a Christian is totally passive in either case for the response of faith is necessary—faith in Christ to save and in the Holy Spirit to sanctify.
[1] Timothy George, “Galatians,” in The New American Commentary: Galatians (Nashville: B&H, 1994), n.p.
[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 606.
[3] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 606.
[4] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 606. BDAG defines it as “to conduct one’s life, comport oneself, behave, live as habit of conduct.”
[5] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 606.