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Note — In the past, I have tried to produce articles on a regular schedule. If the topic required more attention than I could give it in the time I had allotted myself, I simply broke the discussion up into several smaller pieces. However, as I came to this article, I felt it needed a more cohesive treatment than this approach allows. So, I have taken three months to produce it. It is much longer than previous articles, and I expect it will take multiple readings to process all that I have tried to include. I have added headings and subheadings to break it up into more bite-sized pieces. I am interested in hearing about any portion where you would like clarification or expansion. 

Walking by the Spirit — it seems to be a pretty important piece of the the Christian life . So, how are you doing with that?

I suspect, that if you’re like most Christians, you’re not sure how to answer that question. Because, an honest self-evaluation requires more clarity about the process than you can articulate.

Let’s see if we can help with that.

So, Paul instructs us to  “walk by the Spirit”. How do we do that?

Well, the exhortation appears in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Originally, Paul had brought the Gospel to them (e.g., 1:8; 3:1), and they had believed. But after he left, other “teachers” came in, promoting a different “gospel” (1:6-9). Galatians is his response to this different teaching.

At issue is the question of how we are made righteous.

The correct answer, the one given Paul directly by God (1:11-2:10), is that we are made righteous by faith, just like Abraham (3:1-18, cf. Romans 4). As Paul’s explanation unfolds, walking by the Spirit will be an integral part of this righteousness. Consider the connection in chapter 3:

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?     – Galatians 3:2-3 (NAS95)

Note the implicit connection between faith and Spirit in 3:2-3 – they had begun their pursuit of righteousness by faith. In the very next sentence, that same beginning is characterized as having begun by the Spirit. Beginning by faith and beginning by the Spirit are parallel ideas.

In contrast, these other teachers insisted that, while faith in Christ might be good, observance of the Law was necessary for complete righteousness (3:2-3; 4:21). In the former passage (quoted above), this pursuit of righteousness by the Law also has a parallel expression — being perfected by the flesh. Reliance on the Law is reliance on the flesh.

The difference between these two positions highlights a critical point in understanding what it means to “walk by the Spirit” — Walking by the Spirit is distinct from, and at odds with, living under the obligations of the Law. You can’t live under the Law and walk by the Spirit.

Wait. What?

“Are you saying that we shouldn’t attempt to live according to the 10 Commandments?”

I am. And more.

I am saying that any attempt to be made righteous based on conformity to external requirements — whether it be trying to keep the 10 Commandments, observing a given set of religious rituals, or pursuing whatever set of “good works” is in vogue — will not make you righteous.

More importantly, I am saying that this is Paul’s position. This is the heart of the message God gave him.

To understand this, we need to take a closer look at this issue of “being made righteous” and the development of the Story leading up to this debate.

Understanding Key Elements of the Story

Rewind, all the way back to the beginning. There we find that God created us to represent Himself (bear His image), ruling over the creatures and filling the earth with image-bearers (Genesis 1:26-28). Think in terms of kings and realms. We were placed here to be an extension of His Kingdom – an outpost, if you will.

But very early in the Story, Satan, working through one of the creatures under our dominion, convinced us that God was holding out on us, and that if we were to rebel against Him, we could make our own rules, decide for ourselves what is good and what is not — i.e., that we could be our own god, doing what we want (Genesis 3). In that moment when we should have exercised our authority as God’s representative and subdued the rebellion, we joined it.

Of course, this didn’t turn out like we expected. Instead of finding a better life, we died, just as God said we would (Genesis 2:17). Intimacy, fellowship, beauty, and abundant provision are replaced by shame, accusation, pain, futility, and separation from God. It will be some time before we grasp the full extent of this death, but even at this point it is apparent that we have lost everything that gave meaning to our existence – our identity, our significance, and the fulfillment that was available to us.

So very early in the Story, we became rebels, existing in death.

Now, a dominant question of the Story becomes, “Can what we lost be recovered?”

In the immediate aftermath of our Fall, the answer appears to be a resounding “No”. Through the next eight chapters of Genesis (4-11) our pursuit of life independent of God fills the earth with hubris, violence and hopelessness.

But then, in chapter 12, God steps in promising to bless a guy named Abram unconditionally. This expression of God’s grace awakens the hope of recovering what was lost.

Abram, whom God eventually renames Abraham, continues his self-reliant and self-absorbed ways, yet experiences unbelievable temporal blessing by God in accordance with God’s promise (Genesis 12-14). However, the most significant aspect of the promise — the promise of a seed (descendent) through Whom all the world would be blessed — remained unfulfilled. When God re-affirmed (with some clarification) this promise to Abram, Genesis 15:6 tells us, “Then [Abram] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” So, righteousness was credited to Abram because of his faith, apart from and in spite of his works. Over 2000 years later, Paul will hold this up as the means by which all men are justified before God (Romans 4:2-5; Galatians 3:6-8).

Fast forward from Abraham roughly 600 years. Through Moses, God led Israel, Abraham’s descendants, out of Egypt in order to establish a relationship with them (Exodus 19:3-6). The terms of this relationship are set out in the covenant He gives Moses at Mt. Sinai. This covenant, summarized by the 10 Commandments and known as The Law, established a tabernacle, where God could physically dwell among His people (Exodus 25:8).

In this relationship the distance between man and God becomes obvious (Exodus 20:18-21). Those who were created to represent God are now terrified by His presence. Our rebellion has created such a gap between us and Him that any relationship will be intensely precarious. Without the meticulous regulations of the Law and the institution of a class of priests, to serve as go-between, no humans would survive God dwelling in their midst.  Although His glory took up residence in the midst of Israel in the Tabernacle, only one person — the High Priest — could actually come into God’s presence. And he could only do that one day a year — the Day of Atonement — and then, only if he did everything just right.

This Covenant was at the forefront of mankind’s relationship with God for the next 1500 years. If you wanted a relationship with God, you had to join the covenant, submit to the Law, and become a part of the nation of Israel. This was how you expressed faith in God during this period. This lasted until the Seed promised to Abraham — the Christ — Jesus, God’s Son, offered Himself as the sacrifice for mankind’s sin.

At the moment of Christ’s death, the veil in the Temple was ripped from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).

Why is this important?

Well, back during Solomon’s reign, the Tabernacle, a tent, was replaced by a permanent building, the Temple. And like the Tabernacle, the Temple had three distinct areas with increasingly restricted access: an outer courtyard, a holy place, and the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence dwelt after the completion of the Temple. The veil that was ripped at the moment of Christ’s death was the veil leading into the Holy of Holies — the veil that separated God from man. That it was rent from top to bottom shows that the rending was God’s doing. With Christ’s death, access to God was no longer restricted. The precarious relationship between God and man that had existed under the Law was being replaced by a relationship in which man could have, not only direct access to God, but in which God, through the Holy Spirit, would soon dwell, not in a tabernacle or temple, but within all believers.

With this background, let’s return to Galatians.

Two Phases of “Being Made Righteous” – Justification and Sanctification

To review the situation there — false teachers had come along behind Paul, arguing that while faith in Christ might be important, the Law was still necessary. Complete righteousness could not be obtained apart from keeping the Law.

In chapters 1 and 2 of Galatians, Paul establishes the authority of his message. He did not get it from other men; he got it by revelation directly from God. Yet, it agreed perfectly with the message the Apostles in Jerusalem had gotten from Jesus.

In chapter 3, he begins to refute the teaching requiring observance of the Law. As we have already seen, a careful reading of 3:1-9 will reveal two phases of “being made righteous.” Paul speaks of  a beginning, and then a second phase in which we are made perfect (3:3).

So, what’s going on in these two phases?

In the beginning phase, we are joined with Christ, and declared just, based on His righteousness (Romans 3:21-26; 4:1-8; Ephesians 1:3 ff). This phase is called justification, and deals with the guilt of our sin. With justification, the Spirit comes to dwell in us (Romans 8:8; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:2, 5).

But God’s plan involves more than simply delivering us from the guilt of sin. He also determined to deliver us from the power sin has over us. In addition to declaring us righteous, He intends to transform us into those who actually live righteously (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:14-16; 2 Peter 1:2-11). This phase is usually referred to as sanctification (Sanctification means to be made holy, set apart. Technically, it has three aspects – (1) positional sanctification (coincides with justification), in which we are set apart as God’s children, based on our faith in Christ, regardless of our conduct – e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9-20,  (2) experiential or progressive sanctification, this transformational aspect we are currently discussing – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 2 Timothy 2:20-22, (3) ultimate sanctification, in which the process is complete and we are set apart completely to God in heaven – Ephesians 5:26-27; Jude 24-25. When used without qualification, sanctification usually refers to the second aspect.).

The Galatians had already begun, that is, they had responded by faith, and thus, were justified. So the question Galatians 3:3 poses is, “Having been justified by faith, are we now sanctified (experientially) by the Law?”

Well, consider these two options – faith and the Law.

In Pursuit of Sanctification

Looking back to the early parts of the story, Paul reminds us that faith is how we participate in the blessing promised to Abraham (3:6-9).

“Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”     — Galatians 3:6-9 (NAS95)

On the other hand, we have the Law.

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.””     — Galatians 3:10–12 (NAS95)

The Law brings the exact opposite of blessing. You must keep all the Law — perfectly. Failure results, not in blessing, but cursing. The Law doesn’t ignore our past, simply encouraging us to “do better”. It can only condemn us for our failures. Our already manifested imperfection leaves us cursed (3:10-12).

The only relief from this curse is Christ Jesus. He took our place, so that the curse would be replaced with the blessing of Abraham, and we would receive the promise of the Spirit (3:13-14). But this is accomplished through faith.

Faith and Law. Blessing and Curse. Two options. Two outcomes. Blessing has always come through faith. The Law has always brought the curse.

So, why would we think that we can experience sanctification through the Law? Faith has always been the path to God’s blessing.

But there’s more. Paul continues.

Recall, the covenant given to Abraham and to his seed, Christ. It predates the Law by about 600 years. Even in human interaction, once a covenant is ratified, it can’t be voided or modified. Since blessing was promised unilaterally through the covenant with Abraham, the Law, coming later, cannot invalidate the promise and make blessing contingent on the Law (3:15-18).

Blessing must come through faith.

Proper Role and Limitations of The Law

So, what’s the purpose of the Law?

It was added because of transgressions, not as a way of righteousness. No law can impart life (3:19-21).

This is an aspect of our sanctification that has been hard to grasp.

Let’s begin with why we need life. We know that when Adam sinned, we died (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12-17; Ephesians 2:1). But I don’t think we have yet come to grips with the implications of this reality.

We get a good glimpse of it in Romans 6, where Paul is explaining why God’s grace is not a green light to continue sinning. He contrasts our life before faith in Christ with the life available after we trust Him.

“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”    – Romans 6:4-7 (NAS95)

Before faith in Christ, we are slaves to sin – powerless against its control. But through faith, we are raised to life and freed from sin. Did you get that? In being given life, we have been freed from sin. If life brings freedom from sin, what do you call being a slave of sin?

Death.

This is the part of death that we have failed to come to grips with. Sure, we can tell you that we will return to the dust of the ground. And we acknowledge that we are somehow separated from God. But we have failed to grasp human powerlessness toward sin.

Why do I say that?

Because of our propensity to look to external regulations – to the Ten Commandments, or the “rules” of our particular religious circle, or to historic religious rituals – things like the observance of religious holidays – Christmas, Easter, Lent – as the path to sanctification. These are what Paul calls elemental/elementary things:

• So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. ¶ However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.     – Galatians 4:3-11 (NAS95)
• See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.     – Colossians 2:8 (NAS95)
• If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.     – Colossians 2:20-23 (NAS95)

Note the deceptive nature of these elemental things. They appear wise, but they are powerless against fleshly indulgence. No law – not the Law, not any regulation – can bring life. If it could, God would have based righteousness on law (Galatians 3:21). But the best any of these things can do is condemn our failings – our sin. Which is the function of the Law (Galatians 3:23-25). That is why Paul calls all such rules and regulations elemental/elementary. They are the building blocks of our relationship with Christ in that they reveal our need for a Savior and point us to faith as the only means for salvation.

The Spirit and the Power to Choose

Now, here’s the deal. Although we have been raised to walk in the newness of life (remember Romans 6:4-7 ff ?), sin is still an issue in our lives. Romans 6 explains that this resurrection to a newness of life means that we now have the freedom to choose. Before, we could only serve sin. Now we can choose to serve sin or God (Romans 6:12-13). God offers the gift of life, but if we choose to serve sin, we will still walk in the realm of death in this life, even as a believer (Romans 6:20-23). This realm of death includes things like the shame, accusation, pain, futility that showed up immediately after that first sin in the Garden.

He goes on to explain that the problem is our flesh (Romans 7:14-25). Evil still resides there (v. 21), causing us to act contrary to our desires.

The result?

With our minds we serve the law of God, but with our flesh, we serve the law of sin (Romans 7:25). Although we are justified, our sanctification is incomplete so long as we are controlled by the evil still residing in our flesh.

So, what is the solution?

The law of the Spirit of life. It has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2 ff).

Which brings us back to Galatians and Paul’s argument there. As believers, the Galatians had been justified, and received the Spirit, through faith. But there is still this problem of their flesh. How will they be made perfect? How will their sanctification be made complete? Of course, the same question applies to us today.

Doctrinal Disconnect

At first, external regulations appear to be an attractive option. But on closer observation, we are reminded that the Law, and its kind, cannot give us power over the sin that dwells in our flesh — it can’t give us life. It can only condemn us — point out our need for a Savior. This is what we have already seen in Galatians 3.

Once it has accomplished that, and we respond by trusting Christ to pay the penalty for our sins, the Law has fulfilled its purpose in our life. We are freed from any further obligation to it (Galatians 4:1-7; Romans 7:1-6).

It is at this point that I observe the disconnect between our belief and practice. In spite of any mental assent we might give to our freedom from the Law, we continue to be drawn to external regulations to guide our lives. It might be an edited version of the 10 Commandments that replaces the Sabbath with Sunday. We might throw in some extra guidelines about not drinking or patronizing certain establishments so that “we won’t cause a brother to stumble.” Or we emphasize doing distinctively Christian things – listening to Christian music, attending Christian drama and movies, reading Christian magazines and novels. Or maybe its our obligation to be involved in one of the social justice issues that are prominent right now – human trafficking, international adoption, etc..

Now let me be clear here. The specific actions are not the problem. It’s the motivation. If they are done out of a sense of obligation to external regulations, they are of no value in our pursuit of righteousness.

Lest you think I am overstating this, consider Paul’s response to those in Galatia who wanted to return to these elemental things:

“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”     – Galatians 4:9-11 (NAS95)

Did you catch that? A return to these elemental things – external regulations – is a return to the enslavement from which we have been freed. As a result, Paul fears that his labor over the Galatians has been in vain.

Ok. Stop right there.

What does it mean that Paul may have labored in vain?

Do you hear him saying that they may not be saved? Meaning that they will go to hell when they die?

Clarifying the Goal

This highlights another place where our theology has drifted. We tend to believe that a persons eternal destiny — what happens after they die — is the really important thing. Everything else is just details.

I hear it all the time. A believer is pursuing life on their own terms. They’ve turned away from God.

“Well, at least they’re saved/going to heaven when they die.”

As if that is what really matters. As if that is the main reason Christ died.

But it’s not.

As he begins the book of Galatians, Paul greets the Galatians:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.      — Galatians 1:3-5 (NAS95) ¶

Christ didn’t die simply to save us from hell. He died to deliver us from this present evil age. He died for our sanctification as well as our justification.

And so, Paul labors to the same end:

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.     — Colossians 1:28-29 (NAS95)

He is not content to see men justified. He strives, he labors, to present every man complete in Christ.

And so, we return to Galatians 4. After expressing his fear that his labor may be in vain, we see him state the same idea in a little different way:

My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you…      — Galatians 4:19 (NAS95)

This is his fear. Not that they won’t get into heaven, but that the goal of his labors — the purpose for which Christ died — will not be realized. He will not rest until Christ is formed in them. He takes little consolation in anything less. Until we get this, we will misinterpret Paul and fail to grasp the essence of the Christian life.

Ok. But aren’t rules and regulations beneficial in this process? Don’t they make helpful guidelines?

Paul leaves no room for that:

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.     — Galatians 5:1-6

We were set free for freedom. We must not be subject again to external regulations.

We Must Choose a Path

Apparently, these false teachers, who had come along after Paul, acknowledged that faith in Christ was important, yet insisted that it was not sufficient for justification. Yes, you need to believe in Christ. But you weren’t justified until, as many teach today, your faith was made perfect through love.

Wait. I thought we had already been justified.

We have. If this is a little confusing, here’s why —

In the context of our discussion of justification and sanctification above, this teaching re-structures the pieces. It insists that justification includes the second aspect of sanctification – positional or experiential sanctification. In other words, a person is not justified until they are holy in conduct.

For the false teachers in Galatia, this holy conduct was measured in conformity to the Law. Circumcision was more than a religious ritual. It indicated that you were joining the Covenant contained in the Old Testament Law. By receiving circumcision, you were expressing your commitment to enter into a relationship with God based on the requirements of the Law. All of them. Every single one.

Of course, as we have already seen, the Law can’t produce righteousness. It can’t make us holy. It can only condemn us.

And remember, as we have already seen — the two paths are mutually exclusive. Faith leads to blessing; the Law brings curse.

So, Paul tells the Galatians that if they are following this path — if they believe they must keep the Law for their justification to be complete — Christ is of no benefit to them (5:2), and that they have been severed from Christ and have fallen from grace (5:4).

We cannot help but be jarred by these words.

Again, it sounds like he is saying we will loose our salvation if we try to keep the Law. Can that be?

No. At least, not in the sense that we usually understand it.

The problem is this persistent belief that the primary purpose for Jesus’ death was granting us a ticket to heaven.

Did He die so that we could go to heaven? Absolutely. That’s the essence of justification. But justification is just the beginning of His work in us. It brings us into relationship with Him so that we can walk in fellowship with Him, and be transformed, so that, as Paul has already said, Christ can be formed in us (4:19).

The Danger of Piety

As to this notion of “loosing our salvation” —  those who argue that salvation can be lost, usually predicate such loss on either an abandonment of any relationship with God, or an outright repudiation of their faith in Christ.  Neither of those are the problem here. In fact, the danger could be characterized as just the opposite. If anything, those following the false teaching could be viewed as more religious, as being more conscientious, having more convictions, and a greater evidence of their devotion to God.

The danger here (5:2-4) is not a falling away from God, but a reliance on their own piety, measured by conformity to external regulations, to make them worthy to enter God’s presence. This is what will sever them from Christ, this is how they will fall from grace.

We must understand this in the context of the concern Paul has already expressed — our deliverance from sin in this life — the formation of Christ within us (1:3-5; 3:3; 4:19).

It is in this context that Paul is afraid his labor has been in vain (4:11). He is afraid that they won’t be made complete as Christians, that Christ won’t be formed in them.

Why?

One more time, because they are drawn to the pursuit of sanctification through the Law — a strategy that can never deliver. It can only condemn.

As I write this, I am struck by the intensity of Paul’s response to this situation. There is no hint of the kind of “tolerance” advocated among Christians today in the name of unity. Paul says that “this persuasion did not come from [God]” and is in danger of spreading through the church (5:8-9). He is confident that those who are advocating this teaching will bear their own judgment and, playing off their emphasis on circumcision, wants these false teachers to castrate themselves (5:10-12).

No allowance can be made for the pursuit of righteousness through conformity to external regulations.

Living In Freedom – Putting the Pieces Together

So, I’m free. I can do whatever I want, right?

No.

Nowhere has Paul suggested an end to the distinction between righteousness and sin.

Remember, at issue is the path leading to righteousness. The false teachers insisted the route ran through the Law. But that is at odds with the Gospel given Paul. He says:

“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”     — Galatians 5:5–6 (NAS95)

Again, faith and the Spirit are both parts of this path. Through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. It’s going to be a process. Verse 6, above, adds one more critical piece of information — this faith works through love.

For those in Christ, those who have begun by faith, the Law (circumcision) has become irrelevant. It has been replaced. Now, through the Spirit, we continue in faith, working through love. This is the path to living righteously.

But, what does he mean by that? How exactly do these three pieces — the Spirit, faith, and love — fit together?

He returns to this theme a few verses later —

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, 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.””     — Galatians 5:13–15 (NAS95)

The point of our freedom is not to indulge ourselves, that is to say, our flesh. Rather, it is to serve one another through love.

Love

Back, shortly before He was arrested, Jesus had told the disciples:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”     — John 13:34 (NAS95)

He doesn’t give this as an additional commandment, to be added to the “list”. It is new in that it replaces the Law. Yet, as we have seen, it is really not new. Which is why John writes later, in his first epistle:

“Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.”     — 1 John 2:7–8 (NAS95)

See, the goal has never really changed. But the goal was never merely to keep the various regulations of the Law. The goal was always love. If we love, we will not violate the Law. But the Law can never help us love. It can only condemn our failure to love.

So, being freed from the Law does not mean letting go of the goal — loving one another. If we are loving one another, we will be living righteously.

But there is one more element at play that we must not forget.

Note that the freedom from the Law brings with it a danger — the danger of turning that freedom into an opportunity to serve our flesh.

The Flesh

Remember Romans 6? The flesh has not gone away. We no longer have to serve it, but we can still choose to serve it. And with the choice comes the results. If we choose to serve God, we will find life, but if we choose to serve sin and the flesh, we will continue to experience death — not the going-to-hell-when-we-die part, but some of the other parts — shame, accusation, pain, futility, and isolation.

In Galatians, Paul describes these results of choosing to serve sin in terms of the deeds of the flesh:

“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.”     — Galatians 5:19–21 (NAS95)

If we choose not to love, that is, if we choose to serve our flesh, we will live in the realm of these things. Although Christ died to deliver us from this present evil age (Galatians 1:4), we, by our choice to pursue our desires, can continue to live in this realm of death.

So, our choice is crucial.

The Spirit

Here’s where we need to make another careful distinction. While we have the freedom — even the responsibility — to choose between serving our flesh and loving one another, the power enabling us to make that choice does not ultimately lie with us. Remember the predicament of Romans 7? We don’t do the things we want to do, and we do do the things we don’t want to do.

What was the solution?

Romans 8.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”     — Romans 8:1–2 (NAS95)

It’s the Spirit that sets us free. He enables us to make the choice of Romans 6.

So, back here in Galatians 5, he has said, “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”

It is the Spirit that enables us to choose others (love) over ourselves (indulging our flesh). This is why he says —

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 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.”     — Galatians 5:16–17 (NAS95)

Here is where the Spirit does what the Law cannot. The Spirit provides the power — the enabling — to overcome our flesh and the sin that still resides there.

To more fully understand Paul’s comments, let’s review a bit of the ministry of the Spirit.

Through the Spirit, we have the mind of Christ. He enlightens us to all God has blessed us with (1 Corinthians 2:9-16) — the future we can anticipate, the abundance of the inheritance awaiting us, His power that works in us (Ephesians 1:18-23).

Through this power we are strengthened, enabling Christ to be at home in our hearts (Ephesians 3:14-17). This image of being at home involves more than the simple question of His presence. As believers, Christ, through the Spirit, abides in us. But is he at home there, or is His presence more like that of an outsider?

Considering this in the context of Romans 6, we can see that the Spirit strengthens us, enabling us to choose whether we will serve sin or God. If we choose sin, He abides as more of an outsider. If we choose God, He is increasingly at home.

Faith

Thus, in Ephesians 3:17, Paul says we are strengthened by the Spirit so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.

If we believe the promises the Spirit reveals to us about the future awaiting us and the inheritance that is ours — if operate on the belief that choosing God brings life — that is faith.

And, in every day practical terms, faith — choosing God — means loving others. Faith, working through love…

So, walking by the Spirit involves a choice.

On the one hand, we can choose to follow the impulses of our flesh — the desire to gratify ourselves, regardless of the impact on others — that is not faith. That is choosing to pursue life on our own terms, independently of God — to serve sin, and it moves us back into the realm of death, experiencing a life characterized by the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:-19-21, above).

On the other hand, we can respond to the strengthening of the Spirit and choose God, choose to love one another over ourselves, believing His promises of life. As we do this, we are filled up with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19) — that is we manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”     — Galatians 5:21–23 (NAS95)

This is what righteousness looks like. Not the rigid conformity to external regulations and expectations, but the inner transformation of our character as we choose to respond to the empowering and prompting of the Spirit in faith, and love others rather than indulging our own desires.

“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”     — Galatians 5:5–6 (NAS95)

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^©Copyright Garth Oliver 2013