Galatians 5:16-26: Walking by the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26: Walking by the Spirit

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and today the next passage we come to is Galatians 5:16-26. It says,

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. 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. 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. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we’re taught that the heavens and earth will pass away but that your words will never pass away. They’re eternally true, eternally relevant, and eternally powerful. So, help us to see the truth of this text and understand its relevance and experience its power. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

When someone becomes a Christian, it’s not uncommon for them to assume that all of their struggles with sin will suddenly disappear. For example, if they’ve had issues with drugs or alcohol, they might assume they’ll no longer be tempted to abuse those substances. If they’ve been given to outbursts of anger, they might assume they’ll no longer have any trouble keeping their temper under control. If they’ve been addicted to pornography, they might assume that will no longer be a struggle for them. 

And to be clear, there are times when that happens. I’ve heard several people describe to me how, when they became a Christian, God instantly removed from their heart all desire for a certain sin. But sometimes people think that’s the norm. And to a certain extent, I can understand why they think that. After all, there are passages in the Bible like 2 Corinthians 5:17, which states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When someone puts their trust in Jesus to save them from their sin, they become a new person. The Bible says elsewhere that they have a new heart and a new nature and will therefore live in a new way. 

However, the Bible’s also clear that Christians still struggle with sinful desires. The way I like to say it is that, even though those of us who are Christians have a new nature, we still possess the “ghost” of our old sinful nature. Now, our sinful nature was, in a sense, put to death at our conversion. Yet, as the Bible teaches and as our daily experience confirms, the ghost of that old sinful nature still lingers over our lives. It’s an intruder, it doesn’t belong there, and yet it lingers. 

It would be kind of like purchasing a house only to discover that the previous homeowner has kept a copy of the keys and thinks it’s okay to just visit the house and enter the house whenever he feels like it. That’s not the way it works, right? If he did that, you’d have every right to tell him to get out and then call the police if he didn’t. Now that you’ve purchased the house, he doesn’t have any right to be there. He’s an intruder. And in a similar way, our old sinful nature regularly acts as an intruder and tries to reassert its dominance over our lives even as Christians. 

And that’s what our main passage of Galatians 5:16-26 addresses. It addresses the struggles Christians often have with sinful desires and shows us how we can overcome those desires. And as we’ll see, the key to overcoming those sinful desires is the Holy Spirit. 

Throughout this passage, we find repeated references to the Holy Spirit. In verse 16, Paul says to “walk by the Spirit.” In verse 18, he talks about being “led by the Spirit.” In verse 22, he describes “the fruit of the Spirit.” And in verse 25, he speaks to those “live by the Spirit” and tells them to “keep in step with the Spirit.” So, the Holy Spirit isn’t in any way peripheral but is indeed quite central to our lives as Christians. 

You know, throughout most of Paul’s letter up to this point, his main focus has been on justification—or being made right with God. Yet here in chapter 5, Paul’s focus shifts to sanctification—or growing in godliness. And it’s important to note that, whereas Jesus was central to our justification, the Holy Spirit is central to our sanctification. The Holy Spirit takes what Jesus has accomplished on the cross and applies it to our lives. 

And let’s be clear that we need the Holy Spirit for our sanctification just as much as we needed Jesus for our justification. We’re no more capable of living for God apart from the Holy Spirit’s power than we were of becoming right with God apart from Jesus’s sacrifice. We need the Holy Spirit. So, here in Galatians 5:16-26, Paul discusses what it looks like for Christians to be led by the Spirit and to draw from the power of the Spirit in their day-to-day lives. 

Now, as we’ll see, this way of living by the Spirit’s power is radically different than the way of living that the Christians of Galatia were being tempted to revert back to. If you’ve been with us on our journey through Galatians, you’re by now well aware that false teachers—known as Judaizers—had infiltrated the churches of Galatia and were saying that it was necessary to observe the Old Testament law in order to be made right with God and gain entrance into heaven. Paul repeatedly refers to this mentality as being “under the law”.  This phrase “under the law” refers to being under the system of the law—in the sense of being obligated to follow every part of it—and to being under the curse of the law—which is eternal punishment for all who fail to keep the law perfectly. 

And not only does this legalistic mentality of being “under the law” make justification impossible, it also makes sanctification impossible. Someone who’s “under the law” is, by definition, relying on their own efforts both to become right with God and to live for God—neither of which are possible through our own human efforts. So, Paul’s instructions here about being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit are radically different than the mentality of those who put themselves “under the law.”  There’s a night-and-day difference between those two ways of living. 

Paul speaks about this difference not only here in Galatians but also in Romans 7:5-6, where he writes, 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 

So, at one time, Paul says, when he and his readers were living in the Old Testament system and were under the Old Testament law, they were “held…captive” by their sinful desires. Even though they tried their best to keep the law, they couldn’t escape the dominance of their sinful desires. But now, Paul says, “we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

Think about it like this. There’s probably been a time in your life when you’ve been sick and have gone to the doctor and have received a diagnosis from the doctor but no remedy. Isn’t that the worst? Like you go in to see the doctor because you’re feeling terrible, but the doctor tells you that it’s a virus and that there’s no medicine for it and that you basically just have to wait it out. That’s not what I want to hear. When I go to the doctor, I want a prescription, right? I want some medicine that’ll help me feel better. Please, give me something more than a mere diagnosis. 

Yet that’s all that the law is able to give us. The law shows us our sickness—as measured by our inability to rise to the moral standards the law requires—yet it doesn’t offer any remedy. That’s what it means here in verse 6 to serve “in the old way of the written code.” 

Thankfully, however, that’s not the way we serve God anymore. Paul says we serve in what he calls “the new way of the Spirit.” For those of us who are Christians, we possess the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit gives us both the desire and the ability to overcome our sinful desires and follow God’s instructions. For the first time, we actually can live as God calls us to live—through the Spirit’s power. 

So, returning to our main passage, that’s what Galatians 5:16-26 is all about. To state it concisely, Christians can overcome sinful desires by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s the main idea of this passage. Christians can overcome sinful desires by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

So, let’s walk through this passage verse by verse. Look with me first at verse 16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

“Walk[ing] by the Spirit” involves relying on both the guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit. In addition, one commentator notes that “[W]alking implies progress, going from where one is to where he ought to be. As a believer submits to the Spirit’s control, he moves forward in his spiritual life. Step by step the Spirit moves him from where he is toward where God wants him to be.” And as we see in the second half of the verse, the result of walking by the Spirit is that we “will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

You see, before someone becomes a Christian, they essentially have two problems. First, they’ve sinned and deserve to be punished for their sins in hell for all eternity. And second, they can’t stop themselves from sinning and are, in that sense, enslaved to their own sinful desires—or to what Paul refers to here as “the desires of the flesh.” 

Now, the good news of the gospel is that God’s been unbelievably gracious to us in our wretched condition. In an act of extraordinary mercy, God the Father sent Jesus his Son to come to this earth as man, live a perfectly sinless life, and then die on the cross to pay for our sins. Instead of us having to endure the penalty for our sins, Jesus endured that penalty in our place. He was then raised from the dead and now offers forgiveness to all who put their trust in him. 

So, that takes care of our first problem of being destined for God’s punishment because of our sin. However, there’s still the second problem of being enslaved to our sinful desires—or the so-called “desires of the flesh” here in verse 16. Yet, in his mercy, God addresses that problem as well. And he does so through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings about a certain degree of transformation instantaneously at the moment of conversion. This is often referred to as being “born again” or experiencing “regeneration.” Then, after that, the Holy Spirit continues to transform our hearts to a progressively greater degree throughout our lives as Christians. The Bible refers to this as “sanctification.” 

And, as we can see here in verse 16, we have a role in our sanctification as well. Our role is to “walk by the Spirit,” and the result is that we “will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” By the way, as I alluded to earlier, “the flesh” is a reference not to our physical bodies but to any and all sinful desires we have. 

Paul then continues telling us about these “desires of the flesh” in verse 17. He writes, “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.” So, there’s a battle that’s raging within the heart of every true Christian—a battle between “the desires of the flesh” and “the desires of the Spirit.” 

However, Paul continues in verse 18, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” To be “led by the Spirit,” in this context, refers to the Holy Spirit leading us to put to death sinful tendencies in our lives. 

Now, you might wonder, what kinds of things might the Holy Spirit lead us to put to death? Well, Paul very helpfully gives us a list in verses 19-21. He states, 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. 

So, according to Paul, not only are these behaviors sinful, they also reveal that the person engaging in them isn’t truly a Christian. That’s what Paul’s implying when he says at the end of verse 21 that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Now, it’s important to understand that genuine Christians can occasionally fall into very serious sins. So, Paul’s not saying here that it’s impossible for a genuine Christians to ever commit any of these sins. Instead, when Paul speaks of “those who do such things,” the tense of the Greek participle makes it clear that Paul’s speaking of those who engage in a lifestyle of doing such things. 

For example, I once heard a preacher describe it like this. If someone were to follow you around and takes pictures of you at all your worst moments, they could probably assemble those pictures and make you out to be a less than godly person. Perhaps they take a picture of you right as someone cuts you off in traffic and a foul word comes out of your mouth. Then, perhaps a few days later, they manage to take a picture of you when you lose your temper and lash out in anger at a family member. Then, maybe a few days after that, they take a picture of you as you lie to someone by telling them that you’re busy doing something when you’re actually not. So, if someone took a picture of you at all your worst moments, they could probably show those pictures to someone and make it seem like you’re a terrible person. 

However, if someone were to follow you around and, instead of taking pictures of you at all of your worst moments, take a video of you continually as you go about your day, that video would obviously be a much more accurate representation of who you really are. And hopefully, it would reveal that, even though you might occasionally fall into sin, the overall pattern of your life is one of godliness rather than sinfulness. 

The point is that there’s a big difference between occasionally falling into sin and living a lifestyle characterized by sin. And when Paul says here in verse 21 that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God,” he’s referring to those who engage in a lifestyle of such sins. 

Then, after that, having just listed numerous examples of “works of the flesh,” Paul describes what he refers to as “the fruit of the Spirit.” He writes in verses 22-23, 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. 

Now, notice from the grammar of these two verses that Paul’s not directly commanding us to pursue these things. Even though a great application of these verses would be to pursue these things, Paul phrases these verses not as a command but as a simple statement of fact. “The fruit of the Spirit is…” these things. In other words, if you have the Holy Spirit within you, your life is going to be characterized by these virtues. Not only will you avoid the negative vices listed in the previous verses, you’ll also exhibit the positive virtues listed in these verses. So, not only does the Holy Spirit help us avoid sin, he also helps us exhibit godliness. 

And I love the fact that Paul refers to these godly characteristics as “fruit.” Think about the way fruit appears on a fruit tree. It doesn’t appear instantaneously, does it? No, it appears gradually. It takes time for the fruit to appear. Likewise, someone who’s recently been saved might initially have a lot of rough edges and a lot of old habits that take some time to fully overcome. But as time goes on, the “fruit of the Spirit” will become increasingly evident in their life and thereby demonstrate that the person is indeed truly born again. And of course, if such fruit doesn’t appear, it should make us seriously question whether that individual truly has saving faith. 

Now, even though we don’t have time for a detailed examination of each of the virtues Paul lists here, I’d at least like to share something about each of them. And I believe Tim Keller actually gives a particularly masterful description of each of these virtues, so I’ll be sharing some of his thoughts as I go through this list. 

First, Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit includes “love.” This is the chief virtue and the one the encompasses all the others. Loving someone involves being more concerned about their welfare than you are even about your own welfare. It also involves serving them because you truly care about them rather than merely caring about what they can do for you or how serving them might benefit you. 

Second, “joy” refers to a delight that we have in God and as we consider what God’s done for us in the gospel. Instead of having a superficial feeling of happiness that’s entirely dependent on how well life seems to be going at any given moment and that can therefore be lost at any time, a Christian has joy in Christ that transcends whatever circumstances they might be facing. 

Third, “peace” refers to possessing an inward calm and tranquility even in the midst of turbulent circumstances. The opposite of peace is worry and anxiety. Yet, instead of being worried or anxious, a Christian’s able to experience incredible peace because they know that an infinitely good and wise God is in perfect control of everything they are facing or ever will face. 

Fourth, “patience” is the ability to face frustrating circumstances without losing heart and deal with frustrating people without losing your cool with them or becoming resentful toward them.  After that, “kindness” involves making yourself vulnerable by serving others in heartfelt ways and also speaking of them in a way that builds them up rather than tearing them down. It involves feeling secure enough in who you are in Christ that you’re able to spend your life elevating others instead of feeling like you have to always elevate yourself. 

Next, “goodness” is a more general word that encompasses both moral excellence as well as a benevolent disposition to those around you and a desire to bless them and a willingness to help them in any way possible. Seventh, “faithfulness” refers to being completely reliable and always true to your word. It also involves being loyal, first to God and also to anyone in your life to whom you’ve committed yourself.

After that, “gentleness” involves having a meek disposition that bears with whatever offenses others might commit against you and, when needed, patiently corrects others rather than harshly condemning them. And finally, “self-control” is the ability to regulate your appetites, restrain your impulses, and avoid being driven by your emotions. The opposite of a self-controlled person is an impulsive person who has significant difficulty not saying or doing the first thing that comes to their mind in any given situation. 

So, these virtues, collectively, are “the fruit of the Spirit.” Notice that Paul doesn’t say each of these virtues is a fruit of the Spirit but instead says that all of them together are “the fruit of the Spirit.” That means they all go together and that no virtue on this list can exist in isolation from all the other virtues. You either—to a certain degree—have them all, or you don’t really have any of them. And again, all of these virtues are the result and manifestation of the Holy Spirit within us. The presence of these virtues is an indication that someone has the Holy Spirit, while the absence of these virtues is an indication that someone doesn’t have the Holy Spirit. 

Then, moving on to verse 24, Paul states, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Genuine Christians have renounced and put to death the sinful tendencies that used to characterize their lives. 

Paul then states in verses 25-26, 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. So, remember, Paul’s already told his readers to “walk by the Spirit” in verse 16 and spoken of being “led by the Spirit” in verse 18. And he now—in verse 25—speaks of those who “live by the Spirit” and tells them to “keep in step with the Spirit.” 

When I was in high school, I was involved in marching band for a season. I know that might surprise some of you—since you probably thought I played football or something like that—but I was actually in marching band. And when you’re in marching band, one of the things you have to know how to do is march, which involves staying in step with the rest of the marching band. Now, there are several ways you can do that, but two of the most helpful ways for me to stay in step were, number one, to listen carefully to the beat of the drumline and, number two, to observe the feet of the people marching around me. That’s how I was able to stay in step with everyone else. 

Similarly, Paul tells us to “keep in step with the Spirit.” This involves being submissive to the Spirit’s leading, responsive to the Spirit’s prompting, and sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction. 

So, in light of everything Paul’s said about the Holy Spirit in this passage, I believe there are four ways we should respond. First, cultivate greater awareness of and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. You might compare it to the way in which someone who’s had extensive military training—perhaps in the Special Forces—and who’s been in a lot of dangerous situations sees the world differently. That kind of person is more aware of their surroundings and sensitive to certain situational vulnerabilities or even signs of danger that most other people wouldn’t think twice about. That’s sort of what I mean when I say we need to cultivate greater awareness of and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Christians should see the world differently than non-Christians and be consciously aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and dialed in to the Spirit’s guidance and sensitive to all aspects of the Spirit’s ministry in our lives. 

Then, a second way I believe we should respond is to give greater recognition to the Holy Spirit in the way you speak and pray. Whenever possible in your conversations and prayers, refer to the Holy Spirit specifically rather than referring in a more general way to “God.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with talking about “God” doing something in our lives or ministering to us in various ways. That’s not theologically inaccurate. However, even though this might seem like a small thing, one thing I’ve noticed is that adjusting our language to speak not just of God in general but of the Holy Spirit specifically is very helpful in helping us become more aware and appreciative of the Spirit’s ministry in our lives. 

After that, a third response is to pray for the Holy Spirit to transform you in specific ways. These would naturally include the fruit of the Spirit Paul lists in our main passage. The fruit of the Spirit is a great prayer list for yourself and the Christians around you. 

And then a final response is to allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with greater affections for Jesus. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with greater affections for Jesus. The key point Paul’s been making throughout this passage is that the Holy Spirit helps us overcome sinful desires. Yet there’s a specific way in which the Holy Spirit does that. It involves, first of all, the Bible. The Spirit of God works in conjunction with the Word of God. He uses the Word of God as his instrument to carry out his ministry in our lives. 

And what ministry might that be? Well, the very core of it is to stir our affections for Jesus. To state it all in one sentence, the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to stir our affections for Jesus and thereby helps us overcome sin in our lives. Again, the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to stir our affections for Jesus and thereby helps us overcome sin in our lives. And I know it might be difficult to take all of that in at one time, so let me unpack it a little more. 

The Bible tells us about the grace of God in sending his own Son Jesus to rescue us from our sins. And the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see more of the depth and magnitude of that grace and enables us to appreciate just how amazing and astounding that grace really is. The Spirit then uses that to stir our affections for Jesus. And as our affections for Jesus are stirred, we come to delight in him and become so full of joy in him that sin no longer seems appealing. 

You know, when I’m full of a nice steak dinner, I’m no longer tempted to snack on stale potato chips. And when you’re full of joy and delight in Jesus, you’re not tempted to fall into sin. So, all sin can basically be traced back to a failure to delight in Jesus. That’s why we commit sins. Whenever we commit a sin, it’s because—in that moment—we’re not delighting in Jesus. We’re sinning because we’re empty. 

So, the way to overcome sin isn’t to simply grit your teeth and try harder but rather to allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with greater affections for Jesus. Friends, the fact is that you and I will always choose whatever our hearts desire the most. That’s just the way we’re wired. And so, the only way to overcome a particular sin is by acquiring greater affections for Jesus than we have for that sin. You can’t just stop the sin. You have to replace your affections for sin with affections for Jesus. And it’s the Spirit of God working through the Word of God who stirs those affections within our hearts.