Galatians 5 - What Does It Mean to Walk By the Spirit?
Galatians 5 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Paul starts out the chapter by telling the Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not be burdened by the yoke of slavery ." But then Paul tells them not to use their newfound freedom to indulge the flesh. This is the opposite of the legalism Paul was describing in the first four chapters, which presented itself through the Jewish rite of circumcision. Though the Galatians were free from the law, they mustn't use their freedom to go back to living in slavery to their sinful desires. Paul gives a laundry list of behaviors that accompany living in the flesh ...