The Spirit-filled, Cross-Centered Life
So today’s passage, which you just heard read — Galatians Chapter 5, verses 16–26 — includes some amazing facts about the Holy Spirit, and my goal in this sermon is to tell you seven of them.
I wanna tell you seven facts about the Holy Spirit so that you might have more of his power in your life, and so that we might have more of his power in our church.
And if you just heard me say that I have a seven-point sermon, you heard me right. We should get started. Let’s pray:
Father, this morning I want to preach about your Holy Spirit, and I want us to hear about your Holy Spirit, in the power of your Holy Spirit. We ask for his power in Jesus’s name, amen.
Okay, for point #1, I want to start with caveat. It’s simply that:
1. The Spirit-filled life is the Christian life.
And the reason I want to start here is because I don’t want to give the impression that anything we’re talking about today is some kind of far-fetched, super-spiritual, unrealistic ideal. It’s not. There are four verbs in this passage related to the Holy Spirit:
Paul commands us to “walk by the Spirit” (verse 16)
He says we are “led by the Spirit” (verse 18);
He says we “live by the Spirit” (verse 25)
Hey says we “keep in step with the Spirit” (also verse 25)
And this walking and living and being led by the Spirit, and this keeping in step with the Spirit, all of that is what makes a life that is filled by the Spirit. What Paul describes here could be summed up as the Spirit-filled life.
And we shouldn’t think of the Spirit-filled life as something way out there that we hope to reach one day if we just work hard enough! But actually the Spirit-filled life is the life that is yours by faith in Jesus Christ right now. To be a Christian is to have the Holy Spirit; and to live the Christian life is to live by the Spirit.
So I want to be clear that this passage is for every single one of us in here who trust in Jesus, no matter where you are in your faith. This is about the Christian life. #1: The Spirit-filled life is the Christian life.
2. The Holy Spirit empowers the church to walk the road of love.
I want you to see the connection between verse 16 and the verses that come before it, which we looked at last week. Last week we talked about the dichotomy that emerges in Chapter 5. It’s like there are two different roads — the road of strife and the road of love — and we, as the church, must choose the road of love.
We walk down the road of love. We, through love, serve one another. But HOW do we do that? How actually do we love others? The answer is the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 16:
Verse 16 starts with the little phrase “But I say,” and when Paul uses this phrase it carries the idea of more like “This is what I’m saying!”
Paul uses this phrase to emphasize something he’s about to say in relation to what he’s said before it. So think back to last week. I want you to hear how this is all connected.
Last week, to paraphrase Paul, he says,
Don’t walk down the road of strife, but walk down the road of love —
What I’m saying is this: walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Did you hear that? Verse 16 explains what came before it. How we walk down the road of love is to walk by the Spirit. Our passage this week continues the dichotomy that emerged last week, except now we’re not looking at two roads, but two ways: the flesh or the Spirit.
The road of strife and dissension and conflict is traveled by the flesh; but if we’re going to walk down the road of love, it’s going to be by the Spirit … who produces the fruit we see in verse 22.
But for now I just want you to see the connection between this week and last week. All that we talked about last week concerning the road of love — not indulging the flesh, through love serving others, embracing the depths of love — all of that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers the church to walk the road of love.
3. The Holy Spirit empowers individuals for the corporate good.
Now, I’m basically gonna skip this point for the sake of time and because I wrote a letter to you about this on Friday, in the email. (So far less than 45% of you have read it, so go check that out.)
But in short, we need to know that when Paul talks about the struggle between the Spirit and the flesh, he’s talking about a struggle in the individual members of the whole church. We each as individuals must battle our flesh and fight our sin, and when we do that effects good for the whole church. The Holy Spirit empowers individual members for the good of the corporate body.
4. The Holy Spirit makes evident in us a deep, historical struggle.
Verse 17:
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep YOU from doing the things YOU want to do.
So there’s a struggle here between the Spirit and the flesh, and before we keep going let me explain a little bit more about what the word “flesh” means.
I realize the word “flesh” is kinda like Christian jargon. If a small group of us as Christians got together today and someone said, “I’m really battling my flesh,” we’d all get what that person means; but if you say that same sentence tomorrow in a work-meeting, people will probably recommend you see a dermatologist.
What Christians shaped by the Bible mean by “flesh” is not what most people mean, so then what do we mean? When Paul uses the word “flesh,” what’s he saying?
Well, ultimately the context has to determine the meaning. …
And sometimes the word “flesh” can just refer to physical existence in this life. This is how Paul used the word in Galatians 2:20. He says: “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…” Paul is talking about his physical life in this world; “flesh” means his bodily life here.
But then there are other times when Paul uses the word “flesh” to mean our sinful, fallen nature — that’s what he means in Galatians 5, and that’s how we use the word “flesh” most of the time. Our flesh is our sinful nature, and this is actually part of a central theme in all of Paul’s letters.
This is a super dense topic; there are several big books written about this, but I’m gonna try to explain it to you in about five minutes, okay?
So I need you to track with me here … or bear with me here.
Central to Paul’s Theology
It’s important that we understand that “the flesh as sinful nature” — and the conflict between the Spirit and the flesh — that is fundamentally a historical conflict.
The Bible teaches us that this world, because of Adam’s sin, is fallen.
The world is broken and under a curse, and we as humans are also broken and under a curse. We are sinners. We are part of this fallen world, under Adam.
Well, when Jesus came to save us, he came into this world as the true and better Adam. Jesus came to create a new humanity for a new world — and that new world is his kingdom that will ultimately be experienced in the new creation to come. So:
in Adam you have fallen humanity in the order of the old world.
then in Jesus you have new humanity in the order of the new world.
The old world is current, the new world is future …
Except that when Jesus was crucified and then raised from the dead, that’s when the power of the old world was broken, and the power and life of the new world invaded this old world. Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended, and he sent his Holy Spirit to fill his people.
And the Holy Spirit is the power and life of the new creation at work in this old creation. The Holy Spirit is the resurrection power of Jesus here now — and WHERE IS HE here now?
IN YOU.
The Holy Spirit is in you who trust in Jesus.
So the new world, the new creation, has overlapped into this current world, and the overlap is happening in us. The Holy Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ so that we are no longer under the old humanity that’s of the old world; but now we are under the new humanity that’s of the new world.
That’s what Paul is saying in verse 18 when he says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The law was part of the old age. It was part of the order of the old world. Same thing in verse 24. Paul tells us the fruit of the Spirit and then he says “against such things there is no law.” He means in our new humanity, under the order of this new world, we’re not governed by the law and its demands, but we are led by the Spirit.
Now we belong to Jesus. Through faith in Jesus we are declared righteous by God; we are saved from the wrath to come; we have a bright and glorious future.
Not Yet Perfected
But here’s the thing: we still live in this old world for now, in these old bodies. We have our flesh — our sinful, fallen nature.
We are spiritually resurrected and made new, but we are not yet perfected — because our full, consummated redemption will be the redemption of our bodies at the end-time resurrection when Jesus returns and makes all things new.
Until then, there’s the overlap. There’s a struggle. The struggle, fundamentally, is historical. It’s a struggle between the new creation and the old creation — there are two worlds, two humanities, in conflict; the old is passing away, the new is taking over — and that struggle gets played out mainly in us.
The struggle in you — the struggle in us — between the Spirit and the flesh is actually the frontlines of a deep, historical, cosmic struggle between the new creation and the old.
And I just think that’s something we should know. Because we’ve all felt the conflict here. Now you know where it’s coming from. This is central to Paul’s theology: The Holy Spirit makes evident in us a deep, historical struggle.
5. The Holy Spirit is our answer to the flesh.
So there is a deep, historical struggle going on here, but where the rubber meets the road for us, personally, is that we still have the capacity to sin, and we still do sin.
Although we are new creatures in Christ, although we are part of a new humanity in Christ, there are still are times when we we THINK and/or THINK and/or DO things that are sinful. Sometimes we think or speak or do wrong.
Anybody have any idea what I’m talking about?
We all get this. There’s a conflict in here:
The desires of the sinful nature in me, verse 17, are against the desires of the Holy Spirit in me;
and the desires of the Holy Spirit in me are against the desires of the sinful nature in me;
— because they are opposed to each other. The Holy Spirit and my flesh are each trying to hinder the other.
That’s the struggle, and put this way, it might sound like the Spirit and the flesh are just trading punches. We might think that the Spirit and flesh just go back and forth with even hits.
But that’s not actually what Paul says.
Look at verse 16. Now verse 17 is describing the struggle, but it’s actually verse 16 that tells us the answer to the struggle.
Because of this struggle in verse 17 — because this struggle exists — Paul says before it in verse 16: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will by no means gratify the desires of the flesh.”
The answer to this struggle — the way that we’re not just stuck in a back and forth battle — is that we can actually walk by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can lead us. Paul says “Walk by the Spirit” and then that comes with the promise: “and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
These words are important: Notice that Paul doesn’t say the sinful flesh will disappear. The flesh is still there, and it still has its desires, but if you walk by the Spirit you will not gratify those desires. You will not give in, as it were. And Paul means that in the strongest possible terms. This is an emphatic negation. In the original, it’s like Paul is saying you most certainly, absolutely will not!
Paul says, Hey, look, there’s a struggle in each of us. And it’s the struggle of two worlds colliding. It’s a deep, historical struggle. But, it’s not an even match. If you walk by the Holy Spirit, you will absolutely not gratify the desires of your sinful flesh. Yes, there’s a struggle, but the Holy Spirit is the answer to the struggle!
What this means for us as Christians, practically, is that when it comes to our struggle against the flesh, it’s not like the outcome is still undecided on who wins. It’s not like we need something else, or we’re waiting for something else. We have the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the answer to the flesh. And #6 …
6. The Holy Spirit produces in us a new character.
So the Holy Spirit is not just holding back our flesh, but actually, the Holy Spirit is applying his new creation power in our lives. He is effecting new qualities to emerge in our character, called the fruit of the Spirit. Paul names:
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
And while it’s true that there are certain personalities that might correlate with certain of these fruit, it’s important that we know the fruit of the Spirit are not personality traits. These are not natural behaviors.
That list of natural behaviors in verses 19–21. Paul calls that list the works of the flesh, and it’s really just a sampling of the kinds of sins in the world. We know it’s not an exhaustive list because at the end of the list in verse 21 Paul says “and things like these.” So there’s a lot of sin in the world, from sexual immorality to jealousy, from sorcery to division, from orgies to envy and more — and any one of these sins, Paul warns us, will condemn you to hell.
But the fruit of the Spirit, that’s something very different. The Spirit’s activity and power in our lives actually changes our character, like, verse 22:
Love, joy, and peace —
There’s the new capacity to truly love. At the foundation it’s always love for God because he first loved us, and then it’s to love others, and loving others is what Paul has in mind here. And he mentions love first, I think, because it’s the source for all the other fruit. Love is the true non-negotiable.
And then we have this joy that anchors us. Joy doesn’t mean that everything is pie-in-the-sky, but it means that we have a glad contentment that knows, no matter what, God is for me.
And peace — that’s like the melody of our souls, because we’re not hustling anymore. We’re not starving for something out there, because we know in Christ we’re whole.
In verse 22 there’s also patience, kindness, and goodness —
Patience includes forbearance and long-suffering, but I think’s more than that. Patience doesn’t just mean that we put up with stuff, but it means we have such a confidence in God that we don’t try to do God’s work for him. We know how to wait.
Kindness — do you say hey to people when you pass them? Do you smile at other human beings? Kindness means you have a friendly heart. And no, again, this is not a personality trait; it’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit produces in us a disposition that is warm toward other people.
Goodness — the word goodness here is the idea of generosity. It means you give. It means your first impulse is not to grip down and say “Mine” but it’s to say, “There.”
There’s also in verses 22 and 23 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control —
Faithfulness means you are reliable and consistent, not just in your discipleship, but in your relationships;
Gentleness is humility. It means you’re not rushing into the room swinging your elbows, but you’re attuned to the people who are around you and to the moments you encounter.
Self-control is last, I think, because it’s like the command center for all the other fruit. Self-control is how you wisely harvest and manifest the different fruit at the time that matters. That’s important, right?
Don’t think of the fruit of the Spirit as character that’s random and unpredictable — we don’t sit back and think: I really hope I get a patience apple today!
That’s not how it works. We don’t just passively wait for the fruit to show up, but we want it and we’re praying for it. We are passive in the sense that the Spirit produces the fruit, but we’re also active in that we harvest the fruit and use it and show it. As the fruit grows in us, we grow in the fruit.
And that brings us to verses 24–25, and to the seventh and final point.
7. The Holy Spirit applies to us the power of the cross.
Verse 24:
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Have y’all ever heard people talk about “life verses” before? The idea is that there’s a verse or a statement in the Bible that’s so clear and helpful about God or the Christian life that you take the verse, memorize it, and come back to again and again; it becomes kind of like a banner over your life. The Book of Galatians has several verses that could be that. We looked at Galatians 2:20 several weeks ago. Paul says:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life that I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Think about that for the next 50 years! There’s also Galatians 6:14, which we’re gonna look at on Easter Sunday. This book has several great, potential “life verses,” and I think Galatians 5:24–25 could be one.
What Paul says here in these two verses basically encapsulates the effect of the gospel in our lives. Look at this:
Your Life-Change Moment
First, notice how verses 24–25 are connected to the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22–23. Paul tells us the fruit of the Spirit, and when he says: “against such things there is no law.” Remember he’s saying that the fruit of the Spirit are part of a different kind of living. Like we’ve talked about, they’re part of a new world, not the old world. And then verse 24 comes next as an explanation. It’s like Paul is saying:
Hey, the fruit of the Spirit is not part of the old way of life (they’re not of the flesh) but they’re part of the new way of life (they’re of the Spirit) — what I mean is that those who belong to Jesus have crucified the flesh …
Paul is saying, the reason, Christian, you bear the fruit of the Spirit and not the works of the flesh, is because the flesh has been crucified. The way verses 22–23 are possible is because verse 24 has happened. Paul means here precisely what he said in Galatians 2:20. The flesh, the “old you,” was crucified with Christ. Because by faith you are united to Jesus, when he died on the cross your old self died with him. And that is actually what changed your life.
Behold the Cross
I love to hear the stories of God’s work in people’s lives. I love testimonies. Because everybody who trusts in Jesus has some story of how it happened. Somehow, there was a conversion, whether it was gradual or dramatic. At some point every Christian went from not believing to believing, and with that, oftentimes, there’s life-change. We were doing this thing or operating that way, but now, because of Jesus, we have changed. That’s why it’s called conversion, because there’s a change. And I love those stories.
Well this morning, I wanna suggest to you that the real life-change moment for you, Christian — though you come to experience it today — the real life-change moment happened to you two-thousand years ago on a Roman cross when Jesus died in your place. That is what makes the difference in your life.
See, your conversion, your trusting in Jesus, your being united to Jesus by faith, what’s happening there is that Holy Spirit is opening your eyes and giving you new life to embrace what Jesus has already done for you! Our old self was crucified at the cross of Christ, and now we live by the Spirit who makes us understand the cross of Christ! Galatians 5:24–25 is repeating Galatians 2:20 but from the perspective of the Holy Spirit’s work.
The main work of the Holy Spirit in your life is to make you see the glory of Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes you look at the cross and see there the wisdom of God and the power of God and love of God. The Holy Spirit makes you look at the cross and say, “Because of that, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
And Christ lives in me — Christ lives in you — by the Holy Spirit who makes the cross of Christ wonderful to us. That’s what living in the Spirit and keeping in step with the Spirit is about. The Holy Spirit applies to us the power of the cross — which is where, Christian, your life was changed. The cross is your new-life origin story.
Which means this: the Spirit-filled life is the cross-centered life.
Which means: the Spirit-filled life is the cross-centered life is the Christian life.
Church, I want you to know that the cross of Jesus Christ is your everything. Jesus died for you. He died for your sins. He took God’s wrath in your place. The old you is no more. The Holy Spirit tells us the cross is where your new life begins.
That’s what we remember here at the Table.
The Table
All that we’ve been talking about really does lead to this moment.
Because this morning as we receive the bread and cup, I want to invite you to glory in the cross of Christ. We’re gonna sing the song “There Is a Fountain,” which is a song that was written 250 years ago to help us revel in the cross.
And if you do, if the cross is your hope, if you trust in Jesus, this bread and cup is for you. Take and eat and drink, and, by the Holy Spirit, behold the wonder of the cross.
