Galatians 5 (5)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 119.25-27.
My soul clings to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.

Sing Psalm 119.25-27.
(Festal Song: Rise Up, O Men of God)
My soul clings to the dust; revive me by Your Word!
My ways I have declared to You; teach me Your statutes, LORD!

Make me to understand Your precepts and Your ways,
as on Your works I meditate with wonder and with praise!

Read Galatians 5.1-21; meditate on verses 16-21.

Preparation
1. How can we keep from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh?

2. What will they miss who continue to practice the works of the flesh?

Meditation
Walk in or by the Spirit (either translation works), and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, neither will you indulge in its works. These are contrary to spiritual life in Christ; persisting in them proves that we have not inherited the Kingdom of God (v. 21).

The Holy Spirit is the antidote to the flesh. Being filled with the Spirit so that we walk with Him is our ongoing, day-by-day calling. But what does this involve?

First, embracing the Spirit's destination, which is to become more like Jesus until at last we see Him as He is and are made like Him (2 Cor. 3.12-18; 1 Jn. 3.1-3). Second, striving to realize His benchmarks of progress, that is, the fruit He works to bear in our lives (vv. 22, 23; cf. Jn. 15.1-16). For this, we must draw on the Spirit's power, by working out our salvation in disciplined acts of growth and obedience (Phil. 2.12, 13; Rom. 8.5-8), and by prayerfully and faithfully stretching into new areas of work and witness, where the Spirit can fill us beyond where we have ever been before (Eph. 3.20; 5.18-21: Acts 1.8).

We must daily submit to the schooling of the Spirit, as we search the Scriptures so He can teach us the things of Christ and fit us for good works of love (1 Cor. 2.12, 13; Jn. 15.26, 27; 16.8-14; Ezekiel. 36.26, 27; 2 Tim. 3.15-17). To walk in or by the Spirit we will seek and employ His gifts in loving service to those to whom He sends us (1 Cor. 12.7-11; Jn. 20.21). And we will resist every temptation to turn from or neglect this agenda, and thus give place to the devil and his works.

This is a daily, moment-by-moment way of life, and it can only be accomplished as we wait on the Lord continuously in prayer. The Spirit is the only antidote to the works of the flesh, the only suppressant of the lusts of the flesh, and the only power that can help us to stand firm in Christ and bear fruit for Him in every area of our lives.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Just in case anyone was wondering if their practiced sins were going unnoticed to the watching world, Paul sets that crooked thinking straight: “the works of the flesh are evident” (Gal. 5.19). So first, walk in the Spirit and you won’t practice sinful behaviors; and second, heads up, you’re not fooling anyone.

Anyone who has taken up a sport or played an instrument has been told over and over, “Practice makes perfect.” But if you are practicing incorrectly, it doesn’t make perfect, it just reinforces the error.

So, practice doesn’t make perfect, it merely makes permanent. If we “practice” (Gal. 5.21) the works of the flesh, that are contrary to the Spirit, they will become etched in our minds and hearts and have the potential to become permanent.

And Paul adds this warning: “those who practice such things [the works of the flesh] will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5.21).

However, merely cleaning out these obvious, evident, fleshly behaviors, but neglecting to refill our life with the Holy Spirit, creates an equally dire situation.

Hear Jesus’ words of warning to the Pharisees: “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation” (Matt. 12.43-45). Thus, “walk in the Spirit” and be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5.18).

Clearly, we are saved by grace through faith, but we are saved for a purpose. And the purpose is not to live with a license to sin, but with a love to obedience.

As Solomon wrote: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12.13, 14).

We are saved to be sanctified, to sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
And to grow into His likeness. “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Ps. 17.15).

And the only route to sanctification, to practice being like Jesus (1 Cor. 11.1; 1 Pet. 1.16), is through daily reading, meditating in, and studying God’s Word, and through communing with God in prayer. We must practice godliness with intention, through the Spirit, always.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also shall not wither;
and whatever he does shall prosper” (Ps. 1.1-3).

Practicing correctly, the antidote to the flesh.

Reflection
1. What does the idea of “practice” suggest to you?

2. What can you do to make sure your practices are those the Spirit commends?

3. How can believers encourage one another to walk in the Spirit so that they will not fulfill the desires of the flesh?

The works of the flesh are many and manifest. And these sins will shut men out of heaven. Yet what numbers, calling themselves Christians, live in these, and say they hope for heaven! Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Galatians 5.16-26

Pray Psalm 119.28-32.
Call on the Lord to keep you from the lusts and works of the flesh and to fill you with His Spirit through the day ahead.

Sing Psalm 119.28-32.
(Festal Song: Rise Up, O Men of God)
My soul weighs down with woe, I need Your strength, O LORD!
Remove from me all lying ways; grant me Your holy Word!

I choose the way of truth; Your judgments I proclaim.
Your testimonies I embrace, LORD, put me not to shame!

Command my course, O LORD; Your gracious truth impart.
I cling to You and know You will enlarge my seeking heart.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.