Living According to the Spirit

This entry is based on a paper i did for my NT survey class and the section of Scripture referenced was Galatians 5:16-18.

The book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul to the churches in Galatia, but we are not exactly which part of the country. Now most of the commentaries I have read lean more toward the southern portions of the country because he spoke to them in such a direct manner, as though he had spent generous amounts of time with them, which could have taken place while he was on his mission trips.

Since accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ you are free from the bondage of the Law. Do not abuse your freedom as a chance to sin more, but as a reason to love all the more accordingly to the great commandment. If we live in a manner according to the Spirit we will not gratify our fleshly desires. Keep in mind that the desires of the flesh and of the Spirit have no room for one another. So in being led by the Spirit we are no longer under the Law. Make sure to pay close attention to those around you because the works of their flesh are evident. You will also know those in whom the Spirit dwells because you will see their fruit. So live in the Spirit and you will not give into sin, remember that the Spirit and the flesh cannot occupy the same space, knowing that being led by the Spirit frees you from the Law.

Now the audience that Paul was writing to was a church that he had planted. While he was away however another group of preachers came around preaching another gospel. The gospel these men were preaching was a gospel of Jesus plus circumcision. These men were often called Judaizers. This same sect was also trying to challenge the authority of Paul’s Apostleship. Hopefully for all of us we do not rely on works to grant us salvation or have someone preaching it to us. We can also trust that Scripture is true and that Paul was an Apostle.

We should walk according to the Spirit and in doing so we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And we are no longer bound by the Law but free in the Spirit.

Now to bring this all home let’s see what this will look like in our lives. I will use myself as an example, when I was younger I was an addict. I was addicted to alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and pornography. Since my conversion I have not had major struggles with all of these things but there have been some more than others. I have been able to combat these struggles not of my own accord but in trusting the Lord and spending time in His word and with Him. The closer I get to Him the further I get from my sinful desires. One of my favorite groups is Pillar and they have a song called “Further from Myself” which falls in line with what we are talking about.

A way we can look at being free from the Law is to look at the food customs when Peter was told that what God declares clean is clean.(Acts 10:11-15) So Jews today still hold to Kosher products refusing to eat pork and certain kinds of meat, seafood, and etc. By us being set free from the Law we are no longer accountable to the Law. So go have a some good food and thank the Lord he has set you free to eat it.