Book of Galatians - Ch. 5, Vs. 17-Ch. 6, Vs. 1 (09/17/2000)

The Conflict Between Flesh and Spirit in Galatians 5

All right, it's time that we begin. Our lesson today is in the book of Galatians, the 5th chapter, and we begin at the 17th verse. All right, let me read to you God's Word. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

And these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would do. The flesh and the Spirit, the carnal and the spiritual. The word lust, Bill, what's the word lust mean? To seek after in an unhealthy fashion.

All right, to seek after in an unhealthy fashion. You'll notice the little word do, that you cannot do the things that you would. A very important word is peio. It means this. It means to make, or do, to cause, to commit, to transgress the law, to work, or to yield.

And most important, it is a single act. So with that knowledge now, these are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do a single act of the things that you would. You remember Paul had said in Romans that that that I would do, I find myself not doing it.

And that that I do not want to do, that's what I do. The word do there is the same word as do here. I pointed out because we're going to find a different word in just a moment. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit.

Clarence, how often does it do that? Constantly. All of the time. Diane, is there any way that you can think of that you can stop the flesh from lusting against the Spirit? But the flesh lusting against the Spirit.

The question, listen to the question, all of you. Is there any way that you can stop the flesh from lusting against the Spirit? No. Well, that's true, but the flesh is still there, still working against the Spirit, no matter whether we're dead or alive.

That's the work of the flesh. It will always do that. If it did not, then we could teach that when you become a Christian, you have no problems. But we do have problems. That's right. That's right. That's the only way that you yourself, the real you can operate in the Spirit.

But I want you to know for sure that that doesn't stop the flesh from antagonizing you. Physically dead. And if she said physical, I didn't hear. Yeah. Well, literally die, that's true. But even the flesh would then if it could, but you've disappeared.

So just fix it in your mind. You will always have a battle forever while you're in this life. I'll add that. That'll make it more palatable. So the flesh lusteth against the Spirit as a normal operation of the flesh so that you cannot do.

And we found out that the word is pale. And it means you cannot do a single solitary sin or you cannot do a single solitary thing. I'll say because the flesh is always there. But it's it's single act 18.

But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law. You're under the Spirit of Christ. If you be led, since you are led, since you now are a born again Christian, you are born again. Christians redundant, isn't it?

If you're a Christian, you're born again. So if you are, if you know that you are born again, then you are led by the Spirit. Now, Greg, sometimes we don't always follow the Spirit. This is always in our mind that we're talking about.

We're not under the law. Is there any possible way that a spirit filled person can revert to the law? David, you cannot anymore operate under the law. In Romans, he says the let sin never again have dominion of you.

It cannot be. But the flesh is still there and still battling. Now, the works of the flesh and he spells these out. We're not going to go into each one unless someone has a question. The works of the flesh are manifest.

Greg, what's manifest mean? To be made known, either audibly or physically, audibly or by sight or by touch. Some way it is made known. The works of the flesh now. Which are these? Adultery. Now, I must stop here and give you an explanation of adultery.

It is simply giving the love that belongs to one to another. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murderers, drunkenness, revelings, and such.

Anyone have a question over those? Well, good. Let me ask you a question. Joy, what does the word variance mean? Greg, how else could we explain it? All right, an argument. Let there be no arguments. There can be discussion.

There can be difference of opinion. But no arguments. And he says, and such like. Anything else that would fit into that category. Of which I tell you before, or I've told you before. As I have also told you in time past.

So Paul subscribes to the theory that a teacher must tell people what he's going to tell them. Then he must tell them what he told them. And then later go over it all again. So he says, I've told you before, and I'm telling you again.

That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, here's the other do. We have two do's. A do do. So that you cannot do the things which you would. Verse 17. Verse 21. They that which.

They. That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. What's the difference in these two words? Do. Right. In the Greek, it's a different word. Unfortunately, it's not that way in English.

Preso. The other was poeo. This is preso. It means a performed, repeated, habitual action. It's important that you understand this. Because there are some wonderful people in the world that think that if you sin, you've lost your salvation.

And they consider sin as the action. Not the mental state. So. And I've had them discuss that with me. It's too bad. I never could explain it to them. Those that do such things habitually. Now, Greg, what does habitual mean?

All right. Expound upon that any. All right. Remember this when you think of the word habitual. We get another word in our English language that comes from the very same root as habitual. And it's breathing.

Do you have to think to breathe? If you're normal, we just breathe, don't we? Well, that's what habitual means. You don't have to plan it. You don't have to think about it. It's just the natural nature of the root.

And it is that kind of a person that will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, David, what does inherit mean? When can you inherit? All right. Who died that we might inherit? Jesus himself. So our inheritance will come about after we die.

We have it now spiritually. But we'll have it for real after we're dead. So you shall not inherit the kingdom of God. There is absolutely no way that a habitual evil person can appear in heaven. Think what it would be like for that person, Dennis.

If an unsaved person suddenly popped up in the kingdom of God in eternity, what would he feel? What would he be like? Be miserable. If a potential Christian popped up in hell, what would he be like? So that will never happen.

It's not in man's realm to guide that. It's God himself. His people shall be saved. Or as we say today, will be. There will be no potential Christians in hell. And, David, that's not in our hands. We cannot persuade somebody or convict somebody or save somebody.

It is of God only. Now, does that relieve us of the responsibility, David, of praying for people? No. In fact, it enhances it. As long as you understand, my prayer is not what's going to save him. But he might not be saved unless you pray.

And all of that's in God's realm. Verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. Greg, what's fruit? All right. We think of fruit as being something good, right? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

Against such there is no law. Now, are these things physical or mental? Spiritual. Mentally spiritual. So is the other side. Who was it? It was a work place. What kind of car? That's absolutely right.

No, you did fine. I was just trying to torment you. Trying to throw you off track. So the breathing of the joy, peace, long-suffering, everything, is that an instantaneous growth, David? I'm going to learn to call your name first and then the question.

It comes gradually for all of us. We don't know how until we practice. We know what, but we don't know how. And practice, along with prayer, is the only thing that will cause it to grow, to enlarge. Of course, the desire and everything.

Joy? It's even written in a progressive style. Now, this will come as we desire and at the right time. And we will be tested. We'll have opportunities. We have to be aware of opportunities. Too long I lived in my own world, even after I was saved.

And I first. How can I do this? Not how should I do this, but what can I do? That's wrong. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh.

Greg, they that are Christ's are who? Us. So us has crucified, meaning what? But we didn't, did we? We were placed into him at his death on the cross, Romans 6 .3. So we died in him. We died to what? To the flesh.

The flesh, the sin, the law did not die. We died to it. If we live in the spirit, so let us also walk in the spirit. And the word for walk is interesting. As you watch a baby, it sleeps. Then it begins to wiggle.

Then it begins to crawl. Then it begins to pull up. Then it tries to take a step, doesn't it? It may fall, but it gets up and it tries to take a step until it can take two steps. Until the little baby then pretty soon is walking.

What? Then comes the running, then comes the playing, then comes the... What did he say? No, it's not scary, it's just unknown. All right, so let us walk. You cannot take a baby and cause it to run a hundred yard dash and compete with adults, can you?

You shouldn't, you can't. They first had to learn to crawl and walk and then run. The very exact same way was our spiritual walk. When we were saved, how much of the Bible did we really understand? None.

All we knew was that something happened to me and I feel different. But then as we study, as we mature, as we grow spiritually, now the physical age makes absolutely no difference. You can be a baby at 90 years old and that's where we run into trouble because lots of times we look at an adult that has just been saved as though they ought to know everything because they're old enough to know everything.

No, it's not like that. We just found out that we have patience and long-suffering and love and so forth. So each of us are learning how to walk. Now, some can walk upright. Some can even run. Some are very adept at a race.

But not everybody. There is no one exactly the same as any one of you or one of us. Everyone's at a different level in their development of walk. So let us also walk. The little word let, bookkeeping term.

We can do it. How do I know we can do it? How do you know you can do it, Dennis? But how do you know that that's right? Not only that, the Word tells us so. It said it right there. Let us walk in the Spirit.

Not according to the Spirit. What's the difference, Greg, between according to and in? Well, I'll ask your backup, Sam. Bill? That's good. According to is that you have a pattern and you're trying to follow it.

In means you're inside of that. And it is being opened up for you from the inside. All of Christian growth is inside, internal, not outside, not external. It's internal. Yes, you're reading my mind. That's exactly where we were headed.

The things that we just read about, both pro and con, the good and the bad, are not instructions that you are to follow. It is something internal that causes you to do that, good or bad. You understand?

You understand, Greg? Well, it could be. Certainly. You have self-control. You have love, joy. It's difficult to have only one. I would dare say you cannot have only one. If you have love, then you certainly have peace.

If you have peace, you have joy. If you have joy, that means you have love and peace. That's right. That's right. And at different levels. What? That's right. And it must be like that or we'd all just be robots doing exactly the same thing.

Well, it's not that. Yes, and I just had a wonderful thought. I want you, at your own leisure, to develop a talk on seed and fruit. And nothing else, just the ramifications of the seed, that from it comes the fruit, and then compare it to the Christian if you desire, but just the seed and everything that takes place and the fruit that is produced and that the fruit is on the branch, but the branch didn't produce it and so forth.

Just if it's a year from now, that's fine. That is, if I'm still here. Will you do that? All right. Verse 26. Let us. Here's the word let again. Let us. And us is who, Greg? Us. Let us not be desirous of vain glory.

David, the word desirous means what? All right. Let us not be desirous of vain glory. Now, Verge, what do you think the word vain means here? Diane, would you agree with that? Joy, how can a person seek vain glory?

So we're to not do that. We're not to manipulate people to where we get what we want. The world is full of that, especially politics. Manipulating people. Provoking one another, envying one another. Let us not be desirous to do any of this.

To provoke someone. Dennis, what's it mean to provoke? All right. It can also mean to stir up, to cause, to excite, to encourage. And then the object of it can be good or bad. But we're not to provoke someone to anger.

Only to good. Now we have a few minutes. Is there any questions over the fifth chapter or today's lesson? All right. Turn to chapter six. Last chapter in the book. When we're through with the sixth chapter, we will start 1 Corinthians.

So I would like for you this week to begin to study the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. I don't try to study all of the chapter. You know about how far we get. But really study it. Don't just read it.

Study it. Now the sixth chapter. Brethren, so right away, Clarence, we know he's speaking to who? As Greg would say to us. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of anger, malice, what?

Meekness. Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bill, are any of us excused from being, ever being tempted? Okay, then we're none. None of us have been vaccinated against temptation. We're all susceptible to being tempted.

If a man be overtaken in a fault. The Greek word for fault is transgression. Transgression and sins. Let's be sure we understand the difference. Transgression. Joy would be what? Well, what's stealing?

Well, transgression. How many of you have ever seen a sign, no trespassing? Do not enter. Do you know you shouldn't? Transgression means you do it even though you know you shouldn't. Now, a sin. David explained to us how the two differ, but there was instructions written someplace.

That's right, and that someplace is the Bible. All right. So, if a man be overtaken in a transgression, such as falling back into legal bondage. This was the thing that Paul dwelt on almost exclusively.

That because it was so prevalent in that day, having the Jews just having come out of the age of the law. They were noticeably wanting to return to it. People don't like to make decisions, do they? Very, very few people like to make decisions.

They would rather someone else made the decision. And then if it doesn't work out, it's not their fault. Well, the law was somewhat like that. The law told you what you could do and what you could not do.

The grace, the gospel age, puts it directly upon you, upon each one of us. We have to decide. So, it says, such as returning to legal bondage. Here he gives warning to those who have not fallen. Notice he says, ye which are spiritual.

By saying that, he means that the one that was overtaken at that moment was not spiritual. Doesn't mean he is not born again. It means that for a moment he sinned. Yes. No, no, this is referring to Christians.

Right. It's talking to Christians, not somebody outside of the church. So, we see now that for the moment this man, this brethren, has fallen into sin of some type. It's very obvious. What was that? I thought somebody had a gun.

I have an amplifier on my ears. It says to restore this person. Restore. Greg, restore. Put him back in the store. All right. The Greek is used of a dislocated limb. Did you ever have a shoulder or a leg or a joint out of what?

Socket. Anybody? Our preacher has. It was his head. Now, if you have a dislocated limb, and you're the person with the limb, how would you want it to be restored? What did you say, Virge? Put him back in the store.

All right. But we would want it to be done gently. It doesn't mean it always is. Sometimes it's necessary to jerk it. But not always. And quickly. So, the Greek that is used here is the same that is used for restoring a dislocated limb.

If we think in that realm, then it would have to be with tenderness. We should treat a fallen member of the church in restoring him to a better state with tenderness, with love, with compassion, with meekness.

But not with just letting him go. He'd be deformed the rest of his life. He could not function as he should. So, we are to restore people, but in love. You cannot, you must not, confront someone and say, boy, you did wrong.

We're going to make you right. Now, my father did that a few times. And he said, you didn't do right, and I'm going to see that you do. But when we're talking about a church member, Russell, it has to be with compassion and with tenderness.

But do it. It doesn't mean we should just let it go. Or if the first attempt doesn't work, then forget it. We are to restore. That's a permanent state. Well, this is far we're going to get. Anything someone would like to add?

What'd you want? Yes. I cannot place it. Seems to me like Peter or Paul used the term, what'd you say, David? What would we do without computers? Look that up. And report next week, and we'll go back to verse 1 next week.

Anything? Well, it is good to be back. You don't know how I missed this for those... We were gone for six months. Greg, dismiss us please, sir.