Introductory remarks:
In this chapter Paul will give us the doctrine of sanctification, which is performed by the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is a setting us apart unto God. Many preachers today teach us that we should study the gospels in order to live like Christ lived. This, by the way, is impossible. Living the sanctified life is living in fellowship with the Father; and as we live in fellowship with Him, the Holy Spirit is able to live through us; so you see, we cannot live holy lives, but we can be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to live through us. We will cover this at length as we go through Paul's epistles. "Paul tells them [the Galatians] if they are circumcised, which is a sign of being under the Law, they are saying Christ is not enough. The One who called them didn't tell them they had to obey the Law. Paul says he wouldn't be persecuted if he taught obedience to the Law. He tells them to be confident in their liberty, not to feel free to sin but to love each other, which is in essence, obeying the Law. He tells them to be led by the Spirit, which will keep their flesh under control. Paul lists the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit" (A Survey of Galatians - by Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: A continuation of chapter four vs. 1; Christian freedom vv. 2-15; the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh vv. 16-26;
A Continuation of Chapter Four
Verse 1, "Stand fast therefore on the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
LGT "Keep on standing fast therefore in the freedom where with Christ as set us free, and not again in a yoke bondage be held."
Keep on standing fast therefore for the freedom: the freedom they have been given through the grace gospel, that is, freedom from the heavy bondage of keeping the law in order to be saved. Where with Christ has set us free: as children of the freewoman Christ has set us free according to the promise of grace. "For freedom did Christ set us free - For not with freedom. It is the dative of advantage; that we be really free and remain free" (Vincent). And not again in a yoke bondage be held: a yoke is a snare; do not let the false prophets convince you through their deception to be entangled again by thinking you must keep any portion of the law, for your liberty has set you completely free by God's wonderful grace. In some cases, the Galatians could be yielding again to the yoke of heathenism, the same as this world and its entire attractions snare us in.
Christian Freedom
Verse 2, "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
LGT "Behold, I Paul say to you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
I Paul: here he applies all his apostolic authority. That if ye be circumcised: exactly what the false teachers were stressing, that is, that they must be circumcised in order to be saved. Christ shall profit you nothing: if you have yourselves circumcised on this ground, you will choose the law over grace. If they chose the law over grace they cannot be saved.
Verse 3, "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law."
LGT "And I testify again to every man being circumcised, that he is morally obligated to do the whole law."
To every man being circumcised: Here Paul is addressing the Gentile population in particular, for the Jews had been circumcised as Jews, but now they are not to trust in the circumcision, but to trust in Christ for salvation. That he is morally obligated to do the whole law: The Greek word for "debtor" is opheiletes, and it means to be morally obligated. Paul says that if they put themselves back under the law by permitting themselves to be circumcised, they are morally obligated to keep the law perfectly; but even as James put it: "If a man offend in one point of the law, he has broken the entire law." Paul says that they should be happy in the liberty for which Christ has purchased for them; but if they have themselves circumcised they are willingly putting themselves under the whole law, of which they would have to keep in its entirety, and still not be saved. Now the Law itself is just and good; however, to rely on it for salvation is heresy no matter how you dress it up. No man has ever been, nor is being, nor will ever be saved by keeping the Law.
Verse 4, "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by law; ye are fallen from grace."
LGT "Ye were brought to nought from Christ, whosoever in Law are being justified, ye fell from grace."
Ye were brought to nought from Christ: the same thought here in this verse as in verse 2, "Christ will profit you nothing". Whosoever in Law are being justified: Paul is not saying that anyone could be justified by the Law, only that in their minds they are seeking justification by the Law. If they believe they are justified by the Law, Christ has become of none effect to them. Ye fell from grace: to fall from grace does not mean they lost their salvation; it means they have fallen from the free grace life Christ had begun in them. It amounts to loosing fellowship with the Father. John Eadie states: "If a man then imagines that he is justified by law, he has renounced grace as the principle of justification. . . Christ's method of justification is wholly of grace, and those who rely on law and merit are in opposition to grace - are fallen from it. The clause has really no bearing on the doctrine of perseverance of the saints, or on their possible apostasy."
Verse 5, "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."
LGT "For we, by [the] Spirit out of faith, await [the] hope of righteousness."
For we: we Christians who depend on grace, as opposed to the legalistic Judaizers looking unto the Law. By the Spirit: This is an instrumental dative, by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwelling us is the instrument wherewith we are able to resist any and all other ways of justification; we rely on faith alone in Christ alone. Out of faith: by means of faith not Law. Await the hope of righteousness: we wait for the Lord Jesus Christ and our ultimate redemption. We know by the instrument of the Holy Spirit that we are eternally saved, and now we wait for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to call us home. The hope is not wishful thinking, but absolute assurance that He is coming again, 'Praise His wonderful name forever.'
Verse 6, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
LGT "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision is of any force, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love."
For in Christ Jesus: all believers are in union with Christ Jesus. Positionally the entire church is in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus abides in each and every believer. Neither circumcision is of any force, nor uncircumcision: circumcision adds nothing to our union with Christ, nor our fellowship with Him. There were saved Jews that had been circumcised, and uncircumcised Gentiles; however, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision added anything to their union or fellowship with Christ. But faith working through love: not that the justified one is justified by love, but by faith working itself out in love. As Barnes notes: "this love is toward God first, and then is spread out towards all who bear the name Christian." We know by all our studies that love can only be expressed within the family of God; we may treat the unbeliever with fairness based on our position in Christ, but true Christian love can only be toward the family based on the other believer's position in Christ.
Verse 7, "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"
LGT "Ye were running well: who hindered you not to obey the truth?"
Ye were running well: you Galatians were making such good progress toward spiritual maturity. Who hindered you: who was it that threw up the blockade in your progress. The context points to the false teachers, the Judaizers. Not to obey the truth: you were making such good progress in studying Bible Doctrine, and now you have turned from the truth you already learned to obey another gospel, which as we learned earlier, is no gospel at all. Legalism is not good news, but a yoke of bondage.
Verse 8, "This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you."
LGT "The persuasion is not out from Him who calls you."
This persuasion of the Judaizers to put you under the yoke of bondage did not come from The Christ who set you free by His wonderful grace. The Law is a burden; grace is freedom indeed.
Verse 9, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
LGT "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."
Leaven in the Scriptures speaks of evil. The leaven makes the bread palatable, however, it is the leaven of legalism in the gospel that makes it approved by men. The gospel was not given for men to agree with it, but simply trust and accept it. Men do not want the gospel of grace because it robs them of their self-righteousness. Men want to be able to have a gospel that they have earned, not a gospel that is free, based on who and what Christ is and what He has done for us. The Judaizers were spoiling the Galatians with their false doctrine that Christ saved us by His grace, but they also must keep the law [the leaven] to be saved. If we add one iota to God's plan of salvation, we pervert the entire truth of the gospel of grace.
Verse 10, "I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be."
LGT "I am persuaded as to you in [the] Lord, that you will have no other mind: and he troubling you shall bear the judgment, whosoever he may be."
I am persuaded: Paul is totally convinced. As to you in the Lord: Paul speaks of true believers in the Lord. That you will have no other mind: Paul's confidence was in the doctrine he had taught them. He was convinced that whatever false doctrines the Judaizers were teaching would not take root, and that the truth would eventually lead them straight. It is this very thing that keeps all of us on the straight and narrow; it is the occupation Jesus Christ has in us, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that leads us on. And he troubling you shall bear the judgment: just as the believers were the Lord's possession, and that He would not let them go completely astray, that is, they were secure in Him, the false teachers would be judged. Whoever he may be: all false teaching will eventually be overthrown; it does not matter who it is. The only ones who will escape judgment are the ones Christ has saved and made secure in Him.
Verse 11, "And I brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased."
LGT "But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why yet am I persecuted? Then the offense of the cross has been done away."
But I: as for me in opposition to the ones preaching circumcision. If still I preach circumcision: Paul never ever preached circumcision since becoming an apostle; yes, he did have Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3), however not for salvation, but for the sake of reaching the Jews; and this was totally misunderstood by the Judaizers. "Some of the Judaizers even circulated the slander that Paul preached circumcision in order to ruin his influence" (Robertson). Why yet am I persecuted: if I preached circumcision, the Judaizers would not have persecuted me. The reasons I have been persecuted so many times is the fact that I have been, and always will preach the gospel of grace. Then the offense of the cross has been done away: as a consequence of preaching circumcision. "If Paul had preached circumcision as necessary to salvation, the preaching of the cross would have ceased to be an offense, because, along with the cross, Paul would have preached what the Judaizers demanded, that the Mosaic Law should still be binding on Christians. The Judaizers would have accepted the cross with circumcision, but not the cross instead of circumcision. The Judaizers thus exposed themselves to no persecution in accepting Christ. They covered the offence of the cross, and conciliated [pacified] unbelieving Jews by maintaining that the Law was binding upon Christians" (Vincent).
McGee lists some of the offenses of the cross:
"The cross of Christ is an offense to all that man prides himself in. It is an offense to his morality because it tells him his work cannot justify him. It is an offense to his philosophy because its appeal is to faith and not to reason. It is an offense to the culture of man because its truths are revealed to babes. It is an offense to his sense of caste because God chooses the poor and humble. It is an offense to his will because it calls for an unconditioned surrender. It is an offense to his pride because it shows the exceeding sinfulness of the human heart. And it is an offense to himself because it tells him he must be born again. You know, that was almost insulting to the Pharisee Nicodemus that night when Jesus told him, religious, as he was, that he must be born again. For the same reason, a lot of ministers who are preaching the new birth get in trouble with their congregations. Some members don't want to be born again - they feel like they're good enough as they are. It's an insult to them."
Verse 12, "I would they were even cut off which trouble you."
LGT "I would they would even cut themselves off who throw you into confusion."
The middle voice brings out the true meaning of the context of circumcision. Circumcision to the Gentile was self mutilation, and so Paul says, I would that these Judaizers who are troubling you would not stop at cutting off the foreskin, but go all the way and castrate themselves, as some of the fanatical priest were wont to do. Eadie, Vincent, Chrysostom, Robertson, and many of the ancient expositors hold this interpretation. Paul use this bit of irony [sarcasm] to show to the believers just how ridiculous the Judaizers were, by adding works to salvation. "It is a bitter sarcasm on the fanatical fondness for circumcision, and the extravagant estimate of its value, which these Judaistic zealots cherished, and which they were putting into prominence with persistent vehemence [forcefulness] - a scornful and contemptuous estimate of men, and of the mere mutilation for which they had such a passion" (Eadie).
Verse 13, "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."
LGT "For ye were called for liberty, brethren: only [use] not the freedom for an occasion of the flesh, but through love serve ye one another."
For ye were called for liberty: ye were called for the purpose of freedom. The Judaizers were seeking to enslave the Galatians, and Paul says that is against their being called by Jesus Christ, and in Christ they were free indeed. The bondage of the Law is direct opposition to free grace. Only use not the freedom for an occasion of the flesh: do not turn your freedom into an occasion for the flesh to reign. The flesh represents all that is selfish in us; it is loveless and totally selfish. No good thing dwells in our flesh. But through love serve ye one another: The apostle John also stresses this love for one another, he writes: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). The reason we meet as a family is for the edification of one another; we must always look out for the family members good. We know that we belong to Christ when we love one another with agape love, that is, with the love, which He has shed abroad in our hearts.
Verse 14, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
LGT "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Paul is quoting Lev. 19:18. The one word is "love." Some think Paul is being double minded by quoting the Law. Paul never ever said the Law was not holy and perfect, however, what he is saying is that the Law reaches its fulfillment in love. You see, we do not love the brethren in order to be saved, or fulfilled; we love the brethren because we are already saved, and by loving the brethren we fulfill the law of liberty. And, by the way, the word "neighbor" does not mean your next-door neighbor, unless of course he or she is saved; the word neighbor means one who is like you, and in this context it can only mean fellow-believer. When the Law was given neighbor meant fellow-Jew. This does not mean, however, that we should mistreat the ones who are not our brothers. We should treat unbelievers based on our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ; and we should love the brotherhood based on the believer's relationship to Jesus Christ as joint heirs; now if we regard our brother as a joint heir to Jesus Christ, it will be impossible to mistreat him with a clear conscience.
Verse 15, "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another."
LGT "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed ye be not consumed by one another."
But if ye bite and devour one another: The word "bite" means to satisfy anger by destructive means means, and "devour" means to completely consume. Paul is referring to the jealousy and contention that is common among many groups, especially the Judaists. The warning is very well made, because Paul knows that the emotion opposite love is hate, and this is rampant among family members. Take heed ye be not consumed by one another: nothing can destroy the family more than criticism and gossip. Love nurtures the family by the doctrine of edifying one another. It is a wonderful thing when we help one another grow in grace and the knowledge of truth. What a cancer it is to hate the brotherhood; it is as destructive as murder itself. I am so thrilled when I go and visit my family in Arizona and watch them study together as a family; nothing is more rewarding to an old man than to see his family love one another. That of course does not mean that they don't have their problems, but it does testify to the fact that they do love one another.
The Fruit of the Spirit and the Works of the Flesh
Verse 16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
LGT "But I say, walk ye around by [the] Spirit, and ye should in no way fulfill the vain desires of the flesh."
But I say: contrary to walking after the flesh as described in the last verse. Walk around by the Spirit: this phrase has the sense of habitual walking around. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives. Today, most churches are teaching a humanistic doctrine of patterning our lives after Jesus. This is impossible, for Christ's life on this earth was one of perfection. Every thing our Lord did on earth was perfect; however, when He died on the cross, He became sin for us, that we might be made positionally perfect (2 Cor, 5:21). I am told that some members of these churches actually have bumper stickers that read WWJD - what would Jesus do. We need to stay in fellowship with the Father, and allow His Spirit to energize us through application of Bible Doctrine. Our spirits are in constant warfare with our stinking flesh. And ye should in no way: Paul uses the double negative here for emphasis showing that allowing the Holy Spirit to control us is the only way we can remain in fellowship. Fulfill the vain desires of the flesh: in my flesh dwells no good thing. Not all desires of the flesh are evil, however, all desires of the flesh are vain desires. Some things we believe are good, however, if the flesh motivates them, they can keep us from Bible study etc. The idea is human good verses Divine good; human desires verses divine desires; and the only way to receive these divine desires is by means of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit working through the Christian accomplishes the only divine good that a Christian can perform. Daily Bible study and application of Bible Doctrine and keeping short accounts with the Father, by way of confessing sin directly to the Father, is the only way a Christian can remain in fellowship.
Verse 17, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
LGT "For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these things are opposed to one another, that ye may not do those things whatsoever ye wish."
For the flesh desire against the Spirit: Paul is describing our Spiritual warfare that continually goes on in every believer. This battle can only be won by means of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. We all have the old sin nature we inherited from Adam, and which we will never be rid of on this earth, and the New nature, which God provided us with when we were born again; this is what Christ described to Nicodemus when He said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). And the Spirit against the flesh: as noted, we have these two natures which are completely incompatible, and it is completely useless to try and rid yourself of either; so we might as well surrender to the Spirit, for He is the only One who will win the battle for us. For these things are opposed to one another: our two natures are totally opposed to one another. Paul is describing an actual contest going on between our flesh and the Spirit. That ye might do the things whatsoever ye wish: we cannot do the things of the flesh and remain in fellowship; and we cannot do the things of the Spirit and satisfy the flesh. Following the dictates of Bible Doctrine will not give you a warm fuzzy feeling; however, what the Spirit will provide is total joy of our salvation. The Holy Spirit that indwells our souls provides us with the only strength to conquer the vain desires of the flesh. I have heard Christians say that they did not know when they were in fellowship; my response has been, do you know when you are out of fellowship? And the answer was a definite yes. Well, then, you must know when you are in fellowship; if you are out fellowship you are not in fellowship, and if you are in fellowship, you are not out of fellowship. We cannot satisfy the flesh, and at the same time satisfy the Spirit. If we allow the Spirit to work in and through us He will. One good barometer to know if we are in fellowship is if we seek His will in every decision we make; this children, is stability.
Verse 18, "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
LGT "But if by [the] Spirit ye are led, ye are not under Law."
But if by the Spirit ye are led: if you submit to the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit. "To be led by the Spirit, in the full sense of it, is to be under His benign [compassionate] and powerful influence in all thoughts, aspirations, and acts, - to be yielded up to His government without reserve, - to have no will without His prompting it, no purpose without His shaping it, - is to be everywhere and in all things in willing submission to His control, and always guarding against any insubordination which may 'grieve the Holy Spirit of God" (Eadie). When men are in this submission to the Holy Spirit: ye are not under Law: under the Holy Spirit we are free; under the Law we are in bondage. If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, we have no need for the Law as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, for we are already united to him forever.
Verses 19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
LGT "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, indignations, contentions, divisions, sects, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and things like these; as to which I forewarned you beforehand, even as also I said before, that the ones who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
These verse do not teach that anyone who does any of the sins in these verses are going to hell, and will not inherit the "Kingdom of God", because as a matter of fact, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have already become a joint heir with Jesus Christ, and you are perfected positionally for ever in Christ, and He indwells every believer with His Holy Spirit. Paul is describing the flesh in these verses, and you and I are capable in the flesh to commit one or all of these sins. Our flesh is under the condemnation of the Law, but our Spirits have been made alive by the baptism of the Holy Spirit indwelling all believers the moment we accepted Christ, and now we live by the filling of the Spirit.
The key to these verses is the phrase the ones who practice such things. In the KJV it reads "they which do such things." These verses characterize the habitual actions of the unbeliever. You see, the Greek word for "do" is prassontes (practice). The unbeliever habitually practices these things. The believer sins when he does any of these things. The Greek word for sins of the believer is harmatia, and means "missing the mark." The sin of the unbeliever is anomias, (1 John 3:4) and means "lawlessness." The unbeliever lives lawlessly as far as spiritual things are concerned because he has no "mark" and they have not the "new nature" given at "new birth that enables them to not miss God's mark of perfection. " Actually the unbeliever has not the slightest interest in spiritual things because they are walking around in the darkness of their sins.
The believer does in fact commit some and in some cases all that Paul has listed in these verses, but because of the new birth, he has inherited God's "new nature' which has insulated him from losing his or her salvation. Don't get me wrong; I in no way think it is alright for the believer to do these things; this is exactly Paul's point here of teaching us that the flesh is constantly warring against the Spirit. If you want to go to heaven a spiritual "basket case' be my guest, but this is precisely why Paul writes so much about spiritual maturity. You see Paul had a sincere desire that all God's children would go on to maturity.
The prodigal son in Luke 15 is a prime example of a believer wallowing in the pigpen of sin; but he didn't stay in the pigpen; he got up, confessed his sins, and returned to the father. We are to do the exact same thing when we visit the pigpen of sin. We must confess our sins to the father (1 John 1:9) and He will restore us to fellowship, the place of service for Him, controlled by His Spirit once again.
Verses 22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is now law."
LGT "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: against such things there is no law."
Paul defines the fruit of the Spirit as opposed to the previous verses describing the works of the flesh. Notice that the manifestations of the flesh are described as "works", whereas he describes the manifestations of the Spirit as "fruit", which means that the evil, which we produce, comes from our flesh, whereas the divine good is produced in us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. In our flesh dwells no good thing. We are unable to produce the fruit of the Spirit, all we can do is submit to the Spirit and allow Him to do the producing. Notice the first fruit is "love", gr. agape, which is divine love; and as I said, we are unable to produce divine love. All the fruits of the Spirit stem from agape love. The way in which we are able to love our fellow believer is by allowing the Holy Spirit to love them through us; this is done by our recognizing that our brothers and sisters are also joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such, we love them because He loves us, and as John said, others know that we belong to God because we love the brotherhood (1 John 4:7,8). "Divine love is to love out of an intelligent estimate of the object of love" (Vincent), or as my brother Dave says: "divine love is recognizing a relationship to God."
Verse 24, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
LGT "But the ones that [are] of Christ Jesus, have crucified the flesh together with the vain passions and vain desires."
But the ones that are of Christ Jesus: all believers belong to Christ; we are His possession for eternity. Have crucified the flesh: when Christ was crucified, we were crucified with Him. Our flesh was also nailed to the cross when Christ died. "In and through union with Christ, believers themselves die to the law and escape its penalty; but at the same time the flesh is also crucified, its supremacy is overthrown. Thus justification and sanctification are alike secured to believers through union with Christ in His sufferings and death" (Eadie). Together with the vain passions and vain desires: total victory over the strange passions of the flesh through our spiritual union with Christ. These vain passions and desires are as if they are dead, and in another passage Paul says "yield" not to the flesh, but yield your members to the Spirit, that is, allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives. Victory over sin has been secured by Christ, but we only benefit as we apply this doctrine to our lives in our daily walk; we died with Christ when we accepted Him, but we have free will to either yield to the Spirit or yield to the flesh; our only power is in the Word of God applied daily to our lives. We need to dwell on these mighty truths of our union with Christ and our ultimate victory over sin in order to have freedom from the vain passions and desires of the flesh.
Verse 25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
LGT "If we live by [the] Spirit, by [the] Spirit also we should walk."
The word "walk" gr. stoichomen, means to walk in line. Now the only place we can learn to walk in line is by means of the Holy Spirit through the daily intake of Bible Doctrine. We need daily fellowship with our heavenly Father, and there is no better place to have this fellowship than in His Word; in fact, that is the only place we can fellowship with Him. Even our prayers to the Father are centered on His Word. By the way, our fellowship with one another is when we meet and study His Word together. "If we walk by the Spirit, it is impossible to fulfill the lusts of the flesh."
Verse 26, "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."
LGT "We should not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another."
We should not become vainglorious: we should stop being self-important, conceited, bigheaded, proud and arrogant; I believe I have just described myself. If we learn to walk by the power of the Spirit using the Word of God, we will overcome the flesh. Provoking one another: the verb "provoking" means to challenge in combat. Paul says we should not challenge one another which results in envying one another: this envy is either jealousy or resentment, and it can only be avoided by learning to walk in the Spirit, and allowing the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in us.
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