One of my husbands favorite songs is “The Fruits of the Spirit.” The fruits of the spirit are important to every saved believer and we are free to be fruity. But we can not forget the section of verses above and below it.
Paul explains in the last parts of chapter 5 that the freedom that we have in Christ does not mean that we just do whatever we want. It is that we desire, especially if we desire to sin. This freedom calls us higher. It’s a freedom that empowers us to do what God called us to do, and it frees us from being ruled by our sinful desires. We should use our freedom in Christ not to indulge in our desires, but to serve and love and be the women that God has called us to be. God’s freedom is from the desires of our flesh so we can be free to do God’s will.
Galatians 5: 13-26
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
If we want true freedom, we must walk by the Spirit. When you give your life to Christ you receive God’s Holy Spirit. And it is His Spirit in you that convicts us and lead us to be more empowered and shows you God’s will. Walking in the Spirit means giving your spirit what it needs to survive, which is the complete opposite of what your flesh wants. Either you will feed your Spirit or you will feed your flesh, and the one you feed more will win. Feeding your spirit will lead to freedom. Feeding your flesh will lead to sin and slavery.
You’ve heard the phrase: “You are what you eat.” If you put in lust, unfaithfulness and lies what do you expect to come out? If you put in looking at others, jealousy will arise. If we put in fear, hate will come. If we put in gossip, we will produce confusion. However, if we put in hope and truth, there will be peace. If we put in prayer, there will be power. If we put in fasting, there will be freedom from sin. If we put in Bible reading and studying, there will be clarity and direction.
I’m not telling you how or when to do all of this, but not doing it will starve your flesh and the slavery to sin it brings. Pray to the Lord about which ways to best feed your spirit and do it for freedom’s sake. as you read above, Galatians 5:19-23 says:
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.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
First, I want to point out the difference between the acts of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh represent a lack of trust in God and what we think we can do apart from Him. Works represent what we do and not trusting what God can do. All mistrust of God leads to sin. But the fruit of the Spirit represents a reliance and dependence on God, like roots to a vine, that produces a God-glorifying life. We cannot control the production of fruit, but when we are connected to God and walking in the Spirit, fruit will grow.
When we walk in the Spirit we will experience all the fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists in Galatians, about which he also says, “against such things there is no law.” That means when the Spirit is leading and producing these fruits in your life, you don’t have to worry about if you’re doing enough for God. When we are worried about what we do, if we’re doing too much or not enough, we’re concerned about the flesh and what we can do. It’s all about works. But when we are lead by the Spirit, we know God is leading us in the right direction. No law or rules can trump that.
God is not holding back His will, waiting to see if we can guess it correctly. He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit to let us know which way to go. So we can live in freedom—free from doubt, insecurity, and fear. We can go in full assurance that His Spirit will never lead us where we are not to go. So we don’t need to stress out about figuring out what’s the right thing to do. We just walk by the Spirit, and He will lead us to be very fruity,