Galatians 5:22-26
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another," Galatians 5:22-26. Last time we looked at verses 22 and 23, today we will look at verses 24-26.
These verses bring us back to verse 16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Who are those who walk in the Spirit, and who are not fulfilling the lust of the flesh? This is a class of people. This does not apply to everyone. These are those who belong to Christ. These people have been purchased by Christ. These people are not in a high, medium, or low class as we would place people today, no, these people are all one in Christ Jesus. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus," Galatians 3:28. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit," I Corinthians 12:13. "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all," Colossians 3:11. The "all" is a kind of people. Turn to Ephesians 2:11-22. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's," I Corinthians 6:19-20.
The "they" in verse 24, and the "we" in verse 25, and the "us" in verse 26 are those who belong to Christ. It is very important to make this distinction. Those who do not belong to Christ are not able to, nor are they willing to obey these Scriptures. Again, who are these people? These are those whom the Father hath given to the Son "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37. "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him," John 17:2. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine," John 17:9. These are those whom the Holy Spirit has filled and sealed (Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18). This group of people is made up of multitudes from every nation, kindred, and tongue. These people are active in the sanctification process. Notice what they have done, and what they are actively doing. "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts," Galatians 5:24. "Have crucified" in this verse means to extinguish (subdue) passion or selfishness:- crucify. Figuratively, to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts, meaning to mortify them, to put them to death, to destroy the power of sinful desires. The word "flesh" in this verse implies sinfulness, proneness to sin, the carnal nature, the seat of carnal appetites and desires, of sinful passions and affections whether physical or moral.
We have learned through this study that our fleshly desires are sinful, and that sin is with us with every step that we take, but we have also learned that the Holy Spirit lives inside of every believer and He is with us with every step we take empowering us to live for Christ (Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:14-25). Notice in verse 24 that it is the Christian that is doing the crucifying. This is a simple undefined action. This is part of the sanctification process, and it is called self-denial. The person who is being crucified on a cross is being denied those things that he needs to survive. This is different than a normal execution. Having your head chopped off etc. is a quick process that immediately gives the desired results. Crucifixion is not quick and is very painful. To prolong the crucifixion process, give the person food and water. This is a great illustration of what our spiritual life is like. Some days our flesh is weak, some days it seems to be winning in this warfare.
When we are crucifying our flesh, we are crucifying its companions and associates which are the affections and lusts. "Affections" in this verse is a passion, i.e. an affection of mind, emotion. We are emotional people. We will cry over movies, knowing it is just a movie. People even cry over cartoons and animated movies. We can laugh one minute and cry the next. We are very emotional people. Our emotions are influenced by outward sources. This is another reason it is so important that our minds are renewed everyday (Romans 12:1-2). "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee," Psalm 119:11. When we are reading and obeying the Scriptures we are becoming more like Christ. When we are not reading, studying, and obeying the Scriptures we will find ourselves giving in to the affections and lusts that dwell in us. "Lusts" in this verse means carnal desires, appetites; irregular and inordinate desire, appetite, lust. Can a saved person commit the sins we went over in Galatians 5:19-21? The answer is yes, but, the difference is that a saved person will be out of character when he commits those sins. We must govern our emotions and affections by the Scriptures. For example, the desire that a man has for a woman and a woman for a man is a biblical desire. For the Christian, they are to govern those affections, emotions, and lusts according to the Scriptures. This means they put up hedges that are only taken down for their spouse. Their bed is undefiled.
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25. "We live" is to live in a certain way, to pass one's life in a certain manner. "In the Spirit" means the Holy Spirit prompts one to do or restrain from doing particular actions: and is the source of support, comfort, and Christian joy and triumph. If we are living in the Spirit, then our lifestyle will be that of virtue and piety. Simply put, a tree is known by its fruit.
"Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another," Galatians 5:26. Someone who is desirous of vain glory is self-conceited. Their life is all about them and their kingdom, which means it is not all about Christ and His Kingdom. If we are not desirous of vain glory, then we will not be provoking or envying one another. Envying means to be jealous of. The Christian will be promoting Christ's Kingdom, not his own.
The Galatians had been influenced by those who were teaching a dependence upon themselves for those things which are Spiritual. They came and were acting as if they had what others did not have, and if you were not just like them then you were lower than them. What they taught was provoking the brethren to vain glory and envy. Any teaching that promotes man instead of Christ will always produce that which God hates. We are to provoke unto love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). Those of us who are Christians should want to be the most honoring servant of Christ. They that are Christ's should be those who lovingly points all others to Christ, and lives a life that goes with what we preach. These are great verses to examine ourselves with. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
