God’s Word for You
Galatians 5:16-18 Live by the Spirit
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, August 7, 2024
16 But I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful flesh. 17 For the sinful flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit what is against the sinful flesh. They are opposed to one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to law.
Earlier in the letter, Paul spoke about faith. We are justified through faith (2:16), as are the Gentiles and all believers (3:8). By faith we receive the promise of the Spirit (3:14), and become sons of God (3:25-26). Now Paul says, as we live by faith, which is to live by the Spirit, sin keeps getting in the way. God’s will (the law) says that we should get along with our neighbor and love him (1 Thessalonians 4:9), but this isn’t what we do (1 John 4:8). The law (God’s will) says that we should not lust after one who is not our spouse (Job 31:1), but here again so many fall short (1 John 2:16). The holy will of God is that we will use his name to proclaim him, to praise him and give him glory (James 5:13; Revelation 19:7), but we fall to so many different sins in his name (Leviticus 19:12).
The phrase “desires (or works) of the sinful flesh” is one of the very definitions of actual sin (as opposed to inherited or original sin). Such are the “fruitles deeds of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11), the works of the old Adam (Colossians 3:9), and deeds of lawlessness (2 Peter 2:8). These are all the actions, words and thoughts that are contrary to God’s will and God’s holy law. What we should remember is that these “desires of the sinful flesh” are not only sexual desires or sins of sensuality, but anything that goes against the will of God. We see this more clearly by considering the other side: are there sinful desires of the spirit? Not at all. There is no passage that speaks about spiritual sins, apart from the wicked and unpardonable sin, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29), but that is rejecting God altogether and dismissing the very possibility of forgiveness. That is why it is unpardonable. It thrusts aside forgiveness itself. But Paul is not talking about that. Paul encourages us to remember our Savior Jesus and our forgiveness through baptism and through holy communion, and live so that we thank God with our actions and words. This is living by the Spirit, and this is loving one another.
There is a powerful opposition in verse 17. The sinful flesh and the spirit are completely opposed to each other. Ignatius of Antioch (died 107 AD) wrote in complete agreement with Paul: “The carnal can’t act spiritually, nor can the spiritual act carnally; just as faith cannot perform unbelieving acts, nor the unbelieving those of faith.” But when Paul says that “you do not do what you want,” does he mean that we want to sin, or that we very much want not to sin? Both are true, because the sinful flesh and the believing spirit are completely opposed to each other. Paul writes about the struggle of the Christian man with his sinful nature more than once. “I am unspiritual,” he says, “a slave to sin” (Romans 7:14). And again: “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind” (Romans 7:23). And yet again: “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24). Some of the ancient church fathers wasted a lot of ink trying to prove that it was unworthy for such a godly man as Paul to admit to being sinful, but the experience of the Christian life tells us all that we are personally subject to sin and error, and that we end up slaves to sin on account of the sinful human nature.
Having condemned me with his words, Paul also holds out the gospel to rescue me fom my wretched fear and grief over my sin. For he also says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to law.” When we are going through hard days, difficult trials, a crisis of faith or of the way we live, we can remember: Jesus gave his life for me, and washed my sins away. So even if this crisis I am going through is a heavy cross, almost too heavy to bear, I don’t have to despair. For my God, my Lord Jesus knows that there is some attack going on in my life. Anger, impatience, mental depression, addiction, sexual desire, hatred, or whatever the devil is trying to trap me with, I can still say, “My flesh is fighting against the Spirit. But my flesh can wage that war all it wants; I don’t have to give in and let it win me over so that I would forget about Christ.” When we’re battling against our own flesh, there’s nothing better than to have the Word of God on our lips and in our hearts. Since I have faith, and therefore the Spirit of God, I’m not under the bootheel of the law. I struggle, I may fail sometimes, but Christ forgives.
Your sins are forgiven. Jesus loves you. It’s going to be all right. “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.