Becoming – Galatians 5:16-26

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Galatians 5:16-17

Paul is saying there is an active contradiction within us; our flesh and the Holy Spirit are both vying for our cooperation. How conscious do we need to be of this inner struggle? If our choices are involved don’t we need to recognize the agendas of these opponents within?  To be led by the Spirit, I believe it is helpful to have an awareness of our inner lives. When Paul says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law”, he seems to be saying we will either be living in harmony with the Spirit within or in compliance to a written code from without.

                                 if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 

This is a timely passage. I have found my flesh (which is not unusual really), tempted to nurse hurt feelings into offenses, to entertain resentment and flirt with bitterness. I knew, in this most recent skirmish, I would have to side with the Holy Spirit’s inner directives in order to work this out in my heart. There is a problem though; this sounds much easier than it is. It is actually quite messy! I knew I had to die to this whole line of thinking (which was all centered around my rights) if I was to walk in the Spirit. Here is what constitutes the messy part; cooperating with the Spirit within was not my first impulse.

This is not our chosen text but perhaps this is what Jesus was getting at in the parable where one son said he would but didn’t and the other said he wouldn’t but did?

A question I have had is; Is this fleshly side of my contradiction to be thought of as a normative outburst of opposition to God, simply confirming my nature as a fallen one? Or, was this a phantom impulse, much like the amputee who feels his toes after his leg has been taken? Or, as a preacher friend proposed, “that God withdrew His presence from me, so as to remind me of my bankrupt status without Him.” One more counselor weighed in, a spiritual father.

Note: Regarding spiritual fathers; They are those who walk in the Spirit along side us, and our messy lives. They love by listening and responding out of the Spirit’s work in their own lives. They do not talk doctrine so much as they talk life, in the trenches. They speak out of an earned and granted authority. They may or may not be graced with any title (other than friend). They are rare indeed!

This father offered some wisdom which has helped me to think about the dynamics of our spirit vs. flesh – contest. While I was bent on thinking of the flesh as my nature, he encouraged me to abandon that track. OK…so, I loosened the bolts on my belief system a bit and ask him to proceed. He suggested it would be better to think of the flesh as a seed bed which is filled with seeds which can be watered, or not. Those seeds would be things like Paul mentions in our passage….

…..immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.

As I was working out my contradiction, it was clear I could deliberately water the seeds which were trying to germinate, or not.  I asked my father-friend, “How should I respond when the flesh is intensely insistent in having its own way?” He first told me what not to do. He said, “Don’t let yourself fall into either of the two classic errors in dealing with the flesh. The first being; Don’t proactively start trying to uproot the weeds by developing an excessive focus on sin and making fresh resolutions to live righteously. He warned me this would simply empower sin and create an ongoing and un-winable war. Note: Some plants grow more aggressively when you disturb the roots. (Ever made the error of uprooting Nut Sedge?)

The second being: To think that, as new creations, we are above such skirmishes. This error would be born and sustained by pride. It would eventually lead to denial and religious pretense.

The best council I received from him was this; trust that you are a new creation even in the presence of fleshly assertions (the mess I referred to). In short, battle the flesh indirectly by focusing instead on the Spirit….

                        Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

As we learn to respond to our flesh by staying focused on Jesus we will discover, out of our inner most being can flow….

the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

By learning to do this math continually in our hearts we will be crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires. We will be living and walking by the Spirit.

Father, I do initially groan when I sense the tug-of-war within. It does bother me that my first impulse is often fleshly. I am trusting it is your Spirit making me aware when specific sins are crouching at my heart’s door, seeking to do whatever harm it may. Help me to not think too highly (or too lowly) of myself. Thank you so much that even in the messiness of my life, your Spirit intercedes for me and that you are my Advocate. In these messy places which are still being worked out, may grace abound all the more, for Your glory. Thank you so much Lord.

 

 

 

 

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