SSL 6 - Galatians 5:13-26
Last week: In Gal. 4:8-20, Paul talked to the Galatians on several points: (1) their misguided desire to exchange their old pagan bondage for a new type of bondage, (2) the love and honor they has shown when they received the Gospel compared to their hostile attitude now, (3) the man-pleasing flattery the Judaizers had used to turn them against him, and (4) his fervent love for them like a father. Four points of application: 1. Paul's civility and compassion made it as easy as possible for the Galatians to repent and return to the Christ-centered faith that he had taught them. Paul provides us a model for dealing with brothers and sisters who have fallen into error, like the legalism of the Galatians. 2. Being kind and compassionate does not mean being soft on sin. Sometimes correction needs to be both tough and tender, especially if a brother or sister is headed in a dangerous direction. 3. Paul's dealings with the Galatians in this chapter shows us the power of personal relationships. Sometimes personal relationships are fractured by a brother or sister who deviates from sound doctrine, but Paul, approaching these Galatians with love, kindness, and true concern, shows us how the power of a personal relationship can be used to restore wayward believers to the truth. 4. Paul's dealings with the Galatians in this chapter reminds us of the power of the truth of God's Word. It was the truth that Paul preached that saved the Galatians, and it was the truth which bound Paul, the Galatians and Jews and Gentiles into one body of Christ. Truth is the basis for real unity.
This Week: In the first 12 verses of Chapter 5, which aren't part of our lesson today, Paul calls on the Galatians to accept their freedom from the Law, pointing out that if they place their trust in the Law, Christ would be of no benefit tot them, and the real key to the Christian life wasn't works but love. In today's lesson, vv. 13-26, we'll hear Paul address two important Christian themes: (1) the Law of Love (vv. 13-15) and (2) The Desires of the Flesh versus the Fruit of the Spirit (vv. 16-26).
Read Galatians 5:13-15 - CALLED FOR FREEDOM
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.
v. 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" - Paul makes three points in this verse: (1) Using the Greek word, kaleo, to describe a holy calling-Paul is saying that God purposed Christians to be free from the Law and as believers and has called us to completely accept this freedom; (2) Paul stresses that our freedom from the Law doesn't give us a license to engage in loose living. The word used here for "flesh" (Gr. sarx), is a NT term that is sometimes misunderstood: it doesn't refer to our physical bodies per se but to our bodily desires and cravings. Our flesh is our fallen humanity-and my be defined as what we are apart from Christ; and (3) Paul says that believers who love each other with agapé love will noticeably demonstrate that love in the way that they serve one another.
v. 14: "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" - The Greek used here word for "fulfilled, pleroo, means to do something completely. Quoting the commandment first found in Lev. 19:18, Paul is saying that those who love their neighbors as they love themselves have kept the Law fully and completely. This also implies that Christians still have the obligation to observe the moral standards expressed in all of Scripture, both OT and NT.
v. 15: "But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another' - Here, Paul warns the Galatians of what can result from the self-righteous, "holier than thou" legalism taught by the Judaizers, which pits members against other members to conform. We have seen what self-righteous, critical attitudes can do to churches, families, and businesses. When it happens, everybody losses.
TRUTH 1: According to Lev. 19:18 and Mt. 22:39, a Christian believer who loves his neighbor as he loves himself keeps the Law fully and completely. However, this freedom from the Law doesn't give us permission to engage in careless living, because we are still commanded to follow the moral standards expressed in all of Scripture, both OT and NT.
Read Galatians 5:16-18 - WALKING BY THE SPIRIT
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.
v. 16: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" - "Walk" is a familiar term to most Christians, which is understood to mean how we live or day-to-day lives, our lifestyle. The word used here for "walk" (Gk. Peripateo), literally means to walk a perimeter. In this verse, Paul is calling believers to allow the Holy Spirit to shape the very conduct of their lives-to form the perimeter they walk within. Why? So we won't give in to the desires of our flesh.
v. 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" - This verse describes the crux of the conflict by describing the nature of the war within us-the battle between flesh and Spirit. And to understand this battle, we need to remember how we defined "flesh" in v. 13(2), above. Paul himself was well acquainted with this struggle, when he said: 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Rom. 7:15-20. Here, Paul reveals a distinct relationship--the relationship between faith and the Spirit as opposed to the Law and the flesh. Faith is related to the Spirit, and it is faith that allows us to receive the Spirit of God, which is the agent-the force-of salvation and sanctification. Law-keeping, however, relies on flesh and works. The point Paul is making here is that the Galatians were opting to resist sin by submitting to the Law, and since the flesh and the Spirit are opposed, the Spirit doesn't empower people who are under the Law; the Spirit only empowers those who live by faith.
v.18: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" - Having made his point in v. 17, Paul declares that those led by the Spirit have no need of the Law. If you are led by the Spirit, the Spirit will guide you around or away from the desires of the flesh. This Spirit-leadership and guidance eliminates the need for living under Laws that spell out precisely what you can and cannot do.
TRUTH 2: The greatest conflict in the life of every Christian is his or her struggle in the spiritual walk. This is true for people like Billy Graham as well as someone newly saved. The word used here for "walk" (Gk. Peripateo), literally means to walk a perimeter, a narrow lint, in order to "live by the Spirit." It doesn't happen automatically. Avoiding the works of the flesh and practicing the nine virtues of the fruit of the Spirit is a constant challenge day by day-requires deliberate decisions and follow-through.
Read Galatians 5:19-21 - THE WORKS OF THE FLESH
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.
vv. 19-21a: " Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21aenvy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these" - This isn't an exclusive list but a sampling. Paul chose these because of the particular problem of the Galatians. When he recounted the "filthy five"-sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, and sorcery, the Galatians probably responded with joy and said, "Preach it, brother, preach it! Because Judaism despised these sins. But notice the others he connected with them-enmity, anger, strife, jealously, dissensions, divisions, etc. Compar- ed to the "filthy five," this group of sins might be more socially acceptable. Paul was writing to a church that, due to the interference of the Judaizers, was beset with strife, "biting and devouring each other" as in v. 15. He wants to impress upon the Galatians that they are acting in the flesh; that these tolerated sins are just as abominable to God as the "filthy five." Do we see this in churches today: a category between unacceptable sin versus sin that's not as bad? What's the difference?
v. 21b: "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" - The translation of the verb "do" makes this verse difficult, seeming to say if you do any of "these things" you lose your salvation. However, the Greek word used here, prassontes, means to keep doing something as a pattern of life, which carries the strong implication that the person "doing these things," was never saved in the first place. Many adulterers, prostitutes, criminals, and wrongdoers have been saved by grace, but their pattern of life changed afterward.
TRUTH 3: In God's view, there is no such thing as "acceptable sin." In vv. 19-21, Paul proved that sins of hostility such as enmity, anger, strife, jealously, dissensions, and divisions are just as abominable to God as sins like sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, and sorcery. But in churches today we sometimes see this rationalized category between unacceptable sin versus sin.
Read Gal. 5:22-26 - BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
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.
vv. 22-23: "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" - Paul has listed the results of giving-in to our flesh; now he explains the results of yielding to the Holy Spirit. Notice first that "fruit" is singular, which means that Holy Spirit gives us an entire "package" of virtues, not a few. Before we look at the various virtues of the fruit, let's look at the last phrase of v. 23: "against such things there is no Law." Paul's point is that our flesh needs restraint. Without any restraints, the works of the flesh are very likely to reveal themselves in our behavior. The Mosaic Law functioned as a restraint that could hinder the works of the flesh from reaching their full-blown potential; however, when we walk in the Spirit, we automatically begin to display the character of God in the nine virtues listed. So, when there is virtue, manifested by the Spirit, there's no longer a need for the Law. The Spirit makes the law obsolete. The fruit of the Spirit is demonstrated outwardly as personal character traits, and in light of the audience to which Paul was writing, he most likely intended that the Galatians churches put these virtues into practice in their communities-to draw people to them.
●We don't have time to examine all of the virtues in detail, but let's look at the first two: (1) Love, is the greatest virtue. The word used for love here, agapé, means unconditional, unselfish, and sacrificial love, the kind of love demonstrated by Jesus when He gave His life for us on the cross. This kind of love isn't just a feeling but is demonstrated by actions that benefit others regardless of whether or not it is reciprocated or even appreciated; and (2) Joy: Human beings seek to be happy, but their decisions are often based upon material things or pleasure-seeking that's here today, gone tomorrow. But the virtue received with fruit of the Spirit isn't something we seek but an experience of happiness that comes to us from God Himself. When God is our source of joy, instead of constantly trying to find happiness in people and things, we find our happiness through our relationship with God.
v. 24: "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" - Paul is saying that Christians have stopped living with the flesh as the driving stimulus in their lives. The term "crucified, used figuratively, indicates that our enslavement to the flesh was destroyed with the crucifixion of Christ, and we are "dead" to the old way of life.
v. 25: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit" - Paul comes full circle and tell us how we should practice the "freedom" mentioned in v. 13 by keeping "in step with the Spirit." The phrase "keep in step" comes from the Greek word stoicheo, (not the same as peripateo = walk) which carries the sense of standing or moving in an orderly manner. For example, when soldiers march, they constantly watch their relative position to the front and sides and pay attention to the cadence to stay in step. It's the same way with God-we allow the Spirit to direct our lives in an orderly, God-approved manner. If we do this, we won't stumble or fall.
v. 26: "Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another" - Paul concludes by telling us how false pride, the opposite of virtue, can be absolutely deadly in a church. Let's look at them: (1) conceit = having in inflated opinion of your own self-importance; (2) provoking = hostile behavior that seeks to cause anger and conflict; and (3) envying = resentment toward the success of others. No doubt that Paul, in this verse, is referring to sinful attitudes that were fueling the strife in the Galatian church. Ironically, humility, the opposite of the sinful attitudes and behaviors that Pauls lists, isn't often regarded as a virtue today. We live in a society that prizes assertiveness, getting where you want to go in life even if you have to step all over people to get there. However, as Christians, all of us are called to actively seek the companionship of the Spirit and to emulate the character of Christ "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Phil. 2:6-8.
TRUTH 4: The results of walking in the Spirit are more evident than the reasons for it. For any of us, it's easier to look at the results-i.e., the "fruit"-of our spiritual walk than trying to understand the reasons-i.e., the "head knowledge"-for it. Our spiritual fruit is the measuring stick-the things it produces will be evident to us, and it's also noticed by others. Jesus said in Mt. 7:16, "You shall know them by their fruits."
