GLEANINGS FROM THE SCRIPTURESWalk In The Spirit!By Keith L. EstesThis I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) Have the habit of continually walking by the energizing power and under the divine direction of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way of deliverance from selfish lusts. And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. You will never gratify the sinful desires originating in and overflowing from the lower nature. When God saved us, He did not eradicate the old nature, neither did He reform the old life, He gave us an absolutely new life (Jn. 3:6). The old nature is “not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom 8:7). The Christian can conquer the self-life and have continual victory by walking by the Holy Spirit. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:17) There is a constant deadly feud being waged. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrims Progress, shows that both Christ and Satan long for the possession of the city of Man Soul. The flesh opposes the Spirit in an effort to prevent the believer from a life of obedience, surrender, and victory. The Spirit against the flesh. The Holy Spirit opposes the flesh and gives the believer victory over it. And these are contrary. Lined up in hostile, face-to-face conflict. There is mutual antagonism. So that ye cannot do the things that ye would. So that you may not keep on doing whatever you may want to do. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18). If you are being led continually by the Holy Spirit, then it follows that ye are not under the law. Christians have a live-in divine Person to keep them in line, and they do not need an external curb. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5: 19-21) Now the works of the flesh. Note the plural, works, the complex mixture of evil desires and deeds. The flesh is always active; it never takes a vacation Are manifest. Plainly evident to everyone. These works all issue from a heart in rebellion against God and insisting upon doing as it wills (Matt. 15: 19, Mk.7: 21-22). Adultery. Illicit sexual intercourse between married partners. Fornication. Illicit sexual intercourse between unmarried partners. Uncleanness. Moral impurity. Lasciviousness. Wantonness, debauchery, lewdness. This Greek word aselgeia was used to describe an attitude of utter disregard for the opinions and conventions that governed others. Idolatry. Worship of idols, putting anything in the place of God. Witchcraft. Sorcery, the profession of magical arts, which used various combinations of chemicals (drugs) to deceive and get control of their victims (Rev 21: 8). Hatred. Enmities, personal animosities (1 Jn. 3: 15). Variance. Strife, rivalry, discord, factions, quarrelsomeness. Emulations. Jealousies, sedition, constant desire to excel other people and secure their admiration. Wrath. Passionate anger, stirring up the emotions of temper resulting in an explosion. Strife. Factions, intrigues manifested in party spirit. Seditions, splits, divisions. Heresies. Choices based on preferences, sectarian parties. Envying. Feelings of ill will. Drunkenness. Excessive indulgence in strong drink. Revellings. Carousals such as the outrageous feasts to the god Dionysus associated with horrible orgies, not unlike many riotous, wild parties of today. And such like. The list is representative, not exhaustive. They, which do such things. Those whose lives are characteriized by the habit of continually doing such things. Such life-style is proof positive that one has not become a new creature in Christ (11 Cor. 5:17), that he is not in the kingdom of God, and that he shall have no share in it. A Christian may fall temporarily into those sins, but he will be miserable until he confesses and forsakes them (Prov. 28: 13). Ref. The Liberty Annotated New Testament- Authorized Version. |