Scripture Reading: Gal. 5:16-23
In 5:16 Paul tells us to walk by the Spirit. The Christian walk is absolutely by the Spirit, not by the flesh. According to the context of chapter five, the Spirit in 5:16 must be the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our regenerated spirit and mingles with it. To walk by the Spirit is to have our walk regulated by the Holy Spirit within our spirit. This is contrasted with our walk being regulated by the law in our flesh.
The word walk in 5:16 means to move, act, and have our being. It includes everything we do and say. Hence, it covers our whole daily life. In this verse Paul is charging us to have our daily life — to live, walk, and have our being — by the Spirit.
In composing verse 16, Paul did not use the term Holy Spirit. In fact, he did not even use the definite article before the word Spirit. Literally, he simply said, “Walk by Spirit.” We have indicated that in chapter five the Spirit refers to the Spirit indwelling our spirit and mingled with it. Therefore, the Spirit here is the mingled spirit. The emphasis, however, is on the indwelling Spirit. When the New Testament refers to the indwelling Spirit, it implies that our spirit is indwelt by the Spirit. The two spirits are one. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” The Spirit in 5:16 thus denotes the Holy Spirit mingled with the human spirit. Every saved person has such a spirit within him. To be regenerated is to have the mingled spirit, the Holy Spirit mingled with our spirit.
In 3:2 Paul asked the Galatians a question: “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of law or by the hearing of faith?” Paul was trying to impress the distracted Galatian believers with the fact that they had received the Spirit, who was now mingled with their spirit. In 3:3 he went on to ask them, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” They began their Christian life by the Spirit. However, they were being distracted from the Spirit to the law, circumcision, and the ordinances of Judaism. Now after covering a number of important matters in chapters three and four, Paul charges them in 5:16 to walk by the Spirit. There was no need for the Galatians to walk by the law, circumcision, or ordinances. It was sufficient for them to walk by the Spirit. If they would walk by the Spirit, they would by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.
In chapter five Paul indicates that our only choice is to walk either by the Spirit or by the flesh. We have seen that the flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man, whereas the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the processed Triune God. To walk by the Spirit, therefore, is to walk by the processed Triune God. Because of Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s work of regeneration, we, who have received God’s dispensation, can walk by the Spirit instead of by the flesh. This means that instead of walking by our fallen being, we can walk by the processed Triune God. We have the processed Triune God as the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit. We cannot deny that we possess such a marvelous reality through Christ’s redemption, the Spirit’s regeneration, and God’s dispensation. Of course, we also have to contend with our fallen tripartite being. Concerning our walk, we thus have the possibility of walking either by the fallen being or by the wonderful Person in our spirit.
We should not go back to the law. If we try to keep the law, attempting to do good in order to please God, we shall be in the flesh, for the law is related to the flesh. Whenever we try to fulfill the requirements of the law, we exercise our flesh. This means that the flesh is active not only when we do evil, but even when we try to fulfill the law. Whenever we in ourselves try to do good, the flesh is active. Instead of trying to fulfill the law, we may walk by the processed Triune God who is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in our spirit. Paul wrote the book of Galatians not only to rescue the distracted Galatian believers from the law on the negative side, but also on the positive side to bring them into the realization that the believers have the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit in their spirit and that they should live, walk, and have their being by this Spirit. It is possible for us to live, walk, and have our being by this Spirit. We should not believe in our weaknesses, failures, or shortcomings. We should forget all such things and realize that the processed Triune God is in us right now, not only as our Redeemer and Savior, but as the all-inclusive Spirit.
I love Paul’s expression, “Walk by the Spirit.” In his Epistles, Paul does not charge us mainly to walk according to doctrine, nor even to walk according to certain Bible verses. This does not mean, however, that our walk should not be according to the Bible. The point here is that Paul charges us to walk by the Spirit in a living way. A crucial lesson for us to learn is to have our being in our spirit. This is basic.
When I was young, I read books on how to be victorious, how to be holy, and how to pray. Eventually I came to realize that the way to be victorious and holy and to have a proper prayer life is to be in spirit. The proper way to talk to your husband or wife is to speak in spirit. There is no need for us to seek methods. We have the unique method — to be in our spirit. The proper way to read the Bible is to read it in spirit. The way to overcome sin, to deal with our temper, and to defeat Satan is to be in spirit. To walk by the Spirit is to have our daily life in our spirit.
It is not possible to separate our spirit from the Spirit, for the two spirits have been mingled and have become one spirit. We have already referred to Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 6:17, where he says that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Since our spirit is mingled with the Spirit, we need to learn to have our daily life in the Spirit. We can never overemphasize the importance of having our daily walk in our spirit.
Often during the day, we may want to take a leave of absence from our spirit. Throughout the course of the day, we may leave our spirit many times and live in the flesh. For example, if your wife speaks to you in a certain way, you may immediately forsake your spirit and talk to her according to the flesh. Even if your attitude toward your wife is good, as long as you are absent from the spirit, you are in the flesh. We do not get into the spirit once for all. On the contrary, we need to exercise continually to be in the spirit in order to walk by the Spirit.
When I was young, I did not appreciate the Lord’s word about watching and praying (Matt. 26:41). But the more I practice to have my daily walk in my spirit, the more I recognize the need to watch and pray. We need to watch lest we be away from the spirit. We also need to pray in order to get back to the spirit and stay there. The Christian life is a life of abiding in our spirit. Since we are so easily drawn away from our spirit, we need to watch and pray. In Paul’s word to the Colossians, he says that we need to “persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving” (4:2). In Ephesians 6:18 Paul also speaks of “praying at every time in spirit, and watching unto this in all perseverance.” To repeat, we need to watch to see whether or not we are in the spirit and pray in order to be kept in the spirit.
If we remain in our spirit, the problems will be solved, and we shall enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit who dwells in our spirit. In spirit we feast on the Lord and participate in the blessing of the gospel. It is crucial to realize that the Christian walk is simply a life in our spirit. This is the reason that, in his writings, Paul speaks of the Spirit and our spirit again and again. Apart from the spirit, there can be no Christian walk. When we are in our spirit, we are simultaneously in the Spirit, because the Spirit is one with our spirit. When we first began to appreciate the preciousness of the Lord Jesus and to call on His name, an organic union took place between the Spirit and our regenerated spirit. This organic union is described by the word mingling.
In 5:16 Paul had the confidence to say that if we walk by the Spirit, we shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. The way to be holy, to overcome sin, to be spiritual, and to have a life of prayer is simply to walk by the Spirit.
We have already pointed out that if we walk by the Spirit, we shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. Furthermore, if we walk by the Spirit, we shall be led by the Spirit. Whenever we walk by the Spirit, we have the Lord’s leading, even in such ordinary matters as the way we converse with others.
Paul says in 5:18, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” The law is related to our flesh (Rom. 7:5), and our flesh is against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). Hence, the Spirit is in contrast to the law. When we walk by the Spirit in our regenerated spirit, we shall not fulfill the lust of our flesh. When we are led by the Spirit, we are not under law. The Spirit of life, not the law of letters, is our guiding principle, regulating our Christian walk in our regenerated spirit. If we walk by the Spirit, automatically we shall be no longer under the law, for the Spirit will lead us away from the law in letters.
In 5:17 Paul says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these oppose each other, that you should not do those things which you desire.” This verse indicates that there is war between the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit oppose each other. The flesh lusts against the Spirit for its own desire, and the Spirit fights against the flesh for God’s purpose.
In 5:19 Paul speaks of “the works of the flesh.” The flesh is the expression of the old Adam. The fallen life of the old Adam is expressed practically in the flesh, and the works of the flesh, as listed in verses 19 through 21, are different aspects of such a fleshly expression. Fornication, uncleanness, sensuality, drunkenness, and carousings are related to the lust of the corrupted body. Enmities, strife, jealousy, angers, faction, divisions, parties, and envyings are related to the fallen soul, which is very close to the corrupted body. Idolatry and sorcery are related to the deadened spirit. This proves that the three parts of our fallen being — body, soul, and spirit — are all involved with the evil flesh.
The works of the flesh are arranged in different groups. Fornication, uncleanness, and sensuality are of one group, concerning evil passions. Idolatry and sorcery are a group, concerning demonic worship. Enmities, strife, jealousy, and angers are a group, concerning evil moods. Faction, divisions, parties, and envyings are a group, concerning sects. The Greek word rendered parties in verse 20 means heresies, which refer to schools of opinion, sects (Darby’s New Translation). Drunkenness and carousings are the last group, concerning dissipation.
In 5:21 Paul says that “those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The inheritance of the kingdom of God refers to the enjoyment of the coming kingdom as a reward to the overcoming believers. It is not related to a believer’s salvation. Those believers who practice the works of the flesh listed in these verses will not inherit the coming kingdom as a reward.
What the flesh does is “works” without life; what the Spirit brings forth is “fruit,” full of life (v. 22). The fruit of the Spirit, as different expressions of the Spirit who is life within us, is listed here with only nine items as illustrations. It has more items, including lowliness (Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3), compassion (Phil. 2:1), godliness (2 Pet. 1:6), righteousness (Rom. 14:17; Eph. 5:9), holiness (Eph. 4:24; Luke 1:75), purity (Matt. 5:8), and other virtues. Both in Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:12 lowliness is mentioned as a virtue other than meekness, which is listed here. In Romans 14:17 righteousness, peace, and joy are all aspects of the kingdom of God today. But only peace and joy, not righteousness, are listed here. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 godliness and endurance are counted with self-control and love as characteristics of spiritual growth, but they are not listed here. In Matthew 5:5-9 righteousness, mercy, and purity are reckoned with meekness and peace as the condition of the reality of the kingdom today. However, these three virtues are not named here.
As the flesh is the expression of the old Adam, so the Spirit is the realization of Christ. Christ is actually lived out in the Spirit. The nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit listed here are the very characteristics of Christ.
We have indicated that the fruit of the Spirit is full of life in contrast to the works of the flesh, which are without life. Furthermore, the fruit is singular, the unique fruit of life, whereas the works are plural. There are many works, but there is just one fruit.
The fruit of the Spirit includes the different expressions of the indwelling Spirit. After listing nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, Paul declares that “against such things there is no law” (v. 23). Notice that Paul says “such things,” not “these things.” Had he said “these things,” the fruit of the Spirit might be limited to the nine items listed in these verses. But the fact that Paul spoke of “such things” indicates that there are many more aspects than the nine he uses as illustrations.
Paul says that against such things there is no law. The reason for this is that the law condemns what is evil. Since none of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit is evil, there is no law against this fruit of life.
It is necessary to differentiate between our natural virtues and those virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit. One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is love. Before we received the divine life and were saved, we had the capacity to love. We also knew a certain amount of joy, peace, longsuffering, and kindness, as well as the other virtues listed here. When we came into the church life, we brought our natural virtues with us. This means that we brought our natural love, kindness, faithfulness, and meekness into the church life. Suppose a certain believer exercises his natural self-control to deal with a situation. Yes, he manages to control himself, but this requires a great deal of effort. His self-control is with the gnashing of teeth. There is a great difference between this kind of self-control and that which is the fruit of the Spirit.
Natural attributes do not contain anything of God, whereas the fruit of the Spirit is filled with a spiritual substance which is divine. We should remember that it is the fruit of the Spirit. The substance, the element, of the fruit is the Spirit. What we need in the church life is a love full of the substance of the Spirit. The element of the Spirit must also be found in our joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. All these virtues should be the expression of the Spirit.
Since the Spirit is the realization of Christ, these virtues as various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are actually Christ’s characteristics and expression. This means that to live out these virtues is to live out Christ.
The difference between natural attributes and the fruit of the Spirit is that the natural attributes do not have anything of the Spirit, whereas the fruit of the Spirit is full of the substance and element of the Spirit. When a person lives according to his natural attributes or virtues, there is no need for him to turn to the spirit. He may love others or exhibit self-control by the self and in the self. However, if we would have the various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, we must be in our spirit. For this, our natural being avails nothing. When we walk in the mingled Spirit, we live out Christ in different aspects, in all manner of spiritual attributes and virtues. I expect that the churches will be enriched in such a life and be uplifted through our living in the mingled spirit. Then in the church life there will be the different expressions of Christ. This was Paul’s expectation in charging us to walk by the Spirit.
If we walk by the Spirit, we shall automatically defeat the flesh and the Devil lurking behind the flesh. As we win the war against the flesh in this way, God’s purpose to express Christ will be accomplished. God’s intention is that we live by the Spirit to express Christ. What we need in the Lord’s recovery today is a walk by the Spirit to express Christ in many different virtues.
