Galatians 5:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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 the things you want to do.

NIV: For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

NASB: For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.

CSB: 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.

NLT: The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

KJV: For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

NKJV: 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.

Paul has urged the Christians in Galatia not to waste their freedom in Christ, a warning which applies to believers today, as well. The error to avoid is merely serving our flesh by doing whatever feels good to us. Instead, Paul has called us to serve each other in love. Free people in Christ have the opportunity to lead meaningful lives of service instead of meaningless lives of religious rule-following or endless pleasure seeking (Galatians 5:13–15).

But how can we live this way if it does not come naturally to us? In the previous verse, Paul urged us to walk in the power of God's Spirit. His Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every Christian (Galatians 4:6). When we walk by His power, we won't indulge our own desires at the cost of others.

Paul now describes a conflict that goes on in the heart and mind of every Christian. Our flesh wants one thing, and God's Spirit wants something very different. Human beings want to feel good, to be honored, and to possess what looks good to us. All of these, coming from our human nature, are tainted by our selfishness and pride. John identified these things as worldliness (1 John 2:16). We are willing to sin against each other and God to get them.

The Spirit of God, on the other hand, wants to honor God and serve others with His love. When the Spirit comes to live in our hearts, a battle sometimes rages. However, Paul will show that those who are in Christ can win that battle by allowing the Spirit to lead us; that power allows us to love in ways we never would have under the law.

Galatians 5:16–26 focuses on how God's Spirit gives those in Christ the power to serve others in love. We must allow the Holy Spirit to lead, however. When we don't, our selfishness will lead us into all kinds of sinful lifestyles. When we live by the Spirit, on the other hand, we gain more than just being able not to live in sin. What comes out of us are a collection of powerful, positive characteristics.

Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.

Galatians 3—4 focused on theology. Galatians 5—6 focus on how Christians should live in response to those truths. In short, we must resist being dragged away from the freedom we have in Christ to follow the law. We must also resist wasting our freedom on serving our sinful desires instead of serving others in love. We can do this by the power of God's Spirit with us. When we give Him the lead, powerful, positive characteristics show up in us. Galatians 6 will show how to use those characteristics to serve each other.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.