But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, 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. 22 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 have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-23 NKJV)
Ignoring context in scripture may lead me to a mild case of Christianity — maybe enough to get into heaven, but without any real Christ image formed in me. Most of us have heard a message series regarding Galatians 5:22, the fruits of the Spirit. We've been told of the wonderful fruit that will grow once we are en-grafted into the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus. Today, let’s take a look at some of the context, and see what is required for that fruit to appear and ripen.
God always sees the end of things, the outcomes, and then somehow still has the grace, mercy, and patience to walk though our mess with us toward that end result. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. If we live??? That’s right. When God looks upon His creation He sees many dead people. Anyone who refuses His offer of Grace through Jesus is dead. To become alive, we need to get connected to Jesus so we can live by the Spirit...... Paul says if we live…let us also walk by the Spirit. Apparently, it is possible to be brought to life by the Spirit, but to refuse to walk by the Spirit.
I once saw a guy walking along in my hometown. Although I hadn't seen him in twenty five years, I recognized him from behind and from a great distance by the way he walked. If the Holy Spirit lives in me and my life is fully influenced Christ, then the Holy Spirit will be made completely evident in my walk. The Holy fruit bearing Spirit influences every believer through His Word, through His presence in other believers as they reflect Him in their walk, and through His inner witness in our hearts.
Commentator David Guzik states it simply — How can you tell if someone walks in the Spirit? They look a lot like Jesus!
Paul uses Hebrew parallelism here to contrast the fruits that we love to hear about from verse twenty-two with their counterparts a few verses prior, the flesh blights of immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these… Then, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit of whom he is speaking he issues me an ominous warning -- …I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If you follow me, will you see the footprints of Jesus where I have walked? If I am walking in the Spirit of life, you will. If my flesh is in control, you’ll just see the crooked path of crooked flesh.
If you see flies over a bowl of fruit, something is rotten. People are following me, looking for Jesus. Will they see Him in my walk today, or just a cloud of fruit flies?
Copyright 2014 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment