What the Spirit Grows

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Paul gives the answer to the question of how freedom becomes love: walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. He is not describing the body as evil. In Galatians, the flesh is the human life turned inward and away from God, including the desires that make people rivals and consumers of one another.

The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other, so believers do not simply do whatever impulse demands. Paul says that if they are led by the Spirit, they are not under the law. The Spirit does not produce lawless chaos; He creates a new source of life that bears the character of God's love.

Paul lists the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and similar things. Paul warns, as he has before, that those who practice these things will not inherit God's kingdom. These acts are more than bad habits that make relationships unpleasant; they resist the life God gives. His warning calls for repentance, not excuses.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Fruit grows from a living source. Paul does not hand believers a new checklist for boasting; he describes the kind of life the Spirit produces as people belong to Christ.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. It no longer has the right to rule their lives; they belong to the Savior who died for them. Since they live by the Spirit, they should also keep in step with the Spirit. That means refusing empty glory, provocation, and envy rather than competing over who appears most spiritual.