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Stand Firm - Standing in the Spirit

  • Writer: Paul Downie
    Paul Downie
  • 1 hour ago
  • 27 min read

Galatians 5:13-26 NIV 

[13] 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. [14] For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. [16] So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] 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. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] 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. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

Back when I was a student, fairly early on in my degree, there was a class on our schedule that left us both puzzled and bemused: ‘Discrete Mathematics’. We wondered what on earth it was. 


When we found out, none of us was thrilled. 


The class was taken by a Mathematics lecturer, when our major was Computing Science. He was an older man. He lectured us twice a week in the same clothes: corduroy trousers and a claret coloured v-neck pullover. He was far from a great communicator. He spent much of the class with his eyes on the board behind him. He rarely if ever made eye contact. He whispered and mumbled. He was almost impossible to hear. 


He was a little too ‘Discrete’. 


And the subject definitely lived up to its billing. It was very niche. Very specialised. Very nerdy. 


We wondered what the relevance of this subject was. We were never told. 


But we eventually figured it out. 


This lecturer, who was so disengaged from reality that he allegedly once lectured with his v-neck sweater on backwards, was teaching us the very mathematical foundations of computing. His class was all about logic. Logic powers calculations in computers.


This man, despite his poor delivery and fashion choice, was teaching us the very foundation of what we needed to know. 


Galatians is a great book. The message it contains is wonderful. 


But perhaps you have followed this blog for the last few weeks and wondered where it was going. Perhaps the theology seemed a little too niche, a little too historical, maybe even a little too irrelevant. 


That ends now. 


Because chapter five is where the rubber hits the road. 


Now we find out the practical application for all this theology. 


That might seem like quite a leap, almost as if Paul has entirely changed tack. 


Nothing could be further from the truth. 


Paul’s letters generally follow the same pattern: first the theology, then the practical application. He is saying to them, ‘You should believe this. And because you believe this, you should do that.’ 


It is an entirely logical conclusion. 


He has taught in the preceding four chapters that salvation is not something we do, it is something we receive. We are not saved by our work, we are saved by God’s work, but we are saved to work. 


Now we find out what that work is. 


But we don’t even do that work alone. 


We will look at four aspects of what this entails – what it really means to stand in the Spirit.

 

The first of these is our oft-repeated theme of Freedom. 

 

Freedom 

Galatians 5:13-15 NIV 

[13] 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. [14] For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 

When I was a student, the word ‘Freedom!’ reverberated around movie theatres across the world. The movie ‘Braveheart’ had come out: a historically inaccurate but highly emotive film about Scottish history, whose lead actor was Australian, but which tapped into the innate desire of every Scot to be free of English rule. 


Yet, ironically, it still didn’t help the Scottish Nationalist Party to win a referendum to break up the UK.  


The reason why is simple: they can’t define a workable plan for what would happen after Scotland becomes independent.  


And the reason why is also simple: 


Their party is divided on what that should be. 


Because, you see, Scots can be a most disagreeable bunch. Many of us might be clear that we want to be ‘free’ of English rule; what we aren’t clear on is what that would look like. 


The biggest problem we have as human beings is that we want to break free, as Freddy Mercury once sang, but we don’t actually know what that is, or what to do with it when we have it.


The other issue we have is that our freedom might cause another person to lose theirs. For example, we might want the freedom to eat and drink well. But the means of doing that at a low price might mean other people have to be locked in slavery to poverty so that we can be free. 


The irony of freedom is that, in pursuing it, we often trade away the very freedom we seek.


The verse I have often quoted in these posts (but I have yet to hear a single sermon preached on) is this one, from Proverbs: 


Proverbs 22:7 NIV 

[7] The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.22.7.NIV)


Financial freedom can never come through borrowing, because borrowing makes us a slave to the lender. This is a good example of seeking freedom, but trading away our own freedom in the process.


So what does freedom look like? 


Paul describes freedom in these verses. Freedom is the freedom to choose what is right. It is not the freedom to do wrong. 


Why is that? 


Very simple: 


Romans 6:15-18 NIV 

[15] What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! [16] Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. [18] You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 

Sin is the most addictive substance known to mankind. You cannot dabble in it. If you use your freedom to indulge in it, you will quickly become its slave. You will become addicted to it. 


Think about it: if you do wrong and then are discovered, don’t you then lie to get away with it, which is also wrong? That’s nothing new: it began in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and has continued ever since. 


We are free to choose wrong. But if we choose wrong, we lose our freedom. 


That is why we are free to choose what is right. 


And how do we know what is right? 


Love is right. 


Love is never wrong. 


Love is the very core of obedience (Matthew 22:37-40). 


This love finds its ultimate expression when we love those whom we naturally should not (Luke 10:25-37). 


We know this. Every Christian should know this. 


But Paul was writing to a church that was sorely confused, where ideas were entrenched and tension was high. He tells them that the solution is not to win an argument but to love. 


He did the same with the Corinthians. They wrote sorely divided in cults of personalities (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). The solution to their situation was not a debate or an argument or a ‘preach-off’, or any other such nonsense. No, the solution to their problem was to love (1 Corinthians 13). 


Do you see it? 


We are free to obey. We are free to love, because to obey is to love.  


If we use our freedom to choose not to love, we choose to disobey and we lose our freedom to choose. 


Think about it. 


Have you ever bore a grudge against someone? Have you ever been bitter towards someone? Have you ever harboured deep unforgiveness against someone? Or hated someone deeply? 


Did you feel free when you did so? Were you free? 


Of course not! 


Did these negative emotions not dominate your every waking thoughts, steal away your dreams, sneak up on you unawares and determine how you should feel about everything? 


You lost your freedom!  


You chose to surrender it! 


That’s the point. 


When you choose to hate, you are not free. 


When you choose to love, you are free. 


So having determined that we are free, what we then see is that there is a Fight to remain free. 

 

Fight 


Galatians 5:16-18 NIV 

[16] So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] 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. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

As much as we might not want to admit it, there are situations where life is polarised: where we have people on one side who believe one thing and people on another who believe the opposite. While many things in life are a lot more nuanced, where there are shades of grey or spectra, as some people nowadays choose to call it, some issues are simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

 

There are issues where there is simply a line in the sand: you are on one side of it or you are on the other. 


I’m thinking, for example, about the times when people are asked to vote on a referendum on a certain issue. Or where a law dictates that a certain action is wrong.  


Or even whether certain taxes should be paid or benefits should be provided. 


Paul sees such an issue here.  


In the Bible, there are three forces opposed to God: the world (meaning earthly powers and influences that are opposed to God), the flesh (our human desires that are opposed to God’s law) and the devil (the main spiritual being opposed to God). 


In the Biblical worldview, as we saw in a much earlier post, the world and the devil lay out temptation traps for us, but it is our flesh – our human nature – that causes us to succumb to them (James 1:13-15). 


If we imagine this fight as a boxing match, it’s this sinful desire that constantly leads us astray which is in one corner. 


So right away, this is not how we might imagine it to be. The old cartoons used to portray the battle between good and evil in our head as being a battle between an angel and a demon. It’s amusing to think of it that way, but it’s completely wrong. 


The Bible states that the fight has nothing to do with the devil or his minions. It’s not him who causes our inner torment. If you look at when he tried to distract Jesus, there was no inner torment. Jesus quite simply told him what’s what from the Bible and that was it (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). 


Why? 


Because Jesus had no (what the Bible calls) ‘flesh’: He had flesh and blood, but He had no sinful nature that satan could exploit. 


No, what causes our inner torment and our battle with moral indecision is our weak, frail and sinful human nature. It is that which is in one corner of the spiritual boxing match. 


In the other corner is the Spirit. This is not our conscience. It is not our better nature. It is the Holy Spirit Himself. 


Yes, you heard me: the Presence of God Himself creates our inner turmoil by contradicting our human nature and pointing us in the right direction.  


Jesus Himself said this about the Holy Spirit: 


John 14:23-26 NIV 

[23] Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. [24] Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. [25]  “All this I have spoken while still with you. [26] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  

John 16:12-15 NIV 

[12]  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. [15] All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” 

The Holy Spirit’s ongoing ministry is not to cast us to the floor, make us writhe around as if we are having a fit or cause us to make animal noises. No, His main ministry is to act as a supernatural aide memoire of all that Jesus taught. And much of that He taught was practical. It was moral. It was about what is right and what is wrong. 


If you have any doubt about that, look at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) or the very similar Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49). 


There is nothing unclear about those sermons. There is nothing obtuse or mystical. They are earthed in moral clarity and certainty. 


It’s this that the Holy Spirit brings to mind: heavenly wisdom in earthly situations. 


Romans 7:7-25 puts another spin on this. Here we see Paul starting off with good desires and intentions, but being ensnared by his own human nature. 


Now, there is one thing we need to get clear. This moral fight, this dilemma, within us is not something faced by non-Christians. They don’t face it for two reasons: 


  1. Because they don’t have the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-16). 


  2. Because they live by following their own instinct (Romans 1:20-32). 


Do you think I an unduly harsh? Am I being too hard on unbelievers? Just consider the songs that are popular in the charts about doing what feels right, about not thinking about tomorrow, about living however you please. They openly celebrate a life lived by instinct, and not by discipline or reason or truth. 


They don’t fight their fleshly desires, they surrender to them. 


And look at the results. They are everywhere. 


And not at all positive. 


I also want you to notice the role the law plays in this. It does not help us win the battle, it just acts like a mirror to show us where we failed. Paul is plain in Romans 7:7-12 that the law is good and holy, but the very existence or a command not to do something can tempt you to do it. 


Lastly, we should notice the role Jesus plays in this fight – He gives us the victory: 


Romans 7:24-25 NIV 

[24] What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? [25] Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 

He set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-4). Because of His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we no longer need to give in to our destructive fleshly desires without thinking: 


Romans 8:12-13 NIV 

[12] Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. [13] For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 

We are free. We have a choice. 


If we believe in Jesus Christ. 


However, with great freedom comes great responsibility. We cannot blame anything or anyone else if we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit and decide to follow our freshly desires regardless.  


If we have come into the light, but choose to return to the darkness, then that is very much on us. 


Romans 8:1 states that there is no condemnation. And that is true. But it says that there is no condemnation ‘for those who are in Christ Jesus’, not for those who choose to use His Sacred Name as a kind of divine insurance policy and live their lives as if He never existed at all. 


As Jesus Himself said: 


Matthew 7:21 NIV 

[21]  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.7.21.NIV)


This is the challenge we must all face up to. We are free, but we are accountable before God for how we use that freedom (Revelation 20:11-15). 


We are also accountable before our fellow humans. Jesus tells us that we will be known by our fruit (Matthew 7:15-20, 12:33), specifically our love (John 13:34-35), because love is the fulfilment of the whole law (Romans 13:8-10). 


So we see that, like a boxing match, whowe declare the victor in the battle for our heart and mind and actions is very important. 


But this all provokes a further, and very tough, question: why is it, then, that those who are not Christians are sometimes better people than those who are? How is that possible? 


Paul touched on this question in Romans: 


Romans 2:12-16 NIV 

[12] All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. [13] For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. [14] (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) [16] This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. 

What is happening is quite simple. The ‘bad’ ‘Christian’ is ‘bad’ because they are receiving the prompting of the Holy Spirit, calling them to a higher, better life, but are ignoring it and surrendering to their fleshly desires. 


The ‘good’ non-Christian is ‘good’ because they are listening to the prompting of their own conscience, which, although not as holy as the Holy Spirit, is nevertheless guiding them away from their fleshly desires towards what is right. 


Then why will they be judged? 


Because, although their conscience helped them to be moral and is not perfect, there will be times when they will not listen to it and will give into their fleshly desires. For that, they will be judged. 


We should not be fooled into believing that the ‘fleshly’ ‘Christian’ will get off scot-free. God, who knows our deceitful hearts better than we know them ourselves, is able to judge whether faith is genuine or just an attempt to bribe Him into letting them get away with a sinful life. 


God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7).


So what does all this mean? 


We saw earlier in our first point that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has freed us from the iron grip of our sinful, fleshly, human nature. This is good. 


However, it has also created a dilemma; a conundrum for us to resolve. Instead of being in a situation where we can simply do whatever takes our fancy, we are confronted with two powerful influences: that of our own human nature and the Holy Spirit. While our human nature is rash and self-serving, the Holy Spirit knows the full truth about our situation, as well as all it’s repercussions and implications. 


The fight, then is over which one we believe: our self-serving nature or the God-serving inclinations of the Holy Spirit. 


If we imagine, again, that this fight is a boxing match, we are the judges: we get to decide who wins and who loses. 


This has a very serious effect on us.  


Allow me to explain. 


During a criminal trial, when someone has been found guilty, their defence counsel will seek all kinds of reports – psychological, medical, social – to try to explain the crime and reduce the sentence. That happens a lot in our culture. Recently, for example, a TV personality was discovered to have behaved very badly on set. Instead of taking ownership of his issues and admitting that he was at fault, he quickly put out a statement saying that he had a mental health issue and the production company had failed to protect him. 


Christians cannot use their nature or character as a defence. The reality is that we don’t stumble into wrongdoing. The Bible tells us what is right and what is wrong. If we know these things and still surrender to our human nature, then we are at fault because we chose it. And we chose it both knowingly and willingly. 


Which is worse. 


So we see, then, that we are free to choose between our human nature and the Holy Spirit.


Of course we are! Christ has set us free! 


But we are never immune from the consequences of that choice, even if Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has already secured Heaven for us. Our actions can, and do, have repercussions here on earth. They also prove (or disprove) the genuineness of our faith. 


To make things even more clear, Paul goes on to explain what the two great influences look like and do, beginning with the Flesh. 

 

Flesh  

Galatians 5:19-21 NIV 

[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] 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. 

Now things start to get very, very real. 


Part of my work is to examine data and spot patterns and trends. It helps me to identify where things could potentially be going wrong so they can be improved. 

That is what we must do here. We must look at these ‘acts of the flesh’ and work out what they have in common so we can avoid them. 


The answer is simple, but profound. 


Jesus told us that obedience to the Law – and by extension, to God – is summed up by the command to love: to love God, our neighbours and ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Love is therefore the boundary. It is the dividing line between obedience and disobedience. 


God Himself is love (1 John 4:8, 16). 


Therefore, love is the difference between a work of the Spirit and a work of the flesh. 

In turn, this means that every one of these ‘acts of the flesh’ is an act of disobedience against the command to love God, our neighbours or ourselves. 


It should not take much analysis to see why this is true. Every one of these acts is aimed at getting something for ‘me’. None of them are outwardly focused towards giving God His place or loving others.  


Even the act of worshipping an idol is a selfish act. Pagan worship was motivated by the desire to get something: a good harvest, a successful battle, a breeding partner. There was never the sense of having a relationship with the idol. 


The sad thing is when the worship of God becomes equally as transactional: where we worship God, not for who He is or what He has done, but for what we can get from Him. When that happens, we are not actually worshipping God. Instead, we are worshipping the thing we want God to do for us – we are worshipping an idol. 


Paul speaks here of a number of areas where our fleshly desires and list manifest themselves. 


The first is in wrong sexuality. 


Don’t miss what Paul is saying here. Sex is for heterosexual marriage only.  As far as the Bible is concerned, all other forms of sexuality are out (Romans 1:26-28). The Bible sees sex within a heterosexual marriage commitment as being based on love and all others are based on lust. They are driven by human, fleshly desires. They are forbidden. 


We also see wrong spirituality. 


Idol worship is a straight-up act of defiance against God that robs Him of His rightful place (Exodus 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 5:7-11). 


But we would be vastly mistaken if we simply thought of this idol as being a bull or a Baal or a Buddha. An idol is anything that we set up in God’s rightful place.  


And they could be anything from our car, our career or even our children. 


Witchcraft, apart from being condemned utterly in the Bible (Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Revelation 21:8-9, 22:15), is ultimately a selfish act. We are not talking here about those who use ‘natural’ medicines, or who draw attention to themselves by conjuring or sleight of hand.  


No, these were people who mixed potions, spoke enchantments and spells and tried to get the natural world God designed to bend to their nefarious will. These are people who try to manipulate other people for profit. 


However, there is another side to this. The Greek word for ‘witchcraft’ is pharmakeia, from which we derive our modern word ‘pharmacy’. These were not just people who cast spells around a cauldron. They were equally at home with mixing poisons and elixirs and even taking psychoactive drugs as part of pseudo-religious ceremonies to induce spiritual experiences. 


This verse is as much against LSD and cannabis and ayahuasca as it is the occult and wicca. 


We would do well to bear that in mind. 


We also here that God is against wrong affinity. 


Every one of the negative attitudes and actions listed is an act of hatred against a fellow human being. Every one of them is ill-treatment. Every one is abuse. Every one is the sinner trying to feel better about themselves by destroying another sinner. 


I hope that needs no further explanation to realise that it is utterly wrong. 


Lastly, we see wrong revelry.  


Paul is not against us having a good time. It’s just that drunkenness and carousing (orgies in the NIV) are not a good time. 


You might question my logic. However, when I was a student, I had the perfect example. 


My friend and I had gone to see our national team play football. They won the game. I had been stone cold sober; when my friend cheered for one of the goals, he was so drunk that he nearly fell over several rows of chairs. 


The next day, I asked him, ‘Great game, wasn’t it?’ 


‘Aye, it was a great game.’ he agreed enthusiastically. 


‘Do you remember any of it?’ I asked him, suspicious that his level of intoxication had cost him the experience of Scotland victory. 


‘No, but it was a great game.’ he replied. 


How did he know? He’d been so drunk, he’d experienced none of it! 


The Bible stands firmly against intoxication: 


Ephesians 5:17-20 NIV 

[17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. [18] Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, [19] speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, [20] always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In fact, it stands firmly against all of the acts in this list – and many others. This list is not exhaustive. There is another one in Romans 13:13, and another in Ephesians 5:1-20, and another in Colossians 3:1-11, and another in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.  


I believe even these lists are not exhaustive. Each generation comes up with new ways of expressing hatred for God, our neighbours and ourselves. I very much doubt, for example, that the first century believers could ever have even considered that a society could ever come that could encourage its daughters to pose provocatively for the pleasure of others, or to carry out harmful pranks in the name of entertainment or encourage those who were emotionally unstable to take their lives. 


That is why we need to see these deeds as disobedience to the Royal Law, the law that commands us to love. 


Paul is very direct. He does not miss and hit the wall: 


Galatians 5:21 NIV 

[21] I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.21.NIV)


The truth is plain: those who make a habit of doing these things can forget about going to Heaven. 


Not unless they repent. 


That might sound harsh to you. However, you need to remember this: every one of these is an act if disobedience against the command to love. They are all acts of hatred, on at least one latitude love for God, our neighbours and ourselves. Heaven is a place of perfection. A place of love. 


There can be no place for hatred there. 


Which is why, if we have been involved in this things, we must repent now, on earth. 


Before it’s too late. 


Having looked at our freedom, the fight within us and the flesh we must resist, we will now examine the Fruit of the Spirit. 

 

Fruit 

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV 

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  

Years ago, I was staffing a children’s club when they sung a fun little song called ‘The Fruit of the Spirit’s Not a Coconut’. 


It was quite amusing. However, it has a serious point. 


Coconut palms grow pretty much everywhere in tropical climates. I haven’t heard of people who farm them. You don’t need to. They just grow and produce pretty decent fruit, with little effort required either than to climb the tree and get it.  


Most other fruit is not like that. Yes, it can grow in the wild. But over the years we have learned to farm apples, pears, soft fruit, berries, oranges, bananas and the like because we can control the conditions and optimise them to produce the best quality fruit. 


Why am I mentioning this? Is it because I’m between meals right now? 


No, it’s to correct a misinterpretation of this verse. 


There are many who believe that these are the fruit of the Spirit, so therefore I just have to relax, let the Spirit take over, and then all of these fruit will just appear on their own. 


That’s not how it works. 


We need to create the optimum conditions for this fruit to grow. 


And how do we do that? 


Firstly, we need to feed ourselves with the Word of God. What did Jesus say the ministry of the Holy Spirit was? 


John 14:26 NIV 

[26] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.14.26.NIV)


But we weren’t there! How can we be reminded of what Jesus said? 


By reading the Word of God daily and letting it sink in to our lives. By meditating on it. By studying it. By listening to others teach it. 


That’s how! 


How can the Holy Spirit remind us of things we don’t already know? 


Secondly, by being open to receive it. Jesus said this on at least three occasions: 


Matthew 11:15 NIV 

[15] Whoever has ears, let them hear. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.15.NIV)


(See also Matthew 13:9 and 13:43;  Mark 4:9 and 23; Luke 8:8 – the same refrain is used in each of the messages to the Seven Churches in Revelation 2 and 3) 


Jesus isn’t saying that we should have the Word of God on as mood music in our lives, as a kind of spiritual Spotify, like muzak in a supermarket.  


No, what He means is that we should heed it, give it some importance, properly listen to it and apply it. 


Thirdly, we need to obey it: 


James 1:22 NIV 

[22] Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.22.NIV)


Luke 11:27-28 NIV 

[27] As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” [28] He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” 

Matthew 7:21 NIV 

[21]  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.7.21.NIV)


You will not grow the fruit of the Spirit by going on some mountain retreat and sitting in the lotus position while meditating on the Sermon on the Mount. Neither will you grow the fruit of the Spirit while hidden away in the dusty library of a theological high tower.  Neither will you grow the fruit of the Spirit at a worship service, no matter who you are worshipping.


No, you grow in the fruit of the Spirit in the rough and tumble of everyday life when you stop listening to your fleshly desires and start listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit. 


There is no other way. 


These fruit cover three essential areas of our lives. 


Firstly, our relationships. Of course! They start with ‘love’. Love, as we saw, is the ultimate expression of obedience. In fact, there is no obedience without love. From love comes goodness, patience, kindness and gentleness, as well as self-control. 


Secondly, our resilience. We see joy, peace, patience and self-control. These are like flashlights: they have some use during the daylight, but they are most needed in the darkness. 


When will people notice our joy? When we should be miserable. 


When will they notice our peace? When we should be in turmoil. 


When will they notice our patience and self-control? When life should be driving us crazy. 


The question is: do they? Or are we just like everyone else? 


But what is it that gives us this resilience? 


Our love: for God, our neighbours and ourselves. Our love for God means that we have faith in Him to work out everything for our good, even if we can’t see how (Romans 8:28). That faith brings peace, which brings patience and joy. 


Thirdly, we also see our resistance: our ability to live self-controlled lives when many cannot: 


Titus 2:11-14 NIV 

[11] For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. [12] It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 

The concept of self-control has a bad press nowadays. People associate it with self-abuse for the approval of others. 


This is not the same thing. 


Instead, it means to discipline ourselves so that when we find ourselves in a moral dilemma when flesh and Spirit disagree, we choose Spirit every time. If we go back to our boxing analogy, self-control always gives the Spirit the victory. 


We live in cultures where Evangelicalism is viewed with suspicion. On one hand, we might be confused. It’s clear we mean no harm at all – in fact, we mean only good. 


However, the conduct of those who claim to be Evangelicals but are not is the real problem. 


There are countries where we cannot openly bear witness to the Gospel and what Jesus Christ has done for us, not without repercussions anyway.  


Paul, though, is correct. The witness of a life that has changed from flesh-serving to Spirit-serving is so dramatic that it’s impossible to legislate against it.  


Our words might be silenced; our lives cannot be silenced. 


And they speak volumes about what Jesus Christ has done for us – if we live by the Spirit. 

 

Conclusion 

Galatians 5:24-26 NIV 

[24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

A famous Bible scholar once said that ‘It’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand which cause me problems, it’s the parts I do understand.’ 


Perhaps, having reached these verses in Galatians, that’s precisely how you feel. We have read through chapters of theological debate. They may have felt a little abstract – a little ‘out there’: nice to read about, but without too many practical applications. 


These verses are exactly the opposite. It’s as if someone has put our soul under an x-ray and shown us the true nature of what is there. 


I don’t suppose for one second that it was comfortable. 


We saw at the beginning how Jesus Christ’s sacrifice in the cross has set us free. That was a nice thought. It was really encouraging. 


But it came with the added kicker that we are now wholly responsible for our actions. 


We then saw the details of the fight within us. We saw, likely to our surprise, that it isn’t between an angel and a devil, but between our own human, fleshly desires and the Presence of God in us – the Holy Spirit. We saw the jarring truth that it is our desires that are the problem, not the devil or the world. We are the ones who tempt ourselves. 


We ended with a pair of challenging reflections on both the acts of the flesh – some of which are commonplace in our culture and even considered as harmless – and the fruit of the Spirit. We examined how the fruit of the Spirit do not grow supernaturally, or even naturally, but require us to cultivate them by constantly saying ‘No’ to the flesh and ‘Yes’ to the Spirit. 


Maybe you somehow don’t think you come out of this too badly. Maybe you think you’re a ‘stand-up’ guy or girl, not really so bad at all, and so you wonder what all the fuss is about. 


Well, as we saw earlier, the essence of obedience is love. Not just any love: what the Greeks called agape love. Paul provides us with almost a dictionary definition: 


1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-7.NIV)


Is that how you love? 


Both in Galatians and 1st Corinthians, Paul was writing to churches that were divided: one by mischief-making Jewish false teachers, the other by personality cults and morality. In both cases, he presented the cure for their division not as winning an argument or a court case, but as love. 


Because love is the essence of obedience. And, as Peter taught: 


1 Peter 4:8 NIV 

[8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.4.8.NIV)


Love does not cover up a multitude of sins. It is not loving to let an offender offend again.


However, it covers over: love for someone allows you to accept them as they are, not demand that they are better first. 


So, you see, in these verses we see an x-ray of our very nature. We also see a strong challenge.  


It is not enough to simply believe that God exists. The demons have no trouble with that (James 2:18-19). 


Neither is it enough to believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. We can easily believe it as an historical fact – like the Norman Conquest or the Battle of Waterloo or the Battle of Bannockburn – without it changing one iota of our lives. 


No, if we truly believe in the Gospel and truly believe that we have been set free, then we must take the decision to listen to the Holy Sprit and obey. 


We must love. 


And from that love the fruit of the Spirit will flow. 


And all who see us will know we follow Jesus. 


 

Prayer 


Lord Jesus, thank You that You have freed me. I do not want to squander that freedom. I choose today, and every day, to listen to Your Spirit, to deny my fleshly desires and to follow You. Amen. 


Questions for Reflection

  1. What have we been freed from? Why is that important? 

  2. Now that we have been freed, what happens within us? Is this a good thing? Why? 

  3. What are the flesh and the Spirit? What are the consequences of obeying them? Which will you obey? 

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