How is the Spirit against the flesh (Galatians 5:17)?

The translation of the last clause of this verse, as may be seen from the Revised Version, is altogether faulty. Taking it as it stands, it would teach that both the Spirit and the flesh are equally impotent, or rather that the result for the believer of their mutual antagonism is that he cannot do anything, that, whatever his desires, the desires of the new nature, even though indwelt by the Holy Ghost, he is utterly helpless, cannot do the things he would. An examination of the context (v. 16, for example) shows at once that such a thought is wholly alien from the mind of God; and, in fact, the words should be rendered, "that ye should not do those things which ye desire." This at once clears away the difficulty. The Galatian saints were not walking according to the character of their calling. Losing the sense of grace, they had put themselves back, through the influence of Judaizing teachers, under law; and the consequence was, that the flesh assumed its old dominant place in their lives. (v. 15.) The only remedy for this, as the apostle points out, was to "walk in the Spirit." (Compare Rom. 8:13.) Thereupon he takes occasion to bring before them the abiding character of the flesh, and its irreconcilable contrariety with the Spirit. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." The two are, and must ever be, opposed. The flesh will always be evil, and cannot be ameliorated, improved, or changed; and the Spirit, blessed be God, is holy; and it is impossible therefore that the two can be in agreement. The flesh "lusteth" against the Spirit, ever antagonizing, and ever seeking, in opposition to the Spirit, to gratify its own inclinations. The Spirit, on the other hand, is ever in opposition to the flesh, and seeks to repress its activities, and thus to lead the believer according to God. The question then is, To which shall the believer yield? If by grace he walks in the power of the Spirit, he will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh (v. 16); but if, on the other hand, he surrenders himself to the dominion of the flesh, there is then, as verses 19-21 indicate, no sin, however abominable, into which he may not fall. Give the Spirit His place in our souls, He will produce the beauteous fruit mentioned in verses 22, 23. But then, as the apostle warns these saints, it is a characteristic of those "that are Christ's," that they "have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." If, therefore, any were allowing the sway of the flesh, let them take heed lest, after all, they had but deceived themselves with a vain profession, and did not really belong to Christ. If we live in the Spirit, let it be seen — for this is the force of the exhortation — by our also walking in the Spirit. E. D.

The translation of the last clause of this verse, as may be seen from the Revised Version, is altogether faulty. Taking it as it stands, it would teach that both the Spirit and the flesh are equally impotent, or rather that the result for the believer of their mutual antagonism is that he cannot do anything, that, whatever his desires, the desires of the new nature, even though indwelt by the Holy Ghost, he is utterly helpless, cannot do the things he would. An examination of the context (v. 16, for example) shows at once that such a thought is wholly alien from the mind of God; and, in fact, the words should be rendered, "that ye should not do those things which ye desire." This at once clears away the difficulty. The Galatian saints were not walking according to the character of their calling. Losing the sense of grace, they had put themselves back, through the influence of Judaizing teachers, under law; and the consequence was, that the flesh assumed its old dominant place in their lives. (v. 15.) The only remedy for this, as the apostle points out, was to "walk in the Spirit." (Compare Rom. 8:13.) Thereupon he takes occasion to bring before them the abiding character of the flesh, and its irreconcilable contrariety with the Spirit. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." The two are, and must ever be, opposed. The flesh will always be evil, and cannot be ameliorated, improved, or changed; and the Spirit, blessed be God, is holy; and it is impossible therefore that the two can be in agreement. The flesh "lusteth" against the Spirit, ever antagonizing, and ever seeking, in opposition to the Spirit, to gratify its own inclinations. The Spirit, on the other hand, is ever in opposition to the flesh, and seeks to repress its activities, and thus to lead the believer according to God. The question then is, To which shall the believer yield? If by grace he walks in the power of the Spirit, he will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh (v. 16); but if, on the other hand, he surrenders himself to the dominion of the flesh, there is then, as verses 19-21 indicate, no sin, however abominable, into which he may not fall. Give the Spirit His place in our souls, He will produce the beauteous fruit mentioned in verses 22, 23. But then, as the apostle warns these saints, it is a characteristic of those "that are Christ's," that they "have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." If, therefore, any were allowing the sway of the flesh, let them take heed lest, after all, they had but deceived themselves with a vain profession, and did not really belong to Christ. If we live in the Spirit, let it be seen - for this is the force of the exhortation - by our also walking in the Spirit. E. D.

Still, even so, the conflict described is in the main an internal one, preparatory to the believer being able and fit to enter into the conflict which is properly Christian. It is, so to speak, the clearing up of a condition of civil war and internal strife. Only when that is settled can the wars of the Lord be entered upon by any of us.

Galatians 5 has the same internal conflict in view, but approaches the subject from a different angle. If Romans 7 is the flesh versus the inward man instructed and enlightened by the law, Galatians 5 is the flesh versus the Spirit, and the position is exactly 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. Still, by the possession of the Spirit the personality and individual responsibility of the believer is not suppressed. He has to walk in the Spirit, and then, and only then, he does not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Then it is that he does not do the things that otherwise he would.

When our flesh stirs us up to desire its old things, the Spirit of God does not remain passive in us, but occasions conflict within: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other [in order] that ye should not (lit.) do the things that ye would." (Gal. 5:17.) He restrains the believer from doing the things which the flesh likes, and constrains him to do the things which God loves, and effects this by acting upon the new man.

The believer is not, and never will be, free from having sin in him in this world; nor will he be free from the danger of committing any kind of evil: and he is never, practically, safe except when he feels his weakness, and walks in the dependence of faith in God. Should he say, "I cannot help doing evil," then he denies the Spirit of God in him as the power for holy living, and remains in the mire of wrongdoing. Should he say, "I am holy, or spiritual, or heavenly," and in his heart think of what he is in himself, then it is self at work in another and more dangerous form, and he has denied the Spirit of. God in His power producing holiness, spirituality, and heavenly-mindedness. This last is worse than the first, for the first is unbelief in God, the last belief in self. The truth is, there is constant conflict proceeding within the child of God, and the Spirit is continually restraining from evil, as well as leading to good; and truth is the effect of the work of the Spirit of truth.

"The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary one to the other, so that ye may not do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). "May not" is the literal rendering of this passage — not "cannot," as the common version reads. The constant opposition between "flesh" and "spirit" is to hinder the man who has the Spirit from doing what he would. If it said "cannot," it would deny the power of the Spirit to control the flesh. On the contrary, the apostle says, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." But the flesh is still there for all that; ready, alas, ever to assert itself. How solemn in this way to find, when spiritually interpreted, after the water from the rock, the conflict with Amalek!

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall in no wise fulfil flesh's lust. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these things are opposed one to another, that ye should not do those things which ye would; 18 but if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are under no law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strifes, jealousies, bursts of passion, contentions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revels, and things like these, as to which I forewarn you, even as also I forewarned, that they who do such things shall not inherit God's kingdom. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: 23 against such things there is no law. 24 But they that are of Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts. 25 If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. 26 Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

But there is a way in which the Christian may walk through this world, with the enemies on every side, and be in perfect safety. There is a way in which the flesh has no power whatever against the Christian. And what is that way? "Walk by the Spirit, and you shall not at all give effect to the passionate cravings of the flesh." That is our secret, "walk by the Spirit." God has given the Holy Spirit to dwell in each believer, and He does dwell in us, though often we forget Him, or grieve Him (Eph. 4:30), or disregard Him; but He does dwell in you, dear Christian reader, and He is ready to give you power for your walk. Heed His least prompting, obey Him instantly as He brings to your mind the Word of God; so we "walk by the Spirit." In verse 18 we will read of being "led by the Spirit." That is true; He knows the path we are to walk, and He is a faithful, trusty Guide. If we will but let Him lead us, then we will truly "walk by the Spirit," and we will not at all fulfill the passionate cravings of the flesh. How strong the flesh is! What passionate cravings it has! But there is One who is mightier than the flesh, who dwells within each one of us, and all His mighty power is ready to lead us, and to let us walk by the Spirit, so that there is no need for us to give effect at all to these passionate cravings of the flesh. In the Greek it is a double negative; that makes it very strong, "not at all" do we need to heed the flesh.

Now we find there are two dwelling within us who are utterly opposed to each other. The flesh is passionately opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit is passionately opposed to the flesh; so I find that within me there is a war going on, more bitter, more determined, and lasting longer than any war on earth. The flesh is always wanting to have its own way, and do its own will; the Holy Spirit who dwells in me is always opposed to my flesh. If I listen to the flesh, and yield my members to it, then the flesh quickly makes itself manifest in me; but if I walk by the Spirit, and let the Spirit lead me, then I will not at all listen to the passionate cravings of the flesh.

There are those who tell us that the flesh in them is dead, or is "burned out," and will never act again. No, dear reader, the flesh is very much alive, as we will soon see, if we do not heed the Holy Spirit within us. 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 immediately he lost his temper, and became very angry. His flesh was not dead, but was only waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. Though the flesh is not dead, and will be with us as long as we are down on this earth, yet we may thank God that He has provided a way in which it may be kept in the place of death. So in Romans 6 we read, "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with (Him), that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin. For he that has died is justified from sin… So also ye, reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to obey its lusts. Neither yield your members instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God." Rom. 6:6-13, J.N.D. Trans. But the only way I can put this into practical effect in my life, is by walking by the Spirit, letting the Spirit lead me, yielding myself and my members to God, to lead me, and use me as He pleases. So I live to God, not to the flesh.

We have in ourselves two different powers, the old nature (the flesh) and the Spirit and these two are opposed to each other, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit; and the Spirit against the flesh." The flesh will never like the guidance of the Spirit, a very important thing to realize. For besides new life we still have the flesh, the old and evil nature (the old man, our standing before conversion, has been taken away, but the sinful flesh remains), the power and the guidance of the new life being the Holy Spirit. Flesh and Spirit are opposed to each other. Whenever we wish to be guided by the Spirit to fulfil the will of the Lord, there is the flesh which says 'No'. Whenever we are feeble and weak and tend to follow our flesh there is the Sprit Who says, 'Do not do that. Follow the Lord'. So whatever we do, whether we are liable to sin, or whether we try to live in the new life as guided by the Spirit, there is always a power in us opposite to it, there is always this internal controversy, "that ye should not do those things which ye desire".

Here then we have conflict indicated. Yet while the conflict is inevitable, since the nature and desires of flesh and Spirit are altogether contrary, it is not supposed that the conflict is continuous; but rather the reverse. The point is that walking in the Spirit one is lifted above the desires and activities of the flesh, and for so long as the believer does walk in the Spirit he is not in conflict but in deliverance and liberty.

A. ― First, there is no proper Christian conflict in Scripture but that of Eph. 6:12; this is fighting God's battles against Satan's power. Rom. 7 is not conflict but experience of a renewed soul under law; not the experience of a person at the time of his feeling its bitterness, but that of a delivered man, who narrates what he had felt when he was learning his powerlessness against the sinful nature he had discovered, and the sad evil of the flesh in which dwelt no good thing. As a man who has floundered in a morass, and finds every plunge putting him deeper, drops his hands and cries out for a deliverer, who comes and pulls him out and sets him free; the delivered one turns round to thank his deliverer and tell him, now at peace, what he felt when there. He had too much to think of when there, now he relates it on solid ground: so it is experience before deliverance, told by a delivered man. Gal. 5 states the fact of the two antagonistic principles ― flesh and Spirit ― in their contrariety one to the other. Not necessarily conflict; for when walking in the Spirit we are above the influences of flesh, and do not fulfil its lusts.