Dr. Mike Jones

Galatians 5 talks about our LIBERTY in Christ as Christians: but he also warns us of the problems we will have in the Flesh. We’re not to use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh – Galatians 5:13; but to beware of being consumed by one another – Galatians 5:15.

So, how can we avoid the destructive nature of the flesh? The Apostle Paul tell us in versus16-18: We must walk in the Spirit & we must be led by the Spirit. Saints, if we do these two things, the Word of God says, we will not fulfill the ‘LUST OF THE FLESH!”

The war we’re having as Christians is between the Spirit-led man and our Fleshly man – the two are contrary one to another. Don’t be fooled: There is also a war going on between the flesh and human spirit: We see this in: 1Peter 2:11, “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls”. And in Romans 7:23, “But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me”.

While the flesh pulls us in one direction, the Spirit would have us go in another. As Christians, we must serve one or the other. What this means is: If we follow the lusts of the flesh, we cannot do the will of the Spirit! And following the will of the flesh will enslave us, according to Romans 6:12-13, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Likewise the reverse happens, if we would yield to the leading of the Spirit, the Flesh can be overcome, according to Romans 8:12-14, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

So, in conclusion, how does one walk in the Spirit? By setting our minds on the things of the Spirit – according to Romans 8:1-6; By being sensitive to the things the Spirit has revealed through the Word of God. [Remember, we use the Word of God to resist the Devil and he will flee! Therefore, to resist the Word is to resist the Spirit.] Therefore, when we walk in the Word, we receive strength, we develop fruit in our lives, and we become more Christ-like.