Galatians 5:18 Meaning

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:18, ESV

In this verse, we see the reaffirmation of our freedom.

This initially might seem to be an odd statement in light of what’s been said prior.

Galatians 5:18 in context

In Galatians 5:13-15 Paul tells us that we’re free — but we aren’t to use our freedom to sin. Rather you’re to love your neighbor as yourself. He’s telling us that we’re to obey the moral law of God.

Then in Galatians 5:16-17 he tells us that there’s combat going on in us — in which we always have these failures that keep arising.

And now in Galatians 5:18 he says, “But if you’re led by the Spirit you are not under the law.”

So what’s what’s going on here?

No condemnation for believers

We need to see that Paul is reminding the Galatian believers ultimately that it’s not their works that save them. Their failure to do the things that God commands — to observe his law — will not keep them out of the kingdom.

When he says, “you are not under the law” he’s not saying that you don’t have to obey the law any longer. He’s saying, “for you who are led by the Spirit — who is the down payment of your heavenly inheritance — the law’s condemning nature no longer has power over you.”

That’s what he means when he says, “you’re not under the law.”

It’s the same thing he meant in Romans 6:14 when he said, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

It’s a gracious reminder that Paul’s making to the saints — that although the entirety of their life is going to be marked by imperfect obedience — there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

It’s a hearty reminder that those who are led by the Spirit are accepted by God — not because of what they have done — but because of what Christ has done for them.

Martin Luther’s experience is ours

Here Martin Luther in his commentary says this:

“It is very profitable for the godly to know this … When I was a monk I thought … that I was utterly cast away, if at any time I felt the concupiscence of the flesh: that is to say, if I felt any evil motion, fleshly lust, wrath, hatred, or envy against any brother … If then I had rightly understood these sentences of Paul … I should not have so miserably tormented myself, but should have thought and said to myself, as now commonly I do: Martin, thou shalt not utterly be without sin, for thou hast yet flesh; thou shalt therefore feel the battle thereof.“

He’s talking about someone who knows he’s a sinner — but wants to depart with his sin. His conscience is just being torn apart because of his failure. He’s constantly doubting his salvation and he says, “If I only knew this truth, oh how it would have soothed my soul and I wouldn’t have tormented myself so much by doubting my salvation. Because there was this internal struggle inside! I now see that the internal struggle inside is because I am being led by the Spirit.”

How many today resonate with Luther? How many feel that same despair that Luther describes because of your own internal battle between the flesh and the Spirit?

Luther then goes on to to quote a dear friend of his who once said this:

I have vowed unto God above a thousand times, that I would become a better man; but I never performed that which I vowed. Hereafter I will make no such vow: for I have now learned by experience, that I am not able to perform it. Unless therefore God be favorable and merciful unto me for Christ’s sake, and grant unto me a blessed and a happy hour when I shall depart out of this miserable life, I shall not be able with all my vows and all my good deeds, to stand before him.

There are no vows we can make — no exchanges with God we can manufacture — no works that we do that will ever be enough to enable us to stand before God in our own righteousness without him destroying us because of our lack of holiness.

The battle between flesh and Spirit is a great reminder every day of that fact.

Christ’s righteousness & our failure

But thanks be to God that he chose us to be in Christ. He chose to be favorable and merciful to us for the sake of Christ. He accepted the perfect works of Christ on our behalf and accepts them as our own.

Because of Christ we’re no longer under the curse of sin. God doesn’t hold our imperfect lives against us.

Knowing what it took for Christ — his dying for our sin — may it cause us to want to increasingly die to our own sin every single day.

If we’re going to deal with sin it must be by the Spirit. And every failure means bringing that sin to the cross and having it crucified with Jesus. Every failure ought to be met with prayer — wrestling with God in it — asking him that he would choke the very life of sin out of us.

Are you experiencing the dynamics Galatians 5:18 in your life?

Is this battle going on within you?

If not then you are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit. Set aside your own righteousness and cry out for the righteousness which only comes through faith in Christ.

If this battle is going on inside of you and you grow frustrated by the battle and you are just sick and tired of the battle — let us pray together that it would cause us each and every day to long for that final day when Christ returns and there will be no more sin and there will be no more battle for those who belong to the Lord.