Walk in the Spirit — yielding to the Spirit, denying the flesh, and bearing fruit

From a sermon · Galatians 5:16–26

Walk in the Spirit (vv. 16–17)

"I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want."

Walking in the Spirit is being in sync with the Spirit. There are two ways to fall out of sync. You can grieve Him — sin against Him. Or you can quench Him — stop listening to Him. When we've done either, we need to restore the relationship and get back in step. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). If you aren't in agreement with the Holy Spirit, you aren't walking with Him.

When we walk in the Spirit, we don't carry out the flesh. The best way to keep weeds out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat, and the best way to keep the flesh out of your life is to have it full of the Spirit. You can't do both. At any given moment you're fulfilling the desires of the flesh or the desires of the Spirit.

"The flesh" here means the sinful desires that are innately part of us — the sinful element in our nature that comes from Adam. "The Spirit" is what comes by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit — His desires for our lives. The two are at war, and we are not capable, in ourselves, of not doing the deeds of the flesh. That's the point of the passage.

Be led by the Spirit (v. 18)

"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." The law is for the unrighteous man, to reveal his sin to him. Those who walk in the Spirit don't need the law to tell them what's wrong; it's written on their hearts. And notice the difference in what each produces. The law brings forth works — things we can glory in, because they came from our hands. The Spirit brings forth fruit. A branch does nothing to produce fruit except stay connected to the life-giving flow of the vine. When we bear fruit, there's no room to boast, because it wasn't our doing.

The works of the flesh (vv. 19–21)

Paul names seventeen and then adds "anything similar." Sensual sins: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity — excess, no restraint, no boundaries. Superstitious sins: idolatry and sorcery (a word tied to drugs and spells). Social sins: hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing. "I am warning you about these things — as I warned you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Two things to say carefully. First, someone living habitually in the sins named here may be living on a false assurance of salvation — one not grounded in the Word of God. The works of the flesh aren't so much evidence of the presence of sin as of the absence of the Spirit. That isn't about losing salvation; it's about never having had it. Second, the flip side: the fruit of the Spirit is the direct result of being attached to the Spirit and letting Him flow through you. Where is boasting? Excluded, again. It only comes from submission.

The fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22–23)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The law is not against such things."

It's one thing not to be guilty of wrong. It's another to do right. Don't boast about the things you don't do that other people do. Negative goodness isn't enough in a life; there have to be positive qualities as well. The flesh produces dead works. The Spirit produces living fruit.

The fruit of the Spirit is not a gift of the Spirit; it's a grace of the Spirit. Gifts differ from believer to believer. Fruit is for everyone — every believer needs it and should have it. Building Christian character takes precedence over displaying special abilities. And notice it's "fruit," singular, not "fruits." It's one cluster. Being led by and walking in the Spirit will produce all of it. There's no law against any of these things, and together they fulfill the whole law — loving God and loving others.

Crucify the flesh (v. 24)

"Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." We're to put the desires and deeds of the flesh to death every day. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). Those who are in Christ are living a life that pursues full submission to the Spirit and full death to the flesh.

Keep walking (v. 25)

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." We were made alive by the Spirit — but we're not meant to sit in a vegetative state. We're meant to move. Romans 8:10–17 fills this in: if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus lives in you, He gives life to your mortal body; if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live; "all those led by God's Spirit are God's sons"; and "the Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children."

What rots the fruit (v. 26)

"Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Fruit needs the right atmosphere to grow, and a bad one will stop it. Fruit is meant to be eaten, not put on display and admired. The good that comes out of you is from the Spirit, not from you — so don't expect or want the glory for what God does through you. You're the instrument; He's the musician. Don't provoke others to be more like you. Provoke them to be more like Christ. And don't envy people who seem to have what you don't; it isn't coming from them, it's coming from the Spirit, and you can have it too.

So why don't we see the Spirit do more?

Only by the Spirit can we live free from the flesh and bear fruit, and that only comes by yielding to Him in every decision. So yield. Tell Him you yield. When you wake up, when you eat, when you drive to work, when you drive home, when you go to sleep — whisper, "I yield to You. Guide me."

Why don't we see the Holy Spirit do more in our lives and churches? Because we don't yield to Him. Because we don't pray. Because we grieve Him — sinning against Him, and sinning while He lives in us. Because we quench Him — we pour water on the fire He lit.

Here's the thesis of the whole passage. The Holy Spirit is not a divine power that we get hold of and use at our will. He is a divine Person who gets hold of us and uses us at His will. Let Him get hold of you. Pray for Him to convict you of sin. Yield to Him. Listen to Him.

Read more about what we believe on the Spirit-filled life on our beliefs page and the Engaging pillar.

Before you yield

You can't yield to Someone who doesn't live in you. That's the plain truth sitting under all of this. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in a person the moment that person trusts Christ, and not a minute before. So if you've been reading about walking in step with the Spirit and you know you've never been saved, start where God starts. Jesus died for your sin, He was buried, He came out of that grave alive, and He saves every single person who calls on Him. Call on Him. Not a better version of you six months from now. You, today.

For the rest of us who already have Him: pick the smallest one on that list. The drive to work. That's it. This week, every time you turn the key, say it out loud. "I yield to You. Guide me." Five days of that. See what He does with somebody who finally quits grabbing the instrument out of the Musician's hands.

He lit a fire in you. Quit pouring water on it.