Came across this video. Got blessed. Couldn’t not praise the Lord and celebrate his faithful love and goodness. I thought, “Why not pass it along?” So here it is, no charge. It may not be your favorite style of music. (What’s wrong with you?) But, ff you need to be encouraged, if you need to rejoice in Jesus, I pray this will help. (It’s OK to clap and sing along . . . )
Page 43 of 76
Kidding, right? Happy when it hurts? That’s pretty much what James urged . . .
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2).
Sounds like “be happy when it hurts” to me! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the start . . .
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes (in the Dispersion) scattered among the nations: Greetings (1:1). James was Jesus’ brother. After Jesus’ resurrection, James became leader of the 1st century A.D. Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem.
He’s writing to “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (1:1). The NIV translates (and interprets) diaspora “scattered among.” The term diaspora hearkens back to the Babylonian exile (587 B.C.). When it ended (583 B.C.), many Jews remained in Babylon. Five hundred years later, Jews had scattered as well to Persia, Cyprus, the Aegean islands, the west coast of Asia Minor, Egypt, and Rome. To them, James is writing with apostolic authority, prophetic power and pastoral care.
“Scattered among” reminds me of us. Jesus’ followers today are a holy nation, without country or capital, dispersed like ” , , , strangers and aliens in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). So we can identify with James’ readers. Similarly, like them in this world, we , “face trials of many kinds” . . .
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance 1:2,3).
Payrasmois (my phonetic Greek!) is translated “trials, tests, temptations.” Of these. James’ readers face “many kinds.” Thus, James B. Admanson in his The Epistle of James says payrasmois includes all kinds of adversity and affliction, as diverse as disease, sexual lust, greed, temper, pride of wealth or strength or beauty. It is characteristic of James,” he writes, “that here he powerfully uses payrasmois for both the pleasant allurements of Satan and the painful afflictions of the body . . . ”
Now: why does James urge us to respond to payrasmois with “pure joy”? (Got to admit. If trials are tests which I should count an occasion for joy, my score is abysmal.) Joy, because James is telling us implicitly God is at work for good in them. We’re not having “a bad day.” It’s not just “a bummer” or “bad luck.” Trials are “the testing of [our] faith.”
I aced most college tests. High school, not so much. At test times in both places, though, my stomach knotted and palms sweated. The test would examine me. I’d be evaluated by how I answered. James is saying, “No stomach knots. No sweaty palms. Count this test all joy.” Before we dig more deeply into “joy”, let’s see specifically why James calls for joy.
” . . . because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (1:3,4).
” . . . the testing of your faith develops (produces, brings about) perseverance.” “Develops” implies ongoing process, not quick pill. It’s the difference between popping a steroid and working out. BibleWorks computer program offers a profound definition for “perseverance”—“the characteristic of a man or woman who is not swerved from his/her deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and suffering.”
Years ago I used to jog/ (Never considering it pure joy! Had to get in/stay in shape!) My toughest challenge hit just short of half-way. I was starting to ache. Getting winded. Thinking, “I’ve got another whole half to go!” I needed to endure, to not swerve from my purpose of finishing the course even though I hurt.
God obviously values upomonay. Perseverance–patient endurance–is a virtue he considers necessary for us sinners-saved-by-grace to be “mature (teleeoi–perfect, full-grown) and complete (olokayros–whole, complete in all parts), lacking nothing. ” Maturity or completeness—that’s God’s goal for us. Perseverance through faith-testing trials is the way. And the only path to developing perseverance is persevering.
Frankly, when I’m hurting my default reaction is to not hurt. I’m not much interested in enduring on to maturity. I just want to feel better. Give me a miracle-healing, God! But God’s got an alternate agenda. He wants to make us more like Christ. Isn’t that what Paul wrote?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
(Romans 8:28,29).
Our (at least my) reaction to faith-testing trials is “Get me outta here!” and not “Give me grace to endure so I can be mature!” Therefore, James admonishes and promises . . .
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him.
(James 1:5)
Wisdom is ours for the asking! Now, briefly back to “joy” . . .
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2).
James is not urging us to shout “Hooray!” when we hurt. My title, “Happy When It Hurts”, misses the mark. James is counseling us to wisely see the great good God is doing in faith-testing trials as we live dispersed in this world. And to consider that gracious work of God an occasion for pure joy.
* * * * *
Father in heaven, you know well how I react to trials and tests. especially when they drag on with no apparent hope of rescue. I know James’ admonitions and promises here. But I need more than knowledge. I need wisdom. Please generously and ungrudgingly give me wisdom from above by the Holy Spirit. Enable me to see beyond the hurt to the maturity and completeness you’re developing in me. So shall I be satisfied with your transforming work. May I persevere with joy, assured that you are saving me to be a creature more complete than I can now imagine. All glory is yours. In the name of your Son who endured for me, Amen.
Having clearly road-mapped my future blogging (https://theoldpreacher.com/explain-james/) , I’m abruptly turning down an unexpected side road . . .
Christian Titles.
I’ve never paid much mind to Christian titles, whether denominational (Baptist, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, etc.) or theological (Arminian, Reformed, amillennial, etc.) They sometimes categorize unfairly. Like: every Baptist is like every other Baptist and so on.) As far as the theological groupings, (as I’ve said before), I think they all have to twist certain texts to fit their systems. I suspect when we see Jesus we’ll all realize we were a little wrong.
For that reason, I’ve never been big on systematic theology. In 44 years of preaching and teaching, I’ve primarily focused on the text at hand, trying to read it as much as possible as the original readers would have, and hopefully close to what the author intended.
My Story.
I was raised, and originally ordained, in an Assemblies of God church. I have a Pentecostal heritage. (Note: I don’t hold to all the A/G tenets of faith.) Neither time nor space allows me to fully define Pentecostalism nor relate its history. (Google “Pentecostalism” and find plenty.) To some, Pentecostal conjures up images of people falling on the floor or barking like dogs or prophesying the future. While sadly those images are based on fact, that’s not the Pentecostalism I grew up in. Yes, being baptized in the Spirit with “the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues” was emphasized, occasionally overly. But, by and large, the manifestations of the Spirit’s gifts were kept within biblical bounds. More than gifts, Pentecostalism meant, at least for me, a rich presence of God the Holy Spirit, a personal experience with him that reached deeper inward than the mind alone.
In later years of pastoring, I was progressively drawn to Reformed theology (Calvinism). It answered many questions, but gave rise to others. Again, I won’t give details, except to say it remains a vital part of the theological foundation of my faith. Now I find Charismatic (a so-called “second wave” Pentecostalism) Reformed folks, Sam Storms, for one (http://www.samstorms.com/enjoying-god-blog). I’m not sure I fit comfortably in that camp either. But I do know in my limited experience I have missed the sense of God’s empowering presence (to use Gordon Fee’s term) among the Reformed. (As I’ve said, none of us has it all right!)
So now in my “retired” years, without letting go of the good Reformed theology provides, I find part of my heart returning to some of my Pentecostal heritage. I have recently quoted Dr. Gordon Fee, an American-Canadian Christian theologian and an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God (USA). He currently serves as Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia.
God’s Empowering Presence.
I recently came across the following from Dr. Fee in his book, Listening to the Spirit in the Text ( https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Spirit-Text-Gordon-Fee-ebook/dp/B003U6Z63M?ie=UTF8&keywords=listening%20to%20the%20spirit%20in%20the%20text&qid=1465236726&ref_=sr_1_1&s=bookssr=1-1) I include it here because I’ve written recently about God the Holy Spirit in Galatians. Fee’s words profoundly spoke to me. To them, my heart said, “Amen!”
” . . . I began to think of my own Pentecostal heritage (that is, Fee’s), and how we have depersonalized the Spirit–not in our theology itself, mind you, but in our ways of thinking and talking about the Spirit. Our speech is what betrays us. With us the Spirit is depersonalized into an empowering experience. We are empowered by the experience, but not by the empowering presence of God himself. And then I thought of my lifelong existence in evangelical circles–where the Spirit is kept safely in the creed and the liturgy. He is personal, well enough. We would be unorthodox to think otherwise. But for many, he is anything but God’s empowering presence. Our images are biblical, but they are also impersonal. He is wind, fire, water–comes to us as an influence, or whatever. But he is not the one in whom and by whom we are sharing in the very love and grace and life of God himself. And I do not mean in some mystical way. Our problem is that the language of Father and Son evokes personal images; but the Spirit evokes that which is intangible, not quite real, because incorporeal (immaterial, ethereal). Paul’s prayer on the other hand (“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”–2 Corinthians 13,14), is that they might know the grace of Christ, the visible historical expression of the love of God, because as people of the Spirit they live in constant, empowering fellowship with God himself. This is how the loving God and gracious Lord Jesus Christ are now present with us” (p. 29).
This, whatever our theological stripe, I pray for us all.
Martin Luther, seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation (16th century Europe) admitted, ” . . . there is many a good saying in [the Book of James], but it contradicts St. Paul and all other Scripture in giving righteousness to works.”
Contradictions?
Luther’s judgement raises serious question, some beyond scope of this blog. Here’s one we can ask: Did God the Holy Spirit inspire two men (Paul and James) to write contradictory documents? It almost seems so. Fairness demands we dig out answers, especially since we’ve just come from Galatians where Paul categorically claimed, ” . . . we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). While James wrote, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
We’ll confront this “contradiction”, as we turn next to the New Testament Book of James. Why James? A word of explanation as suggested by my wife. (She’s the one to the left in the first photo above. It doesn’t do her justice.)
Reason.
I love my wife with all my heart. She is God’s most precious gift to me after Jesus. She is God-loving, full of faith, a warrior in prayer, one of the hardest workers I know, wise, and beautiful inside and out. She was the rock in our early-marriage years when I was too immature to be married. She’s my caregiver now in our late-married years when my health is poor. She recently suggested, “You really better explain where you’re going with your blog.” I (being no fool myself) decided to listen.
Last April 1st I started the “Acts Eight” series, discussing the eight sermons and talks found in that book. I quickly realized I needed to review the narratives leading up to each for the “sermons” to make sense. Hence, the “Acts Eight” became a walk through the entire book.
Well, not quite. When Paul was about to begin his second missionary journey, I remembered that it was about then he composed his letter to the Galatians. So, I decided we should study that then. Now my plan is to walk through the New Testament chronologically. Which means we step now from Galatians to James, since both were written about the same time though, of course, by different authors and to different readers
To mix things even more, I’ve occasionally blogged topics that struck my interest or seemed timely. I’ll continue that as we wind our way through the New Testament. All things considered, I may not live long enough to reach Revelation. Which is okay for two reasons. One, it’s a very confusing book. And, two, by that time I’ll be with Jesus and it won’t matter.
James.
Scholars are split. Was James Jesus’ brother?
“Isn’t this the carpenter?
Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?
Aren’t his sisters here with us?”
(Mark 6:3)
Or half-brother? Mary’s husband, Joseph, quickly disappears from the Gospel narrative. It’s assumed, therefore, that he died. If Mary remarried (supposition), and James was a product of their union, he would have been Jesus’ half-brother.
The scholar-split is actually three ways. Some believe James was Jesus’ cousin. Roman Catholic scholars are among those who especially hold this view, believing Mary was always a virgin. I see no support for this view.
Why the family-tree discussion? James didn’t believe in Jesus.
Nearing Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus’ brothers challenged him to go to Judea “that your disciples also may see the works you are doing . . . If you do these things, show yourself to the world” (John 7:4b). John then explains their motivation . . .
For not even his brothers believed in him (John 7:5).
How was that possible? Brotherly rivalry? Jealousy? Or just incredulity? “My brother? Messiah? Ya gotta be kidding. Do you see how he leaves his room?”
But when we meet James in his writing, he is . . .
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
(James 1:1)
Why the conversion?
“Christ . . . was raised on the third day . . . and . . .
he appeared . . . to James . . . “
(1 Corinthians 15:4-7).
Fun to have been there, no? “Oh, Jesus, I really knew it all the time. It was the rest of the family that didn’t believe. I always knew you were special.” I imagine Jesus flashed a small smile, said nothing, and just bore loving eyes into his brother’s embarrassed face.
From years of unbelief, by impact of Jesus’ resurrection, James went on to become the most influential leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13).
Us.
What about us? Maybe our beginnings—even to today—have been without God. Or with him, but just ordinary. But God-less or ordinary life given into the hands of the risen Lord can be made holy and extraordinary for his saving purposes! Just remember James.
According to one web site ( http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/quick-many-different-genres-popular-music-youre-wrong/) there are 1264 genres of popular music today. I have no idea if that’s right, but there’s a lot.
I’m reminded of a conversation with one of our worship leaders years ago. How cool, he commented, that our worship team could play different kinds of Christian music for different people. You know, please everyone. I replied, “We haven’t even scratched the surface” and rattled off jazz and classical and folk and bluegrass, for example. The variety of music nearly boggles the mind and makes me wonder what kind of God is ours, who creates creatures who can so creatively create such varied music! One day it will all be to his glory.
Next to today’s popular Christian groups, classical conjures up images of people dancing the minuet. But I risk the scoffing to suggest a listen to this 14 minute, 42 second Christian classical music video. At times we need music to pull us up from our despondency to dance. Other times—busy, stressful times—we need music to revive our soul without sending us to sleep. This video does it for me.
I suggest watching and listening with a mind to meet the Lord in the music. Or perhaps silently reading a portion of Scripture. Or how about this? Take your loved one’s hand and together sit in the Lord’s holy presence, listening, waiting. But whatever you do, please, don’t critique the music. Meet with the One whom words alone cannot communicate–the One about whom there must be music’s beauty to taste just a bit of his glory. He’ll be there in the song . . .
Grabs the stylus from his scribe. No dictation now. With his own hand, he climaxes his letter, even though his eye trouble (Galatians 4:13,15) makes the words ungainly large. See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! (6:11). Better, perhaps, to rivet home his final message.
Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ (6:12). The Judaizers (professed Christian Jews troubling the Gentile Galatians preaching faith in Christ plus Jewish circumcision for justification to the end) are pressuring them. Paul warns they have impure motives. They want to put the (circumcised) Gentiles on display, so Jewish unbelievers won’t persecute them. Cover up the objectionable cross with honorable circumcision.
A crucified Messiah? Shameful! The gold cross draped about my neck is a badge of faith, a sign of to Whom I belong and how. To the Jew, the cross symbolized utter weakness and criminality and worthless rejection. Like an African-American proudly wearing a noose around his neck. Disallowed!
Circumcision, on the other hand, was a badge of honor. A sign (albeit generally covered!) that this man descended from Abraham, the one through whom Yahweh would make a great nation to bless all the (inferior) nations. Cover the cross with circumcision. Jewish law-devotion would show them superior.
Sadly, we’ve “cleaned up” the cross. Or at least allowed the world to. It’s jewelry or art. To the world at worst it represents execution. But a punishment empty of meaning. “Jesus died for my sins”— a vacuous slogan. But the cross declares, “My Messiah was rejected and executed in utter weakness and abysmal defeat in my place for my sins. He was, in the world’s eyes, an embarrassing loser.”
Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (6:13,14). Prosecuting, Paul points at the circumcised and roars, “Even they don’t obey God’s law. The only reason they want you Gentiles to be circumcised is to proudly carve more notches on their “we got-’em-circumcised-belt.”
Paul’s only boast was that the Lord Jesus Christ outrageously, despicably died on a cross for him. It forever redefined Paul’s estimation of the world. It “has been crucified to me and I to the world.” In other words, “Its values don’t govern me. Its successes don’t beckon me. I don’t evaluate my life by its measure. I don’t care what it thinks of me. Christ’s cross has freed me from the world’s lure. My crucified Messiah is my treasure.”
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God (6:15,16). The literal Greek here is, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything”; the translator supplies “means.” Again the translator supplies “counts”, because the Greek says, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything . . . ” They’re trying to capture Paul’s intent.
More significant is how Paul defines the nature of the Christian life. It’s not a matter of outward religious symbolism, like forehead-ashes for Lent or Bible-carrying or cross-wearing. The Christian is “a new creation.” Startling statement. Circumcision can’t affect that. Only the gift of the Spirit can. As Paul would later write to the Corinthians . . .
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
“And we all with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image
from one degree of glory to another.
For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Far more than mere personal transformation! This means the new eternal, righteous creation has burst back into this present age and has already been birthed in us who believe!
Such Christianity isn’t a meritorious faith. It’s a grace faith by which God the Holy Spirit applies the crucifixion (and resurrection) of Christ in us to create a new righteousness out of our old moral corruption. This, not circumcised Jews naturally descended from Abraham, is “the Israel of God”—Jew and Gentile one new people through faith in Christ, alive with his life by the Spirit.
Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen (6:17,18). Paul wants no more messes from these Judaizers, who may even want to turn Paul to their cross-less ways. He is committed to Jesus. And his body bears the scars (Greek, stigmata) from following his crucified Lord through a proud and hostile world.
* * * * *
The Cross vs. Prosperity. Christianity that draws the crowds plays down the cross’ rejection and shame. It promises “your best life now.” It trumpets how to be a winner. It (subconsciously ?) seeks ways to succeed in the world without being “worldly” (not possible). It’s gloriously true that Christ didn’t remain on the cross. But we don’t get resurrection without the cross–Christ’s and ours. May the world be crucified to us and us to the world!
A New Creation. I look in the mirror and don’t see one. I know my sins; they are ever before me. I look at the church and see no difference from what I see at the office or supermarket or ball game. Where is the power of Christ to transform our lives by means of the Holy Spirit, so people catch glimpses of a new creation in us?
Two responses come to mind. First, the familiar slogan, “Be patient; God’s not finished with me yet!” And, second, “walk by the Spirit, follow the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit.” Do in living the desires he’s working in us. We’ve got to risk stepping to learn to walk!
Been a long, hard day. Stress from the start. Running. Running, Running. Not a moment to stop. More to do than can be done. Weary, but no end. Worry, but no relief. What about tomorrow? The money? The kids? The house? The job?
Where’s the peace? Where is Jesus? Why am I so down and defeated?
Before this day ends, how about making a few moments (you’ll have to make them ’cause they won’t just happen) to be still before the Lord. Look at this video. Listen to it. I pray we’ll all find in the stress the stillness with Jesus that quiets our soul and makes us more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Too bad the Holy Spirit’s notoriety often trumpets bizarre behavior! Here, with the Galatian troubles in view, Paul concludes his letter urging down-to-earth counsel about how to “keep in step with the Spirit” (5:25.
Bear Each Others’ Burdens (6:1-6).
My friends, if anyone is [caught] in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher (6:1-6, NRSV).
The transgressor, it seems to me, is caught in the Judaizers’ doctrine: faith in Christ + circumcision and law-keeping = ongoing justification (right standing) with God. The victim has been severed from Christ (5:4). Liked ripped fishing nets (Matthew 4:21), he must be mended. Who’s to effect this restoration? The pneumatikos: those who have received the Spirit through faith in Christ.
Rarely do we. Instead we adopt worldliness: it’s his business. I won’t butt in on what she’s doing. How, then, we do fail to serve one another in love (5:13)! For we are to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way . . . fulfill the law of Christ”, which is the law of self-giving love (John 13:34,35).
Such restoration requires “a spirit of gentleness.” This is no place for legalistic sledge-hammering gleaming with the false light of religious pride. So “restorers” are “nothing:” when they measure their righteous works by those of their struggling sisters. Rather, each one must shoulder his own responsibility before God alone. And all must take the learner’s seat before their teacher, and humbly provide good things the teacher needs to teach.
Extremist behavior that attracts attention to itself doesn’t mark the Spirit-walking church. Lovingly, humbly bearing one another’s burdens does.
Don’t Weary of Doing Right (6:7-10).
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10, NRSV).
Plant wheat, get wheat, not barley. No fooling the Creator of “nature”. Nor the Creator of man. Try to “plant” justification-by-law-keeping, we get moral corruption from our human nature. Simply insisting “Thou shalt!” and “Thou shalt not!” to our fallen nature will affect our behavior but little and not long. But if we “plant” to the Spirit, trusting his inward transformation of heart, we will get “eternal life from the Spirit.”
So shall we demand our sinning sister to try harder to do better? Or shall we meekly encourage her to trust the Spirit to bear his fruit?
Trouble is, fruit (even that of the Spirit) takes time to grow. And so many believers seem so stunted. “He’ll never change!” I confess I muttered at times to myself. “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”
Our people need encouragement to build friendships and to care about those caught in a transgression. That requires time and humility and gentleness and perseverance. We rely too much on the pastor to do the “spiritual” work. We expect the elders to be the Spirit-ministers. We see “church” as a meeting to attend instead of the family that knows and loves. The bigger the better we think, never noticing the virtual strangers who fall through the cracks because of sheer numbers alone.
I pastored 44 years. Never found a solid solution for all these issues. But one thing I know we can all do is prayerfully look for the opportunity to love and “mend”, trusting the Spirit . . .
“So then, whenever we have opportunity
(look for it, Spirit-walking believer),
let us work for the good of all
(not limited to Christians)and especially for those of the family of faith.”
FOR HERE, MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, ARE PICTURES OF THE SPIRIT-STEPPING CHURCH!
Audacious are the Gospel’s claims. No more so than in Galatians 5:19-26. Paul has been correcting confused new Christ-believers that having begun by faith in the Spirit’s regenerating work, they must not presume to defeat their still-present sin-nature desires by scrupulous law-keeping (Galatians 3:3).
But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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 what you want to do.
But, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
(Galatians 5:16-18).
Mess in the Flesh.
“Flesh” is human nature apart from Christ. Fallen from grace. Sinful before the holy God. “Flesh” has cravings it seeks to satisfy. And, when it does, Paul warns, this is what it produces . . .
Now the works of the flesh are evident:
sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like that.
(Galatians 5:19-21a).
By “things like that” Paul makes his list representative, not exhaustive. “Flesh” (human nature apart from Christ) produces this kind of mess. Not every human is this “messed.” But “messes” like these corrupt every one who is without Christ. More seriously . . .
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:21b).
Paul now is thinking eschatalogically—that is, of the consummation of the new eternal creation. Then, God will reign in unopposed righteousness and perfection. Sin, decay and death will be no more. Therefore, those whose lives are marked by corruptible vices will not inherit God’s kingdom.
What Paul writes here should rattle every systematic theologian whose doctrines all fit like a huge jig-saw puzzle: the apostle Paul is writing to Christians. They have begun the Christian life. But if they live it “by the flesh”—whether by trying to keep God’s holy, good and righteous law or by abusing Christ’s liberty with license—they will not inherit God’s kingdom. Legalism and licentiousness both end with the kingdom door closed and the inheritance lost.
But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
(Galatians 5:16).
Miracle in the Spirit.
Look what God has graciously done! What we could not!
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons,
And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!”
So you are no longer a slave
(neither to sin nor law)
but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
(Galatians 4:4-7).
And the Spirit, in the Son-followers produces “fruit”, a “harvest” of Christ-like virtues. These virtues, though personal, aren’t private. That is, Paul wants us (as he did the Galatians) to understand these virtues in the context of Christian community, the church. This is the “fruit” the Spirit (not us) grows . . .
Love: wanting the best for others and sacrificing ourselves so they might have it.
Joy: rejoicing in the fullness of grace with which God has blessed us and spreading that joy to the downcast.
Peace: an inner wholeness and well-being before God, a harmony we sow among God’s people.
Patience: a heart quiet under stress, enduring the pain others inflict.
Kindness: a gracious heart toward sinners shown by our attitude and actions toward them.
Goodness: a generous attitude toward others that transcends mere justice.
Faithfulness: trustworthiness expressed in devotion and allegiance, especially in adversity.
Gentleness: consideration for others, especially the weak.
Self-Control: the ability to keep one’s desires and passions under restraint, so we don’t indulge ourselves at others’ expense.
March in the Rhythm.
Years ago when I preached this passage, trying to emphasize the work of the Spirit and not ours, I would close my eyes, scrunch my face, pull my whole body tight ’til I quivered, then ask the people, “Is this how a tree grows fruit?” “No, it grows by the creative work of God.” Ah, now years later, I realize my analogy falters. We are not trees. Truly the Spirit grows “miracle fruit” in us. We are to “keep in step” . . .
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(Galatians 5:25,26)
The Spirit sets the rhythm and enables us to follow. The apostle charges us to keep in step with the Spirit’s beat.
We don’t, at least, not always. A different image comes to mind. I’m leading worship. The congregation is singing and clapping. I notice a man on the left and a woman in the center whose clapping only occasionally and accidentally hits the beat. They simply can’t clap with the rhythm. What shall I do? Stop and reprimand them? Prohibit their clapping? No. Eventually, if the Spirit indwells them, they’ll get it. So I let them clap along slightly off for now. As the Lord does me. One day, he’ll see to it that we all get it . . .
How-To books sell. Maybe because about something we’re all “DUMMIES.” I’m not admitting to “dummie-hood;” but, since reading the apostle Paul’s imperative, “But I say, walk by the Spirit” in Galatians 5:16 (see link . . . https://theoldpreacher.com/spirit-walking/ ), I’ve been asking, “How to?”
Look at the second imperative Paul issues in 5:25: “keep in step with the Spirit.” Notice, too, he references to being “led by the Spirit” in 5:18. I contend that by these phrases (walk by the Spirit, [be] led by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit) Paul is saying essentially the same thing. The Christian life is a Spirit-walk, Spirit-led, Spirit-step life.
These terms also paint a picture. I walk by [means of] a walker for support and strength. When our four-family family vacationed together, three cars in caravan would follow the lead driver. I never tried out for high school marching band fearing my feet couldn’t stay in rhythm with all the rest. Walk by the Spirit (like me on my walker). [B]e led by the Spirit (like us in our caravan). Keep in step with the Spirit (like me, if I could, in marching band).
In a sermon entitled “Live by the Spirit,” Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, and a co-host of the White Horse Inn radio program, explains . . .
“The Spirit works in and through the Word” and “motivates us to pray” and “causes us to live in freedom by serving one another in love.” He summarily concludes: “But we do not fulfill Paul’s imperative by merely re-doubling our efforts, or by attempting to reach and attain a higher-level or more intense Christian experience. Walking in the Spirit is participating in the means of grace—Word and Sacrament—as well as things such as prayer and fellowship, the result of which is growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and progressive conformity to his image.”
Riddlebarger (one of my Reformed “go-to guys” for perspective) hardly hints at an answer here. Certainly participating in every means of grace enables us to walk by the Spirit. But it isn’t the walking itself. There has to be more.
In a sermon entitled “Walk by the Spirit,” Dr. John Piper, founder and teacher of desiringgod
“But the $60,000 question is, How do you walk by the Spirit? All of us have heard preachers say, ‘Let the Spirit lead you,’ or, ‘Allow the Spirit to control you,’ and have gone away puzzled as to what that means practically. How do you allow the Spirit to control you? I want to try to show you that the answer is, You allow the Spirit to control you by keeping your heart happy in God. Or to put it another way, you walk by the Spirit when your heart is resting in the promises of God. The Spirit reigns over the flesh in your life when you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you and now is working everything together for your good.”
Piper (a mentor through books and Internet) takes us a step closer. But, while “resting in the promises of God” and living “by faith in the Son of God” fuel our Spirit-walk, it seems to me that “walk by the Spirit” and ‘keep in step with the Spirit” call for more action than resting and trusting.
I think Dr. Gordon Fee, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada in his excellent book God’s Powerful Presence takes us closest . . .
“[Paul’s] appeal . . . is to ‘go on walking by the very same Spirit by which you came to faith and with whom God still richly supplies you’ . . . That is, a powerful and experiential–supernatural, if you will–presuppositional base lies behind this imperative . . . Life in the Spirit is not passive submission to the Spirit to do a supernatural work in one’s life; rather it requires conscious effort, so that the indwelling Spirit may accomplish his ends in one’s life. One is urged to ‘walk by the Spirit’ . . . by deliberately ‘conforming one’s life to the Spirit’ (‘keep in step with the Spirit’, 5:25). If such a person is also described as being ‘led by the Spirit,’ that does not mean passively; it means to rise up and follow the Spirit by walking in obedience to the Spirit’s desire . . .
The difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’ many centuries later is almost certainly at the experiential level, wherein their dynamic experience of the Spirit both at the beginning of life in Christ and in their ongoing life in the church would have made this imperative seem much more ‘practical’ and everyday. Since the Spirit is God’s own empowering presence, Paul expected God’s supernatural aid to enable them to live in keeping with God’s character and purposes . . .
In a world in which Torah observance no longer obtains, the Spirit is sufficient and adequate to accomplish God’s purposes in and among his people. Spirit people march to a different drummer, and the Spirit empowers them to live in such a way that their lives evidence that fact.”
The Spirit is like my walker.
He gives me support and strength to walk in the Word-centered ways he desires.
I’m urged to walk.
“Walk by the Spirit.”
The Spirit is like the lead car in our caravan.
He, in my new-born nature, leads me in the Word-centered paths he wants.
I’m urged to follow.
“[Be] led by the Spirit.”
The Spirit is like the marching band conductor.
He sets the Word-centered tempo and pace he favors.
I’m urged to keep in step.
“Keep in step with the Spirit.”
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