The Two Parades: Living by the Spirit Text: Galatians 5:16-26
Introduction: The Inescapable Conflict
The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground. We have been brought into a kingdom of light, but we still live in a world that loves the darkness. More than that, the beachhead of that darkness remains within our own hearts. The Apostle Paul, in this letter to the Galatians, is dealing with a profound confusion about the nature of Christian liberty. The Judaizers had come in, trying to put the new wine of the gospel back into the old, brittle wineskins of the Mosaic code. They were trying to put the free sons of God back under the tutelage of a nanny. Paul has spent five chapters dismantling this error, arguing for a liberty that is radical and absolute in Christ.
But this liberty is not licentiousness. It is not an excuse for self-indulgence. True Christian freedom is not the freedom to do whatever you want; it is the freedom to finally do what you ought, the freedom to become what you were created to be. And this is where the conflict lies. Our modern world, much like the antinomian flip side of the Judaizing coin, defines freedom as the absence of all constraints. It is the freedom to invent your own reality, to define your own morality, to be your own god. But this is not freedom; it is the oldest slavery in the book, a slavery to the whims of the self, which is to say, a slavery to the flesh.
So Paul brings us to the heart of the matter. The Christian life is animated by a central, irreconcilable conflict. It is the war between the Spirit and the flesh. These are not two equal and opposite powers, like the Gnostics would have it. They are the collision of two ages: the present evil age, which is passing away, and the age to come, which has broken into the present in the person and work of Jesus Christ and has been applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. You, as a believer, are the place where these two ages meet. You are the Normandy Beach of this cosmic war. And in this passage, Paul gives us the command, the description of the conflict, the intelligence report on the two warring armies, and the ultimate assurance of victory.
This is intensely practical. This is not abstract theology. This determines whether your home is a place of peace or strife, whether your heart is filled with joy or bitterness, whether you will inherit the kingdom of God or be thrown out as an enemy. There are two parades marching through history, the parade of the flesh and the parade of the Spirit. You must choose which one you will march in.
The Text
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. Let us not become those with vain glory, challenging one another, envying one another.
(Galatians 5:16-26 LSB)
The Central Command and the Inevitable Conflict (vv. 16-18)
Paul begins with the central imperative of the Christian life.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16)
The command is to "walk by the Spirit." The Christian life is a walk, a steady, moment-by-moment progression. It is not a series of frantic leaps or a state of spiritual levitation. It is a walk. And the rule of this walk, the power for it, is the Holy Spirit. To walk by the Spirit means to live in conscious dependence upon Him, to keep in step with Him, to be governed by Him. The result of this walk is a promise, not a suggestion. If you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. It is a guaranteed outcome. The way to defeat the flesh is not to focus on the flesh, but to focus on the Spirit. You do not drive out darkness by shoveling it out the window. You drive out darkness by turning on the light.
Paul then explains why this walk is necessary. It is because we live in a state of civil war.
"For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want." (Galatians 5:17)
The "flesh" here is not our physical body. The body is good; God made it. The flesh, or sarx, is our fallen human nature, the principle of rebellion and self-centeredness that we inherited from Adam. It is the traitor within the gates. The Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit of God who has taken up residence in us at our new birth. These two are diametrically opposed. They have utterly contrary desires. The flesh lusts for autonomy, for self-gratification, for rebellion. The Spirit works to produce holiness, submission to God, and love for others. They are locked in mortal combat, and your heart is the battlefield. This is why the Christian life is so often a struggle. As Paul says elsewhere, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:19). This is the normal Christian experience. If you feel no conflict, it is either because you are dead in your sins and the flesh is ruling unopposed, or you have reached a state of sinless perfection that the apostles themselves never claimed.
Then comes a crucial point for the Galatians:
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." (Galatians 5:18)
This strikes at the heart of the Judaizers' error. They believed the Law was the answer to the flesh. Paul says no, the Spirit is the answer to the flesh. Being "under the Law" means being under its condemnation and trying to earn righteousness by its regulations. But the Law cannot give life; it can only reveal sin and condemn it. It is like a mirror that shows you the dirt on your face but cannot wash it off. The Holy Spirit, however, does what the Law could not do. He changes the heart. He gives us a new nature and a new power. Therefore, if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not in that old legalistic relationship with God. You are a son, not a slave. You obey out of love and gratitude, not out of a cringing fear of condemnation.
The Rotten Fruit of the Flesh (vv. 19-21)
Paul now gives us a field guide to identify the works of the enemy. He provides a list, not exhaustive but representative, of what life looks like when the flesh is in charge.
"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these..." (Galatians 5:19-21a)
Notice he calls them "deeds" or "works" of the flesh. This is something the flesh produces. It is a factory of sin. And he says they are "evident." They are obvious. You do not need a special decoder ring to see them. This list can be roughly divided into four categories. First, you have sins of sexual impurity: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. This is the rebellion against God's created order for sex. Second, you have sins of false worship: idolatry and sorcery. This is giving to something else the worship that belongs to God alone. Sorcery, pharmakeia, is related to the use of drugs in pagan rituals. It is an attempt to manipulate reality apart from God. Third, you have sins of social breakdown: enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, ambition, dissensions, factions, envying. This is what happens when the self is king. Relationships are destroyed. The church is torn apart. This is the opposite of the love, unity, and peace the Spirit brings. Fourth, you have sins of excess: drunkenness and carousing. This is the loss of self-control in the pursuit of pleasure.
Paul concludes this section with a terrifying warning.
"...of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:21b)
Let this sink in. He is not talking about someone who stumbles into one of these sins, is horrified, and repents. He is talking about those who practice them. The verb indicates a habitual, ongoing lifestyle. If this list describes the settled pattern of your life, Paul says, with apostolic authority, you are not a Christian. You are not going to heaven. Your profession of faith is a sham. You can have a "Jesus is my homeboy" t-shirt and a fish on your car, but if your life is characterized by the works of the flesh, you will not inherit the kingdom. This is not legalism; it is the simple truth that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit.
The Beautiful Fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23)
In glorious contrast to the ugly works of the flesh, Paul now describes the harvest that grows in a life cultivated by the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23a)
Notice the singular: "fruit." This is not a grab bag of virtues where you can pick and choose. It is a unified whole, a single cluster of grapes. As the Spirit works in you, He produces all of these qualities together. They are the character of Christ Himself, reproduced in the believer. Love is the foundation, a self-giving commitment to the good of others. Joy is a deep gladness that is independent of circumstances. Peace is a tranquility of soul that comes from being reconciled to God. Patience is long-suffering with difficult people and circumstances. Kindness is a tender-hearted disposition. Goodness is moral excellence in action. Faithfulness is reliability and trustworthiness. Gentleness is power under control. And self-control is the mastery of one's desires and passions.
This is the portrait of a true Christian. This is what the Spirit produces. It is not something we manufacture through self-effort. It is a fruit that grows naturally from a life connected to the Spirit, just as an apple grows on an apple tree. Our job is not to produce the fruit, but to abide in the vine, to walk by the Spirit.
"Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:23b)
This is a masterful stroke of irony. The Judaizers were obsessed with the Law. Paul says that a life lived by the Spirit not only doesn't need the Law as a taskmaster, it actually fulfills the very heart of the Law. There is no law against love, joy, or peace. The Law commands what the Spirit produces. The Christian led by the Spirit is not lawless; he is the true law-keeper, because the law of God has been written on his heart.
The Decisive Action and Ongoing Discipline (vv. 24-26)
So, how does this transformation happen? How do we move from the works of the flesh to the fruit of the Spirit? Paul points to a decisive, historical event and an ongoing, daily reality.
"Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24)
This is not a command to crucify the flesh. It is a statement of fact for every true believer. When you came to Christ, you were united with Him in His death. At the cross, a judicial execution took place. Your old self, the flesh, was nailed to the tree with Jesus. Its power was broken. Its sentence was carried out. This is a past-tense, completed action. You are not fighting for victory; you are fighting from victory. The tyrant has been deposed. Now, we are called to live this out, to mop up the remaining pockets of resistance.
This leads to the final exhortation.
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. Let us not become those with vain glory, challenging one another, envying one another." (Galatians 5:25-26)
The "if" here is not an "if" of uncertainty, but of logical consequence. "Since" we live by the Spirit, since He has given us new life, let us therefore walk by the Spirit. Our practice must line up with our position. We must consciously and deliberately keep in step with what the Spirit is doing. And what does that look like? It looks like the opposite of the fleshly sins of social breakdown. Instead of becoming conceited (vain glory), which leads to provoking and envying others, we are to walk in the humility, love, and peace that the Spirit provides. The Christian community is to be the showcase for the fruit of the Spirit, a living demonstration of the life of the age to come.
Conclusion: The Only Way to Walk
The choice before us is stark. It is the choice between two ways of life, two destinies, two kingdoms. The way of the flesh is a broad road, crowded with people, and it looks like freedom. But its works are ugly, its relationships are toxic, and its end is destruction. It promises liberty but delivers slavery.
The way of the Spirit is a narrow road. It is a walk, not a sprint. It is a walk of moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. It involves a real and difficult conflict. But this is the path of true freedom. It is the only way to produce the beautiful, life-giving fruit of love, joy, and peace. It is the only way to have relationships that are not characterized by strife and envy, but by gentleness and kindness. And it is the only way to inherit the kingdom of God.
The flesh was crucified with Christ. That is the objective reality. Now you must live it out. You do this by reckoning it to be true. When temptation comes, you remind yourself that the flesh has no legitimate authority over you anymore. You do this by starving the flesh and feeding the Spirit. You starve the flesh by turning away from the things that inflame its desires. You feed the Spirit by immersing yourself in the Word of God, in prayer, in fellowship with the saints, and by actively depending on Him for every step. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. This is not a suggestion for a better life. It is the only life there is.