War Within

Galatians 5:17-18 - 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

There is a war within all of us and we see it in Galatians 5:17.  It explains the central point of this conflict by describing the nature of the war within. 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. Within us rages a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. It is critical to have a correct understanding of “the flesh.” The ancient Greeks believed that the real problem was a battle between the mind and the body and with that some have incorrectly identified “the flesh” with the body. The body is something which is to be transformed. As a matter of fact, our body will be transformed and glorified as we see when we look at Philippians 3:21 which says, who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself. The body is not evil; the flesh is evil. The flesh is our bodily appetites or the wrong desires that well up inside us. The flesh is our fallen humanity, our fallen humanness. It is what we are apart from Christ.

Then in verse 18 we see Paul contrasts living under the leadership of the Holy Spirit—”led by the Spirit“—with a life of bondage—”under the Law.” The differences of these phrases make it apparent that the life of faith in Christ is characterized as life in the Spirit, and that is opposed to living under the law.  One commentator wisely writes:  The antidote to the flesh is not found in the law, but in the Spirit – and if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. You don’t need to be, because you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of the Holy Spirit, instead of the outer influence of the law of God.

The fact of the matter is that we are all in a battle and we need to know it.  We need to make sure that we are focused on saying no to the flesh .  We need to starve the flesh by continuing to say no too it and not feeding it at all.  We need to be saying yes to the Spirit, yielding to the Spirit, and be strengthened and led by the Spirit.  How is this done?  By being in the Word, being in prayer, being in fellowship with other believers, and keeping a short sin account with God.

There is a war going on but the truth is that Jesus has already won the final victory!  Keep on fighting in the Spirit!

How is the war in you?  Are you starving the flesh?  Are you yielded and being led by the Spirit?