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Flesh and Spirit - Galatians 5
Flesh and Spirit - Galatians 5
As Paul writes on being disciples of Jesus, here in Galatians 5 he writes of two lifestyles. There is the life that is centered upon the flesh and its desires, but there is also a life that is centered upon the spirit and its desires. There is the life that is centered on self and the life that is centered upon God.
The contrast. Such contrasting lifestyles is a rather common subject for us. In 1 Corinthians it was between the ‘spiritual’ and the ‘carnal’. The contrast in Romans 12 it was the ‘world’ and ‘the will of God’, that which is ‘good, acceptable and perfect’. The contrast in James is the ‘wisdom from ‘below’ and the wisdom from above. The contrast in Colossians 3 is ‘the things on earth’ and that which is earthly’ and ‘the things that are above’. Thus, on a broader plane, we can see the two different areas of life involved in ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’.
Spirit. Here we have that which pertains to God, who is spirit, and that which is eternal, holy, righteous, and good. It, of course, involves the Holy Spirit for He communicated/revealed the mind of God to us. We are to walk by the Spirit (5:16), to be led by the Spirit (5:18), to live by the Spirit, to keep in step with the Spirit (5:25), and thus to produce the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22). Such work of the Spirit is aimed at ‘my spirit’. To live ‘for my spirit’ is to live a life that is ‘spiritual’. Such a life aims to please God in all that it does (Col. 1:10), it has its sights set on things above (Col. 3:1-2), it seeks to draw nearer and nearer to the very heart of God, being transformed into His image.
Flesh. While flesh can mean the physical nature of the body (cp. 1Cor. 15:39f), here it is used as the opposite of the spirit. As Paul said, such works ‘of the flesh’ are evident. This leads bible students to delve into the definitions of the list that Paul then provided (vs. 19-21). Paul then adds “and things like these” at the end to show that this is not an exhaustive list. The bottom line is that these types of things (attitudes and actions) take us away from God and His kingdom.
Good. It seems to me that most of the problem with the things of the flesh is that such seems to be a corruption of what God created for our good. He created us as sexual beings but regulated the fulfillment of such within a marriage of one man and one woman, but men (humans) chose adultery and fornication without bounds. He created us to fuel our bodies by food and water, yet we can be gluttons. He created us with the ability to talk and communicate, yet we use such speech to slander and curse. He created us with a desire for Him and men have turned their affections to all manner of things created by Him.
Choices. This brings us to the problem of making choices that involve considering how they affect our attitude towards and our relationship with God. Do they draw me closer to God or do they set me on a path of wandering away from Him? In this, we need not only the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong, but good and better. We need to learn to choose that which attunes our thoughts and affections towards God and His righteousness. We need to learn to seek not our own fleshly desires, but the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Remember, it is not just the specifics, but the ‘such things’ that pose such spiritual problems for us.
Which way are your choices leading you?
Hugh DeLong
