Daily Bread - FEB/14/07

Galatians 5:18 - "But if you are Spirit led you are not under the law."

In Galatians 5:4, Paul tells the church at Galatia that those who are justified by the law have lost out on the effect of Christ and His grace. Therefore, having fallen from the life of the Spirit, they have returned to a place where sin has dominion. The power of sin finds its authority over men when they trust in their own human ability. Paul questioned the Galatians regarding the miracle work of salvation by the Spirit and asked them how they could possibly think that human effort and the works of the law could compare to what the Holy Spirit had done for them by faith (Galatians 3:2-5, 21; 5:5).

The flesh that is opposed to the Spirit retains its power under the law, and good men find themselves unable to do what they desire (Galatians 5:5; Romans 7:19; Romans 8:2; Galatians 3:3). By and large, Paul makes the flesh and the law synonymous with one another. As the flesh and the law are associated with the power and dominion of sin, Paul associates the Spirit with the life and righteousness of God that comes by the faith of Jesus (Galatians 2:20; 2:16; 3:21; Ephesians 2:12).

In Paul's commentary on the spiritual condition of those under the law, he says that, "when we were in the flesh, the passions of sin were working in our members through the law" (Romans 7:5). Paul then describes the utter helplessness of the ones under the law to overcome the power of sin (Romans 7:20). Paul makes a similar association in this verse to the one that he made in Romans 7:18-25. Therefore, in conclusion, when one would have expected that Paul would have said, "As many as are Spirit-led are not under the flesh" he says, "As many as are Spirit-led are not under the law."

Even as Paul was attempting to describe the utter weakness of the law in Romans chapter 7, he is also making the same point here in Galatians chapter 5. It was his desire to convince the Galatians that the law was powerless, and there is nothing in the covenant of the law that they needed to keep in order to please God (Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:21-26). It is through the life of God imparted to us by the Spirit of God that we are able to fulfill the righteousness of the law (John 3:6; Galatians 6:15; Romans 8:4-5).

Blessings,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org