Live by the Spirit

Paul tells the Galatians to live by the Spirit. To not live by the flesh because the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other and we are to live in the Spirit to keep us from doing what we want to do…

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

So Paul says if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law. Because the Spirit is connected to God and therefore does what God wants us to do and is not subject to the flesh. And the works of the flesh are obvious! Obvious? How is it then that we are all saying that our neighbors are the ones living in the flesh, and not doing what God wants them to do? We are always good at pointing out where others fail. I am the first to say that I live plenty of time in the flesh, but we need to look closer and see what we miss.

So what are these obvious works of the flesh? Fornication which is adultery so this means that any sex outside of marriage is out. Licentiousness is close to fornication but goes further to include non sexual items, but is really focused on sex. Impurity is anything that makes something else impure. Now this could be something that goes against the Levitical Law, which means anything pork is out, and if you are married you need to sleep in a different room from your wife when she is menstruating, and you can not eat shrimp or cheese burgers – unless you use goat cheese. You can not wear clothing made from mixed fibers. So I question how obvious impurity is. Idolatry is something that all of us fall short on. We all have something that takes the place of God. Idolatry is not just making a golden calf, it is putting something before God, so whenever we put something before God, i.e. our wants desires, our money, our families, our houses, our possessions, our congregations these are our idols. Only God can take that seat of worship in our lives. We all have idols and think we are ok on this, but here is a spot we all live in the flesh. Sorcery is interesting because how many of us live as sorcerers? But when we say that certain things can only be done by certain people is this not in some ways saying these people have special powers that others don’t, and couldn’t this be similar to sorcery? Enmities is when you harbor a grudge or wish ill will towards others. This could be taken to the point of saying that if you say that some people are not going to obtain the kingdom of heaven because of how they live, you are holding a grudge. By constantly putting this in the person face and reminding them of their short comings, is not the love Jesus told us to show. Strife is bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension or a jockeying for power position, so when you put yourself over anyone else fro any reason you are living in the flesh. Jealousy is something that we all have under control. We are not jealous of anyone… well. Anger is something that we all struggle with. But I would question this one as an emotion created by God, and are we not created in the image of God, and does not God get angry? So if God gets angry does God live in the flesh? (ok other than when Jesus was here…) Is anger an obvious sign of living in the flesh when anger is something that God displays? Quarrels, dissensions, and factions are things that keep us from living in unity which is what God calls us to, so anything we do that causes believers to be separated is living in the flesh, this is when we say our interpretation is correct, or not listening to the view of a brother or sister, saying that when someone else believes differently than us they are wrong. These things are putting ourselves before others and is living in the flesh and not allowing the Spirit to work through us. Do you see what I see and hear what I hear? That obvious is the works of the flesh, and obvious we are all very guilty of living in the flesh.

But Paul tells us to live by the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE! And love is joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Live in Love and allow the Spirit to fill you and guide you in every aspect of your life.

And always remember that God wants spiritual fruits not religious nuts!