Literally this verse reads

for the flesh doth desire contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh

John MacArthur makes the observation that...

Along with many others in the New Testament, these two verses (Galatians 5:17-18) make it obvious that walking by the Spirit is not simply a matter of passive surrender. The Spirit-led life is a life of conflict, because it is in constant combat with the old ways of the flesh that continue to tempt and seduce the believer. (MacArthur, J. Galatians. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

For (gar) or because explains the previous verse. Paul presents the reason why we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh if we walk by the Spirit, namely because of the fact that the flesh and the Spirit are at enmity with each other ("their mutual contrariety").

The flesh sets its desire - Paul personifies flesh as the active enemy of the Spirit, and emphasizes that these two forces are locked in a constant struggle, a battle every believer experiences as part of their "normal" Christian life.

Barnes sums up the first part of verse 17...

The inclinations and desires of the flesh are contrary to those of the Spirit. They draw as away in an opposite direction; and while the Spirit of God would lead us one way, our carnal nature would lead us another, and thus produce the painful controversy which exists in our minds. The word" Spirit" here refers to the Spirit of God, and to his influences on the heart. (Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary)

Flesh (4561) (sarx) - see notes on Galatians 5:16  for discussion of flesh, which in this context describes that aspect of our fallen nature, inherited from Adam, which is prone to commit sins, is opposed to God and which continually seeks its own desires. Flesh is the personality of man controlled by Sin and directed to serving self rather than serving God.

Flesh refers to our "unredeemed humanness", which is that part of every believer which gives us our propensity to sin and which will only be removed at the time of our future redemption when we are glorified. In the meantime, we must face the fact that we will have continual internal conflict.

Flesh can be looked at as the best (and the worst) anyone can do in himself or herself before God, but even the "best" of the flesh is totally unacceptable because God's standard is perfect holiness! Because the flesh has nothing in common with God’s power, one can either be a person of the Spirit (a Christian) or a person of the flesh (one who runs his or her own life without depending on God), but one cannot have it both ways.

Richison writes that...

There is no such thing as peaceful coexistence between the flesh and the Spirit. Coexistence, yes. Peaceful coexistence, no. There can be no compromise between the flesh and the Spirit because to capitulate to sin is to violate the Spirit. If the flesh is up, the Spirit is down; if the Spirit is up, the flesh is down.

The check and balance to our sin capacity is the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot allow the Holy Spirit to control us by suppression or eradication of sin but by the counter action of the power of the Holy Spirit.

A spiritual titanic tug of war takes place in every believer. The non-Christian does not have that same kind of struggle for he is nothing but “flesh.” He has no other reference point. Once a person comes to know Christ, he enters a significant spiritual struggle. This is partial proof that he is born again.

A Christian out of fellowship with the Lord is out of joint spiritually. Although he has the indwelling Spirit in him, that does not necessarily mean that he “walks in the Spirit.” If he doesn’t walk with the Holy Spirit, he is out of fellowship.

The “flesh” of the believer is just as foul as the unbeliever. The sin capacity of the believer never gets better. God never regenerates it. We cannot refine it. It never improves. God never blesses it. Our “flesh” is exactly the same as an unsaved person. God will have nothing to do with it. We dare not ignore the power of the flesh in our lives.

When God saves a sinner, He imparts a brand new nature to him, which he never had before and he cannot lose. We can no more lose the new nature than we can lose the “flesh.” We cannot lose either one of them. We keep the “flesh” until we see the Savior. Then He will remove it from us forever. (Verse by Verse Notes)

The reader should be aware that some writers have offered the notion that there is no longer a conflict in believers, an absurdity they base on the false supposition that the Old Man has been completely eradicated.  It would be wonderful if this were true in this life, but Scripture does not teach this doctrine. Naturally, the flesh should be becoming increasingly subdued as the believer matures in his or her faith and learns by grace to walk in the Spirit. But to reiterate, the flesh is not eliminated until we are glorified. It follows, that believers are never released from the necessity of consciously choosing to go in God's way. There is no escape from the need for all of us to depend wholly on God's grace to live as more than conquerors.

NO ESCAPE!

Unfortunately we cannot escape the continual conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. Many have tried to escape, reasoning that if they could just get away from the temptations of the world, then they could gain the upper hand and be able to prevail in this ongoing struggle. Many of the early monks choose to leave the urban areas and live in the deserts, living in caves and on mountains, far removed from the attractions and distractions of society.

Jerome (circa 347-420 AD), a so called "early church father" (translator of the Latin Vulgate, a contemporary of Augustine), testified to the continuing conflict of the flesh and Spirit, even after removing himself to the desert where the days were hot and the nights were cold, ostensibly far from worldly temptations...

O how often,” he says, “I imagined that I was in the midst of the pleasures of Rome when I was stationed in the desert, in that solitary wasteland which is so burned up by the heat of the sun that it provides a dreadful habitation for the monks!“

And again: “I, who because of the fear of hell had condemned myself to such a hell and who had nothing but scorpions and wild animals for company, often thought that I was dancing in a chorus with girls. My face was pale from fasting, but my mind burned with passionate desires within my freezing body; and the fires of sex seethed, even though the flesh had already died in me as a man.”  (Luther, Martin: Lectures on Galatians. Walk by the Spirit) (see also Jerome's Original Reference) (Bolding added for emphasis)

A man can take himself out of the fight (at least he thinks he can), but he can never take the "fight" out of the man, because this conflict is within and thus is carried along wherever he goes, be it the desert or the mountaintop. The conflict is unrelenting and the danger we face is either becoming complacent or apathetic about the struggle or on thinking that we can "manage" the struggle by our own ingenuity, by our techniques and

Sets its desire (1937) (epithumeo from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward" } + thumos = passion) (See study of noun epithumia for more detail)  means literally to set one's passion upon something (or someone).

Epithumeo is a neutral word which simply describes the manifestation of strong desires or impulses, longings or passionate cravings  directed toward an object. Whether those desires are good (in Galatians 5:17, supernatural desires initiated and enabled by the Spirit) or evil (desires initiated and empowered by the fallen flesh) is determined by the context. Note that Paul's use of the present tense identifies this battle of opposing desires as a lifelong struggle.

The first use of epithumeo in the NT is illustrative of the negative meaning, for Jesus says...

everyone who looks (present tense - keeps on looking) on a woman to lust (epithumeo) for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Mt 5:28)

(Another negative example) Now these things (Israel sinning and being punished in the OT) happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved (epithumeo). (1Cor 10:6)

(Another negative example) You lust (epithumeo) and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. (James 4:2)

The second NT use of epithumeo illustrates the "positive" meaning...

And he ("the prodigal son") was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. (Luke 15:16)

(Another positive example by Jesus) And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:15)

Guthrie makes the point that in Galatians 5:17 the use of epithumeo "brings out the more active side of the lust of the flesh"

Against (2596) (kata) is a preposition which has the primary meaning of denoting motion or direction from  higher to lower and thus generally means downward. In the present context, kata expresses opposition against or hostility toward (properly down upon). Another Scriptural use of kata expressing hostility is found in first Peter...

1 Peter 2:11  Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly (sarx)  lusts (epithumia), which wage war (present tense = pictures continual warfare in this life) against (kata) the soul (psuche, psyche). (see note 1 Peter 2:11) (cp kata with similar meaning of opposition to in the following passages - Mark 9:40 - "he who is not against us is for us", 2 Cor 13:8 - "we can do nothing against the truth", Ro 8:31 - "If God is for us, who is against us?", Mt 12:30 and Lu 11:23 - "He who is not with Me is against Me", Mt 5:11 - "say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me", Acts 6:13 "incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law", Jude 1:15 "harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him", Mark 14:55, Mt 26:59 "kept trying to obtain [false] testimony against Jesus to put Him to death", et al)

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. With his spirit, man interacts with 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.

In the present context pneuma signifies the Holy Spirit Who indwells all believers at the time of their new birth (1 Cor 12:13). The Christian life began by the Spirit as Jesus explained to Nicodemus declaring...

5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)

And just as salvation began by the Spirit (Gal 3:3; 4:6, 29), in the same way salvation (now referred to as sanctification) must continue  by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Source and Sustainer of our supernatural life in Christ.

Lightfoot makes the point that...

Throughout this passage the pneuma is evidently the Divine Spirit; for the human spirit in itself and unaided does not stand (Ed note: Nor does it stand a chance!) in direct antagonism to the flesh.

Spurgeon writes that...

I know in my own soul that I feel myself to be like two distinct men. There is the Old Man, as base as ever, and the New Man, that cannot sin, because he is born of God. I cannot myself understand the experience of those Christians who do not find a conflict within, for my experience goes to show this, if it shows anything, that there is an incessant contention between the old nature—O that we could get rid of it—and the new nature—for the strength of which God be thanked! Do you not find it so?

Findlay writes that...

The opposition here affirmed exists on the widest scale. All history is a battlefield for the struggle between God’s Spirit and man’s rebellious flesh. In the soul of a half-sanctified Christian, and in Churches like those of Corinth and Galatia whose members are “yet carnal (fleshly) and walk as men,” the conflict is patent. The Spirit of Christ has established His rule in the heart; but His supremacy is challenged by the insurrection of the carnal (sarx) powers. The contest thus revived in the soul of a Christian is internecine (relating to conflict within one's soul); it is that of the kingdoms of light and darkness, of the opposite poles of good and evil. It is an incident in the war of human sin against the Holy Spirit of God, which extends over all time and all human life. Every lust, every act or thought of evil is directed, knowingly or unknowingly, against the authority of the Holy Spirit, against the presence and the rights of God immanent in the creature. Nor is there any restraint upon evil, any influence counteracting it in man or nation or race, which does not proceed from the Spirit of the Lord.

The spirit of man has never been without a Divine Paraclete. “God hath not left Himself without witness” to any; and “it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” The Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of all truth and holiness. In the “truth as it is in Jesus” He possesses His highest instrument. But from the beginning it was His office to be God’s Advocate, to uphold law, to convict the conscience, to inspire the hope of mercy, to impart moral strength and freedom. We “believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life.”

This war of Spirit and Flesh is first ostensibly declared in the words of Genesis 6:3. This passage indicates the moral reaction of God’s Spirit against the world’s corruption, and the protest which in the darkest periods of human depravity He has maintained. God had allowed men to do despite (malice, contempt, injury, spite) to His good Spirit. But it cannot always be so. A time comes when, outraged and defied, He withdraws His influence from men and from communities; and the Flesh bears them along to swift destruction. So it was in the world before the Flood. So largely amongst later heathen peoples, when God “suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.”

Even the Mosaic law had proved rather a substitute than a medium for the free action of the Spirit of God on men. “The law was spiritual,” but “weak through the flesh.” It denounced the guilt which it was powerless to avert.

With the advent of Christ all this is changed. The Spirit of God is now, for the first time, sent forth in His proper character and His full energy. At last His victory draws near. He comes as the Spirit of Christ and the Father, “poured out upon all flesh.” “A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. I will put My Spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:25-27): this was the great hope of prophecy; and it is realized.

The Spirit of God’s Son regenerates the human heart, subdues the flesh, and establishes the communion of God with men. The reign of the Spirit on earth was the immediate purpose of the manifestation of Jesus Christ.

But what does Paul really mean by “the flesh?” It includes everything that is not “of the Spirit.” It signifies the entire potency of sin. It is the contra-spiritual, the undivine in man. Its “works,” as we find in Gal 5:20, 21, are not bodily vices only, but include every form of moral debasement and aberration.

Flesh in the Apostle’s vocabulary follows the term spirit, and deepens and enlarges its meaning precisely as the latter does. Where spirit denotes the super-sensible in man, flesh is the sensible, the bodily nature as such. When spirit rises into the supernatural and superhuman, flesh becomes the natural, the human by consequence. When spirit receives its highest signification, denoting the holy Effluence of God, His personal presence in the world, flesh sinks to its lowest and represents unrenewed nature, the evil principle repugnant and alien to God. It is identical with sin. But in this profound moral significance the term is more than a figure. Under its use the body is marked out, not indeed as the cause, but as the instrument, the vehicle of Sin. Sin has incorporated itself with our organic life, and extends its empire over the material world. When the Apostle speaks of “the body of sin” and “of death,” and bids us “mortify the deeds of the body” and “the members which are upon the earth,” (See Romans 6:6, 12; 7:4, 8:23, 24; 8:10-13; Colossians 2:11-13; 3:5.) his expressions are not to be resolved into metaphors.

On this definition of the terms, it is manifest that the antagonism of the Flesh and Spirit is fundamental. They can never come to terms with each other, nor dwell permanently in the same being. (Findlay, G G: The Expositor's Bible - Galatians - AGES Software)

FOR THESE ARE IN OPPOSITION TO ONE ANOTHER: tauta gar allelois antikeitai, (3SPMI): (Gal 3:21; Matthew 12:30; Romans 7:7,8,10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 8:5, 6, 7, 8)

For (gar) elaborates or explains why the desires of flesh are in conflict with those of the Spirit.

Spurgeon describes the traitor within —

A garrison is not free from danger while it has an enemy lodged within. You may bolt all your doors and fasten all your windows; but if the thieves have placed even a little child within doors, who can draw the bolts for them, the house is still unprotected. All the sea outside a ship cannot do it damage till the water enters within and fills the hold. Hence, it is clear, our greatest danger is from within. All the devils in hell and tempters on earth could do us no injury if there were no corruption in our nature. The sparks will fall harmlessly if there is no tinder. Alas, our heart is our greatest enemy: this is the little home-born thief.

Lord, save me from that evil man, myself.

S Lewis Johnson explains the conflict this way reminding us that...

Ishmael and Isaac still struggle against one another, only now it is in the inner man of the believer (cf Gal 4:22, 23, 24, 25,26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, esp Gal 4:29)! That is why we ought to walk in the Spirit. As Paul puts it, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Instead of "ye cannot do," the original text should be rendered ye may not do. The apostle is not denying that a believer can have success in the warfare with the flesh. He is simply saying that the overcoming of the flesh does not rest in his own power. It rests in the power of God. But this verse does point to the fact that walking by the Spirit will not issue in subjection to the flesh. (Galatians 5:13-26 Freedom in Christ.)

This conflict is depicted in this quote of the soldier in Studdert Kennedy’s poem

I’m a man and a man’s mixture
Right down from his very birth;
For part of him comes from heaven,
And part of him comes from earth.

Martin Luther encourages believers to...

not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if you cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the Spirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is impossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not fulfill its demands. (Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians)

Are in opposition (480) (antikeimai from antí = against, opposite + keimai = to be placed, to lie or be laid down) means literally to line up against or to lie opposite to, both ideas giving us a vivid picture of the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.

The present tense emphasizes that this opposition is a continuing conflict with no truce in sight (until we reach glory!).

Toussaint comments that...

Some well meaning teachers on the spiritual life either intentionally or unintentionally leave the impression that Christians are living defeated lives if they experience conflict. It is implied that it is sinful to have any battles at all. Such teaching is not Scriptural. There will always be struggle; the sin nature never retires from doing battle until the Christian leaves his mortal body. No one need have a guilt complex because of this. This inner struggle is inevitable and continual.

The presence of conflict is not sinful; defeat is. God’s child is never asked to live without battle, but he is commanded to be victorious in it. The resources of the Holy Spirit are available so that a God-pleasing life is possible for every believer. If the Christian does not walk by faith in Christ, then the battle is waged between the old nature and the new, and defeat is the certain outcome. When the Christian turns to Christ and looks to Him for strength, the Holy Spirit enters the struggle on behalf of the believer and victory is assured. In Galatians 5:16 Paul commands the believer to walk by means of the Spirit. This imperative is followed by "ou me" (Ed note: a double negative) with the subjunctive, which is an emphatic negation used here as a strong promise. The flesh and Spirit are so contrary to one another that a walk by the Spirit automatically excludes a fulfillment of the baser desires. Victory is available to every Christian.

Antikeimai means to be set over against, to be opposed or be in opposition and as noted below is often used as a "verbal noun" variously translated as opponent, enemy or adversary. Note that in the LXX (Zechariah 3:1), this verb is used to describe the opposition of the Adversary, Satan, and in the NT, is used to describe the opposition of Satan's man of lawlessness, the Antichrist (2 Thes 2:4)

A T Robertson writes that antikeimai conveys the picture that the flesh and the Spirit...

Are lined up in conflict, face to face (anti-), a spiritual duel (cf. Christ’s temptations), with dative case of personal interest. (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Antikeimai is used 8 times in the NT...

Luke 13:17 And as He said this, all His opponents (verb used as a noun - present tense = were continually opponents) were being humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Luke 21:15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents (verb used as a noun - present tense = were continually opponents) will be able to resist or refute.

1 Corinthians 16:9 for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries (verb used as a noun - present tense = were continually adversaries).

Galatians 5:17 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.

Philippians 1:28 (note) in no way alarmed by your opponents (verb used as a noun - present tense = were continually opponents)-- which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes (present tense = continually opposes) and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

1 Timothy 1:10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to (present tense = continually opposed to) sound teaching,

1 Timothy 5:14 Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy (verb used as a noun - present tense = the one who is continually set over against and thus an enemy) no occasion for reproach (Comment: Antikeimai does not speak of Satan here, but of any human being who sets himself against Christianity).

There are 11 uses in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex 23:22 [2x]; 2Sa 8:10; Esther 8:11; 9:1; Job 13:25; Is 41:11; 45:16; 51:19; 66:6; Zech. 3:1). Below are some representative uses...

Isaiah 66:6 "A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of the LORD who is rendering recompense to His enemies (Hebrew = 'oyeb = enemy; Lxx = antikeimai).

Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan (Hebrew = satan) standing at his right hand to accuse (Hebrew = satan = act as an adversary, resist, oppose; Lxx = antikeimai = be opposed to) him.

One another (240) (allelon from állos = another) means each other and can speak of a mutuality or sharing of sentiments (in this case hostile sentiments) between two persons or groups of persons.

Wuest writes that the idea of allelon in this context is that...

there is a reciprocity on the part of the flesh and Spirit. Each reciprocates the antagonism which the one holds for the other. The translation is as follows:

For the flesh constantly has a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit constantly has a strong desire to suppress the flesh. And these are entrenched in an attitude of mutual opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you desire to do.

When the flesh presses hard upon the believer with its evil behests, the Holy Spirit is there to oppose the flesh and give the believer victory over it, in order that the believer will not obey the flesh, and thus sin. When the Holy Spirit places a course of conduct upon the heart of the believer, the flesh opposes the Spirit in an effort to prevent the believer from obeying the Spirit. The purpose of each is to prevent the believer from doing what the other moves him to do. The choice lies with the saint. He must develop the habit of keeping his eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus and his trust in the Holy Spirit. The more he says NO to sin, the easier it is to say NO, until it becomes a habit. The more he says YES to the Lord Jesus, the easier it is to say YES, until that becomes a habit.

The will of the believer is absolutely free from the compelling power of the evil nature. If he obeys the latter, it is because he chooses to do so. But the Holy Spirit has given the believer a new nature, the divine nature. And the sweet influences of that nature are constantly permeating the activities of the believer’s will as the believer keeps himself yielded to the Spirit. In that way, the Spirit keeps on suppressing the activities of the evil nature and any control which it might attempt to exert over the saint. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

William MacDonald has an interesting thought on this conflict between the Spirit and the flesh noting that...

God could have removed the fleshly nature from believers at the time of their conversion, but He did not choose to do so. Why? He wanted to keep them continually reminded of their own weakness; to keep them continually dependent on Christ, their Priest and Advocate; and to cause them to praise unceasingly the One who saved such worms. Instead of removing the old nature, God gave us His own Holy Spirit to indwell us. God’s Spirit and our flesh are perpetually at war, and will continue to be at war until we are taken home to heaven. The believer’s part in the conflict is to yield to the Spirit. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

C Norman Bartlett comments that in Galatians 5:16-18...

In these verses we have clearly depicted the struggle between the old nature and the new nature which is the common experience of Christians everywhere. And this conflict is a war to the death. There can be no cessation of hostilities until we are called home to glory. A truce is out of the question. Appeasement policies are futile. We may as well recognize the situation at the outset...

Nothing is to be gained by denying or minimizing this mutual antagonism. The acceptance of Christ into the heart will inevitably provoke a bitter and determined resistance on the part of the old sinful nature which hitherto has had everything its own way.

Nor will the flesh be put to sleep by the fond delusion that it is dead and buried. It is imperative for our spiritual growth that we grasp the fact that the old nature is not removed or reformed at regeneration. Failure to understand this elementary fact frequently plunges the new convert into needless bewilderment and even despair of his standing before God when, after a peaceful period of triumph and fellowship with Jesus, he stumbles into the old sins and faults he fancied had been vanquished forever.

With older Christians this error often operates to effect quite different results. Persuaded that they cannot sin, adherents of the heresy of sinless perfection will deny that those practices are sinful which the Word of God plainly denounces as sinful. He who thinks he has reached perfection is the victim of an illusion indicating that he is desperately in need of a new pair of glasses to forestall threatening blindness. At the same time, we must not allow false claims to perfection on the part of some to make us unmindful of the true goal of perfection for all followers of the Lord Jesus.

We are to claim and win victories over the flesh in the power of the Holy Spirit. To forget that the old nature has no right to rule us will but increase its might to worst us in the battles of life.

Beware the peril of insensibility to the terribleness of sin. If my heart can feel comfortable under sin, my soul is critically ill. We are most hurt by sin when we are least hurt by it. Numbness may be recognized by the trained physician as the forerunner of paralysis or even death itself.

Turning to the brighter side of the picture, it holds gloriously true that the more we say yes to Jesus the easier will it be, until finally it becomes a fixed habit. (Ed note: Lord, let it be for myself and all the readers of this note. Amen)

Precious and weighty, then, is our responsibility for cultivating response-ability to Jesus. (C. Norman Bartlett: Galatians and You: Studies in the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, 1948) (Bolding and color added for emphasis).

The old flesh nature which has we all inherited from Adam when we were born continually fights against the new nature which we receive when we are born again. No amount of self-discipline, no set of man-made rules and regulations, can control the old flesh nature (see the futile attempts  of Jerome). Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to “put to death” the old nature (see note Romans 8:13) and produce His supernatural fruit (see notes Galatians 5:22;  23).

Martin Luther often used the anecdotal illustration of a believer named Doctor Staupitz who said...

"I have promised God a thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my promise. From now on I am not going to make any more vows. Experience has taught me that I cannot keep them. Unless God is merciful to me for Christ's sake and grants unto me a blessed departure, I shall not be able to stand before Him."

Commenting on Staupitz' statement Luther wrote that...

His was a God-pleasing despair. No true believer trusts in his own righteousness, but says with David, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." (Ps 143:2) Again, "If thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" (Ps. 130:3.)

No man is to despair of salvation just because he is aware of the lust of the flesh. Let him be aware of it so long as he does not yield to it. The passion of lust, wrath, and other vices may shake him, but they are not to get him down. Sin may assail him, but he is not to welcome it. Yes, the better Christian a man is, the more he will experience the heat of the conflict. This explains the many expressions of regret in the Psalms and in the entire Bible. Everybody is to determine his peculiar weakness and guard against it. Watch and wrestle in spirit (Ed note: I would add in "the Holy Spirit" - see