Note: All verbs in bold red indicate commands, not suggestions! Also hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture which stays open and can be copied.

Kistemaker sums up this verse -  "Overcome evil with good".

Keep the context of this epistle in mind as you study "Walking by the Spirit" - This epistle to the Galatians is unlike most of Paul's other epistles because it lacks a commendation section and instead has a severe admonitory tone.  Many of the readers had obviously succumbed to the teaching of the Judaizers who taught that one must rigorously follow the Old Testament law in addition to Christ in order to be pleasing to God. These false teachers added that one must add circumcision and therefore in essence were teaching that one needed to add law to the grace of Christ which was not the true Gospel. The law was like a yoke which gives some guidance to an ox but which provides no power. And like a yoke, no external law can give one a desire to obey. And so Paul writes Galatians in an attempt to correct these heretical teachings which cut off those new converts who were "running well" in their Christian life.

Early in this epistle, Paul explained the necessary requirement for "walking by the Spirit", emphasizing that one must "begin" in the Spirit before "continuing" in the Spirit...

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit are you now being (present tense) perfected (successfully completing, bringing to an end [we will never perfectly attain the goal of Christlikeness in this life but are to continue on this journey]) by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3)

Clearly Paul's rhetorical question demands a resounding "No". Spiritual maturity (or progressive sanctification, growth in Christlikeness, present tense salvation) is accomplished by the same faith that allowed them to begin in the Spirit. The problem in Galatia was that they had been bewitched and were foolishly seeking to "grow in grace" by keeping the law (see note Colossians 2:17). Now in Galatians 5:16 Paul proceeds to give the answer to how one attains true spiritual maturity, first by issuing a command, but adding a promise to that command.

But I say - In context of the previous passages, Paul has warned his readers of the danger of turning their freedom in Christ into a "license" to sin (v13).

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

They might reason we are no longer under the heavy yoke of the Law but under grace (which is true). But then they would pervert the truth of their freedom in Christ. One must remember that the believer's new freedom in Christ is not freedom to sin but freedom from sin. There is a world of difference!  Paul says the rule of thumb that should guide their (and our) behavior in this new freedom in Christ is this...

"Do my thoughts, words and deeds genuinely demonstrate love to others? Am I loving others as I would love myself?"

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." (Galatians 5:14)

He warns them, that if they don't show love to one another, they will be biting and devouring one another and be in danger of destroying each other.

But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. (Galatians 5:15)

Now in Galatians 5:16, Paul begins with a contrast word but, which signifies that instead of biting and devouring one another, by contrast, one needs to practice "preventative maintenance" so to speak by continually living the Christian life in the power of and under the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, will one cease to gratify the desires of the flesh. It is the Spirit Alone Who can keep the believer truly free and allow him or her "through love to serve one another."

Illustration - Five-year-old Jason announced that he wanted to grow carrots in a corner of the garden. He dutifully watered his carrot patch, and his mom bought fertilizer. But no carrots emerged. As they puzzled over the absent carrots, his mom asked, “Jason, when did you put the seeds in?” “I forgot about seeds!” he exclaimed. “But–I thought if I watered and fed it right, the carrots could still grow!” Just as the ground doesn’t spontaneously produce carrots, our hearts cannot spontaneously produce obedience without fundamental change. (Today in the Word)

Barton adds that the phrase but I say...

...ties in with Gal 5:13-15. The strategy for removing the divisiveness that marred the Galatian church was to serve one another in love, but that too was humanly impossible. People cannot, in their own power, show love to all people at all times. But God has provided the means to meet his commands—the Holy Spirit. (Barton, B. B., et al. Life Application Bible Commentary. Romans: Tyndale House Publishers or Logos)

Richison agrees writing that...

In contrast to letting the flesh form a base of operations in our soul by devouring one another with words, we are to let the Holy Spirit control us. (Galatians 5:16)

Findlay writes that in context Paul has just explained the Galatian believers had been called to freedom and that they could keep from biting and devouring one another only as they learned to "walk in love" (see Gal 5:13,14, cf Eph 5:2-note). He then explains how it is now possible to "walk in love" writing that...

LOVE is the guard of Christian freedom. The Holy Spirit is its Guide. These principles accomplish what the law could never do. It withheld liberty, and yet did not give purity. The Spirit of love and of sonship bestows both, establishing a happy, ordered freedom, the liberty of the sons of God.

From the first of these two factors of Christian ethics the Apostle passes in Galatians 5:16 to the second. He conducts us from the consequence to the cause, from the human aspect of spiritual freedom to the Divine. Love, he has said, fulfils all laws in one. It casts out evil from the heart; it stays the injurious hand and tongue; and makes it impossible for liberty to give the rein to any wanton or selfish impulse. But the law of love is no natural, automatic impulse. It is a Divine inspiration. ”Love is of God.” It is the characteristic “fruit of the Spirit” of adoption (Gal 5:22-note), implanted and nourished from above. When I bid you “by love serve each other,” the Apostle says, I do not expect you to keep this law of yourselves, by force of native goodness: I know how contrary it is to your Galactic nature; “but I say, walk in the Spirit,” and this will be an easy yoke; to “fulfil the desire of the flesh” will then be for you a thing impossible. (Findlay, G G: The Expositor's Bible - Galatians - AGES Software)

Walk by the Spirit is translated variously as follows...

walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; (Amplified)

 let your walk and conversation be dominated by the Spirit (Barclay)

let the Spirit direct your lives (Good News Bible)

Let your steps be guided by the Spirit (Montgomery)

Live by following the Spirit (NCV)

be guided by the Spirit (New Jerusalem Bible)

live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

Live your whole life in the Spirit (Philips)

let the Spirit direct your lives (TEV)

obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do (TLB)

Let your lives be guided by the Spirit (Weymouth)

In the Spirit walk ye (Young's Literal)

Note some translations and commentaries do not take Spirit as the Holy Spirit but I think that is an incorrect interpretation. For example God's Word Translation is "Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you". Surely they mean to imply that the spiritual nature is that which is empowered by the Spirit, for otherwise we would have no ability to walk counter to the strong desires of the flesh.

Boice comments that...

Life by the Spirit is neither legalism nor license - nor a middle way between them. It is a life of faith and love that is above all of these false ways. (Ed note: Life in the Spirit is a brand new manner of supernatural living.)

Walk by the Spirit - Obviously this is not a literal walk (see more discussion below), but speaks of our day to day conduct. Walking was a common figure in the Old Testament for one's conduct ("How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..." Psalm 1:1). As Spurgeon notes "It is a rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions." (Ref) As we conduct ourselves each day, we are to do so by allowing the Spirit to guide, lead, control and empower our every thought, word and deed. This is vital for "victorious" Christian living. Positionally every believer is victorious because of Christ's work on Calvary and the truth that we are all in Him. But Paul desires that our daily practice match our secure, eternal position and that we daily live out what we really are - victors over sin, the flesh and the devil. Believers however cannot achieve victory over the flesh by adherence to a set of rules or by self effort, as many of those in Galatia were doing. To do so is like asking the flesh to cast out the flesh, something it will never do! To the contrary, just as we received Jesus by faith, we are charged to walk in His Spirit by faith. The same faith that saved us initially, now sanctifies us daily. Those variegated, manifold "pop tests" which God allows into our life each day will provide plenty of opportunities (not obstacles as we too often see them) to practice "walking" so that we might learn what it means to experientially and practically walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

One aspect of walking in the Spirit is to have our daily lives under His control, and this in turn is optimized when we are in the Word of God daily and allowing His Word and Spirit to direct us throughout the day. Meditation is to the heart what digestion is to the body and thus is the taking in of the Word of God and making it a part of the inner being. As the heart and mind think on the Word all day long, the Spirit guides the life. This is what it means to walk in the Spirit.

C Norman Bartlett writes that in Galatians 5:16...

lies the key to conquest - not through the terrors of the law, but through the Spirit of the LORD will victory over the flesh be won. The spirit of the law and the law of the Spirit are poles apart. The injunction to walk in the Spirit implies power of choice on the part of the believer, whether to submit to the bondage of sin or to enter into that freedom in the Spirit which is rightfully his as a child of God. True, the old nature has not been eradicated, but its power over the soul which is trusting in Christ for salvation has been broken. Putting it figuratively, the dogs have been chained; they are no longer at large; but if we fail to keep our distance, and carelessly or deliberately give occasion to sin, we have ourselves to blame for the consequence. We have the privilege of walking in the Spirit; but we are not compelled to do so; it is a voluntary matter.

TRIUMPH OVER THE OLD NATURE...
NOT NEGATIVE REPRESSION
but
POSITIVE POSSESSION!

Approaching the subject from another angle, many a follower of Jesus fails of living a truly victorious life because he tries to study and prescribe for his own symptoms instead of giving the Holy Spirit the right-of-way in his life and letting Him minister as only He can in the treatment of hidden roots of moral and spiritual ailment. It is to be noted that in the main the way to triumph over the old nature is not so much a matter of negative repression as of positive possession of the boundless resources of grace available through the Spirit.

Thomas Chalmers once preached a sermon entitled "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection" (see Pdf with many pictures related to Chalmers - very interesting! The Expulsive Power of a New Affection on 1 John 2:15) and the reverberations of its challenging message still ring out. We turn the hose on dirt. We let in the pure air to drive out the foul. Tuberculosis is held at bay by a changing of climate. Need we enlarge at great length upon the application? There is no more effective way to fortify ourselves against the hurts of the flesh than to walk in the Spirit day by day and hour by hour. (C. Norman Bartlett: Galatians and You: Studies in the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, 1948)

Andrew Murray gets right to the point observing that Paul's...

words suggest to us very clearly the difference, between the sickly and the healthy Christian life. In the former the Christian is content to 'live by the Spirit'. He is satisfied with knowing that he has the new life but be does not 'walk by the Spirit.' The true believer, on the contrary, is not content without having his whole walk and conversation in the power of the Spirit. He walks by the Spirit, and so does not fulfill the lusts of the flesh....

Wuest explains that...

Paul now introduces a statement intended to counteract the erroneous impression held by the Galatians, possibly at the suggestion of the Judaizers, that without the restraining influence of the law, they would fall into sin. Instead of an attempted law obedience in their own strength motivated by the terrors of the law, Paul admonishes them to continue to govern their lives by the inward impulses of the Holy Spirit. The type of life and the method of living that life which he here speaks of, Paul had already commended to them in Gal 5:5, in the words “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness.” Thus, the secret of victory over sin is found, not in attempted obedience to a law that has been abrogated, but if subjection to a divine Person, the Holy Spirit, Who at the moment the sinner places his faith in the Lord Jesus, takes up His permanent residence in his being for the purpose of ministering to his spiritual needs. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Richison explains walking in the Spirit as follows...

We as Christians do not measure up spirituality by how much prayer, witnessing or service we do but by dependence on the Spirit. We cannot live the Spirit filled life by suppression of sin or by eradicating sin but by the counteracting power of being filled with the Spirit, walking in the Spirit. Victory does not come by self but by the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we are spiritual and produce the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit comes from the Holy Spirit, not from our deeds lived in the power of self (Ep 3:16, 5:18, see notes Ep 3:16; 5:18).

Walking presumes activity; it is not a defensive stand. We enter actively into God’s will by resting in the power of the Holy Spirit. We rest in His sufficiency. The Christian does not attempt to walk; he walks. He maintains a manner of reliance on the Holy Spirit. He lives daily to the glory of God.

A physical walk is an incipient fall. With each step we fall until our other foot catches the fall. Thus walk in the Spirit is dependence for it is a repeated succession of faith steps. Learning to walk in the Spirit should be as common a function as learning to walk physically. (Galatians 5:16)

Steve Zeisler has some very pithy but practical exhortational comments on what it means to walk in the Spirit noting first that it...

is not referring here to the high moments of our Christian life or to emotionally charged circumstances: taking communion in a candle lit room, praying for hours over some critical decision, etc. He is not talking about serious Bible study, about evangelistic enterprises, about the times when we are quite obviously interested in and concerned with the things of God. He is referring to our walk, the everyday experience of putting one foot in front of the other, the morning to night, inhale-exhale, normal process of living life.

Walk by the Spirit is the command.

Don't bypass today's seemingly mundane circumstances.

Take time to listen to the Lord in today's business.

Be willing to judge the double standards that are so frequently ours, where we expect others to live under stricter standards than we ask of ourselves.

Allow the Lord to have access to the tone of voice you use when you speak to people: judge the little prejudices you have carried around with you all of your life.

That is what this command is referring to: all of these ordinary things, the daily course of events.

Walk by the Spirit, so that when momentous occasions come, or great difficulties arise, when our walk leads us into the "valley of the shadow of death," even--then we are ready to face whatever comes. The choices we make all along to walk in this way have prepared us for the worst the flesh can do to win us to its desire. (Fight the Good Fight)

THE COMMAND:
WALK

Walk (4043) (peripateo from peri = about, around + pateo = walk, tread) means literally to walk around, to go here and there in walking, to tread all around.  The  39 uses in the Gospels always refer to literal, physical walking. Seven of the 8 uses in Acts are also in the literal sense (except Acts 21:21). In contrast, Paul uses peripateo only in the metaphorical sense (32 times) meaning to conduct one's life, to order one's behavior, to behave,  to make one's way, to make due use of opportunities, to live or pass one’s life (with a connotation of spending some time in a place).

Here in Galatians 5:16 Paul uses the present imperative which is a command to habitually walk or conduct your life by the Spirit. Paul's use of the present (continuous) tense also implies that believers have a continual need to walk in the Spirit. The fact that it is an imperative or command, indicates the necessity of believers to make a choice to obey. The metaphor of a walk merely consists of two simple steps, repeated over and over again and thus Paul is not commanding a complicated exercise but a necessary thing in order to be able to resist to pull of the flesh toward legalism (in the context of Galatians).  Note that to walk by the Spirit is what we do when the holy desires produced by the Spirit are stronger than the desires produced by the fallen flesh. It follows that walking by the Spirit is not something we do in order to get the Spirit’s help, but rather it is something we do by the enablement of the Spirit. Note also that any good, godly and holy desire we have is a reflection of the effect of the Holy Spirit, because apart from the Spirit we are mere flesh and as Paul said in our flesh, there dwells no good thing. It is painful to realize that apart from the grace imparted by the indwelling Spirit, none of our inclinations or desires are holy and good. Paul makes that clear in Romans 8 writing that...

the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (see note Romans 8:7) (Comment: This verse primarily describes the unregenerate but it also describes what the flesh that still resides in a believer is capable of doing!)

When we were born again the Holy Spirit took up residence in our physical bodies and imparted an entirely new array of desires, yearnings and longings. It is when these desires are stronger than the opposing desires of the flesh, that we are walking by the Spirit. Why is this true? Because we act or "walk" according to our strongest desires. Compare the OT explanation of the effect of the Spirit's coming to indwell believers in Ezekiel 36, where God promises (to Israel but applicable to all Gentiles who are "grafted in" and become partakers with believing Jews of the rich root of the olive tree)...

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:27)

Notice what the role of the Holy Spirit is in every believer -- He produces strong desires in us that are according to God's will and which enable us to walk in God's statutes. God does this without making us robots, for He goes on to declare that we have a choice, a choice to be careful and to observe His ordinances. When we are careful and we choose God's way, we are walking in the Spirit and are fulfilling this OT prophecy! But we must not lose sight of the balance in this verse. We walk in the Spirit because the Spirit is in us, giving us the desire to walk that holy path, rather than the path of fleshly independence. As every believer is so painfully aware, we can still choose to walk the latter path but when we do, we are countering the urges and desires of the Spirit and this creates an internal struggle that is "uncomfortable" and lacks the internal peace of God (see notes Galatians 5:17). On the other hand Paul explains that "the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6- note)

Rob Morgan makes an excellent point emphasizing what Paul is not saying in Galatians 5:16...

I had a professor once, Otis Braswell, who talked about this verse one day in class, and he made an interesting comment. He said that many Christians read this verse backward. They think that if they are not fulfilling the lust of the flesh, they can walk in the Spirit. And so they try with all their might to overcome their addictions and lusts, and they try to do it in their own energy. They turn over a new leaf. They make a new resolution.

But we can never overcome our besetting sins by ourselves. We must come in full surrender to Jesus Christ, confessing our sins, and yielding ourselves to Him so that by His grace we can walk in the Spirit. And as we walk in the Spirit, the indwelling Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit, begins to live His own life--the Christ-life--through us. And when that happens we find that we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us (Ro 8:37-note).  (see sermon entitled Seven Ways To Break Bad Habits). (Bolding added for emphasis)

Guzik comments that ...

if we walk in the Spirit (instead of trying to live by the law), we naturally (Ed note: I would add "supernaturally") shall not fulfill the lust (desire) of the flesh. Again, the fear of the legalist - that walking in the Spirit gives license to sin, and that only legalism can keep us holy - is just plain wrong.

Walk is a common picture of traveling the “road of life” and making progress upon it. How are you progressing in life? Also, many people have a distinct walk, and can be identified by the way they walk. So, how do you walk? What can others tell by your walk? It should be a walk in the Spirit.

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

First, it means that the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Second, it means to be open and sensitive to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Third, it means to pattern your life after the influence of the Holy Spirit. (Ed note: Or stated another way, you yield, surrender or submit to His desires rather than the desires of your old flesh nature.)

How does the Holy Spirit influence our life?

First, He reveals His will to us through the message of the Bible. (Ed note: Application question - are you in the Bible daily and better yet is the Bible in you daily? If not, you will be less prone, less likely to walk in the Spirit! The Spirit of truth takes the Word of truth and enables us to walk in the truth, cp Ps 86:11 - Spurgeon adds that "When taught I will practise what I know, truth shall not be a mere doctrine or sentiment to me, but a matter of daily life. The true servant of God regulates his walk by his master's will, and hence he never walks deceitfully, for God's way is ever truth. Providence has a way for us, and it is our wisdom to keep in it. We must not be as the bullock which needs to be driven and urged forward because it likes not the road, but be as men who voluntarily go where their trusted friend and helper appoints their path." [cp 3John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth"])

Second, He influences us through others who walk in the Spirit.

Third, He influences us through an inner direction that we become more sensitive to, and respond to better, as we mature in Jesus.

How can you tell if someone walks in the Spirit? They look a lot like Jesus! Jesus told us that the mission of the Holy Spirit would be to promote and speak of Him (John 14:16, 17, 14:26, 15:26, 16:13, 14, 15). When someone walks in the Spirit, they listen to what the Holy Spirit says as He guides us in the path and nature of Jesus. (Galatians 5)

The Holy Spirit is received by an act of faith (at the time of the new birth), and by the continued exercise of this receptive faculty, faith, the blessings He brings are appropriated. Thus the whole spiritual life of the Christian is a life of faith, life through the Holy Spirit... the sphere of the operations of the Spirit of God is the human spirit, (Romans 8:16-note). Every impulse along the line of obedience to the will of God in the spirit of a man is the result of His operations. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

How saints walk in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation is important to Paul. In his letter to the Colossians Paul used peripateo in his charge to the believers...

To walk in Christ is to live a life patterned after His life (eg, see Peter's discussion of in His steps) and empowered by His Spirit. In Colossians 1 Paul explained how this this is possible...

When you awaken each morning with a desire to submit your will to His, and walk step by step as He guides and enables, then you are learning to walk in the Spirit, a walk which is worthy of the Lord.

be (present imperative = command calling for this "divine imitation" to be a believer's way of life) imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." (Comment: Note that walk is again the verb peripateo in the present imperative commanding a way of life and daily conduct continually in the sphere of unconditional, sacrificial love, the love that God is, the love that is a fruit of His indwelling Spirit in the yielded, obedient saint. This is walking in the Spirit for there is simply no other way to "imitate" the Holy God and His Holy Son, unless we do so by the Holy Spirit.) (See note Ephesians 5:1; 5:2, cf Ephesians 4:1)

Next, for religion's sake, strive to be like Jesus... especially for Christ's own sake, imitate His example. Christian, lovest thou thy Saviour? Is His name precious to thee? Is His cause dear to thee? Wouldst thou see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it thy desire that He should be glorified? Art thou longing that souls should be won to Him? If so, imitate Jesus; be an "epistle of Christ, known and read of all men." (as you walk in the Spirit) (from Morning and Evening)

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING...
HOW CAN I WALK IN THE SPIRIT?

John Piper gives us some practical guidelines to "optimize" our walk in the Spirit...

What, very practically, is involved in obeying the command, “Walk by the Spirit”?

Five Steps Toward Walking by the Spirit

Let me conclude by mentioning five things that I think we must do so that it can be truly said that we are walking by the Spirit.

1. Acknowledge - First, we must acknowledge from our hearts that we are helpless to do good apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit. As Paul says in Romans 7:18 (note),

“I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.”

What did Jesus mean when he said in John 15:5,

“Without me you can do nothing”?

Of course we can do something without Jesus: we can sin! But that’s all we can do. So, the first step of walking by the Spirit is: admit this fact and let it have its devastating effect on our pride. We cannot do anything pleasing to God without the constant enablement of the Spirit.

2. Pray - Second, since it is promised in Ezekiel 36:27 that God will put his Spirit within us and cause us to walk in his statutes, pray that He do it to you by His almighty power. Many of you know the glorious, liberating experience of having an irresistible desire for sin overcome by a new and stronger desire for God and His way. And as you look back, to Whom do you attribute that new desire? Where did it come from? It came from the merciful Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us pray like Paul did in 1Thes 3:12  (note) for that chief fruit of the Spirit:

“Now may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men.”

And let’s pray like the writer to the Hebrews did in Hebrews 13:20; 21 (note),

And now may the God of peace… equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in you that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:20; 21)

If it is God alone Who works in us what is pleasing in His sight, then above all, we must pray.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

3. Trust - The third step involved in walking by the Spirit is faith. We must believe that since we have come under the gracious sway of God’s Spirit, “sin will no longer have dominion over us” (Romans 6:14-note). This confidence is what Paul meant by “reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God” (Romans 6:11-note). We simply count on it that the Spirit Who made us alive when we were dead in sin wills our holiness and has the power to achieve what He wills. You may remember in one of my sermons on prayer I said that one of the things we believers can pray for with undoubting faith that God will do it is our sanctification, which is the same as being led by the Spirit. The reason we can is that we know that God will cause His children to be led by the Spirit. And the way we know this is because of Romans 8:14  (note), where Paul says you can’t even be a child of God unless you are led by the Spirit.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”

If you are a child of God, you have a solid and unshakable promise that God will give you victory over those powerful desires of the flesh. One word of caution: do not prejudge the timing of the Holy Spirit’s work. Why He liberates one person overnight but brings another to freedom through months of struggle is a mystery concealed for now from our eyes.

4. Act - The fourth step in walking by the Spirit after you have acknowledged your helplessness without Him, prayed for His enablement, and trusted in His deliverance is to act the way you know is right. Notice: this is not step number one. If this were step number one, all our actions would be works of the flesh, not fruit of the Spirit. Only after we have appealed for the Spirit’s enablement and thrown ourselves confidently on His promise and power to work in us, do we now work with all our might. Only when we act with that spiritual preparation, will we be able to say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:10,

"By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me."

Or in Galatians 2:20 (note),

“I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20 -note; Ro 15:18; 19 - see notes Ro 15:18; 19).

A person who has acknowledged his helplessness, prayed for God’s enablement to do right, and yielded himself confidently to the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit has this astonishing incentive to do righteousness, namely, the confidence that, whatever righteous act he does, it is God almighty Who is at work in him giving him the will and the power to do it (Php 2:12; 13- see notes 2:12; 13). It is a sign of hasty prejudice when a person says,

“Well, if the Spirit is sovereign and I can’t do any good without his enablement, then I may as well just sit here and do nothing.”

There are two things wrong with that statement: it is self-contradictory, and it is unbiblical. It is a contradiction to say, “I’ll just sit here and do nothing.” If you choose to sit in your chair while the house burns down, you have chosen to do something, just as much as the person who chooses to get up and save himself and others. Why should you think the one choice any more inconsistent with the sovereignty of God than the other? And such a statement is also unbiblical because Philippians 2:12; 2:13 says,

"Beloved, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (get out of the chair, the house is on fire!) because (not “in spite of” but “because”) God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

It is a great incentive, not discouragement, that all our effort to do what is right is the work of almighty God within us. At least for myself, I am greatly encouraged when the going gets rough that any effort I make to do right is a sign of God’s grace at work in me.

“Let him who serves serve in the strength which God supplies, that in everything God may get the glory” (see note 1 Peter 4:11).

To God be the glory!

5. Thank - The final step in walking by the Spirit is to thank God for any virtue attained or any good deed performed. If without the Spirit we can do no right, then we must not only ask his enablement for it but also thank Him whenever we do it. Just one example from 2 Corinthians 8:16. Paul says,

“Thanks be to God Who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.”

Titus loved the Corinthians. Where did that come from? God put it in his heart. It was a fruit of the Spirit. So what does Paul do? He thanks God. And Titus should, too. Thanks be to God Who puts love in our hearts!

“If we live by the Spirit, then let us also walk by the Spirit.”  (See note Galatians 5:25)

Let us acknowledge from our heart that we are unable to please God without the Spirit’s constant enablement. Let us pray for that enablement. Let us trust confidently in the Spirit’s power and promise to give that enablement. Then let us do what we know is right. And having done it, let us turn and say with all the saints,

“Not I, but the Spirit of Christ within me.”

Thanks be to God! To Him be glory for ever and ever! Amen. (See Dr Piper's sermon Let Us Walk by the Spirit or even better download it to your Ipod and listen to the full message - Right click Audio (Mp3) and select "Save target as" - save to your ITunes)

See chart contrasting in the flesh vs in the Spirit

THE
SPIRIT

Spirit (4151) (pneuma from pneo = to breathe or blow, Hebrew = ruach [07307], Latin = spiritus)  primarily denotes the wind, the air, breath, or life.  Pneuma later came to refer to the spirit,  which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial and powerful. It also refers to the incorporeal part of man, which like breath leaves him at death and which has God-consciousness. In this latter sense the animal creation does not have a pneuma or spirit. With the spirit, man has to do with the things of God. He worships God by means of his human spirit when that spirit is energized by the Holy Spirit and He serves God in the same way.

Pneuma can refer to the attitude or disposition of a man or  “a disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone.”

Pneuma can also refer refers to the rational spirit, the power by which a human being feels, thinks, wills, decides (Mark 2:8).

Finally, spirit refers to incorporeal beings such as angels or demons. 

In most of the biblical texts, and certainly here in Galatians 5:16, the meaning of the spirit is the Spirit of God. God breathes His spirit or breath into man giving him life. Since the Christian life begins with the Spirit (Gal 3:3; 4:6, 29), the only way to continue the Christian life is by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Source of supernatural life and the power to sustain supernatural life. The Spirit is the only source of power to love in a way that fulfills the whole law. So the power is really a Person, the third Person of the Trinity, Who produces love in our heart, and it is this love which motivates us to obedience.

(Jesus declared) If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15) (see also John 14:21, 23, 24)

Findlay adds that...

The walk governed by the Spirit is a spiritual walk... The Spirit is not the path in which one walks; rather He supplies the motive principle, the directing influence of the new life. Galatians 5:16 is interpreted by Galatians 5:18 (note) and Galatians 5:25 (note). To walk in the Spirit is to be “led by the Spirit”; it is so to “live in the Spirit” that one habitually “moves” (marches: Galatians 5:25 [note]) under His direction.  (Findlay, G G: The Expositor's Bible - Galatians - AGES Software)

At the time of regeneration the Spirit of God takes up residence in believers (1 Cor 12:13) to enable them to understand spiritual truth (1Cor 2:14), to call God "Father" (Romans 8:15-note; Gal 4:6), and develop a Christian personality. The Spirit is the presence of God in regenerate men making fellowship with God possible and giving power given for winning the warfare against sin in the soul. In the present verse, clearly it is the Holy Spirit Who makes victory possible and that only to the degree that the believer "lives by the Spirit" or "walks" in Him.

Richison notes that...

Every Christian has the Spirit but the Spirit does not have every Christian. (Ibid)

J B Phillips wrote that...

Every time we say, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit,’ we mean that we believe there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.

Spurgeon explains that Paul calls us to...

Walk under the Spirit’s power, following his guidance. The Spirit never leads a man into sin. He never conducts him into self-indulgence and excess.

If your life is guided by the Spirit of God, — if you are spiritual men, and your actions are wrought in the power of the Spirit, “ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

John Eadie explains walk by the Spirit this way...

Their whole course of life in thought and act, in all its manifestations, was to be in the Spirit Who is the source of all good and gracious impulse. He is within believers the living, ennobling, and sanctifying power; and susceptibility of influence—of check and guidance—from Him, in all points of daily life, was to characterize them. (Eadie, John: Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians)

When you walk by the Spirit, you nip the desires of the flesh in the bud. New God-centered desires crowd out old man-centered desires. Verse 16 promises victory over the desires of the flesh—not that there won’t be a war, but that the winner of that war will be the Spirit. In fact, I think what Paul means in Galatians 5:24  (note), when he says the flesh has been crucified, is that the decisive battle has been fought and won by the Spirit. The Spirit has captured the capital and broken the back of the resistance movement. The flesh is as good as dead. Its doom is sure. But there are outlying pockets of resistance. The guerrillas of the flesh will not lay down their arms, and must be fought back daily. The only way to do it is by the Spirit, and that’s what it means to walk by the Spirit—so live that He gives victory over the dwindling resistance movement of the flesh. So the first reason why we must walk by the Spirit is that when we do the flesh is conquered. (See the full sermon The War Within: Flesh vs Spirit)

In another sermon Piper asks...

What is the instrument with which I appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit? And the answer is faith. The Spirit flows in the channels of faith. Paul cries out in Galatians 3:2, 3,

“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?” 

And our answer should be a resounding, NO! I am not trying to overcome my bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander and malice in the power of the flesh! I am looking to the Holy Spirit to bear his fruit in my life. How am I looking? What am I doing? I am doing what I did to receive him in the first place: I am believing. I am trusting. (See the full sermon Be Kind to One Another)

S Lewis Johnson writes...

The marvelous third alternative in the Christian way of life comes before us now. It is this that eliminates Judaizing, biting and devouring of one 'another (cf. Ga 5:15).There is a beautiful promise attached to the command to walk in the Spirit. It is, "and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." He does not say that believers shall never have the lust of the flesh. He rather says that they shall not "fulfill" the lust of the flesh. Christians are not, to use Luther's memorable words, "stocks and stones." They do have desires and passions. There is an inner conflict and struggle in the believer's inner man as long as he lives, but there is a way of deliverance for the Christian man through the enabling power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit is fully able to bring victory in the experiences of life. (Galatians 5:13-26 Freedom in Christ.) (Listen to his Mp3 Message)

Ray Pritchard explains walking by the Spirit noting that

WALKING BY THE SPIRIT by William Newell

The Spirit is not a leader like the pace car in the "Daytona 500." He is a leader
like a locomotive on a train. We do not follow in our strength. We are led by his power. So 'walk by the Spirit' means stay hooked up to the divine source of power and go wherever he leads. (Read the full sermon The War Within)

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UNDERRATED VALUES - Why is it that some of the best things in life can sound so unappealing to us -- things like holiness, obedience, Spirit-control, and faith, for instance? Why do they so often trigger a sudden yawn rather than wet eyes of thankful emotions? Could it be that we've underrated their value?

Think how much these values can do for us. A truly Spirit-controlled person won't cheat on a spouse, abuse a child, or fudge on an income tax return. A Christ-controlled person isn't even likely to kick the family dog, or watch the best of intentions evaporate while lounging in front of a television.

Every believer in Christ faces a constant challenge to live a pure life (Gal 5:17). Has that moment- by-moment walk under the Holy Spirit's guidance
seemed too difficult lately? It's possible we've been underrating what should be of greatest value  to us. The cost to ourselves and our loved ones may be tremendous.

If we find ourselves yielding to temptation again and again, perhaps we need to take stock of what's  really important. It's time to learn to walk in the Spirit instead of sacrificing life's best for  the shortsighted, self-destructive desires of  the flesh. -- Martin R. De Haan II (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Help me, Lord, to live my life
Free from selfishness and strife
So that others clearly see
Changes You have made in me.-- Sper

If we take a stand for Christ, we're not likely to fall for the devil

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A FATHER of two teenagers told me it was the worst purchase he ever made. A pastor, writing in a major Christian magazine, told how it fed his desire for pornography. A missionary spoke of the shocking fare her son was exposed to at the home of a Christian family. My children sat through the same surprises while visiting Christian friends. What am I talking about? VCRs. (Ed note: And now add to that list DVD's, Internet, etc)

There is nothing inherently wrong with VCRs. They can be a tool for parents to use in taking control of what their children watch on television. And many fine Christian and non-Christian tapes are available to watch. There's no evil in a box that plays videos, but there is a real danger. The letters V C R should stand for Very Controlled Resource.

The warnings in Galatians 5 give excellent guidelines that we can apply to VCRs. First, "Walk in the Spirit" (Gal 5:16). Allow the Holy Spirit to guide our choices. Second, don't use the VCR to "fulfill the lust of the flesh" (v. 16). Third, avoid giving in to fleshly desires, because by giving in we fail to "do the [good] things" that we wish (Gal 5:17). And fourth, never watch anything that fills our minds with sinful thoughts (Gal 5:19, 20, 21).

These are sensible guidelines to use in determining what we allow our children to watch. But they will be even more useful (and more powerful) if we use them to determine what we watch. —J D Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

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FARMER Johnson smiled as he strolled out of the hardware store with a new chainsaw guaranteed to cut five big oak trees an hour. Twenty-four hours later, however, his smile was gone. With obvious frustration, Johnson was back at the store complain­ing that the saw would never cut five trees an hour. "Why, it only cut five trees all day long!" he said.

Puzzled, the store owner took the saw outside, gave the cord a rip, and fired up the steel-toothed beast. The deafening roar of the saw startled Johnson so badly that he stumbled trying to get away. "What's that noise?" he gasped.

Johnson's attempt to cut down trees without starting the chainsaw is like our foolishness when we try to do the work of Christ in our own strength. We get frustrated and spiritually exhausted when we try to make life work on our terms and by our schedule.

The spirit of Christ, who lives within all believers (Romans 8:9, 10, 11), often seems silent when we try to live by our own strength. Yet His presence can become real and powerful when we trust Him for the life we cannot live. —M R De Haan II (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

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During his term as President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can't run the country if you can't run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson's wise observation, the president lost twenty-three pounds.

As believers in Christ, we are challenged by the author of Hebrews to rid ourselves of "every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us" (Hebrews 12:1). This includes anything that encumbers our spiritual effectiveness. By discipline and self-con­trol, we must shed any habit, practice, or attitude that hinders our spiritual welfare and service for the Lord. Such self-discipline is necessary if we are to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1).

The way to achieve this self-control is to place ourselves under the Holy Spirit's control. In Galatians 5:16, the apostle Paul admonished, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." And according to Gal 5:23, the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control.

If there are sinful excesses in our lives we need to lose "weight" by submitting ourselves to the Spirit's control and thereby exer­cising self-control. —R W De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

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AN elderly man who grew an amazing amount of food in a small garden said, "I have little trouble with weeds because I leave them no room. I fill the ground with healthy vegetables."

I tried his formula a few years ago when I found the weeds out-growing my impatiens in a five-by-five-foot area. After pulling out the weeds, I added another box of flowers and watered them well. Soon the flowers took over, leaving no room for unsightly vegetation.

This principle works not only in keeping weeds out of our gar-dens; it also works in keeping sin out of our lives. Paul put it like this: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Peter said that we would neither be "bar­ren nor unfruitful" if we supplement our faith with virtue, broth­erly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5, 6, 7, 8). And in the Old Testament, Isaiah promised the Israelites that the nation would become like a watered garden if they would fill their lives with good deeds (Isaiah 58:11).

Are spiritual weeds taking over your life? If so, pull them out. Confess your sins. Trust God to forgive you. Become account-able. Then fill your life with good things. You'll soon find your garden fruitful and productive, with no room for weeds. —H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

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Our Daily Bread has an illustration which emphasizes that walking in the Spirit requires a conscious choice of our will...

When we go the wrong way spiritually, we do so, in one sense, on purpose. Douglas Corrigan became known as "wrong-way Corrigan" in 1938 when he took off in his plane from Brooklyn, New York, on an announced flight to Long Beach, California. A little over twenty-three hours later, he touched down in Dublin, Ireland, and asked officials, "Is this Los Angeles?" For years people laughed at his "miscalculations," but finally in 1963 he admitted that his trip across the Atlantic had really been planned. Unable to get clearance to cross the ocean, he went ahead and made the flight "by mistake" on purpose.

There's a striking parallel between Corrigan's action and much of our own experience as Christians. Romans 1 declares that fallen human nature is self-willed and resents God (flesh). Although it describes the unregenerate man, it helps us understand how the sin principle (flesh) still operates in the believer's life. Even though we are new creatures in Christ, the strong, willful tendency remains in us. Some people might think that a Christian would not intentionally choose to do wrong. But the Bible clearly indicates that every believer experiences a struggle between the flesh and the indwelling Spirit (Gal 5:16, 17). That's why we must determine to submit to Him, for He gives us a desire to follow righteousness.

Such deliberate surrender will keep us from going the wrong way "by accident" on purpose. —M. R. De Haan II (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Those who are fully surrendered to the Lord
will never deliberately surrender to the enemy.
(Ed note: And our worst enemy lives within us - our flesh)

THE
PROMISE

AND YOU WILL NOT CARRY OUT THE DESIRE OF THE FLESH: kai epithumian sarkos ou me telesete (2PAAS): (Gal 5:19, 20, 21; Romans 6:12; 13:13,14; 2Co 7:1-note; Ep 2:3; Col 2:11; 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 1Pe 1:14; 2:11; 4:1, 2, 3, 4; 1Jn 2:15,16)

The "actualization" of this promise is by the believer's choosing to walk in the power of the Spirit. And notice that Paul does not say we will no longer have desires of the flesh, but that we will not carry them out. He does promise continual "victory" over the flesh as long as we walk by the Spirit. The way to achieve the victory is by obedience to God's command that we walk by the Spirit.

As we have emphasized many times on this website, the Bible translation you use is very important, and it will affect the way you interpret Scripture. A case in point is the Revised Standard Version's rendering of this passage...

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

What do you observe that distinguishes the RSV? What does the second clause appear to be in this translation? Obviously, it comes across as a command, when to the contrary it is a promise. The point is that one must be aware that every English translation has some degree of translator "bias", for it is unavoidable. If you are serious about wanting to know what God spoke when He inspired the original authors, your goal should be to make it a practice to study Scriptures in a version that is as close to the original Greek and Hebrew as possible. We recommend the NASB, the ESV, the KJV (especially the NKJV), Young's Literal (although this is not good for general reading but to compare). The NIV is popular but is definitely more interpretative than the other more literal translations, and is not as useful for serious, in depth Bible study. (See Bible Versions compared for how literal they translate the Hebrew and Greek - and note that the RSV is generally a more literal version.)

Findlay notes that...

This antithesis of Flesh and Spirit presents the following consideration: —

(1) the diametrical opposition of the two forces;

(2) the effect of the predominance of one or the other;

(3) the mastery over the flesh which belongs to those who are Christ’s. In a word, Christ’s Spirit is the absolute antagonist and the sure vanquisher of our sinful human flesh.

“I say, Walk by the Spirit, and you will verily not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

On what ground does this bold assurance rest? Because, the Apostle replies, the Spirit and the flesh are opposites (Galatians 5:17 - note). Each is bent on destroying the ascendancy of the other. Their cravings and tendencies stand opposed at every point. Where the former rules, the latter must succumb. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” (Findlay, G G: The Expositor's Bible - Galatians - AGES Software)

Note that believers cannot simply will to overcome the flesh, but we can submit to the control of the Spirit Who Himself overcomes the flesh! Many believers read Galatians 5:16 backward. In other words, they reason that if they are not fulfilling the lust of the flesh, then they can walk by the Spirit. So what do they do? They try with all their will power to overcome their addictions and lusts, but what they are doing is trying to do it in their own power. How often have we heard people say "I've turned over a new leaf." or "I've made a new resolution"? Paul's point is that we can never overcome our besetting sins by ourselves, in our own power. We must come to the point of full surrender to Jesus Christ, confessing our sins, and yielding ourselves to Him so that by His grace we can walk in the Spirit. And as we walk in the Spirit, the indwelling Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit, begins to live His supernatural life, the Christ-life, in and through us. And when that happens we find that we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. The upshot is -- don't "try", just "die", die to self effort, self improvement, etc, making the continual choice to surrender to the divine desires and "holy urgings" of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Barnes writes that...

the only way to overcome the corrupt desires and propensities of our nature, is by submitting to the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is not by philosophy; it is not by mere resolutions to resist them; it is not by the force of education and laws; it is only by admitting into our souls the influence of religion (Ed note: I like the word "relationship", as in relationship to the Father through the Son, better than "religion"), and yielding ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. If we live under the influences of that Spirit, we need not fear the power of the sensual and corrupt propensities of our nature. (Notes on the New Testament)

Will not carry out - Some versions render this as gratify (to yield to, to indulge) or fulfill. This statement clearly implies that there is a conflict between the Spirit and the flesh, the believer’s new, Spirit-indwelt, nature and his old, sinful, self. And so the promise that we will not gratify the desire of the flesh is not a guarantee of cancellation of sins or the sin nature (flesh). Believers will struggle with the flesh as long as we are alive in non-glorified bodies.  Christ crucified sin judicially on the cross as Paul taught...

our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with (made ineffective, but not annihilated), that we should no longer be slaves to Sin (see note Romans 6:6)

And yet this body of sin still stimulates us to actively oppose God’s will. The solution for victory over the flesh is not rules and regulations but living a life empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the reason we must continually walk in the Spirit is because the flesh will influence us until we die.

Only as we walk in the Spirit can believers rise above the limitations of the flesh and avoid fulfilling its desires. But if we walk in the Spirit,  the promise is emphatic that if we are walking by the power of the Spirit, we cannot be in the control of the other.

Jameison, Fausset and Brown write...

The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat. (Ed note: This sounds very reasonable, but one problem with "tares" Jesus explained is that they look a lot like wheat. Our self effort can "look good" to others but be dead works in God's eyes.)

It is promised, not that we should have no evil lusts, but that we should "not fulfil" them. If the spirit that is in us can be at ease under sin, it is not a spirit that comes from the Holy Spirit. The gentle dove trembles at the sight even of a hawk's feather.

Wiersbe adds that...

Life, not law, changes behavior; and as you yield to the Spirit, Christ’s life is manifest in the fruit of the Spirit. Law works by compulsion from without, but grace works by compassion from within.

Not - Paul uses the strong double negative (coupling 2 Greek words both meaning "no") - ou (3756) meaning absolute negation plus me (3361) meaning relative negation. Using these two negatives (ou me) Paul is saying that when you are walking in the Spirit, there is absolutely no way you will carry out the desires of the flesh. In other words it is not even a possibility (as long as you are walking in the Spirit). The two are mutually exclusive. It is as if walking in the Spirit and fulfilling the desires of the flesh are 180 degrees apart. It follows that the best "defense" against the strong desires or lusts of the flesh which continually wage war against a believer (1 Peter 2:11-note) is a good "offense". The "offense" is learning to walk in the Spirit. God guarantees or promises that we will not carry out the desires of the flesh if we walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives strong desire to do God’s will. Remember if God commands it (which He does), He enables it! We can truly walk in the power of the Spirit, beloved. It is God's will for His children. Are you walking in the Spirit? Is the church in general walking in the Spirit? If not, why not? Remember God's commandments always include His enablements! And walking in the Spirit is to be the normal Christian life!

Surgeon comments that...

They will never agree; these two powers are always contrary one to the other. If you think that you can help God by getting angry, you make a great mistake. You cannot fight God’s battles with the devil’s weapons. It is not possible that the power of the flesh should help the power of the Spirit.

Be obedient to that great principle of the Spirit which goes with the doctrine of grace and salvation by faith, and then you will not be obedient to that lusting of the flesh which is in you by nature.

You are pulled about by two contrary forces; you are dragged downward by the flesh, and you are drawn upward by the Spirit.

Lightfoot phrases it this way...

Between the Spirit and the flesh there is not only no alliance; there is an interminable, deadly feud. (You feel these antagonistic forces working in you: you would fain follow the guidance of your conscience, and you are dragged back by an opposing power.) And if you adopt the rule of the Spirit, you thereby renounce your allegiance to the law.’ In this passage the Spirit is doubly contrasted, first, with the flesh, and secondly, with the law. The flesh and the law are closely allied: they both move in the same element, in the sphere of outward and material things. The law is not only no safeguard against the flesh, but rather provokes it; and he who would renounce the flesh, must renounce the law also. (Ed note: Of course Lightfoot is not advocating we live lawlessly, but just that we do not attempt to "keep it" legalistically or in the sense of having the vain thought we are meriting God's favor or are pleasing Him in any way. He is please with the Son and we are in the Son and when we walk by the Son's Spirit, we please the Father!) We have here germs of the ideas more fully developed in the Epistle to the Romans. (Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians)

Carry out (5055) (teleo from telos = goal, an end, a purpose, an aim, a fulfillment, an achievement; See discussion of related words - Mature = teleios; Maturity [perfect] = teleiotes) means to bring to an end (e.g., Jesus finished speaking - see below) as one brings a process, a course, a task or an undertaking to the end.

Teleo means to accomplish an obligation or demand in the sense of to bring about a result by effort. The idea is to achieve a goal or to conclude it successfully.

The desire of the flesh - the fallen, perverted "lusts" of the flesh. Notice that in a believer's body there still lurks this force Paul refers to as "the flesh" and which he personifies as possessing desires. As discussed the profane desires that emanate from the flesh are diametrically opposed to the holy desires of God. From this analysis you can see that "desire" is not always evil, but can be good and holy (see notes below).

Desire (1939) (epithumia from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward"} + thumos = passion. The root verb epithumeo = set heart upon) is a morally neutral term denoting the presence of strong desires or impulses, longings or passionate craving directed toward an object. As discussed below, whether the desires are good or evil (in the latter case, translations often render it as "lusts")

Epithumia can be used in a good sense referring to the natural, legitimate and necessary God given desires (eg, hunger, thirst, sex, etc) which are fulfilled in a God honoring way. In Galatians 5:16 desire in the good sense refers to desires of God's Spirit Who indwells each believer. In marked contrast are the strong perverted and unrestrained desires that originate from our flesh (see meaning below) which is completely corrupt and irrevocably fallen. Lust as used in modern parlance usually refers to a strong desire for sexual gratification but in Scripture, lust usually describes any strong desire, craving or longing after that which is forbidden or which belongs to someone else or the strong desire to engage in an activity that is morally wrong.

Love can wait and worship endlessly; lust says, "I must have it at once."

Lust is like rot in the bones.

Vine adds that the phrase

As discussed, even believers are vulnerable to the attacks from the lusts of deceit. Note also that the nature of evil lusts is that they attempt to deceive us. In other words, lusts deceive us and lead us astray, promising more than they deliver and producing (spiritual, soul) rottenness when "conceived".

flee (present imperative = command to flee continually, the implication being that these lusts are continually bombarding us) from youthful lusts (epithumia) and pursue (present imperative) righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (see  note 2 Timothy 2:22)(Comment: This passage parallels Galatians 5:16 where we are called to walk in the Spirit, which is the only way we can effectively flee the lusts of the flesh and pursue what is right.)

In Romans Paul commands believers to

The Jewish historian Josephus, speaking of Cleopatra, says

Flesh (4561) (sarx) is used frequently in the NT (147 times) but it has many nuances so that some Greek lexicons list as mans as 11 definitions for sarx! No wonder there is so much confusion concerning the nature of the flesh! The diligent student of the Word must carefully observe the context of each use of sarx in order to discern the intended meaning. In a literal sense sarx refers to the physical body ("flesh and blood") but Paul's use here in Galatians 5 is figurative (as are most of his uses).

all the evil that man is and is capable of apart from the intervention of God's grace in his life. In this respect sarx is synonymous with "the natural man" or "the old nature." Because fallen man is only flesh apart from the intervention of God's Spirit, "old nature" or "sinful nature" (as in NIV) rather than "lower nature" (NEB, Phillips) or "animal nature" is the better translation in these passages. Sarx also contains thoughts of human limitation, both intellectually (1Cor 2:14, where, however, the term psuchikos is used) and morally (Romans 7:18-note). Thus, that which is flesh is incapable of knowing God apart from special revelation and the redemption that removes the barrier of sin.

Flesh is the Adamic principle of evil which, apart from the revelation of Scripture, we would never know exists because it continually deceives us into self-effort, self-interest, self-praise, self-pity, self-admiration, and self-centeredness of every kind. Deliverance can come only by the reintroduction into man of a new spirit, which is under the control of the Holy Spirit. The unsaved person does not have the Holy Spirit of God (see note Romans 8:9) and lives in the flesh and for the flesh. His or her mind is centered only on the things that satisfy the flesh. In contrast, the believer can live according to the flesh or in the Spirit. Paul repeatedly encourages believers to overcome the deeds of the flesh by living in the Spirit.

The mind of the flesh describes that attitude or disposition of heart and mind apart from regenerating grace. (see note Colossians 1:28)

As alluded to above, legalism appeals to the fallen flesh. The flesh loves to be “religious”—to obey laws, to observe holy occasions, to fast, etc. Certainly there is nothing wrong with obedience, fasting, or etc, provided that the Holy Spirit does the motivating and the empowering, in which situation we have nothing to boast about except God's power. On the other hand, the flesh loves to boast about its religious achievements.

Flesh-driven people are the children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3-note) and as such cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 6:9, 10; see Ga 5:19; 20; 21, Ep 2:11; 12; 5:5 see notes Ga 5:19; 20; 21; Ep 2:11; 12; 5:5).

Born again believers must remember that there is still a remnant of the fallen flesh within our physical bodies of flesh. The difference for believers, in contrast to the unregenerate , is that we now have the power of the Holy Spirit to say "yes" to God and "no" to the flesh, whereas before we were co-crucified with Christ (Ro 6:1; 6:2; 6:3; 6:4; 6:5; 6:6; 6:7; 6:8; 6:9; 10;11 -- see notes Ro 6:1; 6:2; 6:3; 6:4; 6:5; 6:6; 6:7; 6:8; 6:9; 6:10; 6:11) we had no choice but to obey the lusts of the flesh. An unbeliever can live only in the flesh, but the believer can now live in the Spirit or can fall back into living according to the flesh. It follows that it is not enough for us to have the Spirit (which every believer does possess), but the Spirit must possess and control us! Only then can He produce through us the abundant life in Christ. We no longer have any obligation to the flesh, because the flesh has only brought trouble into our lives. On the other hand as Paul commands here in Galatians 5:16, believers do have an obligation to the Holy Spirit. And because the Spirit is “the Spirit of Life” He can empower us to obey Christ, and enable us to be more like Christ.

John MacArthur addresses the issue of residual flesh still present in believers writing that...

Middletown Bible Church teaching notes (there is some repetition but this helps us get the main points about the flesh) explain that there are five things that will never happen to the flesh...

A Christian has an old nature from his physical birth and a new nature from his spiritual birth. The New Testament contrasts these two natures and gives them various names which are more or less synonyms

IN THE FLESH

It is important to clarify the meaning of the phrase in the flesh. In the flesh describes an unregenerate person, one who is continually governed by their sinful human nature. The unredeemed, unregenerate person can operate only in the sphere and influence of the flesh. As alluded to above, although we sometimes hear someone accuse a believer of being in the flesh, strictly speaking believers are no longer in the flesh. Believers may act fleshly but their entire sphere of being is no longer solely in the flesh for they now have the Holy Spirit Who indwells a "circumcised" new heart. A person who lives completely in the realm of the flesh cannot belong to Christ.

Hendricksen agrees writing that

Ephesians 2:3 (note) Among them ([those who were] dead in...trespasses and sins...sons of disobedience...) we too all formerly lived in the lusts (strong inclinations and desires of every sort - see notes on epithumia) of our flesh, indulging the desires (thelema = emphasizes strong will-fulness, wanting and seeking something with great diligence) of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (cf 1John 2:15 "the lust of the flesh", 1Pe 2:11 "abstain from fleshly [sarkikos] lusts"-see notes)

Romans 7:25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. (see note)

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (see note)

Comment: Warren Wiersbe explains that

It is important that a believer remember what God says about his old nature, the flesh. Everything God says about the flesh is negative. In the flesh there is no good thing (Ro 7:18-note). The flesh profits nothing (Jn 6:63). A Christian is to put no confidence in the Flesh (Php 3:3 - note). He is to make no provision for the flesh (Ro 13:14 - note). A person who lives for the flesh is living a negative life. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) (Ed note: And I would add that if that person lives continually and solely for the flesh, he is not just "living a negative life" but a dead life, for such a continual lifestyle does not describe a believer but an unbeliever.)

Romans 6:19 (note) I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. (cf Mt 26:41; Mk 14:38)

Romans 8:3 (note)  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh (the weakness of our humanness), God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh (physical body)

Romans 8:4 (note) that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 8:5 (note) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 8:6 (note) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. (Although some disagree, this passage describes an unbeliever)

Romans 8:12 (note) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  8:13 (note) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (see note)

Gal 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Romans 13:14 (note) Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (If we feed the flesh, we will fail; but if we feed the inner man the nourishing things of the Spirit, we will succeed)

Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (By “flesh” Paul is referring to man’s unredeemed humanness, his own ability and achievements apart from God. The Jews placed their confidence in being circumcised, being descendants of Abraham, and performing the external ceremonies and duties of the Mosaic law—things that could not save them. The true believer views his flesh as sinful, without any capacity to merit salvation or please God. - MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word Pub)

Galatians 5:24 (note) And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

2 Peter 2:10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries (see note)

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (see note)

Romans 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (see note)

1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, (related adjective sarkikos = pertaining to behavior which is typical of human nature, with focus upon more base physical desires) as to babes in Christ.

Comment: Paul explained that there are two kinds of saved people: mature and immature (carnal - note that "carnal" is not necessarily the best translation because in English "carnal" often conveys the sense of one surrendered to bodily appetites, especially of the sexual nature, a fact which may or may not be the case in an immature believer). A Christian matures by allowing the Spirit to teach him and direct him by feeding on the Word. The immature Christian lives for the things of the flesh and has little interest in the things of the Spirit. Note that although they may be controlled for a time by the flesh, they are still not "in the flesh" which is the state of an unregenerate man. Note also that Living for the flesh means grieving the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us. To allow the flesh to control the mind is to lose the blessing of fellowship with God.

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A LESSON FROM THE OAK TREE - Have you ever noticed that in winter some oak trees retain crisp, dry leaves long after the maples, the elms, and the walnuts have become bare skeletons? Even the strong winter winds and the early spring rains do not strip the oak branches completely. But as springtime progresses, something wonderful happens. Tiny little buds start appearing at the tips of the twigs, pushing off the dried remnants of the preceding season. What the winds and rain could not do from without, the forces of new life do from within.

At times, old habits cling to our lives with the same tenacity as those oak leaves. Even the winds of trial and suffering do not remove all the lifeless leftovers of our fallen human nature. But Christ, who dwells in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is at work. His life within us continually seeks to push off the old habits, renewing us when we confess our sins, steadying us when
we falter, and strengthening us to do His will.

When every effort to cast off an old sinful habit ends in failure, remember the mighty oak. Thank God for His Spirit who lives in you. Keep saying yes to His gentle urging to be kind, loving, honest, strong, and faithful. He'll push off those "lifeless old leaves." Dennis J. De Haan

When stubborn sins tenaciously
Hold to their former place,
We must rely on Jesus' strength
And His unfailing grace. --Sper

The best way to get rid of a bad habit is to start a good habit-- rely on God.

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Illustration of the Old Flesh Nature - Several years ago we had a pet raccoon we called Jason. For hours he would entertain us by wrestling with our dog, MacTavish, a kind and gentle Scottish terrier. Jason, on the other hand, was a kind of schiz­oid terror. One minute he would snuggle up on your lap like a perfect angel and the next he'd be engaged in the most fiendish antics. If unrestrained, he would breakfast on dove eggs, raid the garbage can, or tear up the flowerbed. Although he was a delightful pet, we became increasingly aware that his destructive actions were governed by his wild instincts. Jason would always have the nature of a raccoon, and we had to watch him closely no matter how tame he seemed to be.

Often when I observed Jason's behavior, I thought of the fallen, sin­ful nature that we as Christians retain even though we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Paul referred to this as the "flesh" in which "nothing good dwells" (Ro 7:18). It may be repressed and restrained, but it is always there. Unless we are daily controlled by the Lord, our old "self" will demonstrate its destructive, pleasure-seeking capacity in some way or another.

Although we are new creatures in Christ, we still possess a tendency to sin. But we need not be governed by it, for we are united to Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. By obeying God's Word and yielding to the Spirit, we can be victorious over the flesh—the "nature of the beast" within. —M. R. De Haan II (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

The secret of self-control is to give control of ourselves to God.

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I like Grant Richison's practical summarization of Galatians 5:16...

The onus for living the Spirit-filled life lies on the believer. The Christian must exercise his volition both in salvation and sanctification. In salvation, the Christian must put faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. In sanctification, the Christian must yield to the power of the Holy Spirit to execute the Christian way of life. The Christian does this by confession of sin (1 John 1:9) and yielding everything in his life to the control of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 -note). There is no peaceful co-existence between the flesh and the Spirit. Co-existence, yes. Peaceful co-existence, no. There is no compromise between the two domains.

Christians cannot ever be completely free from evil desires that originate in their sin capacity but they do not need to surrender to them because they have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them. God gives us strong assurance that if we depend on the Holy Spirit, He will give us victory over sin.

God puts the onus on the believer to refuse to obey the ruling of sin by placing ourselves under the power of the Holy Spirit. God chained the dogs but if we unchain them, that is our responsibility. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are free to chose the right and refuse the wrong. The Holy Spirit will not do for us what he asks him to do. The believer must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit.

The most effective way of keeping water moisture from forming in the gas tank is to fill the tank with gas. Thus the believer must allow himself to be filled with the Spirit to preempt the passions of the soul. (Galatians 5:16; 16b) (Bolding added)