The letter to the Galatians shows us the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That letter deals with the basics of the gospel.
In the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are three essential elements:
The opposites are clear: grace is opposed to law, faith is opposed to works, and the Spirit is opposed to the flesh.
Grace gives us the substance of the gospel. Faith substantiates the substance, and the Spirit is the supply.
Now, before we go into this letter to the Galatians, I think we would like to consider together a little bit on the truth of the Spirit.
I think there is a lack of understanding among God’s people concerning the Holy Spirit. We do not know too much about Him.
We know of God the Father because, in this world, we have a father image. So it is relatively easy for us to imagine God the Father.
We know somewhat of God the Son because He came into this world and lived the life of a man, just as we are. So we know the Son somewhat.
But I think that, with believers, we do not know too much about God the Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead. Somehow we do not have an image; we do not have a concept.
When we mention the Spirit of God, it tends to be a little bit vague, almost nebulous to us. This is one reason why our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our enjoyment of the gospel, and our spiritual life are so weak and feeble.
Now, for instance, with the Galatian believers: at the time they believed in the Lord Jesus, they received the promise of the Spirit. They had the Holy Spirit, and yet, because they did not know Him, they did not depend upon Him.
He was with them and in them, and yet they did not know Him. So instead of depending on the Spirit of God to lead them into the reality of Christ, in their pursuit of perfection they turned away from the Holy Spirit and depended upon the works of their flesh.
They thought that in order to be perfect, they had to work out their perfection. They had to apply the energy of their flesh. There was no other supply, no other support.
That is the reason why they turned away from the Spirit and went back to their flesh. The result was that they were enticed into another gospel, which is not a gospel at all, because they were led back into bondage and condemnation.
So, dear brothers and sisters, it is very important for us to understand the place of the Holy Spirit in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, you remember the night of His betrayal. Our Lord Jesus had a lengthy conversation with His disciples, recorded in John 14, John 15, and John 16.
The disciples sensed that the Lord was leaving them, and of course they were at a loss. They had left everything to follow the Lord, and during those three years and a little over, the Lord was everything to them.
They depended upon the Lord. The Lord taught them, protected them, provided for them, solved their problems, and was their very life. The Lord was everything to them. They were like little children under the wings of our Lord Jesus.
But now they knew the Lord was leaving them, and they were very sorrowful. How was the Lord to comfort these people? The Lord could not comfort them with vain words. Words can never comfort a real sorrow.
In comforting these people, the Lord gave them a tremendous promise. The Lord said, “I am going. Yes, I have to go. It is for your benefit that I go. I go to the Father, but I will ask the Father, and He will send you another Comforter.”
This other Comforter is the Spirit of truth. He shall be with you, and He shall be in you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
So here you find that before the Lord left His disciples, He promised that He would send another Comforter to them.
Now, the word another here is a different Greek word from “another gospel” in the letter to the Galatians. In Greek, there are two different words translated into English as another.
The “another gospel” in Galatians is heteros, which is another of a different kind. Because it is another of a different kind, it has a bad connotation. Actually, that another gospel is no gospel at all.
But the “another” in John 14—“I will send you another Comforter”—is allos. It is another of the same kind: another of the same kind.
In other words, the Lord says, “I was your Comforter when I was with you. But as I leave, there will be another Comforter with you. He is of the same kind.” This another Comforter, we know, is the Spirit of truth.
When the Lord was with them, He was alongside them, but He could not be in them. Sometimes He sent His disciples out while He went somewhere else. They were not together. If something happened, the disciples had to hurry back to the presence of the Lord and try to find their questions answered.
But here the Lord said, “I am going to send another Comforter, and He shall be with you, and He shall be in you,” because He is the Spirit.
The Lord, when He was on earth, had a physical body, and with that physical body He was restricted by time and space. He could be with the disciples, but not in them.
But thank God, after He died and accomplished the work of salvation, after He was resurrected and ascended on high to the Father, He sent us another Comforter, the Spirit of truth. Because He is the Spirit, He can live in us.
And because He is in us, He will never leave us nor forsake us. No matter where you go, He goes with you. You may grieve Him; you may quench Him; but you cannot drive Him out.
You know, in Old Testament times David prayed in Psalm 51:
Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
In Old Testament times, that was possible. But in New Testament times, under the new covenant, this is impossible. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in believers, will never leave you nor forsake you. He is always there.
Now, the word Comforter in Greek is Parakletos. The word means someone who comes to your side to help.
Unfortunately, modern English has changed much. Some words have changed much of their meaning. When John Wycliffe translated the English Bible in the fourteenth century, he translated that Greek word Parakletos into Comforter.
But today, when we think of comfort, what does it impress upon us? It is almost like someone who comes by your side, pats you on the shoulder, and says, “Everything will be all right. Don’t worry.”
This is almost the impression of a comforter: whatever you do, it is okay; it does not matter; it is all right. That is merely comfort.
But the word Comforter in the original Greek, and in ancient English, has a very different meaning. It has more the meaning of strength than of consolation—more of conflict than comfort.
How do we know? Suppose, first, in English. When John Wycliffe translated the New Testament from Greek to English, in Philippians 4:13 he used the same word, comfort:
I can do all things through Him who comforteth me.
But the word comfort does not mean someone who is merely petting your shoulder and trying to hush you up by saying, “Everything is okay.” No, not like that.
We know the meaning:
I can do all things through Him who strengtheneth me.
He gives me strength. He is the power, and He is there to strengthen me, that I may do all things to the glory of God. So immediately you know that, in ancient English, it is more a matter of strength than of consolation.
If you are still not convinced, read those places where the word Comforter occurs in the New Testament. In John 14 through John 16, the word Comforter is used in four passages: John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, and John 16:7.
As you read these four passages, you will find not one instance in which the Comforter is connected primarily with comfort or consolation. It is always connected with strength.
He is the Spirit of truth. He shall lead you into all truth. Now, dear brothers and sisters, when you come to the matter of truth, there is conflict there. Do not think that you can enter into truth without conflict.
The whole world lies under the wicked one. The whole world is a big lie. It is very comfortable to live in the lies of the world, but when you want to enter into truth, there is tremendous conflict involved.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He is here to lead us into truth—that is to say, to lead us into reality.
The people in this world live in a dream, in a lie, a falsehood, a pretence, a counterfeit. But when the Spirit of God comes, He will lead us into reality. And we know reality is Christ.
There is tremendous conflict there. That is the reason why, in John 16, He says that when the Comforter comes, He shall convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That is power.
In the same Gospel, you find that when the Spirit of God—that is, the Comforter—comes, He shall bear witness of the Lord Jesus. That is power.
So every time that word is mentioned, you find it carries the meaning of conflict and strength. Of course, comfort and consolation are included, but that is secondary, not the primary meaning.
Now, the same word is translated Advocate in 1 John 2:1:
We have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous.
The word Advocate is the same word translated Comforter in John 14 through John 16. It is the same word.
We have an Advocate with the Father. He is there as our Advocate, our Counselor, our Lawyer, our Guardian. He is there pleading for us with the Father.
So here you find two Advocates. Our Lord Jesus is today the Comforter, our Advocate, pleading for us with the Father. And the Holy Spirit is today the Comforter, the Advocate in us.
What is the work of an advocate, a comforter, a guardian, a patron, a counselor? Number one, he represents. Number two, he pleads the cause of his client. Number three, he defends the name of his client. Number four, he manages the property and possessions of his client.
He represents, he pleads the cause, he defends the name, and he manages the property. That is the work of an advocate, of a Parakletos. He is there with you, representing, pleading, defending, and managing.
Whom does the Holy Spirit represent? Who is His client? Whose cause does the Holy Spirit plead? Whose name does He defend? Whose property does He manage?
We often think of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, as though He is here merely to comfort us. Oh, just to comfort us.
Yes, we have One with the Father. That is what our Lord Jesus is. The Lord Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. He is representing us with the Father. He is pleading our cause with the Father. He is defending our name, as it were, and He is managing our property, our inheritance, with the Father.
He is there with the Father and says, “My blood has redeemed them. Yes, they have failed, but My blood has cleansed them from all those things. They are My property, and their inheritance—I have given them Myself as their inheritance—and they shall inherit their inheritance.”
So here you find that our Lord Jesus is there with the Father representing us. But remember: the Holy Spirit is in you representing Christ.
The Holy Spirit in you does not represent you. He represents Christ. He is pleading the cause of Christ in you. He is defending the name of Christ in you. And He is managing the property of Christ, because you are the property of Christ.
You know, if the Holy Spirit were your advocate, you would find that often He pleads the cause of the opposite party. Isn’t that terrible? Suppose you are in court and engage a lawyer to defend you. Then, when the case is presented, your lawyer stands up—though he is supposed to plead your cause—and somehow speaks for the opposing party. Wouldn’t that be terrible?
And do you experience what the Holy Spirit is doing in you today? The Holy Spirit is not pleading your cause. Suppose you do something wrong: does the Holy Spirit plead within you for your cause? Not at all. He pleads the cause of Christ.
He is representing Christ in you, pleading the cause of Christ. He is in you defending the name of Christ.
When we do something unbecoming, something that reflects upon the name of Christ, the Holy Spirit works within us and begins to defend that name. Right?
And you are His property, God’s possession. When you are wandering off, the Holy Spirit will try to get you back. He is managing that property, seeing that the property is well kept until that day.
So, dear brothers and sisters, just remember that the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us today, is representing Christ. He is there to perfect that possession of Christ. That is His work.
I think this should be enough as an introduction. Now let us go to the letter to the Galatians.
First of all, our assignment. I forgot yesterday, and thank God somebody reminded us, but I surely remembered this morning.
You have looked through the letter to the Galatians. How many times do you find the word spirit used? Eighteen times? How about you? You got seventeen? All right, anybody got sixteen? Nineteen? Let us find them.
Now, I think probably one difficulty is that we may be using different versions. If we really want to count the number, we have to go to the Greek original. Therefore, there might be a little difference of opinion, and we have to grant that.
Let us look through these places first.
Galatians 3:2:
This only would I learn from you: received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:3:
Are ye so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are ye now perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:5:
He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth He it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:14:
That upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 4:6:
And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Galatians 4:29:
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also it is now.
Galatians 5:5:
For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.
Galatians 5:16:
But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:17:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.
Galatians 5:18:
But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Galatians 5:22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:25:
If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.
Galatians 6:1 includes both “spiritual” and “a spirit of gentleness”:
Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
You can count that once or twice. If you count “spiritual,” there will be two references; otherwise, just one.
Galatians 6:8:
For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:18:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
How many altogether? Nineteen? All right.
Now, the word spirit in Greek is pneuma. The transliteration in English is P-N-E-U-M-A. This word primarily means wind or breath, and then especially spirit, which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial, and powerful.
Of course, in the New Testament this word spirit is used in many different ways. You have to read the context to know exactly what it means. But I think that in the letter to the Galatians, the word spirit is used in three different ways.
Let us limit ourselves to the letter to the Galatians. One thing you have to remember is that in the original manuscripts, the script was either all in capital letters or all in small letters. They did not make a distinction between a capital-letter Spirit and a small-letter spirit.
Therefore, when you come to the word spirit, if you want to know whether it is the Spirit of God, the divine Spirit, or the spirit of man, the human spirit, it has to depend on an understanding of the context. And it is very difficult.
Why? Because the more you progress spiritually in the Lord, the less you are able to distinguish the Holy Spirit and the human spirit.
That is why, in the New Testament, it is sometimes very difficult to point out specifically whether a passage means the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit and grows into it. So it depends on the context and on the understanding of the translators.
You cannot simply depend on the capital letter and the small letter. You have to learn to know for yourself.
But the letter to the Galatians is not dealing with advanced spiritual situations. It deals with fundamental, elementary, initial spiritual conditions among God’s people. Therefore, you find that the Spirit there is very distinguishable.
In the letter to the Galatians, most uses of the word Spirit refer to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, translators use the capital letter in most cases.
Only perhaps in one or two cases is there some question. First of all, then, the word Spirit in Galatians mainly refers to the Holy Spirit.
Second, sometimes it refers to the human spirit. For instance, the last verse says:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
This refers to the human spirit. We know that our human spirit was dead in sins and transgressions, but it was reborn by the Holy Spirit.
That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
With believers, we have a new spirit within us, and the Holy Spirit dwells in our new spirit. That is the second use of the word spirit in Galatians.
There is a third use, in Galatians 6:1: “a spirit of gentleness,” or a spirit of meekness.
Here, a spirit of meekness speaks of a certain state of our spirit. Our human spirit, if it is normal, should exhibit a spiritual attitude of meekness. When our spirit is abnormal, our spirit can be proud and haughty.
It speaks of a certain condition of our spirit. Our human spirit is an organ; it can take up any colour.
If the Holy Spirit rules over our human spirit, then our human spirit will take up the character of the Holy Spirit and exhibit a spirit of meekness, the Spirit of Christ.
But if we allow our soulish life to invade our spirit, our spirit can take up some of the colours of our soulish life. We can be proud, haughty, jealous, and so on.
So just remember this: our spirit is an organ. The life of our spirit should be the Holy Spirit. But if we allow the soulish life to invade our spirit, our spirit can exhibit a manner that is not becoming.
You remember one day our Lord Jesus passed through the villages of Samaria, and the Samaritans would not receive Him because He was going to Jerusalem. They were deadly against the Jews. If anyone went through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem, they wanted nothing to do with him.
You remember the two sons of Zebedee, the two sons of thunder. Oh, they began to thunder. They came to the Lord and said, “Lord, wilt Thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, because they do not receive Thee?”
The Lord said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”
The Lord was going to Jerusalem with the spirit of the Lamb. He wanted to offer Himself as a sacrifice, in the spirit of meekness and humility.
Yet these two disciples who followed the Lord exhibited a spirit of hatred, jealousy, and pride—an opposite spirit. That was their soulish life.
So our spirit can be affected either way. Sometimes we say, “If it comes from the spirit, it is bound to be all right.” Well, it depends on which spirit. If it comes out of the Holy Spirit, yes. But sometimes it can come out of our corrupted spirit, corrupted by the evil spirit.
That is something said by the way. But these are the uses you find in the letter to the Galatians.
Now, a little analysis of these verses.
Number one: the Spirit is promised to us by our Lord Jesus. This is in John 14 through John 16. The Lord promised to give us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, as another Comforter to be with us and in us.
We receive the Spirit by the hearing of faith. We did not know there was the Spirit, but after we heard the report of faith, then we received the Spirit.
You remember an instance in Acts 19. Paul came to Ephesus and met twelve disciples of John. He noticed that something was lacking in their lives. So he asked them, “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed?”
They said, “Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given.” They had not heard the report of faith.
Paul was able to tell them of the finished work of Christ, and it was on the hearing of faith that they received the Spirit.
Number two: it is by the Holy Spirit that we are born again.
Sometimes Christians do not know the meaning of regeneration, of being born again. What is the meaning of new birth? If you go to John 3, you find:
That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The first Spirit is the divine Holy Spirit, and the second spirit is the reborn, new human spirit.
What is new birth? New birth is a rebirth. It is not a reformation; it is not an improvement. It is a birth from above. How? By the Holy Spirit.
We are born of the Spirit, and the Spirit with whom we are born is the Spirit of the Son of God. The Spirit of God who begets us is the Spirit of God’s Son.
This is very important. Why? Because He is the Spirit of the Son of God, therefore we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and we cry out, “Abba, Father.” We are born into the family of God. We become children of God.
And not only children: because He is the Spirit of the Son of God, through Him we receive sonship. Sonship.
Of course, it would take a long time to explain this, but I would just like to mention that we are born into the family of God by the Spirit. Because the Spirit is the Spirit of God’s Son, through Him we receive sonship.
Sonship means placing as sons. Not only are we children, but the children grow up to maturity and can be placed in the position of sons, as heirs and co-heirs with the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. That is what the Holy Spirit is doing.
Number three: the Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of God’s Son, is working in us toward the hope of righteousness. He is working in us to complete us, that we may arrive at sonship.
The Galatians made a tremendous mistake. They began with the Spirit, but they thought they could be completed by the flesh.
It was as if the Holy Spirit merely began them and then left them, like an ostrich that lays an egg and then goes away, leaving the eggs there. Oh no, the Holy Spirit is not like that. He does not begin us and leave us behind for us to see to it ourselves.
He is carrying us toward sonship. He is there to complete us. This is why He is within us. He is the Comforter. He is there to reveal Christ to us and to conform us to the image of God’s Son, that we may receive sonship.
This is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work of the flesh.
Number four: being born of the Spirit, we need to live by the Spirit. We must walk by the Spirit. We must be led by the Spirit. In doing that, we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
If we walk by the Spirit, you will find that the Holy Spirit will always lead us to the cross.
Because He leads us to the cross, we are not able to fulfil the lust of the flesh. The Holy Spirit and the cross are inseparable.
It is by the eternal Spirit that our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, offered Himself as a sacrifice. The Holy Spirit led Christ to the cross, and as Christ died and was glorified, then the Holy Spirit was given.
So you find that the Holy Spirit always leads us to the cross, and the cross always gives us the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is working in your life, if you are walking by the Spirit, how do we know that we live by the Spirit? How do we know that we walk by the Spirit? How do we know the Holy Spirit is leading us?
Remember, if He is leading us, He always leads us to the cross. Always.
And at the cross, the lust of the flesh is not able to be fulfilled, because it is crucified—crucified.
Number five: by walking by the Spirit, we are sowing to the Spirit. What we sow, we shall reap.
Sowing to the Spirit will result in the fruit of the Spirit. That is a familiar verse in Galatians: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and so on. Everybody knows about it.
By being led by the Spirit, then, in degree, we will grow to be spiritual.
What do I mean by spiritual? It simply means the degree of the rule of the Spirit over your life. It does not mean that you know more doctrines or teaching than anybody else. It simply means that your life is more under the control of the Holy Spirit.
Then you become spiritual, and as you become spiritual, you will be able to help those who are weak.
Spirituality is not for your own purpose. It is not for display—“See how spiritual I am.” The moment you try to display it, you are carnal; you are not spiritual.
Spirituality is for the purpose of ministry. Then you are able to minister to those who are weak. But while you are ministering, you minister with a spirit of meekness, lest you too may fall.
In other words, it is not because you are spiritual that you will always remain spiritual. You may be spiritual, but if pride enters into your mind, you fall into carnality. There is no guarantee. There is no guarantee.
Finally, our spirit needs always to be strengthened with the grace of our Lord Jesus.
The more we are strengthened in our spirit by the Holy Spirit, the more we will be able to know the breadth and length and height and depth, to apprehend with all the saints the love of God which is beyond knowledge, and to be filled with all the fullness of God. You know that in Ephesians 3.
So these are the things you find in the letter to the Galatians concerning the Spirit—the Spirit, the third element of the gospel.
Without the Spirit, there can be no gospel. Why? Because the finished work of Christ cannot be communicated to us and become a living experience in us if there is not the Holy Spirit.
So the Holy Spirit is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, today the Holy Spirit is not preached as part of the gospel.
Because of that, we use human persuasion and human methods and try to get people convicted and converted. They are converted to Christianity, but they may not be converted to Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can do that work.
How important is the Holy Spirit in the gospel? He is from the beginning to the end of the gospel. In other words, not only does He begin; He perfects. All along our way, He is the sole Agent of all spiritual things.
Now finally, we come to the other word, flesh. How many times is the word flesh used in the letter to the Galatians? Seventeen? Eighteen? Sixteen? How about nineteen?
Well, I do not know. How many say it is sixteen? How many say it is seventeen? How many say it is eighteen? Well, I think eighteen wins. Probably there are eighteen times.
Now, the word flesh in Greek is sarx. The transliteration is S-A-R-X.
Of course, the word flesh is used in the Bible in many different ways. We will not go into all the different uses. Again, we will limit ourselves to the way it is used in the letter to the Galatians.
In the letter to the Galatians, the word flesh is used, number one, as mankind. Paul said, “I conferred not with flesh and blood.” That is, “I did not consult with man, with men, flesh and blood.”
Number two, it denotes our physical body.
Paul says:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith.
Yes, Paul was crucified with Christ, but he still lived in his body. He also told the Galatians that when he first came to them, he was there in weakness of the flesh, but they loved him so much that they did not despise the gospel he preached because of the weakness of his body.
We are told that, as Paul travelled in that area, it was an area infested with malaria. So perhaps Paul caught malaria. That may be one reason why, instead of going west, he went around among the Galatian cities.
When he was there, he probably had malaria. If you know malaria—I hope you do not—it can make you feel so cold that you shake all over. You can put many blankets over yourself and still be shaking. Then, in the next moment, you can be so hot and warm.
Malaria can weaken you very much. It most likely affected Paul’s eyes, and he could not see well. Some people say perhaps that was his thorn in the flesh, but we do not know for sure.
Anyway, you find that flesh in Scripture, and in Galatians also, can speak of the physical body. That is the flesh—the physical body.
Number three: mainly in this letter to the Galatians, flesh speaks of the lower element in a Christian—the lower element in a Christian.
You know, in the Bible, I think the first time the word flesh is used is in Genesis 6. If I am not right, just correct me.
God said that man had become flesh, and that His Spirit would no longer strive with them.
Flesh in Scripture can mean man, mankind; it can mean our body. But flesh mainly means soul and body without the spirit. That is the flesh—the lower part of our human life.
In Jude, we are told of those who “separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” Of course, the people in this world do not have the Holy Spirit. Even their human spirit is dead. They have it, but it is dead, as if they do not have the spirit.
That is the reason why, in the English language, when I was a boy, a missionary stayed in our home from Virginia. Whenever something happened, he cried out, “Oh, my soul and body!” He never mentioned spirit.
The world does not know the spirit. The spirit is there, but without the spirit it is just so empty. That is flesh. That is flesh.
But after we are saved, our spirit is renewed, and the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. Yet if we do not walk by the Spirit, our flesh will still try to regain its lost position.
We can walk after the flesh, the lower element of Christian life, instead of walking by the higher element within us. We are to walk by the Spirit, that is to say, led by the Spirit of God. Then we reap eternal life.
But if we sow to the flesh, the lower part of our body and soul, then we will reap destruction.
So we may say that the flesh in a Christian is the uncrucified man. It is the daily experience of the old man in us.
The old man is our positional past; before God, it is no longer there. But the flesh is something we may experience daily.
Number two: that which is born of the Spirit is spirit; that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Underline the word is.
In other words, you can never educate, refine, or improve the flesh and make it spiritual. That is what many people are doing, but it cannot be.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. In other words, the flesh will never change. Whether it is before you are saved or after you are saved, do not think that because you are saved, your flesh has become holy flesh. There is no such thing.
Your flesh remains as natural as it was before. It never changes.
Number four: the flesh profiteth nothing. John 6:63.
We have to learn this hard lesson. We have to see that the flesh profits nothing. Do we honestly believe that?
Even the great apostle Paul had a hard time learning that lesson. Remember, the whole of Romans 7 speaks of the flesh—the good flesh.
Paul had a lot of good flesh in him. Adam is not all bad, you know. Adam had many good things in him.
Here you find this man Paul: his good flesh took over his life and said, “I am going to serve God. I am going to keep the law of God. I believe I can do it, and I am going to try it.”
Here he was trying with all the power of his flesh, and certainly Paul’s flesh was pretty strong.
But one day he came to the conclusion. He said:
I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.
No good. Oh, brothers and sisters, this is a very hard lesson to learn.
Before we believed in the Lord Jesus, we acknowledged that we could not be justified by the works of our flesh. But after we are saved, somehow we think that now our flesh has changed, so we can use this flesh to serve God.
Formerly, we used this flesh to serve sin. Now we change our master, so the same flesh begins to serve God. You try it, and you will find there is no good in your flesh.
When you try to serve God with your good flesh, your bad flesh will take over. The works of the flesh are manifest—very manifest. But it is a hard lesson to learn.
Number five: why does the flesh love so much to do something? You know, our flesh is always very active. It is an activist, not a pacifist. It is always desiring to do something. Why? Because it wants to have something to boast of.
So here you find the Galatian believers. They began with the Spirit, but they tried to be perfected by the flesh. What a deception.
Number six: we all have the flesh. But thank God, we have the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit strives against the flesh, and the flesh strives against the Spirit, so that we are not able to do what we want to do.
Now remember this. In Romans 7, Paul says, “I cannot do what I ought to do, and I do what I should not do.” But in Galatians it is just the reverse.
My flesh wants to fulfil its lust, but the Holy Spirit strives against my flesh and does not allow my flesh to fulfil its lust.
So Romans 7 and Galatians 5 speak of two different levels. In Romans 7, the flesh is in the ascendancy. Why? Because that man did not depend on the Spirit; he depended on his own will.
So he wills, and he fulfils the lusts of the flesh. But in Galatians, if you discover the Spirit, if you discover that the Holy Spirit is within you, you will find that you are not able to do what the flesh wants to do. Thank God for the victory.
Isn’t that the experience of us believers? You find a civil war within you. You find within you the flesh striving against the Spirit and the Spirit striving against the flesh.
Remember, there is no need for defeat. Why? If you know the Spirit, it is by the Spirit that the flesh cannot fulfil its lust.
When the flesh begins to come up within you, immediately the Holy Spirit will remind you. The Holy Spirit will remind you, saying, “Well, this is your flesh.”
If you cooperate, you do not need to do anything. But if you cooperate and say, “Yes, I am crucified with Christ. Two thousand years ago, this flesh was already crucified,” then by the Spirit you put the deeds of the body to death.
In other words, just take a stand. Just take a stand with the Spirit.
As you take a stand with the Spirit, Galatians 5 says:
They that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
This is the way of salvation.
Number seven, finally: the flesh is to be crucified.
The flesh cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Do not think that you can carry your flesh, or the works of the flesh, into God’s kingdom. No part.
If there is no part, it is better not to do it, because it will all be in vain. The flesh is to be crucified; it is not to be glorified.
The Galatian believers made a serious mistake because the Judaizers tried to draw out the flesh of the Galatian believers in order to glory over their flesh.
But Paul said, “Now I glory in the cross.” The flesh is to be crucified.
I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.
The wounds of our Lord Jesus.
So, dear brothers and sisters, just remember this: the flesh is to be crucified. We who walk after the Spirit ought to have the marks of the cross in our lives.
But having our flesh crucified, our soul is purified and transformed. That is what Scripture calls the salvation of the soul.
At the coming of Christ, even this body will be transformed into a spiritual body. That is the full salvation.
So, dear brothers and sisters, here in the letter to the Galatians we find:
If we know more of grace, of faith, and of the Spirit, then we will have the truth of the gospel.
Shall we pray?
Our Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thy grace has been given. How we praise and thank Thee that faith is Thy gift to us. As we look to Christ, Thou dost give us faith.
We praise and thank Thee for the Spirit, who communicates and leads us into all truth. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We pray that by Thy grace we may never, never be distracted into another gospel which is not a gospel. Never mix law with grace. Oh, deliver us from depending upon the works of the flesh.
Oh Lord, make us understand that there is no place for flesh in Thy kingdom. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.