For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (vv.13-15)
To walk in the Spirit is to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. In contrast, to walk in the flesh, is to be controlled by our worldly desires and inclinations towards sin. The struggle to do what is right, to live holy lives, and to be obedient to Jesus Christ is the battle between the two.
However, Paul assures us that this battle is evidence that Christ lives in us. Were there no regeneration by God’s Spirit, there would be no war! The desire cannot be prevented, but its fulfillment can certainly be withheld. And until we allow God to change our desires, our flesh will win the battle.
So what does it look like to walk with the Spirit and allow God to capture more of your soul and take it under His control? It’s a process of surrender. It begins with repentance, praying honestly, confessing you have hung on to some desire to long, then turning it over to Him. It also entails renewing your Spirit daily in His Word to strengthen your inner man for the battle against the flesh. Satin will always try and tempt us, and temptation itself is not a sin, but we must put on the whole armor of God daily so as to “walk in the Spirit” and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
While walking in the Spirit is the key, it doesn’t always come easily. Often, it is a battle. There is a battle going on inside the Christian, and the battle is between the flesh and the Spirit. As Paul writes, these are contrary to one another – they don’t get along at all. When the flesh is winning the inside battle, you do not do the things that you wish. You don’t live the way you want to; you live under the flesh instead of under the Spirit.
The antidote to the flesh is not found in the law, but in the Spirit – and if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. You don’t need to be, because you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of the Holy Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God. This is exactly the pattern set by Jesus. He had more liberty than anyone who ever walked this earth did. Yet He used His liberty to through love serve one another.
This attitude of service towards one another fulfills the great commandment (You shall love your neighbor as yourself), and it keeps us from destroying ourselves through strife (beware lest you be consumed by one another!). It’s as if Paul addressed the legalists again, and said: “You want to keep the law? Here you have it: Love your neighbor as yourself and you have fulfilled the law in one word.”
The Truth: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)
