Walking in the Spirit and Resisting Fleshly Lusts in Daily Life
The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16 LITV) [1]. This instruction addresses the ongoing spiritual conflict within believers and provides a path for living a life consistent with their new identity in Christ.
Understanding "Walking in the Spirit"
"Walking in the Spirit" signifies a life guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit [3, 7]. It is not merely an occasional influence but an abiding state where the believer's practical life aligns with the inner principle of their spiritual life [3]. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, suggests that walking in the Spirit means following the Spirit of God, making the inspired Word of God the rule for behavior, and depending on the Spirit's grace and strength [6]. This involves allowing the Holy Spirit to be one's guide, leading in paths of holiness and righteousness [6].
Adam Clarke, a Methodist/Wesleyan commentator, interprets "Walk in the Spirit" as a call to reclaim the Spirit of God if it has been grieved or lost, and to embrace a spiritual religion that may have been abandoned [4]. He posits that if the Spirit of God dwells in and rules the heart, the "carnal mind" will be destroyed, leading to the abandonment of "carnal ordinances" and "works and propensities of the flesh" [4].
The concept implies an active, continuous engagement with the Holy Spirit, allowing His influence to shape daily decisions and actions [3, 7]. It is a way of life where the believer is continually alive to spiritual realities, even if sometimes inactive [3].
The Nature of "Fleshly Lusts"
The "flesh" in this context refers to the corrupt nature that persists even in regenerate individuals [9]. It is called "flesh" because it is propagated through carnal generation, desires carnal things, and its lusts and works are "fleshly" [9]. While it resides in the heart, its effects manifest through the body's members [9]. The "lust of the flesh" encompasses the evil desires and inclinations that stem from this fallen nature [7]. These are the "evils specified" in Galatians 5:19-21, which include various sins such as sexual immorality, idolatry, strife, and envy [7].
The conflict between the Spirit and the flesh is inherent to the Christian experience. Paul states, "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" (Galatians 5:17 LITV) [2]. This mutual contrariety means that the Spirit strives against the flesh's evil influence, and the flesh strives against the Spirit's good influence [2]. This struggle prevents either the flesh or the Spirit from being fully carried out into action without resistance [2].
Resisting Fleshly Lusts
The promise of Galatians 5:16 is that by walking in the Spirit, believers "will not fulfill the lust of the flesh" [1]. This does not mean the absence of evil lusts, but rather that these lusts will not be brought to fruition or acted upon [7]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary explains this by analogy: "The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat" [7]. By actively pursuing a life led by the Spirit, the space for fleshly desires to dominate is diminished [7].
John Chrysostom, an early Church Father, emphasizes that walking by the Spirit is a "path which makes duty easy" and fosters love [5]. He connects the indwelling of the Spirit with the strength of love, suggesting that a spiritual life characterized by love is conducive to the Spirit's continued presence [5]. He views the instruction to "Walk by the Spirit" as the remedy for the "disease" of fleshly lusts [5].
The struggle against the flesh is a continuous one. As John Gill notes in his commentary on 2 Corinthians, believers "walk in the flesh" in the sense that they are in their physical bodies, experiencing imperfections, weaknesses, and afflictions [8]. However, they are not to "war after the flesh," meaning their spiritual battle is not conducted according to carnal principles [8]. The victory over fleshly lusts comes not from human effort alone, but from the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit [6].
The outcome of this spiritual struggle depends on which influence prevails [2]. When the Spirit prevails, the believer is no longer bound by the dictates of the flesh [2]. This aligns with Paul's teaching that "if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25 LITV) [3]. This means that the practical conduct of life should correspond to the inner spiritual principle of being dead to sin and freed from the law's condemnation [3].
In essence, resisting fleshly lusts is not merely about suppressing desires, but about cultivating a life so thoroughly saturated with the Spirit that the desires of the flesh lose their power and are not acted upon [4, 7]. This spiritual walk is a dynamic process of yielding to the Spirit's guidance and allowing Him to transform the believer's desires and actions [6].
Sources
- Galatians “Galatians 5:16 (LITV) — But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
- Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 5:17: For--the reason why walking by the Spirit will exclude fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, namely, their mutual contrariety. the Spirit--not "lusteth," but "tendeth (or some such word is to be supplied) against the flesh." so that ye cannot do the things that ye would--The Spirit strives against the flesh and its evil influence; the flesh against the Spirit and His good influence, so that neither the one nor the other can be fully carried out into action. "But" (Gal 5:18) where "the Spirit" prevails, the issue of the struggle no longer continues ”
- Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 5:25: in . . . in--rather, as Greek, "If we live (see on Gal 5:24) BY the Spirit, let us also walk (Gal 5:16; Gal 6:16) BY the Spirit." Let our life in practice correspond to the ideal inner principle of our spiritual life, namely, our standing by faith as dead to, and severed from, sin, and the condemnation of the law. "Life by (or 'in') the Spirit" is not an occasional influence of the Spirit, but an abiding state, wherein we are continually alive, though sometimes sleeping and inactive.”
- Galatians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Galatians 5:16: Walk in the Spirit - Get back that Spirit of God which you have grieved and lost; take up that spiritual religion which you have abandoned. Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh - If the Spirit of God dwell in and rule your heart, the whole carnal mind will be destroyed; and then, not only carnal ordinances will be abandoned, but also the works and propensities of the flesh.”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: between the spirit and the flesh.”—Lightfoot.—G.A.] path which makes duty easy, and secures what had been said, a path whereby love is generated, and which is fenced in by love. For nothing, nothing I say, renders us so susceptible of love, as to be spiritual, and nothing is such an inducement to the Spirit to abide in us, as the strength of love. Therefore he says, “Walk by the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh:” having spoken of the cause of the disease, he likewise mentions the remedy which confers health. A”
- Galatians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Galatians 5:15: This I say then, walk in the Spirit,.... The advice the apostle thinks fit to give, and which he would have observed, is, to "walk in the Spirit", that is, either after the Spirit of God; making the word inspired by him the rule of behaviour, which as it is the standard of faith, so of practice, and is the lamp unto our feet, and the light unto our path; taking him himself for a guide, who not only guides into all truth, but in the way of holiness and righteousness unto the land of uprightness; and depending upon his grace and strength for assistance throughout the”
- Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 5:16: This I say then--Repeating in other words, and explaining the sentiment in Gal 5:13, What I mean is this." Walk in the Spirit--Greek, "By (the rule of) the (Holy) Spirit." Compare Gal 5:16-18, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:25; Gal 6:1-8, with Rom 7:22; Rom 8:11. The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat. the flesh--the natural man, out of which flow the evils specified (Gal 5:19-21). The spirit and the flesh mutually exclude one another. It is promised, not that we should have no evil lusts, but that we should "not fulfil" them. If t”
- 2 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Corinthians 10:3: For though we walk in the flesh,.... The apostle removes the calumny of walking after the flesh, by owning that they were in the flesh, in the body, in a state of imperfection, attended with many weaknesses and infirmities, and surrounded with a variety of afflictions and sorrows; in this sense they were, and lived and walked in the flesh; but then he denies the charge exhibited against them, we do not war after the flesh: every Christian's life is a warfare with Satan, and his principalities and powers, with the world, the men and lusts of it, and with the c”
- Galatians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Galatians 5:16: For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,.... By "flesh" is meant, not the carnal or literal sense of the Scripture, which is Origen's gloss, as militating against the spiritual sense of it; nor the sensual part of man rebelling against his rational powers; but the corruption of nature, which still is in regenerate persons: and is so called because it is propagated by carnal generation; has for its object carnal things; its lusts and works are fleshly; and though it has its seat in the heart, it shows itself in the flesh or members of the body, which are yielded as”