"Walk by the Spirit"

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”  (Galatians 5:16-18 ESV)

In chapter 5, Paul’s theme continues clearly, contrasting being slaves under the Law of Moses and being free, saved by faith alone. In verse 6, Paul makes one of the most important statements concerning the New Covenant. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” 

This verse really highlights its importance when considered in the context of Chapters 3, 4, and 5. In fact, you may be aware that I am a strong advocate for interpreting Scripture in its Grammatical, biblical, and Historical context. All three areas reveal the author’s intent in their writings and what they expect us to understand.

In these chapters of Galatians, Paul contradicts the teachings that believers must obey the Old Testament Law (specifically, circumcision) in order to be saved. Paul, in every letter that he authored, tells us we can only be saved by faith, which is the exact thing he is saying here in Chapter 5:6.

Now, setting aside the issue of salvation for a moment, he turns his attention to sanctification. Sanctification is one of those churchy words that simply means living our lives for God. You see, this word in the Greek means “to be set apart” for some special use. In the context of Scripture, it means “to be set apart for God”.  Allowing us the privilege of bringing honor and glory to our Savior and thus to the Father. Three times in the last half of this chapter, Paul tells us to walk by, be led by, and live by the Spirit (5:16, 18, 25). This must be something that is very important to the believer.

If at salvation we have been set aside for God’s use, and we have, then how can we bring honor and glory to Jesus and the Father without the Holy Spirit? We can’t! Remember Ephesians 2:8-9, where Paul tells us in one of the clearest passages in all of Scripture that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by works. But he continues to tell us in verse 10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  This is the exact same thing Paul is telling the Galatians: that believers have been created in Christ Jesus for good works, and the only way we can do that is to walk, be led by, and live by the Spirit.

We have been sanctified, set apart from the things of this world, the fleshly deeds, and now can live in and with the Holy Spirit. Now that we have the ability to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, we can discern how to do good works and bring honor and glory to Jesus.

Just in case we need clarification on exactly how we can bring honor and glory to Jesus, Paul shows us in verses 22-23 by listing the fruits of the Spirit. But lest we think that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are an exhaustive list, Paul tells us no.  These are all outward (works) of the Spirit of God; they are some of the “good works” that were set apart to do for our Savior. But believer, we don’t have a law or a checklist; we have the glorious Holy Spirit, who lives in each and every one of us, to show us how to live. Paul concludes this chapter with “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ”

So, let’s not be led by laws and checklists; let’s be led by the Holy Spirit and enjoy the freedom we have in Christ Jesus through faith.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"