Gospel Freedom in Galatians
Today's Reading: Galatians 1-6 Focus Passage - Galatians 5:16-18
I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Through the Bible Readings: Ezekiel 37, Hebrews 7:11–28, Psalm 122, Proverbs 28:2–4
If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings.
Devotional: Harvesting Christ
How many products advertise being all-natural? But if
all-natural is all-good, why do we talk about natural disasters? Aren’t tsunamis
and poison ivy and rattlesnakes and skunks “all-natural?” The key truth of
Galatians 5:16-26 is that the last thing we want to be is natural. We want to
be freed from our natural condition so that we can become spiritual and Christ
can be formed in us. The Bible uses the word natural as a synonym for sinful.
The Holy Spirit, after you are saved, begins to plant a crop
in you, the crop of Christlikeness. It grows, slowly at times, until the
harvest comes. The Spirit sows the seed, tends the crop and works to produce
the harvest of Christlikeness in each of us.
There is nothing instantaneous about this work. It would be
nice, and one day it will be. One day I will breathe my last or I will hear the
trumpet and the work of God will be completed immediately. Today, the process
continues.
There are weeds in our souls that must be dealt with so that
the harvest can come. A friend of mine once said, “We always do what we truly
want to do.” Sounds great, verse 17 tells us differently. “For the flesh
desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the
flesh; these are opposed to each other so that you don’t do what you want.”
This echoes Paul’s lament in Romans 7. There are weeds of the flesh, even among
the redeemed, that continue to choke out the growth of the Spirit’s fruit, and
there are enemies that work against the Spirit’s progress in us. Ultimately,
the Spirit will win, but on a daily basis, it is a bloody battle.
There is a strain of Christianity that makes sanctification almost
automatic, deemphasizing our choices and our responsibility. Paul says
differently. In verse 16, he says, “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will
certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.” We must choose to walk in the
Spirit to stand against the power of the flesh. They are at war and we must
choose daily to seek God and reject the flesh.
Verse 18 reminds me that it isn’t about me anymore. It speaks
of being led by the Spirit, echoing Romans 8. We hear so much about living for
ourselves. “No one tells me what to do – I do what I want.” Not the Christian.
We are led by the Spirit. He is in control in all things. Jesus is Lord and his
Spirit is the daily enforcer of that Lordship.
We have been saved for supernatural lives, led by and
empowered by the Spirit. We must settle for nothing less. May the Spirit’s crop
bear fruit in our hearts!
Father, work in my by your Spirit to produce a full crop of Christlikeness in me.
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