Walk by the Spirit | Why it is important (Galatians 5:16-21)

Topic: Walk by the Spirit | Why it is important

Reading: Galatians 5:16-21

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do 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 prevent you from doing what you would. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Introduction and Overview

The importance of learning to walk by the Spirit is essential if we are to overcome the flesh. It is by learning to walk by the Spirit that we gain victory over the flesh.

This is one of the reasons why Christ died for us. He died so that the necessary mechanisms could be put in place to enable us to receive the Holy Spirit, and learn how to walk by the Spirit.

The letter of Paul to the Galatians is about trying to convince the Galatians church not to succumb to teachings that would put them back into bondage. In particular, they were being seduced by the desire to go under the bondage of the Mosaic law.

But receiving the Holy Spirit does not come by the law. And being able to walk by the Spirit is nothing like walking by the law. Certainly, when one walks by the Spirit they fulfill the requirements of the law, but the two are very separate.

Learning to walk by the Spirit leads to victory and overcoming the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh. It gets to the very heart of the things that lead people to sin by addressing root causes of desires. Walking by the Spirit changes the heart, mind, and nature of a person to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Walking by the law does not and cannot do that. It identifies what sin is and condemns those who fail to follow the law as sinners. But it does not change the root causes of sin in a person. It does not change, remove, or overcome passions that drive sinfulness.

This is why it is important to learn to walk by the Spirit.

Key points from reading:

Walking by the Spirit and walking in the flesh are opposed to one another.
When we walk by the Spirit we are not under the law.
When we learn to walk by the Spirit we overcome the desires of the flesh.

Discussion:

Scripture: Galatians 5:16 – Gaining victory when we walk by the Spirit

When we walk by the Spirit we do not gratify the desires of the flesh. The flesh is affected by desires and temptation and is always seeking gratification. Sometimes that gratification is acceptable. For instance, if we are hungry or thirsty, then gratifying the flesh through eating and drinking is quite acceptable. But if we were to steal that food and drink and then become drunk or gluttonous, this would not be acceptable.
Likewise, if we were to allow the gratification of more base desires and commit sin to gratify the flesh, then we are walking in the flesh in the worst possible way. Those who walk in the flesh do not and cannot please God.
But when we learn to walk by the Spirit, as this verse says, we do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Instead, we gain control over the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh. Rather than being led by our base desires and passions, we are led by the Spirit of God to gain control and to do what is right.
Furthermore, when we look at the Greek words in this verse, there is a double negative that even strengthens this state of walking by the Spirit. Instead of just saying, “…do not gratify the desires…” it actually says when you walk by the Spirit, “…no, never do you gratify the desires…”
This double negative “no, never” is used in various places in the New Testament. When it is used it is an absolute and emphatic “NO.” In this verse it is saying that when we walk by the Spirit, it is absolutely, totally, and emphatically impossible that you will gratify the desires of the flesh.
This is why it is so important to learn to walk by the Spirit. When we do, we gain a complete victory over the weaknesses of the flesh.

Scripture: Galatians 5:17 – To walk by the Spirit is opposed to walking by the flesh

When we walk by the Spirit we do not and cannot walk by the flesh. These two are diametrically opposed to one another and they do not overlap in any way. They are like light and dark. You cannot have light where it is dark or dark where it is light. The two cannot co-exist with each other.
The desires of the flesh are opposed to the desires of the Spirit and vice versa. So, when we walk by the Spirit we naturally overcome the desires of the flesh. The Holy Spirit working in us crushes and destroys the desires and the works of the flesh, when we turn our weaknesses over to the Spirit and walk by the Spirit. We see this matter also shown clearly in the first verses of Romans chapter 8.

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Romans 8:5-9)

The same principle as shown in Galatians 5:17 is explained in more detail here. To walk in the flesh is to have our minds set on the things of the flesh. Those things that would gratify the flesh, including things that might lead to sin, are the things we think about when we are walking in the flesh.
But when we capture those thoughts and hand them over to God through prayer and we actively walk by the Spirit, the thoughts and works of the flesh are removed and replaced by the thoughts and actions of the Lord. Our thinking is no longer hostile to God but it realigns with His truth. When we are aligned with Him, then we have peace with God and we please Him and He gives us life.
We must also receive the Holy Spirit to be able to walk in the Spirit as the scripture in Romans 8:9 tells us. It is through then learning to walk by the Spirit that the Spirit of Christ is formed in us. The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ, and that cannot begin until and unless we first receive the Holy Spirit.

Scripture: Galatians 5:18 – Walk by the Spirit and overcome the law

This is an important point. It was especially important to the Galatians church as they were succumbing to teachings to put them back under the laws of Moses. When we come to Christ and are baptised into His death, we receive His death and resurrection as our own. We die with Christ and are raised with Him through the act of baptism, and we receive these things through faith. This is discussed in many places throughout the scripture, but especially in Romans chapter 6.

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:1-7)

Baptism is our death and resurrection with Christ. God, in His great grace and mercy, has allowed us to take the death and resurrection of Christ as our own through being baptised into Jesus Christ. So, in effect we die with Christ when we receive His death by baptism and faith.
But when we die with Christ, we also die to sin. Furthermore, we see in the first verses of Romans 7 that we also die to the law.

1 Do you not know, brethren–for I am speaking to those who know the law–that the law is binding on a person only during his life? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:1-4)

Now, even though we may have been released from the law and released from sin, we still are not perfect. We still suffer from the weaknesses of the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh common to all mankind.
This is why it is important to learn to walk by the Spirit. Here in Galatians 5:18 we see that when we walk by the Spirit, we are not under the law. When we are led by the Spirit we do what the law requires because we walk according to the nature of God. We do what is good, right, holy, and true when we walk by the Spirit. And there is no law against those things.
The law was given to check the indulgence of the passions of the flesh. It was given to define sin, right and wrong, good and evil. But if we do what is right we do not need the law. When we learn to walk by the Spirit we will always follow the truth of Jesus Christ and do right, and so we do not need to be under the law. Doing what is acceptable in the sight of God becomes who we are when we walk by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit changes us from the inside so that we do what is right. This is what Jesus meant when He said:

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. 26 You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. (Matthew 23:25-26)

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-21 – Walk by the Spirit to overcome the flesh

So, what kinds of things will we overcome when we learn to walk by the Spirit? These verses give us a good indication of the various passions and desires of the flesh that lead people astray. And this is by far not a complete list. But it talks to issues that are well known problems in human nature. Violence, sexual passions, greed, envy, jealousy, and more. All of these are either sinful in their own right, or they lead a person to sin if they are acted upon.
When we learn to walk by the Spirit all of these can be and will be overcome. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can learn how to defeat the flesh and gain victory. We gain self-control and peace as we apply the power of the Spirit in our lives to overcome.
The final point in these verses is quite sobering. It points to how important it is for all of us to learn to walk by the Spirit. It says that those who follow the desires of the flesh, that long list of evil passions and lust, cannot and will not inherit the kingdom of God.
There is a great inheritance in life in the kingdom of God for all who come to Christ. But to inherit we need to change and be transformed into the image of Christ. We cannot continue to permit the passions and lusts of the flesh to control our lives.
This is why it is so important to learn to walk by the Spirit.

Prayer Points:

Pray and ask the Lord God to help you find out the truth of how to walk by the Spirit. It is important for your eternal salvation.
Pray for the ability to overcome the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh that would estrange you from God. Seek the things that are above; the things of the Spirit.