Overview of Galatians 5:16–26 | Resources
Sermon Text: Galatians 5:16–24
“I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Discussion Questions
1. Who is the Spirit? What do we know about Him and His role in our lives?
2. What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? What does this look like?
3. What strikes you the most in the list of the “works of the flesh?”
4. Which work of the flesh seems the hardest to crucify?
5. How are you daily crucifying the flesh? How is that going?
Memory Verse
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22–24 (CSB)
Devotional
As a brand new homeowner, I was so excited that the house we purchased bragged of apple and pear trees in the deep backyard. I didn’t grow up around fruit trees or even crops of any kind, so my eternal optimism began to picture myself enjoying an endless supply of backyard-grown pears and apples.
It didn’t take long before I became disappointed by the fruit I found in my yard. The fruit was small, misshapen, and covered in imperfections, not to mention half-eaten by worms and/or bugs. My disappointment caused me to do some investigation. I still don’t know much about fruit, but I now know that not all fruit is delightful to eat. Some fruit comes from bad trees. This fruit is not enjoyable or beautiful. Its only use that I found was for batting practice.
Galatians 5 teaches us about a specific type of fruit. It is specifically called the fruit of the Spirit. As we dive into this series, let’s not neglect the creator and sustainer of these fruit that are produced in our lives. Praise the Lord that it isn’t us, because I, for one, have come to the conclusion that I am a terrible horticulturist. Let’s give God, specifically the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, the credit He deserves for the beneficial fruit that He produces in our lives and remain humble when we see it show up!