Lesson   76  December 4,  2002

 

Back to Galatians 5

 

 

Paul makes an understatement to emphatically drive home his point!

against such things there is no law.

 

 

When we're walking by the Spirit therefore by faith as we've already noted,  the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled (Rom. 8:4) and these characteristics are produced in the life. 

 

 

 

Rem: Paul's purpose with this epistle is to ensure that these believers are experiencing the freedom that Christ provided them and they are not being enslaved either by external law observance or sin nature rulership. Both destroy the relationship with Christ and the blessing in time that they and us also should be enjoying in life.

 

Summary 5:22-23

1.  Because each of these 9 characteristics are mental attitudes a crucial issue in the spiritual life of the believer  is one's mind and the resources for it.

 

 

2.  Since our thinking and attitudes precede our actions in life it is vitally important what is the basis for our thinking.

 

 

3.  God the Holy Spirit works on our thinking, what is in our mentality as He illuminates the truth of the Word so that our actions in life will be in the will of God.

 

 

4.  Since fruit is singular all of these characteristics are present in the believer who is walking by the Spirit, but every believer does not possess the same capacity for their expression. 

 

 

5.  Expression is related to one's spiritual advance or maturation.

 

 

6.  Christ during His life exhibited  all these characteristics to the maximum and He was able to do that since His thinking was always in total alignment with God the Father.

 

 

7.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes the truth real to us and enables us to exhibit these characteristics.

 

 

8.  Our responsibility as believers is to walk by the Spirit therefore in fellowship.

5:24    Provision made for victory

 

 

It’s a don't forget what the subject is, that is what our awesome provision is so that we are able to walk by the Spirit in the freedom for which He set us free so that no longer are we enslaved either from external laws or internally by the rule of the sin nature.

 

 

 

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus

 

 

have crucified the flesh

 

 

-   There are really two aspects being emphasized here by the active voice.

 

1st  aspect;  that we chose at a point of time to believe the gospel message of salvation.

 

 

 

2nd aspect;   after salvation the emphasis is on the decisions made to continue to walk by the Spirit, and therefore to maintain experientially the crucifixion of the flesh, its isolation from rulership in our life.

 

 

 

-   Positional victory  comes at the point of faith in Christ, when we were saved.

-   Experiential victory  comes as we moment by moment choose to walk by the Spirit and not to walk by the flesh,  that is to live the Christian life.

 

 

 

the flesh with its passions and desires.

 

 

 

 

 

Summary 5:24

1.  At the point of salvation, when we responded to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and believed the gospel, the Holy Spirit identified each of us with Christ's work on the cross.  Rom. 6:3-4

 

2.  Being justified by our faith in Christ the barrier of the penalty of sin is removed.      Rom 5:1; 3:24

 

3.  At this point we were also retroactively identified with Christ  so that  we were freed from the power of the sin nature.  Rom. 6:7; 8:2-3  

 

 

4.  That the flesh is "crucified" does not at all indicate that its eradicated or that its dead and no longer is able to entice or tempt you.

 

 

5.  What it does mean is that since the flesh is crucified, that the sin nature no longer has to rule our life.

 

 

6.  So  when we believed in Christ the positional aspect was accomplished totally  by God,  part of the divine provision, and now day by day we must make the choices necessary to utilize those resources and walk by the Spirit.

 

 

 

5:25  Positive Exhortation:  Power for Life

 

First the premise: If we live by the Spirit,

 

 

 

 

Then follows with the conclusion based on the premise.   let us also walk by the Spirit.

 

 

 

The emphasis of  stoice,w  is to walk in a straight line, to walk in step with others; was used of soldiers marching in order/in step; the implication is that it calls for conduct consistent with, in harmony with a standard; i.e. WOG, DVPT.

 

 

 

What's Paul's emphasis?

That our spiritual life is related to the Spirit from the very beginning, we need to walk in step with the Spirit in harmony with Him if we're to experience the dynamic of living the Christian life day by day and have impact for Christ!

 

 

Summary 5:25 

1.  We began our Christian life by means of the Spirit,  since the Holy Spirit is the  one who regenerated us.

 

 

2.  Paul's exhortation is to get in line, to get in step  with the Spirit therefore that He is enabling and leading them in life.

 

3.  This is the only way that we will be able to walk by the Spirit and manifest the fruit  of the Spirit we've just seen in vs:22-23.

4.  It is the Holy Spirit who illuminates the Word that forms the inner dynamic for this fruitful walk.

 

5.  Paul's exhortation is for the believer then to walk by the Spirit living a life that is consistent with their new position/identity as sons of God in Christ.

 

6.  With this exhortation Paul is recognizing that we can as believers choose to walk in harmony with the Word and the therefore the Spirit.