Life by the Spirit

By S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.

An Exposition of Galatians 5:13–26 [1]

Lewis Johnson regularly ministered the Word at Believers Chapel in Dallas for more than thirty years. During his academic career he held professorships in New Testament and Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. At the time of his death in January 2004 he was Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Dallas Seminary. Both MP3 files and printed notes of Dr. Johnson’s sermons and theological lectures may be downloaded from the web site of the SLJ Institute «www.sljinstitute.net».

Introduction

The Christian life—now that we have it, how shall we live it? Unfortunately, although delivered by the grace of God from the guilt of sin, for many believers the alternatives are a return to a life of bondage under the law of Moses as a means of gaining the favor of God or a life of freedom from any moral restraint. The latter, of course, is simply license. [2]

Historically the Antinomians [3] and the Puritans fought over the place of the law in the life of a believer. The former castigated the latter for resorting to “the whippings of the law” to control believers in their daily lives. Bunyan replied to them by putting in the mouth of Christian in his allegorical book, The Pilgrims Progress, “I walk by the Rule of my Master, you walk by the rude working of your fancies.” [4] It is easy to see that the struggle was a rather bitter one, and one not without its misunderstandings on both sides. The Puritan position generally prevailed among the Calvinists. Their fundamental position is accurately expressed by Kevan, “The Puritans held that Christian liberty freed the believer, not from the Law, but for the Law; so that although he is no longer ‘under’ the Law, he is, nevertheless, still ‘in’ the Law. This, they taught, was freedom itself.” [5] Compare 1 Corinthians 9:21.

The apostle Paul, taking a position quite similar to this, proposed to the Galatians a third alternative to life by the Mosaic law or life by license. He proposed a life in the liberty of the Holy Spirit, a life in which was fulfilled “the requirement of the law” (cf. Rom. 8:4). Against such a life as that “there is no law” (cf. Gal. 5:23). It is the Holy Spirit who has come to indwell the heart of the believer and undertaken to lead him in paths of righteousness. It is he who has introduced the love of God and the moral law, reflective of the nature and being of the Triune God, into the believer’s heart. Thus, the Author of the law of Moses has become the Christian’s Guide for a life of true freedom, freedom from the bondage of having to merit favor from God, and freedom for obedience to God out of love.

The liberty of the Christian life is not license. As John Stott has put it very succinctly, “Christian freedom is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.” [6] It is this freedom, because he, our law, has become our life, the one who, by virtue of what he has done for us, is the motivator and enabler toward sanctification.

William R. Newell, the well known Bible conference preacher and teacher, has told of an incident in his ministry that illustrates the power of love in relation to the true liberty of obedience. He wrote:

Several years ago…great interest was shown by a large company of young people who would gather about me after each meeting asking questions. There were two fine young men who earnestly protested that the words, “You also were made to die to the Law” (Rom. 7:4), could not mean exactly that—that the Law was the only means God had of preserving our obedience. So for a number of evenings they made their plea to keep Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, though God left “Jesus only” there! [Matt. 17:8; Mark 9:8; Luke 9:36]” 

I learned incidentally that one of these young men had recently been married. Therefore, in the course of the lesson the next evening, I went right down to him, for he and his wife were sitting in the second row of seats, and said, 

“I understand you have lately been married.” 

He began to redden up with embarrassment, but said, “Yes.” 

I said, “Does your wife obey you?” 

“Certainly,” he said. 

I said, “Have you kitchen rules posted up for your wife’s behavior in the kitchen? Have you dining-room rules?” 

“None,” he said. 

“Have you parlor rules?” 

“None.” 

“Have you any rules at all posted up in the house?” 

“None.” 

“And yet you claim that your wife obeys you,” I said. “Why does she?” 

He said, “She loves me,” which was a happy solution of our question. [7]

We have ignored the tremendous assets of our Christian life, and one of these is the presence of the Holy Spirit as the believer’s Guide in his daily life. We turn now to the apostle’s exposition of his importance in the accomplishment of the will of God in the Christian’s life. It is by his gracious ability that believers please God.

Exhortation Against License

What We Have Been Called To, verse 13a

For you were called to freedom, brethren.

In the opening of the section the apostle reminds the Galatians of that to which they have been called, saying, “For you were called to freedom, brethren.” In the historical situation he primarily had in mind the liberty from the bondage of the Mosaic law, especially from the rite of circumcision. By extension of principle we are justified in including other requirements which men have introduced in a legalistic way as necessary for salvation or sanctification. The taboos of modern Christianity would surely come under the apostle’s disapproval. He never would have countenanced the “give-up” kind of Christianity which is so prevalent in our churches today.

What We Have Not Been Called To, verse 13b

Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh.

Paul adds, “Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh,” a warning against license. There is an implication in the warning that the apostle’s teaching of freedom from the law did give some of his readers the mistaken notion that they were free from all restraint and might live in the chaos and anarchy of immorality (cf. Jude 4).

The Pauline Antidote, verses 13c–15

But through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

The freedom that believers have is the freedom to serve through love. Liberty with love leads to service of others, while liberty minus love leads to license. The love, of course, is the love implanted in the heart by the Holy Spirit and directed toward the one who has loved us and given himself for us. The service that proceeds from love for him fulfills all the righteous demands of the law.

The citation of the text from Leviticus 19:18 indicates that Paul conceived of the fulfillment of the Mosaic law as the natural issue of love for Christ. In other words, we are not to think that, since we have come to faith in Christ and have been freed from the law’s bondage, we may now disregard or disobey the law. It remains the expression of the moral will of God, and those who truly love the God of the Word will love his law in its expression of him. That it also reveals his desires is indicated by the fact that nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated as exhortations in the New Testament.

The Exhortation to Walk by the Spirit 

The Command, verse 16

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

“But I say,” Paul continues, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” The marvelous third alternative in the Christian way of life comes before us now. Walking by the Spirit precludes biting and devouring of one another (cf. v. 15).

There is a beautiful promise attached to the command to walk in the Spirit. It is, “And you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” He does not say that believers shall never have the lust of the flesh. He says, rather, that they shall not “carry out” the desire of the flesh. Christians are not, to use Luther’s memorable words, “stumps and stones.” [8] They do have desires and passions. There is an inner conflict and struggle in the believer’s inner man as long as he lives, but there is a way of deliverance for the Christian man through the enabling power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit is fully able to bring victory in the experiences of life.

The Cause, verse 17

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.

Ishmael and Isaac still struggle against one another, only now it is in the inner man of the believer! That is why we ought to walk in the Spirit. As Paul puts it, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, [9] so that you may not do the things that you please.” Instead of “ye cannot do” (KJV) the original text should be rendered, “You may not do” (NASB). [10] The apostle is not denying that a believer can have success in the warfare with the flesh. He is simply saying that the overcoming of the flesh does not rest in his own power. It rests in the power of God. But this verse does point to the fact that walking by the Spirit will not issue in subjection to the flesh.

The Consequences, verse 18

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

The opening clause of this verse, “But if you are led by the Spirit,” [11] expresses an assumption, confirmed by other passages in the New Testament. All believers are led of the Spirit; it is their birthright (cf. Rom. 8:14). They are, therefore, not under the law, which spells defeat, bondage, and spiritual impotence. Hendriksen defines the leading of the Spirit in this way: “It is that constant, effective, and beneficent influence which the Holy Spirit exercises within the hearts of God’s children whereby they are being directed and enabled more and more to crush the power of indwelling sin and to walk in the way of God’s commandments, freely and cheerfully.” [12] It is more than simply being guided: it means that the Spirit becomes the controlling influence of the believer’s life.

Life by the Spirit is for Paul the third way of life, distinct from life under the law and life in license. “It is by no means a middle course between them,” Burton says, “but a highway above them both, a life of freedom from statutes, of faith and love.” [13]

Success, then, in the Christian life is dependent upon the work of Christ, by which we are brought under the direction of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers, the constant working of the Spirit in the believer’s life, and the response in faith of the believer, a faith wrought also by God. (“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure,” Phil. 2:12–13).

Those who are led of the Spirit love the Word of God (cf. Ps. 119), learn to obey God’s precepts with gladness of heart through grace (cf. John 13:34; 14:15, 21; 15:10, etc.), and begin to see the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

The Evidence of the Two Kinds of Life

The Evidence of License, verses 19–21

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In this section Paul cites what characterizes a life of license and a life by the leading of the Spirit. The “deeds of the flesh” (τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός, ta erga tēs sarkos) are the evidence that the life is not under the control of the Spirit. Where these things are the individual’s pattern of life, there is no evidence that they belong to the holy Triune God.

It is almost impossible to classify the deeds of the flesh. The words used to describe the works of the flesh far outnumber the words used for the virtues of the fruit of the Spirit. Someone once said that it was a proof of our fallen state that our vocabularies are much richer in words for sin than in words for the graces. As Stott notes, the sins mentioned belong to four realms: [14]

• The realm of sex: immorality, impurity, and sensuality.
• The realm of the spiritual life: idolatry and sorcery.
• The realm of interpersonal relations: enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions.
• The realm of excessive drinking: drunkenness and carousing.

Finally, the apostle says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The word translated “practice” is a Greek word (πράσσω, prassō) that refers to the kind of person whose bent of life is characterized by these sins. Such a person is excluded from the kingdom of God (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 4:20; 5:7–11). The salvation purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ’s atoning work is a salvation from sin and results in practical holiness of life.

The Evidence of the Leading of the Spirit, verses 22–23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The evidence of the leading of the Spirit lies in a cluster of nine virtues that make up “the fruit of the Spirit.” This fruit is the product of the life of the Spirit in the believer. It is characterized by several interesting features. First, in the fruit of the Spirit there is unity. We notice that the word “fruit” is singular. There is only one fruit of the Spirit, but it contains nine virtues. If one of the virtues is missing, then we do not have the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit’s product is like a watermelon with nine flavors! Many commentators have suggested that the nine virtues illustrate the full-orbed, symmetrical character of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his life that the Spirit produces in the believer.

Second, the fruit of the Spirit possesses a notable harmony, the first triad of virtues (“love, joy, peace”) being inward in nature, the second (“patience, kindness, goodness”), outward, and the third (“faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”), upward. [15]

Third, it is necessary that believers have the fruit of the Spirit. The lack of the virtues indicates sin against the Holy Spirit who is engaged in producing them in the lives of the saints.

Finally, in the concluding words of verse 23 there is an important point made by Paul. The law of Moses finds no flaw in the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh may imitate or counterfeit certain of the virtues, but it can never produce them. The Spirit alone can do that, and the result satisfies all the demands of the moral law in the believer’s life.

It is sometimes forgotten that life by the Spirit is not a lower standard than life by the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. It is, if anything, a higher standard. Arthur Way has caught that in his rendering of verse 18, “But if you definitely surrender yourselves to the Spirit’s guidance, you are then not under the law, but on a higher plane.”

A New Position, verse 24

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

To reinforce the evidence of the new life under the control of the Spirit the apostle reminds the Galatians that they who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh with its dispositions and desires. This is the reverse side of the coin.

There are several things to notice in the statement of verse 24. First, the verb “have crucified” (ἐσταύρωσαν, estaurōsan) is important. The aorist tense refers to the past moment of their conversion. It was then that the decisive step was taken and a definite break with the past was made. In Christ, their representative, they died, and a death-blow was administered in him to the flesh. They stand on resurrection ground now, in union with him, and are to be in practice what they are in position, or in principle.

Second, the words “have crucified” are in the active voice, contrary to the pattern of Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:6, possibly because the emphasis here rests upon the faith exercised by the believers which sealed their union and identification with him in his saving work. On the other hand, it is well to remember that crucifixion is one death that a man cannot inflict upon himself, and we must not make too much of the active voice here.

The Effectuation of Life by the Spirit, verses 25–26

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Again, the apostle brings forward an assumption, [16] and upon the basis of it he exhorts his readers to a life in accord with it. The assumption is “If we live by the Spirit,” and the construction and context enforce its reality. Believers do live by the Spirit, for he is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Believers live by the Spirit (v. 25), are led by the Spirit (v. 18), and walk by the Spirit (vv. 16, 25), the first referring to the vital principle of life in union with Christ, the second to the Spirit’s control of the life, and the third to the conduct of the life.

The exhortation, based on the assumption, naturally follows. The walk should follow the life. The word rendered here by “walk” (στοιχέω, stoicheō) is different from that used in verse 16 (περιπατέω, peripateō). Peripateō refers to the activity of walking in a general way. It is, therefore, suitable for a general reference to the spiritual walk of a believer. The word used in this passage (stoicheō) came to mean “to conduct oneself rightly,” but it originally meant to walk in line, or to take a step in line (cf. 6:16; Acts 21:24; Rom. 4:12; Phil. 3:16). The apostle’s point is simply that, since we live by the Spirit, we ought to take each step by the Spirit. The figure of walking and the means by which men learn to walk are useful aids in the explication of what it means to walk by the Spirit in the spiritual life. Babies in learning to walk do not theorize about the matter; rather they gradually learn to walk by actually taking steps, first one, then more. So it is in the Christian life. Life begins with a step under the Spirit’s guidance, and it continues with further adventures in trusting the Spirit until the believer learns to walk spiritually. It is not a sudden accomplishment; it requires time and practice. Further, we never reach the place where we cannot fall.

Perhaps the most beautiful illustration of the Spirit’s method of guidance is found in Israel’s experience with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire in their wilderness journey (cf. Num. 9:15–23).

Conclusion

The Christian life, then, is not a life under the law of Moses, although the Christian life will always be in harmony with the righteousness of that law. Nor is it a life of license. It is a life under the Spirit and his controlling presence. That third way is the way of freedom, of light, and of life. May the Lord enable us to walk by him, and may the fruit that he alone produces be seen in us.

Notes

1. This is article fourteen in a sixteen-part series, “Expositional Studies in the Epistle to the Galatians.”
2. As used here the term “license” is closely linked to “antinomianism” (see next note). License in the life of the professing Christian may be defined as “an undue freedom or liberty,” i.e., licentiousness or unrestrained behavior.
3. Antinomianism (lit. “against the law”) is a view of the Christian life that so stresses Christian freedom from the condemnation of the law that it underemphasizes the need of the believer to confess sins daily, to obey the Lord’s commandments, and to pursue sanctification earnestly. Historically antinomianism is associated with Johann Agricola [1494–1566] and Tobias Crisp [1600–1643] (W. R. Godfrey, “Law and Gospel,” in New Dictionary of Theology, eds., Sinclair B. Ferguson, David F. Wright, and J. I. Packer [Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1988], 379).
4. John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford: University Press, 2003), 40.
5. Ernest F. Kevan, The Grace of Law: A Study of Puritan Theology (London: Carey Kingsgate, 1963; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Guardian Press, 1976), 267; cf. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 3.19.1, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), 1:833–34.
6. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, BST (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), 140.
7. William R. Newell, Hebrews Verse by Verse (Chicago: Moody, 1947), 235, n. 1.
8. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, ed., Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 27: Lectures on Galatians 1535, Chapters 5–6 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1964), 76.
9. The clause, “for these are in opposition to one another” (ταῦτα γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται), is a parenthetical observation suggested by the previous context, but it does not affect the argument of verses 16–17. It is an appeal to the believer’s experience, namely that these two (flesh and Spirit) are in constant conflict with one another. Cf. J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (1865; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 210. The present tense of the verb ἀντίκειται (“are in opposition”) “signals an ongoing opposition of the two entities” (Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians, WBC [Word: Dallas, 1990], 245).
10. The precise reasoning of Paul in the concluding clause of verse 17 (“so that you may not do the things that you please” [ἵνα μὴ ἅ ἐὰν θέλητε ταῦτα ποιῆτε]) has been much debated by the commentators (cf. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, NICNT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 250–51). There are at least four interpretations: (1) The conjunction ἵνα with the subjunctive most frequently indicates purpose, and does so here. The construction here expresses not the divine purpose but the purpose of both the flesh and the Spirit. “The flesh opposes the Spirit with the desire that people not do what they want when guided by the Spirit, and the Spirit opposes the flesh with the desire that people not do what they want to when guided by the flesh” (Longenecker, Galatians, 246). Burton summarizes, “Does the man choose evil, the Spirit opposes him; does he choose good, the flesh hinders him” (Ernest De Witt Burton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Epistle to the Galatians, ICC [Edinburgh: Clark, 1921], 302; cf. also Hans Dieter Betz, Galatians, Hermeneia [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979], 279–81; John Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians [Edinburgh: Clark, 1884], 411; Timothy George, Galatians, NAC [Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1994], 387–88). Proponents draw too close a parallel here between Romans 7:14–25 and Galatians 5:17. In Romans 7 the opponents are the sin nature and the new nature, and the child of God is attempting to keep the law in his own strength. In Galatians 5:17, however, the combatants are the sin nature [“flesh”] and the Holy Spirit [not the new nature]. In Romans 7 defeat is inevitable, but in Galatians 5 there may be defeat or victory. In Galatians 5, “the believer is not the helpless battleground of two opposing forces. If he yields to the flesh, he is enslaved by it, but if he obeys the promptings of the Spirit, he is liberated and can make a positive and willing response to the command, ‘Walk by the Spirit’” (F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians, NIGTC [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982], 245; cf. Stanley D. Toussaint, “The Contrast between the Spiritual Conflict in Romans 7 and Galatians 5, ” BibSac 123 [Oct., 1966], 310–14 [esp. 312]). (2) The second view is essentially the same as the first, but the grammar is understood differently. Proponents of this view understand ἵνα with the subjunctive verbs [θέλητε…ποιῆτε] to indicate result and not purpose (C. F. D. Mould, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek [Cambridge: University Press, 1963], 142; BDF, § 391.5 (198); Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], 473). The result of the ongoing opposition of the flesh and the Spirit is conflict in the believer’s life. So long as we are in this present life we will never outgrow spiritual conflict (Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 210; Herman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia, NICNT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953], 203–204, n. 9; Donald Guthrie, Galatians, NCB [London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1973], 135–36). The objections to this view are the same as those offered to view # 1 with the added observation that ἵνα with the subjunctive usually indicates purpose. (3) The third interpretation likewise views Romans 7:14–25 as a parallel passage to this one. The ἵνα clause refers back to the work of the flesh. The flesh operates with this purpose, namely, that the believer’s good desires are overcome (R. A. Cole, The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965], 158; Gottlob Schrenk, “θέλω,” TDNT 3 [1965]: 50). This view is unlikely for two reasons. First, as already noted, Galatians 5 and Romans 7 are not parallel passages. Second, the overall argument of Galatians 5:16–18 is that the believer faces not inevitable defeat but the promise of real victory. (4) The fourth interpretation understands the preceding words (“for these are in opposition to one another”) to be parenthetical, and the ἵνα clause to express purpose, namely, the purpose of the Holy Spirit empowered believer. The thought, then, is of the Holy Spirit’s hindering the work of the flesh. This view is to be preferred for two reasons: First, the thought of verse 16 deals with the Spirit’s overcoming of the desires of the flesh. Second, the parenthetical clause does not affect the argument of verse 17. Paul’s argument is that the believer is to choose to walk by the Spirit. The goal is that by doing this he will not do the things prompted by his flesh (C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, The Epistle to the Galatians [1922; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Kregel, n.d.], 278–79; George S. Duncan, The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, MNTC [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1934], 168). Unlike the conflict in Romans 7:14–25 where the believer is in a losing battle, the battle in Galatians 5 describes the Spirit indwelt believer who “stands under the promise of victory.… Our passage undoubtedly places the emphasis on the positive aspect of victory through obedience to the Spirit” (Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, 250–51).
11. Two observations are in order with regard to the opening clause, εἰ δὲ πνεύματι ἄγεσθε. First, the postpositive δέ, i.e., the δέ connecting verse 18 with what precedes it, should be translated “and” and not “but.” It functions here as “a simple connective, without any idea of contrast” (Longenecker, Galatians, 246). Second, the first class conditional construction (εἰ with the indicative in the protasis) assumes the reality of the statement. Longenecker translates, “And since you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians, 246). For full discussion of first class conditions, cf. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, 663, 690–94. In Galatians 5:18, Longenecker’s translation “since” is appropriate, pace Wallace (690).
12. William Hendriksen, Exposition of Galatians, NTC (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968), 217.
13. Burton, The Epistle to the Galatians, 302.
14. Stott, The Message of Galatians, 147–48; cf. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 210.
15. “The first of these [triads] comprises Christian habits of mind in their more general respect…; the second gives special qualities affecting a man’s intercourse with his neighbor…; while the third, again general in character like the first, exhibits the principles which guide a Christian’s conduct” (Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 212). “[The first] is a triad of general Christian virtues…[the second comprises] social virtues, manward rather than Godward in their direction.… The third triad…appears to describe the reliability of a Christian man” (Stott, The Message of Galatians, 148).
16. Just as in verse 18, Paul in verse 25 uses a first class condition, which Longenecker again translates, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians, 264).