Learning to Live In the Spirit
In Galatians 5, Paul says that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. You see, Paul has been kind of building a case for what he is about to say in the middle of chapter 5. For those that watch a bit of TV each week, you will know that there are a lot of shows that have a criminal investigation theme. Shows like, CSI, Law and Order and others I¡¦m sure. Many people like these types of shows because they are filmed in such a way that you get to work alongside the investigators and detectives and try to figure out the case. All the evidence is gathered and then the challenge is to try to fit all the evidence and clues together, and find the truth.
So today, we are going to look at this letter that Paul has written to the Galatians, and figure out why Paul was building a case against the way the Galatians were living. The case that Paul was building started in chapter 1:6 and goes right to chapter 5:16. Chapter 5:16 is the climax of the book. This is what Paul has been waiting to say, since he started writing the letter. But it took him the better part of 5 chapters to get here. Everything the Paul has said in this letter builds up to this verse.
Let¡¦s read this verse,
¡§So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.¡¨
So today, you are going to be detectives with me, and we are going to figure out why Paul was able to build his case against the Galatian Christians, and come to this truth.
And he wasn¡¦t building a case against them so that he could look down on them.
He wasn¡¦t doing this so he could be judgmental and critical of them,
but he did it, so that they would really understand what He was so concerned about.
So let¡¦s begin our investigation.
Just recently, I asked this question of the Galatian church.
¡§What are they missing in their Christian Life?¡¨
Diagnosing the Galatian Church
- What are there symptoms?
o They are lacking Perseverance ¡V 1:6
o They are turning to human effort ¡V 3:3
o They are turning back to the law ¡V 4:9
o They have lost their Joy ¡V 4:15
o Alienated (distant) from Christ ¡V 5:4
o They are lacking Obedience to the truth ¡V 5:7
o Lack of unity ¡V 5:15
So, the evidence that we have just gathered, has given Paul a reason to say,
¡§So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.¡¨
So, why does this evidence result in him saying that the Galatians are to live by the Spirit? To say that would presuppose that they were in fact not living by the Spirit.
The Evidence shows that they are ¡§walking in the Flesh¡¨. They are not living by the Spirit, but walking in the flesh.
So what does that mean? I think the saying; ¡§Walking in the Flesh¡¨ can sometimes be an allusive ¡§Christianise¡¨ saying that some people don¡¦t really understand. A definition for walking in the flesh would be helpful for us.
The Greek word for flesh is - ƒãƒÑƒâƒèƒnƒ{ƒnmeaning, the human body ¡V literal flesh
Human nature ¡V living within the means of humanity
Sinful nature ¡V living to fulfill the desires of the flesh. Carnal as opposed to spiritual
So, Walking in the Flesh would mean:
Living a life in which we depend on our own strength and wisdom and denying the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It¡¦s Self-reliance and Self-sufficient.
Legalism is product of walking in the flesh because legalism is setting up ways to measure your spirituality that is really based on our own efforts and abilities.
For the Galatian Church, walking in the flesh didn¡¦t mean that they were unbelievers. These were Christians, who were either choosing to deny the work of the Holy Spirit, or being deceived into thinking that they could live their Christian lives in their own strength and abilities.
So let¡¦s take a closer look at some of the symptoms of ¡§Walking in the Flesh¡¨.
I think that we will find that the churches of today, and individual Christians of today will find a lot in common with the Galatian Church of almost 2000 years ago.
Let¡¦s see if you can identify with them. Do you ever feel distant from God?
Do you ever feel that it is hard to obey the Word of God?
Do you ever feel like you are just going through the motions of living like a Christian, but inside feel empty, with a lack of joy?
Do you ever feel a tension among your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?
I think that the majority of us can all say yes to these things at some point in our lives.
So, in this regard, the church in Galatia were facing the same things that we are facing today.
Now, I had initially planned to spend time in talking about each symptom and teaching about how easy it is to experience these symptoms in our lives.
But, the symptoms, aren¡¦t the problem right? They are the symptoms. So, if we were good detectives, and good doctors for that matter, then we would be better off finding the root of the problem and addressing that straight on.
The Root problem was that they were not Living by the Spirit. In fact, they were grieving the Holy Spirit. And so, we need to understand what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit, and by doing that, we will then be able to determine whether or not we often do the same.
Let¡¦s turn to Ephesians 4: 25-32
Paul is also the author of this letter. He has written to the Christians in Ephesus probably around the year 60 AD (probably about 12 years after he written to the Galatians)
Verse 30 is the verse we want to focus on, but let¡¦s read from v.25.
CONTEXT REIGNS KING
READ
From this context, we can draw several conclusions
1. It is obviously possible to grieve the Holy Spirit
2. Paul is talking to Christians
3. Leading up to verse 30 ¡V he talks about:
a. Putting off falsehood
b. In your anger, do not sin
c. Not giving Satan a foothold
d. He who has been stealing, must steal no longer
e. unwholesome talk
f. gossip
4. Immediately After verse 30 ¡V he says:
a. Get rid of all bitterness
b. Rage
c. Anger
d. Brawling and slander
e. Every form of malice
5. Instead, be kind, compassionate, forgiving
So from this passage, how would you say we grieve the Holy Spirit?
If this is true, then it looks like we may be grieving the Holy Spirit more than we wish to acknowledge.
DL Moody, On the subject of Grieving the Holy Spirit, said this.
¡§I believe today the Church all over Christendom is guilty of grieving the Holy Spirit. There are a good many believers in different churches wondering why the work of God is not revived. I think that if we search, we will find something in the Church grieving the Spirit of God. It may be a mere schism in the Church; it may be some unsound doctrine; it may be some division in the Church. There is one thing I have noticed as I traveled in different countries. I never yet have known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord¡¦s people were divided. There is one thing that we must have if we are to have the Holy Spirit of God at work in our midst, and that is unity.¡¨
Those are pretty sobering words. The connection between grieving the Holy Sprit and the lack of unity amongst believers is quite evident. This was a symptom of the Galatian Church.
If we continue to look in this passage to the Ephesians, I think we can see that the other symptoms, although maybe not directly pointed out, can be seen here as well. Lacking obedience to the Word of God. Anything that we do that is sinful, is a lack of obedience, and there are sinful things here listed.
Feeling distant from God. In verse 32, Paul says that we are to forgive one another, just as in Christ God forgave us. Well, if we are unable to forgive, then we have forgotten the fact that God forgave us. And by doing that, we have created a wedge between us and God.
1 John 4:7-8 says, ¡§Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.¡¨
So, whoever cannot forgive, cannot really love. And if you can¡¦t love your brother or sister, then you can¡¦t love God. And these are not my words.
1 John 4:20, says, ¡§If anyone says, ¡¥I love God¡¦, yet hates his brother, he is a liar.¡¨
A Lack of Joy
When I think a Christian who has lost their joy, I picture someone who has forgotten the reason and therefore the motivation behind what they do. It can be so easy to get caught up doing ¡§good things¡¨ but yet, if the reason behind those things is pushed aside, then we will find ourselves losing that desire to minister. The joy will be gone. When we are walking in the flesh, we will be depending on ourselves to do good things, and our motives will be corrupted so that we are looking for a reward for the good things we do.
So, Where do we go from here?
We can often be burdened with a ¡§yoke of slavery¡¨
- What can this yoke include??
- What is a heavy load that we often carry that we don¡¦t have to?
- We carry a heavy load when we are walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
- Walking in the flesh means that we are depending on ourselves to get things done, and not of God.
- We depend on our own strength, wisdom, talents, etc. ---- Feel Drained. (Christianity becomes duty, no joy)
A light load, not a yoke of slavery
Where the Spirit o f the Lord is, There is Freedom!!- 2 Co.3:17
** This leads us back to Galatians 5:16 ¡V ¡§Live by the Spirit¡¨
1. Do Everything in the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit
a. Jesus ¡V ¡§I do nothing, but my Father¡¦s Will¡¨
i. John 5:19-20
ii. John 5:30
iii. John 8:28-30
2. Abide in Christ- John 15
a. A branches only responsibility is to stay close and connected to the vine. Through this we will learn to draw His resources rather than our own.
b. Fruit is a by-product
c. Obedience is an outpouring of Him indwelling in us
3. Come Before God in Humility and Brokeness
a. Psalm 51 ¡V the Background
David, the spiritual giant had fallen
But, he doesn¡¦t harden his heart to God, he recognizes his sin and seeks to get right before God.
READ verse. 10
¡§Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew and steadfast spirit within me.¡¨
- David knew that it was only God that could do this for him.
- There was no self-reliance, and self-sufficiency
VERSE 12 ¡V ¡§Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.¡¨
We need to come, humbly before God.
¡§The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.¡¨
