Galatians 5:16 Meaning: Flesh v. Spirit

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16, ESV

The first thing Paul does is to identify the combatants of our internal war — flesh and Spirit in the believer.

What is the Flesh?

This is not a battle between the material and the immaterial. He’s not saying that your skin and bones are evil — and your spirit’s good.

When Paul talks about our flesh here, he’s speaking of our depravity — the sin that still remains in you and me — our natural carnal man — our fleshly nature that we still find living inside of us.

Our Un-perfected New Nature

We have been given a new nature in Christ, but it’s not a perfected nature. The struggle that occurs inside of us is evidence of that fact.

The fact that in mind and will we still seek gratification in the things which the old man once lusted after is a sign to us that the new nature that we’re in isn’t one that’s in a perfected state yet.

Effort Required in the Christian Life

It’s tragic that there are many people who call themselves Christians who are of the mindset that because they can’t live perfectly and because their sin won’t be imputed to them for the sake of Christ, they feel no need to put any effort into the Christian life.

A Christian is not free from all evil and sin. But that’s no reason for us who confess the name of Christ to throw our hands up and accept our sin. Rather, a Christian acknowledges his sin — we know there’s evil and wickedness inside — and from the heart we lament that fact. We hate it!

We don’t live in the flesh. We don’t follow the flesh. We don’t love the flesh. We don’t happily give ourselves over to the flesh.

Consenting to Sin

The believer never fully consents to the sin we commit. This is a main difference between the unbeliever and the believer.

When the unbeliever sins, he gives full consent to the sin. All the faculties — mind, will, affections, everything — gives full consent.

That’s why when you approach an unbeliever about his sin, he doesn’t feel bad about it. He enjoyed it and thought it was good that he did it. If he had opportunity to do it again he would do it.

That’s not true of the believer. Even when we sin we’re only giving partial consent to the sin. That’s because we’re Spirit and flesh.

Is the Spirit consenting to your sin? Of course not.

The Believer’s Internal Struggle

This is why in the believer there’s this internal struggle over sin. Even when we commit the sin, we’re not giving full consent to the sin — it’s only a partial consent of will and mind, with our desires.

But this is why the believer after he sins struggles with it, feels sorrow over it, confesses it, and repents of it. The believer is someone who mourns over his sin!

Do you experience this struggle?

Do you mourn over your sin? Do you wish to fight against those wicked inclinations that still remain inside of you? The desires of the flesh that we all still have — do you wish to fight again that?

There are many sinful, wicked, evil inclinations we still have.

Pride is one. Do you always have to have the last word?

Or lack of self-control — with the tongue and with what we say.

Or with food — gluttony. Or with drink — drunkenness.

Or with sexual immorality — what we look at and desire — perhaps even sex before marriage, especially for younger folks.

These are not uncommon desires, but they’re unfitting desires for the Christian. They’re desires we should want to part with immediately.

What should we do about this struggle?

So, the question is what should we be doing about this internal struggle with sin — as those who desire to honor Christ with our lives?

Paul supplies the answer when he says, “Walk by the [Holy] Spirit and you will not gratify the lusts of the flesh.”

What does he mean by Walk by the Spirit?