A Deeper Study
Galatians 5:16-17
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
"They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
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You have come to know Christ as your Savior and Lord, your Sins are now all Forgiven through Christ's death on the cross for you and your Destiny in Heaven is secure as you trust in God's grace toward you. There is just one problem. You're still on Earth! And worse, you're still living in a body that has yet to be changed! The Christian lives in a paradox, having the desire to live a life pleasing to God, but remaining in a body that opposes that desire at every turn! Like the apostle Paul, we want to cry out, "What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24 The "Who" of course is Christ, and His solution to our predicament is found in Galatians 5:16-17! Below are 3 Principles explaining God's Solution to living the Christian Life in our present bodies on this present Earth!
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Principle #1: Our Sinful Nature Opposes the Spirit of Christ.
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature."
The first Principle teaches that we are totally incapable of living the Christian Life in our natural strength. To understand this, it will first help to know certain truths concerning our spiritual condition.
At the very moment of our conception, we inherited a Sin Nature Psalm 51:5 that infected our entire lives ... body, soul and spirit. We were completely dead to God Ephesians 2:1 possessing absolutely no ability or desire to seek Him much less please Him Romans 3:10-12. But because of God's Love and Mercy, He reached out and touched us with His Grace, providing us with Faith to trust in His Son that we might receive His New Life! Ephesians 2:4-5 He changed us forever and we became New Creations in Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:17
But Scripture makes clear that we are only partially transformed ... that our entire salvation is yet to come! Though our spirits have been completely reborn and transformed by God forever, our bodies still suffer from the infection of Sin that indwells it. It must still await God's final work of grace at Christ's Return when He will call us to Himself, and "in the twinkling of an eye", our bodies will be transformed from earthly to spiritual 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 & 50-52 ... and we will shake off forever the stain of Sin that has plagued us from birth!
And thus our paradoxical predicament. Though inwardly reborn to desire all that God has for us, yet outwardly, in our flesh, we struggle with lusts that oppose God and seek to undermine every work He wants to do in and through us. As Galatians 5:17 teaches, we find ourselves unable to live the life we truly desire! Romans 7:18-19 For sure we are in a "wretched" state! But God has provided a way to victory, and that way is His Spirit within us!
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Principle #2: The Spirit of Christ Must Live the Christian Life Through Us!
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
Galatians 5:16 exhorts us to "Live by the Spirit ... and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Therein lies God's way to victory ... and there really is no other!
But what does it mean to "live by the Spirit"? There was a time before we came to Christ, that we did live by a spirit ... a completely different one than the One who now indwells us. It was the spirit of the devil himself who led us and enticed us through the lusts of our flesh. Ephesians 2:2-3 But now we are led and drawn by a completely different Spirit, the Spirit of the Only God manifested in His Son, Jesus Christ ... who indwells us with Life and Power. We must Live by Christ's Spirit within us and stop living by the lusts of the Sinful Nature that still indwells our outer frame. This frame will one day perish along with all of its works. Why indulge it at all?
To Live by the Spirit is to Live from within! To see, hear and perceive all things through Christ's Spirit within, and to allow His desire and will to flow out through our lives. In Truth, we are now one with Christ ... our spirits being joined with His together ... for ever!
If I asked you, "Is it your desire that Christ be glorified in your life forever?", I will bet that if you truly are a Christian possessing the Spirit of God, there will come from deep within you a clear and definitive "Yes"! Now from where did that affirmative come forth? It was from Christ's Spirit living in you! You not only want to do God's Will, you are now compelled to. Romans 7:22 & 25) Indeed, the New Nature that compels you from deep within is nothing less than the "divine nature" that is ours through the new birth! 2 Peter 1:4 To Live in the Spirit, then, is to yield to the Spirit of Christ within, and to allow Him to live through us ... body, soul and spirit! That is the only way!
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Principle #3: Living By Christ's Spirit is a Moment by Moment Act of Faith!
"live by the Spirit"
This final Principle is actually Practical, for it reveals the How in response to the What in the previous two Principles. Living in the Spirit requires us to live moment by moment as a conscious act of our wills in faith to God. What?!
The word "Live" in Galatians 5:16 is a verb written in the present tense. It speaks of an ongoing action rather than one that is completed and done. So "Live" actually means to continue Living, in the Spirit. It is a moment by moment on going activity that never takes a break, never skips a beat or never stops. That is why Paul wisely chooses to use the Greek word for walk which is translated "Live" in the (NIV) English Bible. I don't know about you, but I can walk for a very long time. I enjoy it and use it as my primary exercise. But if you asked me to jog, much less run, forget it! I will quit within a few minutes! That is why I'm glad Paul chose the word "walk"! I can do that! And metaphorically, so can you! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other! And so it is with the Christian Life. Step by step, moment by moment, allowing Christ's Spirit from within to flow out through our lives ... thinking, feeling and acting as He desires through our minds, our hearts and our bodies!
But the word "Live" is also in the imperative mood. It is a command addressed to the will. Christ is not suggesting we "live by the Spirit", He is commanding us to! And any action in the imperative can only be realized by an act of the will. We either choose to do it or choose not to do it. It is exclusively a decision of our Will, but it is a decision made by Faith in Christ! Galatians 2:20 If you start trusting your Feelings or any impulse of your Sin Nature, you will quickly run aground! The Spirit of God will never be beckoned by the Sin Nature! Only the act of your regenerated spirit can tap the flow of the infinite Power and Wisdom of God!
It is hard to imagine that the choice to Live the Christian Life is freely ours!