16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Freedom in Christ describes the new life a Christian has. But how do we keep experiencing that freedom? On the one hand, it is true that we are free from being judged by the Law. But since we should not use our freedom as a license to sin, how can the knowledge of this freedom, the knowledge of grace, affect our daily struggle to live holy lives? The desires of the flesh are still strong even after becoming a believer in Christ!
The antidote is not the standard religious fare familiar to all other beliefsystems in the world. We cannot win the battle against legalism with a set of new laws, albeit Christian ones. Nor can we win the battle against fleshly desires that way. Rather, we win by what Paul calls walking by the Spirit. This constitutes a different kind of living, a different kind of motivation for living right. Paul spends these and the next few verses filling in the details of this grace-filled lifestyle.
So far in this letter, we have learned that we received the Spirit by faith through hearing (3:2); we therefore began by the Spirit. The Spirit works miracles in the lives of Christians (3:5), the greatest of which is salvation. Receiving the Spirit is a direct result of the promise to Abraham (3:14). Our having the Spirit is irrevocably connected to our adoption as sons of God (4:6). The Spirit gives us hope (5:5). Since all this is true of the Spirit in our lives, it follows that we should “walk by the Spirit,” that is, we need to live in accordance with what the Spirit wants to accomplish in our lives.
Walking by the Spirit is the remedy to living as though the Law still had effect. This remedy is diametrically opposed to living under the Law. This is because, while the Law has absolutely no value in combatting the desires of the flesh, walking by the Spirit produces great results.
Human life in its most elemental form is goal driven—and there are only two goals in view, self-absorbed pleasure or God-centric living. The first rouses the flesh, the second empowers self-denial for the glory of God (“you will not carry out the desire of the flesh”). The question is, which goal do we set for ourselves? Ordering our lives by the Spirit’s leading is the only effective way to win the daily battles against the flesh.
Father, help me ever keep the goal for my life clear, that I may walk by Your Spirit and not for the momentary enjoyments of the flesh.
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