City Life Starter

I. The Word: Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,^[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders,^[b]drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (NKJV)

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The calling of every believer is to walk the path of righteousness; to walk by faith and not by sight.  The ultimate goal of following Christ is an immense task.  It is much more difficult when we do not walk with the Spirit, and let our desires lead our path.  I am not sure if it is even possible for Christians to follow Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps many have attempted to do so through obeying the law and pursuing God through works, only to discover that it is difficult to follow Him without the Spirit.  

The apostle Paul, in his letter to Galatians, made the evidence of a Christ-follower very clear when he compared and contrasted the Spirit and the flesh. He began by encouraging Christians in Galatia to “walk by the Spirit,” and also impressing there is another way of walking but according to the flesh.  He lists sins that can only come from being led by the flesh (v. 19-21).  Vice versa, Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, which can only come from a genuine relationship with Christ.

I am convinced that there is no fruit of the Spirit without a genuine relationship with Christ.  What do I mean by this?  Sometimes we treat each fruit of the Spirit as if it is a type of trait that we can use to measure evidence of the Spirit in our lives.  Perhaps so, but we should wonder, what if we would approach the fruit of the Spirit in light of a genuine relationship with Christ?  It would go something like this:  

• Love:  It is only in Christ, you understand true love.
• Joy:  It is only in Christ, there is a true joy (Joy in believing).
• Peace:  It is only in Christ, you can live in peace.
• Longsuffering:  It is only in Christ, you can suffer (for Christ sake).
• Kindness:  It is only in Christ, you express kindness to others.
• Goodness:  It is only in Christ, you show goodness to others.
• Faithfulness:  It is only in Christ, you can be faithful.
• Gentleness:  It is only in Christ, you exercise gentleness towards others.
• Self-Control:  It is only in Christ, you can have control over yourself.

You can’t have the fruit of the Spirit without a genuine relationship with Christ.  The question is, how is your relationship with Christ?  Is there evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life?  Or do you see yourself yielding to the desires of the flesh?  If you see Christ working in your life by seeing the fruit of the Spirit, I pray that you will continue to seek more of Him.  If you are yielding to the desires of the flesh, I pray that Lord will grant you strength and courage to repent and run to Him.  May our gracious Lord reveal who He is, and who you are in Him.  JY