Lesson for November 10, 2021
The Book of Galatians
Fruit of the Sin Nature vs. Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:19-21
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Paul had just told these believers to walk by means of the Holy Spirit and they would not fulfill the desires of the sin nature (v.16). Then he made a comparison between the life controlled by the sin nature and the life controlled by the Holy Spirit. Paul was writing to believers who could not lose their salvation (inherit the kingdom of God) even if they committed any or all of the sins he listed. Paul’s comparison is between unbelievers whose lives are completely controlled by their sin nature and a believer who is controlled by (filled with) the Holy Spirit. Unless unbelievers trust Jesus Christ as their Savior, they will not inherit the kingdom of God (His eternal kingdom).
Practice means habitual unrestrained practice. It is a characteristic of an unbeliever and not a characteristic of a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit. So, these verses do not mean what they appear to mean on the surface. If a believer practices the works of the sin nature, he is living just as if he was an unbeliever. You cannot distinguish the difference between a believer and an unbeliever when the believer is not in fellowship with God and not filled with the Holy Spirit. And believers who are out of fellowship are not taking advantage of all that their eternal inheritance in Christ has to offer. (I Corinthians 3:1-3; I John 3:9)
Galatians 5:22-26
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”
The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ being formed in believers when they allow the Holy Spirit to control their lives. Love comes in two categories: 1) Personal love – the mental attitude of love for God on the basis of His virtue and integrity and 2) Impersonal love – the mental attitude that treats others on the basis of a believer’s own virtue and integrity. Matthew 22:37-39, “And He (Jesus) said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Joy is a mental attitude of inner happiness as a result of learning, believing, and applying Bible doctrine consistently. I Peter 1:8-9, “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Peace is spiritual prosperity meaning to have a stable mental attitude knowing that we have peace with God through faith in Christ and the peace of God through the knowledge of God’s Word and by staying in fellowship with Him. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Patience is a relaxed mental attitude toward the entire human race and the circumstances of life, being patient with the things that would normally make a person impatient or angry. Ephesians 4:1-3, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Kindness and goodness are the same Greek word meaning a mental attitude of grace toward others by letting them exercise their free will without interference or a judgmental attitude. Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” I Thessalonians 5:15, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.”
Faithfulness means immovable or steadfast. It means to not waver when it comes to sound, accurate doctrine and living in accordance with the teaching of God’s Word. I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Gentleness is the mental attitude of grace which expresses itself in kindness toward others. Gentleness can mean several things. It can mean saying the right thing at the right time or saying something that is encouraging and helpful. But there are times when gentleness means to not say anything. Gentleness can be a kind act or a kind deed. Philippians 4:5, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.”
Self-control means to be self-disciplined as a result of Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Against such things there is no law means that there are spiritual laws against those sinful acts listed by Paul in verses 19-21, but there is no law against the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There is no law that prohibits the fruit of the Holy Spirit from being produced in the life of a believer because it is based on grace and part of the Christian life. On the other hand, there is a law that prohibits the Law of Moses or any form of legalism from being part of the Christian Way of Life, called the Law of Christ. The Law of Christ includes the filling of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:2-4, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires refers to the point in time when we believed in Christ for salvation. At the moment we believed, we were positionally crucified with Christ. We are therefore identified with Christ in His death. This is not something we do. It is something that was done for us by God, which we call positional truth (how we stand before God). Because we are in union with Christ, this became true for each of us at the moment we believed in Christ. Romans 6:11, “So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.If we live by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit, we advance spiritually. If we live by means of the sin nature, we retreat into reversionism. The greatest deterrent to being filled with the Holy Spirit and living by God’s grace is legalism (the entire subject of Galatians).
Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Boastful is the Greek word “kenodoxos,” which means to be a conceited, self-absorbed boaster. The Galatians were attempting to live under a system of legalism for spirituality. They were playing into Satan’s hand by following the false teachers and were even bragging about it. Therefore, these Galatians were operating on the principle of spirituality by works, which is no spirituality at all (then and now).
Challenging is the Greek word “prokaleo,” which means to provoke by stirring up evil in another person. In other words, these believers were challenging the accuracy of Paul’s message of grace in favor of the false message of the Judaizers.
Envying is the Greek word “phthoneo,” which means the desire to deprive someone of what they have. This is exactly what the believers in Galatia, who had been deceived into believing the false message of works for the Christian life, were guilty of. They wanted to deprive believers of God’s grace. Their desire was to convince other believers that the spiritual life was keeping the Mosaic Law and not living by the grace of God. The only way to advance in the Christian life and be successful is to advance by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is totally a grace process.