Galatians 5 Becoming Spiritual and not Carnal

Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

There is a common misconception amongst God-believers today that we are all the 'children of God'. We are not. There are two groups on this earth; those who belong to God through Christ Jesus and those who do not belong to God and are separated from him. 

If you have put your faith in Christ, then His Spirit dwells within you and you are a child of God and even equal heirs with Christ. How humbling the generosity of God the Father is, the fact that despite all the wrong we have committed, not only has He made a way for us to be saved, but He has even made a way for us to be lifted up as equal heirs to His Son Jesus Christ who died for us. 

Romans 8:16-17 16 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

For those who have not put their faith in Christ, God's Spirit does not dwell within them and they are separated from Him. Romans 8:9 states "9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." 

Not only are those who have not put their faith in Christ "not His", but they are considered to be children of the world and of the devil, not children of God.

1 John 3:8 states "8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

This is a harsh truth that Christians may not like or may not like to talk about and one that non-Christians find offensive. But it is the truth. 

That is why John 3:19 states "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

James 4:4 states "...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

People may ask why this enmity must exist, but it is a natural consequence of God's perfection. If God is so completely holy and completely perfect then anything that is not of Him can only be completely unholy and completely imperfect. There is no in between. For to be perfect is truly to be perfect. To be imperfect is a long way from perfection. Even if you are imperfect in just one area of your life, that one area would render the whole of you  imperfect. That is why James 2:10 states "If you have broken the law in one place, you have broken it in all."

There are no in betweens when the notion of perfection is involved. There are no "sitting on the fence" positions; you are either in one camp or in the other. Those who have Christ within them have a perfect Spirit because they belong to Him. They also look forward in hope to that day when they will be made completely perfect. That day cannot come to those who are still on this earth, because we all live within the shell of an earthly body which is fallen. That is why 2 Corinthians 4:16 states "therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."  However, those who do not have Christ within them, they are inherently wicked and have no place in the sight of God. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear."

Romans 6:16-18 explains to us this stark contrast and the impact of putting our faith in Christ "16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

If you have not put you faith in Christ then you are a slave to sin which leads to death and are inherently wicked. Put your faith in Christ to move out from the darkness you are currently in and into the light of righteousness. 

As born again Christians going forward, we must leave those worldly practices behind that we once knew and go on to live out the righteousness of God, which is within us. The question is how do we do this? How many times do you see Christians who do not live what they claim to believe. How many times do you hear of Christian who are depressed or living worldly lives. How many times do you see churches full of gossipers and backbiters, giving importance to worldly things and ignoring the things of God. Colossians 3:2 instructs us, "set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth." Why is it that in a church you can usually count the number of Christians who actually do this on one hand? How is it possible that we have made this radical life-changing decision for Christ and yet no outward change has come about in our lives? Why is it that time and time and time again we strive to do better but always end up back at the start? Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church stresses the need to move on from being mere 'babes' in Christ. Why do so many remain spiritually immature? 

On a practical level it is due to the fact that we are too immersed in our world and our culture - a world which belongs to the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4) and not to God. We constantly fill our minds with non-spiritual things, therefore  it is inevitable that what comes out of us will be non-spiritual. Matthew 12:34 tells us that "the mouth speaks what the heart is full of". We cannot realistically expect to be spiritually mature Christians if we spend our days filling our minds with that which is impure. We cannot be spiritually mature if we spend our time on social media, watching unwholesome television, listening to songs that glorify defiling and worldly things, spending our time surrounded with unholy people, going to unholy places that are filled with sin. We cannot spend our days immersed in our ungodly society and then expect to be edified through a 'quiet time' or 'study' with God's Word. It cannot happen! It is impossible! This may sound extreme, but is anything too extreme where the holiness of God is concerned? We must cast off the works of this world, otherwise we have no chance to excel in our relationship with God and bring the true glory to Him that He deserves, or to receive the true benefit that He has given to us through Jesus Christ!  

Until we take this extreme stance and understand the seriousness of the wickedness of the world and of ourselves we will never leave the fleshly, carnal state that we find ourselves in. However, this extreme stance cannot be taken through our own strength. This is not a question of discipline. It is not an issue of how mentally tough or strong we can be or how much self-control we can exert so that we may start to live better healthier lives. It is not a question of whether we have the ability to cut things out of our lives, or refrain from doing certain things in an effort to train our bodies and our minds. For any attempt to do this is futile and will surely fail. This is proven by the amount of Christians who strive to do better but cannot seem to shake the dust of the world from them. 

To move on from being babes in Christ, to move on from being wrapped up in this world and to move on and become spiritual and content fulfilled beings and shake this gritty worldly dust that clings to us once and for all we must come to the realisation of our depraved state. We must understand where we are and where we have come from. 

We live in a fallen world and we live in fallen bodies. A person is not a body; a person is not flesh and blood. If you speak to somebody you are not speaking to flesh and blood, you are speaking to some spirit that exists within that flesh and blood. We must realise that we are not made up of one entity but different entities tied together. We all have a body, but within us we all possess a soul and a spirit and that is what makes us. We have free will and what our soul clings to is what we chose, whether it is to the body and the temporary things of the world that lead to death and misery or whether it is to God's Spirit which is holy and right and can give eternal life. For those of us who belong to Christ, Christ's spirit is within us and it is that which we should be controlled by. To those who do not have Christ, do not have Christ's spirit within them and they are controlled by their bodies and all the physical temporary urges that come with that. However, what we find is that many Christians, who should be controlled by the perfect Spirit of God within them are in fact still controlled by these temporary and unsatisfying urges of the body. 

Romans 8:8 "So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

In order to move on from being a fleshly being and to become spiritual we must realise that we are trapped in a fleshly shell, which wants to do that which is contrary to God's spirit within us. It is a body which wants to do that which is defiling and it naturally gravitates towards those short lived destructive indulgences which bring only death, like a smoker is drawn toward a cigarette. 

In order to become Spiritual we must first understand where we have come from and what we truly are. Proverbs 20:6 says that man will declare his own goodness. How true this is. But in order for us to leave behind the ways of the world we must learn to declare our own depravity. Only when we realise how low we really are and humble ourselves beyond doubt can we have any chance to be lifted up by the branch of Christ and His arm outstretched towards us. We may consider ourselves good or maybe 'okay', but in comparison to the holiness of God we are wretched!

Turn to Galatians 5, looking at the fruit of the Spirit. How many times have we heard sermons on the following 3 verses:

Galatians 5:22-25 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

How many times have we read Galatians 5 and focused on these three verses and examined ourselves in accordance with them? How many times have we strived to keep them, even attempted to train ourselves so that we may begin to show these qualities through fasting and self-discipline? How many times have we made excuse for ourselves, and justified ourselves by convincing ourselves that we have recently shown some of these qualities? How many times have we come to the conclusion that "whilst we do not possess them all, we are on our way and we are doing quite well considering the fact that we are sinners".

We love to focus on the fruit of the spirit and attempt to justify ourselves in our own minds by proudly noticing that we have recently shown some of these qualities; that we have recently shown joy or peace or kindness or self-control. We go through the list and tick the boxes for each one. Where we find one which we do not possess we make a note that we must do better in that area!  

But, I believe we are starting with the wrong verses. We are listening to the part of the chapter which describes the end result. How can we possibly make it to the end if we do not bother to acknowledge where we have begun?

Very few sermons and very few Bible studies focus on the verses preceding these 3 verses. What we must do in order to become spiritual and to truly possess the fruit of the spirit is to focus on the part of the chapter that none of us like. Read the whole passage and not just the end:

Galatians 16-25 "16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d]drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

Usually when we read the passage above, we focus on verses 16-18 and then quickly skim over verses 19-21 or even skip to verse 22. This is not what we should be doing. Instead we should first look at verses 19 - 21 and realise where we have come from and what we truly begin as. 

We can spend a long, long time examining ourselves and looking for the qualities of the fruit of the spirit within us until we find them (and somehow we usually manage to convince ourselves that we have found them). However, it is usually the case that we are instantly able to find the works of the flesh within us. 

In order to become spiritual we must first acknowledge that we are carnal and fleshly. In order to become holy we must first realise we are depraved. In order to become righteous we must first realise that we are evil. Just as when we visit a doctor, we must first learn that we are sick before we take the cure. 

For the non-Christian you must realise you have fallen short of God's standards and only through Christ can you be saved. Once we realise we are sinners we then can be given the cure of Christ. Put your trust in Christ and you will be saved from your sinful state.

Then, once saved, in order to grow we must go beyond this realisation. We must go on to realise that we live in a fallen body and what we are is completely foreign to who God is. We are literally nothing without God. We cannot train ourselves to become spiritual. It is impossible. We have literally no hope without God.  We are depraved. 

How humbling and overwhelming the grace of God becomes when we look at it from our true position. How high up the walls of the pit which we came from are. How glorious God is in comparison to us! It is a depressing realisation to understand what we truly are, but a necessary one to understand what God has actually done for us.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

We are made of the works of the flesh spoken of in Galatians 5. We are without hope and wholly bad. Yet God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us. He sent His perfect Son Christ Jesus to literally take on the depraved nature that we all have so that we may have a chance to become glorious in Him and so that we may become equal heirs with Him. Even though we are filled with such depravity we can become equal heirs with Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states "He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us".  

Now we know what Jesus has done for us let's not remain in the very place where Jesus had to go in order to save us! We are from the pit of depravity and sin and nothing is good within us. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, out of His love for us came down into that pit and took on that form of depravity so that we may be lifted out of it. Now that we know this, how can we possibly remain there!? But so many of us do. We cannot let this sacrifice go to waste! Realise what you have been saved from, if in fact you have been saved, and if you have been saved, leave the place where you have been saved from, don't dwindle there!

To become spiritual and to have any hope of leaving behind the ways of this world we must see what we truly are and where we have all begun and we must understand that whilst we are on this earth we are living in a body which is inherently evil and cannot be good. No attempt to keep God's laws in our own strength will work. Romans 7:1 "Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?" 

No matter how many times we attempt to do good we will fail Romans 7:14 "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin."

Romans 7:15-25 sums it up best:

"15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Jesus has saved us from our carnal selves. We cannot save ourselves. The only way to leave our fleshly worldly desires and lives behind is to first, realise what they are; then realise what Jesus has done for us and the gravity of the sacrifice He made and the gravity of what we have been saved from; and then realise that only through Jesus can we leave it all behind once and for all!

Romans 8:9-11 "9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

Romans 8:2 tells us how we can become Spiritual, and it truly is the only way we can become spiritual:

Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

Stop looking to justify yourselves in your own minds. Stop puffing yourselves up when you show a quality that is a fruit of the spirit and thinking that you are beyond the need for redemption or that you are "doing well". Instead, realise the depravity of the flesh and the body which you have and the fact that you can do nothing but cling to Jesus and be set free from the world through the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:12-13 "12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Read the above passage and pray to God that the Holy Spirit that will fill you when you put your faith in Christ will take precedence in your life, and that your soul within you will cling to the goodness of that Spirit, and not gravitate towards the natural tendencies of the flesh and body.

Do not let Jesus' sacrifice go to waste. Call on God now and depend upon him and allow this life-changing radical decision to have a life-changing radical effect on your life. 

-BACChrsitian