Sep. 18, 2024

Dear Friends,

I hope that you can join us tonight for Bible study, as we continue in Paul's letter to the Galatians. The Scripture is Galatians 5:19-25. Most of us, perhaps all of us, have read this much-quoted passage before, but it never gets old! God's word always speaks anew. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

HILLTOP LAKES CHAPEL

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

Galatians 5:19-25

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry,

sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,

drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do

such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is

no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and

desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

__________

v 19 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident…”

Paul begins to contrast an unsaved life, a life devoid of the Spirit, with the saved life—

and we are not called to “explain away” this contrast

And Paul’s point is that these works are evident, they are obvious.

Examples to do with morality

sexual immorality – porneia, from a root word meaning to “sell off.” The Greco-

Roman world had almost no restrictions or even concerns about sexual

relations, as such—much like our own culture, except even more

promiscuous. The Church and the Bible are not obsessed with this type of

sinning; the world is. And that is why it is so often addressed.

impurity – akatharsia, uncleanness. We still use this type of term, as in dirty jokes

or a movie or a book that is smut.

sensuality – aselgeia, shocking, offensive behavior; with no restraint; outrageous.

A “pride parade” comes to mind.

Examples to do with religion/supernatural

idolatry – the NT identifies covetousness as idolatry (Colossians 3:5). So this goes

beyond the literal worship of an idol and refers to what it is we truly worship

in how we live.

sorcery – anything to do with the occult. Dangerous and evil. The word is

pharmakeia, as the use of drugs, like now, was associated with these practices.

(e.g. “magic” mushrooms)

Examples to do with personal temperament

enmity – actually “enmities” – hating, being hostile towards others

strife—eris, looking for a fight, looking for an argument

jealousy –actually “jealousies”

fits of anger—thymós, as in having a hot temper

Examples that particularly affect the church

rivalries—eritheia, self-seeking

dissentions—dichostasia,, this is not polite dissent, this is selfishly and stubbornly

standing apart

divisions—hairesis, sects, factions, we would sometimes say “different groups”;

we get our word heresy from this Greek word

envy—phthonos, holding a grudge, bitter ill-will, spite

Examples to do with social events

drunkenness

orgies – kómos, what we generally refer to as “partying”; this translation,

unfortunately, may deflect from what Paul is referencing, although orgies

would certainly be included!

“and things like these”

An important, clarifying phrase at the end of these examples, reinforcing that they are

exactly that: examples.

“I warn you, as I warned you before…”

more lit. “I say to beforehand as I said to you before…”

“those who do such things…”

prasso—to do, act, be busy with, practice, accomplish; here in present participle, so

“those who are doing such things”

But Paul is not straining to limit and delineate what he means by “do.” He means those

who live this way. Those who lives look like these examples and things like them.

“will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The reason he is warning about this, is because then, like now, people had convinced

themselves otherwise.

v 22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit…

What a contrast. And the fruit of the Spirit is qualities of character—qualities of the

person—which result in the works that God intends.

love— agapé

joy—chara, same root as charis, grace. Deeper than and different than “happiness.”

peace—this is God’s desire for you, it is the work of the Spirit in you. We are to be at

peace.

patience—lit. long-suffering. Not a numbed-mind state, but a state of waiting on the

Lord.

kindness—chréstotés, useful, profitable, helpful

goodness—something much more than and different than “nice.” Think about when we

say “this will be good for you.”

faithfulness –pistis, faith.

gentleness—as opposed to being harsh, rough, impatient …

self-control—egkrateia, self-mastery, given by the Spirit.

“against such things…”

Paul reinforcing that the life we now have in Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of the law.

v 24 – “And those who belong to Christ Jesus…”

have crucified—this must be our perspective on ways of being and acting that are

according to the flesh—to sin—and not unto God.

We do not reform the flesh, we crucify it. We don’t “work with it,” “take some steps,”

“compromise,” …

Jesus call is to walk away from sin, to repent, and to follow him.

v 25 – “If we live by the Spirit…”

more lit. “If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit also we should walk.”

walk—stoicheó, “(from stoixos, ‘a row, line, or rank’) – properly, walk in line, in strict

accordance to a particular pace (‘stride’); walk in cadence, ‘keep in step.’"1 So, to

walk in an ordered way.

These things go hand-in-hand.

We are saved—given life—by the Spirit, not to then revert to or resort to worldly living.

The Spirit is with us forever.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you

forever, even the Spirit of truth…”—John 14:16-17

And we walk by the Spirit now and forever.

1 from HELPS Word-studies, Copyright © 2021 by Discovery Bible.