Living in the Spirit: Keeping in Step with the Spirit (Gal 3:1; Gal 5-16-26)
Gal 3:1 The context here is Paul is pointing out how some people had reverted back to the ways of the Law and Old Covenant thinking.
Verse 2 We don’t get the Spirit by observing the Law.
• If that were the case then Jesus didn’t need to die on the cross to send the Spirit.
• We can’t maintain the Spirit by observing the Law. We keep in step with the Spirit through faith.
• The Galatians are basically walking away from the faith and Paul appeals to the work of the Spirit as evidence to the reality of the faith.
Verse 3 In order to receive Jesus as savior it takes an act of the Spirit.
• The Galatians have had an initial encounter with the Spirit.
o They may have even started to walk with the Spirit and in the gifts etc.
• But Paul sees them as walking away from the Spirit. Trying to do things through human effort.
Verse 4 Paul is saying why did you suffer and undergo persecution to go back to living like you did before.
Verse 5 Paul even appeals to the miracles. Did following the law bring about miracles?
• There is just such an expectation here that the spirit should be at work among them including miracles.
Gal 5:16 Paul says live by the Spirit, at the end of this section he says keep in step with the Spirit.
• His point is that when we live in step with the Spirit we will not be tempted by our old sinful nature.
o We have a new nature now, and that is the nature of the Spirit.
Verse 17 Our old nature, our sinful nature, is at odds with the nature of the Spirit.
• Failing to live in the spirit can and will bring about a lot of inner turmoil.
Verse 18 Following the law will never deliver the things of the Spirit.
Verse 19-21 Paul now gets specific and names some of the symptoms or behaviors of the sinful nature.
• I love how he says they are obvious. Yet how often do we miss them or ignore them? They can be subtle.
o He groups some of these together into categories.
• You cannot accept Jesus as Savior and then go on living in your sinful nature.
• We do this by living in step with the Spirit that Jesus sent to live in us.
Verse 22-23 Paul now gets specific with what the fruit of the Spirit is.
o Notice he doesn’t start by saying that these are obvious like he did with the sins.
• This could be considered the nature of the Spirit. These are who the Spirit is. This is what the Spirit does.
• If this is who the Spirit is, and the Spirit is in us, then this is who we should be.
Verse 24 Living in step with the Spirit is to crucify my sinful nature every day.
• This is a deliberate act on our part in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Daily Examen can be helpful.
Verse 25 Since the Holy Spirit is in us, since our goal is to live in the Spirit, we must keep in step with the spirit. Think of the three-legged races you ran as a kid.
