The Battle Within | Flesh Vs Spirit | Galatians 5:16-26

INTRODUCTION

We are looking at the reality and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our world.

Recap:

• Holy Spirit as the agent of creation. The Spirit of God is the breath – Ruach. We see in the OT that the Holy Spirit gives life and energy to the world around us.
• Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived in the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and Jesus did his ministry by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35; 3:21-22; 4:1, 14.
• The Holy Spirit is Jesus’s promise and gift to his people; Lk, 11:13
• The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement; Jn. 16:8
• The Holy Spirit at Pentecost. At Pentecost in the book of Acts, the empowering presence of the Spirit came and took up his dwelling among the church, to empower us to live that new creation life.
• The Holy Spirit is upon the Believers and produces Fruit.

Recap of the above video: With the Spirit, we become a part of God’s new creation. We share the good news and learn how to live by the energy and influence of God’s Spirit, pointing people to Jesus and transforming and empowering them so that they can love God and others. The Christian hope is that the Spirit is going to finish the job. The story of the Bible ends with a vision of a new humanity living in a new world that’s permeated with God’s love and life-giving Spirit.

This is a clearer picture of what God is up to in the world, and it’s an invitation to you and to me to be a part of it.

Presently, the Holy Spirit indwells Jesus’ followers and brings life, energises us to live the new creation lifestyle or the Kingdom lifestyle.

Galatians 3:13-14

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

• Christ redeemed us.
• So when we believed in Jesus, by faith in Christ we have received the promised Holy Spirit.
• In Christ Jesus we are all children of God.

Galatians 3:26-27

²⁶So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.

• Because we are God’s sons, God sent the Spirit into our hearts.

Galatians 4:6-7

⁴But when the set time had fully come, God sent his son born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.⁶Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

• God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

• The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Abba is an affectionate term that children use for their father. A loved and kind father on earth. Paul uses that term for our father in heaven. Jesus told us to do that.

• Therefore, we are to live according to the Sprit.

Romans 8:4

…who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

• We are to be led by the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:14

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Coming back to Galatians, Paul says we are to walk by the Spirt of God.

Galatians 5:16-18

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Flesh in the Bible is not our physical flesh. Flesh is a picture of the anti-God impulse within humanity (within all of us) that transcends humans themselves and is at work in us to effect and affect community and individual lives and enslaves people to live in sin.

Flesh talks about the present evil age:

Galatians 1:3-4

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

So Paul fully recognizes that there’s this battle, this conflict going on inside each one of us. We have this outside source, the Holy Spirit influencing our lives and pulling us towards life. On the other hand, you have the world or the flesh that influence you to live the old life.

The Inner Conflict or the Battle within the flesh and the Spirit

Romans 7:21-25

²¹So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

1 Peter 2:11

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

According to Paul, we believers exists in two worlds.

You and I have this choice:

• Which world am I going to choose to live in?
• Who is going to influence me as I live in this world, the Spirit or the world?
• Will you yield yourselves to the Spirit where you have the person of the Holy Spirit to guide you into right living or are you going to be influence by the world which leads a person to evil and sin?

Flesh – Dynamics are destructive.

Spirit – Life-giving and fruitful.

We know wars are horrible; they kill. You can’t play nice in war.  In war, if you don’t kill your enemy, your enemy will kill you. That is exactly what the Bible is saying about the flesh and the Spirit. If you do not through the Spirit kill the flesh, your flesh will kill your soul.

Wars are often long-lasting. They are won by winning many smaller battles. You need to keep saying no to the flesh. You start to win the war by saying no to the flesh, one decision at a time.

Wars have to be fought. But when you are in a war, you cannot be playing; you must be fighting. Children play; soldiers fight. In battle, if you play, you die.

Romans 8:13

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

We are in a real warfare. We must realize that we have a flesh in us that is not going away.. The Holy Spirit will teach us how to continually put to death the flesh

In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul contrasts the works that the flesh produces with the fruit that the Spirit produces.

Galatians 5:19

¹⁹The acts of the flesh (deeds that we do, stuffs that we do. Paul brings out 15 sides of human nature here.) are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery

Category 1: Sexual Immorality

Sins that Defile the Individual.

Any sexual act not within the protective boundaries of a lifetime marriage covenant between a man and a woman.

Debauchery is a complete lack of self-control with regard to sexual decisions that I make.

Galatians 5:20

..idolatry and witchcraft..

Category 2: Spiritual Realm – Idolatry and witchcraft

Sins that defile the Individual’s relationship with God.

Idolatry is about worshipping something that is not the one true God.

Witchcraft or sorcery is about viewing spiritual beings or spiritual realities as something that I gain power over.

Witchcraft and idolatry take all that we attribute to God to the natural world.

Third Category: Relationships. Sins that Defile Human Relationships.

Galatians 5:20b-21

..hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy;

Every one of these is about our personal character flaws that leads to unhealthy relationships. Paul is naming eight here.

Can you think of any these in the home and church today? Yes. It might be that very successful ministers or leaders at church might not be actually about Jesus; it can be more about selfish ambition.

Paul says, “Look at the health of your relationships, and they will tell you whether you are living in the world of the Spirit or the world of the flesh.”

Fourth Category: Sins of Indulgence.

Galatians 5:21

….drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Drunkenness and orgies. In Paul’s culture worship of the pagan gods involved a lot of alcohol and a lot of ritual promiscuous living.

Galatians 5:21b

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We can reach a point where we allow our choices and actions to be completely cut off from Jesus. Paul says such people have chosen not to inherit the kingdom of God.

Christians live with a foot in both worlds: The flesh influencing us in the natural way of life and Spirit helping us to live that transformed lifestyle.

Galatians 5:22-23

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Here’s what the Spirit wants to grow in our lives if we will partner with the Spirit.

Paul talks about this nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. This is all different facets of one thing.

Love: Love, which is not emotion in the scriptures. It’s action that seeks the well-being of another person, regardless of how they respond to me.

Joy and peace: It’s about a decision that you make. We know that Jesus loves me, died for me, he’s raised for me, he’s given me his presence in the Spirit. Life in this world sometimes can become extremely difficult, but whatever comes my way, I can choose to have joy and the peace for He is with me.

Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. These are all relational terms. And so in relationships, this is about not being that reactive person. Just as Jesus has been kind and generous to me, we reflect that out towards other people.

Faithfulness: This ability to be a source of stability in the lives of other people, and constancy in someone’s lies.

Gentleness: Not harsh.

Self-control: In biblical terms, self-control is more than mere willpower; it is a spiritual discipline cultivated by the Holy Spirit. It involves aligning one’s desires with God’s will and being able to resist temptations and sinful impulses.

The whole point is that the Spirit is trying to pull us into new creation, new humanity in Christ. But the flesh is pulling us back to our old nature, old humanity. So Paul explores these two worlds; the Spirit world and the flesh world.

Repentant, Spirit-filled lives are fruit-filled lives.

The qualities in Gal. 5:22-23 are spoken as fruit. Fruit is is always the outward product of a healthy tree. Then they are not just inward feelings; rather they are what our lives produce for others to experience when Christ is in us through His Spirit. Just feeling love, joy, peace, patience inside is not the fruit of the Spirit. They must be what our lives produce outwardly that others may taste the fruit of Christ. How much of Christ’s love, how much of Christ’s joy, how much of Christ’s peace, how much of Christ’s kindness are others experiencing because of me?

This is serious:

• We are called to be fruitful branches abiding in the Vine, bringing forth much fruit to glorify God, (John 15:5, 8).
• Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire, (Mat. 3:8-10).
• If the Spirit is not producing these fruits abundantly in our lives, then we need to be pruned (John 15:3), we need to start remaining connected to and abiding in Christ (John 15:4-5.
• We need to deal with the thorns in our lives that are choking Christ’s Word out of us, preventing us from bringing fruit to maturity (Mark 4:19)

See how he concludes:

How do you garden yourself?

Galatians 5:24-25

²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

That is how you must treat your flesh, as a rebel enemy and threat that deserves nothing better than the brutal treatment of crucifixion. But I also want you to notice that he uses the past tense. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions. He doesn’t say they are starting to crucify the flesh, but that they have already crucified it.

What has happened to your sinful old humanity here, according to verse 24?

You killed the flesh. You have crucified the flesh. If my sinful nature is dead, then why does it still give me so much trouble and come back again and again?

It’s the same question that we ask when we say, “Jesus died for the sins of the world, and then he was risen again as a conqueror and victory over death. So why does death and evil still have so much influence in our world?” Yes, Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death and sin but until he returns to fully reconcile heaven on earth there is going to be evil in this world.

This evil age, and the Kingdom of God.

Likewise, our old self has died on the cross with Jesus. Our identity is in Christ but we are living in-between these two worlds: Spirit and flesh. We are to keep in step with the Spirit. So play the role of a gardener and keep in step with the Spirit. Well, that takes a lot of work. But our the fullness of our redemptive life, life without sin will happen in our glorification when Christ returns.

Have I really crucified the flesh’s works and desires?

If we live by the Spirit (having entered into life by receiving the Spirit), let us also walk step-by-step in following (keeping up with, obeying, being discipled by) the Spirit (v. 25). That is the only way to keep your flesh crucified.

Galatians 2:20-21

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Galatians 6:8

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Galatians 6:14

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Who died on the cross? Jesus.

Who died with Jesus on the cross? Every single one of us

I live with Christ in my life, and it’s a new person who is speaking good news to me. This is living the gospel to yourself every single day that you wake up

Memorize this verse: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The Spirit will bring this verse to your mind when you battle with the flesh and the Spirit.

When you face the battel of the Spirit Vs Flesh/World/Sin, we must remember, “This sin does not define me. This sin I am about to commit died around 2,000 years ago with Jesus on the cross. Now Christ is in me. I can overcome the flesh because of the grace of Jesus. Holy Spirit, please empower me to make the right decision right now, and you’re with me here.”

Romans 8:5-14

⁵Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

¹²Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

How to Produce Fruit of the Spirit?

• Start with your mind. You must train yourself to say no to the desires of the flesh and yes to the desires of the Spirit. Remember that those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the desires of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the desires of the Spirit.  Be constantly checking what you are thinking about and especially what you are desiring,
• Have a relationship with Jesus through the Spirit.
• Nurture yourself in the Scripture. One needs to have the Scripture buried in one’s heart.
• De-weed your life of anything that takes you to the realm of the world.
• Walk in the Spirit.
• Be a part of a church community that helps you in this.
• We garden our lives first by listening to the gospel, and then we garden our lives by actually making choices in the Spirit.

You will watch the Spirit grow fruit in your life, and it’s not you doing it; it’s you playing the role of a gardener to allow the Spirit to make you more like Jesus.

I do not know what are the weeds that are growing in your life.

How do you practically live in the Spirit?

Example:

If needed keep of wrong company, ask the Spirit to help you.

If you need to keep off screen times when you know that you are bound to sin with it, work on it.

If a weed grows up in your garden, don’t just, like, feed it; kill the thing, yeah? In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Paul says, “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature; Col. 3:5.”

We have a moment of quiet and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and ask God the self-control to overcome every weed that is growing in our life.

As a church let us ask: Are we are Spirit, fruit-producing community? Or Are we a works of the flesh-producing community? Allow the Holy Spirit to come and turn the void of your life, family, character into life and vitality.

As a church let us ask: Are we are Spirit, fruit-producing community? Or Are we a works of the flesh-producing community? Allow the Holy Spirit to come and turn the void of your life, family, character into life and vitality.

CONCLUSION:

As much as we see the work of the Holy Spirit in individual lives, the Holy Spirit is also given to the church.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst.

As the church, the body of Christ is filled and led by the Spirit, the Kingdom of God is established in the land. The work of Jesus is continued by the Church by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

I want to end by looking at one church community from the early church who were led by the Spirit and the impact they had upon the church and the community.

Acts 13:1-3

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. ²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Worship and Fasting: The church at Antioch was a vibrant, Spirit-filled community that engaged in worship and fasting, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Guidance of the Holy Spirit: During this time of worship and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly, instructing the church to set apart Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for a specific mission. This highlights the church’s sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit.

Obedience to the Spirit’s Call: The church responded in obedience to the Spirit’s direction by laying hands on Barnabas and Saul, commissioning them for the work God had prepared for them. This marked the beginning of Paul’s first missionary journey, which would have a profound impact on the spread of the Gospel.

Missionary Work: Paul and Barnabas, empowered by the Holy Spirit, traveled extensively, preaching the Gospel, planting churches, and discipling believers across various regions. Their work was marked by miracles, bold preaching, and the establishment of strong Christian communities.

This passage illustrates how the Holy Spirit guided the church at Antioch in mission and ministry. The Spirit’s leading resulted in the sending of Paul and Barnabas, who were instrumental in the growth and expansion of the early church. The church at Antioch became a model for missionary work, demonstrating the importance of being Spirit-led in all aspects of ministry.

We see the importance of being led by the Spirit in fulfilling God’s mission, both individually and as a church community.