FOR THE FLESH SETS ITS DESIRE
AGAINST THE SPIRIT AND THE SPIRIT AGAINST THE FLESH: e gar sarx epithumei (3SPAI) kata tou pneumatos
to de pneuma kata tes sarkos:
(Psalms 19:12, 13; 51:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12; 65:3; 119:5, 20, 24,
25, 32, 35, 40, 133, 159; Psalms 119:176; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 6:5;
Matthew 16:17, 23; 26:41; John 3:6; Romans 7:18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25;
8:5,6,13; James 4:5,6)
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 note
Romans 8:13)
against your weakness. Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at
least you ought to fight against it.
(Martin
Luther's Commentary on Galatians).
The unsaved person knows nothing of
the believer's conflict. To be sure, non-believers often regret their
sins because of guilt and especially because of painful consequences.
However, non-believers who have only the fallen flesh and lack the
Spirit do not have the internal spiritual war which is the experience of
every believer. When an unbeliever commits sins, he is acting in a
manner which is consistent with his basic nature, for as Paul explained
to the saints in Ephesus before salvation they had...
walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the
spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience... (and had)
formerly lived in the lusts of (their) flesh, indulging the desires of
the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as
the rest. (see notes
Ephesians 2:2;
2:3)
The point is that unbelievers have no
real internal conflict beyond whatever conscience may remain in their
sinful state (see notes
Romans 2:14;
15). Only in believers are the unredeemed flesh and the Spirit
living in the redeemed new man in Christ, in opposition to one another.
And because this spiritual dynamic exists, believers may not do the
things that they please. As all believers are painfully aware, we do not
always do what we wish to do for there are moments when the wishing is
present but the doing is not. Sometimes, the Spirit halts what our flesh
desires, but at other times the flesh overrides the will from the
Spirit.
Ray
Stedman warns us about the devious nature
of the flesh explaining that
flesh is openly
arrogant, overbearing, boastful, lustful, cynical, proud... But when it
is driven by the Spirit into a corner it can assume a garb of
righteousness and become pious, religious, scrupulous about morals,
zealous in church work, indignant over wrongs, provokingly
evangelical!...The righteousness of the flesh is always
counterfeit righteousness. It is centered in self, and therefore it is
always self-righteousness....The flesh can memorize Scripture.
The flesh can teach Sunday school. The flesh can
distribute tracts, give large gifts of money, give a stirring testimony,
teach a Bible class, sing solos, or preach a sermon. It can even
apologize (after a fashion), and repent (to some extent), or suffer
(with a martyred air), but there is one thing that flesh will
never do. It will do anything to survive, but one thing:
It will never
give in it will never surrender, it will never change, it will never
give up, never! It is a slippery, elusive thing; and, when we back it
into a corner, it simply takes on a different disguise and appears in a
different form, but it is the same old, deadly, evil flesh. When
driven into a corner it would rather wreck your life than give in.
Have
you found this to be true?" (Ed
note: And all God's people answered either "Amen!" or "Oh my!") (The
Price of Survival; see also
The Death of the flesh)
(Bolding and
color added for emphasis)
Believers
need to be wary of defending the manifestations of the flesh and
excusing them as part of their personality or temperament, rather
than judging them for what they really are! To give way to the desires
of the flesh is to give the devil an opportunity over us (see Ephesians
4:17-27).
Pride
is the root of all human evil, and pride is the basic characteristic of
what the Bible calls the flesh that lusts against, wars against,
the Spirit. The flesh is a principle that stands athwart God's
purposes in human life and continually defies what God is trying to
accomplish. Each of us has this struggle within us if we are Christians,
and its basic characteristic is revealed here as pride. That is the
number one identifying mark of the flesh. (Ray
Stedman)
In another message
Stedman says that
If this pride -- the flesh
-- is not your friend, but rather a subtle, crafty enemy as this book
says, then the most important thing in your Christian life is to learn
to recognize how he works, for you never can win the battle against him
unless you know his tactics. There is no possibility of victory without
this. Paul says,
"We are not ignorant of his devices," (2 Corinthians
2:11b KJV)
We know how he works and we can thus call upon all the
overpowering, conquering influence of Jesus Christ on our behalf...
The
whole strategy of the flesh is to convince us that these attitudes which
mark God at work in us are really not to our advantage, that we would
get along much better without them, and that the opposite attitudes are
the things that will really pay off for us. If we can be led to distrust
and reject these godly attitudes we will thereby frustrate the work of
the Holy Spirit in our life. (Ray
Stedman: The Struggle for Power)
(Bolding and color added for emphasis)
William
Hendriksen gives an excellent summary of the spiritual conflict
writing that...
(1) The
libertine (Ed note: a person who is unrestrained by convention or
morality) experiences no such struggle at all, for he follows his
natural inclinations.
(2) The
legalist, who is destined for grace and glory, having been
reminded of his sinfulness by the law but for a while unwilling to
accept grace, struggles and struggles but without achieving victory or
experiencing the sense of certain, ultimate triumph. This condition
lasts until grace finally breaks down all the barriers of opposition
(see note
Philippians 3:7ff).
(3) The
believer, while still on earth, experiences an agonizing conflict
in his own heart, but in principle, has already gained the victory, as
the very presence of the Holy Spirit in his heart testifies. In full
measure this victory will be his portion in the hereafter; hence,
(4) For
the redeemed-soul in glory the battle is over. He
wears the victor’s wreath.
As to
(3), therefore, the very wording of the text—note: “sets its desire
against” and “are opposed to each other”—indicates the intensity of the
lifelong tug of war. This shows that the Christian life means far more
than stepping forward to register one’s decision at a great revival
meeting, after listening to a powerful, evangelical, and heart-warming
message, and while one is under the influence of the singing of old
familiar hymns by a massive choir. When, under such circumstances, the
sudden change is genuine, it is wonderful, but it must be borne in mind
that as a rule a sinner is not wholly saved all at once (“Presto!”). He
does not leap into heaven in one prodigious bound. On the contrary, he
has to work out his own salvation (Phil 2:12, 13 - see notes
Php 2:12;
13). This takes
time, struggle, intense effort and exertion. (Hendriksen,
W., & Kistemaker, S. J. NT Commentary Set. Baker Book or
Logos) (Ed note:
Don't misunderstand what Hendriksen is saying here - he is not saying we
are saved by nor sanctified by our own fleshly efforts, for even in the
working out of our salvation, it is clearly the Spirit in us Who now
gives us the desire [the "want to"] and the power to please God. Yes, we
as believers have a part in this supernatural spiritual work, for we
must be willing participants [God will not force us to walk in the
Spirit], but it is ultimately work which is God initiated, God enabled
and God glorifying!)
Warren Wiersbe
writes that
the Spirit and the flesh (the old nature) are at war with
each other. By “the flesh,” of course, Paul does not mean “the body.”
The human body is not sinful; it is neutral. If the Holy Spirit controls
the body, then we walk in the Spirit; but if the flesh controls the
body, then we walk in the lusts (desires) of the flesh. The Spirit and
the flesh have different
appetites, and this is
what creates the conflict...
Note that the Christian cannot simply will to overcome the flesh...
Paul is not denying that there is victory. He is
simply pointing out that we cannot win this victory in our own strength
and by our own will...
The solution is not to pit our will against the
flesh, but to surrender our will to the Holy Spirit...
The Holy Spirit writes God’s Law on our hearts
(see notes
Hebrews 10:14;
15;
16;
17; see
also 2 Cor 3) so that we desire to obey Him in love. “I
delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy Law is within my heart” (Ps
40:8). Being “led of the Spirit” and “walking in the Spirit” are the
opposites of yielding to the desires of the flesh. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
(Bolding added for emphasis)
SO THAT YOU MAY NOT DO THE
THINGS THAT YOU PLEASE: hina me a ean thelete (2PPAS) tauta poiete.
(2PPAS): (Psalms
119:4, 5, 6; 130:3; Matthew 5:6; Luke 22:33,46,54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,
60, 61; Romans 7:15-23; Philippians 3:12, 13, 14, 15, 16; James 3:2;
1John 1:8, 9, 10)
It has been pointed out that this
passage has been interpreted three ways.
(1) The flesh keeps you from
doing the good you desire, the righteousness you desire to carry out.
(2) The Spirit keeps you from doing
the evil you desire to do.
(3) The conflicting natures (flesh or
Spirit) each hinders the desires
of the other so that you are unable to do them.
Below are representative comments
reflecting each view with highly respected expositors associated with
each view. One should not let this difficulty distract us
from Paul's main point, which is the fact that believers are involved in
a very real spiritual struggle, and this struggle will not disappear
while we are in these mortal bodies. As we have said several times in
these notes, this spiritual struggle is to be expected for it is the
normal
Christian life (see
especially John Piper's comments below)
James Montgomery Boice favors the
first view especially in view of the fact that the next verse
presents a contrasting truth describing the victory which is attainable by the Spirit's
power. Boice explains it this way...
In view of the parallel statements in
Romans 7:15, 16 (see notes
Romans 7:15;
16)
(Ed note:
but see Toussaint's note),
probably the first should be preferred, especially since the next verse
goes on to speak of the victory that can be attained by the Spirit's
power. (Gaebelein,
F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament.
Zondervan Publishing)
Here is a translation that clearly
favors interpretation #1...
“That is why you cannot run
wild, doing as you please” (Cotton Patch)
John MacArthur also favors
interpretation #1 (as does J Vernon McGee, KJV Bible Commentary, Chrysostom) writing that...
Every believer has the indwelling
power of God’s own Spirit to do battle with his own weak and sinful
flesh, in order that he may not do the things that please his flesh. (MacArthur,
J. Galatians. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
Vine agrees with MacArthur
writing that the phrase may not do the things that you please
refers to...
the things toward which fallen man
naturally turns, and which are enumerated in Gal 5:19 as the works of
the flesh. This is the characteristic of Christian liberty as an
experience; since the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit it is no
longer inevitable that he must yield to the evil motions of the flesh,
he shall, if the condition of vv. 16 and 18 is fulfilled, enjoy happy
liberty from all such bondage. And not only so, as he yields himself to
the guidance and strengthening of the Spirit he is enabled to refuse “to
do those things which are not fitting,” Ro 1:28
(note),
and to bear that “fruit” of which the apostle is shortly to speak. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Richison also agrees with
interpretation #1 commenting that...
The Holy Spirit interferes with what
the flesh would otherwise do in its evil lusts. When we operate on the
principle of grace [God’s provisions], we will not do the things we
wish. The grace of the Holy Spirit will not allow us to invite evil into
our souls. The best way to fight against sin is to walk in the Spirit.
Legalistic Galatians thought they
could oppose sin by trying to live up to the law. By trying to gain
God’s approbation by the law, they failed to engage the grace of God
provided by the Holy Spirit. Neither do believers operating under grace
give license to sin. Life under grace is neither legalism nor license
but a reigning principle that prohibits the sin capacity from doing what
it otherwise would. (Verse
by Verse Commentary)
Guzik favors
interpretation #2 (as do Luther, Calvin, Lightfoot, Bible Knowledge
Commentary) writing that...
When the flesh is winning the inside
battle, you do not do the things that you wish. You don't live the way
you want to; you live under the flesh instead of under the Spirit. (Commentary)
The NLT rendering clearly
favors interpretation #2 (translations can have an interpretative
bias)...
These two forces are constantly
fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good
intentions. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Vincent on the other hand
favors interpretation #3 (as do Jamieson, UBS Bible Handbook, Constable,
Eadie) writing that...
The intent of each principle in
opposing the other is to prevent man’s doing what the other principle
moves him to do.
The things which you will to do under
the influence of either of the two contending principles. There is a
mutual conflict of two powers. If one wills to do good, he is opposed by
the flesh: if to do evil, by the Spirit. (Word
Studies in the New Testament)
Jamieson et al concur
explaining
that...
The Spirit strives against the flesh
and its evil influence; the flesh against the Spirit and His good
influence, so that neither the one nor the other can be fully carried
out into action. (Jamieson,
R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory on
the Old and New Testaments)
Arichea and
Nida translate
this clause in a way that favors interpretation #3...
For what we as human beings want
to do is against what the Spirit of God wants us to do, and what the
Spirit of God wants us to
do is against what we as human beings want to do. (The
United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series
or
Logos)
Levy writes that...
The sin nature blocks believers
from doing good, while the Holy Spirit blocks them from doing evil in
this ongoing warfare. (Levy, D. M. Guarding the Gospel of Grace:
Contending for the Faith in the Face of Compromise. Bellmawr, New
Jersey: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc)
Constable favors interpretation #3 writing...
We experience conflict whether
we side with the Spirit against the flesh or with the flesh against the
Spirit. The things that you please may be good or evil. It is
impossible for us to remain neutral; we either follow one or the other.
(Galatians)
John Eadie favors interpretation #3 explaining that...
The phrase "are in opposition to
one another" (allelois antikeitai) describes not only actual
antagonism, but undecided result. It is true in the case of all who are
born again, that the conflict ends in the victory of the spirit (Ed
note: I favor the divine Spirit here); but the apostle here does not
include the issue, he speaks only of the contest. So that the exegesis
is preferable which includes both sides of the statement:
The spirit wrestles against your
doing the things which ye would on the impulse of the flesh, and the
flesh struggles against your doing the things which ye would on the
impulse of the spirit.
In this case no inferred ethical
notion is attached to thelete ("please" or "wish"), and the clause
describes the nature of the contest between the flesh and the spirit. (Eadie,
John: Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians)
So that
(2443)
(hina) expresses purpose or to the end that, here referring to
the purpose of the two contending desires.
Do
(4160)
(poieo) means to accomplish. The
present tense
means to continually do those things that please self rather than
pleasing God. The point is that while we are in these human bodies,
there will continually be desires welling up from our fallen
flesh
nature to do what we want to
do, rather than what God wants to do. Modern advertising has taken
advantage of this spiritual principle - "Have it your way"... "You just
go around once. Grab for all the gusto you can.", etc. The world system
thus panders to and feeds our fallen
flesh
nature, and this is just as
true for believers as for non-believers, for we both possess the evil
flesh
nature. To reiterate, the
flesh
is just as depraved in believers as it is in unbelievers and it will
never get any better in this life. Don't be deceived in thinking it will
improve or reform.
The things that you please
- A T Robertson renders it "Whatever ye wish" (Ibid).
You please
(2309)
(thelo) means to will and implies volition and purpose and
frequently a determination as in exercising one's will.
TDNT writes that thelo
also expresses resolve as free or
weighed decision, sometimes with the idea of choice or preference, and
religiously with the nuance of resolute willingness (Kittel,
G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament. Eerdmans)
While there are
clearly differences in the way this last clause of Galatians 5:17 is
interpreted, the end point is the same - believers will experience a
spiritual conflict, but they can experience victory because of the Holy
Spirit. Conflict does not mean victory is not possible or attainable.
Conflict is the "normal" Christian life. No conflict in fact raises the
strong possibility that one is not even a true believer.
John
Piper
agrees with this assessment noting that...
The main thing to learn from this
verse is that Christians experience a struggle within. If you said to
yourself when I was describing the flesh, “Well, I have a lot of that
still left in me,” it does not necessarily mean you aren’t a Christian.
A Christian is not a person who experiences no bad desires. A Christian
is a person who is at war with those desires by the power of the Spirit.
Conflict in your soul is not all bad. Even though we long for the day
when our flesh will be utterly defunct and only pure and loving desires
will fill our hearts, yet there is something worse than the war within
between flesh and Spirit—namely, no war within because the flesh
controls the citadel and all the outposts. Praise God for the war
within! Serenity in sin is death. The Spirit has landed to do battle
with the flesh. So take heart if your soul feels like a battlefield at
times. The sign of whether you are indwelt by the Spirit is not that you
have no bad desires, but that you are at war with them!
But when you take
Galatians 5:16
and 17 together the main point is not war, but victory for the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16
says that when you walk
by the Spirit, you will not let those bad desires come to maturity. 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.
Galatians 5:16
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 Gal 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. (Read Dr Piper's entire message
The War Within: Flesh Vs. Spirit)
J Vernon McGee offers his
insights on this verse noting that...
A transliteration of this verse will
help convey the meaning: “For the flesh warreth against the Spirit, and
the Spirit warreth against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to
the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” that is,
the things that the old nature wanted to do (Ed note: thus McGee
favors
interpretation #1
above) This is very important to see—the flesh wars against the
Spirit, and the Spirit wars against the flesh.
A believer has a new nature. This is
what our Lord said to Nicodemus when He said, “That which is born of the
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John
3:6). The believer still has that old nature of the flesh, and he won’t
get rid of it in this life. The idea that we can get rid of that old
nature is a tragic mistake. John said,
“If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8)
My friend, if the truth is not in
you, then you must be a liar. That puts the “perfect” individual in the
position of being a liar.
We have two natures—the old and the
new. That is what Paul describes in the last part of Romans. He himself
experienced the turmoil of two natures, and this has also been the
experience of many believers. The flesh wars against the Spirit, and the
Spirit wars against the flesh. Therefore, we cannot do the things that
we would like to do. The new nature rebels against the old nature. They
are contrary; they are at war with each other. Have you experienced this
in your own life?
There is a song we sing entitled
“Come Thou Fount” (play
hymn) by Robert Robinson.
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
It is a wonderful hymn. In the last
stanza are these words:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
After this song was written, someone
looked at it and said, “That is not my experience—I’ll change that.” So
in some hymnbooks we find these words:
Prone to worship, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to love the God I serve.
Which is true? Well, both are true. I
have a nature that is prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love.
There are times when this old nature of mine wants to wander away from
the Lord! Have you had this experience? Also I have a new nature that is
prone to worship the Lord. There are times when I am riding along alone
in my car, and I just cry out to Him, “Oh, Lord, how wonderful You are!
I love You and worship You.” That is the expression of my new nature; my
old nature never gets around to praising Him or loving Him. Every
believer has an old and a new nature.
There are folk who say, “Well, I
can’t tell whether I am walking in the Spirit or not.” Don’t kid
yourself about this. You can know. Paul has spelled it out here so that
you cannot miss it. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
(Or listen to Dr McGee's crusty but pithy comments on this
Mp3 of Galatians 5:17 - from Thru the Bible)
Believers are involved in
a life long struggle between Spirit and the flesh: Gal 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. ("flesh"
in this
context
is not the body of flesh and blood
which is itself "morally neutral". The problems is what's still resident
in these bodies and which Paul often terms "flesh" in a moral
sense which makes the point that you need to be very attentive to the
context
when doing "word studies" as the same word can have several different
meanings. In the present
context
Paul uses "flesh" to
describe what remains of the “Old
self (old man)”
(which every human being inherits from our father Adam
Ro 5:12)
which still exists even after a person is saved [we can now say "no" to
it]. Flesh relates to the moral and spiritual weakness and
helplessness of human nature still clinging to redeemed souls. The
flesh of Christians is their propensity to sin. Until then every
believer has a redeemed self living in a mortal body that is dying and
that creates great conflict.
Flesh stands against the work
of the Spirit in the believer’s new heart. The unsaved person often
regrets the sinful things he does because of guilt and/or painful
consequences, but he has no spiritual warfare going on within him,
because he has only a fleshly nature and is devoid of the
Spirit. The sinful things he does, though often disappointing and
disgusting to him, are nevertheless consistent with his basic nature
[his "Old
self"] as an enemy of
God and a child of God's wrath. The "Old Self" or "Old Man" therefore
has no real internal conflict beyond whatever conscience may remain in
his sinful state. In the believer, the
essential conflict is between the Old Covenant (Law) and the New
Covenant which is manifest in reality as the struggle between the
flesh and the Spirit. Each of us is, in effect, a walking civil
war. The flesh continually wars against the Spirit within us.)
Stanley Toussaint notes
that...
A certain amount of confusion exists
in the minds of many Christians concerning conflict in the spiritual
life because they have equated Romans 7:13-24 with Galatians 5:16-23.
Both of these passages obviously describe a conflict; however, it is
important to see that the battles described are not the same. A failure
to recognize this only leads to confusion and may even result in
despairing frustration. It is the purpose of this article to mark out
some of the distinctions between these two conflicts and then come to a
few practical implications. (Toussaint, S.: Bibliotheca Sacra. Volume
123. Issue 492. Page 314. 1966)
To summarize Toussaint's arguments...
(1) The opponents are not
identical -
Romans 7 - Conflict is between
the old nature and the new man (assuming Romans 7 to be describing a
Christian, a view that I agree with)
Galatians 5 - Conflict is
primarily between the old nature and the Holy Spirit
(2) The description of the
believer -
Romans 7 - The Christian
attempts unsuccessfully to please God by living under law. The conflict
of the believer takes place under law. The fault is not with the law,
but with the Christian. Result is a life not pleasing to God.
Galatians 5 - The Christian
has two alternatives - to live under or walk under law or grace.
To walk under the law necessitates a walk by means of the flesh (cf Gal
3:2-3, 5, 4:29). To walk under (or in) grace is to walk by the Spirit.
Result is a life pleasing to God.
(3) The outcome of the conflicts
-
Romans 7 - Defeat is
inevitable.
Galatians 5 - One may
experience either defeat (under law, by the "strength" of the flesh,
works of the flesh are the "fruit") or victory (under grace, by the
Spirit, by faith, fruit of the Spirit).
(4) The nature of the conflict -
Romans 7 - Abnormal Christian
experience
Galatians 5 - Normal Christian
experience
Toussaint
comments on points #3 and #4 above...
It is quite
evident the battle in Galatians 5 is the normal experience of a
believer, whether he is walking by means of the Spirit or by the flesh.
If he walks by the Spirit, the flesh rises up to oppose the influence of
the Third Person; if he walks under the control of the flesh, the Holy
Spirit counteracts and attempts to bring the believer back under His
sway. This conflict is portrayed as a usual one. This is not the case in
the last half of Romans 7. The pitiful cry, “Who shall deliver me…?” and
the constant failure to produce fruit for God prove the point. A
Christian is not to be characterized by such defeat and lack of fruit...
Legalism
only bears frustration, sham, and failure. The life that is pleasing to
God is the one that is centered in Christ by faith. Law hypocritically
may produce outward imitation, but the genuine fruit of he Spirit
described in Galatians 5:22-23 is found only in the grace method of
living. It never results from law-works...
In Romans
7:13-24 there is no mention of faith and consequently there is no
reference to the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course defeat is the
consequence of such a situation. However, the case in Galatians 5 is
different. The outcome is left to the believer. He must decide (Ed note:
Even here God gives us the "want to" to decide for the Spirit as taught
in
Philippians 2:13 - note).
On the one hand, there is the force of the sin nature and, on the other
hand, the power of the Holy Spirit. It is in the domain of each
individual Christian to decide which is vanquished and which rules. He
may walk by flesh under law or he may walk in the infinite power of the
Holy Spirit by faith under grace.
To every
Christian there are two alternatives. These passages clearly point out
the fact the believer is called upon to be decisive and constant in
drawing upon all of the resources of Christ in order to know God’s
victory in his day-by-day walk. This is the message of Romans 7:13-25 by
implication and of Galatians 5:16–23 by direct declaration. (Toussaint,
S.: Bibliotheca Sacra. Volume 123. Issue 492. Page 314. 1966)
Ray Pritchard
explains the struggle in Galatians 5:17 this way...
Many Christians prefer not to hear
this truth because they want a Christianity that proclaims “all victory
all the time.” They want a guarantee that all their problems will be
solved if they will follow the right formula. But that is not realistic
nor is it biblical. We are to fight the good fight of faith, putting on
the whole armor of God, standing in the evil day, and enduring hardship
as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Verse 17 is abundantly clear in this
regard. Two principles are at war within us. One is called “flesh.” The
other is called “the Spirit.” These two principles are in constant,
unrelenting, unremitting antagonism to each other. They are constantly
at war with each other. The flesh is Paul’s term for the depraved nature
inside all of us by virtue of our physical descent from Adam. That
depraved nature is hostile to God, selfish, and utterly evil. When we
come to Christ, we become new creations by virtue of the Holy Spirit who
comes to live within us. Even though the dominating power of the flesh
is broken, the pull of evil remains with us. As one writer put it, evil
desires arise from the flesh like smoke from a chimney. To say it
another way, flesh is what we are by natural birth; the Spirit comes to
us by our spiritual birth.
I draw several conclusions from this:
a) Flesh and the Spirit are
fundamentally opposite. They do not and cannot cooperate.
b) The conflict between our flesh and
the Spirit is continual and inevitable.
c) That conflict produces conflicting
desires in the believer...
As a lost person, you sin because
that’s your nature. As a Christian, you have a new nature that pulls you
toward God while the flesh remains with you until you die. In one sense,
Christians have conflicts the unsaved never know about. Our rewards are
great but so are our struggles. We ought to praise God for the war
within. The deadly feud between flesh and Spirit is one sign that we are
the children of God.
Do you desire to be holy? Do you want
to please the Lord? Is there a hunger in your heart to know Jesus and to
love him? Do you desire to live a higher and better life even though you
cannot seem to attain it?
If you answer yes, that is strong
evidence you are born again. Despite your personal failings, do you
truly want to do what God wants you to do? Then you may rest in the
knowledge that you are a child of God. Your struggle with sin is proof
of your divine heritage. If sin is a burden, at least it is a burden and
not a joy. If you can swear and hate and steal and mock and lust and
think all sorts of foul thoughts and speak harsh words, if you can do
that and feel nothing, then you are truly without hope in the world...
No one escapes the conflict.
No one can avoid the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit.
No one gets a Christian life free from outward pressure and inward
turmoil.
And there is no second blessing or
spiritual experience that can magically propel you to a state where you
no longer struggle with sin. That won’t happen until we finally get to
heaven. Between now and then, we walk the hard road to glory, fighting
every day to stay on the right path.
It’s crucial to remember that God
allows the struggle as part of our ongoing spiritual growth. Strange as
it may seem, we need to struggle because that’s the only way we can grow
in grace. Here are a few benefits to consider:
It reveals to us our inherent
weakness.
It kills our pride and arrogance.
It humbles us again and again.
It forces us to cry out to God for help.
It reveals the uselessness of human effort apart from God’s strength.
It teaches us to rely on the Lord alone.
It causes us to love the Savior Who delivers us from sin.
It leads us to a life of continual repentance.
It makes us more watchful against the encroachment of sin.
It makes us long for the rest of heaven.
It prods us to use all the means of divine grace.
It encourages us to develop habits of holiness.
It forces us to lean on our brothers and sisters to help us out.
It leads us to look for daily solutions instead of instant miracles.
(Galatians
5:16-18 Full Speed Ahead One Step at a Time: How You Can Walk in the
Spirit) (Color
added for emphasis)
><> ><> ><>
Why we still want to do the things we
should not do...
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.
