Galatians 5:16-26
vs. 16-17
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Our way of life as believers should be in the Spirit...meaning our lives line up with the Holy Spirit. Here, the word "flesh" denotes our sinful nature. So God expects us to walk not according to our sin nature, but according to the Spirit which resides in us. But remember, God does not give us commandments without also providing enablements. So, how do we walk in the Spirit? What are the enablements that God has provided us so that we can do this? Through reading and applying the Word of God (the Bible) to our lives, and through His voice and direction in our lives (but remember, God's "voice" must always be counterbalanced with Scripture; if you're being told by God to do something that's contrary to His Word, then that "voice" is not of God).
We are not going to fulfill the lusts of our sin nature if we're walking in the Spirit. So...how exactly do we fight this apparent battle between our fleshly nature and our lives in the Spirit? We must starve our sin nature by not giving in to its desires, and we must strengthen our spiritual life through God's Word and prayer. A good motto to remember: "The grass is not greener on the other side, it's only greener where you water it."
v. 18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The Spirit is always leading us, but are you following? Neither the Mosaic Law, nor any other spiritual law that has ever been devised can change the heart, only the indwelling Holy Spirit can.
Now here comes the clincher...what are some of the works of our fleshly (sinful) nature? Verses 19-21 lists them.
vs. 19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, most people think they know the definitions for all of these words in this list...but just so we're on the right page...i'm going to go through most of them in detail.
Adultery
It is the violation of the marriage covenant by sexual immorality (let me include here that according to Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:28...even looking with lust is adultery [yes pornography is included here]).
Fornication (Greek "porneia")
Webster's dictionary defines this as, "Voluntary sexual intercourse between single, unmarried persons." Although this is a detailed definition, the Greek word used here in the Scripture (porneia) has a much broader definition. It encompasses ALL forms of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, lust, the use of prostitutes, fulfilling the lusts of the eyes, sexual thoughts of someone other than your spouse, ect.). When people want the benefits of marriage without the covenant commitment of marriage, that is fornication also.
Uncleanness
This term means sexual impropriety in general; the "opposite of purity." This term also covers impure speech and/or suggestive speaking filled with double meanings. Ephesians 5:4 states that obscenity and course joking should have no place in the life of a believer.
Lewdness (Greek "aselgeia")
This term literally means a "readiness to sin at any time." A lewd person is someone who flaunts their immorality with no sense of shame or embarrassment. It is a public and open uncleanness.
Idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of any god except the Lord God revealed to us in the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ. This term doesn't just mean those who bow down to something made out of wood or stone. People serve a god of their own opinions, of their own creation, and they reject the true and living God. People say, "I can believe whatever I want!" That is true, but they will also bear the consequences of their false beliefs.
Sorcery (Greek "pharmakeia")
Notice how familiar that Greek word looks. It's where we get our English word for "pharmacy." This word literally means using drugs...but not just any drugs...its context here is mind altering drugs. God here is warning us against the intentional use of drugs that alter our consciousness.
When your consciousness is altered, then that is not a state in which the Spirit is active. If the Spirit is not active, then we leave ourselves open to the demonic world and satan's suggestions. In an altered state of mind, our moral inhibitions are either severely lowered or are non existent. This, for a believer, is a dangerous situation to be in.
The general sense of this word means practicing the magic arts. Why "pharmakeia" was used to describe this is because oftentimes in practicing sorcery, hallucinogenic drugs are used (even to this day) to open oneself up to the "spirit world." It's obvious, from seeing it in this light, how the use of these kinds of drugs can open ourselves up to the demonic world. It's not the realm of the Holy Spirit these people are seeking.
vs. 16-17
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Our way of life as believers should be in the Spirit...meaning our lives line up with the Holy Spirit. Here, the word "flesh" denotes our sinful nature. So God expects us to walk not according to our sin nature, but according to the Spirit which resides in us. But remember, God does not give us commandments without also providing enablements. So, how do we walk in the Spirit? What are the enablements that God has provided us so that we can do this? Through reading and applying the Word of God (the Bible) to our lives, and through His voice and direction in our lives (but remember, God's "voice" must always be counterbalanced with Scripture; if you're being told by God to do something that's contrary to His Word, then that "voice" is not of God).
We are not going to fulfill the lusts of our sin nature if we're walking in the Spirit. So...how exactly do we fight this apparent battle between our fleshly nature and our lives in the Spirit? We must starve our sin nature by not giving in to its desires, and we must strengthen our spiritual life through God's Word and prayer. A good motto to remember: "The grass is not greener on the other side, it's only greener where you water it."
v. 18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The Spirit is always leading us, but are you following? Neither the Mosaic Law, nor any other spiritual law that has ever been devised can change the heart, only the indwelling Holy Spirit can.
Now here comes the clincher...what are some of the works of our fleshly (sinful) nature? Verses 19-21 lists them.
vs. 19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, most people think they know the definitions for all of these words in this list...but just so we're on the right page...i'm going to go through most of them in detail.
Adultery
It is the violation of the marriage covenant by sexual immorality (let me include here that according to Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:28...even looking with lust is adultery [yes pornography is included here]).
Fornication (Greek "porneia")
Webster's dictionary defines this as, "Voluntary sexual intercourse between single, unmarried persons." Although this is a detailed definition, the Greek word used here in the Scripture (porneia) has a much broader definition. It encompasses ALL forms of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, lust, the use of prostitutes, fulfilling the lusts of the eyes, sexual thoughts of someone other than your spouse, ect.). When people want the benefits of marriage without the covenant commitment of marriage, that is fornication also.
Uncleanness
This term means sexual impropriety in general; the "opposite of purity." This term also covers impure speech and/or suggestive speaking filled with double meanings. Ephesians 5:4 states that obscenity and course joking should have no place in the life of a believer.
Lewdness (Greek "aselgeia")
This term literally means a "readiness to sin at any time." A lewd person is someone who flaunts their immorality with no sense of shame or embarrassment. It is a public and open uncleanness.
Idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of any god except the Lord God revealed to us in the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ. This term doesn't just mean those who bow down to something made out of wood or stone. People serve a god of their own opinions, of their own creation, and they reject the true and living God. People say, "I can believe whatever I want!" That is true, but they will also bear the consequences of their false beliefs.
Sorcery (Greek "pharmakeia")
Notice how familiar that Greek word looks. It's where we get our English word for "pharmacy." This word literally means using drugs...but not just any drugs...its context here is mind altering drugs. God here is warning us against the intentional use of drugs that alter our consciousness.
When your consciousness is altered, then that is not a state in which the Spirit is active. If the Spirit is not active, then we leave ourselves open to the demonic world and satan's suggestions. In an altered state of mind, our moral inhibitions are either severely lowered or are non existent. This, for a believer, is a dangerous situation to be in.
The general sense of this word means practicing the magic arts. Why "pharmakeia" was used to describe this is because oftentimes in practicing sorcery, hallucinogenic drugs are used (even to this day) to open oneself up to the "spirit world." It's obvious, from seeing it in this light, how the use of these kinds of drugs can open ourselves up to the demonic world. It's not the realm of the Holy Spirit these people are seeking.
