But I say, Walk in [the] Spirit, and ye shall no way fulfil flesh's lust.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh and these things are opposed one to the other, that ye should not do those things which ye desire;
Two powers live inside one believer, and each is set against the other. Much hangs on the last clause: one reading leaves the believer helpless, the other puts the Spirit in charge.
Before God gives the Spirit, nothing in a person resists the flesh. One writer sees the same order in Israel's journey out of Egypt:
God had given the gushing water through the struck rock, a picture of the Spirit. Right after that, Amalek — a picture of the flesh — appears... So it is not until we receive the Holy Spirit as believers that this conflict begins. In our unconverted days the flesh reigned supreme, and its power in our lives was unchallenged.
Some people insist their old nature is dead and gone. One story shows what is still there:
There was a man who insisted that his flesh was dead, and he had no more passionate desires. Someone threw a cup of water in his face, and at once he lost his temper, and became very angry. His flesh was not dead, but was only waiting for a chance to show itself... Let us not forget that the flesh is still here, as this chapter in Galatians shows. It is passionately opposed to the Spirit, to stop us walking by the Spirit. And the Spirit is opposed to the flesh, to stop the Christian walking according to the flesh.
Older English versions end the verse with "so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Commentators reject that wording. The ESV has "to keep you from doing the things you want to do," which is closer to what they argue for:
Taken as it stands, it would teach that both the Spirit and the flesh are equally powerless. Or rather, it would mean that the result of their fight against each other is that the believer can do nothing at all... The words should be rendered, "that you should not do those things which you desire." This at once clears away the difficulty... The flesh will always be evil, and cannot be made better, improved, or changed. The Spirit, thank God, is holy. So the two can never be in agreement.
Misread, the verse becomes an excuse:
Galatians 5:16 clearly teaches that if we walk in the Spirit, we shall have sure and constant victory over the flesh. So it would be a very serious mistake to quote Galatians 5:17 as a reason for a low, fleshly walk. Its teaching is designed to produce the direct opposite.
Romans 7 also describes an inner fight. But the two passages end in opposite places. The difference is who opposes the flesh:
In Romans 7 it is the flesh against the inward man, instructed and enlightened by the law. In Galatians 5 it is the flesh against the Spirit, and the position is completely reversed. The renewed mind, directed and urged forward by the law, is no match for the flesh; but the flesh is no match for the Spirit.
The last clause states a purpose, not a defeat:
When our flesh stirs us up to desire its old things, the Spirit of God does not remain passive in us, but causes conflict within... He holds the believer back from doing the things the flesh likes, and moves him to do the things God loves. He does this by acting on the new man.
Commentators differ on whether the fight ever stops. One writer holds that the verse states the fixed opposition of the two, and not a daily battle:
Galatians 5 states the fact of the two opposing principles — flesh and Spirit — set against each other. This is not necessarily conflict. When we walk in the Spirit we are above the influence of the flesh, and do not carry out its desires.
- Two natures. A believer has two natures at once, and they can never agree. The flesh stays what it always was.
- New war. The conflict only starts when God gives the Spirit. Before that, the flesh met no opposition at all.
- One word. Read it as "should not," not "cannot." The clause names the Spirit's purpose in blocking the flesh, not the believer's helplessness.
- Two outcomes. Under law the renewed mind loses (Romans 7). Under the Spirit the flesh loses — same fight, opposite result.
- One walk. The verse is not an excuse for a poor life. It is the reason to walk in the Spirit, where the flesh's desires go unmet.