Galatians 5:13-23 – Born Again

Once again, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹³For brothers you were called upon freedom. Only [do not use] that freedom into an opportunity to the flesh, but be serving one another through the love; ¹⁴for all the law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But beware, if you are biting and devouring each other, lest you are consumed by one another.

¹⁶But, I say, be walking [in the] Spirit, and you absolutely will not fulfill the lust of [the] flesh, ¹⁷for the flesh is lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, for they are opposed to each other, so that you cannot be doing the things you might be wishing; ¹⁸but if you are being led [by the] Spirit, you are not under law.

…²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As an almost parallel passage, I like what Romans 8:3,4  says:

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

“… what the law could not do …” Just think, if the law could do it, then we would not need a Savior. If we could do anything, it would be to keep rules. As the hapless Israelites delusively chanted, “All that the Lord commands us, we will do.” But they didn’t and they couldn’t and we can’t either. Our rule-keeper is broken. We want too much. The law cannot do it because we cannot do it. There has to be another way. And there is.

“… God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh…” Jesus. Always Jesus. We need a Savior and it is Him. He is the very gift of grace itself. When we say we’re saved by grace, when we say we’re loved by grace, when we say we walk by grace, when we sing “Amazing Grace,” we’re talking about Jesus. He is our blood-bought forgiveness; and the indwelling Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Stop a minute and think about those words: “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us…” Once again, as a freed man, it’s not that I long to be free of law. It’s God’s law. I was created to be “right.” I love Him who first loved me. My only problem with law is that I can’t do it. Yet, this passage says,“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us…”

And how is it possible that “the law might be fulfilled in me” if I can’t do it? It happens in those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Once again, the big problem is not that I do wrong, which I could presumably correct by doing right. The big problem is that I am wrong. The problem is not that I don’t do good. The problem is that I am not good. The real change which needs to occur goes far, far deeper than just me keeping the right rules; and all of this is why His Spirit is an indwelling Spirit. He doesn’t just hang around and help us do right – He takes up residence in our hearts to actually help us be right.

His indwelling now means there is a power present inside of me that can actually conquer my rotten spirit, my rotten me. The key is to allow myself to “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” – to not be driven by my wanter but by the Spirit who wants me to love.

All of this is why, I believe, as we are about to see in Galatians, they are the “works” of the flesh or the “fruit” of the Spirit. The “works” are totally me. It’s what I do naturally. But in Christ there can be a new natural. If I allow the indwelling Spirit to guide me, to be my spirit, my mind, my attitude, my wanter, the “me” He produces lives love and joy and peace.

Our Jesus truly saves “to the uttermost.” It’s all grace -- Not just some new rules but born again!