Just as in the book of Genesis, Isaac and Ishmael were unable to get along, so the Spirit and the flesh (the old nature) are at war with each other. By “the flesh,” of course, Paul does not mean “the body.” The human body is not sinful; it is neutral. If the Holy Spirit controls the body, then we walk in the Spirit; but if the flesh controls the body, then we walk in the lusts (desires) of the flesh. The Spirit and the flesh have different appetites, and this is what creates the conflict.
Note that the Christian cannot simply will to overcome the flesh: “These two are opposed to each other, so that you cannot do anything you please” (Galatians 5:17). It is this very problem that Paul addresses in Romans: “I do not know what I am doing. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do … For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:15, 19). 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.
Paul’s diagnosis of the conflict that confronts every Christian begins with a command, “Walk in the Spirit,” and a promise, “Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (KJV). Both the command and the promise are conditioned upon Paul’s earlier indicative in v. 13, “You, my brothers, were called to be free.” Although the word “freedom” does not recur in Galatians, Paul did not leave this concept behind. But the freedom to which we have been called in Christ is always under attack. It can be subverted by legalism or dissipated through antinomianism. True Christian liberty avoids these dangerous extremes by expressing itself in loving service to the neighbor and joyful fulfillment of the law of God.
But where does the believer acquire the resources for this kind of victorious Christian living? Modern religious pedagogy offers many answers: a winsome personality, one’s innate abilities, advanced degrees in theological education, special seminars on the higher Christian life, social activism, spiritual psychotherapy, and others. Paul’s answer is the Holy Spirit.
Only the Spirit of God, Who has made us free from sin and given us new life in regeneration, can keep us truly free as we experience the power of sanctification by walking with Him. Here in Galatians 5, Paul used four distinct verbs to designate the Spirit-controlled life of the believer, all of which are roughly equivalent in meaning: to walk in the Spirit (v. 16), to be led by the Spirit (v. 18), to live by the Spirit (v. 25a), and to keep in step with the Spirit (v. 25b). Each of these verbs suggests a relationship of dynamic interaction, direction, and purpose. The present tense of the imperative peripateite (Gr), “walk,” also indicates a present activity now in progress.
Upon reflection, please answer these questions.
- Identify some ways in which you walk in the flesh.
- Identify some ways in which you walk in the Spirit.
- What are your strongest steps? What are your weakest steps?
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