Bible Reading: Galatians 5
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
If a person is not born again, the Spirit of God does not live in them. It would be impossible for this person to ‘walk in the Spirit’ because they are not spiritual. To be ‘spiritual’ according to the Bible is to have the Holy Spirit living in you and to walk in the Spirit. The lost person is referred to as the ‘natural man’.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Not only can the natural man not understand the things of God but he cannot walk in the Spirit. But he can be religious! Religion always appeals to the flesh. The flesh tries to do religious things to impress God with the righteousness it produces. However, the flesh can never do anything spiritual. The Galatian believers were going backwards in their sanctification. Someone had ‘bewitched’ (Gal 3:1) them into going back to the bondage of the Law. They wanted to be spiritual but Paul insists that they are free in Christ and will fall from grace by going back to the law.
The reason the law does not make one spiritual is because of the flesh. The flesh can never be spiritual. The Spirit will never manifest the works of the flesh. The flesh produces things like adultery, drunkenness and hatred. God’s Spirit will never produce these things in our lives. So the Bible tells us that there is a constant battle going on between the flesh and the Spirit in our lives. The flesh constantly wants to do the works of the flesh and God’s Spirit is leading us to follow Jesus.
What is the answer? The answer is to walk in the Spirit. The Spirit of God produces fruit in our lives that the flesh never can. He produces love which is the fulfilling of the law. Love never fails the Bible tells us so we are actively living the Christ-like life when we love. When we walk in the Spirit, we are allowing Jesus to bear fruit through us. We are abiding in the vine. We will produce fruit because that is what the Holy Spirit does.
Don’t go back to the bondage of the law. Walk in the Spirit and love.
Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
In Christ,
Rody
