Live by the Spirit

In Galatians 5:16-26, Paul teaches about the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is just as much God as the Father and Son are. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is forgotten and sometimes He is ignored because we are not altogether comfortable with Him. I am sure that we should be completely comfortable with Him. We should desire to experience His work in and through us.

Galatians 5:16

So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful the nature.

First, we are to live by the Spirit.

When Paul says we are to live by the Spirit, he means to allow the Spirit to fill us. Ephesians 5:18 says that we are to be continually filled with the Spirit.

The Spirit is to continually:

Guide our daily activities

Control our actions, words, thoughts, desires, and priorities

Empower us to do God’s will

If we live by the Spirit, some things won’t happen. We will not gratify or carry out the desires of the sinful nature.

The Holy Spirit has desires for you. If we allow God to fulfill His desires for us through the Holy Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the sinful nature. We won’t because they are in opposition to each other and you will not want to do what our sinful natures desire.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being filled with the Spirit and letting Him fulfill God’s desires in you.

Galatians 5:17

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

The Spirit and the sinful nature are contrary to each other. The sinful nature sets its desires against the desires of the Spirit. They will never be the same.

If we follow the desires of the sinful nature, it will lead to death.

If we follow the desires of the Spirit, it will lead to life.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is following the desires of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:18

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The ability to obey God, to do His will, and to please God is by the work of His Spirit, not by following the law.

The Law shows us what we have done wrong.

Grace allows us to obey God’s will.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God’s Spirit lead us and experiencing God’s grace.

In verses 19 through 21a Paul outlines the works of the sinful nature.

In verse 21b Paul says, “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

If we live allowing the works of the sinful nature to characterize us, we will not receive God’s kingdom.

Then in verses 22 through 23 Paul outlines the fruit that the Holy Spirit gives.

In verse 23 Paul says that the law cannot bring about our receiving the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit only happens as we yield our lives to God and allow the Holy Spirit to produce it in us.

There are two huge differences in the works of the sinful nature and the fruit of the Spirit.

First, it is the “works” of the sinful nature as opposed to the “fruit” of the Spirit.

Works are what we do and fruit is produced by the Spirit.

Romans 6:23 says that the wage (what we earn) from sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life from Jesus.

Works lead to death.

God’s gifts lead to life.

Second, the works of the sinful nature reflect the character of our enemy, Satan. He wants to steal, kill and destroy us. The works of the sinful nature will steal from us, kill us, and destroy us. The fruit of the Spirit reflects the character of our Savior, Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit leads to life because the fruit is what characterize the life we have in Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving the fruit of the Spirit as the Spirit produces it in us.

Galatians 5:24

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

We as followers of Jesus allow the Spirit to kill the thoughts and desires that are not of Jesus.

Jesus says in Luke 9:23 that if we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily.

The Spirit is the One who can kill off the thoughts and desire that are not of Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting the Spirit kill off all in us that is not pleasing to God.

Galatians 5:25-26

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We are to live by the Spirit and we are to constantly follow the Spirit’s direction for our lives.

By living by the Spirit and following His direction, we will not become conceited and we will not provoke each other or envy each other.

This is another way that the Spirit forms in us the image of our Savior and Lord.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing the Spirit to form in us the image of Jesus.

By the Spirit Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe