Galatians 5:18-6:10

We have already seen this conflict between the flesh and the Spirit as explained by Paul in the allegory about Isaac and Ishmael. The brothers could not get along, and the point is the flesh and the Spirit don’t get along well either because they want to take us in different directions.

In Genesis 21 we are told Ishmael mocked Isaac, and Sarah would not have her little boy picked on by the son of the bondwoman. Sarah told Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”

After Sarah said this, we are told “the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.” Suddenly, Abraham was in the middle of a fierce conflict in which he knew the outcome. Sarah put her foot down and Hagar and Ishmael had to go. His two sons could not live in the same home, and here we have the background for the spiritual lesson Paul was teaching.

It is important that we understand this because either the flesh or the Spirit is going to control our bodies, and the apostle contrasts these two in the nineteenth through the twenty-third verses in Galatians 5.

The works of the flesh, man’s corrupt nature, are manifest. That is, Paul said, they are outward and apparent works. His list of these sins begins with sensual sins such as adultery and fornication, but Paul also addressed the sinfulness residing in a person’s heart. This is what is meant by uncleanness and lasciviousness. These have such control over a person that there is never enough, no end to them and no shame in them.

The list goes on to include a group of sins classified as superstitious sins, and among these are idolatry and witchcraft. That corrupt nature in man has always been tempted to fall into the worship of something of someone other than God. Witchcraft and sorcery still call people away from God, and I should remind you the word witchcraft is derived from the Greek word for drugs. Involvement in witchcraft seldom means a person is standing over a boiling cauldron. It could be a life surrendered to poison and the distributors of that poison.

Other sins listed by Paul range from hatred to drunkenness and revellings. All of these are destructive to us physically and spiritually, and Paul said, “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Men and women might be content to live under the works of the flesh, but they must be told that doing so carries a penalty of eternal loss.

Have you ever committed at least one of these sins? I suspect you have. So was Paul saying everybody is doomed? Absolutely not. Are these things in control of your life? Are they a matter of daily practice? I hope all of us answered “no” to both of these questions. It is my prayer the Holy Spirit is producing His fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance in you.

Notice that the Holy Spirit is the One producing the fruit, or anything good and useful in our lives. In our fleshly nature, we are simply not capable of producing this fruit. It is only when we surrender our will to God’s will that the fruit of the Spirit will be produced in us. Paul said, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:18).

A result of the fruit of the Spirit is seen in the way we treat other people, especially people who have fallen into sin. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,” Paul said. In other words, love them because we know that we, too, could be the ones who need to be restored. If we are led by the Spirit, we are going to love the one “overtaken in a fault” and we will desire to see their relationship restored with the Lord.

Finally, everyone has a choice of how they will “sow” in this life. Sowing to the flesh only satisfies selfish and sinful desires, and is nothing less than a rejection of the Gospel. It leads to misery and destruction. When we sow to the Spirit, we trust in Christ, receive His free grace and reap life everlasting.

The Sunday school lesson is written by Ed Wilcox, pastor of Centerville Baptist Church. Reach him at [email protected]