“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16 (NIV)
The Christian life is not mainly about trying harder to say no to bad things.
That approach is exhausting, and it has a poor record. Paul gives us something better: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Notice the verb: walk. The Greek peripateo means to walk around, to conduct one’s life. Hebrew thought used the same image for a way of living, which is why the New Testament so often describes discipleship as a walk. It implies something daily, practical and incremental. Nobody walks a mile in one movement.
So the Holy Spirit wants to lead the way you speak, react, choose, work, forgive, spend and serve. Not merely the religious portion of your week but the whole of it.
Now, “the flesh.” The Greek sarx is not simply the body, and it is important not to confuse them; Christianity is not a religion that despises the physical. Paul uses sarx to describe the fallen human nature operating independently of God, the pull within us towards self-centred and sinful desire. Read his list in verses 19 to 21 and you will notice that it includes hatred, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissensions and envy alongside the more obvious bodily sins. The flesh is not primarily about appetite; it is about self.
Here is Paul’s strategy, and it is where this passage differs from most of our instincts. If all we do is stare at the flesh, repeating “don’t do it, don’t do it,” we become exhausted and frequently do it anyway. Attention fixed on a temptation is not the same as resistance; often it is rehearsal.
Paul says put your attention on walking with the Spirit. The promise attached is remarkable: “and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Not you will find it slightly easier. Walking in one direction is how you fail to walk in the other.
It is the difference between rowing and sailing. A rowing boat moves only as far as your arms can pull it, and you feel every stroke. A sailing boat still needs someone at the helm, trimming the sails and holding a course, but the power comes from a wind you did not create. The Christian life was never meant to be rowing.
This is what older writers called the expulsive power of a new affection. You do not empty a heart by scraping it out; you displace what is there with something better.
So what does walking by the Spirit involve practically?
Stay in the Word, because the Spirit works through what He has inspired and will never lead you contrary to it. Colossians 3:16 gives almost the same results for the word of Christ dwelling in us that Ephesians 5:18 gives for being filled with the Spirit, which tells you these are not competing approaches.
Pray throughout the day, not only in a designated slot. Short sentences, as things arise, keep the line open.
Worship, because worship reorients you. A heart occupied with the greatness of God is not a vacant property.
Respond quickly when the Holy Spirit convicts. Speed matters enormously here. Conviction acted on within minutes is relatively easy; conviction deferred for a week hardens.
And make practical choices that strengthen obedience and weaken temptation. This is not legalism; it is wisdom cooperating with grace, and we will look at it more closely tomorrow.
Now, an important guard. The Spirit will never lead you contrary to Scripture. His voice and His Word agree, because He is the author of both. Any impression, however vivid, that requires you to disobey a plain command of Scripture is not from the Holy Spirit. This single principle would prevent most of the disasters done in His name.
And notice what Paul says fills the place the flesh vacates. Verses 22 and 23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Fruit, singular, with nine characteristics, growing organically rather than being manufactured. Fruit is evidence of a living connection, not the product of effort applied directly to the fruit.
Notice too that self-control appears last in that list. The very thing we try hardest to produce by willpower turns out to be fruit of the Spirit’s work.
Let me be honest about the ongoing conflict, though, because Paul is. Verse 17 says the flesh and the Spirit “are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” This is not a promise of an easy life. Walking by the Spirit is a real walk, sometimes uphill, and the struggle continues. But the direction is settled, and the outcome is not in doubt.
So as you begin this morning, change the question you are asking. Do not only ask, “How do I avoid sin today?” Ask, “Holy Spirit, how do You want me to walk with You today?”
Victory is not found only in resisting something. It is found in following Someone.
One further note on the conflict Paul describes, because he says something important about who is winning.
Galatians 5:17 says the flesh and the Spirit are in conflict “so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Some read that as a counsel of despair, as though the Christian were permanently stalemated.
But look at verse 24: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Past tense. The decisive blow has been struck.
So the ongoing conflict is real, and it is the resistance of a defeated enemy rather than a contest between equals. That is worth knowing at the point of temptation. You are not negotiating with a peer.
Walk with the Holy Spirit today. Stay close, stay sensitive, and let His leadership become stronger than the pull of the flesh.
Reflection
1. Where have you been fighting temptation by staring at it rather than by walking with the Spirit? What would a change of direction look like?
2. When did you last defer acting on conviction? What difference would responding within the hour have made?
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I have spent a great deal of energy telling myself not to sin, and very little of it walking with You. Teach me the better way. Lead how I speak, react, choose, work, forgive and spend today. Keep me in the Word, keep me praying through the day, and help me respond quickly rather than deferring conviction until it hardens. Produce Your fruit in me, including the self-control I have tried so hard to manufacture. Let following You become stronger in me than the pull of the flesh. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Declaration
Victory is not only resisting something; it is following Someone. I walk by the Spirit today, and I will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church
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