The Gospel and Life in the Holy Spirit: Galatians 5:13-26

Welcome to Series 2 and Episode 6 - ‘The Gospel and the Life in the Holy Spirit’.

Background and Recap

In Series 2, Paul has spent a long time explaining and defending his gospel against the attacks of Jewish teachers in the Galatian churches, who have come in after him, undermining his teaching and encouraging the Gentile believers that they need to follow the Law of Moses and Jewish customs.

In the last episode, we had a very good example of that - the issue of circumcision, where some of the men in the Galatian church had decided they needed to be circumcised, as if they were going to be Jews, in order to continue with their faith. Paul opposed that very strongly. The episodes of Series 2 have been quite challenging, quite complex to follow, and quite intense. Paul is involved in an intense conflict with an opposing gospel message that was a false gospel.

Now at last, we come to Paul describing more positively how it is that we should live the Christian life. This is an incredibly important subject. Paul draws a distinction between three different things: trying to live the Christian life by finding a rule or a regulation for every issue. What is the rule about this, what is the rule about that? That is what we call legalism. Paul encourages them not to seek to find extra rules, just follow the teachings of the New Testament by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Legalism has been the focus of the whole of the book of Galatians. But here we will find he also talks about ‘the flesh’, the expression meaning the sinful nature within us human beings - following ‘the flesh’; indulging ‘the flesh’. In other words, it is possible that we become Christians and then we simply sink back into doing the things that we feel like doing, following our own desires without asking ourselves the question, ‘Is this what God wants us to do?’ On the one hand we have rules and regulations, on the other hand we have people saying, if I am a Christian, I am free to do anything I like; there are no rules and regulations for me.

Paul in this episode is trying to show a different way. He is trying to show that we are not free to do what we want to do. We shouldn’t be following extra rules and regulations that are imposed by Jewish teachers, or by anybody else, but we should be rather following the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is going to begin to develop our understanding of who the Holy Spirit who lives within us, and what his function is within our lives as Christians. This is a very exciting episode and very wonderful teaching by Paul.

Christian Freedom - to Love

‘You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you’ll be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.’

Galatians 5:13-18, NIV

In verse 13, Paul talks about the freedom of the Christian which is to follow the Holy Spirit and not to do things that we feel like doing selfishly, not to follow rules and regulations but to follow the leading of the person of God who is living within us. This is a very revolutionary concept that Paul introduces us to here. He has been talking about the Holy Spirit from time to time in the book of Galatians and he talks about the work of the Holy Spirit very extensively in the book of Romans, chapter 8. Here he comes back to this very important theme, which is absolutely central to understanding how we live the Christian life effectively.

First of all, he says that Christian living is based around one key command which sums up the whole of the Old Testament law. We don’t need all the rules and regulations of the Old Testament, we have got a summary command that helps us to know how we should relate to each other, especially in the church community. He was very worried about the church community in Galatians because he was worried that there was going to be internal conflict about legalism - fighting and arguing and disagreeing, which would destroy the community.

‘“Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.’ “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

This command comes from the Old Testament from Leviticus 19: 18. It was first given to Israel to regulate the relationships that people had in their villages and communities all around the land of Israel. Moses gave this command from God in order to help people avoid quarrels and arguments and disputes with their neighbours: Give consideration to your neighbour’s needs as much as you do to your own. We know this command is important in the New Testament because Jesus himself, when he was asked, ‘What are the greatest commandments?’ said, for example, in Matthew 22: 35 - 40, that there are two great commands that sum up the whole of the Old Testament, one is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and the other one is to love your neighbour as yourself. So, Paul is following Jesus here in saying, if you consider the best interests of the other people who are your neighbours, that is the best principle upon which to act. He has in mind here most of all, the other members of the Christian church because of this danger of conflict and disagreement over legalism.

Holy Spirit Leading

In talking about following the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s leading, Paul uses four different expressions for the same thing: verse 16, ‘Walk by the Spirit.’; verse 18, ‘Be led by the Spirit’; and later on in verse 25, ‘Live by the Spirit’ and ‘Keep in step with the Spirit’. These are very interesting and dynamic expressions. This implies that we have a living relationship with the Spirit of God who is within us; the person of God is revealed to us in a tangible day-to-day way; we can feel his presence and we can sense his guidance and his leading through the course of our day. That is a very revolutionary idea. It was not something that was experienced in the Old Testament very often, but it is promised to New Testament believers.

How does that actually work out in practice - what does it mean? First of all, we need to grasp that Paul teaches, in Galatians 4: 6 that the Holy Spirit lives in each believer. Some Christians don’t really, truly think about this, or grasp it or believe it fully. The Holy Spirit lives as much in me as in anybody else. Very often Christians will enter church communities with a belief that the Holy Spirit is working through their leaders. Their leaders have incredible gifts: they might be great preachers; great evangelists; great organisers; or great pastors. But they, as members of the church, are insignificant. Paul does not teach that here. He teaches that, every single Christian has the Holy Spirit living within them.

The other implication is that the Holy Spirit should be understood as a person. The Holy Spirit is described, in the New Testament, as HE rather than ‘it’ - a person rather than a force. We shouldn’t think of a force like electricity: invisible, powerful, dynamic but impersonal which could do you good, or could do you harm. The Holy Spirit is not like that. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity, God himself living within us. What an amazing reality that is. We know that Jesus ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven right now, as I speak to you. That is the reality. But we also know that the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit is given to every believer.

If he is a person we can communicate with him and he might speak to us in different ways. That is a wonderful thought. We also know, from Paul’s teaching that we should ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for his power to come in our lives to help us lead the Christian life every day. One of the main prayers that I pray, almost every day is, ‘Lord, fill me with your Spirit to do your work today.’ I would encourage you to pray that prayer. It only takes a few seconds, but that is exactly what Paul encouraged us to do in Ephesians 5:18: Don’t be filled with alcohol, with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, have the power of God working within you. The Holy Spirit is at work in us - sometimes in ways that we don’t know, and don’t feel immediately. He is shaping our lives, he is revealing more of God to us. When we read the Bible he is revealing more about the gospel and about the work of God to us.

He can guide us, Galatians 5: 18, ‘If you are led by the Spirit.’ That expression suggests that he is guiding you, almost like somebody walking along the road with you and saying turn left here, and then when you get up to that junction, turn right there and then you will get to the destination you need to go to. We should see the Holy Spirit rather like a companion on a journey. But not many Christians do see the Holy Spirit in such a dynamic and personal way. But that is what Paul is talking about here, otherwise he wouldn’t use these incredible expressions like ‘being led by the Spirit’ or ‘keeping in step with the Spirit’ or ‘walking by the Spirit’. They are very dynamic expressions. My experience, over many years of being a Christian is, that if you are careful and listen to what you feel the Spirit is saying to you, if you are prayerful, then you will have a sense of the right thing to do in any particular situation, and that will help you to make good decisions.

Acts of the Flesh and Fruits of the Spirit

‘The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.’

Galatians 5:19-26, NIV

It is a very stark contrast that Paul makes here between what he calls the ‘acts of the flesh’ and the ‘fruit of the Spirit’. If we analyse the list of things that he describes as the acts of the flesh, we will find that they fall into four different categories. First of all, there are some to do with sexuality and sexual behaviour: immorality, impurity, debauchery and orgies. Christian sexual ethics were very clear in the New Testament. Sex was for marriage. Marriage was sacred and to be preserved, and single people were not involved in immoral relationships.

The second area that is highlighted here is pagan religious practices: idolatry and witchcraft. He calls upon the Galatians not to be involved in the pagan practices in the temples and shrines of their cities.

The third area is our relationships with people. He mentions a number of things that mean we are being very poor in our relationships with other people: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. All those things speak about conflict, tension, unforgiveness and anger in relationships and a lack of grace and kindness in dealing with other people, as opposed to loving your neighbour as yourself.

The fourth category is alcohol: drunkenness. Paul mentions the abuse of alcohol several times in his letters. It is very dangerous thing for Christians who should be very self-controlled when dealing with alcohol. These are the four types of behaviour that he outlines as ‘acts of the flesh’; things that go against the will of God for our lives.

But on the positive side what about the fruit of the Spirit? There are some wonderful attributes here that are mentioned: love - sacrificial, selfless attitude and actions towards others; joy - an inner happiness not dependent on outward circumstances; peace - a state of inner harmony whatever is going on; forbearance or patience - a state of calm in the face of misfortune or difficulty; kindness - doing thoughtful deeds for others; goodness - showing generosity to others; faithfulness - being trustworthy and reliable; gentleness - having a gentle attitude towards others; and self-control – not giving in to selfish desires. What an amazing series of attributes are ‘the fruit of the Spirit’.

In the natural world, there is a plant known as the Mexican Breadfruit, or the Swiss Cheese Plant, that grows in tropical areas notably in Central America. This very beautiful plant with lovely big green leaves, has a remarkable fruit that takes some time to mature. It is about the size of an ear of corn and roughly the shape of an ear of corn. The fruit is on the inside. When it is fully ripened, you can open up the outside and see the white coloured fruit inside. The fruit has so many different tastes that people find it hard to describe exactly what the taste is! Some people think it is like pineapple; some it is more like banana; some people find coconut in it; others strawberry; and others passion fruit. It is like a fruit of many tastes. Some have even said it has nine tastes - the same number as the fruit of the Spirit. That plant is a beautiful symbol to me of the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants a little bit of each of these fruit in every person - not one for you and one for me: I will be forbearing if you are generous, you are kind and you are loving. The mature Christian has something of all these: some joy, some goodness, and some kindness. A fruit with many tastes. That is what God wants in our lives.

Paul knew that rules and regulations don’t create that kind of inner change. They force you to conform to the rules and regulations, and the Jewish teachers were bringing all these rules and regulations to the Galatians. Paul was thinking that was not going to work; it was going to distract them from the gospel and take them away from the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul believed that, as we go through our lives, the circumstances of our lives are used by God to create maturity and the fruit of the Spirit, if we allow the Spirit to work. You might experience, for example, some extremely difficult circumstances but God can use them to create character: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Think of that wonderful tropical fruit that I just mentioned. You eat it and you have all these mixtures of tastes. It is a beautiful, wonderful and nutritious fruit.

That is what God wants in our lives as Christians. It is true that the Holy Spirit gives us power and gives us the gifts of the Spirit, and Paul speaks about those elsewhere, notably in 1 Corinthians and in Romans but here he is talking about the change that goes on within us, and very often that happens during the difficult challenges of life.

Paul’s Conclusion

Paul’s conclusion here is, “Say no to legalism; It is not going to work. Don’t just do what you want to do, that is not good for you because there is a lot of selfishness still left in you. Follow the Spirit. He is actually at work in you”.

Many Christians hardly realise that this reality exists; they go through the motions of their Christian faith, and do things out of duty. They go to church and read the Bible and so forth. Paul is encouraging a much more dynamic view of the Christian faith; the Holy Spirit is at work in you. He is interested in you as an individual; he is working in your life; he has a plan for your life and it is different from the plan he has for other people in your household, or in your church. It is you as an individual he wants to shape and mould for God’s purposes. As we listen to the Holy Spirit and we give him room, so we will be changed. We certainly won’t need legalism to draw closer to God.

Reflections

Let me suggest some ways in which we can live in accordance with the Holy Spirit that we can keep in step with the Holy Spirit, as Paul encouraged us to do. Here are some practical steps that help us along that journey:

First of all, we can read and study the Bible regularly and carefully. The Holy Spirit explains and illuminates, and helps us understand the Bible as we read it carefully. We can ask the Holy Spirit to do that; it is one of the main ways that God reveals His will to us. I encourage you to read the Bible carefully.

Also pray regularly and in your prayers, invite the Holy Spirit to come into your daily life. Whatever we do in our lives, we can ask him to come in and be present with us to shape our lives, guide us and lead us.

The third thing, that really helps us live in the life of the Spirit, is to be in regular fellowship with other Christians: to be in community, to be in church meetings, to be in worship, to be in fellowship because we find that that encourages the life of the Spirit within us, lifts our gaze onto the things of God and encourages us in our faith. I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you every day. Make it a particular prayer point. Paul encourages us to do that in Ephesians 5:18.

As we come to the end of this episode, we have come to the place that Paul wanted to reach, to be able to explain to the Galatians how to live the Christian life. He is reminding them of things that he said right at the beginning. He said they had started out in the Spirit, in chapter 3, and asks them, what happened to that life of the Holy Spirit? They have turned it into lots of rules and regulations. He comes back to that same theme in more detail.

This is a very important passage for Christian discipleship. This is one of those wonderful places in the New Testament where the work of the Holy Spirit is explained to us. I want to end by reminding you that, a good way of understanding the work of the Holy Spirit is to imagine going for a walk with someone and they are walking alongside you. You are talking to them, in conversation with them. They know the area better than you do and they tell you to go left here, go right there, and let us go down this road, we will find something down this track. That is how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

Thank you for listening to this episode and I hope you will join us for the final two episodes of our study of Galatians when we go to chapter 6.